Dawn of Insanity

Wolfsong

Chapter I

Blaze was angry. He had every right to be. After all, his idiot father had just promised position of pack leader to his younger brother Knallaeko. Knallaeko, of all wolves. Why couldn’t it be Blaze? He was the strongest, the fastest, the smartest, and, as far as Blaze was concerned, the only wolf capable of the job.

            By his looks, one would think he was a large red fox.  As his name suggested, Blaze’s coat was like fire licking at the grass of the pack’s territory. His anger was the same way, smoldering deep inside him until he was provoked. If that happened, then the fire went out of control. Right now, his anger was smoldering.

            He flopped down on his side, stared gloomily into the distance, and thought to himself, “I’ll show him. I’ll be the leader of the pack. No one will dare bother me. No one. At all.”

            Completely oblivious to his brother’s thoughts, young Knallaeko ran through the grass and flowers, laughing and playing with his friends, as the wind whipped through his long, white fur. He was about half his brother’s age and size, Blaze being a full-grown wolf.  He was young enough, though, to have fun playing, but old enough to understand the responsibility that awaited him. He knew his brother hated him, because, of course Blaze hadn’t neglected to remind him of this bit of information. He just didn’t know why.

            Blaze watched his little brother from his hidden perch. “Yes, run and play while you still can. This is the last time you will ever see the sun. Enjoy life for now anyway, He thought evilly. He grinned inwardly. Now was the time to put his plan into motion. Now. 

                                                                                                         Chapter II

                      Silvanus, the pack leader, was also watching Knallaeko. The silver streaks in his ebony fur almost glimmered in the sunlight, as if

made of real silver. His fur had once all been black, but had begun to lighten with age.

 “Ahh, I remember those days,” he thought to himself.  He then looked around for a glimpse of his other son. Seeing him nowhere, he sighed. Blaze was sulking again. Silvanus loved him just as much as he loved Knallaeko. The problem was getting Blaze to understand. Then his ears pricked up. He sniffed the air.  “No wonder I couldn’t see him.  Blaze is behind me. He has to stop sneaking up on me,” he thought, but didn’t say. “Hello, son,” he said pleasantly, turning to face Blaze.

“Hello, Father,” Blaze replied, matching his father’s pleasant tone. He may have become bitter and evil, but he still was able to charm others with his tone.

“You seem to have forgiven me quickly,” Silvanus observed, “Why?”

“Why would I stay angry?” Blaze replied cheerfully. Blaze then walked away, leaving Silvanus to be shocked over his eldest son’s sudden transformation. Blaze grinned to himself. It was all part of his plan.

The rest of the day passed rather uneventfully. At nightfall, Blaze went to his father again. “Want to take a walk with me?” Blaze asked, “I just want to talk with my father.”

Silvanus was suspicious, but he agreed. Blaze seemed to be acting nice enough. Perhaps he had just misjudged him. The two of them just walked and talked in the moonlight for a long time. Silvanus was amazed. He hadn’t seen this side of his son in years. “Maybe he’s thought it over and realized that I really care about him,” he thought. Silvanus didn’t know how wrong he was.

“That was enjoyable. Maybe both of us can walk together again sometimes,” Silvanus said.

“Perhaps,” Blaze replied. Suddenly he turned to face his father. The pleasant smile on his face suddenly changed to an evil and sadistic grin. The sparkle in his eyes dimmed to a glimmer. “If you’re still alive, that is!” he growled. He leaped towards his father, jaws open.

Silvanus finally realized he’d been tricked by Blaze, but it was too late. Blaze was on him and had his jaws around his throat. When Silvanus cried out, Blaze released his hold for a second, long enough for Silvanus to shake him off his back. “Why, Blaze, why?” he choked.

“You are no longer fit to be leader!” Blaze snarled. With that, he struck his father with his paw, sending him flying. Silvanus yelped loudly in pain. He tried to stand, but found he was unable to move. “Goodbye, Father!” Blaze sneered.  Silvanus closed his eyes and braced himself the best he could. Blaze struck him one last time. Then he stood still, watching for any signs of life. There were none. Silvanus, the great leader, was dead.

