“No no no…look all of you! Over there! He’s just up ahead, I can see him now…we’ve finally spotted you, son. Come on! We need to hurry before he infects someone!” War-Pastor Gennady led them onward through the wilderness as they pursued his turned son.
While most of the knights of their company stayed at the village to set up shop and help the few survivors figure out what to do next, Lalauri—along with her fellow paladins and of course, Gennady— gave chase to Anxo the Werewolf, refusing to let the downpour stop them as it turned from afternoon into the twilight of evening.
The other paladins were all from various nearby kingdoms and city-states collectively known as The Free Border Dominions of Tesardess. Their names were: Sir Axlan, Lady Christabel, and Sir William. All belonging to the race of Men just like the war-pastor. They were white with black hair except for Lady Christabel who had the tell-tale white-blue hair of the people from the Kingdom of Yonder. There were also two other paladins by the names of Sir Besian and Lady Aine who were both elves like Lalauri. However, while Lalauri herself was black with stark white hair, the other two elf paladins were lily white with dirty blonde hair like many of the other elves that could be found in the Dominion’s Valley Kingdoms from which they came.
“Gennady!” Lalauri called ahead to him, trying her best to shout over the booming and crackling storm. “Where is Anxo going?”
The war-pastor did not answer. He just kept riding through the wooded area they had entered with such speed that it took some effort for Lalauri and the others to keep up with him despite the fact that they were all riding the horses they had quickly grabbed and hopped onto as they were rushing out of the village to follow Anxo. The poor mares were not helped by the fact that they were all wearing full suits of armour as fitting of a paladin, unlike the war-pastor whose outfit consisted of minimal armour plating and his crimson robes.
When they finally stopped, Lalauri and the other paladins all stopped their horses abruptly due to Gennady having done the same just before them, causing the horses to rear and whine in protest, nearly slamming into each other. While Gennady came off his horse and examined what looked to be a rock wall, the others followed suit and walked up to them giving their horses a chance to calm down and catch their breath. No one complained, though. They all knew the stakes. If they stopped any longer than absolutely necessary, they would only increase the chances of Anxo coming into contact with innocents. He would infect them with the Wolfplague that he now carried, resulting in a brand new outbreak. One that they would struggle to contain given how physically spent they all were becoming by this point.
“He…he…he got away?” said Sir Besian, in between breaths. “But I thought…you said you saw him?!”
“No…no, Anxo. Not here…” Gennady muttered to himself, seemingly lost in thought.
When Lalauri approached him, there were tears welling in his eyes. “Gennady…where are we?”
After a few moments, Gennady finally said, “We have arrived at a village. A village that I once told my son about some time ago back when he was still just a boy. I think…I think he came here hoping we wouldn’t find him. He must have not thought that I myself would have followed with you…”
“A village?” said Sir Besian. “Here? What village, priest? I see nothing but a bunch of trees and a rock wall covered in moss.
Lalauri shot the young hot-headed elf a glare, causing him to look away—albeit with a look of clear disdain on his face. However, she had to admit, he was right. This was no village they were in. The untamed lands they were now roaming were just another tiny nook of the greater realm that was known as the Greater Wilderness of Tesardess. It was in this Greater Wilderness—the middle section of the continent between Tesardess’ two continental empires—that the city-states and kingdoms of the Dominions called home. It was also home to several smaller villages and settlements that existed within the territory in between the Dominions. However, this was none of those places, and the place where they stood was exactly as Sir Besian had described. There wasn’t even as much as a clearing to which they could say someone might have camped in, let alone a whole settlement or a village.
“There are many places within the Greater Wilderness that are simply not visible to the naked eye, Sir Besian,” said Gennady. “And this is one of those places. Dotted all around the Dominions are places called adytums—hallowed grounds of sanctuary created by the muses at the direction of Lorraullion himself. Each of them filled with a group of people that are either descended from those who were under a great threat of persecution or they themselves were the ones under threat.”
