Farinele Etyl was born just like any other child. Her birth was a joyous occasion for her parents, as they had been trying for a very long time to have a child.
On the day of her birth her mother was visited by an old wizened lady of the village. Misfortune was spun upon the old woman’s lips as she spoke to Farinele's mother. The tale that she was told was so frightening that in an attempt to escape it she fled with her young daughter from their home, without even a word to her husband.
Years passed slowly and young Farinele grew up only knowing the life of a nomad. Her mother refused to speak of her father and if asked a look of longing would pass through her eyes. But then in an instant the look would be gone and a cold malicious rage would fill her.
At a young age Farinele learned to never speak of her father. And it would be many years before she found out the reason why.
-Ten Years Later-
At the age of 15 Farinele was already far advanced in the ways of the world. Her mother taught her how to cook, to hunt, to fish, and to make her own clothing. "These skills are the basic essentials of life for a young woman." Her mother would say. But Farinele herself begged to differ. She saw the looks she received from the other young women in the towns they visited. Some would sneer when they saw the raggedly dressed Farinele and her tattered mother. Others would throw them copper and silver. And still others would cross the street as if they both carried the plague.
"They do not understand the ways of out kind Farinele." Her mother would assure her. "We live off the land as nomads. We do not ask for anything more. It is our credo."
But Farinele wanted more than just that. She envied the girls and their fine linens. The young women who did work seemed just as elegant to her as the women of fortune. But Farinele knew that she would never be more than a hunter. And she would continue on like that for the sake of her mother.
Little did Farinele know, fate had other plans for her.
On a dark stormy night she could feel the agitation of her mother. Could see the lines of worry wrinkle her mother’s face so severely that she looked almost haggard. She persisted for a while, only trying to get her mother to smile, to laugh, to even reprimand her for her various antics. But it was no use.
The night passed by slowly. The rain pouring coldly down their backs as the two huddled beneath the small tent. The fire had long sense gone out and nothing provided them light except the flashes of lightening across the sky. Wolves howled nearby and a shadowy figure suddenly erupted from the trees. Farinele could feel her mother tense beside her and she turned quickly to stare upon her face.
Fear was etched upon the other woman’s face, fear and a distant look of remembrance. And then suddenly her mother was at her feet and screaming, "NO! This is why I left! You cannot come now! I have done so much to protect her from you."
"Protect her from me, Asline? Or to raise her away from what could have been the very best for her? What misguided view you had of our future. I would have given you both the best. Would have protected you from whatever it was that the old woman had told you. Yes, Asline, I know. The story was spun to me. A man would come in the night and set upon our family leaving all, but one, dead."
Asline gasped as the lightening crackled in the sky above them. Revealing the face of the man she loved. Farinele Was caught in shock and awe as her mother suddenly ran at the man. She was swept up into his arms for a moment and a loving embrace was shared. And then his dark voice rang out. "I would have protected her from even myself had I been given the chance. She stole you from me. That cannot be forgiven."
Suddenly her mother went limp in the man’s arms. And blood dripped from her fingertips. Farinele cried out but it was too late. Her mother's body was cast aside and the man started towards her. "Father! NO, please I had nothing to do with this. I was but a child!."
Her pleading did nothing to deter the man. He bore down upon her and when she tried to flee his long stride easily caught up with her. He caught her in his arms and lifted her struggling form into his arms. His knife bore down upon her neck, and nicked her skin. The rain seemed to stop for a moment. Or perhaps it was the hot tears that stung her skin that made her forget. But it wasn’t her tears that stung her cheeks. It was those of the man who held her.
"I would have given you everything, Fari. I would have killed myself before I'd have harmed you. Fate cannot be changed, dear child. I have never stopped searching. But I cannot forgive what has been done. I am sorry."
White hot pain seared the skin of her neck. Warmth flowed down over her chest. Her breath was leaving her quickly. And Darkness was engulfing her. It was those last moments that she realized she could not speak. And that her father had long since discarded her.
Weakly she looked up to see him kneeling over the prone body of her mother. His sadness weighing heavily upon his shoulders, distraught by what he had done he could not see the white wolf bearing down on his form. Farinele tried to cry out to him but only gurgling erupted from her throat. In the next instant the wolf was upon her father.
"Only one shall survive." The words echoed throughout her mind as the wolf dispatched her father easily. But they seemed to ring false as the wolf turned and bore down upon her. A mournful laugh echoed throughout her mind as she faced her final moments.
The moment came and went. Opening her eyes to the ever increasing darkness that threatened her life she was startled to find the wolf's face inches from her own. Understanding and sorrow crossed the beasts face. And then lowering its head it licked the wound that crossed Farinele's neck.
"Surely this is my death," She thought as finally she was overtaken with darkness.
Time passed, Farinele was still lost in the uncommon darkness that had enveloped her. Was it her personal hell? She was unsure of that, but the one thing she did know was that then entire time she was unconscious she could hear the mournful howl of a wolf close by.
Finally a full week after she was cast into that unholy darkness young Farinele's eyes opened to stare at the noon day sun. Her body was stiff and her neck felt as if something had set fire to it. Afraid to sit up just yet she looked around as much as her stiff neck would allow. Her eyes cast out their gaze and they soon landed on the bloated bodies of her parents. Hot tears ran down her cheeks and pooled on the ground beneath her. And just for a moment she mourned the loss of what could have been.
Suddenly a sound rang out. Another low mournful howl and then the rustling sound of the scattered vegetation in the clearing. Sitting up suddenly her head spun but she shook it off as she came face to face with the great white wolf from that first night. Memories filled her mind as the wolf came for her. A scream erupted from her throat but as her mouth opened to emit it no sound came out. The blade of her father had not only stolen her mother it had stolen her ability to communicate.
All of these thoughts crossed her mind in just a few short moments. As the wolf bore down upon her, the fear seemed to dissipate at once. Staring into the creature’s eyes she knew that no harm would come to her, that this Great Wolf would become her protector as well as her very best friend.
A flame haired beauty, slightly scarred by her past, her jade green eyes stand out against her softly tanned skin. Small scars run the length of her left cheek. But instead of marring her beauty they only enhance it. A thin line crosses the length of her neck, Telling of a troubled beginning, but hopefully a bright future.
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