Shenandoah

Enzo (Uncle)

Rhaegan, Reicher, and Aleksey (Half-Uncles)

Polaris (Half-Aunt)

Three Stillborn Siblings (NPCs)

## Application Sheet

Shenandoah was a brown-furred she-wolf, formerly the Princess of Vale during the Dark Ages. She was the daughter of King Renier and Queen Wren. 'Orphaned' at a young age, she was the unwitting pawn of Alar, and ultimately, was overthrown. She spent some time as a loner before leaving the Domain with her close friends Bellamy and Jerikoh. She was created and RP'd by Wildfire-Tama.

## Personality

* ***Restless*.** Shenandoah loves to travel and she always has. The reason? Whether she is consciously aware of this or not, Shenandoah does not know what she wants. She just doesn’t. To combat this deep uncertainty she throws her hopes into travel, insisting to herself that if she were someplace else things would be different, and be better. She has this strange notion that every pawstep away from where she is is a pawstep closer to her ultimate happiness. It is unknown currently if she will ever realize that happiness is not in a place but just a state of mind.
* ***Judgmental*.** Shenandoah sees things a few shades darker than the norm. Her default opinion of others she does not know is always neutral/negative and is very quick to swing further into the negative end. If a wolf is associated with a group that she has had a bad experience with, she assumes that wolf will be no different from the others. Things are black and white in her mind. You are right, or you are wrong. And if you are wrong then in her mind you are completely discredited and she will be unwilling to listen to you at all, she may even hate you for it. In her mind, if wolves are in a unified group, that means that the actions of any individual portrays the beliefs of the entire group. A wolf can even prove that they have done no harm, and mean her only the best, but still she will be distrustful and suspicious of you.
* ***Dependent/Loyal.*** Once you have Shenandoah’s love, she is yours. Once she trusts you, she sees her life as “you and me against the world.” She will open up to you about everything with no suspicion or anger. She will take your opinion seriously and she will believe wholeheartedly that you have her best interests in mind just as she has yours. She can even be a pretty fun and affectionate friend once you get to know her!
* ***Uncertain/Discouraged.*** Due to the multiple betrayals she has believed to have suffered through, Shenandoah is beginning to question herself, and her judgement. She has always believed herself to be a good judge of character, but she has come to realize that she isn't. This means that it is even harder to gain her trust and friendship, and it takes a lot of time, effort, and probably even an undoubted act of loyalty to prove yourself to her... and even then it isn't a certain thing. After having been confident her whole life, it is easy to throw her off or discourage her since she has come to realize she is not nearly as smart as she thought she was. Still she tries to hide this uncertainty, as she has gotten into the habit of doing when she was Queen.
* ***Stubborn*.** Shenandoah can be very stubborn, especially with wolves she doesn't know. If a wolf she doesn't know or doesn't respect tries to tell her anything that disagrees with her current views then she will adamantly reject everything about the idea. The morals and trust she has build up in her current unstable life are all she has to hold on to, and she will hold onto her knowns until the bitter end for she feels as if they are her only grounding force, and if she loses them then she would be utterly lost. If anything, her recently developed uncertainty has made her even more outwardly stubborn. The confusion in her mind causes so much frustration to her that she usually tends to just stick with her instinct and shut everyone and everything else out. If she is getting angry and deaf to your words, then it is because you are shaking her resolve.
* ***Passionate.*** Shenandoah is very passionate, and if she believes something then she believes it whole heartedly. She can be very vocal and *quite* assertive in her opinions if she believes them as absolute facts. It frustrates and confuses her when others do not see what she sees, and these distressing emotions often manifest themselves in anger. She is easily fired up if a wolf knows how to poke her the wrong way, and she does not have much self restraint if her anger and passion are whipped up, often prone to reacting even with violence because she cannot handle her emotions well. She is a tough talker and her passion often causes her to speak freely and loudly, but often her voice is more extreme than what she is actually capable of or willing to do if the situation were to actually be presented to her.
* ***Squeamish*.** Shenandoah is a rather decent fighter, having been trained by her father and others. She will use her skills and in the heat of battle she will not hesitate to do what she feels she must. But if she has to watch it, then she has a hard time. She hates watching teeth and claws dig into someone's fur and she hates watching them twist and cry in pain. Even if she believes they deserve it, she still hates to see it. If she witnesses more violence than usual, she often had trouble sleeping that night, plagued by imaginings of her parents' last agonizing moments of life.

