"Loyalty is not given by blood or crown, but by the courage to stand beside another when the world turns away."
Morning light spilled across the snow-covered fields. The storm had passed completely, leaving the land silent and glassy under the rising sun. Lior and Kael trudged forward, following a narrow trail that wound between jagged stones and skeletal trees. Their breath rose in small clouds that vanished quickly in the chill air.
Kael pulled his cloak tighter. "If we walk any farther north, we will meet the moon herself. Remind me again why we are doing this?"
Lior's gaze was fixed ahead. "The flame led us this way. There is something here I need to find."
"Something? Or someone?" Kael asked, his voice teasing but cautious.
Lior's expression did not change. "Both, perhaps."
For several hours they walked without speaking. The silence of the north was strange, deep and heavy, as if the world itself was holding its breath. The sun hung pale and distant, offering light but little warmth.
As they crested a hill, they saw smoke curling from the distance. A small settlement lay nestled at the base of a frozen forest, its wooden palisade half-buried in snow. A single banner hung limply from the gate, its color faded but its emblem still clear. A silver wolf howling beneath a crescent moon.
Kael whistled softly. "That looks welcoming. Or it would, if not for the lack of people moving."
They approached carefully. The gates stood open, and the air inside smelled faintly of iron. Snow covered everything, but beneath it, faint traces of struggle remained. Broken weapons, footprints that led nowhere, and dark stains half-hidden beneath the frost.
Kael crouched near one of the tracks. "Whoever they were, they did not leave willingly."
Lior nodded. "Stay alert."
As they moved through the empty village, a faint sound reached their ears, a low growl, deep and steady. Kael's hand went to his dagger. "Tell me that is not what I think it is."
Before Lior could answer, a massive shape emerged from the shadows between two huts. A wolf, taller than any horse, its fur pure silver that shimmered even under the dim light. Its eyes burned with cold blue fire.
Kael took a step back. "Well. It is beautiful. And I am going to die admiring it."
The wolf's gaze fixed on Lior. It did not attack immediately, only watched, as if weighing something unseen. Then a voice echoed, not aloud, but within their minds.
*Why have you come here, bearer of flame?*
Lior stiffened. "To seek the truth of what lies beyond the veil."
The wolf's growl deepened. *Truth is a burden. Few carry it willingly. Fewer survive it.*
Kael muttered, "Fantastic. Even the wildlife gives riddles now."
The wolf's gaze flickered toward him. *And you, shadow-blooded one, why do you follow the cursed flame?*
Kael swallowed. "Because he is the only fool I trust."
For a long moment, the wolf was silent. Then it stepped closer, its massive paws leaving no sound on the snow. *Then prove that trust is not misplaced.*
Without warning, the wolf lunged. Lior barely raised his sword in time to block. The force of the blow sent him skidding backward. Kael dove aside, rolling across the snow.
The creature moved with terrifying speed. Every strike was precise, testing, not wild. Lior met its attacks with equal precision, sparks flying where metal met claw.
Kael circled around, shouting, "Any plan that does not end with me as breakfast?"
"Keep moving!" Lior called back.
The wolf leaped again, jaws snapping. Lior ducked low, driving his blade upward. The sword grazed its side, and blue fire spilled from the wound instead of blood. The wolf roared, shaking the air.
*You fight as one who remembers pain,* the voice echoed in his head. *But you do not yet understand it.*
Lior's chest burned. The flame within him pulsed wildly, and for a moment, the world tilted. He saw flashes again, himself standing beside another silver wolf, smaller but proud, in a field of gold. Then fire. Screams. A promise broken.
He staggered. The wolf stopped, watching him with unreadable eyes.
Kael shouted, "Lior! Do not dare fall now!"
Lior gritted his teeth and lifted his sword again. "I understand enough."
Light burst from his blade, pure and white. The wolf howled, its form wavering. When the glow faded, it stood motionless, no longer hostile. Slowly, it lowered its head.
*So you have not forgotten everything,* the voice said softly. *Long ago, you saved one of my kin. For that, I grant you passage through my domain.*
The wolf's form began to fade, its body dissolving into a thousand silver motes that drifted upward like snow. In its place, a pendant remained, shaped like a crescent moon. Lior picked it up.
Kael approached cautiously. "We are not dead. That is a good sign."
Lior turned the pendant over in his hand. "It was not trying to kill us. It was testing me."
Kael sighed. "Next time, tell the giant magical wolf we prefer written exams."
Lior smiled faintly. The pendant pulsed once, warm against his skin, then fell still. "Come on. There is more ahead."
As they left the village, the howling of distant wolves echoed through the mountains. It was not threatening, but solemn, like a farewell.
Kael looked back once. "You think they were all watching us?"
"Yes," Lior said. "And now they are waiting."
The wind shifted, carrying a faint scent of pine and snow. The path ahead curved toward a forest that seemed untouched by time. Somewhere beyond its edge, a faint light glowed, steady and golden.
Lior took a deep breath and stepped forward. "We follow the light."
Kael nodded. "You lead, I complain. It works."
They vanished into the trees, the silver pendant gleaming softly in the dawn light.