Many wolves don trinkets from other lands, show off jewelry fashioned by other paws. Not
Iris. Her garments tell only her stories of her home, the
Nemorei Upland. When pups ask, Iris regales them with tales of the great hunts, from when she and the House's first hunters first claimed the Upland for their own. When hunters ask, she speaks more practically of the great herds, how stags can wound or kill with a single kick, how the coyotes come to steal prey.
Elsewhere, in
Aostral Pillars or
Branti Hills, the wolves value charisma, duty, loyalty. In the Upland, Iris values fairness above all. All wolves enter with a clean slate; all backgrounds are disregarded. Those who hunt well are welcome; those who fight are banished north; those who seek only safe travel are allowed farther south. And so when
Erhyi,
Yaya, and
Zhiryen arrived, Iris looked beyond their circumstances, saw only dedication and hunting prowess, and allowed them to stay. And when Erhyi challenged her mother for the rule, Iris saw that Erhyi had become a better hunter and leader, and she stood by and let them fight.
In her late age, Iris retired from hunting. But as she laid on the yellow grass, she watched the wolves of the Upland uphold fairness even without her, and she was content.
Log
2023/08/03 Reached Level 20 at 4 years 0.5 months with 958 stats (482-84-219-80-93)