The Void Wolf

Ira slowly opened his eyes and sat up, then he turned to look out a window and noticed the sun was setting. Apparently, after he passed out they brought him into this room to rest.

He immediately noticed Amy sleeping in a chair near his bed holding her red spear, she was clearly asleep, but her eyes constantly trembled. Next to Ira’s bed was a basket, filled with, wine, bread, and fruit. Ira reached over grabbing an apple. It was a small present from the villagers showing their gratitude.

Ira began to eat with a satisfied expression as he took notice of the bandages on his chest, arms, and shoulders. Meanwhile, Amy violently shook, while sweat poured down her face.

“Mom!” She yelled before gasping for air.

Ira was unmoved by her sudden shout and continued eating the apple, sending a single glance over.

“S-Sorry,” Amy said, lowering her head. Ira finished eating the apple while he wore an amused expression.

“It’s fine,” Ira responded, not speaking any further. Under the continued silence, Amy felt the urge to speak and raised her head.

“The Captain wanted me to tell her when you woke up.” Amy stood up abruptly.

“Also, thank you for saving us.” She slightly bowed before walking out of the room and closing the door behind her.

Ira climbed out of the bed and began undressing the tightly wrapped bandages. Meanwhile, the sound of footsteps could be heard approaching the small room. The door opened and Captain Avery walked in while a robust knight with short hair and a bearded face followed behind her. Amy, being the last to enter, closed the door as she came in.

“How is that possible!?!” The knight shouted in disbelief as he looked at Ira’s body, which was free of wounds or scars. Amy looked, slightly embarrassed as she recalled the scene from a few hours ago when Ira was completely nude.

Captain Avery was the only to maintain composure and examined his body with a thoughtful expression, “It’s only been a few hours, and yet your wounds are completely healed. I personally applied the bandages, so I know that your injuries weren’t light. To be able to recover to this extent is nothing short of amazing.”

“Thanks for that,” Ira said sincerely.

“Seems it was all in vain.” Captain Avery said while observing Ira. After a few moments she changed the topic,“The villagers filled me in on an interesting story about you.”

“Oh?” Ira responded while pulling off the bandages.

“Do you prefer to be naked when making an entrance?” Captain Avery asked.

“It’s very liberating, maybe you should try it,” Ira said with a laugh after removing the last of the bandages.

“Watch your words, boy!” The knight threatened as he placed his hand on his sword.

Captain Avery held her hand up, silencing him, “Robert, leave us.”

“Captain.” Robert glared at Ira before leaving the room. Ira paid no attention to him, pulling his clothes from thin air, putting on his shirt and long coat. After seeing his display of Spatial Magic, Captain Avery’s eyes slightly widened, although it wasn’t unheard of, spatial magic was incredibly hard to use. While Ira continued dressing, Avery found a chair and took a seat. Amy stood near the door, unsure of what to do.

“What’s going on in the village?” Ira asked, putting on his black boots.

“Body cleanup and funeral preparations. You made quite a mess you know.” Captain Avery responded.

“I can’t be blamed, it was my first fight after all,” Ira responded while shrugging his shoulders. With his current abilities, killing lowly bandits was far too easy, but since he lacked any technique he was bound to take some hits.

“Everyone is busy making funeral preparations, they wanted to thank you, but you’ve been asleep for a few hours. You’re more than welcome to attend.” Amy suddenly spoke up, she briefly paused before continuing, “Also, I’ve been waiting to give the spear to you.”

“Keep it,” Ira responded, finally fully clothed.

“But-” Amy objected. She felt indebted to him so giving up the spear was the least she could do to repay him.

“I can’t use a sword properly, let alone a spear, keep it,” Ira said plainly. He wasn’t making an excuse to hide noble intentions, if he didn’t have the sword with him he probably would’ve taken the spear.

“So why are you still here?” Ira asked Captain Avery.

“To examine the village for potential talents, then bring those who are willing to the capital for training.” Captain Avery responded, sending a quick glance to Amy.

“Well I’m not from the village so-” Ira began to talk but was interrupted.

“I noticed. I also noticed we didn’t encounter you on the road, and the villagers haven’t seen you before. I’m wondering where you came from exactly?” Captain Avery said as she probed Ira for information. Though it wasn’t for the Kingdom, but rather her own personal interests.

