Year 102 AC
POV: Denovan
While Horus patrolled the gray skies looking for some owl or sign of danger in this immense Shadow Forest, I guided Breu following the direction Muninn transmitted to me through our bond. We were marching towards a clan called... I had no idea. Muninn only mapped them geographically, he didn't go down to investigate or listen to conversations. If he had done that, the intelligence would be much better, but we would lose precious months.
With the mental calculations I did over the last few weeks, alone, Muninn mapped a little over forty wildling settlements. Some were just small clusters of tents of half a dozen families; others were more structured camps. Of those forty, my primary focus would be fifteen clans. Those fifteen were large enough to harbor people capable of making a difference in a unified force, the others had no more than a hundred people in total.
The clan we are heading to now has around five hundred members, and is one of the only significant settlements within this damn forest. Muninn found only them around here. Huginn even told me he had seen smoke from two other smaller groups a few months ago, but the bastard forgot their exact locations. After that episode, I made a point of using Huginn's eyes daily so he could show me the exact routes he took from clan to clan, forcing myself to memorize the map in my own mind so as not to depend on a talking bird's memory.
I memorized a total of 10 relevant clans, the rest I forgot.
I looked at the sky, trying to guess the time, but the dense and twisted canopy of the black pines blocked almost all the light, making it impossible to make a decent estimate. The air in here was stagnant, heavy.
"Sig, how much time do you think has passed since we entered the forest?" I asked, breaking the silence.
She looked around, thoughtful, evaluating the shadows.
"About two hours?"
"It's definitely not two hours, Sig..."
"Hmm... why did you ask if you weren't going to believe me?" she retorted, adjusting herself in the saddle.
Sigh.
"We've been in here for at least four hours, that's for sure. The light is dropping fast..." I evaluated the surrounding terrain. "Let's set up camp here and see how we're going to organize ourselves from now on, since someone brought nothing but a sword and a bad mood."
"I already apologized to you for that before... Stop throwing it in my face, Denovan!"
"Set up the camp by yourself and I promise I'll never remind you again."
She narrowed her eyes, hissing through her teeth.
"Just show me the place."
I dismounted from Breu and pointed to a natural recess between three gigantic pines whose roots formed a small natural wall against the freezing wind.
While Sig grumbled and unloaded the pelts and equipment from Breu's saddle to set up our tent, I began to help organize the surroundings. But, gradually, a strange feeling began to crawl up the back of my neck. It was a cold that didn't come from the snow. The forest, which was already silent, seemed to hold its breath.
The feeling of alertness kept increasing more and more. My instincts, now much sharper than those of a common human due to the multiple bonds, screamed that something was very wrong.
I looked at Orion and Kali. The black fur on the backs of both of them was completely bristled, and they growled low, their golden eyes sweeping the treetops.
When I noticed the peripheral movement, it was almost too late.
A Shadowcat, immense and with black fur and gray stripes camouflaging it perfectly, jumped from the branch of a nearby pine, aiming directly at my neck.
"Shit!" I snarled, throwing my body backward in a pure and wild reflex.
The beast's front claws went whizzing by. One of them scraped my face, opening a thin and stinging cut on the corner of my mouth. In exchange for the spilled blood, I didn't hesitate. I used the momentum of my dodge to twist my hips and deliver a brutal punch, loaded with all my strength, straight into the pit of the beast's stomach in mid-air.
The impact sounded like a wet leather drum. The shadowcat let out a choked squeal and fell into the snow, losing all its air.
"Sig! Draw your sword!" I yelled, already reaching for my axe.
Orion and Kali didn't wait for orders. They shot out like two black torpedoes toward the stunned shadowcat, ready to tear the creature apart.
But the animal, catching its breath with abnormal speed, demonstrated a sharp intelligence and very unnatural for an aggressive and territorial beast. Instead of fighting to the death against two saber-tooths, the feline sank its claws into the bark of a tree and climbed out of Orion's reach with desperate agility, disappearing into the dark canopies once again.
"It ran away..." murmured Sig, sword in hand, panting from the scare. "Shadowcats don't usually attack unless they are going to feed or when they are threatened."
"I know," I replied, wiping the trickle of blood running down the corner of my mouth. The pain was bearable, but the implication of that attack was much worse. "That wasn't a normal attack, Sig. We were ambushed."
