"Wolfbrothers" by Christie Lovat

WolfBrothers

It was a night just like any other. The fire burned steadily in the hearth, heating the room against the chilly night and sparking the imaginations of the children gathered around it. It was late in the evening, dinner but a memory in the hearts and stomachs of those who had been fortunate enough to enjoy it. A light snow fell outside the window and the old folks could be heard saying that a snowstorm was coming, a big one. All of this crossed the elderly man's mind as he took a seat in his old rocking chair in front of the fire, just like his grandfather before him had done and his grandfather before him and the countless generations of grandfathers who had come before. He counted himself lucky to live such a life in his old age, as he did every night, and his wrinkled face spread into a kind smile.

"Now who want's to hear a story?"

Immediately the children turned their attention to him, the fire forgotten. Their eyes were alight with hope and anticipation, every one of them. "We do, we do!" they cried, a tradition at every story telling.

"Alright then, gather around my grandchildren and I'll tell you a special story that few know. This story is different because unlike many stories of that time, this one is true." Small gasps came from his audience. A true story? That had never happened before, it must be very good if it came from grandpa. The elderly man waited patiently for his audience to quiet down and then continued. "This story happened very long ago when the first humans appeared. It starts-"

"But weren't their dinosaurs grandpa?" A small voice piped up. It was one of his grandsons Neal, who was, even at his young age, a born know-it-all.

"Dinosaurs my dear boy? There were no dinosaurs then or ever for that matter. The bones you see in museums aren't dinosaur bones, but dragon bones." His audience gasped and then quieted down immediately again. Dragons, this was going to be a good story indeed.

"Now that I have your attention my grandchildren, I'll start. This story begins with a bloodied man running through the forest as swiftly as his heavy feet will carry him. In his arms he holds his only child, a daughter barley two months old. She's crying and the man is crying too. All around them are the sound of battle, screams of pain, death and calls for help that would never be answered. The sun hangs low in the sky, red and angry. A sole witness to the horrible events unfolding below.

"The man suddenly breaks through the trees into a clearing that might have been a beautiful grassland once, but was now stained with the blood and gore of a battle already moved on. He stops and looks up to the sky, where a sole creature circles slowly like a vulture. It is something that does not exist today my grandchildren, like the dragons all we have to remember them by are their bones and stories too amazing to believe. It is a griffin, a creature of Majik, half-noble lion and half-fierce hawk. It slowly lands in the clearing, making sure no one sees it but the man. A basket hangs in its fierce beak. The man walks up to the griffin and whispers thank you Silvari into its feathery ear. He then looks at his daughter and speaks softly to her in words of sorrow and remorse. The child has since quieted and her innocent green eyes look up at him affectionatly and he begins to cry anew. My daughter, please listen to me. For millennia the world has been at peace. From before the age of our dreams, and we thought until the end of time. But it would appear that time ended sooner then we thought my daughter. When the humans came we pitied them at first, the poor Majikless creatures without fur, feather or claw. We welcomed them into our clans and gave them the means to survive. That act I will regret for the rest of my life, for it has reflected upon you and your generation my daughter. The humans are not fully to blame; they are weak and easily persuaded. It was the False Ones; they came and told the humans they were their Gods. They whispered doubt and fear into the minds and hearts of men, and it was that fear that led them against us. It is for that fear that I must leave you now my child. They have to come to kill us and will not stop until we are all gone. I know you are too young to hear my words or even begin to understand why I must do this but I must, our people need their king. Silvari will protect you now my daughter, until you are old enough to seek your bonded. Remember my daughter; remember above all that you are a wolfbrother. And please… remember me.

The broken man knelt over his only child and kissed her one last time. Then he placed her into the basket held by the fierce looking griffin, it's features softened with mourning. Take care of her Silvari. Please, for me.

The sounds of battle roared in the distance, coming closer each second as a lone griffin vanished over the distant horizon and a broken man went to die.

***

Many, many years later.

Their forest had stood from the beginning of time. Ageless redwoods, oaks and other countless trees stretched their branches towards the sky in their ever-lasting homage to the sun. They were trees in such sizes and numbers that cannot even be imagined today, but back then they were all like that. Everything was. This timeless forest was usually a quiet place, it's inhabitants never really having a reason to rush about, but today was different. Griffins of all ages and sizes rushed between the ancient trees all wanting to be the first to announce the unusual news to anyone who had not yet heard, the council had called a meeting of all Majiks. That meant only one thing, trouble, big trouble. Such a meeting had only been held once before. It had happened so long ago that very few creatures alive at that time had been there to witness it, even though all Majiks lived very long lives compared to those today. That first meeting had announced the grave news that the oldest race of the Majiks, the WolfBrothers, had been annihilated at the hands of the Majikless humans. The WolfBrothers had been the center of the ancient world and the news of their extinction had nearly destroyed the Majik's world in those ancient times, (and had certainly destroyed the poor WolfBrothers'.) The griffins now could only guess at what sinister news was to be announced at that evenings meeting, but they all knew one thing for sure, they alone would be first with the news.

One griffin in particular carried urgency on his wings. His name was Obsidian after the face that, from the tip of his majestic tail to his razor beak, he was covered in glossy black. Fur, feathers and skin, it was all black as night. His coloring was very unusual, even for one of the leading family who was known for their black coloring. A griffin was never just one color; they usually had three or four different shades blended into their pelts. Two colors was considered very rare, but one? Now that was just unheard of.

He too had received the news of the council's meeting from a very excited young griffin and was now racing to be the first to tell his mother of the news before any other griffin reached her. His mother was the matriarch of their particular clan, and was rightly so. She had been the matriarch for longer then any sole griffin could remember, and peace had always prevailed under her reign. She was so old in fact that she had been alive when the ancient WolfBrothers had been annihilated. It was even rumored that she had been at the battlefront when the humans attacked, but that had never been proven and she refused to talk of such things even with her only son. She had been a very good friend with the WolfBrothers famous last king, Areian the Fallen, and Obsidian feared how his aging mother might take the news. He didn't fear for his mother mind you, but rather the unfortunate soul who delivered her the news. His mother may have favored peace, but she was not very peaceful herself.

Fortunately Obsidian was also known for his speed and arrived at his mother's nest to find it deserted except for herself. She watched him approach with a curious expression behind her fierce hawk eyes. She had been a very beautiful griffin in her day, covered in a glossy black like Obsidian but with a silver streak starting at each eye and running the length of her body. These days the silver looked a little more like gray and the black had a little less sheen but her eyes still held their famous undying fire and she still held herself and her old bones with pride. In every way she was still the griffin of legend, the one who had seen the WolfBrothers.

