Hinode

Name:           Hinode (jap. word for "sunrise")

Species:         tibetian Wolf

Gender:          male

Weight:          45kg

Size:               shoulder height: 80cm

Fur colour:     light grey

Eye colour:     blue

Parents:          unknown, assumably at least one god, raised by foster parents Rabea and Ilja

Siblings:         Higure (sister)

Partner:          Nozomu

Accessoires:   harness-like belt around his chest, a blazon in the shape of an heraldic rose on his belt, sword scabbard on his back, war paint on his forehead to honor the sun-goddess Amaterasu

Traits: - conscientious

            - connected to home

            - strict

            - determined

Weapon:     Katana (divine weapon), unbreakable and doesn't get blunt as long as the sun is visible

                    In contrast to his sister Hinode doesn't have any special abilities. He had to achieve all of his skills by hard training, but it paid off. Hardly anyone can compete to his sword-fighting skills.

Prologue:

 Ilja knew today was the day he would leave his pack. The weather was fine, perfect conditions to start his journey. He wanted to be more than just the average pack member he was at the moment. He wanted to have his own family, his own pack. He felt this urge for the last few months, but he knew that he had to leave in order for his wish to be fullfilled. He had no intentions to break the ancient rules, which made clear, that he had to go and find a new territory for him and his future family.
In the early morning he headed out, first he stayed on the path that he was used to, the one they used when they checked the borders. Only this time he didn't turn when he reached the end of their territory, he crossed the invisible line and travelled further and further. The time flew by and he almost forgot the reason for his journey. He was busy all the time providing food for himself and avoiding other packs, that would have probably killed him, if they found him in their territory. One day, while he was tracking down a hare, he smelled a different scent. It was another wolf. He decided to leave the hare be and followed the new scent. He reached a river and looked across it. Right there was the wolf he had smelled before. A beautiful female that seemed to be just as lonely as he was. He crossed the river at a flat spot and greeted the stranger. Her name was Rabea. They liked each other right from the start, so they decided to move on together in search of a new territory.

They travelled alongside the river for a few more days and got to know each other better. At one point Rabea suddenly asked: "Do you smell that, Ilja?". "What do you mean?", Ilja replied. "I don't smell any wolves around here and the last time we crossed a territory mark was about half a day ago", Rabea answered. Hope surged up within Ilja and he ran on top of a hill in front of them, to take a look around. A smile played around the corners of his mouth. "That's it. That's our new home", he whispered quietly. It was a beautiful landscape.
Rabea joined him on top of the hill. "The only thing we need now is a place were we can stay", Ilja said to her. They went into a forest of cherry trees, looking for a place were they could build a den. Suddenly Ilja stopped. He was sure he heard something, but now everything was quiet again. They continued walking, then he heard it again. He looked at Rabea and Rabea looked at him. She said: "You heard that too, right?". "I did, but it's impossible", he answered. It sounded like a whimpering. A whimpering of pups. They had to go after it and soon they found the source of the sound.
It indeed were pups. Two pups were laying in front a big, impressive cherry tree. All alone. A light grey male and a dark grey female. "What shall we do?", Rabea asked "There's defnitely no other wolf here and we can't leve them to themselves". Ilja looked into her uncertain eyes and said: "Well, we wanted to start a pack anyhow, right? It's not the way we expected it to happen, but obviously that's what our fate had in store for us. Besides that, this place is perfect for our den."

Story:

... three years later ...


