There is a reason powerful beings don’t just roam reality, conquering and destroying worlds as they please. The ambient energy has to be at a level to allow their existence.

Of course, there are ways around this limitation, but none of them are pleasant or straightforward.

The typical and slightly extreme solution is to simply cut away anything you can’t bring with you. Like a fighter cutting weight before a match, but far more extreme. The practise bordered on tying off circulation to a limb and waiting for it to fall off. Not exactly pleasant.

For me, adapting to both low and high energy worlds had never been a problem. It was one of my few talents as a huntsman. I could be sent anywhere and operate semi-efficiently, no matter what.

Although I had never gone to a world as desolate as I thought Earth would be, I also didn’t have time for the usual slow acclimation process to reduce my power. So I did what any sane and rational person would do.

I started carving chunks off myself like a mad butcher, mutilating my metaphysical being in ways that would make spiritual entities scream out in horror and flee.

One of those chunks was the construct in my shadow I had used to contain and separate the less amicable shadows I had collected through the years, Tartarus.

Losing Tartarus and allowing them all to roam free within me wouldn’t have been a problem had Earth been what I’d expected it to be, but it wasn’t. The energy here was thin, almost nonexistent, but it was there.

And as I slowly regained my former strength, their presence only grew.

The things I had imprisoned were remnants of the unkillable, the eldritch, the undying and the spiritual, both orderly and chaotic. Although none of the more powerful fought for control, as they could feel the environment around me and instinctively knew that escape would mean an almost immediate and unpleasant death from the low ambient energy of the world around me.

To them, I was more like a life raft in the middle of an ocean than a prison.

But not all of my shadows were prisoners.

Some were the lost and forgotten, just waiting to fade away in peace. I carried those so that others would not disturb them.

Some were shunned for their nature, fated to a lonely existence. I offered them peace and companionship, should they seek it out.

Some were a danger to themselves and others. I traded their madness for clarity, letting them experience what they could not before.

Some were the willing, those who offered to serve and stand by my side. I honored those and thanked them for their sacrifices, for they are my bulwark against the terrors I could not face on my own, and their oath I shall carry with me forever.

“The dark draws near and our final breath escapes, but we shall remain. Our reasons may differ, our allegiances oppose, but in the shadow of the Titan, there is but one creed.”

***

There was no moon in the sky tonight, no stars adorned the black expanse, but it didn’t matter, their light was unnecessary tonight.

Red and yellow light bathed the massive clearing, stopping only at the treeline. It originated from the dozen buildings lit aflame, none burning brighter than the house at the heart of the clearing on top of a small hill.

“Did everyone get out in time?” John asked, wearing only a pair of jeans he’d managed to save from a clothesline and covered in soot with several pink spots along his torso from recently healed, or still healing, burns.

“Everyone got out as soon as they smelled the smoke. Jemma heard a group retreating east, but she didn’t pursue.” Lydia replied from the side.

No one could take their eyes off the burning buildings that had once been the home of their pack, now quickly being reduced to nothing but ash, while acrid smoke filled the air, stinging the pack’s sensitive senses.

***

“Names are important. They tell stories from the immaterial.”

That’s one of the earliest and most significant lessons I was ever taught. Although it wasn’t that simple… It never was.

Long ago, reality split in two: The Material and The Immaterial.

The Material planes are our physical reality, the Earth beneath our feet, the air in our lungs and the home of natural forces.

The Immaterial planes are places of pure energy, emotions, thoughts, and everything in between. It is a place where the laws of our reality cease to matter.

And although they are split, they will always remain connected and equal. As one grows, so will the other, and if an imbalance develops, a natural correction will occur, often resulting in catastrophe.

Every conscious being in reality is intrinsically connected to The Immaterium, feeding and influencing it with every forgotten thought or waning emotion, but this influence doesn’t only flow one way, The Immaterium also influences the Materium, and one method it does so is through names, stories and ideas.

Wherever you go throughout reality, an axe will always be an axe. Languages change, uses vary, but the concept will always remain, it simply is what it is. An Axe.

This is true for many things: vampires, werewolves and magic. Their presence is just a matter of time as reality corrects itself. I had always thought about my world’s absence of fantastical creatures in anything, but myths and stories were only due to a lack of energy.

This led me to a question that terrified me, but fascinated my teacher: do we dream up the creatures that stalk us in the night, or were they already there since time immemorial?

In either case, I was now certain. Earth’s ambient energy was rising, and I needed to be ready for what’s coming, to protect those I’ve come to care about.

