01-26-2008, 10:47 PM
Chapter Six: The Four Pack War
January, 2004
Skoll and Art trained rigorously in their short time together, but Skoll felt that his own skills were not being properly put to use. Art had been impressed with him, but he had encountered no worthy test of his skills since leaving Autumn Leaf. It was a month after the two had departed Art's home when they came across a group of wolves, comprised mostly of young males, that called themselves BloodScar. The two wolves were allowed to mingle with its members, provided they took no food, and learn what they could. As it turned out, the dozen they had met at the border--large enough to be a pack unto themselves, but actually only about a quarter of the total group--were delighted to hear that they two were traveling warriors, and asked if they would speak with their leader, Sirius.
Accepting this invitation, Skoll quickly met their leader. Sirius the Giant was a white wolf of epic proportions. Never measured, Skoll could only guess that his height had to be eleven, perhaps twelve feet if he stood straight. Not that he ever did, even though he spent all of his time in were-form, such bulk did not easily lend itself to upright motion. Sirius told him a story, a tale of a great kingdom presided over by a powerful leader named Malros. The warrior-king had been slain, and while the suspected culprit had been killed, his four sons now vied for his vast expanses of land. Initially, it had been divided evenly, but not every land was as fertile as the next, and soon disputes arose. Hard times made one of the four desperate for more, and the others were conflicted about what should be done. What began as a family squabble soon erupted into violence. One of the sons was killed, and it was his retainers that founded the pack called BloodScar, to remind the others of what they had done. Sirius had taken on the mantle of leadership for that son, and now prepared to take his people into battle with the other three brothers and their people, over the land their father had ruled.
Moved by the tale, by the betrayal, Skoll resolved that this was indeed a noble cause, and that the survivors of this 'royal line' needed to be punished. Sirius resolved to divide the land once he took control, to abolish Malros' line for good, as it had lost whatever greatness the patriarch had possessed. Skoll agreed with this rationale, and at the behest of this giant of a man, he became the sergeant of his forces, dozens of wolves would be trained by Skoll as he had trained Art. They would be a swift and terrible force, they would quickly take over the others, and bring justice to the defiled sanctity of this land. He became friends with another hired warrior, named Xander. Unlike Skoll, Xander used a human weapon, called a Katana, some sort of spiritual sword he had received in a far-flung part of the world.
Alas, the war was not over quickly as Skoll had envisioned. Rival 'experts' had been hired by the other three packs at various points during the conflict: Galdra the spear-maiden, Gabred the Fist, Yvret One-Eye, Alketor, Phrexus, Klavix the Dog, and a woman of singular insanity, the coyote SteelRose. Each had their own reputation, though the monstrous form of Sirius was still the single most feared on the battle field, Skoll was amidst people just as dangerous as he was, perhaps moreso, since many of them were trained with weapons, and he was not. When the battle commenced, it became immediately evident that those with weapons were at a definite advantage, and he and Art had to learn on the fly how to use whatever weapons they could salvage from the surrounding ruins of an ancient human city. Many wolves were never lucky enough to find weaponry, and had to trust in their claws and teeth, or claim human weaponry from fallen enemies and comrades. Skoll found a pair of axes. His protege, a set of kitchen knives. Skoll's reputation grew from successfully killing Phrexus and Alketor. Galdra too had fallen by his axe, a wolfess with whom he had shared a few precious nights of passion before the war broke out in full. Despite their promises to avoid each other on the battlefield, she had turned her spear on him when one of her students had engaged him. Her death was the single greatest regret he had over the war.
To make matters worse, it became clear before war's end that Sirius was not what he had appeared. A dark ambition rested in his heart, and in fact he was the last living descendant of HawkWind's mortal enemy, GaleCrow. Skoll began to see a malice growing in him that he had not detected before, and it was a poison that Xander noticed as well. Skoll's friend and ally confronted Sirius, but was met with a quick death by the massive were's bare hands, his forearms snapped even as they held his sword and head twisted around. The war was a dark time for Skoll, and a darker one for Art, who--early on--was taken as a prisoner of war, and tortured for information and amusement by a rival pack. He had found his courage there through desperation, and when Skoll and Xander had rescued him, he was a changed wolf, skittish and fearful, but preternaturally violent when pushed. Art lost faith in Skoll when he would not turn against Sirius for killing their friend, Sirius being a creature that Skoll both knew he could not kill, and was not certain he would be completely justified in killing. After all, justice still needed to be brought to the land, and neither he nor Sirius could win the war without the other.
After the war, Skoll and Art went their separate ways. The way of the warrior had not been so heroic as either of them had thought, and Art had paid for his mistake in pain, and with the better part of his sanity. Skoll had helped win the war, and yet he felt this had been his greatest failure yet. Knowing that Sirius would not do as he had promised, but also that the he would not stand against him when he reneged, Skoll left the war-torn territory shortly after the war, having lost faith, lost his protege, lost his friend, and lost his love.
