The nights of this particular winter were pitch black. Even during the day when the sun rose to shine its warmth onto those below it was blotted out of the sky by ominous dark grey clouds. Tonight though was a full moon and those relentless harsh clouds parted, lighting Midgard in its soft glow. It was on this very night, deep in the forest, a realm tear seared into existence and out stepped two strange figures.
One was a wolf of great size- taller than a horse and bigger than a bear, made larger by the swelling of her stomach. Her dull fur coat blended easily within the darkness and if one weren't careful, could easily go unnoticed until it be too late. The other was a tall and broad individual, covered head to toe in sharp, jagged black armor; their head shrouded underneath a hooded cloth.
The wolf mother raised her head, taking in the full moon. Too long has it been since she has seen anything other than the walls of her cell- dark times indeed. She still had the scars of her imprisonment, the fur around her ankles permanently gone revealing pink rough skin. She sniffed the air and smelled the frozen earth; animals burrowed deep in the snow, a death far away to the east, the stink of a troll sleeping, and the faint traces of an urination marking days old made by an alpha male wolf.
Instinct told her to find and locate the wolf pack in the area. If it were a different case, she would have been fine on her own but she had her soon to be cubs to worry about. So to ensure their survival, she needed the safety only a pack could provide.
The wolf mother stepped forward and then remembered her mysterious liberator. She looked back to see the dark warrior had not left nor had they moved to stop her. They simply stared at one another. She did not know why this person had freed her and her curiosity was fleeting. All that mattered were her cubs. Having deemed it safe to leave, the wolf mother took off at a light romp, disappearing into the trees.
She moved swiftly, pausing every once in a while to re-catch the scent of wolves. They were near. The trees around her lessened as she came upon a clearing that opened up at the side of a rocky mountain. Unbeknownst to her, it used to be a mining place for the dwarves during the time when peace reigned all throughout the nine realms. However, that was short-lived and after the treachery of the Allfather, the mine had been deserted and left for nature to reclaim. Now, a large wolf pack (unusually bigger due to the winter) had moved in. There they found shelter from the cold but it did little to aid them with their hunger.
A howl rang out and the wolves living their emerged from their dens to face the intruder. The wolf mother, unafraid, stood tall and carried her tail high, exerting her dominance. The wolves surrounded her in a circle but kept their distance, waiting for their leader. Sure enough, he came. A grey brown male confronted the wolf mother. He bared his teeth at her, a growl erupting from his chest. She in return, remained silent.
She understood her brothers were starving and if she failed to cement her place as their new alpha, they would try to eat her despite her size and healthier appearance for she was kept well fed during her imprisonment. They were desperate and willing to face such a stronger opponent if it meant they could stave off their hunger for a little while longer.
The alpha male struck first and leapt directly at her. She reacted quickly and opened her great maw, enveloping her teeth around the male. She closed her mouth but made sure not to pierce flesh. The other wolves followed suit, one jumping for her hind leg. She kicked the wolf and swerved her entire body, using her tail to knock a few others down. With the alpha still in her mouth, she roared fiercely, making the pack back off with their ears flattened to their skulls and their tail tuck between their legs. She breathed hard through her nostrils, glaring at each wolf in the eye until they broke eye contact with her.
She sensed it in the air. They were afraid of her. But it would do her no good to only be feared.
Careful not to hurt him, she released the ex-alpha from her teeth and allowed him to get back up and shake off her saliva. He then faced her and submitted. She was alpha now. In a display of friendliness, she relaxed her posture and let each wolf greet her. Then, she made her way into the mines where she found a spot warm and safe enough to turn into her den. Days later she gave birth to six young pups, black furred and blind, whom began nursing from their mother immediately. The other wolves, try as they might, could not find meat to bring back to her and if they did it was not large enough to sustain her body.
The wolf mother grew weaker and weaker as the weeks passed and she feared she might not have the strength to see her young ones to maturity. So as soon as her pups opened their eyes and began to crawl around, she left them safe in the den and went out to hunt, taking with her the fastest and strongest in the pack and leaving the rest behind to guard her children.
They set out, going slow to conserve energy for the real chase. The wolf mother did not intend to hunt elk or other such animals. She was starving and her appetite was as equal to her size, if not more. No, she was going after the big one. The troll's scent she had smelled all those weeks ago was still in the area, meaning it must have made its home there.
She led her hunting pack, sniffing the air to correct her direction. It lead her out of the woods and nearer to the open wide rocky grounds. It was there, atop a frozen lake, a troll slumbered out in the open. Some would think it unwise to rest in a vulnerable place but trolls do not have any natural predators and there only true enemies were the men and women of Midgard. But they were dying off because of the winter, so the troll had nothing to fear.
Until now.
The hunting pack crept low on their bellies toward the edge of where the ground elevated to gain a better viewpoint of the lake below. When they saw who their intended target was, some of the wolves whimpered and backed away. The wolf mother threw her head around and growled a warning. She was hungry, they all are, and she will not miss this big opportunity due to cowardliness.
