White

Chapter 2

Before all of this there was a time when there was laughter, peace, and unity. A time when Gwen lived with her family and their people. Gwen's father, Arwel was a powerful lycan and leader of his people. Her mother, Isla a mystical bandia, a women who could control the four elements. Both immortals. Gwen's brother, Theron was a full blood lycan like their father, tan, slitted violet eyes with claws but had their mother's black hair. Theron showed promising skills and like their father he would grow up to be a great leader someday. The youngest was Thea and Nyx, the twins. Both with their mother's midnight hair and their mother's bandia gift at that. The only way to tell the identical twins apart were by their eyes. Thea's right eye blue and her left eye green while Nyx, the opposite. Both adorable as they were troublesome. Gwen was another story, the eldest child she inherited their father's looks, white long mane of hair, slitted violet eyes, and pink little claws for finger nails but while she looked the part of a lycan she was a bandia. Gwen was a mystery even to their parents but they loved her all the more for it.

But those happy days soon came to an end, word of a fallen fey queen spread like wild fire but that wasn't what changed things. Her people had banished her for practicing black magic, the fey only worshiped and practice light magic and for banishing her, the fallen queen sought them for revenge. The queen started recruiting dark beings like the drago beasts, hags, imps, black eyed beings, cyclops, cynocephalus, etc. As her followers grew, she grew in power by hunting down her people, killing them and drinking their power. She didn't just stop at hunting her people, she hunted those with power and killed those who went against her. Soon her thirst for power became an obsession. She became known as Odette the Fallen.

168 years ago

The sound of clashing weapons and screams woke fifteen year old Gwen from her bed one night. Bewildered and confused she ran to her bedroom window to see the commotion outside. The village was being attacked. Houses eaten up in flames, motionless bodies on the ground, lycan men and women of the village fought the enemies in full wolf form. Gwen's father Arwel had burst into her room with a wide eyed Theron, now twelve years, clutched to his side,

            "Come, we have to go now!" Her father picked her up with one large muscular arm and took them to the storage room in the back of the house where her mother Isla waited with Thea and Nyx sleeping in her arms, both six years old. Arwel and Isla stared at each other, faces filled with worry. Theron sensing the tension started to cry. Their father tousled Theron's black hair and kissed his forehead shushing him,

            "None of that now, lad. Right now your mother and I need you to be strong. Can you do that for me?" Looking at their father, young Theron wiped his wet face with his sleeve and nodded.

            "She's come for our village, hasn't she?" Gwen quietly asked her parents. Both looked at her then at each other, faces grim.

            "Gwenève, we won't let her hurt you, your brother, or the twins." Isla kissed her cheek, Theron, then the twins. Arwel put Gwen down to gather all of them into his large arms, holding the family together in a tight hug. After a while of thick silence between the family Arwel kissed his wife one last time, grabbed Gwen and Theron and out the back door they all ran into the night.

It was when they got to the field of weeds that they heard the beating of large wings. Looking over Arwel's broad shoulders Gwen saw five large flying figures in the sky. Before the beings surrounded them, Arwel set Gwen and Theron on their feet pushing them to their mother to face the drago beasts. Handing the still sleeping twins to Theron and Gwen, Isla turned to face the beings, crystal ice forming in her raised palms. Thea stirred in Gwen's trembling arms, breathless she rocked back and forth cradling her sister back to sleep. Her heart raced in her little chest as she spared a glance at her brother, Theron was also trembling, harder than she was. Little Nyx, cooed in her sleep, both oblivious to the danger they were all in.