As I stared into the gaping mouth of a large demon-looking creature by the name of Alfred, I realized two things. One, I need to change my shorts and two, nothing could have prepared me for this. I took two steps back and grabbed the large blade that hung on a belt around my waist.

I called it the Legacy, for I had inherited it from my father who had inherited from his father. It had been handed down in such a fashion for over the past nine thousand or so years, I also mess up the dates. It had a spirit of fire bound to it by an ancient ritual, long before words had much, if any, value.

Of course, I wouldn’t be surprised if you don’t believe me. I didn’t believe it, even when my father told me about it. Well, to be honest I didn’t know he was my father at the time, but he still was. I had never seen the man my entire life, and when I finally do... well, let me start from the beginning.

My name is Stephen Warren, and I was born seventeen years previously in a sappy little town in the middle of Kansas. My older brother, John, and I were raised here by my mother, Catherine. It didn’t really bother me being in a single parent family because that was pretty much the norm for our little town. My mom had gotten a job at local bookstore, Black Dog Books, and had managed to budget enough money for us to live on. My brother ran away when he turned seventeen which was two years ago.

For a little while my Mom insisted everyone search, but then after a few months, she gave up. That always bothered me, that she gave up so easily. Of course, I also felt extremely angry at my brother’s apparent betrayal. Never once did I even recieve a postcard or a letter, and I know that he wouldn’t be stupid enough to have been kidnapped or anything. He was just a bastard, and I had to forget him and move on even though it hurt me more than words can say.

If not for my friends I think I would have gone insane. They helped me get through all of my pain. Another thing that got me through my troubles was a book I recieved in the mail. It was a book of old religions and supersition. In it was a section on a religion without a name, however its followers were called Garou. They belived in this holy Trait of sorts, only they believe that it got out of whack, I adopted their practices and beliefs as my own. With my religion I was able to get perspective on things and prepare myself spiritual.

Nothing, however, would prepare me for what happened. I was laying in bed when an overwhelming pain grabbed my stomach and seemed to radiate through my body. My knees ached, feeling like I hadn’t used them for an eternity. My arms felt like they were on the wrong body, like they had just been attached or like the rest of his body was growing but his arms refused to cooperate.

I ran to the bathroom, throwing up what felt like everything I have ever eaten. I stood up, tried to get a hold of myself. While I was wiping my mouth off in the kitchen I heard a howl in the distance.

I started the trek back to my room, when I noticed that someone had turned on my lights. I thought back, had I turned them on in my hast to the bathroom? No, of course, not. Carefully I took a cautious step forward, trying to listen what was going on in my room.

Slowly turning the cold brass doorknob ever so slightly to the left, and easing the door open. Leaning with my weight I managed to get half of my face inside my room where I got to peek at what was happening. A strange muscular man sat on my bed,leafing through an old yearbook of mine, occasionally chuckling to himself. Action was needed here, swift and brutal. I thanked Gaia that I took Tae-Kwon-Do.

I kicked down the door and leapt in, aiming my tiny body for the intruder. Moving with a swiftness I wouldn’t have thought a man of his size capable of moving at, he threw he off of him and on to the ground, where he immeaditly pinned me at the shoulders with his knees.

“Good job,” he snorted. He shifted his weight slightly, allowing me to manuever slightly. Pushing him off of me with all my might, I managed to slip out from under him. Getting to my feet, I backspin kicked him to the face, and stood ready for his counter-attack. “Very good job,” he breathed out, while rubbing his job.

He held his hands in a fighting style which I wasn’t familiar with. He threw a punch that a drunk monkey could have blocked. I grabbed his hand and, pulling him forward, kicked him in the gut.

I released him, trying to see if he would calm down or listen to reason. I was greeted with the image of him still standing in combat position, hands poised for an attack. He struck fast and hard, his left hand striking me in the solar plexus while his right hand went behind my head and grabbed it from behind. Pulling his right hand forward, he brought me spinning closer to him. I tried to struggle to gain more moving room, but it was futile.

I was now in front of him, with him holding me tightly. From the way that he was holding me I could tell that he knew much more of the martial arts than I did. This wasn’t too hard a task to accomplish, after all, I only had a good two and half years of Tae-Kwon-Do under my belt.

“I’m not here to hurt you,” he growled out. At the sound of his voice I stopped struggling. “Good. Now, maybe we can have a talk. A nice rational talk, can we do that?”

“Yes,” I replied after a moment’s pause. It wasn’t that the thought of talking repeled me but I had to evaluate all my options and make sure I wasn’t walking head first into some elaborate trap. After taking a moment of his own to try and size me up, he released me. I took a seat and turned to face him.

