Dark Imaginings
A Threat to Peace
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Threat to Peace
Cu’Ren and he rolled over on the makeshift bed he’d set in the entrance tunnel
which led to the inner chambers of the breeding den that Moira chose to give
birth to the Alpha’s pups. He flung a
burly arm over his eyes as though the gesture alone would be enough to make the
squalling newborns settle back to sleep.
After a few minutes of listening to their cries grow more insistent he
realized that Moira had either attended to them and was in the process of
settling them or was so exhausted that she was sleeping through the escalating
noise. He guessed it would be the latter
since he had heard her awake for the entire night trying to settle the younger
of the two twins who always seemed to be hungry.
getting back to sleep now that he was awake so he thought he may as well see if
Moira needed any help. It wasn’t as
though he had anything else to do since he had been assigned to guarding the
Alpha’s mate and his newborn pups until Moira’s sister Janira was free to
assist the new mother. Cu’Ren had been
counting down the days and according to his stringent calculations, Janira
would arrive today - may the Wolf bless her soul forever!
stretched his back as he made his way down the long tunnel which was
reminiscent of the hillside entrances that lead to a wolf’s den.
with the Lycean race of men.
wolf nor elf or human either, but something between all three, their version of
the ‘hillside tunnel’ was definitely much more luxurious than those of the
canines whose qualities they shared. The
den Moira had taken chosen in which to give birth had
walls stuccoed a warm burnt orange and mosaic tiles flecked with aqua-blue
lined the floors. Exposed beams jutted
from the roof and were painted in the same hue as the blue of the tiles and the
door that separated the entrance tunnel from the curved den-like chamber where
Moira and her pups resided was round and painted the same colour as the
overhead beams.
himself, the blend of colours tended to make Cu’Ren feel nauseous but women
obviously seemed to like them since it was they who had chosen the decor in the
birthing dens. He supposed that was all
well and good since men rarely had reason to reside there and they weren’t the
ones who had to endure the pain of child birth after all.
of back even though his hair was dark grey.
It had always been that colour though since he was a grey wolf but lately a few of the women thought his hair was
turning a shade lighter than it had once been.
He wasn’t surprised. A month in
the birthing dens surrounded by pups of various ages who were never quiet and
who didn’t seem to be able to grasp the concept that people actually
send anyone grey. He’d heard that the
human torturers in Pyntriffith used sleep deprivation as one of their many
creative methods to wring information from their prisoners.
of such measures before but now he was a believer.
avoid hitting it on the exposed wooden beams that jutted from the curved roof
of the tunnel and he braced himself mentally when he reached the round door.
Cu’Ren had lived long enough to watch the work his father had started on the
whim of a dream, pass to his brother and now to his nephew, Evan the Black, who
had finally succeeded in uniting the twelve Lycean packs under one banner.
in every battle before and since the clans were united. He had been a warrior
and the second in command of the Parahngwh line for so long in fact that now,
no one even remembered his name. He was
simply called by his rank; Cu’Ren,
Wolf Spear.
side but this time it was different. His
nephew’s mate had been expecting their first litter when the sentry positioned
at the entrance of Misery pass sent word to the Den of a possible Silheen raid
and called the war bands to arms. As
Alpha it went without saying that Evan would lead the defence and he led the
which was the sole way into and out of the Den.
Since Evan trusted none more than his uncle, Cu’Ren was left to guard
the birthing den while Moira brought the pups into the world.
move on Evan’s part since the birthing quarter was in the very heart of the
heavily fortified Lycean city and there was little chance any would invade and
if they did, there was even less chance they would make it as far as the
birthing dens. It was instinct for a new
Lycean father to be driven to ensure his pups’ safety though and Cu’Ren thought
that perhaps, the desire to protect one’s offspring was a legacy of from the
time when the Lycean were a part of the Dark hosts and the sole threat to a
newborn pup came from the creatures of shadow that surrounded it.
the door and then he paused and gnawed at his bottom lip for a few
moments. He had fought to defend the
fledging Lycean nation against the Silheen hosts of Light for hundreds of years
and he had faced down their allies, the powerful human nation of Pyntriffith,
each summer for just as long but now...he found himself filled with dread at
the prospect of having his eardrums torn apart by one little newborn pup’s
whining!
softly on the round teal door that led to the inner chamber of Moira’s birthing
den, cocking his long pointed ear to listen for any sound that would give him
an indication as to whether or not she was awake.
his lips when he heard her exhausted, “Come in,” and felt a pang of guilt that
he had just been regretting the fact that because he was stuck in the Den like
an overgrown nurse, he had probably missed out fighting against the Lycean’s ancient
enemies. Moira’s drained voice told him
he was clearly needed more where he was.
