www.fanfiction.net/s/647774/1/Solitary_Road
Тут легенда про Страйдеров, на английском, с ссылкой
Official Disclaimer: I don't own any of these premises, names, etc., they belong to White Wolf. However, Anpw Stalks-the-Shadows and Sean Lurks-in-Darkness are my characters and shouldn't be used in any other fics without permission. I'm not making any money off of this and no copyright infringement was intended.
Author's Note: This is the first Werewolf: the Apocalypse fic I've written, so constructive criticism is welcome. This fic is the first part of a very long story line, so although it is short, more will come. This will eventually coincide with my friend Scully's character's fic, so check out hers too. This is just my character looking back on her life right before her Rite of Passage. The next chapter will be a more detailed glimpse into this time period. Oh, reviews are greatly appreciated, and please check out my other fic called Lunar Hunt, about a werewolf on the hunt. Oh, I tried to find all of the spelling/grammar mistakes, but feel free to tell me about any I missed. Thanks.
Solitary Road
Part One "Beginnings"
By Ender
You know, sometimes I really miss my childhood. I remember those carefree days, or almost carefree days, when there was no Wyrm, death was as far away as could be, and the thought of an apocalypse was insane. It was just me, a loner, going through school in whatever town my dad's job had moved us to that year.
I never had that many friends. I was always more comfortable by myself, never wanting to count on others too much. My two best friends, Jacob and Katie, were the only people that ever really accepted me and the only people I every really trusted. Problem was, when I was sixteen, I moved from Chicago up to Montana. I never heard from them again, since they moved too.
I won't pretend and say that my childhood was flawless. Other than moving away from my friends, some people just always had a problem with me. This one cheerleader in my junior year, she just pushed me right over the edge. When she called me a freak I went berserk, did stuff that I never would have before. This prank I played on her ended up in her having to shave her head. Little did I know that that was on the lower end of the Rage that I would experience the following year.
I can remember it so clearly that I can picture the entire event of my first Change when I was eighteen, out of some gift or curse. I had been coming home from school and had just got home when heard a bang in my kitchen. Some guy was standing in there and it took me a while to figure out he had hair all over and had really strange ears and eyes. He started coming at me muttering stuff about the 'Father Wyrm' but I had no idea what he was talking about then. When I saw the bodies of my parents lying there on the linoleum behind him was when I realized. Within seconds I was about to blow.
The word 'murderer' kept racing through my mind as my vision distorted and turned red. I wanted to kill that man so bad I could taste it, my lip pulling up into a snarl. As he came nearer, I suddenly doubled over and clutching my stomach as a sharp pain went through me. What the Hell is going on, I thought to myself. A pressure seemed to be rising in me, threatening to overtake me.
Now the man was nearer, a maniacal grin spreading across his face. He started to change, growing taller and sprouting fur and a tail. I didn't have time to worry about it, though, as the tendons in my back popped with sudden ferocity. I screamed as I nearly blacked out, the pain excruciating as my bones shifted and ground together, rearranging with hideous sounds. I can't remember what happened after that, the redness overtook my eyes and I came to in what must have been five minutes after the Change.
As I looked down at the ground and my mind and thoughts returned I was confused. I didn't understand, didn't realize what had happened. As I looked around at the floor I saw my parents, lying there and I almost rushed over to them.
Then I saw it.
The head of the creature that had attacked me, resting on the floor next to my father, a grin still emblazoned on in its death mask. My gaze shot down to my hands. I nearly went into a frenzy again when I saw dark maroon blood dripping from black furred hands with three-inch claws. My breath quickened as understanding seeped through me. I had turned into...into...something, and had killed the strange man, decapitating him. The scream that wrenched itself from my throat was inhuman, turning into a frightened howl. This scared me even more and I ran from the house as fast as I could, turning back into my Homid form.
Two days later, I was still in my human form, though it gave me no comfort. I was roaming the forest alone, trying to figure out what was happening, what kind of monster I had become, why. I had never felt more alone, cast out from everyone and everything. My entire body hurt, pain overwhelming me and preventing me from getting much sleep.
