The Pack, also known as the Wolf Pack,[2] was a gathering of all of the wolves and dire wolves on the Moonshae Isles that collectively comprised one of the children of the Earthmother.[1][3][4] The Pack was considered a demipower among the Ffolk of the Moonshaes,[3] to whom it represented the omnipresent threat of death in nature.[5] It was the single most efficient killer in all of the Moonshaes, if not all of Faerûn.[6]
Description[]
The Pack was a unified, unstoppable hoard of bloodthirsty wolves that served the will of the Earthmother.[3][4][7] It was composed of many disparate wolf and dire wolf packs, which slowly came together as a single unified group that regarded the whole of the Moonshaes as its shared hunting ground.[1] Their howling was referred to as a song that struck terror into those who heard it whenever the Pack assembled.[5]
The Pack as a single entity regarded itself as centuries old,[8] although the individual wolves of the Pack were mortal and could be killed or die of old age.[2] The Pack was led by the largest or strongest individual among them (generally a male), known as the "Leader" or the "Master of the Pack", and the wolves followed this leader without resistance and without regard for whether they were good or evil.[1][9] This represented the Pack's greatest strength and its greatest weakness: it could not be stopped because a new leader would always arise to replace a slain one, but if the leader were replaced by a hostile entity, it could usurp the Pack for itself.[6]
Activities[]
The Pack was ferociously efficient at hunting down its prey, and could operate almost like an army at the direction of its leader (such as by sending out scouts). It was also infinitely patient, and was content to wear down enemies that it otherwise could not fight directly.[6]
When the Earthmother recognized the need for her killers, she would issue the call for the Pack to form around the time of the spring equinox as the wolves of the Moonshaes awoke from their winter hibernation. The initial Pack would then form within the next four tendays and consist of between 300 and 600 wolves gathered around their anointed leader. The Pack would then begin roving the land, gathering more wolves, hunting prey, and generally avoiding human settlements, including isolated cottages. The Pack's numbers would continue to swell until peaking at the summer solstice, after which no more wolves would flock to it. The Pack would remain active either until dismissed by the Earthmother or until the autumn equinox, at which time the wolves returned to their dens to hibernate for the winter.[6]
Relationships[]
The children of the Earthmother, with the Pack represented by the wolf on top.
As one of the Earthmother's "children", the Pack heeded her calls to protect the Moonshae Isles from any threats, and was one of her most potent weapons.[10] The wolves were regarded as her agents of death,[5] and she could direct them actions through the power of the moonwells.[11] However, if her will faltered, the unnatural alliance of the many constituent wolf packs would unravel.[1]
The fey of Sarifal regarded the Pack as a mortal aspect of the Earthmother herself.[2]
History[]
The Pack was the Earthmother's youngest and deadliest child. It was first summoned circa −9000 DR to counterbalance the benevolence of the Earthmother's elder children, the Leviathan and Kamerynn. In this way, the Pack was critical to maintaining the Balance that the Earthmother embodied in the Moonshaes.[5][2]
When the Beast Kazgaroth first appeared in the Moonshaes circa −2000 DR, the Pack and the other children of the Earthmother allied with the Llewyrr elves and the dwarves to drive it off.[5][2]
By the 14th century DR, the Pack was led by a lineage of wolves said to be descended from the Earthmother herself, for each was very powerful and could live for centuries.[9] During the Darkwalker War, the Pack was summoned by the Earthmother to help fight the beast Kazgoroth once more, but it was taken over by the werewolf Erian, a servant of Kazgoroth, when he killed the leader.[8][9] He then led the Pack on a rampage against the Ffolk, slaughtering people and livestock alike, until the Earthmother guided the moorhound Canthus, companion of Prince Tristan Kendrick, to kill Erian.[12] Thanks to a silver Torque of the Goddess around his neck, Canthus was able to overcome the werewolf's resistances and claim control of the Pack,[13] which he then led in defense of the Ffolk once more. Under Canthus's leadership, the Pack turned the tide of the Battle of Caer Corwell, killing many of the Northlander invaders sent by Kazgoroth so the Ffolk could rally their defense.[14][15][16]
With Kazgoroth defeated, the Pack dispersed,[17] and the Earthmother was not able to summon it again when the god Bhaal attacked her the following year.[18] After her apparent death in that conflict, the Pack was not witnessed again for almost two decades.[14][4]
Appendix[]
Appearances[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Douglas Niles (November 1987). Moonshae. Edited by Mike Breault. (TSR, Inc.), p. 26. ISBN 0-88038-494-8.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Brian R. James (June 2009). “Realmslore: Sarifal”. In Chris Youngs ed. Dragon #376 (Wizards of the Coast), p. 60.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Ed Greenwood, Julia Martin, Jeff Grubb (1993). Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 2nd edition (revised), Running the Realms. (TSR, Inc), p. 57. ISBN 1-5607-6617-4.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Julia Martin, Eric L. Boyd (March 1996). Faiths & Avatars. (TSR, Inc.), p. 48. ISBN 978-0786903849.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Douglas Niles (November 1987). Moonshae. Edited by Mike Breault. (TSR, Inc.), p. 4. ISBN 0-88038-494-8.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Douglas Niles (November 1987). Moonshae. Edited by Mike Breault. (TSR, Inc.), p. 27. ISBN 0-88038-494-8.
- ↑ Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms. Edited by Kim Mohan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 139. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Douglas Niles (May 2011). Darkwalker on Moonshae. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 5. ISBN 978-0-7869-5958-7.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Douglas Niles (May 2011). Darkwalker on Moonshae. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 13. ISBN 978-0-7869-5958-7.
- ↑ Douglas Niles (November 1987). Moonshae. Edited by Mike Breault. (TSR, Inc.), p. 21. ISBN 0-88038-494-8.
- ↑ Julia Martin, Eric L. Boyd (March 1996). Faiths & Avatars. (TSR, Inc.), p. 41. ISBN 978-0786903849.
- ↑ Douglas Niles (May 2011). Darkwalker on Moonshae. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 17. ISBN 978-0-7869-5958-7.
- ↑ Douglas Niles (May 2011). Darkwalker on Moonshae. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 18. ISBN 978-0-7869-5958-7.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Karen Wynn Fonstad (August 1990). The Forgotten Realms Atlas. (TSR, Inc), p. 30. ISBN 978-0880388573.
- ↑ Karen Wynn Fonstad (August 1990). The Forgotten Realms Atlas. (TSR, Inc), p. 44. ISBN 978-0880388573.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood, et al (1989). Hall of Heroes. (TSR, Inc), p. 39. ISBN 0-88038-711-4.
- ↑ Douglas Niles (May 2011). Darkwalker on Moonshae. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 22. ISBN 978-0-7869-5958-7.
- ↑ Douglas Niles (July 2011). Darkwell. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 3. ISBN 978-0-7869-5970-9.