Halston

The snow fell, a cold sheet of death over the now homeless people. It had been days since the barbaric tribes invaded their peaceful town. Killing everyone who could no escape fast enough. Many of the elderly had already passed. They did everything they could to survive.
They had to be careful. If they lit fires they could be seen by the barbarians. Many of them carried white pelts to blend with the snow. Soldiers took shifts sleeping and watched over the camp. They were well trained, just greatly outnumbered. Halston stood at the edge of the camp staring back in the direction of his old home. He was stronger in the harsh cold than even the disciplined soldiers.
For many years he was forced to survive in the harsh colds. Halston was not from the town as were the others, but was well recognized there. He didn’t even know where he was born. His first memory was waking up in a field of snow beaten and weak. The boy would have died if not for his rescuer Balderei.
His vision was fading and he grew cold, he knew he was about to slip into a darkness from which he would never return. Too weak to even turn his head, the boy watched as a wolf pup approached him. The pup had wandered away from its mother and had stumbled across the dying child. Halston heard the howls in the distance and hoped he would be gone before the wolves found their pup, and him.
He lie helpless as he saw another, full grown, wolf approaching from the dark forest. The wolf had found her pup, and a helpless boy. The boy slipped into unconsciousness as he watched the wolf approach him. He awoke surrounded by wolves. Right at his side was the pup and his mother. The wolves nursed him back to health and the boy stayed with them from then on.
He learned many things from the wolves. How to hunt and track; he learned a name. When he awoke in the midst of the wolves he had nothing more than tattered clothes and a broken sword. The sword was now dagger length. It was a basic weapon with nothing that stood out, no symbols or special markings.
There was however a name engraved into the hilt; Halston. It was the only name
he remembered hearing, and so he took it as his own. That weapon, a broken sword, was the only weapon he ever used. When someone asked him why he didn’t get a new one he answered “Balderei has his claws, and I have mine.”
The boy lived with the wolves for nearly two years, learning the ways of the wild. They lived in peace until the first of the barbarians arrived. They attacked with unmatchable strength. Halston’s conscious was replaced with instinct, and he ran. He didn’t even know how long or how far he had run, but when he stopped and turned around the only thing he was a single wolf. He knew now that if this wolf hadn’t found him he would be dead, it was this wolf that had saved him, that had led his mother to him. Though he never thought of the wolf much before he had learned he had found a loyal companion, he had found Balderei.
They lived in the wilderness for nearly three years before finding the town. They stumbled in, drawing concerned looks from the town’s people who wouldn’t go near the two. One man had taken the two in. He was an aged man. He too had spent a majority of his life in the wilderness and he was very wise. He didn’t speak much, but when he did people listened. Halston came to know him as his father.
He was a shamanistic man, attuned with nature. He provided food and shelter for the boy and his companion. Every day they helped the town and the people began to greatly respect them. The two lived there for a few years before those who chased them from their family had arrived to chase them from their home.
Their numbers were larger this time. Massive compared to those he had run from. The townspeople naturally turned to them when they were thrown into the cold, the shaman and the hunters. Halston was a man now, able to fend for himself without the help of others, but he would never leave the side of his friend.
Halston looked at Balderei, sleeping beside Kailias. Kailias was found following the two home from a hunting trip a few months before the attack. Halston recognized her from the pack by the scar on her leg. She too was a pup then, but had grown into a fierce hunter like Balderei.
Balderei had been spending more time with her lately, but Halston didn’t mind. She was going to have his pups. Halston still wondered how she had survived, and whenever he though of it he felt the guilt of running from his family instead of defending them. He lived everyday wondering. Wondering who he was and where he had come from, though he could never really decide whether he truly wanted to know.
It would be dawn soon and they would have to move. They didn’t know where they were going; they only wanted to leave the land. The shaman was always the first awake. Every morning he would meditate for a short while and would then advise Halston of the best course and of possible danger. “There will be a storm tonight.” The shaman said. “We need to find shelter.”
He told Halston of the path to the shelter they sought. When it was time they began their hike through the trees. Halston pulled his bear skin cloak around himself tightly. It was a full skin, nearly perfect except for the tears in the hood from Balderei’s claws.