“Nowhere,” Ira said with a dry laugh. Recalling the soul ripping pain of the void caused his expression to become distant.

Captain Avery assumed he was unwilling to speak and continued on, “Don’t worry, Although I’m curious, I won’t force you to say anything.”

“I’m glad to hear it, but what do you want?” Ira asked with a curious grin.

Captain Avery turned to Amy, “Could you give us a moment?”

“Ah, yes ma’am,” Amy said timidly before stepping out of the room.

“Well since I already know your name, It would be impolite not to introduce myself.”, Captain Avery stood up, “I am Captain Avery Thynne.”

“So what exactly do you want, Captain?” Ira asked. In truth, his respect for authority was close to non-existent since there was nothing in his life that would give him cause to.

Captain Avery ignored Ira’s sarcasm and replied, “I’d like you to follow us to the capital.”

Ira thought for a few seconds before speaking enthusiastically, “Grant me two requests and it’s a deal.”

“That’s fine, but only as long as they’re within my power.” Captain Avery said.

“You aren’t afraid I’ll be unreasonable?” Ira said with a surprised expression.

“I’ve already agreed, so I’m prepared to accept the consequences,” Avery responded with a shrug. She felt as if Ira wasn’t the type of person to make unreasonable requests, so she accepted without reservation.

“Good to hear.” Ira nodded before walking toward the door, heading outside.

Captain Avery stared at his back in contemplation as she followed behind him. It had to be said, Ira was definitely a strange person with some interesting qualities.

…………………………………………….

As Ira stepped out of the small room, many villagers turned to look at him. Each of their gazes were filled with, one part fear, one part reverence, and two parts gratefulness. The nearby villagers approached him with moist eyes. One by one, they began thanking him, some even knelt down to express their gratitude. Ira just smiled cheerfully, accepting all the praises that came. Captain Avery eventually had enough and sent all the villagers off before leading Ira to the temporary knight camp.

A group of people, ages 10-21, were lined up in front of the Knights. Each person was then handed a blue glass card and told to stand to the side. Clark and Amy also attended though they weren’t anywhere close to each other. Clark wanted to give Amy space since he knew she probably blamed him for her mother’s death. Captain Avery gestured for Ira to join the group, after handing him a card that looked to be made from blue glass. As soon as Ira arrived everyone began whispering, only a few of them actually witnessed the bandit raid and subsequent slaughter, the rest only heard stories of what happened.

“He doesn’t look so tough.”

“You’re just mad you almost pissed yourself when those bandits attacked.”

“I heard, he’s a monster who likes to run around naked, from my Dad.”

“Is he really a monster?”

“Clearly, he is hiding his monster form, you idiot”.

“I don’t know…He doesn’t look like a monster to me.”

“Look at his yellow eyes, aren’t they weird.”

“His eyes are kind of strange and why is he smiling?”

“You all should shut up, I was with the ones defending and watched him tear through those bandits. If he hears you, he might get angry and kill you.”

“Ira! Over here!” Amy waved.

Seeing her do so made Clark grind his teeth, his heart felt downcast. Almost everyone looked at Amy strangely, yet she paid no attention to them. Ira, seemingly oblivious to the strange mood, walked over to Amy.

“Spear girl.” He grinned widely while looking at Amy.

“My name is Amy.” She retorted in a low whisper.

“Oh really?” Ira asked while his grin remained ever-present.

Captain Avery stood in front of the group, giving off an oppressive feeling which made everyone quiet down.

“Listen up! What you’ve been given is a status card, it will give us an idea of your capabilities. Try to focus on it to activate it, for those who can’t, a knight will assist you. You may now begin.” Captain Avery said.

At once everyone tried to focus on the status card. Ira’s card was the first to glow which signalled its activation. A pulse of energy probed throughout his body.

Next, Amy’s card began to glow.

Those who failed to activate the card on the first try began to feel disappointed, a few Knights came around and began channeling energy for some people, to give them an understanding of the process.

“It worked!” Clark shouted as he examined his card.

“Hey, I got it!”

“Me too!”

“Finally!”

Seeing as everyone activated the card, Captain Avery began explaining the purpose of the status card.

