Go read this instead http://royalroadl.com/fiction/3800

Howling thunder is no longer updating here, look for it in the above post instead. these chapters will not be cannon

Prologue: If I die before I wake, to whom do I pray my soul to take?

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Wind, a howling gale, though muffled it is the only sound I can hear anymore. Well, unless you count my uneven breathing and chattering teeth.

Snow has completely buried my small truck.

No light penetrates the windows, instead the broke passenger side window has betrayed me with a decent amount of this white powdery death sentence. To think I used to love this shit every year. Well not anymore, how dare it invade what will surely be my coffin.

My ass is stuck to the seat, frozen from sweat.

The center console is thankfully shielding me from the pile of white shit.

There is no heater, no lights, and no overpriced sound system.

Would I have paid so much for it knowing the battery drain would hasten my death one day? ...probably yes, honestly this thing kicked ass. I can accept that my last song was sung by a guy who shot his own head off with a shotgun in a fit of depression.

Really, it reminds me why I’m here in the first place.

Driving always cooled my head, not like the ice storm doing too well a job of it at the moment. I haven’t really gone for a simple drive since high school ten years ago. The stereo maxed, the needle buried, my gas money being thrown like singles in a strip club.

Stress, can’t say I handled it well. Shitty break ups with girlfriends I had no business with in the first place. Arguments with my parents over the brain meds the doctors swore would give me better grades. Never did they mention it would only cost me my sanity.

Now here I am an emotionally unstable adult.

I can’t help but bitch that I’m too young for a midlife crises.

High school was dramatic but fun. The marines were a hell of a ride. My first enlistment was enough for me to concede that I have a serious issue with authority.

It could probably be linked to my parents and those damn pills. What did those pills get me anyway; I dropped out of college. I am a failure at the end of it all.

Sure I have my pride though. I’m proud of my military service. I’m proud of how I helped my family when I could, watching my sisters kids, driving my brothers to their jobs.

But I never figured out what to do with myself, no steady girlfriend in years, no career dreams.

So I took a long drive north. Right into a god damn blizzard.

It was all fine and fun for the first three hours, system blasting that sick 90s grunge and punk rock.

Next thing I knew everything was dark, well in a way. Everything was actually very white, white truck in a white out at night.

Wipers practically useless, gone even the reflections of the road markers.

Who knows how long I was even on the road at that point. Too much ice to stop or slow even if I wanted, next up was a bump, a spin, and a slam into this fucking pine tree. From the branch stabbed into my now numb arm I’d say it’s a blue spruce.

Great, a final act of defiance, I’ve damaged a state tree.

“Pardon my blood stains, who said you could grow here anyway, asshole tree.”...

Great I’m talking to the fucking trees now.

Fuck it, why not?

“Hey Blue, you don’t mind if I call you that right? Anyway, what am I doing here huh, was I ever so impulsive to not think at least to where I was going before? And since when did I think north sounded better than south?”

Silence…

“Too good to talk to me, huh Blue? Well go to hell... fuckin tree”

Speaking of hell, I wonder what is waiting for me here. With this piece of shit truck not starting anymore and my phone long dead from trying to get service, it’s only a matter of time.

I don’t like the idea of hell, seems pointless. Why bother with endless punishment, no thank you.

And heaven, fluffy clouds and happy go fuckin lucky times, booooring.

Reincarnated as some animal like an elk or whatever? Might not be too bad, at least I could still get laid.

But they get parasites, put in zoos, short lives until some jackass shoots them out of season. No thanks, I’d rather my next life doesn’t end with my head on a wall.

Well, not that frozen in a tomb on wheels is really any better.

“Built tuff my ass, couldn't beat Blue here could ya shitty truck.” don’t mind my bitching I’m just enjoying my icy deathbed.

That’s right a bed is a bed, as my grave I’ll lie in it.

I flick the switch to recline the seat but my impaled arm keeps me from falling back.

I look right, “fuck you tree.”

Truly lovely last words. May they be etched on my tombstone should my body ever be found.

But last they were, after that I closed my eyes and that’s all she wrote.

Dead, or at least, in this lifetime.

