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Long ago in a time after legends but before the world became rational and un-enchanted as you now know it, there existed an epoch where the world of the mundane could still interact with the world of the extraordinary. It was a twilight period that bridged the gap between the world of the older races and the world of the youngest race of all: man. I was one of the elder races near the beginning of that transition era when most humans were still aware of our existence. At this time, humans called us many names in many places but most who knew of us called us Elder. Rather than living in harmony with us, though, as they had in earlier days, humans shunned or actively hunted our kind. Humanity was ascendant, and saw no room in this new world for other races with strange and alien ways.

A human widow named Carin and her teenage son, Efron, lived together on a farm at the edge of our seemingly wild and mysterious wood that covered the rugged land between the fertile plains by the sea and the bare rock of the mountains. Beneath that dense canopy was where we, the Elder, continued to live and maintain our ways. Few humans traveled in our dominion. Paths that led into the forest did not always lead out again, and the rulers of the adjacent human realm had forbidden their subjects from any interaction with the dwellers of what they considered a dark and evil place.

If a human saw me they would call me a fox, but I was more than that. I could assume a quasi-human form if I wished, though I rarely did. I preferred my feral shape because with it I gained the power to change the hue of my fur. Blending into my surroundings, I became nearly invisible. That is why the boy had never seen his little shadow, and Shadow was indeed my name. I can't explain why, but I have felt compelled since I was weaned from my mother to watch over the boy, Efron. Believing my compulsion to be the result of a geas of some kind placed on me for unknown reasons, I lived my life as an Elder in ignorance of my true nature. I knew only that I felt uncomfortable whenever I had to leave Efron's presence for any reason, even something necessary like hunting for food or escaping dogs. Dogs were my bane because they could smell me and would often chase me despite my camouflage.

I was happiest and most content when Efron dared enter the wooded realm, which he did routinely much to the disquiet of his mother. Carin tried to stop his forbidden forays, but she could not control the boy. The lad's father had disappeared half a decade earlier and was presumed dead. The mother believed that the lack of manly guidance was the source of his troubles. It was not that Efron was a violent or insolent lad; he was just different and unmindful of commands with which he did not agree. He did not make friends nor play with other children his own age. He sometimes adopted strange affectations like speaking in ancient magical tongues that he learned from the Elders or going about naked except for a spartan covering of his loins in a similar fashion to many of the Elder. Carin was vexed most of all, though, by his spending much of his time alone in the woods - a place that she saw as a sinister presence looming like a threatening storm over the border of their land. I often heard her reminding the boy of the King's edict against entering that land, but she could only sit in her home helplessly knowing that he continued to sneak past its borders every chance he could.

Carin decided one day that, to solve her problem and save her son from his seemingly self-destructive tendencies, she would remarry; it was time to have a man around again who could enforce some discipline. She confronted Efron with this news late on the eve of the summer solstice. It was an unusually cold day for the beginning of summer with a rare eastern wind blowing across the enchanted forest from the heights of the distant snow clad mountains. I felt instinctively that magical powers were building to reach their peak on this, the longest day of the year.

"I intend to marry farmer Nickolas from Wexterston," said Carin to her son. "He is a hard working man who knows how to keep young boys in line and too busy to wander off to forbidden places. You need a father again to teach you how to be a proper man, wear proper clothes and speak properly."

Efron was distressed by this news. He did not want a new father. He wanted his real father back. Mother and son argued oblivious to me listening intently to every word they said. The boy ended up running away, knowing that he could not change her mind. Carin chased after him as best she could, but the boy was young and fast, and she was not young anymore. Efron disappeared into the forbidden forest well ahead of her. She was forced to retreat to her house and pray for his return. I was not so easily lost, bounding effortlessly after the boy.

Efron ran without thought or direction, but his feet knew where he wanted to go and led him down familiar paths to the twins, Tibor and Russalla. I knew these two Elders well, but did not interact with them. Convinced my fate was more tightly bound to this human boy, I kept apart from most of the Elders.

