THE STORY OF BLOODWOLF

Prologue

  In the early times, all was well for the people whom R'kam had created.  The land was fertile, animals were plentiful, and man was usually able to defend himself from all manner of beast with his spear, club and bow.  Ogg, first among the Gods, looked down upon the land and saw that all was good.
  But other eyes looked upon the land as well.  These eyes belonged to the children of L'yor and O'uch: L'zhey, J'los, Pr'yid, Y'uhm, M'yhne, L'othe, D'zyer, P'nik and Dg'rade.  These gods were jealous of R'kam's works and sought to corrupt and destroy them.  Each plied their trade on the children of man, seeking to make them pale imitations of themselves.
  Some fell to the attentions of these Dark Gods, becoming lazy, indolent and fat.  However, most were able to resist the temptations placed before them.  This angered the Dark Ones, and caused them to seek other means to destroy man and his works.
  First was M'yhne, who did give a hunger for gold and gems to the mighty dragons, forcing them to attack human settlements to acquire these things, as dragons could not mine for gold or polish and cut gems.  As the People had little use for such things, the dragons rarely found what they sought and laid waste the land in their frustration.
  Next was D'zyer, who did cause different species of animal to mate, giving birth to monsters.  Thus came to be the Barion, the Gorrilizard, the Wolfram, and all manner of strange beast.  Great cats with fangs like swords, giants that looked like men, and beasts that were half human, half animal, whose bite could infect others with its own unnatural condition 'neath the light of L'nar.
  Pr’yid made men boastful of their deeds, placing men on competition with other, rather than cooperating for the good of all.
  L’zhey brought sloth, making men slow and neglectful.  
  J’los inflicted envy upon the People, causing them to want what others possessed, often driving them to steal or kill to acquire these things.
  Y’uhm cursed men and women with gluttony, making them fat and weak.
  L’othe brought hate, making men fight among themselves.
  P’nik made cowards of even brave warriors, stealing from them the will to do battle with beasts and enemy clans.
  Dg’rade was perhaps the worst of them all bringing men down to perform acts of perversity so vile, that to destroy them was a considered a kindness.
  L’yor and O’uch, father and mother of the Dark Gods, basked in the agony their evil progeny wrought.  The god and goddess of pain and deceit were well pleased with the evil brought to the land.
  The people prayed and pleaded to Ogg and R'kam to send a champion to aid them, lest all be slain or enslaved by the evil that gripped the land.  When Ogg heard the plaintive cries, he shed a single tear.  R'kam, catching the tear, made a great ball of rock and placed the tear deep within, then hurled it across the sky.
  The rock-encased tear lit up the sky, bringing wonder to all whom beheld it, before it fell from the night sky and crashed to the land of the people.  A Shaman, called Walks in Dreams, having foreseen the fallen rock in a vision, saw it crash down from the skies.  When he approached the fallen rock, it was seething with divine heat from within.  After three days, the great rock cooled and started to crack open.  There, within, was Ogg's Tear, glowing brightly and made hard from its journey from the heavens to the earth.  Walks in Dreams commanded that it be brought to the chieftain.
  The Chieftain, Growling Bear, was a mighty warrior and great hunter.  His mate, Tall Woman, was from a tribe of people far to the south across the great waters.  She was early into the time of bringing forth new life when Ogg’s Tear was brought before her and Growling Bear.
  Walks in Dreams explained to the chief that the glowing gem was a gift from the gods and would one day provide the clan with a mighty champion to beat back the terrible evils sent by the Dark Ones.  Growling Bear took the great gem and placed it in the nook of the cave used by himself and his mate, to be safe guarded until the champion became known to him.  There, Ogg’s Tear remained, bathing Growling Bear and his mate in its mild light until the day Tall Woman gave birth to the son of the chief.

CHOSEN ONE

  The burning sun was especially brutal, this day, forcing most of the tribe to seek shelter in the coolness of the caves.  Most, but not all.  One particularly hardy male was braving the searing heat in the hopes of catching a large lizard for dinner, later.  Long-arms, as he was called, was, perhaps, the best hunter in the tribe, though he did not brag about it to the other clansman.  All shared in the feast from the hunt, and all cheered when the hunt was good, regardless of who contributed the most.  One of the younger males, Quiet-foot, asked how Long-arms found so much game when others where less fortunate.  Long-arms claimed he did not know, but every tribe had a best hunter, so he was lucky to be the one for this tribe.
