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Chapter III

Darkness and Light

"What have I done?" thought the terrified Dante, as he panted, his forepaws on his knees,"I... I killed those men! Just like that! I don't even know... how..." His gasping breath filled the night air with it's violent presence, the sun had just set a few minutes ago, and the creatures of the night were just beginning to stir. Fire flies flew about the soon to be chill night air, the whole forest seemed to be at peace with itself. As if it knew nothing of the dark dealings, that had just happened mere moments ago. Dante finally caught his breath, he slumped against a tree, he shivered slightly, rubbing his arms together as he folded his wings tighter around himself. He looked up at the night sky, tears still glistening in his eyes at the lose of his mother, the only person he knew that had loved him. But every time he thought of her, the thought of what he had done to those men rushed into his mind. He winced, as he remember those blood curdling screams, and the few men that were crying for mercy, some praying to what divinity above they believed in for forgiveness, and then those who had merely been eaten first, who didn't even fully grasp what happened to them before the entered the void. The true void,"That... place..." thought Dante,"Where did they go?" he lay there, leaning against a tree, mulling it over. He didn't know how he had controlled those horrible snake-like shadows, all he knew is that in the spur of the moment he had drawn upon some terrible and enormous power. He curled up tighter, wanting his mother more than ever in the chilly, still, and lonely night. He sniffed once, and the tears weld up, but this time he willed himself not to cry. Dante wished Salina was there to comfort him as usual. For he was still a young pup, almost incapable of taking care of himself, he could barely fly.

His eyelids slowly began to droop, as he thought of that world where the shadows had come out of and dragged the hunters into, it horrified him, but also, intrigued him in a way he could not describe. He felt an odd feeling of recognition in that place, as if it was somebody that he had once met but forgot about in years past, since the meeting. Yawning, the pup finally drifted off to an unsettled sleep, as the cicadas sang their melancholy song, and far away, the owlets dried their tears. Salina placed a wreath of flowers on the grave that they had just filled in, the oldest Owlet, vowed to seek revenge under his breath. That night, something seemed to shift slightly for Dante, as if some damned beast had been released, to which it would either be tamed, or it devoured whoever dared attempt it. As Dante slept, the enchantments cast on him by Herema slowly activated, working their magic into him, preparing him, for what was to come.

As the anthromorphic pup gently slept, small wisps of gently mist began to form around his breast, slowly drifting around a single point in midair. As if they were coming together to form a clump of some sort. The threadlike mist glowed softly, white as snow, they began to slowly form into an ovular shape. Some coalesced to form a small, silvery chain, that hung around Dante's neck, the majority came together, and slowly began to form what looked like at first to be a small pendent, but it soon became an amulet. As the rough shape of the objective of Herema's enchantments was formed, detail's course began. The chain became an iridescent silver, and the amulet, which lay directly in the middle of the pup's chest, was adorned with odd, yet elegant symbols around the rim. In the middle, a symbol began to form, a crest. Two figures stood, crossed together, one in front and another in back. They both faced opposite directions. In a style that almost resembled Egyptian they stood, yet their features were less stiff, more flowing, gentle, and lifelike. A muzzle formed on each face, then eyes, gently colored silver, with no pupils formed. As the head of a wolf anthro formed on each form, the rest of their features became wolf life. Their paws were outstretched, at first loosely, then their clawed fingers slowly curled around, as if they were clutching something. Out of their paws grew long rods. The silver furred wolf in the front soon held a long, gleaming two handed sword in his two paws. There was a blue, sapphire stone embedded in it's pummel. The identical wolf in the back held long, silvery rod, a staff, in one paw, and in the other, outstretched paw, he held silver flames, almost on the brink of being thrown to what target the mage desired. Thus, the emblem complete, the light cast by the wisps slowly faded, as the amulet rested on the pups chest. The world was still once more. Dante wore the crest of the Silver Wolf Clan, on his neck.

The night wore on, as the pup's sleep was filled with pleasantries, horrible nightmares plagued him. His visions were filled with terrible, shadowy monsters. Abominations that were so morbid that one's fortune would turn tail and run if even their name was spoken. Ten foot wolf like monsters patrolled his unconscious world on two legs. Wearing little but rough armor, their gleaming black skinned muscle bulging on their arms and legs, as well as their torso. Their heads resembled that of Anubis himself, they fought viciously, attacking each other and other monsters. They snarled and growled constantly, their weaponry almost as black as their skin, yet it had an odd sheen that Dante couldn't identify, as the finished the last of their enemy, a group of unfortunate humans, four of them turned and faced Dante, their backs arched, they snarled, revealing shattered teeth with black saliva dripping from their maws. It hissed and sizzled at it hit the beaten ground. The lunged forward, as Dante was about to be skewered and swallowed by the creatures, he awoke, panting once again.

He looked around himself, morning had already began it's task of going through it's daily routine. Butterflies flew with their bobbing motions as several birds began their morning song. He collapsed against the tree, relief seeping through him that what he thought was going to happened had merely been a dream. He felt an unfamiliar weight on his furred chest, looking down he noticed the amulet, he pawed at it tentatively, before taking it in his paws and examining it, he noticed small hinges on the side of the amulet and unsheathed a claw, he tried to open the lid but it would not budge. He looked to the front of it, marveling at the intricately crafted symbol on the lid. Two silver furred wolves, one wielding a sword, the other a staff. Standing side by side, the swordswolf over the spell-caster. Dante scratched an ear with his paw and held the amulet in the one other, he wondered how in the world he had suddenly gotten this beautiful piece of craftsmanship. Getting up he looked around, the day had just begun, and he needed to find some sort of food, he padded forward, looking around the forest to see if breakfast was anywhere to be found.

to be continued...