Talithi's Story 1

There were strangers in the forest. Though they treaded softly, the whole forest was aflame with news of their arrival. It had been a long time since a stranger had set foot inside, much less a group of them. Though many animals scurried their way, to make sure that they didn’t cause any harm to their homes or families, I stayed where I was, leaning up against a tree, pondering. I felt no urgency in going to them, though the last person I saw was a good seven years ago, and he was a crazy old man who either finally died, or wandered back out. Before that, there was only my mother in my memory. Anyways, I had already sent my brother Aiken to investigate. Aiken would be able to see them and they wouldn’t see him. Best to keep it that way.

The forest was full of horrible monsters if you didn’t know what you were doing, which apparently these people didn’t, since their current path will take them to the deadly sarkus flower. The plant may seem absolutely harmless, looking like an innocent large flower, but it emits a poisonous gas that traps those that are unwary of its signs. The gas is invisible, but it gives off a distinct smell in the air. If the gas is inhaled to a certain degree, the victim falls into a dreamlike trance, not noticing the vine-like arm that wraps around their body and pulls them slowly towards the carnivorous teeth of the flower.

All sorts of creatures like the sarkus appeared in the forest after the sickness had come. The sickness came about twelve years ago and had killed almost all of the forest’s population. Those who had survived were scarred in some way, though even those are fewer now. The sickness had come and went, all in a matter of a year, but it was a terrible year.

I think you’ll want to see this for yourself… The thought entered my mind, reminding me of the business at hand. A small smile flashed on my lips and was gone as fast as it had come. Aiken wouldn’t give me any more details, but I could guess that the strangers had fallen into the hands of the sarkus and I might think of giving them some aid. I rose to my feet with the help of my staff and gathered myself into a mile eating jog through the wood, easily clearing any trunk in my path or limb that tried to swipe me in the face. Which some did try. Some of the forest trees were alive and were not all that merciful on a stranger who invaded on what they believed to be their territory.

It didn’t take me long to get there, I knew all of the paths of the forest, so when I got close, I slowed down to a walk until I came abreast with Aiken, still hidden from the stranger’s view, behind the trees. By the sounds of it, the travelers had indeed run into the sarkus, though only one had succumbed to the gas in the air. Shall I help them, my brother?

I could almost hear the laughter in Aiken’s voice, I am curious to how much longer they might hold out… I smiled and found a good grip on my staff. As I walked towards the battle, Aiken filled me in on what I had missed out on.

An hour earlier, one of their number had been stung by the ditte, which is a poisonous insect whose venom is secreted in its bite and would kill the victim in about 24 hours. The victim currently was too weak to join in the battle, in fact, was so out of it, he did not even know that they were being attacked. I made my way over to him first, reaching into my bag of remedies. He was lying underneath a large oak tree, shaded from the sun, hardly conscious at all. He mumbled under his breath as if he was in a dream. I think I caught the word “Shia,” but I didn’t know what it could possibly mean.

My patient was insanely hot and his breath was shallow. He appeared to be in the later stages of the poison rather than the earlier. They were probably attacked by more than one ditte. A lita leaf should slow down the poison spreading in his body and some varu pollen will reverse the poisons course. Years of living by myself had taught me many of the secrets of the planets in the forest. I quickly ground the lita leafs into flakes in my rounded bowl before mixing it with the tiniest bit of water from my canteen. The leaf dissolved almost instantly into a thin liquid. Little by little, I added varu pollen. If I gave him too much pollen in proportion to the lita leaf, it could very well kill him as much as save him. I sprinkled a pinch of pollen then mixed it in with my fingers, waiting to feel the perfect thickness that would signify the remedy being complete.
The man thrashed with his arms flying, nearly knocking the bowl out of my hands. I muttered under my breath and felt the comforting presence of Aiken. The man stopped moving at all, due to the heavy weight of the wolf bearing him down and keeping his arms at his sides. All he could do now was groan in agony.

The concoction was perfect, runny enough to go down his throat without any problem, but also thick. I leaned the man’s head back and forced his mouth open with my hands. Deftly, one hand poured the remedy into his mouth while the other rubbed his throat to encourage swallowing. It would do him no good if it never got into his system. After it was all completely gone, I moved back to find how the others fared.

The sounds of battle still reached my ears, just as fierce as before, though seemingly weaker. The sarkus still had its grip wrapped around one of the strangers while the other muttered under his breath the spells of a wizard. I smiled to myself, there was only one element of magic that could touch sarkus and it was amazingly enough considering it was a plant, water. I wouldn’t have even thought of the possibility, if I hadn’t witnessed one pulling itself back into the ground on a rainy day, and later experimented with pouring water on it unsuspecting. Such a simple thing to defeat such a dangerous plant.

