“Why did you bring the boy here? It goes against our laws.”
The matriarch looked at the other woman with disapproval. The other woman kept her head bowed, but her face was resolute.
“The boy saved Aisha, matriarch. If not for him, we would have lost one of our young. That alone was worth saving him.”
“Hmm, perhaps you speak true. He is odd, however. His clothing I have never seen the like. What do we know of him?”
“Nothing yet, matriarch. Aside from his clothing, he kept nothing on his person. We will have to wait until he awakes.”
“So be it, let us see if this boy was worth saving.”
--
His head feels fuzzy, and it’s hard to keep his eyes open because everything is a blur. Every once in a while, a voice tells him to rest, so he does.
Sometime later, he opens his eyes. He feels well enough to sit up. Expecting to feel a shock of pain, he tenses in anticipation, but the pain never comes.
“The priestess healed you, but you lost too much blood, so it took longer for you to recover.”
The voice was soft but had a slight edge to it. Darius looks over and sees a tall, slim woman. She was slim, but every exposed area of her body was muscled. Not big, useless muscles for show. No, every fiber had a use. Like a laborer who builds muscle from doing hard work. Her hair was pure white, not grey like an old person but white like snow which contrasted with her brown skin.
“You gonna say something or stare me down the whole time?"
“Uh, yes… I mean no…where am I?”
Real smooth Darius, you got all the charm, don’t you? He silently berated himself.
“Hmph, you are in the camp of the celestial wolves. Which you shouldn’t be.”
The celestial wolves he thought to himself. Huh, you’re not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy.
“Forgive me, but I’m a little lost. I woke up in the forest and I’ve been running from monsters since.”
The woman looked at him with a dubious expression.
“What were you doing in the forest in the first place?”
It was not lost on her that the boy wasn’t dressed in practical clothing for foraging or adventuring. Especially not so deep in the forest. The gnashers were the weakest of the monsters that called the forest its home.
Darius contemplated what to say. This woman had saved him, but he couldn’t simply tell her that he came from another world, could he? Darius had played enough games and seen enough isekai anime to know that he could put himself in danger if the wrong people took interest in him. They might want to experiment on him or try to exploit him for knowledge of his world. What could he say that might keep him safe?
He settled on telling the truth. Not out of any obligation to his savior, but for the simple fact that he was well and truly lost. He had no idea where he was, how to get food or supplies, and if his first twenty minutes in this world was any indication of the danger that he might find himself in, then it was important he get as much information and help as he could. All that he considered, but the most burning thought that was in his head was why was he naked.
--
Darius recounted his story. Throughout the entire exchange, the woman remained silent except with a few nods and a slight widening of eyes at mention of being from another world.
“I must admit I thought you would have been a bit more surprised at hearing that I come from another world.”
The woman nodded.
“It is surprising yes, but not unheard of. Every once in a while, you hear of a traveler wearing strange garb and knowing nothing of our world.”
Well, Darius thought to himself, at least I’m not special. That should draw less attention, and I’m not obligated to kill some demon lord.
“Do you think I can have my clothes back? I’m not used to um…being underdressed in front of other people.”
The woman smiled, and Darius saw a flash of her canines. He remembered what she said. The camp of the celestial wolves, that’s where he was.
“We will get you new attire. It’s best you wear something that allows you to blend in.”
“I suppose that would be for the best.”
He stared around the room. He was in a large tent. There was a soft rug covering the extent of the tent, and pillows and soft cushions were laid about. He could hear the rain pattering off the roof of the tent. Another world he thought to himself.
--
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
An hour later, he was wearing new clothes. He wore a cotton white shirt that looked like it had seen better days and some plain rough brown pants. It took her a while to find him some boots that would fit him. Luna, the woman that had saved him, told him that the children of the celestial wolf don’t wear shoes so whatever they had was taken from bandits.
It must have been close to midday on his second day that Darius was allowed to leave his tent and look around the camp. There were many tents strewn around the camp and fires burning with meat hung above them giving off a delicious aroma.
“Aren’t you all worried about monsters attacking you?”
Luna smiled that wolfish smile of hers.
“No monster in this forest would be so foolish; we are a strong people and that’s without the help of the warding stone.”
A warding stone Darius thought.
“I assume this stone dissuades any monsters from coming near the camp?”
“That is correct, yes, the stone is placed in the center of the camp and emits an invisible force that makes monsters uneasy, so they keep their distance. Most major cities and towns have some. However, the bigger the stone, the more mana and resources it requires to run, so some towns rely on their walls and guards to defend them from monsters.”
Mana, that was what really caught Darius’s attention throughout that exchange. Mana was a term he recognized from games he would play and where there was mana, there was magic.
“If there’s mana then that means that this world has magic.”
Luna nods.
“Is it not so where you come from?”
A shake from his head, and Luna frowns.
“That is odd, then how does one—”
She trails off as she notices Darius’s shocked expression. The young man was looking at a group of glowing wolves of various sizes.
