A book in progress! Feel free to read, and also make reccomendations if you would like. :)

One chapter every week on Thursday!

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The Axiom

The Axiom is said to originate back in 1920; a set of rules that if not followed, led to great punishment. The Axiom, as follows:

1. Follow The Axiom at all times.

2. The actions of the alpha are always justified. If needed to exile or punish the alpha at all, it will come to a pack-wide vote that will be monitored and concluded by the bilka of said pack.

3. Relationships with packs other than themwolf's own are allowed (friends, mates, etcetera) but must receive a caribou bone by the alpha of both packs to show that that relationship has been approved by the corresponding alpha. The alpha, however, can take this bone back whenever they wish. This does not apply to the alphas or bilkas.

4. Only betas and alphas may breed unless given strict permission by the bilka or the alpha.

5. Pups must be (at the youngest) two celestials to become a lowell, and (at the eldest) eighteen celestials.

6. All lowells, until fourteen celestials, will be trained by the sigmas of everything they knew as deltas. When a lowell turns fourteen, they are to be declared a delta. If the lowell needs further training, they will proceed training until celestial eighteen, or until said sigma determines that the lowell is ready.

7. Sigmas must volunteer for their position. If there is a sigma that did not volunteer, it is in a time of crisis. Once a sigma has their position they may not resign.

8. Bilkas are the most respected in the pack. Do not underestimate the bilka’s wisdom.

9. To be an alpha or beta, the wolf must be directly descended from an alpha or beta, unless the alpha or beta has no heirs to succeed them, or if the alpha or beta chooses.

10. If a pack is to add the role of omega, they are to be treated like so. They do not interact with the luna wolf, lowells, or pups (unless given permission by the bilka).

11. Anyone who does not follow The Axiom at all times shall be dealt with by the alpha, and then their punishment approved by the bilka. These can include any of the following:

• Loss of hunting privileges

• Loss of war position

• Loss of prey privileges

• Loss of water privileges

• Torture

• Exile

• Death

12. The lynx wars will not take place anymore. If anypack is caught engaging in a battle with lynxes, the alpha or the raid leader will be punished.

13. Luna wolves are to be treated merely as sigmas. They are not and will not be considered an alpha.

14. Pack Hierarchy (updated in 1983) is as follows, from highest to lowest:

Bilka

Alpha

Beta

Gamma

Sigma

Luna Wolf

Delta

Lowell

Pup

Omega

Pack hierarchy will be honoured in direct reference to ranks. Rank defiance can be punishable by death.

15. Sacrificial ceremonies will also happen once a blood moon. If a blood moon occurs, the omega(s) will be set out for the bears to eat. If this ceremony is not followed, all may be lost..

- Prologue -

Almost 1,632 celestials ago…

- Dewleaf -

The first night of the full moon was on a Friday.

But that didn’t matter to Dewleaf. She just wanted to run from it all and find her one true love, the one day that the packs united under the full moon and the second moon showed up in the sky.

The night of the lynx battle.

The war raged on for three days, the three days that the two moons covered the sun and blocked all light from reaching the Earth. The only thing visible in the sky were the two moons, joined together to blot out the sun’s light and looking like one single, large moon.

And Dewleaf was planning to go right through it.

When she was younger, she hated having to live in a pack with wolves you knew were fine with killing others, even being bloodthirsty and enraged with Waterpack. She didn’t understand what was so wrong with a different pack, because the only way that they truly differed was the scent of their pelts.

What made it worse was the lynxes. Water and Fire had fought for decades before, over territory, which was what the current wars were all about. But the lynxes decided to cut in when both were at their weakest, and they were slowly taking over all of the territory that they had.

She had to get away. Run off with Rieka. The only problem was that she had to cross a battlefield first, to get to her.

That was all before she had planned to run away with her.. ‘Friend’, you could say, the friend that had been there for almost her whole life, since she was twenty-six, and now she was the only thing Dewleaf thought about — her life support, her blood and tears. Rieka would tell Dewleaf’s story to their children and the many pups to come.