I walked over to the defenseless traveler, still mesmerized and being pulled to the sarkus and sprinkled a few drops of water on the tongue that kept her tight. The tongue immediately loosened and snatched back to its owner. Without the support, she fell to the ground, her mind still not in focus due to the poison she had taken in. I grabbed her by the arms and hoisted her into the air, moving her into safety. She wasn’t very heavy, in fact, she was quite light. Her long hair of braid dragged on the ground, but she didn’t resist my efforts, which helped. Once I had moved her to safety, beyond the reach of the sarkus, I set her down on some leaves that padded the forest floor.

The poison could last for several hours, and I wasn’t about ready to wait around for her to come to on her own, so I pulled out my strong salts and held it under her nose, letting her breathe them in and clear up her mind. I could almost see the salts working their magic, going up through the nose and into the system, acting as a neutralizer for any poison that it met up with.
The upper half of her body flew up in a gasp and she breathed hard for air. If I had been a second slower in moving my hand from under her nose she would have hit me. Slow, heavy footsteps came to a halt to my side and I could almost imagine an old, wrinkled face frown down on me, as if wondering my existence. I bit back a smile, and moved back to sit back, putting all of my weight onto my toes, slightly rocking forwards and backwards. Aiken came to my other side, and I put a comforting hand on his back. His lip was curled up in a snarl as if to warn them off from coming any closer.

I kept my mouth closed, waiting for one of them to start speaking first. But it seemed as if the silence would go on for an eternity before they found their voice. I could feel their stares on me, inspecting every inch as if it would give a better hint as to who it was that saved their lives. My face remained stone, I wasn’t going to let any emotions show.

“So nice of you to join us, Talithi,” a deep male voice said to my right. It took all of my self control not let my surprise show in my body or face. How did he know my name? The last person I saw in the forest was about 7 years ago and he was a crazy old man. The only other was my mom, and as far as I knew, no one knew we were here.

“You’re lost,” I said slowly moving a couple strands of long brown hair out of my face, tasting the words on my lips. It had been a while since I had used my mouth to speak the common language. Many years, in fact. “Maybe, maybe,” came the same voice, with a hint of mystery. It was impossible to tell whether he was admitting to it, or whether he was saying that they knew where they had been going the whole time. “The forest has changed much. More than I had imagined it would. New creatures roam and many homes of old creatures lay vacant as if for many years.”

I remained emotionless as he continued to make his observations known. He had definitely been here before, though I would not know when except that it would have to be before…when the trees had still been alive with birds singing their joyous songs, instead of the few that still roosted here. The forest floor had been full of tracks of deer, bears, and wolves. Now only Aiken’s are seen, along with the terrible new creatures and the few small creatures.

We have more visitors. I stood up, fixing my grip on my staff. How many visitors would the forest see before the end of the day? Using Aiken’s eyes, I swung my body around and thrust the end of the staff into the stomach of a unsuspecting thing. That was all that I could tell of it. My nose said that it wasn’t a humanoid in any way, but not an animal either. Almost like a mix of both. A bad mix of both.

Two more replaced the one that I took down. They were not as easily taken care of. They had their daggers out and ready, slashing at me every chance that they got. But I was too fast for them. I had not survived in the forest with the aid of Aiken alone. There had been many times that I had been alone with Aiken several miles away when I’ve had to fight my way out of something I shouldn’t have run into the first place. Giant birds with dagger sharp teeth and packs of small cats that breathed fire and attacked in groups were common and dangerous enemies. Both were fast opponents and I had to match them speed for speed, or better, or else I wouldn’t deserve to live.

The female in the group was fighting her own enemies also, though she didn’t move with the grace that she might have usually portrayed. The wizard again was muttering under his breath and his own magical staff whirred in the air to keep the things back from touching him.

Just as the last thing hit the ground from a blow I had distributed to its head, the battle was done. The elf was leaning down, breathing heavily from the exertion done to her body, but neither I nor the wizard showed any sign of fatigue. I knelt on the ground beside one of the things and fingered their clothing. It was scaly like the hide of a snake. It had sharp claws at the end of its fingers and razor teeth to go with them. The nose was just two slits on its face, like a snake. Suddenly, the whole body went up in flame, until there were just ashes on the ground. All of the things had gone up in smoke. Just the ashes and the faint smell of oil were left.

“What were those?” I asked a little forcefully. More monsters to take over my once beloved forest; another foe to fight.

“I believe they are called anichols. It has only been recently that they have begun to terrorize my own land, Cania. We do not know of their origin, though it seems as if they have followed us here.” It was the wizard again.

“Where are you going?”

