Wolfrider
Encyclopedia
The Wolfriders are a tribe of elves
on the World of Two Moons in the comic book
Elfquest
, created by Wendy and Richard Pini
.
Wolfrider is also the title of an Elfquest story featuring Bearclaw, in some respects the archetypal member of his tribe.
s resulted in the forest's destruction. Led by their eleventh chief, Cutter
, the Wolfriders sought refuge with King Greymung's trolls in their underground caverns, but Greymung distrusted the elves and tricked them into a tunnel leading to a harsh desert.
After several days journeying through the desert, the Wolfriders discovered the oasis
village of Sorrow's End, populated by a hitherto unknown elf tribe called the Sun Folk
. After an initial skirmish, caused partly by Cutter's paranoia after the trolls' betrayal and partly by his Recognition - and abduction - of the village healer Leetah, the Wolfriders and Sun Folk became friends and allies, learning new skills from each other.
Their use of magic before the destruction of the Holt was limited to utilitarian powers directly related to forested wilderness survival, such as telepathy (which the elves call "sending"), healing, plant manipulation, etc. However, after arrival at Sorrow's End, the Wolfriders learned other powers from the community's elders.
Most of the Wolfriders subsequently left Sorrow's End in order to find an unknown evil force that had caused the spirit of the Sun Folk's leader Savah to be trapped outside her body. This turned out to be an elf, Winnowill of the Gliders, a decadent and stagnating tribe cloistered within Blue Mountain. After a bitter struggle the Wolfriders temporarily defeated Winnowill, and the Gliders' leader Lord Voll, no longer in thrall to her, promised to take the Wolfriders to the lost Palace of the High Ones, where they would learn once and for all the secret of their origins.
But the Palace was jealously guarded by a warlike tribe of trolls under King Guttlekraw. Lord Voll was killed, Cutter was grievously wounded, and only the intervention of another, heretofore unknown elf tribe, the Go-Back
tribe, saved the Wolfriders from being wiped out. Joining forces with the Go-Backs, the Wolfriders defeated Guttlekraw's trolls and returned to the Palace, where they did indeed learn the truth of their origins and discovered the long-lost High One, their ancestor Timmain. But the Palace was not a home, and so the Wolfriders established a new holt within the woods near Blue Mountain, but hidden from all.
This covers the events in the original Elfquest series, 1978 - 1984.
Cutter (soul name: Tam): male, alive, mortal. He is the main hero of Elfquest and the eleventh chief of the Wolfriders. His name is derived partly from his skill with a sword
, but also from his desire to cut through lies and deception and uncover the truth. Son of the previous chief, Bearclaw, and his wise lifemate Joyleaf, Cutter lost both of his parents to the monster Madcoil. He avenged them by killing the monster and took up leadership of the sixteen surviving Wolfriders. The tribe experienced a short period of peace until humans burnt down the forest where they lived. Alongside his soul-brother, Skywise, Cutter had led the Wolfriders underground to the Troll caves. Demanding passage to a new forest holt, they were tricked by the Trolls into the Burning Waste desert.
After a grueling three-day journey, the Wolfriders discovered a village of dark-skinned elves. These elves called themselves the Sun Folk, of which Cutter found his lifemate, the beautiful healer Leetah, as well as a lifelong rival - Leetah's suitor, the powerful magician Rayek. In order to protect his tribe from the threat of humans, Cutter embarked on a journey to find other sundered elf kin and gather them all together. He accomplished this by discovering the existence of the stagnant Gliders of Blue Mountain and the warlike snow elves known as Go-Backs (as well as, much later, the ocean-based elfin Wavedancer tribe).
Reasonable and kind, Cutter now leads his tribe at their native Father Tree Holt, which they resettled after a particularly bloody war with the human ruler Grohmul Djun. Cutter and Leetah fathered one of only three known elfin pairs of twins—the mystic Sunstream (formerly Suntop) and his wolf-blooded sister Ember, who now leads a branch of the Wolfriders as her own tribe. Cutter has long ash-blond hair, deep blue eyes, and well- developed facefur in the form of sidelocks. His wolf-friends have included Nightrunner, Warfrost, Timmain (an elf shaped into lupine form) and Holdfast.
Skywise (soul name: Fahr): male, alive, immortal. Father of Yun with an unknown Go-Back. The tribe's stargazer never knew his parents, Shale and Eyes High, and the few memories he has of his mother have been augmented by the tales of the tribe's elders about their tragic deaths. Knowing his parents were killed by humans has led Skywise to a general mistrust of humankind. Cutter's best friend and soul brother acts as his closest confidante, "partner in mischief," and, at times, furmate.
Skywise is nonetheless generally merry and a definite ladies' man, and after the death of his first lovemate, Foxfur, at the hand of Madcoil, he has "played the field." Skywise's greatest love is of the stars, whose secrets he yearns to know. It has been insinuated that he is a direct descendant of the high one Sefra, who was known for her snow-white hair and position as astronomer in the Palace. It has also been hinted that Skywise will find out what Recognition truly means with Timmain, the last surviving High One, who's woven an unusually deep bond with the good-hearted stargazer of the Wolfriders since the passing of Skywise's wolf-friend, Starjumper.
