The Raven: Born of the Earth

You can never blame a man for the things he has done. You can only be glad for the things that he didn’t get to do. Born into the wilderness, I have learned to survive and be at the top of food chain. I have endured enough pain that this life has to offer. Only known to the deepest darkest forest, this is Amara Raven, and this is my story.

That’s what some may think of me as. An animal. And that’s what the others may believe me to be. A human. I believe that being born in the wild, I will one day be one with it. I have never really needed the company of anyone except for Aya. Because she accepted me as I was. She thought of me as one of her own. And with the bond formed between us, I became freed of my loneliness.

We resided in the deepest part of the wildest forest. There, I feel serenity, a sense of peace. I feel comfortable in it, and it provided me with the warmth of security. So, over time, me and Aya built wooden cottage and called it our home.

I remember there was once a time when it was only me with my loneliness that resided these woods. I taught myself to hunt, to defend, to survive. My life had no meaning to it. I only lived to survive. Until one day, I stumbled upon Aya 10 years back. I remember seeing a tattered and bloodied body like myself, covered with many layers of dirt, some dried, some still fresh. Because I had not seen another being like myself before, when I first saw her, I panicked.

I don’t know how she stumbled upon this part of the wood. But I remained still, keeping my distance to the body that laid there. And when she started to move, I stood alert on all fours, observing all her movements. She finally stirred awake and shuffled so she was sitting down. As her eyes laid on mine, she cowered away, the same fear mirroring my own. Her body slammed against the old oak tree, and she ended up bumping her head. She let out a whimper of pain, holding her head with both her hands, and I was on all fours and backed away fast, seeking the wall of a tall tree.

A moment passed by and her whimper turned into small sobs that eventually died out, then I decided to come out of my hiding. We stared at one another, analyzing the other’s features and body language. When she figured I was not going to harm her, she relaxed her shoulders and leaned her back against the tree. She slowly bought her knees up and wrapped her arms around her lean body whilst resting her head on her knees. I still remember the sadness I felt as she started to sob quietly once again. That time, the feelings were foreign to me for I had never interacted with a human before. I had become another animal that lived the woods.

So, like the animal I was, I slowly walked on all fours towards her, making sure not to scare her away. And when I finally got to her, I nuzzled my head against hers until she finally stopped. As her hiccups died down, all that surrounded us was the blanket of darkness and the sound of the woods that was now becoming alive, announcing another dark and perilous night.

As time went by, I became more human. Aya taught me to speak, to walk, to be human that I was meant to be. Or at least, that’s what I thought. But little did I know we were anything but human. I had a beast sleeping inside of me. So, I was in fact an animal to begin with. I belonged in the wilderness, and that day made me realize what I was.

It is still so clear in my eyes as if it all happened yesterday. That day as any other day when we ran out of food, we went to look for more. We never really came out of the deepest part of the woods unless absolutely necessary because we were more afraid of people than the animals in the woods or at least Aya was. But after searching for food for so long and with no luck on our side, we were starting to get desperate. So, that day, Aya dared to set her foot off the safety that the blankets of trees provided. Little did we know, everything would change after that day.

Soon as we exited the deepest part of the wood, now only surrounded by a thinly scattered trees, I was on my defense. Born in the woods, I felt calm when shadowed by the safety that the tall dark trees provided with little to no warmth from the sunlight that peeked through the trees; for me, I knew that was home. It hit me from the world that was far beyond. But now, I felt naked with nothing to cover me, revealing me to the world that I was unknown to. As we took few more steps towards the clearing, we both were tackled by two huge wolves. I was forced face down on the ground as its paws were digging into my back and its snout getting close to my neck, baring its sharp fangs, daring me to make a wrong move.

I somehow managed to look across for Aya, who was in the same situation as me. Then I really got to see the wolves that surrounded us. When I said huge, I underestimated it. Well, they were humongous. There were six surrounding us, one pinning me down while another pinned Aya. Growing in the woods, I have seen a large scale of animals, but wolves like these were a first. As I laid pinned on the ground, the wheels on my brain were turning, planning for an escape route.

I watched the black wolf step forward and make his way towards Aya. It halted as it got close to her. Suddenly, the bones in its back started to reform, and it cracked every time a bone in its body shrank, making him look more human? And soon enough, there stood a human right before my eyes.

Completely and utterly shocked, my brain froze as I still lay beneath the wolf. The black wolf, now a man, grabbed the bag that one of the wolves was holding in its mouth and pulled on a pair of pants. He then went back to Aya and knelt before her. As he tugged a fistful of Aya’s hair, bringing her face closer to his, a sharp cry left her mouth and a loud animalistic growl escaped mine. The man turned his head to the side to have a glance at me but ignored me regardless.