“The status card uses various magical arrays to obtain and record information from the user. The rating is an overall estimate of your current combat ability, but you may not be able to fully utilize your full strength or you may be able to draw out more. It is in no way a perfectly accurate measure of your combat potential. Additionally, your growth capacity is the estimated limit of your growth based on your current capabilities. Both your rating and growth capacity are subject to change if the right conditions are met. For example, through enough training, you may be able to increase your rating and growth capacity by several grades.”

Hearing Captain Avery’s words, many people felt relieved. A group of Knights stood up and began checking the results. Captain Avery personally went to see Ira’s results. As she approached, Ira hid his card behind his back.

“I’ll show you mine if you show me your’s,” Ira said, smiling mischievously. While his expression seemed childish, his eyes held a deep interest. A deep interest that didn’t go unnoticed by Captain Avery. She nodded before grabbing a card and returning, she looked at Ira as she activated it.

Captain Avery exchanged cards with Ira, seeing the results her silver eyes widened in surprise, she repeatedly looked at the card then back at Ira.

‘Unknown bloodline? Unknown blessing? Unknown growth capacity? Abnormal?’ Captain Avery estimated that if it wasn’t for the status card being unable to evaluate Ira he would have an A rating at the very least. It was clear that there was more to Ira than she thought. She refrained from questioning him as he would likely give evasive answers, but there was someone who she would inform of Ira’s attributes, someone who had nothing to do with the Kingdom at all...

As the Knights finished checking the results, they weren’t surprised nor were they disappointed. It was perfectly reasonable for a small village to produce less than average results. After all the training opportunities available were little to none. Amy was an exception, having inborn talent with a spear, she was able to advance to apprentice spearmanship. This also showed why the status card was flawed, it couldn’t take into account the fact that Amy was self-taught, which would boost her rating if it did.

“Alright, everyone get some rest, we’ll be setting out tomorrow. If you decide to come to the capital meet us here tomorrow morning if you choose to stay, return the status card before we leave.”, Captain Avery dismissed the surrounding people, only Ira stayed behind.

“Miss Avery. I think I’d like to redeem a request right now.” Ira said to her, his smile exposing his white teeth.

“What is it?” She took no issue with him not properly addressing her as she cared very little for the Kingdom in the first place.

“Teach me some swordsmanship,” Ira said.

“Although you have instincts it may be time-consuming if I were to go the normal route. Are you willing to spar with me?”

“I don’t see why not.” Ira shrugged.

“I’ll find you tomorrow before we leave.”

“Tomorrow it is then,” Ira said smiling before he turned around to walk away. Captain Avery looked at his departing back wondering just how many secrets Ira had.

Not too far away from Ira, Clark stood in front of Amy before she could leave. Not willing to meet her gaze, he kept his head down. For awhile neither of them spoke. Eventually, they attempted to break the silence.

“I-”

“Wha-”

They interrupted each other. Silence ensued once again, before Clark decided to speak up, “Amy…I’m sorry.”

“…” Amy’s silence drew Clark further into turmoil. He wasn’t even aware that he may have War Sickness. It was uncommon because those who had refrained from seeking help due feeling helpless and even cowardly.

“Amy…I…”

“I don’t blame you for my mother’s death Clark…But Benjamin…” Amy said taking a deep breath, she continued, “You should check on Elder Davis, Clark. I have to prepare my mother’s grave.”

She then walked away, leaving Clark with a hopeless expression on his face.

…………………………………………

Clark arrived at his grandfather’s workshop and pushed open the door.

As he walked in he could see bottles of wine scattered on the floor while the smell of alcohol permeated the air. In a low lit corner, Elder Davis sat at a table with his bandaged leg propped up on a chair with his back facing towards Clark.

“Grandpa Davis, you should try to sleep,” Clark suggested dryly.

“…How can I sleep now, Clark? ” Elder Davis asked rhetorically as a heavy smell of alcohol emanated from his body.

“I…” Clark once again felt the need to beg for forgivness.

“No need to say anything, Clark.” Elder Davis said tiredly, stopping Clark before he could finish. He raised his hand to point to a black scabbard, “Clark, tomorrow give the scabbard to that…boy…you should be able to handle that right? Since he already has the sword, he may as well have the scabbard.” Elder Davis’ tone contained a hint of malice, Clark was unable to tell if it was for himself or for Ira.

