Wolfen - Part 11
 
The air suddenly got much colder around Verik. The ground beneath him instantly became hard and jagged, instead of the grass field that he was sitting in just a few seconds earlier. Feeling concerned, he opened his eyes, but the surrounding area was too dark. It took a few minutes for his eyes to adjust and to allow him to be able to see. Even with a wolfen’s superior night vision, he still was not able to see that far.

Through the darkness, he could see that there was no plant life anywhere in sight, there was no movement, at least as far as his eyes could perceive. The whole place was covered with rocks, as if he was in a huge underground cavern. The place was very unsettling.

How did he get here? Just a minute ago, he was training with Keil. Did he do something wrong? Did he do it correctly? If this was supposed to happen, then he should have given a warning. He shrugged and started walking in a direction. No sense worrying about it now. He was here. Whether he was supposed to be or, it didn’t matter. He just needed to find a way back.

Unsure about what was out there with him, he stayed silent. As he walked, the scenery remained mostly unchanged. Just more and more rocks. Something different caught his eye to the side. One large stone column as broken at the center, the top part laying down in pieces next to it. On the bottom part, there were several large scratch marks.

Verik leaned in to get a closer look, but as he did he stepped on something soft. The thing underneath him started writhing around and squealing. Nearly having a heart attack, he jumped back. From where he was standing, a large black lizard about the size of his foot scurried off quickly into the darkness.

It took Verik a few seconds to compose himself again and continue onward. He saw more of those lizards as he passed. All of them scurrying away at the sight, or smell, of him. He ignored them and kept walking in silence, but there was something lying on the ground that he didn’t see. He tripped over it and tumbled to the ground.

He got up to see what he stumbled over, but when he saw it, his blood turned cold. The thing was the body of one of the black winged lizard creatures that attacked them in the forest. It was half eaten, leaving its chest wide open and what was left of his organs exposed. Judging by the smell, it must have only been there for a few hours. There could very well be others around.

Quickly getting back on his path, he picked up the pace. He moved as fast as he could and still remain mostly silent over the solid surface. There was a screeching sound in the distance. The creatures knew he was there. Verik broke out into a sprint, trying to get some distance and hoping that their sense of smell was not good enough to find him.

The creatures’ screeches became quieter the farther he went, but suddenly, out of nowhere it seemed, a large black wall appeared and he crashed face-first into it. He fell to the ground, stunned for a few seconds.

The wall rose higher than he could see, which wasn’t that far, but it was too tall for him to scale. It also extended to both sides out of his sight. The wall was completely smooth, like ice, but it didn’t feel like anything Verik knew. It wasn’t a stone, but was solid as one. The wall curved on all sides slightly, judging by the small section he could see, it was spherical or dome-shaped. He felt a strong energy coming from it. No, it wasn’t coming from the wall, it was drawing the energy in! Was something conjuring it? If something was, then it would make sense that that something would be at it’s center.

Verik concentrated hard and examined the base of the wall. After carefully measuring the curves, he pointed himself in a general direction of where he thought the center would be and headed down it. Unfortunately, that direction lead him closer to the lizard creatures. He just had to get past them and reach the center. He didn’t know why, but it seemed like something was calling him, wanting him to reach the center.

/.\ /.\ /.\

Myril stood at the top one of the highest cliffs in this dark land, standing just outside her little hut she created. She had been here so long that she her eyes adapted to this new lighting. She was able to see just as far as though the moon was shining her brilliant light. But that never happens here. There is no sun. There is not moon. There isn’t even any sky to gaze at. Just the monotonous, black barrier that separates her from whatever it is out there.

It was a very quiet and lonely life that left her with a numbing depression that she could not shake. Occasionally, a few of those creatures would crawl their way up to where she was, which she would have to dispose of, but that was a rare occurrence; maybe once every few months or so. This would provide food for the next while. If nobody came to her, then she had to go down there and pick one off and bring it back, though that can be very dangerous.

She had been living like this for so many hears that she could no longer keep track. This place had driven her to attempt suicide multiple times, but The Voice wouldn’t allow it. It was stronger than her and would stop her every time. There was no getting around It or hiding from It. It was always aware, always watching her, never letting her go.

Right now, she was in control of herself, but if she got out of line, she probably would be forced out for a long period of time. Which she fears almost more than anything else.

She just stared off into the cracked, rocky, dismal terrain blankly. She had already thought everything that her mind could think of. On the walls of the cliff she was on, several novels were carved into the surface. This kept her thinking for a while, but doing this reminded her of her old life all those many years ago and it became more painful than doing nothing. She had tried everything there is to keep her at least on the very edges of sanity, but after the long years by herself, she began to accept her fate and just wait out the days until The Voice finally decides to leave her, or she dies by some other means.

