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The Saga of the White Wolf

ToastySpam

Chairman of the Procrastination Committee
Legend
ToastySpam
ToastySpam
Legend
I had to cut this down quite a bit, and it was a little rushed, but even so its still quite long for a forum post. Still, here it is - a general backstory for Star.

A NOTE FOR THE READER: The following is a re-telling of a story that happened many years ago. As such, many of the fantastical elements detailed within have been exaggerated as it passed from tavern bard to tavern bard. I am not aiming for realism in this translation, because I believe that attempting to ground the tale may inadvertently make it far less accurate. But keep in mind as you read that some of this may be nothing more than myth.


Once upon a time, a star shot across the sky and crashed to earth outside a small, southern farming village.

An old farmer, visited the crater and found a girl lying there. She was dressed in simple but finely crafted dress, that was torn and ripped and covered in burn marks. Her body was bruised, and there was a thin cut across her neck.

Expecting her to be dead, the farmer put his hand in front of her mouth to check, and was surprised to feel breath, warm against his knuckles in contrast to the cool night air.

Hurriedly, he carried her home, where his wife tucked her into a bed and tended to the girl’s wounds to the best of her ability. For two days, the girl lay asleep. But on that third morning, she suddenly awoke, sitting bolt upright, a wild fear in her eyes.

The old farmer and his wife asked her many questions, none of which she could answer. Her name, her age, her home… all memories of her past had vanished.

They took to calling the girl ‘Star’, for obvious reasons. Star soon began to wander the village, feeling restless and lonely. The other villagers shunned her. In the two days she had slept, they had had time to cultivate rumours about the witch who fell from the sky.

These rumours lead to violence. One afternoon, she was sitting at the counter of the local tavern, when three young men, only a little older than her, approached. They jeered at her; poked her. She ignored their taunts, feeling helpless, and that was when one of them, the brashest lad, grabbed her around the waist.

That was a mistake.

Suddenly Star was no longer the timid, bullied outsider. She was an animal, violently beating her aggressors with a skill in combat that she didn’t even know she possessed; ducking under pitifully slow punches and responding with arcing, vicious kicks.

All three of them collapsed to the floor, holding badly bruised limbs, and clutching broken noses. She stood in the centre of them, shaking in residual anger and growing fear of herself, before running out of the bar.

The news spread like wildfire, as news always does in small places. Soon the people of the village began to plot against her, and against the farmers who had taken her in.

Predicting this, the old farmer told her that she had to leave, for all of their sakes. His wife wept, for the girl had become the closest thing she had ever had to a daughter in that short time, but Star knew this was the truth, and thanking the pair for looking after her, began to prepare for a journey north, in the direction of the spot that the star had first appeared in the sky.

Before she left, the farmer gifted to her a simple, old sword and scabbard that he no longer had need for. There were worse villains out there than three rowdy boys, and she would need a weapon to defend herself.

Once she had accepted the gift, she set off to the north.

Star’s journey was a long one, long enough to deserve its own story, so in this telling of the tale I will shorten it as best as I can.

On her travels, she came across a terrorist group called the Serpents, led by an Earthspawn who called himself the Shadow Serpent. They, too, were riding north, razing any towns that they passed through, and striking fear into the hearts of all who witnessed them.

She also met friends. An archaeologist Earthspawn, who she later learned had once ridden with the Serpents, and an exceptionally talented elven huntress. The archaeologist was travelling in search of the shooting star’s origin as well, telling Star of an ancient, little known folk legend about a hero who was born with a star.

Soon after they met, the Serpents rode through the same town. The Earthspawn and the Elf made to run, but Star, with a naïve bravery, stepped in front of the horde with the blade the farmer had given her, seeking to protect the citizens of the town, or at least give them time to run.

Unwilling to leave her to her fate, the huntress and the archaeologist saved her. The Wood Elf ran across rooftops, leaping through the air and picking off riders with her bow. The Earthspawn picked her up and carried her out of harm’s way.

This distraction in the end worked, and the town-goers were able to escape. Star and her two friends soon followed suit, stealing horses from the Serpents and galloping towards the horizon.

With horses, the trio were now able to travel a lot faster than the Shadow Serpent’s small army. During this time, the Earthspawn revealed that once he had been like a brother to the Shadow Serpent, and had turned from him after he began to embrace more evil ways.

After a long, arduous trip, they found themselves in the mountains of the north, still following the location of where the Star had first appeared in the sky, and using the Earthspawn’s historical knowledge.

They came across an incredibly isolated village. Star at first hoped it was her home, that here, she would recover her memories.

But alas, this was not the case, although most of the village seemed to recognise her.

