What no Scholar knows

Wolfbrothers

Listen to my wolfbrother Silkeyes and to me Bloodtooth. We will tell you what it means to have a wolfbrother to us Telmori. Do not interrupt Silkeyes nor me.

When we two-legged Telmori are born the wolfsister of our mother gives also birth. Almost always both have the same number of cubs. During the childhood the four-legged and the two-legged Telmori spent all the time together and every two-legged Telmori develops more sympathy for a particular four-legged one. The same is true vice versa. At some point they all choose the other to be their partner in life, this is to be more than just brothers. At this early part in their life the Tergavi takes them for a whole week to see if the two fit together. Mostly they do and the ritual of brotherhood is begun. It is during this ritual that both of them see Dezak's Path for the first time. It is during this ritual that their lives and their souls become linked forever. It is also this ritual that makes the two Telmori.

After this ritual sympathy is replaced by real love. While the small boy liked to cuddle his little wolf because he has a soft fur he now likes to cuddle him because he is his brother. From here on both of them do all things together. Both of them take care for the other like a loving husband would do for his wife. If the two-legged Telmori falls ill the four-legged will go to the Tergavi or search for herbs or bring fresh meat or water to his brother. Often this relationship is so powerful than neither the one nor the other feel a need for a female. Sometimes even when one part of the bond dies the other is overwhelmed by grief and dies sometime after.

Often during the long life of both of them one will save the life of the other. This is natural. A Telmori boldly faces Fer if needed to save his brother's life. This is almost proverbial. There are many tales of us Telmori which recall how a brother was stolen or got lost somehow only to be recovered after an arduous search.

The most well-known is called Agrud's tale of joy. It starts when an evil human imprisons Agrud's wolfbrother as well as Agrud himself. However cunning Agrud can flee his prison and returns to his forest first. But he finds no joy in life without his wolfbrother whatever he tries. Even when he becomes King of the whole forest he remains sad. Yes, even when he fathers many brave sons and sees how they become wolves he is not happy. After several years he decides to return to where his former prison was hoping for the best. He leaves all behind and discovers that his wolfbrother still lives. He is still imprisoned being made a mere watchdog for the man. As cunning Agrud enters the halls of the human in disguise his wolfbrother starts to bark. Within a few moments the owner of this place arrives and demands to know from Agrud what he wants. He explains that he is deeply in need of a watchdog and that he would like to buy this one. The greedy human replies that it will cost Agrud a fortune. And since Agrud has not got any coins he starts to argue that this watchdog is quite old, has one eye blinded, has no more teeth and is not fast enough to catch even a small rat. In the end Agrud gets his wolfbrother nearly for nothing.

When they are outside the house Agrud promises his wolfbrother that now they will live in joy and that his wolfbrother will have everything he ever wanted to. But his wolfbrother says that all he want is revenge for his years as a watchdog. Agrud promises that if this is what his wolfbrother wishes it should be. Thus both of them go back and kill the man. Then Agrud's wolfbrother says that all he was expecting in his life is fulfilled and that he can die now. Because Agrud knows that his life is nothing without his wolfbrother he bids Fer to come quickly and take the two. Only moments later both fall to the ground, dead but joyous at last.

The more the two experience the stronger becomes their bond. Many Telmori can feel what their brothers feel and some can even talk to their spirit directly. You cannot understand what it feels like to lose a wolfbrother. A Telmori proverb says that you can forget about your wounds but you can never forget a lost wolfbrother. This is more than true and I thank Telmor every night anew that Silkeyes still lives when I regard what things have happened to him. I can understand those who say that they cannot take another wolfbrother. It is like a hole too great to fill or like a wound too deep to heal.

I do not know what I would do if Silkeyes died one day. I pray that we both may die in battle on the same day so the other would not need to feel the pain. It is too hard to lose the best friend, your partner, your brother and your soul to grief at once for.

But enough of that Silkeyes is still lively and so am I. This is no time for sadness but for joy. Come Silkeyes, let's go for some rabbits !