Most wolves in Blaze’s position would have been caught. But not Blaze. He had already found a perfect scapegoat. A young, innocent fox lost his life that night as well. Blaze ran through a nearby thicket, letting thorns scratch him, giving the illusion that he had been in a fight with an unusually vicious fox.  He picked up a much exaggerated limp as he walked, inventing a story.

                                                                                                    Chapter III

            Blaze calmly sat in front of the pack, taking on a fake look of weariness and sorrow. He waited for the outraged members to quiet their whispering amongst themselves. Then he began, “Our meeting is now in-“

            “What gives you the authority to call a pack meeting, anyway? That’s the pack leader’s responsibility,” an elder and wiser member roared.

            Blaze declared, “But, that’s what it’s about. You see-” He sighed convincingly. “Silvanus is gone.” The pack members shut up, stunned.

A young ginger-colored wolf spoke up, her voice wavering, “What do you mean…gone?”

“You don’t know how much it hurts to say this, but he’s been murdered. By foxes,” Blaze sighed. Blaze’s statement began the whispering all over again.

“You’re lying!” the same young member shouted, and received a collective “Silence, Gnoiri!” from the other members.

“I know you think so. You see, I can hardly believe it myself, but it happened. I hate to relive it again, but if it will help, I’ll tell the story,” Blaze replied.

“I still think he’s lying,” Gnoiri muttered.

Blaze took a deep breath then began, “My father and I were just walking together, when out of nowhere, one of those vicious brutes attacked us. I tried to help him fend them off, but I couldn’t-They were just too much for me. I was able to kill one of them, but it was too late. Those cowards had destroyed him.”

Gnoiri worked up the courage to challenge Blaze again. “Prove it!” she exclaimed. Blaze simply motioned for her and a few other members to follow him.

During all this, Knallaeko had been shocked into silence. How could his father, their strong leader, possibly be gone? He began to walk away slowly, but then stopped. He threw back his head, and let out the most heartbroken howl of his life.

                                                                                            Chapter IV

            Twelve days later, Knallaeko lay curled under the shade of a lone tree. His once-white fur had become mottled with an ugly black, for lack of grooming. He had eaten very little since he found out his father’s fate. He was completely unaware of the state of his pack.

The pack had started to crumble, because, of course, a wolf that refuses to speak makes a poor leader. What was left was gathered to discuss the situation. The less compassionate half of the members wanted to let Blaze take over. The other half just wanted to give Knallaeko his time. Naturally, this caused a lot of argument. Blaze coolly took the leader’s spot and let out a short, meaningful howl. The pack members quieted down to a whisper.

“Now, I know what you’re thinking. You’re angry at Knallaeko,” Blaze stated.  The pack merely murmured in agreement. “Maybe if I talked to him, it will help things,” Blaze suggested. The pack approved of this, unwittingly helping Blaze in his plan.

Blaze smirked as he walked where his brother lay. “Knallaeko?” he called, as gently as possible. Knallaeko hardly looked up. “Listen, I know you’re upset. Do you want to talk about it?” Blaze asked.  Normally, this sudden change of character on Blaze’s part would have alarmed Knallaeko, but he was so depressed, he didn’t even notice. Besides, he really wanted to talk about it. He weakly got up from where he had lain for several days.

The two of them hadn’t walked very far when Blaze decided he had had enough of this. He stopped abruptly and turned towards his brother, a grin stretching across his face. Knallaeko stopped and turned as well, suddenly more wary. Blaze nearly cackled as he struck his younger brother on the side of his face, aiming his claws towards Knallaeko’s left eye. Knallaeko cried out in intense pain and looked questioningly at Blaze. Blaze simply lifted his paw to strike again, but suddenly stopped, unable to hurt his younger brother again. Maybe he really had a heart, or, perhaps, he was afraid of being caught. Whatever it was, he just snarled and placed his paw on the ground. Knallaeko looked nervously at his older brother.

Blaze just snarled angrily, “Get away from here! I never want to see you again!” At this, Knallaeko turned and fled as quickly as he could. Blaze sat and watched as the young wolf began to disappear into the distance, and turned to go back home.

