A History set in stone...
- The Bluestone mountain range has sheltered the wolves of Kells from the greater world for as long as anyone can remember; its sheer cliffs and freezing temperatures ensuring a death sentence for those who try to traverse its peaks unprepared. This makes the land beyond - called the Waylands - the subject of many tales of adventure and stories told to pups to keep them from wandering too far from home. Some wolves whisper of a land soaked in blood, inhabited by those driven mad by the vindictive spirits of the tundra and their ghastly howls; others tell legends of great beast-kings who ruled with an iron fist atop piles of treasure.
Those who live among the most inhospitable ranges of the Bluestone know what truly lies beyond. On the other side lay thick forests shrouded in mist and dappled with ancient stone structures that tower above the land. And within those structures live an old breed known colloquially as Berserkers for their massive size and terse, aggressive temperaments. While their breed’s true origins have been lost to time, family lines and blood relations are deeply important to them. A single line has acted as their king for generations now - the Ravens - and beneath that king are numerous agnostic clans, each filled with wolves bearing a surname indicative of what clan it is they descend from. They are two times larger than dire wolves and have thick, dark coats with little variation in hue. Pale or white coats often considered a blessing upon the clan the pup was born in, as they are extremely rare.
While outsiders may consider them a brutish, hot-headed lot, the Waylands has seen peace since the Raven line came into power roughly fifty years ago. Blood Raven, their current king, has upheld that peace through his benevolent and just rule. With no outsiders to threaten their lands and a strong line of competent rulers, there has been little need for any great conflict. That is, of course, until recently. Some blame the recent chaos on the current king’s father who ruled before him: Stone Raven, who neglected his kin and dealt harsh punishments upon any who he felt wronged him. Others blame it on the death of the king’s only son, lost in a petty battle between the royal line and a rebellious clan, leaving his daughter as his only remaining heir.
Most, however, blame Blood Raven’s mate: an outsider and seer whose visions foresaw the death of the king at the hands of his kin when she saw the corpse of her son. This has weighed on him heavily over the years, driving him further and further into a paranoid fury; he no longer slept, he rarely ate, and his benevolent rule began to crumble. With time it became too much to bear any longer - he ordered his closest guards to bring him the head of his daughter, the only of his kin that still lived. The seer, having anticipated this, fled with her daughter before they could reach her. She had traversed these mountains once, and she would again - she found her way to the Moongate and was given refuge. There she would fall in love with another, giving her daughter siblings and a new life far from Blood Raven’s grasp.
Blood of My Blood
In the months after the King’s mate fled with their daughter back across the mountains, Blood Raven’s sanity began to crumble beneath his paws. He grew ripe with paranoia, shouting nonsensical worries at those left closest to him and sending them all on fool’s missions that never turned up a crumb. His guards hunted high and low throughout the Waylands and still no trace of the tricky Queen or her elusive daughter turned up. In a fit of rage, Blood Raven gathered his Guard close to him and set out for the far reaches of his Kingdom to the last known Raven - his brother, Stone Raven. If anyone had reason to shelter his traitorous mate, the king reasoned, surely it would be his equally traitorous brother.
After days of travel, the troop came upon the stone towers that marked the lands of the Vultures. They were nearly impossible to navigate but, luckily for the King, his brother had expected him. After word reached the inner hold, Stone Raven traveled from the sheltering valley to meet with the King and his entourage.
The meeting was not, however, what either of them had hoped for.
Blood Raven demanded his daughter and mate be turned over to him at once while Stone Raven told him that he was acting foolish. Why would he, of all wolves, shelter the one that had led to his exile? It was not the answer Blood Raven wanted and, in a fit of rage, he lunged at his brother with open fangs. Stone Raven reacted slowly, stunned that his own flesh and blood would attack him so openly, and though he regained his composure the battle was already won. Blood Raven was always a strong wolf, a steady and sure soldier, and his teeth found his brother’s throat with ease.
As Stone Raven lay dying upon the red sands, his brother denounced him for all the clan members he knew to be hidden among the rocky shadows.
Stone Raven was no more.
Stories of the Mad King now make their way down into Kells
The Waylands
- Just beyond the Moongate, past a heavy mist, lies the land once touched by man. Here, towering cobblestone structures are being overrun by the forest herself. Creeping vines, like fingers from the depths, harvest all that was once stolen from it. The few that remain whisper an enigmatic tale to the beasts of this wild, who unbeknownst to them take shelter in the same way the makers had. Once upon a time. But those are far from the only remnants that remain... for glimmering relics of man await those lucky enough to find them.
Notable Locations
The Old Castle
- Surrounded by water, the tall building of stone still casts a shadow over the Waylands. The windows higher up are still adorned with raggedy cloth, faded and eaten by the sun they were once placed to protect against. Down the ancient halls filled with dust and grime, one may still hear the footsteps of man, echoing against the walls. This ruin is home to the Berserker King.
Broken Brige
- South of the castle, a bridge lays in crumbles. Once standing proud now marred with gaps of missing stone, eroding with the petite waves the wind pushed. An occasional splash can be heard as another piece of the bridge deteriorates, sinking into the murky depths below.
Forest Ruins
- Nestled deep within the Waylands, the ruins of an old civilization awaits to be found. Not quite as vast as the castle, the forest ruins still are a great hiding spot for creatures not wanting to be found. Little sun slips through the dense canopies above, leaving the unknown to lurk deep within the shadows.