𝕐𝕝𝕚𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕎𝕠𝕝𝕗-ℂ𝕙𝕚𝕝𝕕𝕣𝕖𝕟 𝕠𝕗 𝕆𝕤𝕤𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕒: 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔾𝕦𝕚𝕕𝕖

Introduction

Canis lupus yliastrum have the souls of humans, but due to reasons that shall be explained in this wiki, have forgotten their true origin, nature and destiny. They are therefore "stuck" in their wolf forms, and are reborn as such, becoming a kind of subspecies of semi-supernatural wolves. They exist in a state of understanding the wilderness they inhabit – much more than they would be as humans – but their lives and interactions with other animals also leave them with a sense of not quite belonging as they should.

Yliaster is the story of how these strange wolves organise their society, values, laws, how they will become aware of the truth of their existence, and what they will decide to do with it.

It begins with the founder, Stella Signata, from whom the Stellan bloodline springs. The time period of her rule until the last Stellan queen/king shall be referred to as the Mythic Era.

Note: this is only a wiki – a guide to Yliastrian worldbuilding and lore. Narrative storytelling will be shared in a different thread once this is complete. This wiki is made as a reference tool for myself as well as anyone else interested in following the story or even joining in at any point.

Note 2: formatting will be improved during the course of editing... Right now it's mostly just to get the words down lol.

Thanks for reading!

As the map above illustrates, there are no borders in this world, at least not in a way that wolves would understand it.

The main point of interest is, of course, Yliaster proper.

Once a unified pack under a single ruler, the end of King Kyllikke's reign and the introduction of the Wildkyn from the northeast changed the usage of the name to that of a place, specifically when the indigenous inhabitants were driven out.

Yliaster is located in a mossy boreal/coniferous forest, within reach of snow-capped mountains, lakes, rivers and a waterfall. To the west, stormy seas and jagged cliffs lie in wait.

The habitat experiences a moderately high rainfall all year round, frequent fog and bitterly white cold winters. There is not much difference between spring and summer when in the shade of the forest or mountain shadows, but it's sufficiently warm enough that the fur of the wolves necessitates a shedding to ensure appropriate adaptation to rising temperatures.

𝑴𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒄 𝑬𝒓𝒂

The Mythic Era refers to the time period beginning with Queen Stella Signata's rule and ending with the last ruler of her bloodline (which has yet come to pass).
A system of calculating time and observation of the seasons or lunar cycles had not yet been invented in the earlier period of this era, so the specific dates of events are unfortunately lost or unknown. However, word of mouth – primarily the domain of Yliaster's chosen Speaker – may give us a sense of the seasons and there are also some indications of a monarch's year of rule.

The Mythic Era is named as such because during this early time in Yliaster's history, a wolf's sense of identity primarily came from his or her association with the "other world", commonly referred to as Ossoria, the legendary ancestral home of Stella Signata and all of her kynfolk. It is a time when magic, superstition, nature and wolfkind are abstract and difficult to distinguish between each other, let alone what stands as truth and what is a belief. More importantly, it is a time of fog-like forgetting in Yliaster's central Quest of Recall.

While no one can be exactly sure when Yliaster as a pack was born, it is generally considered to have occured about 600 years ago. This has prompted the creation of the Stellan Calendar, which has gone through a few tweaks since its inception. It is believed there are eleven months and at least five distinct seasons.

✾ ✾ ✾

The birth of any society - or even entire worlds - begin with chaos and abrupt beginnings and ends, before it settles into long-term stability and (mostly) gradual change. Such was also the case with Yliaster, with only the pack's monarch standing constant as a lodestar. Its early years are marked by frequent shifts in roles, values, territories, laws, as well as relationships.

Past Rulers of the Mythic Era:

Queen Stella Signata – mate of Seamróg, mother of the Prince Mikke of Ylðunn.
King Kyllikke Ava'al - mate of Lyconia, father of Étgudach, Vistula and Syngri Sóknardalr.
Queen Vistula Ava'al - mate of Áḳï the Ancestor, mother of Ilmar and Fiadh.

✾ ✾ ✾

✾ 𝕊𝕚𝕘𝕟𝕚𝕗𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝔻𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕤 ✾

^{*work in progress}

1SE (sometime in autumn) - Stella Signata creates a pack in the mountains. The pack comes to be known henceforth as Yliaster.

622SE, Second of Viindir (late winter) - Fiadh Ava'al and King Tingståd Hefensson establish the Ravenspeak Oath, merging Clans of Hefensson and Ava'al into one Clan in order to combat increasing Varngaard hostilities within Yliaster.