A lupine was following a narrow, sand-covered pathway through a vast, crimson gorge. He couldn't see far ahead as he traversed the wide, crimson canyon, his side cramping as he marched forward.

The wolf then paused and turned his head. Dark clouds were hanging above what looked like a forest of black trees from a distance. Not wanting to delay his walk any further, he simply let out a small sigh and continued forward. From here, Everything seemed quiet, except for the whispering wind.

That is until his ears twitched. Something was coming from nearby. A roar...? A scream...? It was hard to tell who or what made that sound. He dashed through the canyon, causing the sound to become louder and louder as he went further and further.

It didn’t take long for him to find out what was going on, though. Nearby, his eyes spotted movement. Feeling the ground shake beneath his feet with each passing second, he peeked his head out from the rocky wall behind him.

A giant monster of rock, standing at about half the size of the surrounding cliffs, towered over a small, cowering boy. He screamed again, shrinking away as the monster took another step forward and reached its hand towards the boy. The wolf needed to act fast if he wanted to save that poor boy. He had to!

As quick as a flash, The wolf sprinted towards the rock monster and lunged between it and the child, blocking its path.

“Leave him alone!”

The rock monster growled at the wolf and batted him aside. The wolf skidded on his back through the sandy ground with a "grunt". Springing back up and wiping a small bit of blood from his lips. He then ran back and circled around the monster, trying to disorient it.

It tried to swat him away like a fly swatter might with an actual fly. However, the wolf refused to be as harmless as a fly. Just behind the rock monster, he could see the child. Eyes wide with fear. Gazing at the wolf like a drowning soul gazing at the surface of the ocean. The wolf was his salvation. His only salvation. He could not lose.

After dodging a handful of hits, the wolf halted and let out a low growl of his own. Now it’s his turn. He took out his long, bandaged staff from behind and briefly spun it. The rock monster clenched its fists and let out a loud roar at the wolf. But that didn’t scare him one bit.

The wolf then unleashed a series of swings, desperately trying to find a weak point in the rock monster’s hide. Blow after blow only seemed to weaken his staff and increased the monster’s anger like thunder in a raging storm. The monster finally got a lucky hit and launched the wolf into a nearby wall.

The mere hit wracked his body with agony. A million voices screaming from his nerves gave him unanimous permission to pass out. But two other voices calmly spoke to him from his head.

...Please, son, listen to us. Everything we’ve taught you, we teach you them out of love...

...Remember this, son. No matter what happens, never forget what you’re meant to do...

The rock monster turned back towards the scared boy and slowly stomped towards him. The boy skid back to the wall and blocks himself with his arm while whimpering. “Please, help me.” The monster reached its hand out towards the boy again

Suddenly, the wolf’s eyes jerked open. He groaned as he slowly grabbed his staff and got up from the ground. He would not lose! As long as that boy needed his help; as long as he could still do good for this world... He would not fail! “I won’t let you hurt that boy!” The monster glanced out his shoulder and growled at him again.

Still covered in a lot of bruises and scrapes, but the wolf pushed himself through his agony. He trotted towards the monster using his staff. He then lifted his head and spotted a small, yellow glow on the monster’s back. “Of course! Why didn’t I notice that before?” The wolf's walk gradually increased. Grimacing through the pain and spinning his staff around again like a propeller.

The rock monster let out another loud roar and charged at the wolf. As both charged at each other, the monster riled its fist back. The wolf, already expecting this, crouched down while running. It lunged its fist down at the wolf, who then leapt into the air just in time. The impact of the fist was powerful enough to shake the ground and send enormous clouds of dust flying, creating an enormous crater into the ground.

Luckily, the wolf landed on the monster’s giant arm. The monster tried to punch him away, but continued to miss. The wolf dash through its arm. He then hopped on its head and stood there. This caused the monster to let out its biggest roar yet. It tightened its fist and rushed it at the wolf. Fortunately, he leapt into the air again, causing the monster to miss and pound its own head instead.

While it was rubbing the pain from its head, the wolf spotted the weak spot again. With nothing left to lose, he swung his staff downward and slammed at the weak spot. Glowing yellow eyes fading to black as the wolf landed on the ground. Its body slightly shook before crumbling piece by piece.

Gigantic clouds of dust flew towards both the wolf and the boy. He ran towards the boy and blocked him with his own body. The dust slowly cleared up, and the wolf backed away. The boy then got up from the ground and hugged tight on the wolf’s legs.

“Thank you for saving me.”

The wolf smiled and patted the boy’s head. “No problem.” He then bent down and was face to face with the boy, still groaning from the pain of his legs.

“Are you okay?” The boy asked.

“Yeah, I'm fine. Just need to walk it off,” The wolf replied. “So, what’s your name?”

“Timothy Junior,” He replied. “But you can just call me Timmy, or even Junior if you want. I’m trying to look for my family, but I don’t know where to go.”

“Oh. Well...” The wolf felt around his jacket and stopped at his pocket. Then he took out a golden compass and placed it on the boy’s hand. “Here. It’s my lucky compass. This can help you with that.”

“Wow!” The boy muttered in awe as a slight flash gleamed onto the compass. “Thank you so much, but are you sure you don’t need it yourself?”

“No worries,” The wolf replied. “I can use my own senses to guide me. You definitely need that more than I do.”

The boy hugged the wolf on the legs one last time and the wolf hugged him back. He then waved his goodbyes as he ran past the monster and into the distance. Once the boy was out of sight, The wolf turned his head at the path behind him and narrowed his eyes.

“Now, to continue my mission,” He growled, walking across the sandy pathway of the canyon.

Author's Note

This prologue is made to act as an Establishing Character Moment. It's suppose to show who the wolf really is before the following chapters.