A heavy silence answered my question. They were waiting for their leader to answer my inquiry. Did they even know or where they following their alpha blindly into the darkness, trusting solely on his judgment? Even wolves knew that this was a foolish thing to do.

“We thank you for your help, but I do believe that we should continue on your way.” This one came from a female with her voice cold; though full of grace of the animals and the sway of the trees. She was most definitely a full blood elf and proud of her heritage and undoubtedly ashamed that she had fallen to the pull of the sarkus. She apparently did not relish the idea of me staying any longer in the group. I laughed a little bitterly. A small part of me did want to stay with them, find out about the world outside the forest, but the other larger part told me to stay far away from them and their intrigues. Nothing good could come from it.

I nodded and pulled back into the trees until I was completely hidden from their line of sight. Not very nice considering you just saved their lives, Aiken remarked as we continued on our way. Well, I knew they wouldn’t start bowing down to me for it. But I guess they could have been a little more respectful. I think we ended with more questions about them than we started.
Aiken slowed down to a stop and looked up to me, his head butting against my stomach. Then, I do believe we should go back and get some more answers. I wouldn’t want to end the day with a lot of loose ends. He gave me a toothy grin and started back the way we came. Laughter shot out of my mouth before I could suppress it. Aiken looked back at me, startled. I haven’t heard you do that in a long time. My laughter was instantly gone.

I know.

Talithi's Story 2

Once we had made our way back to the group, we didn’t make ourselves known, but instead watched them from behind cover. I entered Aiken’s body to find everything enhanced more than ten fold. It was the only way I could fulfill my need to be a wolf. I was half anic after all, though as far as I know, only a full anic could become their animal. As hard as I’ve tried, I had never succeeded in the transformation in the least bit. That was one of the many disappointments I was to my mother. She had been a full blooded elf anic of the wolves. After she had become pregnant with me, she had joined the wolf pack here and lived thus until her death. In those early, I had shown no anic powers in the slightest, not even the connection that I now have with Aiken. Even worse, I did not show any wizardess powers that I would have inherited from my father, though she never said who he was.

The travelers had not moved far from where we had left them, only another couple yards away from the sarkus. They were discussing the course of action, though the female glanced up at the woods searchingly every other minute as if she would be able to find me. I was only seen when I wanted to be seen. Only a couple snatches of what they were saying would have reached my own ears, but in Aiken, we caught most everything.

“How will we know when we find it?” The younger male asked. He was sitting with his back to us, so I couldn’t see his face.

“Don’t worry, I will know. Trust my judgment,” the old wizard counseled.

“Trust your judgment? If it had been up to you, that half blood would still be in our company,” scoffed the female. Her eyes continued to keep a look out in the forest. Half blood. From her lips, it sounded like it would be an insult, but it was in truth what I was. Half human. Half elf. Half anic. And in a way, half wizardess.

“And maybe that would have been a wiser course of action, considering how well she knows this forest. It wouldn’t hurt to have a guide that knows the creatures here and the many paths. She might even know what we are looking for.”

“How could she know the cure to a disease that she has probably never come in contact with, or even possibly understand the symptoms of it? I doubt she hardly even knows how to speak to us.”

“She seemed to be communicating just fine, as I remember it. And who knows what she has seen here in this forest. She almost appears to be all alone, except for that wolf of course,” the wizard pondered out loud. Nothing else of much importance was said throughout the rest of the night, though they had said much for me to think about. There was no way that the disease they spoke of could be the sickness that had taken away my family from me, could it?

Someone is coming. Aiken’s words invaded my light sleep and sent my mind back into full consciousness. I kept my eyes closed, if only for the person approaching. Better for them to think of me as still asleep and harmless. It is the wizard. He is coming into our camp. I heard the heavy footsteps, slow and steady, as it made its way towards to where I lay. His cloak gently flapped in the slight morning breeze. He came to a stop several feet from me.

“You cannot fool me. I know that you are awake,” his deep voice growled.

I opened my eyes, more for his sake than my own, and moved into a sitting position. “So I am.”

He moved closer and sat not too far away from me. Not as close to be a threat, but not so far away that he couldn’t touch me if he tried.

“I would ask you of your mother Tikali.”

“Ask away. I shall tell you what I think you need to know.” There were too many secrets that she had kept from me and some things that were too painful to even think about.

“Is she well?”

“No,” I said softly.

“Is she ill?”

“No.”

“Is she still in the land of the living?”

“No,” I said, softer than before.

“How did it happen?” A strange sensation seemed to enter into my mind. I couldn’t place it, and
forgot all about it shortly after it had come.