Then one day a tall man approached me, silently running through the trees. I didn't notice him until he was almost upon me and I instinctively started to change back to the warrior form I had assumed days earlier. He also changed into a great black wolf and pinned me down, talking to me and telling me that he wasn't going to hurt me.
It took me a while to believe him, but when I had calmed down enough he started to explain things to me. The whole thing was hard to digest. I mean come on. One minute you're a semi-normal kid who's only big worry was if you were going to get into a good college and getting good grades, then you change into a ten-foot tall monster and decapitate someone. Then some guy just turns up and tells you that you're a werewolf, who must help save the world from an evil force called the Wyrm, and a worldwide apocalypse is coming? It wasn't just me, this was majorly strange and hard to believe.
Later Sean, that was his name, told me I took it better than most people, including himself when he Changed. I started to believe him little by little and let him take me to the campsite he had set up a short distance away. He knew I was getting better when I started asking questions, curious abut this 'Garou nation'. He changed back into his human form and I realized he was hardly older than me, twenty at the most. He introduced himself as Sean, though later he gave he the Garou name he had been given years before, Lurks-in-Darkness.
Over the next few weeks we traveled the woods together and he told me more of the Garou cause, the tribes, and the auspices. I found out I was a Galliard, something I accepted immediately since I was always interested in the stories of heroes and the great civilizations. I knew it was me, just like how I knew that I was definitely a Strider when Sean described the tribe he belonged to. The Silent Striders were almost a perfect description of my previous life, loners searching for knowledge and stories that were from Egypt and were keepers of Egyptian and Garou lore.
When Sean started to tell me basic stories of the ancient Egyptians, I amazed him with my knowledge, easily repeating the tales back to him in greater detail. Though I was never that good in school, the ancient Egyptians always seemed like my kind of people. I came to like Anubis, the half-human, half-jackal god, even more than I had before. My love of Egypt was suddenly explained, and with this common bond, Sean and I became fast friends. Soon he was not just my mentor, but my best friend in the world. I also got fighting lessons from Sean, who said that I would need to learn them if I wanted to survive more than a day on my own. He also taught me the Pakiv Swatura, a storytelling dance of the Silent Striders, and the secret code of colors and signs that my tribe used to communicate. I was strange being taught like a child by a guy that was barely two years my senior and my best friend to boot, but I got used to it.
Then one day, Sean told me that he was going to take me to see more Garou at a nearby sept. He thought I was ready to meet more of our people and possibly to make my Rite of Passage. Sean said little about this Rite, but I knew that it was important and a pivotal point in my life. Soon he started to give me pointers on how to act with Garou elders and customs that I should know. He told me his nickname among the Garou, Lurker, but I opted to call him Sean until I got used to it.
When we reached the sept I met Garou of all shapes and sizes. Most of the sept members were Children of Gaia, a peace-loving but sometimes ferocious tribe. Lurker, led me to a place in the caern where a few Garou were sitting together away from the rest of the caern's inhabitants. Some were in their Crinos from, and all that were looked like they were Striders. The sleek and thin stature along with their almost jackal-like face gave away the lineage that they had come from. Since many of the Striders that Lurker knew were usually off traveling the world, I only met a few of the members of the tribe I wanted to join.
The eldest there, Avenger-of-Gaia, studied me as I stood before him, then asked Lurker why he had brought me to him. Lurker answered that I wanted to join the ranks of the Silent Striders after Changing two months before. Avenger-of-Gaia looked skeptical, which I expected, since two months was a very short time for a cub like me to be joining a tribe and undergoing my Rite.
I knew it was very rare for any new Garou to do the Rite so early and accepted my rank as a mere cub. Of course, whenever Sean called me Cub, I threatened to kick his ass, but that was beside the point. I think that Avenger-of-Gaia was going to refuse, now that I look back on it, except for when he met my eyes. When I held his gaze, I think the steely determination and maturity that I gained from the murder of my parents came through. Though Sean was standing close to me for my own comfort, I didn't felt any apprehension at the look Avenger-of-Gaia was giving me. I remember seeing his eyes go wide as he looked into mine, and the short intake of air he pulled in.
Realization was apparent in his gaze when his eyes met mine again. His voice was gravely when he finally spoke, and said the words I wasn't truly expecting to hear.
"You shall undergo the Rite of Passage."