Steven Burke - The Fallen Guardian

As they entered the shadows of the forest, they could see thousands upon thousands of wolf prints on the forest floor. They were all heading directly east. They followed the tracks for nearly three miles before they stopped at the sight of where the battle had taken place. There were several dozen wolves ripped to pieces in a small meadow. Their bodies had been pulverized and torn like they were rag dolls. The wind changed directions to blow in their faces. The putrid smell of rotting carcasses made all three of these hardened warriors vomit uncontrollably. Their eyes began to water from the odor as well and could not see the eyes that were peering at them from the opposite side the bloodied clearing.

Several wolves edged their way into the clearing as they stalked closer to where the unsuspecting men were bent over defiling the forest floor. They began to growl as they got to within fifty feet of the weary soldiers. The shaken men finally stopped spewing long enough to look up in the general direction of the growling sounds. They all turned pasty white at the sight of nearly a dozen or so bloodied wolves of various colors. They all had a maddened look in their eyes that told the poor men that they had just been on the receiving end of a severe beating. It was clear that they were seeking someone or something to unleash their pent up frustration on, and unfortunately for the captain and his men, they had been chosen.

“Don’t make any sudden movements,” ordered the captain in an undertone. The trio began to back away slowly into the trees.

A crashing sound came from their right as the wolves began to advance on their prey. They did not slow their pace as the sound of some unseen party to their left increased in volume. Thud! The sickening sound reverberated through the meadow as a massive white bear plowed into the enraged wolves. Three more white bears joined the fray, and together they began to tear the vile beasts apart. One of the bears ripped the head off of a black wolf with a single swipe of his massive paw. The bears were so much larger than the gigantic wolves that it was impossible to really tell just how big they were. Within a few moments, the wolves lay dead and in several pieces. The four white bears turned their attention to the men standing within the shadows of the trees. They did not move toward them; they just stared at them.

The captain did not hesitate to make his intentions clear and immediately dropped into a one-knee bow. The other two soldiers did the same thing a split second later. They all looked up tentatively at the majestic bears to show their respect for their power and prowess. The one white bear that appeared to be much larger than the others bowed his head toward the men and then began to walk away. They were out of the clearing and heading east within a few long strides. The men collapsed completely at this point. They were so overcome with the intensity of the events that they did not move for several minutes. They all just lied there on their backs looking up through the canopy of trees to the clear blue sky above. They did not say one word to each other while they were on their backs for several long moments.

“Captain, what was that all about?” asked one of the soldiers quietly.

“I believe that we just discovered that the gigantic white bears have entered this battle on our side. And it is a good thing too because those foul wolves had tipped things in favor of the axis powers.”

“So, what do we do now?” asked the other soldier as he sat up.

As the soldier who had just asked the question sat all the way up, a massive, slimy maw came down over his head. With a sickening crunch, a massive black wolf bit down to the upper torso of the poor soldier. Ulric’s mouth had blood gushing out from its sides as he ripped into the unaware soldier. The giant wolf tore the upper part of the man’s body at the chest away from the rest of his body. For an instant, the other two soldiers of Aran laid completely still on the ground in absolute shock. As the filthy beast shook his head side to side, covering them with their friend’s blood, they stood up and took off toward Tarisdell. The wolf did not give immediate chase because he was too occupied with chewing on his food.

After running the three miles from the meadow to the eastern outer wall in record time, Ulric began to chase them. He covered the three miles in no time and was on top of the two soldiers as they ran toward the elven barrier. They had to stop before the barrier because neither one of them knew elven nor was Commander Brugon on top of the wall to shout the pass phrase. Ulric took advantage of this delay and pounced on the soldier who had escaped with the captain. Ulric’s claws dug deep into the back of the defenseless soldier. In one swift movement, he ripped the poor fellow in half. As he made this decisive motion, the captain took out his blade and sunk it deep into the side of the beast. A howl of rage shook the very ground he stood on and got everyone’s attention who was behind the wall.

Commander Brugon came running out the eastern gate to see one of his men ripped in two while the other one, his captain, was trying to pry loose his blade that he had successfully sunk into the side of the gigantic wolf. He quickly uttered the elven words needed to open the barrier for his comrade. The captain quickly slipped through the barrier, and then his commander uttered another elvish command. The barrier shut quickly behind him. The captain did not remember a command for shutting the barrier, but they had been in a hurry the last time they came through. The shaken captain turned around after he was through and swore a blood oath to avenge his fallen soldiers by hunting all of the black wolves until they were no more.

You are all going to die, little one. Why prolong the inevitable? Ulric chided the captain in his mind. The massive black wolf lunged tauntingly at the captain, who flinched impulsively. Ulric gave a long, drawn-out, guttural laugh as he turned around and ran back into the forest.

“Are you all right, Captain?” asked his commander from behind.

“Yes, I think so,” stuttered the captain as he shook all over with fright at what he had just experienced.

“Come inside the wall, son, and we will get you taken care of,” beckoned Commander Brugon kindly. When the captain reached his side, he put his arm around the sickly looking soldier.

“I couldn’t stop them. There were dead bodies everywhere…blood…lots of it,” muttered the captain inconsolably.

“It’s all right, son. Come over here and have some warm soup,” said the commander soothingly. He sat the captain down by a fire that had been built outside one of the elven homes. The troops had been instructed to not touch any of the elves’ possessions, and they were not allowed inside any of their buildings except for one of the barracks. The commander had designated one to be used for their lodging while they defended the city.

“They were on us before we knew they were there; we were sick from the dead wolves’ stench…blood everywhere…” continued the captain, who had clearly succumbed to the horrors he had witnessed.

“Here, have some soup,” said one of the other soldiers as he handed him some beef stew that they had had for lunch.

“Thanks,” said the captain, trembling. He ate the food as though he had not eaten in days. He was still shaking from the stress of his prolonged ordeal.

“Captain, do you feel up to telling us what happened back there?” queried the commander calmly.

“Yes, after I eat,” replied the shaken captain.

“Get this man some chilled ale!” barked the commander to one of the soldiers standing near the fire pit.

“Yes, sir!” he replied as he rummaged through one of the containers where the food was being stored. After removing a clean tankard, he filled it to the rim with cool ale from one of the chilled barrels on the table farthest from the fire. He handed it to the captain who took it gratefully and downed it in one go.