Several Days ago…

Maikoh had recently split up from his sister Waya, he was making his way up the stream that they had left the hideless man near. He was trying to find any signs of passage without much success. In the back of his mind, he thought of the possibility that the unusual man had access to something that could help cover his scent or trail. Following someone who had access to the old magic made the chase unpredictable.

Thinking back to the tales his father used to tell him, “My boy, have I ever told you of the time your great grandfather ran alongside a wielder of old magic?”

“Dad, you’ve told us only around a hundred times.”

“Please tell us again Dad!” Waya yipped, she loved hearing stories of magic and how she came from a line of powerful wolves who used to also be able to use magic.

Maikoh sighed, “Go on then Dad, I know you’ll tell us anyway.”

“Bwahaha Cheeky brat! Alright, I have one that I’ve not told you about yet.” Maikah laughed and settled down to tell the tale of the time their grandfather helped fight the tyrannical king of the forest.

The children started getting drawn into the tale their father was weaving for them, Maikoh thought his father was embellishing some details. Who could believe that a wolf could run faster than the wind, or a wielder of old magic could fly and rain down bolts of lightning. It was far too ridiculous, nevertheless, he was caught up in the story and listened with rapt attention.

“...that was when the giant stag that was 10 wolves tall was wounded by the hideless, allowing great grandfather to land the final killing blow. The stag cried out helplessly, knowing it was the end. Your great grandfather slashed towards it, releasing claws of wind that could cleave through oak trees. The tyrannical king’s head fell from its shoulders, dropping to the ground with a thunderous crash! He then climbed on top of the enormous stag, he howled out for everyone to hear. ‘I am King of the forest, the wielder of wind! The tyranny of the stag is now over!’, that kids, is the tale of how our pack came to rule this forest. Grandfather was given the name Zephyr for his feats in the battle, thus it became our family name.”

“Wooow, Tell us another one dad!” Waya cried out. She then wailed as she was picked up by the scruff of her neck. Her father dropped her into a soft bed of leaves. “I will another time my little breeze. I think it’s time you kids went to sleep.”

Maikoh had trouble sleeping that night, excited thoughts flashed through his head. He dreamt of flying and creating weapons out of air. ‘Maikoh Zephyr… I never knew my family had such a magical past. Why did we lose our powers? Maybe if I meet a wielder of old magic they can teach me.’

Shaking his head to break out of his reminiscence of the past, he set his mind back to the task at hand.

He had been travelling upstream for several hours and still found no signs of the man. He was weighing up the chances that the hideless had travelled in his sister's direction. He figured at the very least he wouldn’t have trouble tracking his sister, so he continued to push forward hoping for some sign to indicate the man's passage.

After searching most of the day and some of the night, Maikoh had decided to give up and turn back to meet up with his sister. Returning the way he had come, he heard a disturbance in the distance. Crouching into the underbrush, he waited out whatever was making its way towards him. ‘Have I found him? I’m not sure how I could have passed him.’

Whatever it caused the noise was heading his way, coming ever closer. Upon seeing what was causing the noise, his hackles slowly started to rise as the source of the disturbance approached closer.

“I can’t believe those siblings have run away from the pack, Neugdae is enraged. He’s been grooming those kids for many moons, treating them like his own children and this is how they return his kindness!” One of the Grey wolves spoke in hushed tones to another wolf that was following at its side.

The other grey wolf followed with a limp, several claw marks were visibly bleeding on its hind leg, the injury looked very recent. “Don’t have to tell me about it, I received this injury as a reminder of my mistake. The Alpha didn’t like my report about our failed hunt of the Hideless. When he asked about the siblings, I had no idea what to say… who even cares about them apart from him. Bastard children of that wolf, their dad managed to kill my brother. I had to stand aside and watch as his children acted like they were part of the pack. Then they went ahead and betrayed us at the first opportunity. Disgusting.”

“Well we’ve caught their trail now, let’s keep quiet, one of them seems to have come this way. I can smell them nearby”

The two wolves walked past Maikoh who was still hiding in the bushes, they continued onwards following his original trail. Maikoh started to worry about Waya, thinking about how the Alpha wolf Neugdae could be following her. ‘Neugdae, that asshole wants me and my sister to treat him like a father. After what he did to our real father! He’s delusional.’ Letting out a low growl of frustration. He decided he had to catch up to his sister quickly before the wolves of the Grey pack caught up with her.

Once he was sure that he couldn’t be spotted by the passing wolves, he started making his way back, following the river downstream. He was even more cautious this time, slowly creeping through the woods, hiding in the shadows and crawling through the underbrush. There were no signs of the other wolves. He was approaching the location where he and Waya had left the hideless. The stream trickled and patches of disturbed ground could be seen where the man had dragged himself towards the water, no one else was around. He crept forward watching his surroundings.

“Maikoh, my son! Where do you think you’re going? Are you not going to greet your father?” A coarse deep voice boomed out from behind Maikoh, he was completely caught off guard. He froze in fear, worried about the consequences of his recent attempt to run away.

