The Crystal Forest I: A New Beginning {ON HIATUS}

~[Prologue]~

ೃ⁀➷'The Fallen'
╰┈➤A Guardian who has betrayed Ilzran.

Deep in thought, a majestic black wolf gazed at its reflection in a pristine pond. The clear water perfectly echoed the wolf's gorgeous silver-tipped fur as if it was glowing... The wind picked up momentum, and the reflection became hazy and indistinct, blending seamlessly with the surrounding environment.

The being shifted his gaze towards its senior. "Must it be me?" He inquired slightly, tilting his head to the left.

The bloodred-furred wolf gazed at the jet-black with bright chocolatey eyes. "There is no alternative for you. Your predecessors are watching over you. Make them proud. For us, please." The mentor placed a paw on their apprentice's chest. "Your heart will lead you in the right direction."

His chest fur fluffed up at being touched. "But what about my memories? I'll forget about you all! Kali and Keir need me!"

"I don't appear to have informed you of the slight change in plans. Kali and Keir will join you to help you on your mission, It will not be easy, but we will merge your minds since you three are so close."

The clouds drifted lazily in the sky as the wind died down the reflection became clear again. The trees surrounding the sunlit meadow grew quiet. The jet black's neck fur smoothened again at the calmness returning to the air.

"I'll make sure to keep them safe, in your honor!"

"No need for such formalities. After all, I practically raised you!" The bloodred gave a small smile.

The black giant snorted, his warm breath merging with the air. "What are you? My dad?"

"I could be." He started.

"Oh God, I swear to Solios I don't need you nagging me even more." The younger wolf barked, his tone still friendly and playful.

The wolf lightly tapped his apprentice's nose, making it wrinkle up. He looked like he needed to sneeze. "Alright, fine, we should get going now. How about it?" The red wolf stood up, stretching each of his legs after laying in the cool grass littered with pebbles for so long.

"Just give me a moment by myself first... I need to think..." He dipped his paw in the water and resurfaced it, allowing water droplets to drip through his glinting claws. The beautiful wolf seemed to sparkle, lying in the shafts of sunlight that weren't blocked out by taller trees.

"I'll see you at the Great Icar Tree." He gave a wave of his tail and bounded into the deep forest towards the center of the Ilzran Realm.

*

A coyote-looking wolf was quickly ushered into a ring of white, rib cage-like structures jutting outwards from the dead earth. The guard behind him nipped at his legs willing him to go faster and bumped him forward towards a throne made of bones from prey. There wasn't a single noise, no rustling of leaves, no pitter-patter of the paws of small creatures, no whistling of wind whooshing by, nothing.

"Misha." A deep, commanding voice rumbled through the ground like thunder and broke the silence. Eyes hidden by tangled fur bore into those of a petite, fearful, ragged, sandy-brown wolf who could summon knowledge from the earth itself. He recoiled, his tail sticking to his underbelly and his ears plastered to the sides of his head. His eyes were wide with fear while standing before a Great King. Misha shook uncontrollably.

Suddenly a large, white paw slammed down on his neck. He could feel claws millimeters away from piercing his neck with a piece of leather wrapped around it. He felt warm breath next to his ear, "Stop that shaking Zendri-tainted being! It's irritating," The voice hissed, "And must I remind you to bow in the presence of the Great King and Our Savior! SPEAK WHEN SPOKEN TO," He added and slashed him on the face drawing a bit of blood to get the point across.

The coyote-like wolf flinched from the blow and struggled to escape from the firm grasp of the Timber Wolf, one of the last few of its kind, known for its violent tendencies. After a few moments of struggling, he finally gave up and went completely limp, muttering something under his breath.

"Traitor to wolf-kind, Misha, first to be tainted by Zendri, inform me of The Guardians' plans or be killed." The being sitting on the throne commanded, looking down at Misha.

The wolf didn't dare to move in case he got any more wounds, adding to the pain he was already in, "The earth speaks of the Guardians planning to send the next Guardian of Lost Souls down to Luneia to recover the lost. This will only add to their army though I recommend you prepare for war."

"THE KING IS NOT A FOOL. WE HAVE BEEN PREPARING FOR WAR FOR THE PAST 40 YEARS," the Timber Wolf barked, his tail rising.

"Ragi, stand down; no need to get so aggressive yet. I have gotten the information I need. Cory, throw him into the dungeon and lock him up. Make sure that all possible escape routes are blocked. We must not risk anyone else being tainted by him."

Misha sensed Ragi's tail lower at the criticism. He didn't like the sound of yet. He was forced to comply anyway. The guard he had named quickly stood up and dragged him away by the scruff. His tail hung limply, all hope lost. The light faded from his eyes and no longer danced around in them. Ragi walked over and sat where Cory had been earlier. It was warm due to her thick fur, which almost seemed unnatural.

"Now, we shall discuss plans to stop this threat. One of my closest councils will intervene when the new Guardian of Lost Souls is sent down and try to destroy him from the inside. A group of wolves will also go down and physically attack him from the outside. We must not let the mortals remember the Lost Souls. It will make all of our efforts for nothing."

A black wolf with red highlights on his fur eagerly stood up. "I'll go, Sire. I know my brother the best and will be the most efficient at the job. I'm sure I can do it."

"Very well then. I will gather a group to help you from the outside later. You may choose the leader now."

Ragi looked at him with expectant eyes. After all, he'd often gotten higher-ranking roles in missions. There were surprised gasps when he named Anachari. She was often childish and didn't have the right qualities for a good leader, "I am sure she will do the job well," was all he said before sitting back down."

"Tonight, we shall begin the celebration. Ragi, go and make sure the traitor doesn't die. I still need some information from him," the King sneered, spitting out Misha's title like poison. This caused Ragi to regain some of his honor and confidence, which showed in his lofted tail as he walked out of the meeting grounds for Xevir.

The wolves of the Xevir realm toyed with the bones of dead prey. Hysterical yips and howls filled the musty, unearthly-smelling air.

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾　☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙

A/N:

Hello readers! This is my first book to be published so be nice, both to other readers and me myself. Feel free to make suggestions, updating schedule will be a bit wonky as I'm pretty burnt out and I don't have the time to write, working on quite a few other projects. This will probably be the only authors note I add since I don't like how it disrupts the story.

I've also got a list of all the more important characters and their respective packs coming up sometime but I have a lot to fix on it so I'm not too sure when that will be published.

(Oh yeah also there was a bug or something earlier where the story returned to an older unedited and unfinished version so if you saw that then cry about it. /j)

- H.W.