Chapter 3 - Wolf's History

CHAPTER TWO: WOLF’S HISTORY

The boy born as Matt Khan has long since been forgotten. He was known now as Lone Wolf and only his friends would survive if they called him Matt. Matt was born in a little cottage surrounded by a big forest and lake in Glasgow. Matt’s mother, Denise Khan, was a kind and gentle woman that stayed home to look after Matt while his father, Eric Khan, went out to fish in the local lake. Eric would always bring home three big fish every night for dinner and Matt would go collect the eggs from their chickens for breakfast the next morning. One night though, Denise got pregnant again and eventually gave birth to a second child, which they named Alex. Alex and Matt were 17 months apart in age but still managed to get along well with each other. The family adapted well to the new addition, Matt even taught Alex to bring the eggs inside with him. When the two got a little older they would always talk about one day leaving Scotland and traversing the world in search of adventure. Matt and Alex lived a happy and enjoyable life until their parents disappeared one day and left Matt and Alex to fend for themselves when they were just 15 and 13 years of age. The boys went well for the first few weeks, Alex took out the family boat and went fishing while Matt went into the local forest and hunted small animals. One day, Matt came across a wolf with a broken leg and a magnificent coat of fur. Matt carried the wolf home, sat it on top of the dining table, cleaned the wound, and splintered the leg so that the wolf could walk again. He lowered the wolf off of the table where it turned to him and said, “I am Hati, son of the god Fenrisulfr. You have done a great deed in helping me so I shall make you one of my clan and grant you the abilities of my kind. You shall now be known as Lone Wolf, a member of the Norse". With that, the wolf disappeared into the night. Matt felt incredibly sleepy and tried to stumble over to his bed. It was no use. Matt collapsed on the floor. Alex came back from fishing and tried to wake up his brother but to no avail. So Alex heaved with all his might and lifted his brother onto his bed. He would just have to look after his brother while he slept.

* * *

“Hey, what are you doing?!?! NO…NOOOOOO!!!”
Matt awoke 2 years later in a sweat. He immediately went to see if his brother had come back from fishing yet, thinking that he had only slept for 20 minutes. He walked past the mirror and had a quick glance before he continued on.
“Huh?”
Matt walked back to the mirror and nearly panicked. His facial features had changed slightly and he had grown a light beard across his face. Matt had to find his brother. He raided his father’s closet and found a grey tunic with some matching grey pants. Matt slipped them on and found some black braces and black buckled boots to put on. Matt then went over to his father’s dark grey hunting cloak and put it on around his neck. He then ran outside.
“ALEX, WHERE ARE YOU?”
Matt didn’t hear a reply so ran into the forest. He noticed that his speed had increased drastically.
“What in the world?”
Matt smelt something on the air; it was his brother. Matt wondered how he could smell so clearly and then remembered back to before he had entered the slumber. That wolf, Hati, had said something. I shall make you one of my clan and grant you the abilities of my kind. The words echoed through his mind. Matt now had the abilities of a wolf. What else had Hati said? You shall now be known as Lone Wolf. Matt thought to himself: Why not? I’ll call myself Lone Wolf from now on. I like the sound of that! Matt then realised that he was still trying to find his brother so he followed the scent for miles and travelled all the way to Greece. The scent continued on but a giant door was blocking Matt’s way. Matt tried with all his might to open the door until a figure covered in black smoke appeared. A booming voice came from the figure.
“Who are you to try and enter the Underworld?” asked the man.
“I WANT MY BROTHER!!!” Matt yelled in reply.
“And you think I, Hades, am going to give him to you?” said the man in an evil tone.
“I WANT MY BROTHER!!!” Matt yelled again.
Hades saw the anger in the man’s eyes and decided that this would be a good chance to manipulate someone into retrieving Underworld Shadow.
“Tell you what” began Hades “If you bring to me a sword called Underworld Shadow then I will give you your brother back”.
“If you’re so powerful, why don’t you go and get it yourself?” asked Matt.
“Well my brother Zeus has bound me to the Underworld. This is as far as I can go. It is like an invisible chain is holding me back and I can’t break free. That is where you come in. You fight your way past other warriors and retrieve Underworld Shadow for me” replied Hades in a cool tone.
“But I have no weapons, how will I fight?” questioned Matt.
Hades conjured up two gladius’ in their sheaths.
“The gladius in the blue sheath is Underworld Cold and the gladius in the red sheath is Underworld Fire. For dressing purposes, the swords are to be worn on your back in a cross pattern. The sheath of Underworld Cold is to be worn behind the right shoulder while the sheath of Underworld Fire is to be worn behind the left. If worn anywhere else you will begin to feel uneasy and the swords' powers will weaken. The blades of each sword have a unique ability. Underworld Fire is incredibly hot to the touch, while strangely radiating no heat in open air, and will rapidly heat up nearly any liquid or solid substance it is kept in contact with. Underworld Cold is freezing to the touch, while also not radiating cold in open air, and will rapidly chill nearly any liquid or solid substance it is kept in contact with. These two swords will guide you to their brother, Underworld Shadow. Use these swords and bring me back Underworld Shadow…Lone Wolf” and having said that, Hades disappeared in a puff of black smoke.
With that, Matt Khan set off as Lone Wolf on a hunt to find Underworld Shadow and regain his brother’s soul.

