Blood and Silver: First Bite

The Raven

The raven sat on a branch, watching as the moonlight lit up the valley below. He saw the wolves run, which was nothing new, except that the pack seemed larger than usual and he could sense a strong female presence within the pack. As he watched, a red glow made its way through the pack, running past all of them and making its way to the top of a small ridge. He flew a bit closer, and watched in awe as a red wolf with a fiery aura let out a howl, followed by the Alpha and then the rest of the wolves.

The raven perched for a minute, taking in what it had just seen. It watched the wolves make their way back to the pack house, and saw as they shifted back to their human forms. Something was different, it was unusual for there to be so many she wolves in the pack. That fact, mixed with the red wolf, would only mean once thing. He spread his wings as he prepared for flight, and the rustling sound of his feathers in the wind echoed in the now silent night. He made his way back to a rocky, mountainous area, and after checking the area for onlookers, he transformed into a man before landing on his two feet, wearing a long, dark robe which covered his entire body, and had a hood which covered most of his face.

He walked shakily over to the rocks and placed his hand on the largest one, which disappeared against his touch, and he raced inside, knowing that being the messenger for what he was about to reveal would not be good for him, but his fate would be far better than if he had kept the knowledge to himself.

This was no ordinary cave - it was a large castle, disguised magically to appear as part of the rocky mountain face. The initial hallway was like that of a normal cave, lined with candles which gave it an ominous glow. He raced down the hall and into the throne room, where a man in a deep, red, velvet robe, the hood also covering his face, sat lazily on the throne, with one leg over the arm of the throne and one on the ground. Several scantily clad women surrounded him, dancing and feeding him as he sat, paying no attention to them except when they stopped, at which time he would shout angrily and clasp his hand in a claw-like manner, causing them to splutter and choke. They smiled as they performed, but fear was etched deeply in their eyes.

‘What is it, Cedric?’ He asked, completely disinterested in anything his minion had to say.

The man who was previously a raven stood with his hands on this thighs, out of breath from rushing to the throne room.

‘Your majesty, the wolves…’ he started, panting as he spoke.

‘Yes, yes Cedric, the wolves live in the valley. Bla bla bla.’ He said, wanting Cedric to leave the throne room so that he could go back to antagonising his slaves.

‘Sire, the Red Wolf has appeared!’ Cedric finally spat out, and immediately, the red robed man swung his legs around and sat up in his chair. His eyes glowed menacingly beneath his hood, like red embers left after a destructive fire.

‘Leave us!’ He barked, and the women hastily scattered and rushed towards the nearest exit, terrified of what would happen if they did not obey his command fast enough.

‘Cedric, do you understand what you are implying?’ He raged. ‘Because if you are giving me false information, I am quite partial to raven meat. I will -‘ he raised his hand in the same claw-like manner and Cedric gurgled and coughed.

‘Sire, she howled at the top of the cliff. She was red and her fiery aura was visible from a distance! It was just as the prophecies said!’ He coughed, his voice pitched higher as he struggled to breathe.

The man dropped his hand, and Cedric immediately fell to his knees and gasped.

‘And the packs?’ He asked.

‘They have merged, your Majesty. Silvermoon and Blood Crescent are as one. There was a strong female presence in the pack, and the she wolves were scrawny and underfed. It is the only explanation .’ Cedric said, lifting his hand to shield himself from another attack, not that it would do much good against the man’s telekinetic power.

‘f**k!’ Yelled the man. ‘How did this happen?’ His yelled increased in intensity.

‘I-I’m not sure..’ stuttered Cedric.

‘Then find out! You have come here with half of the information! Go out and find out exactly what is going on, and who the Red Wolf is! Alistair!!’ He called out, and another man dressed in a black robe sheepishly entered the throne room.

‘Go with Cedric and find out more information. He will brief you on the way! Get out of my sight, the both of you, and don’t come back until you have some useful information to share!’ He bellowed, and the two men rushed out of the room, and made their way down the tunnel where they exited by the rocks. They both transformed into ravens, and took off in the direction of the Silvermoon pack house, Cedric briefing Alistair on the way, making their mission clear.

Once they made their way to the pack house, they positioned themselves in a tree close to the main building. It was past midnight, and most of the pack had gone to sleep. The two nestled up in the crook between a branch and the tree, ready to observe the pack for the whole of following day. They were grateful that tonight they would get to sleep without incident, but knew that tomorrow would be a day where they had to be vigilant and ensure they had something meaningful to report back to their Lord and Master, Lucian Black.