The howls rent the frigid night air, near than ever ahead. Huddled beside the fire, the Ravens heard branches cracking in the timber, as if commodity massive was circling their vill under cloak of darkness. The elders had summoned all tribesfolk to the lodge for an exigency council. " commodity stalks our mountains, " said Raven, who had succeeded Sterling and Damian as leader. " The wolf spirit warns of a trouble to our land. " " But wolves do n't quest so near our homes, " replied an epigone nervously. From outside came an creepy sound- a guttural logjam that stupefied everyone to their cores. It was like no beast they had ever encountered. " We must discover what foul reality has awoken, " decided Raven. He named his bold soldiers to venture at moonhigh into the mist- cloaked forestland, to find and face this portentous prowler. As the blood moon rose, the scouts resolve up to cover further ground. One by one, an unnatural silence fell over the timber. When dawn came, only Raven returned shaken and scattering for the vill. Had some nameless wrong picked off his soldiers one by one under cover of night? The people knew deep terror had returned to the Black Mountains formerly more. Raven burst into the vill just as the dawn light was breaking, blood staining his cloak. The tribesfolk gathered, heaving at his mealy expression. " The others.it took them.some demon of the timber." he gasped, near collapse. The elder healer rushed to tend his injuries as he reported the terrible scene. Under the moon, they had heard riots in the distance, following the sounds deeper into the misty wood. But when Raven and his last companion arrived, it was too late. tattered remains were bestrew among the trees, branches torn apart. And brewing over the holocaust was a towering, wolf- suchlike beast, but muscular and pale as death. Its burning eyes had sounded to gawk straight through him. As it dived , Raven's companion was torn to pieces before his eyes. He fled in terror, the monster's howls chasing him all the way. Now the vill awaited in fearful silence as Raven told of the demon wolf. They knew its hunger would only grow, and soon it would come for the rest. That night, they blockaded the vill, keeping cautious watch by firelight. But when the howls started formerly more, indeed near than ahead. had their defenses formerly proven too weak? The Ravens could only supplicate dawn would come before the beast set up a way within their walls. Another dark night had fallen on the Black Mountains. As the moon rose and the howls grew nearer, fear gripped the vill. The soldiers paced anxiously atop the fences, straining their eyes into the misty forestland. Without warning, a gasp pierced the night. One of the scouts tumbled breathless from the precipice, throat torn out. Tophet erupted among the people. " It's inside the walls!" cried a woman, clinging her child tight. The elders tried to calm the crowds but query prevailed. also, from the murk, a low scowl rolled. The beast surfaced like a agony, twice the size of a wolf but far more ghastly. Muscles gurgled under its mangy fur as it stalked forward, empty eyes fixed on the townies. Raven stepped forward with the bold fighters, brandishing blades and firebugs." For the Ravens!" he roared, charging at the monster. They engaged in a hopeless battle, the wolf- demon's fangs and claws ripping meat. But still it fought on, surviving every crack. The people watched in horror, helpless to prop their protectors. also, just as stopgap sounded misplaced, a phenomenon- from the timber's edge appeared two shimmering numbers. Sterling and Damian's ghosts, responding to their lineage's call! To be continued.will the spirits of the sisters be enough to turn the drift? The fight for the vill enthusiasms on! Sterling and Damian's spirits rushed into the fray, joining Raven's band of soldiers battling the monstrous wolf. Though ghosts, their forms sounded to induce injury upon the demon beast. With a howl, the wolf threw off its bushwhackers compactly. It paced and snarled, sizing up the new contenders to its dominance of the timber. The townies watched with ragged stopgap as the sisters floated before it, staying to engage formerly more. " Jessika, advance us your strength!" called Sterling's spectral voice on the wind. As if in answer, a fire suddenly blazed up in the pile of branches marking Jessika's eternal resting place. Her wraith rose from the dears, darting to join the sisters' sides. Together, the three ghosts rushed as one towards the wolf. They moved with perfect sync, clawing and smelling in a fury evocative of Jessika's revenge in life. Eventually, with a terrible dying gasp, the wolf collapsed. Its