Chapter 1: A Strange Discovery and A New Beginning
#1 of Rohan's Journey
Hey guys, this is my first story but pretty much whatever criticism you throw at me I can take. Only thing about it is please nothing like "you suck" and nothing else. However if you were to say "you suck because...." that would be fine with me. Anyway while this part of the story is clean later will be a different story. Also the first part is a little slow (especially the dialogue) but I promise it will speed up. So I hope you like it.
Pronunciation
Rohan (row han like fan)
Raistlin (Raist like waist lin like win)
Rohan stared into the coals of the fire, thinking about how he came to be here. He sighed, thinking back...
"Rohan! Rohaaaaan!" called his mother. "Whaat?" came a voice from the top of a tree in the nearby woods. "It's nearly time for dinner," his mother said. "Fine, I'll be down in a minute or two it'll take a bit to get down from up here," came the reply. "What have I said about climbing all the way to the top of those trees, one of these days you're going to fall," she said as she stepped back into the small house. Rohan, a boy of 12, nimbly climbed down the tree; as he stepped back on the ground he heard a small, pitiful whine.
He looked around and saw nothing but decided he needed to find out where it came from and what was doing that. He followed the whining to a nearby tree with a little hole at the base of its trunk. Lying there was a small, brown and gray, wolf pup with a white muzzle, it slunk farther back into the little hole. "You're so thin! You look like you haven't eaten in days!" he thought. Gently, he said, "If you just wait here I'll be back in a little bit with some food, OK?" He quickly turned around and ran to his house on the edge of the village. He came in to see his younger brother, mother and father already had food. Rohan apologized for being late and sat down. He quickly wolfed down his food, or so it seemed, a good deal also went into his pockets, but all than the most careful observer would have no idea. "Wow," his brother said in awe, "I didn't know people could eat that fast." Rohan nodded and said, "It's easy when you're hungry." He quickly excused himself and went back out to the forest.
He found the wolf pup exactly where it had been when he left. He pulled out some of the food he had in his pockets and offered it to the pup. The pup ate everything he had. Then he thought that the pup was probably thirst too and went to go get a bowl. He came and left so quickly and silently his mother didn't even notice him. Rohan was back to the pup in a flash. He set the bowl down and filled it with water from the skin he always carried with him. He nudged it toward the wolf, which quickly lapped it all up. After the wolf finished it looked up at him and licked his face.
After a few days of feeding the wolf he came back and didn't see the little wolf, he got closer to the hole for a better look and was rewarded with a pup jumping on top of his head. Rohan laughed, and said, "I wonder where your pack is? They can't be too far. They could take much better care of you than me." The little wolf grabbed his sleeve and pulled. "Do you want me to follow you?" The little wolf wagged his tail and walked a little ways before looking back expectantly. Rohan was surprised but went with the wolf anyway. He was led deeper and deeper into the forest before long there were only patches of sunlight filtering through the tree even though it was midday. Rohan started to get the feeling that he was being watched but whenever he looked he saw only shadows. Suddenly, as if from nowhere, a black wolf appeared in front of him.
He froze in fear, and looked for a way out only to realize that he was surrounded by wolves. The little pup ran up to the black wolf and they growled and barked back and forth. The black wolf looked at the wolves surrounding Rohan and they melted back into the shadows. The black wolf came forward and sniffed at Rohan, who was still scared but now also confused. "Why didn't they kill me?" he thought. The black wolf, which he guessed had to be the leader of the pack pulled his sleeve and walked back the way he had come.
The wolf led him to the edge of the forest and then stopped. Rohan, who had a little bit of meat left that he had been going to give to the pup, offered it to the black wolf. The wolf took it and ran back into the woods. Rohan looked back and sighed thinking he had lost the only friend he had ever had. Instead of going home he went to a nearby stream. He looked at his reflection in the water, the strange silver hair that went to the middle of his back, and the gold eyes flecked with green. He thought about how all the kids in the village made fun of him anytime they could, and how he avoided them all by wandering the woods and climbing trees. He wondered what it would be like to be a wolf, a pack of friends wherever he went. He sighed and looked back at his reflection. He yelled and fell back. After he calmed down a bit he looked at his reflection again, "No, it must have been my imagination," Rohan said.
He was running through the woods. He stopped at a stream and sniffed the wind, a rabbit, one deer, and wolves, lots of wolves. He needed food, so he followed the scent of the rabbit. His ears pricked up as he heard the rabbit. He crouched down and snuck forward. There, it wasn't paying attention; he jumped and bit it around the neck. It was still struggling, but a quick shake of the head took care of that. After finishing the rabbit he went back to the stream to get a drink. He looked down, looking back was the face of a silver wolf; he jumped back, and fell out of bed with a thump.