“Neu...Fa...Father?! What a surprise!” Maikoh laid it on thick, he was trying to appease the large Alpha wolf. The Alpha must have been hiding amongst the bushes, waiting to ambush any trespassers in his territory. Unfortunately for Maikoh, he walked right past the Alpha, totally unaware of his presence.

Tucking his tail between his legs and lowering himself to the floor, Maikoh peered up towards his fake father. The Alpha casually strode towards him, comfortable in his domain. A massive grey-furred wolf took heavy steps forward, each one left a deep paw print into the ground. Neugdae was the Alpha of the pack and anyone who saw him would have undoubtedly acknowledged that he deserved his position, lest they face his wrath. He was at least three times larger than the average grey wolf, he towered over even large hideless at over two meters tall. His grossly enlarged stature gave him a massive advantage over all the other wolves. If Maikoh didn’t know better, he’d suspect that Neugdae had some Direwolf blood running through him.

Maikoh would never verbally acknowledge the possibility to this Wolf though, he didn’t want to give him the pleasure. The Alpha was also extremely cunning, he schemed and planned. Every cycle of the moon their territory would expand, and the pack would grow larger. They would dominate other wolf packs, killing the leaders and bringing the rest into the fold of his Grey pack. There were hundreds, possibly thousands in the Grey wolf pack, Maikoh had never seen them all gathered at once, he just knew there were many scouting parties. He could only guess at the true scale of the pack.

Maikoh had also heard rumours that Neugdae was able to use mana. Not in the same way that the hideless could, but it was rumoured that he was born with innate abilities. Other wolves had mentioned that he could increase his defences, or that he could speed up and run faster than the eye could see. The other wolves liked to brag about how powerful their leader was, anyone who is caught saying negative words against him would vanish without a trace. He had never seen the Alpha's true power himself, not even when he killed his father. He suspected it was just the other wolves exaggerating his power, showing off and trying to scare the surrounding competing wolf packs.

The Alpha stood before Maikoh, lording over him. Maikoh could barely make eye contact with him. He always got a sick satisfaction when seeing the scarred and mutilated eye, his real father had given that wound to the Alpha as a parting gift. ‘I’ll finish what my father started one day!’ Maikoh thought to himself, keeping his defiance internalised.

Neugdae lowered his head, sniffing Maikoh before asking “So...Where is my daughter? Why isn’t she with you?”

“We...We were hunting the hideless! We split up to cover more ground.” Maikoh had to make it seem like he was on the grey wolves side, he wasn’t sure how he would get out of this situation. The frustration at getting caught so quickly made him stumble his words, he was so close to being able to leave the Grey wolf pack. Why did he have to get caught so soon?!

“Oh really? So you didn’t abandon us then? That’s great. Lead the way!” The Alpha replied magnanimously as if he was letting off a naughty child. Maikoh, didn’t dare make eye contact, he didn’t believe he had heard the last of his betrayal from this Wolf. Neugdae was probably saving the punishment for later.

“Yes...Father” He reluctantly replied. They made their way towards the stream, looking up, then down. Maikoh was trying to decide what to do in this situation, he didn’t want to lead them to his sister.

Nuegdae broke him out of his scheming “You just came from upstream, so your sister went down right? Go on, lead me to my daughter.”

Shuddering, Maikoh nodded. Then hesitantly walked down the stream in the direction of the river. They were travelling quietly through the woods, no other animals dared approach when the alpha was around. Maikoh was forced to lead the way, it didn’t really matter which way he looked at it, he was helpless in the dominating presence of the Alpha.

A grey wolf was hurriedly making its way toward them from the direction they were heading. “Ko..Ko...KOBOLDS!” The panicked wolf made his way towards Maikoh and the Alpha, yipping about Kobolds being nearby. The fear was apparent in the wolf's voice, they could see he wasn't unscathed, giving credence to his ravings. He had matted burned fur with bone and flesh showing on its haunches, it had barely escaped the Kobolds.

‘Waya! Is she alright?! NO! She went in that direction!’ Maikoh panicked thinking that his sister might have encountered the Kobolds.

The Alpha walked towards the injured wolf, sniffing at his injuries. Mumbling to himself “...dark magic...corruption? Shaman?” He frowned then his eyes widened in surprise, A shaman in his Woods! It would cause some trouble, he had to regather the strength of the pack.

The Alpha lifted his head, releasing a loud piercing howl that could be heard throughout the whole forest, then the alpha’s voice boomed “GREY PACK TO ME! KOBOLD SHAMAN! RUUUUN!”. The rallying cry could be heard for miles, the vibrations of the shout causing Maikoh’s bones to rattle.

The Grey wolves started to gather at the Alpha’s location, Maikoh was stuck with no way to escape. He worried for his sister but there was nothing he could do. So he followed the pack as it moved away from the danger that the Kobold’s presented. ‘Sister, please be safe!’