Wolf's Judgment

Madadh hid inside a hollowed log, waiting for the soldiers to run the other way. Madadh refused to breathe out of fear of being heard from his hiding spot. Once the soldiers were out of sight, the man silently crawled out of the log and ran away, escaping something.

“Why did I have to kill that Wolf? Why couldn’t I have just tried to scare it off, or just let it have that sheep??” Madadh thought to himself.

Madadh was a wealthy Shepherd in a small but prosperous kingdom. He had a loving family, a loyal hound, and a highly successful Sheep Ranch. Their realm was inhabited by people who worshipped the Wolf God Sirius. Sirius granted his people peace and prosperity, so long as his people offered an occasional tribute in return.  A month and a half earlier, Madadh heard the sound of his hound barking. Madadh rushed out to see a large, snow-white Wolf standing in his pen, its’ jaws clamped down firmly on a smaller Sheep. Consumed by a desire to protect his source of profits, Madadh made the mistake of hurling a spear at the white beast, striking it in the head, and killing it. Suddenly, dark clouds moved in over the horizon, the ground shook, and lightning bolts dotted the sky. A few moments later, a giant winged Wolf ran down a stairway of clouds, its fur metallic blue and dotted with blinding bright-white dots. Madadh gasped.

“Sirius?!?!”

“Madadh, thou hath committed a grievous sin! Thou hath killed my familiar, and denied me my sacrificial tribute!! There must be consequences for thy blasphemy!!” the giant Wolf snarled. “I hereby declare thee CURSED!!” The beast’s eyes glowed neon green. A green aura washed over Madadh. When the aura faded, Sirius declared “Thy curse shall only take effect on nights when the Moon is full! To remove thy curse, thou must deliver an offering of meat, and a Moonstone crystal from Moonstone Mines to the top of Mount Merciful, then offer a prayer to me by chanting “I praise thee O Sirius, creator of all.” exactly five times! Remember this well!” Sirius took to the air. Later that evening, Madadh looked up and saw that the moon was full. Madadh’s muscles and limbs swelled and contorted in unnatural ways, thick fur emerged from his skin, his face elongated, and his teeth formed fangs.

Driven mad with the hunger for fresh meat and blood, Madadh slaughtered and devoured his own herd of Sheep, then sped off deep into the heart of the woods in his newfound form. The next morning, the cursed Shepherd awoke in a daze on a rock by the eastern edge of the forest. When Madadh got over his daze, he saw a signpost giving directions in two angles in one direction, a mob carrying weapons in the distant horizon where he came from.  Madadh dashed post-haste in the direction opposite the incoming threat and followed the signposts’ guidance. After running for a few days, Madadh decided to walk. Mount Merciful could be seen very clearly on the horizon. As Madadh followed down the path, he saw a three-pronged signpost. One prong said “Moonstone Mines”, the second said “Pinedale”, the third and final prong said “Mount Merciful Path”.

“I can dig up ore in Moonstone Mines and make my way back to rest for the night at Pinedale by sundown at this rate!” Madadh said to himself.

After traveling for several more days, the cursed shepherd made his way to Moonstone Mines and grabbed an abandoned pickaxe. He dug and dug and dug, and what Madadh thought would only take a few hours took so long, that by the time that Madadh’s pickaxe was able to dig up a Moonstone crystal, it was already after dark, so Madadh slept on a pile of hay in the mines.

The next morning, after sleeping uncomfortably, Madadh grumpily made his way to the woods to hunt. Madadh crept into an open glade and saw a Stag nibbling on a bush, not paying any attention to its surroundings. Carefully, the cursed Shepherd grabbed a nearby branch with a sharpened edge, tiptoed up to the deer, and drove the pointed end into the Deer’s back, killing it instantly. Madadh was about to haul the carcass to Mount Merciful when he heard the rhythmic sound of soldiers marching. Panicked, he looked for places he could hide and found a nearby hollow log.  Once the soldiers were out of sight, the man silently crawled out of the log and ran away, fresh Deer Carcass and Moonstone crystal in tow.

On the path up to the mountain, Fish were jumping out of the Riverbend by the mountainside path. On the way, Madadh stepped by the riverside and impaled a Fish on his spear for Sirius, then impaled another Fish for himself. Madadh stopped halfway up the mountain to roast the Fish and Deer over an open fire. As the flames danced, Madadh stared at the Moonstone crystal he was holding in his hand.

“I hope this is a worthy gift for Sirius…I wish to be free to live my life again…” Madadh thought to himself.

After eating a roast Fish, the cursed Shepherd put out the fire and continued his hike to the top of Mount Merciful. It took all day, but Madadh had finally reached the peak altar on Mount Merciful by dusk.

Madadh placed the Venison and extra Fish on the altar, then bowed down in ritual.

“I praise thee O Sirius, creator of all. I praise thee O Sirius, creator of all. I praise thee O Sirius, creator of all. I praise thee O Sirius, creator of all. I praise thee O Sirius, creator of all.” the man chanted.

Several dots then formed in the night sky, forming a constellation. Then, a path made out of stardust rolled down to the altar from the constellation. The constellation transformed into the same winged wolf from earlier, who flew down behind Madadh.

The man moved out of the way so that the beast could claim its offering.

“This is an acceptable offering. Thou hath carried out thy mission. Thou hath earned thy redemption, I hereby declare thy curse removed!”

Sirius’s eyes glowed golden yellow, then a golden yellow aura enveloped the Shepherd.

“Thou art cured of thy curse.” said the Wolf God.

A glowing yellow path made out of stardust appeared on the mountaintop before Madhad.

“Follow that path to return to thy home with my blessing.”

An old man sat on a stool in a cottage, reading an old, weathered book to three children huddled around him.

“...and THAT, my grandchildren, is why we leave Wolves alone!” he declared.