[READ-ONLY] The Sol Pack

This is a read-only thread. Please do not comment. If you find grammar mistakes, have ideas and suggestions, or have taken a liking to any of my characters, feel free to PM me.

Before Lore
(setting the stage for lore)

An old tale told from wolf to wolf, spoke of a world before the great ignite. During those times, animals' minds were hazy and were filled with only primitive survival instincts. Species mostly kept to themselves. A strict food chain was followed.

Then, the world suddenly changed.

Things fell from the sky, rose from below the ground, and appeared from the void. Chaos plagued the lands and shuffled the circle of life. In the great shuffle, certain population ignited; over generations and generations of change, they became new species of their former selves with one major distinction - they became sapient.

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Key takeaways

1. The world used to be like the real world (the Old World). Then there was a long period of time (the Chaotic Times) where anything could have happened (supernatural, technological, etc.) that caused the Wolvden world to diverge from the real world. There may still be lingering effects in present day Wolvden that originated from the Old World and/or the Chaotic Times. This allows for easy integration of Wolvden events into lore, no matter how wacky they may be. I'm ready Wolvden!

2. The Ignite is the event that caused animals to become sapient (albeit over a long period of time). This explains the ability for the wolves to think elaborately, cooperate with other species in the Wolvden realm, and do more non-real wolf things. Inherently, there are animals that did not evolve and continued to be beasts from the Old World. These are the prey the wolves hunt and feast on.

Feel free to use this setting for your own lore, as long as you give credit to me!

Year One

Spring

Our tale started with Sol and Stella, establishing their home in the mountains. The spring was a lively time filled with abundance of food and resources. Sol and Luna welcomed a litter of four puppies in their new home.

Just when we thought this was going to be a documentary following the day-to-day life of a young pack, a new wolf suddenly appeared. Luna's sudden appearance in the depth of the pack's territory surprised both Sol and Stella, but what's even more astonishing was her appearance – except for the warm-coloration of Luna's pelt, she is physically identical to Sol in every detail. She spoke with a foreign accent with terms alien to both Sol and Stella. They could only make out pieces of information such as "not a wolf", "split in two", "above the sky", "the Chaotic times", and "whoosh, boom, bang".

Although the origin of Luna was unclear at first, Sol felt an unnaturally strong sense of trust and intimacy towards Luna. Which was why he quickly agreed to perform the ritual of reunification a silly dance when Luna forced persuaded him to do so.

When their paw tips touched, Sol felt an overwhelming amount of energy surging through his body. The energy originated from their point of contact and quickly flooded every part of his body. The energy quickly became unstable, and within a few eyeblinks, exploded, launching Sol into the distance. (Although Luna also experienced the energy flow and explosion, she remained in place in the same posture). Sol was thrilled with the experience – he was not hurt (except for a few scratches) and was able to absorb a small portion of the energy as it washed through his body, leveling up his physical attributes. Luna, on the other hand, was shocked, confused, and very disappointed.

Suddenly, Luna turned her head. Sol followed her eyes and, in the rubbles, stood one-and-a-half puppy. Under the gaze of both wolves, the half puppy slowly materialized, from a small remnant of the energy that exploded earlier, into a whole puppy.

While the six puppies played together, the adult wolves had an intense discussion of the current situation. Exactly what was discussed is unknown to us, but we are aware of the outcomes:

1. Luna will join the pack as an honorary member

2. the puppies will be raised together within the pack

3. Luna will travel the lands to collect the energy remnants that had escaped

4. both Luna and the pack will gather information on the Chaotic Times

5. the pack will support Luna's goal of returning home in exchange for Luna's guardianship, until such time that Luna leaves the land

Summer

Luna had been gone for a long while now. Occasionally she sends post barks from the places she visited. Stella met a wise old bear in the forest and started learning the secrets of grass and leaves. That leaves Sol alone, juggling between providing food, patrolling the territory, and part-time puppysitting. However, one post bark from Luna changed this routine forever.