Oops, did I think children? I didn’t mean children.

Did I?

Rieka was a fluffy, yellow–ish red wolf (a very rare colour for the species) with black speckles all along her torso. She was graceful in every move she made (a fact, not just Dewleaf’s opinion), and she was destined to be the leader of both the two packs. Dewleaf just knew it. Rieka would rule both Firepack and Waterpack and Dewleaf thought — okay, hoped — that she could be her luna wolf; or even her leading wolf if she wanted, and they could die together on the leader’s moss bed, tails entwined. It was a dream Dewleaf had quite frequently, although it wasn’t the most likely future.

She stood now, on the.. ‘cliff’, you could say, the looming plain over the battlefield. It was more like a tall hill, and you could see for miles across the seemingly endless rows of grass, stained with blood and tears from the past years of war.

Walking down the hill, she nearly cried out in sorrow as she stepped over the body of a dead lynx, its face scorched beyond recognition and one of its feet still on fire. Dewleaf, her heart pounding, looked around for anyone, and then quietly licked the fire over and sat beside the young-looking lynx.

She stared at it for a moment, wondering if she should go back, but stayed, silently nudging the body into a comfortable position and bowing to it before moving on.

It wasn’t that she disrespected the lynxes. The cats themselves weren’t the problem — whoever their leader was then was the problem. These warriors were only doing the best they could to serve their master, and fight for the territory that had so long ago been stolen and repurposed to be wolf’s. Dewleaf, in complete honesty, respected the lynxes greatly, for their devotion to their tribes. She wished only for peace.. If only there were some way to cease war and bring peace to the entire land.

That future wasn’t likely, anyway, she knew. Rieka had always wanted to fight battles. If Dew couldn’t convince her to leave, they’d all be crushed under the might of the lynx army, or the wolves would just barely live to see Xenoria peacefully, without the threat of wild cats hanging over their heads. Or, even more horribly, their own hate and rage driving them to near extinction of both packs. Both were possibilities that Dewleaf, if given the chance, would bargain for peace for. On the other paw, Rieka would choose to wipe out the lynxes no matter the cost. Everything was too depressing, either way.

It was a depressing night, altogether. But it was the fastest way to get to Waterpack territory, to cross over the battlefield. She just wished it didn’t make her have these thoughts.

On one quiet night, Dewleaf of Firepack travelled across a warzone, hanging on a hope that she would survive.

- Post Prologue -

- Delta -

She was running.

Her paws slammed against the ground, taking her forward as fast as she could possibly go. Her heart thumped hard in her chest and she was panting heavily, not bothering to glance behind her for she knew what she would see.

Because there was a demon chasing her.

Delta continued running as hard as she could, seemingly not tiring.

Is it gone? Am I safe?

Am I going to die?

The ground was unfamiliar. There were hundreds of different, confusing smells that she had never smelled, hundreds of smells that were nothing like anything on Xenoria, or even Cinassa itself. Instead of grass, the ground was hard and grey, with yellow and white streaks inlaid into it. There were demons, running across the grey on each side of the yellow.

Delta bounded to the yellow. She crouched as low as she could, tucking her tail between her legs and flattening her ears as far down as she could. The demons continued rushing by, splashing water into her face. She began to shake with terror, crying.

How did she even get here? She was just exploring the caves of her home.. She didn’t mean to be here, in this mysterious place with the fast, speeding demons.

She didn’t dare move.

One quiet night, Delta of Firepack huddled in the rain, alone, hiding from demons.

In fear for her life.

(Posting the next chapter early since I won't be able to until August)

Part I

Young And Loved

- Chapter I -

Over 1,632 celestials later, in 1956…

This quiet night, Ivory and Shadow were born.

Ivory, the heir to the Moonalpha reign. A beautiful white wolf with black freckles splattered over her face, and a large spot over her right eye that looked like a black scar. She had long, athletic legs, and vibrant blue eyes that shone in the light of the setting sun.

