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Flames in the Night:

William's Journey Chapter 1

The warm, soft yellow glow of dawn beat back the darkness of night, as the sun rose over western mountain peaks. Early morning light raced across vast grassland and great forests of the countryside. The white stones from the Fenith kingdom near the coasts shined a brilliant white reflecting the suns rays. Even in the early morning the ports bustled with life as the dockhands unloaded the crates from other nations and kingdoms. As the day slowly begun in the cities, the streets slowly began to fill, almost creating a river, of fur and scales from almost every species and color.

Further to the south lay an array of gray stoned buildings surrounded and connected to, an awe inspiring tower in the middle. A soft, faint glow seemed to almost distort the tower; due to the immense magical energy present from the mages that lived there, protecting vast secrets and knowledge that has been gathered throughout the ages.

Still, the warm glow of the sun traveled across the land, until it soon exposed a small isolated village tucked in the forest faraway from the rest of the sovereignty. Homes made from wood and roofs of straw sheltered those that lived inside. Both the men and women of the village already awake and busy with their day; men forging metal into armor and weapons and plowing fields of wheat and grain. Women tended to the livestock of cows, chickens and goats and dealt with the goods that a few traveling merchants had, before leaving back to the cities on the cobblestone walkway leading away from the town.

The children ran chasing one another giggling and screaming as their games went on. Others, dared by their friends, walked as close as they could to the grand evergreen forest that surrounded their home before running back to the group of friends and gloated about how close they had gotten.

Light seeped through the tattered shutters of one of the small homes, nearest the outer edge of the village, and poured over a small lumpy bed and its half-clothed furry occupant. The mixture of a rooster greeting the new day and daylight washing over the face of the sleeping male caused him to stir. Letting out a long, low groan William woke slowly to the new morning; bringing his hands to his face he rubbed the crust in his eyes away before he blinked, clearing his blurred vision. Staring at the ceiling above him he felt the grogginess that fogged his mind slowly slip away.

Raising his arms above his head, soft pops came from his wrists and elbows as he stretched out his stiff form. Sighing briefly he sat upright and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. Rubbing the back of his neck, he rolled his head left to right; soft cracks came from his neck as he yawned loudly. Forcing himself off the bed, William staggered over to a small, semi-worn down dresser opposite from his bed. Stopping abruptly in front of the oak dresser William sighed lightly staring at his reflection in the mirror that rested inches above the cupboard. Straightening his back and puffing his chest out William scowled unhappily at the image of himself staring right back at him.

Since birth he's had nearly the same physic as his mother: a lithe slender body that he's been teased for having for years. The lack of muscle definition made him seem weaker than other males at his age. Emerald green eyes, with an almost lighter green series of stripes coming off of the pupil that almost seemed to move on their own if you stared directly at them long enough. He even had the same black tip and white band of fur on his tail that his mother had. In fact, the only physical appearance he had in common with his father was his gray fur. Though even that had his mother's reddish orange fur mixed in making him have a "peppered" fur pattern, save for the white fur on his lower jaw, neck, and torso. Despite what he didn't like about his looks, that's one thing that made him easily recognized because he was the only known hybrid in a hundred miles.

Glancing over to his right his gaze fell on the maple bow that was leaning against the wall. Even after the preparation, which he had gotten for using a bow and even training with a small, sheathed dagger that was near by hanging from a nail in the wall had been in vain to make himself even a little bit stronger.

A vague thought scratched at the back of his mind, something important that he had forgotten as he turned his attention back to his dresser. Pushing the thought aside, William opened the dresser and pulled out a dark green wool shirt and through it on in lean form. Turning to find the sandals he had, William grabbed the brown leather foot-ware from under his bed. Slipping them on, however, the sound of movement and the aroma of food from the other side of his bedroom door caught his attention.

Creaking, the door open William made his way down the hall way of his home. Living in a small house consisting of two bedrooms, a bath and a kitchen it was easy to find his way to the source of the noise. To his right was where he, or his parents, bathed or washed their clothes in the large tub that lay in the middle of the room. On his left was his parents' room that was right in front of the doorway to the kitchen. Stepping along the cold dirt floor, the home was built on, William padded into the kitchen.

"Ah, so there's the man of the hour!" his father exclaimed the moment he heard his son step into the room. "Your mother and I have been talking all about tonight. Take a seat and eat."

'That's right, how could he have forgotten! Today is his rite into adulthood!' William scolded himself for not recalling such an important day as soon as he woke up, as he sat down across from his father.

A bruin of a man, William's father, John, stood at an easy six feet in height; effortlessly able to be one of the tallest men in the village. Thick gray fur covered his body, and the white wool shirt hid the muscles he had gained from years of hard work he had done, but the fur and cloth could not hide the definition that could be seen through the gray pelt.

Enya, William's mother, gracefully made her way to the table. Standing a few feet shorter than her husband, Enya had petite curves along her body and, unlike her son, had the common "fox gloves" style black fur on her hands that stretched up to her forearms. With lush reddish orange fur over her body melding into the white fur on her lower jaw and torso helped giver her, quaint look about her. Her white dress was adorned with twirling ribbons, wrapping around the hem only added to demeanor.

Seating herself down with her family, Enya passed a small plate carrying two grain biscuits, several slices of cheese, and a piece of wheat bread to her son who took it gratefully.

"So, William, are you excited about today?" Enya asked, a soft caring tone in her voice.

"Oh course I am!" William said through a partial mouthful of the wheat biscuit that he had started to eat; pausing shortly to swallow. "Though, I'm also a bit nervous too."

"There's no real reason to be nervous." John chimed in before taking a swig from his mug.

