by Brandon Chen
Zylon’s face lit up with exultation as he extended his hand outward, forcing back the second wave of werewolves with bolts of red magic that burst from his fingertips. The Phoenix Cannons were working! “With these weapons, we can cleanse these beasts of their corruption!” Zylon yelled as the riflemen began to reload their guns, preparing to unleash a second volley. “Fire!”
***
Faelen approached Reidan’s walls with frightening speed, the vindictive monster charging towards the unsuspecting city. He could hear the sounds of bells ringing, the alarm that indicated an approaching threat. But it didn’t matter. Just as Horux fell, so would this capital.
The werewolf dug the ends of his feet into the earth, obliterating the ground. A crater formed beneath him as he launched high into the air, his arms flailing as he flew towards Reidan. Digging his claws into the hard stone, the beast clambered up the wall effortlessly. He landed on a stone walkway, and three swift bites infected the terrified guards around him. It only took moments for them to transform into his minions, creatures of darkness.
Faelen watched as his three new werewolves howled, still clanking in the armor of Iradian soldiers. They charged into the guard towers, slaughtering and infecting all that stood in their path. The sounds of anguished screams echoed in Faelen’s ears. He inhaled through his nose, remembering this familiar scent well. Fear.
Each time a person saw him, terror was the first emotion that radiated from them. The Bount leapt from Reidan’s walls onto the city streets, where pedestrians fled in the chaos, screaming at the sight of the relentless beasts. Faelen watched these feeble beings pitifully as they were massacred or transformed into the creatures that they feared. It did not satisfy him, to cause such suffering to these undeserving people. But he knew that this was what needed to be done. Soon, they would all understand what it was like to be him, living behind the skin of an abomination. To be feared by all. This was only the beginning of his conquest of Escalon.
Faelen’s nose twitched when he caught a familiar scent. His eyes went wide and a nefarious grin cracked across his lips. Oh, he could not forget this scent. The odor of the white-haired boy, Yuri, had caught his full attention. “You’re here?” he snarled, storming through the disarrayed city. “That saves me the time of having to hunt you down myself. I will take great pleasure in eviscerating your corpse, Yuri.”
The Soul Within the Shell
Yuri was not sure where he was.
When the boy had first awoken, he’d been in the middle of a forest of gigantic pine trees. The brisk weather was certainly that of a spring morning. The sun’s beaming light crept through spaces in the tree canopy, shining down onto the forest floor.
Since then, Yuri had walked to a riverbank near rushing rapids, where the water swept over a line of boulders and then descended into a crashing waterfall. The boy gazed beyond the waterfall and saw that the river flowed through a massive canyon, the sun bathing the rocks in brilliant light, causing them to gleam.
He looked across the river and saw a wolf, with fur as white as snow, sitting on the ground. The beast gnarred, revealing its sharp fangs. Its eyes were violet, glowing like a pair of blazing stars. It pounced forward, landing on a wet rock that jutted from the river. It continued to skip its way from rock to rock, making its way toward the frightened boy.
Yuri was unarmed, and his heart pounded as the creature charged towards him. He pondered whether or not he should run from the wolf. Just from looking at the creature made it quite clear that it wanted to feast on Yuri’s flesh. But the elegant motions of the wolf’s body mesmerized him into believing that perhaps it had an alternative motive. The beast came closer. One more leap and it would be upon him. An image of his throat being torn open by the wolf appeared in his mind, as fresh as a recently forged memory.
Panicking, the boy spun around and started to flee into the woods. He sprinted, his heart slamming against his ribcage. Panting, he hopped over rocks that lay in his path. What are you afraid of? A voice spoke in his mind, but it sounded like his own.
“Death,” he responded wearily, stealing a glance over his shoulder as the pale wolf scampered after him. Its speed matched his, as if it were toying with him. He knew that the beast could pounce upon him at any moment and shred him to pieces. Why didn’t it?
Do you think that everything in this world wishes to harm you?
