*Fully edited...for the time being*

Thirteen years later

Kiela's shoes made no sound as they slid across the floor. She bent down to the ground, and groped around under her cot until she felt the strap of her bag brush against her fingers. The pre-dawn light was already beginning to flood the inside of the tent with a rosy glow, and Kiela knew she didn't have much time. Her body burned at the betrayal, but she walked to the door anyways. A soft sigh met her ears, and Kiela froze. She quickly turned to face the tent interior. Don't do it, she told herself. Don't look. Kiela couldn't help it.

A girl lay on the cot beside hers. Her face was scabbed and blood soaked through her bandages. Her body resembled a cocoon, so swaddled was she in skins and blankets. Kiela shut her eyes quickly, but couldn't halt the flood of images that assaulted her from her memory. The girl smiling at her in laughter, bright green eyes shining. The girl holding Kiela's hand while she cried, tears streaming down her face. The girl sitting beside her, staring into the glow of a campfire...

Kiela tore her eyes away. This is your last chance. She told herself. Even if you stay, she will never get better. It's best that one of you gets out, instead of both of you dying in this place.

Kiela swallowed past the lump in her throat, past the horrible, knowing guilt. She forced herself to turn and exit the tent.

As soon as the tent was out of eyesight, Kiela picked up her pace. She ran. Remorse flew off of her like a tree shedding snow. The dreary brown tents of the village dissolved into forest, then hills. The hills grew into mountains that reached their stony fingers to the sky, and the ground between them flattened. Kiela whooped and laughed with the wind in her face, watching the mountain pass narrow around her. She didn't care if anyone heard her, she would not be punished for it now.

As Kiela neared the forest, she slowed her wild pace. A hint of trepidation pushed its way past her joy, and Kilea stared into the forest depths. A black hole in which no light entered emerged among the trees. The breeze stirred their leafy tips but had no effect on the ground below.

Kiela shaded her eyes and searched for her guide, but she saw no one. "You are meant to enter the tunnel yourself." The memory of her tutor's voice sounded in Kiela's ears. "Do not carry any weapons. They will not help you." Kiela had been sneaking away for months, to meet her tutor and prepare. Law required that she go through the trial, but she had defied it when she made her pact with the girl in the tent. They had sworn that they would never leave unless they were both there, and Kiela had broken that promise.

Now, the silent depths of the tunnel were right before her, and Kiela had to make a choice. Step forward, she ordered herself. Fear flooded her as she crossed the boundary between what she knew and the terrifying unknown.

Kiela stopped and waited for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. The trees appeared angular and stark, as if they meant to reach out and grab her. Their branches allowed some filtered sunlight to reach the barren forest floor, but not much. Kiela noted the lack of shrubbery on the ground, and uneasiness filled her.

The way became less and less clear, and the tunnel entrance was no longer visible behind her. The path is supposed to disappear. Kiela reminded herself, trying to shake off the itching, creeping feeling within her.

The ground turned to rock, but instead of becoming sparse, the trees grew closer and closer together. Vents in the rock spewed forth yellow gas that swirled and dissolved into the air. A rotting smell permeated Kiela's nostrils.

Kiela strained her ears, finding her hearing more powerful than her eyes. Shuffling sounds came from the shadows and gleaming eyes peered out, only to blink and disappear a heartbeat later. The ground quickly became hilly, bumps and ridges breaking the surface. The yellow gas grew denser until Kiela could barely see.

A ridge loomed ahead of her and she moved forwards. The mist thinned for a moment, and Kiela beheld a huge hill, far taller than any hill she had seen before. Its top was almost even with the trees, and it blocked the path on either side of her. She drew closer and put a foot on it, intending to climb.

A tremor shook the hill violently; spasming down its length.  Kiela was thrown off. She hit the ground hard and her side burned as she was bashed and scraped against the hard ground. The hill uncurled itself, rising twice the height of the trees around her. Wicked sharp claws appeared, and with them came a mouth that foamed and gleamed with dagger-like teeth. A huge bear stood before her, growling. Kiela's heart almost beat out of her chest, and her ragged breathing shook her whole body. In a flash the bear struck, and Kiela rolled, getting out of the way just in time. More roars split the air, and the bear drew nearer. Kiela scrambled to her feet and faced it. The second she looked she wished she hadn't. Arrows and swords stuck out of its shoulders, and healing scars rippled over its side.

"No." Kiela breathed. "It can't be!" She was given no time to think before it unleashed another blow. Kiela was unable to move as its claws drew nearer and nearer. "The illusions will seem real." Her tutor had told her. "It is only if you believe they are that they will be able to harm you."

"Put away your fear. Put away your fear." Kiela chanted to herself. The second before the claws struck Kiela stared into the beast's eyes.

The claws fell, but they went straight through her. The bear howled and then dissolved, and the yellow smoke parted. Kiela was stunned.

When she finally looked up, the tunnel had reappeared before her. With another glance around, Kiela hurried towards it.

A man stepped out of the shadows. Dark hair shaded his face, and he towered far over her. "Congratulations, Kiela." He said, voice level. No emotion colored his tone at all. "You have passed. I am Xaroc and I will take you to the village. Do not be afraid; nothing from now on can harm you. The smoke from the vents of Êraon comes from below the earth, and we discovered long ago its ability to influence the mind. Everything you saw from the moment you entered the forest was a figment of your imagination."

"It wasn't real." Kiela breathed to herself. Anger sparked within her. "Why do you do this?"

"It is simply a test to see if you can put aside your fear. You preformed masterfully." Xaroc told her.

"And what of those who do not preform 'masterfully'?" Kiela demanded. "What do you do with them?"

"They are not killed, if that is what you are asking." Xaroc answered. "North and South village are very accepting, and we normally bring them there. Do not fear, they have the opportunity of repeating the test whenever they so choose." Kiela nodded. "I will now take you to the village." Xaroc told her. "It will not be long."