"I know, I know. But I can't help it-" William was cut off abruptly when three sharp knocks rang from the door, grabbing everyone's attention; John was the first to stand up and walk briskly to the door to see who it was. John was taken aback at the sight he saw in front of him. His old friend, Richard, stood in the doorway with a large toothy grin when he saw his old buddy.

Standing a few feet shorter that John, Richard made up his height with his physical appearance. Unlike John, Richard's physique looked like it was carved from a stone and possibly as strong as metal. The pitch black fur that covered his body did little to hide his build and only the gray patch of fur on his chin betrayed him, showing that age was starting to catch up with him.

"Richard!" William's father exclaimed, smiling back at his friend as quickly wrapping his arms around him and patting his back.

"John!" Richard chuckled returning the hug. Both letting go Richard picked up a large light brown package he had leaned on the house prior to knocking on the door. Stepping inside when his friend ushered him inside, he set the package back down near the door after it was shut.

Enya and William both gave a short wave to Richard as he and John walked to the table. Enya was the first to start up a conversation as her husband's friend take a seat next to her son. "It's been awhile, Richard. How have you been? You haven't come by in some time."

"Ah well, I've just been busy that all. Hanna had a pup three months ago."

"Well Congratulations on entering fatherhood!"

"Thank you, but I haven't been able to spend much time at home recently so Telion has been helping her when I've been away." Richard let out a soft sigh as his ears lowered against his skull slightly. "I Kind of wished being a bodyguard paid more so I can spend more time with family and less worrying about paying for necessities."

Grabbing an empty plate and some extra food, John passed it over to Richard. "Do you, by chance, have another way of making money?"

"Thank you, and no. No there isn't many good opportunities to get a decent job back home. But anyways, Hanna and I knew William's big hunt was coming up. She wanted me to come up here and see how he does, along with seeing how things have been since we last talked."

Turning to face his friends' son, Richard smiled softly. "So, you nervous about your rite into manhood?"

Looking down at his plate William played around with a piece of cheese he had broken off. "Honestly everything is going by so fast and the more that you guys talk about it, the more nervous I'm getting."

"You don't need to be nervous William." Richard said as he softly patted William's back before turning his attention to his friend. "Hey John, how about some tips that could be useful for William."

Rubbing his chin with his right hand John sat thinking for, what felt like, several minutes before he had said anything. "The best advice I can give you is to stay away from the astute squirrels."

Richard let out a long sigh, shaking his head at his friend. "You still haven't gotten over that yet? It's been years since that incident happened!"

"Got over what?" William was more than a little bit confused from the reactions his mother and Richard gave to his father, who sheepishly tried change the conversation. Leaning over Richard moved a hand to cover his muzzle to keep John from hearing him speak.

"You know about the Astute squirrels right?" William shook his head in response to the question.

"Well, they look like your average day squirrels but have a wicked intelligence. They're smart enough that they built a primitive hierarchy and your dad thought of the bright idea to go after their leader during his rite into manhood. He was pelted with acorns for a good half hour as he tried getting away from them and to this day, they still go after him whenever he goes near the forest."

William had to keep himself from laughing right there when Richard finished speaking but was thankful when his father's friend suggested that William go outside to be with his friends today instead of cooped up in the house. Excusing himself from the table William walked briskly to the front door; as he left he heard his mother's voice choke up in mid sentence as she talked about how fast he's growing up.

* * *

William shivered from the crisp cold breeze washing over his body; the fresh air helping calm down, both his nerves and giggles from hearing what happened to his father in the past. It felt good to be able to get away from family and having to hear about the rite for the moment as he leisurely walked into the, now busy, village market.

The entire market was built in a somewhat circular shape starting with a shop for the tailor: then the smithy, the butcher, a few stalls for vegetables and fruits, the baker, a general goods store, an inn, a building for the farrier to shoe the horses, the local pub and a moderate building for the village healer. Wandering around William thought of how small the marketplace here must be to that of the grand cities that lay beyond the forest that sheltered his home.

Usually he'd be off doing chores till late afternoon, but today he just enjoyed the smells of freshly cooking meats and breads that only seemed to tease his sensitive nose. It was only because today was his thirteenth birthday that he was able to get away with not doing his daily responsibilities that led him to wander between the adults that greeted him and wished him luck on his hunt. Though his nerves had calmed down about his upcoming hunt, the constant reminding from everyone did nothing to help him.

Thinking back to when he first heard about it, he could still remember the stories that were told about the origins of his village's rite into manhood. How it all started from males that had gathered the most food to spread to the females during the scouring hot summers and bone chilling winters when food was scarce. The amount of food found, in turn, gave them the strength and energy to protect everyone from predators. Those that weren't able to provide enough for them to sustain their strength were picked off and killed by the feral animals in the forest.

How, that over the years the men had turned the hunt for food into a game of sorts to see who could bring the most back to the waiting females, while bringing down feral animals like bears or wolves that might pose a threat to their families. And generation after generation that "game" had become a way for young kids to prove themselves and get into adulthood in the eyes of their community.

Returning his attention to where he was going, as to not bump into someone accidentally, he started to make his way past the blacksmith when a deep booming voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Hey William!" A familiar voice called out; turning to the owner of the voice, William couldn't help but smile as wide as he could make spotting his friend, Joseph, waving at him. Naturally, William waved back to his friend as he made his way to the blacksmith's forge that lay a good twenty feet away.

Joseph set down the hammer he had in his left hand on the anvil in front of him and patted his hands against the brown apron he wore, signifying that he was a blacksmith apprentice. It was sort of funny in a way though. If one was to look at him at first glance they never would have suspected him of working in a forge.

