Mr McDonald's saves the day again, viva free wifi!

Sadly I can't go everyday, or I'd end up too big to fit in my pants.

Let's pray for a quick resolution to the internet issue.

Thanks for the comments and nice ratings, I really appreciate those ^.^

So without further addo, here is your chapter.

It is never a good thing to be noticed by the truly powerful beings. Usually much strife ensues, and the usual pain and suffering for the poor unsuspecting shmuck all happy about his shiny powers. Cowardice is a good way to go, at least one can enjoy the cookies while the heroes battle.

Ran Ezarki the Fire King

My eyes popped open as I stood in the middle of the silvery green dreampath. For once I didn’t waltz straight into a pocket dimension or someone else dream despite the proximity of both my father and Kate in the tent, maybe my training was finally bearing fruits?

Yeaaahh, and when we’d get back to civilization I’d go buy an umbrella to protect myself from the flying pigs’ droppings.

Besides, this path didn’t feel like one of mines, and I couldn’t see either its origin, nor its destination.

I sighed, picking a direction randomly. No point staying in the same spot forever, I might as well try to find why I was here since so far most dreams luring me in had a very good reason to do so.

I had only taken a few steps forward when I felt it. Cold sweat poured down my back, as great cracks streaked through the velvety darkness surrounding the dream road. I could hear the little voice of reason in my mind chanting “it is here, here, here, run, run for your life!”, however my legs were trembling too much to allow any form of escape.

If my father’s spirit had felt ancient and unfathomable, this one outright dwarfed him, menacing to snuff me out of existence just by being near.

As my father taught me, I erected as many barriers around my mind as I could, holding to my sanity via sheer stubbornness as wave upon wave of images, emotions and thoughts far too profound for my humanlike awareness crashed upon my flimsy fortress, shaking my being to the core.

Then silence.

One second I had been fighting for my life, the next all was gone, including the path, as I floated in the void between dimensions. I could taste blood in my mouth from the lower lip I had bitten in my struggles, my heart still pounding like a frightened bird in my chest.

“Sometimes I forget how fragile living beings are. My excuses child, I had not meant for my presence to hurt you so.”

The voice was spoken, yet not spoken, neither male nor female, not human or beast, choral, yet strangely unique and maybe all of the above altogether. I had a suspicion it was just too much for my mind to take in without sending me into the loony bin.

An unnatural calm descended upon me, giving a chance for my strained brain to process the last few minutes.

I could probably safely assume that this was the reason I came into this particular dream.

Let’s see, uber powerful being on a green tinted road calling me while in a field trip in the alpine forests…this should be the nature’s god that had left Uriel puzzled if I was not mistaken.

“Correct, yet incorrect. Watch, child. This is why I allowed your father’s wish.”

More images came unbidden, still branding themselves in my memory, although without as much of the pain and weight as the first time.

Our world, in a primeval state, a glittering blue and green gem in the darkness.

A glowing halo surrounding it, nourishing all. Golden streams coming from, and to the world.

A human medieval city encroaching upon the land. The glowing flows swallowed by the city without a trace.

Dark gowned people chanting around a bound firebird.

A dying world, still green and blue, albeit the glowing halo had thinned so much it was barely visible.

A tree.

A shockingly huge tree, both the highest limbs and the roots disappearing into the void. The glowing streams flowed around the gigantic trunk towards the limbs where heavy fruits were hanging.

Fruits? Those were not mere fruits. What I had taken to be fruits were worlds born of the tree, tied to it by the golden tides.

I searched for a single world amongst the multitude, discarding dozens from my sight until my gaze fell upon a withered branch, holding a single dark fruit when others had as many as three or four.

I cried, cried shamelessly for this dying world that was once so beautiful, for all that had been lost to pride and greed, like a heartbroken kid.

“Do not grieve so child. All is not lost yet. Look.”

I locked my blurry gaze on the tree again, wiping my tears angrily with my hand, searching for a hint of green on the desperately grey branch.

I was almost ready to give up when I finally found it. It was not a leaf, which was why I didn’t see it at first, but in it was the promise of one, when the bud would unfurl. Tiny specks of golden light hovered around it, by no way a stream, but maybe it could become one if properly nurtured.

“This will be your task. Grow child. Open your wings and fly, for you will bear my will into this world.”

There was one thing I couldn’t understand. Why would a being that powerful need someone insignificant like me when it could probably take care of the problem with a single thought? After all it had created me. Should I call it Mommy? Daddy? Moddy? Nope, not going there.

I’d like to stay alive and sane, thank you very much.

A sense of …amusement? washed over me.

“Free will, and pacts. If I was to act directly, my counterpart would also be free to interfere. Uriel’s desperate wish brought you to life, I merely allowed it, considering the situation.”

So somewhere a counterpart to me might have been born at the same time I was, like an anti-phoenix. Joy. More troubles. I had many questions, and a feeling this being wouldn’t answer a single one of them.

