Silvereyes looked down at the wasted badlands. Only foul cliffs and rocky canyons, a blasted landscape with old, nearly dead trees, some yellow grass here and there and the bones from the long gone Giant Beasts, who had ruled the world before they died out a long time ago. He had never seen such a sorrowful sight. Beside him sat Greydal, the scarred and experienced werewolf warrior who was his teacher.

Silvereyes was the oldest child of Ashanda Shadow, and therefore the prince of the White Mountain Pack. His fur was silver-grey, almost white around his eyes which had given him his name, Silvereyes. The other warriors were scattered in small groups over the area, seeking the beast that they had hunted for three days now. Silvereyes sighed. Oh, how he would like to be with them, feeling the thrill of the hunt, knowing that he was alive, being a warrior.

He was old and strong enough and had all the essential knowledge that he needed. His friends had already passed the Three Tests, but old Greydal seemed to have decided that his apprentice was not ready yet. "Why are you not out there?" Silvereyes asked his master. "Someone has to watch you, young prince," the grey old werewolf said and smiled. "And besides, I have already seen too many battles and too much blood to enjoy it." "I haven't," Silvereyes muttered. Greydal smiled even more, which almost drove Silvereyes to madness, and said: "Patience, young one, patience. One day you will become a warrior." "I just can't see why I can't be a warrior now!" Silvereyes said and sighed again. "All my friends are, why can't I?" "Because I want to know if I have trained a warrior or a fighter," Greydal said. "There is a difference between them, and your friend's masters gave in too soon to find out." "I am ready!" Silvereyes complained. "I think I know that better than you do, my prince," Greydal said. "I will tell you when you are ready. Now, keep watching for the prey." Silvereyes nodded.

The prey. Three days ago a chimera had violated the werewolves' sacred temple grounds and slain a young song-mistress A group of warriors had been sent to restore the pack's honour by killing the beast and Silvereyes and some other young learners had followed so that they could study the real warriors, but not interfere. The code of the warrior said that a warrior apprentice only was allowed to fight as training and self-defence, never attacking an enemy, even to defend the lhayr or the pack. That was the warriors' job. Suddenly a golden coloured female appeared. Silvereyes recognised her as Twilight, a female his own age that he had known since he was a pup. She jumped from rock to rock on all fours with precision and agility that was amazing. Her beauty was astonishing. Silvereyes felt a brief feeling of jealousy, Twilight had been a warrior for several months now, but nowadays he felt that way anytime he even saw a warrior.

Greydal took a step forward, and Twilight landed in front of him. "Still no sight of the chimera," she said. "Huntmaster Hawkflight believes that it is hiding in the caves further north." "I wouldn't think so," Greydal said. "This beast knows that it's hunted, and in the caves they could easily trap it and kill it. It isn't that stupid." "Hawkflight said that its pawprints lead north," Twilight in an attempt to defend the Huntmaster, who had been her teacher during her time as a learner. "Nothing personal, but Hawkflight wouldn't know which direction a rabbit was going if it ran into his mouth," Greydal sniffed. "You'd better tell him that the chimera probably will bite his tail off if he goes looking for it in those caves."

Twilight looked as if her feelings had been slightly hurt, but turned around. Suddenly Greydal froze still. "Wait!" he said. He sniffed in the air. Silvereyes could also feel it now, the smell of blood, or was it something else that simply reminded of blood? Whatever it was it smelled awful. "It is here!" he said. "To the south!" "And it's getting closer!" Greydal said. "' Hiding in the caves further north'. Ha! That bloody thing was probably on its way back to the bloody lhayr! Twilight, get the others!" Suddenly a huge paw tore down the old tree beside them. It fell over Greydal who was caught under it. Silvereyes leapt aside just before the roaring chimera passed the place where he had stood. It continued as if it hadn't seen him and rushed towards Twilight who now howled to summon the other warriors. "Twilight!" Silvereyes shouted. He was about to run and help her when Greydal's paw grabbed his foreleg. "Wait," he said.

Silvereyes looked towards Twilight, who desperately tried to avoid the chimera. The lion-head roared in anger when she managed to claw it over the right eye, and the snake-tail hissed. "I have to help her!" Silvereyes said. "You can't!" Greydal responded. "Remember the code!" Silvereyes turned and tried to lift the tree. Although he was strong for his age it only budged a bit, not enough to free Greydal. He turned back to his friend who was fighting the great creature. Her moves were poetry and her eyes burned as fire, but she wouldn't be able to stay alive for long. "It will kill her!" Silvereyes breathed. "Then I guess you will have to choose, my friend," Greydal said.