Kiela walked behind him through the trees. They were grown so tightly together that they seemed to form a wall on either side. Kiela let out a gasp of wonder and trailed her hand along the rough bark in disbelief.

"The trees are grown far from here." Xaroc told her when her noticed her interest. "We measure them, and when they're the exact height they are brought here and stripped of the dead lower branches. This way we can fit them directly side by side."

The leafy cedar branches met overhead, obscuring the sky. Though Kiela knew the sun had long risen by now, the tunnel became darker and darker. Xaroc walked silently ahead of her, offering no reassuring words.

The tunnel now was so narrow and dark that trees brushed Kiela's shoulders on either side and she could barely see her feet. A new fear overcame her, a fear of falling among the myriad of tree roots that covered the ground. After a while, lights began to appear in the distance. As they drew nearer to them Kiela realized that they were candles, with lengths of dyed cloth hung in front. They let out a multicolored and muted glow that illuminated the black pine trees around. Kiela felt as if she were in a tunnel to a magical land, one of mystery and wonders like these. Excitement filled her as she waited to see what more would be discovered.

The tiny path took a final turn and opened up. The reached the edge of the forest and the ground suddenly dropped off into the valley below. Kiela looked down. Spread beneath them was a huge village, smoke from its tents rising to meet the whiter clouds above. Dozens of fires burned towards the east, and Kiela could faintly see people moving around them. Almost a hundred tents in an unfamiliar cone-like shape were set elsewhere, and several larger ones dotted the scene. Xaroc pointed the biggest out to her.

"That is the greeting tent. It is where you will have your ceremony of acceptance, and be granted your other form."

***

Kiela gazed emptily at the tent wall, thoughts whirling faster then she could process them. She sat on a wooden chair that was lavishly decorated with carved images of animals and humans they resembled. The arms of the chair were pointy and uncomfortable to rest her arms on, so she placed them in her lap. The soft leather tent and the dark lighting made it seem as if she was in the stomach of some giant beast, a gloomy thought for her shifting ceremony. The elders would say it was a bad omen.

Kiela thanked the gods that she had made it this far; many hadn't. Soon among their number would be Artemis, the dearest friend Kiela had. She tried to banish the thought but it weighed heavily on her conscience. They will be waking now, she thought to herself. Soon they will see I'm gone. Artemis will know, they will all know. I will be dead to her, the others won't care.

Kiela was raised the same way as all the other children of her people. She had never met her parents; she didn't even know their names. It was believed that parents would influence a child's personality, and so would not allow them to embrace themselves and build who they were. Kiela didn't believe any of that. If she had had parents, none of the bad things that she had gone through would have ever happened. She shivered and wrapped her jacket closer around her.

Kiela's tutor had told her about the ceremony, of course. Wyram may have been old and going out of his mind, but he was a good tutor, she would give him that. The ceremony was the most sacred and revered part of a shifter's life; it was when they would be given Shokii, their animal skin.

Kiela looked up through the open circle in the roof. That perfect circle framed the evening moon, and Kiela smiled. It at least had never left her. She sent a quick prayer to the moon goddess Sylnav, asking her to offer her protection. Forgive me Sylnav, she begged. I have lied; I have hurt those dearest to me. Grant me forgiveness and compassion. Footsteps were approaching, and the tent flap was swept back, flooding the interior with light. Xaroc, who she had come to see as the elders' messenger, beckoned. "It's time," he said.

Nervously, Kiela followed after him towards the greeting tent. It was a large, imposing structure. The walls were painted with scenes from history and likenesses of the gods. Xaroc brushed open the tent flap and gestured for Kiela to enter.

The lighting inside the tent was dim and the air smelled like jasmine. There was a skin rug laid down the middle of the tent that ended in a raised platform, on which rested another carved chair.

In the chair sat an elderly woman, with a look of serenity on her lined face. On either side of the path sat people of the tribe, it appeared that everyone was there. Kiela found that she couldn't look into their faces. Would you accept me if you knew? She wondered. "The woman that will greet you is Ramsea, chief elder of the tribe," Wyram had told her. Kiela readied herself, and then began to walk down the path, passing rows of people. Her brown leather dress threatened to trip her, and it was all she could do to remain upright. The people on either side let drops of scented oil and flowers fall before her. Finally, Kiela came to the platform and mounted the steps. Ramsea stood as she approached.

After what seemed like hours, Kiela stopped where she had been instructed. Ramsea smiled and took Kiela's hand in hers. A jolt of recognition shot through Kiela. She pictured a huge black bird, poised elegantly on a branch. Her other form is a raven, Kiela realized. Then she frowned. How did I know that?

Ramsea looked intently at her and placed one of her hands on Kiela's right side. Kiela tried to flinch away, but found that she couldn't move. A second passed. Two. Nothing happened. Rooted to the spot, Kiela twisted to look. From under Ramsea's hand, grew swirls of white, black, gray and silver. The swirls of colour formed the shape of a wolf, nose pointed up, seated on its big paws and howling to the sky. The image shone for a moment, and then faded. Ramsea took Kiela's hand and turned to the crowd.

"The Gods have spoken!" she exclaimed. "We have been sent a wolf!"

Ramsea raised their joined hands skyward, and listened to the cheering of the crowd.

A/N For those who have read this before, and are *gasp* re-reading, this is very, very different from the first version I posted here. It has been re-written a total of 5 times, ands this re-write is the third since I have updated this chapter. The only sentence that remains from the original is "The gods have spoken! We have been sent a wolf!" For first-time readers, there is a pronunciation index included in the back of this book for all of the strange words and names. Please vote and comment! Even if you hated it I want to know why! Thank you!