body jounced and dissipated on the breath, leaving nothing but a trace of foul mist. The townies cheered, celebrating their defenders- Sterling, Damian and the fierce spirit of Jessika who had come to their aid formerly more. Calm returned to the Black Mountains at long last. Or did it? For as the fire failed down, a single black feather drifted upon the ashes, bearing an portentous question what dark powers remained at work in these proscribing peaks? The people could only watch and wonder what new pitfalls hereafter might bring. With the dawn, an uneasy calm settled over the Ravens' vill. The people attended to their wounded and buried those lost defending their homes. But dubieties dallied among the elders. As Raven said," The wolf was no ordinary beast. No mortal fangs could repel our ghosts' attacks. What evil force summoned it?" That night, as the Ravens mourned, a misty figure appeared at the vill edge. It was Sterling, waving Raven to follow. They climbed the mountain, coming to a moonlit lawn. There, Jessika's spirit awaited with a grave expression." Dark powers stir in these peaks formerly more," she said. Damian's ghost also appeared." When we subdued the curse times agone
, not all vestiges were destroyed. A remnant dallied, twisted by times of revengeful energy." Sterling jounced." Now it has set up form, summoning fell brutes to inflict havoc.However, it'll grow in strength until none can repel it, If not stopped." Raven felt a bite." What must we do? How can bare mortals fight such a force?" The ghosts changed aesthetics ." A ritual exists to purify the land wholly," said Jessika." But it requires a immolation." Their words hung heavy as the sisters faded. Raven returned to his people with a heavier heart, knowing grim duty awaited to save their motherland formerly and for all. But would the Ravens be willing to pay the price the spirits demanded? The ultimate battle for the Black Mountains was drawing near. Raven called the Ravens to gather, relating what the spirits had revealed- that an ancient curse remnants still lurked in the mountains, twistingly gaining power. Only a sanctification ritual could destroy it for good, restoring balance. But it needed the willing immolation of one of their own. apprehension fell over the people. No bone
wished to die, indeed for the lesser good. Arguments broke out on who should make such an immolation. As pressures rose, the elders called for calm. They would hold counsel with the ghosts to learn the ritual's details, also present the options to the lineage. But that night, amid rushed medications, disaster struck. A massive earthquake shook the vill- an earthquake of supernatural origin. Cracks formed in the earth, unyoking the land apart. The elders' lodge collapsed into a chink as the people watched in horror. When the earthquake passed, Raven fleetly organized a hunt party. Drawing ever closer to the brewing escarpments, they discovered the lodge's wreckage far below- and among the remains, no signs of the elders. Had the curse claimed their counsels before they could godly the ritual? With their attendants dissolved, how would the lineage now fight the consuming wrong? All sounded lost.until a bone- chilling howl pierced the night, heralding a darkness descending upon the Black Mountains. The final battle was nigh. The Ravens huddled together anxiously as the howl echoed through the peaks, its air filled with malignancy. With their elders gone, who could guide them against the new trouble ending in? Raven knew they must act snappily to have any stopgap of survival. He ordered scouts to search the defiles for signs of the missing lineage members while the others prepared defenses. Dusk fell as the hunt party returned, shaking their heads grimly. But just also, a weak cry arose from beyond the treeline- one of the elders, slightly adhering to life! They rushed to his side as he rasped," Beware.the spirits have been corrupted.an evil force binds them to its will." With his last breath, his eyes rolled back- but not before Raven glinted unnatural murk fluttering in their depths. A chill gripped Raven's heart.However, what chance did the Ravens have? But there was no time for mistrustfulness, If indeed the ancestral spirits had fallen under some foul spell. That night, as the moon rose blood- red over the peaks, the howls returned but not as one. Dozens bayed in accord, bordering the vill from all sides. The Ravens braced for the coming rush, knowing the adversary aimed to wipe them out before dawn. Little did they realize an indeed darker purpose lay behind the attack. And high above in the mist- shrouded escarpments, an portentous horselaugh began to echo.