Born From Ash (Book I of The Flame Trilogy)

It's important when reading this story to understand that the rules, ideologies and characters are different to what I usually write and the world we live in.

This is essentially a disclaimer. This is how things work in this book, don't like it? Then don't read it.

Concerning Rank;

Alpha- leader of the pack, they are dominant but do not control the pack. A good Alpha puts the rest of the pack before himself and his mate.

Alpha Female- only leading female position. Is to stand by the Alpha and support him. She is below him.

Beta- second in command, is second council to the Alpha female.

Delta- Beta in training, will replace the beta if requested by the Alpha. Essentially Third in command.

Gamma- in charge of war decisions, will lead the pack if going to war. Does not make the decision to go to war, that is the Alphas job.

Epsilon- Pack Warriors

Scout- Tracker/ patrol Wolves

Kappa- Regular wolves

- Kappa are further subdivided into its male and female counterparts. The men run the structures of the pack whilst females run the social inner workings of the pack. Females do not ‘work’ at all!

- Relatives of Ranking wolves are noted as Kappa, immediate relation does not mean an elevated Rank.

- Rank is a ‘birthright’ and can be challenged by other wolves but there is only a certain number of wolves that can hold each title. (I.e. there can only be one Alpha)

Elder- The older people in the pack, have usually been loyal to the pack for a very long time are usually very wise and another means of council to the Alpha.

Healers- Pack doctors, may have subordinates/ apprentices.

Omega- Lowest rank within the pack, are usually the physically smallest wolves. Mainly care for the pups of the pack.

Lone wolves- These are wolves who have chosen to leave their pack, usually on holes of finding or starting a new pack which better suits their needs. If in the wild for long enough they become rogue.

Rogues- wolves who have succumbed to their inner beast and lose all humanity. Typically, lone wolves who go too long without a pack.

Concerning Mates;

It is important to understand that mates are not destined but unconsciously chosen.

Mates are chosen unconsciously by the soul and a bond will only be created if both souls agree to the bond. It goes beyond a physical connection, this is a spiritual connection in which a wolf recognizes something that they cannot live without in another wolf.

There are still sparks when mates touch but there is no such thing as a mate pull. It is just a human thing to be attracted to your significant other but there is no supernatural pull.

This means that there is no such thing as an ‘abusive’ mate. This is in the sense that Mates will not intentionally hurt their significant other as they are connected in every way for life and maybe even further than that. Do not mistake dominance for abuse.

There cannot be a one-sided bond. If you choose someone to be your mate but they don’t accept, the idea is that your soul will eventually find someone who will accept. Just because a person acts like they love someone does not mean their soul has made a connection. You can still fall in love without being soul-fated to someone.

Mates are typically found at a mating ‘conference’ of sorts where all packs around the world are required to gather and mingle with other Wolf societies. It is rare to find a mate outside of the mating conference.

Mated wolves still go to this conference as it is also a time for the entire species to get together and form laws etc.

Concerning Packs;

Pack groups are a relative size of 50-60 wolves.

Once a pack exceeds 80 wolves, the hierarchy appears to crumble as an Alpha cannot effectively care for all wolves.

Wolves are social creatures, much like humans but we are also fickle and as such packs of this size usually break into smaller packs.

On rare occasions there is also a possibility of a pack becoming a dictatorship, whereby there is one ruler which usually involves a small group of wolves who act as a counsel to this leader. Often these packs are oppressive and unfair and due to the nature of wolves it rarely succeeds.

Concerning Destiny;

Although before I say there is no mate pull and mates aren’t forced to be together by destiny, it is still a large part of the tale.

Imagine it as the path you were born onto and destiny is the key life events that must happen. When you make key decisions at these forks in the roads, you make decisions that shape your destiny.

Concerning Transformation;

This is something I firmly believe and have stuck to in the other werewolf books that I have written (and maybe will write in future who knows...).

The transformation is painful. It is every bone snapping, it is your teeth being ripped from your gums, your eyes being pulled from the sockets. It is gruesome. It is in no way easy or quick.

First shifts are the worst and can last up to hours. No matter how many times you shift, it will always be that painful- it does get faster but it is never instantaneous. The fastest shift that a Wolf can undergo is 15 minutes. Yes, it takes a whole 15 minutes to shift.

