Zenith

Ryuu has recently returned from a journey outside the forest. He left not knowing if he would find the answers he sought. While some answers were found, it is sure that questions for him remain. The journey, as a whole, was largely uneventful and lonely. Only twice did he ever communicate with others. While he may speak of much of his journey when asked, there will be some details he will not disclose. This tale is likely one of them.

--

Ryuu trudged through the snow under the light of the full moon. While in most places it was no deeper than his knees, he currently had to fight through a place that had swallowed him up to his chest. Steam that glowed in the moonlight poured from his muzzle as he huffed with effort.

It had been many days and nights since the dragon had found anything to eat. While he had a bit of unusual stamina, he was used to a life of leisure when it came to the basic needs of the body. Out here, this world beyond the forest, it was much colder, and nearly nothing edible grew or wondered abroad. Thankfully, a river ran alongside his intended path, but an insidious weakness was beginning to creep through his body, and it made his extended exertion quite painful.

Finally, Ryuu found the end of the deep snow. Now, it was only ankle-deep, but he stopped a moment to let his exhausted limbs stop quaking. He turned to look at the trench he had carved in the otherwise smooth whiteness, and his spirit fell as he thought it looked much shorter than he would have thought. Then again, it wasn’t as if he were in a hurry to get anywhere, was he?

It was this night when he began to wonder what he was even doing out here anymore. What would plowing through this endless snow do for him? But something in him refused to turn back and told him that he had been more lost back home than he was now. At least he was doing something, not sitting around feeling sorry for himself while those he loved had to put up with it.

He turned his head upward to gaze at the sky, weathered mountain tops in his peripheral vision framing the clear night sky. On the first night that had fallen on his journey beyond the forest, he was enraptured by the stars. He was so enamored that he hadn’t slept at all that first night as he stared upward and was disappointed to see the sun rising, as beautiful as that was, as well.
But Ryuu was glad to find the nights long, as winter promised, despite the cold. Even tonight, he felt he saw new things shining in the blackness that he had missed before.

But once or twice, as he stargazed, his thoughts had turned homeward and latched onto a certain star-pelted individual. When this happened, he would jerk his head away, as if the starlight had burned his face. But this time, he merely sighed as he dropped his muzzle, the hot air from his lungs creating a large plume.

That’s one reason you’re out here.

He continued on at a slow pace, but much faster than when he had to fight the snowdrifts. The mountains were steadily growing shorter, and the end of the valley was becoming visible. Other than his steady breathing and rhythmic footsteps, a heavy silence weighed down all around him.

After a long time of this, Ryuu felt a chill not from the cold. He stopped short and began looking all around, his ears straining to catch any sounds. His gaze stopped on a spot toward a distant stand of forest at the foot of the mountain, and he thought he saw a glimmer of a pair of eyes. No, he knew he was being watched, perhaps even stalked. With an ear turned towards the eyes, he continued on at a more hurried pace.

But he had noticed too late, and a deep, though somewhat distant, howl erupted from directly behind him. Wolves. Ryuu was being hunted. Keeping his fear under control, Ryuu kept his pace to a brisk walk. He turned back every few seconds to see four slinking black shapes slowly coming up from behind.

Soon, they were close enough so that Ryuu could see each one individually. Two of them were quite large, but one looked quite thin. Seems Ryuu wasn’t the only one going hungry out here.

The two larger wolves began to flank him, and the pack began tightening their formation, and Ryuu suddenly realized that he had broken out into a jog, as the wolves loped to keep up. Just as he was about to panic in trying to figure out what to do, a voice called out with a strange accent and full of snarls and yips.

“Ey! You sure ‘bout this one? It’s got them antlers but I don’t like the look of ‘iz face.”
One of the alphas snarled back threateningly, all the while keeping formation. “We ain’t got a choice! It’s ‘im or we starve to death!”

Ryuu took his chance at the small distraction to stop short and swing around, lowering his antlers threateningly.

“Back off!” he cried, adding a growl for good measure.

The two smaller wolves that had been loping behind him yelped and split apart. Their tails fell as the crouched and slunk more out of reach of Ryuu’s tines. The alphas stopped short and watched carefully, their tails still erect.

“I told you! He ain’t like other prey! Juss listen to that growlin’!” the larger of the smaller wolves growled.

“And he can talk!” added the smallest wolf, its voice more whiny than the other’s.

But it was clear this pack wouldn’t give up on potential prey so easily. Even the two smaller wolves, after the initial fright, regained confidence enough to fall in line again. After some knowing glances between the four, they began to close in around Ryuu in a tight circle.

Just when Ryuu thought he wouldn’t be able to stand it anymore, the pack halted their advance. Silence fell upon the scene, and he waited for the inevitable strike.

