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The orange sprays of sunlight peered through the branches of the leafless trees, shining down upon Sascha’s majestic snow white fur.

The ground was damp with water that had formerly been frost, which the white wolf had melted with her sufficient body heat.

The white she-wolf had fallen asleep very quickly, even rudely dozing off while having a conversation with Akemi, the young she-wolf that had sheltered her for the night and was going to lead her to Windstorm City that morning. Sascha didn’t even open her eyes as she lay on the freezing cold leaves of the forest floor.

The sun’s warmth was hitting her in such a way that made her feel like she was back in the druid camp when everything was alright.

Back when Sascha used to go to the Warming Stones where she would nap and let the warmth of the noon sun soak into her slick white fur, dreaming about hunting with Zachery and fetching herbs for Tairek.

How she missed those days... even if Sascha was meant to save the druids from King Xanthus back in the Kingdom of Aerulis, she had a feeling that things would never be quite the same as they had been.

“Good morning, Sascha!” A female’s voice disturbed her from her memories.

It was Akemi, with... wait.

What was that smell? Sascha knew it anywhere! It was freshly killed prey!

Sascha’s head then shot up and her eyes widened with excitement. Oh yes, it was not just one rabbit, it was two.

She had to admit Akemi was a good hunter to have caught two rabbits in one outing... especially when it was so cold out!

“This one is for you,” Akemi mumbled through fur as she placed a huge rabbit at Sascha’s paws.

She also noticed the bite marks on the rabbit that Akemi had killed it with respect, delivering a very quick nip to the back of the neck. This way, the animal hadn’t felt any pain.

Well then, that was something new Sascha had just learned about the gray she-wolf: she respected the environment and all its living creatures and did not kill for sport. Sascha had hunted with Zachery, but that was only to bring back food for the druid clan.

The white she-wolf began to lick at the ragged fur of the rabbit, becoming quickly hungrier than before.

Her mouth watered for the rabbit’s juicy meat, which she would get to in just a moment. There was something she knew she needed to say first. “Thank you, Akemi,” she barked with an appreciative gleam of her eyes.

“It was no problem!” Akemi gave a bright smile at the white wolf. The light gray she-wolf looked up at the sun in an attempt to tell the time of day, and then looked down at her rabbit. “Eat up! You’ll need it, you look like you’ve been starved.”

After eating their first meal of the day and Sascha’s first meal in two days, they set off to find Windstorm City like Akemi had promised the night before.

It took a long walk for them to reach the other end of the Twilight Forest, which now looked like a beautiful haven for wolves in the day time.

“So how far is the village now?” Sascha asked, panting from the long walk. It was now the late afternoon, and the white she-wolf realized just how much the Twilight Forest took up of the mountainous area.

Such a large amount and a vast travel distance to the lower village of Windstorm City... filled with Twilight Firs, dead leaves on the ground, and icy temperatures.

“Not much further,” Akemi responded, breathing heavily in time with Sascha’s. Akemi’s aqua blue looked up ahead, seeing the end of the trees and a hill. “Oh, thank the Lord. I think it’s just over this hill, Sascha.”

“That would be nice,” Sascha mumbled through the bag of coins she carried.

“It would.”

Climbing up the steep grassy hill, Sascha and Akemi started to pant harder from the strain. They dug their claws in the ground to keep from sliding down and used their muscles to their advantage.

It may seem like they were being over dramatic, but they were not. You would be aching too if you had been through the white she-wolf’s experience.

Until finally they reached the top of the hill and gazed out upon the gigantic village and city off in the distance. It was a beautiful sight and the King that ruled this city was lucky to have such a view from his castle.

She knew from how many gold coins she had that Rei would be in the upper city, for his training would be expensive and the common man would never be able to afford it.

Though ironically, the common wolf would be able to afford the training; she cracked a faint smile at this thought.

“So we need to go to the upper town?” Akemi inquired, turning her blue stare from Sascha to the beautiful city.

