The night was calm and quiet as if it was indicating the arrival of something bad. Tharnak wore normal clothes, a loose woolen shirt, trousers and was barefoot.
He walked out of his office building and walked towards the furthest edge of the village. He arrived in front of a house which was neither big nor small. Just the perfect kind of size for three people.
Guards were stationed outside who saluted Tharnak and walked away. He stood still in front of the door, not saying anything and not doing anything either.
He felt his heart sinking, it always felt like when he came here. He sighed and pushed the door open. The inside was as dark as the outside. An oil lamp at the entrance was the only light inside.
He entered the house and closed the door behind him. With soft and slow steps he turned a corner and entered the first room.
The window was closed, faint moonlight entered the room which made the inside somewhat visible. The room was not that big, it was normal in size.
Near the window was a big bed, on it lay a woman. She had dusk grey fur with streaks of silver, her long layered hair rested freely on her shoulders.
Her eyes were closed and her breath was slow, she was hooked up to a mana powered medical monitoring machine Tharnak managed to get from a higher floor.
He walked towards her and sat down on the chair besides her. Despite him arriving she showed no signs of movements.
Tharnak's breath hitched as small sobs escaped his mouth, he raised his hand and cupped her cheek. As soon as his hand touched her warm skin, tears streamed down his face.
"I'm back, my dear." Tharnak forced these words out in between his sobs and went quiet.
His wife and Kayla's mother, Fenra suffered from severe mana poisoning two decade ago. She has been comatose since then, Tharnak and Kayla visit her daily and the villagers take care of her.
Tharnak blamed himself for what had happened to his wife, he was a fairly new chief back then and since youth is full of ambition he set out to fight strong warriors of other tribes.
While he was gone, the Tiger Tribe attacked the Wolf Tribe and she defended the tribe against them and fought till she knew they were safe.
In the aftermath, she fell ill and pressured him to not take revenge against the Tiger Tribe. And so he didn't.
He kept her last promise with him and soon after that she passed out and was announced comatose by the tribe's doctors.
"Kayla's twenty-fifth birthday is near, I'll bring her here on that day." Tharnak said still sobbing but not as much as before.
With her being in this state, he lost a crucial part of him. She was his wife, his friend his listener, now he didn't have anyone to whom he could show his vulnerable side to.
She was the only one who saw and knew that the mighty Chief of the Wolves was such a kind and warm person on the inside.
"Fenra...dear...please wake up. I don't know how long I can bottle these feelings up...I don't know how long until my heart bursts from the pressure build inside of it."
Tharnak lowered his head and rested it on her arm, but then he heard wood creaking and turned behind quickly to check but a dagger impaled his right kidney and he groaned.
His blood dropped on the floor as his mind went into overload. All of the worst scenarios came to his mind and his eyes widened.
He pushed his attacker away and turned back towards Fenra only to see a Tiger looming over her. Rage filled Tharnak as he jumped towards the Tiger and pinned it down.
The Tiger didn't have a chance to retaliate as the only thing in Tharnak's mind was the safety of his wife, he dug his claws in the Tigers neck and crushed his windpipe killing him.
He got up and saw two more Tigers and a strange hooded man, the same man who stabbed him with a dagger.
Tharnak ran at them in a fit of rage, the Tigers blocked his onslaught but he was running on pure adrenaline, it was keeping him going and the face that he had to keep her safe no matter what.
He punched and clawed them, ripping of pieces of their flesh as multiple cuts kept forming on his own body.
But then his attacks started to slow down, his eyes also began to close as a punch to his face landed him on the ground unconscious while he bled through the dagger wound.
*****
Tharnak coughed as he came back, he looked around and it was still dark. Not long had passed since he was attacked but then he looked towards his wife and he was shocked.
Fenra was not on the bed anymore, the Tigers had taken her. Tharnak gasped for air and stood up, his knees wobbled but he didn't let himself fall.
The dagger was still stuck inside his body and blood fell from deep cuts all over his body. He walked sluggishly outside, images of the incident played continuously in his mind.
He kept walking as he dragged his feet through the snow. He fell face first but got up and continued walking. He knew there was one person who would help him now and it was Xior.
Thanrak walked barefoot on the thick layer of snow while wounded all over, his blood left a trail on the snow as he walked. In the distance he was big buildings of the Aegis city.
After walking some more he arrived at the Dragon Guild building and smashed himself into their door breaking the glass. A security alarm went off as he continued to walk inside.
Rain, Becca, Xior and two new members of the Dragon Guild came rushing out, still in their sleepwear.
Tharnak saw Xior and smiled slightly before his knees gave out and he started to fall forward, but Xior caught him before he fell.