It was mainly because of his scrawny build made him look like he couldn't lift a hammer; let along swing one. Just like other skunks of his species, Joseph had pitch black fur that covered most of his body; a stroke of white fur that ran from the top of his forehead down, stopping right between his eyes. White fur covered the top of his head, down the back of it splitting into two columns of white that resided on his sides. He even had the traditional white and back pattern on his lush, fluffy tail as well as it swayed softly side to side behind him.

"Glad to see you're out and about instead of staying inside" Joseph said playfully as his friend stopped a foot away from the anvil.

"You mean like you and James were two weeks ago when you two had your hunt?" William chuckled remembering Joseph's twin brother, James.

"Hahaha," Joseph laughed sarcastically as he shifted his weight to his left leg. "Well I doubt you're as calm as a dandelion."

Their conversation was interrupted for a moment as a passing opossum wished William luck and even handed him a small silver four-sided trinket with the shape of a dragon's claw in the center, saying it was a lucky charm of his. Watching the possum walk off and disappear with the crowd.

"Nervous yes. Getting a tad bit annoyed from others constantly wishing me luck . . . yes."

"Heh, well you're gonna have to suck it up, fuzz butt."

"I'll do that as soon as you stop stinking up the place." William chuckled covering a hand over his nose as if his friend really did stink.

"I'd say touché, but you forgot something," Joseph said light heartedly "It's only feral skunks that stink. I smell as fresh as a newly blossoming rose." As he talked, Joseph moved a hand in front of his nose as if smelling a flower that wasn't there. Both stared at one another for a few moments before bursting out into a fit of laughter.

William was the first of the two to calm his laughs down enough to talk. "So Joseph, do you think that old bear Lucas will let you go today?"

As if summoned just by the mention of his name, Lucas walked out from behind the large furnace causing Joseph to almost jump out of his skin. Standing proud and with a confidence in his abilities at crafting blades and armor, it would be hard pressed to find a bear like him to be more capable at a forge.

Standing just a half head shorter than William's father, he had the perfect build for a smithy. With arms twice as thick as an average adult's arm, he easily had more than enough strength to beat the pliable metal into whatever shape he needed them to be. His brown coat of fur only missing in a few places from accidents he had while an apprentice many years ago. In actuality, he was much older than his looks portrayed him to be and he took joy in that fact.

"If someone wasn't slacking off then I'd let him go now." Lucas scowled at Joseph, who was still gathering himself from the sudden surprise. "And what do you mean old bear? I'm not old yet!" He said gruffly, this time targeting William, but with a slight lightheartedness undertone.

"Err . . . did I say old? What I meant to say was umm . . . aged? Yes that's it. That's what I meant to say."

"Nice save." Lucas grinned letting out a deep hearty chuckle.

"Thanks." William replied, lowering his ears against the back of his head in embarrassment.

"So, you want to take my apprentice away before you go on your hunt?"

"If that wouldn't be any trouble for you."

"Well," Lucas paused in contemplation. "I don't see a major reason to let him go right now. If I do that, it won't really be beneficial to him."

"Oh . . ." William sighed softly in disappointment. He already knew what the answer was going to be after his blunder calling Lucas an old bear. A hand resting on his head caught him off guard as the big bruin continued.

"I was young once too and being with friends helps a lot to calm the nerves." Kneeling down Lucas hushed his voice slightly. "But are you sure you want to hang around with Joseph on a day like this? I mean, do you remember what happened two weeks ago? It took a solid three hours to find those two and get them to get their hunt over with."

"I can still hear you," Joseph butted in. "Isn't anybody going to just let that go? It's all over with!"

"No one is going to let it go for a while." Joseph groaned irritably at Lucas's response as he plunged a glowing red blade into an elongated bucket of water, a sharp hissing noise immediately followed as steam rose from the waters surface.

"I'll tell you what, William. If Joseph agrees that tomorrow he makes up the work he missed today, I'll let him go this once."

William glanced over at his friend; a gleaming hope of get a break in his eyes as he slipped off his black leather gloves. "You can count on that, sir!"

"Now hold your horses. You still have to finish up here." Lucas halted his all too eager to leave apprentice. "Joseph will be along shortly, William. Don't forget to prepare yourself either alright?"

"I won't forget." William nodded as he started turning around to leave.

"Joseph, I'll be over by the cow pasture when you're done." An "all right" and a sigh was his only reply from his friend as he walked off into the bustling bodies of fur.

It wasn't a long walk to the meadow lush with dew dampened grass; resting his chin on a fence post that was chest high William guessed it must have been at least a good five or even seven minutes to walk from the blacksmith to where the cows, and even a few bulls, grazed.

Letting his eyes wonder across the field of cattle and grass, he stopped when he noticed someone was feeding one of the cows a handful of hay. Squinting, as to see who the person was, he recognized almost immediately as one of his friends, Terra. Watching her he heard her giggle from the cow's tongue brushing against the pads on her palm.

Watching her he couldn't help but notice her trim form covered by her soft powder blue blouse. Gray fur lined the top of her thin muzzle, forehead and down her back. White fur outlined the bottom of her eyes, and lower jaw. Black streaks ran from her tear ducks down to the side of her black nose. Orange fur lay, between the gray and white on her body, along with her arms and hands.

"I didn't know stalking was a way to get a girl to like you." William jumped back, startled as he twirled around to face who had surprised him. It turned out to be Joseph that had snuck up behind William while he was staring at Terra; a bit far too long from what Joseph could guess.

"I wasn't stalking anyone." William replied, his heart still thumping rapidly against his chest.

"Sure you weren't," Joseph teased. Holding a hand up, he offered his friend a pale colored rectangular box. "Here, Lucas wanted to give you something that he thought would help you out later."

