Vulpe Redux
Fill your heart with love in the morning and throughout the day let all you meet have a drink.
One time shortly before he had gone back to get Corbcer and Diavol, some hunters had gotten through the barrier. Though he was not with his totems, their minds were as one, so he saw and knew all they saw and knew. Diavol and Corbcer had kept an eye on the hunters and saw them kill a wolf. Diavol immediately went after them, separated them from their rifles and drove them back through the barrier. Diavol was not gentle with them and put such fear in them that they would never return, or anyone else for that matter.
Unulrău was aware of the Quest and tried to stop Ravenwolf from getting his totems but knew nothing of the young girl on the other side of the barrier. Ravenwolf knew what Unulrău knew, and didn’t know, because of the leather book. Because Unulrău did not understand love he did not understand what the merging might mean, but iT knew it was not a good thing for iT.
Upon returning to the valley, all three went to the other side of the barrier and started working on their plan. Corbcer was the sky eyes, being able to see the whole valley from above. Diavol was the ground eyes and studied the feelings of the people.
Ravenwolf’s mission was to get Vulpe to understand what was needed of her which was no small task considering all she knew about was in her valley.
There was also the concern of whether her spirit and his were compatible to the degree that was needed to be able to merge, even if that were possible. Always before, the merging took place when the totem was very young. Vulpe was a full-fledged adult and of the opposite sex; nothing like this had ever happened before and in fact, may very well be impossible.
Diavol was spotted and that, of course, disturbed the villagers because of the recent involvement with the hunters on the other side of the barrier, and since normal wolves would occasionally take one of their sheep. Diavol was significantly larger than an ordinary wolf.
Vulpe was truly an exceptional lass, which would be expected since she had the essence of an Om Intelept. She had a great affinity for nature and was fearless. Though she never trained, she had the body and latent abilities of the finest of warriors. However, she did not know this.
She was aware of the black wolf and actually would like to have come upon it, having no fear of any of the animals of the Haunted Forest. It was for this reason that she would go out every evening to walk through the areas where he had been spotted.
One night while doing this, she heard a noise behind her and whirled around to behold a tall, muscular but gaunt young man looking at her. To her, he was beauty personified. He was over six feet tall with arms that spoke of great strength. His eyes were the color of the blue sky on a spring day. His smile pulled her in, and she wanted so badly to hug and kiss him.
But she did not. Instead she said with a smile on her lips, “And who are you, kind sir?”
And Ravenwolf said, “I am the Man of the Wood and I am here to get to know you.”
“And what is your name, Man of the Wood? For that is much too cumbersome to call you all the time.”
“Vulpe, you can call me Ravenwolf.”
“Well Sir Ravenwolf, how is it that you know my name? For I have never met you and may not wish to get to know you.”
Then Ravenwolf said to Vulpe, “I am of the Wood, and the Haunted Forest tells me all. The Haunted Forest has told me your name, but more than that, it has told me you are also of the Wood and we should get to know each other.”
Vulpe listened to his words and looked upon his countenance and knew he was telling the truth. To her this was not strange; it was as it should be, so she said to Ravenwolf, “Gentle Man of the Wood who is called Ravenwolf, I accept you as truthful and would find joy in strolling in the evenings getting to know you and letting you get to know me.”
As Corbcer flew throughout the sky of the valley and Diavol hunted and spied throughout the land of the valley, Ravenwolf bonded with the woman who could save his planet.
She was everything he had hoped she would be: intelligent, strong, kind, brave and had the intuition of The Way as only an Om Intelept of the highest level could have. However, he had yet to discuss with her about any of this.
Unulrău was aware that Ravenwolf had returned to Earth but did not know why. Though iT could not surf The Way, iT could project itself anywhere there is hate and hate is also throughout the Universe.
On Earth iT selected a number of people that had hate in their hearts, and through their dreams, iT subdued them, making them iTs allies. iT then sent them to the valley to stir up hatred for the large black wolf which was easy to do because, after all, he was a large black wolf.
When Henri told the village that there was a black haired stranger that lived in the woods, these allies of Unulrău chimed in and said they had heard of him and that he was with the wolf; in fact he was a ‘pricolici’ which in their language means werewolf. The black wolf and the youth were one and the same.
