Parallel to our world but within an invisible realm was something a little bit more than a dream that numbs your mind while you sleep at night. To reach it was to stumble into it without intention; the hidden portal was found through serendipitous ventures. Its lands were surrounded by treacherous rings and shards of fatal crags; any being would be considered fortunate if they had passed through them. Monstrous waves beneath them crashed, speaking tongues of perilous death.                   

       But the land itself presented tremendous forests of life, deserts of icy winters, and mountains of majesties that climbed into the mounds of clouds. This was inhabitable for both little and enormous, harmless and beastly, morbid and beautiful creatures. Strange souls roamed the land, anything from the small bubble-frogs in the tropics to the ice dragons in the brisk mountains. This magical land had no particular name or place on the maps, but its natives often referred to it as ‘Somnium’.                      

          Living in the forests, next to the sea, was the Volpes Tribe. The tribe had been named for the cunning creatures hidden within the gnarled trees of the dark forests. These creatures had no fear nor grudge with the people who shared the forests with them; in fact, they were respected as princes of the trees. Despite their small size, their craft and terrifying jaws were feared.                                       

       Living in the mountains was the Draco tribe, simply named for the beasts that soared in the same sky that the mountains scraped. The kings of the skies were feared and respected for their tyrannical reign over the mountain people. The deserts by the mountains were inhabited by the terrific beasts; and, therefore, no one has ever gone beyond the scorching deserts of ice.

         No one even dared challenge any boundaries or natural laws of Somnium until one insignificant soul questioned her very own existence.

        The head leader of the Draco tribe was Singing Wolf. He was a legend, a war hero, and a father of a remarkable girl. His first-born was his answered prayer and his only daughter, Maple Leaf; she was the princess of his tribe. Her silky long hair was the color of maple tree leaves in fall and her slender appearance disguised her true strength. Her face was broadly shaped with clear pearl-colored skin that bore starry freckles spotted on her small nose. Some had envied the seemingly flawless princess. They envied everything she had been blessed with born under her status, especially the man she was betrothed to, chosen by  Singing Wolf.

 The one she was destined to marry had the ideal stature for a warrior matched with the rugged, handsome features. His thick locks of hair were curled and oak brown like the fur of a bear. His name was Bear Heart. Maple Leaf's father saw a certain fire in the warrior that was needed to become a future head leader for the tribe; he was courageous in battle and able to endure in nature's obstacles. But what Bear Heart had lacked had driven Maple Leaf to despair; he lacked sensitivity. His face and his eyes were always cold. Maple Leaf could not look into her own future husband's eyes without feeling frozen or sometimes anything at all.               

      But what Maple Leaf lacked within herself drove her away from the tribe. She fled. And never for even a moment glanced back. She was afraid; the young girl was scared of what her marriage would become and she was afraid of her own future. She left everything.

      Maple Leaf observed the snowy tops of trees below her dangling feet. Frost tickled her as it slowly dripped from the white, silent skies. The caked tops of the trees hid the floor of the forest below making it possible for her to escape the mountain without being seen. Maple Leaf's face poked out from under her grey elk-hide hood and her braids slid out and down her chest, almost touching the ground. Her face was flushed as she formed an escape plan down the face of the mountain. Her legs squirmed with nervousness as she watched the white flakes pile onto the tip of her nose and slowly melt before her eyes. 

    Boulders and ragged shards ran up the sides of the mountains deeming quests far more dangerous than the overwhelming heights; snow pelted all routes and played with her eyes. But Maple Leaf was not afraid of this; she was eager to escape to freedom swiftly. Her frozen fingers tightened around her staff as she started to trek down the trails. She followed her memories of hunting trips with her father and skillfully walked around the obstacles that tried to lure her away from the safety of the path. The snowflakes sped around her in flurries, but she was buried too deep within her mind to notice the cold. 

 The seventh day alone, when the sun started to fall farther back, Maple Leaf's stamina started to slow down significantly. Briefly it had stopped snowing, but the air was more brisk, nipping at her face. She leaned against the wall of a well hidden cave to catch her breath. She had resided in the mountain cave longer than she intended. Weeks passed before Maple Leaf started having endless doubts about her decision. What if she had told Singing Wolf about him mistreating her? Would he have had listened? Is the tribe looking for her right now? Or had they given up after all this time has passed? Questions burned inside her head every night till they bade her to sleep on the cold cave floor.        