“I’ll do it but…Grandpa, I’ve decided to go to the Capital, tomorrow morning.”

“How nice...”Elder Davis said plainly, as he grabbed a bottle, and began pouring himself another cup of wine, “...You know, Benjamin always wanted to go.” He said before downing the whole glass.

Clark looked at his Grandfather’s back while feeling an aching pain in his chest. Seeing as his Grandfather stopped speaking, he could only go into a back room to find a bed, he laid down. He stared at the smaller bed adjacent to his own which caused his vision to become blurry.

“I’m sorry, Ben…I’m sorry,” Clark whispered, before his eyes slowly closed.

………………………………………..

As the sun began to rise, it lessened the grief of yesterday’s losses and increased the hopes of today’s youth. A small group of parents went to see off their children, hoping they would find happiness and prosperity outside the confines of the village.

Ira sat on the edge of a bed in a small room, reading a black book. The size of the book was comparable to an encyclopedia on everything. Quite deceptively, the actual size wasn’t relative to the content, many pages either, empty, decorated with constantly changing letters, filled with strange symbols and illustrations, encoded, or just repeating content from earlier pages. The book lived up to the indecipherable nature, the Void Wolf spoke of.

Faint whispers emerged from the book, and even with enhanced hearing, Ira was still unable to make out what they were saying no matter how hard he concentrated.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Hearing the sound of footsteps, Ira stood up, putting the book into his Void Space, or more specifically the spatial pocket he used for storage.

“Come in,” Ira said cheerfully. Captain Avery opened the door and stepped inside.

“Are you ready?” She asked expectantly.

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s go.” Ira grinned happily.

As the two made their way to a clearing, not too far from the village, Captain Avery explained the levels of techniques.

There were seven levels in total for every combat and martial discipline and the same amount for magic disciplines. Novice, Apprentice, Adept, Advanced, Expert, Master and Absolute. The actual differences between levels were immense. The higher levels left very little flaws, allowing more efficiency and power. Absolute was true perfection, essentially rendering one invincible in their respective discipline.

“Is here good?” Captain Avery asked when they finally reached the clearing. She tied her dark purple hair in a bun, before removing her military jacket which she placed on a nearby rock.

“Should be fine,” Ira said, pulling the sword from his void space.

Captain Avery nodded as she gripped her saber handle and took a stance.

“I’ll be demonstrating the easiest skill to learn. Come at me when you’re ready” Captain Avery entered a state of concentration and said nothing more. Ira stepped forward, disappearing from his previous spot.

He reappeared above Captain Avery swinging downwards. The sword cut through the air, half of his full strength behind it. Before it could connect, Captain Avery used Quickdraw. She instantly drew her saber and blocked the hit while taking a few steps back.

‘His strength is beyond ordinary.’ She silently thought, while she sheathed her saber and once again took up a stance. Contrary to her looks, Captain Avery was more than quite capable of handling herself in a fight. In fact, her training went beyond the standard military training the Kingdom provided.

“So it can be used like that?” Ira said thoughtfully.

“It can be used offensively too. Again.” When she finished speaking, Ira disappeared, reappearing behind her, swinging his sword diagonally.

After she used Quickstep, Captain Avery’s body moved three feet away from the sword trajectory, she turned on her heels to face Ira and used Quickdraw. Using the momentum of the draw, Captain Avery swung her sword fiercely and cut Ira.

Ira hurriedly teleported away, when he reappeared there was a cut above his eyebrows.

“Nice one!” Ira honestly praised, a smile appearing on his face.

“I have to ask, just how many times can you teleport?” Captain Avery asked curiously. As far as she knew Spatial Magic took a lot of mana, but it was clear Ira’s ability was different than the normal Spatial abilities.

“I never tried to find out. If I do it in quick succession I start to feel sick, almost like I ate too much of something.” Ira responded truthfully. The reason for the perceived feeling of “sickness” was due to Void residue is otherwise known as the black mist that appeared whenever he used an ability. Repeatedly teleporting could accumulate a build up which may end up harming him. The four sigils acted as seals, restraining his power until his body managed to become strong enough to withstand more of the Void’s influence.

“Though your short-range teleportation gives you an advantage, anyone who has developed battlefield awareness can defend against it. It is only useful if you attack quicker than the enemy can react. If you can increase your offensive prowess, it would be even more powerful.” Captain Avery advised after hearing his answer.