I rose to my feet in the dark cavern, noting that for the first time since my return; I felt clearheaded and focused. My power and attention were no longer being exhausted dealing with the constant onslaught of the riotous and insidious.

I opened my eyes, illuminating the dark cavern in crimson light and revealing the ragged remains of what had once been my Legions.

What remained was scarcely a fraction of their former glory. Starved of energy, and barely hanging on to their own existence through pure power of will.

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They stood there, silently staring at me with empty eyes, my pathetic amount of energy not even affording them the luxury of conscious thought.

“I’ve been too careless, too complacent.” I confessed. Distant hissing and screeches of discontent echoed from deeper within my shadow.

“That stops tonight.” A pressure descended upon the cavern as my construct solidified and took hold in physical reality, much to the dismay of some residents. I would no longer let the ones I swore to keep locked away run rampant and wild.

I felt the desperate struggle from deep within my shadow as the malcontent and malicious creatures were locked away in what would once again become my Tartarus.

***

“Everyone packed up and ready to leave?” John asked as Lydia climbed into the driver’s seat of the truck.

“Yeah, we’ve salvaged what we could and dug up all the caches. We also found the fire-safe. It looks like the fire didn’t get to the contents, but the metal’s warped to hell and it’s jammed shut.” Lydia replied, buckling in.

“Good, then the documents and photo albums should still be intact.” Nala replied with a sigh of relief next to John on the two passenger seats in the cabin.

It was a bright side, but one that was hard to appreciate right now. Their ancestral home had been razed to the ground, and they were being chased out of their own territory and they had neither the power nor influence to fight back or retaliate. This wasn’t just some dispute over Nala anymore. It hadn’t been for a long time.

Their parents had spoken about a change happening in the surrounding packs years ago. They had turned more hostile and confrontational. Their mother had brokered an uneasy peace, but that quickly deteriorated with her death. This conflict had just been a matter of time.

A knock at the driver’s side door brought Lydia back from her ruminations.

“Tim and his aunt just arrived, so we’re all ready to go.” Cole informed Lydia.

Cole was the oldest and most experienced of the new wolves Lydia was teaching and he’d taken charge of rounding up his group of pups, the last of which had been Tim.

“Good, let’s get a move on.” Lydia replied.

***

I had only just crossed the road into the parking lot as the sun started to peek over the hills to the east. I’d wanted to be discreet coming back, considering how I looked. My clothes were in tatters, smeared with blood and other unspeakable things.

I was trying to remember which room Natasha and Sophia were staying in when Natasha walked out of a door near me, carrying a bag. She stopped and just stared at me.

“Wow. You look like shit.” She said, surprised after giving me a once over.

“You try wrangling a legion of shadows throwing a hissy fit.” I responded deadpan and exhausted. “But despite how I look, I’m feeling a lot better. Where’s Sophia at?”

“She’s in the shower. We figured we’d leave at first light.”

“Then I’ll go clean up too. I’ve only just noticed that the smell I had blamed on the cave I spent the night in is actually coming from me.” I lifted my arm, only to recoil at the stench.

“You’re sure as hell not getting in the car like that.” Natasha said, holding her nose, having caught a whiff of me.

***

We were back on the road making steady progress towards our destination. I had taken the chance to get some sleep on the backseat since I hadn’t gotten any the night before, and the shower this morning had been quite taxing, though you wouldn’t guess it from Sophia beaming from the front seat singing along to a pop rock song I hadn’t the faintest idea the name of.

“She really did a number on you, huh?” Natasha said with a smirk, her back leaned against the front console. She had moved the passenger seat all the way forward and laid the back all the way down, basically sitting in reverse with her feet up.

“Oh stop it, he’s fine. Besides, I was starving, we haven’t had a decent meal for a while, also, these rings are great and all, but they really take it out of me.” Sophia argued while waving her hand up for emphasis.

“It’s fine, honestly it helps. The energy you feed on is basically the run-off from me, either using or refining the concentrated energy I use myself. Doesn’t hurt that it usually also removes any aches and pains I got from a buildup of that toxic sludge.” I chuckled.

“Toxic sludge? That’s a pleasant image.” Sophia said in a deadpan tone of voice.

“Well, you’ve never seemed to mind, though I shudder to think what would happen if I ever gave you any of the good stuff.”

“Good stuff?” Natasha questioned impishly. “I’m hungry.” She continued, changing the subject abruptly. Or at least that’s what I thought. Little did I know, we hadn’t changed the subject at all.

“Ham or chicken?” I replied lazily, while rummaging around the cooler on the floor.

