The darkness swallowed Wudubearo slowly, insidiously, creeping through the trees and devouring light before it hit the forest floor. For the first two days, everyone merely assumed that a storm was on its way; the clouds held that classic stormy shadow, charcoal greys billowing over the blue sky. But it never rained, and the wind never moved the clouds away, and at some point Kaukab started waking up thinking it was still night. Prey left the woodland kingdom. A spooky silence gripped the hallways he knew so well, as if Wudubearo had been buried in a grave while everyone slept. No one wanted to leave . . . but they couldn’t stay. They had nothing to eat. And the darkness felt - at least to Kaukab - like a suffocating weight trying to crush him inch by inch.

Milo led them through the freelands toward Uyaraut, where her friend Kershov lived. Kab knew that this Kershov fellow was his sire; however, the boy had never met the Ice King, and didn’t necessarily think of him as “father.” He honestly considered his mother Kahlan and his brother Kenryk were PLENTY family for him. One wonderful mother, one incredible brother . . . perhaps most other sons would feel the acute lack of a male figure in their lives, yet the star-spangled prince viewed his life as whole, complete. Meeting Kershov would be a fun “bonus” to brighten the sadness of leaving his birthplace. Besides - Kaukab had never seen the sea. Wudubearo had only the shyest streams and secretive springs to provide rare water to its inhabitants; the notion of a massive expanse of blue rippling endlessly out to the horizon stretched his mind with fascination. The ocean! How could he fall prey to sorrow, when he was embarking on a grand adventure to the ocean?

Imagine Kaukab’s heartbreak when the wolf who sired him sent him away.

The handsome teen had been traveling close to Milo; his mother and the pallid woman who was his half-sister had hung back from the rest of the pack, flirting with each other like a pair of giddy school girls. Kab didn’t mind - but he wanted very dearly to trail his paws along the beach Milo told him of. Kershov did not keep him waiting by the border long, thankfully. The Ice King was the largest wolf Kaukab had ever seen, with a pelt as white as freshly fallen snow and eyes as black as night. Stunned, the boy saw where he had inherited the chips of obsidian in his right eye, where the snowflakes speckling his face and legs had come from. “Hello s-sir! It’s me, Kaukab. I’m Kahlan’s son. It’s nice to meet you?” A wordless blink from the alabaster Alpha. Kershov was sizing him up.

“I remember you, boy.” The Czar’s words filtered from between his exposed teeth like a winter breeze. Kab shivered involuntarily. What did Kershov mean by that? When had this ivory dragon ever met him? Emotionlessly, Kershov went on to explain that Kaukab had been betrothed to the pups of a different pack from birth - an arrangement that Kaukab had never been made privvy to. The autumn-hued lad was to seek out the twins of Graes Waegholm . . . black and white girls taken in by the alpha Siku. When Kershov described the, Kab’s heart gave a violent thump. He’d met those girls before, when he was just a child. Only once, briefly, on the borders of Wudubearo. Kaukab had been too young to question their presence by his home or their oddness. Now, as his father gave him orders - secret missions, clandestine commands - the overwhelmed boy didn’t know what to think. What to feel. The only thing he understood was that Kershov would not let him in Uyaraut - he was to seek the remnants of Graes Waegholm, and the mates that had been picked for him without his consent. Kaukab left the Diamond by the Sea nearly in tears. Disappointment clenched his heart. He didn’t even know the first place to look for the homeless Graes wolves . . .

Sunset found him wandering Fir Chilis, marching toward the border of Graes territory. He was already terribly exhausted from his long multi-day journey from Wudubearo. All Kab wanted was a warm bed to rest in . . . a safe place to lay his head . . . but he made do with leaning heavily against a tree while he caught his breath, paws aching and muscles trembling.