The Winds of Crowns and Wolves

by K. E. Walter

  The weather had been improving since Neach left Leirwold. Warmth had overrun the Kingdom of Duncairn and this island was no exception. Even as the sun set, the air was thick with humidity. In a short period of time, the Northern part of the Kingdom had transitioned from the doldrums of winter into the more optimistic early days of spring.

  Bugs flew around Neach’s head with a sonically pleasing buzzing. It was as if the insects of the forest had united in a symphony of natural harmony, singing the archaic songs of time passed as they circumnavigated Neach’s head.

  A drop of sweat trickled down from Neach’s brow as he crouched behind the trunk of the largest tree he could see. By now, the night had all but suffocated him. All was dark, bar the dwindling fire which he could see twinkling in the distance. He attempted to gauge the situation and plan his next move. If the person who was responsible for this fire was hostile, he would need to be prepared to fight back.

  Swiftly and quietly, Neach removed his bow from his back. He drew an arrow from the quiver and strung it, slowly, but surely. With the utmost cautious, he proceeded toward the fire, still crouched low. Even in this dark expanse, his eyes seemed to pick out another pair across the space. They glowed an almost yellow color and they appeared to be staring directly at him.

  Moving through the tall grass that separated him from the encampment, he rose slowly with his arrow drawn and began to shout:

  “Who are ya? I don’t want any trouble,” he unleashed with as much vigor as he could muster.

  His response was a deep chuckle.

  “You there, boy, what is it you’re doing on this island?” the now evidently older man rebuked.

  Neach paused for a few moments before moving further forward into the opening that had been cleared by the elderly man.

  “I’m looking for someone,” he said as his feet struck the cleared grass, “someone who is meant to know something about this book, the Toriik Riamendi.”

  The man said nothing, but instead held a melon in his right hand over the fire.

  “If it is really you, the one I believe you to be, shoot this fruit out of my hand with that bow of yours”, the old man demanded.

  Still about thirty feet away from the man, Neach was unsure of what he was meant to do. Unfortunately, it seemed that he would have no choice in the matter. The melon looked like a small orange circle dangling above the fire. It was as if someone had taken a rock and held it up next to the vibrant, burning sun.

  With a deep breath, Neach closed his eyes and envisioned the fruit as larger than it really was. Now the size of a boulder, it would need to be struck dead on impact if injury was meant to be avoided. He opened his eyes again and focused all of his energy on the fruit which was being held firmly in the hand of the old man. The man’s eyes reflected the flames which appeared to be licking the whiskers around his mouth. Unkempt and unfazed, the man’s steely gaze peered deep within Neach and it ignited another flame deep within Neach’s soul.

  A swift pull backward and a release saw the arrow hurl through the air toward the melon. With a thwack, it struck the fruit, exploding it into a hundred tiny pieces immediately upon impact.

  Almost directly after the destruction of the melon was witnessed in that dark forest, a smile erupted on the face of the old man as he applauded the skill of Neach.

  “You’re good, but you have a lot to learn, son,” the old man said through a distinct smile.

  Without explanation, he motioned for Neach to follow him toward the living area of the encampment. On the far side of the clearing, a hut was placed precariously on uneven land. Its rickety structure was evidently constructed poorly, but it also gave off the appearance that it had withstood years of torment within this hallowed ground.

  Neach followed closely behind for a few minutes before his curiosity got the better of him.

  “Excuse me, sir, who exactly are you? Why am I here?” Neach queried with impeccable speed.

  The old man simply laughed and continued about his task of setting up a sleeping area. In the corner of the hut, bedding was placed along with a makeshift pillow. Behind the pillow, an unlit torch was laid as a source of light during the night.

  “So many questions, such little time,” the man remarked, “soon you will know, but for now, rest up. Tomorrow will be a long day.”

  With that, the man retreated toward his own side of the hut and seemed to pass out instantaneously. Neach was left to his own devices, now shivering from the night cold. The earliness of the season meant that although the days were warm, the nights would be very cold. He got as much of the blankets he was provided wrapped around his body, and closed his eyes. He was exhausted from the journey that he had been on, but somehow his mind continued to be restless.

  It ran to thoughts of Rine back on the beach, and then to a wolf. As he dozed off, the wolf had infiltrated his unconscious. He slept, but inside his mind was anything but relaxation and rest. He was taken outside the encampment in an out of body experience. A few meters above the ground, Neach hovered as he watched a bright green and orange wolf slowly circle the area where he lay.

