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Keeper of the Rings

Janet walked into the living room area of her cabin. It was a large cabin and her family had been pretty well off. In the summer a team of farmers would take care of the farm work while she was free to tend to her horses and relax enjoying life. It had been four months since her father died and the summer equinox had just come. She sat in her fathers chair and looked at the fireplace. Janet thought about her father his pipe still on the fireplace mantle and the smell of his tobacco still emanated from his chair. She thought about her father, she still missed him a lot and it was hard to live in the house without him. Janet was strong willed and had every intension to fulfill his last request this being her only real drive at this point. Her mind wandered and she found her self sitting next to her father on his death bed as he spoke to her.

"Dear daughter, I must tell you your heritage before I go," his voice was a wheeze and he coughed every so often, "You have always asked of my ring and what it meant. Well it is one of many that symbolize the packed that has mystically bonded us to the supernatural for almost three hundred years. Your ancestors were the last of the magi in the house of Jeko-Cag and now a power like nothing you could believe will be yours to control. A second family is bonded to us but they are not human. Please I know what I say is strange and unbelievable but it is true not just the ramblings of an old man. We are linked to werewolves but they are not the monsters of myth but real flesh and blood creatures. Our family is sworn to help them in any time of need, regardless of risk and consequence they are bound the same. Your mother was the last sorceress to bear the ring and soon it will empower you. You are a sorceress you will understand what that means in time. The werewolves have kept our family safe from harm for a long time and in return we have helped them survive. If any wolf or human ever comes to you and bears a ring like my own you must help them in any way possible. Please promise me that you will my daughter."

"Yes father I will, I swear to uphold our family code," she hastily replied.

"Good Janet I'm glad you can do this for me. Now I must tell you what you should know. If you ever need help you have but to think about it, never fear the wolf for he will never harm you, he is our friend. Do you remember the waterfalls up north of here? It has been a while since you were there."

"Yes father of course," Janet replied.

"Good on the bottom of the pool you will find a jewel encrusted box. You will need to retrieve it. My ring will open the case and inside you will find eleven rings like mine. Six of these rings will be in leather pouches with straps to hold them from. Behind the waterfall you will find six indents in the rock and will place one of these pouches in each. The other five you will wear with mine. These rings are the focus of your power, you need only one to cast magic. You will know how when it is time. The power comes from within and only you and other women of our family can use them, it is in our blood our heritage. After you have done this you can send word of my passing. I know I'm supposed to be optimistic but if I'm alive none of this matters. Your uncle Sektree will claim two of the rings one for his daughter and one for her husband. A man will come to you the day of mourning and ask you to meet with the elders of his clan. He will have one of the rings from the waterfall. It is important that you listen to this man for he is my friend and most trusted ally. He is a werewolf and the elder of his clan the ones you meet are the local clans that we are linked to, again you have but to think of one in time of trouble to summon them. I hope you will be able to look past their appearance to see they are not the monsters they are perceived to be. They will explain anything you ask, the answers to all the questions you may have about the packed and them in general.

I wish I didn't have to hit you with all this before it was time but I fear I won't be here much longer, remember Janet that I love you and I will always be with you when you are in need, goodbye my daughter."

His breathing slowed and his eyes closed. Janet cried as her fathers dead body now lye before her the only thing she could think to do for him was honor the packed. She wasn't sure what that entailed but she had her instructions. Janet snapped out of her daydream and wiped a stray tear from her eye.

Janet had already gotten ready to go to the waterfall and knew it would be time to go for a swim soon. She finished her coffee and stood. She wore a pair of shorts and a skimpy t-shirt under a heavy robe. Her golden hair and milky white skin made her very attractive in the light and she looked in a mirror on the wall after putting the cup in the sink. She lit a lamp and made one more look around before she closed the door behind her. Her favorite horse thunder was already saddled and ready to go. Janet brushed his side and he quickly looked around and then nudged her with his head. He was a beautiful black stallion and was well trained and friendly. She mounted the horse and proceeded into the forest. During the ride she thought about her father. She wasn't a believer and all of this seemed like non-sense but a promise is a promise she would say to herself. Mages and werewolves were just stories to frighten kids and the idea that she would become one was preposterous to her. Janet started to laugh and realized how stupid she must look going into the forest to search for magic rings and wolf monsters that were her protectors. She reached the clearing of the falls after about half an hour and watched the waterfall gracefully over the cliff as the moonlight lit up the clear pond at its base.

Janet dove in and swam for a short while before finally deciding to dive down. It took almost an hour of diving before she finally came across the large jewelry box that had four small rubies with a larger emerald in the center. On the front of the box was a crest her family crest and a sapphire in the shape of a curved tooth. She came to shore and put on the robe she had worn to the falls. Janet put the box on a rock and looked at the ring. It was gold with diamond chips in a circle and a crystal in the middle. The ring began to glow and she felt strange. She started to see images and words flow in front of her eyes. This scared her for a moment but she couldn't resist the urge to speak. Her hand pointed to the moon against her will and then she spoke.

"Olaso-vansouvo-cornal," she said without knowing why.

A beam of light shot down hitting the crystal and then from the crystal to the emerald on the jewelry box. It was an odd thing for her to deal with as she started to take what her father said a little more seriously. The four rubies glowed as the tooth shaped sapphire turned and the box opened on its own. She put on the five rings that looked like hers and then took out the six pouches. As she slid the last of the five rings on her fingers she was dazed by a wave of words and images filling her mind and becoming part of her knowledge. She now began to realize her power as spells and magical knowledge seemed to be possessed in her memory.