“Well, this didn’t go exactly as I had planned it,” he started. “But, it will have to do.” I just sat there, eyes wide open, staring at this intruder to my household. Though for some odd reason that I couldn’t explain, I felt as if he wasn’t an intruder. More like he was a welcome guest who had come and gone from this house quite a few times. My visitor took a few deep breaths and then sat down himself.

“I have come to see you now that you are of age,” he said. He paused, and for a moment he looked as if he had forgotten something and only know remembered it. “But first, I suppose introductions are in order. My name is Richard, but my ‘mates call me Running Tooth.”

“’Mates?” I asked.

“Friends,” he clarified. “My friends call me Running Tooth. Yes, that is my name. Your name is Stephen, and you are quite special.”

“Everybody’s special,” I said in my childish innocence. At this he only laughed to himself.

“Yes, yes they are,” he said. “But, you are extra special.”

“Are you extra special too,” I inquired.

“Yes, I am.” He responded quickly.

“What makes you so special,” I asked, my eyes probably as big as saucers. He stared at me for a moment, dumbstruck, then shook it off and attempted to return to our conversation.

“Well, I’m special for two reasons. One, for the same reason as you. And the other? Well,” he paused and took a deep breath. Then, while looking me in the eyes, he said, “The other reason I’m so special is because I’m your father.”

“My father?”

“Yes.”

“Then why’d you break into my room?” At this question he seemed like he was going to bust a gut laughing. He could hardly contain himself.

“Fair question. Fair question,” he said, wiping the tears from the corners of his eyes. “The reason I broke into your room is because it would be best if I made little noise coming in, so as not to arouse suspicion. You see, I need you to run away with me.”

I blinked. What was he talking about? He wanted me to run from my mother, my home, my friends. For what? What did want me to do that was so important that necissitated me leaving my home? How was I to even know if he was my father, I mean he had no proof. Although, for some reason, I felt that he was. I just knew, deep down inside that he was who he claimed he was. It was like a sixth sense kicking in or something. But, even if he was my father, why should I go with him? Because he abandoned me, I have to abandon my life?

“I know what you are thinking,” he said calmly. I looked at him with my doubting thoughts and accusing eyes.

“And what might that be?” I asked.

“You’re wondering why I want you to leave. You’re wondering if I am who I say I am.”

“No, I know you’re my father,” I said before I even thought about it. I cursed myself for saying that, but something about him seemed so inviting that I couldn’t help but let my guard down slightly.

“Good. But, you still have doubts about leaving with me?”

“Wouldn’t you?”

“I did, when I left,” he said. “So did your brother.” My ears picked up at news of my brother’s whereabouts.

“You know where he is?” I asked enthusically. Even though I was angry at him, I still loved the bastard. At my question, Richard seemed to grow quiet and solomn.

“No,” he responded quietly. “No, I don’t know where he is. I used to know, but he has since moved away and I haven’t heard word from him.”

“When did you last speak to him?” I demanded. He squinted his eyes, trying to recall the exact date.

“About four or five months ago, at his wedding.”

“W... Wed... Wedding?” I stuttered. “My brother is married?” Richard looked around, as if he had let loose something that he shouldn’t have.

“Yeah.”

“He has a wife?”

“Yeah.”

“That I’ve never met?”

“Yeah. He wanted to invite you to the wedding, but we have rules against that sort of thing.”

“Against what? A man seeing his own brother on his wedding day?” I yelled. “What rule can you justify that does that?” I was angry. No, that’s an understatement. I was pissed.

“Look, I can explain...”

“I don’t want any of your damn explainations!” I interupted. I stood up and pointed to the door. “Get the hell out of my room!”

“Look, I have to get you to understand the importance of this. You have to leave with me right now, I’ve wasted too much time already.”

“I don’t care, just leave me alone.”

“Look, Stephen, I am your father and...”

“Don’t you dare pull that bullshit!” I yelled. “You lost all of your rights as my father when you abandoned us, abandoned me.”

“Again, there are rules that have to be followed.” He stopped and rubbed his eyes and the bridge of his nose with the tips of his thumb and index finger. “Look, we have to leave. Your life is endangered the longer we stay here. We’ve got to go”

“No. Not until you explain to me why...”

My words were cut off by the sound of glass breaking and the weight of what felt like human-sized dog landing on my chest. Falling to the ground, I caught a glimpse of my father growing slightly in size. Then, as I watched on, he changed.

