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War of Two Worlds Ch. 3

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War of Two Worlds

Ch. 3

    Tai, Angela, and their parents stepped out the back door, soaking in the morning sun and the chilly breeze. Being wolves, they were accustomed to the colder weather. Kei began to lead his family, trudging downhill. The trees they passed were bare and gray, preparing for the long winter. The fallen brown and orange leaves crunched under their feet. Angela pointed out a deer about thirty yards to their left, who was spooked and trotted off, flipping its white tail at them. They carefully stepped over a tree lying in their path. As they continued down the slope, a large creek became visible to them. The four wolves walked up to the bank and stopped. That’s when Kei and Tiana turned to face their children.

    “I hope you’re ready, kids!” their father smirked, excitement written across his face. “Tai, you’ll be with me.” The nervous young wolf swallowed hard.

    “And Angela, come with me,” their mother ordered. She started to walk a little bit downstream. Angela started bouncing up and down after her as if her shoes had built in springs. Tiana laughed. “Alright, calm down child!” Tai watched them stop about thirty yards away.

    “Ready, son?” His father’s voice made him jump and he twirled around quickly to face him.

    “W-what happens now?” he asked.

    “Well, first thing’s first. We need to unlock your power,” Kei explained. Placing one hand over his son’s heart and another on his forehead, he closed his eyes and focused on Tai’s energy. His hands lit with fire and as he breathed slowly, the flames spread to the young one’s body. Tai flinched as he anticipated the burning sensation that usually accompanied being touched by fire. But surprisingly, it was actually a pleasant feeling. He just stood there with his eyes closed as well, enjoying the warmth that spread throughout his entire body. When his father took away his hands and they opened their eyes, Tai was surprised to see that he was glowing. Flames cloaked his form and swirled calmly around him. But after a few seconds, the fire slowly dissipated.

    “What was that?!” Tai gawked. His father patted his shoulder lightly.

    “I tapped into your power. Now you can use it at will. Usually your power would come naturally as you get older, but since we’re teaching you early, I had to use some of my power to awaken yours,” he told him. “But before you accidently burn down the forest-”

    “Thanks for the confidence boost…”

    “-I should explain a few things.” As Kei spoke, he began to pace back and forth with head held high and his arms crossed behind his back. “Safety is the most important thing. That’s why we’re here at the creek, so if something catches on fire, including you, we have easy access to water. This is where we will be training every day, and you are not to come here without me supervising you. Do you understand, son?” Tai looked around his father at the creek behind him, not entirely thrilled at the idea of spontaneously combusting being thrown into the water.

    “But that water is freezing!” he cried.

    “Would you rather burn?” his father asked him, bending forward to look directly into his eyes. Tai looked down, shaking his head.

    “No…” was his only reply.

    “Good. Now, onto the basics! Power in fire comes from the breath. The breath becomes energy in the body. It builds up and extends past your limbs to create fire!” He punched the air in front of him and struck a dramatic pose. His son laughed.

    “Hahaha! That sounds like it came from a TV show,” Tai joked.

    “Um, well,” his father said, rubbing the back of his head, a little embarrassed. “It did. But I couldn’t have explained it any better than that! Step one is all about proper breath control.” The young wolf sighed in boredom. “Oh, come on, Tai! This is how your fire will manifest. If you cannot master proper breathing, you will not be able to master your powers! So come. Breathe with me.”

    Tai’s entire body drooped, obviously not very thrilled with the thought of this exercise. “I already know how to breathe! Can’t we do something else?” Kei gave him a scolding look.

    “This is important, son! Just come and sit down, legs crossed and back straight.” Tai did as he was told and reluctantly awaited for further instructions. “Now do what I do, just as I say to. Take a deep breath in through the nose and out through the mouth.” For a moment, they sat in silence, inhaling and exhaling slowly. “This is a good way to calm yourself which, in return, allows you to focus and control the energy within you. Can you feel it?”

    “Huh?” Tai stopped, confused by his father’s question.

    “Focus! Can you feel your own energy swell within?” Kei explained. “Focus on that.” Tai closed his eyes and resumed his breathing. Now that he thought about it, he did feel something happening. It felt as if something was rising and falling with each breath. His emotions? His life essence? His soul? He didn’t know for sure how to describe it other than that pleasant warm feeling he had experienced before. It flickered inside him with each breath. It certainly felt alive! “Do you feel it?” Kei asked again.

    “I… I think so,” Tai answered, still a little unsure. He could hear his father chuckle beside him.

