Draxz and his legion from the city was bathed in warm sunlight as the sun appeared along the horizon. Two scouts appeared from the tree line riding their mounts next to his.

“Lord Draxz.” The scout said, pounding a fist to his chest. Draxz nodded and motioned the scouts forward to lead them to the encampment.

They rode on along the dirt road, dust kicking up into the sky behind them until the trees opened up, revealing a large encampment filled with his legion consisting of just over six thousand. Draxz stopped on the hill overlooking the thousands of tents and pavilions with his flag, white with a black and gray lycan head, blood falling from its empty eyes. The flags fluttered in the wind and large birds flew high above. His soldiers split following their commanders to their proper barracks location. Soldiers stood tall, saluting as Draxz passed, their black armor with iron spikes jutting from their shoulder pads, gauntlets and shin guards glinting in the sunlight. The soldiers stood on either side of a gravel road leading to the center of the encampment which housed a large pavilion. In front of the command tent stood three large figures and Draxz let a small smile slip.

“Ahh my blood brothers, how I missed you.” He growled low to himself. The two scouts moved from him to the start of each line and raised their large spears and thumped them on the ground. Draxz dug his heel into his mount and he moved to the gravel road. Spears thumped again in unison.

“UUK-RAHH!” The roar was deafening and he felt his excitement for battle stir. Two more thumps sounded.

“UUK-RAHH!” two more thumps of ground followed by the wolf legion’s battle cry roared again. The battle cry echoed throughout the camp as the wave of excitement washed over the other soldiers. His entrance to the camp spread rapidly and by the fifth thump of spears the entire camp in unison shouted one last time as Draxz stopped in front of his three blood brothers, his legion’s generals.

“UUK-RAHH!” The encampment went silent and all six thousand soldiers blood burned for battle. Draxz and his generals looked over the thousands who stood as statues.

The wolf legion was considered an honor, but it was also a stain on the pure blood family line. Each soldier under Draxz gave into their blood lust and were outcasts. The Wolf legion was their last step of existence, being pushed out of their family left them angry and full of rage. Draxz harnessed that and directed it to killing lycan. New recruits were often noble and never held a proper weapon, if ever one at all. All the families, high and low joined his ranks every year, replacing the losses. Three out of ten recruits would make the legion after years of grueling training, and that would be on a good year. Draxz’s other legions were pathetic and full of new recruits, which were practically useless against the lycans. What stood around him now in his camp were six thousand, battle proven soldiers who have bled with him. Each was devoted and loyal to him beyond most comprehension. They were his real family, his true friends. He could trust any soldier to cover his back and they would willing die to give him another second to live.

Draxz un mounted and walked to his blood brothers.

“Welcome Lord Draxz.” Narok, the largest pure blood of the three who matched Draxz’s size and mirrored his physique held a fist to his chest.

“Duudra, Narok, Teeru.” Draxz acknowledged each from left to right. “Now, we must speak of our next plan of action.” Draxz smiled still feeling the excitement in the air.

“Uuk-rahh Lord Draxz.” Teeru said with a grin to his right.

“UUK-RAHH!” roared the soldiers thumping their spears. Draxz let out a small laugh and shook his head.

“How I missed you three.” Draxz said following his three generals into the large tent.

~

Inside the tent Draxz, Duudra, Narok and Teeru stood over a high table that held a large map of the area. A white wolf head was placed over The Asphoria Forest on the top left of the map. To its right was a brown area that represented the wasteland and on the top right a black wolf head was placed on top of a cave. No maps found in Kreet named the area, but it was named blood stone by the wolf legion after they pushed deep into Lykos’s territory and lost hundreds of newer recruits who were too green to be in battle and stained the rocks red. It was early on in the wolf legion’s history, but the name stuck over the centuries. As for the forest, old maps already named it and so the map makers simply kept it. South of the wastelands marked with legion flag showed their position. Scouts slowly poured into the pavilion and after talking to their general more wolf heads were placed onto the map.

“This is from the last three hours.” Narok said.

His armor was impressive with a golden wolf head imprinted on his chest plate on either side of the wolf head were three red lines which marked him as Nimblewalker clan.

