Sage
Book 3
"Tridon, I am going out to fetch some firewood," Tridon's father said.
"Ok!" Tridon replied.
He set out into the forest and began gathering some logs. All of a sudden, he heard a loud sniffle that sounded like a wolf pup. He walked over to the sound and saw the pup. He grabbed the young wolf and went back home, without his logs.
"Son, I know you are only three and most likely won't understand, but I am going to adopt this baby that I found in the woods, all alone. Treat him as a brother and never tell him that he isn't my son, for then he might try to find his real parents and leave us. I will train him, along with you, to be master thieves like me someday! How proud I will be…" His voice trailed off as he left the room.
CHAPTER 1
Rescuing Sage's Fate
The story begins fifteen years after Sage's birth. Sage had become a skilled thief, but he didn't have nearly as much skill as his brother and Sage never knew why.
"Sage, go out into town and steal some bread and wine! We are starving here!" Tridon's father demanded fiercely.
"Of course, father," Sage glumly replied.
Sage set out into town and was walking along a dirt path. He had been walking for a while and had still not arrived in the town. He knew that the walk was always so long and lonely. Suddenly, a staircase of golden steps came down directly in his path. Sage staggered back, shocked and not believing his eyes. His father had told him of the Spirits once, but he never knew if they really existed, and he wondered if the stairs lead to their home. He curiously went up the stairs and each step disappeared after he set foot on it.
He found himself behind a massive golden gate. It slowly opened. He followed the path for a few miles and found himself at a colossal castle. He then entered an interminable room.
"Enter, Sage!" the Great Spirritian spoke.
"What? Am I named Sage? My father never named me."
"Listen; there is much that you don't know. The Spirit who knows all, Prathentos, wants to speak with you. I will leave you two alone," the Spirritian's voice boomed.
Suddenly, all of the Spirits in the room faded into mist as they teleported away.
"First of all, you must believe that I know everything, because I do. My name is Prathentos the wise. There are some restrictions about what I can tell you though. But I can tell you that you were adopted,"
"I was? But…My father or my brother-they never told me…" Sage stammered.
"I know. The sad thing is that I am not allowed to tell you who your father is," Prathentos stated.
"But, what am I to do? I have no where else to go if I leave," Sage stated.
"You must realize that stealing what others have earned is completely wrong. Your 'family' steals things for a living. Please listen to me and heed my words. If you ever want to meet your father and know truly that he is your father, you must join the war. You will be provided food and shelter as a soldier. You are a very strong wolf and you deserve a special gift that your father has as well. From this moment on, you are now a Semi-Spirit, who serves under the Spirritian and fights to bring justice,"
Sage gleamed with power and now had a slight glow to his fur.
"I will go and join the army! I bid you farewell and I can't thank you enough, Prathentos…For everything," Sage said as he turned to leave.
"I know," he replied.
CHAPTER 2
Off to Join the War
Sage was trying to get used to having new powers. He knew his first order of business was to visit Tridon and his father. So he teleported there, but stumbled as he landed at their house. He knocked on the door.
"It is me," Sage said.
"Come in, boy," his so-called father said.
"I must talk to you in private," Sage said.
"Then speak. Tridon is away fetching us some wine,"
"Why did you never name me?"
"Well, um, I didn't feel as…connected…to you as I did with Tridon. You must understand,"
"Are you sure you didn't name me because I am not your son???" Sage yelled.
"How did you find out??"
"Let's just say I have my ways…" Sage turned his back to him and sat by the fireplace.
"I didn't want to loose you, and if I told you then you would go out and try to find your real parents," he said.
"Yes, you wanted me to live here always and to work for you without pay. You made me do chores and steal things, which I know now, is wrong." Sage said, still facing the fire.
"Are you not grateful? I rescued you from the woods and cared for you as a pup! I took you into my home! I fed you and in return I expected work to be done!"
"I am thankful, but I do not agree with your way of life. I don't want to steal things to live. Farewell," Sage said, as he turned to leave the house.
