You walk through a copse of Himalayan birch. Following the winding trail, you begin to spot light filtering between the slender trunks in front of you. You must be nearing the edge of the forest.
You are so focused on the light, you almost miss the golden wolf slip out of the bushes and stand in the path in front of you. You freeze, staring at her. She's of a pack you don't know of, will she attack?
Luckily, she dips her head in greeting instead. "Welcome, traveller. I am European Goldenrod, Lady of the Wild." Her golden eye meets your gaze. "Ah, you seem curious. I am one of the two leaders of the Wolves of Blooming Fields. Walk with me, and I will teach you about myself and my pack."
You follow her, as she pads out of the forest and into a lush meadow. Flowers of species you've never heard of before blossom in the sunlight, their bright array of colours striking against the deep green of the grass. A wide, slow river meanders its way across the meadow, reeds and mosses going right to the edge of the water. Other wolves are here – drinking from the river, resting in the sunlight, and playing in the grass.
When you eventually return your gaze to European Goldenrod, she seems amused by your amazement. She beckons you onward, and you hurry after her, eager to learn more about the pack...
Welcome to Of Blooming Fields! The wolves of the pack welcome you.
I'll probably eventually put more pack lore in blog pages, but I'm not sure when. I'll also put some information about the player behind the pack in the profile page at some point. Here, I will give a short overview about the basic structure of the pack.
The pack's primary god is Mene, Moon Wolf, Herald of Night, Queen of Wolves. She has bright silvery white fur with a dark grey stripe along her back and yellow-gold eyes. The moon is said to be her as she walks through the sky at night to watch over wolves. Other gods are her descendants and are other celestial phenomena (constellations, the sun, sunrise and sunset, clouds, et cetera).
When a wolf of the pack dies, they are greeted by Mene. She licks their fur to warm them up, gives them time to rest and recover, and eventually they choose to return and be reborn as a pup. Reincarnated wolves don't remember their past lives at first, with them slowly seeping back through dreams and memories. By the time a wolf is six to seven years old, they typically have a good idea of their past lives. Once a wolf has figured out their past lives, the most important of those past lives is added to their name. After their current name, they will add ", once [__]".
The pack functions as a large family, even for wolves that aren't related. Many of the wolves who have been there for several lives have known each other as their parents, siblings, and children. Due to this, they call all wolves in the pack their siblings. Mates are never reincarnated as closely related wolves, and wolves don't choose wolves they were closely related to in a past life as their mate.
Ranks:
When multiple ranks are put right below each other the same level, that means that they're equal in rank. A space between shows a gap in rank.
Liege/Lady/Lord of the Wild: one of the two leaders, in charge of the Rangers.
Liege/Lady/Lord of the Meadow: one of the two leaders, in charge of the Camp Keepers.
Mene's Paws: wolves especially connected to Mene, in charge of understanding omens and guiding the pack.
Knights: two wolves have this rank at a time. They are powerful, experienced wolves who act as advisors and defend the pack.
Elders: typically older wolves who cannot do other roles easily and have decided to retire. Old wolves can choose to keep their rank for as long as they would like, and younger wolves may retire if they wish. If an elder wishes to, they may unretire and return to their former rank.
Rangers: wolves who explore, hunt, and fight for the pack.
Camp Keepers: wolves who craft, take care of pups, and guard the camp.
Yearlings: wolves who are two years old and learning about the pack. At this stage, they often have not yet decided if they will be a Ranger or a Camp Keeper, and train as both.
Pups: young wolves. They stay in camp or go with rangers to watch them and learn a little, but are not expected to train.
List of Wolves:
Lady of the Wild
European Goldenrod – a slender, short she-wolf with a wavy, red-tinged golden coat with paler cheeks and lower legs. Her right eye is golden, a large scar crosses her left, which is silvery white and has no pupil. Blind in her left eye.
Lord of the Meadow
Snowdrop – a tall he-wolf with a wirey, silvery coat with white cheeks and legs. His eyes are bright green.
Paw of Mene
Field Bindweed – a quite tall ze-wolf with a long, grey coat with a cream muzzle. Hir eyes are amber-brown.
Knights
Lemon Tiger Crocus – a diminutive she-wolf with a long, grey coat with a cream muzzle, neck fur, and legs. Her eyes are amber-brown.
Swaying Himalayan Aster – a lightweight, tall he-wolfdog with a long, bright white coat with black spots and roaning around his eyes, paws, and tail. His right eye is blue and his left eye is green. His ears are half flopped over.
Elders
Danyang Aster – a spindly he-wolf with long legs and a thick, dark grey coat with cream cheeks and legs. His eyes are pale grey-brown.
Rangers
Himalayan Yellow Sage – a short, thin he-wolf with a thin, ragged, yellow leucistic pelt and a dark liver nose. His eyes are yellow.
Saffron Crocus – a spindly ve-wolf with a short, brown coat with black ears, forehead, top of neck, shoulders, back, and hips, and a creamy-white muzzle, throat, legs, belly, and underside of tail. His eyes are yellow.
Jimsonweed – a long she-wolf with a thin, pale brown leucistic pelt with a pale muzzle, eye rings, throat, belly, and paws, a black tail tip, and a dark liver nose. Her eyes are dark blue. She has near-constant red mange due to an immune disorder.
Common Dandelion – a very scrawny ve-wolf with a wavy red-orange coat with pale cream, almost white cheeks. Hir eyes are hazel-green.
Camp Keepers
Milk Thistle –
a scrawny he-wolf with a short, golden-brown pelt with a white muzzle, cream eye rings, throat, paws, and back legs, and a black tail tip. His eyes are yellow. Pups
Ox-Eye Daisy – a tall pup with a long white albino pelt. Their eyes are albino violet.