Ailyn

Ailyn had never intended to become the leader of a pack. In fact, she wanted to be a lone wolf, living free and without responsibility.
Her mother died shortly after giving birth to her, without ever letting anyone know who the father of her litter was, what lead to the rumor that this puppy must be cursed.
Growing up as an outcast, barely cared for and never loved, Ailyn left her pack at a very young age. Figuring out how to hunt for herself was hard, but she never gave up and even though it was hard, she managed to survive.
On an icy cold and windy day in her first winter alone, she came back to the cave she temporarily made her home to find a small, scrawny pup there, severely malnoutrished and with bite marks all over his little body. His name was Nerios, and he had suffered a fate similar to Ailyn's. His pack didn't have enough food to care for everybody in this harsh winter, so they chased him away.
Ailyn's chest became hot with anger, and in that moment she knew that she wouldn't let this pup die, she'd give him a home, care for him and protect him. She wouldn't turn her back on him like everyone else did.
Over time, more and more wolves showed up, looking for a save place to stay and regain strength. Some traveled on when they were healthy and strong again, some stayed. They needed a leader, and without even really noticing it, Ailyn grew more and more into that role. She found them a good place to stay and called it Nemos, like the save haven from the fairytales she grew up with.
Any wolf can find shelter here, no matter what age or gender. Not everyone can stay forever, but everyone is welcome to rest and heal for as long as needed, that's what Ailyn has sworn to them.

In the second year of Ailyn's reign, she traveled to the spirit world to help a friend on her last journey. But she had underestimated how hard it would be for her to find a way back, she got lost in the endless fae forests. She started feeling like she was losing her mind, being in a world not meant for a mortal took a huge toll. Her fur color started fading with every day, and her coat started radianting an eerie light.
Ailyn started to avoid calm waters, as the gaze of her own eyes in the reflection made her feel uneasy. Her time was running out, she could feel it. If she wouldn't find her way back sonn, she'd fade to become a spirit herself.
As she heard a puppy crying nearby, Ailyn't first thought was that she probably started halluzinating. But as the crying continued, she went to investigate and found an actual pup on a bed of moss, all alone.
How did it get here? It was a real wolf, just like her, but by far not old enough to have made the journey by itself. She waited with the puppy for a whole day, keeping it warm and hoping for the mother to show up, but she never did. In the end, Ailyn decided to take the puppy with her. She couldn't possibly leave it, it would die without a mother to care for it.
Ailyn named the puppy Stargazer and being responsible for more than her own life now again, she searched for the way home with new hope and strength.
Shortly after Ailyn found the puppy, she started feeling watched. At first she thought it would be the mother or caretaker of the little one, but instead she had attracted the attention of a moss fawn that kept following her around now, coming closer every day, losing its timidity until it cuddled close to her side in the nights. Even though Ailyn found the behavior of the little thing a bit disconcerting, she allowed it to stay as it posed not threat to her or Stargazer and she couldn't bring herself to harm it.
Despite all her efforts, Ailyn couldn't seem to find the way back. Only the help of another of the fae, a cat síth named Aos Sí got her to get home in the end, the prize for his help being that Ailyn would allow him to live in the Mortal World. He's often seen by her side when she gets ready for battle, as he loves a good fight.
Upon her arrival at the den, Ailyn fell sick for a long while. Her body had to adjust to this realm again and some of the damage it had taken was already irreversible. Ailyn's fur stayed light and bore the glimmer of another world, and her eyes glimmed with an unnatural shine to them. But under the care of her loving pack members, she recovered more and more, until she was stringer than ever before. With the help of Elysium, Ailyn raised Stargazer like the little girl would be her own pup. Over all this time spend together, Ailyn found herself falling a bit more every day for her packmate. Might Elysium be the one to grant Ailyn's restless soul some peace?

The pack had grown way more than Ailyn ever had imagined. So many wolves seeking refuge... The faelcu had driven many of them away from their lands, they had caused packs to split up and taken so many friends and family members. There was none left who hadn't lost someone dear.
And even though the portal was closed and guarded now, it seemed to be just a matter of time until they would find another way into this realm.
Ailyn was exhausted, every day she went looking out for potential threats, leaving the den before dawn and returning home only when the moon was ruling the sky again. She had
to protect her pack, no matter the cost.
Shortly after the faelcu managed to open the portal, the ancestors had gotten in touch with Ailyn for the first time. Their main speaker, Saiutri, started to teach Ailyn the ways of a true leader, knowledge that would normally be passed down from the lead wolf to their heirs. There was so much she still had to learn... It made her feel overwhelmed and helpless at times.
But she listened closely and worked hard to become the protector of her people. They trusted her guidance, there was no way she could let them down.

The years after they defeated the faelcu were hard. The long term effects of two worlds colliding and their respective biomes mixing up were terrible. Many prey animals were poisoned by the foreign plants they ate, and through the shortage of prey, a great famine followed. Packs that were formerly friendly now went on raids to get enough food to survive, and fights with strangers who intruded on Nemos territory were a daily issue now.
Just when Ailyn thought that the worst part would be over, a large pack from the north came to conquer all territories. From the beginning, Ailyn felt that there was something strange about these wolves. They killed without mercy, without any reason or thought. They seemed to be driven by madness, always looking for a new place to invade. Why would they want to possess more land then they needed to survive?
And once again, portals started to open, this time leading to the realm of gods. They were everywhere, and Ailyn spent many days searching for them with Saiutri's help, sending back whatever came through and closing them again. It seemed like an endless row of distractions meant to keep her away from her pack while the Northwolves came closer, searching for them, trying to find away to extinguish the wolves of Nemos as they had done with so many other packs.
And still, the pack grew. It had now more than three times the wolves it had before the faelcu outbreak, not even counting the pups. So many mouths to feed, so many lives to protect. Ailyn grew tired of carrying all this responsibility, but there was nothing she could do about it.
Though she had raised litters with Elysium's help and trained her oldest biological daughter to take over for her one day, just as the ancestors required, Fie wasn't old enough yet to lead. She was merely a yearling, and Ailyn wanted to give her the chance to have a life, have some fun before she would have to take on this crushing weight.
But things didn't quite work out as she had hoped...