Oo-len-pyur.
First of her line — given the name Ashentree for the colors
of her pelt, resembling a log that had been horribly scorched.
Honored member of the Greater Circle.
Quiet and shy. Keeps mostly to herself. Was found as a pup on the outskirts of the Aeskīr's territory while Caelesi contained the Hawk; with no indication of where she came from, Ūlinpyr was Ravakaia Fox-Smiler's litter until she was old enough to be weaned and undergo the Ritual of Circles.
Ravakaia was the last member of the long and storied Fox-Smiler line, and she was far from stupid. She knew just by looking at her pups that most — if not all — would be thrown into the Lesser Circle the moment Caelesi laid eyes on them. She herself had barely scraped by on her bloodlines' prestige. But now with that prestige faded, and her pups on the brink of being torn away from her, Ravakaia taught her puppies everything she knew:
Look for as many medicinal herbs as you can. If you get an infected wound, it's over.
Hunt rabbits and mice instead of attempting large game. Practice as much as you can before your Trial.
And most importantly:
When they let you go, run and never look back.
Ūlinpyr and her adopted siblings were lucky, in a sense. Ravakaia was right — they all fell into the Lesser Circle together. One flick of Caelesi's eyes over their dull pelts was all it took. The rest of the pack sneered at them, but the siblings knew enough from their mother to treat their Circle as a blessing. They hunted together, fished together, snuck into the Herbalist's den to study herbs together — anything they could to ensure their chances of survival. By the time the Trial of Wilds came, the siblings were more than confident of their success.
No one knows what really happened to the Fox-Smiler siblings as their Trial stretched on. Ūlinpyr shuts down and leaves whenever she's asked about it. The only information they have is that a week and two days after being chased into the Wilds, Ūlinpyr staggered out of the forest covered in blood and trembling in panic.
She was one of very few Lesser Circle pups to succeed at the Trial — but at a cost so heavy she refused to speak it aloud.
Now Ūlinpyr works in the Greater Circle as a pup-sitter. She barely speaks at all, often staring into the distance with nothing in her gaze. When her daughter Taramé was chosen to become a Godshell, Ūlinpyr didn't react at all — just stared into her bone-white eyes as the gaze of a stranger took over them.
Chased Record.
