Some feels for you in the next two chapter.



Chapter 11: Raven part 1

A forced ripped though Raven’s body and sliced clean through out to the other side and made a noticeably large gap into a tree’s trunk. At that moment the world went into grey scale, his face was blank and the life quickly drained from his eyes. His senses couldn’t fathom what horror had come over him. He couldn’t feel the wave go through his very being, but the body-to-earth impact shocked his spirit to the core – he has fallen before his destined journey has begun.
In the corner of his blurred vision he could see Whisper run to him with horror in her expression; he couldn’t hear what she was yelling. But he figured she was calling out for him.

Raven couldn’t feel his body and was descending into the dark void of his mind. At first he could see himself standing alone in the darkness, he was the spectator of his own mind – but he felt like a stranger. Then his body morphed into that of a grey and blue wolf, a wolf that he has never seen before, but had a slight similarity to the memory of his mother’s appearance. Or so he thought, for she has been gone for eight years. Deceased. His memory could be playing tricks on his emotions. Sadness fell over him as he looked down onto the wolf, until he wasn’t looking down on it anymore. Raven stood in front of the wolf. It wasn’t his mother after all, it was a male wolf that was slightly larger than he was. He stared into the distance, paying Raven no mind. Raven moved closer to him, trying to figure out why he reminded him of his deceased mother. He had her eyes, Raven’s eyes. Clearly he was a waterwolf.
As Raven stared baffled at him his feature started to morph and he shrunk slightly in size. Raven’s eyes widened in awe as he was sure the wolf standing before him was his mother. He couldn’t understand what was going on, whether he was going insane or not. But there she stood, right before his very eyes. A cool mist of breath escaped her muzzle and she looked straight into Raven’s eyes, her vision full of life like it had never escaped her being.
“Raven” She whispered and rested her head on his neck. His body was frozen to the core, his mind in turmoil of confusion. He pulled back and looked into her face.
“Mother… but how? Am I dead?”
“No Raven, at least not yet”
“What do you mean?”
“You have a brutal force living within yourself, but I’ve mastered it within your soul since the day I died. I have protected you up until now. Though my life energy stored within you are almost depleted. I cannot tame this ‘power’ in your place anymore”
“What… I don’t understand any of this. What are you talking about? I thought you were dead!” he barked out, deeply confused.
“My body died that day, but my spirit took shelter in yours. I couldn’t let this ‘power’ kill you before you even knew what you are capable of. So I have sealed it with my essence and controlled it on your behalf”
“What is this power you speak of?”
“A power that has been running in our bloodline for generations, the very reason we are the royals of the land. Or, we were. That is why you have to keep living, you are the only capable of truly winning our kingdom back”
“That is what the Elder said…” he said and the thought lingered in his mind again.
“The Elder of the Veiled Forest village? You’re progressing faster than I had hoped”
“I was supposed to go there?”
“Yes, wasn’t it your intention?”
“No I got there by accident” he said dryly.
“Fate really has a kind hold on you, my son” she chuckled.
“Did you somehow call me here to help me, to show me what to do next?”
“No, Raven. This path, your destiny, you must figure out by yourself. We are here now so I can teach you how to take control over this ‘power’. You need to master it or die by it”
“How do I master it?”
“I’m not really sure; I can’t remember how I did it in the past. When my body died, most of my memories died with it. But some things are deeper than memories; some things are engraved in my spirit. That is how I know that you are my son, of our bloodlines, this power and… your grandfather” she said. Her eyes grew dim when she mentioned her father.
“You know about the power, but not how to tame it. So how am I going to do it by myself? What’s the point of you standing before me now if you don’t know anything then?” he growled, his expression dropped when he fathomed what he had said. “I’m sorry mother, I didn’t mean to…”
“It’s okay Raven. I understand how confused you must be right now, to see your mother for the first time since you were just a pup must be very hard for you” she said calmly with a smile, but Raven could see she was hurt.
“But help me to understand this… You have been living inside of me? Watching my every action and seeing what I see?”
“No Raven. I am nothing more than a foreign spirit within your body. My senses aren’t connected to yours, I have no idea what is happening in the outside world or in your mind”
“If that is true then how did you know when I needed help? I literally almost died twice in the last year, but was saved by this so called ‘power’”
“I’m connected to your emotions; I could feel when you were in danger. Then I released some of the power to aid you. Nothing good will come from your death”
“Right…” he said and looked away into the darkness, literally lost in his own thoughts. It was a lot for him to take in. To find out that his mother’s spirit had lived in him all that time was a troubling thought indeed. He felt violated but at the same time a strange sadness – If only I knew about her presence, that she was alive.

