Lunansholt: The tale of the beginning of the wolves

CH 5 Getting to Know Each Other

"Where am I? Why can't I see anything? Am I dead?"

"Come here Leif. It's time we properly meet." A deep animalistic voice answers.

Leif swings his body around but all he can see is black. He's looking in every direction but there’s only darkness around him.

"Leif, you need to focus. Close your eyes and breathe. Calm yourself."

Leif, though uneasy, listens to the voice, takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. He thinks of everything that he can think of, that normally calms him and after a few soothing breaths he finally opens his eyes. He looks around and takes a few steps toward a direction he feels a pull to, squinting his eyes at the darkness he eventually saw something walking towards him. "Who is that? Is there someone there?" He focuses his eyes and a 20-foot black wolf, the largest he’d ever seen, with red glowing eyes staring at him walking from the edge of the darkness just enough to be highlighted by the light. Once he realized what he was looking at, the wolf smiles showing all his large teeth.

"It's about time you proved yourself worthy of me, Leif"

"What do you mean?" Leif takes a step back, eyeing the wolf in front of him warily.

The wolf sighs, "We will have to start from the very beginning."

"Stop talking in riddles." Leif huffs in irritation at the giant wolf in front of him.

The wolf chuckles and says, "I am Skuggi, your wolf."

Leif shocked, shakes his head and says, "That's impossible. I don't have a wolf, and I’ve been a man a long time now. If you are my wolf what took you so long to show up?"

Skuggi plops down into a seated position and signals for Leif to do the same at a spot in front of him. "We will need to start at the beginning to fully explain why this is all happening." Leif stares at him but slowly moves to sit where he was directed and Skuggi continues, "What do you know of the beginning of your life?"

"Only what my father, Harald has told me, that I was born and hidden away, that my mother had disappeared. I do not know where she is and all I have of her is this necklace." He places his hand on the necklace and warmth seeps into him.

Skuggi nods and leans forward placing his snout onto Leif’s forehead. An image of a tanned woman with gorgeous watery amethyst colored eyes, a straight nose, and heart shaped lips transformed into a wide smile with long black curly hair framing her oval face is looking at him with all the love she can muster. "That was your mother. The exact moment of your birth where she held you for the first time."

Leif looks at Skuggi with tears in his eyes. He had never seen anyone look at him with that much love before and it moved him to know he was loved that much. Even for that short amount of time. Leif shakes away the tears and waits for his wolf to continue.

"She did everything she could to protect you."

"What happened to her?"

"We don't know all we know is that she isn't dead."

"We?"

"Your father and I."

"My father?"

"Baldur"

"Baldur? The God?" Leif asks skeptically.

"Yes, the God." Skuggi says laughing.

"My father is a God? Yeah right.” He scoffs, “Any other sagas you want to tell me? This must be a dream or a vision of some kind." He pinches himself then closes his eyes while he picks up his right hand and slaps himself hard on the cheek, but when he opens his eyes again, he’s still in the dark room opposite Skuggi.

Skuggi laughs even harder. "Let me show you"

Skuggi again put his snout onto Leif's forehead and this time he is transported to a field of flowers were his mother and a 6’7” stocky man with blonde hair, icy blue eyes, straight nose, and full lips wearing a loose-fitting white robe are talking.

"Baldur, my love, I am with child."

The man beams then quickly places his hand softly on her belly. "Astrid, my queen, I cannot express how happy I am to hear this." He stands a foot taller than her, wrapping her into his arms protectively and swings her around laughing and kissing her until she eventually has to pull away to take a breath.

He laughs putting her down and a second later he is back in the room of darkness.

"Skuggi, there’s no way a God is my father. What does that make me? What was my mother"

"Yes. You’re called a demigod. Your mother is a wolf. Any other questions?"

"Uh…yeah. If my father is Baldur, then how did he die? Isn’t he invincible? How did my mother disappear?"

"There is much to tell you but for now what we know is Loki had your father killed. He tricked the God, Höðr, into shooting him with a dart with the only thing Frigg thought he was safe from. He was jealous of Baldur and wants to take what he had, including his throne. He did not know about you, but he knew of your mother."

"Did he take her?"

"We think so."

"We? If my father is dead, then why are you talking as if he is alive."

"He is alive through us Leif."

"How?"

"That pendant you were given is a piece of his soul. I was locked in there with him watching and waiting for you to prove you are worthy of this, of my power."

"Worthy? What do you mean?"

"You have been a competent warrior despite being only human, you have saved comrades, but you have never put another life above your own. Until last night where you saved that little girl despite knowing it would end in your death."

"I had to die in order to get you?" Leif asks as irritation creeps onto his face and his vein bulges out from his head.

Skuggi fights the laugh wanting to break free, "No Leif you needed to prove that you would protect someone regardless of the outcome. You needed to show your selflessness in order to prove to me and your father that your heart and soul are good."

"You couldn’t see that during the three years I was saving people while on missions for my father?" Leif asks exasperated then realizing what he said corrects himself, “missions for Harald I mean.” Then understanding dawns on him again, "I could've had a wolf years ago."

Skuggi smiles, "You also needed to know you have your own strength so that when you have mine as well you understand that alone you are also strong. That it’s not merely my power that makes us strong."

Anger and frustration roll off him in waves, but he ultimately nods his understanding. “I realize why my father needed the reassurance that I wouldn’t be another Loki, but I’m irritated at the isolation I have had to endure because I was wolfless.” Skuggi nods in understanding, “I saw it all. I may not have been able to communicate with you, but I have always been a part of you.” Leif just nods and they sit in awkward silence for a minute before Skuggi speaks up again.

"Loki has become incredibly strong in the last 20 years. He has recruited several kinds of enemies in hopes to take over Norway, and your throne. As you saw with the draugar. It is only with our power that we can protect everyone."

"What power do we have? Loki is a God he is unstoppable."

"I know this is new, but we are born from a God, and his power flows through our veins. Once we are strong enough and have control of our magic, Loki will be no match for us. As we become stronger our powers will start to present themselves. Even I don't know what all we have."

Leif sighs and lays onto his back looking up, "This is not going to be fun, is it?"

Skuggi smiles shaking his head, "no, well not all the time."