They all referred to her as the White Wolf, as a reincarnation of the same ancient folk hero that her archaeologist friend had discussed with her.
The head of the village, an elderly shaman, told her that she had been created to stop the Shadow Serpent, who was in fact also a reincarnation, of an equally ancient evil that could only be vanquished by the use of the Wolfblade, in the hands of the White Wolf. If she didn’t kill him, he would become unstoppable, rampaging across all of Altera and bending it to his dark will. The shaman begged for her to climb to the peak of the mountain the village was situated on, on top of which would she find the weapon she needed. When asked about her past, he simply sadly shook his head and said that he didn’t know.

Star found herself overwhelmed, and unable to deal with all of this new information. She wasn’t a hero, or a warrior. She was just a scared girl who had lost her past. She refused to help in a bout of unprecedented selfishness,

Meanwhile, the archaeologist and the huntress scouted a ways to the south. They were horrified to find that the Shadow Serpent’s small army was nearly at their very doorstep.

The Wood Elf begged her long time companion to go back with her, in an attempt to convince Star to help them. The Earthspawn shook his head. She had to make that decision about her destiny. Nobody else.

He walked down, bearing a crude white flag of truce, to speak to his old friend. He gave a speech, begging the other Earthspawn to stop his mad pursuit of power and destruction. The friend he had once called a brother sneered and cut him down.

The Wood Elf howled in emotional agony from her elevated position and fired off a volley of shots at the villain. They all were on target, but not one of them did any harm. Whatever dark power it was that surrounded him, the shaman had been right. He could only be killed by Star, and with the Wolfblade.

Under a hail of returning fire, the huntress returned to the mountain village, and angrily told Star what had happened. The girl reacted with shock, and adamantly blamed herself. Determined to avenge her friend, she left her tent immediately and began to climb to the top of the mountain. The huntress, meanwhile, made preparations with the shaman to defend the village. She had lost all faith in Star, and did not expect her to complete the climb.

After days of climbing, though Star was not sure how many, she reached the peak. Amongst a cluster of rock, thickly encrusted with ice, was an ornate stone entranceway to a cave. Stumbling forward, feeling miserable and stinging with cold, Star made her way into the cave.

The walls were dimly lit by luminescent stone, despite the fact that no sunlight could this far into the cavern.

After a few minutes of walking, she came across a sword, neatly placed in a pedestal, and behind it, an armour stand. The armour and blade were in pristine condition, despite apparently not having been touched for hundreds of years.

The sword slid out of the stone smoothly, like a knife through butter. The grip in her hand felt… right. Natural. Like it belonged. The weapon was perfectly balanced.

The armour was the same. It fit her exactly, moulded to the shape of her body.

Wearing it, carrying the weapon… she felt something awake in herself. The same animalistic fury that had taken her over when she had beaten those three young men in the bar, all that time ago. This time though, it wasn't terrifying. It was fantastic.

With this energy bubbling inside of her, she turned around and began to make her way back down the mountain.

When she returned to the village, a couple houses were already burning, set alight by flaming arrows. The villagers had already retreated to the mead hall with the shaman, but that wouldn’t provide respite for long.

Both sides stared at her as she arrived. She strode across the town, sword drawn, letting the fire inside of herself kindle.

The Shadow Serpent held up a hand, wordlessly halting his army, and stepped forward to meet her. There was a respect for his enemy on his face, and something like… fear?

That gave her hope.

They fought in the centre of the village, while both sides watched in silence. Steel clanging on steel.

At one, horrifying moment, Star was knocked onto her back, seemingly breathless. The Serpent grinned a frightening grin and reared back, plunging his sword downwards.

But the Wolf came up to meet him.

She twisted with elegance and speed, narrowly missing the edge of his weapon, and stabbed upwards with the Wolfblade.

It passed cleanly through him, and out the other side, coated red.

Star’s face was incredibly close to his. Their noses brushed, like lovers teasing around a kiss. The hungry fury in her eyes faded, as the life faded from his.

She stepped back, pulling her sword out of his chest, and he crumpled to the floor.

A moment passed, and then a huge cheer erupted from behind her. Without a leader, and faced with the gaze of the White Wolf, the enemy scattered, making a hasty retreat back down the mountain.

The rest of the day was spent in celebration. Star and the huntress joined in, but neither fully had it in their hearts. They still grieved for their lost friend, and Star still blamed herself, despite the Elf assuring her that she had redeemed herself.

That same night, the Elf left on a personal journey of her own. As a parting gift, she gave Star a beautifully blue scarf of elven handiwork, which the girl accepted graciously.

The next day, Star left, too, despite clamouring from the locals to have her stay. The shaman understood her decision, and she set out south again.

From then on, Star accepted her new role, determined to help the weak and protect those who couldn’t protect themselves. She was also determined to discover her past, and who she really was, despite having nothing to go on anymore.

And, so ends the beginning of the first chapter in the saga of the White Wolf.
 
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