Here is the chapter. Sorry if I took so long to write it. And to Qwertyiop, Ash is not yet comfortable in telling them what is his situation. But it will be in future volumes. Just not right now. And this chapter will be shorter and rushed than usual because it is a continuation of the previous chapter. I have to apologize for that. It was the decision that I was only comfortably in. With that said, let's get onto the chapter then, shall we?

Dark Souls Embers of Remnant Volume II

Twenty

Greatwolf of Solitas

'The soul of a greatwolf, one of many who roam around the wilderness of Solitas and would attack those who dared enter its territory.' -Description of a Greatwolf of Solitas

The white greatwolf stared at the group while being surrounded by smaller wolves, who were growling and barking at them. Ash had an urged to immediately attack but knew it was going to be stupid. He has secrets he wants to keep away from them, and he would dare not to be reckless. "With these many wolves, I think we can all take care of the little ones. But the Greatwolf is something I can personally deal with." Remembering how he fought with the Champion's Greatwolf, along with the Champion's Grave tender, back within the Painted World of Ariandel, he hoped that experience would be helpful to what's to come.

"Um, so," Marrow spoke with a hint of nervousness while holding Fetch tightly. "How are we going to deal with these wolves?"

His teammates looked back at him and saw that look on his face. "What's wrong? Afraid of wolves?" Harriet asked slyly.

He glared at her for that. "You know wolves are hostiles against anything that they stumble upon. Even dogs!" Some of his teammates can help but chuckle at his remark.

Clover just chuckled at their banter as he readied his weapon. "Remember your training, folks. And make sure the big one stays alive so our scientist can study why it's so big."

Penny was enthusiastic as usual and readied her weapons. "Affirmative!"

The greatwolf heard that and eyed at its small companions. Naturally, this got everyone confused. "Why are is it looking at the smaller ones?" Ruby asked.

"Probably to command them." Weiss pointed out the obvious as she readied her glyphs just in case things went wrong.

Before they can even make a single, the small wolves opened their mouths and breathed out frost. Everyone covered themselves and the next thing they knew, all of them were frozen solid. Well, almost everyone.

Ash let his arms down and saw he was the only one to be unfrozen. It only took a few seconds to realised that everyone was frozen solid, yet they were pretty much alive. Naturally, he got confused. "What in the…"

He heard a low growl coming from the large wolf. He looked up to see that it wanted to challenge him for some reason. "You want to challenge me and not them?" He glanced at his frozen squamates. Something about it makes him think that they're alright….despite being frozen. Even Penny was a victim to the wolves' attack, although she could be free at any given moment. Right now, the Unkindled needed to do what the greatwolf's request. "Alright, I will challenge you. Though, I wish to do it not near my frozen comrades."

The wolf heeded his request and walked a few metres away. Ash followed behind and found himself in an open snow area with tress and small wolves surrounding him and the Greatwolf. The Unkindled held his Wolf Knight's Greatsword with both hands and got into a stance where he was ready to fight against the Greatwolf. "Show me what you got?"

The greatwolf stared at him for a few seconds before it let out a battle cry howl. The smaller wolves howled as well as they spectacled its big counterpart fight off against him. The howls eventually stopped and the greatwolf growled as it was ready to battle.

Insert Dark Souls III OST: Champion's Gravetender (Phase One Only)

The greatwolf growled at him before it lunged forward in an attempt to bite. When it got to its biting range, Ash immediately rolled to the left side towards safety. He used his Greatsword to block another attack before aiming on the greatwolf's left leg to attempt to cut it. He wasn't quick enough as the greatwolf jumped to the other side. He looked to where his opponent was before it swiftly rushes towards him with its head to the ground before lifting it to where he was. Unfortunately Ash was not quick enough to dodge this attack and was sent flying.

Ash managed to land, albeit sustaining minor injuries. He was the greatwolf rushing towards him once again. Though this time, he managed to dodge the attack by jumping to the side and cut the right side of the giant wolf's torso. However, he was left at a vulnerable spot where he could be blasted by frost. Shielding himself from the immediate attack, the unkindled felt cold from what had occurred. "So…cold…." It wasn't the first time Ash had experienced that coldness for quite a while.

He was frozen in place, which left him susceptible to the greatwolf's attack. Ash tried his best to get free. Seeing his opponent drawing closer, the Unkindled got an idea. "Wait, I have pyromancy. Why don't I use that?"

Seeing its prey motionless, the greatwolf had its mouth wide open to attempt to bite him. However, right as it was near, Ash broke free and blasted fire towards its face. The greatwolf jumped back. The Unkindled rolled his shoulders for a bit before seeing the greatwolf's right side of the face being a bit scorched. It snarled at him for this action before jumping to safety to avoid an attack but was immediately stabbed on its front right leg.

Ash immediately pulled his Wolf Knight's Greatsword out before he was clawed in the front from the greatwolf's retaliation. He slightly yelped in pain as he was knocked off his feet before quickly standing. "That was close. I shouldn't have been reckless there."

Upon glancing the greatwolf's current state, the Unkindled knew that it was showing signs of tiredness. Yet, it seems like it was expecting this kind of attack. "Just what is that greatwolf thinking!?"

Despite being confused to what has happened so far, Ash knew he had to end this before anything bad could happen. Readying up with his Wolf Knight's Greatsword, the two waited for either one to attack. Both of them stared at one another for a while with the smaller wolves waiting in anticipation.

