A depiction of the wolf that Beowolf becomes to fight his enemies.
The legend of Beowolf had traveled far and wide throughout the world, and finally King Hrothgar, having no other option to save his subjects, enlisted the services of that legend himself. After many days and nights, Beowolf and his men arrived at the sacred mead hall of King Hrothgar himself, and stayed in for a night to observe the kingdom. After a fun night of drinking enjoying the company of one another, the King finally had to ask how Beowolf had achieved all of his legendary feats, being just a mere human. Beowolf laughed and decided it would be easier to show when the time came.
Almost at that instant, the terror that had been destroying the town had reappeared, somehow sensing a worthy foe had appeared. It ripped through the town, killing and maiming everyone in his path. Beowolf looked back at the king and gave him a sly smile, almost as if saying "Watch this!". Beowolf took a running start and leaped into the air, instantly transforming in a large wolf approximately 7 feet tall on his hindlegs and 350 pounds of pure muscle. The wolf leapt at the dragon-like terror, affectionately called Grendel by the Nords, and instantly bit into its neck while it was distracted and gnawing on a fellow Nord. The monster screeched with all of its might, and tried to wrestle out of the strong jaw of the wolf, but was unable to. Grendel, after a few more minutes of thrashing about, became still. The trained observer would see that the wolf got a little bit larger and a little bit stronger, almost absorbing the strength and likeness of Grendel itself.
The town had been saved, for the time being, and the people watched as the terrifyingly powerful wolf slowly became a man once again over the course of 30 seconds or so. Beowolf slowly approached the wavering King and his royal advisors and spoke, almost in a whisper, "Drinks on me."
Almost at that instant, the terror that had been destroying the town had reappeared, somehow sensing a worthy foe had appeared. It ripped through the town, killing and maiming everyone in his path. Beowolf looked back at the king and gave him a sly smile, almost as if saying "Watch this!". Beowolf took a running start and leaped into the air, instantly transforming in a large wolf approximately 7 feet tall on his hindlegs and 350 pounds of pure muscle. The wolf leapt at the dragon-like terror, affectionately called Grendel by the Nords, and instantly bit into its neck while it was distracted and gnawing on a fellow Nord. The monster screeched with all of its might, and tried to wrestle out of the strong jaw of the wolf, but was unable to. Grendel, after a few more minutes of thrashing about, became still. The trained observer would see that the wolf got a little bit larger and a little bit stronger, almost absorbing the strength and likeness of Grendel itself.
The town had been saved, for the time being, and the people watched as the terrifyingly powerful wolf slowly became a man once again over the course of 30 seconds or so. Beowolf slowly approached the wavering King and his royal advisors and spoke, almost in a whisper, "Drinks on me."
Author's Note: I started with the notion that Beowulf looked like the word "wolf" was in his name, and then just kind of ran with the story from there. It was also strange for me to try to understand how a man like Beowulf could destroy Grendel and his mother with ease without really doing anything other than fighting them with his bare hands, which does not seem feasible to me. Therefore, I decided if he had a superhuman power to turn into a wolf, it would make a little more sense.
Bibliography: The Story of Beowulf by Strafford Riggs (prose adaptation in modern English). http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/05/myth-folklore-unit-beowulf.html
Hello, Chase!
ReplyDeleteI really like this story, and I would love to see you do more with it! At first I was a little curious to know what sort of monster was plaguing the town, but you satisfied my curiosity when you said “dragon-like terror”. I will admit, however, that because of my healthy obsession with dragons, I am a little sad to hear that one (even if it was just similar to a dragon) had to be killed. I really like the concept of Beowulf absorbing his opponent’s strength. Great story!
Hey Chase!
ReplyDeleteI really like what you did with the classic story of Beowulf, especially with the premiere of the final season of Game of Thrones. With what you mentioned about the Beowulf resembling the word "wolf" so closely, presenting the story with a fantasy spin seems so natural, and you did it in a way that was fun and easy to read. I also thought the image you chose set an ideal mood and gave just a hint of foreshadowing. Great work!
Hey Chase,
ReplyDeleteI think they should change the beowulf story to be more like yours. I too was under the impression that beowulf was some sort of wolf creature as well. From your author's note it appears that it was not actually the case. I am actually pretty interested in reading it now.
Brady
Hey Chase,
ReplyDeleteHaving read Beowulf a few times, I thought I knew what I would be reading this time but then the story had a big plot twist. It was really surprising and enjoyable to see a familiar story with a new turn to it. I can see where the idea of the wolf came in, based on Beowulf's name. It does make sense that he has a magical ability since he is so much stronger than everyone. I particularly noticed this when he fought Grendel's mother and didn't drown. I guess his wolf powers helped him!
Great job
-Elyse