He grew another foot or so and fur sprouted out of his skin. His clothes disappeared, to be replaced by a what appeared to be a battle outfit consisting of a belt with two pouches and a cloth dangling in front of both his genitals and buttocks.

What caught my attention the most of his wardrobe, was a large blade which hung off of his belt. It seemed to call to me with a certain familairity. When I closed my eyes I could see myself standing over a vast field of vanquished foes, all of which are hideously deformed, with that blade in my hand. It’s long blade covered with blood and the innards of my enemies.

With a swift flowing motion, my father drew out his sword and swung it. In one graceful arc, the blade sliced into and through whatever was on top of me. It wasn’t until the blood fell on me that I realized that it was alive.

I pushed the corpse off of me and stood up. Looking down at the creature I noticed that it was a large beast, with long arms that had a leathery looking film that went from its wrist to its hips. The thing also had an extremly large and disguting belly, which must have been where most of its weight must have come from.

“Come.” With that, my father jumped out of my second story house. I jumped after him, not wanting to face another one of those creatures by myself. Once I had landed on the ground outside, we started running towards the woods near my house.

We ran for a good long while in those woods, the moonlight piercing through the treetops. When we came to an incline he suddenly and without warning stopped running. He then sat down and patted the ground next to him, meaning that I should sit there. Which I did.

“There is much I have to tell you and much you have to learn.” He looked up at the moon, which had covered his face with a warm glow. “You know so little of your people.”

“Who are my people?” I asked sheepishly. I was surprised at how meek my voice had gotten. I hadn’t realized how frightened that thing had made me until that moment.

“We call ourselves Garou.”

“I’m a Garou!” I said enthusiscatly, feeling that for the first time I actually knew what was going on. He glanced over at me. It was hard for me to tell in the wilderness, but it sounded like he chuckled to himself.

“You have no idea what that word means.” His tone was not dergoatory per se, but it did have a tinge of ‘you’re just repeating what you heard’ to it.

“No, I worship Gaia,” I informed him. At this his head whipped around. “I know all about the Trait and how the Garou are the protectors of the Wyld.”

“Where did you hear all of this?” He asked, sounding baffiled. I felt as if I had shown my dad not to underestimate me. It felt good. It felt damn good.

“I have my ways,” I said, my voice sounding full of cockiness.

“Well, Mr. Know-it-all, why don’t you grace me with your rendition of the Trait?” He said, he leaned back looking like a small child ready for a bedtime story.

“Well, in the beginning there was Gaia,” I started.

“Of course,” he affirmed.

“Hey, this is my story, be quiet.”

“Sorry.”

“Well, Gaia made the Triat which consisted of the Wyld, the Weaver, and the Wyrm. The Weaver was the embodiment order, while the Wyld was the embodiment of chaos, and the Wyrm the embodiment of balance. Then, the Weaver went insane from all the chaos that was around it. So, it tried to organize everything. It started with the Wyrm, which went insane from the Weaver’s organizational crusade. Thus, the Wyrm went from the balancer to the coruptor.”

“And you believe all of that?”

“Of course.”

“Based on what?”

“Faith,” I responded. “For some reason it makes sense. It’s like when I read about it, everything just clicked into place on some giant cosmic lock. I just understood everything.” My father rubbed his fingers through my hair.

“That’s my kid!” He said. “Now, how do the Garou fit in?” I blinked. Now that I thought of it, I didn’t really know. I knew that they were the protectors of the Wyld. I knew they had rituals and that they tried to fight corruption and the now crazy Wyrm, but I had no idea of anything beyond that.

“We fight corruption, inside and out.”

“Good basics, but do you know anything more?”

“No, sir,” I replied meekly.

“Well, the Garou fight corruption, you got that right. But we don’t do petitions or boycotts or anything like that. You see, we are true warriors and we battle Wyrm creatures, for they have become corrupt and seek not only our destruction, but the destruction of everything.”

“Like that creature that came into my room?”

“Exatcly. That was a Wyrm creature sent to retrieve you and turn you into a Black Spirial Dancer.”

“Black what dancer?”

“Black Spirial Dancer,” he sighed and paused as he thought carefully. “Think of them as Garou that instead protect the Wyrm in place of the Wyld.”

“Why would anyone want to do such a thing?”

“The Wyrm is the corrupter, and they are just Garou that have been corrupted But, this is all stuff we can go into later. We need to have a talk about what you are.”

“What am I?” I asked shocked by the way he phrased the question.

“You are a Garou.”

“I know that.”

“But you do not know what it means.”

“Then tell me.”

“You’re a werewolf.” There was a pause, when the only noise that was made came from the forest around us. An owl’s hoot could be heard off in the distance, and of course, the cliched cricket’s chirp.