The twins were in overall shape and form like humans except for the beautiful silver, white and black fur that covered their bodies; their cat-like faces, ears and tails; and their paw-like hands and feet. The best way to envision their appearance would be to combine a lynx and a human together. They had the winter cat's tufted ears and shaggy cheek fur and were marvelously attractive in a graceful, feline way. So alike in appearance were they, that even Efron would never have been able to tell them apart if Tibor was not a boy and Russalla a girl. Even so, over the five years that they had all been friends, it was not until recently that differences between them had become obvious to the human. Tibor was growing taller than his sister and was putting on more muscle. Russalla had developed breasts, and her hips had widened and become more pleasantly rounded. Since their habit of dress was to wear only a loin cloth, even a human having never seen one of the Elders would know which was which now. To an Elder like me, who used smell and other senses unknown to humans as effectively as I used my sight, the difference between the twins had always been obvious.

The pair of lynx children was waiting for him in their usual meeting place in a clearing by a small cascade of water. How they sensed he was coming, he never discovered, but they were always there for him. They knew his moods, too and sensed that he was distraught today, each one putting an arm around him in greeting and pulling him into a group hug.

Tibor was the more sensitive and caring of the pair and was always concerned for the feelings of his friend. "Why so sad, Efron?" His paw lovingly brushed the human child's disheveled and sweaty hair from in front of his face.

The human's sad tale poured out with a rush of tears that was assuaged by his furry friends' sincere sympathy. Russalla, unlike her brother was less concerned with emotion and more with solving problems. "What are you going to do, Efron?"

"I don't know. What can I do? Farmer Nickolas is a very strong and stern man who used to be a captain in the King's army. He believes in following the rules always without question. He won't let me come see you anymore. He will understand about you even less than my mother."

Tibor licked behind his friend's ear; it was gesture of affection that would seem odd to most humans, but was one that Efron had come to cherish as normal and fitting. "You need a miracle, my friend."

"No," protested his sister. "He needs magic, and tomorrow is a magical day. We need to take him to see the Vanhin. She can help."

Tibor gasped at his sister's mention of the oldest of the old, and even I nearly yipped aloud hearing the name of such a powerful being spoken so openly. "Why would she help a human? Her power and dominion shrinks every day because of them."

The Vanhin had walked the earth for countless ages, roaming the lands inhabited by the Elder. With humans rapidly taking over much of the Earth, her wanderings became constrained, and she settled in these ancient woods centuries past lending them her protection. Her magic was as old as time itself, but seemingly even it could do more than delay the relentless advancing tide of humanity.

"Because, foolish brother, his heart is pure, and he does not hate and fear us and the other Elders as most humans do." As Tibor wiped the human's tears away with the back of his furry paw, Russalla pulled on Efron's hand. "Come. We will take you to the Vanhin."

"Is it far?" Efron held onto Tibor's paw for comfort. He appeared to be apprehensive about meeting this new, magical creature.

"Yes. It is, as you humans would travel. By your roads it would take many days." She winked her black rimmed eyes and wiggled her tufted ears impishly to soothe his fears and engage his spirit of adventure. "But it won't take long at all if we walk the right paths."

Without another word, Russalla took off running with Efron struggling to match her swift, graceful stride as Tibor silently kept pace behind. No human, and few Elders, can outrun me, so I had no trouble keeping pace with the trio even when the girl lynx led us all through a series of vartai to shorten the path to the Vanhin. Vartai were places within the lands of the Elders where one who knew of their existence could leap across many miles with a single step. They typically consisted of a path with visual barriers like crawling through a hollow log, a dense thicket of brambles, a short cave, or a perpetually foggy hollow. Exiting on the opposite side would reveal a landscape that was far away from the entrance side of the vartai.

Despite the efficiency of this mode of travel, it took us several hours during which time the sun set and a nearly full moon rose to provide a silvery glow to light our journey. It was just after midnight when the three children found themselves at the edge of a clearing in the presence of the Vanhin. She was a gigantic bear like creature. Though much larger than any ordinary bear, nothing about her was menacing to Elder like ourselves who sensed more than her appearance. She radiated love, kindness, affection, nurturing and protection to those who opened their hearts to her true nature.