"But where will you go?"
"I will go to join the army. That is a true job that deserves honor! And by the way…My name is Sage," he said as he swiftly left the room.
Sage used his teleportation power to get to the palace. He landed on his feet this time, as he was getting more used to his powers. He entered the castle and saw a sign pointing to the room where you get recruited into the army. He walked into the room and got in line. Another line was formed, so it was then Sage's turn.
"Good evening, sir. We just need to ask you a few questions. Have you ever fought before?" the wolf behind the desk asked.
"No, sir, but I must say that I have great strength. I am a semi-spirit," Sage said.
"Do you expect me to believe that? Many wolves have claimed that today so they can get better treatment," the wolf said.
"But sir, I can prove it!" Sage exclaimed.
"Save it for the battlefield, soldier!" a muscular, broad wolf entered the room, speaking directly to Sage.
"General Adourne! It is an honor to have you in our presence!" the wolf behind the desk said.
"If this wolf claims that he is a semi-spirit, then he can prove it today, on the battlefield! Come with me, soldier!" Adourne shouted.
"But sir, he hasn't finished his applications!" the wolf cried out.
"I don't care! We need more soldiers for the upcoming war anyway!"
"What upcoming war, sir?" Sage asked as he followed the General.
"The war against the lions is the upcoming war and it will be tomorrow!"
"What? General, I don't know if I am ready to fight in the war without training! I may be a semi-spirit, but I haven't been one for very long. I am not very experienced with my powers. I don't even know all the powers that I have!" Sage exclaimed.
"If what you said earlier is true, that you are a strong wolf and semi-spirit, then you will do fine on the battlefield! Now go make me proud…Say, what is your name, anyway?"
"Sage"
"Then make me proud, Sage!"
"But sir, why are they even attacking us?" Sage asked curiously.
"They want to take over our land! Now, go find your room and get plenty of rest! Now, be off!" Adourne commanded.
"Yes sir!" Sage obediently said.
CHAPTER 3
Fighting from Sun Up to Down
Sage found his room and walked inside. It was a small room, built of logs. It had two cots, but his roommate obviously wasn't there at the moment. He rested on the cot, and fell asleep in no time at all.
Sage awoke to the loud sound of soldiers hustling around, getting ready for battle. He rushed out to the battlefield as quickly as he could. He realized that he was one of the wolves in the front row, ready for battle. He peered over the small hill and saw the lions, all formed up and ready for battle. Moments later, thousands more wolves lined up in rows behind the first row. General Adourne was in front of the first row, glaring at the enemies. Sage also noticed that King Harver was on the castle balcony, watching the battle.
All of a sudden, the Lions' King, Marveyd, roared and his army plunged over the hill. Adourne roared back and the wolf army sprinted to not let them get near the castle. Sage and the other wolves rammed into the lions.
Sage found himself surrounded by lions! He could not freeze time, but he could slow it down. So he did, and the lions came at him slowly while he leaped into the air and sped up time again. The lions that were surrounding Sage collided into each other and fell to the ground as Sage landed from his powerful jump.
A lion was charging at him, so he made it rain over the lion, and his mane drooped over his eyes and he couldn't see. Sage dove at the lion and sunk his teeth into his neck. The lion fell to the ground.
Sage could not shape shift to look exactly like someone like Graggenos could, but he could change into any type of animal, but he would always have his same glowing fur. Most of the animals on the planet were things in the dog and cat family only, so he changed into a lion cub.
He pretended to look helpless and soon a lion noticed him and put him on his back. Sage turned back into his wolf form and sunk his claws into the lion's shoulders. The lion roared in pain and collapsed on the ground.
The lions retreated and the wolves cried out with joy. They had won the first battle of the war, but there were many more to come.
CHAPTER 4
Dinner with King Harver
"Marvelous work out there, Sage! I do believe that you have indeed proven yourself a great warrior and semi-spirit!"
"Thank you, General!" Sage replied.