Taking the gift with a bit of caution, William looked over it suspiciously. It didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary like the few gifts he'd been given throughout the years from his friend. Just a normal box; though it had a bit of weight to it from whatever was inside. Carefully opening the package he was mesmerized to find a brand new looking dagger in the middle of a black cloth like cushion.

The dagger's blade looked like it had been very well polished and perfectly reflected the sun light that hit it. The handle had a rounded end to it that seemed to fit perfectly into his hand when he picked it up. Gold ribbons coiled around blue swirls decorating the pearly white handle; both colors appearing to reach up and stopped at the hand guard separating hilt from blade.

"Wow, I-I don't know what to say . . . " Flipping the dagger over in his hand he noticed it seemed to have a near flawless balance to it.

"You can tell him thanks when you see him again later. I umm, tried making one for you but I somehow messed up on it . . ."

"Heh," William chuckled softly patting his friend in the back. "Well thanks for trying."

"My pleasure, and thanks for getting me away from Lucas. I needed a break for a while now." Half wincing Joseph rubbed his right bicep.

"What? Is it that hard being a blacksmith apprentice?"

"Very." Both were startled by a sudden rumbling sound; Joseph, grinning awkwardly, gripped at his stomach. "Sorry, but I was hoping to grab something to eat before coming here. Lucas said food could wait and to get you that dagger first."

"Didn't get enough to eat?"

"Not really. Work up later than I should have and had to rush over to the smithy before I was late."

"Ah okay. Well doesn't your brother work over at the inn?"

Walking at a leisurely pace away from the cow field, Joseph nodded slowly as another grumble came from his stomach. "Oh yea, maybe we could get a discount or something." Pausing he glanced over at his friend. "Well, me anyways cause he's family."

"It's alright by me; I'm not really hungry anyhow. Always forget how filling wheat biscuits can be."

"Apparently they're not filling enough for some people." Both soon went from chuckling to talk about the future and where they might end up in life or who they would want to be with. Their talk even turned to the rite. Joseph even questioned why in the past multiple hunters went out into the forest and now it's only one person at a time.

He also asked why it was changed from more experienced hunters to those who haven't actually hunted anything before. The only responses he got from William, however, was a "Maybe someone accidently killed someone else so they had to make one person go at a time" and a "Possibly to get the less experienced people to become more skilled." Time seemed to fly as the two continued to reminisce about other subjects that perked their interest.

Soon, though, that ended abruptly when a sharp hissing voice and a hard shove on William's left shoulder caused him to loose balance and nearly fall face first into the ground. "Get out of the way you stupid wox!"

With he's friend's help William got back onto his feet; mentally groaning in the back of his head. 'Great, of all the people to run into why did it have to be him?'

Making sure William was alright Joseph turned to face the one who pushed him, who didn't get very far before hearing. "That was utterly uncalled for Marah! Especially today!" A sudden whirl of dark brown fur Marah was facing William and his friend.

Just like his parents, Marah had pale fur from his forehead, down his cheeks and ending under his jaw. The same pale fur also ran down either sides of his back, while his dark brown fur covered everywhere else. Sharp canines protruded from slightly raised lips and long claws were hidden in his fists.

Being part of the only wolverine species in the region, Marah's parents' had grown paranoid over the years and thought everyone was out to get them. Combined with the paranoia from his parents and the natural aggressiveness of their species, both parents' and their son were always hostile to nearly everyone they've met.

The only thing that made such a combination worse was the fact that Marah's father hated any and all hybrid species with a passion and sought to make any he runs across as miserable as possible every time he got the chance. That hate for hybrids had been passed on to his son and both father and son thought it "fun" to go after the only hybrid in the village; William.

Standing at least two feet taller than William, Marah seemed to loom over him as he snarled angrily. "Like I care what day it is, I'll do what I dam well please!" Glaring at William, Marah curled his lips further revealing his two rows of yellow tented teeth.

"Just because you have your big hunt today, you think I'm gonna give you some kind of special treatment? Pfff, you probably won't get anything bigger than a rabbit!" William met Marah's glare with his own, trying to understand his hate for him. It's like the moment he was born Marah despised him.

Noticing others starting to gather around and stare at them, William turned and started to leave; motioning for his friend to follow. "Come on Joseph, let's not deal with him. Besides it's probably just his time of the month again." William said in a suave tone.

Marah's face flushed red in anger from the insult and he started to charge at William. "What was that, you filthy half breed?! You better watch your mouth before I-"

Ears perking slightly William was surprised hearing Marah cut off mid sentence. It wasn't often that someone stopped him or one of his parents when they were angry. Glimpsing over his shoulder he was surprised to see Richard standing behind Marah; his right hand firmly grasping his neck and left holding Marah's left arm behind his back.

"Before you what?" Richard asked pushing Marah's left arm into his back causing him to wince in pain. "Come on now, I want to hear what you were going to say."

Snarling through his teeth, Marah struggled to get out of Richard's grip. "Let . . . me . . . go."

"Let you go? Well now, why should I do something you want? I don't have to listen to an insolent whelp like, you." Pushing his weight behind his left arm Richard forced Marah lower onto the ground. "But I'll give you a bit of advice. I've run across many people like you in my life. You all think you can push others around just because you think you're better, or stronger, or what have it. Want to know what happened to them? They all ended up as one of my hundreds of adversaries and guess what?"

Lowering his head down Richard made sure his voice was just low enough for only Marah to hear him speak. "They all died by my hands. I don't care what the village leaders do, but if you don't show others respect you'll be just another number to me."

"When my parents find out how you're treating me, they'll have your head!"

Leaning in close Richard whispered into Marah's left ear, his voice softer than a whisper but harsh and hoarse like rock scrapping against rock. "They'll have to try after I tell everyone your family's little secret!"

