Now let's see, we need a plot to get this place active, right? (Zita decides to pretend everyone nods) Well, I have two ideas that we could use.

1. Zine could finally get his face-time. A few murders due to his hallucinations, persecution for a time, and maybe redemption. (I don't wanna kill him, he's too fun!) It would be interesting to play around with Zine some, and I never did get to make a plot about him.

2. I could bring in Skath's brother, Larion. He's only mentioned rather vaguely in her profile. I actually came up with the idea a while ago to bring him in to scheme in trying to take over a pack or something, he's crazy and mad as hell to boot. Here's the info for the curious (History should probably be read first):

Appearance: Larion has never been a big wolf, but that does not change his formidable fighting skills. He is of slighter frame and used to have an even aristocratic air to him. Before his ordeal, he could have even qualified as handsome. In build, he contrasts a bit with his bulky sister Skath and is more slim and sinewy. He is a lightish brown in color, hints of black coming through especially on his back. His stomach, throat, legs, and much of his muzzle however are a light cream-hazel shade. Larion's eyes are strange, the left being a bright blue and the right a golden yellow. Unlike many others with similar looks, these eyes do not give him a comical appearance. Larion's gaze is stark and cold with small pupils and a penetrating, chilling stare. They give off an essence of savage, icy intellect and Larion's normal expression has often been compared to that of a rattle snake. His voice is also unnerving. It is not deep, but it is low and rasping due to damage suffered by his vocal chords and throat.

Since his enormous fall from grace and the mutilation he suffered at the jaws of his former pack Larion has the look of something that has been broken and hastily glued back together again. He has a minor limp in his left hind leg which healed just slightly crooked after being broken. It is the sort of old injury that does not hamper Larion much, but can be easily spotted by a good hunter. His fur is a bit ragged from where bits of it were pulled out and never grew back even with the rest, and he has slashing scars up and down his sides and a nasty rip that did not heal properly across his face. It runs diagonal from his right eye across his muzzle, a thin white line of bare flesh. He is ragged and tattered in a way that makes a chill run up and down one's spine.

In a fight, Larion is a demon from hell itself. He has fought far too often to count in his lifetime and is a very solid warrior, capable of taking on foes far larger than himself without trouble. He strikes like a viper, with precision and speed. He is not the fastest on his feet due to his bum leg, but he makes up for it in sheer ferocity. Larion is only four years old, but has the appearance of a wolf far older. The look in his eyes is of one that has seen many cruelties, and commited many more.

Personality: Though his stature would not make you expect it, Larion is a dangerous enemy. His brutality was famous in his home territory, as was his sharp intellect. He does not care who he hurts or how many lives are lost as long as he reaches his own ends. No one matters to Larion except for himself, and that is a firm and iron-solid rule. In his eyes, other wolves are simply pawns to be manipulated, to do his bidding, or simply to shove out of his way in his striving for power.

Control is his only goal. Larion's deepest desire is to be The King again. He is filled with pent up aggression from his loss of that position, and he will gladly take it out on anybody nearby. However, he does this tactfully and only to those of no consequence. Larion, though slightly mad, is still a skillful manipulator and liar. He can appear in any way he wishes, so it is wise to be on your toes around him. His selfishness knows no bounds and the same goes for his cunning.

Larion is also very paranoid. He is quite sure the rest of the world is somehow out to get him and at times when this is at its height he is actually quite jumpy and easily startled. This paranoia might be a weakness, but its uses appear limited.

Do not romanticize your image of Larion, he indeed has no compassion for any but himself and that does not seem like a thing that can be changed. He is soft as a bear trap and as sweet and cuddly as the bear caught in it. Finding a way into his heart is not possible, for Larion simply doesn't have one.

History: Larion was born into the Daerok pack, a clan of wolves that is only held together by fear and blackmail. He was the only son the two alphas had. He and his sister Skath were the only pups in the litter to survive, which is not shocking among the Daerok. However, Larion was luckier than Skath. He had been born with a yellow left eye and a blue right one, his sister's were both blue. Larion's one yellow eye was very important. It was of his father's line, it marked his rightful claim and heirship to the throne of the Daerok pack when his parents, the alpha wolf Pelroth and his mate Jelza, were finally overthrown and left to die in the neutral lands. That is what becomes of Daerok leaders once they can no longer control their pack, murdered by their own heir. Only three in history have ever survived longer than two days after being betrayed.

