Leaves whirled up around the great, black paws of Bayukia. He had been traveling for many daywalks now and the deafening silence that surrounded him was only broken by the crunching of the dead remnants of the trees. He cast his gaze over the forest, nothing living remained on these lands. He could not help but wonder how he had survived while his pack had died. Consumed by flame and burnt until the souls broke free from the bodies and wisped away with the smoke. Hateful thoughts cast themselves through his mind, why had they left him behind? Surely he would have gone with his pack to the other side, had his brother not so foolishly died to save him. It was a wasted effort.
The large wolf paused briefly, his sorrowful eyes falling on the ash that once was his home, he no longer knew whether he was walking among the remains of his pack, or merely the cinders of the trees. Everything was so black and smelled of death. A fire this destructing was not natural, caused by a demon he presumed. But demons usually did not kill without reason, no. At least not without some form of warning. The pack must have done something terribly wrong to anger the demons in such a way. It didn't matter anymore, nothing was left. He could not stay on these lands no matter how badly it hurt to leave.
The great river that bordered his home taunted him, a sad reminder that he was leaving forever. Its roar thunderous after the ever consuming silence he had known far too well not long ago. The mist that rose from its depths swirled around his paws and damp soot clung to his paw pads. The depressing aura that contained itself in this place was overwhelming and the strong smell of decay lingered around him.
The sturdy stone bridge loomed over the water like some sort of guardian, built by humans many generations before his time. No human had set foot on these lands since it had become inhabited by demons however, and this bridge was the only proof that they had ever set foot here. Without as much as a glance back at the sad remains of his home he carried forth onto the bridge. Rarely had this bridge been crossed by beasts, it was forbidden among the pack to do so, but here he was with no other options.
His claws gave off a hollow click as they hit the stone, the sound rang out coldly reminding him that this was the last time he would see these lands. The fog that always accompanied the river had grown stronger from the heat of the fire and it now became impossible to see anything. His eyes glazed over and the roar of the river started to sound more like howling. Howling of the ones he had lost, of the entire pack howling their good byes. But the howling faded to a ghostly murmur of betrayal. Bewildered and angry the spirits did not want him to leave, to cast them aside as if they no longer mattered. Leaving them chained to the blackened soil to suffer eternally. The hurtful sounds faded and once more became no more than rushing water. His pads touched thee cool grass on the other side, unscathed by the fire. But the roar of the river now seemed threatening, as if it no longer wanted him. He knew he was never to return.
With a rough sigh he closed his eyes and lowered his head to the ground, sniffing slightly. It smelled just as strongly of death as his packlands, it also smelled of demons and mortal wolves. This was good, he padded forward, eyes closed and nose to the ground. Nothing, not even the grass smelled familiar. He lifted his head, maw to the sky and let loose his song. The musical note ended with a choke, this was the first time he had howled without another wolf. It sounded so empty and alone, nonetheless he ignored it and waited for a response.
Suddenly the ground beneath him gave way with a horrible crack and he tumbled down into a pit. With a rumbling groan he pulled himself to his paws, cursing under his breathe. Who ever had dug this pit obviously did not want trespassers on their land, he cast his glance towards the damp walls. They were imbedded with the deep claw marks of many wolves. These wolves were smart, the pit was too narrow to try and leap out of. And it was much too high for any small jumps there was room for. Bayukia sat on the cold floor, his anger turning to hopelessness. A pair of bright green eyes shone at the top of the pit, the wolfess staring down at him with a mocking smile.
“What do you want?” He diverted his eyes from her and frowned angrily
“Well,” a sly grin crept across her face. “I came to help you, but if you do not want help…” her voice was irritatingly smug and the more she spoke the more he wished she would go away. But he needed out of the pit and if that was the only way then he would have to accept.
“Fine, please help me Miss…?”
“Taq.”  The childish voice was now serious and blunt, a woven grass rope fell into the hole before him. “Take hold of it and I’ll pull you out.” Without question he grasped the rope firmly in his teeth and was lifted off the ground. When he came to the top his claws dug into the soil and he pulled himself back onto the soft, unfamiliar grass.
“You never told me your name.” She spoke, spitting out the rope and padding towards him. Her fur was extremely glossy and the colors shone in the sunlight, her under pelt was a dark grey, almost black. Her face was a light, silvery color, as well as the bottom half of each of her legs. Her back and tail had stripes of the same color. Her eyes were what caught him the most though, the bright green eyes of a demon. He blinked, his own golden eyes drifting over her body. Not threatening in the least, yet not particularly friendly either.
“Bayukia.” He cleared his throat and stood. Her head only came up to his shoulder and he had to tilt his head down to meet her gaze.
“Bayukia… Such a strange name” She circled him slowly, examining him. “You will make a fine warrior.”
He gave her a bewildered look and clenched his teeth. “Warrior? I am not here to become a warrior Taq. You misunderstand”
“I misunderstand nothing. You would not wish to upset the demon god would you?” A taunting smile crept across her slender maw as she circled him again. Her tail flicking slowly from side to side.
He shrugged “Gods are merely legend. Why would I be frightened of them?” Taq burst out laughing, shaking her head in disbelief.
“Ignorant fool! Ayame the demon god is no legend! And neither is the spiritual god Shumani. They are real and their war rages on these lands. And you are expected to fight, or die a coward at Ayame’s discretion.” The bright green eyes burned into his and her voice hissed as she spoke.
“I will take you to her now so you may know for yourself how very real she is.” She beckoned him to follow and padded off through the trees. Not far from where they had met was a great bowl shaped valley they descended into its depths where the trees seemed twisted and gruesomely formed and everything seemed inhabited by demons. He had to walk fast to keep up with her rapid pace and not get left behind. The silence was awkward, he tried to make small conversation.
“You said that there was a spiritual god as well as your demon god?  That must mean this place is not only demons?”
“Correct. Others inhabit these lands. None of them mortal mind you, but I doubt that one mortal warrior will affect our army of demons.” She flicked her ear slightly and continued on. Once they reached the bottom of the valley Taq led Bayukia down a narrow stone path. At the end of the path was a large pond, the water was extremely shallow and completely clear. The water was completely still, Bayukia could see a perfect reflection of the trees and everything around them in the water. As if it was a perfect mirror, completely flawless. The ground beneath the water appeared to be soft sand. The path continued through the water, rising just slightly so that no water came up onto the stone. At the center of the pond the path grew into a large stone platform upon which the large black form of a sleeping wolf lay. Strange green markings coated her body, she was extremely large. Twice the size of Bayukia himself, and her body was covered in extremely dense fur. Her great side rose and fell with deep breaths.
“I am extremely sorry Lord Ayame, but I wish to speak with you” Taq’s voice was soft, yet the great wolf’s ears had pricked almost as soon as she had started speaking. The god opened her eyes, they were a burning yellow with bright silver pupils that pierced into ones soul.
“Why have you come?” The god’s voice seemed to be the voices of many wolves speaking at once. It was a strange sound, one of many spirits intertwined into one body. And her voice did not move with her mouth, the two seemed out of sync with each other.
“I have come to show you a mortal who has trespassed upon our land. I believe that he would be a good addition to our warriors.”
The god lifted her head slowly, her eyes casting over Bayukia slowly.
“And what makes him different from any other mortal? That makes him worthy of my time?” Her eyes were cold as they focused on Taq,
“He survived the fire you cast upon the lands across the river.”
The god’s eyes widened slightly. “Very well, but you must keep him in line. For him to break one of my rules means death for both of you.”
“Understood Lord Ayame” She bowed deeply and beckoned for Bayukia to follow as she padded back down the narrow path.