Hundreds of lizards assembled before their wooden gate, clacking their shields and blowing their horns, their warriors clad in wolf hide. In the darkness they faced the fire of a thousand wolven eyes aglow like hungry stars, the vagueness of their beastly forms appeared and went away as their ranks did form. The combatants stood each other down for hours in the rain, each trying to out noise the other. The wolves howled and bayed and made terrible snarls; the lizards smote their shields upon their spears and blew horns and flicked their tongues in mockery. A brave wolf would venture forward to spit then be chased back into the shadows. A gecko fellow would dash up and lob a rock into the darkness before an amassed horde of growling shadows scared him back. This status quo lasted into the night; and despite the electric atmosphere, even as more joined the opposing ranks, some began to make themselves comfortable in light of their enemy. In the murk a wolf could seen laying down and licking himself. Look, that one rolls playfully on his back. Behind their spear lines the lizards took breaks in turns, playing card games with leaves and rock chiseled die while betting on piles of shiny beetle shells. Boredom began to fester; there is naught more dangerous. Another wolf stepped forth before slinking back. Another rock was thrown. Another hiss. Another snarl. Another flick of tongue.

Suddenly a great white wolf stepped forth snarling; the Lizards paid him nary a tongue flick. Not ‘til after he leapt, his fangs a froth as he lunged headfirst for one poor gecko’s neck, snapping it in his jaws and ripping his head off in a single thrashing motion. The lizards fled from this Wolf Prince as he stood violent upon his mangled kill, he threw his muscled neck back and loosed an echoing “Awoooooooo!” that pierced the heavens. Thus hell was unleashed! The wolves charged en masse; snarling and snapping and leaping for the line. The reptilian spirit shattered before the howling and growling tide, the lizard front retreated screaming, many a spear and shield dropped into rainy puddles upon the road as those bold enough to hold their ground were mauled and ripped to bloody shreds in eager jaws a’twisting. A frantic blasting of horns and beating of drums rallied the second line and those craven survivors of the first; the rushing wolves were soon stuck upon their spears and those behind fell back yelping. The stand off began anew—any casualness lost in blood thickened air. The truce didn’t last long, for another bout of horns drove the geckos charging forward into the thickets. The wolf ranks broke in minutes; those who tried to ward them were quickly stuck upon wooden shafts. Then, as they ran away yelping and whimpering and licking their wounds, a nightly light peered through the swampland overgrowth. Everyone stopped.

The scaly heads of the lizardmen lifted towards the sky, as did the furry snouts of the wolves. Beyond the twisted black boughs the dark clouds were parting, the full silver moon hung lonely in the night above. Lady Hecate had cast her veil aside, her light blessed the battlefield. There can be no greater canid rallying cry.

Howls rose from every corner of the earth. From every direction new eyes were aglow. More of them gathered each passing second, more howls, more snarls, the air shrieked of their primal bloodlust. From everywhere the scattered packs amassed for this great hunt; they came from the mountains, they came from the lowland valleys, they came from the marshes, they came from whatever wild lands lay beyond, they came as if summoned from Hell’s own dog pit. Tens of thousands of hungry jaws flashed grinning in the encircling blackness; the trembling lizardmen held their shields high and spears forward.

The horns fell silent to the hungry maws of thrashing death.