Yuri’s eyes narrowed, finding that his legs had slowed to a stop on their own. He swallowed, his back facing the wolf for a moment, expecting the beast to tackle him to the ground and rip his chest open. But it didn’t.
The boy hesitantly turned. He saw that the wolf had also halted and was watching him, its head cocked to the side as if questioning why Yuri had run. He stared at the creature, and slowly felt himself drawn to the exotic beast. Yuri approached the wolf until he was only a foot away. Surprisingly, the canine didn’t attack him.
Yuri gazed into the wolf’s eyes and realized that its irises were no longer violet. They were turquoise. Never before had he seen another being with eyes of the same unique color as his own. As he and the wolf stared at each other, he could feel himself peering into the wolf’s soul. He saw the beast’s selflessness, generosity, bravery, and pain. Beneath the façade of a ferocious animal, he could see the anguished soul of the wolf, who had suffered throughout its life.
Its home, its family, its friends, its very purpose for existence … had all perished at the hands of destiny. And despite the beast’s mighty nature, the poor wolf had been powerless as everything it loved crumbled before its eyes. Alone in this cruel world, the creature sojourned through forests, its destination unknown. Surrounded by nature, the wolf waited, hoping that one day, fate would return his purpose.
Purpose.
Yuri watched the wolf with saddened eyes. He understood the excruciating pain that ravaged the beast from the inside. Initially, looking at the creature, all he’d seen was a savage animal. But now he saw that there was more to this complex wolf.
Reaching out, he stroked the top of the beast’s head as if they were old companions. “So accustomed to the feeling of defeat and failure,” Yuri whispered softly, remembering the deaths of his family and Asmund, the collapse of Horux, and the lives that he’d been unable to protect during his journey through Lichholme. “I am also tired of its bitter taste.”
The wolf looked at him with glistening eyes. A voice spoke in Yuri’s mind, sounding like the boy, but in the wolf’s words. You do not acknowledge your recent victory.
Yuri smiled, knowing that the animal was referring to his battle against Malyssa and her army of vampires. “That was not my victory to claim. I lost sight of myself. There is no reason to feel triumphant when all I did was mercilessly slaughter an entire population.”
Then you still have yet to taste victory.
“No more than you.”
Do you think that you still have a purpose in this world?
“I don’t know,” Yuri said, laughing at the absurdity of talking to a wolf. Perhaps he was going insane. It made sense, after he’d wielded the Oblivion Claws.
Do you still have people that you still want to protect?
Yuri thought of Violet, Archerus, and Terias — the list went on. He didn’t care only about them; there were countless people that he wanted to protect. He wanted to preserve the population of all of Escalon. “Yes.”
Then perhaps your purpose should be to become their protector. After all, they need you. They need us.
Yuri saw that the wolf was staring past him. He glanced over his shoulder to see what the creature was looking at. The trees had somehow parted, revealing the grand city of Reidan. A wicked ambiance exuded from the capital, sending shivers through the young man.
For centuries, a beast was condemned because he was a monstrosity. But beneath the layers of his ebony fur and hardened flesh lay the soul of an innocent human, like you. Tormented for an insurmountable amount of time, frustration and hatred eventually dominated the beast. Finally
breaking from the shackles of confinement, the abomination exacted vengeance upon his jailors, reducing the city of Horux to a state of chaos. However, the beast was still not free, for the other humans of Escalon sought to seal him away.
Yuri bit his lower lip, knowing exactly whom the wolf was talking about.
The beast, his thirst for revenge sated, searched for a solution that would allow for the people of Escalon to accept him again. His answer was to find a rare potion, one that was nearly impossible to obtain, which would grant him the humanity that he had lost. He wanted an escape from the curse placed on him centuries ago.
“But I took that from him,” Yuri whispered.
Now, enraged, Terrador’s first werewolf rampages through Escalon, now seeing the truth. Humans will never accept him, as long as they continue to see him as merely a monstrosity. He intends to fulfill the wish of his master, Junko. He’ll eradicate the human race from the face of the continent and replace it with ferocious werewolves, so that he may finally live his life in the company of others like him. He has accepted what he is … a fearful creature of savagery.