## Pre-Group History

Shenandoah was born to the King of Vale, Renier, and his Queen, Wren. She was conceived in a time when the pair shared great love for each other. By the time Shenandoah was born, however, the relationship had fallen apart after Renier had killed the former Alpha of Vale and one of Wren’s closest friend, Faust, and took over Vale. Wren had been devastated and angry and after branding him a monster she grew miserable and thin within his captivity. During this time of unhealthy misery, all of Shenandoah’s siblings died in the womb. When Wren went into labor she escaped Renier’s watchful eye and ran into the woods to give birth alone, praying for her and her unborn children to die in childbirth. Renier followed her out and laid by her for support as she gave birth. Shenan was the only living child to a harsh birthing. Despite the love Renier clearly has for Wren, Wren will have nothing to do with him still. She tries her best to keep her baby away from the Alpha while Renier tries his best to keep them both safe and be a present part of his daughter’s life. The constant conflict between Wren and Renier, despite Wren trying her best to raise and shelter her baby as well as she could, did a number on Shenan as she grew up never quite knowing what a healthy relationship between two wolves looked like. Vale did not seem like a happy place and she never really understood why Wren hated her father or why much of the pack resented her mother and sometimes even her. This unstable and confusing childhood taught Shenandoah only that she could only trust in herself and what she saw as the truth, for others would deceive and lie to her. Even her parents, although she truly does love them both, she does not trust because of the conflicting accounts they give her of the truth. In the end, instead of picking sides, she decided to just pick neither.

## Group History

Shenandoah was very close to her father, who treated her like the most important thing in the world. She wanted to be able to travel, to explore the world around her, and Renier was ready to train her to defend herself should she want to travel later in life. She wanted to connect with her mother, but Wren was often despondent and melancholy, unable to engage with Shenandoah most of the time.

Wren *wasn't* quiet when Renier showed up, however. She fiercely fought with Renier, which Shenandoah hated, and she wished they'd leave one another alone. She rarely had a chance to interact with other wolves in the pack when she was a pup, except for the Black Watch: the hand-picked guards of the King and Queen. The one she was most familiar with was Alar - Alar, with his white raven Raban, was kind to her. She liked him a lot! She didn't know that he was actually scheming, and his affections towards the little princess were all just an act, a *lie.*

Other Black Watch members, like her uncle Enzo, also made an appearance. She was always excited to meet a new wolf, especially after hearing he was her father's brother! There was also Kimber, who was very nice, and Savoy, who vowed to protect her forever.

When she was an older pup, she was permitted to leave the den more often, and got to meet a wolf around her age named Finarel. The two became fast friends! Another wolf she met, Loki, was polite to her as well, and she thought he could be a good role model - not realizing that he hated her father. She met some Vektreni, too, like Lykos, when she ran off, upset about her parents fighting. He tried to offer some reassurance, and went about his business.

One night, Alar put his plans into action, and sent Raban to call Shenandoah on an adventure. She agreed, and they set off, eventually having to hunker down during a blizzard. Alar told Renier and Wren that she'd run off, and after they failed to find their daughter, they both left the pack, believing she was dead and nothing was left for them there. Raban brought Shen home, and Alar told her that her parents had been killed by the rebels.

Shenandoah was devastated. She grieved, clinging to Alar, who was the closest thing to a father she had now. He promised to protect her, and make sure that those who had killed her parents would pay. Numb with grief, she sat with Alar as he summoned the Black Watch to give the news. Alar blamed Rhaegan, who lunged to attack Alar - and Shenandoah lunged forward to prevent him from hurting Alar. Rhaegan's shoulder slammed into Shenandoah's jaw, and she was knocked aside, immediately checked over by Savoy. She was fine, but upset. Rhaegan was *innocent,* he was her *uncle*, like Enzo! But after the attack, she began questioning his innocence.

