The Foretelling - Chapter One

Chapter One: Genesis

Dirt crumbled underpaw.
Come and get me! The green bowels of the
teeming forest his Ryku’s sooty pelt from view. He’ll never find me here! A small smile tugged at the corners of
the wolf pup’s mouth.
The
forest was alive and writhing with nighttime. Crickets chirped in the tall
grasses as Ryku crouched in waiting. Silver wings buzzed past him suddenly and
broke his focus. Fascinated, his gaze trailed after the dragonfly as it
shimmered away into the woods. I wonder
what it must be like to fly? Well, maybe I’ll find out someday. Dad said
everything in the world is connected. Maybe that dragonfly used to be a wolf!
Ryku
relaxed into the soft, spongy bed of mud and pine needles. Maybe I’ll be a worm in the next life. Everything would be so squishy!
Wait… His eyes bulged with realization. I’d be eating everybody’s –
“GRAR!”
“Oof!”
A burly brown wolf slammed into Ryku’s side and sent him somersaulting into the
brush. With a yelp of pain, his came to a sudden stop as a thorn bush snapped
its vicious teeth around his hindquarters. Inwardly, Ryku berated himself. I should’ve paid attention! I’ll never
beat Leif if I keep getting distracted like that!
Leif,
unscathed by the thorn bush, loomed over him with a smug grin. “What was it this
time, brother? Did a butterfly land on your nose?”
Ryku
sniffed indignantly and winced as he wrenched a curved thorn from his backside.
“Maybe I let you find me,” Ryku muttered feebly.
“Right,”
Leif grunted. “I’ll believe that the day Naren decides to sit still and be
quiet!”
Ryu
felt a hot flush of embarrassment as he stood and shook the dirt from his fur.
“You didn’t find her yet?”
Leif
chuckled under his breath. “Nope, I got to you first. She cheats, you know;
you’re not supposed to move around once you’ve picked your hiding place.”
Ryku
shrugged. “But isn’t that the point, to practice our stealth?” The black pup
dropped into a prowl with his tail wagging high in the air. With a mischievous
gleam in his eye, he settled his gaze on Leif’s back as he turned away.
“Exactly,”
Leif argued stubbornly. “If you’re really stealthy, then why would you have to
move? A grown fenris would know how to hide themselves even if they only had a
second to do it! Don’t you agree?” Leif’s ears twitched with confusion when
silence greeted his words. Half-turning, his amber eyes raked across the brush.
“Ryku? You’ve already lost; you don’t have to – OOF!”
Ryku
knocked Leif off his paws and pinned him to the ground. Howling with delight,
he snapped his teeth and inch from Leif’s neck. “If I were a grown fenris,
Leif, I would’ve snapped your neck in a blink!”
Leif
shoved Ryku roughly away and huffed in annoyance. “Sure, sure. All right,
you’ve had your moment to gloat. Come on; let’s go find that sister of ours.”
Ryku
and Leif bounded away into the woodlands, tasting the air for their sister’s
scent. Leif sprinted ahead while Ryku settled into a comfortable jog, knowing
Naren would not be easily found. Shaking his head, he recalled the time they’d
found her high in a tree, terrified of climbing back down. Mother didn’t let us out of her sight for a whole week after that!
Ryku
jumped as the undergrowth rustled boisterously beside him. A moment later, a
cream-colored she-wolf leaped out of the ferns and soared over him before
landing haphazardly on his opposite side.
“Hey!”
She barked breathlessly. “Did he find you already?”
“Yep,”
Ryku sighed. “Naren, you really should be more careful. You could hurt yourself
if you keep running around like you have wings on your paws!”
Naren
nuzzled him affectionately. “Don’t worry about me, Ryku. Worry about you. You sound like Mother for Fenrir’s
sake!”
“Found
you!” Leif, head held high with triumph, strolled casually over them with a
pleased grin spread wide across his maw.
Naren
rolled her eyes. “I wasn’t playing anymore. If I was, I wouldn’t have made it
so easy for you.”
“You’re
only saying that because I found you. Don’t be a sore loser, Naren,” Leif
chided.
