Chapter Eighteen
The first thought in my head was That was a lot faster than I expected, and that was only my first time. I thought about this for a moment before realizing that my eyes were still closed. I slowly opened them, and was completely unprepared for what I saw.
The room hadn't actually changed, but the way I saw it did. I was shocked at how much I was missing in my human sight.
The colors in the leaves and tiles were dull and plain compared to what I saw now. Everything jumped out in a new vibrancy and held a new meaning. My hearing was greatly excelled too; new sounds floated on the misty air of this temple-like room. The smell of stone, water, and plants filled my nostrils with great clarity, and I could smell where everything in this room was, even with my eyes closed.
I smiled to myself as I once again opened my eyes. It was wonderful. I glanced down at myself and was filled with a shock. I was most definitely a werewolf now, no question asked.
My fur was of the perfect length, not thin or short, but semi-long and flowing for convenience. My long hair had transformed as that of all female, and male, werewolves had. It was an uprising ridge in my fur, and ended at my hips by the indent in the bottom of my back. My nails had grown out to claws that were perfectly filed to sharp points, and the thick leathery skin under my fur was tougher than anything I'd ever felt before. Normal metals wouldn't be able to pierce me.
My legs had lengthened and gotten much stronger, with no fat left on my body. I was made up of nothing but muscle. The balls of my feet had gotten harder and larger, turning into a paw that still had the back half of a foot, all covered in the fur. My arms were just as long as my legs, and the new angles my back could move to would allow me to run on all fours with ease.
I surveyed the color of my fur with some surprise. My fur was the same rusty color as my hair, but it was inlaid with highlights of gold and white, blending together harmoniously. I looked at myself in the fountain of water and smiled. My clothes and gear corresponded and harmonized perfectly with my new fur and body. The clothing had reshaped to fit my changing form, probably part of the magic of the werewolves.
I was truly a member of the pack now, and I was loving it more and more with each passing second. I turned around to see Nyvern watching me with cautious eyes, but he soon saw his caution was unnecessary when he saw the intelligence I held.
"Oh Nyvern, this is amazing! I can't believe I'm actually a werewolf now! Thank you!" I said, grasping him in a tight hug. He gasped a little and I pulled back in confusion.
"You're hugs are a lot stronger now Ayla, try to remember that." He said, popping his back. I grinned guiltily. He grinned and winked at me before clasping my furry hand in his and leading me back towards the stone door. We walked through it and it swung shut behind us.
Before we stepped out of the small room we were both in, Nyvern gazed into my eyes with his yellowish-green ones and blinked many times in surprise. "All werewolves eyes reflect who they truly are, but yours are the first I've seen like this. They're a spectral blue, and often times they begin to glow a slight white light before going back to their spectral, crystal blue. 'Eyes like the bluest crystals of the sky'." He whispered the last part.
I smiled. "Poetry, Nyvern? I never would have guessed." I said, putting my hand on my cheek and feigning shock. He laughed heartily as he opened the door and we stepped out into the werewolf city.
"The hidden, underground werewolf City of 'Carluo Dieun'; the City of Howler Blood." Nyvern whispered in my ear. I gasped at the beauty that was laid out before me.
The underground city was huge! I was standing in a large hallway with white marble columns going straight up to hold up the rock above us. Up above I could see more levels of the city, with thousands of other werewolves going about their daily lives in human and shape-shifted form.
This was exactly like other large cities in the world. There were auctions, inns, shops, houses, libraries, cafes, restaurants, citadels, places of worship, meeting places, open market streets, places that sold linens, cavernous hallways filled with treasures and food and armor, catwalks that spanned from building to building, and from walkway to walkway. Small tunnels were in the sides of the main cavern that led to secret passageways from one section of the city to another.
Herbalists, alchemists, tailors, leather workers, hunters, famers, carpenters, cobblers, butchers, jewel crafters, butlers, masons, metal smiths, blacksmiths, goldsmiths, wheelwrights, wainwrights, chandlers, bakers, librarians, bankers, tavern keepers, political leaders, armories, weapon crafters, magicians, sorcerers, shamans, druids, warriors, animal trainers, rogues, warlocks, paladins, priests, boaters, trinket sellers, engineers, technicians, laborers, common workers, foreign traders, and errand runners were to be seen walking down the streets and living their everyday lives with the practical ease of familiarity.
