The smell of a human was unmistakable. The smell of a whole tribe of them was a delight to Cornell's senses. He looked up unto the sky and saw a blue crescent moon. He looked into the eyes of his fellow pack. Ortega smiled to him. Cornell knew what this meant. This was his moon, it was preordained that he should lead the pack into this nest of humans. Cornell stared at all the humans. Even in the dark he could see that there were many of them. Tonight would be a good feast for the man-wolf. They were a wagon train heading north by the looks of it. Camped out for the night they were four wagons in total, surrounding a large fire. Six of the humans were asleep; the remaining four were keeping watch. Cornell would take out the watchmen while the others feasted on the sleeping ones. Cornell positioned himself in the bushes across from the four watchers. The others were set up wherever they wanted to leap from. It didn't matter from where. When Cornell leapt into the air staring into the eyes of one the watchmen he knew what he was thinking,… "we're dead". The talons on Cornell's feet dug into the human's chest. His claws slashed two others before they even drew their swords or reached for their rifles. The fourth had his sword drawn already. Cornell knew that this one would put up a fight. Not a good one, but a fight nonetheless. Cornell looked at how the pack was progressing and saw Ortega gnawing on some human's leg. Cornell howled at his moon. He had led the pack well. The remaining human not impressed by Cornell's howling and lunged at him. The sword slashed Cornell across his left arm. Cornell howled in pain. Ortega saw what happened and left his dinner to chase the human. The human was heading for the back of one of the wagons. Just as the human was about jump into it Ortega thrust his arm into the back of the human's chest. Ortega turned to Cornell and yelled "Here Cornell, eat of him and redeem yourself!" But Cornell was looking into the now open wagon. Inside he could see a pair of eyes. Two young eyes, and from them fell tears. Cornell then looked into the flames. They suddenly seemed very real.
"A…!"
Cornell awoke from this dream with his heart pounding faster than he had ever run as a man-wolf. The dream had been more than a simple dream. It had been a reminder of days long past him now. It has been many years since the man-beasts sealed away their powers to live harmoniously with humans. It was something he was responsible for. He had told the man-beast elders that the time had come for the man-beast to rejoin their human cousin's. They too had tired of this constant battle between them and the humans. It continued only because young man-beasts like Ortega and himself had insisted it was who they were. But after that night he could no longer continue. For years if it wasn't them hunting the humans it was the humans hunting them. They knew that the ancients had given the man-beasts power from the underworld as a cruel joke against the humans. But one harsh winter all the man-wolves came to the town of Veros. It was a harsh winter, the worst the town had ever seen. People were freezing to death because no man could stand the cold long enough to bring wood for fire. "It was then that we came to the humans and made a deal with them. Their bodies could withstand the cold so they would supply them with firewood for the entire winter in exchange for freedom to live among them at the end of the winter season." Their leader told them of how they were tired of the eternal hunting and now just wanted to live their lives like their human cousins do. It took the whole winter but they learned to trust Cornell and his people. Finally at winter's end they gathered together in the presence of the village leaders and among some of the most respected man-wolf hunters in the land and formed the great seal. It was a seal that would forever lock away the powers the ancients had cursed them with. On that day they all regained their human appearance and with it their humanity.
He and his sister, Ada, lived peacefully in a village outside the Veros woods. Cornell had been gone a year under going ascetic training to harness the underworld power of the man-beast but for good. And after a year he was returning home in success. But now his acute sense of smell told him that there was a fire nearby, but not a small campfire. He jumped from his bed of leaves and branches and ran as fast as he could in his human form. He followed the scent of flames closely, but soon he realized that the source of the flames and his destination were one and the same. A ran for a few hours and finally his home village came into view. Only a year ago he had looked back walking away from a village bustling with life. Now he saw his home engulfed in a lotus flower of flames. He saw how even the very earth that the village sat on was on fire. And all throughout the village silhouetted figures ran amok in the conflagration. Cornell didn't even stop to think what sort of creatures could be walking around in such a blaze and survive he just ran into it until he came face to face with his village's attackers. He stared in shock as he saw who were attacking the village. They were skeletons. He couldn't call them living skeletons because no living intelligence lived inside those bones. He saw one of the skeletons walk off the roof of a house and break to pieces. These things weren't alive, they are just attacking anything that isn't one of them; and he wasn't one of them. Only a few seemed to take notice of him but soon they began to walk in his direction. A group of five was blocking the way to his home.
"Let's see what good a year in ascetic training did me", thought Cornell. One skill he had picked up was the ability to summon a small amount of the man-beasts magic to create a blast of energy from his fists. He thought about using it but then decided it would be more gratifying to knock them back to whatever hell they came from with his bare hands. He ran up to the first two and ripped their skull heads clean away from their necks. The other three he knocked to pieces by kicking them in the ribcage. He looked around at the others and saw them back away and then he saw them, all of the skull warriors, slowly sink into the ground.
"Maybe they aren't that foolish."
Cornell looked at what was left of his home. He took a sniff of air and could already tell that she had been taken away. But the real proof lay at his feet. A blue pendant and chain lay where the doorstep was. Cornell picked it up and looked at it in his palm. It was the pendant he had given Ada. It was a powerful magic that would always protect her from evil. And while she wore it all wolves would befriend her and guide her to safety. Until now it had protected her. The fact that it didn't means that there are extremely strong evil spirits at work. Cornell ran out of the burning village and kneeled on the ground for a moment. He could still pick up the scent of his sister's blood.
"The trail is warm. I swear Ada that I will find you and not the powers of the underworld or the devil himself will stop me from bringing you back safe! I will break the seal and revert to a bloodthirsty man-wolf if I have too but I will save you!"
The first beams of sunlight were breaking through the clouds. It would be day soon. Cornell had no idea what had happened to all the villagers or why they only took Ada, but whoever they are, will soon learn it was a mistake. He wouldn't sleep or rest until he has rescued Ada. He looked at the direction of Ada's scent and without thought or consideration of what might be ahead, he ran and ran as fast as he could. Were anyone alive in the village, they would have woken up to the howl and an angry wolf running through the forest…and all hell was riding on his shoulders.