Sage returned to his room to find another wolf who appeared to be his roommate.
"Hello, my name is Sage,"
"Hi, it's nice to meet you. I am Fargoth," the wolf replied.
"That was a great battle today. I was fighting with all the squadrons at one point in the battle, and I did not happen to see you, which is odd," Sage pondered.
"Ah well, it is a massive battlefield and there were thousands of soldiers! I was probably behind some wolf when you were fighting with my squadron," Fargoth quickly replied.
Sage studied the paper posted above Fargoth's cot that had his basic information, that all soldiers were required to post.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
"Sage, please open the door," a voice called out from behind the door.
Sage opened it and a soldier asked him to follow where he was going. He followed the wolf and soon they arrived at what seemed to be a meeting hall in the castle.
"Enter!" a stern voice from a guard wolf hollered.
They went in the room and took a seat at the long table.
"We are gathered here today to discuss a very important mission," King Harver started talking.
"Most of the top generals and war leaders will stay here in case of another attack, but I have asked them to attend this meeting because I want them to not be clueless as to what we are doing,"
"And we appreciate it very much sir!" a general called out.
"Thank you. Moving on, I have chosen just five wolves to work on this mission. Four of the five will just be reinforcements and defend the camp/outpost. The other wolf, however, will be doing the main mission. The four outpost reinforcement wolves will be Lenestius, Greharden, Phenilaya, Fargoth, and to supervise, General Adourne,"
The remaining wolves were tense and eager to know who the fifth wolf was.
"And the wolf to do to mission is Sage!" Harver concluded.
CHAPTER 5
Who to Believe?
The next morning, Sage awoke to General Adourne yelling for him to wake up. He glanced out the window, where Adourne was, and then walked out to greet him.
"Good morning, sir," Sage said, still half-asleep.
"Hurry now, Sage! We have a long day ahead of us! Onward!" Adourne exclaimed.
"He always seems to speak as if he is in battle," Sage thought to himself.
Sage packed his things and met with the other four wolves near the castle courtyard. They began to walk toward their outpost location.
Lenestius went over to Sage as everyone walked.
"Sage, is it me or does Fargoth seem, different?" Lenestius said in a low tone.
"Different like how?" Sage asked.
"I mean, I met him the day he came to the castle to join the army. I talked to him a little bit, and we had a lot in common. This is the first time I have seen him since then, and he looks a bit different to me. I don't know, maybe I just am loosing my mind…" Lenestius' voice trailed off as he jogged to catch up with Greharden.
Fargoth had been watching Lenestius talk with Sage and glance at him every once in a while. He knew Lenestius was talking about him, so he walked over to Sage.
"Hey, Sage, we haven't talked in a while, and there is something very important that I want to tell you," Fargoth whispered.
"I'm listening, Fargoth," Sage unenthusiastically said.
"King Harver has not told you what he has done to you, has he?" Fargoth mumbled.
"No, I don't know what you mean, either," Sage said, baffled.
"I know that you were abandoned in the woods as a child. I saw it myself. I was only three years old at the time," Fargoth began.
"So you know who left me in the woods to perish?" Sage asked, so eager to know, but yet so enraged that Fargoth had not told him sooner.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. King Harver deserted you. I think his guard found you and took you to him. Harver did not want to care for you as a son, so he left you in the forest. By the way, I would greatly appreciate it if you would keep this between you and me…" Fargoth said and ran to catch up with the group.
Sage stopped in his tracks and just froze. He was so stunned by Fargoth's words, he just halted.
"Hey, you are going to loose the group you know," Phenilaya sweetly said.
"Oh, thanks. I was just, um, daydreaming, that's all," Sage said, coming out of astonishment.
"Well, you must have been thinking really hard to just stop walking," she smiled.
"Yeah, you could say that," Sage chuckled, "My name is Sage, in case you didn't know."
"My name is Phenilaya," she stated as they walked.
The two talked for a while, and then stopped as the group did.