  Some were impressed by Long-arms modesty.  Some said that it was the mark of a true chief’s son.  They even overlooked his unfortunate choice of mothers.  Unlike the rest of the tribe, Tall Woman was from a tribe of “Other People”.
  Other People tended to be long of arm and leg and slender of body, as well as dark of skin with little body hair.  Their faces tended to be somewhat flat, with small, though wide noses.  People of the tribe were more squat of body and short of limb, as well as fair of skin and full of nose.
  The “Other People” tribe came from the warm lands far to the south, while the People were more comfortable in the cooler lands to the north.  Tall Woman was strange looking in the eyes of the clan.  Dark of hair and skin, as well as very tall for a woman, some thought she might be a demon at first.  Tall Woman was discovered on a beached log after a fierce storm.  Far from her homelands, she stayed with the tribe and eventually mated with the chief, Growling Bear.
  Long-arms loved and respected both Tall Woman and Growling Bear, but wondered if the tribe resented him for his mixed heritage.  When he was younger, older boys in the village would tease and insult him.  And not just because of his mixed heritage.  Long-arms had ears that were pointed on top, like a wolf's ears.  The abuse lasted until Long-arms enjoyed a growth spurt in his eighth year, making him fully as large as Growling Bear, who was the largest in the tribe.  This was accompanied by an equal increase in his strength and speed.  After that, any who insulted him found themselves facing a formidable opponent.  In addition, as he lost the “little teeth” of children and grew “big teeth” of adults, two of his big teeth came in very long and sharp, much like the fangs of wolves.  A few tried to call him “Long-tooth”, but Long-arms took a thick branch that even Growling Bear could not break, and snapped it in two.  His point was well taken, and the teasing quickly stopped after that.
  Since that time, Long-arms continued to grow fast and tall.  Here, on the eve of his twelfth summer, Long-arms was fully a head taller than Tall Woman, who was at least half a head taller than Growling Bear.  Like his father, Long-arms was barrel-chested and well muscled, but like his mother, he was long of leg and arm.  His arms were long even by the standards of the Other People, hence his present name.  But that would change tomorrow, when he was proclaimed an adult and chose a new name.
  Long-arms sniffed the air and caught a scent, then spotted something moving slowly behind a rock.  Carefully, he walked up to it, careful not to kick up any sand.  It was a very large lizard fully as long as a man’s fore arm.  Not a big meal, but it would make a nice addition to dinner.  Growling Bear especially liked the liver of such lizards.  Long-arms had his club and spear with him, but decided not to use them.  In this heat, the lizard would be slow, easy to catch, and as long as he was careful, easy to avoid those sharp teeth.  Long-arms stepped quickly in front of the large lizard, forcing it to turn to flee.  But as the lizard twisted tried to twist away, Long-arms quickly reached down and grabbed it by the neck.  Trapped in that vise like grip, the helpless lizard squirmed for a moment, then was still.  Long-arm had closed the windpipe of the lizard without realizing it, strangling the reptile.  This was unfortunate, as Long-arm neglected to bring a knife, and the spear would be too clumsy to gut so small a kill.  Now he had to get it back to the tribe before it went bad inside.  Holding the club and spear in one hand, and the lizard in the other, Long-arms turned and started running back to the caves that the tribe would be resting in.  No other member of the clan except, perhaps, Tall Woman would even try to run in heat like this, but Long-arms took great loping strides that quickly ate up the distance to the caves.
  His long brown legs made him the fastest runner of the tribe, though as a rule, the other boys were not fond of running.  Short, squat legs made for slow runners.  Long-arms thought that was one of the reasons he was a good hunter...he could out run some prey.  The others preferred to creep up silently from two directions, then leap up and throw their spears.  It was an effective way to hunt, but some prey would only be wounded and try to run.  That is when Long-arm would leap after it and catch it with his club.  Some thought it an odd way to hunt, but none complained about the extra meat it brought.  Tall Woman said it was common for her people to run after prey when it was wounded or slow enough.  Growling Bear rarely said anything, but always smiled at his son after the hunt.