“I would love to get to know you better, Raven. I want to ask you about your life, what you have been up to and the new feelings that flourished in your spirit after years of loneliness. But I don’t have much time, we don’t have much time. My life force is nearly depleted, and when I’m gone, a whole new level of power will be unlocked within you. This isn’t necessarily a good thing since it will try to take you over. Your body has gotten too dependent on my spirit; it’s been leaning on mine far too much. When I die your whole being will grow weaker and then that power will try to consume you”
“Wait… wait. When you die then I might die too. How do we stop that from happening?” he asked shocked.
“By taming the ‘power’”
“And neither of us knows how to do that”

“I know I have done it in the past, but I don’t know how. That is why you need to go back to our past and see how I did it. I have told you about the power in our bloodline when you were a young wolf, I’m sure of it”
“Go back to the past, is that even possible?”
“Strictly speaking you won’t really be going back to the past. You will relive a memory that has been sleeping at the back of your mind for years now. One of the memories your mind locked away to save you from trauma”
“Trauma?”
“The day I died, the day you lost your family, home, nobility and basically everything. You went through so much pain at that time that your mind locked those memories away”
“That explains why everything about my past is all blurred when I try to recall it. Wow… I must be truly messed up”
“Let’s get this ritual over with, there’s no use prolonging it. Staying here with you longer only makes this harder for me”
“I understand, mother. What is this ritual?”
“I will use the remainder of my life force and a portion of my ‘power’ I kept after death to unlock your memories. And then, I will finally be able to move on, Raven”
His gaze dropped for a moment and he found it hard to hold her eyes. He didn’t want to lose her just when he found out that she was alive all along within him. But he also didn’t want to die in vain like that. He couldn’t help but to feel selfish, but he finally has the will to live, something which he has always lacked.
Suddenly she took a step towards him and nuzzled up against him.
“You won’t lose me again Raven; I will always be in your heart. Well, not literally this time” she joked.
“Yes, mother”
“I have faith in you. You will have a wonderful life full of adventure with others that care for you, don’t take the bonds you have with others lightly, Raven”
Those words echoed in his mind. What she said was totally irrelevant to the situation but it was something he wanted to hear. Somehow he knew she could sense it.
Raven stood still, ready for whatever that was going to happen – or ready as he could be. He had no idea what she was going to do to unlock those memories. He was slightly scared to what he was going to find out about his dark past, maybe some memories are better left alone.

“Wait” He suddenly barked out, he was curious about one detail “Who was the grey and blue male wolf that stood here, before it changed into you?”
“That is you, Raven”
“No it wasn’t, I don’t look like that” He said with a raised brow, his mother gave a soft cynical chuckle.
“Let’s just say that you are in for quite a surprise. Like I said your spirit has been leaning on mine too much, it has altered your true colors. The reflection you see in the water isn’t the real you, dear”
Raven pondered on that for a while.
“But I was told I look like my grandfather”
“I have my father’s genes in me just as you have my genes within you. Though for some reason my spirit augmented his genes within you. But Raven, our appearances look nearly similar, even at this very moment. See for yourself”
“What? No we don’t?” he said suspiciously, she nodded her head. He couldn’t help but to look down at his paws, they were as blue as ever. Then he looked up at her again and shrugged his shoulders.
“Look more thoroughly”
He swung his head around to get a good few of his rump.
“The hell? I am gray!” He barked out surprised and swung his tail towards his face, it nearly hit him face.
“Longer tail, different colored fur and…. new markings” he examined “But please” he growled and subconsciously turned his head uncomfortably to get a good look at his shoulder “Ah my crescent moon still remains, thank heavens” He said and gave a sigh of relief.
“Of course Raven, That will never change. The crescent moon is the proof of our bloodline. This is getting harder, time for the ritual”
“Right, sorry. Have a good afterlife mother” He said softly, with a hint of sorrow and licked her muzzle.

She stepped back and a radiant aura glowed from her gray and blue fur, it reminded Raven of the light he saw in the water when he was fighting Nayate. Then it struck him - it was her. It couldn’t have been clearer. “You were my guardian angel” he whimpered softly.

