The Epics of the Wolf
Chapter One
The Separation and the Great Era
Back in the early years of man, long before the separation of wisdom and foolish superstitions, the age known to the wolves as the Great Era came about. In this Great Era, there existed more gods and demons than there were stars in the sky. It became impossible to know the exact number of wolf demons in a single pack, much more impossible knowing the total amount on Earth. Wolf gods were fewer but they were still a force to be reckoned with. Moro was the fierce and cunning leader of the wolf gods during the Great Era. She had mated with a wolf god named Kuroi and produced two male offspring, Heroki and Akira. Unfortunately, Kuroi had died and she was forced to search out a strong wolf demon to replace him.
Now you must know, the wolf demons looked up to and very much honored the wolf gods, much unlike other demons. They recognized the gods as far superior and saw themselves as unfit even to be graced by the presence of them. However, wolf gods- particularly Moro- also saw the wolf demons as unfit. The gods would never admit it, but it was a popular belief among them that wolf demons were inbred worthless mongrels. Due to the nature of this relationship between the wolf gods and demons, Moro was beyond furious when she came to the realization that she would have to seek out a demon mate. She went through with it all the same, however.
The demon she came to choose went by the name of Retendo. He was despised by his own because he failed to pay respect to the gods. Even his own sister Midori, who he loved and cherished so dearly, resented him. It came to be believed that Moro saw Retendo as a suitable mate solely because he saw her as ordinary. Moro bitterly frowned upon such behavior typically but it is believed that she saw a glimmer of herself in him that she never expected to find in a demon.
Retendo and Moro became mates and Retendo was suddenly liked by his own for the first time in his life. He was greatly pleased with this until Moro forced him to cut ties with the demons. Though Moro isolated him from the others, Retendo managed to secretly keep contact with his beloved sister. This would play a key role in the lives of his children.
Again, Moro produced two offspring. Both children were female this time and they were given the names San and Suni. Heroki and Akira adjusted quite well to the idea of half-bred siblings but they still showed malice toward Retendo, for he could never replace their father. Shortly after the birth of his daughters, Retendo became weary of the way things were. He could not tolerate separation from his own or the bitter silent hatred which grew in the eyes of his step-children. Retendo abandoned his mate and cubs and set out for his true homeland again. Moro never forgave this and thus passed a resentment of Retendo down to San and Suni.
Around the twelfth year of their lives, San and Suni came into contact with their cousin through Retendo's doing. This cousin went by the name of Koga and he was the full demon son of Midori. This meeting would change the lives of Moro's children greatly.
Koga was roughly their age and, unbeknownst to Moro, the three came into contact one December morn and spent the entire morning together. Suni overlooked Koga's ties to her father and became Koga's friend; San, however, failed to see Koga's true and gentle nature over her resentment of her father. Thus, the twins began develop separate beliefs and character traits.
Suni noticed Koga bore a strong dissimilarity to her father. While Retendo failed to respect the gods at all, Koga knelt down before the young half-bred goddesses with more reverence than she had ever seen before. Though she kept insisting that formalities such as these were unnecessary, Suni failed to persuade Koga. The child acted with more reverence the more she asked him to set the class issues aside.
Now, Suni was young but she had a sharper mind than even her mother. With this unsurpassed wit and a quick assessment of details, Suni came to devise a solution. When Koga bowed, she bowed lower. When Koga knelt before her, she knelt down before him with her head between her knees. Finally, the little exchange of formalities ended and Koga came to realize Suni would simply not accept his praises.
As this all was occurring, San was distant. She sat in a nearby tree with a distasteful sneer upon her lips. San was raised to hate her father and she felt that she should loathe his relatives as well. Thus, San hated Koga; she hated all demons, but- like all gods- she would not outwardly express this dislike of the wolf demons. San merely sat back and glared at the boy silently.
Midday came quickly and Suni sorrowfully said her goodbyes to Koga and left with San. Here, when the girls were alone together, San spoke her mind.
"Do not disgrace yourself by relating with a worthless mutt like him," San bitterly cautioned her sister.
"He is one of our own, San, and I like him," replied Suni with an innocent smile.
"We are goddesses and he is a filthy demon! Do not place us in the same category!"
"We come from both the light and the dark, my sister!" Suni protested. "No matter how much we hate him, Retendo is still our father and his demon blood runs in our veins!"
"Then I shall bleed the demon blood from my body!" San reached for her dagger.
"No sister!" Suni cried out, grabbing San's hand with more force than San thought her sister possessed. "Removing his blood will not remove the dark mark from your body and soul. All you can do is fight it, if you must. Fight with your own existence and conquer the blackness within your heart mind and body, sister… as I shall conquer the light within myself."
