Announcement

Thank you for reading "The Legend of the North". This book is fully published on Amazon (under the same name), it would be very helpful if you buy the book to support me.

Erk didn't need to order his partner around, years of fighting together allowed them to build unshakeable trust and unspoken coordination. They cornered the wolf, only the final blow was left, although with great care since when you press an animal, the more dangerous it becomes. He was about to take a step forward as he raised his sword to strike, when he feels a terrible stab of pain in his back.

A black-as-death dagger penetrates to his kidney, ignoring the armor, causing him to fall to his knees supporting his weight on the sword as a staff.

Ezer quickly withdraws the dagger from the body causing a torrent of blood to drain from the inflicted wound. He stands motionless, his mind blank, not knowing what to do next.

“Erk!” His companion responds immediately upon seeing his state and his eyes fill with fury whit no reason at the sight of the bloody dagger that Ezer held firmly.

Honest combat and blood shed for just causes, that was his ideal, his conviction. But when he sees his partner who was stabbed in the back without mercy or honor by a child, it makes him furious from the depths of his soul. But rage whit no reason is one of the greatest weaknesses on the battlefield, and the wolf doesn't let it go. She bit down hard on the arm that held the sword until the bones cracked and blood gushed out as if were severed.

The force of the attack caused the knight to lose his balance and fall to the ground, he tried to get up while reaching for the knife at his waist with his other hand, but teeth obscured his vision and tore his neck.

The scream was heard throughout the forest and Ezer clearly distinguished how the skin and flesh came off the shoulders and neck of the man on the ground.

Erk tried to swing his sword, but the only thing he managed to do was lose his footing and fall limp to the ground, he was about to faint from loss of blood.

The white of the snow and the red of the blood that slowly dyed it created a macabre and merciless spectacle.

When Ezer came to, the wolf was staring at him and in her eyes he could see, almost as if she were speaking, her intentions.

“Follow me.” That's what they seemed to say.

----------------------------

“My lord, the signal was launched behind this hill.” The group that had split up rejoined the Viscount and were now at the opposite base of the hill from where the ball of fire had been thrown into the air.

"Let's hurry, it's not like Erk to take so long. They should have met us by now if they caught the boy.” The knights who escorted the Viscount on his journey might seem few, but they are the elite of his family. In addition, they worked shoulder to shoulder in fights creating a perfect teamwork that, added to the Viscount's own magic, creates more than enough strength for a simple trip to the Northern borders.

It didn't take them long to reach the top and begin to descend from it, the trees and terrain prevented them from seeing the status of their companions until they were in front of them.

The Viscount watched in shock as two of his best men lay on the ground around huge circles of blood in the snow. The knights at his side rushed to check the condition of what at first glance seemed to be lifeless bodies, while the undead soldier stood motionless with his ax protecting his master.

“My Sir! Commander Erk suffered a stab wound in the back directly over a kidney, his life is in danger, we are treating him right now. Although he won't be able to move on his own and we need to get him to a doctor quickly…” He catches his breath and speaks again, but this time in a more somber and depressing tone. “As for Terer… his neck and shoulder are torn, probably by a beast, and the tracks point to a wolf. Sir, he's on the verge of death... I'm sure it would be an honor for him if you entrusted his soul to Niva.”

“The brink of death is my specialty.” Boron walks over to the man whose neck is still oozing what little blood he had left, places his knees in the snow and his hands on Terer's nearly bloodless white cheeks. “I can save you if you wish, although in part you would stop being yourself. You can seek justice and take revenge with the time I grant you. However, there is a price… Are you willing to abandon your humanity?

Terer rolled his eyes up and down since it was the only thing he could do. He was beginning to shake from the cold as the blood left his body.

The Viscount was never considerate of his test subjects. If he needed children, he kidnapped them and silenced his family with money or other more radical ways. But he must have gotten his subordinate's approval out of the morale of his other knights, rather than out of respect.

“Perfect, for the first time I have an ideal body... a knight of his level. What power will he get? I have to be careful, it is a very complex magic and I can fail. The difference between death and life is big, but he is on the border of both... he is perfect.” The Viscount had to make an effort not to appear a smile on his face.

A human scream echoed through the forest, changing into something else, something darker, so much so that it chilled the blood of anyone who heard it.

---------------------------

Birds that did not migrate before the arrival of winter took flight with a piercing cry. Ezer pauses for a moment, trying to catch the breath that the most exhausting day of his life had consumed.

 “What was that? A shout? Will they keep looking for me?” Looking at the orange-tinged sky that heralds the end of the day, Ezer asks himself questions. He shifts his gaze to the wolf that walks in front of him, quite quickly despite his injury. She stops, looks at him and urges to continue with a slight shake of her head.

Despite his intense foot pain, Ezer continues to advance behind her without hesitation. He doesn't feel fear or insecurity, maybe mental exhaustion is part of it, he just continues with a blind trust in the wolf.

Dusk gives way to night, hiding the sun behind the horizon. It becomes more difficult to see and walk, added to the low temperature that continues to decrease at an alarming rate. The distance between the wolf and Ezer increases, noticing it, she begins to walk more slowly trying not to lose the child.

 “It's so dark that I hardly see where I'm going... How much more? how much longer? I can't go on anymore, I'm tired. Can't I lie down and sleep?”

With his head bowed and his steps becoming weaker, Ezer continues walking, simply following the footprints of the wolf. Though he stops, noticing that she did too, he looks up to see five wolves lined up in a crescent shape, almost surrounding him.

Everyone is looking right at him, it seems as if they can see even his heartbeat. After a while they all turn their eyes, at the same time, to the wolf in front of him.