Raven opened his eyes in a dim slit as the surrounding light was too much for his tired eyes, he gave a large yawn and slowly got the his feet.
“Ah so you’re finally awake. Took you long enough”
“Leave me alone” he said while yawning again. He fixed his gaze on the female wolf looking back at him with an annoyed expression.
“I will leave you alone when I feel like it” she said with a wry smile, and then she stepped on his front paw and gripped her jaw around his neck. Raven’s yipped and growled at the same time as he tried to swat her away with his other paw. Suddenly another young wolf ran into the room and head butted her away from Raven.
“Ezra!” Raven yelled out relieved as the bluish- grey young male wolf stood in front of him growling at the dark-furred female.
He turned his head and smiled at Raven. Raven stared mesmerized at Ezra as he couldn’t help but to think how cool he acted.
“You are the one supposed to protect me Raven, not the other way around. Don’t let her bully you like this” he said without dropping the kind smile, Raven dropped his ears.
“Raven is too weak to stand up against me, and so are you Ezra. You caught me by surprise, that’s all” she growled as she got to her feet again. Suddenly she dove for Ezra with her exposed canines, Ezra sidestepped and she fell to the floor sliding on her chest with her hind in the air.
“Assyria!” A larger grey and blue female barked from the door.
Ezra got such a start that he cowered to the floor with his ears flattened.
“Mother!” Raven yipped excitedly and ran to her side.
“Oh great…” Assyria sighed and sat up.
“Don’t let me catch you again trying to harm Ezra, you are supposed to protect him, not harm him!” she growled. Ezra got up and stood in front of Assyria.
“We were just roughhousing; please don’t be so hard on her. I apologize for the commotion” he said and bowed his head. Her eyes widened at his selfless act and felt embarrassed.
“Please don’t bow at me, Ezra” She whispered shamefully. Raven and Assyria stared at the awkward atmosphere between the two.
“Your mother is waiting for you in the strategy hall, you should leave quickly. She requires your presence in a meeting with the Elders” she suddenly said quite serious.
“I’m too young for these boring meetings” he said dryly.
“That’s what you get for being a prince” she smiled and playfully pushed him towards the door, lifting up his hind as he awkwardly stumbled forward.
“Should we go too?” Raven asked.
“Strange that you ask that Raven” she said surprised “Yes you should, both of you. All of us were asked to attend this meeting as representatives of the Protectors. You two are the next generation of Protectors after all”
“I will stay here, thank you. Raven will go without me” Assyria said dryly.
“You will join your brother and me, Assyria. The two of you have started to catch the eyes of the elders. The twins, as they call you”
“I really don’t want to be addressed with the likes of him” She said and looked at Raven; he felt bad and dropped his ears.
“Assyria stop trying to break down your brother! You might be stronger and tougher than him, but you will never be as clever as him” she said taking a step towards her with a slight snarl. Assyria looked frightened for a moment and her mother stepped back, feeling slightly ashamed at her outburst. She looked down into Raven’s eyes and licked his forehead.
“You are a great wolf Raven; don’t let anybody tell you otherwise” she smiled.
“Yes mother” he said wagging his tail.

“Come on, Aeya. The queen is waiting for you” a wolf said by the entrance just as fast as he disappeared again.
“Let’s go you two” she said and walked ahead.
Raven got up and followed, but then he stopped and looked at Assyria still sitting with a depressed expression. He turned around and bit her ear and pulled her up.
“W-what are you doing” she asked annoyed.
“I bet I can get there before a snail like you” Raven mocked.
“A snail?” she growled, then smiled darkly with a sly glimmer in her eye “I will show you who is a snail” she said and ran ahead with Raven chasing behind her. They ducked and slid under Aeya and made her stumble through the corridor and quickly caught up with Ezra.
“Wait for me!” Aeya yelled and ran after them.