  The caves were already in sight.  Long-arms would be glad to get out of the sun, not because of the heat, but because the lizard could spoil quickly.  He ducked as he entered the cave, the only one in his tribe who needed to do so.
  The women were all up and busy, as was normal, while the men were either asleep or discussing matters of tribal importance.  Long-arms often wondered why the men lead the clan while the women raised the children and cooked the meals.  Wise Woman, the elder female of the tribe, claimed that men were better suited for hunting and fighting, while smart women stayed out of danger.  Long-arms could see the advantages of allowing others to do the hard work, such as hunting and defending the tribe, but surely raising children presented its own challenges!  Even Growling Bear admitted raising Long-arms was a task he did not envy Tall Woman of!  Tall Woman often related tails of mischief Long-arms got into. 
  The coolness of the cave was a welcome change.  Long-arms took the lizard to the women who were preparing various plant-foods for the evening meal.  Tall Woman brought knowledge of food preparation and plant-foods that the tribe had not known of, before.  Despite her strange appearance, she was a welcome and valuable member of tribe.  Some men joked that they should go and capture their own tall women.  This always made Growling Bear smile, though many of the tribal women did not appreciate the jests.  The women, in turn, would jest about finding some Tall Men.  All would laugh, then, because all thought the tall men were weak and ugly.  People of the tribe were very strong.  Other People were far weaker of arm than the people of the clan, but they were very fast and agile, something that the tribe respected.  Long-arms seemed to have the best of both peoples, with the size and speed of the Other People, and the strength of the men of the tribe.  Even more so, as he was taller than his mother was, and even better muscled than his father.  Some said that the glowing sky-rock, Ogg’s Tear, blessed him so.
  “Long-arms!  Come,” boomed a deep voice.  It was Growling Bear.  Long-arms left the lizard with the women and approached his father.
  “Yes, Growling Bear,”  Though he towered over his father, he spoke in respectful tones.
  “I see you had no better sense than to run around in the hot mid-day sun.  I am surprised your skin is not red and blistered!  You owe much to your mother for that, I think!”  All in the tribe knew of Tall Woman’s tolerance for the sun, though she was not very well suited to colder weather.
  “And I owe my success as a hunter to my father, I think!” Long-arms said with a wide smile.
  “Did I teach you to catch little lizards that would hardly feed a girl-child?” Roared his father in mock anger.  “Perhaps you would be happier to cook with the women?”
  Long-arms knew his father well, and knew that he was being teased, but refused to take the bait.  Instead, he would take the jibes with good humor.  “Perhaps I should.  Surely none would miss the efforts of so poor a hunter as myself,”  This brought a laugh from all present waking those who were still sleeping.  None laughed louder than Growling Bear himself!
  “You do not anger as easily as you once did, Long-arms.  Do you remember the battles you fought against the other boys for insults like this?  You are indeed a man, now.  It takes more to be a man than hunting or fighting...a man knows when to fight!  Tomorrow, you will reach the age of ascension.  Tonight, you must go out, alone, and find your true name.  In the morning, when you return, we will have a great feast and then you will tell us your true name.”
  “Yes, Growling Bear,”  Long-arms was swelling with pride.
  Growling Bear once related to him, privately, how he found his true name.  Walking Sleeper, as Growling Bear was called before his own age of ascension, for he often would move about and walk in his sleep, had gone out into the snow on the eve of his ascension.  Walking Sleeper did not mind the cold, so much, but he was hungry, being too excited to eat at the evening meal.  Walking Sleeper was unsure how one found his true name, so he decided to go looking for it, and, hopefully, something to eat.  Being a good hunter, he quickly found the tracks of a long-ears, and followed them to a small burrow in the snow.  Quick inspection showed two long-ears hiding in the burrow.  Walking Sleeper was unsure how to get the long-ears out without their running away before he could catch them.  Long-ears were very swift and none of the people were very good runners.  Reaching in and grabbing them would not work...his arms were too short.  Finally, he decided to try something.  He piled up snow around the hole until the opening was too small for the long-ears to escape, then he took his spear and stabbed it into the hole several times until he felt the spear catch flesh instead of dirt.  Pulling out the spear, he found he had indeed struck the long-ears in the thick part of the rear leg.  Walking Sleeper took out his knife an quickly lopped off the head, then gutted and spit the carcass.  However, he had no fire, and no means to make one.  This would make the meal less tasty, but no less filling, so Walking Sleeper sat down to eat his meal raw.