"By the cat?"
"By whoever is controlling the cat," I corrected, looking at the shadows high above. "That was a warg testing our defenses."
And if they sent a scout of that level, there were probably more. The shadowcat certainly wasn't just patrolling; it was sent with a clear purpose to test my strength or attempt a quick assassination.
I sent a mental command for Horus to return. When the falcon landed on my shoulder, I felt his frustration. He had found nothing in the last five hours of searching. No nearby camp, no human enemy in sight, and, bizarrely, not a single miserable owl in this immense forest. That left me confused. The Shadow Forest should be infested with them.
I decided to ignore the lack of owls for now; the immediate danger was something else.
"Let's change the plans," I said to Sig, helping her finish securing the tent. "Me, the tigers, and the owl will take turns keeping watch tonight. We are not going to put out the campfire."
"That's going to light us up like a beacon for whoever is in the forest, Denovan," she pointed out, apprehensive.
"I know it draws attention. But if I put out the fire, the cold tonight is going to be bad for you, since you didn't bring proper winter gear. I'll use the fire as bait and stay alert. If they came to test us once, they will come again."
"Let's just hope it's not today."
Night fell like a heavy lead cloak. The campfire crackled, casting dancing shadows on the tree trunks. I was sitting near the fire, arms crossed, my axe resting on my knees.
During the early hours of the morning, a sound broke the frozen silence.
Hoo-hoo-hooo.
The hoot of an owl. Very close.
Instead of being happy and excited about finally finding my target after years of searching, my blood ran cold. I became immediately hesitant. We were being watched by an unknown warg, and right after the failed attack, an owl conveniently appears near my camp in a forest where Horus hadn't found a single one all day?
Could this owl also be the eyes of the enemy warg?
I touched Sig's shoulder, waking her instantly. She didn't say a word, just slowly unsheathed her sword, her green eyes focused and alert.
I grabbed my helmet forged of Thenn steel, a sturdy piece with a nasal guard that I was vaguely inspired by the Viking warriors from the history books of my old life to make. I put it on my head, feeling the familiar weight. The gash on the corner of my mouth wasn't bleeding anymore, but it throbbed and, for sure, would leave a villainous or seasoned warrior's scar.
That scratch was a grim warning. What if, instead of claws, the next attack was an arrow shot from the darkness? Would I be able to dodge in time? Even with my heightened reflexes, in the absolute darkness of the forest, probably not.
My thoughts returned to Sig, who was without a helmet and adequate armor. 'This brat' I'm going to have to figure something out, I can't leave her with nothing.
"Sig, get ready... stay with the tigers. I'm going to advance a bit into the trees. I want to see this owl."
"Be careful, Novan..."
"Hmm," I nodded without looking back.
The further I advanced into the dark of the forest, away from the light of the campfire, the more I felt the desperate need to have the vision of an owl for myself. Saber-tooths have decent night vision for close hunting, but it isn't perfect; and Horus, being a diurnal falcon, was practically blind and useless in this absolute darkness. It improved a bit with the saber-tooth bond, but for a bird, close-up vision wasn't enough to fly confidently at night. An owl would solve this greatest weakness of mine. I would never be afraid of a night ambush again.
I approached the origin of the sound silently.
'They are luring me in... aren't they?' I thought, my hand sweating on the handle of the axe. 'That's impossible. There is no way the enemy warg could know I am obsessed with bonding with an owl.'
As I approached the trunk of an old pine tree, I noticed the sound was coming from the top. I looked up, straining my eyes in the gloom, but I didn't see any silhouette against the starless sky.
Sigh. "I'm going to have to climb."
Strapping the axe to my back, I climbed the trunk as agile and silent as a feline. Upon reaching the highest branches, I noticed her. A very small owl was staring at me with her giant brown eyes. It wasn't a majestic Snowy Owl, which made sense considering the dense forest we were in, but it was very similar to the small burrowing owl I knew from Brazil in my past life, probably a variant adapted to the cruel climate of the North.
I stared back at her. Noticing my invasive approach, the bird fluffed her feathers, preparing to flap her wings and flee.
I am not going to miss this opportunity.
