Lychen Legends: Reign of Crystal

A sequal, a continuation of an unfinished story. Watch as Crystal leads her pack to victory as a leader and a mother. Watch as a new threat unfolds, hidden within the pack. Watch as Crystal looses faith in those she trusts.

Genre: Fantasy (with non-fiction aspects)

Warning: Foul language, blood, and gore.

Cover (This will change after I host a cover art competition)

Table of Contents (incomplete)

Prologue

Chapter 1: The First Litter

Chapter 2: The Wondrous World Through a Pup's Eyes

Chapter 3: Herb Lessons



Chapter _: The Second Litter

Map of Pack Territories (I plan on reediting this)

The Yellowstone Packs -
Key:
Lychen Alliance
Reformed Lychen Pack (Yellow)
Ocean Pack (Purple)
Alpine Pack (Apple Green)
Star Creek Pack (Teal)
Shared Star/Lychen (Transparent Green)
Shared Lychen Alliance (Purpleish-Mahogany)
Rivals
Bloodriver Pack (Red)
Breeze (Pink)
Storm (Grey)
Torrid (Orange)
Frost (Blue)
Cedar (Orange-Yellow)
Sky Valley (Pastel Green)
Other Known Packs
Uncharted (Brown)


The Lost River Packs -
Key:
Lychen Alliance
Tundra Pack (Yellow)
Rivals
Hot Springs Pack (Lime Green)
Blades Peak Pack (Red)
Lost River Pack (Purple)

Reformed Lychen Pack Members

Disclaimer: Most of these ranks don't exist in real life. The only ranks that exist are the alpha/breeding pair, beta (sometimes), subordinates (if there any other adults in the pack), yearlings (not really a rank thing), pups (also not a pup), and omega's (sometimes). This is a complex system meant to so ranks, and crowkeepers are based off of the symbiotic relationships that ravens and wolves have, but I used crows because they come in mobs and it makes more sense for messengers to have more than one bird (yes, there is a difference between ravens and crows). Also, this is 2 years later, and the book doesn't start here, so for every part, you'll see the current ranks for the year, and sometimes the season.

Alpha Pair

Crystal - White coat, shamrock green eyes, and under moonlight, when using abilities or in a dark space; has glowing light blue diamond-like patterns all over her body. Has a neck pouch and a bone bead earring with a crystal and a tuft of her own fur all strung together by a strand of spider silk.

Pyro - Black coat, blue eyes, and masculine frame. A bone bead earring with a crystal and a tuft of his own fur all strung together by a strand of spider silk. When hunting he wears two side pouches to carry more food.
Strength

Beta

Luna - White coat with black speckles (including freckles), black tipped tail along with a bird shaped spot on the base of it, and blue eyes. Has a bone bead earring with a gem strung together by a strand of spider silk.

Theta

Jays Wing - Coat similar to a magpie and blue, short tail, pupiless eyes. Has a bone bead earring with a rabbits foot and a piece of lavender strung together by a strand of spider silk, along with a neck pouch.

Zeta

Sol - A redish-brown coat, amber eyes, and a large scar on his forehead. Has a bone bead earring with a wolverine claw along with a tuft of his own fur strung together by a strand of spider silk.

Kappa

Quartz (is a yearling too) - A grey coat, pale green eyes, and a torn ear. Has a bone bead earring with the tip of an antler and a tuft of his fur strung together by a strand of spider silk along with both a neck and side pouches all of which have the tip of an antler on them.

Crowkeeper

Fang - White with whitetipped ruff, ears, and tail, has a white band around neck, and has orange eyes. Has a bone bead earring with a crow feather and a tuft of his fur strung together by a strand of spider silk along with a neck pouch with a crow feather on it.

Phantom - White coat with little bits of grey, silver eyes, and a smaller stature. Has a bone bead with a crow feather strung together by a strand of spider silk along with a neck pouch with a crow feather on it.

Tau

Emerald - A brown coat with a white underbelly, a bent ear, and a pair of golden green eyes. Has a bone bead earring with a hedgehog quill and a tuft of her fur strung together by a strand of spider silk.

Gamma

None

Eppilusion

Bat - Brown coat, blood red eyes, and fluffy tail. Has a bone bead with a bear claw and a tuft of her fur strung together by a strand of spider silk.

Obsidian (yearling) - Black coat with a U shaped pattern underneath, a torn off ear, and a pair of golden green eyes. Has a bone bead with a bear claw and a tuft of his fur strung together by a strand of spider silk.