Immediately ending any attempt to get free, Marah stared fixated at the ground; seemingly paralyzed from Richard's words alone. "H-how do you know about that?" Richard let out a lewd, half chuckle half snort hearing the stutter in the young wolverine's voice.

"Oh you'd love to know that wouldn't you, you whelp? How bout I tell you something you' and your parents' should know. I've heard the village chief is damn near had enough of you three and if anyone of you cross the line," Across his muzzle a devious grin spread wide, almost reaching from ear to ear. "All of you will be out of here. And one other thing, if I hear you OR your father talk bad about William in anyway I'll let that little secret out and help it spread like wild fire!"

Quickly Richard stood up and brought Marah onto his feet before turning around and pushing him forwards almost bringing him off balance as he staggered forwards. As he regained his footing, Marah twirled around; his face mixed between doubt of Richard's words and fear to if they were true.

"I don't care if what you said is true or not, my parents will have your head for treating me like that! And I don't care what anyone else says but IT," Marah placed a harsh emphasis on "it" as he pointed sharply at William. "Shouldn't be allowed to hunt; that trash couldn't even kill an ill animal with no legs!"

Letting out a growl, Richard scowled irritably as he stepped forwards; his left hand swiftly going for the handle to the short sword that hung on his right hip. Marah's heart thumped rapidly against his chest as Richard closed the gap between them; instinct taking over his body turned on its own accord. Dashing between and pushing past the crowd of people that had circled the three, watching the situation with interest as it played out, Marah fled from Richard, William and Joseph as quickly as he could before the older wolf could reach him.

Slowly the crowd began to disperse as everyone went back on about their day; Richard hurriedly walked back to William and his friend smiling as if nothing at all had happened.

"Well now, I do hope you two are alright."

Joseph was the first of the two to respond as Richard begun to carefully re-sheath his sword. "Yeah we're okay. You . . . you weren't really going to use that on him were you?"

"Hmm? Oh! You mean take a swing at him? Sure he had it coming but no, I was actually going to hit him over the head and knock him out." shifting his stance to put more weight into his left foot, Richard crossed his arms across his chest. "Tell the truth, I'd love to teach him some manners but I have other business to attend to. First on the list was to find you, William. Your father and I got you something for today so, Joseph, I hope you don't mind if I steal Will from you for a while."

"I don't mind. We were just going to stop by the inn for a minute or two and I don't have long to get back to work before Lucas starts looking for me. You take care, William and good luck today!"

"Thanks and tell Lucas thanks for the dagger when you see him."

"I'll make sure he gets the message." Joseph chuckled walking off towards the inn and up the stairs, disappearing as he opened up the doors and went inside. Nudging William's shoulder to gain his attention, Richard nearly spun on his heel and started walking away; William following close trying to keep up as they quickly made their way to a large hay covered area.

Golden straws stretched across one and a half acres of lat grassland, stopping at the foot of low rolling hills. Two perfectly straight rows of large hay stacks lay on either side of a rock line a few meters in front of an adult sized hay target tied onto a long stick stuck into the ground.

"How come where here? I don't have my bow and arrows with me." William started watching Richard trot over to the farthest row of hay, bend over and pluck the large package he had with him earlier out from the hay and set it on top. Waving a hand over to William, beckoning him to come over, his large wolfish grin almost betraying what was in the container. "Don't worry about that. Your father and I got you this!"

William let out a gasp of surprise as he opened the lid finding a new bow and a quiver filled with iron arrows inside. "This is my father's bow!" What astonished William most about his gift was the fact it was in one piece. The last time he had seen it in his father's trophy case, it had literally been in 4 different pieces and the string was gone after one of his dad's adventures with Richard that had gone down hill.

Picking up the long bow, William held it tight in his hands while he looked it over. It was at least three inches longer than his body. Pulling the string took a little more effort than William would have thought as he pulled the string back; he could feel the strength behind the tension building at both the ends of the bow. Elaborate engraved tribal markings of wolves running, as if after pray, streaked and swirled around the yew wood that made up the bow; the designs at either end reaching and stopping at the leather grip in the center.

"You know your father kept that for years as a reminder of what happened when I saved him, and he thought it was high time he gave it to you. Obviously it be of no use broken so he asked me for help and I talked to someone that stilled owed me some favors." Leaning against the hay Richard motioned to the dummy target. "So here it is now. Go on and show me what you can do."

Time seemed to fly with Richard, and soon William found himself on the outskirts of town, standing nervously before of the entire population of villagers. Looking back he could spot his mother and father standing out in front of the crowd of bodies; the smiles they wore beamed with excitement for their son. William even spotted Richard, Joseph and his brother and Lucas to the left of his parents, in various spots among the crowd.

Turning to face the sea of trees, William took a deep breath of fresh cool are before beginning his trek. As he walked away the sound of his mother's voice calling out "Good luck hun!" gave him a boost in reassurance, just enough to help him calm his nerves slightly.

It didn't take long to reach the edge of the forest, but he noticed by the time he had stopped near the closest tree, the sun had already begun to move westward across the sky. Stopping in his tracks he stood staring at the virtual sea of wood and leaves ahead of him. Looking up he could barely see the tip of the trees that swayed gently in the soft breeze as a handful of gulls flew overhead; their white feathered bodies sticking out against the powder blue of the sky above them.

Taking one cautious step forward, followed by another, William slowly made his way into the dense woods; swallowed by the branches and shadows around him as he went further inside. He truly felt out of his element in this new world he dived into. Scattered branches, small rocks, and acorns made each step hard on the sensitive paw pads on his feet. Rough edges from rocks scrapped against the pink flesh; several times William nearly tripped over arched roots from trees, or pull out thorns out of his feet from plants hidden under the fallen leaves.

