Original story by: Courgus
Translated by: Erazaa

The small petite person began to apply the ointment to Varshgar's wounds. It absorbed very quickly and made the wounds stop bleeding. However, it also burned because it came into contact with the open wounds.

She knew that Varshgar would continue to suffer pain. Not least because of the ointment she applied.

>>I know it hurts, but I'll try to do it as gently as possible. I promise. We'll help you!<< she said firmly, with a warmth in her voice that gave him the bitter taste of what was called hope.

And it was the hope that he could use it right now. The world around him was nothing but dark. He had lost his view of the world because he believed that now everything was too late.

When the little figure was done tending to his wounds, he felt a kind of pain. Even though it did not hurt. At least it did not cause any physical pain.

She got down from the chair and flipped back the hood.

Now Varshgar could see her properly. She had a pretty face but, in itself, seemed rather younger than he had suspected.

>>So that was it.<< she said, admiring her work even if she felt more sadness than pride.

>>You... don't have to be sad...<< Varshgar said brokenly.

She wanted to smile but the pain he had to bear was overwhelming for her.

>>My friends call me Adriana. You are welcome to call me that. I know you have tremendous pain that you must endure. My friends and I are trying to help you as much as we can. But we can't march in here and get you out. There are too few of us. Besides, not everyone is a warrior with us like you are. Please hold on a little longer. We'll find a solution. I promise!<< she said as a few tears rolled down her cheeks.

Still struggling with herself, she reached back into the bag. Inside there she had packed some more food.

>>I had promised you that I bring you something to eat. Here, this is for you.<< she said and began to feed Varshgar until finally everything was gone. But tears still decorated her cheeks.

Varshgar saw that and tried to smile. Even though it was hardly possible.

>>Don't cry...I thank you...for everything.<< he said softly and slowly drifted away.

>>I still need to know your name!<< she said briskly while wiping away her tears.

Varshgar shook his head briefly, trying to keep to himself. Then he said to Adriana:

>>Varshgar. Call me Varshgar...<<

But before he lost consciousness completely, he realized that she had climbed back onto the chair and pressed a kiss on his cheek.

Now a feeling sprouted in him that he had not felt for a long time. The hope that everything could develop in a different direction than he thought.

He tried as hard as he could to stay conscious but the twilight overtook him. The last thing he heard was her whispering in his ear:

>>It's going to be okay.<<

When he lost consciousness completely, he found himself in a kind of dream world.

Here he met many acquaintances. His clan friends but also enemies he had struck down. However, they took no notice of him. They only seemed to exist, nothing else.

Varshgar looked around and found himself in a large city. He recognized it immediately. It was the lost hometown of his kind.

"This city fell centuries ago. I think even its ruins have already disappeared." he reflected.

Each of his kind knew where the old hometown stood, but also that it was considered lost. No one had ever seen it again.

In its time it was a jewel. It stood in a forest surrounded by a large rock massif that culminated in a high mountain. There, under the slopes of the mountain, in the shelter of the forest, they all lived together until the years came that brought the war with the humans.

The city fell victim to the plundering of the humans and with it the fate of his people was written. From then on they all lived as nomads and many tribes founded themselves on the ruins of their former culture. Thus, many branches of a single culture emerged, which was now left to its own devices.

The Bloodfang Wolves were only one clan of the countless that had developed.

In addition, the two largest groups, the Iron Claws and the Moon Wolves, quickly formed new subgroups, which in turn separated from the main group and went their own way.

Varshgar saw the moment when everything went down. For him it was history as he was still a pup at that time. He had also only vaguely remembered the city. The little he had seen and could associate with it were old and faded images.

Varshgar watched the last hours of the city and thought about why he was here. But his thoughts were abruptly interrupted when a sharp pain ran through his chest.

Suddenly he had the same wounds as he had suffered from the lashes. They began to bleed suddenly but stopped at the same moment.

He pressed both his paws against his chest because he had the feeling she was about to burst. It took Varshgar a moment to catch his breath and then he looked down. The welts that the whip had struck began to shimmer softly in such a glorious shade of blue that he forgot everything around him.

It took him a moment to regain his composure and he looked around. His attention was finally caught by a figure standing at the end of the street. She beckoned to Varshgar and gestured for him to follow.

Varshgar hesitated for a moment, but then as the person walked into the building he started to run. There was nothing he could lose at that moment.