Some of the villagers believed it because they believed in werewolves. Others were just disturbed that there was a stranger living in the Haunted Forest who said he came through the barrier which could not possibly be true because no humans lived there. The allies of Unulrău regularly hunted the woods for either the wolf or the man but had no luck.
Vulpe and Ravenwolf quickly fell in love which was natural because they were of the same essence. Ravenwolf had not told the reason he was there and Vulpe knew nothing about the danger of Unulrău, only that she wanted to be with Ravenwolf.
When the hunters discovered Ravenwolf on the cliff while tracking the wolf, they knew they had to kill him, and when Ravenwolf jumped off the cliff, they were unaware that he had landed on the silver disk, where Diavol and Corbcer were waiting, so they thought they had succeeded.
Ravenwolf returned to Corb Lupia to inform the Consilui Intelepti of what was going on and that he had found the woman and that he felt they might be able to merge, he just did not know how.
Because of urgent business, it would take him several months before he could return. This was because upon his return his father told him that the Bivolian army had regrouped and were again being led by the Mysterious Woman. Apparently the Corb Lupians had underestimated the power of the Mysterious Woman and the determination of Unulrău to destroy them. Whereas it was thought it would take the Bivolians a year or more to regroup, it seemed it had only taken them several months.
For some reason the Bivolians thought they were now so strong that they could conquer Oras din Corbul, the capital of Corb Lupia, and were heading toward there now. What made them think they were that strong? No one could come up with an answer, and that alone gave them worry.
Ravenwolf was anxious to get back to Vulpe, but he knew he was definitely needed in Corb Lupia.
The battle was to be fought the next day. On the plain before the city, Corb Lupia had ten thousand warriors grouped ready to fight. Coming toward the city were a hundred thousand Bivolians, with their vehicles and led by the Mysterious Woman.
Ravenwolf was off to one side with Diavol, and Corbcer was flying over the Bivolians soldiers so Ravenwolf could see what was going on. He was confused as to why the Bivolians would attempt the attack. Yes, it was true that the Corb Lupians were greatly outnumbered, but they had another sixty thousand warriors in the city if needed, and to anyone who ever had dealings with the Corb Lupians it was known that one Corb Lupian warrior could normally handle six of any other country. What was the Mysterious Woman thinking?
The Bivolians attacked rushing at the Corb Lupians who all at once gave the Corb Lupian war cry and rushed right into the melee. From the beginning the Corb Lupians were winning for they were superior in discipline, courage and skill.
Then through Corbcer’s eyes, Ravenwolf saw in the horizon clouds starting to form and in his heart and soul he knew what it was. It was Unulrău and iT was coming to the battle with all the force of pure Hate.
Unulrău had never before interfered in the wars and battles of man directly; iT just fed off the hate, murder and mayhem that were produced. Was it because of Unulrău’s absolute hatred for Ravenwolf, or did iT fear something more? Did iT know that Ravenwolf might be one of the keys to iTs destruction?
The clouds grew thicker and darker, and the rumbling of the thunder could be heard growing stronger and stronger.
All looked at it with wonderment and fear. All except the Mysterious Woman for she also knew who the gathering storm was and how iT fitted into the plan.
Ravenwolf knew that Unulrău cared for nothing and would just as well destroy the Bivolians with the Corb Lupians if this would help iT destroy Ravenwolf.
His mother said, “What is that?”
Ravenwolf responded, “It is Unulrău and iT is entering into the fray!”
Miclupea whispered to her son, “We are all doomed.”
He turned to her, grabbed her by the shoulders, kissed her on the forehead and with a smile said, “Have faith in The Way.”
He then turned and started running toward the top of a large hill to the east calling for his companions as he ran. Diavol was at his heels, growling horribly as if this was his final fight, and out of the sky, came Corbcer cawing loudly.
The storm roared and shot thunderbolts after them. They reached the top of the hill, turned, and Ravenwolf roared, “Have at us most vile creature; we fear you not for The Way shall overcome Hate!”
