Chapter 3 The Remembered Forgotten

Fire is everywhere and rain has been pouring non-stop since the war began. Everyone is exerting their all, both to win and defend themselves. However, despite the melanges of noises, Zerania is searching for that one howl that is echoing from the distant. She glanced at her wound that for some reason, it won't heal. Her eyes are still sharp, so is her hearing. But not her sense of smell. The scent of the man she's looking for is slowly fading, and she cannot help but to feel fear that he might have already been dead.

"Leorvon!" she yelled, hoping that he will hear her. "Where are you?!"

"Don't let the Lord Alpha come near here!" one shouted that brought chills down to her spine.

"Get your hands off me! Don't you dare lay even a finger on her, I swear I will kill every one of your kin if ever you do!" a familiar voice roared, that made the surroundings tremble in horror.

Upon hearing him, she shifted herself once more and have slayed as many opponents who have tried to stop her. But just when she is about to kill an Alpha, an arrow hit her on her back, paralyzing her upper half.

"No!" A woman interfered and standstill in front of her; a baby on her left arm and a sword on the other. Full of wounds, she still managed to shift into a werewolf.

"Your Highness, have you already gone mad like The Lord?!" one growled, stepped a little closer to the woman.

"I know him better than anyone else does. I, too, is against to his will. But I am certain that he is keen enough to know who to trust and who to doubt. If he is willing to put his life on the verge of death in able to save her, I would too!" Her Highness declared.

Zerania's eyes traced the blood flowing down her feet, and that's when she saw that she was not in the good shape to put a fight. Yet, royal as she is, she laid her child on the bushes that formed into a basket, seemingly to be a cradle as it rocked back and forth.

"Loreen!" she then called out to the woman, who is obviously didn't want to go near them.

"My Lady." The servant ran to Her Highness' side.

"Take His Highness away from here. Go to the South and tell its divine gate that I sent you there. Protect him with everything you got-be it with your life or not!" The lady threw her royal robe and handed it to the woman. "Show it to the guardian of the gate, and not even one of those who are there will ever question you."

Without thinking twice, Loreen ran as fast as she could, following the trail led by the forest's maiden, who was standing by the exit of the darkness.

As the baby's cry aired, the growls, grunts, and sounds of fear started to play in her ears as the woman fought her own men. As much as she wants to help her, her body is still stiffened, not allowing her to make even a little movement.

"She is a traitor to us, the werewolves! A disgrace like that one behind her! For Alpha Leorvon and his forthcoming generations and the rest of the packs, take down these two!" one of them announced, to which ignited more the others' urge to slay them.

"Oh, please-no! Not Her Highness!" someone pled, but the royal had already fell on the ground after receiving the fatal slash that was for Zerania.

Seeing the woman who has nothing to do with her had willingly offered her life to save her, that she even left her child orphaned in able to do so, her wolf cried in anger and gloom that she had managed to free herself from the numbness restricting her to move. And in a swift one, no one around her has remained standing and breathing.

"My Lord, look at what that Alpha has done to everyone! She has killed them all, including Her Highness! And we don't know where the Young Lord is now!" one man came, informing the rest of what he had witnessed in the scene.

"Zerania," Leorvon muttered in disbelief while approaching, he's eyeing on the lifeless woman lying beside her feet. "W-Why? What have you done?"

"Protect our Lord Alpha! Don't let her kill the last one who can end her rampage!"

Their eyes get fixated on each other. She wants to reason out and tell him the truth, but her lips would not just open and turned her mute.

"Take her down before she could heal herself!" She heard.

In her wish to talk to the man, she pulled her last straw of strength and wiped out the pack that had encircled her. She crawled and endured the excruciating pain from her cuts. And even though her sight was starting to get dark, she remained looking at him, hoping for him to see the truth behind what happened.

"Don't! Let her!" The Alpha commanded and walked towards her.

Yet, even before he could reach her, a blinding light strikes him. Her airways tightened, and her chest drummed upon seeing him fall. She gazed above and growled, throwing away everything around her.

She gasped after. Laying down, watching the sky turn even darker, the newcomers surrounded them.

"Tell this report to everyone: the cursed and feared Alpha Zerania is down! She has gone wild, harmed, and slayed the deceased individuals of this war!"

Her eyes closed, and her breathing became weak and slow; the rustlings were gone, so are the conversations. His presence has been taken away, so is his scent. She drew her last breath, wondering what fault she had done for everyone to get united to kill her; what was her sin for them to be willing to slay even their own kind and even those who are not in able to do so just because they have sided her?

"Zerania. Zerania, wake up," a melodious voice called.

A breath of fresh air filled her lungs as she was being pulled to sit down. In front of her are barefooted ladies, looking at her. One of them took her eyes off her once she meets her gaze, like she had no right to eye on them.

"The last one of the most favored pack for all of them is Alpha-Zerania. What happened to you, my little one?" the one who wears a white feather-like dress came near her and caressed her cheeks, healing her wounds; mending her cuts.

"Goddess, our pack being the most favored one, is what led to my kin's extinction. Why can't you just make me an ordinary one, so I can live a normal life-without being feared, without getting fear?"

