“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!” Ead exclaimed, “When are we going to be able to enjoy something like this again? What stories will they tell?”

“I have an idea,” Nero admitted, more festive than ever but not wanting to give anything away.

This was one of the few occasions where a spell to silence Ead wouldn’t hurt. He couldn’t stop flying in excitement at the chance of something as new as gathering around the campfire, wondering what tales they would tell and how many he could remember to share once he returned home.

“With that memory of yours? Every one of them,” Aer replied.

And although the elthean didn’t hide a hint of sarcasm in his voice, his hummingbird fellow was too excited to take it into account. At least they managed to reassure him by suggesting that he think of something he could share. That it didn’t take away from Nero’s good mood also played a part, as the wolf wouldn’t be commenting on anything, but his tail kept wagging, just as excited as the others.

“Very nice, aren’t they?” Blanche said, delighted with that too.

“And so very much so. I can’t wait for us to get started,” Finnian smiled.

The meeting was different from the ones they had had so far. The wolves had no problems nearing this time, being much calmer than in the past. A small group, including Aer, created a stone circle with their magic. He and Blanche approached, leaving the firewood they had collected in the centre. It was usual for their group, but not those present. When it was ready, and they had moved away, the wolves raised their heads to the night sky. The joint howl ignited the wood of a fire with all sorts of colours, but the natural wonder was not only that but the way the flames took different shapes depending on what they were telling.

“Wow,” Finnian said when the first of the wolves had finished, “I’d love to do something like that.”

“That makes two of us,” Aer said, as committed to what they were seeing as if they were both at the movies.

“It’s easy. I’ll show you next time we camp,” Nero said.

If at one time he thought most wolves didn’t want them around, he now began to see them in a different light. With voices that ranged from gravelly and ringing to as harmonious as a flute, they took turns contributing their short stories, the battles they had lived through, and other knowledge. Then it was Nero’s turn.

“Don’t you think he is more talkative than before?” Aer said.

“Have you noticed it too?” Finnian said.

“Do you think we’re being a good influence?” Leith said, just as Blanche clicked her tongue.

“Anyone can hear you,” Rune reminded them.

They waited in silence, pressing their lips together, giving him time to begin. And so, in a firm voice, Nero started the story that some knew as “Wolves united by fate”.

“Frida and Aedion were siblings of the alpha wolf whose pack existed in murky times like the present.”

The flames twisted, forming the image of two nearly identical wolves, albeit of different colours. Frida, slightly larger than her brother, denoted reds and oranges, while Aedion glowed with blues and whites.

“The Roaring Fangs was their home, the only one they had ever known until the Lord of Calamity came and took it from them.”

Although the mountains all looked the same, those resembled the name they possessed. Tall, perhaps comparable to Everground, the flames soon became unstable as soon as it took them into that dark part of history.

“Frida and Aedion lost more than their birthplace because many pack members did not make it out alive. For that reason, they vowed to each other that they would fight so that others would not experience a similar story.”

Fight, determination. The past wolves were not much different from their current fellows, though Braunah’s pack had not known a stable home as such. Always on the move, always working. They had places they used to rest, but their home was with those around them, not a place.

“Then, two Signers arrived in Elthea, ready to engage their enemy.”

He and Blanche looked at each other. They did not comment, for they did not want to miss anything the fire would offer them, but that was more than a story of the Signers who proceeded them. It was part of their legacy. At first, the flames took on a white hue, then offered every possible shade to represent them.

“They abandoned their family, the same one that needed their help, for the greater good. Frida and Aedion, together with their partners, managed to defeat the Lord of Calamity, putting an end to the death and destruction they foretold for him. However, when they returned to their herd, something had changed.”

The sibling pair, to be exact. Although the flames showed them again as it was initially, they knew the changes that both the Signs and their partners experienced. It might not be perceived with the eyes, but it was there for the one paying attention.

“Their former friends saw them differently, treated him as if they did not belong to the same family. They had evolved and used the Signer’s power to stop being wolves and acquire new aspects. Then the alpha, his father, intervened.”

A silver wolf emerged among the images of the rest of the elthean. Ancient, great, powerful, but also wise.

“No matter how much you change or what others think. You will always have a place here because you do not cease to be family.”

