Character Ref Sheet Saba

Character Ref Shadow Guardian

Character Ref Shadow

The Beginning

It started only months ago. The chaos. Disorder. Destruction.
Mankind had long grown numerous and powerful, and their ways upset the Earth's ecosystems. But when the last straw broke the camel's back, there was no turning back. Nature's vengeance was scary, indeed.
Continuous wars left mankind broken and bickering amongst themselves. Famine and disease soon followed. And finally, there were disasters of nature, which eradicated much of what was left of the human world.
But mankind survived, through a feat of brilliance, as they would say.
But little did they know that not only man and several hardy animal species had survived..

Living alongside humans, although hidden from their eyes, were the Wolf-Born - beings of both man and wolf. They too, survived, but their numbers hadn't decreased as much as that of the humans.
But now that the human settlements were mostly destroyed, there was no place for Wolf-Born in the cities. Generations of Wolf-Born before you already whispered of the Wolf-Born land, which was shielded from humans through magic, or something else.
Dozens of Wolf-Born had already gone in search for the Wolf-Born land, and now, it is your turn.. 

Continue on into the Wolf-Born land!

Page M

“Do you perhaps know of a few Wolf-Born who are looking for a pack?” You ask her, and the black she-wolf sits down, searching her brain for answers.

“I believe there was a small, chocolate brown female with a pup no older than 8 a small distance from here.. I believe they’re somewhere east of here..
And there’s a strong lone male wolf near the Khione grounds. I believe he was a former Greyback, though. His name is ‘Intuos’, and he’s grey with dark-grey, almost black feet and a dark-grey, near-black nose stripe. You’ll recognize him when you see him. No way you’d miss those blue eyes.” She says, and you nod.

 “There are a lot of unhappy wolves with the Greybacks.. You’ll always find one there. But be careful. The Greybacks are no pushovers, and they’ll readily attack any strange wolf on their territory. I’m surprised Intuos wasn’t attacked by his former pack.. They’re usually surprisingly vicious towards deserters..”

If Intuos really used to be a part of the Greybacks, then inviting him into your pack might actually spell more trouble for the both of you.

“You should just try searching for a few lone wolves..” The black she-wolf points at the snowy pine forests in the Wolf-Born land.

“You’ll find the Khione there.”

She points at the snow-covered plains next, saying “Stormrunners”, and then, at the deciduous forest and then, the forests close to the mountains north of here.

“Tachaeia, and the Greybacks.”
“I see.. Thanks.” You answer her, and she curtly nods at you, before sending a glance at the sky.

“If you want to outrun the storm, you should go now. The Khione might offer you shelter from the storm.”
She’s right. With a slow, acknowledging nod, which she returns, you turn away from her, and bound into the Wolf-Born Land..

Where will you go?

• The Khione
• The Stormrunners
• The Tachaeia
• The Greybacks

Page L

“Can you help me through the night?” you ask her, and the black she-wolf nods, leaping off her ledge to land beside you.

You can see now how muscled she is, especially compared to yourself.

She may not be any taller than you are, but she packs enough muscle to make you hurt for a lifetime.

“Let’s go.” She lowly growls, and you quickly follow her as she leads you between rocks and trees.

“What’s your name?” You ask her.
“I am called ‘Shadow’ here,” she answers you, leaving you to wonder if she goes by a different name elsewhere. "Some of our kind may also call me the 'Gatekeeper'.

Finally, you reach a small cave which belongs to Shadow.

“Go ahead..” She mutters when she sees you hungrily eyeing a recently killed deer in the cave, and with a quick nod, you dig in to your meal.

From the corners of your eyes, you see how Shadow fluently changes into her human form, and then, she sets to work. It doesn’t take her very long to kindle a fire, and when you’ve filled your belly, you sit back to study Shadow.

The now-human Wolf-Born is studying you as well. Her hair is a deep black, much like her wolf coat.

Dark brown, almost black eyes are peering at you from beneath dark lashes.

She’s wearing combat trousers and a black tank top to go with it, and a white brassard featuring a red cross adorns her left upper arm.

You briefly wonder if she used to be a medic.

And as if reading your thoughts, she briefly eyes the brassard herself, and smirks at you.

“I used to be a medic while I still lived among the humans. In fact, even in the Wolf-Born world, I still enjoy the benefits of my medical training. If you’re ever in need of some medical attention, then you could try howling for me. If I still like you by then, then either I myself, or a good friend of mine will be there to patch you up..”
You nod, committing this knowledge to your memory.

“As for your pack.. There are several ‘main’ packs here.. The Tachaeia, the Greybacks, the Khione, and finally, the Stormrunners.” She shows you a map of the Wolf-Born Land, with each of the pack names written in elegant handwriting over the respective pack territories.