    “Now, keep breathing and open your eyes!” he whispered. Tai did just that and found three lit candles sitting in front of him. But he was surprised when he realized that the tiny flames grew and diminished in sync with his breathing! “See? You’re already bending the flames to your will!” Tai sighed with relief, letting the energy within him die. As if in response, the candles also blew themselves out. Now, only tiny swirling streams of smoke remained where the fire once danced.

    “Whoa! I did that?!” Tai questioned excitedly.

    “Hahaha! Yes,” Kei laughed. “What do you say we try something else?” Tai curiously looked at his father.

    “Like what?”

    “Why don’t we see if you can conjure your own flame?” he answered. The young wolf’s eyes grew big, shimmering with joy.

    “Cool!” he shouted. “But, um…how do I do that?”

    “How about I give you a little demonstration?”

    “Yes, please!” Tai exclaimed.

    “Alright.” Kei held both hands in front of him, cupping them to form a bowl. “Remember, you’ll need to focus and control your energy. Breathe first,” he explained as he took a deep breath. Suddenly, a small flame flickered to life, hovering above his hands. The flame began to grow with his breath. Tai watched in amazement, anxious for his turn. “Focus on where you want the energy to go. This will take patience and practice. Now you try it.”

    “Oh, already?! Um, okay,” Tai stammered, nervous once again. He cupped his hands in front of him and took a deep breath. He felt the energy burn inside him again and he focused on it. With uncertainty, he then tried to concentrate on his hands, willing the energy to flow to them. He could feel the warmth spread down his arms. However, once it reached his hands, it stopped. Then, the energy began to die. Tai was confused. Why is this happening?! Before he could do anything about it, the energy disappeared and he sighed in frustration, panting to catch his breath.

    “I don’t understand,” he huffed. “I almost had it!”

    “That’s because it’s not as simple as one would think. It’s not as easy as the press of a button like in your video games, Tai. In reality, it takes energy and concentration,” his father told him calmly.

    “Then, what did I do wrong?” Tai asked, a little upset.

    “There’s no need to be upset, son. I didn’t expect you to get it on the first try. That would have been very impressive! You were just more focused on making the fire than you were on your technique. You just forgot to keep breathing. An easy mistake,” Kei explained. “Take it a little slower. This time, focus on the energy instead of the flames.”

    Tai nodded in understanding. His hands formed a bowl in front of him again. He took a deep breath, igniting the energy within him. As he continued breathing, the oxygen seemed to fuel the warm feeling inside and lead it down his arm and to his hands. With one last breath, fire flared in his palm, warming his cold fingers. He stared at it in fascination. I did it? He couldn’t believe it. “I-I did it!”

    “Nicely done!” Kei congratulated him. “See how much easier that was?”

    “Yeah! It was still pretty hard, though,” Tai admitted. His father patted him on the shoulder.

    “Yes, and I’m afraid that it’ll only get harder from here. But you’re off to a great start!” he assured the young wolf. “How about we call it quits for today?”

    “Okay! Hey, what’s for lunch?” he questioned his father.

    “I don’t know. Why don’t we ask your-” C-C-CRRRAAAACCCKKKK!!! The two males’ heads spun around to find the creek begin to freeze over completely. The already cold flowing waters stilled as it turned solid and white as far up and down the stream as they could see. Tai looked at his mother who stood there with a shocked look on her face. And then they noticed Angela bouncing up and down, clearly unaware of what just happened.

    “Mommy, Mommy! Look, I did it!” she exclaimed, holding up a cup of frozen water. All Tiana could do was put a hand to her mouth.

    “Y-yes, you did,” she squeaked out. “I think that’s enough for today.” Then she took Angela’s hand and began walking back up the hill. Kei and Tai stood there for a moment confused, looking from the two girls to the creek behind them, then to each other. Shrugging it off, they then followed Tiana and Angela up the hill.

     

    Roy walked through the stronghold’s large dining hall with his raven, Kryll, resting on his shoulder. He made his way toward the kitchen area in the back. The chefs saw him come in and looked questionably at his bird. But one quick glare from Kryll’s master silenced them before they could even speak up. Roy walked to the storage closet in the back and opened one of the barrels inside. He scooped up the birdseed into a small bowl and carried it out to the hall with him. Then he carefully set it, along with his pet, on the closest long table. Kryll immediately began scarfing it down as if he hadn’t been fed in days. Roy gave him a quick stroke on the head before heading toward the staircase to the Alpha’s quarters.

    The wolf carefully ascended the stairs, the device from his mission tightly gripped in his hand. He prayed that the information he discovered would save him from Solius’ wrath. Roy questioned whether he should even speak with Solius at all right now.  After all, just the day before, he killed Roy’s entire pack of elite soldiers in a blazing inferno! What’s to say he wouldn’t do the same with him? Then again, all Solius wanted was news on Liliana and her son and Roy had found just that! But would that mean that Solius would no longer need him? Roy stopped in his tracks. What was he going to do?