  He had only taken a few bites, when he heard the roar of the great bear.  It was unusual for a bear to be out this late during the time of cold whiteness, but sometimes they would awake for food.  The great bears were much feared by the tribe, as they often attacked lone hunters and even small hunting parties.  Even with their spears, they were poorly defended against so powerful a foe.  It was a rare hunter indeed who got to eat the bear, rather than be eaten! 
  Walking Sleeper quickly stood up and collected his meal and started to move when the great bear appeared before him.  Bears were very fast runners, despite their great bulk, but Walking Sleeper so no other alternative...he ran, just as fast as his short legs would carry him.  Had he thought to drop the long-ears carcass, the bear might have ignored him, but in his panic, all he could think to do is run.  Even in his panic, Walking Sleeper knew that if he ran in a straight line, the bear would have him in no time, so he ran back and forth through the trees.  At first it seemed to be working.  The bear was too massive to change course quickly, and Walking Sleeper managed to put some distance between them, but his luck ran out when he ran out of the trees to face a snow covered field.  It was too late to turn back into the trees, as the bear was coming fast, so he had no choice but to run out into the open field where the bear was sure to get him.  Well, if he were to die, tonight, it would be fighting, not running!  Walking Sleeper stopped running and turned to face the bear.  The bear came at him very fast...so fast that Walking Sleeper was able to side step the great bruin before it could slow down and attack.  Walking Sleeper turned to throw his spear when he heard a strange sound coming from the bear’s direction...the sound of ice breaking.  Walking Sleeper realized he was not standing in a snow-covered field, but on a frozen lake.  The snow-covered ice allowed the relatively light body of Walking Sleeper to move about without danger, but the heavier bruin found no such advantage, especially since the ice was breaking beneath the great bear’s weight.  Forgotten was its prospective meal as it tried in vain to find purchase on the slick ice as it slowly slipped into the water.  Amazingly, the bear managed to keep his upper body from slipping under water, but its attempts to climb back out only succeeded in breaking more ice.  Walking Sleeper watched in awe as the monstrous bruin struggled to survive.  Backing off the ice, Walking Sleeper kept watch on the bear.  Finally reaching the snow-covered shore, he sat down to watch the bear’s struggles and finish his meal.  
  The bear’s struggles succeeded in smashing more and more ice, bringing it slowly to the shore.  Walking Sleeper was prepared to run back out on the ice if the bear succeeded in escaping its icy fate, but knew the bear would be exhausted after so much effort and be easy to get away from.  None-the-less, he kept his spear ready.  The moon had moved far in the sky when the bear collapsed on the shore, not even a spear throw away from Walking Sleeper.  It was obvious the bear had used up all of its strength reaching the shore and would not live till morning.  Walking Sleeper approached the still bruin, listening to its labored breathing.
  “Great Bear, though you would have killed me, you are a mighty beast who does not deserve to die in this manner.  I cannot save you, but I will offer you a worthy death.  Stand once more, and die on your feet, if you can!”  As he spoke, he jabbed the bear with his spear, just hard enough to prod it, not pierce its thick hide.  It took some time, but the bear finally growled and weakly rose up on its hind paws.  Its growl was a pitiful thing compared to the great roar it had earlier used.  Walking Sleeper waited for the bear to swipe at him with his great paws, a token gesture for so powerful a beast, then thrust with his spear with all of his might.  The bear made a weak growling noise, then fell at Walking Sleepers feet.  There was no sense of triumph in his victory over the bear, since it was more due to luck than skill.  But survival was his priority, so he gutted and skinned the great bear, wrapping all the meat he could carry in its hide, and started back toward the his tribe.  The next day he proclaimed himself to be Growling Bear, for it was surely the name intended for him.
  “Do not forget your knife when you go out this night.  Nor your spear!  So large a man would make a long meal to the beasts, if you are not careful.  Also, eat well tonight, before you leave, lest you get into mischief seeking food,”  Growling Bear warned his son.  As tribal chief, it was his duty to give advice to all the young men on the eve of their ascension, but it was also the responsibility of the father to prepare his son.
