It was springtime, the sun had just begun to show its sparkling face when the prince woke me up whispering:

«Hey! Hey! Come on, wake up!»

«Mmm… What do you want? The sun is still sleeping, let me do the same.»

«Oh come on! We must hurry and leave before father wakes up!»

«Leave? What the heck are you talking about? Go back to sleep…»

«Didn’t know I had a wimp for a brother… only the idea of an adventure scares you to death»

«Hey! I’m not a wimp! Give me a minute to get ready and we’re on»

He always knew what to say to convince me, but the truth is that I would have followed him wherever he went even if hadn’t said a single word. These unexpected ideas always brought us a lot of troubles but we also always had a lot of fun. So I thought *Why not?* and followed him prompto.

«Finally outside the palace» said Whir after a long breath «I couldn’t stand those old and cold walls a minute longer. The sun, the flowers, the grass… This is a really good day! And it has not even started yet.»

«Yeah, what exactly has not started yet?» I asked him wondering what he was talking about «You still haven’t told me where we are going.»

I was still a little bit dazed by the sleep, I’ve never been a sleepyhead but I like to have the correct amount of sleep. And I usually needed that, following Whiriwhiri during his weird and crazy adventures… How tiring.

«Ok Huna, I wanted it to be a surprise but I cannot resist anymore… We’re going to the ancient ruins!»

«THE ANCIENT RUINS? Is it a joke? It must be, no way it isn’t, it is forbidden to go there, to us it is absolutely forbidden to go to the ruins. I heard trolls live down there!»

«As I said before, you’re just a wimp! Have you ever seen a troll in Rawhiti? I haven’t! And if so, it would be amazing! I would hit him with my magic moves POOM! POW! And then you could attack him from behind BAM! BANG! He would run away and never return, we would be heroes!»

«Yeah, I’m not really sure it would go exactly like you’re imagining it»

«Don’t worry, I always got this with me» he said while pulling out the necklace his mother left him before dying.The pendant was a big tooth belonging to a gigantic wolf, at least according to legends. But I never saw that wolf and neither did Whir.

«This does not calm me at all» I replied worried «Only because your mother was able to control them, does not mean you’ll be able to do the same. Also, you’ve never even been able to invoke them, not a single time!»

«Trust me, when the time comes, they will show themself»

Maybe I should explain a little bit: Whiriwhiri is the son of king Ra, ruler of Rawhiti, and I’m his younger brother. Well, technically I’m his stepbrother. The king adopted me when I was really young, I have no memories of my birthplace or my previous family. I’ve never met the queen, she died when Whir was still a little child, shortly before my arrival. Anyway, here in Whenua only Summoners can become kings and Whir is still studying to become one of them. His mother gifted him with her Eidolon, which is something like a divinity in our country. People in the palace say that this Eidolon is a big wolf, but my brother wasn’t able to call him yet.

Even so, his words calmed me down. I knew that if he wasn’t worried, I shouldn’t be either, but still we walked the last few miles in silence.

There they were, the ruins of the ancient kingdom that arose here before The Dark War. It was the first time we were able to see them so close, there were big columns that in the past would have probably sustained even bigger palaces. Remains of ancient roads where our ancestors walked, fallen houses where the first inhabitant of Whenua used to live and there, at the far end of those ruins, the only building whose shape was still recognizable: an ancient temple dedicated to the Sun God.

«There it is!» exclaimed the pince «The temple of my father Eidolon! Let’s go to pay our respects, I'm pretty sure it will be a good omen for my training.»

A long stairway eroded by the last thousand years was the only way to reach the higher point of the ruins. Here, two big golden columns were the only inheritance of the ancient splendor of the city. The archway, still intact, will open to a great hall that was brightly lit when the sun rose. It was like being in a no open space even if over our head the high roof was still covering a big portion of the room. During the years, nature made its way inside through floor’s cracks and now a beautiful garden was the only thing between us and the end of the hall where, majestic and imposing, still stood the statue of Hini Mahana: the Sun God.

We stopped there for a few seconds, contemplating the beauty around us. I turned around, looking Whir in the eyes: they were shining. It was hard for me to understand how important Eidolon were, maybe because I come from another reign, maybe because I’m not a summoner or maybe it's just that I was too young to understand, but I wasn’t able to comprehend why people put all that faith in them. And yet, in that moment I felt a warmth inside of me. Seeing my brother’s eyes, reading the amazement that transpired from his gaze, it was really emotional.

Again we walked in silence, but this time it was a reverential one, the one who was only owed to very important people or sacred ceremonies. We reached the statue and my brother got on his knees and started praying in silence.

Meanwhile I looked around, getting next to the statue, observing its details, but I was not in the mood for praying with him. Still, I tried to keep as much silence as I could to not disturb him.

We remained there a few minutes, then he got up, slowly. I’ve never seen him like that before, usually full of energy he was hardly able to stay still. He looked at me and gestured for us to leave the temple.

Once outside the temple, my brother took a big breath looking at the castle of Rangi on the horizon. The sun was shining, it was time to go back, our absence was certainly already noticed, and the old kingsguard was probably searching for us.

