From Book 1
The two boys stood up and started to leave. Jonal stood and placed himself in front of them, preventing them from reaching the door. He gathered them up in his arms and said, "Younglings, we do not want you to leave, you two are jewels in our Crown of Warriors. I have been around for nearly fifteen hundred years and I have never come across anyone with your gifts, you two are the most powerful beings living, perhaps to have ever lived! Dillon had tears running down his face and Jeremy was doing his best to sooth his friend. Dillon stammered, "But I am only a human boy, not a Wolf." Jonal replied, "No matter, your mind is one of the two most powerful minds living today, and the other one is standing right beside you. If being Human distresses you, we can convert you and make you wolf, all you must do is ask us." Dillon looked up, through his tears and asked, "Would you do that for me, a junk boy, a trash boy from the swamp parts of New Orleans. I am not even sure who my father is, Caruthers is my mother's name and she tossed me out on the street as soon as I turned sixteen." Jonal made an instant decision, one he had never made before, but, he knew it was the right one. He said, "Younglings, will you both be my sons? I will give you a home, feed you and raise you as my own sons and, Dillon, if you so wish, I will covert you and keep you both as mine own sons forever!"
THE MAKING OF WARRIORS
Lord Warrior Jonal made good his promise and took the two boys into his own household, calling them sons. He had them fed four and five times a day, to build up their bodies, slowly, their ribs were no longer distinguishable and their faces lost that haunted, starving look.
They marched with Lord Jonal's Household troops and were soon working out with the troops in exercises and physical development. After a month, both boys looked and felt wonderful, Dillon came to Lord Jonal and asked, "Papa, will you make me wolf now?"
Jonal had been expecting the boy to come to him with that request, so he sat down and explained to him all that was involved. He concluded, "Are you sure, my son, that is what you want? You will no longer be human! You will be of the Wolf Folk and you will live much longer than humans and your mental powers may even be increased, if that is even possible."
Dillon replied, "Lord Papa, I want nothing more than to be wolf just like you. The rest, I care little, but, if my powers are increased, they will be used only as you instruct me. This I swear to the Lord of Wolves, Above Us All!"
Lord Jonal notified his staff and mind-called King Tosco to let him know that Dillon had asked to be converted. Tosco sent back so both Jonal and Dillon heard him, "May The Lord Of Wolves, Above Us All, bless you and Dillon and guide you both, you are our world's special treasures!"
The two settled into the chamber made especially for the purpose of conversion and Jeremy parked himself outside the door, where he would remain until his friend and mate was returned to him by Lord Jonal.
Toward the end of the time that Lord Jornal had told him, Jeremy began to hear strange sounds coming from behind the closed door. On the last night, he had a strange dream, a dream of himself and Dillon, striding across the landscape, swinging their swords and destroying those who threatened destruction upon their folk and those they were protecting.
He awoke at daylight, sweat pouring from his body. He heard clearly in his mind, "Jere my love, I am coming!"
He stepped back from the door just as it flew open, revealing an exhausted Lord Jonal and another being, golden rays of energy beamed from the being's head and he was clothed completely in a golden light of pure mental energy.
Jeremy said, "Dillon?"
The being stretched out its arms and engulfed Jeremy, "Yes my love, I am complete now." Dillon opened his mind to his mate and Jeremy fainted. Dillon carried him to the nearby couch and sat with Jeremy in his lap until he recovered.
Lord Jornal's Steward, Carstares McLouden, brought clothing for Dillon and then looked at his Lord and asked, "Lord Jornal, what has this young Wolf become?"
Jornal replied, "I do not know, my friend, please call the King, I am exhausted and cannot reach him."
Alarmed, the Steward called King Tosco and advised him of the situation and that Lord Jornal needed him!
Tosco came at a dead run, he had sensed a great storm of mental energy coming from The Lord Warrior's home and feared the worst.
He burst through the door, followed by his two Squires. He saw the radiant being that had once been the human boy, Dillon. He knelt before the young Wolf and said reverently, "What has The Great Lord of Wolves, Above Us All created?"
Dillon reached out his hand to the King, while still holding Jeremy in his lap, "My Lord King, I am still the boy you knew, but, now, I am something more. I am the Living Lord Wolf and The Great Lord of Wolves, Above Us All is part of me. I cannot die, nor can I be killed in battle. I have been sent to lead the peoples of this world to a greatness they have never before known. Through me, there shall be a Golden Age that will last for two thousand years, then I shall usher in a rebirth of all who dwell on this world. It will be a world where all those who live here are Wolf Folk."