Subordinate/Sub

Shadow - Greyish black, somewhat brown coat with a lighter greyish brown underbelly and blood red eyes. Has a bone bead earring with a dragonfly wing and a tuft of her fur strung together by a strand of spider silk.

Foxglove (is a yearling too) - Grey fur with a few black stripes and golden eyes. Has a bone bead earring with a dragonfly wing and a tuft of her fur strung together by a strand of spider silk.

Moonlight (Moon) - Redish-brown fur, orangish-red eyes, and a black spot on her back. Has a bone bead earring with a dragonfly wing and a tuft of her fur strung together by a strand of spider silk.

Lota

Silver (yearling) - Silver coat, a bent ear, and amber eyes. Has a bone bead earring with a rabbits foot on it, strung together by a strand of spider silk.

Novice

Comet (yearling) - Looks strikingly similar to her uncle Sol and aunt Moonlight, but darker, has a notched ear, and golden eyes, also the smallest out of her litter.

Yearling(s)

Crystal's 2nd Litter (Already mentioned in other ranks): Obsidian, Quartz, Foxglove, and Silver

Luna's Litter:
Aroura - Looks a lot like her mother, but has a slightly darker shade of grey, has a striking black stripe behind her shoulders, and a crisscross with a diamond in the center at the center of her tail. She also has bright green eyes.

Saturn - Looks strikingly similar to his uncle Alp, but it's dark being more of a sandy tan with a few white spots, has black tipped ears, neither if which are bent, and amber eyes. And the funny thing is that he is the smallest male of Luna's litter.

Neptune - Black coat with a white underbelly, chin, ear tips, and ruff tips, and has amber eyes that seem to burn with passion.

Mars - Black coat with reddish brown underbelly, white stripe that reaches down from forehead down to his tail along with white tipped ears, ruff, and tail. Also has striking gold eyes.

, and Comet

Pups

None

Omega

Alp - One floppy ear, sand/yellow/whitish colored fur with his lower back being this dark purplish brown splotch, and deep chocolate brown eyes. He may look large, and intimidating at first, but he's just a sweetheart, despite his large size, he was actually the runt of the first litter. Has a bone bead earring with a hummingbird feather and a tuft of his fur strung together by a strand of spider silk.

Every wolf that can hunt always wears side pouches while hunting or when out on patrol.

Prologue

The sire stood in front of the golden male, "Why have you summoned me, father?"

"I have a mission for you." The golden male responded.

The black sire raised a brow, intrigued, "And what will I gain from this... mission?"

He smiled, "Your honor. You wont have to challenge my pack to the Blue Moon Trials. If you succeed that is. If you fail you will be outcasted from my territory for the rest of your days."

"What do you require me to do?"

"Simple. The Shadowhunter Pack has been planning on invading the Lychen Pack territory out of desperation. As you know my pack has grown quite large, in turn we require more territory; they are the best option. I need you to kill the alpha female." The alpha explained.

"Why her particularly?"

"She's their weakest link. She's most likely expecting, therefore she cannot fight."

"Who will distract the rest of the pack? They are most likely guarding her closely, especially now considering the first thaw of spring is quickly approaching."

"The rest of the pack. You will sneak into the den and assassinate her while the rest of us distract the other pack members. If the others survive; your mission will be to finish them off, one by one, no matter how long it takes." A cruel smile spread across the gold sire's face, "So, do you accept?"

"I do." He says, his eyes glimmering in the moonlight.

"Good, we will begin preparations tomorrow."

Part I: Year 1, Spring (Current Ranks and Territ)

Alpha Pair

Crystal - White coat, shamrock green eyes, and under moonlight, when using abilities or in a dark space; has glowing light blue diamond-like patterns all over her body. Has a neck pouch and a bone bead earring with a crystal and a tuft of her own fur all strung together by a strand of spider silk.

Pyro - Black coat, blue eyes, and masculine frame. A bone bead earring with a crystal and a tuft of his own fur all strung together by a strand of spider silk. When hunting he wears two side pouches to carry more food.
Strength

Beta

None Yet

Theta

Jays Wing - Coat similar to a magpie and blue, short tail, pupiless eyes. Has a bone bead earring with a rabbits foot and a piece of lavender strung together by a strand of spider silk, along with a neck pouch.

Zeta

No established Zeta yet, for now the Alpha Pair take on this role.