“Yes,” Sascha responded blankly, still not speaking clearly through the bag. “Akemi, do you have any idea where Rei’s Quarters are?”

“Not really,” Akemi replied, unhappy that she didn’t have an answer for her friend. Sighing, she looked at the bag of gold that Sascha carried. “What’s in that bag, by the way?”

Sascha remembered what Tairek had done for a moment, and then focused back on Akemi’s question. “Five gold coins. One of the, ah... druids gave it to me.”

Akemi chuckled with surprise and interest: “One of the druids gave a bag of gold to a wolf?”

Sascha’s cheeks reddened.

She had told Akemi everything about her situation, except for the fact that she was prophesied to save the druids and that she carried around a bag of gold. “To pay for Rei’s training,” she answered fairly quickly.

Akemi’s chuckling started to fade away. “Well, I can see you’ve had that blasted thing in your mouth for days,” the light gray she-wolf sympathized her, and then offered, “I wouldn’t mind carrying it for a while.”

Sascha shook her head in protest: “That won’t be necessary.”

“Oh, come now,” Akemi smiled. “Besides, you’re the wolf who has a relationship with the druids. You don’t need a bag in your mouth the whole time.”

Sascha rolled her eyes and then handed the bag to Akemi. Then they started their way toward the village of Windstorm City. Without even voicing her opinion, Sascha wondered how they would pull this off.

How could they keep hidden in a village full of people who probably feared wolves? There were a couple of ways, but only one smart way.

It was risky, but Sascha was well prepared to risk her life. The lower part of Windstorm City was very clean, yet there was the occasional dirt on the road and dust on the cottages. It was very fine-looking, so she could just imagine what the upper city looked like.

There probably was not a speck of dust or dirt, and the air would be as sweet as fruit.

Akemi and Sascha stalked slowly under a small bridge where a stream trickled forward, creating the peaceful ambiance of natural icy water rushing through the forest.

Sascha crouched down beside the stream, her white tail resting in the chilled water. Akemi stood beside her, placing down the bag of gold.

“What do we do now?” Akemi asked the white she-wolf. She was thinking the same thing as Sascha: they would undoubtedly be shot if they showed their faces in the village. And that would just be a waste. “We need to find a way to get past the villagers without getting shot by the city officers.”

Sascha sighed with frustration: “Windstorm City is a huge place. We could try to run all the way to Rei’s Training Quarters, but we’d probably keel over from the strain.”

Akemi laughed heartily at Sascha’s response and raised a brow: “We could try it.”

Sascha looked straight at the light gray she-wolf with a serious look on her face. “Yes, but you have to realize just how big Windstorm City is,” she began. “It doesn’t look like the upper city is across the street.”

Despite the distance, it was definitely possible... if they found a way to avoid the city officers and hide every now and then to take a rest.

“We have no choice,” Akemi said calmly, “Unless, of course, you don’t want to save the druids.”

Sascha sighed. She didn’t want to die just yet, but if she didn’t try to run past the city constables then her ‘family’ would be executed and she would be left a coward for failing. “I’m going for it,” she announced valiantly, standing up and shaking her white tail dry.

Her swift movements sent freezing cold water droplets in Akemi’s face, but she said nothing. The gray she-wolf just shook the water droplets from her muzzle. “Good luck,” Akemi smiled.

“Thank you.”

Then, Sascha took off running from behind the little stone bridge and into the streets as fast as her legs would carry her. Hearing the city officers shouting made her run faster, to a point where she thought she would place her paws the wrong way and trip.

The villagers screamed, deathly afraid of the large white wolf. She could hear the city officers catching up with her on their horses, so out of pure fear Sascha made a turn down a dusty street, thus losing view of the castle in the far distance.

She ran all the way into the upper city without being caught. Sascha wondered how she did this so quickly, not even having to hide for a moment from the officers.

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She paid close attention to the signs on the buildings, looking for something that contained the name “Rei”.

All she could see so far in these clean, fruity smelling streets were taverns, blacksmith shops, fabric shops, and butcher shops; a big difference from the lower town of Windstorm. All of these shops did not matter to her, and so she continued looking hard for where Rei might be while she ran for her life.