“I’m
not making it up,” Naren retorted smoothly. “The moon is already at the halfway
point. Mother and Father wanted us home early tonight remember?”
Leif
grunted indignantly. “The one time you actually listened to them is the time I
happen to find you?”
Naren
shrugged indifferently. “I guess so. Sorry, brother, but it looks like you lost
tonight.”
“I
didn’t lose!” Leif huffed in annoyance. “I found Ryku, didn’t I?”
“Let’s
just call it a draw and head home,” Ryku woofed, hastily stepping between the
two. “We can play again tomorrow night and we’ll play it fair and square,
okay?”
The
two mumbled their consent, and the siblings turned their paws towards home.
When
they reached the fields that surrounded their den, the three settled down to
wait for their parents. Though the three were part of the Shanti Pack, they
were too young to keep up with the pack’s migratory lifestyle. All pups in
every wolf pack stayed with their parents in their whelping den until they were
old enough to return to the main pack body and be educated in the ways of the
wolf.
Ryku and his
family made their den on a hill not far from where they sat, beneath the
gnarled roots of an upturned sycamore. Tall, yellow grass formed a sea around
their home, ringed by a vast forest of oak trees.
Ryku’s thoughts
were suddenly interrupted by a piercing pain at the tip of his tail.
“Ouch!” Ryku
whirled around and smacked his nose into Naren’s. With a hiss of annoyance, he
rubbed his throbbing muzzle with a forepaw and tucked his tail protectively
beneath his paws. “Did you just bite
me?”
Naren clicked
her teeth together with a frown. “My teeth hurt,” she complained. “I want to
bite things!”
Leif shook his
head in exasperation. “Naren, would you eat us if you were hungry?” Ryku took a
tentative step away from his sister as she sniffed in disdain.
“Why would I eat
either of you? You probably taste like moose poo!”
Leif’s pelt
fluffed with anger. “You’re one to talk! You act like a squirrel, and you
probably taste like squirrel poo, too!”
Ryku pushed his
way between them once more, growing anxious as their quarrel escalated. “Look,
nobody tastes like poo. Just drop it, all right? Ow—NAREN!”
Naren giggled as
Ryku cradled his tender tail.
“I want to bite,
I can’t help it!” Naren shrugged.
“Looks like
someone’s getting their fenris fangs!”
A deep laugh
rumbled behind them, and the three pups turned to see their father, Riley,
picking his way across the field. A light breeze ruffled his tan-and-brown fur
and his honey-colored gaze radiated warmth. Beside Riley was their mother,
Shaya. Were it not for the light of the moon and the patch of gray beneath her
neck, her pelt would’ve blended with the darkness of the night. Every so often,
when Ryku caught his reflection in a puddle, he felt a slight twinge of
disappointment that he’d taken after Shaya’s appearances while Naren and Leif
mirrored their father.
“My fenris
fangs?” Naren perked with excitement. “Does that mean I’m ready to be a
fenris?”
Riley chuckled
as he sat beside her, mussing her fur with a good-natured nuzzle. “No, I’m
afraid you won’t be a fenris for quite some time, Naren. Remember, when a pup
goes to the pack, they must undergo trials of skill as a neophyte. You’ll have
to work your tail off well before you’re granted a fenris title.”
“That’s enough
for tonight, Riley,” Shaya scolded. “They’re not joining the pack just yet.”
Riley sighed heavily as Shaya settled beside them.
Leif growled in
frustration beneath his breath. “At this point, I wonder if we’ll ever join the
pack,” he whispered to Ryku. Ryku shuffled his paws uneasily.
“Mom knows
best,” Ryku assured him. “We’ll get there eventually, when we’re ready.
Leif snorted in
contempt. “I’m ready now.”
“But Daddy, what
do I do?” Naren wailed. “My teeth ache!”
Riley nuzzled
her forehead affectionately. “It’s just a part of growing up.”
“And that
doesn’t mean you pull them out to grow out faster,” Shaya warned, eyes
flickering suspiciously to each of her children.
