Erethral Wolves

Chapter One:

Somewhere in between the realms of the world that we know, bustling with people, cars, and concrete buildings high as the skies, there is a different kind of world all it's own. It is known as the Erethral Realm. No humans, no civilization. Only wildlife behind human imagination exists. It is a world where magic is everywhere, as real and as old as the land itself. To the inhabitants, the land was ageless, with no beginning and no end, no boundaries between the earth and the skies. On the coast is a lush, dense, pine forest that covers more than half of the land. It is called the Emerald Forest. At night the pines sway and glow a soft green, and yellow embers flicker off them into the clouds in harmony.

This amazing enchanted green Forrest is unlike any other Forrest in any realm.  The trees resemble Sequoia Redwoods. Reaching up two, even three hundred feet tall, these trees have various distinctive howls and whistles of their own, depending on the winds direction. The roots are not to be trusted as they can surface at will if feeling threatened, and violently whip around up to 10 feet upward and out. They are said to be cursed with six inch thorns that glisten with a paralytic sap the causes it's victims to digest themselves from within. Legend says that the unforgiving Rock Dragon that oversees the cliffs planted the seeds of the Emerald Forrest over a millennia ago. When these particular seeds were planted, the unforgiving Rock Dragon had lost his entire family to an unspeakable evil that blankets the region every 1,000 years, in hope that the attacker would be one day captured or poisoned upon its return.

The cliffs along the coast line where the Dragon resides are almost parallel to the sand and waves under them. One fall would mean certain death. This is where the offspring are kept safe their first few weeks of life to grow. Mangled, thick black rose bushels and thistles litter the sides of the cliffs, shooting out lightning bolts down below to banish any unwelcome visitors. To the center, the Rock Dragon seems to be grasping the nesting area and holding it in his curled talons against his chest above the clashing foam and waves. It is said that the rock dragon foresees all that is bad, and is the one to make the roses give off their electrical shock below. The mesmerizing Emerald green tree bark hides the more sinister true color of the trees. It is said that it's victims make up the shimmering, soul drenching, blood red under armor that protects the soul of each and every tree. Suddenly the silence of the night is no more. Something stirs in the undergrowth below the trees of the forest. A piercing howl emits, slicing the night air. Wolves.

Swaying though the pines, leaves fluttering wildly off behind flowing tails. A wolf pack runs through the once still forest. Nails digging into the soft clay earth as they push harder off their paws to keep going. A snarl so menacing it could shatter the moon and stars. The thunder of hooves silence the pack. They are hunting. Heavy breathing coming from the four nostrils along the Kopis's chest turns to steam puffs in the cold air, highlighted by the pale moonlight above. She is tiring quickly, and her long nimble legs are starting to burn from sprinting. Her legs feel like they're becoming heavy to lift and stretch.
A jump over a fallen log feels like eternity. As her two front legs hit the ground below,  she is blindsided and tossed on her side to the floor. At her throat, she meets the glare of teeth and wolves eyes around her. Her rear legs in the jaws she's hopeless to even kick. One of the smaller wolves was hiding on the trail side and flanked her as she leaped over. She never even saw her. A wolf grabs her by the chest and she feels her nostrils sealed shut and begin bleeding. She squeals, kicks as best as she can one last time and loses consciousness. The wolves toss their heads back and howl celebrating a successful hunt. They will not be starving tonight.  Tonight they feast. 

The wolves of the Emerald Forest are not like usual wolves. They are larger, weighing in at two hundred to three hundred pounds, they're the masters of the wilderness at the top of the food chain. Emerald Forest wolves are the masters of stealth, they can retract their claws to walk silently on rocky terrain when stalking prey to get closer. When running they forcefully dig into the ground for a better grip and for good balancing to make sharp turns. Their coats are thick and built for harsh weather.

The alpha male Roukan, rises up after eating his fill of the Kopi. He turns to lay next to his mate, Tikaani, who is already settled down after such a large feeding. He is strongly built and his physique is intimidating and muscular. His legs are long and slender, shoulders large and powerful  like that of a tiger. He has a neutral expression on his thick broad face as if he is never amused. His coat is a shiny coal black with bright red hair shimmers highlighting his back and down this sides in the shape of a saddle, to the tip of his tail. His eyes are a pale icy blue, almost white, and stand out aggressively on his dark accents. His undersides are a pale lighter shade of reddish grey, and runs down the insides of all four legs midways and tapers off into pure black coat. Even under his paws have a slight red tint to them that surround his worn pads.

His mate Tikaani, is a heavenly shade of yellow as bright as the sun. Her gold glittering coat covers her body entirely, and along the edges of her ears and muzzle she has black points outlining them, and a faded black dorsal stripe of fur that leads down to the tip of her tail. Her underbelly is almost white and has a lilac tinge to it, giving her a gentle motherly appearance. Her bright almond shaped green eyes are enchanting and loving. The rest of the pack scarfs down what's left of the Kopi's carcass. One of the smaller wolves, Akira, is running around in between the larger ones, underneath them and dodging the whimpers to be let in and the snarls that follow.  She is the offspring from Tikaani and Roukan's previous spring litter and is just barely 13 moons old. She will be leaving the pack soon like her brothers did just a few day walks ago. She was the only female pup that was born from six brothers. She was the runt of the litter, and still has more to learn from her mother and pack before going off to become a dispersal wolf on her own. She had a silky light green champagne topcoat mixed with black weather guard hairs that spread down from the bridge of her muzzle up her head and down her back. Her underside was a pale brown and she bore a broad white chest and front legs. Her pup coat was fading fast and the adult coat would soon take over her body.  Akira still was circling the feeding frenzy of fur. She just couldn't find any scraps. Tikaani yipped  to her. "Take charge, don't let them push you out. Make your way in." Akira crouched down upon hearing her mother and ruffled her hackles up. She trotted over respectfully keeping her head lowered and head tilted to the right, averting her gaze from the higher ranking wolves eyes. She kept her tail slightly tucked and whined. "I mean no threat to you, I just want some food, I've not had my fill. I mean no threat to you." she pleaded, still averting her eyes. The Beta wolf glared at her as he was eating out of the corner of his slaying eyes. He stepped to one side slightly and heaved his sides heavily. She whined gently thanking him, and put her head gently into the Kopi's once fat stomach, trying not to disturb him anymore than she already had.