Russalla and Tibor entered the clearing dragging the human boy with them and knelt at her great padded feet. Efron, bewildered by the presence of such great power was stunned into immobility until Tibor pulled him down to the ground also. I stayed at the edge of the clearing, invisible to the children as always, but I felt naked and exposed before the Vanhin. Though she did not glance at me nor give any indication that she was aware of me, she saw me just the same. I could feel her perception pierce my furry hide. I did not know if it was from her lack of concern for me or some other reason, but she ignored my presence and talked only to the three children.

"What is it that you three seek of me?" Her voice was deep like distant rumbling thunder, yet pleasant to hear.

Russalla rose unafraid and pointed to the human. "Our friend, Efron, needs your help. He wants to stop his mother from marrying farmer Nickolas so that he will not be prevented from visiting us and being our friends."

The Vanhin was silent for a while. She closed her eyes and made a deep reverberating sound like a cat's purr except with the potency of an earthquake. The meditative thrumming went on so long that it appeared that she had fallen asleep. Just as Efron was about to ask the twins why he was here, the purring stopped and the great bear's huge eyes opened. Previously, her eyes had been deep black pools; now they were perfect mirrors reflecting the astonished faces of the children.

Her voice had also changed to a softer timbre akin to a gentle summer breeze. "This can be done, though the form the magic will take is unpredictable. I cannot guarantee exactly what will happen. Do you truly desire this no matter what the consequences?"

Though he dreaded what unknown results might come from the use of ancient magics, he could not bear to be separated from the twins. "I do, great one."

"Very well. Something special to make the magic flow is required of you three. It is something for which you are ready."

"What is this thing that we are required to do?" Russalla's voice was uncharacteristically timid and full of expectation as though she anticipated what the requirement might be.

"You already suspect, do you, Russalla?" The Vanhin's laugh was unexpected in this wondrous and solemn place. The sound of her chortle was like water rushing down a stony cascade. "You three must join and become as one through the act of love and mating."

Efron blushed at the thought, his skin turning a bright red. Tibor murred and put his paw on Efron's shoulder. Russalla, as always, had questions. "Great Vanhin, are we to do this here and now?"

"Yes, child. It must be done here, on my belly on this day beneath the full moon. There are few days of the year when the forces are aligned for such a spell." The great ursid lay down on the soft turf of the meadow, and began to hum a soothing melody.

Russalla removed what little clothes she wore and stood naked before Efron. I watched as Tibor did the same, but Efron's gaze was on the sister. I had witnessed the three play naked together many times when they swam in the lakes of the forest, but until now I had never seen the boy stare at her with such obvious lust. It was true that she had indeed changed and matured much lately, but so had her brother. When Efron finally turned and beheld Tibor, the same rush of sexual hunger played across the human's face. The brother had grown tall, lean and strong lately. There was more at work to explain this new fascination than just the physical changes that come with puberty. Subtle, yet deeply penetrating forces were at work suffusing the entire meadow with an ethereal glow. The twin's fur seemed to sparkle at the tips of each follicle as if coated with tiny drops of frost on a bright winter morning.

The twins slowly removed Efron's clothes. I grew uneasy wondering what the outcome of this spell would be. Powerless to interfere with the decisions of the Vanhin, whose abilities and magic made her nearly all knowing, I stayed hidden just beyond the effects of her enchantment. She already knew I was here and no doubt sensed my disquiet. If she wanted to consider my misgivings, she would have done so already. It was clear that I was to remain an observer only.

Russalla was the first to climb onto the recumbent bear's massive belly. Reaching down from her perch, she offered her paw to Efron, who took it and was hauled upward by her with assistance from below by Tibor's paws planted against his buttocks.

Reclining seductively on the warm, soft fur of the Vanhin, Russalla invited Efron to lie beside her. The human lay on his back next to the girl. She moved closer so that they were just touching at their hips. He was nervous despite the soft, pleasant feel of her fur against his naked thigh. Tibor lay beside Efron and rubbed the bare skin of the boy's stomach with his paw. The male lynx's sister rolled onto her side with her paw on Efron's chest, leaned towards him and kissed him gently on the lips. The boy trembled slightly at her contact with his mouth and from the combined pawing from the twins.