The storm stopped moving and began to build. The clouds were filled with lighting and continuous thunder. It was as if iT was gathering all iTs energy to shoot one tremendous lightning bolt that would destroy the hill itself. The fighting had stopped and all eyes were looking at the hill knowing that the three would soon be no more.
Then out of the sky, opposite the storm, flew a light purplish fireball and it struck the three turning them into a glowing light purple; a second later the lightning bolt struck, and there was an explosion beyond what anyone had ever seen. When the dust cleared, half the hill was gone, but the three still stood. The storm had weakened greatly having thrown all iTs energy into the thunderbolt.
Ravenwolf roared, “You will never destroy Love and that which is Good!” He then hurled a light purplish fireball into the storm, the clouds dissipated, and the storm was no more.
The Corb Lupians immediately returned to fighting the Bivolians, but the Bivolians wanted to have none of it, and with fear to the bone, they laid down their arms and surrendered.
Doethblaidd turned to look upon his son only to see he was no longer standing. He ordered the officers to gather all the Bivolians arms and send them on their way. The Mysterious Lady was nowhere to be seen. He then turned and raced toward his son. As fast as he was, Miclupea was quicker and arrived first.
Their son, the raven and the wolf looked to be dead. Miclupea bent over him and saw that he was still breathing, but barely. Upon examining Diavol and Corbcer, it was noticed they also were still alive. They had all changed; Ravenwolf’s hair was grey as was Diavol’s fur. Corbcer was still black, but he looked like an old raven instead of one in its prime.
The three were gathered up and taken back to the city. All three were unconscious for seven days. Miclupea was always at Ravenwolf’s side caring for him as only a mother could. She was rubbing his forehead when his eyes opened, he smiled a tired smile, and said, “Hello mother.”
She responded with tears in his eyes and said, “Hello, my dear, dear son.”
Both the companions also began to regain consciousness. The whole country rejoiced upon hearing the three heroes had returned to the world of the living.
After several days he attended the Consilui Intelepti for a debriefing. The Om Intelepti asked him if he could explain what happened.
Ravenwolf said, “The Way told me to run to the top of the hill and that it would give me the strength to resist Unulrău. It threw the fireball at us to protect us and give us the energy source to destroy the storm. It also told me that this would cause us great pain and temporarily rob us of all our strength.”
One of the Om Intelepti said, “How can that be? You were not in the Cosmic Stream.”
Ravenwolf responded, “On the night I surfed the Cosmic Stream and went beyond time, The Way put within me the power to communicate with it from anywhere in the Universe. The Way is with me at all times.”
After a month of recuperating, Ravenwolf told the consilui that it was time for him to return to Earth to try to convince Vulpe to come back with him.
When he got there, he couldn’t feel her presence, so he went to the Tavernă Munte to see what he could find out. Vulpe’s father owned the tavern at the time, and he immediately liked the tall older man with long grey hair. Ravenwolf’s hair had stayed grey and his face had aged considerably because of the fight with Unulrău, so even if anyone other than Vulpe had seen him, they would not have recognized him.
After a few beers and general conversation, Ravenwolf said, “I have heard that there is a beautiful woman who lives here that loves the Haunted Forest. I am interested in nature and would like to talk to her about this forest. Do you know where I can find her?”
The old man had tears in his eyes and responded, “That is my daughter, Vulpe, and she has left us. You see she was in love with this young man who died by jumping off a cliff. She was very despondent and finally told me she was going to America never to return because everything here reminded her of him and gave her great pain. We have not heard from her since.”
Ravenwolf sadly returned to Corb Lupia, and whenever he could, he would surf the Cosmic Stream looking for her and beseeching The Way to give him some kind of sign. After twenty years Ravenwolf still had not discovered any information that would help lead him to Vulpe. It was as if The Way had decided that they were not to be.
Of course this upset Ravenwolf for two reasons; one, because he loved Vulpe and two, because she was the only chance they had to be able to defeat Unulrău.
Unulrău had been greatly weakened by the battle with Ravenwolf. After twenty years, iT had just then gotten to the point where iT thought it could begin the plan to destroy Planetă Verde. Now that Unulrău was ready, iT felt that it needed to destroy Vulpe first. It did not know why the Consilui Intelepti was interested in her, but iT knew the Consilui was, and for this reason iT knew iT had to destroy her. Though Unulrău was the personification of Hate and had access to the total universe, iT could not find her because she was as close to Pure Love as a person could be.