Alar became the Regent for Shenandoah, until she was old enough to lead on her own. She relied on him to help sort out the traitors. She sought out her uncle Enzo for comfort, and Finarel tried offering some to Shen in return, but Shenandoah was untrusting of her old friend. Who was a traitor? She was told to beware Loki, and so she scorned the black-and-orange male. She would actually witness *Enzo* attack Alar and feel her trust betrayed *again.* Kimber was there to comfort her after that.

Could she trust *anyone?* She started to doubt it. Nobody but Alar, perhaps.

As she grew into a young adult, she started to spend more time wandering her territory. She met non-Valerians, such as a Vektreni named Jerikoh. He made her see some unfortunate truths (but she ignored them) and in the end, simply gave her some advice before parting ways. Other Vektreni were even *less* understandable to her, like Ruffian. She escorted him along the border, making sure he didn't trespass in *her* territory. A loner named Sparrow would teach Shenandoah how to hunt (though, admittedly, Shen took more easily to fighting than to hunting!). Sparrow was a pretty patient teacher.

Shenandoah continued to grapple with paranoia within the borders of Vale, however. When renegades were exposed by Alar, such as Brunhilda, she would listen to the evidence and give her consent to have the traitors put to death. She feared killers watched her from the shadows, and when she saw Reyna in the proximity of some poisonous berries, she immediately assumed the Medic was trying to poison and kill her. Reyna tried to explain herself, but Shenandoah decided she must be punished. Fortunately, Raban intervened and warned Shenandoah to be merciful with the power she possessed, and convinced her to forget Reyna's crimes. Outsiders would be begrudgingly permitted into the pack when injured, such as Ranna.

Other wolves approached the pack. A young Vektreni named Dante crossed the border searching for his father Andras, but had no luck. Instead, Shen found him, and warned him that there were lots of killers about in Vale, and he was lucky *she* was the one to find him. Alar approached, too, and decided he could use the pup to get access to Hekate, to speak to her about an alliance, and sent Shen back to the camp to keep an eye on things while he escorted Dante home.

All the while, she spent a lot of time with Alar. He groomed her for becoming a leader (supposedly, though he had no intentions of relinquishing power) and they discussed who might be traitors within their midst. Aside from Alar, Raban, and Kimber, she felt friendless in the world. She didn't realize how much she had in common with Finarel until they were both struggling with the tension within the pack. She missed her friend.

Eventually, news would reach her ears that Loki was the 'leader' of the Vale rebellion, and she watched as Keme was tortured to gain information from Loki. She was *furious* that Loki, who she'd looked up to as a pup, had betrayed her.

While Loki and Keme were imprisoned, Shenandoah went about her business, still keeping on eye on those around her. She patrolled with Kyros, a bit suspicious, but ultimately deciding he was alright, and visited Ranna as she recovered from her injuries. She would also make a good friend around this time - a wolf named Bellamy, who offered to be her knight. She liked Bellamy a lot, and named him her Good Fish. He vowed his loyalty to her, and Shenandoah felt she could trust him because he was from outside of Vale, and he was *so* friendly.

She often patrolled with Bellamy, and learned to fish from him. She also enjoyed spending time with Raban, forgetting her worries and racing with him. But her problems, and her past, were never far behind. When she met Calida, she was struck by the Fellfangir's similarity to her mother Wren, and was quite shaken by it. Still, she remained stoic on the outside, only admitting her fears and worries to Alar, who offered comfort to her always.

And then, the rebellion rose up.

Shenandoah was outraged, and frightened, but determined to protect not only her throne, but Alar, too. She was stunned to see which wolves had been on the other side all along - Kimber, Kyros, *Finarel*, they were all traitors! She attacked Kyros first, but when she saw that Bellamy and Kimber were fighting. Kimber was the traitor, attacking her Good Fish, and she was heartbroken, feeling numb and completely alone.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Hekate and Rhaegan approaching. Rhaegan, the original traitor, she believed - she prowled towards him for the kill. Finarel couldn't let Shenandoah kill Rhaegan, and she rushed to block Rhaegan from Shenandoah's attack. Rhaegan grabbed Shen and threw her off of Finarel, and her head hit a rock, stunning her.

