Suddenly, you stop, as you smell something. The musky scent is strong enough even for your nose to pick up. The forest goes silent, and the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. Out of the shadows appears a huge wolf, brown with blue-black hairs on its back and the top of its head. It regards you for a moment, before baring its fangs. You gulp, but stand firm. This is what you were looking for.
You are a traveler, moving about the realm, learning about the origins of all creatures. The elusive Direwolf, this wild beast in front of you, has a story about its origins that few have ever heard.
"P-please," you stammer. "I'm just here to learn. Not to make trouble."
The Direwolf is bristling still, and letting a low growl seep through its teeth. Then, to your surprise, another Direwolf comes out, on your left. This one regards you as the other did, and then let out a quiet bark. The threatening Direwolf glances at it in surprise, whimpers, and then lies down. The new Direwolf approaches you. You stand perfectly still as it sniffs you, and then let out a breath of relief as it moves back. It lets out another bark, and the other Direwolf runs away. Then, the Direwolf who sniffed you flicks its tail at you, and lopes away. Nervously, you follow, pushing your way through the thick forest.
The Direwolf leads you to a clearing, which reeks of the large's animals smell. You see several other Direwolves laying about, as well as pups. Then, a human woman comes out of one of the dens. She is old, browned by the sun, with whispy white hair. Her wise old eyes don't show any surprise at seeing you. She growls quietly to the Direwolf who escorted you here. It nods, and backs away. The woman smiles at you.
"I am Taika," she says. Her voice is rough, much like the Direwolves' growls. "You have come here for the legend?" You nod, and she sits down. Hesitantly, you sit down beside her. The woman begins to speak, and you soon lose yourself in the tale.
A long time ago, there was no magic in this land. The magic came from somewhere, perhaps another world, but no on truly knows where. Before the magic invaded our world and changed it forever, there were normal beasts about. One of them was the wolf.
The wolves believed that their own God shaped them in his image, giving them sleek bodies, wide paws, sharp teeth, keen ears, and sensitive noses. He gave them great hunting abilities, as well as the need for family. Wolves always regarded themselves as one of the highest creatures.
This changed, when magic seeped into our world. All around the world, beasts began to change. They gained their own magic. The forest, where the wolves lived, was untouched by this magic. The wolves found themselves in a word where they were no longer supreme. How were they to compete with the mystical beasts who invaded their forest? The griffins who stole their prey, even ate their pups? The Pegasi, who ran off the wolves' prey so they could have their grazing ground? The Phoenix, who time and time again set the forest ablaze?
There was one pack that lived in the forest at the time. It was led by Sibane, a fierce female who led her pack with cunning and strength. Sibane realized how powerful magic was, and how her pack needed it if they were to drive off the other beasts, and claim their forest once more. Sibane left the pack in the control of Lucifo, a head-strong young male who was as cunning as she was. Sibane journeyed alone, into the mountains, where she hopes she could find the source of the magic. She traveled through many lands, but everywhere she went, there was no magic. Eventually, Sibane almost felt like giving up. Tired and hungry from her travels, she collasped on a stream bank. She passed out, and the side of her muzzle rested in the water.
Sibane was woken by a great pain. It felt like she was being stretched, pulled apart. The pain lasted until moonrise, and then halted. Sibane stood, and realized she had changed. No longer was she a tiny wolf, cowed by griffins and their magical kin. Now, she was something else, a huge wolf that could easily take on the pack's magical enemies. Overjoyed and astonished at her change, she realized it must have come from the stream. She followed the stream for many days, until she again found herself near her home forest. The stream ended in the mountains around the forest. Using her new strength, Sibane managed to get out of the mountains within a day. She searched the forest for her pack, only to find that Lucifo had betrayed her, and had taken total control of the pack. While she was gone, the pack had tried to fight the griffins, and had lost badly. Many of the pack was killed, Lucifo included. When Sibane returned to him, they were awed by her strength and size. They apologized to Sibane, saying Lucifo had forced them to follow him, but Sibane had not believed them. She was angry. However, she pretended to believe them, and told them to follow her to where the magical stream lay. They followed her through the mountains, although it took the pack several days, since they did not have Sibane's strength. Sibane led them to a small creek, which branched off from the stream. Here, the wolves lapped up the water eagerly. By moonrise, they had all been transformed. However, none of them were as large or powerful as Sibane. By taking them to a branch of the stream instead of the full stream, Sibane had made it so that they had gotten less magic, and therefore were weaker than she was, as punishment for their wrongdoings with Lucifo.
The pack understood why she had done this, and knew that now she was destined to lead them until she died, for none could overthrow her. Sibane led them for many years. With her cunning, the pack killed many griffins, Phoenix, and Pegasi, and their forest became free once more. Sibane named her kind 'Direwolves,' for they had become the magical beings that they now were because of their dire need to become stronger.
You blink at the woman once she is finished with her tale. "This is the same forest?" you ask, and she nods.
"The very same," she says, and stands. "You should go. The wolves have accepted me, because I once saved their leader's life. But to them, you are a stranger. They did not kill you because they knew I would want to speak with you. We have spoken, and now you must leave. They won't tolerate you." Taika smiles at you. "Spread the tale of the Direwolves, and the courage of Sibane and her pack."
You nod, and then take your leave of the clearing. You leave the forest very quickly, not wanting to tangle again with those wild wolves.
((Is this okay? That it isn't just a myth, it has sort of an introduction and things? It's a piece of junk, I know, but I only had today to do it, since I was on vacation and didn't know we were having a competition.
))
