Chapter 4. Storm

The town hall was packed full with warriors and youths alike. There were heated words and raised voices, there were also shaking of fists and exchanged words. It took every ounce of will for each man there not to transform into their wolf skin and fight each other. It seemed after the death of Tekenna, all the restraints holding them back had been broken.

“I say we go to war!” Bravo, one of the warriors, said. “We can’t just sit around and do nothing while they kill us, no!” He stamped his hand against the pillar and it shook, letting lose plaster and dust particles from the ceiling.

“Is that right?” Tanky spoke, getting up from the bench and facing Bravo. Tanky was a warrior from the neighboring town of Bram. “And who are we going to war with, brother, these human-things none of us can even see? In case you didn’t know, Keratin barely escaped with his life, the same goes for you as well, chief…” He jerked his head to Janga who had been silent the whole time as they ranted. “The same goes for you, brother,” he said, acknowledging Galieel who sat staring balefully at him. “And let’s not also forget you were there as well, Verag.”

Verag had his hands folded against his chest. He stood with a brow raised and his nose turned down at Tanky. “At least, we got him out, what have you done to help the clans?”

Tanky sighed and raised his hands in the air and brought them down once again defeatedly. “Brother, I am not trying to rile you, on the contrary, what you did…” He turned to look at Janga and then Galieel. “What you all did was admirable, and I applaud you, but that does not change the fact that something is stalking and killing us wolves.”

“It’s the fire wolf clan!” Someone shouted from amongst the packed men standing.

No one knew who it was, but at the mention of the fire wolf clan, everyone kept quiet. You could even hear a pin drop, and then they all started again as if pulled by some invisible thread.

“Brothers, please remain calm, please!” Bronco clapped his hand. He was the chief from the town of Tram.

The town hall was a place where meetings were held and serious discussions took place to effect a change. They were gathered there for a more important reason. To stop the many killings of their wolves. The sixteen chiefs from the four different clans, as well as a barrage of their warriors, had gathered in the town hall of Rim the morning after rescuing Keratin. This meeting was something of an emergency, but it had not gone so well. It started off early in the morning and it was going on in the evening and tempers had flared so far and yet, there was still no headway in their discussion.

“What do we know about the fire wolf clan?” Bronco asked as he stood staring at the men. Some of them stood around while others perched on the edge of their seats. “Assuming they are the one’s behind all the recent killings.”

“I think at this point, we are just grasping at straws, we do not know for certain if they did it, nor do we even know if they are in existence. The fire wolf clan is just a name given to scare our pups and make them sit up if they do not behave well. I’ll tan your hide and send it to the fire wolf clan, is what we say to keep them in line,” Croco, a warrior from the town of tram, said, rolling his eyes.

“You are mistaken, sire, the fire wolf clan is very much in existence!” Someone from amongst the crowd drawled. For some reason, his voice sent chills down everyone’s spine.

Once again, no one could see who had said it.

“Who said that? Show your face, we wolves are not cowards.” Janga stood and peered into the shadows cast by the men.

Someone stepped forward. He wore a long black cloak with a hood on. As everyone eyed him curiously, he removed the hood from his head, revealing a shock of long straight black hair and a face that had a long scar from his left eye down to underneath his jaw, where it disappeared inside his tunic. What was most mesmerizing about his face were his eyes. They were crescent-shaped but that was not the real issue. They were so vivid as to be aflame with a smoldering fire.

The man stared straight into the eyes of the sixteen clan chiefs and it was all they could do not to shudder and look away. Their gasps were unmistakable as they took up talking all at once. When their murmurings had abated, somewhat, Janga stood and pointed a finger at him. “So the legend of the fire clan is real, you are a rogue then?”

The man’s gaze fell and he shook his head. “Alas, not anymore, I was banished.”

“So you were once a rogue?” Janga persisted. “That means you must be punished.”

The man sighed. “I will accept any punishment given to me by the council, but I am here to lend a hand. There is so much you all don’t know that is going on. I am here because I… I deflected from the fire clan.” He shook his head as his gaze took on a faraway look. “My family was killed because I refused to do their bidding…”

Everyone had stopped speaking amongst themselves and instead, listened intently. “And what is this thing you refused to do?” Janga’s voice dripped with disdain and his eyes narrowed as he stared at the man.

“To swear allegiance to the human-eating things,” the man replied, his face contorting horribly. He spat on the ground beside his feet.

Silence became the order of the day as fear raced through the minds of everyone. They dared not believe what this strange man with fire in his eyes, had just voiced.

In a voice that did not sound like his, Janga asked, fearing the man’s response but knowing he still had to ask. “What do you mean human-eating things?”