Kimber released Bellamy, who she'd been close to killing, and rushed to Shen's side, fearing she'd been killed. However, Shen woke and immediately reacted with anger against Kimber, quickly seeing Bellamy in such a state beyond her. She begged Bellamy to get up, and was *so* relieved that he was alive, before she turned to Kimber, intending to kill her for harming her Good Fish. Kimber didn't want to fight Shen, and deflected as best she could, but eventually sank her fangs into Shenandoah's face. Shen could scarcely comprehend the pain, staggering away from Kimber as she released her.

Shenandoah bolted.

Bellamy tried to go after her, but he lost her, moving too slow due to the damage he'd taken in the attack. Shenandoah ran, seeking Alar, and eventually found him being attacked brutally by a white she-wolf: Ira. He kicked Ira away and her mate Faust - the *true* leader of Vale - came down on Alar like a wrathful god. Shenandoah rushed forward, begging Faust to leave Alar alone, *she* was the Queen, not Alar, Faust was attacking the wrong wolf. She was sobbing as she surrendered. As she begged, he realized Shenandoah was Wren's daughter, and Faust's attention was drawn to Ira as she suffered from Alar's attack.

Shenandoah and Alar were threatened once more with death, warned that if word came that they even *intended* to return to Vale, he would hunt them down and kill them. Shenandoah was so relieved, she helped Alar to his paws and the two of them departed the territory as quickly as their wounds would allow.

The battle of Vale was over, the resistance had won, and Shenandoah was a loner, an exiled queen stripped of her throne. A throne of *lies.*

She became highly protective of Alar as he recovered, ferociously fighting off Ranna when she came to make an attempt on her father's life. Bellamy eventually found her, and told her he wouldn't betray his vow to her, but she sent him away, too, not wanting him to be involved in what her life had become.

She struggled to hunt for herself and Alar. Winter was harsh. Fortunately, Sparrow entered her life once again, and they shared a meal. Dante - now grown up and going by the moniker Hellion - also helped her to hunt. Shen and Alar had settled in unclaimed lands close to Vektren, so she met with several of the Vektreni through the winter season, like Jerikoh again.

A loner named Shiloh also passed through the area, and helped Shenandoah to defend a kill against some loners. The fierce warrior women certainly earned one another's respect!

Hekate eventually approached her and offered to allow Shenandoah to come closer to Vektren's borders with Alar. In truth, Hekate wanted nothing to do with Alar, but thought Shenandoah was promising, and hoped she would join the pack (she never did).

Shenandoah found something like friendship in Jerikoh, who would help her hunt as the spring thaw arrived. She defended her space with Alar from two traveling wolves, Seven and Lazarus, attacking when they got too close. She didn't always remain in the area near Vektren, though - the call to adventure that she had experienced as a pup meant that she sometimes explored, ranging further to see what other territories had to offer. She was caught hunting in Fellfang by Ian and quickly shown off. She'd later get stuck in a thorn bush near Chandor and get aid from Kaen.

After returning to Vektren, Hekate asked her to join Vektren, feeling partly responsible for Shenandoah's fate. If Vektren had been there, perhaps the rebels wouldn't have killed Renier. They'd been brought, in part, to defend the King, after all. Shenandoah was stunned, genuinely touched by the overwhelming display of compassion and forgiveness, but told Hekate she couldn't without Alar and Raban.

Alar wasn't willing to join Vektren now - perhaps never - so Shenandoah remained in her strange half-life, partly between Vektren and partly between being a loner. She frequently met with the Vektreni, discussing the pack's culture with wolves like Alizarin, hunting frogs with Miron, and discussing other aspects of the pack with Isla. Discussions with Jerikoh (which were more and more frequent) lead to her leaning towards wanting to join Vektren. She wasn't a Vektreni yet, though, and felt no need to attack an Arynian who got caught in a pit trap, even though the pack was at war with Vektren. She discovered that this wolf was, in fact, Alar's son, Aivar! Jerikoh found them, and an argument about letting him go or not happened, before they eventually agreed to let Aivar go.