On all fours he rushed towards the building. And when he reached it after a sheer infinity he knew where he was.

"It is the ancient mausoleum of our Khans. This is where our Supreme Leaders were buried."

As they were that day when the city fell.

The last Khan, whose name is no longer mentioned, was killed on the day of the fall. This was the moment when everyone's will to fight was broken and the city was lost.

Without further ado, Varshgar finally entered the mausoleum. When he had let the door fall shut behind him, he stood in the great hall.

"So here they lie... all of them. No wait. Not all of them. The last Khan doesn't lie here." he thought as the person reappeared in the distance. The hall had been very large for the honoring of any ancestor who was a Khan and was very elemental. Very often the shamans held rites to call the spirits of the ancestors and get in touch with them.

The figure was standing in front of an empty pedestal on which a statue was placed, as Varshgar quickly noticed. He was surprised that the pedestal was still empty, because he had no explanation for the fact that it had been left empty.

Then the figure turned to a small stone slab on the ground and pressed it into the ground with both paws. A clicking sound at close range then caught Varshgar's attention. The pedestal slid aside slightly, revealing a gap beneath it. The figure gestured Varshgar to push it away, and following the figure's will, he pushed the floor slab aside. It revealed a staircase that lay directly beneath the base. Again Varshgar looked at the figure, which now revealed itself.

>>Hello, my child.<< the woman's voice said to him as she lifted the veil.

>>Mother? Is it really you?<<

>>Yes, my son. But I do not have much time. You will soon awaken, for a power within you has been awakened. You will suffer pain until you bring it under control. For this I have shown you the way.<<

Varshgar thought for a moment, for his mother died at his birth.

>>Wait a moment. What should I find here?<<

>>Varshgar, my dear boy. It is your destiny that lies buried here.<<

Then the figure that had revealed itself as his mother disappeared. Shortly after, this irrepressible pain went through his chest again. And again he pressed both arms against her. When the pain disappeared again, the wounds began to shimmer again in that light, soothing blue hue. After that light disappeared, it went black before his eyes and Varshgar drifted away.

Varshgar was back in the fortress, in the torture cellar, when he opened his eyes again. Adriana had already left and it had become dark outside.

He had been alone in this room and that was good for him. Even though he was, slowly, learning to appreciate Adriana's company.

Varshgar took a deep breath and then sighed.

"I miss her now, sort of." reflected Varshgar, glancing outside for a moment longer.

The events of this day weighed heavily within him. This day was over and he fervently hoped that it would not go into overtime.

He played with this thought for a while until he finally closed his eyes, exhausted.

In the morning, Varshgar was awakened by the sun's rays on the horizon, which slowly began to warm his fur. He finally opened his eyes and realized that he was still alone.

The refreshment Adriana had brought him yesterday had been a lifesaver. The night's rest finally did the rest, but Varshgar knew that today he would have another day of suffering ahead of him. The sun rose higher and higher and he was still alone. Finally he could hear footsteps from far away.

He knew the footsteps that interrupted the silence of the corridor outside. It was the hunter from the forest. Of that he had no doubt. The person came closer and closer and then another joined him. She came from behind. In front of the cell door to Varshgar's little personal hell, the footsteps finally stopped.

Shortly after, he heard the door unlock. When it swung open, he saw that he was right. In front of the door stood his two worst enemies.

Baron Ragoht and his torturer.

He began to growl contemptuously when he saw the two of them, and above all the growl was directed at the baron.

With a fake smile on his lips, he entered the room first. He looked at Varshgar's body and saw the marks of the blows.

>>You have done a good job. But tell me, Galrond, did you wound the fur on his back?<<

The baron's torturer went down on his knees before him and then said:

>>No, my lord! It is unharmed, as you wished.<<

The baron walked around Varshgar who slowly began to fidget.

Varshgar would have liked to put his claws to his throat, but he could not reach him.

When the Ragoht had made his round about him he looked again at Galrond.

>>Good. That would be too bad. You know what you have to do. Let me know when it is done.<<

With those words, Ragoht walked out of the room and was soon gone. Galrond closed the door behind him and looked at Varshgar.

With his icy grin, he walked up to him and turned his attention to his table. He grabbed his knife again and a whetstone that lay right next to it.

Galrond began to sharpen his blade and kept looking at Varshgar. He seemed very calm, which was not unusual. Finally Galrond put the blade aside and turned his attention to his guest.

>>You heard. I am to take care of you.<< he said in his cold voice.