“I will answer one. Creation and Destruction. Awaken, now, child.”

More darkness. This was becoming disturbingly familiar.

I came to in the arms of my worried father, with the warmth of his healing pouring over me, still shaken by the images branded in my mind.

“Abigail! Wake up daughter! Come on, don’t let us worry for you all the time!”

“Sis! If you don’t wake up I’ll steal your bedroom to stash all my spare parts, and I’ll give all your make up to the pixies!”

I blinked, raising my hand to pat her head. Another thing becoming way too familiar.

Uriel blew out a relieved sigh, mussing up my hair.

“Welcome back daughter. You worried me here, something was blocking me from following your mind, and you were thrashing and tossing in your sleep without awakening.”

“Not my fault the Voice of Creation decided I needed an update.”

My father visibly paled at my words, before rebuilding his composure for the imp’s sake.

“Let’s talk outside with Asha. This should give him more incentive to protect you, the True Wolves being favored children of Creation.”

“I can hear you just fine from here Caretaker if you wish to stay in the human contraption, although I have an itch between my shoulder blades if the young one feels up for more scratching.”

We sprawled around the campfire again, adding a couple more logs in it for good measure. It seemed only a couple hours had passed since we went to sleep.

I recounted the dream that was not a dream to my father, letting him translate for the silver wolf.

“There is no lie in your daughter, Caretaker, and yet I find it difficult to admit the Voice of Creation would choose to speak directly to her instead of going through one of the Watchers. I have no recollection of this world bearing tree she’s speaking about either.”

“I think the tree was just an image to illustrate a point, not a real thing. Yggdrasil is a well-known myth to humankind, the Voice might have just fashioned it out of my own psyche.”

“At least now we know who blessed you, daughter mine. Nature’s god indeed, that was the whole freaking Creation! I would really have preferred a minor godling to this.”

“It is also a good thing Caretaker. This world has hope of restoring the balance now.”

“I will destroy the world myself if that Voice tries to take my family away from me wolf, mark my words.”

“No need to be so melodramatic about this Father, although I appreciate the sentiment. So far, all it wants is for me to become strong. I might take you up on the destruction offer if I really do have a counterpart somewhere though.”

The imp’s eyes were very round as she struggled to follow the whole conversation without falling asleep.

“So Sis will become some kind of super priestess? That would be kind of funny to watch her gesticulate through a sermon. Or maybe she could pop up some big signboards.”

I flicked her forehead. That silly kid!

“I’m just me, not a priestess, and there will be no sermon. Go back to sleep instead of spouting nonsense.”

She laughed, settling comfortably in the fur of a much less comfortable looking wolf.

“I’ll sleep here with Asha. You kicked awfully hard in your nightmares Sis.”

The rest of the night was decidedly anticlimactic, but no one would see me complaining about it.

In the morning a bright eyed and bushy tailed wolf bade us goodbye, literally bouncing away in the forest to find a good place to open his return portal towards his Clan.

I stared at my father across our breakfast of berries and cereal bars.

“So old man, what’s the deal with True Wolves, Creation and Destruction, and the myriad of things I should know about?”

“I’ll tell you what I can about True Wolves, but you’ll have to wait for the origins story. I’d rather not tell this twice and Storm and your mother should know about it too.”

“Well?”

“Patience is a virtue, daughter.”

He laughed as I glared at him, obviously enjoying the teasing.

“Let me see…True Wolves are an ancient race, much older than the wolves residing in this world. In fact, the lesser wolves are fallen descendants of banished True Wolves that went back to savagery.

There are few laws in their society, but those laws are absolute. Breaking them means either banishment or death. There are no other options. Most of those laws are there to protect the pups and ensure internal bloodshed stays to a minimum.

True Wolves never lie, and consider lying a major crime. They don't give their world lightly, and never renege on a deal. Never lie deliberately to one of them, or the whole bunch will scorn you.”

“Would it even be possible, between the telepathic abilities and the wolf nose and hearing?”

“I probably could, and you might be able to in the future, but I would suggest not to try it. I’d rather not have to cut down the whole Clan.”

“What was that talk about a curse?”

Gloom veiled his features at that question.

“This is not my story to tell. Ask Asha next time you see him if you want, he might tell you if he likes you enough.

Anyway, as for why I wanted Asha to hear about your last dream, True Wolves are closely aligned with Creation, having fought many battles across the dimensions against Void creatures.

They are a race both blessed and cursed, often considered favored children of Creation along with the Unicorns and Leviathans, and any wannabe destruction lackey stumbling upon one of them will try to take him out.

Hearing about your own blessing means they’ll want to ensure you can grow up properly, so they should have more incentive to help us if we find ourselves in a pinch.”

I stretched, rising to my feet. I couldn’t think of another question about True Wolves right now, and we still needed to put back the place in order before resuming our travel. The faster we got all my father needed, the faster I could dive back in my comfy bed.