Lady Of Wolves

Claiming Consort-3

“No regrets. Over any of it,” she said sleepily. The magister barked a laugh.

“No regrets, indeed.”

Kalla's own laughter was stolen by a yawn as a feeling of lethargy crept over her. Before she knew it she was sound asleep, resting more peacefully than she had at any point the past several days.

Kalla woke once again wrapped in the scent of cinnamon and fox, but this time she paused to enjoy her magister's presence. He was still asleep, but she had the feeling that something had compelled her to wake up. She paused, seeking out Vander and finding his mind agitated.

“Lady Kalla! Help us!” Vander's voice flooded her mind. It must have been Vander, seeking her attention, that had woken her. She shook Aleister awake. Focusing on the frost wolf, she teleported the pair of them to Vander's side. Her bare feet sank into soggy turf as they materialized before the wolf and wyvern and she was drenched within seconds. The first thing Kalla noticed was the dense fog shrouding the landscape. The second thing she noticed was that Amaterasu was hurt. Kalla felt the locks on her power began to shift as she grew angry. The wyvern's right wing sagged, unable to take weight. Ragged gashes had sliced through the delicate wing membranes, shredding them to ribbons. So that would be why they couldn't get back to the ship, she mused. Healthy, the wyvern was more than capable of carrying the frost wolf in her talons. Wounded, she couldn't even get herself off the ground. Amaterasu bellowed and Kalla pulled Aleister to the ground as a jet of flame shot overhead. In the brief firelight, the Mage could see a horde of dark shapes seething around them. Only Vander's ward kept them at bay, but Kalla could tell it wouldn't hold much longer. The wolf danced to her side, throwing another jet of flame out into the darkness.

“What happened?” she asked.

“The dead, Dashkele. They came from nowhere. We've destroyed many, yet they still keep coming. There are people, animals, even a wyvern. It was that which hurt Amaterasu.”

Kalla growled as more of the locks shifted. Sparks danced around her as she gathered her power together. The shadowed forms drew closer, pressing against the barrier of the warding and Kalla could feel it begin to give. The sparks wove into ragged flutterings of fire, taking on liquid quality as Vander's barrier fell. The undead hordes swarmed towards them, a massive wyvern leading the way. The great beast had started out life as a frost wyvern. Now, patches of skin and scale had all but fallen off, exposing bone. In places where the scales still clung, they were a dull, dingy blue. Strips of decaying flesh hung from the body in great swathes, causing Kalla to grimace. Around the wyvern came all manner of undead. Vykr, pronghorn, human, plains longtooth, even tiny little mice and birds.

The wyvern screeched a challenge, surging forward, even as the first of the undead reached them. Kalla ignored the tiny mice feet that scrambled up her clothes, and drew her power together. Scraps of flame blended and melded to form a solid seamless dome around the four. The dead howled as the closing curtain of flame cut them off from their quarry, Vander and Amaterasu making short work of those still trapped within. A vast golden bubble shimmered around them, pulsing gently.

The last of the locks broke under the volcanic pressure of Kalla's anger, releasing the power in a molten torrent made manifest. A laval firestorm erupted as the fiery dome burst outward, washing over the undead hordes, incinerating them. Only dust and ash remained, drifting on smoky winds.

As the air slowly cleared, Kalla was amazed to see that the rains had stopped. Indeed, her firestorm had done more than simply destroy the undead. It had been powerful enough to shred the clouds themselves. From very far away, or maybe deep within her mind, came an enraged howl of pure frustration.

Kalla turned her attention back to Amaterasu, to heal her wing, and found yet another surprise. The transition from Mother to Lady had changed Vander back to his human form. The War Mage gave her a bewildered look.

“You are Lady of Wolves now, Dashkele. You bear the twin crescents,” Vander said softly, bowing. The Sky Fox grinned and Kalla returned it with a scowl as she surveyed the damage to the wyvern's wing. Reweaving the thread of the delicate membranes would be an exacting task. She gently urged the wyvern onto her good side and carefully stretched the wing out. Amaterasu growled with the pain of it.

Will I fly again, Lady Kalla?

“If we can get this fixed quickly, I have no doubt of it,” Kalla said. The Mage called Vander and Aleister over. Vander had access to all of her own healing knowledge, so he could help with the healing. Kalla asked Aleister to help hold the wing steady, giving support where the magi needed it. Their work took several painstaking, exacting hours, but by the end the wyvern was good to fly again, the wing seamless and whole once more.

From a distant ridge a pair of figures stood and watched the magi, magister and wyvern. The elder man looked to the younger, then both looked up into the now clear skies. They nodded to one another and began to make their way across the plains.

Isle of Whispers, Year of the Mythril Serpent 2014 CEAl'dhumarna howled in rage and frustration as the firestorm consumed his undead army. The Old Wolf's child was proving beyond meddlesome, her and her little Fox. And now she had the pathetic Dashmari serving her. He had grown more strong-willed during his brief time with Amaraaq.

The Nagali scowled and thrashed inside his mythril cage. Cracks ran through the enchanted metal. Near the tail a huge piece fell off, revealing a section of the true Al'dhumarna. Scales of iridescent blues and greens shone through.

He quieted, settling down into a simmering stew. He was nearly free. Unfortunately, at the rate they were going, the Wolf goddess and her little minions would soon be on the way to see Ganysha. He had to stop them, to kill them! The Nagali hissed sibilant instructions. There were traps to be laid and bait to be set.