Shadows of the Future

War Demon ⚠️

Disclaimer: The only art I own is made directly for this story, all other art belongs to their respective owners and franchises. This chapter gets bloody, very bloody.

Hurokna Fortress: Present Time

Aleksander exhaled loudly to himself at seeing the fortress again, the bodies of the Royal Army soldiers they killed have been taken down. The man almost chuckled to himself, thinking of the event when it happened. Part of the reason, was because initially he had been sent back to the den to deliver the message about what had happened and now he was finally returning. Leaving the pack behind, especially in the way he did, left a sour taste in his mouth and he for sure wasn't happy about it. Coming forth out of the trees, he raised his hand in greeting to the guards on the walls. They recognized him immediately, as the drawbridge was slowly lowered and allowed Aleksander entry into the fortress. Riding across the bridge and into the fortress, he was greeted with waves and inaudible calls from the various wolves. The fortress truly was a fortress now, as there was more warriors here than before, even female warriors if the body shape and armor was anything to go off of. This puzzled Aleksander very much, as he would imagine that they would be in heat and damn near feral around so many males. Then he noticed they were primarily sticking close to particular males, rather than wandering about or even speaking to others. All of this made him realize that they must be mated pairs, both of them being warriors as well. Bringing his horse to a stop at a hitching post, he would get down and hand his horse off to a stable boy. Grabbing his gear from the horse, he would walk towards the main hall of the fortress. While he was not one to be bothered by cold, riding on a horse for hours in said cold was a different story entirely. He waved to various warriors, some of them he recognized from his first visit to the fortress, then walked through the main doors into the hall. The sounds of laughter and chatter greeted his ears, as there were various warriors sitting at the tables alongside their mates or by there brothers in arms. Aleksander saw Horus and Lyonix sitting at the head table, clearly they haven't noticed him yet but many other wolves already have.

"Aleksander!" A jovial voice yelled and Aleksander immediately recognized who it was. Urlock stood up from a table and walked towards him, holding an extra goblet of spiced wine. A laugh left Aleksander as other warriors in the hall called to him, happy to see him back in one piece.
"Our embodiment of Alairian has returned to us my friends!" Many wolves in the hall shout and cheer at those words.

"Alairian?" Aleksander asks with a chuckle as he walks with Urlock over to one of the tables, removing his helmet in the process. Sitting down beside one of the wolves, he sets the helmet on the table.

"Those your pack markings, Aleks?" Urlock asks him, setting the extra goblet of wine in front of Aleksander.

"Yes, they are. Markings of my pack, my army." Aleksander remarks, taking a drink of the wine and liking the taste of it. The fact it seemed to have an enriched iron taste to it was interesting, but he didn't mind.

"Ominous looking." A female wolf voiced to their right, as she was sitting next to her mate. Her fur was a dark shade of red, almost blood like in color.
"I have seen many symbols of many packs, but something about them is ominous, dark." A chuckle escapes Aleksander at her words, raising his goblet towards her.

"Sieg Heil. Hail Victory." The words easily fall from Aleksander's mouth, before he drinks more of the spiced wine. Enjoying the taste of it and wondering how they made it, as it indeed had a unique taste.

"I see you enjoy the blood wine, a very acquiring taste." Those words stopped Aleksander from taking another drink, as he set the goblet down and stared at Urlock. Clearly hoping that the wolf was joking, as the idea that he's been drinking and enjoying the taste of blood made him question his own humanity. The wolf burst into laughing and Aleksander felt himself relaxing, taking a drink of the wine again.
"Worry not brother, there is no wine in the blood. The wine is specifically made to help with stamina, it doesn't induce drunkenness as easily as other wines." Aleksander nods his head in understanding, taking another drink of wine.