The paladins all looked at each other. “Why have we never heard of these adytums before?” asked Lady Christabel.
“And why are you telling us this now?” asked Lalauri.
“You were never told because the safety of these persecuted peoples is paramount and cannot be risked by telling just anyone about these sanctuaries. And the reason I’m telling you now is because Anxo has clearly come to the one hiding right in front of us…because now he is the one being persecuted…by us…by his own father…I am sorry my son. But I cannot risk you bringing harm to anyone—least of all those who have already gone to great lengths to reach these hallowed grounds.”
Lalauri watched as the war-pastor bowed his head and offered up a prayer to Lorraullion. At first, nothing happened. Then the air started to fill with an ominous otherworldly echoing of his emotional praise and pleadings to the White Faun for aid on their quest and entry into the adytum.
And their request was granted, but not in the way Lalauri had expected; she had figured a secret entrance would appear in the face of the rock wall, revealing a passage into the hidden sanctuary. Instead, all of reality around them began to warp and shift out of place as if it was a snake shedding its old skin to reveal a newer one.
“Behold, one of the many divine powers of our Lord Faun.” said Gennady. Trees and boulders began moving and shifting into the blurry images of moving people, and soon the woods that they were standing in were gone entirely, and in its place was an old village bustling with villagers going in every direction.
The whole scene took Lalauri’s breath away on account of its beauty; there were wildflower-covered vines growing all along the buildings, the air was filled with the sweet smell of freshly baked cinnamon bread, and the villagers themselves were all well clothed in silks and other weavings of vibrant colours. And to think it was all right where they stood, right underneath their noses.
“Gennady,” said Lalauri. “What is the name of this beautiful marvel we now lay our eyes on?”
“Its name is Khar Vell.” Gennady looked around. “Don’t get too distracted, though, paladins. We still have grim work ahead of us. Luckily, our sudden appearance hasn’t drawn much attention, so they won’t be able to tip off my son with their shock that we’ve come for him.”
Now that he mentioned it, Lalauri did think it was odd that they—a group of heavily armed paladins and a war-pastor—managed to appear out of thin air into what was supposed to be an isolated sanctuary, with it resulting in little fanfare or curiosity. She knew it had become more common for champions and warriors of her type to venture into the more common realms and communities since the unified effort among the Dominions and the Church to combat the Wolf Plague. And it wasn’t that she wanted the attention per se, but still…some recognition of their presence was to be expected in any other place like this.
In fact, none of the villagers had noticed them. Lalauri watched as the villagers went about their business, almost as if they still didn’t physically exist in their village yet. This blatant sense of peace in the sanctuary was made even stranger when she looked down at her feet to get a better look at what was in the corner of her eye. It was blood. A whole streak of fresh blood trailed from where they stood towards the centre of the courtyard where a large stone fountain stood.
They all rushed forwards towards it, fearing the worst. But if the plague had already come to Khar Vell, why was no one turning? Why was no one reacting? Where was the panic? Something wasn’t right.
When they reached the end of the trail, Lalauri and her fellow paladins gasped, and she heard what was an unmistakable tearful choking coming from the war-pastor as he looked down at what was left of his son just before he clamped a hand on his mouth. Anxo was already gone, and so was his head. It was cut clean off and laying on the ground next to his body. The fallen paladin’s body and head were stuck in this frozen, mutated state of being a half-human and half-werewolf monstrosity as if someone had managed to cut him down just as he was transforming. His right hand was clasped onto the edge of the fountain in the form of a massive claw, possibly infecting the water.
Before she could approach the water, to have a look, Gennady collapsed onto his knees next to his son’s lifeless body. And to Lalauri’s amazement—and perhaps for the best for the sake of the poor man’s dignity—the villagers around them continued to laugh and talk amongst themselves as they walked around them, somehow completely ignorant of the war-pastor’s guttural, heart-wrenching sobbing over the loss of his only remaining child.
