Welcome to The Wolves of Winter - a series of short stories set in the land of Rhoderica in the centuries before the Elves invaded.
Men of Winterland stand tall,
While all around you kingdoms fall,
Embrace your steel, prepare your steed,
Ride to place of direst need.
Fear not the path you tread,
Fill your enemies with dread,
Men of Winterland we call,
Ride forth to save us all.
Men of Winter – anonymous circa 500 Year of the Light
History
Stories of the Wolves of Winter first began to circulate around the firesides of the northern towns of Rhoderica in the 5th century of the Light. The stories of Rulnik, Torbad and Yanuk were firmly established by the 550s, and the popular poem above set to music sometime around the turn of the 6th century of the Light.
The Wolves of Winter were a secret organisation formed by King Stephen of Westumbria in the wake of the first Nordakin invasion in the early 400s. The incursion of the white-skinned savages taught the King that his line of castles ringing the north coast was not enough to guarantee the security of his kingdom. He needed a more subtle weapon, and so the Wolves of Winter were born.
Keeping to the shadows in times of peace, these elite warriors surfaced in times of direst need and in places of danger, snuffing out potential threats to the throne and helping to maintain a balance in the politics of the north.
Today in Rhoderica, the legend of the Wolves is as popular as ever. They remind people of a simpler time before the elves came to tear their country in two.
The origins of this secret society of warriors can be found in The Wolves of Winter Part 1. Part 2 will emerge later this spring.
The Wolves of Winter series
In the remote town of Greendale, hidden away from the rest of Rhoderica in a sleepy hollow, young Thomas turns to his grandfather for entertainment. The mysterious Mallakai tells Tom of the Wolves of Winter. Mallakai's tales are so vivid it's as if the old man lived through them; and what lies within the mysterious trinket on his grandfather's stone mantel?
The Wolves of Winter Part 1 - Available for download now in the 'Chapters' section
In the ice-bound stronghold of Castle Bronin, an uneasy peace has been established with the Nordakin - the 'ghosts'. One night, a terror rises from beneath the ice and it is left to Sergeant Rulnik to save the fort from disaster. Soon he learns that more than the lives of the castle dwellers may be at stake, and a desperate race through Winterland ensues to save King Stephen's most northerly province from disaster.
The Wolves of Winter Part 2 - Available for download now in the 'Chapters' section.
Captain Rulnik seeks out threats to King Stephen's reign, using the shadows to do the jobs that ordinary soldiers cannot take on. With his fellow Wolves of Winter Torbad and Yanuk, he heads to Winterland once more where someone or rather something has been interrupting the King's mail coaches. This is more than the sabotage of letters. The coaches themselves have been torn asssunder and the passengers devoured. Can Rulnik and his team find out who is behind the attacks and save the fishing port of Heliop from ruination?
The Wolves of Winter Part 3 - Coming Spring 2011 to this website...
Mallakai has convinced his grandson Thomas of the dangers of his father's plan to open up the Great North Road. Neither the King's Decree, nor his son's vehement protestations can sway Mallakai from his opposition to the scheme.
The respected elder of Greendale recognises young blood is needed if disaster is to be averted. Thomas willingly takes up the mission to protect Westumbria from the worst of the Winterland horrors. With his grandfather's ring fastened on a chain about his neck, and the stories of Rulnik, Torbad and Yanuk in his heart, the young Lakelander joins the work gang heading for the Kalapatians.
Yet not even Mallakai could have foreseen the dangers lurking beyond the sheltering curtain of the Stephentine Line. A desperate rescue, a pitched battle and the resurection of an old institution are just a few of the highlights of the long-awaited climax to the Wolves of Winter series.