It had been many years since a human had spoken to her. Not that she minded the change of pace, it was just that the villagers she helped didn’t respect her anymore. Sure there was the yearly pagan festival to honor the promise of a good harvest each year. Over the years, it had turned from a whole-hearted worshipping of her, to an excuse to drink heavily for a day. It seemed that the villagers didn’t need her anymore.
She never wanted to be a goddess of the wheat, it just was a title given to her by the locals who still remembered her name. Flicking misshapen fleas from her tail, Holo looked from the fields of wheat to the mountains. She had wished for an escape from this village she had once cared for. She wanted to go north, to the forest of Yoitsu, but she was still stuck in the village.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to escape, she just couldn’t. Holo lived in the wheat that the village used, if she wandered off, she would disappear from the world. Her only chance to escape, was if someone were to come by and take a few bundles of wheat from the fields. Until that time arose, Holo would wait in the wheat for someone to take a bundle, far away from the village she now loathed.
~~~~~
Norah walked along the dusty trail, as she looked for someplace to rest. It had been hours since she had lost her sheep and her sheepdog. Wherever they had gone, she did not know, but she had failed her duties. It wasn’t easy taking care of sheep when one always wanted to wander off. The rest of the flock followed suit, taking hours to get back on the trail. With a sheepdog to help, it cut the time in half, but now she was alone.
Having a long grass-colored robe in the fall was quite handy, especially when the nights were cold. Her horn that she kept at her waist was all but useless now. Untying her gray sash, she blew the horn loudly, hoping for (at the very least) the sheepdog to return to her. Her attempt proved fruitless, but she still kept her head held high. Her staff was at least a foot taller than her, with a ringing bell that used to guide her now-lost sheep. With most of her equipment rendered useless, the shepherdess still kept them near her. She was warned of wolves that roamed the area, so she kept her staff as a weapon. Her hair was tied in a ponytail, mostly for modesty, because it was a custom for most women to tie their hair in that fashion. She tucked her hair in her hood, as she made her way to the village of Pasloe.
~~~~~
Holo stared at the night sky, she never was amazed by it. She knew it was just a mark of another day added to her long stay in Pasloe. Scanning across the skies, her gaze fell on the full moon. She thought that a full moon was one of the better natural pleasures for a wolf. It was more like an instinct to love the moon, a more primitive than developed habit. The moon however, looked slightly different than all the other nights. Holo could sense that something was amiss, as her ears quickly perked up. A large thunderstorm was coming, and it usually invited trouble.
She ate a bit of wheat, as she transformed into a massive wolf with red eyes. Her scythelike claws easily crushed part of the wheat field. Her fangs were deathly white, as she roared loudly, enough to be heard for miles. She took this form because it kept her warm during the torrential downpours that went by. There were great volleys of thunder which lit up the night sky. Even for Holo, who had experienced many storms, was astounded by the ferocity and the amount of rain, wind, and hail.
~~~~~
Norah had just reached the town’s edge when a large storm burst the sky open. The thunder and lightning alone scared the girl out of her wits, as she hurriedly ran to any type of shelter. With every step, her breathing became more labored, as she searched for any kind of refuge. Her hair stood on end, as she felt the warmth of a lightning-bolt strike a nearby cottage, setting it ablaze.
She had expected to hear screams of agony, but only heard laughter. Out of the flames, a lone man walked into the storm. His neck snapped quickly to his left, as his eyes met Norah’s. The man vanished into thin air, as Norah’s eyes bulged in surprise. The man drew a blade from his belt, as his smile cracked wide.
~~~~~
Flagg’s face was badly burnt from the inferno, but he took no notice. He spotted a lone woman out in the rain, so he dashed towards her. The girl smelt of dandelions and sheep, oh how he loved the taste of sheep. Drawing his blade, he smiled and showed all of his yellowed teeth. He sensed another force sprinting towards him. A being wants to challenge him? So be it, it had been years since he had a worthy opponent.
~~~~~
Holo had sensed a great evil that was very near her. She smelled something foul in the air, as her instincts took over. Running faster than she had in years, she made her way to the smell of blood. Spotting a dark figure, she lunged at the hopes of killing it with one strike.
~~~~~
Flagg saw an enormous creature leap towards him, but he did not fear it. Diving under it, he threw the blade into the creature’s chest. It made no reactions, as Flagg’s arms suddenly doubled in size and muscle. His leather jacket shredded open, as his body erupted in flames, and he cackled madly at the creature and the girl.
Snapping his neck, Flagg’s eyes turned a deep red. From his hands, extremely sharp talons appeared. His body was covered in a blue flame and he tensed up his legs to strike his prey down. He didn’t care who they were, just that they were lambs in his ritual.
~~~~~
Holo was struck with a small silver blade, that made her wince in pain. Turning around, her eyes spotted a creature that defied everything she knew. The once human figure was now more like some sort of werewolf with red eyes. She growled menacingly at the creature, but it didn’t show an ounce of fear. This thing, whatever it was, was more battle-hardened than her. She was capable of enormous things, but the creature standing before her was....different.
~~~~~
Norah shivered in the rain, but this was not a cause for alarm. The two creatures standing across from each other worried her. Whatever she had learned about demons, didn’t apply here. These things were the stuff of legend, that were too feared to be researched. The only useful thing she could do, was to bow her head in defeat, expecting to be devoured by one of the creatures.
~~~~~
Flagg struck in near-synchronization with the lightning, as his claws scraped the chest of the large wolf. A dark smile appeared from his face, one that told of cruelty beyond all imagination. He punched, slashed and bit the large wolf, but it would not fall. Reverting back to his human form, he held a long black sword in his right hand. Without another breath, he slashed at the girl and the wolf in one sweeping motion, leaving a blood trail in his wake.
