"Wife, take the child!" Aenor held onto her sister's small child, retreating deeper into the dark hut. Thunder rolled across the valley; lightning casting their shadows against the tapestries decorating the walls. Sounds of a struggle followed her across their home even as she reached the hidden trap door that would lead them underground and to safety. She tucked the furs around her body closer and lifted the trap door as quietly and quickly as she could, keeping her eyes and ears open to the threat before descending down the small stairs. Aenor was careful to keep her body between the werewolf and the babe as she descended.
She prayed to Artio, the bear Goddess that she would spare them this night.
Her husband, Oeric, swung his axe and buried it into the creature's shoulder, hoping to buy them some more time to get away through the tunnels. He made the mistake of looking back to make sure they were safe. A scream ripped through his jugular. The nighthound had sunk its canines into his bicep in retaliation.

Aenor rushed through the tunnels, furs billowing behind her. Her auburn head swung back over her shoulders and a chill ran up her spine when she heard Oeric cry out.
After having lost so much of her family she couldn't believe that it had now taken from her own home. She clutched baby Agi a little closer to her chest and propelled her feet forward. It was nearly daybreak when they neared the end of the tunnels. Aenor could hear the birds and smell the fresh air again in the distance. The last little ways was rocky and steep, but the young woman was determined to leave the tunnels as soon as possible. The first sight she was met with was a great statue of the beloved Artio and her bear companion. The Goddess stood tall with one arm raised to cup the crescent moon above her head.
Aenor threw herself at the statue, praying, even as the babe continued to squirm and fuss. She prayed for Oeric. For the lost. For the villages. For the land itself. She prayed for the Goddess to intervene and save them from these beasts that lurked in the shadows, waiting to devour them.

Sometime later, when all was quiet and the babe slept, she continued praying.
"Child, what do you pray for?"
Aenor's head shot up to see an older woman kneeling in front of her. Her eyes were wise and kind.
"For the Goddess to intervene. For her to save us from these beasts who seek to devour us and our children."
The old woman looked thoughtful for a moment before speaking again.
"What if she sent someone instead?"
"Like who?" She asked hopelessly.
"Who would you send?"
The woman took on an unearthly glow and her black eyes now burned with umber. It was then that she understood in who's presence she sat.
"Send me, I am your servant."
Aenor bowed to the Forest Queen and received her favor. Artio kissed the top of her hair, and then moved to do the same to the babe.
"You, Daughter, are my Goddess touched. Favored above all my other people. I have waited for one such as yourself to come. It grieves my heart to watch my people suffer."  The Goddess stood again, flanked by two great, black bears. Their fur painted with her golden designs. "You and your family, young Maritz, will be my Hunters."

Aenor and Agi spent years with the Goddess, learning under her to hone their new gifts. She had given them the power and form of the mighty wolf to be equipped to fight their enemy. They spent their days training like other Celtic warriors, mastering each weapon the Artio gave them. Agi went on to marry at 16 and have children of her own. The Forest Queen blessed her new husband and children with the same gifts. The population of Hunters grew steadily with each passing year. All of them with Maritz blood.

One autumn day, Aenor was compelled towards a little village not too far from their own hidden one. The wolf in her was becoming restless. It was there that she spied a familiar face at the edge of the market, selling furs for other supplies. Her heart raced and her wolf rejoiced. Before she knew it, her feet were moving towards the big man with the dirty blond hair.

—

He kept on lying to himself. The transformations never got any better. His bones were tired from being crunched under the pressure of being rearranged and his flesh forcefully molded into another shape.
Oeric his his face as much as he could under his old cloak while he haggled with another local. The dark circles under his eyes seemed more like bruises from a bar fight at this point. His mind travelled to the feeling of the chains that dug into his flesh last night. He hated this. Everything about this. While he waited for the man to consult his wife his mind travelled back to the night before. The pain had been more than he could bear. But just as the pain was becoming more than unbearable, the beast took over from Oeric. The wolf took over where the man could not run. He couldn't remember very much, but he knew that he had somehow gotten loose and bolted into the forest. He'd have to check the chains. The werewolf had been searching something out, but even it had no idea what. The fog in his mind that separated him from Oeric wouldn't relent it's secrets. The beast had been anxiously searching for anything familiar. He hadn't had any idea about what that was until he spotted his wife's auburn hair in the crowd, making her way towards him. He took up his furs and bolted away into the forest, making his way towards the abandoned little cottage he had called home for the passed few months.

Aenor took in the scent of the forest, listening intently for any trace of Oeric. Her ear twitched at the sound of something approaching her through the thicket. She notched her arrow and pulled back slowly, turning her torso towards the sound. She steadied her breathing until she couldn't even hear herself. The sound of boots pressing down into the damp earth continued to near her. She took a discreet breath through her nose to get a better idea of its scent. Definitely not a normal wolf. But there was a trace of Oeric in the air.
"Wife." He greeted her, hands raised, as he emerged from the thicket.

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