And Shadow, a slightly larger male pup, the heir to the Windpack reign. A dark black pelt that, as he grew older, would fade into a charcoal grey, with lighter grey streaks down his back, that matched his bright, curious green eyes, one of which had a white scar-like spot on the left, similar to Ivory’s.

They were just two more pups, in the thousands that had been born.

But they never knew they would be among the most infamous of the wolves.

Midnight, Shadow’s father, smiled. He knew Shadow’s destiny; he was going to be the alpha of Windpack, leader of all. He just hoped he trained his son right until his final breath, for Shadow had no siblings to take over being alpha for him. (He didn’t want to consider his beta taking over, or the bilka choosing a new alpha — it would break the rules of his bloodline that his family had cherished for hundreds of celestials. Disrupting that would most likely bring chaos and would be bad for his name.)

Moonwolves were waking up to greet Ivory. Ivory’s mother, Sunny, knew she was perfect, and while the Moonwolves gathered around, Midnight and his luna wolf, Thrush, were beaming at their new son. The ceremony was about to begin.

Once a new pup from the leading wolf and the luna wolf was born, the wolves of the pack would gather at the highest elevation of their territory and howl at the moon. This ceremony was called “The Howl”.

As Moonpack surrounded the alphas in preparation for The Howl, Windpack was doing the same. They cried at the moon and stars, the wind whistling at them. Windpack bumped shoulders with Windpack, and Moonpack bumped shoulders with Moonpack, just how it was supposed to be, each pack standing in a crowd at the edge of their territories, separated, but still together. Sunny, holding up Ivory, whose paws were curled onto her stomach, and Thrush, holding up Shadow. The pups couldn’t yet see, but it was almost as if they were staring at each other.

As if it meant something..

In Moonpack, one celestial later..

- Ivory -

Ivory woke up, dazed. She was being hit on the head by something, a few somethings. She opened her eyes to the morning light, and saw she was getting drowned by chunks of wet snow, as she slept half in, half out of her cave. She sat up and blinked, shaking the snow off of her head.

Her mother was sleeping soundlessly, unlike Ivory, who was in the curve of her stomach, squirming. Sunny’s paw rested on top of her, and she was letting out soft snores as Ivory wiggled out of her mum’s grasp and began bounding through the wet, fluffy snow. Her own paws sank into the white flakes, and she jumped into a pile, letting out little giggles. Ivory rolled around in it all, breathing in the scents and sniffing every paw print that broke the pattern of the beautiful snowfall. Her pelt blended in perfectly, although her freckles and scar-spots were showing through the covering.

There was a lake later on, as she followed a trail of large, even paw prints that smelled heavily of an animal she couldn’t identify by smell yet. She leaped at the frozen lake, slipping and sliding on the shining, white ice. She ignored the tiny cracks in it — What could possibly happen? I’m a pup, I can’t die! — and continued sliding around, her tiny claws leaving small scratches on the ice, each as thin as a wolf's hair. Ivory giggled again, and flipped over, wiggling around on the wet surface. She leaped back up and slid around, and again flopped over on her back. But this time, there was a consequence.

An entire portion of the ice shattered, sweeping Ivory off her paws and down a current, towards a river that flowed quickly and violently out to sea — this was Mudtail River, she would later discover, a quickly flowing body of water that marked the territory of Earthpack. Ivory yelped as she was washed away, down the river, like a fly that got in the wrong soup. She screamed for help, thrashing her paws around in the quickly flowing water and starting to cry.

A sharp pain went through her body as she was snatched up and thrown to dry, wonderful land. She lay there and breathed for a moment. “T-”

She was quickly picked up again before she could thank whoever it was, dirt and snow flashing in her vision. Her eyes snapped open wider and saw there was bright, fluffy, tan fur wrapped around her own, white fur and light grey brindle.

Mum! She stopped struggling. Ivory was being carried back to the cave. She felt another, hard pain as she slammed into the jagged back wall of the familiar den, the darkness, the rocks scarring her now warmed up fur. She curled up at the back of the cave, whimpering, wondering what was going on. Ivory sat up again, stumbling on her weak paws and gritting her teeth in pain. Her bright blue eyes were locked on the light at the front of the den.

