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Later in the afternoon Sascha was sitting on a cliff by the waterfall. The waterfall that she had fell off with Tairek that fateful night.
His body was not there on the shore below, obviously having been moved and buried by either the knights of Aerulis or the druids. Hopefully the druids... who would want to be buried by those mangy knights? How she missed him.
She had died and seen him four days before, but she still missed him with a pain in her chest.
“Sascha,” the cold breeze whispered.
Her ears perked up startled but she ignored the voice, assuming that it was just her imagination.
“Sascha…!” The voice was louder this time.
“What? What?” She spun around with fear, yelping when she thought she would accidentally slip off the edge into the river below.
When she saw who it was her face lit up with euphoria.
“I cannot stay long, but I have come to give you the greatest power an animal can have aside from being able to defend itself,” he said. It was Tairek! She did not approach him, afraid that if she did he would disappear. “I grant you the power of speaking to the humans.”
“That will be extremely helpful!” Sascha smiled happily.
“Come here,” Tairek said. And she did as he told her. The old druid physician put both of his hands on her shoulders and Sascha felt a shudder go through her.
When it was over she looked Tairek curiously in the eyes.
“The next time you talk to a human they will understand you,” he said quietly. “Now I must go.”
“Please, don’t go,” Sascha begged softly, her tail wagging.
“When you get the chance, tell Avyrus that I approve of his choice to become the King of Aerulis, and that I think Titus will turn out to be a great King for the druids,” Tairek spoke, and then his image faded away. Maybe this wouldn’t be the last time she saw Tairek, or heard from him, but for now all communication with him was gone.
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“Oh,” the familiar voice of Titus spoke behind her by the edge of the cliff.
When she turned around to face him she could see that he had just finished digging a small pit about half a foot deep.
He dropped a key with the crest of Xanthus’ family in the pit and then covered it, packing in the dirt. “Hello Sascha. How are you feeling?”
Sascha smiled. Now that she could speak to the humans she would take advantage of this moment. “I’m doing well now that the druids are safe,” she said with a great smile, advancing toward the new druid King.
She had completed her destiny.
The prophecy that had loomed over her since her birth had been fulfilled and her friends were safe.
The people that had raised her were now allowed a second chance at life.
That tyrant king Xanthus was nowhere to be found and would never be seen again. Sascha wondered what she would do with her life now.
Perhaps she could settle down and live the life of an ordinary wolf?
Get a mate, have pups, start a pack... or did Sascha have more in store for her?
Only one thing was for certain; Sascha's life was anything but ordinary.
She had a feeling that her story would go on to be told for many generations to come, in many forms; by the word of mouth, by horseback, by paper, and perhaps someday in a book.
Sascha the white wolf-dog went for a walk in the woods, a pleasant bird song in her ears and the sun’s warmth on her fur.
She blended in with her fur, all except for her eyes, green as grass.
‘Hmm… grass,’ she thought, longing for spring, sighing.
It had been a while since she’d felt the lovely embrace of the year’s first season, a time of life and rebirth, an ending to the world’s dormancy.
‘Let it out,’ a voice whispered on the wind, then was carried off into the sky.
Sascha furrowed her brows. She could no longer deny what was inside of her heart. A vision for the world, one that was neither silly nor unrealistic.
‘I will.’
Sascha rushed up to a large tree, and pressed her bulky paw up to its rough bark, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.
First was silence, and then a rustling.
The bark texture churned and moved beneath her paw pads, and a brisk cool breeze swept through her thick pelt.
A refreshing scent hit her nostrils, a deep one of flowers and soul.
Sascha backed away slowly and looked up. Right before her, the tree was transforming from death to life. Lush green leaves sprouted from once bare branches, swaying and dancing.
Light wisps of life essence swirled around the tree like a graceful ribbon, leaving pink petals in bloom in their wake.
Sascha smiled.
“Praise Jesus above.”
First Edition:
Treasure Coast, FL
December 2012
Second Edition:
Murrells Inlet, SC
August 2018
Final Edition:
New Hampshire
August 2024