Chapter V

Knallaeko ran as far as he could, acting in pure fear. After a while, he slowed down, beginning to weaken. Finally, he dragged himself to a nearby cave, and there he collapsed. Several hours passed as he lay on the floor of the cave. Then he at last awakened, disoriented at first. Then he heard a very feminine voice to his left-his now-blind side. “So you are alive,” it stated coolly.  Knallaeko turned to face the sound and gasped. There sat a silver vixen, her back to him.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the pack’s territory, Blaze attempted to explain the new situation to a stunned crowd of wolves.

“And you say he just snapped at you and ran away?” Gnoiri asked, disbelieving him.

“Yes, that is exactly the way it happened. He told me he didn’t want to lead,” Blaze fibbed.

“Well, what do we do now?” asked an adult black and white wolf named Tyuiyoski. “We have lost two leaders already. We can’t remain leaderless for long.”

Another wolf spoke. This time it was an adult black female named, of course, Raven. She suggested, “Let Blaze take over. He’s all we have left.”

“But, what about Knallaeko?” Gnoiri asked.

“You heard Blaze.” Tyuiyoski told her firmly. “He gave up control.”

Left with no other alternative, the pack reluctantly agreed to allow Blaze to take Knallaeko’s place as leader. Blaze now had what he wanted. He now ruled all of the wolves.

* * *

Back at the cave, Knallaeko snarled at what he saw as an enemy.

The fox was mostly silver. Her tail tip was reddish, with a wide white band near it. Her face was pure white with black stripes that started at her nape. The stripes continued to surround the lower halves of her eyes in a strange semicircular pattern. She just sat calmly, waiting for a chance to speak.  Knallaeko spoke first, “What are you doing here?”

“I live here, of course.” The fox said coolly. “How ‘bout you, hon?”

“What do you care you, you, fox?” Knallaeko spat.

“Oh boy,” she muttered.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Knallaeko asked.

“If you don’t mind me asking, love, what is this bias you have against foxes?” the fox asked.

“Foxes killed my father,” Knallaeko snapped.

“That’s ridiculous!” the fox exclaimed indignantly.

“Well, maybe it is, but I-I just don’t know what to believe,” Knallaeko stated, beginning to calm down. The he paused and added, a bit irked, “and why don’t you look at me when I talk to you?”

“I would if I could, hon,” she told him. She turned to face him. Knallaeko gasped again as he followed the stripes to her eyes, and saw that they were a ghostly white.

“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t know,” Knallaeko stated, looking at the ground.

“It’s fine, love. I’m used to it. You know what, it’s not really that bad,” the fox told him.

“Not that bad?” Knallaeko repeated, rather skeptically.

“Seriously. I’m just glad to be alive. Every day’s an adventure to me,” the fox smiled.

“But, how can you stand it? More importantly, how do you survive?” Knallaeko asked, curiously.

“It’s something you get used to, hon,” The fox told him. After a few seconds, she asked, “What’s your name?”

“It’s Knallaeko. Yours?” Knallaeko replied.

“I’m Aikieal,” Aikieal told him.

“Aikieal, can you teach me what you know? I’m now half-blind myself, and I’d really like to know,” he stated.

“Sure thing, love,” Aikieal replied.

            This is how Knallaeko began to be trained by his new friend. This would prepare him for later.

Chapter VI

(A few days later)

            “You’re attacking my blind side far too much,” Knallaeko whined, after yet another failed training session.

            “What do you expect me to do? Besides, hon, you’re obviously still relying on your sight too much,” Aikieal coolly responded.

            “What’s wrong with that?” Knallaeko snapped.

            Aikieal sighed heavily. The young wolf was not the best student in the world, but she still had to put with him. Then she told him, “You wanted to learn how to defend yourself without using your vision. It takes work, love.”

            “Still doesn’t mean I like it,” Knallaeko muttered.

            “You know what, we both need a rest. Let’s just take the rest of the day off,” Aikieal suggested.

            Of course, Knallaeko enjoyed this thought, and ran off excitedly, eager to explore his new surroundings; the only part he had really seen was Aikieal’s cave. He chattered excitedly as he ran up to the top of a nearby hill.