“Near twelve years ago the forest was hit with a sickness. It ravaged the whole forest, leaving none without at least a mark; for most, it left only with death. The few who survived are in evidence of those few creatures that remain from before. It almost seemed as if the whole forest itself, the trees, everything, got ill too. When it was all over, the forest was ravaged with new terrible monsters, dangerous and full of cunning,” my mouth snapped shut. I had not planned to tell so much, especially not all at once.

“And your mother?”

“She died. Along with the rest of the pack. Only me and Aiken are left.”

“And did you also get sick?”

My heart beat doubled in speed and a bead of perspiration ran down my cheek. My whole mind was fighting me to let it all out. Every last bit of it. But it was sealed in the back of my mind and I was not about to let it all resurface now. Rough hands gripped my chin and forced my face upward. In an instant Aiken came out of the cover of the trees and stood at my side, hackles raised, growling threats. With his comforting presence besides me, the battle in my mind did not lessen, but he seemed to give me more strength. The wizard’s hand moved back away from my chin.

“No. It occurred at the same time that Aiken took his journey. We have always been close, so I went with him.”

“So you did not witness the sickness?” His voice sounded sorely disappointed.

“No. Just the aftermath. Who are you?” I finally asked.

“My name is Sauroan, I am an old friend of your parents. I came to see your mother once, but you were probably too young to remember.” A silence followed that seemed deafening. Finally, unable to bear it too much longer, I stood up, brushing off any stray leaves and dirt that found its way into my clothing.

“I need to hunt,” was all I said, before hurrying out of the clearing. Leaving him as far behind me as I could.

I put myself into an easy jog, trying to put my mind back into order. He had done something back there, I don’t know what exactly, but he must have used his magic. Did you feel anything, brother? Anything odd about him?

I felt the same that you did. I think he cast a spell on us, well at least on you, came the reply.

What kind of spell? It didn’t seem to do us much harm.

I think he was trying to get us to tell him more than we would have. And in a way, he succeeded.

But you kept some back from him, and I think that it was that which he wanted to know the most.

Good thing that I have you, then, brother. To keep me out of harm and from saying things I shouldn’t.

We found a herd of doiler nearby and between my bow and Aiken’s fangs, we managed to take down an older buck. The doiler were somewhat of a crossbreed between a deer and a panther.

They had sharp, dangerous antlers, short hair, and fierce eyes. They ran on four paws with claws and had long flicking tails. They had also appeared after the sickness. We made camp there that day, about ten miles from the strangers and Sauroan.

Over the next couple of days we continued to keep an eye on the travelers as they made their way around Taregath forest, often going in circles. They seemed to be wandering in random directions, keeping their eyes alert for either me or what they were searching for. Although they did seem to be going nowhere more often than not, they were making a slow, but steady progress towards the center of the forest, where I had been raised. I had avoided it for several years now, since it brought up too many memories, but I most definitely did not want them to be rummaging through mother’s old things.

So, about three days after my conversation with Sauroan, I showed myself before the group.

They had just stopped about midday for a little break for a small meal when I walked into the clearing. My body walked in, but my mind was with Aiken. I wanted to see and hear every little thing to make sure I didn’t miss anything.

The younger male’s jaw dropped. He had not seen me before, since he had been knocked out and the elf glared daggers at me. She was not too happy to see me. Sauroan had a hint of a smile on the corners of his mouth and he nodded understandingly. I stopped about ten feet away from where the group sat and put my hands on my hips. “You have wandered in my home for long enough. You are lost, whether you will admit to it or not. I may not know what it is that you seek, but I may be able to help you find it.” My voice came out cold and distant. That is what happens when I leave my body, yet still control it.

“And why would you do something like that?” the elf said angrily.

“Because the sooner you find what you are looking for, the sooner I can have my forest back in peace,” I said levelly in the same voice.

“I am Nishade, anic of the leopard and this is Maren the elf, since I doubt she will offer her name herself. And this old fellow here is Sauroan the Wizard. I do believe that we are lost, as you say, though Sauroan the wizard denies it greatly. I, for one, would gladly receive your help.” The young man had stood at the beginning of his words and gave a slight nod of thanks to me. How charming.

“I too, would like your company,” Sauroan rumbled, “I still have some questions I would dearly like answers to.” His gaze shifted to my eyes on my body and Aiken’s. There was no way that he would be able to fathom…

“May I ask for your name?” Nishade’s face looked at mine in all earnestness. He seemed sincere.

“I am Talithi, half elf anic of the wolves,” I said, more warmly as I reentered my body. Aiken growled in indignation beside me, “And this, is my dear brother, Aiken. Now that we all now know each other, maybe you will answer the question I had asked before. Where are you going?”

“We are going to the very heart of the forest, in search of something that we are to find there,” Sauroan’s voice came across as if that was all that I would get out of him for the moment.

“The heart of the forest is just a den that my pack raised their cubs at. There is nothing special there.”