The wolf mother sent the most stealthiest wolf in the group first, the rest waiting at the sidelines while she remained on top, hidden low. The lone wolf silently made its way across the lake. Once, the troll snorted, causing the wolf to instantly freeze, but the monster only scratched his belly and continued his thunderous snoring. Still, the wolf waited a bit before closing the distance between them. It hopped onto his chest, trotted up to his face, placed a paw over one closed lid and scratched its claws deep into the soft gelatinous eyeball.
The troll roared in agony, one large hand reaching up to cover his shredded eye. He caught a glimpse of the animal who dared attack him in his sleep and reached out to grab the pesky runt. But the wolf was quick and dodged the grab and scampered away to safety while the rest of the pack ran out. The troll got to his feet and lifted his massive pillar.
"ᚠᛟᛟᛚᛁᛋᚺ ᛞᛟᚷᛋ!" the troll bellowed, facing his attackers. "ᛁ ᚹᛁᛚᛚ ᚱᛁᛈ ᚦᛖ ᚠᚢᚱ ᚠᚱᛟᛗ ᛃᛟᚢᚱ ᛋᚲᛁᚾᛋ ᚨᚾᛞ ᛈᛁᚲᚲ ᛗᛃ ᛏᛖᛖᚦ ᚹᛁᚦ ᛃᛟᚢᚱ ᛒᛟᚾᛖᛋ!"
The wolves rushed at him but did not attack. Instead, they only circled the monster, dodging every swing and smash of its pillar. They continued this dance of hit and miss, herding the ignorant troll closer and closer to the cliff where the wolf mother hid. Right as the monster took one last step closer did she sprung from the cliff. She soared through the air, her mouth stretched wide open revealing rows of sharp teeth. The troll saw her coming but he was too late. She collided with the monster and sunk her teeth into his throat right at the same time the troll wrapped his fingers around her thin stomach and wrenched her away.
Fortune did not lie with the troll, for he had accidentally ripped his own throat out when he threw the wolf mother. He had underestimated the power of her jaws and now he will never learn from his foolish mistake.
The troll staggered back, clutching at his neck. Incidentally, he tripped over his pillar and fell down with a loud crash. So hard was his fall that cracks in the thick ice formed underneath his body. A choked gasp and the monster was dead.
The hungry pack of wolves did not take time to relish in their victory. They drove into his flesh, eager to open him up but their food's skin was thick and hard to rip open with their tiny fangs. They backed away when the wolf mother approached and tore into the troll's stomach easily. Steaming intestines slid out, coating the frozen lake's surface red.
They ate and ate and when they had their fill, they ate some more.
After, they returned to the den, letting the others who did not participate in the hunt have the leftovers. The wolf mother, tired from the day's events, regurgitated some meat for her cubs and watched them eat. She observed them, noticing the runt of the litter, a tiny thing, struggling to get food from his siblings. Although he was her son, she did not interfere. If he were to survive he had to do so on his own.
The runt cried and cried, waiting for his mother to do something. Eventually, he learned that no one was going to help him.
Standing on wobbly paws, he padded over to the pile of meat and tried to squeeze his head through the wiggling bodies of his siblings. It seemed impossible at first- they were too strong and blocked him out. He whined low in his throat but did not give up. If his brothers and sisters won't make room for him, he'll just have to force them.
Using his hind legs, like his mother had done to launch herself at the troll, he did the same and broke through, diving head first into his meal.
The wolf mother raised her head high, proud of her tiniest son. She knew he and the rest of her children will grow up to be as strong and fierce as their mother.
They will survive.
She awoke from her light slumber. At first she did not know why. She checked her cubs and saw they were safe curled up by her side. Sensing something wrong still, she left the den to investigate. Outside a great storm raged, the night sky a mixture of angry dark clouds. Heavy pelts of rain fell from the heavens and powerful gusts of winds created by Veðrfölnir bent the once proud trees.
The wolf mother raised her head and sniffed the air.
Her hackles raised. It stank of death.
Lightning flashed across the sky.
Her pack laid strewn all over the earth, resting in pools of their own blood and in the middle of this massacre stood the dark warrior.
The wolf mother growled low in her chest, her claws digging into the muddy soil. They faced each other the same way they did many nights ago.
Her eyes burned into the darkness of the warrior's hooded face.
Mud flew into the air as her paws left the ground.
Lighting struck again.
Then, silence.
The runt of the litter blinked its tiny eyes open. It was cold, so very cold. Where was his mother?
He whined loudly, hoping to call her back from wherever she went. When she did not return, he eagerly got to his paws and wobbled through the tunnel, following her scent. He made it to as far as the entrance of the mines.
His tail wagged and he yipped in excitement when he heard the approaching sound of footsteps.
The footsteps stopped and he grew confused, wondering why his mother didn't come to him. He could see her standing at the entrance but she remained still.
An unexpected flash of light lit up the darkness, casting a tall shadow over the small wolf.
The runt cowered in fear. It wasn't his mother.
It was a monster.
The storm passed when morning came, leaving a serene calmness to settle over the land.
