Disclaimer: Oz belongs to Joss. A lot of the demonolgy is also his. The rest is mine. If anyone has any questions e-mail me at mmcdani1@hotmail.com.
Please rate me!
Thanks for reading and enjoy!
Episode 1
"Hunted"
Southern Tibet - October, 2000
Light yellows and greens covered the lush, rolling hills outside of the Hran Monastery. Wind poured off of the nearby mountain range, down through the valley, and up over the hills in large, sweeping gusts. Daniel Oswald looked very small, dwarfed by the awesome terrain, but at the same time very statuesque, standing still in the face of the strong winds, his robes billowing behind him. He stood for a moment looking at his sensei, the Master Shen, who had helped him begin to take control of the dark beast inside of him. Master Shen was a man of seemingly infinite wisdom and knowledge, and was both a skilled teacher and a good friend, but Oz knew that there was nothing else he needed to learn from him. Shen had helped him get a hold on the wolf, but he could help Oz no further in the matter. Shen knew that his knowledge of the wolf would be enough to start Oz on his own spiritual quest to destroy it, but he lacked the intimate understanding of the darkness to be of much help to him anymore.
So they stood in silence for long moments before bidding farewell. Oz turned to the path he was about to walk and smiled a calming smile to himself. There was nothing to be said between the two men, and without turning back set off on his path.
It was almost nightfall before Oz decided to stop for the evening. He had traveled far during the day, but he knew that it would be several more before he would reach his destination. He sat down in the grass and unfolded the small travelling pack Shen had given him. It had several days' trail rations, as well as a supply of the herbs and incense Oz used to subdue the wolf.
He also carried a staff, which though he had not really trained with he thought would be a useful weapon on his journey. The staff was adorned with the markings of the Hran Monastery and the name by which he was referred to by Shen, Shi-Khare. It meant 'master of wolf', but Oz had never really thought it more than a name.
Oz lay back and watched the moon climb into the sky. It wasn't going to be full until the next day, but even now he could feel the wolf inside him, howling at the stars. The wolf was restless, as if it knew what was coming, and it couldn't wait for its time to come. Oz exhaled loudly as he thought about the wolf. He would keep it from coming tomorrow night, just as he had for many moons before it. For a second his thoughts wandered back to Willow, but only for a second. He wouldn't let himself. That was the only thing that could force the wolf out of him. It was the thing that could drive his emotions to their bursting point, and release the beast inside of him. For months now he had thought about his curse. He thought there had been rules involved. He had thought that it would only come at the full moon. He had thought it could only come out at night. And he had thought that he found the cure. But he was wrong. Now he didn't know what would happen to him. He only knew that Willow could turn him into a monster.
So he moved his thoughts away from her and slowly began to drift off. He started to relax to the sound of a light breeze rustling through the trees. The smell of wild flowers growing through the woods and the feel of the soft grass underneath him was almost therapeutic. He could sense a flock of birds fly by. He sank deeper into peace until the sudden noise of quick footsteps startled him. He sat up abruptly and listened intently to the noise. Someone was being chased by more than one person. He could hear the frightened breaths of the person being chased, and it sounded like a young woman. Oz stood up quickly and started off into the brush and towards the noise. A second later he reappeared, retrieved his staff, and set back off.
He saw a woman, not more than twenty years old darting through the trees in front of him. Seconds later, he saw the pursuers, two soldiers with light leather armor and small hunting axes, and a man dressed in robes carrying a book. Oz immediately thought he looked like a missionary, but he had a bad feeling about the man, a sort of innate distrust. Oz leapt off parallel to the chase, closing in on the girl. She came into view as she tripped over a fallen branch, and immediately the soldiers were upon her. They held her firmly by the arms and brought her to her knees to face the robed man. He looked at her with a solemn face as he opened his book and began reading from the text. Oz cursed himself for not paying more attention in his Latin class in high school as the man read purposefully to the girl. She was almost sobbing now, barely choking out pleas for her life, and suddenly as if she noticed something new, she looked directly to the place Oz was hiding. He was startled and immediately shrunk back. There was no way she could have seen him shrouded in trees and darkness he thought. But she did look right at him...