 After several weeks had morphed into a few months, Maple Leaf had learned that she was not alone. This both comforted her and alarmed her. With time's passing she struggled more until she had thought that, perhaps, she should reach the Volpes Tribe within the forests below her. Upon this realization her body was losing the flexibility and mobility she needed to survive. The condition she was in changed the way she breathed and lived through each day in the wilderness. But Maple Leaf needed help to also keep alive her fellow survivor, for the wilderness was too harsh on this being.

 She gathered every ounce of strength in her almost-frail body, and she started to move along the mountain's path again despite feeling heavy and slow. Every step she took pained her ankles and her back muscles, but the trees were starting to get closer. That was her hope. She did not move her eyes off of the snow-capped trees. The sun made them shine bright; they were like white stars in the distance. However, Maple Leaf started to get colder. A storm was brewing and she had to flee from it quickly. The sun faded from her view as she reached the flatter grounds below the mountain. The wind in her hair made her teeth chatter while the snow drops clung to her pale skin and bit her face. All she saw was whiteness. But Maple Leaf was a Draco warrior. She was not willing to fail in the midst of the storm before she at least was in the shadows of the giant trees.

   Her staff that she leaned against was her only guide to this destination. In this weather she was visually blind; therefore all her focus was in touch and in sound. The howling wind was a stronger force against her movements, forcing her to stumble and crouch lower gasping for air. Regardless, she poked the ground with the branch in search for dangerous obstacles or a clearer path to some sort of shelter.

    Maple Leaf was weak, frozen, and now in pain. Will she ever make it to the Volpes tribe? Or will she die unknown just below the monstrous mountains she fled?

   The sunlight was beginning to waver back into sight and the storm was fading behind her. Facing her was a massive group of green pine trees. Grass was evident beneath the snow along the path through the guarding, wooden giants. Heavy breaths passed through Maple Leaf's lips; her limbs were shaking. But her eyes still stared ahead. The ground was starting to flatten. Her feet tripped over flat ground. There was a short stretch of land silently reaching for the girl. There was a blizzard behind Maple Leaf. But she had made it to the forest. She stopped beside the wide trunk of a tree and gazed within the forest. Her journey was almost over. 

  She heard birds, not birds of prey like the ones that lingered above the mountains but birds of song lighting up the forest. She was home. No longer would she have to wait to meet the beautiful presence of warmth. She could be an ordinary warrior here with a new start. She could work among other ordinary warriors… friends… family.

 She beamed with pride and excitement, and forgetting her feeling of heaviness, she leaped into a sprint deeper into the trees. She wanted to run to the beginning of her new life.

   Pain.

  Maple Leaf's paradise was forcefully interrupted with pain after months of living in the trees. She never found a soul resembling to the Voples tribe like she had hoped. Deer gathered and watched as she fell to her knees. Kneeling on the ground, the girl was doubled over clutching her rounded stomach with her arms. Then she fell back clinging onto tufts of grass and screamed. She gasped as more pain seeped into her. Shrieks escaped her mouth when she tried to breathe. Heavy contractions passed through her body; her teeth were clenched tightly as she started to sob. She closed her eyes and her entire body melted unto the grass. Her face gazed up into the sky as the light snowy grass turned red. Her forehead was stained with sweat as she tried to remain quiet and calm, catching her breath.

  She expected this but the pain that hurt worse was knowing that no one could help her let alone hear her.

  Breathe in. Breathe out. She fought to stay strong.

  Long hours passed and the sun was starting to speak its farewells upon the land when a little cry aside Maple Leaf's whimpers pierced the air. The only light the evening offered was the stars in the sky. Maple Leaf weakly smiled for the last time with warm tears in her eyes. Using the last of her strength, she wrapped her body around a tiny bundle, sheltering it from any harm. She gave birth to a fighter unlike herself. Then she breathed, once more, a sigh of relief mixed with deep grief. The new mother died alongside her newborn alive and awake in her arms. The baby sleepily cried on into the dark as her eyes reflected the winter stars that took in her mother's soul.

  Silence was interrupted as something passed along the brush of the forest. Snow crunched beneath gentle padded feet; shadows of a creature's warm breath billowed into the cold air. The bright moon was up high, overlooking the forest. Its light slipped through the trees and crept along the forest floor guiding the creature. It was on a scent trail of its prey when the scent of both fresh death and new life stopped it in his tracks.