Things moved along.

And then Bellamy returned.

He tried to explain that he'd learned the truth of what had happened in Vale: Shenandoah had been manipulated and lied to her whole life, yes, but not by her packmates...by *Alar.* Shenandoah was furious he could say such a thing, and she sent him away again, outraged that he could have been swayed by the Valerians' lies.

Shortly after this, though, she overheard Raban and Alar having a conversation, and she realized, with a sickening feeling, that Bellamy had been right. Grief-stricken, she decided to abandon Alar, fleeing the area around Vektren to live as a wandering loner. She and Ranna met again as Ranna looked for her missing daughter, but the two didn't fight. Shenandoah revealed that she had learned the truth, and regretted having trusted him, before they parted ways again.

Grief-stricken over the state of her life, Shenandoah met other wolves with rage. She (accidentally) threw Teva from a cliff when the two crossed paths and fought, but had a revelation and decided to help Teva to recover. They navigated a canyon together and traveled for a short time before parting ways.

When winter came, she was alone for a time. Shen eventually gained company when her uncle, Enzo, was discovered! She brought him to a shelter from a blizzard, and the two reconnected. Enzo spoke to Shenandoah about the past, about the *truth*, of her father before and after the takeover of Vale, and she listened to every word. She was so grateful he was alright, and so sorry for all that had happened to him because of Alar. When the spring thaw came, Jerikoh found the two of them and told Shenandoah that Vektren were hunting for her.

Unwilling to endanger Enzo's life, Shenandoah said farewell to her uncle and set off with Jerikoh, who had a bounty on his own head for abandoning Vale. The pair were warned by a wolf named Rocko not to head towards Fellfang territory (they were under hostile new leadership), but they went that way anyways, and were caught by Calida - Shenandoah's half-aunt she'd met long ago. Calida was willing to let them go.

They went towards Vale, unknowingly, and were caught by Kyros near the territory. Shenandoah had a chance to speak to the new alpha, Loki, and settle things with him. They each explained what they knew of the truth, and the revelations they'd come to, and Shen expressed her remorse for all of it. Loki, knowing that she had been manipulated, was relieved she'd finally seen the truth, and he sent her away with his forgiveness, to continue her journey as a loner.

She had strong feelings for Jerikoh, she realized as they traveled. Shenandoah felt her was very dear to her, and in the face of such an uncertain future, she was relieved he was at her side. Eventually, their journey would cross paths with Enzo again, and had a joyous reunion, before parting again.

And then - once again - Shenandoah met with Bellamy.

They had a tearful reunion, with Shenandoah apologizing for everything she'd accused her Good Fish of, every time she sent him away, hating herself for hurting him. Bellamy accepted her apology, and told her that he would never leave her side again. Shenandoah, Bellamy, and Jerikoh spent a year together as loners, keeping away from Vektren, until eventually, they decided that leaving the Domain was the only way they'd be able to live their lives free from fear.

Shenandoah left the Domain for a fresh start, with her loyal knight, her Good Fish Bellamy, and her best friend Jerikoh, at her side. None of them have been seen since.

## Trivia

* Shenandoah won **"Most Inspiring Character Development"** in the 2018 Superlatives! Here's what the admin team said about this win: "Few characters have been faced with such devastating upheaval throughout their lives. Shen’ s journey from puppet queen to wandering exile has made her plenty of friends - and enemies. Rather than fall victim to her vices, these challenges have led her to grow in ways that are undeniably inspirational!"
	+ She also came runner-up in **"Best All Around."**
* Shenandoah is large she-wolf, and her father gave her intense self-defense training since she was old enough to walk, so fighting is something that Shenandoah is quite good at.
* She always sort of looks like she is irritated.
* Shenandoah is not good at relationships anymore. She finds it very hard to trust anyone.
* The scars on her face were given to her by Kimber. The one on her foreleg is from Ranna.

## External Links

* Official Application Sheet
* Wildfire-Tama's deviantART Gallery