Prologue
In the time before time, Yadu was created when the moon fell in love with the sun. First came the night and day, then the land and water. The sun created man and gave him dominion over the land. It was his duty to take care of the land and in turn the land would take care of him. The moon created beasts and gave them dominion over the water. It was their purpose to be free and explore, and the water would provide all things.
There came a time when man became restless with toiling away at the land and wanted something more. The beasts had explored all the water and grew tired and bored. The sun and the moon saw the man and beasts mutual suffering and decided that they could help each other. The sun gifted the beasts who wanted it the ability to walk on land, though some did decide to stay in the water as they were loyal to their Moon Goddess. The Moon also bestowed on man the ability to live in the water, giving them the same choice as the beasts.
In the beginning, beasts and man lived in harmony and shared each other’s Maxia, the life force of all things. Man taught the beasts how to hunt and tame the land, and beasts taught the man how to love and be carefree.
Over the centuries, man and nature grew apart, many forgetting this deep magic of shared Maxia. However, there were a select few who never forgot the lessons and retained the ability to shift from man to beast and back to man. These were called Therianthropes.
A certain breed of Therianthropes emerged stronger then the rest: the wolf. They rose to power quickly due to their pack like nature. In working together, they conquered nearly the entirety of Yadu. This empire reigned for thousands of years peacefully until a great calamity severed the pack into pieces. Some fled to safety, others stayed to fight. The result was the splintering of the once mighty unified wolf, into branches of smaller packs. For the most part, they leave each other alone and respect territory claimed by the other. But there are rival factions that can’t seem to let the war go.
Too much time has passed to remember why the fighting started, or even why there is a reason to continue. Yet the fighting continues fiercely and ferociously. There are those that are tired of the fighting and are desperate to find peace. They make up a faction called The Skia, and they work in the dark manipulating circumstances hoping it will lead to a lasting peace. They have a daunting task, and have failed many times, but that may be about to change. Hatred is hard to heal, especially when it has been taught since birth, but it can be salved with love.