"It wasn't I, neither them, who has made you one," the goddess replied, glancing at her fellows. "It was fate for you to be, and your destiny to be the last one."

"It took everything from me-everything."

"Rise up. The war is not yet over. Take it all back. Take everything they have taken from you, my child."

As if she was being cradled, she fell into a deep sleep while the deafening silence caused by the chaos continued. It went on for hours that she had lost count of how long she had already been waiting for it to be over.

Moments later, she heard the soothing voices arguing. Speaking of their insights on giving up their lives, powers, and duties.

"That is why we were sent here in a group. If only it is possible that a sole goddess can bear all the responsibilities of looking after the beings, then it should have not been divided, and we don't need this number to govern each of those," one opposed.

"And it is against the law of heavens! We don't even know if this is possible!" another agreed.

"But she is the only one left in her race, and no one can get close to being like her-not even us. We can't even make one," the nicest insisted, still sounded calm and collected.

"She will live a lonely, regretful, and perhaps, full of hatred life after this, Goddess. And when that happens, we can no longer do anything to help her. By then, we are no longer here."

"She will be fine. I know, she will be."

A strong wind blew, forming a tornado, served as a wall to keep them away from anyone's and anything's eyes. A hymn started to hum, like a lullaby. It is so soft, yet fearsome.

"In the name of the seven goddesses: Rosemier of Earth, Viercé of Heaven, Prenzolia of Seas, Herpzei of Air, Illiam of care and protection, Juzmier of strength and wisdom, Zeralia of life and death and I-the mother of all, the granter of power to those who are worthy, Liziafel, are now giving up our lives for this pitiful being. Everything we have is now hers to have and cherish!" the enchantment ended.

"May you always have that oath, even in your next life. Do the duties in our behalf. Be wise and love all the races equally, and ne'er side anyone to keep everything fair. However, punish those who need to be punished, and make them pay the price of their actions accordingly to the laws of skies and land."

Suddenly, serenity stretched in the vastness of Earth. Grasses and trees grew in a blink of an eye. Out of nowhere, the forest that had just been burnt down have come back from ashes like it had not been wiped out a while ago.

The running horses from afar stopped and turned around to see what was making the ground sway, like sand shaking loosely in one's palm.

"Look! The heavens must be lamenting the death of the deceased of our kin!" One murmured, pointing at the clouds forming on top of it.

"It must be. At least it can be in peace now that Zerania is finally dead."

"Tone down your voice! Lord Leorvon might hear you!"

A loud thunder echoed everywhere, frightening everyone and making them kneeled. Alpha Leorvon, who had just gained his senses, went down of his horse; raised his knife and cut his palm, offered his blood to the restless ground.

"From this day on and forward, no one is allowed to go near, neither enter the forest anymore as it is now cursed. The land where it rests is disheartened by the lots of blood shedded on it. In the name of my pack, I, Alpha Leorvon, bows that I will never set foot on your domain again," he swore and faced everyone.

"We have witnessed how those who live in there got disowned by the forest itself and turned them into something else. I hope that today will be the last war between our races. My pack will separate from the rest and will live in the South. To the other Alphas, I hope you understand my-their Lord's decision."

The Alphas and leaders of each beasts' clan, by any kind and lineage, step forward and do the same-cut their palms and pressed the blood from it to bathe the soil where they are standing, as a mark and seal that they have finally agreed to end the battle and chose peace.

They silently left the scene, heading to the directions where they were going to. Not even one looked back, neither stopped walking and hesitated to leave their birth land.

"My Lord, what are we going to do now?" One of his werewolf servants approached Leorvon.

"This is not what I have imagined will happen. I thought a peaceful talk is enough to calm down everyone, but it didn't help. What else can we do other than move forward despite wanting to stay still and be in the past?"

"Our pack needs you, Our Mightiest Alpha. One day, your son should lead our next generations and defend it. I have heard that the female alphas of pack-"

"I am not interested in anyone of them."

"But, My Lord-"

He walked past by the servant and wandered his eyes around, looking at where exactly they were heading to. His eyes glistened when he saw a knight from afar-to the very place he was searching for. He is on the ground, carrying a woman in his arm, shaking her shoulder desperately, as if he is trying to wake her up.

Leorvon then sharpened his hearing and tried to listen to the noises ahead of them. His forehead creased upon hearing the man's muffled sobs; his attempt to wake up his beloved wife. And just a few moments later, a cry of a baby overpowered his, halting him and making him glanced at the basket tightly held by the woman.

The knight gently put his wife on top of the cut woods and started setting it on fire and kneeled down in front of the child, to which made the latter stopped whining.

"Marked today, I am now belonged to no one else but to you. In your words I should abide. In your wish I shall conform. My life and sword is yours to use as your protection. My Lord, I, the knight of this woman, who has given up her life for your sake, are now humbly pledging my loyalty to you. Your enemy is now my enemy. Your battle is now my battle." He lightly slid his hand on the blade of his weapon and let the blood drops fall.

A forceful pact dried the weeds and brought a warm air across the wide space. The kid smiled and gigglingly stumped his feet.

"My Lord." He bowed once more.