FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Eldorin's Lament

Chapter One

© Cederwyn Whitefurr

30th January, 2024

All Rights Reserved.

In the forest of Eldorin, where the woods whispered their secrets to each other, Aria, the apprentice healer of the Swift Hoof, quietly gathered herbs and roots. Rays of sunshine dappled her fur, as she smiled in pleasure, her nostrils scenting the powerful fragrance of a particular herb. Gently, she crouched, her hooflets lightly clicking as she plucked it from the base of a beech tree, momentarily holding it against her nose, before slipping it into the satchel at her left hip. Aria was completely unaware that Kael, the grey and black-mottled furred wolf of the Sharp Fangs, was shadowing her every step.

Aria's senses tingled, alerting her to an uneasy awareness. A subtle rustle of the underbrush betrayed the presence of an intruder. In her left paw, she gripped the shaft of the spear that doubled as a walking stick, in her right paw, she mentally readied herself, hooflets splaying out. As swift as a breeze, she unsheathed her dagger, her gaze sweeping over the surrounding forest. Her ears twitched and nostrils flared, before a creature from her primal memories emerged, momentarily caught off guard by the alert doe.

Their eyes, predator, and prey, locked in an intense standoff, each taking in the body posture and trying to intuit the intent of the other.

Her paw tightening on both dagger and spear, Aria felt the spike of fear slash at her, but she forced it away.

As this wolf - her blood-sworn enemy - looked at her, seemingly surprised, Aria seized her moment. Drawing on the magicks of her kind, she seemed to vanish like the morning fog, circling behind him, moving with intent and purpose.

He wasn't a fool, but he wasn't as skilled at fighting the Swift Hoof as he thought himself. With a startled yelp, he found himself spun about, put off balance, then a powerful kick from her cloven hoof propelled him backward until he collided heavily with a large birch tree, which knocked the breath from his lungs. A whistling sound followed, and then with a thud, the Doe's spear quivered close enough to his right ear, its passing drew a rivulet of blood that trickled down his neck.

He gasped, his eyes widening, as he felt cold hooflets encircle his throat, squeezing both jugular and carotid arteries, making his vision begin to dim. A heartbeat later, he felt the sharp sting of the dagger as it pricked under his chin, forcing it upwards.

A quiet, measured voice, barely above a whisper, escaped Aria's lips. "These woods have eyes, Wolf. Even a shadow can not escape its own reflection..."

He froze, his fingers splayed out against the bark of the birch, held helpless by the dagger in her paw.

"Give me _one_reason..." Come her quiet words, her lips curling backward as her ancestral hatred for his kind filled her. "I shouldn't kill you where you quiver - pup..."

Around them, even the trees themselves held their silence, Aria's words hung in the air like a dark thunderhead, ponderous and threatening.

Kael, pinned against the birch, felt, rather than seen, the weight of Aria's gaze, her eyes radiating an intensity and hatred, born of countless generations of this ancient and primal feud. His breath came in shallow gasps, and the dagger's cold edge pricked sharper, a silent but insistent reminder of the peril he faced.

Aria's demeanor morphed, then morphed again, shifting between predator and avenger, torn between the instincts of her Swift Hoof lineage and the vengeful echoes of her ancestors.

Her paw plucked the dagger from his belt, then threw it away, as she patted him down, searching for other weapons - knowing - instinctively, his powerful fangs could crush her bones like dry sticks - given half a chance.

Satisfied she'd disarmed him, Aria let his head down, so she could stare into his large, yellow eyes, her own woodland brown ones narrowing behind her eyelids. Her dagger moved from his throat to barely touch his chest - right over where his thudding heart was.

He didn't move a muscle, barely breathed - all he could do was stay as still as he could and pray for a quick, merciful end. He had failed, worse, he had brought shame not only to himself but to the Shadow Fang tribe...

The birch tree, witness to countless tales of life and death, rustled its leaves above Aria's head. Aria's grip on the dagger tightened, the weight of her thoughts heavy. As the birch rustled again, then the breeze itself touched her ears, Aria's fingers began to tremble, just so.

At that moment, the forest made its wishes known, whispering with the rustle of leaves and the caress of the wind, the shadows that surrounded them playing tricks on her perception. A decision to spare or strike hung delicately in the balance.

A choice Aria realized - could sway the fate not only of herself and her prisoner - but the destiny of their warring tribes.

He whined, quivering, before a strong scent filled Aria's nostrils, the potent scent of urine, that soaked his loin cloth and dribbled down his his legs, soon soaked up by the forest.

"Pitiful - " Aria whispered, her voice softening as the harshness of it melted away.

In that vulnerable moment, with the forest once more still and silent, Aria's gaze remained locked on Kael's eyes - a fierce fire that had burned within her, dying down to cinders, then ashes, replaced by a flicker of something else. Her ancestors shrieked and screamed in her mind, their hatred almost palpable, but the whispers of the forest that touched Aria's ears seemed to carry an unexpected plea, a divergence from the expected script of violence, death, and retaliation.

