Tales of the Wolf: Book 01 - The Coming of the Wolf (45 page)

Pausing in his speech, Hawkeye began to walk amongst those gathered placing a hand on a shoulder here or a pat on the back there.

“We cannot fail. For if we do, then all of Terreth will fall under the cloak of darkness and never again will our children be allowed to run through the wild forests or fly through their unbroken skies. They will become slaves to the great darkness that lurks in the remote corners of the world.” 

The gathered warlords were beginning to feel the optimism that Hawkeye was projecting. Warriors were grinning at the thought of destroying the evil that was threatening their land.

Moving back to the center of the room, Hawkeye raised his voice until he was almost screaming. “We will not fail! We cannot fail! We are fighting for our lives, our children, our freedom, our land and our goddess! Fight with all of your heart and all of your skill! And if you do that, then I promise…” 

Hawkeye paused and glanced around the room once more making eye contact with as many warriors as possible.

“I promise, we will be victorious!”

The Lodge of the Moon erupted in a roar that was deafening. As the cheering continued, Nilrem leaned down and whispered into Hawkeye’s ear. “Good speech. Now, how do you plan on handling Blackfang?”

Nodding his head, Hawkeye pointed at the map. The cheering quickly stopped so they could hear their leader talk. He pointed at the forest. “Chewda, take all of the wolverine and fox tribes into the forest and ambush them as they come through. Make them pay for every foot they travel but don’t over expose yourselves. Your job is to delay and to harass, nothing more.”

Nodding his head, the diminutive warlord rubbed his hands together as a broad smile broke across his face. “It will be done, Wolflord.”

Hawkeye continued. Pointing at the ridge above the village, he looked at the warlord of the puma tribe. “Golden Wind, you will take the puma and lynx tribes and move them here. Your job will be to attack the enemy’s flanks as they chase the wolverine and fox tribes back to the village. Make sure you don’t overextend your own flanks.” 

Golden Wind silently nodded his head in agreement.  “Those of the owl and raven tribes who are not acting as scouts will also join you on the heights. They should be able to guard your flanks.” 

With a brief nod, Golden Wind spoke quietly, “Very good.” 

He looked into the eyes of his friend Odovacar. “You and the boar tribe are to guard the back gate and act as our reserve. It is imperative that the back gate remains open, if it isn’t then we’re doomed.”

Odovacar said, “Don’t worry Wolflord, it will remain open and free.”

Turning to the large bear warlord Nilrem, Hawkeye clapped his friend on the back. “Well, my friend it seems that you and I are to be the bait in the trap that will hopefully catch a black wolf.”

Nilrem clapped his hands together and grinned. “It’s about damn time! I’m tired of all this waiting and talking. I can’t wait to get my hands on one of those little Dark Alliance cowards. I’ll teach them a lesson!” 

“I know you will.” 

Midach Bonecrusher spoke up. “It would be an honor if you let my kinsman and myself stand by your side.”

Bowing his head, Hawkeye smiled. “It will be our honor to have you and your kinsman to join us in battle. I would consider it a great personal honor for you to stand at the vanguard with us.” 

Midach nodded his head before moving over to stand next to Nilrem.

Hawkeye raised his voice one last time. “All of you remember, Luna has blessed our venture and she is watching. Let’s not disappoint her.”

The lodge erupted in another cheer as the War Council broke up, each going to their assigned tasks. Hawkeye couldn’t help but wonder at how many were not going to live to see the next moonrise?

As Hawkeye gazed at their makeshift fortifications and the warriors that manned them, he wondered if he had judged his brother right. He knew that Blackfang with his superior numbers would probably go for a frontal assault. Blackfang didn’t care if his troops lived or died. To him they were disposable. He would herd his troops towards his enemy, hoping to crush the defenders with sheer numbers, while at the same time not exposing himself or the members of his pack to the actual fighting.

Hawkeye on the other hand, cared for his troops and they had come to care for him. And with the overwhelming odds facing them, Hawkeye couldn’t spare a single warrior’s life on foolish or reckless tactics. He knew he must rely on trickery, stealth and cunning if the Highland Nation was to survive.

