Wenn & Wolf Tales

wwe0360

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Lord Wolf made a point of meeting up with Wenndolyne the next afternoon, in the firehall, in his human form. After Wenn had brought it up, he did indeed catch himself being more stilted with her than he would be as a wolf. He was reluctant to touch her or express himself in any easy manner. He felt more formal. This made some sense. It was partially habit, for his human form was that used for Council business and such. But surely he could find a way to modify his demeanor with Wenn? Had he not been able to do so before? Well, he thought, not for long and long years.

He found himself thinking of gestures and words he would like to express, but he would immediately edit them out. He gave himself many reasons: it was too forward, it was uncourtly, he might be pushing too much too soon... But in truth he was just uncomfortable with this whole process and with his own feelings. He was, oddly, a bit fearful. How unaccustomed he was to such a thing. He was afraid he would do something to turn Wenn away forever and already he didn't think he could bear this. He was more comfortable with her in his wolf form too. There was very little protocol to get in the way, but of course, there were impassable limitations as well.

After the long night of her company, Lord Wolf had found the keep too quiet, much more lonely even than before. He hadn't slept. Even though he was not pleased with his behavior in the firehall, at least he was with her. While all these thoughts milled through his head, he sat politely beside her. She was quiet as well for although she had slept a bit, it was not enough. They both watched the firehall without a word. Wolf was unsure where Wenn's mind was wandering because his own had gone so far afield.

Wenn sipped at her tea and looked over the rim of the mug to see Wolf looking back at her. She lowered the mug and smiled, a bit embarrassed somehow.

He smiled softly, "A copper for your thoughts?"

She looked around the hall again then down to the mug of tea now resting in one palm while the fingers of her other hand turned it slowly. "Not certain I've a whole copper's worth, but I do have a thing to discuss with you." She was not sure she really wanted to know, but must ask.

"Then discuss it we shall, Lady Wenn, whatever you would wish to know or tell." He was quite serious, wanting to find a closeness with her, or rather, for her to find a closeness with him.

"Well, please do pardon my curiosity, but..." She found she needed another sip of tea and took a small quick one before going on, "You mentioned there was another who wore this pendant?" Looking up to him again, she watched his reaction to her question. She honestly was not certain whether she would see that sadness she'd glimpsed, or the brief anger, or perhaps, nothing at all.

The color drained from Wolf's face as he swallowed then replied in a shaking voice, "Aye, there was another."

Wenn watched and heard the wavering from his normally smooth and confident voice. She could hear and see his discomfort and tilted her head slightly, wondering what memory she has opened up here, but had he not left this door open himself?

Lord Wolf's look softened from a near frown as his emerald eyes regarded her, "What would you know, M'Lady?"

"Did she... Did she not have eternal youth... as you have said to give me with your pendant?"

"Aye, she did." He looked away to the hearth and nodded as if to a conversation with himself, then repeated, "She did."

"Oh, m'lord, I know I am being too forward... to ask such questions... I should not---"

Turning sharply to look at Wenn again, he shook his head, "No. No, tis your right to ask. Please..."

Wenn was not at all sure he meant it, but he said it, and so, she plunged onward, "Then I would ask, m'lord... I would ask... what became of her? Why... Why is she not still with you?"

A deep haunting sorrow appeared in his emerald eyes as he calmly stated, "She died." He looked down at his hands folded in his lap then back up to her, "Long ago it was, in a land far removed from this one."

The knot which had formed in Wenn's throat made her respond hoarsely. "I do not understand this. I mean, if the gift is near immortality, then, how could she not..." She stopped because Lord Wolf sighed heavily. The weight of years, of ages, seemed to descend upon him. Wenn watched him seem to age, but it was not through a change in his appearance, simply his demeanor. He looked painfully weary. "I am sorry. You needn't explain."

Wolf shook his head, "As I said, M'Lady, twas long ago. And yes, I do need to explain. I have few secrets from you and would prefer it that way."

"Secrets?" Wenn arched a brow.