"This is the place where we will set up camp. We are currently located in the outskirts of Lionarville," General Adourne stated.
Everyone set up the camp, and a few hours later, fell asleep. Sage, though, could not sleep that night. He was too deep in thought of what Fargoth had said to him about King Harver, and also very nervous about the coming morning where he was to set off to kill the king lion. He decided to go for a brief walk around the nearby hills.
As he was walking along, he heard a cry for help coming from a cliff. He ran to investigate and help whoever needed his aid. As he raced to the cliff, he saw a dark figure sprint away, into the woods. He looked over the side of the cliff and saw a wolf, huddled on a little rock platform, jutting out of the mountain's side. The platform seemed to be crumbling, and the wolf looked up at him for the first time, as she had not noticed him yet. Sage bent over as much as he could and grabbed hold of her loose skin on her neck. Sage used his great strength and pulled her onto the top of the cliff.
For a second the wolf lay there, paralyzed with fright, staring into Sage's eyes.
"You-you saved my life, how can I ever repay you?" she stammered.
"You don't need to. Everything is going to be all right," Sage said calmly, "Come with me, to my camp. We will give you food and shelter there."
"I just can't thank you enough, um, what is your name?"
"My name is Sage."
As the two walked to the outpost, they talked.
"So what is a wolf like yourself doing out here near Lionarville?"
"What do you mean, a wolf like myself?"
"A dignified, and beautiful.."
Sage's mind froze. He realized that he had just said that out loud. To his relief, she just giggled.
"Well, I was on my way back from visiting a friend in Foxdend, and I had to pass through Lionarville. By the way, my name is Fienna and you are quite handsome yourself," she smiled and ran ahead to the camp.
Sage ran after her. As he returned he saw her sleeping in a tent. He lied down in another tent and fell happily to sleep.
When Sage woke up, Fienna was gone. He looked around the campsite, but she was nowhere to be found. Everyone was sleeping except Fargoth, who was looking at the clouds above the mountain. Sage went over to talk to him.
"Fargoth, why should I kill Marveyd if the task is just under Harver's orders? I mean, after I found out what he did to me, I do not want to work for him,"
"I see what you mean Sage, but you are not only helping Harver, you are helping all of Wolfarood. Marveyd is a power thirsty fiend who must be stopped!"
"Yeah, I guess everyone is counting on me. And anyways, I am not leaving the army until I find out who my father is," Harver said under his breath.
"What is that you said? How do you know by being a soldier you will find your father?" Fargoth curiously asked.
Sage, realizing that he shouldn't tell Fargoth about his visit to Prathentos, said, "Well, I figured that the army travels to many different lands, and maybe someone might know who he is," Sage lied.
"Hmm, I see," Fargoth said flatly, for he suspected that Sage was indeed not telling the truth.
About an hour later, General Adourne woke everyone up.
"Sage, head on now and begin your assignment!"
As sage walked off into the distance, Fargoth snuck off deeper into the woods.
"There you are, I thought you would never come," a figure in the shadows asked in a deep, raspy voice.
"Yes, you are late," Fienna said.
"I am very sorry, my liege, but I think I am close to finding some valuable information," Fargoth said.
"Excellent, tell me what you are suspecting is true!" the figure said with a harsh but yet proud reply.
"Sir, he told me that he does not want to leave the army until he finds out who his father is. Then he told me some obviously untrue lie about why he said that. I believe that Prathentos has something to do with this," Fargoth concluded.
"Hehe, Prathentos. That fool shall pay when the time comes. Fargoth, outstanding work! Fienna, find out more….And I think you know how,"
CHAPTER 6
Deception
Sage was creeping through the forest on the outskirts of Lionarville when Fienna yelled,
"Hey, wait up!"
"What are you doing following me?!" Sage exclaimed.
"Well, I really wanted to talk to you and you might not make it out of Lionarville Fortress alive," Fienna said in a distressing voice.
"Oh, well I must make it there on time, so please talk to me as we walk," Sage stated.
