Bright and early the next morning, I was horribly awoken by a blaring noise. Did you think I woke up properly like a morning person? Of course not, I’m Eric, I never wake up early. The sound of the alarm was familiar. My groggy steps and sleepwear showed quite the unprepared mage. The city’s defence mechanisms were being thrown up all over the place. The usual scream and sounds of fighting would fill the air. After a Renew to get me going, I had a clone take Steyza home to the Archibald household and I threaded Tyrr’s airspace with Skyer.

Tyrr became the target of another werewolf attack.

But this attack, this one felt like there was strong motive behind it. The streets were soaked in blood and frequently alighted with spells all over the place. This attack spanned over a great distance, covering the entire city we were in. How strange is it that right after speaking to Aroon, this happens? I wondered, also running other thoughts parallel to that. For example, what’s the best spell to wipe out this threat? Arctic Rage was a no-no, and whilst Arcane Missiles was quite efficient, I simply couldn’t risk the slim chance that an innocent civilian might be hit by one.

Thunderstorm it is… I Riftwalked to the centre of the city, atop a small building. There, I made fifteen clones, and had them teleport to other densely populated areas to rid the city of our canine threat. I’ll just figure this out later, I retired the idea that my actions to come would be irreversible and began weaving Thunderstorm. To cover this big of a city, I needed the help of three more clones. Even then, expanding the thunder clouds for Thunderstorm required a great deal of mana, so much so that I had to take a potion to help me. This is freakin’ outrageous!

Finally, after a while preparing the massive spells, they were ready. I blocked my ears and closed my eyes. The number of lightning bolts raining from the sky made me see white only, even with closed eyes. The ungodly barrage of thunder after produced shaky legs in the very person that cast it. I was no coward, but that experience was one almost as punishing as being attacked by werewolves twenty times stronger than you.

Once Thunderstorm stopped and no more of the fanged beasts were alive, I began channelling Vivify. At ten times normal mana power, the radius it covered was no joke. It was even bigger than Thunderstorm could manage and only required one clone to totally cover the city. Whoever I blinded and deafened, I’m sorry, I apologised to the unsuspecting folks.

Floating through the streets and hearing the lament of innocent people was never something I could get used to. Everyone who were alive, were in tip-top health, but those who died before Vivify could get to them, well, that’s just it, they died. Whilst the time I took to formulate a stratagem then apply it certainly took longer than anticipated, I knew it was my most efficient way of getting rid of the werewolf menace.

Despite the little voice in my head telling me I could’ve done better I knew there was nothing else in my book of spells that could’ve done a better job. And no, this was neither Donna nor Dawn, but rather, my own mental manifestation of doubt; a crippling thing, should you give it the attention it seeks.

The Tyrr Enforcement Agency – TEA for short – came out in their numbers. Just thinking of the death count gave me a queasy feeling. Without giving the ambience of morose time to set in, I decided to visit Fenral Rilas. What I saw was a rabid beast desperately and viciously trying to claw its way out of the cell. The Den Mother… I realised then. Whatever her abilities were, carrying out a transformation on every single werewolf was by far the scariest. But now, I thought, she has a reason to fear me.

I had a clone at home ask Steyza to show the location of the Den Mother once more, and he transferred that memory to me. With that, I was off to the deep woods southwest of Tyrr. Skyer and Hawk Eye gave me a bird’s eye view. Life Perception and Mana Perception granted me the sight I needed, shaving down my search time significantly. In a matter of ten or so minutes, I found the entrance to a burrow. When I think wolf den, there’s usually a gaping hole going into a cavern or somethin’… so what in Hydra’s ass is this thing?

Flora, vines, shrubbery, hanging from the little drop covered a door, a huge door. Elves were gigantic compared to humans, yeah, but no elf would require a door that massive to fit through. It was a werewolves’ den no matter how you looked at it. But why was there a door? Were they actually a lot more advanced than I gave them credit for? No, perhaps I should’ve expected even much more than this. After all, the elven mages of Tyrr were even more developed than the holy warriors of Hyzek; and if some of the werewolves were capable of keeping their intelligence as an elf whilst transformed, then it wouldn’t be alarming to find that inside the burrow would be a carefully architected Grove of the Ancient.

