Looking back and looking ahead

Alexis let herself be pulled towards the menhirs, completely caught up in the mystical atmosphere.

Her mother had told her about her father and his friends joining in an ancient oath in an ageless place just like this. She had loved that story as a child, and looked back on it fondly through her life, but she had assumed it to be just made up. Not completely so it would appear.

Evander reached out and touched the surface of the nearest menhir with a wistful smile that spoke of nostalgia.

“Found this when we were still wet behind the ears, trying to get away from our chores for a bit of adventuring. Kept it a secret from the adults.”

He told her.

“What is this place?”
she softly asked.

“No idea.”
he grinned.

Alexis raised an eyebrow.

“But you randomly decided to found the Wulvers here?”

He chuckled and gestured to take a seat with him in the middle of the menhir circle.

“Not quite randomly, no. You might be surprised to hear this, but your father loved fairy tales and legends.”

He squeezed her shoulder gently.

“And I have never known a better story teller than your mother. But you would know that.”

Yeah. She did.
Evander chuckled again.

“Really, there could never have been another woman for Alasdair. They were just made for each other.”

Looking up the carved stones he continued.

“‘Course he would tell her about this to impress her. And she would come up on the spot with this grand tale, that this had to be a place where the heroes of old would make their oath to the spirits of the mountains to fend for all that is good and pure.”

Joining her honorary uncle in a fond smile, Alexis remembered all those bedtime stories her mother would tell her. She had been an inexhaustible well of tales about the brave and the kind, little candlelights of hope and wonder in a reality that could be quite bleak and cold.
Seoras had sneered at her living in a fantasy world and maybe he wasn’t wholly wrong about that. She wasn’t ignorant to the grimy reality, far from it. But she did still carry those stories in her heart.

“Did you know there was a band going by the name of ‘Wulvers’ before us?”

Pulled out of her reverie by those words, she turned to look at Evander.

“Really? I don’t think I have ever heard of them.”

Evander nodded.

“Yeah. It’s a bit of an obscure legend, but not one thought up by your mother for a change. You see, the Wulvers were said to be a group of valiant protectors that would shield the people from evil. Monster hunters, actually, battling all those beasts of myth, the kelpies, the dark fairies, and of course, the lycanthropes.“

Alexis couldn’t help but chuckle.

“But aren’t Wulvers supposed to be wolf people themselves?”

“Well, yeah. The benevolent kind though, and by nature, not by curse. Who knows, it’s a legend. They might as well have been actual Wulvers for all we know.“

he agreed.

“In any case, we did take inspiration from both those tales when we came together and decided to become a band. And you know what?”

He looked her in the eyes.

“We had a good run, all things considered. I take pride in that. I hope you can, too.”

They sat in silence for a while, both hanging onto their own thoughts and memories.

“What are you going to do now, gal?”

She sighed.

“I don’t know. I guess I could do what Marsili and Iain did, see if I can score a place in the Purple Legion or something like that.”

“But you don’t really want to.”
Evander observed.
“Need some distance, ay?”

Yeah, that might be the problem with that. She’d probably have a good shot at being accepted into the Purple Legion, but in a way it would be both painfully close and painfully different from the Wulvers.

“Did you hear Salos is pushing that Arcadia thing of theirs? Looking for hands and blades all over.”

Alexis blinked at the subtle suggestion.

“Salos? Are you serious?”

He raised his hands.

“Hear me out. We are talking a whole new continent, yeah? They are still trying to get their footing over there. Won’t be quite as high and mighty as they are here in Helias. No shortage of work and hey, if nothing else they are not as stupid about women fighting as they are here. You might actually get away with only having to be twice as good as a man.”

They shared a knowing grin before Evander continued.

“And if they do end up falling into their old habits, well, it IS a whole new world. I’m sure you’d find something to do with yourself.”

He let her ponder his words for a bit. Putting his arm around her shoulder he waited for her to look at him, his expression earnest.

“One thing, ‘Lexi, whatever you end up doing. You have been told all the time how much you are like your father. And that is very true. But I’ll tell you one thing you might have not heard quite as often. You carry a lot of your mother as well.”

A sudden surge of emotion had her cast down her eyes. He gently took her by the chin and had her look back at him.

“Remember that when life throws its obstacles your way. You have a wider arsenal to face those challenges than you think.”

He smiled at her affectionately and eventually pushed himself up to stand.

“We should get going, or we’ll have to camp out in the woods. And I’m not quite as spry as I once was.”

Alexis nodded and stood as well. As they made their long way back to the village she took the time to think about his words.

Arcadia, huh?