Russalla traced the outline of Efron's chin with her claw. "Do not be afraid. We love you and know that you love us."

"I am not afraid. I am...uncertain what to do."

"I know that you have not done this before, Efron. Neither have Tibor nor I, but we have been instructed in the mating ways. We can share what we know with you and all learn from each other as we explore this act."

The human nodded, and the twins began using their tongues to explore his body. Russalla slid hers into Efron's mouth, and he responded with his own tongue as they explored each other together. Tibor gently licked circles around Efron's belly button while rubbing his paws inside of his thighs. The attention caused the boy to develop a healthy erection, which both furs ignored for the moment.

Russalla gently disengaged her snout from Efron's mouth after several minutes of passionate kissing and moved her head lower to lick his nipple while her brother slid his tongue upward to do the same to the other nipple. Efron shivered from the ticklish sensation and absently began to stroke the soft fur on each of their backs.

When Efron's breathing grew heavy and the pre was flowing freely from his unattended cock, Russalla moved her snout lower until her mouth was poised a finger's breadth above its head. Her warm, moist breath blew over the sensitive organ with each exhale. A stream of clear precum wept from the tip and hung down in a continuous column connected to a pool on his stomach. It was soon joined by a trickle of Russalla's saliva as she opened her mouth and slid it over the expectant fleshy tool. Efron jerked and gasped in reaction to the sudden stimulation and placed one hand on her head and scratched behind her ears. A gentle purr that he both heard and felt was his further reward

Tibor moved to a position above Efron's head. His own feline penis grew steadily from its furry sheath revealing rows of fleshy barbs along its length. Coming down on all fours so his genitals were over Efron's face, the cat placed the tip of his cock at the human's mouth. Efron shifted his hands back to grab Tibor's buttocks and pulled him down so he could draw the male cat's staff between his lips.

I am somewhat embarrassed to relate that while watching them perform their love play, I became aroused, too. I was soon rubbing my forepaw against my own erection enjoying the sight of their mutual oral pleasure. Except that I risked disrupting the Vanhin's spell, I was desperately tempted to rush forward and hump the she cat from behind. Her beautifully rounded ass was facing me as she kneeled over the boy. The full expanse of her aroused, fleshy sex and the puckered entrance to her rear door were revealed to me beneath her slowly swishing tail.

My restraint was unnecessary since I would have been prevented by Tibor from mounting her anyway. The male lynx soon placed his snout against his sister's exposed labia and began to lick her enthusiastically, eliciting deeper purrs from her and himself. They had truly formed a love triangle of oral stimulation. It was a marvelous thing to watch. They all reached climax together, each one enjoying the sweet spasm of orgasm while drinking the other's cum. Feeling a voyeuristic rush, I sprayed my own ropy seed against the rocks behind which I was hiding.

They cuddled together afterward and discussed in quiet voices how enjoyable it had been, but this was not the end. Russalla, always the instigator and leader, was first to start stroking the two male's young and eager cocks back to life. Once she had them at full attention again, she positioned herself on her hands and knees, swished her tail to the side and presented herself to Efron. Tibor aided the human in positioning himself so he was poised to penetrate her velvet embrace, then the male cat positioned his own cock at the entrance to Efron's tail hole. The human glanced back nervously over his shoulder uncertain about this pending violation of his rear end. Tibor placed his furry chin on Efron's shoulder to sooth the boy. "Trust me. I will be gentle, and you will enjoy it."

Tibor started the action by pushing against Efron, who instinctively moved forward away from the intrusion against his sphincter. It was a move calculated to make the human inadvertently drive his own member into the girl lynx's pink slit. It worked. The female held her place until Efron's sex encountered her virgin's barrier. The human boy paused thinking that he had penetrated as deeply as he could. The lynxes, sensing his hesitation, both pushed towards him with a synchronicity of motion only twins seem to possess, causing Tibor's barbed cock to enter Efron's tail hole as Russalla impaled her own hymen with Efron's pole. The girl yelped from the sharp, tearing sting. Efron grimaced and cried out from the unexpected sensation in his rear. There was a long pause as they all gathered themselves to delve deeper, then the twins, acting again as one mind, squeezed Efron between themselves until Russalla's butt slapped against his belly and Tibor's belly slapped against Efron's butt.