Shaking, he looked at his paws, no, hands and felt his face. No muzzle, no ears on top of his head. "It was a dream, only a dream." Still, he could have sworn, and it was the same face he had seen in the stream earlier. He decided to forget about it; after all, it was only a dream.
A few weeks later, Rohan was climbing a tree; he was close to the top. This was one of the tallest trees in the forest he had found, and the only one with any decent branches near the bottom. The top, however, was now the problem. He had already stood as high as he could, and had failed to reach the next branch. He made it a point to climb to the top of every tree he climbed but he knew that he would have to try to jump it if he wanted to make it. He knew it was dangerous but he had climbed every other tree to the top, why not this one? He jumped, and got the branch, he pulled himself up. "YES! I made it to the --" CRACK. As he fell to the ground and he couldn't think of anything except that this was going to hurt.
He woke up and shook himself off. "I'm okay, how am I okay?" He checked, no nothing was broken; his tunic was ripped but he wasn't even scratched. He hurried home and tried to forget; going back to his normal life, for a while at least.
Four years had passed. Rohan had been wandering the woods when he stopped and turned around. No one was there and yet he was sure he was being followed. He kept walking, thinking this looked familiar; the patches of light falling to spot the forest floor below. He looked around, realizing why it was familiar. He was, once again surrounded by wolves.
He looked ahead, he saw two faces he knew, a solid black face with piercing blue eyes, and a white muzzle surrounded by brown with sparkling, intelligent, green eyes. The brown and grey wolf the latter belonged to stepped up to him. Rohan stood perfectly still. The wolf simply looked up at him. His eyes seemed to say that he wanted something.
"What is it? What could you want from me?" Rohan asked.
"I want to help you," came the reply. Stunned, Rohan looked around. "A little lower and much closer," the voice said again. Rohan looked down, right at the wolf. "Oh, you figured it out, good for you," said the wolf. Rohan just stared, open mouthed. "You look like a fish," the wolf said. "Am I dreaming? How can you talk? Why can I understand you? How can you help?" Rohan sputtered. "Too many questions too fast, but I will answer what I can. First, you are not dreaming, although soon you may wish you were. Second, I could always talk, but only now can you understand me. You can understand me because you're part wolf, and all animals can understand each other. Really you're part wolf demon and part human," the wolf explained. "I can't be a demon there's no way." Rohan protested. "Then all humans have silver hair, golden eyes, can talk to wolves, and have never been sick, right?" the wolf asked. "Judging by your silence you obviously have some things to think about. I'll leave you alone until you 17th birthday. Then you have to make a decision." "A decision? About what?" asked Rohan? "About how you will live your life, it will be much clearer after you come of age. Very, very, clear in fact." said the wolf.
"Fine but that's only a week, and I have no way to find you." Rohan pointed out. "I'll find you, it'll be easier, but if I don't show up by noon then come here and wait, when a wolf shows up ask for Raistlin." Raistlin said. "Okay one week." and with that Rohan went back home.
A week passed. Rohan woke up on the 7th day, his 17th birthday. "I wonder what was supposed to be so clear now. Oh well, I'll just have to wait I guess. I just need something to kill some time." After a few hours of getting a few fish at the nearest creek, it was still a few hours till noon. "Well, I guess I'll just rest for a while then." Rohan leaned against a nearby tree and soon fell asleep.
He awoke suddenly, looking around for the cause, he saw nothing. He relaxed a little and then he was in terrible pain, from where he couldn't tell. It felt like every part of him was pulled in a different direction. Soon he felt nothing, the pain was just gone. Rohan opened his eyes that had been clenched tight, as if to shut out the pain. He looked down, and passed out.
He woke up once again this time the cause was obvious, the 200 pound wolf with his paws on Rohan's chest. "Are you awake now?' Raistlin asked as he backed away. "Yeah," said Rohan. "Okay," said Raistlin "now look down." Rohan obliged, then he looked in the stream to be sure. What he saw was no longer human. He stood up, realizing he was now 6'4", a big change from his usual 5'6". Among the other changes were that he was now covered with silver and gray fur. His legs more muscular and his toes ended in inch long claws, much like his paws/hands. Both his feet and hands looked more like elongated wolf paws than human hands. His eyes remained the same green flecked gold. His ears were now that of a wolf and on the top of his head. His face was now that of wolf; gray, with a silver muzzle. After another moment he realized he was naked. He reflexively covered himself until he realized that he was covered in fur. He also realized that his nether regions were now wolf like as well. "It's night now, you know, you might as well build a fire." said Raistlin. Rohan quickly built a fire. "Now it's time for the decision I told you about. Either you can go back to the village now, and hope they accept you or you can come with me and live with our pack until you gain more control; we know of those who can help you. I'll give you some time to think." Rohan stared into the coals of the fire, thinking about how he came to be here. He sighed, thinking back...
End of Chapter 1 hope you liked it. More to come when I have more time. Probably in a week or two.