"Obsidian, why are you flying so?" His mother liked to talk in the old manner; she thought it made her sound wiser. Obsidian thought it made her sound like a great old windbag but he would never say that to her face.

"N-news mother," he panted as he landed in a heap on her nest, "horrible and incredible news." He bowed his head before he continued. He knew his mother didn't like is when he did it, she always said that was wasn't superior to anyone but Obsidian liked the old traditions and did his best to keep them alive.

"Please my son, continue." He detected the annoyance in her voice and decided not to stress it by doing the traditional kissing of the matriarchal talons. "The council has called a meeting mother, a meeting of all Majiks!" He exclaimed. (Majiks was the term they used to express all the creatures in the world with majik of some kind, basically everything other then the humans.)

His mother's expression changed immediately. "What?" She asked flatly, all formalities forgotten. "You're joking right?"

"No, no it's true! A dragon messenger came directly from the dragon leader on the council, Charak. You know it's important when the dragons get all worked up."

Silvari hung on her son's every word and took it all in with a disapproving look. "The dragons are always worked up…" she muttered to herself.

"Pardon mother?"

"This is bad Obsidian, I won't lie to you. The council has been going down hill ever since the dragons took over as leaders instead of the Woldbrothers. This could very well be the pinnacle of their stupidity and arrogance. I'm not sure what it could lead Obsidian to but I'd bet my pelt it isn't good." She sat quietly for a moment, deep in thought.

"So, um-does that mean we're going or not?" Her son asked hesitantly.

"Hm?oh-yes. You go ahead without me and I'll go get your sister and meet you there later." She replied still deep in thought. Obsidian knew better then to argue with her when she was like that, so he bowed his head again (although his mother didn't notice him this time) and leapt into the air on his rested wings. As he left he shouted back, "good luck with that mother, Arin hates the council even more then you!" But if his mother even heard him, she gave no sign of it as she leapt into the air and headed to where his sister always went when she wasn't at home, the river.

***

The water burbled quietly along its edges as it trickled slowly past Arin and her tree. The ancient willow greeted the river with flowing tendrils that graced the river's surface as it passed by, leaving small upset rapids in it's wake. Arin watched it quietly, letting the sun's warmth soak into her skin and long black hair. She loved just to sit there and watch the river. The baby rapids reminded her of life and how every action created ripples that effected others. And every so often a fish would grace her presence by breaking the water to snatch one of those daring dragonflies that fluted back and forth above the water's surface. She loved the quiet, she loved the peace, but most of all she loved being away from all those griffins. The griffins were very nice to her and all, they smiled to her when she passed by and would say hello in a friendly voice, but she could tell they were just pretending. The only kindness they had was one created out of their respect for her mother Silvari. It made her sick. She could hear what they said when they thought she wasn't listening, the whispers not fit for the light of day. She knew she was different, she didn't need them and their spiteful words to remind her!

Suddenly her sensitive ears picked up something that interrupted her train of thought, wing beats. A griffin was coming, and that could only be Obsidian or her mother. No other griffin would come so close to the end of the griffin lands as her willow was. They were too afraid of the humans and their hunters.

"Arin, Arin!" Her mother's voice came over the sound of the brook and her peace. Arin tired to ignore it in the hopes that if she did, it would just go away. Unfortunately the voice belonged to her mother Silvari, and nothing was more stubborn then her mother.

"Arin! What are you doing here?" Her mother demanded as she caught sight of Arin on the forest floor. The Griffin circled twice and landed in the small clearing Arin's willow overlooked. "How many times have I told you not to go so close to the border?"

"I'm not sure, I've honestly lost count." Arin replied, smiling.

"Why I… oh never mind," the griffin huffed, "That's not important now. The council's called a meeting of all Majiks. We have to go, NOW."

"The council? Why should I care about the council? What it does is none of my concern." Arin replied, indifferently.

"Right now I don't care if you think it's your concern or not, it's my concern to get you there."

"The council are a bunch of ancient fools clinging to their ancient traditions mother, there's nothing I could possibly learn from them or their meeting." She replied stubbornly.

" Oh com'on Arin, don't pull your political crap on me, I'm too old to be fooled like that. You could sleep at the council for all I care, just be there."

Arin seemed to consider this for a moment, trying to look terribly serious but smiling the entire time. "Alright mother, I'm sold. But let's hurry, I'm awfully tired after all."

As she stood up she could just barley make out her mother grumbling something that sounded like, " why me?" but she couldn't quite hear. It didn't matter anyway; it wasn't like she hadn't done this before. She climbed onto her mother's broad feathery back and the griffin took off from the ground. As they soared towards the distant horizon and the resting place of the council, a thought suddenly formed in Arin's mind.

"Oh mother, can I bring a pillow?"

"NO!"

***

The council was a sacred place deep within the oldest part of the forest. It was the meeting place for all the ancient races, the Maji. Every full moon like clockwork the council would meet, composed of the oldest and wisest of each species in the ancient world. From the mighty dragons to the quiet thoughtful wisps, each was seen as an equal and each opinion valued. At least that was the way it was supposed to be, and maybe for a while that was the way it had been. But not now, not during her time. Now it seemed to her that the council was afraid. Of what, she didn't know but they just always seemed that way. And fear is something you don't want in your leaders. Fear breeds doubt and doubt breeds haste and indecision, and it seemed to her that today was the pinnacle of all three. This meeting was something big, and despite her earlier attempt, she wanted to be there.

As she and her mother approached they met up with other griffins from different clans as well as other Maji. Pegasus, Basilisk, fairies, the beautiful phoenix and even one or two of the great reclusive dragons crossed their paths. Everyone and everything was coming tonight, if the mountains themselves could move they would be there.

It wasn't long before the air was too thick with bodies to fly and Silvari was forced to land. They wove their way through the forest among the dryads, centaur and unicorns until the sea of bodies was too thick to see over, and still they continued. As they drew nearer Arin could just barely make out the dragon Charak's voice over above the crowd. Apparently they were late, and the council had already started.

"What do you hear Arin?" Her mother asked, seeing her pause. It was well known that she could hear better then any other in Silvari's griffin clan, then again there was a lot that made her different.

"It's Charak, I hear him. The council's already begun, we're late."

The griffin growled in annoyance.

"Follow me, quickly now. We must find the rest of our clan."

They continued on and as they drew nearer Arin began to make out the dragon's words.