Prairie Fairy

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“I still hear wind, dammit I ain’t dead yet?” wait, its warm.

I open my eyes, blue sky, partly cloudy….

“Fuck the forecast I’m alive?!” I yell in excitement.

“Um, not really darling.” a sweet feminine voice from somewhere.

I jump up to my feet….my bare feet...I’m naked...meh at least it’s warm.

Who said that?

Looking around I’m in a field of tall green grass. Aspen trees in the distance, much better than pine trees. A serine blue pond a few yards away, white peaks in the distance.

Ah, I know where I am. I used to camp here with my parents, those where the good times.

Turning around I finally see source of the voice. She’s maybe five feet tall, blonde hair in a bun, blue eyes, leafy green mini dress…..really my heaven is a green field and fucking tinker..

“STOP, stop that thought right there.” Her right eye slightly twitching, fists clenched at her sides.

Oh she can read my mind?

She points her finger at me, eyes narrowed, “I know that character bears some resemblance but I will not have my godly image compared to some human cartoon.”

Like it or not missy but you can’t lie to a mirror.

In a flash and a poof of gold dust her hair turned blue. Well whatever lets you sleep better.

Slightly impatient, “So who are you then? Miss not cartoon fairy”

She’s in a slight huff, but she still puts her hands on her hips….nice hips, and gives an introduction

“My name has been lost to your history and as such I can no longer remember it myself. I am your judge for this afterlife.”

Is that so?

With a shrug I ask “Fair enough, now why you and where are we? No fluffy boring paradise or pointless painful eternity?”

The cute pixie rolls her eyes, “Nope, not since you don’t even believe in such boring endings. I am here because I best represent your beliefs.”

She stands tall and places a delicate white hand at her collarbone, “I was once a being worshiped by pagan druids, but they are long gone and I’ve been quite bored. You’ll have to humor me a bit, maybe I’ll go easy on your judgment.”

She’s got a mischievous grin going there, sexy honestly.

“Well I’d hate to be a bore, and if you’ll pardon my bluntness. There is an awful lot of soft, green, grass,” I gesture around us.

Winking at her, “good for rolling around in if you know what I mean.”

She laughs and smiles, those really are pretty blue eyes.

“Boy, I thought I told you this isn’t heaven. Let’s move on shall we?”

From behind her back she pulls an old school leather bound book, wait where does she keep that thing?

“We have here a record of your life,” she flips it open and starts browsing.

“Brilliant child, excelled in school, made the other kids jealous, this led you getting picked on.” my right eye twitches in annoyance to her monolog.

Miss fairy grins, “What, not happy memories? Moving further, this continued till you became a bit unstable, irregularly medicated, rebelling against the lifestyle that’s left you with few friends. You traded your parents pride for popularity, you did make some good friends, and plenty of poorly picked girlfriends.”

She scowls at me, “while you helped your family from time to time, you fell apart from break up after break up and slipping motivation. You made halfhearted attempts at higher education, and while you performed admirably for your country, you know you could have still done better.”

That’s right, I’ve done nothing but shoot myself in the foot on purpose since I turned twelve and started thinking for myself.

Maybe that was my mistake.

She slams the shitty book shut and unceremoniously tosses it into the nearby pond.

Hands at her hips she looks at me with a rather wicked grin,“So judgment time, you are a young soul and as this was your first lifetime a certain leniency is in order. Impulsive, comically nonchalant, and self destructively rebellious, you were neither saint or terrible sinner but simply a bit of an asshole.”

Uuhh, hey wasn’t that my life story you just chucked away, and who you calling an asshole?!

She chuckles, “So reincarnation seems most fitting for you, well make it easy, something human based and a world similar to the earth you’re already familiar with. We’ll pick a slightly dangerous one as your small amount of punishment. You do merit a small reward as well but I’ll leave that to your next world’s god.”

Again from behind her back she pulls out something, this time a blue prism like orb the size of a baseball. This, she also throws, but straight at the ground this time.

A wave of darkness bursts from the orb, passing me with the feeling of a slight shock wave.

Day has suddenly turned to night and the sky is a vast ocean of stars in formations I don’t recognize.