Naren grumbled
unhappily. “Why can’t we just go to the pack already? We’re nearly seven
months! Aura told us--”
“Aura doesn’t
know what she’s talking about,” Shaya snapped. “You’ll go to the pack when
you’re fine and ready.”
Ryku winced at
the harshness in his mother’s tone. He glanced reproachfully at his sister from
the corner of his eye. She should’ve
known better than to mention Aura. Aura was the spiritual leader of the
Shanti, commonly called a sage. Until pups were old enough to join the main
pack, the sage served as a communication link between the family and the pack.
Despite the fact that Aura was also Shaya’s only living relative, the two she-wolves
were forever at war with one another.
“What?” Naren
hissed in Ryku’s ear. “You can’t deny Aura’s right. She knows all about these
types of things!”
“Hush up,
Naren,” Ryku sighed. “We can’t even think about going to the pack yet. Mom and
Dad still haven’t told us the legends.”
Leif nudged them
and the siblings looked up to find their parents huddled close together. No
matter which way they tilted their heads, in was impossible to decipher what
had caused Shaya’s scowl and Riley’s furrowed brow. Clearing his throat, Riley
hastily turned back to the children with an anxious smile.
“Well, your
mother and I have had a long chat, and we both seem to agree that though you’re
not ready to enter the pack just yet, it’s due time we set you on the path that
will eventually lead there. It is a parent’s duty to tell their children three
prized legends of our history before they are admitted into the main pack.
Tonight, I will tell you the first of those three legends. Tonight, I will tell
you the Legend of the Spirit.”
The pups’ eyes
gleamed bright with excitement. Ryku felt a shiver of anticipation roll down
his spine. The three gathered close to their father as he began to speak in a
breathy whisper.
“Before there
was anything, before the grasses swayed and moon filled the sky with light,
before the stars, the heavens, or even wolves, the universe was a great void. There
was nothing at all in the world except for a small sliver of something. That
something was an idea. Imagine,” Riley laughed softly, “or try, a place without
seasons, or forests, or skies. There was nothing but the vast, ultimate abyss,
and this idea. The idea was this: that life should, could, and would be. This
is the mighty force we know as Fenrir.”
Leif cocked his
head in confusion. “But Dad,” he interjected, “who came up with the idea? How
could it just be there if there was no one to come up with it?”
Riley smiled
serenely down at his son. “It is as simple as sun and shadows, my son. For
darkness to exist, there must be light, or how would we know the difference at
all? A thing is always defined by its opposite. A shadow needs the sun to cast
it. The nothingness needed the original idea to define it, or this world would be
inconceivable.”
“I see,” Leif
murmured.
Riley
continued in husky tones. “Some fail to see what the packs have seen. They will
tell you there must have been a mastermind behind the creation of our kind, but
over time, our sages have proven their deities to be fictitious. Fenrir is not
a he or a she, but the life force that ignites a soul within a being.”
“You
mean the Wanderers?” Naren piped. “I heard Aura talking about them the other
day. She said they don’t live like we do.”
Shaya
sighed in exasperation and gritted her teeth. “Aura needs to learn to keep her
mouth shut. I’ll have to talk to her again.”
Riley
raised a reproachful brow in her direction. “It’s fine, Shaya, really. There’s
no reason they shouldn’t learn about the Wanderers, they would find out about
them sooner or later.”
The
siblings blinked up at their parents with pleading gazes.
“Please
tell us?” Naren begged.
“Of
course I will, dearest.” Riley’s gentle laugh was tinged with uneasiness as
Shaya’s eyes narrowed in his direction. “The Wanderers are wolves who choose a
solitary, nomadic lifestyle instead of living with a pack. A pack migrates
around a set territory, and the Wanderer lands have also been limited, but
Wanderers move out of convenience or desire. The Shanti move about their
borders to protect and honor the sacred lands they inherited from their ancestors.
The Wanderers, unfortunately, generally fall into the category of those
ignorant of Fenrir. They believe in make-believe creator spirits called the
Great He and the Great She, a belief they call Waziism.”
Leif
snorted in disbelief. “But surely they know better by now? There can’t be that
many of them left?”