“Then I’ll be using more strength this time, Miss Avery,” Ira said gleefully. Captain Avery nodded her head before concentrating and assumed a sword stance.

“Whenever you are ready.” She said with a taunting grin. When she finished speaking Ira was already gone.

…………………………………………..

The sounds of a fight could be heard from the village entrance, shocking those waiting for Captain Avery to return. After a while, they died down, and two figures could be seen walking toward the village. Captain Avery walked ahead of Ira with her military jacket in one hand, her forehead was covered in sweat, her dark purple hair was disheveled, while very small bruises decorated her arms, she breathed heavily. Ira’s clothes were equally disheveled, but his face was covered in blood and cuts, he smiled happily while drawing deep breaths.

“Let’s move.” Captain Avery said loudly, as she climbed a horse and signalled for the Knights to move. Out of the thirty Knights, fifteen stayed behind in the village. It was standard regulation to assist with village reconstruction and security if a village was met with some attack. The fifteen Knights who stayed behind would follow after a few days of ensuring safety.

Ten villagers of varying ages followed the Knights on foot. Amy and Clark were also present. Ira joined the group, and even though the villagers wanted to ask him questions, the blood on his face made him hard to approach. He was someone who, by all accounts, seemed to like killing people and had no capacity for mercy, but he was strangely friendly. At least that’s how the villagers saw it.

Truthfully, Ira didn’t enjoy the act of killing but rather the feeling that each kill solidified his place in the world. The feeling of losing your body and your ego had a way of making you question your place in the World. For Ira, finding his place meant doing something people naturally did, and that was killing. People killed and people were killed, it was something that had been done since the beginning of time and something that would continue.

Still, it was doubtful they would accept that.as a reason. It also had to be said, the concept of morality and right and wrong wasn’t a prominent thought in Ira’s head. He wouldn’t kill a random person for no reason, but if he accidentally did, he would find very little issue with it. Even his capacity for empathy was shallow which could be seen by him looting Benjamin’s body without even blinking. In the end, Ira couldn’t be blamed per se, the knowledge the Wolf gave him wasn’t comprehensive in ethics and honor. Seeing as it was all he knew, he didn’t feel that anything was wrong at all.

………………………………………

After a few hours of walking, Clark suddenly moved next to Ira, “This is for you.” Clark said before handing a black scabbard to Ira.

“Oh!”Ira grabbed the scabbard, attaching it to his waist, he then pulled the sword from his void space and sheathed it.

“Very nice! Haha!”Ira laughed as he patted the scabbard. Clark smiled bitterly, recalling the death of his brother, who wielded that very same sword in his last moments.

“How do you do it?” Clark asked.

“Do what?” Ira raised an eyebrow.

“K-Kill people.” Clark stammered a bit, for him holding a sword was impossible, let alone killing someone.

“Well…” Ira thought for a second, before continuing. He couldn’t tell that Clark had reservations toward killing, nor did he expect him to.

“At first I used my hands and feet, but now I’ll be using this sword,”Ira said with a laugh.

Clark forced a smile, as he waited for him to finish before speaking again, “I meant, how do you live with it?”

“Live with it? Why would it bother me?” Ira looked at Clark as if he was odd, which made Clark feel as if he was the weird one in this conversation. Ira couldn’t help but wonder if Clark was mentally ill.

After a few moments of an awkward silence, Clark spoke again, “Due to childhood trauma, I am unable to wield a sword, but I hope to overcome it.”

Clark strangely felt as if Ira would be able to help him and spoke of his problem, his words reached the ears of Amy, who wasn’t too far behind him.

“What’s scarier, swinging a sword or reliving that moment again?” Ira asked as his tone changed from upbeat to cold in an instant. Due to Clark’s sudden confession, a certain even had appeared in his mind, one he still couldn’t process. His expressionless face covered in dry blood, coupled with his cryptic words, made Clark feel uneasy.

“What do you mean?” Clark tried to ask.

“Halt!” Captain Avery yelled before dismounting her horse. “We’ll take a short break here.”