January, 2004
Skoll and Art trained rigorously in their short time together, but Skoll felt that his own skills were not being properly put to use. Art had been impressed with him, but he had encountered no worthy test of his skills since leaving Autumn Leaf. It was a month after the two had departed Art's home when they came across a group of wolves, comprised mostly of young males, that called themselves BloodScar. The two wolves were allowed to mingle with its members, provided they took no food, and learn what they could. As it turned out, the dozen they had met at the border--large enough to be a pack unto themselves, but actually only about a quarter of the total group--were delighted to hear that they two were traveling warriors, and asked if they would speak with their leader, Sirius.
Accepting this invitation, Skoll quickly met their leader. Sirius the Giant was a white wolf of epic proportions. Never measured, Skoll could only guess that his height had to be eleven, perhaps twelve feet if he stood straight. Not that he ever did, even though he spent all of his time in were-form, such bulk did not easily lend itself to upright motion. Sirius told him a story, a tale of a great kingdom presided over by a powerful leader named Malros. The warrior-king had been slain, and while the suspected culprit had been killed, his four sons now vied for his vast expanses of land. Initially, it had been divided evenly, but not every land was as fertile as the next, and soon disputes arose. Hard times made one of the four desperate for more, and the others were conflicted about what should be done. What began as a family squabble soon erupted into violence. One of the sons was killed, and it was his retainers that founded the pack called BloodScar, to remind the others of what they had done. Sirius had taken on the mantle of leadership for that son, and now prepared to take his people into battle with the other three brothers and their people, over the land their father had ruled.
Moved by the tale, by the betrayal, Skoll resolved that this was indeed a noble cause, and that the survivors of this 'royal line' needed to be punished. Sirius resolved to divide the land once he took control, to abolish Malros' line for good, as it had lost whatever greatness the patriarch had possessed. Skoll agreed with this rationale, and at the behest of this giant of a man, he became the sergeant of his forces, dozens of wolves would be trained by Skoll as he had trained Art. They would be a swift and terrible force, they would quickly take over the others, and bring justice to the defiled sanctity of this land. He became friends with another hired warrior, named Xander. Unlike Skoll, Xander used a human weapon, called a Katana, some sort of spiritual sword he had received in a far-flung part of the world.
Alas, the war was not over quickly as Skoll had envisioned. Rival 'experts' had been hired by the other three packs at various points during the conflict: Galdra the spear-maiden, Gabred the Fist, Yvret One-Eye, Alketor, Phrexus, Klavix the Dog, and a woman of singular insanity, the coyote SteelRose. Each had their own reputation, though the monstrous form of Sirius was still the single most feared on the battle field, Skoll was amidst people just as dangerous as he was, perhaps moreso, since many of them were trained with weapons, and he was not. When the battle commenced, it became immediately evident that those with weapons were at a definite advantage, and he and Art had to learn on the fly how to use whatever weapons they could salvage from the surrounding ruins of an ancient human city. Many wolves were never lucky enough to find weaponry, and had to trust in their claws and teeth, or claim human weaponry from fallen enemies and comrades. Skoll found a pair of axes. His protege, a set of kitchen knives. Skoll's reputation grew from successfully killing Phrexus and Alketor. Galdra too had fallen by his axe, a wolfess with whom he had shared a few precious nights of passion before the war broke out in full. Despite their promises to avoid each other on the battlefield, she had turned her spear on him when one of her students had engaged him. Her death was the single greatest regret he had over the war.
To make matters worse, it became clear before war's end that Sirius was not what he had appeared. A dark ambition rested in his heart, and in fact he was the last living descendant of HawkWind's mortal enemy, GaleCrow. Skoll began to see a malice growing in him that he had not detected before, and it was a poison that Xander noticed as well. Skoll's friend and ally confronted Sirius, but was met with a quick death by the massive were's bare hands, his forearms snapped even as they held his sword and head twisted around. The war was a dark time for Skoll, and a darker one for Art, who--early on--was taken as a prisoner of war, and tortured for information and amusement by a rival pack. He had found his courage there through desperation, and when Skoll and Xander had rescued him, he was a changed wolf, skittish and fearful, but preternaturally violent when pushed. Art lost faith in Skoll when he would not turn against Sirius for killing their friend, Sirius being a creature that Skoll both knew he could not kill, and was not certain he would be completely justified in killing. After all, justice still needed to be brought to the land, and neither he nor Sirius could win the war without the other.
After the war, Skoll and Art went their separate ways. The way of the warrior had not been so heroic as either of them had thought, and Art had paid for his mistake in pain, and with the better part of his sanity. Skoll had helped win the war, and yet he felt this had been his greatest failure yet. Knowing that Sirius would not do as he had promised, but also that the he would not stand against him when he reneged, Skoll left the war-torn territory shortly after the war, having lost faith, lost his protege, lost his friend, and lost his love.