Clan of Sungold

Sungold.

Even now, some packs still tell that disjointed tale—of a wolf golden as the sun itself, eyes like fire but gentle as spring's first rays. They depict her with spreading antlers like an elk, wreathed in flowers as petals scatter beneath her paws and infuse the air with the scent of tranquility, pups of every size, color, and shape tumbling at her heels.

There is no single thread to her story. As many versions exist as there are packs who have ever recounted them. All of them, however, agree that Sungold left the pack of her birth and turned her back on the moon's light, preferring to walk beneath the sun's warming glow as she gathered a pack of her own. They were devoted, as she was, to the light of day. And the sun, respecting the shared devotion of so many wolves, granted Sungold the gift of knowledge to guide her pack to prosperity, as well as the blessing of safety for all pups sheltered among them. Even sickly pups would grow strong and healthy, bathed in the light of the sun.

For years, Sungold's pack thrived, sharing what they had with other packs and fostering the pups that had no other chance at survival. But in time, Sungold herself came to the natural end of her days, and those of her pack who were left behind began to splinter apart. Some stories say that it was because of infighting that had begun even before their lead passed, while others say that it was opportunists who believed that they could surpass the example left by her. Whatever the reason, it's said that within a matter of years the pack was dissolved entirely, leaving only the tales of a wolf who brought together and led such a great throng.

While to many these are only stories, there are those who believe that Sungold truly walked beneath the sun's light, and that her spirit was not content to fade below the horizon like other wolves, but continues to rise and set like the sun itself. Somewhere among those wolves who are still devoted as she was, she will appear in the form of a pup, growing to lead them anew and bring them back to the days when they walked together as a single great pack.