“That is something that I will decide when I see it.”

“Then I guess I have no choice but to take you there to see for yourself,” I said finally and steadily, though my stomach did flips. I couldn’t remember anything of any value there that might be of some use to them. Don’t worry sister, I will be there with you, came the comforting presence. Thank you my brother. Thank you.

The next morning I did a quick count in my head of how long it would take us to reach the den. If we moved at a constant rate of ten miles a day, we would reach there in two and a half days. I had two and a half days to ready myself to return to the memories of my past. Two and a half was both much too long and too short.

I scouted ahead of the party, finding that staying with them was much too tedious and slow. The anic and elf moved with grace and knowledge of the woodlands, but they seemed too wary of their surroundings to move forward boldly and confidently. Sauroan was old and seemed to need a rest more often than the others. He was definitely not made for the forest life, and would not
have survived by himself for anything longer than a day, even with his spells.

I ran along side of Aiken, with him as my guide, keeping alert to anything out of the ordinary that might give clue to any trespassers. I did not wish to be caught unawares by one of those anichols that might be wandering around somewhere, not that I wouldn’t be more than a match for them even if they did, of course. Especially with Aiken at my side.

A tree’s arm swept down, brushing against my arm. I stopped instantly. The tree did not seem threatening in any way, as most have been these past years. Instead, it seemed to be trying to warn me from against going any further, that there was danger ahead. Brother, I called to Aiken.
I entered into his body, seeing, hearing, feeling, and smelling all that he did. The woods appeared to be normal, with a few deformed birds chirping in a tree and a golgoath wandering in the brush. All was clear.

I forced my body down low, so that it would be hard for anything looking for me to find me and moved forward with Aiken, to scout ahead. It would be easier to find anything with just Aiken, plus, no one would think that he is out of the ordinary. We moved quickly, completely alert, but except for the slight smell of oil, there was nothing different in the forest.

Oil. That was the smell that the anichols had left behind after their bodies had burned up. Without any prompting, Aiken raced back to where we had left my vacant body. A sense of foreboding had entered into his body. I wasn’t sure if he was mirroring my own emotions or I his. The run back seemed to take a lot longer than the scout ahead and when we got close enough to be able to smell me, we slowed down. Alert, once more, for the oil odor was as strong as ever.

My body seemed unharmed, it looked as if I had just leaned up against a tree and fallen asleep. I plunged back into my own consciousness and shifted my grip on my staff to fighting position. There was a crackling of leaves, as if my movement had been some sort of signal.

“At last. Give yoursself up and no one will be hurt,” a voice slithered at me. The crunching of twigs and careless walking between bushes proved that I was now surrounded.

“Why should I give myself up to you?” I asked defiantly. I wasn’t about to let myself be taken and caged like a slave. If anything, if I was going to go down, I was going to take them down with me.

“It will be lesss painful to and we might leave your pet alive,” came the reply. The voice was inhuman and snakelike, but it still spoke the common language.

“I don’t have a pet,” I said as dangerously as I could, though worry pitted in my stomach. What if they overwhelmed me? If I fall, run, I told Aiken in his mind.
I will not leave you, sister, he promised.

No! Leave me if you must in order to save me, or all might be lost. His grim agreement sounded in my mind and I relaxed slightly. The way this thing was talking, they didn’t want me dead, but with his threats, I might be too close to it to be able to help myself.

One of the anichols moved closer to me. My staff whipped his feet from under him as I stood up. Another anichol came at me and was taken down my Aiken. My staff moved quickly as my senses used all that they could to get the positions of the anichols. Every time one anichol went down yet another replaced it with as much energy as the one before. Partially leaving my own body I entered Aiken’s mind to use his sharp eyes to see if we were making any progress. There were anichols everywhere. There were just too many. As I reentered my own fighting body I told Aiken, Go. There is no point in both of us being taken. Go and come back for me.

No. Came the response. I will only go if you to come also. Maybe if we split up we can lose them? A small smile touched my lips. Trying to escape would be better than completely giving up a lost cause here. Agreed. As one, we hit hard on opposite sides, fighting the anichols back in hopes to be able to fight free. However, there were many more anichols than I had thought, and without Aiken to watch my back anichols quickly filled in the space between us. As good as my senses had become, I couldn’t fight from all directions at once.

I felt a dagger slice my upper arm. In anger and frustration I pushed myself harder, but I could feel myself becoming sluggish. My attacks weren’t as quick as before and my mind was clouding over. I over swung my staff and lost my balance. What’s going on? Scaly hands grabbed at me, roughly picking me up with raucous laughter. Claws scratched up my arms and legs as they lifted me up over their heads and tightened their grip. I couldn’t hold onto my mind, it slipped from my grasp and my world went blank.