"We have waited too long already… the council knows what it must do-"

"Arin hurry! You can listen to that old windbag once we find our place!" Her mother exclaimed as Arin began lagging behind to listen to the dragon. They wound their way through the sea of bodies once more and finally arrived at the area reserved for the griffins. Silvari quickly took her place at the head of her clan next to Obsidian and Arin followed her. Each race of the original Maji had its specific place to sit behind their race's representative for the council and the representatives in turn were arranged around a center platform where a speaker could address the council. For example, Charak the dragon represented not only his race of firedrakes but also land dragons, water dragons and the delicate fairy dragons. Arin personally thought that was a bit foolish to discriminate between races in that way but then again, she thought most things about the council to be foolish. She must have been the only one who thought of the council that way however, because the place was packed. Except for one area which was always empty, and had been since she could remember. An ugly gaping hole in the infinite circle and power that was the council. It was the place for the legendary wolfbrothers. Once they had been the leaders of the Maji. They alone had created the council and ruled over it for millennia. And then, all at once, they were gone. No one would tell her why, if they even knew, but one fact was drilled upon her; they weren't coming back. Now the dragons ruled the council through their power and the other maji's fear of them. And it was Charak now who spoke above all other thoughts and opinions. The ancient dragon might have been a mighty warlord in his time but was now a graying hide of dulled scales stretched over ancient bones. However time had not dulled his voice or his influence and both spoke out now above all else.

"I have the council's full support when I say this my brothers and sisters. We have tolerated the human's presence for too long now," murmurs ran through the crowd at the mention of the humans but Charak ignored them. "Even as I address you good Maji, the unnatural non-majik spawn raid our clans while we sleep, terrorize our children and murder our people, all the while encroaching on our lands. Trees older then I fall to their relentless greed and every day the move closer and closer." The talking was louder now and a few angry shouts of agreement flew anonymously from the crowd. "We must do something NOW my people, we must wipe out this pestilence from out land now before anymore fall victim to these breeding terrors!" Charak paused visibly now and let his words sink in. Shouts of encouragement and agreement came from the assembled Maji, especially the raucous dragons. From as far back as Arin was, she was sure she could just make out a smile forming on Charak's scaly face. Where was he going with this? "My brethren, I propose we make war upon these parasites in our land and wipe them out before our children suffer from this plague!" The crowd roared enthusiastically. The dragons beat their metal scales together, the griffins screeched and all around Maji made their own sound of agreement. Arin looked at her mother alarmed, and saw that Silvari's face, even under her black feathers, had gone completely white. She glanced at Obsidian and found him cheering along with the others at Charak's antics. She was shocked; she couldn't even find the words to speak with. A war? There hadn't been a war in centuries, millennia even. Arin couldn't even remember if there had been a war in the history of the Maji. It had always been the council's purpose to oppose war, to find another way. But that purpose had been created by the peace loving wolfbrothers, and not the dragons. She knew dragons loved to fight, but an all out war? How could the rest of the council support that? Surely they couldn't be that afraid of the ancient wyrm?

" Your bravery and courage takes my breath away fellow Maji, and I know that history will sing your praises. In a week from now, seven days and seven nights, we will meet at this sacred ground and then march to drive our enemies from our land!"

A great roar erupted from the crowd and shook the trees bearing witness to the unthinkable event.

"This council is dismissed!"

***

7 days remaining.

After the council meeting, if you could even call it that, most Maji went strait home to their respective lands, anxious to prepare for the beginning of the end as far as Arin was concerned. Her mother had left her to soak up Charak's words on her own, a brooding collection of old feathers and worry. She refused to talk to anyone, especially her own son Obsidian who was looking forward to Charak's war. Arin didn't mind them though, she never did. She liked to be alone, especially now that she had something to think over. Her mind always seemed cleared when she was alone. So she went to where she always went when life made no sense to her, the river and her old willow tree. The willow was the oldest and most majestic thing she knew of and whenever she was around it, it felt as if it's ancient wisdom reached out to guide her through her troubles. It was her favorite place in the griffin lands and the only place that she could be alone.

She was sitting at the base of the tree now, letting the ancient willow support her. It tickled her cheeks with its feathery leaves but unfortunately the tree seemed to have no answers for her troubles today, and neither did she. She just couldn't get Charak's words off her mind. The humans… why? She knew they were different, they were the only creatures in all the realms that didn't posses any type of Majik at all. Every creature in the realms had at least a Majik essence if nothing else, but the humans had nothing. They didn't even have wings, feathers, fur or claws on which to survive. In fact their only protection seemed to be their outrageous numbers and the vast speed at which they reproduced. They had only been in the realms for short period of time but already they outnumbered any single known race of Maji! And they showed no sign of slowing down. They were indeed unnatural, but surly that was no reason to exterminate a species? Right? She didn't know…

She knew that the humans had only appeared recently, some 150-200 years ago, but no one would tell her how or why. It was like some deep dark secret that everyone knew but no one wanted to talk about. Everyone knew but her that is. It was just like the deep dark secret about her origin. She knew she was no griffin, that idea had worn off when she learned to talk, and to listen. She didn't even have wings for Sun's sake! She was a Wolfbrother. The last of her kind, the last of an ancient race older then the dragons themselves. But how she had lived, how her people had died and how she had ended up with the griffins was a complete mystery. At least to her.

She didn't even look like a griffin. She was like a human a bit, with same body structure only better. She was taller, faster, stronger and has long acute ears like those of her namesake, the soul wolves. Her midnight hair and bright green eyes were unusual for a human as well, as was the large black birthmark on her left arm that resembled a giant wolf's print.

Maybe that's why she was against fighting them, because they were the closest things she had to her lost race. Or maybe she just didn't believe in the dragon's lust for blood. Everyone knew that dragon's loved to fight, it was no great secret. Maybe that's why the great wyrm sought to stir up trouble in such a peaceful time. But that didn't make sense either, not to her. She just couldn't figure it out.

All of a sudden a strange noise disturbed her thoughts. It was unlike anything she had ever heard before and was soon joined by other unusual sounds. It wasn't made by a griffin or anything else she had ever encountered in the realms, and it was coming closer. Curiosity overcame her and she decided to stay and see what was making such a racket. She had just managed to scramble up her sacred willow tree and blend into it's wispy branches when something just as unusual as her noise came into view on the other side of the river. Humans, they were humans! She nearly fell out of her tree in surprise, but fortunately for her she didn't.