“Fom tha west, ma soldiers have seen a groupin’ of many Aύok outside tha forest.” Duudra said in a flowing, almost baritone musical voice. His armor held a silver wolf head on the chest and on either side had a white dotted spiral marking him as mystic clan. Mystics were by far the most eccentric of the pure bloods, many claiming to be shamans with magic.

“They seem to be formin’ in pockets of fifty or so ova here. And ova here.” Duudra continued. His hair and beard were intricately braided with beads intertwined, and they jingled slightly as he placed down white wolf heads along the map.

“To the east.” Teeru said in a deep soothing voice. He spoke slowly, always pausing after three words as if always thinking what to say next. “Lykos has groups.” He took a deep breath and exhaled. “Of about fifty.” Another breath. “Here, here and.” Terru placed black wolf heads in an arc around the blood stones. “Here.” Draxz watched Teeru place more in a line that faced the camp. Draxz was use to his long-drawn-out sentences and glanced over his bronze wolf head which had a black tree whose branches spiderwebbed in all directions on either side that named him apart of the tree-feller clan. His voice was slow, but he was a fearless brute who stood out as the strongest and most fearless. Teeru often barked that he was immortal and he lived in that matter. He claimed his clan had the toughest skin that no normal blade could cut, which he fully believed. He was the legions battering ram and stubborn anchor when times were tough. He would outlast and outlive them all due to his strong will. First to draw blood and last to die. Was his motto and the only sentence he ever said without a pause.

Last went Narok who spoke with obvious intelligence and the grace of a king that always reminded him of his father or Rurak, but his voice held a slight rasp to it.

“There are groups of precisely thirty from Aύok, and forty from Lykos here.” Narok placed the white and black wolf heads over the wasteland. “From the look of the wasteland formations, a feud will take place.” Narok placed down two more wolf heads that faced each other in the wasteland. “The line suggests Lykos is preparing to attack or defend if our troops come closer, the wasteland troops may just be there to deter Aύok from crossing.”

Draxz looked over the map, but nothing seemed to jump out to him. He was more interested in Aύok’s positions.

“Are those the only formations? Any other scattered wolves?” Draxz asked pointing over to the forest.

“Often, they be seein’ wolves not in packs. But nothin’ out of tha ordinary so I been told.”

“I want all sightings of Aύok, even if they seem un necessary. Mark the map where they are seen moving around. I want you to send a thick line of scouts, use trusted recruits for the far reaches. I want to know of all activity.

“As ya wish Lord Draxz.” He turned to the officer. “Ya heard your lord, take the prospect recruits to ma tent, I want to be seein them before sendin them. Now get ya movin.” The officer left the tent with a hurry. “It will be done as ya wish. I’ll select them maself.”

“What of Lykos… Do you wish… the same?”

“If you have recruits, send them, I’m less concerned at this moment with him. We came across Aύok wolves, not Lykos. But it would be a safe precaution.”

“Yes, Lord Draxz.” Teeru looked at his officer and nodded, the officer placed his fist to his chest then ran out of the tent.

“Now, the fun part.” Draxz smiled and met each of their eyes. “How long until we can take position just outside of their territory.”

“Four days. I propose this.” Narok placed flags representing the legions in a line. A line of six flags were placed under the wasteland. He then placed flags with two horns between each flag and then yellow flags behind the wolf legion flags, then green flags. Narok smiled and placed four more flags showing broken horns on both ends of the line.

“We have enough at our disposal to wipe out one of them.” He pointed to the flags Draxz looked curiously at.

“The horns are half-bulls, broken horns are half-breeds. King Rurak and Lord Goren handed them over to us. They each make up an additional four thousand. They will act as fodder and the first line if attacked on our flanks. We will be able to react in time before they are over run. The yellow are the recruits most suitable for battle, the green, fresh recruits. In theory they will never see battle. In total, you have command of fifteen thousand.

“uuk-rahh” Teeru said grinning. “Blood will spill.”

“uuk-rahh.” The other three said in unison, blood pumping with excitement.