Standing before the door, I wondered how someone was supposed to enter this place. Lucky for me, I had Voidwalk. So, I entered my own plane of the void and set foot inside, but there was nothing? What the fuck…

I reversed, and upon closer inspection, I found that there really was nothing past the door, just a wall of dirt and stone. That didn’t make sense. Did Aroon give Steyza false information? I had a clone use Avatar of Wind and speed over to the other ‘den’. And interestingly enough, he found that hundreds of them were underground, but there was no entrance no matter how hard he looked. Sure, I could just go over there and enter the den through Voidwalk, but I was curious as to how and why this ominous door was set up. Sheesh, all that effort to put a big ass fancy metal door here with nothing behind it? I asked myself, dismissing the werewolves as idiotic. But the enlightening revelations hit me and with each hit, they called me stupid. Metal? If its mana conductive, then… I activated Mana Perception once again, and sure enough, mana was flowing through the door.

Hell, Aroon, you guys are serious about this shit huh? I had a one-sided conversation with him in my head. At least I believe you again. I realised that the door was basically a vertical teleportation pad. Even then, I refused to use it. It might probably alert those on the other end. So instead, I used Riftwalk to go to my clone’s position after he pushed his memories of the environment there to me.

Voidwalk and Levitate helped me float right down into the den, and man was it dark. I sure wasn’t nocturnal. If I come out of Voidwalk though, they’d detect me. Werewolf senses were sharp, especially smell. Well, it’s not like I can solve this by staying undetected, I shrugged, and removed the spell. Candlelight helped me see, and immediately alerted those around me. After a deep inhale, I had my diaphragm help me yell out, “Den Mother!” It echoed throughout the entire place I’d imagine. “I want an audience with you!”

As I thought, no one would take kindly to a stranger breaking into their home and demanding to speak to the man – or should I say bitch? – of the house. Those who weren’t yet transformed, did so within no more than five seconds. It was an amazing thing to see a being completely convert to another so easily.

The first claw barely scraped across my cheek, as I didn’t move my head in the right time. They were unfairly fast. After that, I simply had Magnet make their attacks nil. Sand from the earth trapped them, dense water encased or bound them. Everything they did was futile, yet the ones who weren’t subdued still attacked. These must be the ‘mindless ones’ Aroon spoke of. Their attacks were ceaseless, and their failure in mangling me achieved the opposite of the norm – it further enraged them and caused an electrifying fervour.

Combining the sheer appearance – lengthy limbs and a cavernous maw capable of snapping anything in half – with their physical fortitude made for a horrifying experience. This rang especially true for your common man, who might only have ways and means of defending himself against the everyday petty thief, and considering petty thievery or any kind of criminal activity was as rare as a damned solar eclipse made for the elves to be poorly prepared.

I continued abusing Hydrotendrils, leisurely subduing my attackers. Distracting me from my recreation would be an ear-splitting, deep growl. The remaining werewolves stopped them in their tracks. Coming out of one of the paths over yonder – the place had holes like an ants’ nest – was the most massive wolf my eyes ever behind. Considering the wolf reached the height of a werewolf standing on its hindlegs whilst walking on all-fours was madness. Even I quaked a little upon seeing it, but I steeled myself.

Towering over me even whilst keeping a safe distance, the word “speak,” resounded from the monolithic canine.

What do I even say here? Her size, admittedly, scattered my thoughts for a while. Okay, first off…

“The attack on Tyrr just now; was this your doing?”

“Yes,” the rumbling Den Mother spoke, without her maw moving an inch.

So then, she’s responsible for the attack at Kynhall Bridge – Silverport. The white-grey wolf was a strange thing to see in such a climate, yet here she existed. Well, applying logic to that creature was folly. I continued, “Why do you attack? Is there something you want?”