“You’re
right, Leif,” Riley woofed. “At the beginning of time, the majority of wolves
claimed no pack. Now, however, the numbers of the Wanderers are relatively few,
and even fewer of them actually consider themselves as Wazis. In the recent
years, all Wanderers the Shanti have interacted with seem to have given up on
their spiritual search altogether. It is hard not to pity them; they are
misfits unwilling to find a place in this world.”
Ryku
frowned at the thought. What a sad, sad
life. “Dad, what happens when a Wazi dies? Do they go to Everblaze?”
Shaya
yipped shrilly. “Everblaze? Where on
earth did you learn about Everblaze?”
“Aura,”
the pups chimed in unison.
Shaya
kneaded the ground with vengeful claws. “Sounds like Aura needs to be taken
down a few levels.”
“There’s
no need for that,” Riley growled.
Shaya’s
expression turned unfathomable, but Ryku could’ve sworn he’d caught a flash of
hurt in her golden eyes.
“Now,
Ryku, to answer your question,” Riley resumed in a strained voice. “No, they do
not go to Everblaze. Every fenrit, or soul, is reincarnated until they realize
their true purpose or potential and gain enlightenment. When this happens, the
fenrit will pass into the spiritual kingdom of Valhalla upon death and become
one with the force of Fenrir. Everblaze is not a place for spirits, Ryku. It is
a land of fire and flame, and home to creatures that were once wolves. A wolf
will only pass into Everblaze if their fenrit flees their body before death has
occurred. If that happens, what passes to Everblaze is not the wolf’s spirit,
but the body. Without its fenrit, a body has no sense or reason. The residual
energy from the fenrit keeps it alive for a few short hours before the body
becomes lifeless.”
Naren
wailed with fear and huddled close to Ryku. “That can’t just happen, can it?
What if it does and I don’t even know it?”
Riley
calmed her fear with an affectionate lick to her forehead. “Don’t worry, young
one, your fenrit will never abandon you.”
“But
what if it does?” Ryku whimpered softly.
“You
have nothing to worry about,” Riley assured them. “A fenrit will only flee if
its keeper seeks to ruin it with acts of great evil. And you, my children, are
as precious as angels. Fret no more. Now, back to the legend – where was I?”
“Fenrir
and the universe,” Shaya prompted dryly.
“Ah,
yes,” Riley grinned. “As I told you, Fenrir is the idea that life could, would,
and should be. And so, having this purpose engrained to its core, the Great
Spirit set forth and created the world as we know it. To the north, Fenrir
sculpted the towering mountains we know as the Pillars of Valhalla. They are
home to the Shaddix pack. The spirit formed a slice of land, thick with fir
trees, where the Wanderers now reside. In the northeast, the Astra live among
the dark forests. Marshy Etheris lands lay to the southeast and rocky Nanji
territory in the southwest. At the edges of the land, after painting the
winding rivers and sculpting the rolling hills, after giving us all that we
should need in life, Fenrir gave our collective lands borders which to never
cross. The spirit carved jagged canyons to the east, an endless sea to the
west, a drop-off as deep as the mountains are tall, and made the mountains in
the far, far north impassable. And when the land was laid and the world made
ready, Fenrir created the first wolf in a sudden, spontaneous flare of energy.
The first wolf was a she-wolf, and her name was Sansa. With time, the spirit
generated a new wolf every moon cycle, alternating male and female. But now,
the sky is growing light, and it is time for wolves to sleep – even the ancient
ones.”
“Aw,
Dad, really?” Naren pleaded. “Can’t you tell us about Sansa?”
“Who
was the second wolf?” Leif woofed.
“Didn’t
she have a family?” Ryku wondered.
Riley
chuckled and nuzzled his children lovingly. “The second wolf was Tairik,
Sansa’s mate. Eventually they did have children, the most famous of which was
named Crossfire. But those tales are for other nights, younglings.”
Shaya
and Riley herded their children towards the den as the sun began to peak over
the horizon.
Ryku
scarcely slept that day. The thrill of the legend kept his mind running all
through the sunlight hours.