To that end, Hawkeye knew that this would be a long war and he planned on using Itasca as the site of their first battle. The Highlanders had spent the last month working hard to make the village one large deathtrap. Some of the lodges had been filled with dry tinder and vats of tar. And he realized that when Blackfang attacked Itasca, it would be at the main entrance. The back entrance, the one he and Tatianna had arrived at the many months ago, was too easily defended.

The main entrance to Itasca had traditionally been the weakest point of any planned defense of the crater city. One section of the southwest wall had crumbled during an earthquake a century ago, leaving a large gap in the defense.

 However, the Highlanders had built a new wall across the gap. Then, a large trench had been dug right in front of the wall giving the defenders much of the dirt needed for the fortifications. Afterwards, they had filled the bottom of the trench with tar and had lit torches placed all over the village for two reasons. Anyone could grab a nearby torch and light the trench or the lodges, turning the village into one large bonfire. Secondly, it also had the effect of making the village brightly lit, which in turn would hinder the gnomes’ and shadow elves’ night vision; hopefully stealing one of Blackfang’s advantages. Hawkeye figured that Blackfang would use the hulking cyclops to tear down the walls of the village, while the goblins would try to overrun it with their overwhelming numbers, followed by the hardy gnomes, which would leave the shadow elves and highlanders as his reserves.

Hawkeye had planned on this and in fact was counting on it. They had arranged many traps in the surrounding forest and numerous hidey-holes for the ambushing parties. They were as prepared as they could be, given the circumstances.

Tatianna and Anasazi had even sent magical requests for assistance to the leaders of the elves of Elfholm, the centaurs of the Great Forest and the dwarves of Darkmoor. They didn’t expect any help but it never hurt to ask.             

Shortly before midnight, the aerial scouts began returning with reports from the front which told him that Blackfang was behaving just as Hawkeye had predicted, coming in straight and hard. It was obvious that he planned on crushing them with his superior numbers. He couldn’t help but grin at his brother’s arrogance. Looking around the busy lodge, he spied a messenger.

“You there,” pointing at Dark Arrow, “find my wife and ask her to join me.” The brave nodded quickly and left the lodge.

Hawkeye was pleased with the reports from the front. Most were good. The ambushes and traps in the forest were taking its toll on Blackfang's army. They had already killed about two hundred goblins and gnomes and had lost only about twenty of their own. Although this was great news, Hawkeye knew that even the loss of a thousand warriors wouldn’t stop Blackfang. But the ambushes were doing their job though, slowing their approach. The Dark Alliance would not reach the village until after dawn.

Seeing that the ambushes had done their work, Hawkeye ordered the withdrawal of the ambushing parties to their second staging area. This was off to the north of the village, where they could be well rested for covering their retreat. Hawkeye had chosen the wolf and bear tribes to be the bait, which meant they would take the brunt of the main assault. The puma and lynx were set to attack from the flanks and then retreat as the enemy started to attack back. This way, the bulk of the army would penetrate the village walls and hopefully get caught in the fire. It was a risky plan but the only one that offered any hope of victory.

Moments later, Dark Arrow returned. “Pardon me, Wolflord. But your wife bids you to come to the Cave of Luna as soon as possible.”

Hawkeye nodded his thanks and left the lodge without a further word. He found her in the Cave sitting cross-legged on the altar, talking to the empty air. Walking up to her, he placed his hand on her shoulders. She seemed not to notice, so caught up in her conversation.

“But great Aurora, how can we dare hope to achieve victory against such overwhelming odds?”

Hawkeye couldn’t hear any answer but knew that Tatianna did, for she nodded at the silent words. Slowly bowing her head, she closed her eyes for a few moments. Hawkeye waited patiently for his wife to speak.

A moment later, she looked up. Staring into his pale gray eyes, she flashed him that crooked smile he loved so much. Looking into her bright blue eyes, Hawkeye felt overwhelmed by the love he felt for his new bride. And for a brief moment, he forgot all his worries and troubles. Leaning down, he kissed her gently and passionately. There was a slight spark of magic between them. Somewhere deep inside both of them, they both knew this could be one of their last moments together. Hawkeye feared that one of them would not survive the upcoming battles.

