Chapter 4- Rise of the wolf king
"The Druids of old were deeply in tuned with nature. They were healers, philosophers, teachers and some were even warriors. They had the unique ability to harness the power of nature. Lycaon hoped that the Druids could use that power to cure them. But the Druids, not even with their great magic's, could not undo the will of Zeus. The Druids did not give up though. They noticed that Lycaon and his lot retained their human intelligence and mind-set. With that idea in mind, the Druids worked their magic's again, but this time they called upon the power of mother Earth herself, Gaia. Gaia answered their call and with her great power, they were able to turn Lycaon and his lot back into human form. The power Gaia gave to them was great enough to turn them back but not completely. It instead allowed them to shift back and forth between human and wolf form. However things are very rarely that easily resolved."
"When are they ever?" Scott mumbled under his breath.
"Some of the newly created werewolves found that they could not control themselves and changed into wild beasts, and most of the werewolves found that their more primal and animalistic nature had been brought to the surface. The wolves were being overwhelmed by their new found instinct."
"Then what happened?" Scott asked. He was clearly interested in the old story.
"What happened was the Druids prayed to Artemis, the goddess of the wilderness, wild animals, hunting and the moon. Artemis took pity on them, for one of her eternal maidens was a daughter of Lycaon and a victim of Zeus' curse. Artemis respected the drive and resolve of the Druids and used her power so that those with sufficient enough will, could resist and control their new found instinct. Artemis also bound them to the moon. She still had to enforce then punishment that her father and king had placed upon them. As she bound them to the moon, she made it so that on the night of a full moon, the wolves without enough control or will power would give in to their primal instinct. Those that could control themselves however, were able to use their power and shift back and forth between wolf and human form without being swayed by the moon. Artemis blessed those select few so that the full moon would actually temper their instinct and help their control but only as long as their will was strong enough. From then on, the moon has held power over us. So much so, that when the moon is absent from the night sky during the lunar eclipse, we lose all our power. But during a solar eclipse, when the moon overtakes the sun, our strength increases five-fold and we retain our humanity. It is a blessing that Artemis bestows onto us. She relieves our suffering then and empowers us. According to the legend, it is why we a swayed by the moon. It is a tribute to our patron goddess." He explained.
"Artemis is the patron goddess of werewolves?" Melissa asked.
"According to legend, yes." Duke answered.
"What about the Druids?" Scott asked eagerly, clearly enthralled by the story.
"That's an interesting case. At first nothing happened to them. Lycaon and his lot gave thanks to them but then left. Lycaon quickly reveled in his new found power. As a king, he saw fit to rule over the new race of werewolves. But as Lycaon kept exerting his newfound power, more people kept dying. Lycaon and his pack kept killing and slaughtering until they became nothing more than the monsters that werewolves are seen as today. Eventually, all of the death and destruction they were causing attracted the attention of certain primordial forces."
"But what about the Druids?" Scott complained.
"Scott, if you want to understand, you have to know the whole story. Just pieces of information will rarely ever do you good." Deucalion explained.
"The whole story?"
"Yes."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Scott asked.
"It means, that before you make a plan, you need all of the information." Duke explained. Scott seemed to about that before he nodded in understanding.
"Good. Now Lycaon's pack's actions attracted the attention of Ares, the god of war. He relished the chaos and destruction they were causing and granted them new power, so as to increase the destruction they could cause. The power Ares gave them was enough to have the wolves shift further into a more beast-like form. I know you're quite familiar with that form." Duke said.
"You're talking about Peter." Scott concluded.
"Exactly like Peter. Do you know what else that form means?" Duke asked. Scott began to think about it until it dawned on him.
"They were Alpha's. Ares made them all Alpha's." Scott realized.
"Almost. Not all of them became Alpha's, because not all of them were killers. Lycaon and his more frantic followers became the first Alphas. They were the Alpha's born of blood and death. Their eyes became the color of the blood they spilled and their forms changed to suit that. However this isn't to say that all of them were monsters. After Ares gave Lycaon his new power of the Alpha, Lycaon discovered The Bite. He discovered that he could turn those he bit into werewolves. One of the new wolves, Alistair, didn't share Lycaon's love of destruction and killing. He believed that werewolves and humans could live in peace. Alistair was a high ranking soldier in Lycaon's army. He was a noble and fair man. Alistair gathered a group of wolves and soldiers that shared his ideals and defected from Lycaon. Alistair and his group became the first omega's. They all felt the loss of power from leaving their Alpha and they realized they needed a way to compensate for that, so they sought out the Druids. Now, the Druids were apprehensive about helping werewolves again. They saw firsthand what Lycaon and his band of wolves could do. Some Druids were even corrupted by Lycaon and his savage ways and joined him. Those corrupted Druids became the first Darach's."
"Why would Darach's join forces with Lycaon?" Scott asked.
