A Song for Winter: An Encounter With Royalty

On a distant planet, William’s army was engaged in a planetwide battle with The Matriarch’s army. The inhabitants of the far-flung world split into two sides as to who to support. Both sides promised protection from the other. As a result, William had to play diplomat with all kinds of local royalty and military leaders. Enough of the leaders had won over enough of them to bring most of the battles to a stalemate. As William defended a farm village from a gang of fire elementals, a courier with a rolled parchment arrived for him. The parchment beckoned the arctic folf to distant highlands to meet someone that had signed the letter as Dana.

 

Once there was a break from the combat, William traveled to the remote highlands. Rolling hills of rich emerald-green grass gave way to rocky mountains. A light fog that rolled off the cliffs occupied a slight chill in the air. William followed a clear mountain stream to where he was to meet whoever had sent the letter. He only found an old campsite with a burnt-out fire pit and a stack of wood. Whoever sent the letter seemed to expect the folf to wait a few hours. This wait didn’t amuse William, but he could use whatever different alliances he could forge to win this planet. 

 

Darkness fell across the highlands after a few hours. William could sense movement off at night, but it moved around too much to get a good look at it. Wolf howls rang out at loud volumes that seemed unnatural. A whistle brought the folf’s talisman dagger into its orbit around William’s body while a hand found the hilt of his water sword. He could feel that he was surrounded now by what appeared to be large humanoid canines that circled the edges of darkness. A female red-furred wolf that looked somewhat feral charged from the dark with a claymore raised high to strike at William. With a low flat whistle, the folf immediately pulled out his water sword and froze the blade into the shape of a broadsword. Metal met ice as the red-furred wolf attacked ferociously with her giant sword. This wolf was more muscular than her size suggested, which threw William off balance slightly. The folf was more skilled a fighter, but his opponent’s strength and ferocity were enough to keep the fight from being too one-sided. From the darkness, the other humanoid canines closed the circle around the two combatants. Dirty rough-looking wolves of all shapes and sizes chanted in a strange dialect as they watched. 

 

Suddenly the female wolf lept backward away from William. She planted her sword in the ground before she let loose a mighty howl. The she-wolf’s skin bulged as her skin stretched and popped. William watched in confusion and disgust as his opponent’s form shrunk and changed before him. When it finally ended, where there was a red-furred wolf moments earlier, there was now a freckled pale-skinned red-headed woman.

 

“Greetings! Mah nam is Dana O'Hara an' thes is mah Army ay th' Nicht,” the former wolf introduced herself. “Whit can ye tryst us 'at Th' Matriarch hasnae awreddy?”

 

“The  Matriarch demands your servitude once this is all over under the guise of granting you power,” William explained as he sheathed his sword. “I don’t need your loyalty beyond saving this planet from her. So if you want to know what I can offer you that she can’t, the answer is simple. Freedom.”

 

“Weel worded mah mukker. As th' queen ay th' werewolves ye hae uir support,” Dana proclaimed amidst wolf howls.