He paused for a moment but then continued.

>>In a few moments we will take you out into the dark forest. We have a back entrance to the fortress that leads there. Once outside, we will execute you. A clean blow will separate your head from your body and the baron will receive a new tapestry.<< he said again in his cold voice.

Varshgar knew he would not lie. He had known it from the beginning. So here in this fortress he would lose his life.

But he still had time to think of his clan mates. He also thought of the missed opportunity to take Lari as his wife. So many missed moments and chances he had to lament. But actually he had had little to complain about.

While he was thinking about it all, another burly man came running and unchained him from the ceiling. Then Galrond grabbed the knife and they walked out of the room. The other had a big axe on his right shoulder which he now dragged with him.

Then he thought about the fact that he could at least bring his clan, the Bloodfang, into safety by taking care of this danger. But he also had to realize that they would now be on their own. He could not protect them if he was no longer there.

The three reached the corridor that would lead into the dark forest and entered it.

Finally he thought about what he could do. But he was still too exhausted to fight back. The only thing left for him to do was to fight to the bitter end. Mutilating the fur for the baron would have been another option. But he feared that there would be no chance.

Finally, grief spread and was followed by hatred. The hatred slowly but surely began to blaze in his heart. It was a way of negotiating with himself to escape this finality that seemed to be waiting for him.

So Galrond, the executioner and Varshgar reached the forest.

>>That's enough.<< said the executioner and pulled Varshgar's chains.

Varshgar was pulled back slightly by the man's jerk. The chains snapped on both of his paws. The long time he had been hanging from the ceiling had made his wrists a little sore.

>>Here you will die, you dog. For you are nothing more... than a dog.<<

With these words Galrond stood behind Varshgar and kicked him in the back with his foot, pushing him down.

The executioner got into position and waited a moment until he got the sign from Galrond.

>>I would ask you if you have anything to say, but you have always been silent, haven't you?<< Galrond asked again with his ice-cold voice and the crooked grin on his face.

Even now he considered himself superior. Still he was in full control and his victim had been just a toy for him.

Meanwhile, anger at the audacity of Varshgar's people skyrocketed. It seethed inside him and then the pain came again. It raced through his chest and had been even worse than in this dream world. Varshgar found it difficult to contain the pain as he felt it threatening to overwhelm him. However, there was something else.

He let out a loud roar and pressed his paws in front of his chest. The rage burned hotter than he had ever felt before.

Varshgar pulled more on the chains his captors held with each passing moment that the rage raged within him.

>>Help me here!<< he said excitedly, but Varshgar pulled harder and harder.

Then he began to bare his teeth and growl as he had never growled before.

Panic now rose in Galrond. He had never experienced anything like this before.

>>Do something!<< he said again excitedly.

But the executioner could do nothing more and before Galrond understood what was happening, the head of the executioner fell down at his feet.

Horror now stood in the face of the torturer who was now on his own.

Varshgar had long since broken the chains, and now he had seized the torturer.

With his claws on his butcher's throat, he pushed him to the ground.

The impact on the ground was hard for Galrond. He had had trouble catching his breath, but he continued to fight Varshgar.

This all happened so fast that he didn't see what exactly happened.

Varshgar pressed him to the ground and his eyes sparkled fire red.

Now fear crept into Galrond's bones. He was facing a monster that would kill him.

He squeezed his eyes shut and thought it would be over any moment, but then the wounds began to give him trouble. Varshgar struggled with the pain that coursed through him again. It was so strong that he was paralyzed.

The pain he now felt loosened his grip on Galrond's throat.

Galrond noticed this and crawled out from under Varshgar. He could not lift the axe. It was much too heavy for him anyway. But he had his knife with him. He pulled it out of its sheath and was about to stab when he felt a blade at his throat.

>>Lay the weapon aside.<< said the voice of a man.

Trembling, he followed the command and put the knife on the ground. And at that moment he received a blow on his head. It went black around Galrond's perception and then the person turned his attention to Varshgar.

Adriana came running out of the bush and pressed herself against Varshgar. The latter was still shaken by the rage even if he was numbed by the pain. His eyes sparkled fire-red like the embers of a crackling fire.

Adriana saw this and was a bit startled at first, but then she ran towards him.

>>We are here. It's all right.<< she said while hugging him tightly and shortly after the pain was gone. However, Varshgar lost consciousness again and collapsed in Adriana's arms.