In the past, when the world was a simpler place, inhabited by creatures with limited knowledge about magic, the entities walked among us. In disguise, they lived as travelers and performed their acts before the eyes of those who were worthy.

Today, we no longer see the entities walking among the people. Since knowledge about magic spread and nations became stronger, they had to withdraw from the public eye. They did not do that willingly, since their real desire was to live with us.

But, since the invention of War and the death of the entity “Peace”, it was clear that this was not an option.

The History of the World – Volume I – Introductory Note to Chapter L – Aadern von Aesern

*

Three stone golems chase Lancelot’s pack. The big gray wolf guides his subordinates through the trees. The race is hard and lasts longer than it should. On the way, two lupines are hit and stay behind while the rest of the group keeps running, guiding the golems.

Lupines have good agility and enough stamina to withstand long periods of running. Their bodies have elastic flexibility and are useful for hunting and fleeing larger predators. This is what allows them to continue running for more than an hour, under the guidance of Lancelot, until they finally reach a land with trees tall enough to slow the progress of their pursuers.

This region is the threshold of the golem territory. It is a natural barrier to prevent them to move in flocks to the neighboring territories; the region was purposefully chosen by the Council.

The trees in question are much taller than ordinary trees, rising several meters above the ground. They are ancestral monuments and landmarks of the antiquity of the elements that compose the Great Forest.

The golems continue to walk; however, they are unable to gather any speed in the direction of the lupines, who easily lose them, running in the opposite direction to the battle and putting themselves on sight only to distract them even more.

-This must be enough. – Lancelot says to one of the closest lupines. – Let’s get out of sight and back to the river. We have to take care of our wounds as well.

The lupine just nods and go to the nearest companion.

Lancelot knows that they are not in a big number. When they left the Glade, they were in eleven, counting Lancelot. Three of them stayed on the other side of the river, taking care of the horses and also waiting to be “backup”, if necessary. He himself had ordered Galaaz to stay with Rinlia and assist her. Two others were injured during the chase. This means that, now, there are only five lupines trying to outwit the golems, running in circles around trees, disappearing from their view and entering the forest to complete this part of the mission.

And, even in small numbers, they are initially successful. Trapped among trees, golems trip and go into rage, but are unable to locate the wolves again. The lack of calm sculpted in their personality makes them rush, going the wrong way instead of carefully looking for them.

Lancelot seeks out the other wolves and realizes that only one golem remains in pursuit. The lupine he pursues is injured and, although he still run, he lacks coordination, with one weak leg, injured by the golem.

It would be easy to lose the golem if he turned his attention to another wolf, however, the prolonged chase made the stone creature angry enough that his interest was fully focused on the wounded wolf at his feet. He wants to destroy the cause of his irritation.

Lancelot realizes the intentions of the stone golem and moves towards him. From where it is, the creature is at least two meters higher than the wolf. However, the leader’s strength is enough to make the creature drops to his knees on the ground.

The stun of surprise lasts only an instant. Soon, five lupines surround the golem. Even the wounded one refuses to back down after seeing the image of his leader placed in front of the enemy.

They growl in unison. The golem opens its misshapen mouth for the first time.

-Wolves with humans. Wolves betray!

The creature is on its knees, leaving the stone that forms its face in the same height of the lupine’s eyes.

-If you fight, wolves destroy. – Lancelot speaks in his most emphatic voice, lending authority to his gesture while the others surround the stone creature. – You can go and kill humans tomorrow.

It is a simple speech that does not explain the situation, but it is the best he could do in the face of a golem with so little time to dissuade him.

The five lupines are tense. Everyone’s back is arched and the subordinates imitate the leader’s gestures. Lancelot holds his breath, facing the golem, hoping it will obey.

-Wolves betray!

When the stone creature raises both hands, it is clear that it had no intention of obeying.

-Attack!

Lancelot could not order an escape. When he pounces the golem’s face, he is aware of the potential sacrifice of that act. However, ordering an escape would be the same as abandoning the wounded wolf as bait and that was not something he could do.

The lupines throw their bodies against the golem, dragging it backwards. The creature raises its arm, throwing it on the ground and spreading earth everywhere. With the advantage on speed, the wolves dodge the attack and launch themselves at the golem. They cannot bite it, since the stone structure would damage their fangs – and this simple fact is enough to make the wolves’ greatest weapon unusable. But they cannot retreat and, using their own bodies, they launch themselves at the golem.

-Wolves!

