Aralynn

Aurith (Half-Sister)

Hethu and Luthias (Half-Brothers, NPCs)

## Application Sheet

Aralynn was a white she-wolf with gray-and-brown markings. She found a place in Vektren in the midst of the Hive Wars. She is the younger sister of Aurith, though they don't know one another. She served as the caretaker of Evenaar. Aralynn departed the Domain under unknown circumstances and hasn't been seen since. Aralynn was created and RP'd by smimley.

## Personality

* ***Allegiant, Devout, and God-Fearing.*** The first prominent trait any wolf who meets Aralynn will notice is that she is completely devout to the Vektren gods. They guide her actions and she is quick to listen to any words they have for her. Despite Vektren's overall tolerance towards atheism, Aralynn will shun and belittle any wolf who does not fully believe in and trust in Senisteros and Xibalten. In the same light, while Aralynn is truly loyal to Vektren and its members, her loyalties lie stronger with the gods, and she is more inclined to follow and fear their words than anyone else.
* ***Calm, Independent, and Critical.*** Although some would see her as harsh as many of the Vektreni are seen, Aralynn is rather calm; she is not here to cause chaos or disorder. While she can be a bit combative with others, she is fairly level-headed. Aralynn would rather work alone than to work in a group setting, however that does not mean she completely avoids it. When the time calls for it, she is more than willing to work with others. Though, she can be very judgmental as a result. If tasks are not done to her standards, she does not hold back letting whoever is doing it of her displeasure. She holds herself to these same standards, and can be quite self-critical of herself if she makes an error.
* ***Uncompassionate.*** Aralynn lacks any empathy for others. She struggles to connect with them emotionally in most cases, and finds herself having difficulty with establishing relationships as a result. As well, to her, being wildly emotional about situations is simply a flaw, for one needs to be calm and collected if they wish to perform their duties properly. Though she may not care for how one feels in a moment, Aralynn is quick to pick up on the feelings they could be experiencing. She may not act on these emotions, but she is able to read a room rather well.

## Pre-Group History

Expansion. It was a plan drilled into her head from youth. Aralynn hailed from a pack that was a mere branch attached to a large network of packs. Her mother, Sayl, had left her birth pack, following the traditions of her parents and their parents that when they came of age, they were to leave their home and seek out a new space where they could establish another territory in the name of the originals, deeming it Cedar Peak. While the individual packs seemed small, they were part of a large web, and when one was in need of aid, they could seek out one of these smaller groups. Sayl was wise for her age, and it didn't take her long to find an unclaimed land and have lost souls join her band. Just as quickly, she had taken a mate and bore a son. However, not all could go as smoothly as it had. Tragedy struck the small pack when a rock slide took her mate's life.

Sayl took some time to mourn, but with a young son and a growing pack to look after, she had to move on. Shortly after the demise of her mate, a father and his two children found themselves on her borders. She took them in, gave them food and shelter, and saw them as her own. Come spring time, new love began to bloom. Sayl and the wolf she found just a couple of seasons prior, Nolandir, had grown fond of one another, and it didn't take long for them to announce their union to the pack. Not everyone took it well though, as one of Nolandir's children, Aurith, fled the pack shortly after the announcement. However, as Sayl had with her late partner, she urged Nolandir to take some time to process the sudden departure of his daughter before moving on. They had a pack to take care of, and preparations to make, for Sayl discovered she was pregnant once again.

Aralynn came into the world quiet. Unlike most pups wailing, she was silent, only a few muffled grunts coming from the pup. She was born alone, but into the loving embrace of her parents. Nolandir, eager to move on from his past prior to arriving in Cedar Peak, adopted the cultures Sayl was raised in, and taught them to his new daughter. He had informed her of a missing older half sister, but the young pup was so preoccupied with wrestling, learning, and being doted on by her whole family that she did not linger on this fact for very long. Her life was simply perfect in this moment.

