Aldric was patrolling the perimeter of the village, the cool breeze rustling the trees and his hair, the light from the midday sun was beaming down from the holes in the forest canopy. His hood was down, mainly because there was no need for it but also because it was rather stifling sometimes. Aldric walked the beaten path around the village, one he'd walked thousands of times before. His eyes examining just inside the treeline for anything peculiar. Out of the corner of his eye he saw movement, a dark shape rushing out of the bushes. Aldric didn't quite see what it was, regardless he pulled up his hood and drew his bow, slinking across the ground to where the shape was. He checked the ground for tracks, finally finding what he was looking for. Alric followed the tracks for some time, maybe an hour before he came to the end of the trail. What he saw took Aldric's breath away, a stunning field of flowers, animals of all kinds, lions, bears, boars, birds of all kinds and in the middle of them all a great white stag. It seemed like all of the animals gathered were bowing to the stag. Aldric saw what he was tracking just ahead of him, a big gray wolf was trotting towards the rest of the gathering. Aldric was content to watch and see what was going on, shifting a bit to *Snap!* He cursed in his head as the sound of a twig breaking under his foot resounded through the clearing. Everything turned to face him, the wolf he followed being the closest. The white stag looked directly at the young man, he could feel the creature staring straight into his soul. Images flashed through his mind and he could hear the sound of Wolves howling. Aldric collapsed to his knees, clutching his head, staring up at the wolf as it bared it's fangs before pouncing on him. He felt no pain, only some form of ripping sensation as his throat is torn to pieces. Aldric stared at the flowers surrounding him, admiring their beauty as his vision faded to nothing........ ------------------------------- Aldric woke in a cold sweat, his hand reaching to his throat as he recalled the past few minutes. "Just a dream." He thought, panting as he glanced around the familiar surroundings of his bedroom. The door on the western side of the room opposite his bed and the window just above it. A small table housed his bow and quiver with his longsword hanging off the chair by it's baldric. He looked out the window, the sun almost cresting over the horizon but not quite. Aldric got up, pulling on his boots and finding a plain, white shirt to cover his bare chest. This early in the morning his father was sure to be up, likely starting a patrol or something. He put the baldric on, his sword hanging at his left hip, his hand lingered on the engraved pommel, the shape of a howling wolf. It was specially made for him, his personal symbol. His weathered, green cloak was hanging from a nail in the wall, he slung that around clipping the clasp of his brooch, which also was a wolf, shut. Next he slug his quiver over his back, his bow joining it. Finally Aldric went to get his belt pouch which was over by his window, as he reached for it something caught his eye. A small bud was growing from the corner of his window, small and green and on a long, curling vine. Aldric had no idea what it was nor where it came from. Actually it was rather quite vexing as Aldric had spent years familiarizing himself with every plant that grew in the vale. The best thing he could think to do was leave it it for the time being, he'd ask his father about it later for sure. Thinking of his father spurred Aldric to hurry and get started. He passed through the common room where Dagny was lying with her pups. He dearly loved his father's hound, such a stout and faithful companion. Hopefully one of her pups would prove to be such a companion for himself. Aldric took a quick peek into his parent's bedroom, confirming his mother was asleep and his father absent. His stomach growling Aldric took a quick detour through the kitchen, taking a loaf of bread and biting into it as he passed through the front door into the cool morning air. His first effort would be to locate his father, see if the elder Eleros had any special designs for his son today. He also had to ask about the flower, it's small green image kept creeping into the young hunter's mind. He would first check town hall, that would be a fair bet and from there he can search the rest of the town in an hour or two. So he started towards the center of town, whistling a signal that his father would surely know if he heard it.