A reader wrote this incredible fanfiction for my birthday! It directly corresponds with pages 4, 5, and kind of 6. What an awesome gift! Enjoy the untold story of the wolf-dog-thing. (Well I suppose it is told now…)

Chapter 1: In which a truth is revealed and quickly forgotten

Dear Reader,

These words were transcribed to commemorate the true hero of this land. It was recounted to me by the specter of the haggard wolf, who is said hero. Of course, he was not always a ghost and he assures me he lived a noble, solitary life for which he named himself; Ein.

Our story begins on the day of his death. From the start it was a strange day. The air felt heavier. The wind shifted in unnatural patterns like a large animal breathing. There was the smell of magic in the air. Ein has told me that he stayed in the area because he was unafraid of these stirrings and not because he wanted to steal rabbits out of traps near Port Gall.

He was stalking around the forest listening for the cries of small mammals when he heard a human stomping thought the undergrowth.  Ein looked around the trees to see a human he recognized, some seemingly dense male that was always digging around in the dirt and playing with poisonous plants. He was carrying a sac and Ein thought perhaps he was the one selected to retrieve the rabbits from their traps and bring them back to his alpha. Ein decided to creep closer, testing the air for the scent of an easy lunch. The smell of magic suddenly filled his nostrils. It was so overwhelming he felt dizzy for a moment before snapping back to reality on full alert.  He had never before felt such a strong concentration of magical energy and it seemed to be flowing around the idiot human coming from somewhere beyond the trees. Being exceptionally intelligent Ein quickly deduced that was happening. This boy had angered some great magical creature and now it was going to take revenge. Ein was about to turn to leave because he was no fool and knew beings such as this were not to be trifled with, but he looked at the human and felt so sorry for him. Not only are humans at a terrible disadvantage already with their dull senses, but his boy was surely even more handicapped if his pack valued his so little they did not instruct him in which plant he shouldn’t consumed. Perhaps he angered the creature without even meaning it. Surely he did not deserve to die for his ignorance. Ein would have no problem stealing food from the foolish human, but did he deserve death simply for his strange attraction to plants? Yet, his pack must have thought him valuable if they took care of him. He could not allow such an innocent helpless creature die for no reason.

And so Ein decided, in a great act of bravery, to scare the juvenile human back to his pack and save him from the wrath of this magical being. He closed most of the distance between him and the boy and growled a most fearsome growl. The boy turned with a look of horror on his face but did not run, so Ein leapt to spur the child into action.

As his feet left the ground he felt the magic surge, but it was too late to change direction. He sailed through the air nearly colliding with the human who had finally begun to move away. Then, he felt the impact and let out a dignified yelp before it was all over.

The magical creature had not wanted the human child to escape and had used its magic to tip over a tree. The tree was aimed right at the spot the child had been standing, the spot that Ein had leapt directly into. He had practically pushed the child out of the way of the falling tree and sacrificed his own life to do so. He looked down at his body which was flattened under the tree, mourning its loss. Never again would he chase rabbits through the grass or feel the sun on his back.

Ein looked up from his corpse expecting to see a great look of admiration and gratitude from the human he just saved. But as Ein watched, the boy he got up and walked off without even a moment of silence for his rescuer.

Ein watched him go looking from his body to the human as he moved away, fury spreading though his being. He died saving a dull human out of the goodness of his heart. He deserved a monument! Or at the very least a proper burial! How disgraceful! He vowed not to rest until someone acknowledged his heroism and glided off after the boy, seething with anger and hurt.

Authors note: Now I am much more interested in the narrator than Ein the ghost dog. Why can she see and understand a ghost dog? What convinced her to tell his story? Did he just annoy her into submission?

Ein the ghost dog: Did you tell them how noble I was?

Narrator: Yes.

Ein: And about my dignified yelp? And my fearsome growl?

Narrator: I did.

Ein: What about-

Narrator: Yes! I wrote it just like you said it. IT’S RIGHT HERE ON THE PAGE! SEE?!

Ein: …. I can’t read.