"For centuries," Aria whispered, ears swishing backward, resentment flooding her cervid body. "your kind has hunted, tortured, and murdered mine. My own people - have blood of their own on their paws as well. In this moment..."

Aria withdrew the dagger, symbolizing a shift in the dynamic between them. Stepping back, she released Kael from the tree's embrace, yet the uncertain fate lingered between both wolf and deer.

"As the Great Spirit moves me, so I will obey," Aria spoke, sheathing the dagger at her waist. "Go, let this be a warning, for the forest has spoken, and I choose to listen. Let my words sink in, pup. As the Great Spirit speaks to me, I will heed and obey. It calls for a difference, a change, a new unwritten chapter between us - our people. Let this moment I spared you, stay with you. Do not forsake it, for in this moment, we can alter our fate, write a new chapter between us."

Kael, with a sniffle and a low, whimpering whine, swallowed and looked at her. He hesitated, uncertain whether to trust this unexpected twist of fate. Aria's words, a blend of command and compassion, echoed in his mind. As he smelt the shameful scent of his urine that lingered, a poignant reminder of his vulnerability.

Aria's woodland brown eyes met Kael's yellow ones, and for a moment, the ancient feud held - before it broke like the crust on a stream come spring thaw. With a final nod to him, Aria retrieved her spear, then as her hoof steps faded away into a rustle of leaves, then silence, Kael remained against the birch, absorbing the impact of her actions and words, upon his lupine form and mind.

*

He remained there, against the birch, until at last, he was certain it wasn't some trick or trap. His tense muscles slowly eased, as he fumbled about in the growing twilight before he retrieved his discarded dagger. His tribe, the Sharp Fangs, had trained him to be vigilant and aware, but this encounter had shattered his preconceived notions.

As he slid the dagger across his left paw, then winced and clenched it tight, he muttered a heart-felt prayer as he sank to his knees, holding the bleeding paw towards the heavens.

"For as I have failed to shed the blood of my enemy, for so I offer my own..."

His ritual complete, he opened a small pouch at his belt and tied a makeshift bandage around his wounded paw. Around him, the forest seemed to exhale its collective breath, and the shadows, once a servant, now somehow, felt oppressive and threatening.

He shivered, both in fear at what had transpired and as a chill he couldn't place rippled down his spine. As he looked around, reaffirming his bearings, he couldn't shake the words and actions of Aria. This encounter had unfolded like countless others he had undertaken with his pack, the dance of predator and prey, ending not, to his surprise, in death but in an unexpected reprieve from his sworn blood enemy. He pondered the significance of this moment - and the weight of the forest's wishes that had spared him from a dishonorable fate.

*

Aria, on the other hand, moved through the woods, her ears twitching and alert to the slightest nuance of the forest she called home. Her mind reflected on what had transpired - and although her ancestors berated and belittled her in her mind, she felt a sense of comfort and warmth - that surrounded her and uplifted her dark spirits. It was the forest itself, her ally and confidant, that had stayed her paw.

Ancient, the feud between the warring tribes of Swift Hoof and Shadow Fangs had subtly shifted, the fate of both tribes inexplicably altered in ways that Aria couldn't begin to conceive of or comprehend.

*

Her ivory horn glistened a brilliant silver, Seraphina had watched, her magicks cloaking her from wolf and doe alike. Her horse-like tail, was long, flowing, and majestic, the silky, shimmering strands waving in the gentle breeze, as she deeply pondered what she had just witnessed. Tossing her proud, noble head, she lifted her gaze up to the sky, then spoke quietly, her voice filled with the wisdom of the centuries.

"Thank you..."

*

Aria, the apprentice healer, continued her journey through the woods, her thoughts conflicted, the emotions doubly so. Lingering shadows of her ancestor's disapproval still remained, their harsh whispers a haunting refrain in the back of her mind. Yet, amidst the turmoil, the comforting warmth enveloped her, making Aria pause. Slowly, the realization came to her, and she walked over to a tree, placing her three fingers against it, before resting her head against its moss-covered bark.

Uttering a prayer in her language, Aria gave thanks to the spirits of the wood, feeling the warmth as a manifestation of the forest's approval, a reassurance that perhaps, at this moment, she had chosen the right path.

*

Kael, the grey wolf, knelt at the edge of a swift-flowing stream. Taking the makeshift bandage off, he grit his teeth and a low, quiet whine escaped his throat as he plunged his paw into the water. Using the fingers of his other paw, he held the gash open, watching as his blood flowed and washed away in the swift-flowing water. Once he was sure it was clean, he washed out the temporary bandage, and rebound his paw, clutching the wet fingers tight into a fist, growling as the pain washed over him.