It was a hunting group by the look of the cages, tanning racks and large amount of bows and arrows they carried with them in a large wooden wagon. The fact that they were a hunting group didn't surprise her, nor the fact that they were humans, (she had seen humans before) but the fact that they were still alive so deep into the forest just amazed her. The humans lived apart from the rest of the Maji in an isolated spot they had carved out for themselves in the forest. The Maji gave the humans a wide berth and vice versa except when the humans would send hunting and raiding parties into the forest, which wasn't often. And even then they usually stayed close to the border to prevent being killed by any Maji that found them. But the griffin lands were no where near the border and the fact that these humans had made it this far without being torn apart by other Maji was amazing. These weren't just any humans; they were real professionals at what they did. They were trophy hunters.

But since they didn't see her and she was in no immediate danger, she decided to stay and watched them as they set up camp on the opposite side of the riverbank. The thought that she had to warn her mother and the other griffins played on her mind for a little while but she knew that as soon as she did the humans would be hunted down and killed, so she put the notion out of her mind for now. She didn't want to leave just yet anyway, these humans were interesting. Especially a certain one who was sitting apart from the others and made it apparent with his cold manner that he wanted to keep it that way. His actions didn't surprise her; she had given up trying to understand humans a long time ago, but he looked so… different. He was definitely young for a human, probably in his late 20's, but even so his hair was a stalk white. Not a bleached blond or anything like that, but pure white, the color of bone. Although most of his hair was hidden beneath a cloth that was wrapped tightly around his forehead and ears, almost as if he had some kind of mortal injury to his head. And although he kept his head down most of the time, his eyes also caught her attention when she finally saw them. They were violet.

Like all of the hunters he had a bow and was sitting on the riverbank fletching arrows. The other hunters were further from the shore and kneeling around a small smokeless fire apparently cooking some food, although it didn't smell edible to her. She didn't pay much attention to the other men though, that white-haired youth held her in a thrall. Suddenly the youth looked up from his careful work and looked strait at her tree. His intense gaze seemed to penetrate the leafy boughs in which she hid and she got the creepy feeling that he could see her, and was looking through her into her very soul. She felt like he was weighing her, and that she was found wanting. When he finally did look back down at his work she shuddered and let go of a long sigh, and she realized that she had been holding her breath the entire time. She had never felt like that before, so… vulnerable, and despite how loud her caution screamed at her to leave, she found herself moving closer along the tree to get a better look. As she did her sensitive ears overheard a conversation that was going around in hushed tones among the other men. Apparently they were talking about the white-haired youth.

"Who does that guy think he is? He's acting like some pompous dragon over there." One man grumbled, idly poking the fire with the tip of a skinning knife.

"Shhhh! Quiet! Don't you know who that is? That's the golden one's personal hunter! He's brought down more Maji then you have hairs on your head! They even say he's immortal. No one knows how old he is but some even say that he appeared with the golden ones when we first threw back our masters." A wiry man with quick nervous eyes replied, glancing quickly over his shoulder to make sure the youth hadn't heard him.

"And you believe that shit? Those are wisps tales, nothing more. Heck I've even heard that there's a wolfbrother left in these woods. Do you believe that one too?" The first man retorted in a mocking tone.

"I… well… that is completely different!" The second man stuttered. A wave of laughter came from the hunters around the fire.

"Wisps tales my friend, nothing more." The first man repeated.

As Arin had been listening she had slowly been moving forward on a firm but long and slender branch. The problem was that she hadn't noticed exactly how far she had gone and was now dangling above the river below. That alone wouldn't have been a problem but at that moment a strong gust of wind blew over the clearing. It was as if a firedrake was landing nearby and as it passed it put out the hunters' campfire, blew over their cooking pot, and knocked her out of her tree.

She yelled as she fell and landed in the stream like a rock. A noisy, swearing, flailing rock. She quickly regained herself in the water and swam to her side of the river as fast as she could. She crawled onto the land and immediately took off as fast as she could for the forest. She didn't look back to see her impact on the hunters, she didn't need to. She could hear them.

"What the hell was that?"

"Dear Golden ones, that was a wolfbrother! Did you see those ears?!"

"W-wolfbrother?"

"Ha! There are your wisp's tales my friend. I told you!"

"Hey, where's that white haired kid?"

The voices were lost to her after that but she didn't care much, no human could ever keep up with her let alone catch her once she was in the woods. After a few minutes she slowed down to caught her breath. She was reflecting on the stupidity of what she had just done when she suddenly heard something.

Had one of the humans followed her? No, that was impossible no matter what way you looked at it. It must-

An arrow flew past her head and nicked a griffin feather tied in her hair. It embedded itself into a tree where her head had been seconds ago.

She was alert immediately, her fatigue forgotten. One of them must have followed her, but how? And where was he? She tired to listen for him but the forest was eerily quiet, and so was the hunter. Her sensitive ears heard only silence. Suddenly there was another sound. She moved instinctively trying to avoid the arrow; unable to determine where it was coming from. But this time she wasn't so lucky. She screamed in pain as the arrow bit savagely into the flesh of her shoulder. She fought back tears as she tried to grip the arrow and wrench it from her shoulder joint, but her hand kept slipping on the blood. Her blood. She had never been hurt like this before and the pain was overwhelming, it was all she could think about, all her mind would accept. She didn't even notice as the hunter crept up behind her, hunting knife in hand, until it was too late. All she caught was a glint of steel and a flash of white, and then it all went black.

***

The first thing she felt when she woke up was the large bump the broad side of the hunter's knife had left on the back of her head. The second thing she felt was confusion over where she was, the third was an overwhelming fear as she remembered. She was in the wagon the hunters had been dragging behind them. Even in the darkness she could smell the dried blood of things that had been in her situation before her. Their fear, their pain, their death, all floated up to greet her as she awoke. No light shone through the cracks in the hard wood of the wagon and Arin realized that she had been unconscious for a good part of the day and maybe a good part of the night as well. The wagon was moving slowly, pulled by two of the hunters in the front. Humans had tried to tame Maji to pull their wagons in the past, but all attempts had resulted the same way, the humans dead and the Maji escaping. So until the humans could come up with something better, they pulled their own wagons.

She tried to move to peer out one of the cracks in the wood but as soon as she moved pain shot up her shoulder and she drew her breath in sharply. Her hands and feet were tied so she couldn't escape, but at the same time it prevented her from tending to her shoulder, which was stuck to the wagon wall with her dried blood. She was afraid to move it in case she broke open her wound again. So she stayed where she was, propped up against the wagon wall on her injured shoulder, thinking about the stupid situation she had gotten herself into. She had done many risky things in her life, like sneaking into a human city with Obsidian when they were young and eating half of the humans' food, but she had always, always been able to get herself out of it. No matter how much trouble she was in or how high the odds were against her. It was like her own special majik of avoiding consequence. But this time it was different. This was serious; this was something she was probably not going to live through. She had heard the stories of what humans did to live Maji when they caught them, and it wasn't pretty. If you were lucky you ended up in one of the humans' entertainment things called a circus, living out the rest of your life performing like a slave to entertain crowds of the disgusting creatures. And if you weren't lucky… well she didn't want to think about it. But one thing was for sure in her mind, no more days of sitting carefree at the base of her willow.