Yuri shook his head. “I can’t let him do that.” He remembered how he had brutally murdered Tanya. Regret swept over him and he clenched his jaw. He understood that he hadn’t been in control of himself at the time, but the weight of her death still fell upon his shoulders. Maybe if he’d never allowed Malyios to corrupt him with the Oblivion Claws, Tanya would’ve brought Faelen the potion that would make him human again. Perhaps then Escalon wouldn’t have to deal with the werewolf’s wrath. Realization trickled into his mind. “This is my fault.”
He remembered the pain that he’d felt when he learned of Etaon’s massacre. He felt that it was his responsibility to be there to protect everyone, to make the right decisions. Maybe that was unrealistic, but that was what drove him forward. “I need to go,” he said, turning away from the wolf and toward Reidan. “I’m the only one that can stop Faelen.”
Why is that?
“Because I understand a bit of what he’s feeling,” Yuri said, remembering the shocked stares that he’d received when everyone had found out that he was a werewolf. If he’d initially come to Reidan in his beast form, there was no doubt that he would’ve been imprisoned or even killed. He understood now that it was the nature of terrified humans to judge the unknown by appearance, just as he had when he’d first encountered this ghost-white wolf.
The wolf walked by Yuri’s side, conjuring a mystical pool that materialized in front of the young man. Within it was an animated image that showed Horux’s marketplace, during the beginning stages of its development. Before you go, I believe it best if I show you something first.
Yuri halted. “What will you show me?”
When confronting an opponent such as Faelen, it is best to understand your enemy. I will take you back, three hundred years into the past, to view forgotten memories that have been lost in the strands of time. I will show you the life of Terrador’s first werewolf.
***
When Faelen was twenty, he’d never seen anyone more beautiful than the woman that sat on the bench in Horux’s marketplace. The plaza was still mostly under construction, for it was early in the city’s development. Nevertheless, the marketplace was packed with crowds of people, but the man cared not for any of them. His eyes were upon the tanned woman on the bench, who had silky black hair that curled down to her shoulders. The stranger was enthralled by the words of a book, her attention completely held by whatever tale she was reading. She didn’t even notice Faelen until he cleared his throat and plopped down beside her.
Faelen rubbed his breakfast, a shiny apple, on his shirt and proceeded to eat it nervously as he thought of what to say to the damsel. From the expensive, colorful garments she wore, it was clear that she was of the upper class. As a destitute man from the Lower District, he wondered what he had to offer to a noble. Trying to not think too much of the social gap, Faelen attempted to start a conversation with the woman.
At first, she didn’t seem interested in anything that Faelen said. In fact, her countenance made her seem annoyed that her reading session was being interrupted. But Faelen pressed on, and soon the woman found herself as interested in the charming man as she was with her book.
The woman’s name was Yazmine, and she was a foreigner from a continent known as Dastia. Her family had traveled to southern Escalon to assist in funding the development of Horux; they were extremely wealthy. She explained that they needed to escape Dastia, since the realm had been made perilous by many raiders and the wars that raged within the chaotic continent. Yazmine had yet to meet anyone in Horux and, to Faelen’s surprise, invited him over to dinner.
Faelen accepted the invitation reluctantly, afraid that he was too penniless to afford reasonable attire to attend dinner with such an affluent individual. Nevertheless, he figured that he had nothing to lose. Declining Yazmine’s request would only offend the highborn noble.
Returning home to his tiny cottage in the Lower District of Horux, Faelen made dinner for his grandmother that night. The rest of his family had died years ago, on the journey from Iradia to southern Escalon, when new settlers were migrating to Horux. His grandmother was all that he had left.
“I met a beautiful girl today, Gran,” Faelen said, setting a bowl of porridge on the table in front of his blind grandma. As his grandma ate, he prattled about Yazmine and how amazing he thought she was from their conversation at the marketplace earlier that day. His grandmother seemed impressed by his description of Yazmine.
“She seems well-read and intelligent,” the elderly woman said. “Do you plan on wedding her?”