He looked back up and saw that she was now looking around more frantically and sobbing harder as one of the soldiers moved behind her. He started to bind her hands behind her as the man continued his reading. The girl began to struggle fiercely, but the soldier hit her on the face and she stopped. The soldier stood up and stood with his arms crossed behind the girl. The robed man closed his book and kept speaking, finishing his speech. The soldier closest to him was fondling the grip of his axe. The girl slowly turned her head to face Oz once more. He looked into her eyes and understood what was about to happen. He didn't know why, but this girl was about to be executed. The guard closest to him took up his axe in a firm grip and was about to take a step forward when Oz leapt from his hiding spot, catching him off guard with a staff to the mouth. The second guard quickly looked up and lunged at Oz as the robed man stepped back. The girl crawled over to the discarded axe of the fallen guard who was now unconscious and bleeding profusely from the mouth and nose, and began to cut the rope binding her hands.
Oz had engaged the soldier for only a moment before he realized that he was entirely outmatched, and decided that he needed to escape quickly. He narrowly dodged the soldier's attacks until suddenly the guard fell unconscious. Oz looked up to see the girl holding an axe and the robed man with a mixture of shock and fury on his face. The first soldier began to stir, and the Oz and the girl made a break for it.
They ran quickly back to Oz's campsite, and he quickly gathered his things without speaking. He almost didn't notice when the girl finally spoke up.
"Th..." She started shyly. Oz looked up at her quizzically and she lowered her head. "Thanks... for saving me back there." Oz looked at her for a moment.
"Yeah... sure." He turned back to his backpack, which was now finished being packed.
"What's your name?" she asked quietly. Oz stood up with his bag over his shoulder and faced her.
"Oz", he stated in his usual monosyllabic manner.
"My name is Lydia", she replied. They stared at each other for a moment before Oz suggested that they should keep moving, and they set off into the woods again. Neither spoke for over an hour. They were both thinking about their pursuers, whether they were closing in or not, wondering if they had given up the search. They both had a gut feeling that the men would not easily relinquish their search. Finally, Lydia spoke up, in a hushed voice, as they cut through the wilderness.
"Why are you doing this?" she asked. "I mean, why are you helping me, and why did you rescue me before?"
"I don't know. Why were you going to be executed?"
"I have no idea. Those men attacked me earlier today and chased me all the way out here from my village. I thought I had lost them a little while ago, but they found me and caught me. That's when you came."
"But you don't know why they attacked you?"
"No. No idea." Oz didn't question her. He felt that something didn't make sense. Why would she be executed without knowing why? Still, she did seem genuinely frightened and lost, and he could relate to that right now. He pushed quickly through the trees and took no notice of Lydia struggling to keep up. She slowly followed him, and she squinted a little as her eyes began to glow a dull yellow. She smiled faintly as she saw through the dark more clearly, and picked up her pace to meet her guide's.
A few hours later they came to the edge of the woods and stopped for a break. Oz surveyed the countryside for a moment before sitting down and taking a drink from his waterskin. He passed it to Lydia, who took it and hastily drank. They sat for a moment, and Lydia broke the silence once again.
"Where are we going?" she asked with a polite reluctance in her voice.
"Just passed those hills", he pointed to the rolling countryside behind him, "there's a monastery. It's called the Ija-horu." She looked out to the hills for a moment before starting again.
"Why are you here? In Tibet, I mean." He looked at her silently for a moment. What should he tell her? That he was a werewolf trying to overcome his affliction? She would think that he's insane. That or she would run in fear of him. "You don't have to answer me." She said quietly. He didn't. After a few minutes they arose silently and set off on their journey again.
As dusk approached they spotted their attackers behind them in the distance, and despite their weariness trudged onward. Oz thought that as long as he could reach the monastery before the soldiers caught up with them, they would be okay. The monastery was a school and a sanctuary for anyone on the side of good. The details of what went on at the temple or who inhabited it remained a mystery to Oz for the moment. He wasn't even quite sure as to why he was going at all. He had been living quite peacefully and werewolf free with Shen the past few months. He had resolved his feelings for Willow since his last trip to Sunnydale, and didn't really feel the threat of the wolf anymore. There was a time when it was growing stronger inside of him, during the time before he first left Willow. It was because of Veruca. The basic instincts of the two wolves were very overpowering for Oz, causing him to be pushed aside by the wolf. Now, he had turned it around. He still couldn't really understand why he could only change because of Willow. Maybe that is why he was travelling to Ija-horu. Maybe it was because he still thought that he could rid himself of the wolf once and for all. But why even bother now. Willow was in love with somebody else now. Another woman. The thought stung in his mind, though it was quickly eased by the realization that he was truly the only man for her. But she had moved on, and now, he thought, so must he.
They could finally see the monastery in the distance as they came to the peak of a hill. The full moon was rising slowly into the darkening sky. Oz could feel the light on his skin, beckoning to the beast inside of him, but he was too preoccupied with evading their pursuers to dwell on the feeling.