Suddenly the wagon came to a stop and Arin gritted her teeth as pressure was forced on her shoulder. The hunters had stopped and two of them were arguing.

" I say we go to Sarnia, it's got the best Maji market in the realms and I'm sure every collector there would pay his entire fortune for a wolfbrother. We'd clean up in a city like that."

"Sarnia? Are you kidding? Sure it's got a market for Maji but what we have is no ordinary Maji. We should go strait to the rich government center, Stellus. The poorest patrons there have twice the amount of money any collector has. And I'm sure no one would turn down the offer of a wolfbrother as a slave, or maybe something else…" The voice ended in a sinister hiss that made Arin's skin crawl.

"Stellus? The only thing the government uses its money for is bribing others to stay in office. I say we go to Sarnia, the Maji central of the known world."

"No, we should go to Stellus."

"No, Sarnia."

"Stellus."

"Sarnia."

"Stellus."

"Sarn-"

"Shut up you fools! We're going to the Golden City to present this wolfbrother to the Golden Gods themselves." A deep voice rasped harshly. There was a long moment of silence as if the men were uncertain of what to do but then the wagon started moving again and Arin braced herself as pain shot up her shoulder.

Nothing more was said between the hunters for the rest of the night. Arin, already tired with the day's excitement, was done in by the gentle rocking of the wagon and fell asleep almost instantly. Dreaming she was being rocked in Silvari's soft wings like she had when she was a baby.

***

6 days remaining

When she awoke small beams of light were peaking through the boards of the wagon, illuminating the bloodstains on the floor she had only been able smell before. Sounds were all around her: people shouting, the sounds of more wagons and the general sound of a bustling market place. Apparently they had arrived at the Golden City while she had slept. She had heard of the Golden City before. It was the human capital, so deep in the human lands that no Maji had even been there and come back alive. It was also the place where the "Golden Gods" lived, the famous three beings that claimed to be the humans' gods. The Maji called them the false ones however, seeing that according to legend all the gods, Maji or no had died long ago. Assuming of course that they even had existed at all, no one was sure. It's not like you could go up to one of them and ask if they were real or not. Not unless you believed that the False Ones were really Gods. Which, according to every Maji in the realms, they were not.

Her body was stiff from sleeping on the hard wooden floor. Her shoulder wound was swollen and caked in newly dried blood, having sometime in the night broken free from the wagon wall and started bleeding anew. Her head pounded with every beating of her heart and her arm was numb from the shoulder down, but it was light out and even that little bit of brightness found a way into her troubled heart and gave her hope. She thought of happier times in the Griffin village, before she knew of the council, humans, wolfbrothers or any other of those things that made life so complicated and unpleasant. She went back to the days when she could just play with Obsidian and the other griffins, before she knew she was different. Oh how she wished she could just go back to those carefree days. It had all seemed so boring and pointless to her then, but now… what she wouldn't do to have just a little bit of that back.

She hadn't noticed while she was thinking but the market sounds had been steadily getting farther and farther away until all she could hear was a steady hum of distant activity, like a bee hive you know is close but you can't find it. It was at that moment that the wagon stopped moving and two men started arguing. She recognized one of the voices from last night; it was the one who wanted to go to the Golden City.

"Let me in Raul, this is important."

"No Skaine, the Golden one is not to be disturbed." A hollow voice replied firmly.

"Com'on Raul, this is me! Not one of those two bit trappers. What I have is the real deal, the…" The man hesitated noticeably here. He seemed to be having trouble getting out the next word. "…Golden one in going to want to see this."

"No, make an appointment like everybody else."

"But what I have may not last that long."

"Do I care?"

"Your Master might care if you let the very last wolfbrother pass through his fingers."

"W-wolfbrother? Did you say wolfbrother?"

"Of course I could always take my find to one of the other…" he hesitated again. "…Golden ones, I'm sure their advisors would let me through." A pause followed and then a long period of silence.

"Alright, alright I'll let you in. But you'll have to come right away, before the Golden One's evenings appointments."

"Ha! Thank you Raul, you won't regret this!"

"Yeah, yeah, just make sure I won't alright?"

"Hey don't worry Raul, no one knows wolves like me!"

She then heard the sound of a door closing and a clinking sound she recognized as heavy chains. The hunter was whistling as he went about his work, doing other things she could only guess at as he made strange noises that she could not identify. He sounded like he enjoyed his work. Then suddenly he stopped whistling and the door to the wagon opened. Bright light flooded the dark space and Arin shielded her eyes from the burning brightness. The hunter was outlined against the doorway, making his hair and body turn black. And for a second Arin thought he looked familiar but as her eyes adjusted she saw that it was just the white haired youth, cold violet eyes never wavering. He held a collection of chains and manacles in his hands.

He silently attached the chains to her feet and hands, cutting the rope that had been there before so that she could walk. He said nothing and she said nothing in return. Arin doubted anything she could say at that moment would do her any good. He lead her out of the wagon by a chain attached to her hand manacles, not stopping to let her stretch out her legs or work out the stiffness. He locked the wagon and Arin got the impression that they weren't coming back, not her at least. The room the wagon was in was some kind of open-air arena, with other wagons parked on the soft sand floor. There was no sign of the other hunters. They didn't stay there long however but instead left through a pair of double doors she supposed the man called Raul had left through. They passed through countless passages, each like the one before until Arin thought she was hopelessly lost but the hunter always seemed to know where he was going. Finally they came to a pair of huge double doors. They were beautifully carved with scenes of the humans beating back their enemies, the humans in gold and their adversaries in silver inlaid in a background of white gold and red gold. A rainbow of crystals from all shaped and sizes decorated the doors and despite all she was about to face and already had, Arin couldn't help but think they were the most beautiful things she had ever seen. It amazed her how such violent creatures like humans seemed to be could create things of such beauty, perhaps there really was more to them then Charak claimed. They finally came to a stop in front of those doors and the hunter took a moment to speak to her.

"You are about to enter the audience chamber of one of the council of three. Keep your whit's and don't do anything stupid or we may both lose our heads."