"You would give up your supreme powers as a goddess and become one like him?" San demanded.
"I… don't have much of a choice. We are twins. A perfect balance must be maintained betwixt us. When the darkness within you vanishes, the light within me fades away and fire must burn in my eyes, for ice has possessed yours," Suni noted San's cold stare.
"I cannot allow you to fall into that dark abyss which has dominion over half of my entirety. I do not wish to carry on with this cursed mark of darkness but my salvation means your downfall. My apologies, wise sister."
Though San agreed that day to accept her demon nature, she never promised to treat Koga with any sort of respect. Several days of secret meetings occurred and San would watch her sister grow closer and closer to the worthless cub their father's sister had spawned. When she could no longer take it, San informed her mother of these hidden engagements.
Moro scorned Suni for this repulsive act. However, Suni had an unbreakable heart of pure gold and she would not abandon Koga. Moro had lost two mates before, but this was her first time losing a daughter.
Suni escaped deep into the Forbidden Realm, where all unaccepted creatures gathered. Frequently, these creatures that were so loathed by the world that they were forced to flee to a segregated realm were half-breeds like Suni. There were no other demon-goddesses; however, wolf-yokos were quite frequent in this land as well as demon-human crossbreeds. The great sorrow that swept this land overtook Suni and she began to weep.
"Little Sister, does this gloomy place truly upset you so?" Suni turned around to find that Heroki had followed her.
"Are we truly so worthy of persecution, Heroki? Is being of mixed blood so terrible that we really deserved to be segregated and forced into these dark lands?" Suni demanded of her half-brother with a more fiery and fervorant tone than she had ever taken before.
"It is an injustice that so many are so harshly neglected but you are a fortunate one, Dear Sister. Perhaps… one day you might have the strength to help the poor souls of this Forbidden Realm. I believe in you, Suni," Heroki smiled down at her, brushing away her tears with a stroke of his fingers.
It is rumored that these tears which Suni had cried for her shamed half-bred brethren were so pure that they turned to gold when they left her eyes. Whether the rumors were true or not, documents show that a dozen or so perfect spheres of gold were displayed in the Temple of the Wolves for centuries after, under the name of "Suni's Tears."
Suni fell into Heroki's caring arms and wept beyond compare. Heroki did not mind at all. He loved his sister dearly, whether she was angry depressed happy or peaceful. Heroki's bond to Suni was greater than any creature is capable of comprehending. His willingness to give his life for her was only a small sample of how great his love for her was.
Heroki held Suni tight and she cried every last tear she could before falling asleep in her brother's hands. A young wolf-yoko approached cautiously to see if he could help the poor girl who had shed all the tears in her body for his kind, but Heroki shook his head before the wolf-yoko even got close to them.
"She is fine, My Friend," Heroki assured the child with a smile. "She just needs some rest. Thank you, though. Your kindness and generosity mean a great deal to me, and will mean much more to her."
With that friendly word of appreciation, Heroki lifted himself from the ground and gently placed his sister over his shoulder. Then he headed home.
Suni slept well that night, her energy drained by her uncontrollable crying. When she awoke the next morning, Suni rushed out to find Heroki. She came upon him by the lake.
Heroki was staring thoughtfully at his reflection when Suni approached him. Whenever he had a spare second, Heroki always seemed to spend it staring at his reflection in the water. He was anything but self-loving but he thought clearer when he stared his reflection in the eye.
"What do you ponder so thoughtfully now, Dear Brother?" Suni asked calmly.
"I am thinking… about a little boy from the Forbidden Realm yesterday, Sister," Heroki replied.
"A little boy?" Suni queried.
"He was a little child- a wolf-yoko- and he came to offer assistance when you collapsed. I turned him down nicely but I still think I may have hurt his feelings."
"It was the boy with the silver hair and brown eyes, was it not?"
"It was," Heroki nodded.
"Kitsu is a very misunderstood soul. His intentions are pure but his mixed blood causes a curse to follow him. No matter what he does… the curse always follows him."
"How do you know all this, sister? You certainly were not in the Forbidden Realm long enough to have carried on a discussion of and sort."
"Who do you think the misunderstood creatures of the Forbidden Realm call to for help?" Suni asked him. "Who do you think they pray to, asking for wisdom guidance salvation- even death? Yes, they sometimes pray to me asking for an end. They beg me to put a swift end to their wretched lives. Do you understand now why I tear myself apart trying to better the persecuted? There is nothing worse than falling asleep to the random voices in your head crying and pleading and screaming for death."