This post bark mentioned CFK (Carcass Fresh Kiosk), a small food stall located in a forest nearby. The food stall is run by five sibling wolves, Apus, Aquarius, Aquila, Aries, and Auriga. It offers a large selection of seasonal fresh whole carcasses, cut carcasses, eggs, seasoned or un-seasoned, prepared or raw. Due to current world-events, they started offering delivery services to nearby regions. Lucky, the pack's territory is right on the edge of that region and qualifies for delivery. Since then, the pack became a frequent customer of CFK.

Fall and Winter

Fall and winter can be summarized as follows:

1. Four almost adult wolves leaving home.

2. Sol turn fluffy for winter.

Year Two

Spring

Five newborns between Sol and Stella joined the pack at the first sign of the second year of spring. The litter size quickly grew to eight when Luna returned with three more puppies formed from the remnant of energy from the explosion a year ago. The raw energy that formed these three puppies travelled further, gaining momentum and stability, before materializing into puppies. These three were noticeably stronger than the two formed immediately after the explosion, but still sociable. However, Luna fears for what else the escaped energy could cause. Luna did not extend her stay; she left immediately after the three puppies were settled in search of the remaining energy bits. Stella, who had come to understand the severity of the problem, decided to join Luna in her search. She will be covering land north to the pack's home territory.

With the pack's herbalist, Stella, taking on a role that will cause her to be away from the pack for extended period of time, the new adults, Cassiopeia and Carina took up the position of herbalist trainee under Herbert. Cassiopeia was able to focus on her training, but Carina was often distracted – by the eight puppies. The puppies have a deep affection towards this older brother and would not leave him alone, and as a result, Carina took up the role to care and teach the new puppies.

Summer

With Luna and Stella gone most of the time, Cassiopeia busy with her studies, and Carina occupied with the eight puppies, Sol has most of the time to himself. He spends the day between patrol, fending off the enemies, and picking up delivery from CFK. As a result, changes to Sol were unnoticed. First, his icy blue eyes turned into the colour of the void, so dark and mysterious as if it could trap a soul. That phase did not last long, as in a matter of days it turned, and remained, the colour of warm amber. In addition to his pupils, Sol's pelt also shifted from a brownish gray to a more glistening silver. Whenever Sol stood under the shiny sun, the silver reflection of his pelt makes him appear – extraterrestrial.

Fall

Throughout the summer and the fall, Stella has returned to and left the pack's territory several times. Fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately), she did not find any traces of remnants of energy. Luna's return at the end of fall, however, delivered a strange and unpleasant piece of news. Through her travels, Luna had come across several packs with puppies that was connected to Sol! Not physically, as these puppies were born naturally to their blood parents. However, Luna could sense an essence of energy that resembled those at the source of both Sol and Luna but deviated from its origins which could only be from Sol and Sol alone. If one looked into the eyes of some of the more heavily influenced puppies, one could even feel their pupils turning into the void – not enough to trap a soul, but powerful enough to influence and persuade the onlooker without words.

All throughout the return journey Luna could not understand how this could have occurred – for Sol to influence the puppies from territories away – until she set her eyes on the changed Sol.

Although subtle, Luna could tell at first glance that Sol and herself were set on completely different paths from this moment on – or perhaps an earlier but unnoticed moment. Although they originated as one and for an unknown cause derived into two, she had always hoped they would rejoin as one and return home. She now knows for certain that would not happen. The new Sol have deeply ingrained himself to this new world, and as a result, can no longer host the energy that belonged to his old self. His body is physically repelling those energy. As those energy leaves his body they are leaving traces of their paths behind – the remains of the extraterrestrial energy as they leave Sol left marks on his pelt, making him appear extraterrestrial. When all the power leaves, the only evidence of his origin will be his glistening silver pelt.

