THE COURT-lore

The Court can be found here

What is the Court

The Court is a cult-like group of wolves who live in the deepest parts of the desert. They take control of the wolves that they find, and the ones they take from the far away territories, and sell them to wolves like you. Often preaching their good deeds, for ‘helping these poor lost souls find new homes.’ They are led by the King, a typical ruler with an eye for riches. Him and his officials are the face of the Court, wolves you will see early on. They are considered untouchable. There are many wolves behind the scene of the Court, but they are expendable, unimportant. They may not speak or associate themselves with the officials, and must praise them for as long as they may live.

how the court came about

There are two different tales when it comes to the origins of the Court. If you ask a wolf, they will tell you that it came about after the great flood. Wolves stumbled across the Court, fatigued and disoriented. They knew not their names or who they were, suspicious right. This is a lie, as you might have guessed. The real reason is as follows. The King had planned out an attack on bordering territories for a while now. You might be asking, but didnt the Court live in the deepest desert? Why are there so many packs? Well, there is a very large oasis just out of the Court’s territory, shared by three packs plus them. It provides them with life. Now, back to the story. He took each group of his officials to each pack, slaughtering their leaders in the night. The prophet had their own task. They had been spending weeks slipping through each pack’s land, leaving traces of themself all around camps and favoured spots. This night, they moved between all the sleeping wolves, burning peyote. Peyote is a hallucinogen, and caused most of the wolves to have strange dreams about the prophet, since paranoia had been high in the camps due to their random appearances. Using this tactic, the King was able to offer his shelter to all of these wolves, in return for their territory and riches. Of course they trusted him, the Prophet had been so clear in their dreams. This is how the Court came to power across the desert, with loyal subjects who were malleable under the foot of their own leader’s murderers.

What does the Court look like

The Court doesn’t look like much from the outside, it opens as a small crack in a rock wall. But when one is in a sketchy business they must keep a low profile. But the crack in the rock soon opens up into a large spacious cave, there are paths leading to two other sections. One for the kraal, and one for the King and his officials.

the territory 

The Court has what they call the day and night sector. The day sector is land that can be reached while traveling for most of the day. The land there is a lot more fertile, and the oasis provides them with food, shelter and water. Most members of the Court live and work here, only scouts and an exempt few journey to the night sector, which means over a day's walk.  This land came from the packs that the King took over, though he doesn’t use it much. The territory of the Court is very rocky, not the beautiful sandy dunes you might expect from a usual desert.

about the court members-how they joined, why and a bit of backstory

rules of the court, what you must follow and what will get you banished

The kraal-what is it, how does it work, why is it implemented 

The kraal is where the wolves for sale are kept. They are kept away in the lowest ‘level’ of the Court, away from the eyes of the lower and middle class. There is a group of wolves in contact with the Successor who patrol the territory and kidnap any rogue or pack wolves they stumble across, you would be surprised how many they can collect! They take them back to the Court, where the Prophet works on them, muddling their memories through the use of herbs. They are then sent into the kraal. Wolves who don’t follow the law also get taken to the kraal. This was implemented first as a punishment, but the King couldn’t help himself once he saw the profit he could potentially make, and started his own wolf stealing business!

The ranks of the court-what are their purpose, how they interact, address each other and live together

There are only three ranks in the Court, ranks are very important for the wolves, and growing up in such a strict hierarchy seems normal for them. Although a wolf from outside the Court would probably be appalled. The first rank is the Officials. The king and his own court belong to this, they are the untouchable ones. Perfect in every way an surrounded by riches, a wolf from any rank must not look at them, and only speak when spoken to. Wolves lower themselves in the presence of the officials, and may address them in any manor of extravagance they see fit. The officials also have different paths out of the Court, gardens and areas just for them. To keep the superiors away from the others.

Wolves belonging to the second rank are called Acolytes, devoted to the belief of their rulers. Most wolves fall into this category, they are the lower to middle class, working and living for the Officials. They are to do as they are told, and go about their business. There is nothing special about the Acolytes, apart from their different roles in the Court. Each Acolyte has to pay their respects and attention to all of the Officials, but chooses one to devote themselves to. Their job is dependant on the Official who they choose.

Then there are the wolves of the lowest class. if a wolf commits an act of treason, or doesn't respect the Officials in the way they should, they get cast out into the desert, shunned by all. Wolves who get cast out will die if they stay in the desert for too long alone, so most return to the Court, since the gates are still open if they come back. Wolves who survive and come back are referred to as Dusties, and are given tasks like feeding the pack or checking borders. These tasks are very strenuous in the desert, and not having a Official to devote themselves to makes their time at the Court very hard. But much better than dying in the desert. If a Dusty is repeats what they did wrong they get sent to the Kraal.

The rulers-the king and his family, how one must address/interact with them

Religion of the court-prayer, ceremonies and general beliefs

Practices, customs and habits of the Court

More will be added as it goes :)