  Unsure of its intentions, Neach felt warmth overcome his soul. It seemed that the wolf was there to protect both the old man, as well as Neach. For the first time in his dreams of wolves, he did not feel afraid. His soul and his body were at peace as they watched the animal prowl around the camp in the middle of the forest. Its body was much like the last, effervescent and vibrant. Its beauty was unparalleled by anything else that Neach had seen in the forest earlier.

  All night long, this wolf laid its stake around the area in a sort of securitizing measure to ensure that the men remained safe within the hut. Around and around it went, monotonously moving about, but with such grace that even in the dark forest, the camp was alive with the glory of this majestic animal. The first rays of sunlight fought their way through the thick canopy above and the roof of the hut to strike the closed eyes of Neach on his bedding. He awoke with a groan and he felt the soreness that was present throughout his entire body. Nothing about this morning was going to be easy, yet he knew he needed to rise at this time to show the man that he was dedicated to learning more about this mysterious book and the equally mysterious group of people who had crafted it.

  With a roll to the left, Neach hoisted himself upward and onto his feet. He rubbed his eyes in an attempt to remove the fatigue from his face, but alas, it was to no avail. Out of the hut he headed, and into the oncoming day he was thrust.

  He was greeted by a wooden pail crashing into the ground in front of him.

  “Fetch some water son, it’s going to be a long day,” the man barked.

  Still groggy, but determined to fulfill the man’s wish, Neach grabbed the bucket and headed for the stream that ran near the encampment. Its clear, blue water sparkled in the broken sunlight that fought its way through the treetops. It flowed slowly, but with intention, directly into the mouth of the expansive ocean that could be seen in the distance.

  Only minutes had passed before Neach had returned to the presence of the man in the center of the cleared space where he had spent the previous night. The man was pacing back and forth in a fairly rapid manner, as if every step he took offered a joule of energy through kinesthesia to his weary mind.

  “My name is Fenris, and I, will be your,” he paused, “teacher,” he finished.

  “You see I struggle with the word ‘teacher’, because it is you who will ultimately teach yourself. The path set forth for you is something that is not debatable, what is up to the nature of the world is whether you choose to accept it,” Fenris stated boldly.

  “As you enter this space every morning, know that others have come before you, and others will come after you, it is completely reliant upon your concentration and dedication whether or not you succeed.”

  His words cut sharply through the cool morning air and sliced at Neach’s bare, open mental flesh. Unsure of what he was getting himself into, Neach treaded carefully, as if every word
he spoke had the potential to erupt with the fury of a thousand volcanoes.

  “You say I have a path, yet I am unaware of it,” Neach said.

  A chuckle broke the tension in the cool, early spring air.

  “I have heard about you, boy, your incessant questions and attitude,” Fenris claimed, “but know this; both can be harnessed to become either your advantage or your hubris.”

  “Now, follow me, there is work to be done.” The two men headed out of the encampment in the direction of a collection of rocks that could be seen far off. Rocks which seemed to have been frozen in place for thousands of years rose up from the Earth and grafted a makeshift shelter.

  What Neach could not see from afar, was what lie underneath these ancient stones. Through a small crack in the front of them, an entrance to an underground cavern could be seen upon closer inspection.

  Fenris removed the rope belt from around his waist and threw it down into the shallow cave.

  “In you go, son,” Fenris said.

  With a look of bewilderment upon his face, but resigned to the abnormality of the situation he currently found himself in, he approached the cave’s entrance.

  Upon his first view inside, all he could see was darkness. Not a single glow was present lo a flickering, dim torch light. His view was impeded by hanging vines, but he decided there would be no way around it.

  And so, into the dark cavern Neach descended. With a thud, he hit the earthy floor beneath his feet. From above, all that could be seen was the sunlight and rope, both of which disappeared as he headed, tentatively, further into the cave.

  After a few steps, it was clear to Neach that something about this place wasn’t right. He quickly turned about face and headed to the opening of the cave. With a shout, Neach commanded the attention of Fenris above him.

  “Fenris,” Neach shouted “what am-“ he couldn’t finish his statement, as a silencing motion was being made by Fenris up above.

  “Be quiet,” he whispered, “or you’ll wake him,” Fenris said.

  More confused than ever before, Neach feigned naivety and played along with the game he believed Fenris was conducting.

  “Who am I going to wake,” Neach responded with a whisper.

  “At the back there’s a-uh-creature, if you will, he won’t take kindly to any sort of rude awakening,” Fenris said. At the moment, Neach heard a groan erupt from what seemed to be the very bowels of the Earth. In the back of the cave laid a giant feline creature.

