Chapter Text
Long ago, far, far into the Sacred Mountains of Old, there lived a family of wolves. Fifteen brothers and sisters, all living in harmony. The six oldest wolves were in charge of their pack, while the nine younger wolves helped any way they could. But one day... The Pale Wolf, one of the oldest, met a raven from the fortress in the valley.
The wolf told the raven, "Beat it. Can't you see I'm hunting for my family?"
To which the raven spoke, "Hunting? I know hunting. You're doing it wrong."
The Pale Wolf growled, not taking the raven's words well. "I don't hunt wrong. I hunt the way my father taught me, whose father taught him before. It is tradition. And if tradition has persisted for so long, how could it be wrong?"
"Tradition? Tradition once stated that you were never to hunt. Only to raise pups. But perhaps, I can help you." The bird said.
"I don't need help, not from the likes of you." The wolf began to leave, before the raven spoke again.
"He who isn't willing to learn is but an ignorant fool, I suppose."
And that was what got her attention.
The wolf listened to the raven, the two of them hunted together and the wolf triumphed over a stag. They became friends. But the raven was not a true friend. The raven fed the Pale Wolf many lies, hiding them among truths and half-truths. The Pale Wolf began to mistrust her family, and trust the raven more and more. The Pale Wolf's siblings tried to fix their bond with her, but by then, it was already too late.
The raven warned the Pale Wolf of her siblings, claiming that they wanted to cast her out to the ocean, that they hated her for her flaws and only wanted her gone. And the Pale Wolf decided to strike first. One by one, during the night of a full moon, she tore her siblings' teeth from their mouths. The blood spilled on that fateful night stained that moon's reflection on the snow. The Pale Wolf took her siblings' teeth to wear around her neck, to strengthen her so her family could never cast her away. They're too dependent on her, for food and protection.
And it is said that when we have a blood moon here, you can still hear the Battle of the Wolves. But do not fret, child, this story has a happy ending.
One day, many moons later, a young boy befriended one of the toothless wolves. A young, smoky wolf, stained with dirt and char. She could not remember that fateful night. She only knew that she had no teeth. He gave her food and warmth, and she repaid him by scaring off predators.
They journeyed deep into the Mountains together, making many friends along the way. He promised to the wolf that he would find her teeth, so she can grow to be independent again, and howl into the forests with joy and vigour.
The friendship created between the boy and the wolf flourished as they went through the Mountains, until they discovered the Pale Wolf, napping upon a pile of bones. Much to the Charred One's dismay, the young boy tried to take the teeth strung around her throat.
"Be careful, friend, for waking that beast means the end of both of us! I beg of you, do not risk your life for my teeth!" She warned in a whisper. But he didn't listen. He took a knife carved from the skull of a stag, and gently cut away the cord holding the teeth. He was so gentle, so precise. For not only his life was on the line, but the life of the Charred One as well.
He gently tried to pull the cord free, delicately so as to not wake the Pale Wolf.
Then, her eye snapped open and she turned to bite the boy. He had the cord, but was sent tumbling down the pile of bones, with an angry wolf chasing after him. The Charred one leapt to protect him, and the wolves did battle.
When Light and Darkness duel such as this, that is the conflict that rocks the bones of the Earth. The battle between the Charred One and the Pale Wolf shook the Mountains to their very roots. The boy had their teeth, but could not aid his friend with just teeth and a string.
He took the teeth, and the bones from the pile, and wove them together to make a spear. And when the opportunity arose, he threw the spear at the Pale Wolf with all of his might with a scream so loud it pierced the heavens.
And his spear struck the Pale Wolf in the mouth, casting aside all of her teeth. He stood between the bloodied Pale Wolf and the Charred One, and declared, "Now that you are defiled, oh Pale One, you will harm no more. I am the teeth of my friend, and I will not let you taste any blood but your own.
And the Pale Wolf? She cowered, and crawled away into the sea. For she would rather die than depend on anyone else.