She pointed to an open area near a stream, it was spacious enough to allow temporary rest. The knight squad guided their horses to drink. The group of village youths split up, some going to use relieve themselves and others choose to rest, while excitedly talking to each other. This was the first time these youths were allowed outside of the village, and many felt an increasing curiosity for the larger world. The remaining Knights handed out bread and fruit to everyone one by one. Captain Avery approached Ira. He was busy using the stream water to wash off the dried blood of his face, which had no indications of previous wounds.

“Follow me.” She said to him plainly.

“Ok.” He responded, drying his hands on his long coat as he stood up.

They walked out of hearing range of the group, and only then did Captain Avery begin speaking, “I have reason to believe our group is being targeted, more specifically, I’m the actual target.”

“Oh? What makes you say that?” Ira’s eyes lit up with intrigue.

“Firstly, our path on the way to the village was obstructed by debris, although it wasn’t a secret that nobles and Knights were being sent to villages and towns in the regions, no one should be able to figure the exact date and time we were arriving. Secondly, If you hadn’t appeared in the village when you did, most of the bandits would’ve escaped, leaving half of my knight squad behind for village security, we would have to make special preparations for prisoners, assuming any bandits were caught. Finally, there is no shortage of people wishing to see my Thynne family in shambles, and although conflicts between noble houses have been temporarily banned by the King, there are many who use backhanded methods to attack one another. If this is a plot against me, the most opportune moment to strike would be now. My forces are split and we have noncombatants from the village to defend. Even if we didn’t bring people from the village with us, we might’ve accepted prisoners, and under Kingdom laws, we are obligated to defend them until they are delivered to a jail. This would guarantee a defensive battle set at a disadvantage.” Captain Avery explained slowly and precisely, as she detailed her observations.

“How did you know I’m not part of the plan?” Ira asked curiously. He wasn’t much for complicated schemes, he believed that just outright killing an enemy was the way to go.

“I wanted to say a woman’s intuition, but your own behavior gave you away. You may be strong but you lack any technique, the way you dealt with those bandits was sloppy and unrefined, and if anyone planned this far ahead they wouldn’t include someone as untrained as you.” She responded.

“You're hurting my pride,” Ira said playfully.

“Another sign was your origin, if you were a mercenary or hired assassin, someone with your abilities and personality would be bound to draw attention, people who scheme like this, deal in discretion, not eccentricities.”

“Makes sense.” He nodded. He had to admit, Captain Avery appeared to be a very intelligent person.

“Don’t you want to ask why I’m telling you?”

“You probably suspect your own Knights.”

“Ah, you’re smarter than I thought.” Captain Avery said, raising her eyebrows in surprise.

“So what do you want to do exactly?” Ira asked, ignoring her backhanded compliment as if he didn’t hear it.

“Well thinking of what I’ve gathered so far, two things are more than likely. The first is, one or more of my Knights are working against me, and the second is, we will be attacked at night. Defending those kids while fighting is hard enough, defending them while fighting in the dark is even harder. Although my battle awareness is regarded as a third eye in combat, it has very limited range capabilities and isn’t effective at night. So you will be dealing with any opponents using ranged weapons, with your senses and teleportation it shouldn’t be very hard.”

“So how do you know there will be enemies using ranged weapons?”

“My specialty is close combat, but it is weak against long range combat such as magic and arrows if I can’t close the distance. Anyone plotting to have me killed would’ve done research on my combative abilities.” Captain Avery explained.

“So when you asked me to follow you to the capital, did you know you were being targeted?”

“The signs were there, so I made certain preparations.” Captain Avery said.

“Wow, you really thought this through.”

“Thinking calmly and planning ahead is better than rushing in blindly. Now, whenever the attack occurs, It’ll be up to you to do most of the leg work.”

“I’ll deal with it, though I’m not keen on babysitting,” Ira stated with a broad smile.

………………………………………………………………….

“Any word from Q?” A man wearing all black said in a deep voice.

“None.”A second man also wearing black responded.

“Well, outsiders are usually unreliable. It’s less than ideal, but we will proceed as planned. Find out what the situation is, then be prepared to move soon.” The man with the deep voice said.

“I’ll get it done.” The second man responded before leaving.

“...Something isn’t right.”

The man with the deep voice spoke to himself, feeling slightly uneasy in his heart. He slowly left, unable to shake off his uncertainty.

…………………………………………………