The energy first aggregates themselves within Sol, as evident in the changing colours of his eyes, then leaves in bursts. Most of these energy finds their way back to Luna, the remaining source of origin, but a few lost strands wonder the land and were being absorbed by wolves carrying puppies, modifying them.

Winter

When the first snow blanketed the pack's territory, Luna and Stella dashed towards the south. They sense danger.

Their tinkling senses were correct as the pair later returns with a pair of puppies born from the remnant of the energy. However, this time Luna returned with injuries. This time they found three, not two, puppies. The litter clearly had been born for a period of time and the three had gained a certain amount of strength. They were able to persuade two of the puppies to come with them, but the last, the strongest of the three, had deeper desires. He fought with both Luna and Stella and were able to escape with only a few marks. Luna had tried to track him down as an unstable and dangerous wolf as him could cause chaos to the land he claims but failed. It's as if he never existed. Back at the home territory, Luna looked towards the southern lands with worried gaze.

Year Three

Spring

Unlike the previous years, spring was not greeted with the sound of new puppies. Instead, the mood of the pack was filled with a mix of anxiety and excitement – the pack is moving.

The decision was made after much deliberation between Sol, Luna, and Stella. From Luna and Stella's travels in the past two years, it seemed that much of the energy remnants have travelled with the southbound winds towards the warmer regions of the land. The longer those energy remnants are left untamed they stronger and wilder they become. As it is the first time this sort of energy has entered and interacted with this environment, there is no telling what chaos could be caused without intervention. To better facilitate the tracking and taming of the energy remnants, the group has made the decision to relocate the pack from the mountains to the rainforest.

Around the same time, the puppies from year two, Columba, Corvus, Cygnus, Delphinus, and Dorado have aged into adulthood. With the pack moving away from locations serviced by CFK, the group of puppies have decided to establish a chain location near the rainforest. The plan was a success, with one exception: they "lost" Dorado on a short trip through the coniferous forest near their old territory in the mountains. Dorado has wooed many single females of a pack that calls the forest home and has decided to hang around that pack and pass on his own legacy. To fill the gap Dorado has left, Luna sometimes help the group of young adults out.

No significant events in the remainder of the year.

Year Four

Spring

The pack's first spring in the new territory was welcomed with sound of puppies – four puppies born to Sol and Stella. One little boy, Belenus, was noticeably more adventurous than the rest of his littermates. Even at a young age, he constantly tried to tail Luna on her scout journeys, only to be returned to his mother and Carina for extra attention puppy sitting.

Fall

Sometimes, time changes things. Other times, there are things that never change – and Belenus is one of those that never changed. Despite the extra pairs of eyes kept on him, Belenus continued to attempt to either tail Stella or Luna on long scout journeys or set out on his own explorations. Although following Stella or Luna on long journeys were never a success, he had ventured out of the territory and explored the surrounding lands all by himself. When he finally reached adolescence, Sol have decided that Belenus was large enough to accompany Stella and Luna on shorter scout trips. Belenus was overjoyed with his father's decision and thought all the trouble (and punishments) he had caused in his puppy days were all worth it!

Little did he know one of the main reasons for Sol's decision is his discovery of the sudden growth of fox population around the area. At first, when the hunting team led by Cygnus reported that there was a sudden decrease in critters found in the rainforest, the pack did not thing too much into it. However, when Belenus constantly got into fights with foxes and came home with either wounds from battles lost to foxes, or fox tail tuffs he managed to jerk off, Sol realized the influx of foxes may be a long-term problem. It is too early to tell how the fox invasions will affect the territory in the long run, but for now, the pack has made an effort to control the over population of foxes. At least their den is decorated with warm fox pelts and tails for winter.

Year Five

Spring

A pair of foreign wolves have started to appear just outside of the border of the pack’s territory. Several wolves have picked up very faint scents carried over the border by wind, as well as rare sighting of silhouette. As the foreign wolves have kept their distance and respected the pack’s territory, no hostility has occurred thus far. Although the pack continues to keep a close eye on the situation.

