The castle knights had been absent for three
months engaged in battle with the Manglelegion
tribe on the southern side of Celtic Pass..
The small Celtic village comprised mostly of
woman and children were nestled between two
mountain ridges where any military advantage
by pontential attacks from the Manglelegion tribe
were hopefully reduced to certain defeat by the
elite forces of the castle guard..
Edmund Doyle, the commander of the castle guard had
created the village as a safe house mostly for the aged, and
women and children, but especially for his wife Shantiel, and
his daughter Chershay. In the advent of a long
and pitched battle they had always been secure fromfrom
retaliation, yet in this season the Manglelegion scouts hadfrom
managed to breach the protected pass which had
ensured against any surprise attack.
Edmund Doyle had trained two wolves, a female he named
Satin, and a male he called Pounce. These wolves he trained
to seek him out in the advent of an enemy attack.
The wolves were trained to carry an article of
clothing to Edmund Doyle though they had to make
their way through dense forest..
But it was Satin, Doyle's most beloved wolf that had
won his trust to deliver a message..
The infamous warrior Darkhorse of the Manglelegion
tribe had boasted on several ocassions that he would
see Edmund Doyle's wife and child hanged and would
feed their flesh to the birds had lead his small bad of
warriors through the Celtic pass and would make good
on his promise to vanguish the unarmed Celtic village
and to put to death the wife and child of Edmund Doyle..
On this battlefield blanketed with snow Doyle sharpened
his sword in a forest lit only by the moon..
He paused, as a sound behind him alerted his
attention
He was greeted by a warm tongue upon his face..
It was Satin, is beloved female wolf with the red
scarf of Doyle's wife tucked under her collar..
Doyle knew by this that the Manglelegion tribe had
broken through the pass and that he would never
reach the village in time to save its inhabitants..
But now his only hope lay in Pounce who he trained
for the sole purpose of identifying and killing Darkhorse..
Pounce was no messager dog, but a natural killer which
no amount of training could quell..
It was Pounce, who was crouching at the forest edge
and with steel blue eyes studied every move of Darkhorse
as he lead Doyle's wife and child to be hung in front
of sobbing villagers..
And it was Darkhorse who would turn to discover the primal
instincts of Pounce and he who greets with fire!