Smoke and ash clogged the air as the orange glow of fire illuminated the northern horizon. Snow lay thick on the ground but in some places it had been trampled so thoroughly that it was only mud. Frost was forming as night deepened in the ruined woods and in the distance the sound of cries still rose up.

A paw stepped down onto the freezing mud and a muzzle dipped down to sniff it. A low growl escaped the massive beast and it licked at the still-warm blood that had settled into the depression. The beast, though in the shape of a wolf, was anything but a natural creature. This spirit was ancient and had been called by the earth to answer the slaughter.

Another, shorter spirit ambled over a rise in the ground and kicked at the brambles near the wolf. This one had been called by the earth to answer the chaos of war. In appearance it looked like a badger. Both spirits knew each other. They held no love for one another, but neither were they enemies. On this night they had been called together and so together they would hunt.

Wolf was faster but badger was nimble. They raced through the underbrush, wolf drawn by the smell and badger drawn by the flames. They left no trail of their own, instead following in the steps of those they now hunted. Miles flashed by and they found the first bodies of the fallen. Both spirits paused a moment to examine them. These were not warriors. These were prey, but not their prey. Wolf licked their faces clean while badger dug them shallow graves. As soon as they’d finished their brief vigil they resumed their pursuit. They did not stop at every body they passed. If there was a logic behind which ones they honored and which ones they ignored, it wasn’t apparent.

The first of their prey appeared as wold and badger crested a hill. Down below them a city burned. The fortified wall that surrounded it was breached in multiple places and fires raged unabated throughout. Silhouettes moved and skittered in the firelight as people ran through the streets, some were the hunter and some were the hunted.

Wolf growled yet again and waited for badger to catch up. This was both of their hunt and it wouldn’t be right to begin alone. When badger arrived, it snarled and pawed at the dirt at its feet. Together they leaped down the slope of the hill and tore into the ruined city as the full moon crested behind them and added its own pale light to the scene.

The hunters became the hunted as wolf ad badger found the first group they’d been stalking. The men cried out in surprise as the two spirits fell upon them. They inflicted no mortal wounds but instead drove them mad. The men turned on one another and tore at each other with their bare hands, biting and slashing as best they could until they choked on the blood of those who were once their allies.

Only now did wold and badger separate. Wold moved left and badger moved right, encircling the city and driving the warriors towards the center of the city where the fires burned hottest. New screams, feral and wild filled the night, replacing the previous cries.

Contrary to what it may appear, wolf and badger were not here to save anyone. They were primal spirits called forth by the slaughter and chaos and they were here to wreak ruin on all those who would feed their elemental forms. Those who once thought themselves strong found that they were weak as they fell beneath the baleful influence of wolf and badger.

Blood ran thick over the frozen ground, steaming at first, then congealing before freezing at last. So many were the bodies that as they fell they began to smother the flames. As the night waned, smoke and ash were replaced by a heavy snow. Few were the tacks that led out from the city but they were there. Wolf and badger did not pursue them. There were few remaining within the city now and they would not live to see the dawn.

As the moon set across the plain wolf and badger found one another yet again. The last man stood by the razed wall. His armor was split, deep wounds already seeping his life blood out and onto the fresh snow. Bright red against a white canvas.

The two spirits stalked forward. This one man seemed to see them and he choked out a weak laugh. With his one working hand he drew out a dagger and in a flash drew it across his own throat. He tried to draw in breath and only managed a gurgle. A moment later he sank to his knees. A final, rasping gasp escaped his lips and he fell still.

The fires still smoldered but no longer did the flames lick up towards the sky. Wolf and badger, their hunt ended, looked at one another, each considering whether or not to attack the other. In the end, they each snarled and snapped at the other but walked away rather than fight. They were sated and didn’t need to waste their strength now.

The sun rose and burned away the hoarfrost. Snowdrifts already obscured the violence of the previous night and soon the ruined city looked like just another hill on the plain. What few survivors there were would never return to this place. They would never know the fate of their attackers. It didn’t matter. The earth was satisfied and it called home the spirits it had awakened to answer the call.