    “Are you going to waste both my time and yours by standing out there or are you coming in?!” Roy jumped at the deep voice. He suddenly realized that he had stopped right in front of Solius’ quarters. He swallowed hard and shakily opened the door. Stepping inside the still dark room, he again saw the silhouette of the Alpha sitting on the throne. His one red eye glared at Roy, waiting impatiently for him to speak. “Ah, Roy. I hope you have not returned empty-handed…again!”

    “Well, uh, yes sir. I mean NO! I uhh…” The nervousness and fear caused the wolf’s speech to completely fall apart.

    “Just get to the point! Why did you come here?!” Solius spat out irritably. Roy took a moment to calm his nerves and start again.

    “I… I found the Fallen’s village. I have the coordinates right here,” he said, holding the device for the Alpha to see. He looked at it curiously.

    “Did you really?”

    “Yes. Kryll was able to fly over Mirace and find the village. Liliana is there but her son is not!” Roy explained.

    “What do you mean by this?” Solius demanded.

    “Apparently, Kei left the village seven years ago. He’s been in hiding somewhere in the world.”

    “Which means we can find him and kill him!” Solius added.

    “Exactly!”

    “Hmmm.” The Alpha grew silent for just a moment. “See if you can track down where Kei went, and then gather a new pack to take him out. Once he is out of the way, we will worry about his cowardly mother!”

    “Yes sir!” Roy stated before turning to leave.

    “Roy?” He paused at the door and turned back toward Solius, staring back into his menacing red eye. “Nice work.” Roy sighed with relief.

    “Thank you, sir.” He exited the room into the seemingly bright space of the dining hall. Once his eyes adjusted, he was met by a familiar face.

    “Hello, Roy,” Zane greeted.

    “Oh, Zane! Hey. It’s been a while,” he mumbled.

    “Yes, it has,” the dark wolf agreed.

    “You just come back from a mission, too?” Roy asked him, trying to break the tension between them.

    “Yeah.” Zane’s expression never changed.

    “What kind of mission?” his rival questioned curiously.

    “Reconnaissance,” he answered. Roy could feel the tension building despite his efforts.

    “Who was your target?” Zane sighed at the question.

    “That’s confidential,” he replied. Roy inwardly groaned.

    “Come on, Zane,” he begged. “Isn’t there anything you can tell me…in honor of our past friendship?” The wolf’s posture seemed to relax slightly as his face softened.

    “If it were back then, yes. But it’s a different time now. There are rules we need to follow!” he explained. “I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you anything.” Roy was disappointed; his head fell toward the floor. “I think we’re done here. I need to speak with the Alpha.” Zane brushed past him and stepped through the door, closing it behind him.

    “So he discovered the hidden village of Mirace,” a cold voice greeted.

    “Yes, he did,” Zane answered. “What is my next objective?”

    “Roy may have done one thing right, but he is still on thin ice. I want you to keep an unseen eye on him and make sure he finishes the job.” Zane nodded, a slight smirk present on his face.

    “Understood.”

    Roy began to descend the staircase but his mind was racing after his conversation with Zane. They use to be the best of friends, and when they were fifteen, they joined the Darkhound soldiers together. They trained hard and pushed each other to do better every day. But Solius pushed them in his own way. He pitted them against each other in a competition to determine who the better soldier was. And when Roy won, their bond was shattered beyond repair. Ever since, the two wolves have been rivals, fighting to prove himself superior to the other in the eyes of their Alpha.

    Roy forced himself out of his memories and back to the matter at hand. He needed to find where Kei was hiding. And then, he got an idea! He made his way toward the front door. Suddenly, an annoyingly loud caw caught his ear. He turned to see Kryll perched on the edge of an empty bowl. He was flapping his wings and cawing impatiently.

    “That’s right! I almost forgot.” Roy pulled a pouch out of his pocket and emptied its contents into his hand. Giving it a light toss, the dead mouse landed directly in front of the raven. Kryll cawed with excitement and pounced on the small rodent. “Now, there’s someone I need to see.”

Sorry I haven't been posting very much. I kinda fell out of writing after VBS week. I've also been pretty addicted to Elder Scrolls Online. But now, I'm trying to get into a new schedule. I'll try do get my writing done on weekends and hopefully you'll be seeing a lot more of these chapters sooner. That's the idea anyways.

All characters are mine except Zane. He belongs to my friend :iconfairyhope93:


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ErtTheWolf's avatar
Really good stuff :). I'm going to have to check out some of your other stories now that I'm a member!!