Raven stared up at the strategic hall’s ceiling amazed at the country’s map painted on it. He would always sneak into the hall and stare at it for hours, and read the battle scrolls of past and future battles. He found out quite early in his life that he had an affinity for learning various strategies and creating them for fun. His mother noticed a while ago and taught him the art – and frequently asked his input without any of the other strategists knowing about it.
The voices murmured around him as he played with the map in his mind, Assyria noticed him staring at the ceiling and snorted. She stepped on his paw.
“What?” Raven hissed at her.
“Pay attention you two” Aeya whispered strictly.
Raven sighed and looked around the large hall. Many wolves sat in the middle forming a rectangle with the queen at the high end with Ezra next to her. The tense atmosphere seemed to be trapped between the walls of books, scrolls and maps.
“As you all might have figured, we are preparing for an incoming attack…” The queen said and caught Raven’s attention “So I have called you all here: Our four water elders; and the fire, earth, rock, spirit and wind ambassadors, known as our Elemental Elders. The head guards, strategists and healers, and of course, the Protectors, with the exception of my father”
“The only protector I see present is Aeya, where is Falcon?” The rock elder interrupted. The queen wanted to snap at him but kept her cool.
“He is on an important mission. We won’t need him with such a small attack”
“If the attack is, as you say ‘small’ then why did you gather all of us here?” one of the water elders chimed in.
“The scout that came back said the army is rather small and won’t stand a chance against us, but the attackers are the Wind Kingdom, they have finally decided to make their move, but something isn’t right. They wouldn’t send out such a small attack without a plan behind it. We shouldn’t drop our guards against them, they aren’t to be underestimated”
The elders and guards whispered amongst themselves.
“Shouldn’t we call Falcon back? He is the in charge of our armies, without him we will be at a great disadvantage when the Wind Kingdom decides to go all out. And Aeya alone isn’t enough to protect you; you need Falcon by your side my queen” One of the head guards barked out.
“It’s not just Aeya, Assyria and Raven will be at our side throughout the attack”
Aeya, Assyria and Raven were shocked when they heard the queen.
“The scrawny male can’t even manipulate water yet, he is way too young!” another water elder barked out, those words hit Raven with a blow. Again, he was reminded how useless he was as a Protector. “The girl can only heal herself. What good will that do when your life is in danger? And Aeya isn’t nearly as strong as her father”
“Keep quiet! I have the utmost faith in them, I wouldn’t hesitate to put my life in their paws” The queen snapped. “Besides, there’s hardly any chance the attackers will reach the kingdom grounds, never mind the castle walls” she continued with a strict tone. Everybody talked amongst themselves again and the queen allowed them to settle down by themselves.

Aeya exchanged a gaze with the queen and stood up. She walked towards the queen; Raven got up to follow her but hesitated and sat down again, next to Assyria.
“With my father gone, I will take charge of the royal army” Aeya said facing everyone “I have already concocted a battle strategy while all of you were at home with your families, with no idea of what will be in less than two days” Aeya’s voice echoed in the hall. Raven smiled proudly as he saw the scrolls on the table he and his mother worked on through the night.
“Less than two days?!” most of the elders barked in horror.
“Yes. And all of you present will work on my strategies and refine them. The safety of the kingdom is in all of your paws’. We’re not going to take any chances this time. Everything WILL run smoothly. After the scrolls are perfectly Assyria, Raven and I will stay by the queen’s side along with a few guards”

The meeting went on for what felt like a whole day and when it finally ended Raven walked with Ezra to his room, in silence. Both of them were still processing everything they have heard during the meeting.
“Raven” Aeya called behind him “Come here, we need to talk”
“Oh okay. See you later, cousin” he said and Ezra nodded.
They walked to their room and Aeya collapsed on a bed of pillows.
“Oh my gosh that was exhausting!” she sighed.
“Are the scrolls complete?” Assyria asked.
“No”
“Then why are you here?” Raven asked suspiciously.
“I’m letting them fight over the minor details by themselves for now, they didn’t even notice when I left. I will go back in an hour or so”
“That’s rather irresponsible mother” Raven laughed. Assyria rolled her eyes.
“But I have to say; those strategies are one of our best, Raven. You are really good at this, you make me so proud” she said and pressed him down to the floor with her right arm and wrestled him on the pillows. She noticed Assyria staring blankly at them and remembered how she snapped at her and felt a sense of regret. Aeya quickly grabbed Assyria by the tail and dragged her to her and Raven. Assyria couldn’t help but laugh and bit into her mother’s ears as Raven lay on top on her back.
“Ah I can’t breathe. You two are too big to take me on at once, I’m at a huge disadvantage here” Aeya laughed “I miss the times when you two were pups, I want to carry you by your scruffs again” she joked.
“You have no idea how degrading that was” Assyria said dryly and Raven laughed.
“Let me try once more, I want to see if I can still do it” Aeya said with a glimmer of hope in her eyes, Assyria recoiled away.
“No!” she barked, but Aeya already had her by the scruff, she tried lifting her up but couldn’t get her off the ground and they collapsed.
“Are you satisfied now?” Assyria growled “I’m nearly your size!” she continued while laughing.
“Almost nearly” Aeya laughed and then suddenly her head disappeared under Ravens belly as he pinned her down in the pile in cushions.
“Wow you killed mother, Raven” Assyria chuckled.