Each carefully placed step seemed like nothing but a failed attempt to not step on something that made him have to rethink the placement of his next step. It felt like hours had passed by as William stumbled upon a rather large tree root that lay above the ground. Taking a seat he brought his right leg up and rested his ankle on his left knee; examining his sore feet and cursing under his breath seeing the cracks and cuts and even the newly forming blisters. Tenderly rubbing his foot, William took the time to examine just where he was.

Above him, the sheer amount of leaf covered branches made it near impossible to see the sky above making the area around him shadowed and darker than when he entered. The air around him seemed different as well . . . it seemed to have a more earth smell to it, much thicker than he was used too. As he breathed in the aroma it became harder to breath because of how thick it hung in the air.

Something else seemed different as well. Not moving a muscle William sat as still as he could and concentrating on listening on what's around him. The steady beating of his heart, a soft breeze to the east blew and shook the leaves, some falling from the tree tops, and the almost silent sound of small clawed paws against bark above him.

Ears swiveling with each movement, William found it difficult to pin point the exact location of the noise. Looking up he barely had time to register the movement of light brown against the green of leaves in a tree in the corner of his eye. Eyes glued to that one spot William sat there for what seemed like half an hour waiting for something to happen. Anything to happen to give him some insight to what it was that moved. Letting out a long sigh William stood back onto his feet, wincing as he took an inhale of air through gritted teeth, as he felt just how sore his feet and legs were. Despite the years of chores and hours-on-end of standing and walking, these few hours of trudging through the forest floor have been the most difficult on his feet.

Limping slowly past small ferns that grew next to large oaks, William resumed what he came to accomplish. Venturing further and further into the unknown, the serene, picturesque, view he had become acquainted too, to one that began to take a more threatening and unwelcoming sight. As if it warned those that entered of its dangers, for only a moment, before taking them away from this world to one that was nameless; even the wizards with all their knowledge and power.

The vast amount of leaves that had covered the sky, previously, now thinned, sun light penetrating the tree tops splitting as they hit branches and dotted the ground in golden beams. White spores hung through the air seemed more noticeable in the light than before as they floated leisurely with the barely flowing breeze. Glancing up, William could finally gaze upon the heavens and the colors that painted them reminding him of the sunsets he'd watch so often before.

The thin limbs of leafless branches twisted and curled like the boney hands of death, reaching out to grasp the life from those who ventured too close, leaving their body for the scavengers of the forest. Each step forwards, William's hope of completing his hunt dimmed; no trampled leaves nor animal prints in the semi hard ground and no recent scents to follow. The thought of this part of the woodland belonging to the dead, might have been true if it had not been the feeling of someone, or something, watching him the moment he stepped foot into the forest.

Lifting his left foot, William felt a momentary tug against his foot, only to realize a little too late as he tumbled to the ground he had snagged his foot against a thick arched root. Not having enough time to brace himself, he hit the ground with a hard thump that scattered some of the dead leaves and dirt around him.

Cursing at the root in annoyance as he got back onto his feet, he quickly brushed the dirt and leaves off his chest and arms before noticing a familiar nose in the tree tops above. The soft scrapping from earlier caught his attention once more, and as he looked in the direction it came from he spotted dozens, upon dozen of small dark brown and tan bodies along the branches. Greenish-yellow eyes glared at him from all over as he found himself surrounded by the astute squirrels his father had gone after; each squirrel giving off a series of raspy bark like noises as they glanced from one another to William.

Thanks to his father's paranoia whenever he even dared trying to step into the forest, William had picked up some familiarity with some of the noises of the astute squirrels. Avoiding making eye contact William lowered his head, barely glancing up to see exactly where he was going, as he swiftly moved on.

He could nearly feel the intensity of their glares on his back; small claws scraping against bark while they followed him closely like a predator hunting its prey. Minutes of pivoting his ears right and left, trying to keep an idea of where they were, he heard something he didn't expect to hear; or not hear as the case may be, noticing the lack of scratching of claw on wood.

Risking a peek to over his shoulder he realized why they weren't following him; they had stopped. All of them had stopped. But not only stopped but looked like they were whispering to one another; some that were closer to William were even backing away from him!

Taking in a deep breath of air while slowing his pace to a halt, a strong appalling scent penetrated his nose; the powerful musky odor was enough to take away his breath and made him gag nearly simultaneously. Scrunching his nose up, he had to cover his right hand over his mouth and nose, soon finding himself becoming lightheaded from the stench and forced him to lean against a near by tree for support.

Panting through his hand for air he barely recognized the insignificant movements north east of where he sat. Until he heard the digging into dirt that made him look at what made the noise, he felt like he could have been fine under the circumstances. But seeing the hulking beast he was uncomfortably close to William felt his heart just about leap from his chest in fright.

He'd only heard stories about dire bears and their ferocity when he was young. He'd been told about their quick temper and was always looking for food and would eat anything that might have been edible. How they could rip men in half and tear them to shreds with ease, using only claws and teeth. How their natural armor covered most of their body, even if only some of it shown through the fur.

And close to thirty feet away from him stood a bulky, black fur covered bear. That's what he would have thought it been if it hadn't been for the fact that this thing was twice as tall on all fours that his father was on two legs. Patches of mud covered the thick furred pelt from nose to tail and flies circled the badly matted fur. Small, pinky sized, silver colored spikes lined across its brow, along its lower jaw and under its chin.

Larger spikes, similar in color, the size of his forearm seemed to thrust out of plates of metallic flesh on the bear's front arms. Its shoulders, hind quarters, and rib cage also were covered in the same metal like substance. The canine teeth in its lower jaw jutted from its mouth, easily the size of the dagger blade that William had strapped to his hip and the same went for the four claws on each paw.