Cedar Peak's culture was that when the next generation after the first settlers came of age, generally around three years old to ensure mental and physical maturity, they would depart to seek out a new land to establish a pack in. Any generations after would remain with their birth pack to continue their line and keep the pack strong, so as to not lose their claim on the land. Despite Hethu not being born within the pack, he was happy to assist. The two brothers were close in age, only a couple of months apart. It was approaching the time when they would be departing on their journey. Aralynn, now only a year and a half, dreamed of the day she too would be able to leave and lead her own pack. Expressing this excitement to her mother, any hopes she had were quickly snuffed out when she was informed that she would not be leaving, and instead staying in Cedar Peak and becoming its next leader. Her mind, still young and naive, grew bitter. Why could *she* not go? Every since her mother told the stories of her time between leaving her birth pack and finding this one, it was all Aralynn could look forward to. She wanted the journey, the adventure, the challenges as a loner. *It simply wasn't fair.*

A few weeks after, it was time for Hethu and Luthias to leave. The small pack walked them to the border, saying their goodbyes before they set off to the south. As the gathering dispersed and began to move back to the main dens, Aralynn moved off. *I'll prove her wrong. I'm not meant to stay here, I'm meant to leave! I'm meant to go find another land and claim it!* Thoughts of an inexperienced, wide-eyed wolf. Aralynn would quickly realize that she was not prepared at all for what the rest of the world had to offer for her.

While her brothers traveled south, Aralynn set off to the east. The first day or so was grand to her. She could explore, run freely, do whatever she pleased! It wasn't until the following days, when her stomach churned with hunger, that reality began to sink in. Aralynn had some experience hunting, but she was by no means an expert in it. It took a lot of trial and error for her to finally be able to land a kill, and even then, it was a mere chipmunk that only handled a fraction of the hunger she experienced. A couple more days of traveling, and she felt luck struck her finally when she found a half eaten deer carcass. However, this would be the first of her teachings, or perhaps punishment, on the world.

Aralynn, without hesitation, trotted up to the corpse and began to tear into it. Shortly after though, a sudden weight collided with her and she found herself pinned to the ground. A larger wolf stood over her, grabbing hold of her face with his teeth and letting a growl out. The young wolf cried out, yowling and kicking her legs before the assailant let go of her. Aralynn fled, blood trickling down her pale face. She ran for a while before finding a small creek. She let the water run over her wounds, washing the blood out of her fur. Staring down at her reflection, she noted the tears along her jaw, where her cheek fur would normally lay. The fur seemed to be torn away completely there. The damn beast took a chunk out of her. With a huff, she set off again.

A couple of months had passed then. Aralynn had been finding scraps of rotting meat or managing to catch only small critters that just subsided her hunger, but never truly satisfied it. The fur on her cheek never grew back properly, and she had a small missing portion of it. Seated beside a river, she stared off into the forest ahead of her, defeated. Perhaps she should have just stayed at home. Was it too late to return? Her pride told her yes, that she had to prove herself now, she had to make it out here, otherwise it was all for naught. Just as these thoughts passed through her mind, a voice suddenly interrupted her. A male with a warm smile on his face had begun to approach her, noting her thin state, and asking if she needed food. Aralynn nodded, and followed him.

He led her to a small group of wolves, who similarly to the one who found Aralynn, all greeted her with a friendly grin. Sure enough, he provided her with food and shelter. When night came however, Aralynn made her second foolish mistake. Despite the warmth and hospitality these wolves showed her, she could not stay. Her destiny was not to find an already established group, but to make one herself. When they had fallen asleep, Aralynn grabbed the largest piece of food she could manage to hold and attempted to sneak away. She was intercepted however by the very wolf who brought her in. He questioned where she was going, and with some of their food, and she tried to explain what she was meant to do, what she was *born* to do. He was not willing to listen however, and howled, awakening his packmates. Fear overtook her and she fled. She had let go of the meat, hoping that simply giving it up would be enough to not let them chase her. However, when she looked behind her, she found two wolves on her tail. She could not run for long, already in a weakened state. It did not take long for them to catch up to her and tackle her to the ground, wasting no time to tear into her flesh.