head around the curved edge.
bed that all but filled the cosy round chamber and it was so large it left only
enough room on the side to form a passage that led to the kitchen and bathing
chamber. She was holding one of the pups
to her engorged breast and blessed silence reigned the instant the infant
latched on and began suckling.
closed the door gently behind him. He
looked at the unattended pup, which was lying wide awake and sucking his tiny
fist. “Let me guess, the younger was the
cause of the raucous?”
groaned. “You should be a seer, Cu’Ren.
something in his mouth.”
remaining pup, “Come, little wolf.”
his heart but he was most drawn to the first born.
curl his tiny fist around it and draw it to his searching mouth to suckle on
while he waited patiently for his turn to feed at his mother’s breast.
the Wolf Spirit hold her in His palm.”
grazed his thumb lightly over the pup’s tiny translucent claws.
little skull but they would stand up as he grew.
pup’s unfocussed liquid silver orbs as they flitted around the room.
flicked a quick glance at Moira. “I
searched the archives. There is no
record of a pup being born with their eyes open in the last hundred turns of
The Wheel and only seven entries of a first litter having multiple births.”
chuckle. “You are such a man, Cu’Ren.”
her closed eyes. “You lot always have to
record everything.
cares about and then you unleash a fact attack on us poor girls at a time when
we couldn’t care less if we tried to!”
soothing clucking noises at the pup in his arms.
which was as noisy as he ever got and Cu’Ren lifted him so that his tiny jaw was
resting on his broad shoulder. “If we
didn’t record everything we’d never learn from the past and how’s that?
the twins were born and already they are noteworthy.”
smile. “Sleep is everything.
another fact attack but I have to take advantage of the silence to talk to you while
you are feeding the noisy one.” Cu’Ren
raised an eyebrow and waited for Moira’s usual barbed but good natured
reply. It didn’t come and he guessed she
was more exhausted than he had first though.
“Do you want to know?”
in the time between when two pups of the same litter have been born.”
sharply. “What does that mean then?”
born only an hour apart but on different days.
We’ll have to wait and see.”
“I hope it’s a good omen.”
holding so that he could look at his face with an entirely smitten
expression. “Of course it is.
associated with it?”
tiny pup and she and Cu’Ren swapped their charges.
you?”
shoulder and patted his bottom gently, chuckling when his efforts were rewarded
almost instantly with a burp that should have been too loud to come from so tiny
a mouth. “But yes, Cuan is something
apart.”
the pup was securely suckling and looked at the Spear for a few moments.
before I name the boys but I want to call this one Cuan.
kind of stuck.”
for the eldest son of the Cu’Tiaryn
was secretly pleased.
firstborn son who he had laid to rest in the Wolf’s palm beside his mother not
long after his birth. It had been long
and arduous and neither the mother nor the pup had survived.
before the tiny pup passed through the veil.
He’d only had time to call him Cuan, little wolf, which was more a term
of endearment than a name.
notable son of an esteemed man.” Moira
said firmly. “And I’m sure Evan will
agree.”
face in case he betrayed any emotion and he laid the sleeping pup next to
her. “I’m humbled.”
Lycean nation and the most decorated warrior on record.”
wink. “I’ll save pride for the pups.”
silently from Moira’s breast and she curled her lithe body around both of the
tiny warm bodies of her sons. Since she
hadn’t had more than two pups she didn’t need to remain in her red wolf form to
feed them as she would have if she’d had more.
Her mouth stretched into a wide yawn and it seemed she barely had the
energy to push her long reddish brown locks back from her tired face.
eat.” Cu’Ren murmured quietly so he
wouldn’t wake the pups.
kitchenette and stoked the small fire to life where it sputtered in arched
cavern of the blackened fireplace. The
rock bricks that lined the mouth of the fireplace were set with hooks from
which hung various pots and pans and tools to prepare food.
cracked two eggs with one hand onto its pristine surface and then he set the
pan on the small cast iron grate which was locked into the brickwork above the
coals . There was still a half loaf
of bread on the bench that he had baked
the previous day and after poking it lightly with his finger to test its
freshness he decided it was only fit to toast.
He cut it into thick slices which he then set on the grate beside the
eggs and turned his attention at last to brewing tea for them to wash down
their meal.
the front?”
Cu’Ren winced slightly, expecting to hear the pups’ piercing whines rise in
protest at being woken. When silence
still ruled the chamber he released the breath he hadn’t realised he had been
holding until then.
at the Shrine of Lu are responsible for raising the alarm.”