Talithi's Story 3

There was a hole. A big black hole. I probed at it gently. No. A wall. A wall surrounding something, blocking me off. But what was on the other side of the wall? The wall was secure and had no weak spots. How long had it been up? I did not recall such a structure before. Not in my mind. I definitely did not put it there. I opened my body up for sensations. My arm was burning where it had been cut and still bled. Scratches and bruises covered my body. There was a throb at the back of my head. What had happened?

I sought a memory to explain everything futilely. Nothing was coming to me. I moved my good arm slowly out to feel my surroundings. My hand hit metal bars. They were cool to the touch. It continued to move upward to high above me head. Another set of bars. I tried to move the other arm, but a strike of pain told me that maybe the cut wasn’t all that was wrong with it. I could guess what was on the other side of me anyways. More bars.

I was in a cage. A rush of fear and anger rampaged in my body, waiting for release. I had never been in a cage before. Mother had told me stories of people being put into cages to be sold as slaves, but I didn’t believe her. Now it was a more real possibility. My teeth clenched and I forced myself to take long steady breaths. I needed more information.

There were muffled sounds of yells and drunken laughter. It sounded as if I was in some sort of tent. The tongue that they spoke had a similar dialect to one that I had heard recently. Anichols. I had been attacked. Past events finally trickled back into my mind. But something was still missing from them. Something important. The oil smell that followed the anichols around was particularly strong inside the tent, along with another scent that I couldn’t quite identify.

The outside sounds got louder for a few seconds and a small breeze rushed over me, ruffling my long dark hair. I had company. The footsteps were light on the floor and I could hear the anichol nervously dry-washing his hands. “Ah, so you are awake?” came the slithery voice. The voice seemed to have raised slightly at the end of the question. Why would he fear a caged prisoner? “Good, good. Don’t have to wake you for Master,” he muttered under his breath. So maybe he wasn’t scared of me, but the Master. He made his way back out of the tent. Once again the breeze caressed me as the door was opened, this time bringing back the strange scent.

Time moved at a snail’s pace as I waited for the “master” to come to me. I almost wished he would just come and get it over with. Time was spent trying to figure out the eluding reason for the wall in my mind and it was just getting me more frustrated. At least with the “master” I will have a better idea of what I’m dealing with. What kind of leader would lead the anichols anyways? Someone either really smart of terribly stupid, I would think.

The doorway opened, though no breeze entered. There was a rustle of heavy cloth as the figure moved towards my cage. Not a word was spoken, and yet I felt a thick cloak of foreboding lay upon me. I nearly whimpered and immediately hated myself for such a weakness. He seemed to stare at me for ages and every second that passed by weighed heavily in my mind.

It was subtle at first. Like an ant in a large field of grass, insignificant and absolutely harmless. Then it turned into a spark which seemed easy enough to stamp out with my thoughts. Yet, it would not be put out. It grew larger and caught fire. My mind burned. Before I knew what was occurring my mind was covered in flames. It had spread quickly and efficiently and I didn’t have much time to react. I did my best to spread my thoughts over them, thinking to smother them, but instead they seemed to be growing larger, as if I was actually feeding them fuel. There was something in the back of my mind, a pillar of light pulsing and calling my name. But I drew back from it with as much terror as I had for the fire.

The fire drew back slightly as a disconnected voice entered my head, cold and heartless. “This is only a taste of the pain that I can inflict upon you. You have two choices, you can fight and lose your mind, or you can give yourself up to me.” I shuddered. The voice was deep and ominous. I could almost feel the power that he had to crush me to a pulp. A small part of me jumped up and wanted to give in, but I couldn’t do that. Not without a fight. The light continued to pulse, almost pleadingly now, but I ignored it. Too many memories will come with it. I would rather face the fire than those memories.

My energy gathered around me as I hit full force on the fire that had not fully retreated. I threw up a mental wall that would protect precious memories and knowledge. “So this is your answer. Good.” The voice withdrew from my mind and the fire flamed up once more. The fire burned down my walls easily as if they were a pathetic joke. I roared with anger. He was playing with me, not even using his full strength and I was still falling down so fast! I hunted for any kind of weapon that I could use against him, but nothing worked. The light continued its invitations. I continued to ignore it.

I could feel myself losing parts of me. Parts that were important and if I didn’t do something soon, they would be lost to me forever, never to return. My mind was growing weaker. I gave in and stretched towards the light that pulsed. Fire tried to bar my path, but I was on the verge of losing all hope, and this was all I had left. I surged through the fire unheeding to the pain it caused and collapsed into the pillar. Instantly I felt soothed and protected. I emerged, holding onto this power and used it to fight the fire.

