1 Prologue
When the fire came, Little Eliza had simply been playing with the other kids in the woods. Like any other day, she cared only for the game of jackstraws* they had laid out. It was only when the smallest boy pointed out towards the rising column of smoke that this particular day would be her last truly peaceful one.
Some of the kids ran away, most stayed. It was only Eliza and two of the older boys that ran back home. As she ran through the trees she changed, skin giving war to golden fur, hands giving way to paws. Indeed as with the other kids the people of whom they were a part were werewolves as the legends title them.
The sound of chaos reached her ears, men whooping and cackling, people crying out in terror, wolves growling, all punctuated by the distinct crack of rifles firing the flames could be seen through the trees as the three closed in.
They cleared the treeline outside the village and were each shocked by what they saw. armed men rode through on horseback, slaughtering all they could, burning homes, and taking anything they wanted. The two boys saw a group of wolves running to the east and ran to join them, Eliza shot through the village, she wanted to find her family, she halted when she saw there home collapsed in on itself and the side wall gave way. Horror took her mind as she saw her parents inside.
Her father and mother were behind some fallen cielling beams. Eliza turned back human as she fell to her knees to her father lay against a wall, and her mother kneeled over him. multiple blood soaked spots on his chest showed that he wasn't long for this world. her mother looked up to Eliza with tears in her eyes she could barely talk,"E-El I...".
Suddenly a man burst through the door. It was one of the attackers he had a pistol in his hand and he slumped against a wall panting and hanging his head. He noticed Eliza, and slowly and shakilily leveled his weapon at her. He pulled back the hammer then looked away, not willing to watch we he was going to do.
It was then that Her brother arrived. he burst through behind her and as the man turned to shoot him he grabbed him by the shoulders and used his momentum to spin and slam him into a wall before he grabbed a piece of burning wood and cracked him on the head, the man dropped like a sack of bricks.
Her brother then turned as her father found a saintly smile, with his last breath he told him, "You k-keep....her safe..". Her brother gave a somber nod, rage building in his heart, he slammed the burning wood into the wall, which snapped them bothe and sent splinters flying. he grabbed the attacker's pistol, then turned with fire in his eyes grabbed Eliza by the hand and left.
as they left, two men turned towards them, Eliza's brother shot both as he maintained the same brisk pace. they kept moving as her brother shot any man that tried to stop them. one man turned to fire back, both their weapons were unloaded. Her brother walked up to him, grabbed his arms, stomped out the back of his legs to bring him to his knees, and slammed him in the face. He turned to yell to Eliza to keep moving as they escaped into the Ardennes.
