Ervetra

A picture of Ervetra before his disappearance

Two Unnamed Sisters

18 Surviving Offspring

6 Deceased Offspring

## Biography

Ervetra was the founder and Patriarch of the Forest Creek Pack of Slough Creek. During his life, he fathered 24 pups between two mates, and succeeded in raising 18 of those pups to adulthood.

Like many wolves before him, he dispersed from what researchers presumed was the 8-Mile pack with two sisters. Shortly after arriving to Amethyst Mountain, the trio split up as his sisters were drawn to other dispersals whereas Ervetra was intrigued by the existing wolf territories.

Ervetra, being too young and too eager, quickly became disliked by the local packs, acting too boldly and rashly in their territories and around their wolves. The young wolf suffered many injuries and scars from being among the rival packs. The fights left him with a notch in his right ear, and a broken canine that eventually became an iconic snaggletooth. Between excursions and hunts, Ervetra spent plenty of time loafing to heal his wounds, wasting what was left of the warm autumn days in Yellowstone.

Ervetra didn't wait too long to find a mate, however, and had paired shortly after the first snow of Winter. Ervetra paired with Hayden 1116F, who was later dubbed Rhodesia. Once the creek froze over, the pair relocated to Slough Creek, using the quiet winter to cupulate and claim a home of their own. Rhodesia bore a litter of pups in a sandy den next to a small stream, between the Sandy Slopes and Aspen Heights, gaining the pack the name Forest Creek.

### Litter One - Year Three

Ervetra was still bold and rash during his first year of parenthood, finding himself injured by rival and prey alike that following spring, but tried his best to be a ferocious contender, doing whatever he could to care for his pups. Rhodesia was nearly the opposite, finding herself hanging back and letting her mate do most of the parenting. Their first year together was tumultuous, the pair losing half of their litter due to conflicting personalities and inexperience. Forest Creek 3F, Forest Creek 3M, and Forest Creek 5M were all picked off by predators that first year. Luckily, Forest Creek 1155M, Forest Creek 1692F, Forest Creek 1693M, and Forest Creek 1695M were able to survive with their father's protection.

Researchers noticed Ervetra den into the Slough Creek area, next to the creek on the Sandy Slopes, and after watching the upstart "alpha" male raise his first litter of pups, decided to dart Ervetra and fit him with a radio collar to track the progress of the new pack. During this time, genetic samples were taken from Ervetra, which is what led to the discover that he was related to the 8-Mile Pack.

### Litter Two - Year Four

During the second year, Rhodesia birthed another seven pups. They quickly lost Forest Creek 9M quickly to Canine Distemper, which had spread to Forest Creek 8M, who also perished. Despite this, and the move that was prompted by losing two pups to distemper, he pair was seemingly doing better than in their previous year, However at some point Rhodesia had went missing, and researchers later found her remains a short distance away from their current den, having been a victim of a bear attack. Due to her cautious behavior, researchers were unsure how Rhodesia had fallen prey to a bear, but nearby elk remains suggested it was a dispute over a meal, perhaps one Ervetra had refused to give up on, leading his mate to be caught in the crossfire.

At that point, it was believed that the trauma of losing his mate had lead Ervetra to abandon his pups, as the pups were left alone in the den for several days. Researchers picked up signals from his collar near the edge of his territory, far from where Rhodesia's remains had been discovered. Despite fearing the worse, researchers were delighted to see Ervetra courting a new female, identified as Veana, the collared Fridley 32F. Soon, Veana was happily raising that year's litter in Rhodesia's place, taking in the pups with glee. It was theorized that Veana, despite being a two year old dispersal, had once been a breeding female but had lost her pups that year due to inexperience, hence why she was eager to take up the role of mother for Ervetra's pups.

That year, great changes were seen in Ervetra, who seemed to go from being a bold and brash youngster to a laid-back yet devoted father, spending much more time with his packmates than out on the territory hunting. That year, Veana and Ervetra managed to raise the remaining litter of 5 to adulthood: Forest Creek 1681F, Forest Creek 1680F, Forest Creek 1679F, Forest Creek 1678M, and Forest Creek 1682F.

### Litter Three - Year Five

The following year, Ervetra and Veana had their own litter of three pups. Both parents were very proactive and careful around their pups, fiercely protective and devoted to their survival. The pups this year were strong and healthy, and Erve and his mate didn't lose a single pup, Forest Creek 1656F, Forest Creek 1659F, and Forest Creek 1657M all becoming adults. During a flyover observing the pack, Ervetra and Veana were spotted fiercely defending their pups from a pair of intruding Crevice Lake females during a move. Erve had suffered a broken leg before the attack, yet fought valiantly to ensure not a single scratch befell his pups. Due to the fight, Ervetra's right ear suffered another tear, and his left ear gained an Aural Hematoma, which left it crinkled and deformed after it healed.