  “I will do as you advise, Growling Bear.  I will not disappoint you,” Long-arms said.
  “Only your failure to return would disappoint me, Long-arms.  All that is expected of you is that you return in the morning, alive, with your true name,” meaning, Long-arms should not take unnecessary risks.  The tribe enjoyed a great feast with the bear that Growling Bear brought back on his day of ascension, but that was a fluke.  Most came back with their true name, only, while some did not come back at all.
  Tall Woman said that the Other People had less dangerous rites of passage to manhood, but only to Growling Bear and Long-arms.
  As promised, Long-arms ate well at the evening meal, and took his spear and knife.  The knife was tied to a piece of hide and strapped to his waist.  He decided not to take his club.  The spear was enough, and any solid branch would make a good club if he needed one.  With the well wishing of his parents and the tribe, he started out.  The idea was to walk far enough away that the light of the campfires were no longer visible.  In these flat lands, that was a long walk.  After some time, the fires of the camp were no longer in sight, so Long-arms sat down on a large rock.  He did not know how his true name would make itself known to him, but he listened to all the stories of others that had found their own true names.  Running Deer simply saw many deer run past him.  He even got one with his spear and took it back for the feast.  Angry Sky sat and got rained on in a great storm.  Sky Stone saw the rock that fell from the sky.  When he told the tribe of it the next day, they all went out to find this strange thing.  When they did find it, it was collected and taken back to the cave where the chief and his mate sat beneath it.  The strange rock stopped glowing after a few days, but still it sits in a crevice above the chiefs sitting place.  Long-arms wished he could have seen so wonderful a sight, but that was the summer before he was born.
  Long-arms sat and waited.  After a while L’nar, the moon rose full and bright.  Wolves began to howl in the night.  Perhaps that was his true name...Howling Wolf?  Secretly, Long-arms hoped he would have an exciting story to relate like Growling Bears.  Of course, none were supposed to speak of this night, but fathers often tell their sons, and sons tell their fathers.  And boys would share stories among themselves.  Tall Woman often claimed that Growling Bear exaggerated his tale.  Maybe, but it was still a wonderful story.
  Something caught his eye to his right.  Long-arms had excellent vision, even without the full moon.  He had no trouble spotting what caught his attention...a wolf!  This was a large one the color of blood.  It was chasing a long-ears.  It took only a couple more seconds and the long-ears was trapped in the blood colored wolfs jaws.  The wolf was very close to Long-arms, less than a spears throw away, but Long-arms ate well this evening, and anyway, his tribe did not eat the flesh of wolves.  As long as the wolf did not attack, neither would Long-arms.  So, he just sat there and watched the wolf worry the long-ears until all life, and much blood, left the trapped animal.  Now the wolf's muzzle was covered in blood, too.  A blood colored wolf covered in real blood.  Long-arms wondered if the wolf would eat the long-ears now, or take it back to its pack.
  The wolf dropped the long-ears, sniffed it, and then looked up at Long-arms.  To Long Arms amazement, the wolf spoke to him!
  "Long Arms.  I have been sent to you by R'kam to give you this message.  You are the Champion promised by Ogg to defend your people.  From this day forth, you will be hailed as Bloodwolf, chosen of Ogg,” said the wolf.
  “I?” said the stunned Barbarian.
  “You were bathed in the light of Ogg’s Tear while still within your mother.  The Tear has granted you great powers.  You possess the strength of the bear, the speed of the elk, and the senses and stamina of the wolf.  Also, your hair, eyes and skin can be made to change color as needed.  You will heal quickly from all harms done to you.  All these gifts and more are yours, but in return, you will battle the evil unleashed on the lands by the Dark Ones.”
  Uncertain what to say, the newly christened Bloodwolf could only stare in amazement.  I, he thought, am the champion promised by Ogg?
  “Serve the people well, and Ogg shall be pleased.  Fare well, Chosen of Ogg.”
  Without waiting for a reply, the wolf picked up its prey and loped off.      
  Long Arms would have no great story to tell like his father, since few would believe him, but that was unimportant, now.  The wolf had told him his true name, as well as his purpose.
  He was Bloodwolf, Chosen of Ogg, champion of the people.
