[wolfpack]

The Beast Within
The trials had been hard, harder for him as there was still some reluctance. He had come here not of his own will, but it was never like that…or so he had been told. A late comer, he had been rushed through some of the different initiations and spent his days trying to catch up with those who had been in this particular camp for a while. He tried to remember back to the final days aboard the strange metal vessel…before he had been brought to the fang…before he had seen the inside of the wolf camp. His vision swam in and out as the final test was being administered…as his thoughts began to wander…He set the cup down on the pedestal…

There was still some reservations about this strange messenger of the gods, this chooser, as his people had called them for ages untold. He remembered all the old stories he had been told, and recalled that in them were several mentions of the Choosers visiting his own clan, shortly after battle. When the Sons of the Axe had attacked the village many winters past, the chooser had come and taken eight men after the battle was won. They lay near death and yet, had been healed and then whisked away on some great metal bird.
“Well lad, it would seem you have some questions, as do I. My Name is Jarl Bloodmane and I am a Wolf Priest, a servant of the Russ. And you are?”
“Aergen, my name is Aergen.” He replied with a bit of reluctance in his voice.
From that moment, the Wolf Priest began questioning him…”Who is your clan?” “From where do you hail?” many more he could not or simply refused to answer. He felt the ancient god servant was being a bit personal when he started asking question about his immediate family and their history. He feigned ignorance, shrugging his shoulders, only to be met by a cold stare which seemed to probe into his mind.
“You will learn to trust me lad. There is much I am going to teach you and perhaps some things you will be able to teach me as well.”
“I teach you? How is it you think that the son of a Jarl can teach one of the choosers of the servants of Russ?” Aergen was becoming a little agitated, there was still a bit of pain and of course there was little the ancient one had done to heal his misshapen arm.
“These things you will discover or more to the point remember, in time.” retorted the old Priest.
They landed at the Iron Aisles and Aergen was amazed, he was dumbfound, there were no words he could think of to explain what he saw in the short time they would be there. Large square buildings, some two and three floors tall made of sheets of metal and constructed to look like pallisaded walls. The great Iron Gate they passed through as they entered the ‘city’ as he had been informed of it. Every where around him he heard the sounds of hammers crashing on forges, and the tumultuous din of a thousand voices. This village was ten fold the size of his own, with a cloud of thick smoke and the stench of burnt metals hanging in the air, he yearned for the fresh air and openness of the sea again. He followed closely behind the Wolf Priest to a large multi level building with great masts branching up from its roof. There were several round metal disks, like giant dragon shields, hung at various heights from the masts…
“Wait here.” He was told and the ancient one entered the building.


He woke in the snow, he wasn’t sure where he was but the light was nearly blinding…he put his hand to his brow to help shade his eyes from the glare, that hit his eyes like a thousand needles. He blinked and squinted and found that his vision was a bit better, stronger even, than it had been. In the distance he could just make out the shadows of a large stand of Iron wood and Shag Bark trees, great hardwood firs that stood a hundred feet tall. He guessed that he was ten or twelve kilometers away and began to walk, it was already late in the morning and he was feeling the first pangs of hunger. He wore the simple grey jumper he had worn for the past five months, a small silver dagger hanging from his hip and a light cloak about his shoulders. He was sure the Priest had said he was to be dropped with several others yet he could see no sign of any of his previous mates, nor were there any supplies, he would have to rough it.
“You have three days to return to this place. If you do not or cannot, then you will be lost forever.” The priest had told them. The wind swept across the great snowy plain right into his face as if to keep him away from the shelter of the giant trees, he wrapped the cloak about him holding the inside to keep it drawn to him. He knew from his time in the camp that he would find soft pine needles and dry wood, he needed to build a fire…it was going to be cold and dark if the clouds stayed overhead. He was getting hungry and he wanted to be off the snow plains, this was no place to be after night fell. The great wolves would be out hunting or worse, trolls were known to wander around the wilds. He ate the cold snow to try and hold off the hunger pains he was feeling but it did little to help. Something caught his eye and he looked to his right, a small movement, he couldn’t believe he had caught it, but there it was again. He moved closer and crouched down to see if he caught another glimpse, and a small Shoohare moved a few meters and stopped, its nose in the air testing the wind for signs of predators, luckily Aergen was behind it and he could smell the creature, ‘how odd’ he thought to himself. Aergen watched and waited, he managed to hunker down further and pulled the cloak over his head a bit. The small mammal half pounced half walked towards him a few more meters and his hunger took over. He threw off the cloak in a flourish and the startled animal was held in place from terror. Aergen lunged at it spread eagle, as if to trap it beneath his full outstretched form and the animal jumped straight up. Just as it reached the apex of its jump Aergen reached out and grabbed it by the hind leg, half twisting, half flipping he used his momentum to land on three of his four limbs, the hare still in his grasp. Without thinking, he bit down through the soft white fur and began to feast on the small animal, devouring it in a matter of minutes. He looked about and was a bit mortified at his actions, but the hunger in his belly subsided for a few moments and he ran back to his cloak. He managed to catch four others and after eating the first two as he had done with the previous animal, sense returned and he decided to wait until he had a fire built to cook the others.
He reached the sanctuary of the trees and moved into them a bit, his mind began to race, ‘get a fire built, find a weapon of some sort, and secure a campsite for the night.’ All things he remembered from his time in the camp, basic survival was the first steps he had to see to. After a bit of effort, he found what he was looking for, a slight depression under and between two of the great trees. He looked around and found several long straight branches, about two meters long, these he would carve tips on and then temper in a fire. He gathered dry wood from the ground and stripped long hairy lengths of bark to start his fire. There were arm fulls of pine needles that would make a warm bed for the night and protect him from the cold ground.