Her thoughtless gaze was interrupted by the sound of screeching. Nonchalantly looking down the cliff to the surface below, she saw several of the creatures getting riled up, forming together, and running after something. “What is it this time?” She muttered to herself. “Did one of you eat another’s child again? That’s usually what causes conflict among you…” But they weren’t chasing another of their own. They were chasing…she looked harder. No, that can’t be! They were chasing one her kind! A wolfen!

She opened her mouth to get the wolfen’s attention, but before she was able to call out, her voice stopped. Not yet, my dear. The Voice hissed at her through her own thoughts. You will see him again, do not worry. But for now, he must leave this place and return to his home.

Myril watched him run away as tears began to stream down her face. She wanted to run to him, save him from the creatures, live with him, at least just talk with him! But she just stood there in forced silence as he left her sight.

/.\ /.\ /.\

More and more of those creatures were following him. They coming from the sides, falling down on him from the sky, rushing at him from in front of him. These creatures seemed different than the ones he faced at the fortress. Instead of being skilled fighters, these seemed more like wild animals. Whether these creatures were safer or not, he did not know. But by now, there were too many of them to even consider fighting.

So he kept running as fast as he could, avoiding the oncoming creatures, sometimes just narrowly. But his endurance was limited and he began to tire. He put most of his concentration and strength into keeping his speed up, but it wasn’t enough. One of the creatures intersected his course from the side and jumped at him. Unable to dodge out of the way in time, the creature grabbed Verik’s neck and threw him to the ground. Less than a second later, a countless swarm of them were on top of him, biting into his flesh and clawing at him madly.

The pain he was in was unbearable. He had to do something quick, or he would die in less than a minute. Using the pain and fear to fuel himself, he unleashed his power on them. A sphere of fire surrounded him, instantly killing the creatures on top of him. He threw his arms outward and the sphere exploded, sending the other surrounding creatures flying.

Verik quickly got to his feet again and started running. Adrenaline coursed through his body, making the pain temporarily leave. Just before the flames from the explosion died, he could see just a little bit further was a huge black crystal that was floating a few feet off the ground. That must be what was drawing him nearer.

Once he reached it, he put his hands on it, trying to figure out what to do. He could feel that the crystal contained a massive amount of energy. This had to be what was creating the sphere. But what was he supposed to do with it?

Something happened inside Verik. There was a strange sensation as if he was receiving someone else’s thoughts. Some other force was trying to move his body. He was easily able to resist, but something in his head told him to trust in it and give it control, whatever it was.

So he stopped resisting and relaxed, and suddenly his body started moving on its own. His hands were placed together on the surface of the crystal. His head tilted downward and his chest began glowing brightly. Soon after, the crystal began to emanate light also. Energy flowed into him from the crystal and the world around him faded away.

Dizziness swept over him and the ground began to change. The cold rock surface shifted into something softer and something else was brushing against the fur on his legs. His surroundings started to become visible again, but he was no longer in that dark place. He was standing in a forest clearing with tall trees surrounding him.

“What the hell just happened?” Verik wondered aloud. He smelled the air, but this place wasn’t familiar to him. He didn’t recognize any of the scents around him. He had to leave the forest and see if he could find anything that would lead him back home.

He took one step forward, but the immense pain from the injuries he sustained from the fight with the crazed creatures returned and he fell to the ground. The impact caused such agony throughout that he blacked out and lost consciousness.

/.\ /.\ /.\

When Verik woke up, he was moving. The trees above him slowly shifted out of sight behind him. When he became more aware, he realized that something was grabbing only his legs and dragging him across the floor. He quickly kicked out his feet, breaking free from their grasp.

There were a few startled gasps as he broke free and pushed himself up. All around him, surrounding him, were small creatures about four feet tall. They had short legs and slightly longer arms attached to a round body. From it, extended a neck that was almost as tall as his body. His head was small with black eyes, tall pointed ears and sharp teeth.

“Don’t be afraid! We are the Iseyla.” One of them lifted his arms into the air in a non-threatening pose and approached him. “We are here to help you.”

The Iseyla? They were the creatures that Keil told him about on the way to the Elder’s fortress. Their sole purpose for living was to help others.

“Please come with us to our camp. Your injuries have not healed and you have lost a lot of blood.”

Verik smiled at his luck. He could probably could not have realistically found himself in a better situation in this unfamiliar territory. He nodded to the one speaking, “Thank you.”

The Iseyla put his hand on Verik’s forehead and spoke, “It is our pleasure. Now get some rest. You need it.”

Suddenly his eyes became heavy and he slipped off into a deep sleep.

To be continued...

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