A Dire Wolf Comes
784 Words
"Down she flies to rose petal on the ground,
Down she flies to see the sound,
Of a lover’s cry round, round, and round.
Book 1, set 1
Brennon loped through the fairy wood, through the oak and yew. He set out from the elf lands some time ago in search of this place. Being told to look in the fey forest for the lord champion Taylenel of a Queen that went by the name of Lensa Elrieth. Cherubic visions filled him of baby cubs as he remembered his and saying farewell to them.
There he smelled magic. He stopped dead and gazed upward to see a fairy with blue wings and black hair.
"Please, fairy," he barked. "Tell me of a fairy by the name of Taylenel."
"I know of such a fairy," replied the blue-winged one. "Let me take you to the queen."
“Queen Lensa Elrieth is that her name because I was told to seek her, too."
"Yes, servant, I'll take you. Follow me."
"Yes, master, lead me."
The three-year-old dire wolf followed the blue-winged fairy and saw symbols like forest gossamer or ethereal dreams on the trees that he knew guided the fairy forward through the ferns and ash.
"Tell me, fairy, what is your name."
“I am called Castra the blue.”
“Is that because your wings are blue?”
“Yep, Fairies serve different hues of color in our forest. The one you seek serves the green leaves and ferns. How long have you traveled?”
The dire wolf leaped over a fallen yew. "I have traveled for several months; it is not easy to find this forest."
"No. You must know it exists. If you are wandering, you will not find it; you must have a purpose."
“I miss my cubs, you know” The wolf saw more and more fairies the deeper he went into the sylvan forest. Red, scarlet, jade, more pale blue, and pale green. Ten scores surrounded him. "Do you have young?"
"Yes." The blue fairy dipped beneath a branch and almost touched the wolf's nose. "I have a son; he's a green fairy. My wife is blue, the same as me. Imagine that, us having that hue of a son. What are the names of your cubs?"
"They are too young to have names. In our pack, you must hunt to have a name. The elves help us the same as when they created us."
“Yeah, the elves created us, too. We serve them as well. But we’re independent, we may owe allegiance, but we've never been called to fight. They gave us the forest and placed the seals in our care. It’s a great task, but Queen Lensa is as powerful as any elven king or queen. You must remember to pay her homage."
“I know,” the wolf replied. “How long till we are there, I could use some meat.”
"We have no meat, but we have blood wine we never drink." The blue fairy stopped at the edge of a glade, and Brennon pulled up short, fairies everywhere, with every branch being filled with a multitude of colored wings and black-haired creatures. "We are here. Stay still while I inform the Queen."
The wolf sat on its hind legs and saw a celebration in the glade around a yew throne. There sat the only white fairy, and the wolf saw her as pure light. What did the elves create here, he wondered? But he waited patiently.
*****
Queen Lensa sat on her throne as the jester quieted, out of breath. "Come, dire wolf, deliver your message. Jester, go seek the blood wine for our guest.”
“Majesty,” said the wolf bowing his head. “I’ve come from the Northern elves seeking you and your vassal Taylenel.”
The fairies magicked a bowl-shaped hole in the ground to pour the wine into. As its name conferred, it was blood red processed with rare juices. Brennon smelled the wine, and it brought a comforting intoxication. It loosened his tongue.
“I have more to tell. More from the elvish king.” He put his tongue in and drank. “There’s an amulet made by an ancient sorcerer named Evindale Yinra that can breach the seals of your fey forest.”
"Your Taylenel has been summoned and should be here soon. In the meantime, drink. Today is my birthday. Today I am five hundred years old. More is coming."
Brennon said thank you with a mouthful of wine. He knew he would be drunk by the time Taylenel came.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////18tvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvrrr7
.][=op+
----------------------------------
- Writer