He tightened his grip on Aya’s hair as she shrieked in pain. The wolf pinning her got off as the man pulled her body up by pulling her hair. Tears started streaming down Aya’s face, and she was sobbing now. “I finally got my hands on you, little Aya.”

“I have been looking everywhere for you,” he growled, baring his sharp fangs at her.

He then turned around to the rest of the wolves and said, “Let’s make our way back. They need to see her body before they fully submit to me. The sooner we get there, the better it will be for everyone.”

He threw Aya’s small body next to another wolf. The wolf then grabbed Aya’s neck with his deadly sharp teeth and started walking away followed by the rest. As if someone had said something, the man turned around to where I was laying and said, “Yeah, bring her with us. Little Aya may need a company on the way home.”

I felt its sharp fangs like teeth sink into my neck, and I let out a yelp in pain. I started kicking and throwing punches around to get free of its hold. But the more I struggled, the harder its hold on my neck got. And I could feel the blood trickle around my neck as it started making a trail. With the pain kicking in, I gave up and let them take me along.

Once we reached the clearing, the view in front of me awed me; at the same time, something in me told me that there was something so wrong with it. I could see a lot of people out in the field: men, women, and children alike. But they were all on their knees, probably forced by the men or the man-like wolves that stood behind them who were either surrounding them in a protective barrier or imprisoning them. But I think it was the latter.

As their eyes looked our way, some men on their knees started growling and tried getting up. But the men behind them forced them back down on their knees, either pushing their shoulders back down or kicking them when they tried to fight back. That confirmed that I was, in fact, correct. These people were forced out here. But I still didn’t know why.

When we got closer to them, the man from before changed back to his human form and got dressed followed by the rest except for the wolf holding me. The man went back to picking Aya up by her hair. But this time, Aya didn’t let a single sound escape her tightly sealed lips. But pain was very visible on her face. He held his arm out, so Aya was facing everyone, and he got all the attention he needed regardless.

“Everyone. See here. This,” he said, pointing his free hand at Aya. “I have your little Alpha in my hands now.”

“I will free her of this life now, so we can all live in peace. Together. Happily,” he said. A declaration for the rest. An evil smirk very clear on his face unveiling whatever promises his words held.

Everyone gasped and let out cries or growls expressing both their fear and anger. Still having no clue what was going on and with the amount of blood lost, I was dazed. With the little words that I learnt from Aya and the feelings I was getting, I knew that nothing good was about to happen.

“And now, you shall all witness the end of your old pack,” the man announced. “From today onward, there will be no more Deep Red pack. I shall wipe out the last Alpha blood of this pack and be your new Alpha.”

“I ask you all present here to witness the end of the old era and the beginning of a new one.” He raised his free hand in the air for all to see. Slowly, his fingernails elongated into long sharp claws. The people kneeling were now fighting with the men holding them to get to Aya. I could hear the babies’ discomfort, the women’s fear, and the men’s rage. I didn’t know how. I didn’t know why.

Then I could see Aya’s face from the side where I was once again pinned to the ground. She was biting her lips to stop her cries that were begging to slip out of her mouth. The Aya I knew was not this. She would cry at the smallest pain. But now, I could clearly see her eyes. They were that of a leader, and right now they were pleading them to stop. She had no fear in them; she wanted to be brave for the people. Her people. Her prayers were for them. Their lives.

It all happened too quickly. The people started screaming “no” and struggled to be free. The man holding Aya was laughing hysterically. He stopped laughing, his lips slowly curling up into an evil grin as he bought his lethal claws down on Aya. Just as he was about to slash Aya’s chest, time stopped for me.

I wanted this to stop. No, I wanted to stop this! I felt a force, an energy so strong within me just waiting for me to unleash it. I started shaking violently. Now all I could see was white. My need to save Aya was making me crave more power. And I searched for that power within me. I saw bright white light at the end of it. I felt it. I knew it. It was mine.

Whatever this was, it belonged to me. So, I ran towards it. But I felt it coming to me at the same time. More like something running towards me. And as I got closer, I saw it. I saw her. A persona of pureness, matted with white fur, blending into the light. I knew her. She was my strength. She was my power. She had just been sleeping inside me, just waiting to be awakened. As she got to me, she submerged in me. We became one. And I felt her in me. Agnes.

My eyes got clearer, and I felt them glow. The scene before me unfolded. His hand was now almost on her, a mere centimeter away from her chest. He then started drawing a thin line of blood down her body. I was beyond furious. Everything around me was mute, for I could not hear the cries of the people or the roaring laughter of the man. All I could hear was the silent prayer in Aya’s eyes.