Kappa

No established Kappa yet, for now the Alpha Pair take on this role.

Crowkeeper

No established Crowkeeper yet.

Tau

No established Tau yet, for now the Alpha Pair take on this role.

Gamma

None

Eppilusion(s)

No established Eppilusion(s) yet, all adults take on this role.

Subordinate/Sub(s)

Shadow - Black fur with a brown underbelly and blood red eyes. Has a bone bead earring with a dragonfly wing and a tuft of her fur strung together by a strand of spider silk.

Lota

No established Lota yet

Novice

No established Crowhandler yet

Yearling(s)

None Yet

Pups

The pups are currently about 4 - 8 weeks (2 months) in pt I
Crystal's Litter: Luna, Sol, Moonlight, Emerald, Bat, and Fang
Shadow's Litter: Phantom and Ghost

Omega

None yet

Every wolf that can hunt always wears side pouches while hunting or when out on patrol.

Key:
Blood River Pack - Red
Prospect Peak Pack - Purple
Junction Butte Pack - Cyan

Chapter 1: The First Litter(s)

1 Year Later, Slough Creek, Crystal's POV, Third Person

Crystal crawled out of the den followed by seven very wobbly pups.

First was a white she-pup with black freckles and a black tail tip.

The second was a reddish-brown male.

The third was very similar to the first one, but this time it was a girl.

Another female stepped out, she had brownish fur.

A brown female followed.

A black and white male wobbled out.

And finally a sand yellow/white pup followed. He was smaller than the others.

"What'd you name them?" Pyro asked as Crystal rested her head on his chest.

"Luna, Sol, Moonlight, Emerald, Shadow helped me name those last two which are Fang and Bat, and the last one is Alp."

He nodded.

Shadow crawled out followed by two more pups.

One brown female and one light grey male.

"What did you name these guys, Shadow?" Pyro asked.

"Ghost and Phantom." Shadow replied.

Pyro nodded before saying, "I'm going hunting."

"Stay safe!" Crystal called as her mate trotted away.

There was no reply.

She sighed before turning to the pups. "How do I do this?" She whispered under her breath, watching the pups wobble around.

Jays Wing approached her from behind. "It's difficult for a first time mothers, especially ones with large litters, but you get the hang of it after a while," the female nudged Crystal's shoulder.

"I know that, but it's just that I feel so useless. I can't hunt, patrol... I can't do anything," Crystal sighed.

"Don't take your chances, you're still recovering," Jays replied, staring out into the forest... or darkness for the blind female.

Ghost had tripped and Crystal rushed to the brown female, nudging her.

After a few attempts, she managed to stand back up again and wobbled away.

Crystal smiled before sitting back down, warily keeping an eye on the pups and the dens surroundings.

Shadow had been scowling the entire time.

The pups had begun walking a little faster now as they got used to their legs.

Crystal sighed before quietly whispering, "You think I'm going to be a good mom?"

Jays's ears perked up. She opened her mouth, hesitating before she closed it again. She lifted her head to thoughtfully "gaze" at the sky. Then she finally responded, "At first, probably not, but as your pups grow and learn, you will too."

Crystal turned to the black female and smiled softly. "Thanks, Jays... I really needed that," she whispered.

Jays smiled, "No problem." She nudged Crystal's shoulder. "Go play with your pups, for once in your life, be care free," she encouraged.

"But who's gonna keep an eye on predators?" She leaned into Jays Wing's ear and whispered, "Shadow doesn't seem like the type to keep an eye out."

Jays chuckled before responding, "You have eyes, don't you? Besides, it probably won't be a few days until predators find the den and attempt to attack the pups, and I'll smell them before they get here."

"But---" Crystal protested.

"If the predators are downwind of us?" She finished for the white she-wolf. "Again Crystal, you have eyes."

"Since when could you read minds?"

"I'm afraid you've grown... predictable," the blind she-wolf teased, before shoving her forwards slightly. "Now go play with your pups and live in the moment."

The shamrock green-eyed dame chuckled, giving in, "Okay, okay." She took a deep breath before approaching her litter.

All of the pups rushed over to her and began licking at her maw.

"Sorry, but I have no more food," she said, lifting her muzzle.

Some of the pups folded their ears and lost interest, but the majority of her litter stayed with her, curiously staring at her.

She stared back at the pups in awkward silence for a few moments before an idea came to mind. She play bowed, bouncing whilst she did so and bolted off.

