Zwi, the leader of the red wolves, was the smallest and also the fastest of all the wolves. His clan was known throughout the deep south as the fastest creatures on four legs. They also have the reputation of being the most ferocious beasts to roam the continent. Ulric had a very difficult time convincing them to join him in his quest. After many days of bloody negotiations, they conceded defeat and joined the ranks. They would prove to be the most valuable asset for the wolf army. The only female leader was the white wolf, Tala. She was enormous, bigger than even Ulric. She did not require a strong hand to convince her to join the cause. The only thing that she needed was to know that the female guardian Kana was taking over Tuwa. After she was told this, she eagerly joined the ranks of the wolf army. Her followers were from the deepest part of the southwestern lands where snow was on the ground year round.
While the different packs had united under Ulric, they did not mingle with one another. It was an uneasy truce that held them together. The bounteous feast before the wolf army would provide the needed glue to keep the wolves together and unified in their cause. A rumbling of growls began to fill the air as they waited impatiently for the go ahead to dig in. Ulric silenced them with a particularly deep growl that caused most of the wolves to whimper in fright. The jet-black leader sauntered up to a small round rock the size of one of his front paws. He flicked it surreptitiously at the outer wall of Tarisdell to see if there were any magical barriers. The rock did not explode like he expected, but it vanished in midair. Silence filled the small clearing outside the wall as the wolves considered what to do next.
“Make sure you do not get too close to the barrier. Enjoy your feast!” growled Ulric slowly. He made his way to the nearest orc and began tearing at its flesh. Within minutes, a foul smell punctured the air as well as grunts of delight from the ravenous wolves.
***
The troops led by Commander Brugon continued in their boisterous singing until they were almost at the clearing leading up to the eastern wall of Tarisdell. A putrid smell filled their nostrils and made many of the hardened soldiers vomit from the strong odor. Brugon silently called for a halt just within the shadows of the trees. Several beastly eyes looked up as the men came to a halt and stopped making noise. The wolves did not move one inch as they sized up the intruders. The men waited anxiously for their commander to give an order. The only sound that could be heard was that of bones and cartilage crunching in the massive maws of the unnaturally large wolves.
With a wave of his hand, Brugon ordered the troops to spread out and string their bows. The men silently obeyed and quickly strung their bows and fitted their arrows. Commander Brugon knew that waiting any longer would eliminate the element of surprise that their appearance had on the gigantic beasts. “Fire!” ordered the commander in his deep, gruff voice.
Arrows soared through the air, and the sickening thudding sound followed the whooshing of the projectiles as they connected with their furry targets. Yelps and howls of rage rang through the still air. The red wolves were on their attackers within seconds, even though they were the furthest north from the men of Aran. They tore into the soldiers with great ferocity. Cries of pain ripped through the air as the men tried to fend off the massive wolves.
“To the trees!” ordered Brugon in a frustrated yell. The men immediately leapt to the nearest tree and began climbing at a frantic pace. Fifteen men lay on the ground dead while thirty others were bleeding from bites and scratches from the furry monstrosities.
“Fire at will!” ordered the commander once his troops were safely in the trees. Several of the wolves fell from multiple arrow shots to the heart. It took no less than three arrows directly to the heart to kill just one of the wild beasts. Only five wolves appeared to be dead below them at the base of the trees.
“Raz zu loc ne!” growled Ulric in the wolven tongue. His back arched as he surveyed their unwelcomed guests.
Tala came bursting into view, taking massive bounds toward the nearest tree that was refuge for three soldiers. She came to a sudden halt and swiped at the tree with her massive left front paw. There was a sharp crack, and the tree began to fall to the ground as though a dwarf had just cut it down. She hit the base of the tree so hard that it broke in two at the impact point, which caused the tree to glide to toward the ground. Once the men were on the ground, they were grabbed by no less than seven different wolves that began fighting over their prey. Commander Brugon knew that he had to do something and he had to be quick about it.
“Draw your swords, men! Follow me!” He leapt down from where he was perched in a tree and caught two of the nearest black wolves by surprise. Before they knew what was going on, he had severed two of their sleek heads from their bodies. He then roared as he charged at the massive group of almost three hundred wolves. Several of the beasts moved out of his way because the crazed man was swinging his sword with great efficiency. He killed four more idle wolves before breaking through the barrier they had created between themselves and the elven capital. His troops were right behind him swinging their blades with great success as they all too broke through the ranks. Only about one hundred and fifty soldiers made it through the line, but that did not slow their mad rush toward the eastern gate.
“Couzja!” ordered Ulric loudly. Let them kill themselves. His laugh was a particularly nasty growl, which was duplicated by the rest of the small army of wolves.
As the maddened men reached the point where the rock vanished before the wolves’ eyes, Commander Brugon uttered an elvish phrase. “Edhil nur! Edr!” The men continued through where the magical barrier was and did not disappear. Once through the magical shield, they continued through the gates and immediately took up defensive positions atop the bulwarks. Enraged by this trickery, several of the wolves rushed after the men of Aran, ignoring the commands from Ulric to stop where they were. Once they reached the barrier, they were stopped abruptly. They did not vanish like the rock, but they were immediately turned into stone. Thirty wolves appeared to be frozen midstride and moved no more. They retained their color and looked as though they were merely frozen in time. Howls of rage and indignation rose from the wolves as they backed away into the forest. After a few moments of backing away, the men could no longer see them.
“What are those things, Commander?” asked one of the soldiers nervously. He had blood dripping down his forehead from a bite he had received while running past the packs of wolves.
“Those are the legendary giant wolves of the south lands. Do not worry. They will not be able to penetrate this magical barrier left by the elves.”
“How did you know what to say?” asked the same bloodied soldier in awe of his commander.
“King Tiranidrol is a personal friend of mine. He named me elf friend many years ago, which gave me special access to any elven city.” He smiled darkly as he considered the luck that had befallen them. I will have to serve King Ciel to the end of my days to pay back this special favor. We were dead!
As he dwelled on this unsettling thought, bright beastly eyes appeared in the shadows of the trees. The moon and the stars began to make their appearance in the night sky above them, which made the wolves’ eyes shine. There were thousands of eyes looking at them this time. It appeared that there were more of them in the wilderness that they had not seen. As they inched nearer the edge of the trees, Commander Brugon ordered one of his men to shoot a warning shot at the foul creatures. The arrow whizzed through the air and was unaffected by the barrier as it continued to its apex. Then it started down toward the ground and hit a patch of dirt making a small thudding noise. It was some twenty feet shy of the eaves. Emboldened, the wolves inched their way into the clearing. There were about four rows of wolves, that they could see, and there appeared to be about one thousand of those furry demons in each row.