* * *

It had been 2 years since Matt had set off on the quest to get his brother back and he was now 19. He had learnt to control most of his abilities and had even discovered some new ones. He could now turn into a half-man half-wolf form, which increased his strength and speed. He also found that he could move at super sonic speed for short distances up to 20 metres. Matt called this his teleport ability because he got from one point to another so quickly that it looked like he had teleported. Matt had gathered much information on Underworld Shadow and his sources now led him back to a small town in Scotland where a tournament was being held. The town was small but there was a big stone mansion just outside of it. The prize of the tournament was said to be training from a wise old warrior called Ragnor. Matt didn't feel the need to participate, as he thought that he had all the training he needed, but watched the tournament with great interest. The tournament ring was a stone circle surrounded by a deep moat of water. Matt viewed as each of the contestants entered the ring and battled one another. He watched the tournament for a while and was about to leave out of boredom when a girl of 18 named Skye Lana caught his eye. She had long black hair and wore purple ring pants along with a green tank top to match her beautiful green eyes. She wielded a basic lance, brown shaft, pointed tip, but she knew how to use it well. She was up against a man nearly twice her size but she took him out within 10 seconds. Matt got more and more fascinated by the girl every time she battled and when she was eventually proclaimed the tournament champion Matt knew he had to talk to her. Ragnor awarded the girl with a small bag of gold and the opportunity to train at his mansion. Skye saw no reason to not accept the training and walked back to the mansion with Ragnor. Matt surveyed them as they left and noted where the windows of the mansion were. He was going to talk to that girl.
Matt waited until nightfall came before breaking into the mansion. He used a grappling hook to pull himself up to one of the windows and leapt quietly through it. He hit the ground with a soft ‘thud’ and quickly ran to the one place where a training ground would likely be, in the basement. Matt was correct and found a secret passageway into an underground cave lit with torches. Matt saw a lot of training equipment there such as leather punching bags, straw practice dummies and weights. He snuck silently through the cave, not disturbing the people training until he found the girl he was looking for. Matt was about to tap the girl on the shoulder when one of cave’s guards spotted him and sounded the alarm. Within seconds guards surrounded him. The girl ran off and decided to let the guards handle the intruder. Matt quickly got in multiple slashes while the guards were trying to circle him and managed to defeat 2 guards. This just angered the rest of them who all rushed in and attacked him at the same time. Matt tried his best to put up a defence but multiple cuts started appearing on his body. Matt let out a howl of anger and morphed into his wolf form, knocking back 10 guards as he did so. The 3 guards that remained by Matt’s side were eventually sent flying backwards with one swing of Matt’s hand. He let out another howl as the guards surrounded him again. They were all about to attack when a shout was heard.
“ENOUGH!!”
The guards nearest to the source of the shout cleared a path as an old man stepped into the circle. Ragnor was dressed in a purple silk garment, probably the clothes he wore to bed. It seemed that all the noise had woken the man up. Ragnor looked Matt over carefully while he was changing back into his human form.
“Interesting. You change into a wolf form yet you are not a werewolf for two simple reasons. One, you seem to be able to control when you turn into a wolf. Two, You retain your human mind while in this form”
Ragnor looked the man over once more.
“Come, we have much to speak of”

