The Bloody Thorn

The Wolf's Pup

The forgotten forest of Sladova, home to many vicious and savage creatures, had just become home to an unsuspecting child. Abandoned by his parent due to poverty, nine-year old Alexander wandered the forest for hours, unable to find his way out. With only the pain of hunger in his stomach to keep him company, he fell over and awaited his inevitable death. But death did not find him that day, or the next. It was almost as if something or someone had been watching over Alexander, and there was. Unannounced to the boy, something was watching over him; An alpha wolf whose hunting grounds Alexander had the luck to be abandoned in. The boy learned how to survive in the forest as the alpha wolf ensured no other predators would come near him. Finally though, after a month of watching the boy adapt to his environment, the wolf appeared to him. Scared, Alexander picked up a spear he carved out from a branch and pointed the sharp end toward the wolf, ready for a fight. "Do not be afraid boy. If I wanted you dead, you'd have already been so the day you were left in my hunting area." The words growled out of the wolfs maw, much to Alexanders surprise. He lowered his spear and looked the wolf over, taking in all the scars that adorned his pelt, only proving his strength to the boy. "Why let me live? Wouldn't I have been an easy target for you?" The wolf simply laughed at his question and motioned with his head for the boy to follow him, turning and sauntering into the shrubs. Eager to know more, Alexander raced after his furry protector. "Boy, I have a very skilled nose. Since the day I saw you, I could smell a great potential within you. But it is up to you what you do with that potential. While my pack believes you should just be another meal, I would rather see what you can do." Turning toward Alexander, the wolf waited for the boys reaction which came in the form of: "Stop calling me boy, my name is Alexander. If you're going to train me to be a better hunter and survivor then fine, but don't expect me to consider you a friend." The wolf nodded and laughed leading the boy back to his packs resting area. There, Alexander spent five long years training as if he was wolf. His sense of smell had become inhuman, his speed unmatched. Due to a diet of purely meat, his teeth formed into fangs, becoming sharp and pointy. One day after a big hunt, the alpha wolf and Alexander stood atop a nearby hill talking about the five years that they spent together. "You've grown up boy, even outmatching me. You're ready to go off on your own now." Alexander laughed and placed a hand on the wolfs head sighing. "Zon you're getting old now, I can't just leave you. Besides, where would I go?" At this, the wolf nudged over a pouch that was full of gold coins. "I'd been saving them from every traveler I'd eaten. Take them and head East, you'll come to a kingdom and you'll live among them as the human you are." The wolf got up and started walking down the hill, stopping to look back at the boy he raised. "If you ever decide to come back, we'll eat you. Got that?" Alexander nodded and the wolf disappeared into the trees. "Goodbye father." The goodbye slipped out painfully as he stood and took the pouch of coins. "East it is then."