My bounding gate brought me swiftly to him, this wolf who I was acquainted with, but by all counts was a stranger to me. Clearly he held some level of interest in Spirane, but for what reason I could not be sure. From our brief encounter in the valley some weeks prior, in company with the information Pan had provided me with about him, it was my best estimate that he was not gathering intel to prepare himself for a challenge. Rather, he seemed to be collecting information in an earnest attempt to make the best decision on which pack to join himself to. Following my greeting, he confirmed just that, in a bit of a monolog. I listened to what he had to say, and nodded my head when he spoke of wanting to know more about me and the way I lead my pack. It was fair enough that he was curious, for he certainly was not taking this finding a pack business lightly. For a moment I wondered how much intellect he had gathered about the other packs, especially Asteraia and Glorall’s new leaders. The time to visit these packs would soon be nigh, and I did not wish to send forth my emissaries blind to what they might encounter.

Iscariot then carried on, questioning my character by way of a ranking system. He had an interesting curiosity within him, something that vaguely reminded me of Pan, but in a different way that I couldn’t quite place my paw upon. I noted each question in succession, allowing him to continue until he had completed his query, and then I let a moment of silence hang in the air. It was different, and somehow slightly refreshing, to have the questioning turned upon me in interest of joining the pack, rather than me asking much of wolves in an attempt to recruit to our numbers. Of course I would still have questions for him, but first, to answer his.

“Loyalty is by far the most important factor – to pack, to duty, and to self. Second only to that is family; I count each member of Spirane as a part of mine. Respect, again, to your fellow pack mates as well as yourself. Friendship, within and without the mountains, for without friends this pack could not be what it has become. Power is valued to me only in the sense that I have the power to look after my pack, to protect these lands and the wolves who call it home. Glory holds no real interest for me, other than to behold those natural glories that are kept secret within the peaks and valleys of this range.” I spoke with reverence for my pack, not devising any answer to try to sway this wolf’s decision. Each answer was given honestly, for it would do neither of us any good for me to try to recruit a wolf who would later find what I had said to be untrue, and he may in turn decide to leave. If Iscariot did not like me, and Spirane, for what we were, then he would be right in deciding he did not belong here. “As for love or fear, perhaps it is a generic answer, but a mixture of both. I have instilled fear in the enemies of my past, and inspired love for Queen and country in those who call this place home.”

The other questions he had asked were those that warranted more to the point answers, rather than matters of opinion. “I place no rules upon my pack mates in regards to procreation. Those who wish to create a family are welcome to do so. Though if this is of some concern to you I will inform you that in the past a highly ranked female of the pack took a male for her mate that I did not trust; when I placed stipulations on his entry to the pack lands to see his family – until I was able to come to trust him enough to call him pack – he did not agree and they chose to leave.” The subject of Natu’s abandoning the pack was a sore one to me, but I spoke neutrally about it now.

At the thought of traitors of the pack, only one face came to mind. Purge. To this day the thought of her made my blood warm and threaten to boil, but I kept my cool as I spoke of how I had dealt with her. “Any wolf who intentionally harms or kills a member of the pack, or those of our allied packs, will be placed into speculation for treachery. My Justiciar, Taliesin – my master of law – aids me in deciding the penance for treason. My Hand, Pan, and my Bloodrider, Jericho, also deliberate with me on such matters. The three of them make up my small council, and their advice help me to avoid any potential calumny. The only major adversary Spirane has ever known was chased from Moladion with her tail tucked between her legs. As for war, it is not a game, and something I hope that I will never have need to dabble in. Up until the recent turn of events in pack leadership, Spirane held alliances with every pack in Moladion.” The war that had broke in result of a long standing feud between Diveen and Iromar had resulted in a bloody mess. If I could avoid such a cost to my pack, I would do so with every fiber of my being.

The time was now mine to ask questions of him. If he was so keen on making himself useful to a pack, and Spirane ranked highly among his choices, I had reason to learn more about him. Just because he thought Spirane was suitable for him, did not necessarily mean he was right for Spirane. To start, I turned his first question around on him. “And what of you, how would you rank the importance of that which you asked of me? What skills do you offer that might benefit this pack? Do you hold enemies within the lands of Moladion, or beyond, that will in turn transfer bad blood upon Spirane?” My questions were not so many as Iscariot had asked of me, but I felt they were just as important. I, too, wished to better know the mind of the wolf who stood before me. Something about him had grasped my interest the first time I spotted him, and such a thing had not waivered yet.