Grey Wolf
Grey Wolf is the tsar of all wolfkind. It is said that he claims divine pedigree, and also kinship with the princes of the Alferovichi line. There is tell that he himself was a magus and volkhv in the days before the conversion to the True Confession, and helped a young prince of Dubno acquire the famed Firebird.
Since the Conversion, the way of the Noriki and the Grey Wolf parted. He became a loner, and roamed the woods in search of vengeance against the kinspeople who betrayed him, and siring a new generation of wolves, whom he planned to lead in a war against the princes and the Church.
It was this Grey Wolf that the Serpent Slayers met on route from Ladeisk to Malinka. The meeting was foreshadowed by Danifa and her band - Lokan's adopted family. They told their named brother that the egg swallowed by his companion Agapia drew all creatures of darkness to her, and if they devoured her, the power would be transferred to them, and they would help usher in Grey Wolf's return. They then cornered the Serpent Slayers at a huge oak tree, where a portal into their master's realm was located, and tricked Agapia into jumping through it.
After her companions followed her, they found themselves inside Grey Wolf's realm. The realm was girded by a dense wood, and a huge wooden fortress of thick, living, intertwined trees stood in its midst. The entry into the fortress was a large wolf's maw, and the Serpent Slayers were invited to enter by a wolf shapechanger named Kolovul, who, they later learned, was Grey Wolf's lieutenant. They then appeared in a wooden chamber, and heard Grey Wolf's low, booming, disembodied voice. The voice thanked Lokan and Tserg, his brother, for bringing Agapia to him, and for heeding his call. It then tells everyone else that in the interests of fair play, it will let them go to prepare for the assault of the wolf people, who are gathering to take back what was unjustly taken from them. It explicates that the Children of Darkness (i.e. his people) used to live in harmony with the Children of Light (or the Children of Dazhbog), and that the Children of Darkness used to hold leading positions as princes and priests. But with the coming of the New Faith , the Children of Light turned against their allies and leaders, and tried to destroy them or drive them away. Now, in possession of the egg, they will avenge themselves on those who wronged them. When Lokan interjected that the Children of Light have the numbers on their side, the voice answers that all creatures of Darkness - nechist', nezhit', and even some of Lokan's companions, like Zorina and Zalyn will hear his call, and fall under his sway. Humans can decide if they want to seek a place for themselves under the new order; if they choose wrongly, they will be destroyed. Lokan admitted that Grey Wolf had a point, and is then sent out, with Tserg, to rejoin his pack.
In response, the rest of the companions felt like backing out is the right thing to do under the circumstances, but Yuri refused to abandon Agapia, even in the face of Svetlana telling him she was pregnant. After everyone left, Kolovul stepped into the chamber, and physically subdued the wounded and weakened Yuri, though his unconscious body was thrown out of the portal the next day. Some of the companions then continued on to Malinka, to warn the people taking care of the archbishop's estate about Grey Wolf's threat. But in a few days, Grey Wolf's army of 50 wolves, including some rather large specimens, arrived at the gates of Malinka. Grey Wolf himself directed them from a hilltop overlooking the estate, but first, he disgorged Agapia, who Yuri then rescues. The wolves overwhelmed the outnumbered defenders, took over the estate, slaughtered any remaining inhabitants, and made it their base of operations. The remaining Serpent Slayers fled, realizing they could not win this. But Lokan, who arrived later, attended on the post-attack carnage, saw Grey Wolf sleeping in the desecrated church, and then, joined a pack newly-formed by Kolovul for an attack on Vladykino.
The predations of Grey Wolf's minions have preoccupied the Serpent Slayers since Malinka's fall. Augusta , having joined the Archbishop's party traveling south to Ladeisk, witnessed a night attack on his train, and barely escaped with her life (as apparently, did the archbishop, who did ultimately make it back to the city). Kolovul's advance group, along with Lokan, ran to Vladykino to scout out the terrain, but Lokan went into the village ostensibly to scout it out, and changed sides yet again. Kolovul, who followed him, attacked a woman, but then was subdued by Lokan, Yuri and Zorina, though they ultimately let him go, after he said that he regarded Yuri as a man of honor, looked forward to their next bout, and added, cryptically, that he might prove useful to the cossack in the future. But Yuri, distracted by his wedding to Svetlana, and his quest to the nearby Cave of the Sleeping Bogatyrs failed to organize the village against Kolovul's next attack, which destroys the village.
The attack was witnessed by Misha Rzhevsky, who had come to the village from the north to seek out the Serpent Slayers, and by Alden, who was following his companions from Sitnitsa when he encountered Danifa, who told him that his companions had gone to see the Master and gave him directions to Grey Wolf's realm, adding that his destiny lay with his people. There, Alden was also received by Grey Wolf, who directed him to Vladykino to take his rightful place as a predator in the new order. Alden, like Lokan before him, objected, pointing to the humans' edge in numbers and power, but received the same answer. Alden claimed that he had a change of heart, but Grey Wolf reminded him of his wanton murder of a cowherd in the early summer. When Alden claimed that he had changed, and now wanted to live alongside humans, Grey Wolf accused him of succumbing to a slave mentality, and told him that the only cure was for him to experience life in the new order. He then sent Alden on his way, and out through the portal, but Alden's presence in Grey Wolf's realm magically healed his leg. After arriving in Vladykino, Alden debated this new order with the commander of the wolves who had destroyed the partially rebuilt village, claiming he wanted to trade with humans. The wolf suggested that he travel around neighboring settlements, making himself useful by warning the people to leave while they had the chance. Ultimately, neither Misha nor Alden could do anything to avenge Vladykino's destruction. The wolves stopped Misha's charge by spooking his horse. On top of that, the warrior was distracted by needing to save Mira, and seeking out the Serpent Slayers in the Cave. As for Alden, he returned to Malinka with the marauding pack, but then, abandoned them halfway, turned back, and followed the Serpent Slayers' scent to the Cave as well.
After the party completed its quest in the Cave, most of them returned to Ladeisk through a landscape devastated by Grey Wolf's minions. They destroyed the village of Babkino, killing most of the residents, and driving off a few survivors, who the Serpent Slayers helped conduct to the city. They also witnessed a large blighted area upon the forest, though its connection to the wolves is uncertain. They saw the bodies of two huge creatures - a giant elk, and a volot, apparently savaged by wolves. When they returned to the capital, Prince Trofim Andreevich informed them that the wolves were planning to besiege the city from the south, possibly in alliance with the Kochmaki, and the Grand Prince of Kliakva, who has many wolves in his service. Some of the Serpent Slayers as setting forth on a mission to find the prince some allies before it is too late.
Physically, Grey Wolf takes the form of a huge dire wolf, large enough for several people to ride. He is rumored to be a master shapechanger, and is said to be able to take the form of men, women, and various animals. and to change his voice (though he has not, to their knowledge, demonstrated this ability to any of the Serpent Slayers).
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