Wolf

In ancient lands there are great creatures such as the Dragon, the phoenix, and the tiger. In ours, there is the wolf.

Groups of men hurried to and fro beneath the coming storm. The smell of leather and horses was swept away by the swirling winds, caught in snatches between the smell of coming rain. They were people of the land, with brown skin and brown hair. They‘re way of life was to overcome these wide and open lands. To have the stamina and hardness to travel places that other people did not go. It was these qualities that bought them their prize.

There were many cages for trapping and holding wild animals. Large sturdy cages built of heavy steel. Designed to protect the men from the teeth and claws of furious animals, a box within a box. Amidst the bustling activity a group of four men stood idly about one beside one particular cage. Though the light had yet to fade, there was an unnatural darkness within that cage. Even so, it was plain that it was a man in that cage. He sat hunched like a great hound, his face and clothes were haggard and torn.

Beneath the rags of his black over-coat was something magnificently red. Intricate embroidery could be seen stitched upon it’s surface, but of what could not be discerned as every glimpse of the magnificent clothing was quickly hidden by the minute shifting of his body. From the shadows he looked out with one great silver eye, his right eye covered over with a leather patch.

If one were to paint his picture, his continence would have seemed merely calm. His eye never shifted about or quivered. But these men who guarded him had no allusions, for they could feel his malice.

A woman rode towards them. As soon as the beast came near it started in a frenzy of fear. The woman reigned in the animal as locks of brown hair billowed in the wind. “You there!” she shouted, “Get ready to load him.” The silver eye darted up and seemed to look straight into her. He spoke to her, “Release me.” She looked down at him with a sneer. “A creature such as you should be handed over to the state, and properly executed.” He laughed, the silver eye disappearing into the murky dark, “all for a pretty penny.” Then silver eye flicked open, “Release me, and I might feel gracious enough not to kill everyone.” His steely voice was full of menace. The men began to look nervous, but the woman was not afraid. “Do not heed the words of a mere beast.” she told them. He smiled to himself, leaning against the back of the cage. He whispered softly to himself, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”


The men loaded the cage onto the back of the cart, the normal sounds of animals crying in frustration suddenly turned into howls of fear. The horses kicked and snorted uneasily. Lesser animals would have bolted in fear, but they had been trained well. Soon enough the animals became silent and they made no noise at all. The cart started and the procession began, six carts in a line followed by a few men on horses. As sun began to set a brilliant swath of light escaped beneath the clouds and bathed everything in bloody red with the long dark shadows of each cart creeping slowly across the country side. This shadows were all that moved over that empty countryside, and soon, they became nothing as they were swallowed by the night.
The man peered out into the dark, as if he were looking for something, but all that greeted his eye was a starless night. He gave out one more longing stare, before he turned away and curled up in the bottom of the cage. It began to rain, the metallic ring of water was pounding above him. Then soon enough he was asleep.

They stopped sometime in the morning to rest. They unloaded all the animals and fed them, but not him. “Food would be wasted on a creature such as you.” She had said, but his expression did not change. His eye followed her with the promise of revenge. The few moments they let him out of his cage it was in chains and under full guard.

When those moments were gone, he was forced back into the cage. They kept him away from the animals when possible. Every time he was brought near they howled in terror, only to fall into whimpering silence. Many times the animals that traveled with him would not eat, so they were forced to do twice as much work each time they stopped moving the animals out to different carts. But the woman assured them that their extra effort would be rewarded. She always kept them moving. Many of the men began to wonder why they were in such a hurry, that they kept having to move over new ground. He knew the reason, it was a race against time.
The spring rains were moving in again, and the roads had turned to mud. Many of the carts became stuck and several minutes passed before they were able to pull free. The woman began to look worried

Then came the night and the cold. The woman relented and allowed them to stop for the night while the roads might dry. They were so tired they only off-loaded his cage and left him in a lonely corner. Sometimes when the men looked over they thought they saw a silver eye peering back, but when one tried to look again all they saw was the man’s back to them, seemingly asleep.
When morning rose the woman came to speak with him. “We are almost to the city now.” she stated. She wanted to see fear on his face, at the fate that awaited him there, but there was none.