I closed my eyes and entered the mental world. The cold darkness of the forest vanished, replaced by the dark vacuum of my mind. There, only the owl and I existed, in a time practically frozen and drastically slowed down. It was a pity I couldn't move in the physical world while in this deep trance state; if I could, I would be invincible.
Focus. Focus on the now.
I made my threads of golden energy advance. After dominating dual saber-tooth tigers and managing three other consciousnesses daily, my magic had expanded. The threads were now much more numerous, thicker, and brighter than when I fought for the minds of Orion and Kali.
They shot out and covered the small owl quickly. In the mental plane, the perception of time changed. The bird's attempt to flee seemed to slow down drastically.
That was great. Instead of using brute force of impact, I increased the density of the threads. It was no longer possible to see the owl's mental silhouette, only a dense ball of pulsing golden light enveloping her. I made the energy compress and force its entry into the frightened consciousness of the small nocturnal predator. The resistance was minimal compared to the tigers.
At that exact moment, the "click" happened. The flow of information from the owl flooded my mind: her adult age, the instinct of a rodent hunter, the wind currents mapped on her wings, her female sex. I felt the connection secure itself at the base of my soul. She was a part of me now.
I opened my physical eyes and the small owl was still there on the branch. Only now, those big round eyes had changed color, going from a common brown to an intense and almost mystical gold, the trademark of all my bonds. She also went from a brown plumage to a gleaming black, almost invisible in the night.
"Come, girl," I whispered, extending my arm. She flew silently and landed on my armored forearm. "I will think of a name for you later. You are very tiny, that is good... You will be a perfect spy."
Horus was slightly larger than a common falcon; the ravens were average-sized but very noisy; this owl was small, silent, she was very good. It's a pity that in combat she might not be as useful, but not everything comes down just to combat.
As soon as I spoke, I felt the warm pulse of a response not just from her, but from all my bonds: Horus, Breu, Orion, and Kali, feeling in unison that one more member had been added to our bizarre and lethal "family".
I petted her little head with the tip of my finger. She was truly minuscule. My flat hand could effortlessly crush her if I wanted to. Pushing away those morbid thoughts, I decided to test my new prize. I closed my eyes and dove into her mind.
The transition was smooth. Suddenly, the dark forest exploded in details. I saw with absurd clarity, as if it were a slightly cloudy day, but not absolute night. The slightest movement of a leaf, the heat trail of a rat hiding in the roots down below... the nocturnal visual precision was divine. I turned the owl's head to explore the surroundings of the camp clearing.
There was no warg in the nearby trees. No human hiding. No imminent ambush. We were safe for now.
This is good. Very good. In the next few days, when the genetic and magical adaptations passed from the owl to my own body, I would finally have my long-awaited amplified night vision, and then later for all my bonds, we would all receive a huge improvement in vision, and this little owl would have her body reinforced.
I climbed down the tree and walked back to the light of the camp's fire. I observed Sigrid, who was visibly tense, standing with her sword in hand near Orion and Kali. The two tigers, however, were relaxed lying in the snow, and upon seeing me approach, they perked up their ears and started purring like giant domestic cats.
"I'm back, guys," I announced, emerging from the shadows. "And I brought a new companion for you."
When I said that, the little owl, still brown and white, jumped from my shoulder and flew in a completely silent flight over to the tigers. She hovered for a second before landing on Breu's saddle, turning her head almost 180 degrees to stare at Sigrid with her large golden eyes.
"By the Gods, what a cute little thing, Denovan..." Sig said, the tension in her shoulders melting away as she sheathed her sword with a silly smile. "I want one too!"
I rolled my eyes behind the protection of the helmet and sighed.
"Here you go with that story again. Good luck finding one on your own. I spent a good few years keeping a sharp eye out trying to find owls before stumbling upon this one hidden here."
Sigrid approached slowly, fascinated by the small, big-eyed predator.
"What is going to be her name?"
"I'm still thinking," I replied, sitting near the fire and taking off the helmet. "Names are very important, Sig. They dictate who we are, they represent their place in our world. They cannot be given just any way simply because they are 'cute'."
Sigrid snorted, sitting back down on the other side of the campfire and crossing her arms.
"You overthink things, Denovan... It's just a bird! But fine, do it your way. Just don't take too long, don't leave the little nameless girl waiting."
-/-/-
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