"What if I choose to lose our heads?" Arin asked. She didn't really mean to, it just came out before she could stop it. The hunter looked at her coldly.

"There are a lot worse things then being dead you know." He replied flatly. Arin said nothing. Just then the huge doors opened just a crack and the head of a man appeared. He was a small stooped man with large eyes; a weak chin and a hooked nose that made him look like a bird.

"Come in hunter, the Golden one may see you now." The little man said in a hollow voice. Even before the hunter said his name, she knew that little man was the Raul she had heard earlier.

"I am honored by the great one Raul." The hunter replied, bowing gracefully. Raul swung the doors open wide, although how such a little man could summon the strength to move those massive doors just baffled her.

At first the difference between the dark corridor and the bright chamber blinded her, and once she could see the room's utter brilliance nearly blinded her again. The walls were covered in vast colorful murals depicting humans doing various things she could only guess at. And what wasn't a mural was a mirror reflecting the light that came through a great window on the ceiling. A vast system of mirrors lit up the entire room and made it appear as if the sun itself was hidden somewhere in the vast chamber. Gold statues surrounded the room as well, at least she thought they were statues but then she realized that they were actually men who wore all gold and had painted their skin with some sort of paint. They didn't move, it didn't even look like they needed to breathe. And everything was outlined in gold, the murals, the mirrors and the very walls themselves. All gold, inlaid with beautiful gems that sparkled in the sunlight, further lighting up the room. It was like the doors only grander, much grander. Looking at the splendor she could understand why the humans would call the False ones the "Golden Gods." She was so caught up in the room in fact, that she didn't notice the blonde man atop one of the three magnificent golden thrones until he spoke.

"Advisor who are these you bring before your God?" the man asked. His voice was a deep and commanding one that echoed across the vast chamber. It was a voice that you couldn't help but obey. The man himself was perhaps the tallest human she had ever seen. He was taller then her by a good two feet even though she was taller then most humans despite her young age. He had bleached blond hair that almost looked white in the bright room and he had deep blue eyes. His eyes almost looked black they were so dark. But he still looked like a human, like every other man she had ever seen. Except for one thing, he felt wrong. Everything in the world had a feeling to her, a certain rhythm that each individual gave out and identified him or her. Sometimes she could even tell something about the person by the vibe that they gave out. But this man gave out nothing, not even a whimper. The silence of his soul unnerved her.

"I bring you the hunter Skaine and his unusual catch, O Golden One." Raul replied, bowing so gracefully that his forehead seemed to touch the floor. Then suddenly two of the statue guards moved and opened a pair of doors at the opposite end of the chamber and out appeared the other hunters who had been in the party. They looked a lot cleaner then they had in the forest.

"And the other hunters responsible for Skaine's marvelous hunt." Raul exclaimed as the other ten hunters or so crowded behind Skaine, but still a reasonable distance from him. Then two of the golden guards stepped to either side of her and grabbed her arms, nearly lifting her off the ground and making her bite down on her tongue to avoid from screaming in pain. They held her as Skaine let go of the chain lead and stepped forward, bowing just as gracefully as Raul and began to address the Golden One.

"My most gracious lord, I present to you the last of the Wolf people." He stepped aside at which point the two men holding her pushed her forward and down on her knees. Her shoulder wouldn't allow her to try to resist them, so she simply gritted her teeth and waited for her fate to be decided. The False One studied her for a moment and she met his gaze, but his eyes revealed nothing to her. They were empty and soulless. She shivered.

"Does she please you my lord?" Skaine asked, although already sure of the answer. "She is the last, our race is finally free of the Wolf threat." The false one shifted his gaze to Skaine slowly and replied in a voice filled with emptiness. "She does please me Skaine… but you lie when you tell me she is the last. There is one more." Then a small mocking smile spread across the Golden God's face, a cold emotionless smile. Skaine's eyes widened.

Two more golden men from the wall suddenly leapt to life on some hidden command from their master and seized Skaine's arms like they had Arin's. The hunting party seemed frozen in surprise and did nothing to either help Skaine or condemn him. The two men pushed Skaine to his knees and from one of the few shadowy corners in the room Raul appeared with a knife spread across his open palms. He looked down at Skaine and smiled cruelly. The False One beckoned Raul forward and took the knife from his palms. He then stood up from his golden chair and walked over to Skaine, knife in hand. He held the knife above Skaine's head and for a second Arin thought he was going to crack the hunter's skull open, but then he brought the knife down slowly and deliberately, slipping the blade between Skaine's head and the wrapping's he kept around it. In one swift movement the False one jerked the knife forward and the broken cloth fell slowly to the ground. The entire room gasped, including her. Skaine's ears were mutilated. It looked as if someone had taken a dull knife and slowly hacked away until they looked vaguely roundish. But that wasn't why the room gasped, you could tell by the way they had been cut that Skaine's ears had once been pointed.

All at once the room erupted with the shouts of men. The hunters were voicing their outrage, shouting things like "traitor", "wolf", "kill him", and worse things that I won't mention. The False one smiled and Skaine shut his eyes tightly, lowering his head with an inner defeated sadness.

"My people please," The False one began. The room quieted instantly. "Hold in your anger. Do not worry, this wolf in human clothing will be dealt with, as is our custom. Tomorrow they will be burned in front of the shrine at high noon. You, of course, will all be rewarded justly for bringing these two to me, and this burning shall be held in your honor. You will be heroes among men."

The hunters appeared satisfied with words as most fools do, and slowly filed out of the audience chamber at Raul's insistence. Leaving Arin, Skaine, the False God and his False guards alone. The False one still wore his cold smile and leaned down to Skaine who still had his eyes shut in quiet shame. "Really Skaine, just how long did you think you could keep your secret? I told you this day would come, your usefulness had ended." The False one then patted Skaine's head as he might a dog that's done something bad but didn't know any better. Then he addressed his guards. "Do with him as you like just make sure he's down in that cell by night watch. Oh and don't kill him or it'll be your carcasses on that pyre tomorrow." The men nodded wordlessly as if they'd heard the threat before and dragged Skaine to his feet. Before they left Skaine opened his eyes once and met Arin's gaze. His eyes spoke of warning to her but also of something else she couldn't quite figure out. For a brief second he looked like someone different to her, someone hidden behind those cold eyes of ice. But then he was passed her and through the doors that they had come in. The double doors closed sharply and loudly, and a sound like that of an executioners axe echoed through the empty hall. Arin winced.