Around him, the forest weighed heavily upon his shoulders, an unseen, yet felt, force that seemed to weigh him down with every step. Echoes of the doe's words resonated in his thoughts, a strange experience for him - a completely surreal departure from the anticipated brutality he had thought would have occurred.

He couldn't understand it - what had he done? He'd followed the Swift Hoof doe for hours, once he'd caught her scent. Drawing on his instincts and training, it was meant to be a quick, swift kill - he would strike, knocking her down and seizing her by the throat. A quick, sharp bite, a flick of his head - and his powerful jaws would have pulled apart her neck bones, killing her instantly and almost painlessly...she was prey, he, an apex predator...

Why had it all gone so wrong?

More importantly - His mind recalled. Why did my blood enemy spare me?

He found he did not have the answers...

*

Days passed, and Aria put the encounter with the Shadow Fang behind her - she never forgot - but she didn't let it consume her every waking moment. From time to time, a shadow or a snap of a twig nearly made her bleat in primal terror - her senses in overdrive, only to find herself startled by a small animal - once - an inquisitive young bachelor red deer.

Her need drove her, one of the elders was deathly ill, and her Tribe's healer struggling to save the venerable Elder. Aria had pledged to return to the deep wood, to find the herbs and plants that were needed.

Her spear strapped across her back, Aria only had the dagger in her leather belt as an immediate defensive weapon...

Little did she know, but Kael had been tracking her scent again, wary and as quiet as a wraith. He knew, from their past encounter, just how perceptive and quick she was. His curiosity aroused, he moved with purpose and stealth, employing even the most ancient of ancestral memories to remain hidden and undetected.

However, this time, the forest had different plans for these two...

Aria stepped cautiously into the clearing, her senses on high alert. Beneath her cloven hooves, the ground felt uneven, and a frown creased her face. Before she could react, a massive shape lunged at her, slamming her into the ground.

A hot, nauseating breath washed over her, and Aria, recognizing the beat's foul stench, bleated in terror, instinctively going limp. Pinned and helpless, she squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself for the sickening pain she knew would follow.

The creature, a werewolf, revealed itself in all its menacing, ravenous, and bloodthirsty glory. Saliva drooled onto her neck, and Aria's mind raced with the shared fear Swift Hoof and Shadow Fang harbored for this monstrous foe.

The forest fell silent for a heartbeat, broken only by the muted rustle of the leaves beneath Aria's hooves.

Then, like a shadow emerging from the darkness, Kael burst forth, his grey and black fur blending with the shadows of the underbrush, in which he'd hidden. Abandoning his stealth, he leaped at the werewolf with a braying howl that reverberated through the trees.

His dagger, an extension of his primal intent, found its mark between the werewolf's shoulders. The creature's anguished howl filled the clearing, the sound sending shivers down Aria's spine. This dance of predator and prey unfolded in a grisly, macabre ballet; Kael, driven by a savage instinct, tore and stabbed at the werewolf. Each movement, each strike, was accompanied by feral snarls and desperate howls, echoing off into the woods.

Its agonized roars reverberated through the clearing, its attempts to dislodge Kael growing more desperate. Aria, though shaken, rallied her wits and scrambled on knees and paws, as the two combatants continued their life-and-death struggle. With barely a thought, she snatched her spear off her back, realizing, her blood-sworn enemy was now her reluctant ally in the face of a common foe.

With a ferocity that would have made his ancestors proud, Kael continued his relentless assault on the werewolf, every hilt-burying strike in its body a testament to his skill and determination. As its strength began to wane, Aria darted forward, driving her spear deep into the Werewolf's thigh, twisting the spear tip within, before she yanked it back - the barbs on the back of the spear tearing a deep, viciously bleeding hole in its thigh.

Its wild, yellow eyes snapped around, fixating on Aria, who retreated backward, holding her spear defensively - not that it'd be much of a shield...

Kael continued to stab at it, back, side, neck, anywhere he could, cutting deeply and surely.

Again, Aria stabbed it - this time in the stomach - and the fell beast, its defiant howls turning into pitiful whimpers, as it staggered, then fell to its knees, clutching at its stomach. Kael didn't give a seconds reprieve, driving his dagger down again and again, seeking to end this beast's existence.

With an unexpected surge of rage - its last act - it lunged toward Aria, but Kael, with a howl of rage and pain, gripped his dagger between his paws, then brought it straight down into the back of the Werewolf's skull with a sickening crunch.

It made a weak, moaning whimper, before it finally fell still, bleeding out on the forest floor. As its heart finally stopped, it seemed to melt away from the monstrous adversary it had been - into a naked, scarred human male.

Tension lifted, leaving the torn and bloodied clearing in an eerie silence, broken only by the heavy panting from Aria and Kael, who stood side by side, both twitching with adrenaline, their eyes meeting in a moment of shared survival against what seemed like impossible odds. Unexpectedly, Kael held out his paw - and even more surprisingly, Aria gripped him by the forearm, the two adversaries, making peace.

To Be Continued...