### Litter Four - Year Six

The previous year's pups were the last litter to be born in what was considered Forest Creek's "Natal Den" at the Sandy Slopes as Veana began to lead Erve to the East towards the Terraces. Researchers found a new litter of a trio of pups playing and frolicking beneath a tree stump just east of McBride creek, close to where Ervetra had been originally found with Veana. Life was blissful, and prey was plentiful around the den that Veana had seemingly picked for their newest arrivals, and Ervetra and his family seemed to have constantly full bellies despite contention from the surrounding packs, a constant ebb and flow in territory shapes occuring.

As that spring progressed, Ervetra and Veana decided to move further east towards Prospect Pack territory, even going as far to push their territory back with the claim of a new den, leaving their tree stump behind and moving to a small cavernous den a short few meters away. Their stay at the little cavern was short, however, as the pups outgrew the new den fairly quickly. Ervetra invaded Prospect Peak's territory even further once they moved to the rendevous point in the heart of the Terraces. After the move, researchers witnessed Ervetra and his mate take down a spike elk, but at the cost of a broken jaw on Erve's part. The fractured jaw made it difficult for Ervetra to bring back prey for his pups, but the now 6 year old male pushed through it, stubbornly carrying small prey through the pain to give to his pups. His persistence insured that once more his entire litter survived the year, with Forest Creek 1658F, Forest Creek 1659M, and Forest Creek 1660M joining the ranks of Ervetra's adult pups.

### Litter Five - Year Seven

The following winter, Ervetra and Veana stayed near Prospect Peak, choosing the root system beneath a tall and stately tree as their den for the year, even though the tree stump was a desirable den last year. Ervetra went with whatever Veana decided was best for their family though, and was willing to fight to keep territory in the area. Once established and having had one very fruitful hunt, Veana birthed four new pups beneath the tree as the ice began to melt.  The family stayed in that tree den until mid spring, when a storm eventually flooded the den, making it inhospitable for the pups. Ervetra and Veana then moved their pups further east, to a small cavern on the meadow.

With the move being closer to Prospect Peak, Ervetra seemed eager to carve out more space for his family into the other pack's territory. However, such daring behavior would not be what caused strife for the family this season, as Prospect Peak seemed to avoid Ervetra and his mate as they took more territory. No, Ervetra became gravely wounded trying to hunt Moose that year, which lead to him being unable to hunt for a few days and his pups going hungry. Due to the lack of food, Forest Creek 13M fell ill, and ultimately succumbed to his illness. Losing 13M to illness inside the den prompted another den move, however, Ervetra wasn't sure where he wanted to take his pups this time, leading them to become nomadic for a few days. They eventually took sheleter temporarily in an abandoned coyote den while Ervetra struggled to maintain the territory.

The pair decided to track Elk Herds west into Crevice Lake territory, and found another den that would suit their wants. However, they would need to take over the surrounding territory to make it work. This lead to the pair to be away from their pups for a few days as they worked to make the surrounding area safe for their pups. Though, the effort to claim the new den was for naught, as the pups had already outgrown their coyote den by the time they returned, and were ready to journey to a rendezvous point.

Ervetra decided to lead his pups north towards Wanderer's point, as they had already made the move for territory in that direction and had kills nearby. In the mountains, they found a peaceful life, and successfully raised Forest Creek 1606F, Forest Creek 1605F, and Forest Creek 1604M to adulthood.

### Disappearance

The following winter, a horrible blizzard struck where Forest Creek was denning, which caused Ervetra and Veana to be forced apart. During that blizzard, Ervetra's radio collar stopped working. Researchers were hoping that he would be found with Veana once the snow cleared, but he never was, and Veana was found wandering the mountains alone, her only company a few of their previous pups. Researchers assumed that, due to his age, Ervetra most likely died during the storm, marking the end of his story and handing the legacy off to his pups.

## Trivia

* The date of Ervetra's birth marks Year Zero of the lineage, which is the dating system used to mark other wolves' births and deaths. Since WolfQuest doesn't have a cannon date period and wolves don't understand time as humans do, only keeping track of the years make sense.
* Ervetra's designation before the "Persistent Packs" update was simply Forest Creek 1M
	+ There are some discrepancies because his life was recorded before the update, therefore his designation changed for each year the authro looked back. Eventually it was decided to go with his "oldest" number.
	+ This is also the reason why his pups numbers seem to go backwards.
* Even though "researchers" presume Ervetra dead, and he is technically dead in the grand scheme of the lineage, he was retired in the game files by the author in order to be used exclusively in multiplayer after his Year 7 litter.
* He is the only wolf in the active lineage that wasn't an Ironwolf.
* Relation to the 8-Mile pack was decided based upon whichever dispersals had the lowest diversity rating when compared to Ervetra's genetics.
	+ Ironically enough, his pelt is that of 965M, or "Brad Pitt", who himself was an 8-Mile wolf.