The golem screams as they throw themselves onto his chest, laying him on the ground. With its slow movements, the creature sways and tries to regain its balance.

-Now! Run! – Lancelot screams.

The time required for the stone creature to get up is long enough for the wounded wolf to be out of sight. They run until they feel safe, but still attentive to the possible approach of some other enemy.

-Bring me the wounded. – He says to a wolf with white fur, one that seems younger than the others. He was responsible for the rear and was always in the safest position precisely to be useful in situations like this.

Taking all the care that they can, they gather the two lupines who were injured during the beginning of the task. Those were the wolves wounded when they started guiding the golems into the forest. They could not come with their own strength, but through the teeth of other wolves, who dragged them across the path.

The Lupines patiently await Lancelot’s actions. The big wolf goes towards the inert bodies and, with its snout, turns them over so that he can analyze their bodies.

There is no sign of life in them. After smelling them and moving their bodies a little, in a vain hope of finding signs of life, he is forced to admit the truth.

Two lupines were dead.

-The golems killed your brothers. – He says in a low tone, trying to repress his anger. – This is partially our fault too. We were not strong enough. – He looks at the eyes of his “children”. They submissively bow their heads and heed the speech. – Still, tradition must prevail. The promise we made to each other must prevail. Two of my children were killed by golems. What does that mean?

The tradition is clear. The answer, for them, is obvious.

The sound of their voices echoes in unison.

-It means that the killers must die.

Lancelot turns his back to the bodies and, with his paw, makes a small hole on the ground.

-Yes, they must die. We will bury the bodies of the dead and mourn their deaths, as our tradition dictates. Then, we will fulfill the mission given to us by the Council and the Oracle. After that, it doesn’t matter if I’m dead or alive. As long as one of us breathes, the pack must return and destroy the two golems that killed your brothers. Promise me, my children. Promise me, so they may rest in peace.

-The golems will pay for the lives of our brothers.

Lancelot lowers his snout and digs his children’s graves.

The promise was made.

And a lupine’s promise is forever.

*

Thiago tries, with all his might, to keep his legs firm on the ground, however, no matter how hard he tries, they do not stop shaking. The figure of the stone golem before his eyes is too much for him to face alone. He wonders if he would be able to get at least a few seconds for the others to run.

The golem runs in that direction without seeming to notice him. His gaze is fixed on the group of three individuals who continued to advance.

Thiago raises his sword, determined to get the creature’s attention, without, however, knowing what to do.

And he is accidentally successful. The moment he raises his sword, the sunlight reflects on the metal, casting a beam of light on the golem’s face, which, almost blinded by the sudden clarity in the hole in the rocks that served as his eyes, immediately interrupts its march, returning its attention to the light.

Thiago swallows and straightens his posture. The sword in his hands is made of doubly folded metal, built for skilled warriors. Near the pommel is even encrusted one small stone.

This sword never leaves the warrior’s waist. And one of the reasons for that is because he is absolutely aware that the sword is a much better weapon than a low-ranking soldier like him deserved.

At this point, however, all he wants is for the sword to be strong enough not to break on the first contact with the golem. The creature, in fact, is already sure of what his next step will be and advances towards the soldier.

Thiago do not have time to hesitate. Despite the fear, his mind is able to understand that immobility could be the cause of his death. He leans forward and runs, determined to gather some momentum.

The stone golem raises its arms and joins them in the air, launching them down, trying to crush the human little body. Thiago bends his legs, sliding on the grass and dodges the attack, sliding under the golem’s legs and getting up behind its body.

Confused, the creature looks at the ground below its fists and realizes that it has not touched its target. It looks around and cannot find the soldier. Thiago sneaks up behind the golem and takes advantage of the opening to strike with his sword in the space between the stones that form the hip and spine of the creature.

The strike is ineffective for damage purposes, but it is perfect for drawing attention. The golem turns fast, with its arm in the air in a blind stroke that scrapes over the soldier’s head.

Thiago steps back a few meters, with his sword drawn, however, the distance is immediately killed by the stone creature, who jumps forward and swings his leg, pulling out dirt and grass in the process and throwing everything at him.

Thiago is disoriented for a moment, but is not hit by the leg. Instead, only dirt falls on his face as he retreats quickly, trying to get the dust out of his eyes.

Determined to flee, he continues to retreat, trying to find enough distance to launch himself into a race, but the golem does not allow it. The creature continues to advance, throwing attacks with its arms, repeatedly closing the distance between them.