Not too much later they reached the last stretch of their journey. As they lightly jogged towards the monastery Oz could smell the men who were hunting them. He knew that they were close now, apparently not tiring from the journey. As they finally reached the steps of the temple, the hunters emerged from the forest. Having spotted their mark they rushed in at full speed, weapons ready for the attack. Oz quickly drew his staff but was caught off guard as something rushed out from behind him to intercept the attackers.
It was a man dressed in gray robes wielding a katana. He moved very quickly and gracefully, occupying the soldiers, but their leader quickly broke away and made for Oz and Lydia. He moved in quickly, dodging Oz's attack and disarming him of the staff. With a quick blow to the abdomen Oz fell to his hands and knees. The priest grabbed Oz's staff from the ground and without hesitation landed a blow to Oz's back that knocked him flat on the ground. Oz's head reeled as he let out a groan of pain and exhaustion. The priest looked up to Lydia and snarled "filthy half-breed".
Meanwhile, the mysterious warrior was slowly but effectively evading and ultimately dispatching of the two soldiers. He danced around them as they tried fruitlessly to penetrate his defense. Every now and then he'd find an opening and make a quick blow to one of them.
Oz painfully shifted his head to see if Lydia was all right. She was backing up the stairs as the priest followed menacingly. Oz used a great deal of willpower to pick himself up off the ground. He listened for a moment to what the priest had been saying.
"Demons are pure. They possess the only true clarity that is necessary for the achievement of great power. Disgusting half-breeds like you are an insult to the power that is your lineage. The conflict that resides in your being affects your ability to-"
Oz interrupted as he felt a familiar pain in his side. "If you haven't noticed, you're lackeys aren't getting the job done over there", he waited for the priest to watch as one of his men fell, "If I were you, I wouldn't think that this is the best time to pick a fight with two 'half-breeds' like us." The priest looked at him with a puzzled look and Oz smirked for a second. He looked up to the moon and said "maybe half-breed isn't the right term, but you should still rethink your involvement in this fight. Before the hunter had time to put what Oz said together in his head, Oz started to change. Thick fur began to spread over his face and arms, and his skeleton started to bend into the shape of the werewolf.
After pausing for a second to regain his composure, the werewolf lunged furiously at the priest and within moments had found his throat and tore it out. The mysterious warrior, finished with the two soldiers, ran up behind the werewolf, who was now gnawing on the arm of his victim. He rushed in, sword raised, and was about to attack when Lydia interrupted him.
"No!" she commanded him. He paused for a moment as the werewolf looked up from his meal and snarled at the warrior. "He's a man! Don't kill him!"
"This is a savage beast and is more dangerous than both of the soldiers I just fought!" He stated authoritatively. His voice was clear and masculine, with no trace of pity or remorse. He stared at her coldly, daring her to defend the wolf who had now resumed feasting on it's prey.
She moved foreword and opened her mouth to speak, but a soft voice came from behind her. "She is right, Lau. Do not kill this creature." As he spoke Lau's entire persona seemed to shift. Rather than being in charge and determined he was now nothing more than a student before his master. The wizened old man slowly made his way down the steps and slowly approached Oz. He wore white robes with beige adornments that ran down the front. He had white hair and deep gray eyes. He muttered something softly to Oz, who promptly seemed to become very weary. He let out a yawn, and climbed up the stairs and into the monastery. The old man followed after him, and as he came to the doorway he spoke again. "Madam, Lau will show you to your quarters, and we will have breakfast together in the morning. Until then, try to rest."
They walked up the steps and without speaking entered the temple. Lydia sighed as she looked around at what she guessed would be her new home for a while. Lau led the way upstairs as the door closed behind them.
Next: Episode 2 - "Arrival"
|
|
|
|
Rave
Barbie Girl (Becca)
biscuit07
Filmtheory (Jim)
Malice (Jess)
MebbtheScribe (MichaelB)
Reset (Allie)
Shay (Marrisa)
somnambulist29 (Shea)
Stephanie Loss
Wendyness (Wendy)
Questions?Contact Us
|
|
All stories on this site have been archived with the authors' consent. Do not copy these stories for your own uses without the express consent of the author themselves. Buffy the Vampire Slayer TM and Angel TM are © UPN, WB, Fox and its related entities. All photos on the site are © UPN, Fox, Warner Bros, and/or their respective owners. No profits are being made by use of these images.
Powered with the assitance of eFiction.
|
|
|
