Heart of the Wild

Chapter 6

The full moon's light shines through the glass as Skye tried to sleep. Even though the bed was comfortable, Skye's gut didn't seem to let her rest. Something just seemed...off.

Skye's last rendez-vous with Aria occurred a day ago where her mentor informed her that she would be going to Duskhaven for the next few days. Skye still worried for her safety, even with the rebels numbers being almost completely diminished by this point.

She rolled over to look out the window, she only saw the white moon in the sky at that time, but she knew the smaller blueish one was 'chasing' it.

Why does the White Lady look brighter tonight? I don't remember it being this bright last full moon.

A shadowed figure came into vision as it jumped from one roof to the next. Skye sat up and narrowed her eyes, the lupine figure rose from its four limbs to two. It looked up at the sky and gave a short howl.

Is that a- No, they're just a myth spread from the mouths of soldiers from the wall. The fight against the undead at the Greymane Wall has been going on for a few months, or years--it was hard to tell without outside contact--that supposedly the King commanded Archmage Aurgal to summon the wolf creatures to fight the forsaken.

However, with some recent unsolved murders popping up in the city—going under the name the twilight slasher—some Gilneans started to wonder.

"I want the perimeter secured and the gates manned by two guards at all times. No one gets in, no one gets out." A young man's voice rang out. Skye recognized that voice, though she hasn't heard it much.

Why's the Prince in the city? Skye got up, quickly changed into a loose blouse and pants and put her hair up in a messy ponytail and grabbed her quarterstaff before going over to her parents' room and knocked on the door.

Kalea opened the door, already dressed with her musket in her hands with Ban also dressed behind her.

"I'm going outside and see what's going on..." Skye said, turning down the stairs.

"Be careful," Kalea replied.

As Skye turned the corner to go out the door, Balfour stood in front of it watching intently. His perked as Skye came closer, but he still didn't move. Skye gingerly touched his head and told him to stay. He growled and she quickly slipped out the door, she closed it behind as she heard his wild barking and scratching behind the wooden door.

Citizens scurried into the safety of their homes, but a few stayed behind and started gathering around Liam Greymane. Skye sprinted across the square until neared the copper-haired prince on his pinto addressing a militia of Gilnean soldiers. The horse's ears flicked back as Skye approached and whinnied.

Liam turned his horse to face the civilians, "What are you still doing here? The city's under complete lockdown. Go back to your homes and wait for further instruction."

"Prince Greymane," Skye began, "With due respect, I would like to know what exactly what's going on."

The prince sighed, "Go see Lieutenant Walden--he'll give you further directions for the evacuation." He gestured left in the direction of the Cathedral Quater.

Skye nodded and went on her way. As she approached the closed gate, she noticed a 'conspiracy' of ravens around something on the cobblestone. As she neared, the birds flew off but one raven remained behind and gazed back at her. She approached the body, deep claw marks ran through Walden's corpse and the final moments of warmth left the body.