The sound of it snorting and a loud sneeze brought William out of his stupor. Slowly and carefully to not make any noise, he lifted himself ever so silently up onto his feet and hid himself behind the tree he had leaned on, not five minutes before. Thoughts raced through his mind, ranging from 'I'm going to die' to 'I've got to get out of here!'

William wasn't one of the religious types to pray to the gods for any reason, but he prayed for the first time in years to his peoples' god of the hunt, Kynegia, for any kind of aid. No matter how hard he tried to move his feet, his mind refused to carry out his command, his feet felt like each weighed over a ton. He'd never felt so petrified before now, never so close to what could be his demise.

Clenching his eyes shut William tried to dig what courage he could muster that hadn't hid itself away in the deepest reaches of his mind. For a split second he felt himself regain control of his own body, and began lifting his right foot to start to get away when the image of Marah and what he had said earlier forced itself through his fear and plans to get away.

'That trash couldn't even kill an ill animal with no legs!'

William could still see the hate for hybrids in Marah's face when he said it; the glint in his eye like he knew he was right. Like he knew what William was going to face. Like he knew William would try to run for it. Like he knew William would have given into fear.

'Come on William you can do this! Show you can prove that jerk how wrong he can be!' He thought as he tried to poke what little of his muzzle out from behind the tree before he could look at the dire bear before him.

'I can kill it . . . right?'

Anxiously reaching for the bow strung across his shoulder and an arrow from his quiver, William lined up his shot and pulled the yellowish twine back. His nerves combined with the tension building in the shot caused his aim to be unsteady and the arrow to shake in his grip as he watched the dire bear turn its head away from him.

'M-maybe I can get lucky . . .' Letting go of the arrow he watched as his shot flew towards his target, hoping that his shot could kill the beast.

Ears perking he stared at the arrow hitting and sinking into the flesh of the dire bear, and for a moment thought he took it down. His heart skipped a beat as he saw it move and only seeing then his arrow had plunged itself underneath the bear's metal like plate on its shoulder. Involuntarily stepping back he unwittingly stepped onto a tree branch, snapping it and catching the now angry dire bear's attention.

Hearing the bear let out a loud roar, William turned and ran as fast as his feet could carry him; his heart beating fast enough that he heard the blood pumping through his ears. Hearing the bear crash into the trees behind him, William forced his legs to move faster trying to widen the gap between him and the beast.

Looking back for a brief moment William saw the dire bear gaining a substantial amount of ground even with an arrow in its shoulder and crimson blood seeping from its wound. Turning his head back around he tripped over his own feet, sending himself tumbling to the ground. His bow flew from his hand, clattering as it hit the ground, and his arrows flew from his quiver, scattering amongst the ground ahead of him as he landed on the hard earth below.

Scrambling to snatch his bow and the nearest arrow, William felt a powerful paw smash into his side sending him into a near by tree. Feeling the air rush out of his lungs he slid to the ground and watched the bear stand on its hind legs; barely rolling out of the way he heard the wood were he was against ripped asunder by the dire bear's massive claws.

Grasped his bow and arrow he gasped feeling the bear swing its massive arm and just barely hit him again; sending him forwards, toppling head over heel and landing onto his back. Wincing as pain jolted throughout his entire body he could hear the heavy steps of the dire bear walking to him, the ground beneath him shaking like it itself was afraid of what was to come. The whole of his body felt weak and pain flared like the heat of a dying sun as he lay, watching the beast rising onto its hind paws.

Just before the tower of angry, fur and flesh before him came crashing down, William managed to attain the strength to bring his bow up and pull back the arrow he clutched to so desperately as the bear opened its massive jaws and let out a roar. Feeling his end rapidly closing, he couldn't bare to watch as, he released his final shot.

* * *

"So, John, how do you think your boy is going to do?" Richard asked gulping down the last of the liquor that remained in his wooden mug.

"He'll do fine. I know he will." John replied scanning the edge of the dark forest for any sign of movement. Tossing a glance at his friend, John turned and shifting his weight into his left foot while placing his hands to his hips.

"Word has it you got into a little scuffle with Marah earlier. Mind telling me what that was about?"

"Hey the little bastard started it when he stopped on my tail before running off! I just ended it when I found him messing with William."

"First day back in months and you're already getting into fights with them. I think that's a new record for you."

"Yeah I think it probably is." Just about to lean back against the thick tree stump he sat against, Richard snapped his fingers thrice as he bolted upright.

"Oh! John! I found something out when I was in that scuffle with Marah. His family has some sort of secret!"

Snorting John turned his back to his friend and went back to waiting for his son to emerge from the shadows of the forest. "That doesn't surprise me. Those paranoid buggers probably have a ton of secrets."

"That may be the case, but this one has got to be big! I was just bluffing when I said I knew about "their family secret" and you should have seen the face on the kid!"

"Really? Interesting, you know they might not like it if it got out huh?"

"I doubt it."

"Heh, well you've always been the lucky one."

"Yeah you're right about that."

"Just remember, Richard, luck doesn't last forever. It'll run out sooner or later."

"I think it already has started to run out. You know last week I ended up loosing a bet for the first time in years?"

"Oh really? That sounds like it must have really hurt huh?" John teased mocking his friend's supposed loss. He knew Richard well enough and long enough to know such a thing wouldn't actually happen, not after the amount of luck charms he'd gotten for himself years before they met. The tight circle of friends that they had known always said that Richard was lucky enough that if he ever got unlucky he's just need to rub his own feet to be back on top.

Shaking his head Richard chuckled softly; he rose onto his feet and strolled over to stand next to John. "Ouch, mind saying that without the sarcasm please?"

"Why? It's not as much fun without it."