"Now Wolf, it is you I have been searching for all this time. Skaine is but a foolish pawn I used to flush you out. He is of no importance to me. You however have some information for me. Come, we shall talk in more… appropriate quarters." The false one said in his empty voice, all trace of mocking emotion showed over Skaine vanished. He turned his back to her and walked toward a small door that she thought at first was part of the mural, but was apparently not as he opened it and Arin's guards dragged her to her feet and past the false one into the room.

Before the door closed behind her, she heard Skaine scream.

***

For the second time that day the peace of the forest was being disturbed. But this time it was not the sound of firendly gossip which shook their ancient broughs, but a sound that had not been heard on the hallowed grounds since a blood red sun had hung in the shy. It was the sound of war, or at least the preperations for one. Griffins darted between the ancient trunks clashing with razor beaks and talons, each trying to best the other and chance being noticed by the one watching their training exercise. Obsidian felt more alive then he had ever in his life. The sounds of griffins clashing and shouting filled the air He wasn't in battle yet, he knew that, but the training was like a bittersweet taste of what was to come. And he couldn't wait. He hadn't seen his mother or Arin in at least a day now but that didn't bother him. He knew that they didn't agree with what he was doing and if they were immature enough to give him the silent treatment then he didn't want to talk to them either. Besides, there were plenty of griffins that agreed with him and they were willing enough to talk to him. So willing in fact that they'd made him their leader, considering that Silvari, their previous leader, had no interest in the griffin army whatsoever. Obsidian was the very first Griffin general in the history of the griffin race. Just thinking about it made his chest swell with pleasure and his head swell with something else.

"General, general Obsidian?" A voice broke him out of his pleasurable thoughts. One of the griffins had broke rank. He was a young griffin, with hot blood and an eagerness to get on with life. Obsidian had liked him immediately.

"Yes Indis?"

"Sir! The troops have finished with their training and we were wondering if we could be dismissed sir, seeing as the great sun has set many hours ago." Indis seemed to enjoy using the technical words the dragons had taught them. Obsidian could relate, using the military lingo was half the fun.

" Alright Indis, tell the troops they are dismissed. But make sure to be here early tomorrow, the humans won't give us any room for mistakes."

"Yes sir!" The griffin exclaimed, evidently pleased. He left Indis to tell the other griffins and Obsidian decided to head out for home. That, of course, meant the undesirable business of having to talk to his mother, but he realized that he couldn't go on not talking to her for the week until the war. So he might as well puff out his chest and face his mother like a griffin.

But just incase, he decided to pick up Arin on his way home. Perhaps he could convince her that the war was the only way, and then it would be twice as easy to convince their mother. Yes, that was a good idea. And even if he couldn't convince Arin, simply having her there would probably soften his mother a bit. It had always worked before. His mother had a soft spot for Arin that he could only envy. He had to admit that he was a bit jealous of his sister, but that feeling had never gone farther then jealousy. He liked his sister as much as his mother did; it was hard not to like Arin.

Her willow and the river came into view on the horizon and he half expected Arin to be waiting for him. She had such good hearing she probably would've known he was coming several miles away. But when he got there she was no where in sight. He couldn’t imagine Arin walking all the way back home, not only was it far but Arin never left her tree while she was thinking. And that seemed to be all anyone was doing after Charak's announcement.

Then he noticed something on the other side of the river, something that he had only seen a few times before in his life, something that chilled his blood. The remains of a campfire. Only one race made such things, the humans. Around the dead fire were bits of discarded food, broken weapons and a few empty tanning racks. There had been humans here, and they had been a hunting party. And what ever they had caught, they had to empty their wagon for it.

Obsidian was frantic. Arin knew better then to go near humans, let alone human hunters by herself, right? Then again knowing what was right and what was wrong was completely different form actually acting on it. And Arin had never exactly been known for her good judgement on such matters. But would she be crazy enough to approach the hunters? That question burned on his mind. No, he was overreacting. She was probably home with Silvari, talking about Charak's decision and thinking up ways to doom Obsidian and his ideas. They did that a lot. Yes, that was it. The hunters had just come later.

Satisfied with his logic he headed home once again. But for a reason he didn't want to think about, he was flying faster then before and was eager to make it home.

***

The place the false god had taken her was very different from the majestic audience chamber. She got a disturbing feeling at that moment that very few individuals who had come to see the inside of that room were still alive today. It was a trophy room. A hellish museum decorated with the souls and blood of her Maji brethren. The walls were plastered in hides, so many in fact that it looked as if the walls were one creature, its pelt a horrible mixture of other creatures suffering and sorrow. The skulls of dragons were fixed on the walls holding up torches to light the dim room, because no windows penetrated the inky dread of the chamber. Arin felt her blood run cold as she saw stuffed griffins on display pedestals, their bodies positioned in fierce actions Arin had never seen a live griffin do in her life. Stuffed merfolk and sea dragons hung from the ceiling as if still alive and gliding through their watery home. Unicorn and pegusi heads were displayed on plaques on the walls, each with a look of fear permanently plastered on their motionless faces. And all of them had the same cold dead eyes. Arin was utterly terrified, she couldn't even breath. Was she to become one of these living dead? Never to see the light of day again but to become a statue of flesh for the False One to admire until the end of time.

"Do you like my collection Wolf?" The False god asked, the mocking smile on his face again. "Your friend Skaine contributed most of my collection. He was quite a hunter you know, such a shame about his… heritage." The false one moved over to a desk made of ancient oak wood and covered in the beautiful silvery pelt of a unicorn. There he sat down and motioned Arin to have a seat on a griffin pelt chair across from him. She didn't move, there was no way she was sitting on the skin of one of her brothers. Unfortunatly she wasn't exactly in a situation where she had a choice and when she didn't move ,the two golden men picked her up and deposited her there, letting her go but making sure it was known that if she tried to escape they would hurt her.

"Now wolf, tell me where they are." The god demanded.

"What? Where what are?" She asked, generally curious. She had no idea what information she could possible have that the false one didn't already know.

"What do you think dog, the Wolfbrother histories! What else could I possibly be looking for?" he was getting impatient. Arin was afraid of what might happen if the false one got angry but she really had no idea what he was talking about. What histories?

"Uh… I really don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't lie to me wolf! Those histories hold the very secret of life. Everything that has happened since the beginning of time is in those books, including the beginning of the humans. I need those histories and since you are the only Wolfbrother left then you must have them. I warn you your life may depend upon your next answer." He sounded like he was getting angry now. But Arin still had no idea what he was talking about. And the way he was describing them it sounded like the false one really needed them. Which meant she couldn't let him have them, even though she didn't exactly know where they were anyway.