* * *

Matt had been training with Skye for just under a year now. The two had become close and often pushed each other to the limit when training. The two would rely on each other to solve a problem or just to spar for a few rounds. They were Ragnor’s two top students and on their graduation day, Ragnor pulled the two aside and brought them into the den of the mansion. The den was decorated with lush red velvet on the floor and had many expensive paintings surrounding the walls. The most standout feature of the room was the old stone fireplace surrounded by two couches and a chair. Ragnor sat down in the single chair while Matt and Skye shared one of the couches. Ragnor looked at the two and thought that they made a good couple. He knew that Skye liked Matt because of the look she got in her eyes when they were near each other, but as for Matt…well his face was always hard to read. Ragnor then remembered why he was there and told the two how proud he was of them and how much progress they had made. He then went on to tell them that he was dying.
“There is something I have to tell the both of you…I was a werewolf. I rid myself of the curse by trapping my powers into that painting of me you see hanging above that fireplace. Every full moon the picture turns into a werewolf. Must be one of the side affects”
Matt already knew this. It was why Ragnor had asked him so many questions about his wolf form that night. Skye wasn’t shocked either, as she had seen the painting on a full moon once, but still continued to listen.
“I have decided to take one last trip into the woods. It is where I belong. I won’t be coming back so I wanted to leave you both something” Ragnor said.
To Matt he left the mansion, along with the Moon Warriors. He said that Matt was a vigorous trainer and would be able to push the Moon Warriors to their limit. Matt just gave a simple nod and Ragnor looked over to Skye. Ragnor stood up from his chair and left the room. He appeared moments later with a brilliantly made lance in his hand. The lance had been made particularly for Skye, as it was a straight white lance shaft with two snakes intertwining each other designed along it. The point of the lance was made to look like a unicorn’s horn and was emitting a faint white glow. Skye accepted the lance with her thanks.
Matt and Skye looked on as their master left the village to die in the woods where he belonged. It was about 1 month later, on a rainy day, when a large wolf appeared at the front door of the mansion. Matt let it in and sensed that this wolf was somehow familiar. The wolf trotted through the house and entered the den where it curled up underneath the fireplace. Matt followed the wolf and suddenly realised who this wolf was. It seemed that his master had been reincarnated as a wolf. Matt called to it.
“Ragnor, here boy”
The giant wolf instantly stood up, walked over to Matt and licked his hand. Matt took the wolf down into the cave and began training him…

* * *

Matt had trained the Moon Warriors for a month now and felt that he could now leave them for extended periods to hunt for information on Underworld Shadow, while his top student Vivian took over. Matt never left anywhere without Skye and Ragnor by his side. Matt had heard that some bandits had sat up base in a cave nearby his mansion so he and his companions went out to investigate it. They stopped just before the cave and heard a fight happening on the inside. Matt looked into the cave and saw a warrior wielding two katanas battling against the bandits.
“Ragnor, go help him out”
The wolf howled as it entered the cave and fought side by side with the strange warrior until all of the bandits were dead. The strange warrior placed his katanas in their sheaths on his back and was about to thank the giant wolf when it turned on him and started growling. The wolf was about to pounce on his chest when Matt called out.
“RAGNOR, SIT!”
Almost at once the giant wolf sat down and began panting, its tongue lolling all around the place. Matt and Skye appeared at the cave entrance and walked in with their weapons drawn…

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