CHAPTER 2 – Wolf’s Cry

Nobody I had met would ever give me the definition of who or what warrior is. They would always give me names or shout at me abstract ideas about it. Such as: A warrior never lies. A warrior must be brave. A warrior never steals. A warrior fights for justice. A warrior stands by weak. I could write a list of those axioms that could make few large books. I assume you could classify me as an idiot when I was a kid. I did believe in all that bullshit. Or was it bs?

Anyway, what I would like you to understand is that warrior is not just a foot soldier. Warrior is the one who has accomplished something extraordinary so that tribe council could ask dwarfs to make magically enhanced weapons and armory just for him or her. Magician of 50 years could not stand a chance against a warrior from our tribe.

Kali was a great man. He had made pact with dwarfs so that they make magically enhanced weapons and armors for the warriors of our tribe in exchange for their protection forever and ever. Tribe council was established so that they could refer chosen one to dwarfs and they could assess future warrior’s mana affiliation and make proper weapon and armor for the future warrior. Easiest way to be selected for nomination was if you could beat the hell out of all the contestants in the annual Kali Tournament. I did not like the tournament idea. Not just because of my small statue and age. There were previous tournaments when contestants of my age had shown exemplary performance and given the chance to be accepted to Mehn Academy where they could improve on their skills and be promoted to be a warrior. It was just I did not like the idea of fighting against humans to acquire something even if it was being given a chance to be a warrior.

As the experience increased by killing beast men or demons your weapon and armor improved, and at some point you could even face a dragon just as Kali did. Kali’s greatest achievement and gift to our tribe was the pact with dwarfs. That made us the most fearsome human tribe in the world.

My father’s ancestor was a warrior from Kali’s entourage. Unbeknownst to me, my mother originated directly from Kali. She was the last one. Her uncle had died in a fight with demons and never had kids. Her father lived a long life but had only her as a kid. Unintentionally, my avoidance of the tournament had its positive affects on my future. There were group of people who behind the curtains were planning to change the trajectory of the Kali tribe and kingdom in their favor. If I had been on top of that list or anywhere near it, I would not be writing it now.

Kali was a shepherd before being a warrior. Being shepherd was highly regarded in our community. I could not follow in Kali’s steps as of now (I refused to enter the tournament) as a warrior so I asked my parents to refer me to be a shepherd (and earn a bit of money by doing so). As first days of spring came, around 10 wannabe or apprentice shepherds like me were asked to join the shepherds near the statue of Kali at the entrance of our village.  I do not remember mentioning it but our village was the village, which Kali establish in Kastiffs. We met after the first fool moon. It was time to take cattle and sheep to mountain banks. I was trusted with 50 sheep to look after and a shepherd dog to help me out with them.  I had a de-motivational conversation with the shepherd named Vidac on my first day.

[Me]: Vidac are not you guys are going to explain what am I supposed to do?

[Vidac]: You will be provided with food and drinks regularly. Have your knife on you at all times.

[Me]: Is that all?

[Vidac]: Listen kid, we are not in Mehn academy. We are not teaching you magic or art of war. We are shepherd. The golden rule is: close your mouth and open your eyes. The dog will do everything. It knows better than you what it has to do. Just stick with the pack. In that pack the dog is the leader. Just feed it once a day and that’s all.

[Me]: Is that…

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[Vidac]: Just shut up already. Do not forget the golden rule. Any more questions and you are going back to your house.

We left the village after few hours. In few days, we began to settle on mountain banks with 5-6 hours of walk different between each other. Vidac was right on spot. Dog knew what it had to do. When sheep went off the course it was running around and barking to keep them altogether. Once a day, a rider would pass by and bring food enough for 3 days both for the dog and me. My knowledge about dogs was limited to: a good dog eats only once a day. Two days after the fifth arrival of the rider, late at night, an hour or so before the dawn I heard unnatural voices and woke up. Fire was still on. I took a branch, lighted it out and looked at the direction where voice came from. I could not see what was happening so I got curious. I was so curious that I did not look around. I was too focused on that location and a sleepy to recognize that something wrong is happening. After 10 or 15 meters I saw the scene, which terrified me to the bone. The sheep, all of them, were slain. Blood was streaming as if there is river.

I was to horrified. I wanted to run. I could not. Thoughts were coming to my head non-stop. A beast did it? Maybe a demon did? At that moment I saw the eyes. I would never forget those eyes. I stopped. Whatever it was it was closing down distance between us, but in a slow manner. I passed the fire torch from my right hand to the left one and with my right hand took out the knife. It did not stop. In a matter of seconds, I could see it. It was a wolf. It opened its mouth and whatever was left of dog fell. The wolf has made a mess with the dog. I wanted to turn back and run. Run as fast as I could. I did not. I would give my best. “A warrior never backs away” came to my mind. I bended my body little bit so that to increase my chance of taking wolf by surprise. Wolf teeth could be seen now. Blood was flowing from its mouth. It knew that it is going kill me. Instincts probably. It was aware of the situation too. It growled. At that moment my senses came back to me. I had to do something. The only thing came to my mind was not to back away. I did let go of every emotion. I stopped thinking. Everything was in slow motion. A second felt like a year. In an instant wolf jumped, and I pushed torch towards its neck and making sure that the torch would hit on its belly. It knew that torch of that size won’t affect it, but wolf tried to make sure that its head is not hit by the torch. In that moment, I let go of the torch and jumped forward the wolf’s belly and using both my hands stabbed the knife a bit under the wolf neck. I didn’t stop or could not because of the fear. I pushed and pushed. The wolf lost its momentum and fell on me. I felt the warm blood all on me. I tried to push the wolf but could not. I lost all the power in my arms in a moment. Blood was gushing down for a few seconds more and it stopped. I could feel the rectum, catgut and colon all on me. Instead of pushing the wolf, I squeezed my self from under it. I began to cry. I cried a lot. I had never cried in my life as in this time. Wolf’s cry. I sat near the corpse of wolf.

After few hours, rider came. He saw me, and got in shock. Every single sheep was killed. I was sitting near the corpse of wolf covered in blood. I could not let go off the knife. I told him to get Vidac.

Vidac took me to the village. We packed wolf’s corpse too. We did not exchange a word or discuss anything. I knew that he had his eyes on me. He was checking me out. Maybe expected me to begin the conversation. But I let it go. I wanted to sleep. I was welcomed by my father and mother and the rest of the villagers at the entrance. Village elder Taham asked me:

[Taham]: Were you afraid that you could die?

[Me]: The one who thinks about his end cannot be a hero.

Taham laughed at that..

Next: Chapter 03 - Aslan