Luna, Emerald, Sol, and Bat seemed to get the message, but Fang didn't seem interested, or in Phantom's case, still trying to figure out what was going on, the same applied to the rest of the litter.

Crystal looked over her shoulder and realized that she was probably going too fast, so she slowed down into a bouncing trot.

The pups were able to catch up, and this continued until Crystal was too tired out to continue.

The pups pestered her until they gave pup and returned to their former activities.

Chapter 2: The Wondrous World Through a Pup's Eyes

Luna's POV, Third Person

Many fresh new scents flooded Luna's nostrils the moment she exited the den and the world was a whole lot bigger than the confined space inside the den.

First, they had to figure out how to walk for more than two seconds.

Then they met their father... who was absent.

They chased their mother around, and now they were just exploring the area.

She was one of the first to actually approach the lake's edge that lay ahead of the den. Every time she slid down slightly, many tiny creatures would come loose and scatter down into the mysterious blue substance, but where would they go? After a little bit of sliding she ended up feeling the cold blue liquid.

She yelped and, jumped back, ears perking up.

The liquid lapped against the shore, menacingly.

She narrowed her eyes.

It touched her paws.

She yelped and jumped back once more, this time barking ferociously at the liquid.

Sol walked up from behind her. He tilted his head curiously.

She glared at the surface of the liquid, growling quietly.

The brown pup stared at the water, attempting to figure out what was going on.

A wave splashed over his head.

He yelped, shaking his cold, wet body off to get rid of the cold liquid on his fur.

More pups joined them at the edge. Moonlight, Emerald, Bat, and even Ghost and Phantom, the other pups born with them, but born from the mysterious black dame (and they were slightly smaller than them) that seemed to hate all of them.

The water seemed to bully Luna's siblings, so she growled a little louder.

Sol joined in, followed by the rest.

Their white mother walked over, bowing down to lap up some water. "Is that your nemesis, water?" She teased, her head still bowed down, but she had stopped drinking water.

So that's what their nemesis is called, water.

But what was a nemesees?

That would a be a question left unanswered until they could speak.

The pups growled louder in response.

"Yeah, water sucks," the white dame played along, growling softly.

The black and white female who had visited every now and then approached. "Crystal, you're teaching them a bad habit. If they hate water, how do you expect them to actually swim across it when they get older?" She lectured.

Their mother raised her head. "I'll make them like it, when they actually need it."

"Great idea, let's just procrastinate until the last minute and let them drown," the mottled female said, sarcastically.

"I won't let anything bad happen to them. Not under my watch," the white wolf replied, fiercely.

"C'mon, lets bring them back to the den so that we can keep a better eye on these little rascals," the other dame said, picking Moon up.

Suddenly, she felt jaws gently clamp around her scruff. She squirmed for a second until she was paralyzed. She freaked out before the strong, sweet scent of milk filled her nostrils.

It was mother.

That calmed her down.

Then she was set down and Luna ran over to her siblings and continued playing.

Luna looked over at Sol, and idea coming to mind.

Her intrusive thoughts won and she charged at him.

He perked his ears and yelped when they collided.

They rolled around until she was ontop, her tail raised as she wore a smug look on her face.

The brown pup smirked and managed to pin her down.

She used her hind legs and gently kicked him off.

More of their litter-mates noticed the commotion and began joining in.

They wrestled, attempting to figure out the pecking order... at least for now.

Ultimately, Luna was on top, her tail confidently raised.

The others groaned as they separated, going their separate ways.

She noticed a brown figure leaping around in the grasses. She went into a hunters crouch and crept towards the strange creature.

It had yellow eyes that bugled on either side of its head, a wee bit chunky, paired (... quardrupled?!?!?) with four, short, stubby legs, it looked dry, and was covered in these weird bumps, and these two larger bumps behind its eyes. It also had this distinct light strip.

It turned around and blinked before croaking, causing another bulge to appear on it's throat.

Her ears perked.

It stared at her, blinking every once in a while.

She prepared to jump, but it beat her to it via leaping onto her forehead and then off it, disappearing into the water.

She shook her head violently before glaring at the water from whence it came.

The audacity of this creature! Worst of all it came from her worst nemesis, the water.

She spat at in before walking away, looking over her shoulder to check if it would attack her from behind, but it didn't

Suddenly she heard a bark, "Pyro's back!"