Then I felt it. I felt myself shifting as a loud animalistic growl left my lips. Everyone and everything stopped. Even the wind stopped blowing for a second. For all their attention was now shifted towards the roaring sound that was coming off me. At this point, the wolf above me was having a hard time containing me to the ground. A few bones cracked on my back as if they were forced to pop out. Then I felt my legs, arms, and spine elongate. But I felt no pain. All I felt was Agnes and her fury begging to be let free, so she could rip those men apart.

All those people who stopped struggling had their entire focus solely on me now. Their faces clear with confusion but also with fear? The wolf who was pinning me was now a few feet apart, baring its fangs at me. I had managed to push him off me. Unlike them, I was standing on my two feet. To me, it seemed as if I was taller than them, and I stood looking down at those huge beasts. Then I looked down; I saw my legs covered in white fur. My feet were elongated, strong bones outlining the thin skin, and my nails were sharp as claws.

I had no time to be surprised at the turn of events as I looked around me, then all I saw was red. I could see far clearly than my human eyes did. I felt a surge of energy inside of me. And I felt a bloodthirsty Agnes begging to be free. When my eyes landed back to a pained Aya, I set her free.

My paws shuddered as they hit the ground. I was fast. Unbelievably fast. It held a destructive force. In no time, I was face to face with the man holding Aya. I let out a furious snarl before I lunged for his neck, giving him no time to react. I tasted the warm, salty blood as my sharp, elongated canines punctured through his neck. I bit him hard and yanked his head off his shoulder, disconnecting it from the rest of his body.

I threw his head off before the people as loud gasps escaped everyone’s lips. In shock. In horror. Then I faced the rest of the men as some of them started to shift. I let out a thunderous growl before I lunged for all of them. I wiped their existence off the planet as I ripped and tore each and every one’s limbs and heads. I stomped my paws on the last wolf as it lay beneath me. I growled at it before I ripped half the piece of his neck that held his head to his body. A few seconds later, he laid still as life left his body. I let out a howl of victory at the end of my bloodlust phase. I was sane again, at least for now.

I breathed heavily and shook my head a couple of times. I turned to where Aya stood and made my way towards her. When I stood before her, she gave a soft smile and held her hand out. She gently brushed my arms as I stood a lot taller than her now. The people stood still. Their face held terror on them as they watched me. Their hands joined together, relying on each other to wake them from their nightmare that had me in it.

“You saved me. You saved us all,” Aya said loud enough for everyone to hear. A sweet smile was plastered on her now bruised and bloodied face.

“You clearly are different than the rest of us. I don’t think it was a coincidence that we met. I believe you were meant to be our savior.” Then she looked into my eyes as she held my hand. “I am not scared of you. I don’t fear you. I know you mean no harm to us now,” Aya said to help ease people’s fear and doubt about a beast like me. No one agreed, but no one interrupted or disagreed either.

“The Alpha in me feels ashamed that I could not even protect my own pack. And I hate myself for that. But I am so grateful to you. Thank you,” she whispered. Her teeth elongated, and she bit the flesh on her hand. Blood trickled around her hand as she held it forward.

“I, Aya Boyce, the last of the Alpha blood of the Deep Red pack, with my blood, I pledge my loyalty to you. Although you are strong, I shall be your shield and your sword. Even death will have to go through me before they even reach you.

“I know I am nothing now, but I will train hard. I will be the strongest one out there. From this day forth, there will no longer be Deep Red pack. I will no longer carry the name Boyce.

Aya. I will just be called Aya, for my life is forever in your debt.”

I understood the feelings rather than the meaning of the words spoken. I stood with my head high as they all knelt before me. For their Alpha had declared her loyalty to a beast now. I barely understood anything, but I clearly understood her feelings. Too scared to follow their Alpha with a beast, her pack decided to disperse as their Alpha had dismissed the pack itself.

And I doubt they were keen on following a child Alpha and a beast of a killing maniac. But before they left, they all vowed to never speak a word of what took place. And I know they would never utter a word—maybe it’s their sign of showing gratitude for saving their lives or maybe it’s fear they felt from my presence and the look on my face. Maybe it’s both. That day I left with Aya back to the woods. The deepest, darkest woods.

Born with no name, Aya blessed me with one. As we often heard the ravens croak in the part of the woods that we choose to reside, Aya decided that with hair as black as a raven and eyes as green as the deepest forest, she would call me Amara Raven. And that’s how the Raven came to be known. Or unknown still.

A girl born with no name. A girl left to die. I found a reason to live other than to survive. I got a name. An identity other than just another animal roaming the woods. I got a friend. A sister. A family to protect. I found my home with Aya. And the story of Amara Raven began.