Lunansholt: The tale of the beginning of the wolves

CH 4 Transformation

Thornben is zipping through the trees hoping to get there as fast as he can. He hasn't run this fast ever in his life, his lungs are burning and every breath feels like ice and fire at the same time, but he'll be damned if he allows Leif to die while in his care. "f*****g i***t. You’ve never allowed yourself to get hurt. Why would you do it now? When we're so far from the village." He mumbles to himself in between breaths looking back at his friend while Leif lays there, he's unconscious still and bobbing up and down on his back as Thornben zooms through the forest.

Thornben strains to hear Leif's heartbeat noticing it starting to fade and his breathing becoming more labored, but just as Thornben started to resign himself to the fact that Leif wasn't going to make it he saw the smoke from the longhouse on the horizon. With hope blooming into his chest, he pulls every ounce of energy he has left and pushes himself even harder until he slams through the thick wooden doors of the longhouse. Panting Thornben drops to the ground.

As he lays there trying to catch his breath, he mindlinks Harald, "Harald, Leif has been gravely injured, we need the healer now!" Thornben watches him glide from the front of the dining hall to where they were laying with worry evident on his face as he thinks to himself that he should have mind linked him earlier. He was so worried about getting here he didn’t even think of giving them the proper time to prepare.

After hearing the mindlink Harald runs from his throne to the entrance passing by screaming women and children with men on guard. "Stand down you fools can't you tell it's Thornben? What’s the point of having wolf senses if you never use it." He reaches the wolf and moves to his back and sees a pale Leif barely clinging to life. "Healer! Get me the healer now!"

"I'm here Harald I received a mindlink from the border patrol of Leif’s condition and came running." The healer at 6’2” and slender strides in with determination on his face with short gray hair, bright brown eyes, a crooked nose, thin lips, and a clean-shaven face. He wore a thick white robe that went down to his ankles to protect himself from blood or other fluids that came from his patients. He carries himself with grace and kindness always ready to jump in and assist whenever he could.

"It's Leif. He has no wolf as you know and has a deep wound in his stomach. There's blood everywhere. Thornben is soaked with it."

He nods briskly, "Quick bring him to the infirmary. Lay him on the bed nearest to the door." Harald scoops Leif up as a ghostly Frida watches them in the distance but wisely or cowardly, she didn’t know, stays behind. He looks to Thornben just before he runs out the door, “Good job, Thorn. Rest and once you’ve caught your breath follow us and tell us how this has happened.”

They move with a quickness only their wolves could have given them and thirty seconds later they’re walking in the infirmary and placing him onto a cot. Laeknir assesses Leif's wound and notices a dark aura seeping out of it once the packing the men used was removed. He sees blood oozing out and moves to apply fresh herbs to the wound and tries packing it with clean linen. "I need clean water and fresh linen!" He shouts to no one in particular but knows that his order will be obeyed. He moves outside to his garden to pick more herbs, yarrow to stop the bleeding and sage to purify the dark magic seeping from the wound.

As he makes his way back in, he brings the herbs to a table and creates a paste consisting of the two herbs and blessed water. He turns towards Leif and sees fresh water and linen next to him on the small table. Perfect, he thought as he removes the soaked through bloody linen tossing it unceremoniously to the floor and packs the paste onto both sides of the wound on Leif's stomach then wraps it with the clean linen. "There we just need to wait and see if the dark magic will dissipate. We'll give it a few minutes then we will need to cauterize the wound to stop the bleeding." He turns once he hears someone moving to put a blade on the fire to warm it. Just as he turns back to Leif, he sees the new linen already turning red with blood and the healer moves to Leif to inspect the bloody linen.

He peels it back to see the dark magic still seeping out of the wound and sighs. "We can't cauterize the wound with all this dark magic coming from the wound. If we close the wound with the dark magic still inside it will eat away at his soul. We have to try to stop the bleeding the best we can until the magic is gone." The healer moves to create more paste to apply another layer when he turns to look at his old friend, Sigurd. He opens his mouth to speak but Thornben enters, and all attention is on him.

He bows to Harald and goes straight into what happened without waiting for the Harald’s command to rise, “We got to the village, and it was filled with nothing but death. Leif led us deeper into the village to try to locate what was attacking everyone when we came across a group of draugar.” Harald and Laeknir both still and drain of color but Thornben unaware continues, “We engaged them in battle, we were winning but Leif saw a small pup and jumped in to save her. That unfortunately left him vulnerable and surrounded by four enemies all around him. I tried to get to him but I just as I reached him, he was stabbed from behind.” Harald still ghostly pale nods and waves him off dismissing him but before he leaves, he asks, “what happened with the child?” Thorn quickly answers, “She is coming back with the rest of the war party. They are bringing back our horses and should arrive by midday tomorrow.” He nods and taking pity on Thornben adds on, “I’ll let you know as soon as we do on Leif’s condition. Good job moving so quick to get him here, you are the reason he's still in the world of the living.” He nods and walks away from the infirmary to allow them to heal his friend.

Laeknir moves to the door and ensures there isn’t anyone nearby then turns to Sigurd, "Harald if he doesn't stop bleeding soon, he won't have a chance of making it through the night." The healer says just as he moves to where his helper is waiting with new paste intending to apply the paste "Wait, look!" The healer's helper calls out.

The men turn to Leif, and a small glow is peeking underneath the red stained linen. Laeknir picks it up and looks at the wound in time to see it closing. "Is he healing?" He asks out loud skeptically.

"How is that possible?" Harald asks the healer.

"I'm not sure this has never happened before but look his wound is completely closed now, he isn't bleeding anymore.” He looks Leif over again, feeling his pulse and checking his temperature with his hand. Color seeps back into Leif’s face and his breathing turns into a regular pace and his heartbeat, though fast is now stable and strong. Laeknir confused but convinced of the signs in front of him announces, “He should wake soon. I think.”

Just as he says that Leif shoots up with his eyes open showing a glowing red pair of wolf eyes as his necklace shines red then purple and he drops back onto the bed peacefully sleeping, the necklace now a dull purple color.