Plucky is a bear cub who just turned eight years old. He lives with his mother inside a broad oak tree near the center of the Evergreen Forest. He is average for his height (about four of our feet tall.) He owns overalls of various colors. No matter which overalls he wore on a given day, he always put on a leather necklace, which hung a piece of red ruby. This ruby pendant was Plucky's most important possession. Plucky's mother gave it to him shortly after his father disappeared. This ruby remained the only connection Plucky had with his father. He had no memory of his father. His mother took it upon herself to tell Plucky stories about his father every evening before bedtime. When Plucky's father was still alive, he was the most powerful mage in the forest and served as its protector.
During the day, Plucky usually romped around with his friends, so long as they did not wade into or across the Great River. Wherever their adventures took them, they also avoided the grassy field in the middle of the Forest. The meadow was sacred ground and served as home to the Seven Lions. Legend had it that there were once nine Lions. Two of them were slain during the Great War - a war which began when the Lions banished his father from the Forest. The remaining Lions ruled the Forest and maintained its beauty as only they could.
As for the meadow being off-limits, there was one exception to this unwritten rule: at the end of each year, there was a festival to celebrate the coming of the new year. It was known to all as the Full Moon Feast and was an extraordinary event. This coming Feast was extra special because every eighth year, the moon would shine blue for eight nights, with which the Feast coincided. It is here that Plucky's story begins.