Silvereyes hesitated for only a moment. Give up all dreams of becoming a warrior? All training and hoping for nothing? "Damn the bloody code," he snarled in between his bare fangs and leapt forward. In order to assault Twilight the chimera had turned its back on Silvereyes, but the snake that was its tail could still see him. It hissed at him as he came running and tried to bite him with its poisonous fangs. He dodged the bite and aimed a crushing blow at the snake's head. He could feel its scull giving in for his paw and the snake fell lifeless to the ground. But even if the tail was dead, it would heal as long as the chimera itself was alive.

The beast now tried to turn towards its new opponent, letting down its guard towards Twilight. She took the opportunity and locked her jaws in a terrible bite at the chimera's throat. Meanwhile Silvereyes jumped as high as he could and landed partially on the chimera's back. He tried to avoid the kicks from the hind legs as he stared into the cold eyes of the chimera's goat head. The goat head made a clumsy attack with the horns but missed, and then Silvereyes closed his jaws around its throat and sank his fangs into it.

The chimera managed to hit Twilight with his left paw and she flew through the air and landed on a rock further away. Silvereyes wanted to look to see if she was alright, but couldn't let go of the goat head, even now when it was dead and his claws were buried in the chimera's back. The chimera tried to throw him off, and he could feel that he wouldn't be able to hold on much longer. So now I will die, he thought to himself. Maybe just as well, now when I can't be a warrior.

Suddenly another werewolf flew into the chimera right beside him and started to bite and claw it. Another one appeared, and another. It was the warriors. Two of them, one being Hawkflight himself, attacked the lion head while the others were everywhere, biting and tearing. Silvereyes stubbornly held on to the goat-head, and suddenly the chimera fell to the ground. Some of the warriors must have bit its heal-sinews off. He was thrown to the ground just as Twilight had been. He turned his aching head to watch the battle, and could see that the chimera was as good as dead. Finally Hawkflight howled to the sky. The murdered song-mistress had been avenged; the pack's honour was restored.

The warriors walked away form the dead chimera. Two of them helped Silvereyes up on his paws. He almost ran over to the place where Twilight had fallen, but she was already up. She didn't seem to be hurt, except for the four long wounds from the chimera's claws on the left side of her chest. Blood slowly coloured her golden fur red around the wounds. "Are you alright?" he asked. "I'll survive, thanks to you," she said. "Oh, Silvereyes, I am so sorry! I know what that meant to you." "I did what I had to do," he said and looked down at his forepaws. Twilight walked closer to him. "I think you fought like a true warrior," she said and quickly licked the corner of his mouth. Her tongue only nodded it briefly, and then she walked away, leaving a surprised Silvereyes behind her. In all the years they had known each other she had never kissed him before. Why were his legs suddenly feeling so strange? He decided that he probably was just tired after the battle.

Meanwhile the warriors had managed to lift the tree of Greydal. Silvereyes walked over to them and tried not to look at his teacher. "We have succeeded," Hawkflight said. "Now we must return to the lhayr, I have a feeling that the pack needs us." Silvereyes started to walk, but suddenly Greydal's voice stabbed into his heart as a knife. "Prince Silvereyes, wait! I wish to speak to you!"

Silvereyes stopped and turned around. Greydal stood there, as strong as he ever was. His fur was grey as iron and he looked just as cold and hard. Silvereyes briefly turned his head and looked at Twilight, who gave him a pitiful look before walking along with the others. Then Silvereyes slowly walked over to his master and lowered his head. "I have failed you, my teacher," he said and felt a tear in his silvereye. It wasn't the fact that he would never become a warrior that caused his pain, but the failure to Greydal.

Suddenly he heard a strange sound. It sounded like laughter. "There now, my prince," Greydal said in a joyful tone. "Raise your head, turn your eyes to the sky. A warrior shouldn't drag his nose in the dirt. Failed? Quite the contrary, I would say. You have made me proud!" "I. I don't understand," Silvereyes said and looked into Greydal's eyes. "Silvereyes, have anyone ever told you what the Three Tests really are?" Greydal asked. "No," Silvereyes answered, still in chock. "That is also forbidden." "They are the tests of courage, loyalty towards the rest of the pack and unselfishness. You, my friend, have passed them all. Courage when you risked your life for another, loyalty when you were prepared to sacrifice your highest dream to save Twilight and unselfishness for the same reason. Now you can proudly call yourself a warrior!" Silvereyes could only stand there with his mouth open in surprise. Greydal laughed once again. "Come, brother," he said. "Let us catch the others and tell them the joyful news!"

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