Mitsui lounged on the rock in the moonlight. Sakako and Makako were at the base of the knoll watching for intruders. Not that anyone dared to come near the knoll. It was well inside their territory, and even the deer and rabbits knew enough not to climb it. The pups would be safe up here.

The four pups were playing in front of the rock. Two of them were jumping on each other, grabbing at their throats and tossing the other to his back. The female of the litter was moving a little away from the rock, pouncing at a moth that she could never seem to quite catch. It was all good training for them. For in a few weeks they would be joining the others on the hunt.

The final pup though was sitting quietly on the ground and looking around himself. His gaze wandered far and he had a serious look in his eyes.

Mitsui stood very slowly and stretched. Age made him move slower than the others, and it was possible that arthritis was settling into his bones. But he couldn’t show signs of weakness to the younger wolves of the clan, or they might usurp his position. They might act like family most of the time, but when it comes to leadership only the strong survive.

“Young pup, you seem bothered,” he lay himself on the grass next to the serious pup.

“It is not that Elder. It is just so new. Only yesterday there was the cave and Tsuzune. And now there is all this.” The pup also lay himself down so as not to seem to be putting himself above Mitsui.

“Ah, I understand. We were all like that once. Some adapt quickly, and some just don’t notice. It’s hard to tell which is which when it comes down to it. But eventually all wolves must take stock of the world.” He glanced around to see where the other pups were. “Come here pups. It’s time to learn. There will be more playing later.”

The pups whimpered momentarily at not being able to play, but they all followed their elders’ commands and lay on the grass together.

“It is time for your first lessons in the Way of the Wolf. This may seem like a lot to take in, but be patient, and all will make sense.”

Mitsui sat up, resting back on his haunches, as he started to tell the pups about the world.

“This is our world. All that you can see is what is. If you face into the wind you can look out and see the Undrinkable Water. Many wolves have tried to drink, and it is thus named for a reason. Do not drink from it. If it doesn’t send you mad it will leave you dead. There are some creatures in it, sometimes they can be seen jumping from the water, but they are too far out to catch. And there are some creatures out there that are bigger than wolves. Much bigger. The carcasses of which sometimes float onto land. This be your warning. The water is dangerous.

Before the water lies our namesake. The Hot Sands. A burning, shifting mass of sand. Be careful when on it. During the day it will burn the feet of any wolf silly enough to go on it. And at night it can be deceiving, with the level of the water constantly changing. There is little to eat there though, and shouldn’t be any need to go there.

The rest of the land is the forest we are in, right up until the edge of the world. Those mountains in the distance mark the edge of the world. There is nothing beyond them, and only death awaits those who try to climb them. The ones to your left arm named Edge of Reason, and the ones to your right Mountains High.

At the point where the two ranges meet, though, is where our god lives. Monok’s Palace rests between the two mountain ranges. No wolf has need to go there. The Longtooth has declared it off limits. In fact, the Longtooth has declared the mountains to be off limits as well. So you had best heed these warnings, for those who go against the Longtooth only invite trouble.”

Mitsui paused for a while to make sure the pups were taking it all in. The four of them were now on their haunches too, looking around at the features that he had been pointing out to them. It was good to see that they were taking an interest. When they finally realised he had stopped they turned to listen again.

“Let me continue then, curious ones.

From here, on top of our knoll, you can see the knolls of the other clans. In total there are five clans within the world. There is the Hot Sands Clan, of which you are part of. We control all of the Hot Sands, from end of the world to end of the world. We also control the forests around this knoll.

That knoll towards the Edge of Reason belongs to the Oak Wood Clan. They control a considerable amount of forest bordering onto the mountains. They have a good stock of deer there, and some goats as well. They seem to like breeding at the base of the mountains.

To the right of them is the Crystal Glade Clan. They are bordered by all the other clans and sometimes make raids into other territories when their prey eludes them. But they know their places and always go back.

The next one along is the Scarred Tree Clan. So called for the lightning blasted tree which stands atop their knoll. They border both the Mountains High and the Hot Sands.

And the final clan is called the Holy Guardians. They control the lands directly before Monok’s Palace. And that is where the Longtooth spends most of his time.”

Mitsui had to stop again as one of the pups coughed. It was the one who had been sitting seriously.

“Yes pup? You have a question?”

“You mentioned this Longtooth a couple of times now. What is it? Or who is it?”

“Ah, yes, good question. Let’s see.

There are five clans in the world. Each clan is ruled over by one wolf. In this case it is Hakai. He is the strongest in the clan. With them also is a female, Tsuzune. Hakai came to power by defeating the previous clan leader. But above these five clan leaders is the Longtooth. There is only ever one Longtooth. He is never challenged for leadership like the clan leaders. He is always chosen from among them. And a new one won’t be chosen till the current one dies. That is the way with the Longtooth.

He is of all the clans and apart from them at the same time. He travels from clan to clan a lot, just to check up on things. But he never stays too long. He just appears one day then leaves another.

Be careful around him. The current one is wily. He has been around for a few generations now. He was Longtooth when I was born. The way you tell who he is? Aside from the fact he has nearly divine powers when it comes to hunting and stalking? His eyes. Your eyes are currently blue. By the time you join the pack on a real hunt your eyes will turn to yellow like mine. But the Longtooth’s eyes? Pure white.

I have not seen it before, but they say the eyes turn white when they assume the mantel of Longtooth, replacing the one before.

He is Monok to our eyes. The embodiment of our god Monok, who resides over us all.”

Mitsui let out a yawn.

“That is enough for this night I think. Too much for your little minds anyway.”

Two of the pups had fallen asleep while listening, while another was busy watching some fireflies flit across the grass. The only one who had paid attention was of course the curious one.

“Pup, enjoy your time on the knoll. Play. There’s plenty of time for the rest of the world when you’re older. You don’t even have a name yet. You shouldn’t be worrying about anything.”

“But it is so big, Elder,” he paused for a second and his brow furrowed. “A name? What is that? And when do I get one?”

Mitsui laughed out loud, drawing the attention of the sisters for a brief moment before they turned back to their duties. “A name is how we tell who is who. We can’t just keep calling all four of you pup. How would you know which one we were talking to? And as to when you get a name? In a few weeks you will go hunting with us. The first night you will just watch. But then you will be allowed to join. And when you strike down your first kill, that’s when you get given a name.”

Mitsui moved back over to the rock to lie down again. He dozed with one eye open, watching the curious pup as he sat there looking up into a partially cloudy sky, a few stars blazing through.

Some howls could be heard in the distance. They grew closer and closer. The clan had been successful on the hunt. There had been enough meat for everyone.

He turned his eyes to the bottom of the knoll. Sakako and Makako had moved towards where the howls had come from and were waiting for the others to appear through the trees. The pups had wakened at the howls and ran down behind the sisters to see what was happening.

Slowly the wolves of the clan began emerging from the tree line and towards the knoll. Towards the back two of the wolves were dragging part of a carcass. Most of the meat had already been pulled off it, but there was still plenty there for three who had stayed to keep watch.

Fuyumi split from the clan and headed down into the den, two rabbits dangling from her jaws. She had been successful for Tsuzune. It looked to Mitsui that there might not be any raids on Oak Wood if Tsuzune got her strength up. Maybe that was for the best.

Four of the wolves moved to a pup each. They had eaten more than their fill purposefully, and regurgitated the partially digested meat for the pups. They weren’t up to pulling it from the animal yet.

Slowly Mitsui got up and trotted to where they were placing the carcass. In a few weeks things would get interesting. The pups would be going on their first hunt.