The Lord King Tosco remained kneeling, tears flowing from his eyes.
Tosco sensed many minds close by, so he struggled to his feet and went to the balcony. When he opened the glass doors, there were masses of Wolf Folk standing out there many were weeping in great emotion, while others knelt, as if in prayer.
They were!
Bells all over the world were ringing and the Wolf Folk all knew the most precious legend of their kind had just been fulfilled. Their promised Golden Age was upon them.
Dillon stood when Steward Carstares brought the clothing to him. As he clothed himself, the radiance about his body diminished and all that could be seen was a narrow band of glowing light around his head.
Still holding Jeremy in his arms, he walked out on the balcony and said to the folk standing there, in a voice that all were able to hear, both humans and Wolf-Folk, "We will soon enter a New Age, a time of prosperity and peace. It will last many years before it ends. At that time, we all must leave this world to make room for a new folk who will come forward and lay claim to all we have built. We shall live among the stars and we will have no home once more. Your descendants will be neither Wolf nor Human, they will be the best of us both and they shall guide the many races that inhabit worlds other than the one from which we sprang. Begin now, my folk, that we will be ready when we are called."
Jeremy was in tears, holding on to Dillon with all his strength, through his tears, he asked, "Dillon, my love, what is to become of us, you and me?"
Dillon smiled and replied, "I know not what will become of you and me, that has been hidden from me. We shall have to trust the Great Lord of Wolves, Above Us All, and do the best we can. I am sure He will guide us and keep us from harm. He has promised that you and I shall be together for all eternity!"
THE GLORY YEARS BEGIN
Strangely, the weather all over the world turned benign and crops flourished. Food was plentiful and there began a time of peace. Even the Chinese, who had been tormenting their neighbors and looking for conquests, were too busy gathering their crops and tending their own folk to create mischief in other folk's lands.
The same phenomenon took place on all the other worlds that were inhabited by their folk, although those of Earth had forgotten their heritage and would have to relearn that knowledge.
Slowly, the time of peace and advancement dawned on the worlds where hunger and hurt became a thing of the past and great learning burst upon the world. Advancement in the sciences and engineering appeared, the arts also shared in the advances. Music, great plays and majestic artworks were produced that enriched the lives of them all.
The first colony on the moon was established and diseases that had plagued those who lived on the various planets, disappeared. Even that drag on Human Kind, the common cold was no more.
Then, a most important occurrence took place; a Human couple had a child that was Wolf! Jeremy and Dillon were visiting in London and felt the child being born, somewhere in that city.
They went in search of the child and finally found a young couple, carrying their firstborn child. They were carrying all their belongings with them, they had been told to leave by their parents because they had not married and had a child, a child that was NOT human!
Dillon struggled to contain his rage, sparks and fire were shooting from the Ring of Light that was permanently around his head. He gathered the young couple in his arms and Jeremy went running to gather food and clothing for them.
The two brought the couple and their child to the hotel in which they were staying and the doorman refused to allow the young couple to enter the lobby, clearly they were a human couple who had obtained a wolf folk baby and were attempting to pass it off as their own.
The doorman was suddenly confronted by a huge Golden Wolf roaring fire from his mouth! The doorman cowered in the corner as the huge Golden Wolf stood upright and carried the child and his mother into the hotel and asked for a room.
The desk manager was too frightened to speak, he just handed the frightening apparition a key to a suite next to Jeremy and Dillon's room before he huddled under the desk in fear.
As Dillon returned to his Human, he said gently to the couple, "IN THE NAME OF THE GREAT LORD OF WOLVES, ABOVE US ALL, THOU ART MAN AND WIFE. GO THOU IN THE PEACE OF THE LORD OF WOLVES AND REST YOURSELVES AND YOUR BABE. HE IS BUT THE FIRST OF HIS KIND AND HE SHALL BE KNOWN AS THE PROGENITOR!"
The child looked up from his Mother's arms and recognized Jeremy, he held out his tiny hands and Jeremy kissed the child, leaving a dim mark where his lips had touched the child's forehead. All of his descendants would bear the same mark for all of time.
Over time, the mark would be called Jeremy's Kiss and bearers of the mark would be revered by all their folk. The young wolf child was but the first of his kind, in a single generation, the majority of children born were Wolf!
By the third generation, the population of the world was totally wolf!
The last humans on the planet to accept the Lore of the Wolf were the Aborigine People of Australia. They clung to their ancient beliefs for several generations, until their own children began being born Wolf!