The woman is staring at the stars as if to pick her favorite one.

“Ah! Perfect and you’re such a fitting young soul for my friend, you’ll make a fantastic present for her, and I know she will adore you!”

She’s really jumping with joy...I can almost see up her skirt… Wait did she just declare I will be a gift to her friend?!

Nothing about this seems right you know?!

The evil fairy waves a dismissive hand at me.

“Oh shut up, you know you’re interested, and as I said everything’s perfect.” she steps up close and presses herself against me, hey now I’m am still naked!

“You can't hide your emotions so well when you're like this, can you? Any way it’s been fun darling and I do wish we had time to… roll in the hay was it? But you must be getting on.”

She lifts up her hand and blows some gold glittery stuff in my face.

“What the hell!” I’m rubbing my eyes furiously as I stumble and fall on my ass.

“Ciao darling!” I get a glimpse of her smiling and waving as I’m blinded back into darkness.

The Mischievous Predator.

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"Damn pixie, fairy, whatever!" I fumed while trying to rub the gold dust out of my eyes.

Once I'm finally able to open my eyes again I notice I'm not in a field anymore.

The grass is gone, replaced with dark dirt with patches of a blackish moss along many a twisting root of the last thing I want to see right now. Pine trees, granted these are far bigger and darker than that bastard Blue.

These have to be as tall as any sky scrapper I’ve seen in the biggest cities. An almost black wood, needles several feet long and the darkest shade of green I’ve ever seen. The canopy they create nearly blocks all sunlight.

In an eerie silence, a black fog bank rolls in from among the woods. The way it swirls about and rolls off the roots reminds me of a predator stalking its prey.

Now slightly fearing for my nonexistent life, I turn to run away only to stop in my tracks after taking just one step.

If the pines are an impossible existence, so is this throne in front of me. Carved in the base of a burnt stump of one of the pines I feel like I'm looking straight into the mouth of a vicious wolf. The blackened stump being the size of a modest house and this wolf head carved into its entirety.

Every line of fur on the head, the ragged ears, the hungry look in its eyes, the etched blood on its fangs, I can imagine this being a life’s work. In the mouth, a grand seat whereupon the fog is gathering around.

First to form was a pair of gigantic black wolves, one with yellow eyes, the other green. They trotted to the sides of the seat and sat down facing me.

From the look in their eyes I feel like a bug in their home.

“Nice doggies?” I mean I'm already dead what can they do to me?

The green eyed one growls at me while the yellow eyed one cackles like a hyena.

The remaining fog takes form on the seat.

It starts with a head of gorgeous, long, oil black hair and a pair of piercing electric lime green eyes. A small perfect nose is next above full lips painted midnight blue; I can see fangs showing in her smile. What follows only further takes away my breath.

Her pure white neckline leads to a massive bust presented and contrasted by a black fur lined, armored, black leather corset. It frames her slim waist with a matching loin cloth.

Her perfectly bare and smooth looking legs are crossed and bouncing, her large fur boots matches the corset, black fur on black leather.

As I can’t help but find the image incredibly alluring, I now notice her smile and the look in her eyes seems as if she sees me as dinner.

She holds her head high as she speaks,“Greetings, child of the Earth world, it’s been well over a few hundred years since that old nymph has sent a pup to our world. I was beginning to think she’d become lost.”

I slightly wish she had.

Her voice has an almost British accent and similar to that of a teenage girl, “My name is Freki, don’t speak, I can already tell that pesky bitch told you nothing of where she was sending you.”

Pointing at me, “First, you should note the obvious, that you are still yet to be reborn, we are in my domain. I am the goddess of the hunt and for your next life I will be your patron deity. Normally there would be no need for meeting like this however it is customary for souls who accomplished at least a measure of good during their first lifetime to receive a small blessing, a sort of setting a standard if you will. Do bad be punished, do good be blessed, simple right!”

Is this a grade school lecture?

My eye twitched, her eyes narrowed and she gave a toothy lick of her lips. “Right you’re not an idiot, in fact by the nymph’s word and mine own intuition you’re actually quite my type.”