There were hisses and growls coming from her mother and an unfamiliar, angry voice..

In the morning..

Ivory hadn’t slept all night. Her mother’s scars told the whole story. She had been attacked by a lynx, large and strong. Sunny was still bleeding, fairly bad, a gash in her side and bite marks along her neck and tail. But she had won. Was that all that mattered? To Ivory, it was.

The only thing she wondered was why there was a lynx, of all things, in Moonterritory, and why no one had noticed it? Her mother had told her that all of the lynxes were dead, and the ones that lived were outcast to the outermost islands on the Nosetip, to suffer in solidarity, cold, and ice. If the Nosetip was the northernmost region of Xenoria, then how in Caelum would one be able to travel all of the way southeast into Moonterritory without being detected? Surely someone would have been able to smell it, or see it.

Right?

In Windpack..

- Shadow -

Shadow was excited. His heart beat at the same rate as his trotting paws, both making the same sound and thrumming through him as he tipped his chin toward the rising sun, closing his eyes and breathing in the fresh morning air.

It was the day that his mother would be leading a hunt for lynxes. The lynxes couldn’t smell them, as they'd be hunting downwind, and the raid would have to be a success, or Thrush, Shadow’s mother and the Luna wolf, would be pushed back to omega. She can’t be omega again! Shadow thought roughly. He knew his entire career as beta would be over if Thrush was dragged down. He wasn’t beta yet, but if he wanted to be, she would need to keep her position.

His ears pricked up as he noticed a small rabbit in the corner of his eye. Carefully, Shadow began to stalk it. He was going to bring it to Thrush for good luck, and as a token of his love. He considered the Axiom while he did, relieved that the hunting party would only have ten wolves in it. Luckily for them, twenty wolves was the limit, not ten. He puffed up his chest and glanced at the sky, proud that he would be one of the wolves going on the expedition. But isn’t there not a limit anymore? His paws stopped moving as he thought even harder, trying to remember the slight things he remembered from school. Shadow turned his head away as he furrowed his brow, growling slightly.

The rabbit had heard him bristling, as he noticed when he looked back. Shadow bared his teeth, his expression filled with frustration. The hunt for Windclan would start tomorrow, and he needed to find prey for Thrush. With a sigh, Shadow turned around. No luck today, I suppose. He made a wide slash on the ground with his tail as he walked back, and spotted a fox as he did. A fox. Yes, he thought. Perfect!

He lunged at it, claws outstretched and jaw almost unhinged, and it flicked its ears toward him, eyes wide. But it was too late for the fox. Its neck was scarred within seconds, blood staining the black fur of Shadow and the orange fur of the fox. Shadow made a half — disgusted face, the other half pride.

As it did, darker, stormier thoughts filled his mind. He shook them away vigorously, but the memories came flooding back. The blood reminded him of Ivory, and her smile as she gave him a rabbit, her own fur bloodstained.. Her beautiful blue eyes, listening to him as he complained about his mother’s strict nature and his sigma. My name is Shadow. I am loyal to Windpack and Windpack only. I will not fall in love with a sworn enemy of our pack, thought he. But he just couldn't shake the remains of that faraway hope out of his tail.

Then the thought of Thrush being knocked down to omega came, and that was what snapped him back into the real world. He hurried himself to the Alpha den, where Thrush was taking care of Hare, Mousepelt’s kit.

But something worse was still bothering him, something covered in his father’s gore. He tried to blink the image away, but he certainly couldn’t, and the stench of blood still hung in his nostrils.

Thrush looked up as Shadow walked in, her bright green eyes shining. He dropped the fox in front of her and backed up respectfully. Thrush nodded and shared it with Hare.

“So,” she said as she chewed. “Is this the normal fox, or have you come to wish me luck?” She asked.

“I suppose both.” He said, trying to make his tone happy and not terrified. He knew what had happened to his father. He had seen it. He couldn’t stop that lynx, it wasn't his fault, was it? But nobody could. It was mad. But Shadow knew he should have tried to stop it anyway.