"Not all Darach's are like Jennifer. While there is no doubt that she was a corrupted druid, she was out for revenge. In fact, in Gaelic the word 'Druid' means 'wise oak'. 'Darach' means 'dark oak'. A Darach is a Druid that deals in death and destruction, as opposed to Druids, who work for balance and preservation." Duke explained.
"So Darach's can be emissaries too?" Scott asked..
"Yes they can, but that pack would be twisted and corrupted. They would exist for no other reason than to cause death and destruction wherever they go."
"Like yours?" Scott accused.
"My Alpha pack was about recruiting unique and powerful Alpha's. Not to cause death and destruction. I understand you're not fond of me, but don't throw me in with the likes of Lycaon." Deucalion defended. Scott didn't say anything be he nodded in understanding.
"Right, well. Where was I?" duke asked.
"I think it was Alistair and the Druids." Melissa said.
"Ah, yes. Now as I said before, the Druids were apprehensive about helping werewolves again because of Lycaon and his corruption. The Druids, in their wariness, even discovered the use of mountain ash to repel us." Duke informed.
"The Druids discovered that?" Scott asked, surprised.
"Some versions of the legends say that, others say that the Druids actually invented it. Either way, the Druids were the first to use it."
"Ok, I gotta ask. This has been on my mind for a long time. How come mountain ash does that to us? Why does it affect us?" Scott asked.
"It's not just us, Scott. Mountain ash affects all supernatural creatures."
"But why though?" Scott asked. He clearly wasn't going to let this go. Deucalion decided to indulge the boy.
"Scott, do you know where mountain ash comes from?"
"Um, mountains? I dunno exactly, I never really thought about that." Scott admitted.
"People rarely do. Mountain as is made from Rowen trees. The bark of a Rowen tree is called ash wood. It's the same wood that lines Deaton's clinic, and from what I felt when I came in, the same wood that lines your floor."
"What's so special about a Rowan tree?" Melissa asked.
"Rowen trees are believed to be blessed by the gods. Because of that, they are said to ward off those that are considered 'malevolent'. The reason that mountain ash repels us is because we are, in a matter of speaking, part of that." Duke explained. He saw Scott adopt a pained look.
"So, basically, we're… 'unholy'?" Scott tentatively asked.
"Perhaps 'unholy' is the wrong word to use." Duke quickly corrected. "Maybe 'wicked intentioned' would be a better term. Mountain ash is meant to repel us, literally. It always pushes back with more power than what we use against it. I suspect that's why you were able to break Jennifer's ash circle."
"Because I'm stronger than the ash?" Scott asked.
"That may be part of it. I believe that you were able to 'overrule' the ash."
"Overrule?"
"The ash is meant to repel the supernatural and those with 'wicked' intentions. You broke the ash because you had no 'wicked' intentions. You just wanted to keep Jennifer from killing you friends and family. But also, and I assume this is what mattered most, you managed to push back against the ash with more power than it was using against you."
"How did he do that?" Melissa asked.
"He became an Alpha. You started pushing against the ash as an Omega. But because of the strength of your will, your will to protect, you became a True Alpha. In that moment your spark, your power grew fast enough and strong enough to overpower the ash."
"Does that mean that mountain ash doesn't affect me anymore?" Scott asked.
"I don't think that's the case. I believe it was an 'in the moment' action. You became an Alpha and in that moment, grew stronger than what the ash was using against you."
"So now that I'm an Alpha, and have been for a while, it can be used against me?"
"Yes. But there is something even more important about the way you broke the ash circle."
"What is it?" Scott asked.
"They way you broke the ash circle is the same way that Alistair became the first True Alpha." Duke said. He watched as Scott's face morphed into one of surprise.
"Alistair? He was the first True Alpha? I thought True Alpha's couldn't kill or it destroys their potential." Scott asked.
"True Alpha's are exceedingly rare. In fact, they are the myth among the myth of werewolves. Not too much I known about them, just that they rise on the force of their own will and strength of character. If I had to guess, the part about not being able to kill came about because killing isn't a very virtuous act."
"So it's not true? They can kill?"
"Honestly, I don't know. It could be true and it could also not be true as well."
"But you think it's true. That's why you tried to make me kill when I wouldn't join you."
"You tried to make my son a killer?" Melissa accused.
"I tried to make him kill Jennifer, yes." Deucalion answered, truthfully. He was a little ashamed now that he looked back on it.
"Scott, you didn't kill her did you?" Melissa asked her son.
"No! I didn't kill her." Scott answered quickly.
"Oh, thank god." Melissa said, clearly relieved.
"But I almost did." Scott admitted.
Just like that, Deucalion could literally feel the tension in the room.
(A/N. And so begins the legend of old. Hope you all enjoy my mythos, it was really fun coming up with the story. The rest of the legend will be told in the next chapter, which is almost done actually so I might post it a bit early, so look out for that. As always, if you liked it, leave a review! Or don't, I'm not the boss of you. But you really should, though.)