Nobles who resided in the castle of Windstorm walked these streets, and like the lower villagers they became very frightened of the quick she-wolf’s appearance.

Soon, she finally spotted what she had been looking for: “Training for Gold”. Could this be Rei’s training? Well, she didn’t really have a choice but to check it out, for the officers were going to kill her if she did not find cover soon.

Sascha leaped out of the way and toward the large wooden door of Training for Gold.

She still held the little linen bag of coins and she could not let go of it, so she scratched rapidly at the door with her sharp wolf claws. It was rather loud; anyone inside would certainly hear. “Come on! Come on!” She growled with frustration. The officers had dismounted their horses and were heading straight for her!

To put things simply, a roughly scarred man opened the door and claimed the wolf to be his pet and retriever. His excuse for the bag of gold was that the she-wolf was very intelligent and would always fetch his monthly payment from the King.

The guards were not idiots and they were still wondering why the man had a wolf for a pet. “It’s terrifying the villagers!” One officer reported to the young man’s excuse. “The King should know about this disturbance.”

“He does know about it, sir,” the man gave a faint smile, scratching the back of his neck. “This guy here is used to retrieve my payments, as I stated before, so I don’t have to leave while training one of my apprentices. But also to represent how strong I am, as wolves are nothing to be reckoned with.”

Guy? Sascha wondered how she put up with the unintentional insults of the humans.

“The villagers of Windstorm will not appreciate a wild beast running around making trouble for them, and possibly injuring someone,” another officer gave his opinion.

It was then that Sascha was able to make out the scarred man’s looks; he had no hair, gray eyes, and tan skin. He had many scars, ranging from face scars, shoulder and arm scars, and even scars on his scalp. She figured this was all from fighting and training.

The man wore a bear pelt coat, and also had a dark blue marking in the shape of a wolf on his right palm.

It was like what you’d see in a cave from the ancient time. Sascha could never forget that marking though, not in a thousand years; it was a druid symbol.

Had this man been a druid in the years before Sascha had been born?

The bald man thought for a moment as if trying to figure something out or come up with an idea.

“If you are at odds with me, then you are at odds with the King as well,” the man responded calmly. “I command you as he commands you, so he says. You shall tell the villagers that there is nothing to worry about. Tell them that Smith here belongs to me, and is trustworthy.”

Again with the male name-calling! She knew he had no idea she was a female, but it was so embarrassing being ‘Smith’...

The officer in front of the man gave him an uncertain look.

“Yes, sir,” he dipped his head respectfully. He turned away while the rest of the guards followed, but then he looked back. “But if I hear that the animal has caused anyone trouble, I will kill it with or without the King’s permission. I care too much for this city’s safety for excuses.”

She admired this man’s passion for the city of Windstorm. However, there would be no need for bloodshed anytime soon; at least not in this beautiful city.

And with that, her trouble with the city officers was over; the man led the white she-wolf inside his building.

She hadn’t imagined it so small! This was where the man trained his apprentices? Sascha felt bad for them, having to put up with the tiny room while handling swords and archers and every other weapon they decided to use. The back door was only twelve feet away from where she stood at the front door.

Now that she thought about it, it wouldn’t be possible to train people here. So where did he train them? Then it hit her... was this man Rei? Ugh, it was so obvious.

‘Do I lack common sense?’ She wondered.

“I have been trying to talk to animals lately,” the man, who she presumed was the Fighting Master Rei, began calmly as he turned back to her. He went to sit on a blue velvet chair with gold arms. “I know it sounds dumb, but years ago I was able to communicate with them fluently. I’ve become a little rusty, though.”

Sascha perked her ears up; this man had the same passion for communicating with animals as the druids did... that was another hint that he might have been part of her Clan.

“Were you a druid, Rei?” She barked.

Would he understand her? Sascha hoped he would, for if she couldn’t communicate with him then her journey would have been for nothing.