So it was that Larion took control after the coup. He ruled with a finely balanced blend of savagery and efficiency like his father before him. As all Daerok, Larion was an extremely adept liar. Though he was widely disliked and plotted against, Larion was a clever alpha and he killed many wolves far larger than himself when their plans were revealed. He was feared and hated, which was exactly the way his father had ruled before him

After a time, Larion began to grow paranoid. This is a natural thing among high-ups in the Daerok, for trusting anything or letting one's guard down for a second could prove fatal. Slight madness became evident in his nature, stress caused him to often snap at other wolves over even the smallest details. His paranoia grew to the point that he began to threaten his sister, Skath, and demoted her to omega wolf. Larion was terrified that her alphan lineage might lead her to overthrow him. He was made even more nervous by the arrival of Silven.

Silven was discovered adrift in the Bitter River. (The Saereg joins with it at one point along its run) Skath had been sent to patrol that border at the time and so dragged the half-drowned black pup out of the water and in doing so saved her life. According to protocol, Skath escorted Silven into the packlands to decide whether or not she should be killed. Skath came to like her, however, and ultimately saved her a second time and served as her way into the Daerok pack.

Larion decided it may be a good idea to let Silven stay if only to keep his sister distracted from the plans he was certain she was making. However, it seemed he had brought another formidable enemy into his midst. Silven was small and young, but already she was showing a great cleverness. Larion felt threatened. He knew that Silven was still a pup, but given a few years she could be a dangerous adversary. He made plans to dispose of the both of them only a season after Silven's arrival. However, Skath and Silven themselves caught wind of this and fled of their own accord. Once the Daerok decide to kill you, it is not wise to stick around.

A short time after they were chased away, the biggest traitor in the Daerok pack showed his face. His name was Katarr, the Daerok beta wolf. Larion was never seen without his bigger companion, who often served as a sort of body guard. One day during a hunt Katarr suddenly turned on Larion with a close group of followers. They easily pinned him to the ground and broke one of his hind legs, making him unable to run, and therefore making escape impossible. Then the horrors truly began.

One of the traditional Punishments of the Fallen (as the ordeals former Daerok alphas are put through are called) is running the gauntlet. Two even rows are made of all able-bodied pack wolves and the shamed Alpha must walk between them (forced by savage bites in the rear from the new alpha) as his former underlings rip and tear at him. Larion fell three times due to his badly wounded leg and was forced up again for more punishment by Katarr. It was nearly identical to what he had done to his own father when the older wolf's strength finally failed.

It is a wonder that Larion survived the savagery of his former packmates, including further Punishments of the Fallen so gruesome that I have not the strength of stomach to detail them. But he did. Larion was, once his ordeals were done, carried by three strong wolves into the neutral lands (for by this point he could no longer walk) and was dumped in a muddy ditch. He lay there, exhausted and weak from blood loss and too incapacitated to even keep his eyes open. A lesser wolf would have died there, but not Larion. A bloody, vengeful, and dark spark in his heart was kindled into a fire. Coaxing this hatred and rage, Larion kept a dogged grip on life.

Larion, after a day of lying there bleeding, dragged himself from the mud with all the strength left in his dying body. He was discovered later recovering from the sheer exertion of that effort by a young lone wolf. She was a smaller female named Piadra, and she took pity on this dying stranger. Piadra helped the dazed Larion to shelter in a copse of trees and caught food for him. Larion gradually began to recover, and feigned muteness to avoid conversing with his savior. After his broken leg had healed a few weeks later, Larion decided he no longer needed Piadra's help and killed her in the night. Larion was taking no chances that Katarr might find out he had survived. Larion lusted for revenge, true, but he was not stupid. In his heart he knew he had no hope of ever reclaiming the Daerok. So he was left with nowhere to go and nothing to his name, choosing to head upstream along the Bitter River. Larion left his home land and set out to find a new dominion where he could rule once again. May we all pray to God this mad wolf does not succeed.



So, any interest? Suggestions? Contributions? Ideas? Rotten fruit to be thrown at Zita? :)