Wolves

Wolves, or more specifically Volkian Wolves, are large, dog-like animals, and they are the main creatures of the *Claws of Light series.*

*Click here to see all events wolves participated here. Click here to see the history of Volkian wolves. Click here to see all wolf characters.*

## Location

Wolves are the dominant life form of Volki, and they are located all over the island, from dense forests, to high mountains, to vast floodplains. Settlements are located around every body of water, where they tend to their livestock and crops together with their family and friends.

As wolves are highly social and naturally inclined to associate themselves with a group and work together, various nations exist on Volki that have their own governments and culture. These include: Zor Ageya, Sila Ageya, Nerlo Ageya, Opestvo Ageya, and Kreya Ageya. Exile is believed to be the worst punishment one can have, and thus is very rare.

Most wolves live in small burrows or tents, next to their fields and pastures. Communal areas are commonly areas bordered by sticks crudely shoved into the dirt, with yurts inside the border. Mansions and palaces are often made out of tall walls of clay or stone bricks, surrounded by towers and often painted with expensive pigments.

## Description

Volkian Wolves bear many similarities to gray wolves. They are dog-like animals with pointed ears, a dark nose, whiskers, and round pupils. Their faces resemble a dog or baby wolf's face due to neotony. They are unusually larger than normal wolves, with the average height of a Volkian Wolf often reaching up to a human's chest. Their muscular necks support their large, neuron-packed brains. Since they need to use their paws for walking, they have much longer and thinner snouts, which improves their tool manipulation by increasing their reach and precision, no matter how crude it is compared to a human's hands.

Their fur colours are very distinct and must always have some sort of white pattern, which is their main way of distinguishing different wolves from one another. Their eyes are almost always light coloured (blue, yellow, gold, etc), and wolves with black or dark brown eyes are believed to bring bad lucks. There seems to be a strange culture of painting statues of famous figures with green eyes, no matter their actual eye colour.

Western wolves tend to have dull, brown fur with larger eyes, and longer whiskers. Alpine wolves tend to have gray coats, longer fur, larger manes, and smaller ears. Eastern wolves tend to have lighter coats, smaller eyes, larger ears, and also a smaller general size.

## Behavior

Wolves are a sapient species that is incredibly social and very good at memorization, just like humans. They have a strong ability to feel empathy for other wolves, they can plan their actions carefully, they can declare war against other states and both speak and understand complex languages. They are believed to have a long lifespan, but due to things such as disease and war, they die much earlier.

Most packs are, of course, stereotyped: Forest wolves are believed to be smart and innovative yet cowardly; Sea wolves are also believed to be cowardly, but more peaceful and dumb; Sky wolves used to be seen as heroic, but due to the actions of Queen Harpy they are now seen as greedy and barbaric; Fire wolves are believed to be very good at surviving, but are hot-tempered and stubborn; And ice wolves are majestic and smart, but are also greedy.