"Dear Sister… how I wish I could bear the pain for you. However, it must be your mission and your mission alone that justice be served to those in the Forbidden Realm."
"My mission will not end there, Brother," Suni replied whole-heartedly. "I must bring an end to all segregation. It will tear my being apart from the inside out but it must be done."
"A child so young should not take the weight of the world into her delicate arms. You shall not solve a thing by crushing yourself under the weight."
"I'm… sure you know about Koga," Suni looked away in shame.
"I do not," Heroki answered. "Who is he?"
"Koga is Midori's child. He is of the same dark abyss that inhabits over half of my being," Suni frowned.
"'Over half,' you say?" Heroki raised an eyebrow at his sister's curious statement.
"San is slowly rejecting her demonic nature, so I am slowly being forced into the darkness with Koga."
"So… what of the boy? Why do you bring him up?"
"It is disgusting. I always knew it was true but it is worse to actually see it."
"See what, Dear Sister?"
"It is disgusting to see how we all walk over and spit on our own kin. How long must they suffer disgrace just because they were born in the dark instead of the light? Why do we make them suffer? Are they not our own?"
"They are and they are not. Mother will never stop degrading them. Retendo hurt her too much for her to forgive them."
"Why must so many suffer for my father's actions? If she is displeased with him, let her have his head and let the segregation end!"
"Suni," Heroki grabbed his sister's shoulders and looked her in the eye with an unparalleled intensity, "Never say such a thing again. He is your father and you should not hate him, regardless of what Mother or Akira has to say about it."
"He abandoned us," Suni argued.
"A heart of gold can change the world greatly but it is ruined if tainted with the slightest drop of malice. Suni, the world needs a heart of gold and you are the one to give it. Do not let Mother ruin you with her hatred of Retendo."
"I understand, Brother. You know, perhaps my mission is not mine alone, after all," Suni looked cheerfully into her brother's wide golden eyes. "It may just be your mission as well."
"I cannot do what destiny calls you to do. I can merely stand by you and aid you in the dark hours."
"Brother, I need your aid now," Suni suddenly declared. "My heart is strong enough to endure my fate but my body is not. Brother, you have grown up and grown strong. Show me how I might be able to grow like you."
"I am flattered but even strength like mine will not suffice in your quest. I can build you up to what I am but you must find a way to greatly surpass me on your own."
"How much stronger than you must I be?" Suni asked curiously.
"You must be at least twice what I am," he answered, "and you must become this in half the time. Your strength is needed now, Sister."
"I understand what you are saying but I must put those issues aside for now," Suni turned away and began rising toward the heavens. "I must consult The Almighty and obtain his wise word of guidance. I will see you later, Dear Brother."
As Suni vanished into the skies above, Akira came upon Heroki. He had been watching all along and he had some harsh words for his brother.
"You are a fool, Heroki. Do not encourage her pathetic idealism. It is imperative that she realize how futile her attempts at total unification will be before she attempt them."
"I believe in her because I love her. If you truly loved her--."
"Do not make the mistake of thinking I love our sister any less than you do!" Akira pinned his brother to a tree. "I love her more than you think! I just wish not to see her suffer unlike you!"
"You must understand, Akira," Heroki said soothingly, "that you are incorrect in thinking we can shelter her from suffering. If we let her believe in what she does now, I do not deny that she will suffer. However, a much crueler fate awaits her if we crush her beliefs to dust and spit on them, like you are suggesting."
"She will get over it," Akira disagreed, releasing Heroki.
"Your way will leave a permanent and deep recess in her golden heart, Akira. You just cannot bring yourself to support her beliefs and so you blind yourself to the after-effects of what you want to do. I can understand that; however, I cannot allow you to hurt her so."
"You cannot keep Mother from her. If I do not show her that what she speaks of is pure nonsense, she will show her much more harshly."
"What do you mean, Akira?" Heroki stared at him with wide golden eyes.
"Mother will kill the demon child Suni is so fond of if I do not persuade Suni to abandon her beliefs within three days," Akira admitted, frowning.
"We cannot allow this injustice, Akira. If what you say is true, then we must guard both Koga and Suni with our lives," Heroki responded.
"How will we find Koga? Only Suni and Mother know of his whereabouts."
"Perhaps there is another who knows," Heroki smirked. "What about San? She has encountered him numerous times. San should be able to lead us to him."
"Brother, is there truly no way to ease her suffering?"
"All we can do is share the burden and take some of the hits for her."