"Ahhhhhh," all three exhaled as one. Their movement then became like a train, with the engine initiating a forward or reverse motion and all the other cars in line mimicking the action in turn. Except in this case, the motion began with the caboose as Tibor pulled back, sliding half way out of Efron's ass. Efron then pulled back about half way out of Russalla impaling himself fully again on his male lover's cock. Russalla then leaned back, taking all of Efron inside her again before moving forward to her starting position, at which point, the human pushed forward to hilt her, followed smoothly by Tibor doing the same from behind.

Once established, the rhythm was compelling and intensely stimulating. It was like a perfectly choreographed dance with the twins moving in absolute harmony with each other. They were immediately able to compensate for any loss of cadence by their human partner. The pace increased gradually but steadily until they were moving to the limit of their physical endurance, tongues hanging out of their mouths and panting from the exertion. Their great furry bed showed no signs of perceiving the erotic scene playing out on her belly. Instead, she continued to lay immobile, giving no sign of activity except for the deep humming melody that shaped itself to the actions of the children. As their cadence increased, so did the Vanhin's tune. The music was like a tangible thing that permeated and enveloped the children, sensitizing every nerve to amplify the stimulation where flesh touched flesh.

Efron was the first to cum. He froze suddenly and gripped Russalla's thighs tightly as he groaned through the spasms as his balls drained into the she cat. "Bite her neck now," urged Tibor. Efron was confused by this command but did as ordered, leaning over and clamping his teeth lightly on the back of Russalla's neck. There was no reaction. "Harder!" Startled by Tibor's shout, the human clamped down more violently on the ruff of her neck, which elicited a howl from the girl and a series of convulsions inside her vagina that he felt squeezing out the last of his seed along the entire length of his cock.

Efron then felt Tibor pressing up against his rear as hard as he could while the cat squeezed his bare chest tightly with his furry arms. "I love you, Efron," he whispered through clenched teeth as he too found relief. A warm rush of liquid filled the human's insides as he felt the pulsing of Tibor's cock. When it was over, they all separated briefly by decoupling from each other before collapsing in a heap of fur and flesh to doze contentedly.

After a period of rest, their furry bed spoke, arousing them from their post coital lethargy. "The spell is complete, Efron." The Vanhin rose up to a sitting position, and the no longer virgin teens tumbled to the ground. "Your mother will not be marrying Nickolas."

I followed them back to Efron's farm. The twins, who never left the safety of the Vanhin's protected forest, left the human boy before he reached the edge of human lands. I was there as dawn approached when Efron discovered what he had done, or at least began to understand that something he had not wanted had happened. Carin was gone, and the boy could not find her. Instead he found a bracelet wrought of copper, silver and gold in the shape of three foxes, whose bodies and tails intertwined in a complex knot. It was a rare and wonderfully made artifact. Humans would place great monetary value on it, but being Elder, I sensed what it really was. It was Carin; his mother's spirit was trapped within the bracelet. She had been transformed by the spell into this object wrought of precious metals. Carin called to the boy, but humans were deaf and blind to such things. I wanted to tell him, but the same compulsion that made me shadow the boy, kept me from communicating with him. I was an observer and not destined to interfere.

I may have been wrong about Efron's ability to perceive more than an ordinary human. Perhaps he had some small ability to sense things beyond merely sight, hearing, touch and taste. He placed the bracelet lovingly on his wrist and cried over it as though it were the dead body of his mother. When he was done, he made sure to wear a shirt with sleeves long enough to cover it, so that other humans could not see it.

The boy called for his mom and searched the entire farm for her. Exploring every corner without finding her, he went into town and looked for her there. The townspeople had not seen her this day, and they became concerned, but farmer Nickolas displayed the most outrage of all. He believed that her disappearance and Efron's father's disappearance were both connected to the Elder's wood. He rallied the local militia to go searching for her. Efron did not want armed men marching into the woods, but he was helpless to stop them. They told him he was just a boy, and this was soldier's work. As they assembled their troop, Efron raced ahead to warn his friends.

