Post by Razza on Sept 29, 2018 19:06:17 GMT -5
For as long as there has been wolves, there has been Syndrana.
In the beginning there was the Syndrana Reign Pack. A massive group, the largest in their realm, of strict, traditional wolves who protected the land with their lives. The leaders were merciless and controlling over their larger following, but everyone was fed and protected and living in what felt like paradise for wolves. It was the perfect place aside from the fact that Syndrana seemed to be a cosmic magnet of some sort. Lone wolves from every corner of the land seemed to be attracted here. The pack called these loners Northbounders.
At first the Northbounders were nothing more to SRP than a familiar nuisance. They’d trespass on territory, thin out herds, and sometimes even cause trouble with the pack’s members, but every now and then a valuable asset would produce themselves and so the pack worked hard to maintain a balance between them and the loners. They’d give out warnings and negotiate with the unofficial leaders of tribes, and everything always worked out in the end.
Part II: Tensions
The peace lasted for many generations, but even the most hopeful of wolves knew it could not last forever. Especially when a new family stepped up as the leaders of the pack; two brothers and their mates and their offspring, all of whom were hotheaded, merciless, and hungry for more land. The pack had elected them for their intelligence and ambition, but the family quickly showed it’s true colors and by then it was too late.
The Northbounders were the first to feel their wrath. Warriors and patrollers were ordered to chase off intruders young and old with teeth and claw, and the family was losing their tolerance for thin herds. Before long all the peace and trust that had been built up between Northbounders and the SRP by their ancestors had been destroyed. Then the family turned on the pack itself. A wedge was driven between members holding higher titles and those in the lower ranks. A feeding order was established that left large groups starving and sick, and no matter how many interventions were attempted the family always responded in one way: by claiming treason and beating those who spoke up to a bloody pulp. An example for the others.
Of course some wolves loved the new system. High ranks were breeding new, strong pups and the ruling family seemed to be intent on keeping their promise of expanding Syndrana’s land. They sent out groups every moon to go kill a neighboring group of Northbounders and then escort some higher-ups to help mark the land. Before long Syndrana had doubled in size and many counted that as the best thing to happen to the pack in decades.
Part III: The Reform
The progression to civil war was fast and violent. The lower members of the pack and the betrayed Northbounders united against the family and their followers, calling themselves The Reform in hopes of doing just that. They wanted nothing more to return Syndrana to the land it once was.
Fights were nasty and frequent, with both the traditionalists and supporters of the ruling family stronger and more well trained, but finding themselves outnumbered by the Northbounders and lower ranks. It didn’t take long for almost every family on either side to be ripped apart - if not physically, then by their conflicting beliefs. And even in the end there was no real winner. The family had been successfully overthrown but their supporters did not heed until there was almost none left. The Reform, broken and lacking leadership, didn’t know when it was safe to stop fighting. Syndrana was a graveyard of the wolves who once called each other pack mates and neighbors.
And finally it all seemed to come to an end. There was no announcement or truce. Everyone just knew. It was time to leave Syndrana behind. The glory of the pack and the Northbounders were mere stories now.
The land lay empty of wolves for years.
Part IV: The Guardians of Syndrana
And then one day it was not.
A lone wolf, daughter of two survivors of the war, grew up hearing her parents talk about all the glory and tragedy that come out of Syndrana and was inspired. She felt herself captivated by the images of her ancestors trying to build something great, and felt the pain of it all being torn apart by the greed of one family as if she had been there herself. By the time she was two years old she knew that the pull she felt in her chest was not just one to disperse and make a name for herself, but one to disperse and make a name for Syndrana once again.
And so she found herself becoming a Northbounder. She arrived at Syndrana more quickly than she could’ve hoped for, finding the pull in her gut was not aimless but instead almost pointing her to where she knew her destiny awaited. This time no wolf would reign over Syndrana, they would protect it. And so the Guardians of Syndrana were formed.