            He then fell silent as he noticed the view from the top of the knoll on which he stood. Above him, the sky stretched, painted in rainbow colors by the setting sun. To his left, at ground level, was a small, clear pond that perfectly reflected the colors of the sky. As he looked to his right, he saw a seemingly endless field of thick emerald grass, and flowers of every hue and variety imaginable.

            “It’s…beautiful,” Knallaeko whispered, in awe.

“Yes, it sure is,” Aikieal, who had joined him on the hill, agreed.

“But you’re-How do you-” Knallaeko began, confused   

            Aikieal simply smiled and stopped him with, “I have a different view of the world than you do, hon, if you know what I mean.”

            Knallaeko was confused at first, but finally realized what she meant. He closed his good eye, and concentrated. He was surprised at what he found. He could hear the wind whistle gently through the grass, and the calling of several birds. In addition, he could hear the soft breathing of both he and Aikieal. On the wind, he could smell the many different fragrances of the myriad flowers in the field below him. Underneath his paws, he could feel the combined textures of the hard soil and the softer grass. This whole scene gave him a mental picture nearly as vivid as he had seen using his vision.  Knallaeko opened his eye, and sighed. He now felt an extreme sense of longing for the home from which his own brother had driven him.

Aikieal had begun to walk to the nearby forest, in order to catch herself something to eat; having not had time to since she had begun to train Knallaeko. She invited Knallaeko, but he declined, wanting to linger where he was for a while longer. She then smiled slightly, and resumed her walk.

Knallaeko watched her for a while then turned back to the scenery. He then took another glance at the pond, and walked to it. Then he looked deep into it, looking for his reflection. When he found it, he yelped and splashed the water with his paw, panicking at the sight of what he had seen as a monster. He calmed down as he realized that, ugly as it was, the thing in the water was indeed he. He grimaced slightly as he noticed his own looks. Staring back at him was a shape barely recognizable as a wolf, its fur an ugly combination of dark brown and black, with small patches of white. Its missing left eye was perpetually shut with a long, permanent scar slashing across it. The fur on this side of its face was caked and matted with dried blood from this and the three claw marks on the side of its muzzle. Disgusted with his own appearance, he began to clean himself, using water from the pond. When he had finished, it was night.

Feeling tired, he walked back to the cave, to finally get a little sleep before Aikieal awakened him for yet more training.

The next day, when the two of them awoke around midday, it was raining hard, but Aikieal still insisted on training that day. Knallaeko performed very poorly that first lesson for the day, not only because of the downpour, but also because he was distracted by his intense hunger. It had been at least a week since he had last eaten. Aikieal decided to devote the remainder of that day, and the next few, to reteaching him how to hunt efficiently.  

* * *

                             While all of the above had been transpiring, a day’s run from Knallaeko’s new home, Blaze found that being leader wasn’t all that he expected it to be. He hadn’t expected all these wolves to be so utterly self-centered. Why, they brought their quarrels to him, and expected him to solve them. He was disgusted at the fact that his father had allowed this, and in fact, had even welcomed it in the pack. Well, that would all change soon. As long as he led them, there would be no more of that.

Chapter VII

(Six months later)

                             About half a year since Blaze had betrayed him and Silvanus, Knallaeko had become an adult wolf, strong both in body, and in mind. He had developed great fighting skills, courtesy of Aikieal’s extensive training lessons. He felt that he could live this way forever. Little did he know, however, that this wasn’t meant to last.

* * *

                             Unlike Knallaeko, the rest of the wolves had suffered under Blaze’s rule. There were only a few left, the others having abandoned the pack, tired of the insults. The others stayed, only because they were forced.

                             Of course, news about Knallaeko had spread quickly. The wolves left tried to hide the secret from Blaze, but he eventually found out. When he did, he snarled loudly and called Tyuiyoski, who was the second-best (next to Blaze) fighter of the remainder of the original pack, to him.

                             Trembling, the black-and-white wolf walked to Blaze and asked, “Yes?”

“I suppose you’ve heard about my brother.” Blaze stated.

“Well, yes-” Tyuiyoski began.

“Well, I want you to track them down and-” Blaze commanded, narrowing his eyes, “Kill them. Kill them both.”

“Yes…. master,” Tyuiyoski replied, wondering just how he was going to get out of this.