The elthean people were evolving, and so were the people. That frightened many to the point of rejection. Why accept what was unknown to them? Were they so afraid of what they did not understand that they preferred to keep it far away? That story had a message. Perhaps the fight with Sköll dictated that they should leave the past behind, but what Nero showed made them see that they would not get far if they continued to attack each other over their differences.

Silence returned to them, for Frida and Aedion’s story was over. They took in what he conveyed, thanking Nero for such an intervention.

“Would any of the Signers like to honour us with one of their stories?

Even when it was nightfall, and they would be up early the next day, the herd seemed tireless. Braunah remained calm, both by her voice and the look she gave him. Without taking her eyes off him, she waited for an answer from him or Blanche.

“I’d rather not. I’m drained, and I don’t think I counted it right,” Blanche shook her head, taking a couple of steps back.

“Coward. You enjoyed yourself as much as the others,” Finnian mumbled, feeling sold again.

“Perhaps we should call it a day. Tomorrow we still have a long way to go,” Aer suggested.

“That’s all right. I also want to bring something to the table,” Finnian said. “It won’t take long, and it will be a good way to end all this.”

“What is it about?” Braunah said.

“It’s... A short story, more like a song,” Finnian stammered.

“A song? Are you going to start singing now?” Blanche mumbled, stopping teasing him as soon as the other eltheans joked with her.

The pack was struggling, and they could not be less. Nero had asked him to do his part, and Finnian would do his best to improve the relationship between the two groups. He hadn’t even planned for that, although it was great to see Blanche’s smirk of superiority disappear into one of annoyance as she failed to intimidate him. He took a deep breath and waited for the night noises to accompany him. Then, he began.

You’re the luminous star, destined to shine

Far from here, You’ll find your place

Yet the day comes to an end

The path is yours to discover if you seek the truth

In the white light, a hand reaches through

Your heart splits in two

Waking dreams disappear

Embrace the new day

The flames did not take on shapes with each word he recited but reacted to them. The colours danced to the rhythm of his voice, though that was not the only thing that changed. The stars and the moon gave off a different light, tinted by the tints of the very fire they had summoned.

Sing with me a song of heroes and villains

The light scatter to the sky above

Dawn breaks through the gloom

You’re the luminous star, destined to shine

Far from here, You’ll find your place

Yet the day comes to an end

The path is yours to discover

The earth accepted his weight; the wind enveloped him, making him feel that he was not the only one singing. The rest of the wolves accompanied his words, his friends too, forming part of his story. He heard his grandmother’s and grandfather’s voices accompanying him for a brief moment, just like when he was sad or before going to sleep. Also, his parents, who learned it from all the times he repeated it. He had not seen that family for so long, but that he did not forget. Someone tapped him on the arm, bringing him back to reality. Aer was watching him beside him with lighted and excited eyes.

“It is the Son of the Signers,” Ead said, flying swiftly to her side.

“Ailfryd used to sing it to us before we went to sleep,” Rune explained. “It’s the one that reminds us that you’ll come when we need you most.”

“I figured it would be a good way for us to rest tonight,” Finnian said with a shrug.

“This is nothing more than another indication of your true nature. Whatever they say or whatever they think, do not doubt you, Finnian,” Flicka said solemnly.

Easier said than done. He bowed his head and nodded, ending the evening. However, Blanche herself disappeared, entering the tent without saying goodbye or helping to put out the flames. As peculiar as she was, even such behaviour was unusual for her.

“Is everything all right?” Finnian said, watching her stir in her sleeping bag.

Even she wouldn’t pretend to be snoozing so fast.

“Did you learn it when you were on the Galya?”

“Yeah, why?” Finnian said.

Perhaps his friends had helped him in that lie, though he wasn’t going to be the one to give away his whole story. However, Blanche’s look of disgust was the opposite of the calm and warmth the rest had experienced.

“Didn’t you? Didn’t Kali teach it to you?” Finnian said.

“I guess there are a lot of secrets I don’t know, aren’t there?” Blanche said.

For the first time in as long as he could remember, he saw sadness in the girl. It wasn’t fatiguing that they were all served, but a resignation that Finnian didn’t understand. Just as they were not open books with Blanche, it was the other way around. They had agreed on it when they left the desert, but now it had a different meaning that he would not find out at that time of night.