Time had quickly passed, none of them made a move. Seeing as though the Unkindled and the greatwolf were hesitant, both slightly lowered themselves while readying themselves for their attack. Without a second to ask. Both lunged towards each other in an attempt to unleash their strike. As they were about a feet away to land a blow, the greatwolf swung its right paw towards Ash with its sharp claws. Though, in much of its disappointment, he successfully avoids the attack by rolling towards its head. Rather than using his weapon, he curled his right hand into a first before uppercutting to its lower jaw.

Due to his immense strength, it manages to throw the greatwolf into the air before rolling backwards and eventually stopped. Smoke covered the giant animal for a bit before it eventually cleared. Ash saw the greatwolf struggling to get up before eventually falling to the snowy ground.

Dark Souls III OST Ends

Ash was breathing heavily after delivering that punch. He got his Estus Flask before sipping little of its contents. The wounds sustained from the greatwolf's attack quickly healed. Still, that didn't restore the growing pitifulness that was forming within his stomach. He looked back at the large creature. "I didn't have to go that far with those attacks." Honestly, what he did was out of reflexes. But he had a bad feeling to what was going to happen next.

Surprisingly, he looked back at the smaller wolves who seemed to be staring at him. None of them threatened him. How strange. Usually, if one of their members die, all would become murderous and attack in retaliation. Yet, they seemed to be calm…and that confused Ash. "Just what is going on? I just beaten the greatwolf and they're just staring at me. Shouldn't they be doing it soon?"

He was immediately alarmed when he heard growls coming behind him. He quickly turned around and was shocked to see more Greatwolves that were surrounding its injured member. "Tch, great. Just what I needed…" He cursed to himself, seeing how he had found himself in another situation. Without a thought, Ash readied his Wolf Knight Greatsword and waiting patiently for one to attack.

Like before, none of the Greatwolves had even tried to even make a move towards him. All of them saw their injured pack member weakly getting up and stare at him with its still beautiful blue eyes. Ash stared at him before he uttered. "What is going on? Aren't you supposed to be attack me right now?"

The greatwolf he fought continued to stare at him. It went on like this before it lift its head up before letting out a respectful howl. The other greatwolves followed suite and so did the smaller wolves. This continued on like that until a pathway has been formed in front of Ash. Naturally, he was caught off by this sudden sight of a trail. "What in the…"

He looked back at the white greatwolf to see it looking back at him. "What is this? Are you showing me why you are attacking Atlesian Convoys?"

The white greatwolf didn't make a sound. Instead, it continued to stare at him. That confirmed his answer. "I see." It seems like he is meant to be going right now. There was one more problem he needed clarification. "And what will be of my frozen teammates? Will they still be alive?" He asked as he glanced over to his frozen solid comrades.

Again, silence was all that he had got. The Unkindled immediately come to realised that he hasn't absorbed their souls when they were frozen. "Okay." Without any single word, Ash proceeded to walk along the trail. He had only hoped it would lead him to their constant attacks on Atlesian Convoys.

-Scene Change-

It must have felt hours had passed. Ash wasn't tired as he finally reached the end of the trail. The area he found himself seemed to in a heavily wooded area surrounded by tall trees unaffected by the harsh climate of Solitas. He was certainly surprised by the environment he found himself in. "Odd. This area seemed to be naturally green. I wonder why?"

For this reason, he continued to walk straight. He wanted to get some answers and why there were a lot of wolves in that area. As he got deeper, he noticed many things. For one, there seemed to be a lot of swords stabbed onto the ground, as if it was to commemorate whoever has fallen.

As for the second one, Ash recognises it to be Atlesian Military Equipment, but it seems like it has been toyed with. Ranging from its armour to armoured trucks, to its Robotic Knights, and even the remains of the soldiers they consumed. "So, this is what happened to the soldiers who had an unfortunate encounter with them?"

Ash walked for a little while until he eventually stopped upon entering a new area. His eyes scanned around the place and saw it was a very large open area with trees and bushes around its surroundings. Yet, the sky was still visible. Though, there was one thing that he was interested in. And it was in front of him.

He can't believe what he was seeing. He had heard this from books he had read during his off time on his journey to retrieve the Four Lords of Cinder. It was difficult to believe, but his eyes weren't deceiving him. "So…this is why the greatwolves were protecting this area." Ash spoke to the individual in interest through his calm tone. "It's…finally to meet one in person, great Greywolf…"

Insert Dark Souls OST: Great Grey Wolf Sif (Guitar Version by Isac Saleh)

Yes. The person of interest that Ash was looking at was indeed a Great Greywolf, which was bigger than the Greatwolf he saw previous. It sat down on the ground and stared at him intently. Though it was as if it had been awaiting for him. There was no cup in sight and Ash was wondering why the greatwolves had formed a pathway to its den. He doesn't know why. But he would eventually get his answers.

As this was happening, a small wolf pup in a unique coating sat down on top of a boulder near the Great Greywolf and stared at Ash with interest….

HOLY SHIT! What a way to end the chapter and finally revealing why the wolves were defending the area that the Atlesian Convoys were heading into. And it seems like a pup has taken an immediate interest in Ash. I apologize if I butchered some lore.

This chapter has been inspired by Chapter Twelve of the Fan comic Dark Souls: The War of The Ancient Dragons by Qizeaqfile.

Now I am going to be busy in the next few days to write the final part of the original trilogy. It's nearly done. But this three-chapter story arc is called 'Greatwolves of Solitas'. I know it ain't catchy, it sounds appropriate.

I appreciate the feedback I got last time and appreciate at it more if I were given constructive criticism and feedback to improve this story. Other than that, I will see you all in the next chapter...