In the middle of a clearing, six wolf pups laid in the snow. The runt of the litter slowly cracked its eyes open, breaking a thin layer of ice forming over its eyelids. It whimpered faintly and struggled to uncurl his freezing limbs.
He spotted the balled up shapes of his siblings and went to the nearest one. He sniffed his brother and bumped his nose to get his attention. There came no response. Still, the runt tried again and whined when nothing happened.
He was cold and hungry and all he wanted to do is curl up within his mother's embrace.
Tears leaked from his eyes, freezing into his fur. The little wolf sought after warmth, no longer caring where or from who it came from. He crawled through the snow towards the dark warrior.
Halfway, the runt stopped, exhausted. He couldn't go on any further.
The dark warrior looked at the frozen pups and then to the one who tried to crawl towards them. The snow under their feet crunched as they went to the runt and picked it up by the scruff of its neck. They then tucked the runt into the black himation they wore and left the clearing.
A light snowfall began, covering the wolf pups. Soon, only a smooth sleet of snow remained.
In an abandoned settlement, the dark warrior started a fire and sat close enough that its heat could penetrate through the cloth and warm the freezing pup. Time passed and not once had the warrior moved. If one were to walk upon them, they would have thought the warrior to be dead, frozen to the spot for all eternity.
The wolf pup began to stir, wakening from its deep slumber. It poked its little head out and began whining for food, unknowing the noise would attract unwanted visitors.
Two trolls emerged from the treeline and lumbered there way over to them and halted behind the dark warrior whom had still yet to move an inch.
"ᛃᛟᚢ ᚲᚨᚱᚱᛃ ᚦᛖ ᛟᚠᚠᛋᛈᚱᛜ ᛟᚠ ᛗᛃ ᛒᚱᛟᚦᛖᚱᛋ ᛗᚢᚱᛞᛖᚱᛖᚱ," one of the trolls said, hefting his pillar onto his shoulder. "ᚺᚨᚾᛞ ᛁᛏ ᛟᚡᛖᚱ ᚨᚾᛞ ᚹᛖ ᚹᛁᛚᛚ ᛗᚨᚲᛖ ᛃᛟᚢᚱ ᛞᛠᚦ ᛩᚢᛁᚲᚲ."
They waited but the warrior remained still.
"ᛞᛠᚦ ᚦᛖᚾ, ᛃᛟᚢ ᛞᛠᚠ ᚠᛟᛟᛚ," the same troll declared and swung the butt end of the pillar down, intending to squish the puny mortal.
Quicker than the eye can see, the dark warrior twisted around and collided their fist against the pillar, shattering stone and sending dust spraying everywhere. The warrior flew out of the dust cloud and perched onto the troll's shoulder. They grabbed its tusks and with a measly tug, easily broke them off and drove it into both of the troll's eye sockets.
Meanwhile, the other troll raised its still intact pillar and swung it at the warrior who leapt out of the way. The pillar smashed into his friend's face, driving the tusks in the troll's eyes deeper till the tips of it peeked out from the other side of his head. That troll went down, dead before it even touched the ground.
The second the dark warrior's feet touched the ground they took off in a sprint and jumped, slamming their fist against the living troll's knee. A loud crack pierced the air and the troll went down on one knee. A large bone protruded from the assaulted knee, which the warrior used to break off and stab it into the other knee. The troll wailed and blindly slammed their fists on the ground, hoping to crush them. He missed, of course, and that would cost him his life.
The dark warrior picked up the troll's own pillar and smashed across the side of his head, knocking him flat on his back. The warrior got on top of the troll's chest, raised the pillar over their head and brought it down once, twice, and a few more times until there was nothing left but a red smear on the ground. They then tossed the pillar aside and went back to sitting at the fire.
Again, the little runt stuck its head out and whined.
A while later, the wolf pup chewed happily on fresh meat. With its belly full and warmed by the fire, the pup dozed of in its cozy cocoon, feeling as safe as it did when it was with its mother.
A full moon shone down on them. The dark warrior stood a good distance away from the cabin, orange light glowing from the windows indicating people lived inside. The warrior pulled out the wolf pup and placed it on the snow floor. The runt immediately wobbled back to the warrior's feet.
The warrior crouched and nudged it with a finger in the direction of the cabin. The wolf pup did not understand and simply crawled back but the warrior repeated their action.
The pup whined but got distracted by the smell of food wafting from the cabin's chimney. Hungry, the runt made its way to the cabin door.
They silently watched it go and waited till the door swung open and a boy stepped out.
"Father, look!" the boy exclaimed, picking up the wolf pup and turning around to show it to whoever was inside.
A large pale man came into view and the warrior turned away swiftly. Slowly, they looked back.
The dark warrior stared at the family from within the darkness.
Then, they opened a rift, stepped inside and disappeared without a trace.
Runes Translation:
#1 "Foolish dogs! I will rip the fur from your skins and use your bones as toothpicks!"
#2 "You carry the offspring of my brother's murderer. Hand it over and your death will be quick."
#3 "Death then, you deaf fool!"