“The path to your world,” her grumbling voice sounded, “cannot be opened yet.”

Of course, I asked her why that was. She stood over me for near a minute, making the situation more tense than need be. Her fierce glare never gave me rest.

“There is more than one reason why, reasons I will not discuss with my pack confined as they are.”

“Sure,” I released all werewolves I caught. Let’s not say I killed any werewolves… “Are you ready to discuss matters now?”

“Not here, no. I am not at ease with you in here.” A green smoke covered her body, and she reverted the size of a normal wolf. I figured that big size was her normal size, but I was wrong. The Den Mother was brisk, and quickly led me down a once dark path, lit only by my shadowing Candlelight. We came across a huge door, just like the one on the west end. “Empower this door,” the white wolf instructed. Once I did, we ended up outside the door at the west end.

Figures. It was connected after all.

“You are no elf,” she slowly walked around me, “Why do you side with them?”

“Side with them?” I shook my head and dismissed her claim, “Well, I do have a few elves I like, but I’m not siding with them. The Kynhall Bridge you sent your werewolf assassins to attack will see that we benefit from Tyrr, and Tyrr benefit from us.”

“What are you?” she asked, sniffing me a little.

“A human. So, Den Mother,” I said and she flinched a little at the name, “what are the reasons for attacking?”

She halted her slow gait, “There exists one like me, a guardian of nature. I felt it when this bridge of yours first opened up. This guardian, I cannot allow it a chance of coming here, to Jynnak.”

The cogs in my mind turned, until finally my mind alit with understanding. I cackled out, “You’re a riot, Den Mother!” I held my stomach. “Wait a couple minutes here, I’ll be right back.”

After teleporting to the Grove of the Ancient, I wrapped an arm around Aerellis, and cast Riftshear to return back to the Den Mother. A loud snarl immediately sounded and she became huge again, backing away slowly as she flared her fangs. Aerellis on the other hand, was quite calm, but still very much on guard.

“Eric, what is the meaning of this?!” she demanded an explanation.

“Easy now,” I placed a hand on her shoulder, “Den Mother here says she felt bad vibe from you. You wanna clear that up? It’s causing some issues in this world.”

“I’m, in another world?!” Aerellis held her forehead and looked down in contemplation. “It’s always something with you, young one.” With a brush of her leafy hair to the side, she looked at the wolf once again.

“You claim to feel unease because of my presence, but you’re the one abusing nature magic to surround yourself with power.” She placed her hooves down, “That is no way for a guardian of nature to act!”

“No way to act? Abusing nature magic?” A small chuckle escaped the Den Mother, “Quite short-sighted. Your ignorance only proves me right.”

Uh, okay, this isn’t going how I imagined. “Okay, you two, not what I had in mind. Den Mother, the guardian you felt probably wasn’t Aerellis, it was most likely her mother. To summarise, we humans fucked up and did wrong to Aerellis, so her mother – who you probably sensed – became a tad vengeful and her judgment got a little warped.”

“What are you saying?” the wolf asked.

“I’m saying, there’s no need to fear Aerellis. She’s a friend of mine, and she means you no harm. The Kynhall Bridge will not be a problem to you.”

“How I can trust your words?” Den Mother inquired. “If she decides to attack me now, you cannot stop her!”

“Like I sai–”

“You washed-up excuse for a guardian,” Aerellis attacked not with magic and might, but with the sharp edge of her calculated words. “You’ve lived so long your eyes no longer work properly. When mother had to be stopped, who do you think did it? Take another sniff at his power, you dog…”

Hydra’s ass, what’s with the hostility? Note to self: never argue with her.

The Den Mother was about to say something, then paused, and looked at the poker face that I shot at Aerellis. She listened to the dryad, and properly inspected me, or whatever they do. Suddenly, her tail rolled up to her belly, sticking there as if someone glued it. The Den Mother was shaking, whilst trying her best to appear unfettered.