With little to no experience in defense or fighting, her attempts to ward them off were not enough. They were merciless, ripping her stomach, her lips, her legs. One had managed to grip her neck with his teeth, and she surely thought that would be it. However, help came. Three wolves suddenly came running out from the foliage behind her and knocked them off. Aralynn lost consciousness shortly after she was released from the deadly hold, and the last thing she remembered seeing was figures clashing together. Unbeknownst to her, her rescuers, Caramel, Ophion, and Leslie, managed to fend off the two wolves, and brought her back to their home; Vektren.

Over the following weeks, Aralynn was kept in the Magister's den, healing and being fed herbs and other various plants. In her weakened state and in combination with the consumption of the plants, she experienced intense hallucinations and dreams. Once some strength had returned to her, they brought her to the pits. Here, she became the perfect servant to the gods. When Aralynn was permitted to leave, she believed herself to have died when she was attacked, but was reborn by the grace of Senisteros and Xibalten. Aralynn was quick to let go of any past ties or plans. Her purpose in life was no longer to establish a new pack, for it had died with her previous life. Her new purpose was to be a loyal servant to the gods, and a loyal servant she would be.

## Group History

Found on the verge of death by the Vektreni, Aralynn was offered patience and treatment by the Magisters. Temperance brought her meals while she recovered, proving to be a valuable soon-to-be friend down the road. Once recovered, Aralynn tried to find a place within the pack. She was determined to prove herself a willing convert, and set about learning to how fight and defend herself, taking lessons from Temperance and Amon. She put her mettle to the test in the Trial of Shadows (tricky on account of her pale fur, she was spotted by Leslie), Trial of Might (in which she was tested by Arawn and Damon), and the Trial of Faith.

Despite passing initiation, she never sought to take a task of her own, instead lending her paws in several areas. This was met with gratitude, as the threat of the Hive caused all areas to need additional help. She also served as the guardian and adoptive mother of a young she-wolf who arrived in the pack: Evenaar. Though not as close as a parent and child, they still grew close as friends if anything else.

Eventually, called upon for aid, Vektren went west. Vektren marched towards Riverfell to provide aid in the battle against the Hive. They had no idea the pack were being ambushed at that moment, and quickly leapt into the fray. Aralynn was recruited by Jaskier to help ambush some Hive drones, serving as the bait, putting her speed to good use and leading them straight towards Jaskier and Devina of Riverfell. Post-battle, fortunate to escape relatively unscathed, she spoke of the blood spilled to a young Riverfellian named Teba (who had lost his father Deonte in the battle).

She continued to serve her pack well as the Hive Wars progressed. When they learned of where the Hive Queen was located, she went with her pack to the battlefield - but no further. Instead, she went to Xassa, to protect the wounded, sick, or otherwise unable to fight. She bade a fond farewell to Evenaar, and they parted ways.

After the battle, and the defeat of the Queen, just like that, the Hive Wars were finally over. Aralynn joined Vektren returning home.

Time passed. Evenaar was gone, but she found friendship in Damon's young son, Golan. The two shared their frustrations with Damon, and so it was nice to have someone to vent to!

Still, Aralynn hadn't taken a task, and the judgment grew ever fiercer from her packmates. Jaskier took a forward approach, saying, **"And how much longer do you plan to wallow as a Neophyte, Aralynn, when there is so much you could be doing for yourself? *For the pack?*"** Aralynn was quite alarmed and ashamed by her packmate's words. Clearly, she needed to do something. Right?

Wrong.

Aralynn never did end up taking a task, and instead, disappeared from the pack in the midst of severe flooding. She was presumed deceased by her packmates as a result, but her body was never found, so nobody knew for certain...

## External Links

* Official Application Sheet
* smimley's deviantART Gallery