Calmar woke early and realized they were sleeping on a cloud. He felt refreshed and rested. Maethorion was sitting staring off into the distance. Calmar didn’t remember what happened last night and he didn’t know where they were. But he looked where Maethorion was looking. He saw a small village with dark figures walking around aimlessly. The rain was drizzling down and he couldn’t make out who they were. Then he realized that this was the Southern Falls. This was home! He was so close! But what had happened to it? It was so changed from how he had left it. Although there wasn’t much light, it was darker now than it had ever been. Hadn’t his father done anything? That was what Maethorion had talked to him about. He looked at Maethorion.
“Can we go home now?” He asked.
“Yes we can, but there will be much to do. We must do what your father has been afraid to do. But we will be here to help. You must tell your people about Lithônion. We must also be prepared to battle against the evil creatures that have become very powerful and we must keep safe until the Men of the West come.”
Calmar thought about it. It would be hard to find a woman brave enough. Would they be able to hold off the evil long enough? Tarole also had reinforcements and he would gladly use them. His hands wrapped tightly around his bag and he reminisced about times gone by.
“You have faith in me to find someone… why?”
“Because you are a noble and brave person, you will do whatever it takes to help and save your people.” They kept looking about across the open air and watched as the sun rose. It’s beautiful up here, Calmar thought. If only we could see it from down there.
“Come, we’re going home,” he said. They soared over the highway in the sky and came closer to home. He could hear the whispers of the wind in his ears and nothing could stop the beating in his heart… they were almost home! There was an emptiness inside of him. Was he too late? Where was his father in all of this? He was probably hiding in his room, afraid of the world and afraid of the evil. They were now very close and Calmar saw Tashur standing diligently outside the Castle gates. They came down and lighted on the ground. Maethorion gave something to Calmar. It was smooth and almost like a horn.
“Call softly into this when you need me again. And I will come. We are going into the forest to try to find the rest of the creatures before they come here.” And he left. Tashur stared in amazement at them. It was so quiet you could hear the beating of the wind and rain on the ground. Tashur walked over to him. He looked so tired and worn. He used to play with Calmar when he was little and now he looked old.
“We didn’t think you would be back. I’m glad to see you. We thought perhaps that Maethorion would decide it was safer for you to stay with him. You will have to be extremely careful. The fate of your country depends on your life. Your father needs you badly.”
Calmar’s heart sank. So he was too late and they thought he had given them up! “I’m sorry. We have taken too long then. I should not be counted his son,” he said sadly.
“He won’t be here much longer. The darkness has worn him down to a whisp. He is in his room. I hope you have brought light with you. We need someone with bravery.” His voice was tired.
“Only if we find a maiden brave enough to go with Maethorion and speak with Lithônion . Otherwise we will have no hope.”
“These people are tired of this life. They are worn and dying from darkness. They will do anything to get their life back. Try it.”
“Where is Aviri?”
“He is up in the mountain. Waiting for you to come back. You must go see your father before he is gone.”
“Thank you,” Calmar said and began walking toward the Castle. He stepped in and saw his father sitting in a chair in the corner. His eyes looked vacant and translucent.
“Father, I’m back. Don’t leave now, hope is here and you will live!” His father turned his head and looked straight into his face.
“My son, I thought you were dead. What have you learned?”
“I have learned so many things. But there is no time to waste! Father, what you said about the King of the West was all true. I will help; you must trust me.”
“I have trusted too much. I have trusted my whole life. They have never helped.”
“But Father! You must believe your dreams. They will come.”
“But how can you be so sure?”
“Because Maethorion told me!”
“I can’t. They have ruined my life because they didn’t come when I needed them most. They will not now.” Calmar stood up exasperated. It was no use.
For weeks Calmar talked to everyone in the town but no one wanted to do anything about it. They stayed in their homes while the world they knew and loved was taken away by phantoms of evil. They let their fear take away their last hope. His father was one of them. He sat in his room and wept… he wept for his people and he wept for himself. He was so close to being saved from this and yet he refused to believe. Calmar himself was beginning to doubt. What if they didn’t come and what if they all died after he had just told them they wouldn’t?
He hadn’t seen Aviri for some time. He knew that he was up in the mountains watching over some girl who had come for help but he hadn’t actually seen him. Tashur still helped him and aided him in all talks.
His father came out of his fortress one day and stood staring off into the field. Calmar came and held his cold hand.
“What are you thinking father?”
“I am thinking of long ago. I’m thinking of your mother.”
“Yes, I have often thought of her.” They stood and stared off into the distance and watched as the rain pelted the dead crops. Something must change, Calmar thought, We need to do something different… we must fight for our freedom. The silence enveloped them. Then someone ran up behind them. It was Tashur.
“Come quickly! The Wolves have attacked!” He turned and disappeared.
“Father, you go back to your room. I will take care of it.” Calmar said.
“No, my son. It is my time to die.” And he started to walk where Tashur came from.
“No! You are not ready to die. You will see the light one more time before you die.” Calmar grabbed his arm and pushed him behind.
“You stay here.” And he ran on ahead. He reached the other side of the Falls and saw before him and mass of blood-thirsty wolves and dragons ready to attack. They snarled hideously and came closer with slow monotonous steps.
“You must get Aviri! Quickly!” Tashur yelled to Calmar.
“Yes, right away!” He turned and began running up the mountain. It was steep and craggy and several times he almost fell. The rain made it difficult to get a foothold. He kept calling to Aviri but he was in the cave and could not hear. Finally he reached the top and went into the cave. Aviri was lying on the ground sleeping and snoring gently.