I was there, of course, when he reached the twin. I listened to him explain to them how his mother was gone and how the men were coming with their terrible weapons of steel. The twins confirmed that the bracelet was indeed the spirit of his mother. Efron wept again upon receiving confirmation of his terrible misdeed. The twins comforted him and tried to offer suggestions such as petitioning the Vanhin to undo the spell. Before they could decide what to do, the sound of the hounds reached them. For me, that was an especially fearful clamor. Even I would be hard pressed to elude a pack of trained hunting dogs if they were after me. It would have been better if they had. The hounds had been given the scent of Efron's mother to chase and they, like us Elder, sensed the presence of Carin in the bracelet. They ruthlessly followed that that scent until the children were cornered against the base of a great wall of granite at the foot of the mountains.

They were trapped. In addition to the dogs, which blocked their exit, there approached a score of men armed with swords, spears and bows. Efron stood between them and the twins, protecting them with his body. I lay hidden among some nearby rocks. With dogs present, there was nothing I could do.

Efron stood between his cowering friends and the baying hounds. Farmer Nickolas stepped forward. He wore his armor and sword from the days when he served in the King's army. "Stand aside, boy. These creatures have stolen your mother. The dogs have tracked her scent and it leads to these two."

"These Elders are not responsible for whatever happened to my mother. They have never touched her. Your hounds have led you astray."

"Impossible. They are the best trackers in the realm. Her blood is no doubt on their paws. I shall have their hides on my wall in recompense for what they have done."

"No! They are my friends. I won't let you touch them."

"And how will you stop us, eh? We need not fire arrows and risk hitting you. The dogs will get them. You can't protect them from all sides." With a whistle and a curt gesture, Nickolas commanded the dogs to attack.

I was prepared to throw my pitiful and ineffective body into the fray, but the Vanhin appeared as if rising up out of the rock itself. Wading in among the attacking hounds, she grabbed them and tossed them about or swatted them dead to the ground with her mighty paws. Though tough and well trained, they were only dogs. A creature like this was beyond their understanding. The pack was soon scattered and running back to their kennels.

The humans, however, were not so easily frightened. Discipline, steel and bows gave them courage. A rain of arrows embedded in her hide to no effect but to enrage her further. She felt the wounds but did not head them as she attacked with the same ferocity and speed that she had employed against the hounds. Normally a peaceful creature, she was terrifying in this mood. A violent blood lust was upon her, but she still heard two voices pleading with her to be merciful. The boy begged her and the men not to fight, and Carin was calling to those who could hear not to harm farmer Nickolas or the others. Their pleas were enough to stay the Vanhin's claws from inflicting mortal wounds.

Carin's voice had been loud and clear to me, but if the humans heard it, they paid it no more head than they did Efron. Swords and spears cut the Vanhin's thick, shaggy hide, and more arrows lodged in her fur giving her the aspect of a giant, vengeful porcupine. Despite her natural reticence against killing and her desire to honor the son and mother's pleas, many men were down and would not be getting up soon. She was removing men from the battle faster than they could hope to slow her with their arrows and steel blades.

Sensing defeat, farmer Nickolas called for a new weapon to be brought forward. Humans were clever and inventive people, especially in the art of war. Though they built many spectacular and marvelous things, they were equally proficient at destruction. It is what allowed them to drive us, the Elder, into hiding. This new weapon was a large caliber musket that was so heavy it required two men to set it up. The barrel was supported by a foldable stand. Nickolas intended to destroy the Vanhin, an irreplaceable creature whose loss would mean the end of the Elder in this part of the world.

Faced with the prospect of her death, I was no longer able to remain a passive observer. I leapt from my hiding spot while transforming into my anthro form to shield her with myself. I was ready to give my worthless life for hers, but I was too late. Efron was closer and had the same idea. He interposed his body between her and the gun as the flint was struck. A terrible sound like thunder rent the air, and the boy's body was hurled backwards so violently from the impact of the bullet that he slammed against the Vanhin's belly and left a bloody smear on her brown fur as he slid towards the ground lifeless.

