Azaro

The Taiga is old, ancient beyond memories; Each rock having seen countless generations of paws, hooves, and talons pass between states of being, and each tree playing witness to the rise and fall of great wolf dynasties forgotten by the next one's dawn. Secrets become buried by seasons of shedded fir needles and snowfall, forgotten to those that unknowingly retread their ancestor's footsteps...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Deep within the dark pelt of the taiga, there rests a patch of tilled earth which none of the nearby firs dare set their roots in. Long ago, something was buried in its center- nobody can quite remember what, but rumours of the area always seem to hold unexplainably tragic notes. Whatever it may have been, the clearing has been lost to the vapours, and it's location all but forgotten by the descendants of communities who once revered the clearing.

But if one were to accidentally stumble upon it, they would find that like a divine rack of antlers, a single tree grows infinitely skyward in its center- as if it were a guardian of the secrets hidden deep amidst its labyrinthian roots, or a transcendental bridge between this world and the next. The moss that seeps across its sturdy base is soft, and ever so inviting; but one should be cautious of falling asleep here. Strange places tend to invite stranger dreams.

And if a traveller were to stay for longer, perhaps they'd find it strange how the area always seems to be shrouded in a dense winter-coat of fog, regardless of seasonal happenings. And how sometimes- if light strikes at just the right angle- the white clouds of mist might just seem to take on a wolfen shape, and gaze back...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

• A pup who died prematurely and was lain to rest in the earth, given new life as an immortal through the mist that marked his burial


• Trapped between the lucid world and whatever awaits beyond, he finds himself confined to the clearing as a semi-material spirit.


• Has a very timid disposition, and is always apprehensive about revealing himself at first. However, if a wolf were to stick around his clearing for long enough, his juvenile playfulness and curiosity will always get the better of him.