Origins

THE STORY OF PANGAEA AND FATHER WOLF'S INCEPTION

Nobody, not even the most venerable of spirits, can tell us when or how the Earth began. What we do know, through instinct and traditional stories, is that the world's basic law has not changed.

The Law of the Predator and the Prey.

The first landmass to have life was called Pangaea; a hunting ground of vast expanses and beautiful flora. Most important of the wildlife was the great wolf spirit: Father Wolf. He was the spirit of justice and vengeance in a nubile world, patrolling the land later to be called "Eden" by the damned fools of humans, meting out punishment when he saw fit. And Father Wolf always knew best.

In this haven of life and nature, creatures of flesh could easily meander into the Shadow Realms and spirits came into the Physical without any need of complex rituals or sacrifice. They all coexisted under a common language, the First Tongue. Everything obeyed the balance, because they feared the teeth of our Father, and all was sacred.

Pangaea in full bloom was a sight that even captured the attention and heart of the Moon herself, Mother Luna, Amahan Iduth. She transubstantiated to mortal form, that she may travel in the wonders of Pangaea herself, instead of having to watch from the Heavens. For this time and all time later, she became the most beautiful creature to walk the Earth. She had many suitors, creature and spirit alike. But none of them could measure up to her eventual and inevitable choice, Urfarah. Father Wolf.

In this time, Father Wolf was more than able to police the boundaries of Pangaea. He pushed spirits back into his native Shadow Realm when they had remained past their welcome and ushered creatures of flesh and bone back into the Physical when they were in danger. All things were beautiful, and the savage of the hunt was still running wild, untouched by famine for either predator or prey. Drought was a fever dream and outward hatred no more than a whisper.

His immeasurable strength and courage were tempered by his wisdom, and his features were beautiful to Mother Luna. He found himself drawn to her as well, and they met frequently on the Border Marshes between the Heavens and the Physical. Although Luna was in mortal form, she bore Father Wolf a litter of nine pups. These children had a stunning combination of both of their parents? powers: their mother?s ability to change shape, their father?s strength, speed, and guile, and both parents? connection to the Spirit World. Through their mother, they became the princes of the Spirit World, and of the Night. Through their father, they inherited the duty of patrolling the Border Marshes between worlds.

The children began to grow into their roles quickly, the First Pack being taught everything that their father knew, from the secret passages of Pangaea to the details of their charge as protectors. He informed them all he could of the various spiritual threats surrounding them. Soon, they were hunting alongside their father, and a time of great peace consumed the lands of Pangaea. Through their hunting instincts, the first children and Father Wolf began to cull the herds of creature, man, and spirit when they became too large. These peoples feared and respected the strength of their superiors, but ached for a chance to run free, bound only by their own wills. Soon, various spirits began to rise up against their rulers, but it was no challenge to bat them down and make them submit.

One of these spirits, the Spinner Hag, left a trail of destruction in the wake of her flight from Father Wolf. In the barren wastes she left behind, she sewed the eggs of her children, later to hatch and become the Azlu, the Spider Daemons. Another, the Plague King, found that his small legs could not carry him quickly enough to escape Urfarah?s wrath and that his small body could never stand up to his might. In a **** and cunning fashion, the Plague King split into millions of separate, smaller rats that scattered at Father Wolf?s approach.

In all, the reign of Urfarah, Mother Luna, and the First Pack was complete in its supremacy, bringing in a Golden Age of Peace and Balance for the various realms of Pangaea. However, all rules fracture and fall apart given the right conditions. And time, while the greatest commodity and healer known to all creatures, changes everything.