  It lifted his head and breathed in this new scent; his eyes penetrated the darkness and scrutinized its surroundings. The beast put its wet nose to the ground and searched for the scent. he flicked his ears as it picked up a soft noise. Curious, it followed the sound into the opening in the forest below the mountain. The yellow eyes narrowed onto a distant dark object slightly buried under a very thin sheet of snowflakes. Another soft sound like a breath or a cough emerged. The creature stepped out into the moonlight and beheld the sight that caught his interest.

   “Crystallum!” the creature called with a young sounding voice.

  “Silence, Fulgur! You are too loud!” an older voice growled.

  “But look here.” the creature by the name of Fulgar pleaded.

  Crystallum whispered as he drew near, “It is a human. I caught the scent before you saw it.” A big wolf with icy blue eyes stepped out from the forest without making a sound. His fur was a silvery blue as it danced in the moonlight. He sniffed at the baby and his old eyes softened.

     Fulgar, a smaller wolf than Crystallum, tiptoed around the new soul. His young face had a gold streak that swept across one of his eyes like a spark of lightning. His small ears twitched with anticipation. “Can we take it with us?” he asked. “We can help it live, Crystallum. Please?”

   Crystallum pondered the idea for a second as the wise old wolf  carefully observed the deceased mother. Without her, the child could  freeze or starve to death whichever came first.

   Fulgar’s tail gave a slight wag.

  “… taking this human as our own would be too risky.” he glanced away from the sad sight into the dark forest.

 The younger wolf whined. “Don’t do this. Just look at its eyes!” He flattened his ears, and his tail dropped. “It doesn't have a chance without the mother, without anyone. With us there's possibility. It'll grow with us and never even remember this.”

   Crystallum hesitated. He looked at Fulgar with concern in his eyes. It would not remember this but he knew well that it would struggle in the life of the forest. And that one day it would question its differences with the wolves. 

   But yet those eyes, its tiny fists held a determination he has never witnessed before in his own kin.

   "Let me take it to Nix and Tinea! Understand?! Do not touch it.” Crystallum barked.

   Fulgar shook in excited agreement.

 “Where is Vulcan?” Crystallum turned his head in question. He had no idea how to transport the fragile being.

 “I have been here.” A sinister voice snarled beyond the brake. The she-wolf had a flame-like tail; her fur was a dark red. The way she walked upon the earth mimicked the smooth movement of fire. “What use would that human be? Did you think about that? It’ll just eat all our food, sleep all day, and be a mess.” Vulcan glared at Crystallum. The two large wolves had a growing hatred for each other. He bared his yellow teeth at her in frustration. Often she challenged the wolves of high authority and portrayed a bad example to the lower ranked wolves. He had his eyes on her; he could not trust her. "I am in charge. What I say goes. We are taking it back home."

   Vulcan's fiery eyes mocked him, “And how do you suppose we do that without eating it?”

   His ears laid back and he snorted, making his nostrils flare with anger. Vulcan glanced at Fulgar with disappointment in her face before she tore through the pines that lined the edge of the forest. Fulgar followed slowly watching as Crystallum licked the child's forehead. Crystallum lifted his head to the mother and whispered a farewell. He acknowledged her bravery; he could somehow tell that she was a fighter who had come to an end of a tiring journey. He turned his back in surrender. The baby helplessly cried again and stopped Crystallum.

  Hesitantly he came back, gently nudged the baby with his paw. He did not know how long the child has been alone; Crystallum needed to get her back home as soon as possible. Without any more consideration he gathered the human into his gentle mouth without sinking his teeth and sulked into the trees behind Vulcan and Fulgar.

    Crystallum stepped through the barrier of soft willow branches with the motherless child still in his mouth. The sun was waking up the wolves on the other side of the walls so the old wolf was trying to carefully hide his bundle. Just as he thought he had cleared the main area without anyone seeing him, his own son rolled out of the nearest cave.                                                                            

   "Father!" a white little ball of fur bumped into Crystallum's legs.           "Not now, Nimbus." Crystal managed to mumble, "I am busy."              The wolf pup ignored him; he scurried under his father's legs and threw his head back, his nose in the air. "Father, what is that?"                        “Nimbus!” a soft motherly voice yapped, “leave your father be and come here.”                                                                                                             "But Mother-- Father's found something!" Nimbus whined without lifting his eyes from the round bundle that seemed alive. “Is it food? I've never smelled it before.”                                                                                      Hedera, the mother and Crystallum's lifelong mate sank out of her nesting, "What is it, Crystallum?"                              