"Why don't you ask Skaine false one?" She replied stubbornly. Surprisingly, the false one laughed.

"Do you still call us that, false ones?"

"It fits you doesn't it?" She exclaimed boldly. She had decided that either she was going to die in that room at that moment or tomorrow in a flash of fire. She might as well go with her pride intact, and show the false one that she wasn't afraid of a thing like him.

"Ha, ha. A bold little thing aren't you? You majiks are so foolish; it is you who are false. We are the true gods here. This is the humans land, it is you who are unnatural here."

Arin's face heated with anger. How dare he accuse the Maji of such a thing!

"You are wrong false god, this is our land, both human and Maji. You are the unnatural one here, I can sense your difference. I don't know why you're here or where you're from but I know I will do all in my power to kill you!" She exclaimed angrily. The false one laughed again, a long deep arrogant laugh.

"Kill me? Now that is funny wolf. You cannot even touch me, and come tomorrow it won't even matter because you, and your race, will be dead." He stopped for a moment and appeared to be considering something. Abruptly, he dismissed the guards standing next to her and they quickly left the room. Arin considered trying to kill him right then and there but she doubted a man like him would chance being left alone with her unless he had the means in which to defend himself.

"You've amused me wolf and since you won't exactly have a chance to share this information, I'll level with you. You're right, the three of us are not the human's gods, in fact we're not even from this place. We're from a race that live on another level compared to you Maji and humans. We don't have a true physical form but instead… live in the wind you could say. We can travel from place to place like this, blown along by fate. And when we reach a world we take physical form to blend in there."

"But why are you here? What purpose could you possibly have?"

"Ha, now that is a little easier to explain wolf. You see our race lives exponentially long lives, even compared to you Woldbrothers. And an eternity of life can become very boring if you don't make a little entertainment for yourself." The god spoke very frankly, as if he'd said the same thing many times before.

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that we're here just to screw up your lives for entertainment. This is a game to us. Your world is no different from any of the others we have visited in the past. The universe is one giant playground to us to do with as we will. So wolf, do you now understand why your threat means nothing to me? You are not that special, millions of worlds have fallen before us with races so powerful you could not even imagine but even they could not save themselves from certain doom. You see wolf every race, every world has a need to fight. All we do is help them along." Arin couldn't speak; her mind was racing to understand all that the false one had just said. Was it even true? Could it be? The false one waited patiently, apparently enjoying the shocked and confused expression on her face. Finally Arin managed to say something, but she couldn't hide the fear in her voice.

"You… can't. The council… the council will stop you!"

"Foolish girl, have you heard nothing of what I have said. Who do you think is starting the war for me?"

Arin was silent.

The god sighed. "You tire me wolf, and it would appear that you know nothing about the histories after all, or you would know this already. A pity, all that work for nothing." He called in the guards again who swiftly seized her arms and yanked her out of the griffin chair, which she was very thankful for.

As she was leaving the room the false one called after her one last time. "Enjoy the rest of the day wolf, it will be your last."

***

As her guards took her to wherever her destination lay, her mind reeled with questions and very few answers. She couldn't comprehend why any living creature would find pleasure in the suffering of others. And what would they gain if the Maji and humans made war? Sure one of them would be destroyed but the other would survive and if it were the Maji that survived, the false ones would be in trouble. But maybe they were willing to make that gamble, or maybe they had something that was sure to swing the war in their favor. No matter which way she looked at it the false one's actions just didn't make sense in her mind.

Her guards took her through many different corridors although for all she knew it could have just been one, they all looked alike. The walls were made of stone and were roughly cut and uneven unlike the False one's great audience chamber. It looked as if very few people ever came down where she was going. She had a chilling thought that even fewer returned. Finally they came to a dimly lit cold stone room. There was one lone cell partially hidden in the shadow of the room. It seemed to flicker in and out of existence, as did the flame of a single torch mounted on the wall. The only sound that could be heard was the slow drip of some unknown source of water. It was here that her guards left her. They tossed her casually behind the rusted iron bars and extinguished the torch as they left. It hissed in denial as the guards close the door to the jail room and promptly locked it Apparently they didn't feel a guard was necessary. Arin landed hard on her shoulder wound and it spit open again and began to bleed. She realized that she could tend to it now but it seemed kind of pointless if she was going to die tomorrow. So instead she leaned against the cold stone floor and tried to make sense of what had just happened. A dim light shone through a crack on the heavy wooden board on the high ceiling and fell across a pool of fluid on the floor. She studied it for a moment, letting her thoughts wander. How was she going to escape? It seemed impossible to her but she knew she had to. She had to share what she had learned with someone.

The pool rippled.

She had to warn the council of what was happening! Yet, if what the false one said was true then it was really the council who was causing all this in the first place. It had seemed strange to her that the council would run into an all out war with the humans. But if she couldn't talk to the council then who could she talk to?

The dripping continued, disturbing her thoughts for a moment. And what about that hunter?

Suddenly she noticed something, the pool on the floor had been growing but not like water, it seemed… thicker somehow.

The dripping continued.

She leaned forward and ran her finger through it. It felt oily and strangely hot on her skin.

The dripping continued.

When she brought it close to her face it smelt acidic and slightly sour. There was only one thing she knew that smelt like that.

Blood.

The dripping continued.

Suddenly she noticed a sound that was barley audible before, like a gentle breeze working it's way through the rafters of an old room, but more rhythmic. Someone was breathing, and not too well. Someone was in the cell with her. Cautiously she crawled forward in the darkness. The cell had seemed like a dark endless pit and without the sliver of light it was difficult to see in the blackness. But she knew she was getting closer, the knees of her leggings were soaked with blood. Then abruptly her hand hit something in the dark and she stopped. She squinted in the inky blackness and waited for her eyes to adjust. The dripping was very loud now. When her eyes finally adjusted she made out what was bleeding and what she had bumped into. She gasped.

It was the hunter, Skaine.

At that moment she could have killed him. It would have been so easy, he already looked to be on death's doors, the guards must have beat him within an inch of his life. And he certainly deserved it if even half of what the false one had said about him was true. But she kept looking at those ears, and she couldn't bring herself to do it. A part of her wanted to… but he was like her, and to kill in cold blood… she just couldn't bring herself to do it. He looked so peaceful lying there, it was almost as if she was no longer alone in the world, at least she felt like it. With a bit of reluctance she pulled up beside him and with the clothing from her blood soaked leggings, she began to tend to his bleeding wounds. She just hoped that when he woke up, he wouldn't kill her.

***