Aware that an immediate escape is impossible, he seeks an opportunity to dodge and carry out another attack. If he manages to hurt the golem, even a little, he would gain enough time to escape.

The only opportunity he finds is between attacks, while the golem raises his arm and moves it away from the ground for a moment. With a movement at the ideal moment, he could pass under it again and try to escape into the forest.

Thiago once again dodges the curtain of rocks that is thrown in front of him and starts his movement. The golem, however, notices the maneuver and, instead of maintaining the pattern, immediately throws his opposite arm against the body of the soldier. Thiago notices the attack and tries to throw his body forward in order to put his chest against the ground, but he cannot completely avoid the attack, which grazes his shoulder and makes him rotate horizontally and fall a couple meters to the left.

-Human! – The golem’s throaty voice stans out from the pain that the Fiandel’s soldier feels in the point on his shoulder where the armor was torn off by the blow. Thanks to the protection, despite the impact, the shoulder does not seem broken, only dislocated.

Which is kind of good news in general, but not for the current situation, since the dislocated shoulder is precisely the shoulder of the arm that wield the sword.

He tries to turn back and run, but his leg does not respond to the movement. Surprised, he realizes the shock of pain that goes up from his heel to his calf. The leg falters and only then does he realize that, when he was hit, he ended up twisting his ankle.

-Human must die!

The golem is decided. Thiago picks up the sword from his feet with his non-dominant hand. Aware that it will be useless to swing the sword with that hand, he sheaths the weapon and tries to think of a way to escape.

The golem advances, reducing the newly formed distance. From where he is, the soldier could try to run away, but he knows it would not be enough. Limping, he would be an easy prey and, with its size, the golem would catch up to him in a few steps. Desolated, he looks at his waist and sees the sheathed sword.

“A battle where the sword is not enough.”

He smiles at the thought of Rinlia’s warning and looks at his fist. He cannot run away or try to face the golem head on with his sword. He also did not want to take the risk of allowing that creature to search for people near the river, as Rinlia and the others could still be near there.

He knows what his last resort is, and yet he hesitates to use it. When the golem is close enough, it moves its arm diagonally, aiming for his head, but Thiago manages to roll to the side and let the rocky fist crash against a tree. He uses that opportunity to limps towards the unprotected shoulder, trying to stay in the monster’s blind spot.

However, the movement fails and he is immediately found by the anxious eyes, that seek his death. Another attack is made, this time vertically. Desperate to escape the blow, he throws himself to the right and end up close to the golem’s chest.

He knows that this could be his last chance to survive.

Thiago raises his hand. He just needs to step forward to touch the chest made of stone.

The creature thinks that his attack is going to be a physical one and, because of that, it is not afraid of the proximity. Thiago takes that moment and concentrates all his energy on the fingertips that touch the stone.

And, at once, several flames embrace the creature’s chest, shoulders and head. In a second, the flames leap over the arms, torso and legs. They feed on the set of rocks that form a body. A desperate body that throws itself backwards, confused by the sudden presence of the greatest enemy of the stone golems.

-Fire! No! Death!

Thiago knew about the golems weakness when he tried to use his power. He knew that, if the flames were strong enough, he could ward off his enemy.

What he did not know was that his magic would be strong enough to launch the golem on the ground. That it would be strong enough to consume its essence and make the body shrink, withered, on the land next to the river.

Thiago looks at his own hands.

One second.

It was what he needed to defeat a stone golem with his magic.

One second.

Enough time to end a life.

The hands that let out flames before, now tremble. The body falls to its knees. The memory of a time of magic, sweat and blood invades the memory. Memories that speed up the heart, cloud the mind and hinder the breath.

The soldier becomes a child, falls to the floor and curls up in a fetal position, feeling emptiness and fear.

-Thiago!

Yvanna’s voice is nearby. The vampire carries the faint body of a werewolf and interrupts her walk besides the soldier’s trembling body.

-Thiago, what’s going on? – She looks for some big wound on his body, but does not find it. The body that shakes and the inability to formulate words are the only signs of something wrong with him.

She does not know for sure what is happening, but, when he closes his hand over hers, the vampire understands part of the problem.

Upon feeling the touch of her hand, Thiago seems to calm down. His eyelids flutter for a few moments. The lack of energy caused by the sudden effort clouds his conscience.

-Everything is going to be okay. – Yvanna puts her hand on his shoulder. – You did very well. You can rest now. – She looks to the werewolf’s unconscious body. – We will finish this mission.

“And we will all go back home. You’ll see.”

*

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