“One step at a time, Gran.” Faelen smirked, carrying his grandma’s empty bowl to the sink. He then walked his grandmother to her bed. “I’m having dinner with Yazmine tonight, though. Hopefully things will go well.”
And things did go well. At first, Faelen was slightly nervous about impressing Yazmine’s family, but her father and mother were very kind and easy to talk to. Enjoying a night of silly banter, hilarious stories, delicious food, and aged wines, Faelen had one of the best nights of his life. Something sparked between Yazmine and Faelen, an unexplainable attraction that made the two want to spend more time together.
Within weeks, Faelen and Yazmine were considered a couple. They went on many dates, and Yazmine’s father even managed to get Faelen a job that paid reasonably well. Things seemed to be brightening for the young man. Every morning he would tell his grandma how wonderful his night with Yazmine had been. Gran enjoyed listening to his ramblings, for she loved seeing her grandson happy for once.
On their one-year anniversary, Yazmine went to Faelen’s house for dinner. The couple stealthily made love in his bedroom, with his grandmother still in the kitchen, quietly eating her dinner.
The lovers broke a kiss for a moment, gazing into each other’s eyes as they pressed their bare bodies together. “Thank you, Yazmine,” Faelen whispered, smiling. “I’m glad that you accept the real me for who I am. Even if I’m not the smartest, wealthiest, or handsomest man in town, you’re still by my side.”
“I love you because you’re you, and nothing will change that,” Yazmine whispered, planting a gentle kiss on Faelen’s lips.
There was a thunderous bang in the next room, and Faelen suddenly pulled away from Yazmine, frowning at the abrupt noise. It had sounded like someone had forced their way into the cottage.
“Faelen, is that you? Are you leaving?” Gran called out, unable to see who had entered the home.
“Who’s that?” Faelen rolled out of bed, sliding into his pants. As soon as he opened the door to his bedroom, he was clobbered across the face with a club. He grunted, sharp pain erupting in his head as he collapsed to the floor. His hazy vision shifted about, as if the room were shaking. A piercing noise rang in his ears, and he watched powerlessly as an intruder, dressed in clothing the color of night, stepped over his incapacitated body.
Yazmine screamed as
the raider seized her naked body and proceeded to drag her out of the room. “Faelen!” His lover screamed, attempting to pry herself from the invader’s stiff grip. Irritated by the woman’s defiance, the marauding man viciously struck Yazmine with his fist until she was unconscious.
Watching with shock, Faelen stared at Yazmine’s limp body. Fighting against the dizziness that plagued him and the throbbing pain that ravaged his head, the man struggled to stand. His efforts were pointless. The raider rammed his fist into Faelen’s cheek, sending him spiraling to the side. His head smashed into a wooden wall, and he was unconscious before he hit the floor.
He awakened minutes later, his lungs filled with smoke. Coughing and sputtering, Faelen lurched forward, realizing that his home was aflame. A blazing fire now engulfed the bed that he’d shared with Yazmine, and it was rapidly spreading throughout the house.
Ignoring his pounding headache, Faelen crawled out of the room, knowing that he had to escape the burning house as soon as possible. Scrambling into his kitchen, he found himself staring at the unmoving body of his grandmother, who was sprawled across the floorboards. The distraught man rushed to Gran’s side, pressing his fingers to her neck to try and feel for her pulse. It was faint, but she was alive.
There was a red splotch of blood on the side of Gran’s forehead where she’d been struck by one of the invaders. Gritting his teeth, Faelen quickly carried his unconscious grandmother out of the burning cottage, his heart racing.
Stumbling into the cool midnight air, Faelen turned to find that a conflagration had devoured the majority of his street. Dozens of homes were aflame. Horuxian soldiers were throwing buckets of water at the burning structures in an attempt to combat the fires.
Faelen panted and lowered his grandma’s body to the ground, catching sight of numerous corpses lying in the road. Many of them he recognized as his neighbors.
A soldier rushed past, carrying a wooden bucket of sloshing water. “What happened here?” Faelen demanded.