The Call of the Wolf
It's time for more D&D! This is the first chapter of Tikaani's back story, my new character in Josh Hornbarger's campaign. More stories will come--since we started at level four this time, my paladin has had some time to do some stuff. But this is the beginning.
For my Christian friends who read this blog, I'm sorry that this is so utterly pagan. But that's just the way the D&D world works--it has a pantheon and everything, and several classes are tied to the deity the characters choose. If it makes you feel any better, I thought about Moses and the burning bush when I was writing this. It's the same sort of story, really. I know that God is in me, even if He's not in this particular bit of writing. Not by the right name, anyway.
Iluak was on the ice when Arctic Wolf came to her.
Actually, she was flat on her back on the ice, staring up at the sky, watching the colorful ribbon of light shift and sway and shimmer against the dark gray. It would have been a little embarrassing, if she hadn’t been alone when it happened. Not letting go of the hunting spear quickly enough, letting the walrus jerk her forward as it bellowed in pain and tore the haft from her fist so that she stumbled and fell and cracked her head on frozen slag, then lay dazed and staring at the Kiubuyat, letting the walrus lumber away and take her spear with him. No wonder her friends called her Narpok. Such a clumsy way to die, falling and hitting her head on the ice.
Come to think of it, Iluak was embarrassed even though she was alone. But then, if she wasn’t alone, someone would be there to help her back to the village. Served her right for going off by herself, but she had done it many times before and never had anything like this happen. It was always the first mistake that killed you, though, out here in the Alkanamai, what the southlanders called the Winterlands.
Oh well, at least she would die surrounded by the beauties of the ancient home of her people. The Kiubuyat glowed above in blue and pink and orange. The ice cliffs on the edge of Iluak’s vision rose high and sheer, glints of blue and green buried deep within like frozen flames. Over all the dark sky of late day held dominion, fathomless and serene, and far away she could hear the skua’s cry and the seal’s bark, the rushing of water and crash of waves as a whale breached the surface of the sea.
A snuff of warm breath, and suddenly Iluak’s vision was filled by the face of a great arctic wolf, appearing upside-down to her eyes as the magnificent creature stood over her. Iluak was too calm to be surprised and too startled to be frightened. She saw only beauty and strength, and deep golden eyes that shone with intelligence and wisdom.
“Amarok,” she breathed. “Arctic Wolf.”
If Iluak had ever stopped to consider what god might visit her, if visit there must be, she might have named Puiye, dragon god of the sea, since she took so many creatures from the great leviathan. Or perhaps Nanuk the polar bear, master of nature, lord of winter snow and summer melt. Perhaps Ukalliq, snowshoe hare, swift and ingenious-she had often crossed paths with Ukalliq’s hares, bounding through the drifts with their massive back legs pumping up and down. She might have expected the hunting god, or the god of weapons and valor, the healing god the shamans of her tribe revered, or even the yellow bird god of the sun, so seldom seen in the Winterlands.
She would not have thought of Amarok, Arctic Wolf, god of subtle cunning, god of justice that comes from within, not from some chief or overlord. God of Alkanai justice, not the justice of the southlands, where folks depended on those with power to make things right, and where they were so often disappointed. Iluak was not a cunning woman; she had no subtlety in her. But Alkanai justice . . . Yes, that was in her.
Arctic Wolf blew his hot breath into her face, warming cheeks that had long since gone numb in a blast of painful heat, wakening her senses back to life. “You are mine,” said the wolf god, stating aloud what Iluak had only just understood. Then he called her by her secret name, which was known by only three people in the wide world.
“I am yours, Amarok,” Iluak said calmly. It was all that could be said. At that moment, it was all she knew.
“I name you Tikaani, paladin of the wolf. Since childhood you have been provider and protector for your clan, using your strength and wisdom only to bring good and no harm. That earned you the name Iluak, ‘one who does good deeds.’ It is a fitting name, and you will keep it and use it still. But from this moment you are first and ever Tikaani, wolf of my pack. I call you now to be protector and provider for a much larger tribe. I call you now to bring good to the world, Tikaani Iluak Kenokbuk.”
“I hear and obey, Amarok.” A sense of enormous gravity filled Tikaani Iluak’s spirit. She knew that she was making a vow. She understood, and was glad. “I am made to serve your justice, and I accept the task with joy.”
Wolves could not smile as people did, but the god’s mouth opened in a ferocious grin. “This I knew. Rise now, Tikaani Iluak. Rise as my paladin.”