At first, the flames vanished at the merest touch, but this hold on me wasn’t going to let go so easily. The flames were strengthened and required a lot more energy to put out. Even with the aid of the light, it appeared to be a losing fight. In the back of my mind I could hear cold laughter. I continued the fight. I was not going to become a prisoner so easily. I was not going to become a prisoner. My strength ebbed and despair filled my entire body. The small part of me that wanted to give up was growing stronger with each passing second.

The mysterious wall crumbled, then burst. Another mind hit my own with full force giving me strength and using its own strength to fight off the fires. I felt more… complete. My mind embraced the presence with open arms and we joined together to fight. With my companion now with me, I fought with even more vigor than ever. A new hope was shining and in sight. We could fight this man off. Just like we had fought off so many other things before. He fought the fire back and I threw up walls and soothed and healed the scars that had been left behind. The enemy grew angry and pulled away and disappeared from my consciousness. His footsteps faded as he ran back out of the tent.

The “master” drew back so quickly I was for a moment at a loss of what to do. My primary purpose in life had changed to staying alive and now that it was over, I didn’t know what to do next. Something bounded through the tent flap. Not something, it was my companion. My wolf brother Aiken. My missing link.

Aiken began gnawing at the metal lock to only chip a tooth. He growled in frustration. Brother, it is okay. I am alright. All the answer I received was mutterings about nearly getting myself killed and foolish and never do that again. I laughed. I still didn’t have the strength to do much more than move my arms, but I pushed a couple fingers through the bars where he was standing. He pushed his head up against them and began washing them clean out of instinct.

Someone else entered into the tent with a jingling of keys. Aiken moved back to give him all the space that might be necessary for him to get the cage door open. I heard a curse as the third key he tried on the link failed to slide through the key insert. After another minute of muttering, the key finally slid through and turned easily to a resounding click. The second that the door was opened
Aiken moved in to my side, sniffing my body for all injuries.

“Can you walk?” the deep voice of Nishade asked me gently. He helped me up to my feet with my good arm. I was upset to note that I needed both him and Aiken to help support me; my legs were like jelly and were completely unstable. I clenched my teeth. No weakness. I took an unsteady step—and nearly had the floor collide with my face. “Apparently not,” Nishade remarked with a small laugh.

My cheeks burned hot from the embarrassment. The adrenaline that had hit me with the battle disappeared and I found myself as weak as a newborn pup. A moment of a little girl popped into my mind, she was staring intently at a twig on the ground. No, I thought. Not now. It loomed larger and larger above me, threatening to overwhelm me and take me into its depths of pain and sorrow. This was the cost of living, remembering.

I tried to push it to the back of my mind, to block it off, and to forget. But it wouldn’t obey, it just moved closer and closer. I was losing, but I didn’t have the energy to be much of a resistance. Brother, the past calls to me. My consciousness began to fade out. A wet nose touched my cheek, Sister, bury the dead. It is time. Just as I lost all knowledge of any outside influences one last thought flitted across my mind, but I can’t.

Move, move, I willed with my mind. The stick stayed motionless. I imagined the stick rolling over on the ground. Nothing. Concentrate, I reprimanded myself. The stick is as light as a feather; I said out loud I have power. I must have power. Mother could heal and run with wolves and Father was supposedly some wizard. It is usually in the genetics… if I can’t talk to wolves I should at least be able to move a stick!. The stick remained where I had placed it two hours ago when I had begun the exercise.

A leaf fluttered. Yes! This was it, I actually did something. My hair blew into my open mouth of glee and moved back out when the breeze ceased, causing the leaf to move back into its own place. I cried out in anguish, it was nature who had moved the leaf. Not me. Once again I fail my mother.
Mother’s face loomed under me. Even pale as death she was still fiercely beautiful. We were all that was left of the pack, and even now, she was slipping out of my grasp. Her breathing was slow and labored as she tried to get oxygen to her lungs. Occasionally she would moan out the name Alsaine. Who he was remained beyond me. I had never heard the name said before.

“Talithi, baby,” I drew closer to her, clasping her hands in mine, though she had lost all feeling several days before. A tear fell down my cheek as her sightless eyes roved around, trying desperately to see my face.

I cleared my throat, “Mother.” I knew that she would be unable to hear my voice, but I still had to answer.

“Baby,” she said again, even though I was near seven years old and was already learning to hunt for myself, “be strong for me. Be strong. Stay in the forest until the time comes to leave…” Her words went incoherently. My ears strained to hear, but they had never adjusted to be like a wolf’s.

“But you’ll be with me Mother. We’ll leave together.”

“No, I move on. I’m going home to see him once more. So long… so long.”