It is strange, but Hate cannot see Love. You, yourself, may have noticed that the more loving someone is, the harder it is for him to see evil in others, just as the more hateful someone is the harder it is for him to recognize Love.
This is because: Love cannot understand Hate, always looking for the good. Hate cannot understand Love, always looking for the selfish motive and the joy in hurting…
Some years after Vulpe went to America, she had met an older man who loved her dearly and was very kind to her. Eventually Vulpe had married him, though her heart would never stop loving Ravenwolf. She gave birth to a beautiful daughter.
Several years after her husband had died, she, while in a restaurant, told her daughter the story about her home country and a young man that she loved like she could never love another.
After Vulpe told her daughter about the young man, the daughter asked, “So you never loved father?”
Vulpe said, “I loved your father but not to the same degree. He was the most wonderful man, full of strength, compassion and kindness. You could not have had a better father or me a better husband. But this other love went to the deepest depths of my soul. I told your father about the young man before we got married. He understood, accepted it, and went on to be the great father and husband that he was.
The waitress who was waiting on them was one of Unulrău’s disciples, and so through her iT became aware of where Vulpe was.
Several months later in Oras de Urŭ, the capital of Bivol, the Mysterious Woman was writing down something in her journal. She was very angry that Ravenwolf seemed always to thwart her plans. Unulrău had finally located the woman that meant so much to Ravenwolf, but the plan to kill her had changed. This was because the Mysterious Woman had designed a plan to use Vulpe to destroy Ravenwolf.
The last line of the plan said, “...in that way we will make Vulpe into one of us and let her Hate kill his Love!”
That night Vulpe had a dream that disturbed her as she had never been disturbed before. In the dream she was in a room and suddenly there appeared before her a beautiful woman, but though she was beautiful there was something overwhelmingly evil about her.
As Vulpe stared at the beautiful woman, the woman whispered, “Tomorrow you will be mine.” And then Vulpe woke up. The next day her thoughts kept going back to the woman in the dream. Finally she just had to get away, so she got into her car and drove into the mountains.
When she was in the wilderness she was most at peace, and so she had decided to go to this place where she could be alone. It was a little valley that had a creek running through it. In one part of the valley was a glade of soft grass and wild flowers that bordered the creek. Only she and her daughter knew of this place, and one, or the other, or both together, would often go there to enjoy the feeling of oneness with God. Often when they were there, they would see ravens flying overheard, and on several occasions they spotted a lynx or a wolf in the distance. In this glade there was much peace and love.
This was the place she was determined to get to because she felt that there she would find the answer to her dream.
While driving she looked in her rear view mirror and saw a large black sedan coming up behind her but thought nothing of it.
As she was taking a curve in the road, suddenly a small black cloud appeared before her giving her a sense of foreboding. The black cloud immediately started to grow, and she saw in it the face of the beautiful woman, but it was also the face of Pure Hate and put such fear into her that it shook her to her very soul.
Just then her car was struck from behind and sent flying off the cliff. As she stared at the cloud, it swooped down to catch her, and she heard a cruel voice say, “You will now be mine to do with as I please; through you I will destroy all that is Love.”
As she was falling, Vulpe prayed, “Oh please, Sweet Jesus, Son of God, do not let this Evil take me.”
All of a sudden, a shimmering purplish light appeared below her, and both her and Unulrău (for he was the cloud) heard the most beautiful of voices say, “Fear not sweet Vulpe, I have been sent to take you home to The Creator. You have done well, sweet daughter, and will be filled with Peace and Love forever.”
As the car fell through the light purplish shimmering light, her soul remained in it, and The Way whisked her home. Unulrău roared with hate and anger for iT had lost her to Love, and iT’s plan had been thwarted.
Unulrău did not care about the daughter; she meant nothing to iT, so iT turned iT’s full attention back to the killing of Ravenwolf and the total destruction of Planetă Verde.
As you may know the daughter was Louve, and after her mother’s death, she returned to her mother’s village, Sat de Munte.
And the Cosmic Stream Flows On…
enough