"Aye," he smiled weakly, "In time there shall be none. I swear it. But for now, there are things ye best not know. However, of she that held the pendant before... of that, I will tell, if you so desire."

"I cannot help my curiosity. I canst barely believe what this pendant can do already but seek to understand it. In truth, to also understand you better, there is a measure of discovery implied, no?" She set her now empty mug down and visibly straightened, perhaps setting herself to hear a long tale from his long life?

"There is indeed much the pendant can do, other than what you know of. It is a key to the Keep and safe passage through the forest around it, but to name two." He was wandering away from the topic she started and he knew it. He looked at her and smiled apologetically, for she had recognized his circuitous route herself and he could read that in the smile playing at the corner of her mouth.

"I would hear what you have to say of the one who came before me... if the telling does not trouble you over much."

"Trouble me, it does, but you have a right to know." He leaned back in his chair and rested his chin upon one youthful fist. "It was long ago, long before this land was settled, before Camelot and all else." He paused and looked aside to the fire then back, "Her name was Julianna. We were in love, or so I thought."

Wenndolyne admired his easy grace, his smooth soft voice, both still in evidence even though this chapter in his life obviously disturbed him.

Lord Wolf leaned forward in his chair, placing his elbows upon his knees, and clasped his hands before him. He looked down at the floor for a quiet moment, then continued, "There is a land, west of east and north of south, a mystical place called Lyric. "That was where I met her. She was like the sun as are all of her kind, the first born, the elven. Even then, I was far older than she and wise in the ways of the Magi. We fell in love and upon our wedding day, I bestowed to her that pendant."

He looked up then, narrowing his eyes to look at the pendant hanging upon Wenn's chest. He seemed almost to speak to it. "For a time, life was good. We were as one in many things. She asked that I teach her the way of the Magi and I, loving her, began to do just that." He lifted his gaze to Wenn's eyes, seeing that she was rapt by this tale. How naive he knew her to be and part of him prayed she would always remain thus. "The years passed and time did not touch her. The elven people age slowly, yet they do age. She was pleased to see time had no hold on her. After a bit, she grew in her knowledge of magic and as she did, she used it to help her people and to protect them."

Pausing again, Wolf looked away. This was so difficult to bring to light again, "Then, there was the coming of the others."

"Others?"

"Man, Dwarf, Orc, Troll.. the lesser races." He quickly looked at Wenn and favored her with a half grin, "Only lesser in that they were not the first." She smiled and nodded but then her smile faded again as his tale continued, "For years the elves within Lyric watched them grow and cover the world. Their cousins, the wood elves and grey elves befriended man and dwarf as well as others."

Wenndolyne began to think that Lord Wolf must have been around for the whole history of the world. It was terribly unladylike, but she drew her knees up beneath her skirts and sat entranced, like a child being told a highly dramatic fairytale.

"With time, the younger races did reach and find Lyric. At first they were mystified by the elves of Lyric, for their knowledge was far greater than any of their cousins. But all good things come to an end." He sighed sadly and shook his head. Wenn thought again that she shouldn't have asked him to tell this, but how could she have known?

Again Wolf shifted in his chair. He leaned back tiredly, "I am unsure what did start it, but War did ensue. Julianna wished to aid her people with the knowledge I had given her. Yet I would not allow such. However, in the end, the choice was taken from me."

Wenndolyne frowned, surely misunderstanding, "Why not allow her to help her people?

"Wenn... How to explain?" He drew one hand up to rub at his chin for a moment then let it rest again on the arm of his chair. "The knowledge I carry is not meant for good or evil. You see, there is a balance to be kept. Such I believe is my task here. Without the balance, with too much harmony or too much chaos, there is no growth, no progress."

"And you see it as your duty to keep these scales balanced or at least, not to tip them?"

"Aye and it is not a responsibility I take lightly."

"This would require... great restraint, I can imagine. I could see where great temptations might thwart this balance you speak of."

"Yes, but mostly, tis a matter of the will to do what is right for all."