Hinode opened his eyes as the first rays of sunlight shined into the den. He grabbed his harness and his sword and left the den. Like every morning he crossed the river to climb up the rock on the other side and watch the sunrise. There was nothing like it, except for being with Nozomu of course. She probably left early to go hunting. He used that time of the day to reminisce about the past. It still hurts. A lot.
It was a morning, just like this one, about one and a half years ago. An enemy pack showed up, obviously they were jealous of this territory and wanted to chase us off. A wild battle started, blood was spilled, but in the end the intruders fled. It took him a moment to realise what had happened, then he spotted his sister cowering next to two dead wolves. They knew that they weren't their real parents, they had told them when he and his sister were about one year old, but nonetheless they loved them. After a few hours of mourning, they started to burry them. Never before he had to do something like it and never before he felt something like it. Hinode and Higure stayed at the graves for a while, then Higure said: "The intruders will return, right? We have to leave." She was right, but Hinode knew that he couldn't leave. This was his home. This is the place were his parents died. He would give his life to defend that. "No. You leave. I will stay. Live your life, go on the adventures you always wanted to experience." For a second Higure thought about changing her brother's mind, but she knew it was pointless. They had talked about this matter before. They alwas came to the same conclusion: Their paths would split up sooner or later.
"You know I will miss you", she said. "I will miss you too, sister", he replied in a calm voice. She licked his cheek, turned away and left. It was already dark, but he knew Higure always prefered the night over the day.
He instead went back to the den and laid  down inside. He was a mess. Somehow he managed to calm down after a while and fell asleep.
When he woke up everything was bright and shrouded by golden sunlight. It was almost blinding him. He stepped outside the den and everthing was gone. Even the ground only consisted of  bright light. Then a loud, echoing female voice said: "Son! My son! Finally we meet." Was he dreaming? He must be dreaming, he thought, since what he was experiencing now was nothing but impossible. Surreal. As soon as he had finished this thought,  the sunlight started to form a figure in front of him. A figure in the shape of  a wolf! The wolf of pure sunlight stepped closer to him and explained: "You may not recognize me, but I'm your mother, Hinode. I understand that you're confused now, but you will understand soon." Hinode stood there like petrified, he couldn't say a word. "I have a gift for you son. Learn how to use it and you will find out who you really are." After those words were spoken, the sunlight started to form something again. This time it was no wolf, but a sword. "Use your power wisely, but resolutely son. Punish who deserves to be punished and protect who deserves to be protected. Let the sun be your guide.", the sun-wolf paused for a moment, then continued: "Our time together is almost over. I have to say farewell Hinode. Greet your sister from me." He immediately felt very tired and his eyes fell shut. When he opened his eyes again, it was a morning just like any other, except for the fact that his parents and sister were gone. Now he was absolutely sure, that everything was just a weird dream. He once again left the den and couldn't believe his eyes. On a rock in front of the den laid the sword with a fitting scabbard on a harness. He gazed at the rising sun and remembered the voice "Learn how to use it and you will find out who you really are". "Why not", he thought, "I have nothing to loose, right?". So he put on the harness and grabbed the sword with his teeth. It somehow felt right. Like it was his destiny to wield this sword. He trained every day, somehow he already knew the techniques, he just had to learn the right execution. He even used the sword for hunting, that way he learned what was so special about it. He once went on a hunt in the evening and accidentally hit a rock with it, when he tried to kill a hare. It broke in two right away. He was devastated when it happened, but luckily he decided to take the pieces of the broken sword back to the den, since the next morning, as soon as the sun touched the sword, it mended itself back together.
Days passed and he got better and better. Then it happened. The pack that had killed his foster parents came back. Hinode knew the area and it's smells perfectly well, that helped him to notice the intruders long before they arrived at the big cherry tree. He sat in front of it, completely calm with closed eyes, listening to the sound of the wind, the rushing of the river and the birds in the air. "Get lost or you will share your parents' fate! This is our territory now!", the intruders' leader yelled, but Hinode didn't reply. He just remained still. This made the hostile wolf even more aggressive. "Either you're deaf or stupid, but you've chosen your fate!", he yowled and rushed for Hinode. He noticed every step, every single paw that touched the ground. He waited till the attacker's back paws touched the ground the last time, when he jumped at him in order to burry is teeth into his neck. In one smooth movement Hinode grabbed his sword and hit the intruder right between his jaws. He was immediately dead and blood covered the ground all around. It also dripped from the sword, but one more quick sway was enough to remove it. Then he slipped it back into the scabbard and sat back down. The rest of the intruding pack didn't make a move. There was pure horror in their faces. Then they turned around and ran off in the direction they came from.
After Hinode was sure that they left for good, he cleaned up the mess and continued the life he was used to now.
He met Nozomu a while later down at the river. She was looking for him, since he was a lone male. She stayed with him.