What happened next was a blur. In a sudden frenzy, the first move had been made by the pack and had ended with one alpha wolf on the ground, having received a heavy kick from a back hoof. Before the pack could recollect, they found their prey coming at them with full force, eyes ablaze with and mouth spewing a green flame. The smallest wolf, frozen in fear by the new light, was first to fall to the dragon, crushed to death under his front hooves. But this was not enough to send the rest of the pack in flight. This would be their end, whether they died by starvation or their foe. In their eyes, there was no other option now as the fire of the enemy brightened and poured from his jaws.

Ryuu now rounded on the injured alpha, but its mate was quick to defend. Having caught Ryuu blinded by fury, the alpha was able to leap and bite Ryuu’s chest. With a furious roar, the dragon thrashed and broke the wolf’s hold, not wasting a second to come down with his own teeth. With a mighty show of strength, the dragon shook the alpha by the neck until it protested no more. The remaining small wolf then leapt on Ryuu’s back, biting and scratching in rage, but its grip was not quite good enough. It slid to the ground and skillfully dodged the snap of Ryuu’s jaws in a quick retreat. The injured alpha had managed to put some distance between itself and the dragon-stag, but Ryuu’s injuries didn’t slow him down as he blazed toward the wolf, now left defenseless. It was slain in the same manner as the smallest pack member, under heavy hooves.

Ryuu turned to and fro, growling and snarling as he searched for the final wolf. He spotted it retreating towards the trees, and the beast Ryuu had become chased it down with full speed, as if he could not feel pain.

With unnatural speed, Ryuu caught the last wolf just before the trees. Having now become the hunter, the dragon flanked it before coming down in attack. In an all-or-nothing fury, the wolf leapt at Ryuu’s face, tearing at it with its teeth. But Ryuu’s wrath never wavered, and he threw the wolf to the ground with a heavy throw of his head. In a fluid movement, the dragon took the throat of the downed wolf in his jaws and ripped it out, roaring his victory to the stars.

--

Ryuu’s eyes slowly fluttered open as dawn had reached its peak. His body lay in the snow, and he slowly lifted his sore neck before sitting upright. He groaned and squeezed his eyes shut as a wave of dizziness from the otherwise simple movement threatened to have him lie down again. As it passed, Ryuu’s eyes opened directly upon the body of the last wolf he had killed the night before.

His heart stopped, and his breath froze. His eyes were unable to tear away from the gore he had wrought.

No.

He rose to his hooves, stumbling as another wave of dizziness and nausea hit him hard. Now, he was aware of the pain of his injuries. He tasted the blood in his mouth.

Ryuu turned away from the wolf and limped to retrace his tracks as he chanted, No, no, no over and over in his head, despite that he knew full well what merciless brutality he must have exercised upon the pack. Brief flashes of memory of the fight and slaughter seared through his mind, and before long, he came upon the body of the first alpha he had slain, shaken to death.

But the dead made no sounds, and this wolf suddenly let out a ragged sigh. This was the breath of one near death.

Ryuu, far from rational thoughts, rushed to the wolf’s side as if to try and heal its broken spine. Suddenly, the wolf flashed its eyes and teeth. Though it was an empty threat, it was protest enough to halt Ryuu.

“D..ark… Mag..ic! ..Evil…” The wolf croaked out.

“W-what?” Ryuu’s voice cracked. As silly as it seemed, that was probably one of the most hurtful things he had ever been told.

“Your… Action… Hon..orable… Pow..er… E… vil… All… to… Noth..ing..ness.”

“I-I-I don’t understand!” Ryuu stammered desperately, unable to believe what was occurring before him, “Let me heal you!” Why was this wolf refusing his help?

“N..othing.. For.. Me… Death… My.. T..ime… All… M..ust… Go… Feed… Oth..er.. Life.”

Ryuu stood silently as he attempted to reconcile this creature’s wish with his own selfish desire to repent. He finally asked, his voice low, “How can I honor your death?”

The wolf’s eyes strayed from Ryuu, and for a moment the dragon thought it was dying at last, but after a few agonizing moments of pain-riddled thought, the wolf answered him for the final time, “D..eath… Not… Nee..d.. Honor…On..ly… Accept..ance… Take… Flesh… Feed… Your… Li…fe.”

Ryuu stared at the dead wolf for a long time. He thought of the times he fed on flesh before. Why was this any different? Perhaps it wasn’t. Perhaps that was what this wolf was trying to tell him, that Ryuu needed this wolf’s flesh to survive. In this wolf’s world, survival was the ultimate honor, but that did not mean death was shameful, because death fed the survival of others. It was a difficult concept for Ryuu to grasp.

But today, he would live in the wolf’s world.