“What?”

“That’s what being a Garou is, it’s being a werewolf. You are a Stargazer to be exact.”

“Star what?”

“Gazer. Stargazer. Think of it as a,” he paused while he tried to find the right word. He licked his lips and squinted his eyes until the looked like small beads on his face. “Denomination. That’s what it is, a denomination.”

“Why am I a Stargazer?”

“Because I am and it is hereiditary.”

“Do I have to eat human flesh now?” Looking back this question was probably the one I regreted most, for it showed how foolish I was and how little I knew. My father only laughed.

“No, no you don’t. That’s just in the movies. You also won’t turn into a mindless beast once every full moon.” I breathed a sigh of relief. I tried to make it indiscreet but he noticed anyway and chuckled.

“So, how do I... change?”

“Well, there will come a time when you can do it of your own free will. This form I’m in now is called Homid. Now, watch closely.” For a moment, I stared at my father. He appeared like any normal human being, then it seemed like he was gaining bulk and muscle. Out of nowhere, his biceps bulged along with the rest of his muscles. His teeth and nails seemed to grow sharper and almost deadly.

“This form is called Glabro,” he said in a throaty voice. Then before my eyes, he began to change once again. He grew to about nine feet tall. His teeth becoming full grown fangs and his nails turning into claws. Fur sprouted out of him, until he had a nice brown coat covering his body. His clothes disappeared and were replaced by his loin cloth and belt.

“This form is called Crinos,” he said in his gutteral voice. I noticed that he wasn’t speaking English anymore, or at least not any recognizable English, yet I could still understand him. He started shrinking down a bit now, his fur become thicker and fuller. When the change stopped he looked like an Alaskian Timber Wolf or something.

“This form is called Hispo,” he growled. He started shrinking once again and when he stopped, he was a wolf.

“This form is called Lupus,” he barked. By now he was speaking in some odd language which I could still understand.

“How can I know what you’re saying?” I asked.

“Garou can understand two languages instinctvely, their native tongue and wolf tongue. It’s just the way it is.”

“So, when can I change?” I asked.

He looked at me. Then, as I watched on, he changed a final time. This time he cycled through all of the forms, until he stopped at his human form.

“There will come a time, called the First Change, when you will turn into Crinos without trying. This is an emotional time, which I am here to help you through.”

“What will happen? When will it happen?” I asked frightened. This was all coming at me rather fast. I was surprised at my ability to deal with it so calmly. For some reason which I could not explain, it felt like my life was leading up to this.

“It will happen tonight. I will be watching out for you, but it is something you must do alone. So, I will leave you know. When you wake up, I’ll be there. Don’t worry.” Before I could even open my mouth to protest, he disappeared into the shadows. I stood up, frantically looking around me.

“Dad!” I screamed. “Dad!” My eyes scoured every inch around me, looking for something to help me track him or find him. My emotions were going haywire, I felt everything at once. I felt angry, abandoned, and an odd calm. I sat down on the ground and breathed deeply. Using my meditation techiniques I forced those emotions away and tried to focus on the calm.

Serene. At home. Centered. Balanced. These were the feelings I allowed into me. I was a Garou. The forest was my home. I would have to let it be my home. I would have to allow it to calm and relax me. I breathed deeply.

Then the pain hit my stomach again. Agony. Intense suffering racked my body. And mind. Mind? Yes. Becoming harder and tougher and harder to form thoughts in my. Head. Screams. Tearing out of my flesh, as if it is no longer a part of Me. My eyes felt as if they were going to BURST from the strain of all the news sights, ears feel like they are bleeding from the new sounds. I tried to cover my face from the Horrors around them when I noticed. My face. Had changed. I was an animal. With an animal’s face. I ran. Ran to escape my pain. To escape the hatred. I howled with rage. RAGE! Gaia was speaking to me. Screaming to me. In my ear. All the crimes against Her which had gone unpunished. All of it. Blood for blood! I would take her pound of flesh in return for her being raped!

No. Need to focus. Breathe. Took a breathe and breathed slowly and deeply. My wits returned to me. I was standing in the forest, I could no longer see the incline where I had been resting only a few short moments ago. I tried to look down at my watch when I realized I didn’t have one. I had just had fur, fur, and more fur.

Then the pain hit again. My head started throbbing. Pain. Don’t like pain! My head hurt. Time seemed to stop and I feel down to the ground, gasping for breath. My vision was becoming blury and I felt conciousness draining from me.

“It’s alright son, I’m here.”

My father’s face was the last thing I saw before the darkness overtook me.