“Aviri! Wake up! The wolves have attacked again. Tashur needs you.” He nudged him to wake up.
“Again? I’m coming right away.” He got up and massively stretched out his wings and began walking to the mouth of the cave. Calmar could see the girl sleeping towards the back. He turned just in time to get on Aviri’s back and fly down. They reached the other side and immediately set to work. Aviri flew over them and plucked up the wolves and tossed them into the woods as he flew over it. But the other evil dragons fought him in mid air. He was miserably outnumbered and out done. Calmar unsheathed his sword and began wildly driving it into the hysterical bodies in front of him. All the men of the Falls came and fought with all kinds of weapons, seeking to drive them out. For hours they fought wildly, desperate to put the other to death. Then Calmar looked behind the mass of creatures and saw many men fighting furiously. They were unforgiving and full of strength. So the they came after all, Calmar thought. Finally, the creatures retreated only because they were tired but Calmar knew they would be back. Now they were down to their smallest numbers ever. Only fifty men and he didn’t know how many women and children. Calmar stared at the slain bodies lying like scattered food on the ground for the birds. Maethorion and his army was gone, back to the woods from whence they had come.
“Tashur, we can’t do this anymore. We need the Lithônion help.”
“Yes we do, but you have done so much already. What more can you do?”
“I’m not sure, but we can think of something.”
An eerie silence hung over them as it had for hundreds of years. A song began to come back into his head and he quietly plucked a single flower from its stem. It was yellow and burned a bright warmth in his heart. He had always thought there was something beyond this; that this was never the end. But was this the end? Storm clouds began to gather on the horizon and Calmar quickly dropped the flower and began heading for his quarters. Tashur followed close behind and then turned off to guard the king’s room. The clouds raced across the sky groaning from the pain of holding all the rain. Then lighting dashed the sky in half and thunder bolted like drums on a holiday. Calmar looked out of his window. It began to rain. First it started softly and then it got harder and all of a sudden it turned to red. Red droplets of blood fell from the sky and were dashed against the ground. The dirt became a muddy mix of blood. A pain seared through his hand. He looked and saw that same fire burning once again. Maethorion was working, he hadn’t left yet. They saw the hope that lay in this feeble town and they were helping. He began to cry… a little at first and then he began to weep. But he wept for his father and the lost souls wandering around in the Eastern Hills, not for himself. He knew that they would be saved and would be able to live again. They could enjoy the life they had missed for hundreds of years. Life is not worth living unless you really live it. His father had once said that to him when he was a boy and he had never forgotten it. Everyone had a right to live life and he would not be in the way of that freedom. He turned and sat down on his cot. His hair was wet and snarled and his hands were dirty. He took a small mirror out of his bag that his mother had given him. It was cracked in several places but he could still see his reflection. He was very tan now and his face was dirty. He looked very different but inside he was the same determined young man he had always been. Maethorion said he was sent to save his people because he was the only one that was brave enough to do it. At night he would question why he was here; why he had been sent to do this. It was just fate… it was why he was born here at this time in all of Southern Falls’ history. It took love to do this job and it would take love to finish it. He picked up the book that his mother had started writing for when she died, except she didn’t get to finish it. The last sentence was, “All it takes to live is…” now he knew what that was. Love.
Aviri grabbed some logs he kept in the cave, out of the rain. He carefully arranged them and then started a fire. Every time he made a fire he remembered that he could never make a fire by himself. He had to make it like everyone else. He sat by the fire and thought. He thought about the battle they just had and about what would happen. A quiet voice sounded from the back of the cave.
“What happened?” Aviri quickly turned around.
“Have you been sleeping this whole time?”
“Yes, I’m sorry. I haven’t slept in so long it felt so good.” The girl had her head down and the cape covered her face, but she moved gently toward the fire.
“The Wolves attacked again. We won’t be able to hold them off any longer.”
“Oh,” she said mournfully. “If only there was something I could do. I should have been faster.”
“What do you mean?” Aviri asked.
“Well, it’s a very long story…” And she began.
Calmar III woke up. It was dark and he rose painfully from his bed, remembering what had happened the afternoon before. A light flickered outside his room and all he could hear were the usual night noises. He lay back down and touched a hand to his wet forehead. He had had another dream. He was in a field of flowers and the sun shone brightly over it. Then he saw a young girl walking towards him and he reached out to touch her, but she was only a ghost; his hand reached right through her. He could hear laughter and yet her mouth was still. She reached out to touch him and then she was gone. He looked behind and saw her coming again but this time she was real but she was carrying a knife. She came swiftly up to him and caressed his face and then stabbed him in the heart with the knife and he could hear her laughter as he drifted away. That’s when he woke up. What was happening? Why was his wife coming back to him in his dreams? She was gone, he thought, forever… she will never come back. He got up and walked out into the night. It was cool on his face and he stood facing the North. A lantern hung from a post outside the door and cast a dim light over the hard floor. The wind blew silently over the plains and he could hear the soft moans of the trees in the wind. It was so silent he could hear his own heart beat. He knew that he was dying; he knew he wouldn’t be here much longer. When he was little he had great hopes for his future; he had dreamed of being a great and mighty king. But here he was a dying coward. A quiet drum beat in his head and he let his arms hang limp against his sides. He contemplated his life. It had been good until the darkness came and took over. It had been happy and peaceful; he hadn’t worried about anything. And then it was darkness and sadness ever since. There was always something special about this land… something that made him want to stay. It had been so long since he heard the sound of light in his town, and yet his feet were planted here and he would die here. Ever since the darkness came, he had never had hope again.
The Spell of the Winterwolf 