“Neither.” Natasha responded with a predatory glint to her voice, I only had time to look up confused before she pounced on me, leaping from the front seat to the back landing on top of me pinning my arms against the door while laughing wildly.

“HEY! at least warn me before doing that,” Sophia complained as the car swerved while Natasha was trying to rip my shirt off. With everything going on, no one noticed the highway trooper behind us before he turned on the siren.

Natasha stopped, and we both looked out the back window before looking at Sophia, staring daggers at us in the rearview mirror.

***

The guy waited for what felt like an eternity before walking up to our car.

“Miss, could you explain to me what happened back there?” He asked in a stern voice.

“Sorry officer, my wife decided tackling our friend was the best way to get a meal.” She said, indicating back to us. I held up a ham and cheese sandwich with what I really hoped was a believable smile.

“Traffic safety isn’t a joke miss.” he said with a sigh towards Natasha.

“You could have had a serious accident.” He continued as he straightened and stepped back from the window.“This won’t happen again, Mrs.-” he looked down at Sophia’s fake driver’s license. “-Reynolds. Will it?”

“Of course not officer, I’ll keep her properly fed from now on.” Sophia said with an award-winning smile that made even the hardened highway patrol cop crack a smile.

“Good. Then you three, have a nice day and try to be more careful.” he gave Sophia her license back and walked back to his motorcycle.

He’d made it barely halfway before Natasha pushed me down against the seat and continued where she left off. I heard a sigh as I felt the car pull back onto the road.

***

“Honey, I don’t think it’s necessary to go all the way to the border.” Natasha broached carefully from the driver’s seat next to the frazzled looking Sophia.

“No, we’re not going through Devos territory, especially not with that.” Sophia replied, holding a permanent marker cap between her teeth and struggling to fold the large map on her lap.

“That takes great offense to being referred to as That.” I complained.

“Weren’t you sleeping and avoiding being the designated map-holder?” Sophia threatened, to which I replied with loud snoring noises, causing Natasha to quickly muffle a chortle.

“Oh, you think this is funny huh?” Sophia asked as she turned to Natasha, who froze like a deer caught in the headlights.

“Of course not dear.” Natasha quickly replied very diplomatically.

***

“Ma’am. The branch elders have requested another meeting with you to discuss Mr. Titanos.” Silas informed Katya, sitting behind her large, ornately carved antique desk.

Katya had taken up residence in the clan head manor at the heart of their valley, mostly reserved for ceremonies and very officious business. She had been forced to leave her corporate offices by the relentless stream of worried or curious sentires, many of which weren’t above mild threats and posturing to get to the head of the line.

It had been insufferable.

And now they’d found her again.

Katya sighed. Not only were Sophia and Natasha not here to help solve or put a stop to the political machinations of the branch elders.

“I should have never agreed to Sophia’s idea.” Katya chided herself.

“Letting my right hand take off with my successor and the person in question himself for almost a week, leaving me to deal with these buffoons, was a terrible idea,” Katya said with a sigh.

TCHECK TCHECK

Katya turned to look out the wide windows, giving her a breathtaking view of the valley currently experiencing a rare rainstorm. On the windowsill outside sat two pitch black birds, ravens. One of which was pecking at the glass while the other was staring intently at her.

“What in the…” Katya muttered as she stood up and cautiously moved towards the window and opened it.

The pair of birds cawed at the opening window and quickly waddled inside and shook themselves off as Katya took a step back.

One of the two ravens moved forward but stopped noticing its fellow not following as it was too busy preening itself. The first Raven bashed the second a couple of times with its wing, leading to an argument that seemed far more intelligent than your run-of-the-mill Genus Corvus avians could manage.

The two hopped forward, having settled their little spat and spread their wings out while bowing their heads to Katya.

Katya, still very unsure of the situation, returned the gesture with a polite nod.

One of the Ravens put its head underneath its wing and pulled out a black letter with red script on its envelope before holding it out with its beak for Katya to receive.

Katya, now having an inkling as to who had sent the odd pair of birds her way, gracefully accepted the letter, replying with a polite “Thank you” which seemed to please the two Ravens.

The envelope felt more like cool crystal than paper, but it wasn’t rigid and was easily bendable. Opening it revealed a hastily scribbled note in barely legible handwriting.

To Katya,

The pair of Ravens carrying this letter are called Huginn and Muninn. They are among my most trusted allies and I have sent them in the hopes they will be of assistance to you in our absence, and are yours to command.

Do not underestimate them.

Best Regards

Aleks’andros Titanos