He began to remember, as his eyes filled up with tears.

“So, you remember how to duck and slash, right?” Featherstone asked, returning Shadow’s slight smile.

“Yes, I do. Because the most vulnerable part of the lynx is its underbelly.”

Feather nodded. “Good! Unless?”

Shadow thought for a moment as they continued to walk, their pawprints making slight indents in the thin layer of snow. They were walking around just outside of the middle Windpack camp, absorbing the afternoon sun and watching Midnight, who was sitting on a tall rock, gazing over the landscape. “Unless.. You can get to its neck, right?”

Feather nodded again, her smile growing even larger. She bumped against his shoulder, which was almost already to her height. “Amazing! I’m glad you’ve been paying attention!”

Shadow laughed. “Thank you, ma’am. I try my best.”

Both of their ears immediately flared up as a loud growl thundered somewhere near Midnight. The other wolves that were gathered near stopped moving and sat up, turning their heads to the rock. And just over the edge, Midnight’s blackish-blue tail was vanishing.

The entire crowd gathered around the rock immediately, panicked by the sounds of hissing and roaring. Windwolves flooded around the rock, shoving Shadow into the tumult. He whimpered, trying to cover his ears and recover from all of the shouting as he pushed back, squeezing his eyes closed.

He shoved through the other wolves, opening his eyes as the fur of his peers and elders separated, and he could see. There were three wolves, within the shadows of the base of the rock, standing in the middle of the circle with lashing tails and low ears. The fourth had its back to Shadow — a lynx, with huge, rippling muscles that seemingly grew larger as it flexed its claws. It was hissing violently, foaming at the mouth and pupils slit. And the wolf closest to the lynx was Midnight, his expression determined and full of rage. The Windalpha bared his teeth, growling loudly. He had a long, thick trail of blood running down the top of his head, and there was a deep gash on the right side of his throat.

His father dove at the lynx, paws outstretched. He ground his front teeth against the cat’s neck, who easily and immediately slammed him to the ground and slit his throat the rest of the way, and then violently traced its claws down his body, slashing through Midnight’s stomach, who immediately fell limp.

Shadow stood there in horror, tears welling up in his eyes. He couldn’t speak.

But he could move.

Blinded by rage, Shadow leaped immediately towards the lynx, latching onto its back. It tried to turn around and grab him, and Shadow slammed his eyes closed, tearing through the feline’s mangled, bloodied fur and into the flesh, ignoring the terrified howling of the wild cat. He clamped his teeth and pulled again and again, fuelled by his anger and his grief.

Suddenly, the yowls got louder, and he felt a slight nudge from underneath the lynx. Shadow opened his eyes. Feather had jumped on the lynx, and was clawing at its chest from below.

It fell to the ground, the foam flinging around the circle of wolves with horrified and scared expressions as Feather and Shadow mauled the lynx.

When they were done, Shadow sat up, shaking from adrenaline. He wanted his mother. But she was at the other Windpack camp. All he wanted to do was hug her and cry in her fur.

Instead, he sidestepped, gently pressing his shoulder against Feather’s, who was panting. She sat down and sighed, wiping his tears and holding him close, curling her tail around him.

“I-I have to go…” Shadow whispered as he snapped out of the memory. He knew he needed some time — and some mint — to clear his nose and recover.

Thrush nodded, looking up at him for a moment and studying his face. “You have tears in your eyes. Do you have something to report?”

He swallowed nervously and swiped his tail across the grass, clearing all the dirt for him to sit down.

“Is it about Midnight?” Thrush asked. “Is there any news about where he went?”

“No…”

“Don’t lie to me,” She stood, rising over him. “Was it about Midnight?” She snapped again.

“Y-yes…?” Shadow stammered.

“What happened‽” Hare whimpered at Tundra’s scream. “Do not tell me the entire pack lied to me‽”

“He..” Shadow gulped and looked up at Tundra, who was snarling in his face. His green eyes were full of pity and remorse. He downturned his face again, trying to hold in the tears. He couldn’t let his mother know that he was so weak.

“Father is dead…”