Janet stood and looked at the rings. Every time she thought of a spell that she seemed to now know the rings glowed with a fiery passion. She decided to test her powers and her knowledge.

"nos-ven-thundra" she stated pointing the ring at the pond. A beam of blue energy shown from the rings hitting the pond waters and her fathers face appeared before her and spoke.

"Yes my daughter...you are beginning to understand your destiny. You will become a powerful force to protect the forest and our clans brethren. You are destine to become the most powerful of all mages to ever cast mage in our clan. I am proud of you and remember that death can no longer keep us apart. Your powers are only just beginning to develop but you are more powerful that I thought possible already. You can summon my spirit to the pool any time you need my council and I want you to follow your heart. Till you summon me again my daughter I bid you good day"

As he spoke the last words the face disappeared. Janet fulfilled her power as her memory had told her how. She floated to the cliff over the falls and raised all six rings to the air and chanted the sacred ritual that she instinctively knew. As she chanted the skies filled with dark clouds and thunder and lightning filled the air. She heard wolves howling in the forest as bolt after bolt of lightning came down from the heavens striking the rings and her body. No pain or discomfort befell her as she felt true power flowing through her body energizing her to full potential. When the lightning stopped she floated back to the ground and looked around. Six wolves stepped from the clearing and she could hear their thoughts. She smiled as she saw a tattoo on the front shoulder of each matching her family crest and knew that it was all true, everything she had been told.

Janet looked at the waterfall and smiled as the waters parted revealing the six pouches she placed in there only minutes earlier. She waved her hand and they floated to her and she put them down in front of her. One by one the wolves walked to her and took one of the pouches. The last stopped before her and she kissed him on the forehead and smiled. He gave a lick to her cheek before they all ran back to the forest. Janet returned to her house and rode back to her cottage to ponder the rest of her pact. She now considered the future of her clan and what the prophecies had in stored for her.

Janet walked into her cabin to find a wolf sitting on the floor, she could see he was younger than the ones she had met at the clearing although clearly still mature and of adult age. His pattern was interesting however with whites and silver coloring and black on his legs, very unusual. The most interesting feature however was his eyes, they were blue and seemed to glare at her with determination and pride but a sadness behind them.

She walked over at first a little nervous before she came to her senses and remembered what she now was. She kneeled and rubbed his head softly as he looked into her eyes and she could hear him speaking in her head.

"I am Darken I have been assigned as your personal guardian, and servant. I will do as you ask without question and eat what you decide to feed me." A sad and somewhat timid voice said.

Janet smiled softly and scratched his side, "I am Janet and I hope we can be friends, I don't need a servant or a protector but I wouldn't mind some company and someone who can answer questions for me."

Darkens Eyes widened a bit and he lowered his head, "I know Elder-Cag that is why they assigned me here, this is considered an assignment fro the unimportant, I would not wish to dishonor you by being your companion."

Janet frowned a bit confused and sat on the bed patting the spot next to her, "I would like you to come up her and relax as you explain that statement to me and the name is Janet."

Darken reluctantly got onto the bed and laid down looking at the ground, "I am an undesired member of my clan, my mother mated outside the wolf society to a police dog that had come to the forest after his master was killed. I was the result of that mating and my mother being a clan member makes me one as well, but my odd coloring and half blood makes me undesirable as a member. So when it came time to assign duties among the werewolves and full wolves I was given this assignment so the full bloods could do important work. In the case you have questions, the owner of having conversations with you is reserved to wolves of high status who hold the rings and the elders of the clans."

Janet hugged Darken against her pulling his paws up to rest on his lap as she petted him and thought about what he said, "well that's not the welcome I was expecting I guess the other clans don't care about the packed as much as I thought."

Darken stood quickly bowing and whimpers, "oh no please Elder-Cag that is not what I meant please don't be offended, You are the highest concern of the clans and your survival means everything to them, what I meant to say is we know that your power affords you all the protection you need and your ability to summon the ring holders with a thought never leaves you alone, it is just they have no use for me and thought this would be a good use for an otherwise unfit member of the clan."

Janet put her hand on his side till he got the idea she wanted him to lay down and looked at her puzzled, "First stop calling me Elder, I am not that old and my name is Janet, if your going to stay with me here I want you to call me that. Second I don't want a servant I want a friend, I am not like other magi before me, I have no idea what the customs and such are and frankly if they are this stuck up I have no interest in them. Finally you may have an odd fur coloring but other than that you look like a very large and healthy wolf to me and I find nothing wrong with you other than this innate fear they told you to have for me. Now if I ask you to do it than you have to yes?"

Darken nodded his head, "yes eld, I am mean Janet."

She smiled and laid her head on her pillow and scratched between his ears, "good then these are the rules, first I am Janet and you are Darken and you are my friend and protector not servant. Second you can talk to me anytime you want to and you can ask me for anything you need when you need it. Third, I want you to tell me anything I need to know when I need to know and teach me customs as needed ok?"

"Ok Janet, but I should tell you the elders may be unhappy about this, they may want to punish me severely for following these rules."

"I'll take care of that and if they try to lay a paw on you they will have to deal with me."

Darken laid down next to Janet and cuddled against her, "You know you're the nicest human or wolf I have ever met, I was really afraid of things but I feel a lot better now."

Janet turned on her side and cuddled the wolf to her and yawned as she closed her eyes to go to sleep, "You are going to make a wonderful friend to have around, now lets get some sleep Darken, tomorrow is another big day."

The end