«Time to go little brother, father will be furious enough, no need to make it worse» he was not really concerned about that, not that he didn’t care, but that was just his way of living.

We walked back through the ruins, stopping here and there observing some details: a fallen house, an old door, a broken well.

We found an unstable pillar, the stone on the top was precarious and my brother had one of his ideas.

«I bet you’re not able to make that stone fall»

«That stone on the top? It is really high»

«Yeah, i knew you couldn’t»

He always knew what to say to tease me. I grabbed a pebble from the ground and I threw it as strong as I could: I missed.

«Come on. I'll give you 3 chances» he said like he was doing me a favor.

I was starting to lose my temper, the second launch was really close, almost hit it.

«You were so close! But close is not enough Huna»

I threw my last stone with all my anger… too high.

He laughed, as always.

«Then do it yourself if you’re so skilled!» I said annoyed.

He took a little pebble, aimed at the pillar, and made the best launch I’ve ever seen.

The stone fell down with a great thud.

He turned around looking at me and said «You have to train more, little brother» and at that exact moment, the entire pillar collapsed, making a noise so loud that echoed throughout the ruins.

We both got scared, then we looked at each other, and started laughing. It was always like that, even if he teased me we always had fun. I was laughing so hard that at first I didn’t notice that my brother had stopped, and was standing still, looking toward some fallen houses not too far.

«Be quiet!» he said, putting a hand on my shoulder «We are not alone».

I got really anxious «A troll?! I knew there were trolls in here, I warned you!»

«Shut up! It is not a troll»

Something was moving: from behind a wall a big and angry grizzly bear appeared. At first i was relieved *It is not a troll* I thought, but then I looked at the beast, it was really big.

The bear looked at us, it was not happy with our presence.

My brother grip became tighter «Run»

Without even thinking we were already running and jumping through rubbles and debris. Without even looking behind we could feel the bear was closer and closer.

I heard a big thud «Dammit!» my brother was on the floor, and the bear was almost on him.

«Go away! Don’t be a fool!» but i couldn’t listen to him, I watched as the bear was getting on two foot, becoming bigger and bigger, towering over my brother who was looking directly in the eyes of the animal. The big paw arose and in that moment I felt the air becoming cooler. I thought it was the fear of what was going to happen, but it was something else.

I didn’t notice at the time, but my brother later told me that the pendant started glowing, reacting to what was happening. From nowhere a big wolf appeared, standing between my brother and the bear.

Face two face the two beasts where growling to each other showing fangs and claws in a menacing way.

They started fighting, biting and scratching each other, next to the still body of my brother who, to my surprise, was amazed by what was happening. I, on the other hand, was terrified and warned for my brother’s life.

With a big hit of his paw the wolf pushed back the bear, it seemed like the animal was ready to counterattack but in that moment the wolf let out a loud howl. A cold wind arose and when the howl finished everything became calm.

The bear was not scared, nor agitated but turned around and left like nothing happened.

I was still traumatized by what just happened, I was sure it was it for my brother and yet he was still there, it seemed like a miracle.

«WOW!» I haven’t yet elaborated the last few minutes and my brother was already standing up, walking frantically around the wolf. I’ve never seen him so euphoric. He was lifting his tail, touching his ears and getting down to look at his paws. At one point, he even put his hands into the wolf mouth to look at his fangs, he almost put his head inside! I thought he got mad from the shock.

But the wolf stood there, calm and quiet. He moved a little bit, and stretched out on the ground, like a domestic dog. He licked his paws and looked at my brother.

«You look like her. Your mother i mean»

«Nice to meet you! You took your time before showing your nose, I thought you would have kept lazing about forever» answered my brother.

In the meantime I stepped towards them, looking the wolf and then my brother

«A gigantic wolf, came from nowhere, fought with a blood thirsty bear ready to eat you in a single bite, started talking with you and you say he’s lazy?!»

Both turned around in my direction, the wolf finally noticed me and I instinctively stepped back: despite my brother’s calm I was still scared.

«Come on, we have much to talk» said the wolf «Let us head back to the palace» concluded with what felt more like an order than an invitation.

The wolf just stood up and turned on the castle when the prince jumped on his back.

«Giddy-up! Fast as the wind!»

The wolf sighed, shaking his head in resignation. I was still incredulous, it must have been a dream of some sort. A strange one of course.

«Come on little brother! It will be much faster like this!»

Once again, I was convinced by his certainty, I was still hesitant, I want to be clear about that. But still I moved forward, letting my brother take me on the back of the wolf. It was really big, but his blue fur was really soft and warm even if a strange cold breeze seemed to perpetually blow around him.

«M-Mr, ehm, Sir Wolf. Ehm, my brother seems to know you - no idea how it is possible - but I still don’t even know your name» I said with a trembling voice.

«His name is Tio» my brother intervened «Lord of Wolves, King of the Beasts, God of Frost. He is my mother Eidolon»

«And now I am yours, young prince» pointed out the wolf «But as I already said, we will talk a lot at the palace. It is time to go.»

And, like if he was pushed by the wind, the wolf started running toward the palace.