The Aborigine People then embraced Wolfdom with open arms, at long last, their dream-time legends had been fulfilled.
Dillon and Jeremy enjoyed great popularity, wherever they went, they were immediately recognized and their names became the most popular children's names. Wherever they went, they heard their names being called as mothers and fathers called their children to come home!
THE EXODUS BEGINS
Two Star Ships were built to explore the distant worlds, they were named The Star Ship Dillon and The Star Ship Jeremy and each carried an image of its namesake at the entrance to the vessel, appropriately called, The Quarterdeck.
The Quantum Drive had been recently invented and placed in the new ships. Both ships lifted off silently, using magnetic repulser engines to negate gravity in order to lift the ship from the planet.
As soon as it cleared the Earth's atmosphere, both ships ignited their Quantum Drives and were seen as a streak of light, until they had accelerated beyond the speed at which light existed.
Their first voyage was to take them to the star Alpha Centauri.
Even though he remained on Earth, Dillon was aware of all that took place on their namesakes, as if he were along for the ride beside the crews. He longed for his Jeremy, who had accompanied his namesake on the voyage.
The ship's first voyage took twenty years, although to those aboard the two vessels, it took only a few months.
On their return, they brought with them Ambassador Loric 'Tel, Ambassador from The Federation of Stars. What amazed those on Earth was, he was WOLF! He was no more powerful than those who had remained on Earth and, in fact, many believed that the Wolf Folk of Earth were related to the Star Folk.
That belief was held by the scientists among the Star Folk and, before The Star Ship Dillon was ready for its Second voyage, the Scientists on Alpha Centauri IV had proved the genetic link and that the Wolves of Earth displayed the primordial gene! Wolfdom had originated on Earth! Jeremy had remained with the Star Folk as the Ambassador from the Earth Folk.
The Star Ship Jeremy had remained on Alpha Centauri IV to be studied by their scientists, the ship's drive had properties that interested their scientists, it ignited faster than their own ships and had a greater payload.
The return voyage of the Star Ship Dillon carried King Emeritus, Lord Jeremiah as Ambassador Extraordinary and representative of King Tosco and The Wolves of Earth.
Dillon accompanied the King as the Dillon made the return voyage, he was anxious to have Jeremy in his arms. Absence did NOT make his heart grow fonder, it made it grow frantic!
As The Dillon landed on Alpha Centauri IV, Dillon touched his King/Ambassador with a forefinger on his head, a ring of fire ran up and down King Jeremiah's body, leaving a dim golden glow around his head.
Dillon said, "MY LORD KING, THEE HATH NO NEED OF THY CROWN, THE MARK OF THE WOLF GLOWS UPON THY HEAD, THOU ART BLESSED OF THE LORD OF WOLVES, ABOVE US ALL."
As Jeremiah stepped from the ship, the crowd gasped and knelt before this Wolf King from Earth, he wore the blessing of the Lord Wolf of their kind!
Dillon was reunited with his beloved Jeremy and they both pledged to the other that they would never be separated again.
As Ambassador, Jeremiah had negotiated trade and scientific treaties with the Star Wolves and Earth was admitted as a full member of The Star Fellowship.
This was the beginning of Earth's entry into the Empire of the Stars. Earth did not come as a beggar world, their advances in medicine and the healing arts were far advanced of the Empire and those of the Empire had no knowledge at all of Energy Healing, nor did they know about more simple things like plant breeding and soil restoration.
By accident, Earth fruits became a "hot item". There was a bowl of citrus fruits on the table of the Entrance Lobby on the Star Ship Dillon, their visitors thought them to be some child's toys, balls and ignored them!
They first saw one of the King's Warriors peeling and eating the fruit and inquired what it was. Warrior Leader Paul Gann handed the visitor half of his peeled orange and showed him how to pull the segments apart and eat them.
The wolf just stood there. A look of ecstasy showed on his face and he sat on the nearest chair with a stunned look. He asked, "Is this fruit common on your world?"
Paul replied, "Yes, we feed it to our youth as it contains many vitamins and minerals our children need to grow strong and healthy." The visitor asked, "Will it harm adults, this wonder fruit?"
Paul laughed, "Surely not, adults eat of it because it tastes good and leaves a refreshing taste in one's mouth. Here, try this fruit perhaps you will like it also." He handed the visitor a crisp apple.
The visitor's eyes rolled back and Paul feared he had hurt the wolf. The visitor opened his eyes and his face showed great joy, "Your world has truly been gifted by the Lord of Wolves, Above Us All. This is something we must import in great quantities, hopefully, they will grow here also!"