“I-it’s alright, really. Like I said, we’re not your enemies. There’s no need to be afraid?” I tried comforting the giant wolf.

“Me? Guardian of Nature? Afraid of you? Impossible!”

Not very convincing…

“Sure,” Aerellis began walking forward. “Listen to me, old one. I can sense the lives you have altered with nature magic. You are to turn them all back to normal. I trust you wouldn’t dare defy me, knowing that the human behind me is my friend.”

“Why? Why should I?!” Den Mother snarled, still growing smaller, not in size but in stature. At that point I didn’t bother to mediate anything. It looked like they simply had their issues, and I was no Anjali.

“You force your own nature onto others without even the promise of fulfilling their desires. I cannot allow you to manipulate other beings like that, not as a guardian of nature.”

The muscle on Den Mother neb contracted greatly, showing clear aggression. Divergence pushed her upper body and Convergence swept her off her paws, literally. Following immediately after was Gravity Field to keep her in place. “Usually, I’d remain neutral,” I explained to the Den Mother, “but I’ve never seen Aerellis get this riled up about anything, so you must really be doing something bad. I suggest you listen to her, Den Mother.”

A low growl emanated from the wolf. She backed away, then suddenly darted forth, headed straight for the teleportation pad that led to her den. I gave Aerellis a look of question after sending a clone to give chase to the wolf.

“What?” she asked, as if innocent.

“What?” I repeated after her. “You kinda blew up on her. Do you know about the werewolves or something?”

Her brows furrowed, “Werewolf? Well,” she sighed, “I don’t know what they call it, but I can sense the mixing of separate species through nature magic here. I don’t like that she controls them.”

I see, a grin plastered across my face, somewhat contented and proud of her. She naturally despised the idea of controlling others, especially in such numbers. No doubt it reminded her of the things her mother did. But there were some differences. Liana used mind magic, as opposed to shifting the biology of the Virai through nature magic. The Virai also wanted it, even if she tempted them with it. There was an exchange; the Den Mother on the other hand, offered nothing to the elves she tampered with. According to Fenral, one was physically and mentally incapable of defying her. It was a really heinous crime that seemed to slide under the radar of the Tyrr government.

Hmm, I squatted down in thought, even if the entirety of Tyrr learns of this, there’s nothing they can do with the mana-span they have. This falls on me, huh? I sighed and looked up to the sky, instead I saw a beautiful pair of breasts. “Hey, random thought. Can I ride you?”

A long moment of silence whistled into our conversation. “I thought you meant in that way, then I remembered that you’re Eric…”

“Is that a no?”

I could’ve sworn I saw her eyelid twitch, looking down at me, “It’s not a yes…”

“Some ‘guardian’ you are,” I whined dramatically. “How could you crush my dreams like that?”

We chitchatted for a while, until a couple minutes passed by and my clone suddenly appeared with a bloody and unconscious Den Mother. She was dragged to us by a hindleg. My clone nodded at us and disappeared.

Suppose I should cheat a little, I thought, squatting down and stroking the fur at Den Mother’s neck. I cast the mind spell, Enthral, upon the wolf, then healed her injuries with Renew. All the cuts disappeared, making me wonder if the clone used Wind Cutter on non-lethal places just to see her suffer. Am I actually a sadist? I shook my head. No way, right?

Den Mother’s eyes opened, and the minute she saw me, she jumped up onto me, nothing more than a domesticated wolf, a family pet. I chose to really ask her now, “Why do you not want Aerellis here?” Simply mentioning the name made her growl at the dryad, but there was no attack.

“My pups, I do not wish harm to come to them. I’m afraid she will hurt them, or take them away from me.” Den Mother rubbed against me, standing behind and being overly cautious of Aerellis.

“Your pups? Do you mean the werewolves?”

“No,” she eased when I petted her. “Werewolves are just pawns made to protect the pups and I.”