   He rolled his eyes. Gently, he placed the baby unto the ground in between his front legs to avoid the rest of the pack spotting her. He shooed Nimbus away with his nose as he lovingly acknowledged Hedera.  He opened his mouth to explain to her when she let out a gasp, ears flattened in fear.          

   "Nimbus! Stay back from that!" she ordered the little pup with a terrified bark. She stepped back in question at her mate.                                    "It is a new human- it's harmless, my love" he blurted out not so silently.                                                 

   The baby awakened and started to shiver intensely. The old wolf picked her up again before she alarmed the sleepy pack of wolves. He glanced at Hedera and bowed his head. They scrutinized the little creature with nervousness at first, and then with sorrowful adoration. Nimbus wagged his tail started and he touched noses with the baby. This made the child wrinkle her nose and shiver more with dreariness.         Hedera whispered more calmly, “she's hungry and cold. She needs her mother."                                                              

 Crystallum nudged his mate to follow then he raced gently towards the cave in the middle of the clearing. This cave was a large moss- covered abode with a large hole at the top; the pack named it the Caelum for the hole that faced up towards the sky. Whenever the sun or stars shine upon the tiny crystals within the cave, the whole cave illuminates and its sparkles dance on the floors and walls. The Caelum was the home to the Alphas.                                                                                A powerful voice echoed from the back of the cave. “I have been waiting for you.”                                                                                                     Crystallum confronted a silver female and a white male wolf. The white wolf, Gelu, was the Alpha Male of the pack. His mate, Glacies, was the Alpha Female.                                              

 A dark wolf with black specks on his tail sat in the corner overlooking the scene.                            

 Crystallum carefully placed the baby down in front of the powerful wolves. Gelu gazed into its face, without a sign of alarm, then asked for an explanation from his Beta wolf. “I found this human and brought it-“                                                        

The wolf in the corner jumped to his paws. His brown face frowned upon both the infant, “how dare you bring that here? It could be dangerous!” the dark wolf growled at Crystallum. This sudden action frightened the baby making it scream.                                                              Glacies slid out of her place and stood over the baby in protection; her tail swept across the crying baby as she bared her sharp fangs at the wolf with frightening eyes.                            

 “Cedrus! How dare you speak like that at your Beta! You should be ashamed of yourself, especially in front of me.” Gelu scolded the wolf.      With a more forgiving and perhaps understanding voice, Glacies spoke to Cedrus, still holding her ground. "This is a human child. She cannot do any harm. This being is fragile and new to the world. I am assuming it has lost her mother...?"                                                                         Crystallum bowed in sadness                                                                         But Cedrus's muscles were still tense under his spiked fur.                       “Maybe for your punishment, you could take care of this human. She can be no threat to us. I don’t think you will have any trouble with her.” Hedera stared at Cedrus with mockery. He scowled back not speaking.                                                                                                                   “Cedrus, what’s going on?” a sweet voice asked curiously. A small light brown she-wolf headed for her mate. Three pups pounced all around her.                                                                                                 

  “Alauda...” before Cedrus could finish his sentence, Crystallum spoke up to her.                                                     

  “This is your new family member.” He motioned over to the baby.      “Oh! The poor thing! It looks as if she has been starving!” her sympathetic voice caught the child's attention. The girl's eyes were tiny slits now, but little pearly eyes peeked out at Alauda. Her tiny fingers reached out towards her new mother; she was attached to the wolf the moment she had spoken to her with a soothing voice.                                   “What’s her name?” her black pup asked. The she-wolf had white specks along her forehead and tail.                                                                       Her eyes gleamed as her pups gathered around the baby, “I think Ilex is fitting. Right, Cedrus?” her mate sunk in disgust.                                    “Hello, Ilex” A blonde wolf greeted her. He sat down next to his new sister, “My name is Sidus.”                                                                          His little brother, a gray pup with a fat pinkish belly, introduced himself, “And I'm Calx. I hope you'll like it here.”                                              “And my name is Aranea!” the little black wolf pup added as he pounced around her.                                                          

   Ilex’s face lit up with delight as she watched the wolves. Her brown eyes danced with the sparkles in the Caelum as the sun shone through the crystals. This was her family.