Thus began the first trade between the two worlds, fruit!
Within months, cargo ships were bringing whole loads of fruits from Earth to the other star worlds. On only a few worlds, would Earth fruits grow, but they had better luck with vegetables and root crops, like potatoes, seemed to grow anywhere.
Wherever Dillon went, folk saw him as a special individual who bore the Mark of the Lord of Wolves.
Like communities everywhere, the Star Worlds had their full share of those who would rather steal than earn an honest living, those who enjoyed tormenting others and do murder, those who enjoyed the sound of screaming younglings being hurt and tormented.
The Wolves of Sol III (Earth) however, had something those of the other star worlds did not have! The Wolves of Earth had mental powers not known elsewhere. Those of the stars could mentally communicate over short distances and they could read the minds of others within visual distance, but that was all. They were shocked when they discovered that Dillon could communicate with Jeremy from and to anywhere on the planet!
That Jeremy could communicate with Ambassador Jeremiah even before his ship had entered a landing pattern approaching Alpha Centauri IV, was incomprehensible to them, and they showed real fear one day, as Dillon and Jeremy were walking in a park along the major river of the planet.
Both Dillon's and Jeremy's eyes went glowing red and their wolves could be seen struggling to come forward! Both went rushing off into the reeds and water plants that bordered the river. Their walking companions stared in horror and they saw a great commotion taking place in the swamp that bordered the park. Jeremy returned, dragging three wolf folk by their ankles, two were obviously dead!
Dillon returned with four small children in his arms, they were all bleeding and tears were flowing down Dillon's face like a waterfall. As their stunned companions looked on, Dillon lay the children in the soft grass and he began to glow, a golden glow covered him like a gold mesh, he laid his hands on the children and the golden glow flowed over them, hiding their features from sight.
When it lifted, there was no injury to be seen on the children, but a giant golden wolf, stood there, towering above them, nearly ten feet tall.
The fearsome being that had been Dillon, broadcast for all to hear, "THESE ART MINE OWN CHILDREN. BEWARE THOSE OF YOU WHO WOULD HURT THEM. I TREASURE THAT WHICH IS MINE AND THOSE WHO WOULD HURT THEM SHALL DIE AS THESE THUGS BESIDE ME SHALL DIE!"
He turned his gaze upon the individuals who had been torturing the children and their bodies burst into flames. Those still living screamed in agony as the flames consumed their bodies while they were watched by the crowd that had been attracted by the commotion.
Dillon turned to those who had been watching and he said very calmly, "You have witnessed the least of my powers, the Lord of Wolves, Above Us All, has tasked me to care for all our children, wolf or human, without concern of the world from which they came. The children are mine and I shall protect them with mine own life!"
Jeremy stepped beside Dillon and sent, "I am the mate of he who is beloved by our Lord of Wolves, whoever would challenge my Mate, shall not see another sunrise and the name of that person shall be forgotten on the rolls of our folk!"
He dropped to his right knee and said, "Great Lord of Wolves, Above Us All, I do swear this upon the blood of my body and warmth of my soul!"
The gathered crowd was stunned as they saw a veil of golden light fall upon Jeremy. When it was over, Jeremy stood and it lifted. There remained a ring of the golden light around Jeremy's head, the same as his Mate, Dillon.
As Dillon and Jeremy looked around, they saw all those within sight, kneeling and asking the two to bless them. Dillon spoke kindly to the gathered folk, "We are not Gods, nor are we special folk. We have merely been tasked by our Master, The Lord of Wolves, Above Us All, to care for your children. The children are our future and, without them, our race will die. No child should live in fear or hurt or torment nor should they spend their nights in hunger for the lack of proper food. All those we save shall be our sons and daughters to be loved and guided into adulthood. I swear to you all, there shall be no child left to live in the swamps, eating garbage and wearing trash and weeds for warmth."
As the onlookers watched, trembling in their own fear, for this was the first manifestation of their Deity, The Great Lord of Wolves, to have ever taken place in all their recorded history of civilization, they saw two golden beings, over ten feet tall and shrouded in mists of golden haze, pick up the healed children and carry them off.
The story gained in its retelling and, within a day, all who lived upon the planet knew of what had taken place. Within thirty days, their entire civilization, covering more than thirty star systems, knew and believed!
TBC
Like all stories that become legends, they gain in the retelling. We shall have to see what happens when our two Warriors travel through the Star Empire of the Wolves.