Daneel

This is the forest primeval. The murmuring pines and the hemlocks,
Bearded with moss, and in garments green, indistinct in the twilight,
Stand like Druids of old, with voices sad and prophetic,
Stand like harpers hoar, with beards that rest on their bosoms.
--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
A Bite Worse Than His Bark: A Brief Discourse Regarding the Monster Wolf Daneel; Or, Favored With the Fae; Or, Not in Kludyhst Anymore; Or, Wagging Out; Or, So Majestic As to Give Paws
On the world of Lathyrus, beyond the burgeoning human trade ports and the small enclaves of the ophidian Lamga-Nagmia, there exists a towering and ancient forest which few civilized persons dare to enter. Within it, strange spirit creatures wander about and the animals grow to tremendous sizes. The humanoid races refer to the forest by many names, most common among them Kludyhst. To the beasts that wander its untamed paths, it is merely known as “home.”

Unbeknownst to Lathyrus’ civilized folk, the Kludyhst Forest’s animals display a level of intelligence unseen among lesser creatures. They possess a markable level of cognition, either as a result supernatural influences, or simply because of the overwhelming vital force suffusing the air between each knot and branch. The solitary shamans and nature mages that dare to live within the forest have reported seeing the animals pausing to hold conversation with one another, form extensive communal dens, and even recognize a certain organized hierarchy between species.

At the top of this animal chain of command sits a powerful family of wolves. Although the laws of survival and predation still reign within the forest, it is the wolves that see to it that nature can continue to run its course without interference from humanity. The pack alpha, as old and strong as Kludyhst itself, leads his pups on daily patrols to the forest outskirts to make sure that civilization does not infringe on their home. This has had the effect of drawing would-be heroes and hunters to the edge of the forest to challenge the wolves on their marches. Within the human kingdoms, great acclaim is placed on anyone who is able to fell a Kludyhst wolf. The wolves have become accustomed to the occasional skirmish with the outside world’s bipeds, even making a game of becoming infamous enough to earn a name from them. Names possess little meaning to beasts, but the wolves recognize the weight they carry with their foes and see it as a mark of real strength to be given one.

The wolf prince Daneel has earned a reputation not only for swallowing members of hunting parties whole, but for wandering farther from the forest outskirts than any wolf has before, to the point that he has been spotted outside the coastal center of the human empire.

There is no mistaking Daneel; like other members of his pack, he stands taller than most warriors, with his shoulders reaching seven feet high. The magic of Kludyhst has marked many of its oldest beasts with deep green swirling patterns on their fur, but Daneel is different in that his white fur possesses bright purple markings. Some say that the different patterns designate Daneel as favored by the fae spirits that inhabit the forest. Why else would the beast be able to escape capture so easily on the nights he’s been spotted? The spirits loan him their magic in exchange for the endless amusement they derive from seeing the humans fail to catch him, surely! That or he’s a seven foot monster-wolf that can easily outpace any man.

Whatever the case, there is no question the wolf prince is formidable and cunning. Anyone encountering him should watch themselves carefully, lest they be lost forever between his hungry jaws.

The Hither and Thither Expanded; Or, Drawing Back the Curtain!
The wolf prince Daneel is the alternate universe analogue of the goddess-overseeing Lord of Order, Daniel. He is not his former life, his blood relative, or a close acquaintance. He's the Obrove if Obrove were an intelligent wolf monster, while the former Archon is Obrove in the form of a powerful cosmic entity working to maintain universal equilibrium!

More of the Obrove “pack” can be found on their alt list, here.

There are more "Danalogues" to come, eventually, so we kindly ask that you...

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