“Make sense Mother. You’ll be here with me, you’re not going anywhere,” my words barely came out above a whisper.

“Be strong. Be strong…” her words faded off to a murmur and she went limp.

Memory after memory tore at me, filling me with guilt and hate for myself. So often had I failed my Mother. I never had any kind of magical abilities of the wizard or the art of healing. If I could have healed, she might still be alive today. If only she knew of the link that I now possessed with Aiken, maybe she might have been a little more proud and loving.

My mind slowly regained consciousness. Aiken’s reassuring body was draped across mine, protecting my body from the chill air. When I stirred, he immediately got up. At last you have awoken, sister. You were asleep for the rising of the sun. He nuzzled me affectionately. Is it done? Have you buried the dead? I put an arm around his neck and buried my face wet with tears in his fur. If anything, brother, I have resurrected them in memory, and I fear that they will never leave.

They will in time, Tali. You just need to let them go, as I have these many years.
I did not respond. Aiken had lost his family as much as I did, maybe even more so. The wolves in the pack had only accepted me as Tikali’s daughter, but not as a complete member of the pack. Aiken had hunted with the pack and had earned his own rank before he had left on his journey. He might have been separate if only for his affection for me even before our link. I had lost my friends and my mother, but he had lost his whole family. We were all that each other had left in this world.

Using Aiken as a support, I managed to get myself to stand up. I was still weak, but much of my strength had returned to me while I had been unconscious. Aiken walked slowly so I could hold on to his back and led me to the fire where the rest were holding council. As I neared, the conversation ceased and went eerily quiet. I found an empty space and sat down, looking in the direction of the fire, but not really seeing it. “I would like to thank you,” I said slowly. I hated to admit that I had needed help and the thought that they would even consider helping me had not even crossed my mind.

Silence. After a few moments, Nishade spoke up. “Your wolf wouldn’t have let us do anything different. That is one smart animal, he saw that he would need help to get through the camp to you and herded us to them. We guessed that you had gotten caught.” I nodded. Thank you brother.

“What are they here for? What are you here for?” I demanded quietly.

“We should have left her with the anichols. Then maybe they would have been happy and we could have gone on in peace,” Maren said, her voice fiery with anger.

“I very much doubt that the anichols would have let us alone after taking Talithi. I believe that they would have attacked us with a larger force. They are here to stop us on our quest, though how they would know or why they care, I do not know,” came the deep voice of Saeroan.

“And what is this quest that I was attacked for? Perhaps I should leave you alone here and let you try to find the center of the forest on your own?” The threatening words were left to silence once more. I was not about to inflict more pain on myself without knowing what it was that I was doing it for. I was not an idiot.

“We should tell her,” Nishade pleaded, “she has more than proven her trust.”

“The less people who know of this the better; we cannot just tell everyone that we meet on the road,” Maren jumped in.

“No. Nishade is right. As our guide, she would have found out sooner or later and she has certainly proven her herself trustworthy. Talithi, we seek a cure, possibly for the same sickness that inflicted your family twelve years ago,” Saeoran’s voice made it sound like a worthy cause, but I laughed bitterly.

“My mother, Tikali,” there was an audible gasp from Maren, but I continued as if I had heard nothing,
“was an exceptional healer and she could do nothing, nor find anything that would aid the pack, until she too succumbed to the disease, and left me alone. There is no cure, not in this forest.”

“We have been sent here by prophesy that the cure would lie here in the heart of magic. Do not be so quick to judge,” Saeroan reprimanded.

“The heart of magic is not necessarily the heart of Taregath forest,” I shot back.

“Taregath forest is filled with the oldest of magics known to man. You do not know magic.”

I opened my mouth to reply, but his words stung too harshly. They sounded too similar to the words of mother when I had failed to see anything in the flames or move the twig. I hate to admit it, sister. But he does have a point. We do not know much of magic, much less the magic of the forest that we have lived in. There may be something here that could help with the sickness that Tikali simply did not know about.

But if there had, why couldn’t it have been found earlier? I asked him bitterly. It would have saved so many lives… “We’ll continue on in the morning when I have regained my full strength,” I told the group before moving off with Aiken to the edge of the camp. A cure.

The next two days through the forest proved to be thankfully boring with no interruptions by the anichols. They seemed to have retreated for the time being. I stopped about an hour from the heart for the rest of the group to catch up. I had gone scouting ahead again, but the paths had overgrown here, so I would have to lead their line instead of leave behind markers like I had been.

Anxiety pummeled me from all sides. It had been so long since I had last been to the den… in fact the last time was when I buried mother and the rest of the pack. All of my mother’s possessions were still inside the den, I had not dared to move them. Twelve long years. Maybe it was about time I faced the past and buried the dead in my heart as Aiken told me.