Sancha: A Spirit Animals Story

Chapter 28: Wolf Boy

Sancha had taken care not to overexert either her horse or herself en route to Hallow Hall, but she nonetheless moved quickly. She wore Spes against her hip in her tattoo form, sometimes feeling the spot as if to remind herself the seal was still there. A sense of dread hung in her bones during her journey. The last time she'd been told to come quickly, she'd learned that four of her closest friends and found family had been killed. She could only hope that such a calamity had not happened again.

On the day she arrived at Hallow Hall, it was just after midday, and Sancha's body ached. The horse was taken to the stables and Sancha headed through the doors inside. She was greeted by Winona, the castellan whom she'd met the last time she'd been here, and lead to a room. She was given a few hours to wash, change clothes, and rest up a bit before she returned to the dining hall, where she met up with Winona and Tarik.

"It's so good to see you," Sancha said upon hugging her trusted mentor.

"And you," Tarik replied. "I apologize for disrupting your schedule."

"It's alright. You said it was urgent, and I know you wouldn't have sent for me if it wasn't. Now that I'm here though, what is this all about?"

"I think it's better if I show you," Tarik said after a moment, and Sancha struggled to read his expression. He seemed, perturbed perhaps? Or was it something else?

Deciding to halt further questions until she'd seen whatever it was Tarik wanted her to, Sancha followed close behind the Greencloak as they headed outside. They walked around the perimeter of Hallow Hall to the land behind the front doors, where a yard of short grass sat in the afternoon sun.

The first thing Sancha spotted was a blonde haired boy, a little younger than herself, standing at least fifty feet away from them. A green cloak on his back caught the sun, and Sancha thus deduced he was a recent recruit. 

"That's Conor," Tarik explained, motioning towards the boy. "I was in Trunswick, by chance, during his Nectar Ceremony. I took charge of him right after and brought him here. It won't be long before all of Eura, and then Erdas learns of him." 

She heard the boy, Conor, laugh and toss something (a stick?) and as it sailed through the air to a farther spot in the grassy patch, a blur of gray fur bounded after it. Upon retrieving the tossed branch, the creature headed back towards the boy, looking fairly proud of itself.

As it stopped to accept some pats behind the ears, Sancha got a better look at the boy's spirit animal.

It was a dog of some kind, or at least that's what she thought at first. But quickly she realized that didn't quite match. The canine was too large to be a domesticated dog, or at least one whose breed Sancha recognized. It had silver fur, with white highlights, long sturdy legs, powerful paws, a long bushy tail, and then, perhaps sensing the presence of the newcomers, the animal sniffed the air before turning to look at Sancha and Tarik. And Sancha found herself gazing into eyes as blue as cobalt.

And suddenly, Sancha realized why she'd been called here, and why Tarik had acted so quickly in spiriting Conor away from Trunswick.

"Is that...?"

"Briggan, yes," Tarik said, the words heavy on his tongue. "The fallen wolf of Eura is reborn again."

"I thought you couldn't summon a spirit animal of the same species as a Great Beast," Sancha said, amazed. 

"As did I, and most of the world. But not only has one been called, but the one in question is one of the Four Fallen. I cannot say for certain what this means, but there is significance, of that I do not doubt."

Conor caught Tarik's eye and the older Greencloak gestured for the boy to come over to them. 

He then turned briefly to Sancha.