At this, the man laid his strange eyes on Janga. “They feast on the blood of humans and wolves alike. It is how they live, how they exist, and they grow stronger.”

Everyone began to talk at the same time, their voices rising in consternation. Bronco banged, hard, on the table and their voices reduced but did not seize.

He stood and faced the man with the fire eyes. “What do you mean they feed on blood and grow stronger? Explain yourself.”

The man sighed and a strange gleam entered his eyes, as if he were relieving what he had seen. “I was one of the warriors of the fire clan, and things seemed to be going well. There were even talks of expansion, conquering the lands beyond, but I overhead something I should not have.” A flash of pain crossed his features but it was gone as quickly as it appeared. “The three chiefs of the fire clan were going to not just take over those lands, but much more. So much more.” He shook his head in regret and gazed at the floor.

“You are speaking in riddles, I can hardly understand what you’re talking about. If this is your way of trying to get away from the punishment, you are sorely mistaken, you will be-”

A ripping sound took over the cavernous hall as the man took a hold of his cloak and tore it into two, showcasing his naked chest. There were blue and gold cross-cross marks all across it, some lumpier than others, tendrils of scarred skin stretched, like twines across it. At first, it seemed like they were scars, but on closer inspection, the so-called scars took up intricate designs and swirls. Ridges formed in certain places, while in others, it thinned out and petered off into something that looked like trees and track marks.

“Why, that looks like a-”

“Map! Yes, it is!” The man said as he stared with intensity at Janga. “It is a map that would lead us to the talisman. Whoever gets it, will be the most powerful person in our lands and beyond and can control others as well. By others, I mean specifically the blood-drinking things.” His eyes seemed to blaze with an inner light, mesmerizing Janga who tore his gaze away from him.

At the mention of talisman, goosebumps erupted on the skins of everyone, and a sense of unease swept throughout the room. People shifted uneasily as they warily looked at the intricate map on the man’s skin. It must have taken a great determination on the man’s part to draw a map on his skin.

“You drew this yourself?” Janga wondered if it had to have taken immense skill on the man’s part to have drawn such an intricate-looking map on his body.

Instead of replying, the man turned to the mass of men standing and gawking at him and called a name. “Kenki, show yourself.”

“Open up, let me through, open up, I say, let me through,” a small voice was heard but no one could not see who it was. Someone finally appeared, but it left everyone’s jaw open for it was a man, less than half the size of everyone present.

“A dwarf?” Janga spat, hate apparent on his face.

“Not a dwarf,” the short man replied, jutting his chin defiantly. “I am a golem, and I go by the name Kenki.”

The men began to murmur wonderingly.

“Kenki, here, drew this map because he was ordered to do so.” The man’s eyes blazed and a flame sparked in them, making them brighter. At least that was what Janga thought he saw.

“Explain!” Janga said tightly. He had just about had enough of this strange man with eyes that sparked. He had an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.

“They thought I would make a great map-bearer because of my… unusual abilities,” he sighed and closed his eyes. When next he opened them, the brightness in his eyes had dimmed considerably. “I can see the future.”

At the mention of this, there was an uproar. Disbelief was apparent on the faces of most of the men, while others merely looked on curiously. The chiefs began to laugh, all except Janga. He fixed his eyes on the man as one of his hands found its way to his chin.

“Why are our wolves being killed? What more do they plan on doing to us?”

The man sighed before replying. “Because the whole four wolf clans put together are weak and no match for the fire red clan, never mind those blood-sucking things.” He looked penetratingly at the sixteen chiefs who gaped against him. “They want to put you under here.” He raised one of his booted feet and stamped the floor with it.

“So you’re saying this talisman can be the answer to all our problems?” Janga asked.

The man’s eyes that were dull began to brighten once again. They were so bright that flames began to dance and leap in them. He seemed to be in a trance – like state as his mouth opened and he began speaking. “We need a man from each clan, a man whose heart is honorable and true, a man, strong and able, a man who is not afraid to die.”

Murmurs rippled throughout the hall as men averted their faces. The chiefs whispered furiously amongst themselves. They were all at variance with what the man had said, until someone stepped out of the shadows.

“I volunteer to go from the white wolf clan.”

A stunned silence descended on everyone as they stared at the man who had just come out.

“What is your name, brother?” The man with fire in his eyes, asked.

“My name is Keratin, what’s yours?”

“Storm!” The fire in his eyes blazed brighter than ever as he stared at Keratin. “But you can call me the Map Bearer.”

Behind him, Janga smiled, happy about the way everything was going. Since he could not kill Keratin himself, this self-sacrifice of his would surely kill him.