“Each of those packs are large enough and occasionally, one of their members will leave their pack in order to form one of their own. You should see if there are any lone wolves there which would like to join your pack..”

She frowns, and you wait for her to continue.

“A word of caution, though. The Greybacks are known for their violent tendencies. I wouldn’t stray too far into their territory. It is a big pack, and they’ll hunt you down if they ever see reason to. Also, any deserters of the Greyback pack will be mercilessly hunted down by the Greybacks, even if they join your pack. Only when your pack is powerful enough to hold their own against the Greybacks, they’ll leave you alone. But it’s going to take you a long time to get there..

I would exercise caution threading around the Greybacks and their deserters..”
For someone as powerful as Shadow, it’s quite discerning to hear how she’s warning you against the Greybacks. A small shiver runs down your back, but it’s quickly replaced by a heavy tiredness.

You can’t stop yourself from yawning, and with a smirk, Shadow pushes herself up on her feet, and she swiftly changes into her wolf form.

“You should sleep. Good luck on creating your own pack..”
You nod, and thank her for the food and shelter, and wish her a good night. You barely hear the whispered ‘Goodnight’ she returns to you, before you fall asleep..

You wake up the next morning, feeling refreshed and ready to set out into the Wolf-Born Land.

A small meal of blue and red berries, along with some small pieces of meat, and a pool of melting ice water, has been laid out for you.
You can smell Shadow’s lingering scent in the cave and on the food, but the she-wolf herself is nowhere to be found.

With a shrug, you quickly eat the meal that was laid out for you, and then, you exit the cave.

It’s time for you to start looking for other lone wolves, in order to form a pack.

Where will you go now?

• To the Khione
• The Tachaeia!
• To the Greybacks!
• The Stormrunners!

Page K

You push yourself into a run. Your body aches all over from the injuries the dark she-wolf inflicted on you, but you still manage a decent pace.

You hear the rumbling of a storm, and with a low, determined growl, you force a little more speed from your legs.

Before long, you spy the emerald green pine forests of the Khione across the horizon.

It’s becoming colder and colder, and by the time you reach the first snow-covered hill at the Khione borders, you’re just about ready to collapse.

Your body is screaming at you to stop running, and you slow down to a trot. You have to reach the Khione if you want to survive the blizzard..

As its becoming darker and colder, you finally manage to stagger between the first line of trees, and there, you collapse..

You slowly open your eyes, and for a brief moment, you expect to see white.

But you’re not out in the blizzard, and neither are you dead, it seems.

Instead, a fire is merrily crackling in a stone fire-pit beside you, and there’s some food – pheasants – lying in front of you.

Your stomach hungrily growls, and you start to push yourself up, only to notice how your movements are somewhat restricted.

Someone’s packed herbs and leaves against your wounds, securing the make-shift bandages with twine ropes.

And then, your eyes fall on a small group of white Wolf-Born. Their coats are thick and long, perfect for the snowy surroundings.

Most of the Wolf-Born here have golden eyes, much to your relief. You don’t know if you can handle another meeting with a wolf as powerful as the scarlet-eyed she-wolf you met at the mountains.

Coloured and patterned feathers adorn the necks of the Wolf-Born here. Not one of them has the exact same number of feathers with the same patterns or colours. The feathers must be some sort of way to identify themselves, even from a long distance.

One of the Wolf-Born, a cream-white one, with three feathers  - a barred blue one, a purple one and a black one - placed on her neck, is studying you with her icy blue eyes. She glances at the pheasants lying in front of you.

“That’s for you. You should eat.”

You need no further encouragements, and devour the poultry within moments.

A happy sigh escapes your mouth once you’ve consumed the last pieces of meat, and then, you look around you again.

The white Wolf-Born have relaxed a bit, but they’re still cautiously watching you.

“My name is Eilura..” the blue-eyed Wolf-Born then speaks. “You are currently on Khione ground.”

You expected as much.

“My pack mates and I found you some time ago, and we took care of your injuries.. Once the blizzard clears, you’ll have to go.”

You nod obediently, eager to avoid another fight so soon after your fight with the black she-wolf you met in the mountains.

“Is there anything else we can help you with?” Eilura then asks.

Page J

You’ve decided to carve yourself a small shelter in the mountainside using your claws.

After pacing around for a while, you finally find a suitable location in the mountainside. The rock seems to be softer here, and there’s a small, overhanging ledge above you, which leaves you with less work to do.

Lifting yourself up on your hind legs, you place your front paws against the mountain, and then, you rake your claws across the rock..

.. Only for your jaw to drop in sheer terror.

Your claws are still brittle from your long travels and malnutrited state, and your attempt to carve a small cave into the mountain has left you with no claws..

You succumbed to your injuries in the storm…

Oops. You died. Try again?