  “That there is a lion, Neachy boy, you’d best be quiet as to not wake him; we need those eggs behind him for breakfast,” Fenris concluded with a muffled chuckle. He walked away again, leaving Neach to his own devices in the cave.

  Neach knew that he would need to plan his next movements according to the sleep pattern of this behemoth which was guarding the prized poultry possessions. He swayed from side to side, slowly, yet at an uneven pace. His nerves were supremely evident as he crept close to the lion.

  He did everything in his power to prevent his feet from making any noise as they struck the ground beneath them. Unfortunately for Neach, it was not enough to keep the lion at bay. As he got within an arm’s length of the great beast, it began to convulse into consciousness. He backed away, slowly at first, but picking up in pace, until he was engaging in an all-out sprint toward the rope.

  Determined to survive this close encounter, Neach mustered all of his speed and launched himself onto the escape vine. Climbing with aplomb, Neach reached the top of the cave as the lion was restrained by a chain. As to allow as little danger as possible, it seemed Fenris had chained the lion up to prevent him from reaching the unsuspecting student.

  Alas, Neach’s emergence from the cave was met with a raucous, deep laughter. Fenris had fallen over from the humor he took from the experience. Neach had believed he had only just escaped with his life, but to Fenris, there had never been a danger within the depths of that cave.

  “What are you trying to do, kill me?” Neach asked.

  As he wiped the tears from his eyes, brought on by laughter, Fenris responded with a wry smile on his face.

  “Soon you will learn, boy, but for now you read that book until sun down. Nothing worth teaching can be found outside of that text, I promise you” Fenris said as he strolled off toward the camp.

  Belabored and full of anxiety, Neach jogged to follow Fenris and headed back toward the hut.

  For the next three days, Neach lived and breathed the words in that text. Though the Toriik Riamendi was not in any language he could understand, it seemed that he had some ethereal connection to the words which were cast onto each page of the ancient document. He feared the pages would crumble in his hands at times, yet each word demanded his full attention.

  The pages were adorned with gold flakes and shining lettered titles at the top of each section. Unsure of their meaning, Neach turned his attention to the illustrations that sometimes accompanied the passages. After reading through about five pages of illegible writing, Neach glanced down at a picture of a child in a field. He could only assume that this picture held some point of significance, but he wasn’t sure exactly what that may be.

  And so, on the third day, Neach emerged from the hut and asked for a second opportunity to claim the eggs from behind the sleeping lion. With a bemused look upon his face, Fenris obliged him and led him back to the cave.

  “Remember, Neach, if you want to make the lion believe that you aren’t there, you must become one with the lion,” Fenris claimed, boldly.

  This was the first time that Fenris had used Neach’s name in reference to him. Perhaps it was a sign of the respect he was accruing. Nevertheless, the two men reached the cave, and Fenris resumed his position up above, with his rope once again hanging down into the abyss.

  With a silent understanding, Neach hurdled the rock and careened into the cave floor just a few feet below. The cave smelled of dead animals, most likely ones which had been fed to the lion previously. The stench was so strong at times that Neach had resorted to pulling his shirt over his nose as he continued into the dark.

  The cave wasn’t massive. It was just deep enough to lose the sunlight once within reach of the lion. But Neach pressed on, with less trepidation than he had earlier. Once again, his eyes fell upon the burly beast which was curled into a ball on the floor in front of him. Its bristly hair provided an expansive meadow of warmth across its back, and its mane flowed like a glistening mountain waterfall of hair.

  Beasts such as this were terrifying, but also majestic. Something about the very existence of such a creature lent its hand to a beautiful parallel existence where humans and animals could coexist peacefully.

  Unfortunately, this was not a time for Neach to sing the praises of the lion in front of him. The danger was very real, and the goal set forth was also something that weighed on his shoulders.

  As if by switch, an idea flickered on inside his head. He saw the breathing pattern of the lion and wondered what would happen if he altered his rhythm to be congruent with the lion’s. Outside, rain fell as if it were the heartbeat of the young man inside that cave; persistent, but filled with jagged deviance.

  He calmed himself down and attempted to make himself “one” with the massive carnivore in front of him. As he closed his eyes, he saw a plain, but unlike anything he had ever seen before. He was running through it, as if someone had set his back ablaze. The heat from the sun beat down upon his face, and his breathing slowed to the rate of the lion.

  With a swift step forward, cautiously, Neach made his first approach on the eggs that were located behind this behemoth of a feline. They sat within a wooden basket. Underneath, grass protected their bottoms from breaking upon the hard rock surface of the ground below them.

  His breath continued at its slowed pace, as he lifted the eggs from the ground and claimed them in his possession.