For the next month, we spent every day together with Dasdan and Braman teaching me all the ways of their people. When I wasn’t learning how to farm or collect honey I would be learning to stitch clothes together(which I hadn’t realized were important) or playing with Braman.
I learned the names of many of the villagers including the elders who were led by Kahltar and the leader of the warriors Justal. For the most part, the group of elders seemed to treat me as if I were some kind of visiting dangerous god who could either smite them or bring prosperity at a whim.
Justal and his warriors avoided me whenever possible. When they were around and I was moving through the village they would stay as far away as possible and pretend like I wasn’t there. The rest of the village were mixed in their reactions with some treating me like a long-lost relative and others cowering in fear at my every move. It went on like this for several weeks with people slowly coming around to the idea of me being a part of their village.
On the 4th week after my arrival, there was another rainstorm, and while everyone was beginning to bring in their stuff from the rain the howling began. The village as a whole panicked and everyone started to scatter. Parents were scooping up children and running for their huts while others just sprinted for the edge of the village and the cover of darkness. I was walking on the far side of the village from Dasdan’s hut when the rains started and looked back towards the direction of her home. I started jogging towards the center of the village looking in every direction for the source of the howling and trying to locate anyone in need of help. Just as I reached the center bonfire I caught my first glimpse of the attackers.
Huge wolves were running around the camp nipping at the villagers trying to push them toward the center of the village. I looked all around for any sign of Dasdan or Braman but they were nowhere in sight. I continued to run towards their hut sidestepping or batting wolves out of my way calling out their names as I ran. When I reached the end of my run and looked inside their hut it was empty. I quickly pulled my head out and looked around, spying Justal and his warriors trying to fend off the wolves the best they could but having no success as the wounds they inflicted healed almost as fast as they could cause them.
I shot towards them in a blur and used my razor-sharp finger talons to slam my hand point first through the spine of the first wolf I came to. I came upon Justal and said “Where are Dasdan and Braman?” he looked down at me in shock and replied “How? What?” I smacked my palm on his chest and said again more urgently “Dasdan and Braman have you seen them?” Still visibly shaken he pointed a trembling finger back towards the bonfire and said “Braman was carried that way by one of them.”
The mental image of one of these monsters with its mouth wrapped around little Braman as it carried him to the fire like a chunk of meat to be devoured awoke a new rage I didn’t recognize from before. The power from before that I felt was a drop in the bucket compared to the tempest raging in my core now. Like a thunderclap I exploded towards the bonfire, my muscles pulsing under my skin. The veins in my chest and arms stuck out in glistening contrast against my skin from the rain as blood ran through my body like a waterfall roaring down a mountainside. The talons on my fingers extended further and my hands became more pronounced and heavily muscled. Within a single breath, I was across the village and standing over Braman's limp body as blood slowly oozed out of a wound in his neck where the wolf that held him drug him to his place in the mud.
All around me the world was standing still. Raindrops were falling in slow motion and wolves and villagers alike stood motionless as my brain processed the world in hyperspeed fueled by my grief-filled rage. I became a blade and a war hammer at once. My talons sliced through wolves like they were made of the mud they were charging through. My fists, elbows, and feet exploded through wolves' heads and hearts killing them instantly without them even knowing they had died. Within seconds of reaching Braman I had completely wiped out the entire force of wolves and they were already starting to shift back to their human form in death.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
The scream I heard next pulled me back from my rage enough to see Dasdan running to Braman and cradling his limp form in her lap. Her eyes found mine and she pleaded with me to make it better. I decided I would not let him die no matter how much of my power I had to give him to ensure his survival and I ran to her and put my hands on his neck and head.
Still full of the power I used to decimate the werewolves, I pushed it into Braman. I pushed with everything I had but it was like there was nothing to push into. I focused hard on the injuries on his neck and tried to directly heal the wounds, letting my power flow freely into him. Slowly the holes began to close and seal away the little bit of blood left in his body, sparking an idea to try and give him more blood to try to bring him back. I used a nail to slice into my wrist and tried to squeeze blood into the openings before my skin healed itself. Repeating the process a few more times I could feel the small amount of my blood in his system and finally had something to latch onto with my healing power.
With a new means of forcing life back into his body, I pushed with all I had and felt my blood in his body start to multiply and expand filling out his arteries and veins beginning to circulate on its own. With each part of his body, my blood reached I felt life begin to come back into him. When the blood reached his heart it started beating on its own and that's when it really started to take off through his organs and finally reached his brain. Braman's eyes snapped open and looked directly at me as he gasped in a deep breath. His eyes flashed a deep golden red for only a moment then went back to their normal brown.
Dasdan threw herself on both of us weeping hysterically wrapping her arms around both of us and kissing Braman on the forehead repeatedly which oddly elicited no response from him. Looking around I noticed the whole village once again was surrounding us looking at me in awe and preparing to go prostrate on the ground. Justal and his warriors were looking over the dead weres kicking their dismembered bodies towards the dwindling bonfire. I saw the elders coming from a large hut and gently patted Dasdan and pulled myself from her grasp to stand.
“Please everyone there may be more of these beasts around. Look around the village and make sure everyone is accounted for and if anyone is injured bring them to me and I will do what I can to heal their injuries.” I announced loudly without shouting to be heard over the rain. “If you aren’t looking for the injured the fire needs more wood so Justal and his men can burn the bodies of these vile creatures.”
The elders arrived next to Dasdan and Braman. Dasdan looked up at Kahltar and said “Ka'Tariku brought Braman back from his journey to the stars and healed him.” with tears streaming down her face. Kahltar’s face went ashen as he looked at me and then the elders all knelt to the muddy ground prostrate in worship.
“Please stop that, I am not a god, and certainly not someone you need to worship. Now there are far more important things to do. We need to make sure there are no other enemies around and save anyone else who may be severely injured.” I said with exasperation.
Dasdan took Braman to their hut while everyone else searched the village for injuries as well as enemies. Any injured found were brought to me and I healed them as quickly as I could and sent them off to join the search. Whatever remained of the attackers was drug to the fire and awaited burning once it was rekindled to a full blaze. Justal made his way over to me and awkwardly said “Ka'Tariku I beg your forgiveness for treating you so poorly. I let my pride control my actions and acted with shame because I am unable to protect my people from these beast-men.”
“You love your people and only want to protect them. There is nothing to forgive but I hope we can work together to get rid of them for good.” I said finishing with venom in my voice.
“Get rid of them for good? What do you mean? My men are no match for them and we do not know where they live or how many there are. We would be running to our death.” Justal was shocked at my decision to go after them.
“I have some ideas for that. Let's get everyone calmed down and rested and tomorrow we plan our beast hunt.” I said with a wicked grin.