Yes, she hadn’t thought of the communication thing until just then.

With that thought in her mind, she was reminded briefly of Tairek, the man who had saved her life from the knights of Aerulis. He had revealed to her that it was her destiny to save and protect the druids.

He had also told her to go to Windstorm City to find the Fighting Master Rei, for she was not able to fight properly yet. She knew all too well that the physician was right. Sascha barely even knew how to snarl like a normal wolf! She definitely needed some help.

“You... said my name,” he said with surprise. So he had not fully understood her, but he seemed to be aware of her ability to speak with humans.

“So you can talk. Repeat yourself!” He added with an encouraging voice.

Repeat what she had just said? “Outside I saw the palm of your hand; it had a druid symbol in the shape of a wolf!” She said as if continuing what she had asked previously.

“Yes! Oh, I’m a bit bad at this but... I can understand everything you’re saying!” He grinned.

Well, wasn’t he excitable? She rolled her eyes. “Look, can you just answer me?”

“Answer what?”

“Were you a druid or were you not a druid?”

Rei raised both of his brows at her question. “I was. A very long time ago,” he said simply. “But I left to become the Fighting Master of Windstorm City. It’s a much better life for me. Wait, how do you know so much about the druids?”

She didn’t answer his question. “Did you happen to know someone called Tairek?”

“Tairek...” Sir Rei thought for a moment. “You mean that young physician apprentice? Yes, I knew him. He was a boy when I knew him.” He paused for a moment and then added in a questioning voice, “Why do you ask?”

“Because... well,” Sascha began, taking a long pause. It seemed that this man had been friends with Tairek, so she did not know how to tell him of the physician’s fate. “He... passed away.” It was then that she saw sorrow in Rei’s face. It made her a bit nervous so she added, “But he sent me here to ask kindly for your training! I can pay.”

She dropped the bag of gold at his feet, and he took it.

Silence fell in the room, and a somber air blanketed over them. Rei took a deep breath, and stared at the wall.

Sascha gave him a moment. It wasn’t easy losing someone you cared about.

Eventually, he untied the tiny rope which held it tightly closed and spilled the five gold coins out. He counted the coins quickly and then lifted up his head to face her.

“This will be enough,” he nodded with a satisfaction.

“So, can you be more specific? I don’t want to get into your business or anything, but I want to know what you plan on fighting in the future,” the Fighting Master said as he stood up to grab one of his weapons.

The variety of weapons he had stored in one corner of the building amazed her! It went from all kinds of swords, maces, spears, lances, shields, and even whips. It looked like he owned a torture chamber somewhere in this city. “And then I can choose the proper weapons for your training.”

“The knights of Aerulis,” she blurted out.

Rei gave her a look as if she were senseless. “Why would you want to do that?” He asked. “Even I don’t stand a chance against them.”

“I don’t care if I’m killed by them, as long as the druids escape,” Sascha said, and then explained what had happened to her and the druids. “That’s why I need your help to defeat them.”

“Well wolf, it isn’t the knights that you have to worry about then,” Rei said.

“I have a name you know... its Sascha,” she growled, rotating her ears. “And what do mean that I don’t have to worry about the knights?”

“The King of Aerulis by the name of Xanthus is the one who you need to worry about. He kills all sorcerers he can get his hands on, but it is also rumored that he practices magic himself. I can’t help you with magic, but I can help you with all the fighting skills that you’ll need to reach his Throne Room,” Sir Rei explained carefully.

The Fighting Master took out a shield with a dragon design on it and a shiny sword. She could see her white reflection in it, and it was not even blurry! Rei kept things in shape here.

Sascha wondered. If Rei had been a druid long ago, then why couldn’t he help her with magic? She did not complain, though. Sascha just followed him outside to train in his huge yard which was surrounded by an iron bar fence.

The grass was very green and professionally trimmed. It made her feel bad to walk upon such nicely cut greenery, but to train with her temporary mentor she needed to do so.

There were also a few bushes covered in flowers on the right side of the yard, and bushes of juniper berries on the left side.