Wild Wolves and Waning Magic

It was late in the evening when the caravan found the Dunesman's camp. A sentry spotted them and led them through the final leg, or they might have missed the camp altogether.

Metehan and the others were confused by the location of their kin.

Instead of being in the designated location, they were with two other clans in the heart of a large oasis. This slice of paradise was very close to the edge of where the Dunesman called home.

Orhan came out under the stars and greeted the caravan personally. When he saw his old friend, the chieftain's face lit up with an incandescent smile.

The Councilman knelt before the leader of the Dunesmen and placed his fist on his heart. "My Chief!"

"I must have heat sickness, for I am seeing visions!" Orhan exclaimed.

"Wouldn't be the first time!" Metehan answered. He stood and the two men embraced.

"Won't be the last either, I'm afraid. How are you, my friend?" Orhan slapped his friend on the shoulder as they separated.

The Councilman frowned slightly. "We are mostly well, Chieftain. Though our travel was less than smooth."

"I would like to say I am surprised by the news, but sadly, I am not," Orhan sighed. "The desert is not a safe place as of late. Did you suffer any…losses?"

The Chieftain seemed reluctant to ask the question at all, but he needed to know.

Metehan lowered his gaze. "We will be needing the healers as soon as they can be found. We lost six wagons and at least that many horses. No humans were lost, though it was a close call. Our wounded might not have made it but for finding you so soon. If I may, why are you so far from the center of our homeland, Chieftain?"

"We can talk about that more privately in a moment." The leader answered in a lower tone. Orhan looked behind Metehan to view the incoming crowd. He spotted some other unexpected faces. "I see you did not come alone!"

While Metehan had gone ahead to greet the chieftain, the soldiers had decided to stay behind the caravan when it entered the camp. Aurora did not want to worry the Dunesmen or think they were attacking so she had sent the Councilman ahead as an emissary and allowed the rest of the caravan to enter peacefully before making her debut.

Because the evening was dark and starry, the outlines of the many people were visible long before their faces.

Even as Aurora descended from Hadya's wagon--which had taken up the rear with the soldiers--Orhan wasn't exactly sure of who he was seeing until she came close to the fire's light.

Orhan had met the fake 'Empress' Anna, the real Empress Aurora as well as Princess Mairwen. The last of the three was his favorite, he had to admit, because she put his son in his place and helped him to mature in ways the Chieftain could not.

Aurora, Devrim, Brinn, Alvar, Reyan, and Zan all pulled away from the soldiers and came to pay their respects to the leader of the Dunesmen.

The humans placed their hands on their chests in the manner of the desert people, while the others gave their own version of a bow.

Smiling widely, Orhan spread his arms. "Greetings weary travelers! We are most honored to have you here among us. Come and rest by the fire and eat."

Aurora dipped her head at the Chieftain. His greeting was in no way what she was used to at court, but somehow she found that she liked his hospitality better. "We are most thankful for the warm greeting," she told him. "I know you were not expecting us. Indeed we did not know we would be coming even last week!"

Orhan gently shoved the Councilman. "I did not realize the wedding of Metehan's dearest daughter warranted such auspicious guests."

"All my daughters are my dearest," the Councilman clicked his tongue. "You will have people thinking I play favorites!"

"To bring these people with you, everyone will think it anyway," Orhan pointed out. A surprise delegation arriving just in time for a wedding would definitely make the other clansmen talk.

Metehan started to correct the misconception when Aurora intervened. "We do not want to take away from the bride. Please keep our identities to a need to know basis. I am afraid we might not be able to stay for the actual ceremony. We have a bit of a schedule to keep, but we could not miss the chance to give our blessing."

The Empress did not want to shame Orhan or Metehan by embarrassing them. And after talking to Hadya the whole journey, Aurora was truly looking forward to gifting the bride and groom with a little token of her affection. So she meant every word that she spoke.

The father-of-the-bride beamed at Aurora's speech. "Thank you, Your Majesty. You are most kind."

Slowly, the rest of the caravan and the soldiers were welcomed and absorbed into the Dunesmen's many campfires. While the winter days of the desert were quite warm, the nights bordered on frigid.

The white sparkles left behind by the winter fairies seemed to emit and extra bit of chill, which was offset by the roaring flames.

Without Devrim, Aurora and her immediate group settled at last around an outer fire, very close to the water of the oasis. Orhan had food brought to them and cushions for them to sit. "We could go to my tent if you prefer not to be outside," he offered.

"This will do quite nicely," the Empress responded.

"Now, I know it is not a pleasant thing, but I do wish to know exactly what happened to the caravan. Based on what Metehan said, my guess is that it was a sand wolf?" Orhan pulled at his thin beard.

"It was an entire pack of them. They seemed to be led by a gargantuan wolf that nearly took out His Majesty." Metehan relayed the news.

"Instead he became a stinky snot bubble," Brinn giggled before grimacing at her slick hair.

"You are never going to let me live that one down, are you?" A voice approached from the water.

When his injuries had been discovered, Devrim had been whisked away to the healers immediately. After some treatment and a wash in the oasis's pond, he was clad in one of Orhan's personal robes. His hair was dripping wet.

"Not letting things go is part of my charm," Brinn shrugged. "I learned it from a certain husband of mine. He kept at it until I married him."

"I'm touched that you are so inspired by my persistence! I'm certainly never letting you go now that I have you," Alvar responded as he pecked his wife on the cheek.

Despite the playful banter, Orhan's face was pulled tight with concern. He was still processing what his clansman had said. "A pack of wolves? It is worse than I have feared."

"What do you mean?" Aurora was suddenly serious. She moved for her husband to sit next to her and laid her head on his shoulder.

Orhan lowered his voice. "We knew that two or three wolves had begun teaming up, but a whole group is a new development.

"About a month ago, the creatures became more aggressive, attacking people even in broad daylight. We fought them at first, but have since found it safer to retreat here to the edge of our land. The wolves don't like water or fire, you see. And here we have plenty of both."

"Is that why there are more than just your people here?" Devrim had noticed the other groups when he went to the healers; it confirmed the rumors he had heard on their approach.

"These are all my people," the Chieftain said as he looked around, "but yes, we have all sought refuge here. We assume the rest of our kin have done the same at the other oases in the desert. We have been forming a plan on how best to proceed. But we don't know what has caused this sudden change in behavior."

"I think we know," Brinn raised her hand. She lowered it slowly and added. "Her Majesty killed the magic."

Aurora turned her head at her friend and glared. While her assumption about the wolves might have been correct, dumping the blame on the Empress's shoulders was unfair. It took a lot of self-control not to stick her tongue out at the sassy elf.

"The magic is dead?" Orhan raised his eyebrows.

"Dying," All around the fire responded in unison. The answer had become reflexive.

The Chieftain tapped his chin, deep in thought. "That would explain why the wolves are not acting like themselves. But...what can be done?"

Aurora winced, "That schedule I mentioned that we have? It kind of involves saving the world...again."