“Do you think you’ll make it?” The woman stiffened, then stalked off without a word. It was all he could do to suppress his laughter.
That day one of the horses went wild and fell over itself, breaking off pieces of the cart in the process. The woman was furious. She jumped off her steed in a rage and worked on repairing the cart. The men ran about in fear to do her bidding. Hours later the cart was in working condition, but the woman looked broken. Her eyes kept looking to the sun and then to the man in the cage. The man could do nothing but smile to himself.

That night he was guarded. He barely noticed them, he was filled too much with glee. It was dark, the sky was clear, and he shivered in anticipation of what was to come. Then the moon peaked beyond the horizon and he retched. The guard next to him looked in confusion as the mans breathing became erratic. The man’s body shook and in almost genuine concern the guard peered into the cage, “Hey, are you alright?” The man shook even more. With a start the guard realized it was laughter. Then a silver eye peered at him from a wolfish face and he jumped back in horror. The man wheezed and laughed, “You see? You should have released me when you had the chance!” Then there was a horrible noise of wrenching steel, and from that ruin a monster emerged. The terrible Wolf of Uffrern.

The man was free and had assumed his accursed form under the full moon. He couldn’t have been happier, he killed the guards as they screamed out for help. Then as he licked the blood from his jaws and killed those who had been foolish enough to come help. Then he found the woman. His fury knew no bounds and revenge was his for the taking. He snarled and bared his teeth like the hellish creature that he was.

Even in the face of her folly, the woman was hard and strong. She turned upon the beast with a long knife in hand, and they began to circle. It started the delicate dance of beasts, the heart of warriors. Her soft step to his heavy stride. Here dark brown eyes hidden from his piercing silver. He lunged, she ducked and dodged, piecing his shoulder. He growled in pain. She shouted in defiance, “Come and get me beast, if you dare. You have no power over me.” Then the beasts body shook, she took hope and cried vengeance. “Submit and reap the rewards for your sins!” Then she heard it clearly, “HA ha ha, you know very well of sins.” She froze in horror, “No, you do not know that of which you speak!“ she yelled. The wolf came close to her, she could feel his breath on her face. “A non-believer such as yourself would never have me submit. You cannot pretend to have faith now, and that is why you will die.” In horror she cried out, but it was soon muffled as his teeth snapped over her neck. The others had come too late, yet they still tried to pierce him with weapons. He had finished what he had set out to do. He released his jaws and she fell dead. Then he fled and disappeared into the dark night.

‘Ah, to be free again.’ he thought as he shuffled through the long grass. He had enjoyed himself immensely, yet... It had not been enough. He howled and moaned, “No! I don’t need this hunger.” He looked on at the glowing moon, which had risen farther into the sky. It‘s milky color made a perfect circle in the sky. ‘Oh, what a fool, to be free.’ He thought to himself. He shook himself and thought of his recent kill. ‘Yes, that was want I wanted.” He thought, “but no more this night. I am in control of myself, it is my decision.’ and with this resolution he felt calm. It used to frighten him, how much his human nature was lost to the transformation. But he was older now, and had come to expect it. He traveled on through the night, to make good distance between the hunters and himself.

When the moon slipped over the horizon he became himself again, the haggard man who had been confined to a cage. He adjusted his clothing to be sure that the heavy fabric fell precisely into place.

He began walking. He had a long way to go. Even without a leader the Hunters would not give up so easily. If anything, it gave them further reason to hunt him. They had sought to keep him trapped behind cold iron, but they had sorely underestimated his power. He was sure they would not do so again.

He walked until he found the tracks. Miles of dark steel dividing the land in two as they made their way to the horizon. Light had yet to show in the colorless morning gloom, but he could feel the dawn coming. He waited. It was not long before the faraway cry of the great locomotive broke the silence. He crouched down in the tall grass, ignoring the dew that soaked into his clothing. The sounds of the train grew closer. The heavy creaking of cars, the occasionally squeal of metal, and the huffs and puffs of steam all became clear. The whistle sounded again, and this time it was loud and clear over the deafening sounds of the engine. The train rumbled by with a graceful ease that betrayed the deafening speed that it traveled. The man eyed it warily before he darted forward slamming against the railings, but he managed to stay on. He looked back and simply watched the landscape rush past before him and waited for the sun to rise.
The sky lit up with an array soft pinks and oranges as the sun hit the horizon and he was satisfied.