Wenn nodded thoughtfully and watched Wolf seem to relax, having had that moment with a more comfortable topic? He shift in his chair, rolling his neck and shoulders, then smiled to Wenn, "Now, where was I? Oh yes. Julianna stumbled onto an army, dwarves I do believe." He reached aside to get a sip from his goblet of spring water then carried forward with his account. "A battle followed and with her aid, they did kill all the dwarves. I think that is when the sickness started."

"Sickness?" Wenndolyne sipped her rum and felt the warmth of it through her as it tried to wash away the chilling thoughts of war.

"In this case, I mean a sickness which may cause one to overstep the limits of their ability. It is a craving for the use, nae, for the power, of magic."

"OH, then Juliana herself... oh." The connection was dawning on Wenn. She would have to think through it as she sipped and Wolf continued.

"Aye, she'd come to crave the magic. She used more than she was able, in destroying the dwarves. It happens from time to time, a Magi will draw more than they can handle and yet survive. But in this drawing, it does... for lack of a better word... twist them." He shook his head, took a deep breath leaned his head back against his chair to stare at the ceiling, "I... I should have seen the signs. She had the craving and I saw it not."

"Perhaps because you saw her only through your love, Lord Wolf." Wenn offered.

"Aye, that I did, and my blindness was to be not only her downfall, but my own as well. Now more than ever, she wished to learn the art of Magi and I willingly taught her."

Wenndolyne didn't think he was so terribly downfallen, except perhaps in heart, but she listened intently for more of the tale. He seemed to be slowly approaching that which he most like to forget. She sipped her rum and watched his every movement, studying him while he spoke from his distraction.

"For years the war raged on and little by little the elves won. The other races were thrown back. In this time, I taught Juliana much. Then, one night as I returned home from a meeting with the city counsel... I entered the Keep, and there was a strangeness to it, as if it was no longer my own, as if I was the stranger." Again he leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands before him. He watched his own fingers flex against each other. "I went upstairs looking for her and found her not. I then went to my tower and found that the wards upon its entrance had been removed. No small feat, mind you. I quickly ran up the tower, fearing the worst."

Not truly understanding his terms, yet catching his meaning, Wenn leaned forward too and wrapped her arms around her knees, anxious to hear what came next.

Wolf's hands separated and briefly became fists then he consciously flexed his hands open again and pressed only his fingertips together. "I was not prepared for the sight which met my eyes. Julianna was there and three others with her. Before I knew what was happening, they attacked."

"They attacked you? Within your own keep? Within your own tower?" She was completely stunned at such nerve.

He merely nodded, his gaze still on his own hands and the floor. His voice was hoarse and quiet. There was obviously much more to the event than what he next said, but the words carried the weight of all of it. "The fight to follow lay waste to the keep." A long silence hovered in the air then Lord Wolf rose slowly to his feet. Wenn watched as he looked around the great hall of this keep, as though he was seeing a ghost shadow of the other? He paced slowly before the hearth and somewhere in these strides he began again.

"I later learned that she had been teaching others what I was teaching her. They thought to kill me and take what knowledge I had, to use it for themselves." He lifted one hand and rubbed at his forehead briefly, "She did tell me this herself." Wenn watched him pace back and forth for a few more turns and then he stopped at one edge of the hearth to look into the fire. Wenn could see the light and shadow play over his flexing jaw.

"In the end, I bested them... killing all but her." Wolf's hands were now flexing in the air before him. They were shaking and he watched them open and close as though he might be able to will them to be steady. "I could not bring myself to kill her. Even though she was half crazed by this point. Still, I could not do it." He leaned to pick up a log and knelt then to stir in the fire a moment before placing it. He remained there on one knee and rested one elbow upon it. "I told her I would send her away, place her somewhere no one would bother her and she would harm no one, a place that is not a place and thereby is null of magic. She laughed at me and called me weak for this, saying she would rather die than know she lived by my hand..."

The last of his words has gotten softer until they just faded out. Wolf sat down where he was, the one knee still raised. He pivoted his arm to rest his forehead into the palm of his hand. Wenn could see his eyes sparkling with firelight, in fact, the golden light played in the moisture gathered there. She watched as one drop slipped over onto his cheek and slowly traced downward.

