“Son… I think it’s time you moved on,” my father said, one crisp spring morning, as he moved about the kitchen preparing some food.

  “Moved on? What do you mean...?” I responded from my seat at the old wooden table, casually stringing my bow as I looked over at him.

  “You’re already a better hunter than I, and your knowledge of the forest and its herbs would have impressed even your mother. There is nothing more I can teach you,” he explained, still diligently preparing some stew for our morning meal.

  I blinked a few times at his words before taking a breath. “You… You’re saying it's time I leave...? But what about you? What will you do if I’m not here to help with the chores? And—” I started to say before he cut me off.

  “I’ll be fine. What do you think I did before you came along?” he responded as a matter of fact. “You’ve just passed your 20th winter. These next years will shape who you become, you can’t just stay at our little cabin in the woods forever.”

  I nodded along with his words, he was right of course. “But… What will I do? Where will I go?” I asked him.

  He stopped working for a moment to look up at me, tossing me a knowing smile. “You already know the answer to that, don’t you?” He said slyly.

  “To the city… to become an adventurer...? You really think I’m ready for that?” I said, just a hint of excitement beginning to build within me.

  “I know you are—but, if you're not yet convinced... Do you remember the old forest, about a 2 hour ride to the east? The one where I taught you how to survive a night with nothing but your bare hands?” he said, invoking fond and cold memories within me.

  I nodded in recognition.

  “Somewhere out there you will find a sprawl of ancient ruins. I stumbled upon them years ago myself, but I didn’t have the ability to explore further at the time. Those ruins held an energy and mystery about them that I still remember to this day. Why don’t you go over there and have a look around? Come back and report what you find, and if you can do that, then without a doubt I'm sure you will be ready to become an adventurer,” my father offered, holding my gaze, and issuing my first challenge of many to come.

  If only he knew.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me…” I whispered to myself, scared of making too much noise. I raised my hand slowly and shakily drew my short sword, plated with silver and blessed at a temple near my home… It was my last line of defense.

  The shadowy wolf-like figures snarled at it. I winced…

  “I’m not going to make it out of this—Am I…?” I thought to myself.

  I had no idea where the exit was, I had no way to fight off this number of enemies, and I had no back up. I was completely alone.

  One of the shadows darted out from the pack first, lunging at me with terrible speed. I slashed at it on instinct and happened to make contact, my sword passed through it and its form immediately dissipated.

  Was it because of my blessed blade?

  I didn’t have time to linger on the thought, the entire pack began surging forward, there must have been more than twenty or thirty of them.

  I backed up frantically, helpless and desperate, but there was nowhere to run. My back pressed against the wolf statues where I had found the necklace. I cursed my luck and closed my eyes as the shadowy pack descended on me, whispering a silent farewell to my father, though he would never hear it—

  Where death should have been, instead there was only stillness and silence.

  Then, a chill.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  I opened my eyes slowly. In front of me the pack of shadowy wolves stood, completely still. In the corner of my left eye I noticed a strange pale light that hadn’t been there before. I turned my head slowly to the side and finally saw it. A huge, stark white, wolf. Its fur seemed to shimmer, emitting a pale glow, and with it the chill that I had initially felt. It stood, unmoving, as it looked out over the shadowy wolves.

  “Death awaits you,” came the voice, like a low growl, gravelly and sharp, its words absolute.

  The voice, however, did not come from the white wolf on my left…

  Wordlessly, I turned my head again, this time to the right, and beside me stood another huge wolf. This one, though, was jet black, darker than night, and its head was turned to face me. Its crimson eyes seared into me. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe. It was as if those glowing embers were reading everything I was—judging me. My mind and heart raced as I tried desperately to understand what was happening. The words of the black wolf pushed me further towards panic, but before I could open my mouth, the white wolf also spoke.

  “But this death is not inevitable…” said the white wolf, its voice reverberating through my head, clearer, more pure.

  Then, the two wolves spoke together in unison. “Do you wish to live?”

  Their voices and tones were completely different, the white wolf's words were gentle, while the black wolf's words were abrasive, sounding more like a challenge.

  I finally managed to take a shallow breath, steeling myself to respond.

  “Yes… I want to live—” I said, genuinely, but with an air of calmness that surprised even me.

  I waited for a response but none came. Instead, both wolves took a step forward on either side of me, raised their heads upwards, and began to howl. My gaze shifted from the spectral wolves beside me to the shadowy wolves ahead. As the howling continued to reverberate through the ancient chamber, waves of energy seemed to emit from the two of them. Each wave disrupted and broke apart the shadowy wolves who now backed up sheepishly, eventually and finally dissipating back into nothingness.

  Once it was done, the black and white spectral wolves turned to face me, beginning to circle me just as the pendant depicted. The stone beneath them cracked with frost and blackened flame. Dust lifted in the still air. Even the shadows seemed to shy away from their paws. Their voices came one after another. I watched and listened, it was mesmerizing beyond anything I had ever known.

  “Your life has been spared, Yukon,” came the calm and gentle voice of the white wolf, speaking out first and saying my name though I had not yet introduced myself.

  The black wolf growled the next words. “In return, your life now belongs to us.”

  “This is no curse, in fact, we are glad to have made your acquaintance,” said the white wolf, still circling me.

  “Through you, we shall once again roam the physical plane,” said the black wolf, its crimson eyes never leaving me.

  “You may call on our powers should you ever need them,” said the white wolf as It finally came to a halt, sitting before me.

  “Should you attempt to abuse our power, we will devour you,” threatened the black wolf as it also came to a halt, sitting beside the white wolf and narrowing its eyes.

  I blinked at them a few times, countless questions and fears swimming through my mind.

  They simply stared into me for a moment, as though reading my soul.

  I clenched my trembling hands. My heartbeat thudded behind my eyes.

  Was this really happening? I was alive—but what were these wolves?

  Watching. Waiting. Something ancient. Something monstrous.

  Before I could say anything, the necklace I had found on the altar began humming, burning with intense cold as the two spectral wolves began to grow brighter and darker respectively. Their forms becoming immaterial, swirled together, seemingly being sucked back into the pendant.

  The pendant itself began glowing as well, suddenly floating out of my hand, it paused in the air for a moment and then flew towards my chest. The pain was sharp and unnatural—like frostbite delivered all at once, ice lancing straight into my heart. I gasped, clutching my chest as if trying to hold my soul inside. I looked down to where the talisman had connected with me, there was now a mark, like a tattoo emblazoned on my skin. It looked as if the necklace itself had been tattooed on to me, with the pendant's design etched into my chest.

  Breathing heavily, I fell back, sitting against the steps to the altar. Alone once again, I tried to control my breathing as I scanned the chamber, considering the most likely path back to the surface. My mind was in a haze, I had countless questions, but for now, I just had to get back home.