Among ones so violent, find the merciful.

Among ones so dull, find the quick.

Among ones so foreign, find the friend.

Among ones so weak, find the protector.

Among ones so hasty, find the deliberate.

Among ones so flighty, find the absolute.

Among ones so boorish, find the considerate.

-From the instructions of Siegfried the Sighted to the Blackened Sanctuary

“No movement, no exits. Nothing.”

While Foire’s words were reassuring to hear, I was rather confused why the wolfstags hadn’t left, even to flee. We had not been quiet in either of our fights, and this second one would leave the rest of the wolfstag pack with about thirty adult and battle-ready wolfstags. Fewer than we had killed in the last attack. If I were in their position, I would flee, without hesitation, yet still they remained.

I flicked my tail, shaking the thought from my mind as I did. After all, I couldn’t know what they were thinking right now, and I might never know their reasons. Beyond that, I needed to make the rest of the pack absolutely aware that we were going to continue the assault into the wolfstags’ den. I could recognize that I didn’t like that for a couple of reasons, not the least of which being that fighting inside the den would take away our advantage in numbers. Beyond that, I didn’t enjoy the idea of an extermination, even if it was the “Keel” way. I was willing to do so, because they were a constant threat to us, and killing them was of absolute benefit to my pack. Regardless, I did not and would not enjoy having to wipe them out entirely. But what other options were there? And if I were to explore them, would I lose the benefits I needed to keep myself and my subordinates safe? Would my subordinates continue to follow me? And what if Viilor learned about us? And and and. My worries never stopped, and I suspected they would only continue to grow.

With a roll of my neck and shoulders, I shrugged the burden of leadership more comfortably onto my shoulders. I had long decided to become the ruler over this swarm, and beyond that, to become the primordial Keel, and if that meant wearing down the fabric of my soul until I was threadbare, so would I do. Later could I ruminate over my choices and stew in regret. Now, I needed to see to the dead.

Before I could do so, though, a hesitant Ytte approached me. “There’s something weird with the ground.”

I turned to her, tension beginning to run down my spine. “What do you mean?”

“I… I’m not sure. There’s something going on in the ground. The more we move in this–” she pointed in the direction of the wolfstags’ den, “direction, the more I feel it.”

While I wanted to press her on what that meant, I knew she didn’t know, so I left her in peace after acknowledging her warning. Satisfied knowing I’d listened, Ytte walked off, seemingly trying to figure out what her feeling was, or where it came from.

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Ytte walked away while I turned to the bodies laid out before me. They had gone cold at this point, their blood mostly washed away by the continuing rainfall. Other than the nineteen dead from Criit and Khaa’s packs, there were an additional six from my pack that had died. None whose importance I ranked among the highest, yet still I spent time with each body. I forced myself to look at the consequences of my action, of my ambition, and of my weakness.

There was no external origin for my deliberate and respectful approach to each body. I wasn’t forced by Nievtala or any other to do what I did, and I gloried in that, that I could make my own decisions. At each body, I spoke the Third of the Words of Power of Nievtala, “Tempered in the blood of your sacrifice, we continue. Thank you, Criit”, and so on for each of the pack that had died. I had to ask a member of the other two packs to tell me the names of many of their companions, but nonetheless, I took the time to acknowledge every one. Eventually, I had spent a moment with each of our fallen, then, checking with Foire, knew that there still were no wolfstags coming. Vefir let me know that any wounds that had been sustained had been taken care of to the best of his and his assistants’ ability, and we were finally ready.

“Everyone, leave everything behind. This will be the fight that decides everything.” I let a thread of [Innervating Address] slip into my voice as I continued, “We will find the final victory ahead! Come with me, follow as I lead, and you will find the success we seek!” A scattered echoing of agreement filled the air, mostly from my most ardent supporters, and I stepped forward to lead us to the wolfstags’ den.

We made our journey cautiously, slowly, and carefully, but we weren’t surprised by anything. Every step I expected a wolfstag to jump out, for something to burst from the ground, or for anything else to go wrong, but nothing. The journey was unremarkable in every way until we arrived at a clearing where Foire had made it clear the entrance to the wolfstags’ den was. When we arrived, Ytte perked her head up, and I immediately noticed as she approached me.

“There’s another exit.” She was straightforward as she spoke. “It’s that way, about a mile.”

I didn’t question her, and instead turned to Foire straightaway. “Are there any wolfstags there?”

“I… don’t think so? I haven’t seen any.” He was frantic, and began to scale a nearby tree to scout. Silf kept his eye on Foire, attentive notwithstanding his burns and discomfort while I motioned for Solia to approach.

“What is it, Alpha?” Solia had grown confident in her ability, but she remained a relatively reticent individual.

“Are you ready to use your magic? You’re our best for this.”

“I… wait… you… want me to? Use my magic on them?”

I looked levelly at her before flaring my frills. “Yes. In the tunnels, your flames will be immensely useful. Be ready to use them as powerfully as you can.”

“But I… I’ve never used them like that before and–No. Thank you, Alpha. I’ll be sure to prove myself.” Then, with a nod, Solia retreated and closed her eyes, bringing her focus to bear. Hopefully she was right, since if she couldn’t we would suffer many more casualties. I tried not to think about it as I turned to Ytte, whose eyes darted back and forth, seeing something I couldn’t.

“Ytte. Ytte. YTTE.” I had to raise my voice on the third call, and finally she shook herself from her reverie.

“Yes, Alpha?”

“Can you close the entrance to their den?”

“Um… maybe? I’ve never tried it.”

“Well, let’s try that today.” I said, as I began to give instructions to her for my plan to catch the whole pack.