I did manage to catch him in my arms before he struck the ground. As I held his limp body against my chest, weeping in anguish over the loss of my charge, I became aware that all was silent around me. Shapes dimly perceived through my tears loomed over me. The Vanhin of course was one, but another was farmer Nickolas. The twins peered out from around the bear's great thighs with tears wetting their cheek fur. The rest of the humans had stayed their assault when Nickolas rushed to my side after dropping his weapon. The soldiers stood about confused, awaiting orders.

The silence was like a dense fog that slowly parted and dissolved as if from a welcome yet unexpected breeze. That breeze was a voice was calling a single name repeatedly. "Jon? Jon? Is that you?" It was Carin, and she was calling to me. Some side effect of the magic that bound her to the bracelet allowed her to see deeper than the flesh and bones that covered the essence of who I really was.

Jon was my name, or had been my name once. Memories of a past life swam up from deep in my soul to invade my new Elder consciousness. I became both Shadow and Jon at that moment, and Jon made the fox's obsession over the boy clear to Shadow for the first time. The Jon part of me despaired over my failure to protect my son, and Shadow could only wonder at my life's purpose so pointlessly wasted with this tragic ending.

As I slowly came to this understanding, my widow's voice continued to beg me to answer. "Yes, Carin. It is I, though until you spoke my name, I was unaware of whom I had been."

"What are we to do, Jon? Our son is dead, and we are under an enchantment that binds us to these forms forever."

I had no answer to her question. As from the beginning of this affair, I was but a helpless observer incapable of changing the outcome of the story.

Fortunately, the Vanhin had an answer. "You are mistaken on both points, dear human lady. Your son is not yet dead. See for yourself with your new sight, though his spirit will not remain with us for long unless we act."

Carin must have done as bidden. Her tears of sorrow changed to a breathless sigh of relief. "He is with us still, Jon. I can feel him and even talk to him." My abilities must have been much less than hers, because I could not make contact with my son's soul.

Unlike, her, though, I had listened to all that the great bear had said. "Vanhin, you said Carin was also mistaken about our enchantments."

"Yes. There is still time and magic on this day to both save him and reunite the tree of you as a family."

"How?"

"This conflict between humans and the Elder must be put aside by all present forever. Only with a true pledge from the heart can we accomplish this. Those who cannot find it within themselves to love and to heal must go."

Farmer Nickolas, queried his men and dismissed those unwilling to relinquish their feud with the Elder. To the remaining soldiers he commanded, "Do not fail me in aiding this creature in this endeavor. Any man who hinders this process shall taste my steel in his belly."

"Thank you, Nickolas", said Carin. Her words now audible even to the humans, who had shed their armor of prejudice in trade for a cloak of understanding. "I always knew you were a good man at heart."

"Carin, is that truly you?"

"Yes, Nickolas, and this fox is my husband, Jon."

Farmer Nickolas fell to his knees. "I beg you both to please forgive me for hurting Efron. I thought I was doing right in avenging your murders."

"Do not chastise yourself. Lend your strength instead to save my son."

"I shall, even if it costs me my own life."

"That was nobly and lovingly said." The Vanhin placed a single claw gently on Nickolas' shoulder. "The devotion in your heart will go far towards healing this boy, but your death is unnecessary. It will not help the healing."

"What will?" Carin's voice was pleading and urgent. She could feel her son's spirit slipping away.

"My death."

There was a collective gasp from the entire company, including the humans. The twins were especially distraught. "Vanhin, no!" they shouted as one while clinging to her side and stroking her shaggy fur. "You cannot die. Who will protect the Elder and our lands?"

The Vanhin lifted the furry teens, one in each of her great arms and hugged them to her breast. "I am afraid my power is no longer adequate to protect you from the humans. As demonstrated today, they have developed tools that will allow them to overwhelm us all whether I live or die. We must find a new way to protect and preserve the Elder, and that path is open before us today. Humans are the threat, but they are also the promise. Some humans must willingly join in solidarity with us and fight for our preservation. I believe these humans here today will form the core of this protective force. This is the only way."