His voice was a hoarse whisper, "So in the end, I took the pendant from her." He swallowed hard, "Without it, her age returned to her, in a matter of moments." He lowered his head slightly, quite worn by the tale and quite conscious of Wenn seeing his tears. "She had lived far past her normal years by this time, so as I watched... she turned to dust... and blew away on the wind."

Wenndolyne uncurled and got up from her chair. She approached him slowly and leaned to brush her fingers lightly across his hair. She then descended to sit beside him, yet facing him. After a moment Wolf looked up at her, tears still welled in his eyes but a few streaks glistened on his cheeks as well. "Now you know."

Lord Wolf reached out to brush Wenn's cheek with his fingers and only at that moment did she realize she'd cried her own tears for him. He locked her gaze for a moment, and smiled, albeit weakly then withdrew his hand as he looked away to the fire, "One last thing I did, for I knew not what she had taught others, and I could take the risk..." He took a deep breath then exhaled to steel himself. "I sealed Lyric away from this world. I enclosed it within a place that is not. So it does yet remain, for no time passes there."

Not truly understanding this, Wenn looked into the fire as well for a while, then back to Wolf who was now watching her.

"Now that you know the history of the pendant, what will you do?"

Wenndolyne looked down at the pendant and watched her own fingertips brush across the wolf's head on the silver medallion. She eventually slipped her fingers around it to grasp it in her closed hand, then slowly her gaze rose again to meet Wolf's. "I cannot say that I will never be like her, for I do not know the future." Lord Wolf nodded his understanding, yet remained silent and Wenn continued, "But I can say that I have til now had little interest in magic."

"Til now?" Even this little phrase was somehow disconcerting.

"Even now... I've only interest in what I borrow from you. I take your protection because I so detest violence. I take the wolf form because I feel it pleases you." She looks down at her hand over the pendant than back up again. "I have no care or use for magic on my own. In many ways, it frightens me."

Lord Wolf arched a brow as if he might say something, but then decided not to. Again Wenn continued, "I have but a pouch of stones that of themselves perform a little good here and there, but I care not to wield a power I do not understand... and... I doubt I shall ever care much for it." Wolf again withholds a comment but believes that she speaks her current truth.

"Lord Wolf, tis not your magic that draws me." Only in these words did she realize herself just how much she felt drawn to him. "It is... It is a wolf who places himself before a child and a stranger to shield them... A grace of movement and speech... Patience and kindness to those in need of it..." She smiled at last, looking again into the timeless gaze of this perplexing man who was much more. "It is... a beautiful soul I see in forest emerald eyes."

Those eyes, not long ago being dark and haunted, were now shining brightly with love for the woman sitting with him. Wenn reached for his hands, taking them into her own. Wolf could only watch her, at a loss for what to do or what to say.

"M'Lord, I seem to have found in the man... what I knew I saw in the wolf... the very first time I met him."

"We are one and the same, the wolf and I, my lady."

"Aye and now I do know that for myself. And to think... that there is something you see in me..." Their hands gripped together as they shared soft smiled. Wenn's heart swelled, "This is a great joy."

"Love, caring, understanding, compassion. That is what I see in you, dear lady."

"I thank you, m'lord."

"My love," he was slow but pointed in calling her this, "There are no thanks required for telling the truth."

Through her blush, Wenn replied, "But I thank you nonetheless.... my love."

Wolf blushed at her term of affection while his smile brightened. He gracefully rose to his feet, in seeming one fluid movement. He never released her hand and so he drew Wenn up to stand with him. He freed one hand to cup her face, letting his thumb brush across one cheek while he leaned to kiss the other. Then without warning, Wolf scooped Wenn up into his arms and twirled her around once before setting her down again.

She cried out in surprise but it ended in a giggle, "Aha! My playful Wolf returns!"

Feeling as giddy as a school boy, Lord Wolf threw back his head and howled.

(dp/dj)