"That's fine, I just wanted to be with you, especially if it's going to be the last time," Fienna said.
"I am going to be fine, don't worry," Sage smiled.
"Do you promise?"
"Yes, I promise," Sage stated.
"Sage, why did you join the army? To serve Wolfarood?" she asked.
"No, I joined to find my father," Sage suddenly realized that he had said that again.
"I don't understand. How do you know that you will find out who he is by being a soldier?"
"I just figure that by traveling to many lands, someone is certain to know who he is," Sage lied.
"Sage, please don't lie to me. I can tell that you are, but there is no need to apologize. Can you please tell me the truth?"
Love struck, Sage looked into her eyes and began to spill the truth.
"The spirit who knows all, Prathentos, told me that if I am to find who my father is, I should join the army,"
"Oh. Did he mention anything else? And where are all the spirits currently located, sweetie? Do you mind if I call you that, Sage?"
"I don't mind at all," Sage grinned, "and yes, he is the one who told me that I was adopted. The spirits are all still up there too."
"Thanks, I was just curious if they were really up there, and if I might ask, who adopted you?" Fienna sweetly asked.
"Well, my supposed brother was named Tridon and his father took care of me," Sage said.
"Do they live around the castle?" Fienna asked.
"They live a few miles away from it, but why do you ask?" Sage said.
"Oh, just wondering," Fienna said.
"I'm sorry, but you can't follow me any further. We are right outside of the fortress, so wish me luck," Sage said.
"I love you," Fienna kissed him.
"I love you too," Sage's heart seemed to drop to his feet.
"Now go be a hero, slay the lions' king!" she shouted as she trotted away.
Sage stood at the towering fortress walls. He needed a way to get inside. His only idea, to teleport behind the wall, was risky because someone might see him. He decided there was no other choice and risked getting caught. When he teleported inside, he heard footsteps coming toward him. He quickly leaped into the large sewer drain, where he was already planning to enter, and was out of their line of sight.
Sage knew that the sewer tunnels did lead to the Grand Chamber, where Marveyd lazily relaxed in his throne. He unexpectedly found himself in confusion, for he did not know there were so many tunnels under the fortress. All of a sudden, a figure of a familiar wolf peered around a corner and looked directly at Sage.
"Sage, come over here! It's me, Tridon!"
Sage trotted up to him curiously.
"What in Spirritian's name are you doing down here?" Sage asked.
"I heard that you were going to slay Marveyd and I wanted to help a brother," Tridon said.
"You really shouldn't be here, Tridon! You'll get yourself killed!" Sage exclaimed.
"Fine, I will go, but before I do, don't you want to know where the Great Chamber is?"
"Yes Tridon, I do. Please show me," Sage said.
Sage followed Tridon down interminable, rusty passages until they finally stopped.
"Here we are, Sage. I better be off," Tridon said as he started jogging away.
Sage climbed up the staircase in front of him and lifted the trapdoor above his head. He found himself abruptly trapped in a room full of guards surrounding him.
Sage immediately noticed the glowing walls before the guards swarmed toward him. Sage attempted to teleport out of the situation, but miraculously, he could not use his power. A guard rammed into him after his failed attempt to escape. Sage landed hard on the stone flood and tried to create a lightning bolt to strike the guards. Once again, his effort failed and this time, three of the six guards clawed at him, leaving him badly wounded.
He understood clearly that some kind of magical barrier prevented his use of his powers, so he had to use brute force to win.
Sage, in a rage of fury, dived on a guard and sunk his teeth into his neck. Unfortunately, the other five lion guards overpowered him, brought him to the Grand Chamber, and bound him to a marble column near the king.
"So, the young wolf has come to kill me, eh? Ha, that was a sad attempt!" Marveyd laughed.
Sage was too tired to reply, and felt a strong urge to sleep. Before he fell asleep, he noticed the same glowing walls and Fienna, peeking in the window. The last thing that crossed Sage's mind was how his own 'brother' could betray him, and how he will punish him if he ever was released.