Fall

Whether on purpose or just pure coincidence, the foreign wolves have evaded any meetings with Belenus, now officially in charge of border patrol for the pack. The second-generation females, however, seemed to have had several friendly interactions with them. The pair were true foreigners – they did not even speak the local language. They were only able to communicate using what few words they have recently picked up, and their instinctive body language more frequently used by wolves of the Old World.

From what the ladies could gather, the two males were not related but brother-like. One was a descendant of 谛听 [dì tīng] and the other is distant kin of 祸斗 [huò dòu]. The pack refers to them as Di and Huo for simplicity.

Although both have coats no different from other wolves, there is something about them that makes their coat appear otherwise – Di appears cold and as clean as fresh snow, and Huo appears as hot and as dark as the night of the winter solstice. But with just a blink, their appearance is back to normal as if all that one just witnessed never happened.

They originate from the far east but travelled north and then south to reach this location. It is currently unclear whether this is just a temporary stop or the two intend to settle. They have cleared the territory adjacent to the pack’s territory and, based on their words and past behaviours, they do not intend to invade. At least as of now, the pack welcomes a friendly neighbour.

Year Six

Year six was one of the most uneventful year the pack has experienced thus far. There were no new births, the fox population have been brought under control, and no real event that have or lurks to threaten the prosperity of the pack. In fact, the neighbors have had a more eventful year than the pack.

Over the years, the two packs have become accustomed to each other’s presence on the outskirts of each other’s borders. Both packs respect each other’s territories and have never offended the land of another. Perhaps because of this mutual practice members of both packs have started to form relationships. On rare occasions where wolves from different packs crosses paths along the border, they even stop by to chit chat, and share the newest gossip of the packs.

Belenus, on border patrol duty, learned the most about the other pack due to the nature of his job. He had seen not two, but four adults, hunting together. One is the mate of Di and the other the mate of Huo. The females of the pack are very reserved and never comes close to the border, even during a hunt, unless the males are with them in the hunting party. Even Cygnus and the other sisters have never came face to face with the females of the other pack. After a few months, no one could catch any glimpse of the females as if they never existed. The pack sometimes speculated of their whereabouts, and it was Cassiopeia, an experienced herbalist, who spilled the beans – their neighbors are expecting puppies.

Year Seven - Sol and Luna

Sol and Stella sat atop their favorite rock, basking in the sun after a meal of fresh rabbit buffet. The second-generation wolves lazed around nearby, grooming each other, fiddling with sticks, or just taking a nap. Luna rested on the thick branch of a nearby tree, like a leopard, watching over the pack. The sun draped over Sol, casting a thin veil of gold, making him look even more majestic.

Time have treated Sol well. At the age of 7, Sol boasts about being in tip top shape and able to take down an adult elk all by himself (that is, if there are elks in the rainforest). Sol isn’t completely exaggerating – for one he can still take on Belenus, a male in the prime of his ages, one-on-one without showing any signs of aging. Sol also still appears at the prime of his age – for except a few tickles of grey that have climbed onto his muzzle, Sol still wears a body of glistening coat that hides his muscular-build body.

But he is aging – like a mortal.

Perhaps no one have felt Sol’s aging more deeply than Luna. As Sol became more invested in this world – the world they have fallen into by mishap – he also became more resemblant to the native species of this world. And became more distant to his origins. The cosmic elements that were split equally between Sol and Luna upon their separation slowly seeped out of his body. As he assimilates more and more into a native species, one accepted by the core of this world, his physical body repelled those cosmic elements as part of the process. Until he became a true mortal. Until she became whole once again.

Many have thought Sol became more sociable, more easy going, and believed it an effect of age and wisdom. Perhaps age was a contribution, but the true reason is that as the cosmic elements leaves him, he no longer seemed high and mighty, and unreachable. At the same time, although unfelt by the original pack members who grew up with the presence of Luna, Luna became more distant, appeared more regal, and casted a sense of monumental height that can only be worshipped afar. Luna is becoming more of the emotionless cosmic energy that walks the planet in the form of a wolf – their original form.