Tatianna also feared this. At last she spoke, “You look tired, my love. How goes the war?”

Sitting down next to her, he took a deep breath before answering. “We have slowed them down but the true battle will happen just after dawn. And that outcome is still undecided. Other than that, we are as ready as we can be.”

Nodding her head, she pointed to the heavens. “I have been able to communicate with the Gods. Minos, the God of War, has blessed your plan. He is proud of you and wonders if you might have minotaur blood in your veins.”

Hawkeye smiled at the compliment. To be compared to a minotaur, his chosen followers, by the God of War was the greatest compliment he could receive from the Horned God.

Noticing that Hawkeye seemed to sit up a little straighter with Minos’ compliment, she continued. “The Sisters also bless your plan but they counsel you to not be rash.”

With that she noticed how Hawkeye’s shoulders slumped with despair.

“The enemy is three times as strong as we are and nothing we have done so far has done anything more than slow them down by a couple of hours. They have lost nearly ten warriors to everyone that we lose but they have many more to lose than we do. Every death we sustain weakens us, while every death they sustain just feeds their army.”

Letting his shoulders slump all the way forward, Hawkeye felt the full weight of the burden placed on him. Placing his head in his hands, he shook his head back and forth and began to cry. “I don’t know if I can lead all these brave warriors to their deaths.”

Tatianna knew at that moment what it was about this barbarian that had stolen her heart. It was his gentle nature. He was already grieving for the loss of the warriors that would die over the next few days, weeks or months. Sure, Hawkeye would kill the enemy but that didn’t mean he would enjoy it. And he never enjoyed losing a friend. Reaching down, she pulled his hands away from his face.

Holding them tight, she looked deep into his eyes. “I want to tell you a secret. Although we have only been together for a short time, our souls have been together for eternity. If one or both of us don’t live through the next few days, weeks, months or years, it doesn’t matter. We have shared something few in this world will ever know, the love and joy of soulmates. We are no longer two people. We are one, in mind, body and soul.”

Hawkeye’s eyes brightened at her words but Tatianna could still tell his heart was still defeated inside.

Reaching up, she gently stroked his brow and pushed aside his raven black hair. “Twice you have found me when I was lost and rescued me. Now you are lost, for you have lost your hope for the future. And it is only that hope which will bring the Highland Nation through to victory. So, I will tell you two secrets. One which I was forbidden to tell but you are my soulmate and that means you are entitled to know.”

There was a slight echo of thunder, but Tatianna ignored it. “On the night you rescued me from the Spirit Realm, the Blessed Sisters took a small portion of your soul and gave it to my son. He is now a part of you, part of me and a part of your brother. It is the blending of these three souls that will allow our son to break the Spell of Binding and free the Gods. So you see a part of us will always be together as long as our son lives and he can only live if you lead these people to victory.”

Looking up Hawkeye’s eyes brightened with the news but his eyes widened as she lifted her robe to reveal her swollen belly. Reaching down, she guided his hands to her belly. It was not extremely large but it was getting larger by the day. Hawkeye felt a little flutter of movement under his hand. His face lit up at the magical moment. Looking at his wife, his tears began to roll down his face. They were tears of joy.

“That’s…that’s the most wonderful thing I’ve ever felt!”  Gently hugging her, Hawkeye slowly knelt and placed his ear on her belly. For a few moments he listened to the heartbeat of his unborn son. Then he spoke softly, so softly Tatianna could barely make out the words. “You will grow up to be a great warrior one day, my son. I am sorry that I may not be there to guide you on your path to greatness. Know now that I love you and I am proud of you, now and forever. Just remember never forget your past, for it is the doorway to your future. I will always be there for you, my son.” 

Standing up slowly, Hawkeye gently kissed his wife one last time and said, “You’re right my love, the life of our son and the safety of Terreth is more important than our happiness. Know this; you have made me happier these last few months than I have been in all my years.”

Tatianna smiled at his words and gently caressed his face. “Now, go my love. Always remember that you have my love and my hopes. I will be with you always. If I survive and you don’t know this, I will never love anyone else the rest of my life. For you are truly my one and only soulmate.”