Iluak wanted to obey. The muscles of her neck tensed and strained, but she could not raise her head from the ice. She had tried many times to get up before Arctic Wolf came to her, but she still could not, even with his purpose singing in her veins. “Forgive me,” she gasped. “You know that I cannot. I am also Narpok.”
Arctic Wolf touched her forehead with his cool, moist nose, and a tingle like ice and fire together raced through her body. “As my paladin, you are given the power to heal both yourself and others. Touch your hand to the wound, and feel my strength.”
Trembling with wonder, not quite able to believe, Tikaani Iluak raised her gloved hand to her head. Even through the leather and fur she could feel the sticky blood and matted hair, the turgid flow that had trickled out to freeze on the ice. She laid her hand flat over the wound and instinctively called on the god’s power within her. The broken skin closed and healed, the pain diminished and vanished, and the strength returned to her limbs.
Tears stung Iluak’s eyes. How many times as a child and adolescent had she watched the shamans heal, and longed to do the same? She had always regretted that her sole talent was to take life, never to give. But now her fondest desire and prayer had been answered.
Finally able to rise, Tikaani Iluak climbed to her feet to face Arctic Wolf, who was now sitting on his haunches, still grinning that wolfish grin. Then she fell to her knees and bent her head in fealty. “I am honored to serve,” she murmured.
“Your power will grow as you continue to follow the path of justice, wolf of my pack. These gifts you will discover on your journey. Travel to the southlands. Carry my justice as your shield. Protect, defend, bless and heal. You are Tikaani Iluak Kenokbuk. Forget none of your names.”
She lifted her head to gaze into his eyes as she assented, engraving the vows on her spirit. Arctic Wolf padded forward and circled her three times, pressing so close that his rough pelt brushed her face, and she could feel the powerful muscles rippling under his fur.
Then the wolf god was gone, and Tikaani knelt alone on the ice. She pulled in a deep breath of rare, frigid air, smelling the deep smell of winter, impressing it into her memory. She was sorry to say farewell to the beauties of the Alkanamai, her homeland. It would always hold her heart.
But what might she see in the southlands? How many wonders, how many horrors? What tasks would she accomplish, what people would she protect? Excitement surged through Tikaani then, and she quickly rose to her feet and gathered her scattered spears. It was time to return to her village and say good-bye to those she loved.
Arctic Wolf had given her a mission. The path was laid before her feet, and Tikaani Iluak Kenokbuk was ready and eager to follow.
For my Christian friends who read this blog, I'm sorry that this is so utterly pagan. But that's just the way the D&D world works--it has a pantheon and everything, and several classes are tied to the deity the characters choose. If it makes you feel any better, I thought about Moses and the burning bush when I was writing this. It's the same sort of story, really. I know that God is in me, even if He's not in this particular bit of writing. Not by the right name, anyway.
Iluak was on the ice when Arctic Wolf came to her.
Actually, she was flat on her back on the ice, staring up at the sky, watching the colorful ribbon of light shift and sway and shimmer against the dark gray. It would have been a little embarrassing, if she hadn’t been alone when it happened. Not letting go of the hunting spear quickly enough, letting the walrus jerk her forward as it bellowed in pain and tore the haft from her fist so that she stumbled and fell and cracked her head on frozen slag, then lay dazed and staring at the Kiubuyat, letting the walrus lumber away and take her spear with him. No wonder her friends called her Narpok. Such a clumsy way to die, falling and hitting her head on the ice.
Come to think of it, Iluak was embarrassed even though she was alone. But then, if she wasn’t alone, someone would be there to help her back to the village. Served her right for going off by herself, but she had done it many times before and never had anything like this happen. It was always the first mistake that killed you, though, out here in the Alkanamai, what the southlanders called the Winterlands.
Oh well, at least she would die surrounded by the beauties of the ancient home of her people. The Kiubuyat glowed above in blue and pink and orange. The ice cliffs on the edge of Iluak’s vision rose high and sheer, glints of blue and green buried deep within like frozen flames. Over all the dark sky of late day held dominion, fathomless and serene, and far away she could hear the skua’s cry and the seal’s bark, the rushing of water and crash of waves as a whale breached the surface of the sea.
A snuff of warm breath, and suddenly Iluak’s vision was filled by the face of a great arctic wolf, appearing upside-down to her eyes as the magnificent creature stood over her. Iluak was too calm to be surprised and too startled to be frightened. She saw only beauty and strength, and deep golden eyes that shone with intelligence and wisdom.
“Amarok,” she breathed. “Arctic Wolf.”