The two wolves walked beside the hunter, neither falling back nor advancing further. This was how it always was; the companions never left each other’s sides, not unless there was a fight. When a fight did come Kailias would fall behind to protect her unborn pups and Balderei and Halston would fight, never failing to protect the others. The hunter and his companion could never be beaten; there had never been a pair as fierce as them.
It was still day when they arrived at the cave. Halston saw the opportunity to hunt for the people. Kailias stayed behind and waited as the hunters set out. She worried when it grew dark and they didn’t return. She could sense the storm approaching. They finally arrived, just minutes before the storm.
In the safety of the cave fires could be lit. For once in many days the people were warm. The bear the two had brought back along with what they already had was enough to feed the survivors. Halston didn’t speak much; he usually just sat near the entrance to the tunnel with the two wolves waiting to see the trees through the snow.
The storm lasted for two days, but the relief when it was over was short lived. There were more caves near by and there were others taking shelter in the area. They came quickly, discovered with the scream of a dying soldier. All capable of fighting took positions ready to defend the others.
The barbarians had the advantage. They were bigger, stronger, and had a much higher morale. The soldiers fell quickly and the only option for survival was retreat. And so they did. Halston looked for the wolves. Kailias stood in the open, growling at a barbarian who had an axe ready to strike.
He brought the axe down. “NO!” Halston yelled, though he wasn’t heard through the screams of the others. In a split second a figure jumped in front of Kailias. Swinging at the large barbarian, the figure managed to scratch a three deep cuts right through the barbarians face, but not before taking a fatal blow from the axe. Kailias managed to slip away. “B…Balderei” Halston said.
He wanted to run to the wolf’s side but couldn’t, he had to escape. When they had left the barbarians they continued to hike to a new shelter. Halston, usually at the front of the group was now at the back. Kailias tried to walk by him but he wouldn’t let her and pushed her away. He walked alone, his cloak pulled tight and his face covered.
It was nearly night when they found shelter in another cave. The cave split into different sections. Halston sat in the farthest section alone, pushing Kailias away whenever she tried to comfort him. So she lay at the entrance to the small room.
The soldiers hunted. Though they were not too good at it they still managed to keep the people fed, but Halston rarely ate. They were there for days, waiting for the hunter to lead them again. After a while it stopped snowing altogether. Many of the survivors stayed outside, tired of the dark cave.
Halston finally came out and the people just looked at him, watching, and waiting. He spoke to no one. Later that night Halston lit a fire outside, and no one questioned him. As he expected he heard the crunch of snow. Three barbarians ran in but were cut down by the soldiers. Finally Halston saw a barbarian that stood out from any he had ever seen.
His face was cut and he was wearing a hood made from wolf skin. This angered the hunter to the point where he couldn’t control himself. He leaped for the barbarian swinging wildly and nearly avoiding the worn axe. The barbarian thought he had the advantage until he saw the fire in the hunter’s eyes. The brute clipped him on the back sending him down on one knee beside the barbarian.
Halston saw his chance. He swung and carved a deep line into the back of the barbarian’s leg then came up and plunged his sword into the beast’s heart. He watched the barbarian fall dead. He took the wolf skin cloak and walked aimlessly into the darkness. “Halston!” The shaman cried “Come back! It storms again tonight!”
But he didn’t listen and he kept walking. Kailias, knowing the danger, followed him, never wishing to leave his side. He walked until he finally collapsed, the darkness taking him. He awoke in a snow burrow. Beside him lay Kailias, unbreathing. He sat still, physically and emotionally beaten. He had lost both of his friends.
Around her lay five pups, though four of them had died during the storm and only one remained. It was a male; Halston held it and thought of a name for the pup. “Balderei.” He announced. He took the wolf pelt and laid it beside Kailias. He left the burrow and collapsed the entrance hoping to keep animals out and began to walk.
After a few days of walking he reached a large city. When he arrived he found a familiar face. “Halston!” The shaman yelled “You lived. Where’s Kailias?” he asked. Halston didn’t answer, he only held up the pup. The shaman knew what had happened. “I see.” He said. “The king of this city is readying his army and has sent messengers to near by cities. They will march at the end of the week. The barbarians will fall.”
Halston still said nothing. Since then he rarely spoke. When he did it was because he needed to say something important or because he was speaking to Balderei. He didn’t help re take the town. He instead cared for the pup. And just as his old friend, the hunter and the wolf never left each other’s sides.