The two wolves look at her and whine, causing her let out a rather cute giggle.

The predator continues, “So, let’s answer the many questions that have been floating in that head of yours. In order; yes, I’m single, no, I won’t eat you,… unless you really want me to”

She winks, I look away from the angry growling wolves, “This world is named Terra, you’ll find many naming structures and themes are the same as ones found throughout the history of your Earth, for the most basic example a dog is still called a dog.

Looking at her hand as if recalling a list, “From there however it goes off the deep end compared to your boring previous world, the lost races of your myths are alive and well here. In fact, humans are quite the minority. Magic is common place, the continents are all connected, and there’s none of that electriwhatsits.”

“HA” I interrupt, “Similar she said!”

“Quite” she carries on, “Now, not that you’ll remember any of it” she stops and glares as if daring me to interrupt again.

Gods don't seem to like their monologue being stopped. It’s scary, but at the same time I’m kinda getting turned on.

She gives another of her fanged smiles. Mind reading sure is a troublesome ability for women.

I ask, “Hey this mind reading thing, am i going to suffer this a lot in my new world?”

Freki answers the pointless question, “No, as you are a soul in my care nothing is hidden from me. Otherwise clairvoyant magic users like Vulpi may have some measure of ability.”

Who's Vulpi?

Resuming her speech, “You’ll remember nothing of your previous life or this conversation, save for the odd dream. The same goes for any other reincarnated soul; I won’t have you think you’re the only one. Once again the only reason we’re having this conversation is so I could meet you before you are born as a descendant of my tribe and so you can make an informed decision on what blessing you’d request of me.”

She leans forward, that hungry look back in her eye, “This is because your soul perfectly matches me, normally id let my darling pups here pick for you.”

She looks lovingly at her pets and the wolves bark cheerily before shooting a bragging look at me.

Freki takes a quite a serious tone, “I will advise you however, to pick some sort of simple ability that is suited to your personality and will give you an early advantage in the world of Terra. There is a rather unfortunate mortality rate for children, especially weak ones.”

I take a long minute, letting my childhood fantasies run wild, taking in everything Freki had said, and sparing a lustful gaze towards the goddess and those tight thighs that glow like pearls.

This earns her now trademark, fanged grin and angry growls from the large “pups”.

Looking away from the dogs all I see for miles is pine trees.... Fucking pine trees, I remember I once saw lightning strike one. The whole tree instantly shattered... Oh my god!

“Yes?” she responds, batting her eyelashes like she's flattered.

Trying my best to hold back my excitement, “You mentioned magic?”

She nods.

“Then I choose lightning powers, and I very much look forward to our time together.” I give my own impish grin.

She breaks out into a giggle again as the two wolves are now standing and looking fed up with me.

“In your dreams pup” she winks, “very well lightning it is, a rare trait in my clan, how fun.”

She pauses as if making up her mind, “I knew I liked you! You will be my first champion! All the other gods seem to have one at some point, even my brat niece already made one.”

“Now let’s bestow you a new name fitting for my pack and send you on your way.” she looks deep in thought.

Her pack?

She looks at me, "I did say humans are a minority race right? You'll part of my race, the lycans, specifically wargmen but that's not important right now."

Feeling the need to ask, "Sooo I'm gonna be a dog?"

With a wave of her hand she dismisses the idea, "Of course not, do I look like a dog?"

As she says that a perky pair of black dog ears pop up from her hair and a silky black tail wags from her waist....

What kind of world have I come to?

She doesn't even acknowledge it, "Relax, we're fairly similar to humans, just stronger and better in every way. I mean really 18 years to grow up?! You'll be an adult in two years, and you should be thankful. I've decided to give you to my friend Vulpi I mentioned earlier, she's a queen, you'll be royalty."

...No thanks, that is waaaay too much responsibility!

She stands up with a hop, tail wagging, "Too bad, I've already decided. Now I was picking a name."

I can’t pick my own?

Freki gives a last signature grin, “Farewell for now Nox, I so look forward to your life my pup.”

She does another little hop and runs over. She plants a soft kiss on my cheek before bursting into the black fog and quickly encasing me, bringing me once again into darkness.

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