The twins continued to cry, for they would miss her even if her words were true and her death was necessary. "Do not cry little ones. I will not die entirely. I will simply diminish and become less than I am now. I will become more like you. Now put aside your grief and join with me quickly before it is too late for your friend. Like you, he is the future. I am the past. We should never sacrifice what is to come for what has already happened."

The great bear picked me up as I continued to cradle my son in my arms. She placed us on her belly as she lay on her back on the naked rock. "Everyone place a hand or a paw on my fur and purge your soul of all hate and discord." The others complied, fervently desiring to save the boy.

The enormous ursid began the same deep thrumming, rumbling sound that had formed a low base rhythm for the earlier spell. Those encircling her began to drone unconsciously in a similar deep tone. As I held my son in my arms, I felt an electric tingling rising up through the Vanhin's fur and into my body. It was accompanied by a suffusing warmth. To my surprise, the three metal foxes that made up the bracelet that was Carin untangled themselves from their wrist encircling knot. The silver fox leapt onto my arm and ran up to perch on my shoulder. The golden fox stood upon Efron's bloody chest, and the copper fox dropped to the Vanhin's belly fur.

I felt more than heard the words the bear spoke next. "The spell is cast, and all is ready. Before the healing can occur, you must decide what race you will be. You have the option to become either Elder or human."

Under the influence of the spell, I felt disconnected from my body and floated about aimlessly until the silver fox jumped off my shoulder and connected with my drifting spirit. The gold and copper foxes must have done the same with my son and wife, respectively, because I could sense and communicate with them as we frolicked about in this metallurgic form.

The decision was not as difficult to reach as it might have seemed to others. Since we all wanted to do what was best for the Elder, we chose being human. Humans who were willing to protect the Elder were in short supply. As humans, we could most effectively fight to protect the Vanhin and her kind. Becoming Elder ourselves would have been a selfish and less effective choice.

Having decided, I remembered nothing more until I found myself human, and naked sitting on the belly of a more normally sized bear with my wife and fully healed son. They were also naked much to the distress of farmer Nickolas, who rounded up cloaks from the men and draped them over us. I recall being amused that he did not feel the same compunction to cover the twins or the Vanhin.

Nickolas hugged the three of us in an unusual display of emotion for the old solider. "A great evil of my doing has been undone. I see now that it is folly for our races to live in conflict." He turned to his men. "Cast aside forever your animosity towards the Elder and accept them as your friends as I willingly do now. Further pledge with me today to work to build peace between our races so that we may live in harmony and benefit from what each has to offer." The men bent as one to their knees and swore that oath.

The Vanhin, stood, and though diminished, she was still formidable in size, standing taller than all the men. She approached each kneeling man individually, placed her mighty paw on his shoulder and declared, "I name you 'Afsalar', which means 'friends of the Elder' in the ancient tongue of the humans when there were more like you, who lived in peace with us. Rise now and serve for the rest of your days in defense of the peace between our peoples."

Each man rose when so bidden. She repeated her words for Nickolas, Carin, Efron and myself. "I am mortal now, like you, and will pass from this Earth someday. Thus, I will be no longer able to provide the Elder my protection. It will be up to the Afsalar to recruit and train new members to serve as protectors through the ages. Your sacred task is to ensure that the Elder never fully vanish from this Earth. Preserve. Cherish. Protect."

Having laid this burden of care upon us, she ambled away on all fours like a normal bear. Some magic must have been left in her, though, because she walked behind a boulder that could not conceal her bulk entirely, but she never emerged on the other side.

My reunited family and I continued to live on our farm, working with our Afsalar leader, Nickolas, to secure a commitment from the King to preserve the Elder's realm and defend them from other hostile neighbors. This was not an easily won peace nor guaranteed to last. Many humans still mistrusted the Elder and coveted their lands, so we did as the Vanhin had bade us and recruited and trained more to the cause to create an organization that would survive the whims of human governments no matter where humanity's destiny took it.

Efron eventually left Carin and I and moved permanently into the woods to work directly with the Elder and to be with the twins. I never told him that I was there when he made love to them for the first time. If he does know, I am sure he realizes that I approve, having once been Elder myself.

[END OF STORY]