Ultimately, the legacy of this pack – the one formed by Sol and Stella – will be carried on by their descendants. And in a sense, they are also descendants of Luna. As she lives on through the generations, her relationship with the pack may become distant with every passing of the torch, until the day she can no longer feel the fate that ties the two together. Or perhaps a distant pup with uncanny resemblance to Sol may reignite the bond she once held when the two were one and the same. Only time will tell.

Year Eight

At first sight, the transfer of power from Sol to Solis, the new name bestowed to Belenus on his coronation, seemed effortless. After all, Solis was in the prime of his ages when he took over the throne. He was familiar with the running of the pack through his years of experience accompanying his elders. And the pack thought they could always rely on the wisdom of the immortal extraterrestrial being, Luna.

Until the day Luna disappeared.

She left without a word, without a trace.

After the passing of Sol and Stella, the pack took comfort in knowing that the last of the elders who watched over them since puppyhood would always be around to guide them. But it was no more.

The collapse of the three giant pillars that shielded the pack was no more, and it was Solis' time to step up. His playful nature quickly shed away, revealing in its place a stoic and emotionless leader. He watched over his pack during this sorrowful times, ensuring their survival to the best of his ability, only to mourn in silence when no eyes were open, when all was silent.

Despite Solis' best effort to keep the pack together, the disappearance of Luna, immediately after the loss of their parents, took a heavy toll on some of his siblings. Carina, Sol and Stella's first born, passed away one autumn night, surrounded by family.

Carina, being the first born, was the one that looked after his younger brothers and sisters when their parents were busy providing for the pack. When he aged and could no longer keep up with hunts, he was again the one with the patience to look after the young. Carina was dear to all of his siblings.

The Sol Pack seems not to be the only pack in desperation. A young scout, Chūnfēn, had be appearing frequently along the border of the pack's territory. Sometimes her path would cross with Solis when he patrols the pack's territory. As time went on, she grew more agitated. It seems she had something to say, but only to suppress the urge at every last moment.

Year Nine

The Sol Pack was greeted with a surprise in early Spring. Three bone-thin wolves of the pack from the east appeared at the pack's territory looking for refuge. Last winter, their father Dìtīng passed away. Huòdòu, their other protector, left the pack in despair leaving the three siblings to fend for themselves. They were helpless against a large and aggressive pack of coyotes and were driven to the brink of survival.

The pack allowed the three youngsters, 立春 (Lìchūn), 春分 (Chūnfēn), and 清明 (Qīngmíng) to join the pack. It seems that without the protection of Dìtīng and Huòdòu the second and third born, 雨水 (Yǔshuǐ) and 惊蛰 (Jīngzhé), didn't make the trip.

Perhaps it was the communal grievance for their lost ones, or the feeling that the three youngsters poses no threat to a pack of eleven adults strong, the youngsters were accepted into the pack, albeit at the bottom of the hierarchy. Lìchūn and Qīngmíng took apprenticeship under the herbalist Cassiopeia, while Chūnfēn continued to function as a scout. Things were peaceful for two seasons, until time was once again not on their side.

Cassiopeia, Carina's littermate, saw how detrimental Carina's passing was to the pack and held onto life for as long as she possibly could. However, she too was taken from the pack at the tail of the summer. Then, one by one, Cygnus, Columba, and Delphinus whispered their farewell to the pack in the following months. The only one of the four elders who have left behind an offspring that stayed within the pack was Columba's daughter, Fuchsia, still an adolescent at this time. By the end of year nine, Corvus was the last elder to stand of the lead hunting team.

It was during this chaos that the three youngsters who joined the pack early in the year took opportunities and secured their places within the pack. Lìchūn and Qīngmíng took over as herbalist for the pack after Cassiopeia's passing, and  Chūnfēn formed a pair bond with Solis, becoming second in command of the pack.