Hearing the faint rustling of underbrush both John and Richard faced the forest, each trying to locate the noise. Richard was first to spot a dark figure limping out of the tree line and towards the village.

"I do believe he's returned." Patting his friend's shoulder for a moment Richard started to walk away grinning wide. "I'll go get the others. Can't wait to see what he brought with him!"

* * *

Limping into his village, William felt as though his legs were on the brink of going out under him; each step sending what felt like fire through the very fibers of his legs. Every ragged breath pain rocketed throughout his chest.

"Finally you came back! I was beginning to think you got lost out there!" Ears perking up to the familiar voice, William smiled weakly to the sight of his friends, family and members of the village waiting to greet him. Enya, already running to wrap her arms around her son, was followed by her husband.

"Oh my poor baby! You look like you had a fight with a troll!" William flinched and whined in pain as his mother embraced him, she quickly let go of him; apologizing and instead took to holding his cheeks. His father laughed quietly the moment he caught up.

"Enya, honey, give the boy some room. He just got back after all! Besides," Taking a quick look at the bloodied shirt his son was dragging, John was anxious to see what his son had brought with him. "He's got a story to tell and a kill for everyone to see!"

Watching from behind everyone, Marah and his father glared at William; Marah's father letting out a scornful growl. "Look at that abomination. Why couldn't it have slipped and fell into a hole?"

"I know father. At least that thing doesn't look like it had killed something proud to bring back. Heh, probably found a carcass and brought it back with'em."

Grinning at the possibility they watched on as William began unraveling his shirt, and in shock, both didn't believe it when he pulled a dire bear's head out and raised it high for everyone to see; the iron arrow he used still lodged in the upper jaw and out of its skull.

Marah heard his father curse under his breath and storm off; he himself acted like everyone else, not knowing what to do as they continued to gape at what William had brought with him.

* * *

William told everyone how scared he was when he saw the dire bear and how he managed to keep himself from running away; even saying how Marah, no less, had a hand to play. He went on to tell how much he thought he was going to die when the bear started to go after him and even more so, seconds before his final shot with his bow.

John stood gaining everyone's attention from his son's story, absolutely filled with pride. "Everyone, tonight my son has proven his manhood! Tonight we will celebrate!" At those words all of the villagers cheered as William, beaming wider than ever with the biggest smile on his face he ever wore, as those around him congratulated him.

The night seemed to go on forever as people laughed and danced while others simply told stories of their past. Everybody enjoying themselves as the night rode on. William listened in on a few of his father's friends joking with each other. One of them calling him over and offered William his cup saying, if he was a man he could down a real mans drink. Taking the jug in hand, he sniffed the liquid and pulled his head away hastily; sticking his tongue out as he did so.

His reaction only made the group laugh and prompted for them to tease him. Feeling his cheeks start to heat up, William held the jug steadily in his grip and took a deep breath before bringing the cup to his lips; ignoring the smell he swallowed the liquid inside in one gulp.

Ignoring the sounds of someone hacking and several grown men cackling, Richard faced a group of children; their eager faces excited to hear another of his tales. Wiping his mouth clean on the sleeve of the new dark green shirt he had dressed in, William strolled over to Richard; listening in on one of his old stories of escorting a wealthy panther across a bandit infested forest.

"And so there I was, my back against a tree, surrounded by a dozen bandits and no were to go." Richard said as he spoke to a crowd of young children mesmerized by his tale. "One after the other they lunged at me." Raising his voice to a semi-shout a few of the kids screamed in excitement. "But I was too quick as they soon learned, each falling to my blade while the panther was kept safe."

"Last time you told that story you were surrounded by two dozen bandits and a troll." William chuckled as he listened to Richard finish his story which made him, glance at him as if to say "Don't say another word".

Looking up William leaned back and gazed at the sky taking in the sight of countless stairs that hung over head. The festivities continued even while the moon hung high over head, and eventually started to slowly travel down, William felt an uneasiness, creep up his spine. As the celebration began to dwindle, the villagers started to head inside their homes, and as William walked begun walking home a soul piercing roar filling the night air.

An immense feeling of fear suddenly filled his being as he, and others, looked around franticly to find the source of the noise. William's ears pivoted as the sound of beating wings came from behind him. As he turned a stream of flame smashed into one of the homes, the straw roof and wood frame bursting into ablaze.

The villagers panicked as jets of fire flew through the air scorching the homes and earth; William watched as everything around him burned. Villagers trying to escape were burnt a cinder, frightened livestock ran and the crop fields light up the night sky as they too caught fire. William felt someone grab his shoulder, turning he saw it was Richard who jammed the bow and quiver of arrows into his chest.

"Don't just stand there! Find what's doing this and help kill it!" Richard barked at him. Coming to his senses William strapped the quiver onto his shoulder and grabbed an arrow as he readied his bow looking for something to shoot. Turning around he watched as a colossal black dragon landed in front of him; its scales black as night and shimmered in the orange glow of flames like well polished armor.

Its wings were torn and withered, dark gray bones extending from its spine, knees and all atop its head. Large horn like bones protruded from the sides of its head and bent inwards at the middle. It opened its jaws, revealing rows of yellow stained teeth the size of long swords, molten fire seeped from the sides its maw. The dragon's breath, assaulted William's nose, and filled it with the stench of brimstone and rot of flesh.

William stood awestruck with fear as he looked into its eyes; two large orbs, the color of hellfire, penetrated one's soul and could replace the most heroic of men's bravery with terror. The beast rose onto its hind legs, spreading its enormous wings out, and beat them with such force it sent dust and rocks flying into the air. Letting out a roar with such ferocity, William felt death's cold touch wrapping around him as flames began to spew from the creature's jaws and fly towards him.