Just close enough to the borders we share with the humans in the Savage
Lands to raise the hackles on our necks.
The strange thing is that they’ve been camped in the foothills there for
the turn of a moon now and no one can figure out why.
something.” Cu’Ren mused.
party and are waiting for the Silheen hosts to arrive.”
elves to attempt to raid the Den now, no Lycean has violated the uneasy truce
between our two nations and hasn’t for decades.”
needed an excuse to attack us Cu’Ren?
They’ve been obsessed with trying to push us back into the Gloom ever
since our forefathers defected from the Dark hosts.
voice but she was too tired for it to be too noticeable.
smiled as he lifted the cooked eggs from the fire and slid them onto a warmed
earthenware plate. “Well if it’s a fight the elves are looking for the Lycean will
give them one.”
city.” Drawn by the aroma of breakfast
Moira went to join Cu’Ren in the kitchen and flopped dejectedly into one of the
two worked wood chairs set around the small square table.
few of the mincing little twats.”
plate of eggs and toast before her, followed by a steaming mug of black
aromatic tea.
the birthing dens again.” He winked at
her jovially to take the sharp edge from his teasing words.
moments. Moira’s appetite was ravenous
and had been since giving birth, her body seemed determined to replace what had
been and was still being taken from it.
She finished her meal long before Cu’Ren and eyed his plate longingly.
ever be allowed to participate in combat again the way we did in the old
days?” She asked in an attempt to
distract herself from the desire to pounce on the grey Lycean and steal his
food as much as from a genuine wish to know the answer to her question.
have enjoyed over the last decades and there simply isn’t a need to keep females
from battle any more is there?”
and then he gave her a teasing smile, “but the peace we have enjoyed has made
it so there isn’t really a need for women to
fight either. Why do you ask,
Moira? Every Lycean warrior learns to
fight and hunt at his mother’s heels so you aren’t at a loss for action or are
you that keen to taste Silheen blood?”
looked at her sleeping pups through the arched doorway that separated the
kitchenette from the round chamber. “I
love peace as much as any and I look forward to teaching the boys how to stalk
prey and swing sword... it’s just that when they are old enough
happy as long as we live beside them, even though we don’t ask for
day be in danger one day and I won’t be there to protect them.”
and stretched his back as though to make room for his now full stomach.
same as you Moira. By the time the boys
are old enough to join the cadfaol you
will more than likely have another litter to contend with and doubtless it will
be larger than this one. The tiny
helpless twins you see now will be snarling brawling adolescents hell bent on
asserting their dominance over each other and everyone around them not to
mention their smaller litter-brothers and sisters and you, my dear, will be glad to see the back of them.
than happy to hand them over to the war band’s tender care just to have a
little peace. ” He laughed softly.
join the war bands they will have been finely honed and trained to be the most
deadly of warriors in all the Spheres by their vindictive mother and then
they’ll be between their father and me.
Danger will never find them Moira.”
Cu’Ren winked. “To answer your
question though, about women participating in combat, maybe you could mention
it to the lore keepers and perhaps the Ring will put it to vote.”
look. “Maybe pigs will fly backwards too
Cu’Ren. As far as those stodgy old farts
are concerned if it’s not broken don’t fix it!”
empty plates together so he could clean them.
Yawning, Moira rose and attempted to take them from him.
Cu’Ren.” She chided the hardened warrior
and reached again for the crockery only for Cu’Ren to pull them out of her
reach once more.
tired woman.” Cu’Ren said and turned her
firmly back toward the huge round bed.
“Rest while you can before the greedy one wakes and realises his mouth
is empty.”
chuckle. “Bossy man!
muttered jibe but he smiled. “When does
your sister arrive?”
furs and circled her sleeping sons a few times before she curled her body
around them. They whimpered softly in
their sleep as though they had recognised her return on some deep subconscious
level.
Cu’Ren, if you want. No doubt you have
your own preparations to make before you join the packs and the boys usually
sleep for a few hours at this time of day.
I doubt I could stay awake to keep you company anyway, even though I
want to.”
that he would miss Moira and the pups.
slurred, thick with encroaching slumber.
“Thank you, for everything Cu’Ren.
You really have been a gem. Tell
Evan I miss him?”
by blessed – and rare - silence, she was already on the verge of sleep.
ride as fast as I can to Evan and he will no doubt ride back as soon as I
replace him. He should be home within
the turn of a week if all goes well.”
awake and Cu’Ren pressed his lips against the soft downy foreheads of each of
the pups in turn. Moira was snoring by
the time he closed and locked the round teal door behind him and stepped out onto
the terrace that overlooked the sprawling Lycean city.