“You guys raise those wolves here?”
Another frown and then a boisterous laugh comes from Luna. Tears begin falling from her eyes before she settles down.
“I take it that this is not a common sight in your world either, though I suppose it is not as common in this world either. Although the celestial wolves are fairly known.” The woman looks at Darius and assumes a wide stance. “Oh Goddess Eris, give unto me your blessing and mold me into your image.”
Darius listened to the strange prayer and wondered what that was about. He did not have to wait long until he saw the change come over the woman. A glow began to emit from her center and then fully enveloped her. Slowly, her features began to change. Her body enlarged, and silver hair grew from all over. Her face became elongated and formed into a snout. Finally, Darius was staring at the silver wolf that killed the gnashers that almost consumed him and the small wolf.
“That is freaking awesome! You’re a werewolf, well, kinda. Like the twilight type, I guess. Still cool.”
The woman turned wolf tilted her head to the side. It was obvious she was puzzled by the man’s outburst. Slowly, she began to merge back into human form. The change from wolf to human was as fascinating as the previous change. Darius watched as a thousand questions ran through his head.
“Can you talk when in wolf form?”
“Not the speech that any of the sentient races would understand. The members of the clan have a special way of communicating. It is given to us when we receive the gift.”
“What were those words you spoke earlier; it sounded like a prayer.”
“It is how we initiate the change; we must petition our goddess first; we are only able to undergo the change twice a day. Some of us relish the change so much that they never revert. The mate of our matriarch has remained in wolf form for over fifty years.”
Darius tried to imagine being a wolf for the majority of his life. His brain couldn’t even begin to fathom.
“Come, I will take you to Aisha; she wishes to thank you for saving her.”
They walked until they reached the other side of the camp where a group of children were playing with each other. Some were in wolf form. They were playing what looked like tag. The children in wolf form obviously held the advantage.
“How come they don’t all change?”
Luna hesitated for a while. Darius assumed she was wondering how much to tell him.
“One night our Goddess visits us in our dreams. This happens at random; there is no specific age. Though most of us receive the wolf dream before the age of twelve.”
“Woah, your Goddess? You mean you’ve actually seen her and spoke to her?”
“Only the matriarch and the priestess speak directly with our Goddess, but she does come in a dream to us. She appears as a great wolf brimming with the moon's light and commands us to join her. We run towards her, and as we run, we make the change. Upon awakening, we find ourselves in wolf form. A ceremony is then held to celebrate the gift.”
“This is truly incredible. We have gods in our world, but none of them speak directly.”
Luna shrugged and looked around at the kids playing. She smiled as one of the kids in wolf form tackled another.
“Many of the gods of this world do not speak or are present. Their followers still believe. Besides, there is a pact of no direct interference among the various pantheons made after the second Fall.”
“The second fall?”
“It was a cataclysm that befell Vialia. During this time, the gods took a more involved approach. There were countless wars among the gods and their followers, and eventually, like the time before it, Vialia was covered in doom and ash. After the second Fall, the gods agreed to take a backseat and observe. Every once in a while, they will intervene in certain matters or appear in dreams, but nothing like the days before the fall.”
This revelation shook Darius to his core. He was raised in the church and believed in the one true God. Though he never saw God or heard his voice, he could see his existence on earth. The way nature functions. He could see how different aspects of life weaved together and recognize the hands that made them. This was something different entirely. It was a different world, a different universe maybe. But who's to say God stopped at one universe. Maybe this was just another of his projects. There was so much to think about. Darius sat on the grass and watched the children play for a while. Luna could see that something she said had troubled Darius and left him to ponder. A while later she approached with a little girl. The girl had long wavy hair caramel skin. A lot of the people in the camp had darker complexions, but every once in a while, he would notice lighter faces.
“Aisha, this is the man that saved you.”
The little girl looked at Darius and gave a shy smile.
“Thank you for saving me mister.”
She bowed her head, and Darius couldn’t resist smiling. The kid was so darn cute.
“It was my pleasure, Aisha; you can call me Darius.”
Aisha looked up and gave him a huge grin. He could see her canines and one of them was missing. That was when he noticed she was holding something in her hand.
“I wanted to give you this as a thank you. It is my first tooth.”
Darius looked at the necklace. It was a braided cord of leather and hanging from it like a pendant was a pristine canine. It definitely wasn’t a tooth that belonged to a regular human. This was a wolf's fang. Darius took the necklace and placed it around his neck.
“Thank you, Aisha; I will cherish it.”
The child brimmed with pride and ran up and hugged Darius. Even Luna couldn’t resist a smile.
“Good, now go play, Aisha.”
Luna sent the girl on her way. She turned to Darius with a serious look on her face.
“It’s a great honor she just showed you. The first fang of a celestial wolf is a cherished item not to be given lightly. I hope you will take great care of it.”
Darius returned her look.
“I promise never to lose it.”
“Good, now let’s eat and rest. Tomorrow, you meet the Matriarch.”