I looked around with wide eyes before Nyvern stopped me and pointed out each place as we went along. "Now then, the city is obviously well organized, so each trade belongs in a Quarter all on their own. This is the Main Hall, but if you'll look around you'll see that on the left and right sides there are multiple large archways leading into other halls larger than this one. From right to left, there is The Naturalist's Quarter, The Craftsman's Quarter, The Magic Quarter, The Trader's Quarter, The Market's Quarter, The Darkness Quarter, The Holy Quarter, The Warrior's Quarter, The Creative Quarter, and The Leader's Quarter."
All of the main archways were separated with even spaces between and went all the way around the vast circular Main Hall. The arches were all different from one another in relation to what was inside their Quarter. As the long day progressed, Nyvern showed me every part of the city, describing the layout of each Quarter and its inhabitants, along with other building facts and small bits of knowledge that only those in charge would know and understand.
"We'll start with the Naturalist's Quarter, on the far right." He said, leading me across the marble flooring of the Main Hall towards the first of the open archways. The archway itself was made of thick stone, and it even had small open windows in it, meaning the archway held inner rooms. I asked Nyvern about the structure work in the city and he answered all of my questions.
"Inside the arch is a multitude of smaller arches and small columns to support the stonework. There are wooden framings to it as well, and ladders go from level to level. Small windows help those inside, who stands as Archway guards, to warn the Quarter's inhabitants of any trouble coming their way before it is too late. If you'll notice, all of the archways have large stone doors that are able to be closed in case of an emergency. The doors are set on large metal hinges that are oiled every few months so that they don't rust." He explained.
As we went under the arch, I saw the heads of many werewolves watching us from inside the small windows. The arch was covered in small stone boxes filled with different types of small plants that seemed to prefer the near darkness to bright sunshine. At the top of the arch, the words 'Garlomphen's Quitrem' was carved into the stonework. Nyvern translated it for me into 'Naturalist's Quarter'.
As we stepped inside, the first thing that caught my eye was all the plant life within here. Somehow, the werewolves had managed to get different varieties of plant life to live in harmony together. It was practically another forest inside of here, but one with species of plants from all over the world. Nyvern pointed to the ceiling and then I understood why. There was a thirty foot in diameter section of the ceiling made of clear quartz, and it traveled all the way up to the surface of the mountain to collect sunlight and filter it down in a bright beam into the cave.
On the walls were small crystals and quartz imbedded into the rocking, collecting the light from off of the ceiling tunnel and spreading it around in various shades of blues and purple, giving the Quarter a very peaceful and tranquil feeling. That, mixed with plants that automatically gave anyone who smelled them a feeling of rejuvenation and peace, caused this to be the most peaceful part of the City.
In the center of the Quarter was a large green field, with a large Willow Tree at its center. Surrounding this field was the many trees and bushes, with small flowers and other strange plants growing in between them. I looked up the trunks of the huge trees and was surprised to see buildings and wooden houses sitting perched in the boughs. The trees' branches were curled around homes and shops up high to keep them steadily supported.
On the ground, the stone shops and houses that were built out from the side of the cave walls were flowing with vines and mosses, making everything seem very green. Most of the stone in here was of a white marble texture, and it gave you that feeling of purity. Looking at the Quarter, you could see hallways disappearing back into the cave walls. A little curiosity discovered that they were small hallways that branched off into homes, stacked on top of one another.
The plant life didn't stay outside of the walls, but continued to flow into the hallways and into the homes of the people living there. On the walls of the back tunnels were different mosses and lichens that glowed in the darkness, giving off a green light that made sight easier. Most of the shops in the area were for herbalists, alchemists, druids, farmers, animal trainers, and shamans. These were the kind of people who lived off of the natural land, and preferred to use the wild for their lives instead of metal or brick.
Nyvern explained that each Quarter had an individual set of leaders that had to answer to the higher council of werewolves. Each Quarter had nine leaders, usually one for each profession or skill. In this Quarter, the leaders were one druid, one shaman, one herbalist, one alchemist, one farmer, one animal trainer, one biologist, one zoologist, and one healer.
Nyvern also explained to me that they had a large sewage system that had a purification spell casted on it by the mages from the mage Quarter, keeping the water down there fresh and clean, no matter what was dumped into it. That water was soaked up through small filters in the masonry and absorbed into the dirt and soil placed down in here for all the plant life, though stone walkways ran between certain areas.