Clementia, a continent that has been torn apart by the Holy Church's Crusade against the Devil King Belfrost. It used to be a beautiful continent, with an amazing diversity of species. From Humans to Beast-folk, it showed an amazing display of diversity.
Clementia was divided into three countries; the Holy Church Dominion, let by the Pope(no one really knows the name of the Pope), the Kingdom of Entoria which of course governed by King Faustus Aurelius Entoria and the Queendom of Ansare which was led by the tyrant Queen Eliza Ansare II.
We lived in a quaint little town called Gobble-Bark -- a small yet peaceful village south of Orvelia, the Kingdom's Capital. It was a village in the forest, the lush vegetation will make you forget the on-going crusade that wreaked havoc across the land.
There were hardly any monsters around our village, the crusade pushed all of them mountains away: you can freely walk around even during the night. Our village, being in the forest, had no walls around it. There was a deep-well near the town square which is our primary source of water. Our town hall was in front of the well, you'll notice immediately because it really stands out. It has two big doors, it's base was made of big rocks unlike normal houses beside it, which was mostly made of wood. Parallel to the town hall was our small chapel managed by one prioress, one reverend-adjunct and of course the reverend(which is rarely there to be honest).
If you walk south of the main street(town square area), you would see a small clearing between two Quercus trees. That leads to our small farm, it was about a 15-minute walk from the village.
If you follow the path of the clearing, you would see small fields filled with crops. When you look closely, you will see that they have tomatoes, corn and wheat in them. It's our primary source of income. It was never a hassle watering them because there is a stream beside our house. My father made what he called a "make-shift aqueduct", which delivers water to the crops but has another contraption he called stopper. It appears that it was used to prevent over watering the crops.
At the end of the path was our small house; most of its wall was made of wood and the roof was a combination of hay and wood-thing. I'm not entirely sure, my father built it after all. Behind the house stood a small barn and beside it was a stable. On left side of our house was a meadow. You will see our horse, Howl, and our cow, Madonna, grazing there. I usually lay down there when I'm not doing anything.
My name is Axle Grand. I am the son of Gerald Grand and Clarisse Amethyst. We were a family of farmers: we farm the fields and sell them at the market. I don't know much about my mother, my father told me that she died after giving birth to me and rarely talk about her. I was an average built young man. You'd expect nothing much from me on first glance. Most of my features were normal.
It was a perfectly normal life, a life of a simple farmer. It was hard especially whenever its winter(which was coming); fields were covered in snow and we struggle but I enjoyed it. Our small farm was my sanctuary - there were no monsters, no soldier, not even bandits. Far from fighting, far from the Devil King, far from everything that made this world a horrible one. This was Gobble-Bark -- a small town in the middle of nowhere, a peaceful town, my hometown and my sanctuary.
It was a cold autumn afternoon, the orange light of the sun brought warmth to my face even if the wind was chilly. I was doing my firewood chore, chopping small pieces of wood like they were nothing. Of course, I may look weak but my arms had been doing this crap since I was a boy. I don't even need to use my full force to do this - easy.
"Hey Axel! Hurry up and finish chopping those firewood. I need your help preparing the crops for tomorrow!" said a deep-voiced man.
"Sure thing, father! I'll wrap this up as soon as I can and help you." I replied.
I shared my father's concern: daylight was burning faster than a match and how the cold wind gets to me.
"Today's a bit colder than other days, huh." I said to myself as faster thuds were heard as I tried to hurry chopping the remaining firewood. The woods were not that thick and I was not exerting much of an effort, but I felt twice the exhaustion than normal.
"Maybe it's the cold." I tried to convince myself and focused on getting the job done.
After I chopped a couple more trunks, I carried them to the shed and arranged them nicely. It got pretty dark. Given that we in an isolated farm, our walkways are at the mercy of the moon which was pretty shy that night. I suddenly remembered Howl and needed to make sure his reins were securely tied to the stable. That horse was too smart; for unknown reasons, he always manage to set himself free (untying the reins from the stable).
"Better safe than sorry. I'll have a quick look. "
I was surprised when I heard an unusual sound behind the stable. Unusual being a growling sound; like the sound wolves make when they are angry. I stopped and listened carefully, I was trying to convince myself that it was just the cold air getting inside my skull.
"Thank God. I knew I was just imagining thi--"
I was about to push the door when I heard the growling sound again, but this time I also heard another sound that came from the same direction - the sound of something being dragged.
"What the hell was that? This cold-air is really getting me"
I nervously chuckled and walked carefully towards the side to the stable, I was decided that I need to take a peek. My inside voice was laughing at me because I looked like a girl stalking her crush. With both hands holding the corner area of the stable, I peeked slowly.
What I saw shocked me to my core. It was a huge wolf-like beast, probably as tall as me even if it was on all-fours, black fur enveloped its body and a strip of silver-colored fur parallel to its spine; its claws where pierced to the flesh of the unfortunate thing it was stepping on - which showed how sharp they were. I had no doubts, it was a Silverback-Wolf.
Silverback-Wolves are a variety of wolves native to the nearest mountain and forest area. They were rarely seen in our village since they were supposedly wiped out by the Crusaders. These wolves are pack-hunters, it was really weird that this one is alone, though it's not impossible.
When an alpha is challenged by another member of the pack and it loses, it becomes a nomad. A nomad wolf that travels solo, disgraced and disavowed by its pack. That being said, it doesn't make it any less dangerous alone. The wolf in front of me did not get any serious injury after getting bested.
"Hey, hey, hey… this is no joke. This thing could rip me apart where I stand." I whispered while trying to, very slowly, step back. I knew that death was a certainty when if I am found. I slowly dragged each of my foot, I tried my best not to make even a single sound.
After sliding(I guess?) for about two steps back, I lifted my feet, trying to then walk backwards. I fixed my eyes on the corner of the stable, I was vigilant - observing any silhouette that might pop out of the corner.
All was going smoothly when I heard the sound I damned that night, the crunchy and deadly snapping sound of a twig snapping. In my head, it sounded like bells ringing, confirming my death and announcing it to the entire forest.
And then it happened, I saw a huge silhouette walking out from the corner. My entire body trembled, as if all my energy is being drained out of my body. I stood still while the shadow of the creature slowly approached me.
"Shit. I seriously messed up… Is this the my end?"