If Iluak had ever stopped to consider what god might visit her, if visit there must be, she might have named Puiye, dragon god of the sea, since she took so many creatures from the great leviathan. Or perhaps Nanuk the polar bear, master of nature, lord of winter snow and summer melt. Perhaps Ukalliq, snowshoe hare, swift and ingenious-she had often crossed paths with Ukalliq’s hares, bounding through the drifts with their massive back legs pumping up and down. She might have expected the hunting god, or the god of weapons and valor, the healing god the shamans of her tribe revered, or even the yellow bird god of the sun, so seldom seen in the Winterlands.
She would not have thought of Amarok, Arctic Wolf, god of subtle cunning, god of justice that comes from within, not from some chief or overlord. God of Alkanai justice, not the justice of the southlands, where folks depended on those with power to make things right, and where they were so often disappointed. Iluak was not a cunning woman; she had no subtlety in her. But Alkanai justice . . . Yes, that was in her.
Arctic Wolf blew his hot breath into her face, warming cheeks that had long since gone numb in a blast of painful heat, wakening her senses back to life. “You are mine,” said the wolf god, stating aloud what Iluak had only just understood. Then he called her by her secret name, which was known by only three people in the wide world.
“I am yours, Amarok,” Iluak said calmly. It was all that could be said. At that moment, it was all she knew.
“I name you Tikaani, paladin of the wolf. Since childhood you have been provider and protector for your clan, using your strength and wisdom only to bring good and no harm. That earned you the name Iluak, ‘one who does good deeds.’ It is a fitting name, and you will keep it and use it still. But from this moment you are first and ever Tikaani, wolf of my pack. I call you now to be protector and provider for a much larger tribe. I call you now to bring good to the world, Tikaani Iluak Kenokbuk.”
“I hear and obey, Amarok.” A sense of enormous gravity filled Tikaani Iluak’s spirit. She knew that she was making a vow. She understood, and was glad. “I am made to serve your justice, and I accept the task with joy.”
Wolves could not smile as people did, but the god’s mouth opened in a ferocious grin. “This I knew. Rise now, Tikaani Iluak. Rise as my paladin.”
Iluak wanted to obey. The muscles of her neck tensed and strained, but she could not raise her head from the ice. She had tried many times to get up before Arctic Wolf came to her, but she still could not, even with his purpose singing in her veins. “Forgive me,” she gasped. “You know that I cannot. I am also Narpok.”
Arctic Wolf touched her forehead with his cool, moist nose, and a tingle like ice and fire together raced through her body. “As my paladin, you are given the power to heal both yourself and others. Touch your hand to the wound, and feel my strength.”
Trembling with wonder, not quite able to believe, Tikaani Iluak raised her gloved hand to her head. Even through the leather and fur she could feel the sticky blood and matted hair, the turgid flow that had trickled out to freeze on the ice. She laid her hand flat over the wound and instinctively called on the god’s power within her. The broken skin closed and healed, the pain diminished and vanished, and the strength returned to her limbs.
Tears stung Iluak’s eyes. How many times as a child and adolescent had she watched the shamans heal, and longed to do the same? She had always regretted that her sole talent was to take life, never to give. But now her fondest desire and prayer had been answered.
Finally able to rise, Tikaani Iluak climbed to her feet to face Arctic Wolf, who was now sitting on his haunches, still grinning that wolfish grin. Then she fell to her knees and bent her head in fealty. “I am honored to serve,” she murmured.
“Your power will grow as you continue to follow the path of justice, wolf of my pack. These gifts you will discover on your journey. Travel to the southlands. Carry my justice as your shield. Protect, defend, bless and heal. You are Tikaani Iluak Kenokbuk. Forget none of your names.”
She lifted her head to gaze into his eyes as she assented, engraving the vows on her spirit. Arctic Wolf padded forward and circled her three times, pressing so close that his rough pelt brushed her face, and she could feel the powerful muscles rippling under his fur.
Then the wolf god was gone, and Tikaani knelt alone on the ice. She pulled in a deep breath of rare, frigid air, smelling the deep smell of winter, impressing it into her memory. She was sorry to say farewell to the beauties of the Alkanamai, her homeland. It would always hold her heart.
But what might she see in the southlands? How many wonders, how many horrors? What tasks would she accomplish, what people would she protect? Excitement surged through Tikaani then, and she quickly rose to her feet and gathered her scattered spears. It was time to return to her village and say good-bye to those she loved.
Arctic Wolf had given her a mission. The path was laid before her feet, and Tikaani Iluak Kenokbuk was ready and eager to follow.