~~~~~
Holo’s and Norah’s eyes widened, as they realized the extent of their wounds. Norah now knew that the wolf had tried to protect her from the werewolf standing before her. She wanted to scream because of the pain, but her body became numb, as she passed out. Holo had realized that she saved a shepherd girl, who was once a coined enemy of wolves. Formalities did not matter now, since she needed to protect the shepherd from any more harm. Holo blocked Flagg’s path to the girl, but he just grinned even wider.
Tilting his head and wheezing, Flagg spoke, “So, you are the wolf-deity, Holo.”
Holo was surprised at his words, “How do you know of me?”, as she slowly backed away.
Flagg coughed up blood, as he still held a grin on his face. “So the Wisewolf backs away from a fight? How very dull.” He stepped closer to the injured Holo, as a lightning bolt struck the ground behind him.
Holo knew that if she ran, the innocent girl would perish, she didn’t want that to linger on her mind for the rest of her life. She picked up Norah, and threw her on her own back. Holo was about to run, when Flagg shook his head at her.
“Tsk, Tsk. Why should I let you leave, besides, don’t you know that storms are dangerous? We can’t have you suffer out here any longer, even if you resemble a goddess.”
With that, Flagg’s body appeared instantaneously in front of Holo. Before she could react, the madman tapped Holo’s chest.
Holo felt her body seize up, as she reverted to her human form. Norah fell off of Holo’s back and into the mud. Holo growled at Flagg, with her tail up in alarm.
Flagg’s face went blank, as he simply stared at Holo. “In this world, you may be killed for looking like a human with wolf ears and a tail. I have traveled many years an it’s all the same, everything’s the same.”
Holo looked at Flagg with confusion on her face, “What are you going on about?”
Flagg shook his head, “I will give you a chance to not be criticized or hurt, for I have seen your resolve. There will be a great evil that you must face, but you need more friends to defeat it. I am merely one of his servants, nowhere near to his power.”
Holo was shocked, why did this man what to help her? Why would he give her mercy? Who, or what, was this evil?
With a snap of his fingers, a bolt of lightning struck Holo and Norah, making them vanish.
Behind him, a red-robed figure thrust a longsword into Flagg’s chest. Flagg closed his eyes, letting the pain seep away. His limbs felt numb and his breathing stopped. He sighed, “Good luck, you’ll need it.” He then disappeared in a wall of black flames.
The robed figure swore under his breath, “How could he deceive me for this long? No matter, I shall track down where he sent those two women, and kill them.” Pressing a finger to his ear, he called one of his subordinates.
The robed figure spoke, “I need you to find two people for me. They are a threat to our plans, understood?”
The man on the other end replied, “Yes sir. Did you find any information regarding the aforementioned people?”
“From what I gathered from Flagg, I can at the very least say that they are weak. They are two women, or the one was. The other one....seemed different. They don’t seem like much of a threat now, but I know that they will grow their abilities. I’ve dealt with a few like that in the past. I need you to find them, and send Montez after them. He should be more than enough to handle them.”
He clicked the receiver off, as he smiled and yelled in the storm. “You think you can get away from me? Good luck with that....” Making an about face, his robe flowed into the wind, as he vanished in a plume of red smoke.
~~~~~
Holo’s eyes opened, as she was still in her human form. Checking herself, she found that neither her ears or tail were gone. She felt a light person on her back, who was the shepherd girl, Norah. Holo looked around, but couldn’t see any signs of villages in sight. She could smell something walking her way, by the scent, they seemed like horses. Placing Norah on her back, Holo walked towards the smell, until she spotted the two horses, or rather, ponies. It seemed that one had wings and the other a horn on its head. Holo had no idea if the creatures were hostile, so she and Norah hid in the leaves of a nearby tree.
Holo slowed her breathing down to avoid detection from the ponies that headed her way. Norah was barely alive, as she was laying on a large branch near the trunk of the tree. Holo had a feeling that hiding wasn’t the best option for Norah’s survival. As soon as the thought came to her head, Holo grabbed Norah and placed her gently against the tree, as she ran away.
Holo didn’t plan to abandon Norah, even if she was a shepherdess. She planned to see just what the ponies would do to Norah, before running off. She hid in a nearby bush, as the two ponies spotted Norah.
They ran up to her, and simply stared. After a few seconds, they spoke to each other, as the horned one picked Norah up with a spell. The pegasus scanned the nearby area for whoever dropped her there. Finding no one, she motioned to the unicorn, as the two went back with Norah.
Holo was still suspicious of them, so she dashed through the trees and bushes to keep an eye on Norah. She couldn’t understand anything that the unicorn or pegasus were saying, but she could read their faces. They expressed concern on Norah’s behalf, which was a good sign. Hopefully, this world had some sort of medical center to revive Norah.
After a few miles of walking, a tall building with a red cross came into view. It seemed that Norah would be in good hands, as Holo began to walk back. She felt a quick rush of wind pass her, as her path was blocked by a rainbow-maned pegasus. Holo’s eyes widened at the speed of the pegasus, it was almost as fast as her. From what she could tell, the pegasus was angry at her for some odd reason, and she started to act aggressively towards Holo.
It seemed that she had no choice, but to teach this “rainbow” pegasus who was truly the boss. Holo closed her eyes, as she concentrated hard to transform. Within a few moments, she realized that her transformation was blocked, by some magical force. With nothing powerful to change into, Holo was at the mercy of the pegasus.