She looked up and saw the large, shadowy frame of her father trotting over to the den, carrying a chunk of meat in his mouth. The three pouches he carried, neck, and two side, were full of food.

It was in fact dinner time.

She and her littermates bolted towards him, prepared to pepper him in licks of both greeting and hunger.

Chapter 3: Herb Lessons

It had been about 2 weeks after the pups left the den for the first time, and she was growing impatient.

Jays's ear twitched, almost as if she sensed Crystal's impatience... or maybe she heard Crystal walking up to her. "Yes, Crystal?" She asked, not turning towards her.

"Can I go hunting?" Crystal asked.

Jays chuckled, "No, not yet, but you can go marking territory... though that might sting a little."

"Yes!"

"But on one condition."

Crystal's ears drooped a little like a yearlings would when their mother told them that they can't go hunting. "Hmm?"

"I come with you. I need to restock on herbs and other healing supplies, so we can knock out two birds with one stone," Jays explained.

Crystal raised her brows in surprise, "That's actually pretty smart, I can work with that."

"Exactly," Jays nodded, pleased with herself.

"Pyro, do you want to come?" She asked, looking over at him.

He shook his head. "I'm good."

She quietly sighed, but hid her disappointment, "Okay, no problem. See you in a bit!"

He nodded again, but said nothing.

He's just tired that's all, she thought, attempting to comfort herself as both females padded away. I mean, imagine doing all the things to provide for your family is a lot on the body. He needs a break, just like I need a break from the pups... except I actually have energy.

"You're anxious," Jays said, interrupting her thoughts.

Her ears shot up, "What? No, I'm fine really."

"Crystal---"

"Okay fine, I'm worried about Pyro," she admitted, albeit reluctantly, looking away from the blind female.

Jays nodded understandingly, "Perhaps he's just tired, many males act strange at first with this newfound responsibility and often overwork themselves to provide for their families. He should be back to normal in a few more weeks."

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right," she straightened up, "We'll all be fine. We'll get through this, like we always do."

Jays nudged her with her shoulder, "That's the spirit. Now I think I smell some asters," padding towards the magenta flowers that looked like daisies.

Crystal followed until she accidentally bumped into her. "Sorry," she mumbled.

Jays shrugged it off, plucking the flowers and storing them into her pouch.

Crystal looked over her shoulder, "What are asters for anyways?"

"Well, the roots are anti-inflammatory, antitussive, depurative, haemostatic, and pectoral. They can be used to treat coughs, pulmonary affections, and malaria. The root juice can be swallowed and will help treat indigestion, and it can be used externally to treat boils. Since Slough Creek is a marshy landscape, and we're also near Mcbride Lake, these flowers thrive here," Jays explained passionately.

Crystal listened intensively, "Interesting."

"Sorry, did I ramble? It's just that plants are truly fascinating to me. I'll stop if you want."

"No, no, this is very interesting and useful information, maybe when you find more herbs you can tell me what each of their uses are," Crystal offered.

Jays turned to her, her blind eyes glimmering with excitement as a smile spread across her face and her tail wagged excitedly. "Seriously?"

Crystal nodded, "Yeah."

Jays seemed to squeal like a pup, despite her being probably at least a year older than Crystal. "I'm sorry, was that weird? That was probably weird, it's just nobody has ever asked me to talk about herbs before... and I've---"

Crystal shushed her with her tail, "It's fine, what's next?"

"Hmmmm," Jays thought for a moment, "How about snowberries?" She asked, raising a branch up.

"Sure," Crystal nodded.

Jays proceeded to ramble on the entire time about what the uses of each of the herbs were while collecting them whilst Crystal marked around.

Crystal's ears shot up as soon as she herd a soft squeak, then she spotted it.

A vole stood on it's hind legs, its large ears twitching at the slightest of sounds while rubbing its face to groom itself.

Instictivly, Crystal lowered into a hunting crouch and quietly crept towards the vole, the tall grass concealing her. Once she was close enough, she leapt onto the vole.

It squeaked in alarm, but she had already bit down.

She quickly wolfed it down, hoping that Jays didn't notice.

The blind shewolf's ears perked, before turning around, "Did you just kill a vole?"

She averted her gaze, "Nooooo..." she attempted to lie.

"Crystal, I can smell it on you," Jays said.

"Okay, fine, yes I did. It's just an old habit of mine," Crystal admitted.

"I mean, it was everyone's habit at one point. It's how we begin to learn how to