Wolves shift into, well wolves. On occasion a half-shift occurs this is usually a result of an extreme emotional response. When this happens, the wolf shifts into a hybrid form halfway between human and wolf. Teeth, claws, eyes and some fur.

In the case of hybrids, forced shifts occur on every blood moon. This is a full transformation into BOTH creatures in them. This makes the transformation both dangerous and far more gruesome than regular wolves. Blood moons occur every 2-3 months.

If it isn’t a blood moon then hybrids can only half shift, but this will still include elements of both creatures within them. As stated in the next section they are highly unnatural and can only be made.

Concerning Hybrids;

Hybrids are genetically modified creatures, there is no ‘natural hybrid’, mostly because interspecies mates are rare and incompatible. Incompatible in this sense means they cannot produce offspring rather than romantically incompatible.

Interspecies couples are also rare as most species don’t get along or are oblivious to the existence of other species all together. Several species no longer exist, and have died out as a result of hunting, or natural occurrences.

Genetic modifications are a result of several years of testing, it is still early in it’s testing and very first test subjects would have been injected with DNA from other animals, not supernatural creatures.

There are a small group which has been tested with the DNA of other supernatural creatures but there are very few survivors. The most prominent hybrids are usually modified with Demon DNA. They are known as Class A hybrids. The most effective way to hurt or kill these demons is with the pure element Theras. Theras is extremely rare and is a magical property so it is found solely in the realm of Valria.

It is also a painful, invasive experimentation. Some subjects would not have survived and the ones that did experience increased aggression, memory loss and other possible side effects.

Concerning the Moon Goddess;

The moon Goddess starts out as Artemis, the Greek goddess of the moon and the hunt however even that is unclear to the wolves as there were several tales of a moon goddess.

There was the Titan Goddess Selene as well as Hecate, but this is not all.

As times move forwards, things have a way of adapting and changing with it and so the Moon Goddess develops many names- all have common themes of life, love, mercy and of course the moon.

She is still very much a Goddess to the wolves but one with many names. Some wolves take it more seriously than others and some disregard it all together. Kind of like modern day religion.

Concerning Origins;

The origin of the wolves also explains their connection to the moon and why they hold the moon Goddess as an important figure. Please note that this is fictitious, some parts are inspired by mythology, but this is a work completely created as a part of this book. As a result, it may not be 100% accurate, but I have twisted things to my convenience for this novel.

In Greek Mythology Zeus punished King Lycaon of Arcadia for his arrogance by transforming him into a wolf. The myth goes that Lycaon had his son killed then roasted his flesh and served it to Zeus at a banquet. Zeus wasn’t very happy with the insolence and cursed him and all future generations.

As far as mates go, this was a blessing from the goddess Artemis, who governed the moon and the hunt. She owned hunting dogs and was fond of all the wild creatures she governed over. After a few generations she found it unfair that all the werewolves were being punished for one man’s sins- being lower than Zeus she couldn’t revoke the curse so instead she gave them a simple blessing. Soulmates.

So, the wolves hold Artemis responsible for the leniency and worship her for her mercy, they also take their origins seriously and do not disrespect the gods for further punishment.

As time moves on, the wolves focus more on praising the moon goddess and focus less on their fear of the other gods.

Concerning Location

The story takes place in the realm of Innonia. It is quite young in its formation and thus can be likened to a state much like ‘Pangea’.

Its relative size is somewhat similar to what we know as the Asian continent, although it could be slightly larger, stretching to be approximately 45 million km squared.

This land is divided between the packs- of which there are 12 in total. This includes packs which no longer exist. The size of each pack is relative to its members, so packs with smaller numbers will have less land.

Packs which no longer exist become classed as no man’s land, otherwise termed as neutral territory. Growth in territory is usually discussed at the aforementioned annual mates conference however some Alphas may try to take land by force which usually results in war.

Concerning Copyright

This is my own original work, any translations, reproductions and distributions without consent are subject to copyright.

Any mentions to real people or places are purely coincidental. This is a work of fiction.

© 2020 Bernie R. Jones All Rights Reserved.