When Skywise, Leetah, the twins, and the ancient rockshaper elf Ekuar were kidnapped 10,000 years into the future of the World of Two Moons (later called Abode), Skywise begged Leetah to take his wolf-blood away, asking for time after the shock of losing everyone he cared about to their mortality. However, his choice to become immortal has caused him trouble and disquiet over the years, and he's only recently managed to come to terms with the change, reluctantly accepting the probability that someday he will see his tribe die.
Sunstream (soul name: Klynn): male, alive. He was formerly known as Suntop, the male child of Cutter and Leetah. While he and his twin sister Ember were still in Leetah's womb, Ember called the wolf blood to her, while Sunstream called for "something else." He's an immortal, due to his lack of wolf blood, and possesses incredible magic powers such as astral projection, long-distance telepathy and magic-feeling, which makes him aware whenever something or someone around him has been modified by elfin magic. He lately helped his parents to restore the Father Tree Holt by purging a pool of malevolent magic left by Madcoil, and his name was changed to Sunstream to commemorate the feat.
Recently he has Recognized an elf maiden, Brill, from a seagoing tribe called the Wavedancers; the pair are now "long-distance" lifemates who will visit each other both physically and on the astral-plane. Sunstream is also destined to become the new Master of the Palace of the High Ones, a task for which he is preparing with the High One Timmain and the stargazer Skywise. He and his twin Ember have always been very close, despite the obvious differences between them. Sunstream has long, wavy butter-yellow hair, blue eyes and medium-dark skin.
Strongbow (soul name: Wyl): male, alive. Son of the long-deceased Trueflight and an unknown Wolfrider male, he inherited his mother's skills and is the Wolfriders' best archer
. He is now a respected elder in his tribe. Strongbow doesn't say much, though he'll stubbornly fight for his beliefs and what he thinks best. Lifemated to the tribe's tanner, Moonshade, their relationship started centuries ago under Bearclaw's leadership, with the birth of a daughter named Crescent, who had apparently inherited all of her father's aim and skills; she might have been a great archer too, had humans not killed her early in her teens. Strongbow and Moonshade managed to overcome the sorrow over her loss, but it took both a great amount of grief and a second Recognition - resulting, this time, in the birth of a male cub, named Dart. Their family had just been rebuilt when humans burned the Wolfrider's holt, forcing Cutter's tribe to flee into the desert.
Strongbow never forgot what forced his tribe to a massive flight, and when humans stumbled upon the Sun Village, he opposed leaving them alive to relate the elves' existence to others of their kind. Later on he was caught and tortured by the Gliders' Lord Winnowill until Moonshade and the rest of the tribe came to help; he resisted and recovered from the psychic wounds and torment inflicted by the Black Snake due to his great mental will and strength. Strongbow and Moonshade were separated from each other at the time of the Shards War, with Strongbow following Cutter and his warriors to fight the human dictator Grohmul Djun. Moonshade was asked to accompany the Wolfriders' new leader, Ember, and her splinter tribe whose mission was to continue the Wolfriders' existence.
Reunited again at Goodtree's Rest, Strongbow and Moonshade play a significant (though not central) role in the 2004 graphic novel, The Searcher and the Sword, in which the receive a message from the spirit of their deceased daughter Crescent, foretelling "joy above and danger below". Shortly afterward the couple Recognizes a third time, and Moonshade bears another daughter, Chitter. Strongbow has long reddish-brown hair, dark eyes and a short beard. His wolf friends have included Briarsting, Lashpaw and Gnawbone.
Moonshade (soul name: Eyrn): female, alive. The tribe's tanner and tailor, and lifemate to Strongbow. Mother to Crescent, Chitter, and Dart and grandmother to Bowki. Conservative in her attitudes, she is completely devoted to Strongbow and defends him and follows him, even if she believes him to be wrong, as seen when they leave the Blue Mountain, thus separating themselves from the rest of the tribe. They were temporarily separated when Moonshade was chosen to follow Ember and Strongbow to accompany Cutter. She had a hard time, missing Strongbow and the fear of never seeing him again, coupled with the then teenaged Ember, whom she saw as nothing more than a half-grown cub. Disagreements soon broke out between Moonshade and the young chieftess. It took a false vision of her long-dead daughter Crescent to build a bridge between the adviser and her new chief.
After the Shards War she reunited with Strongbow, and in the 2004 graphic novel, The Searcher and the Sword, they are together again. Here they receive a true vision of Crescent ('sending' from the Palace). They Recognize each other again, and she bears life to her second daughter, Chitter. Moonshade has mid-length, dark brown hair and deep violet eyes.
Dart (soul name: Dyrr): Male, alive. Son of Strongbow and Moonshade, Soul-brother to Shushen, lifemate to Serrin (now deceased), father of Bowki (also deceased). When the Wolfriders and Leetah left Sorrow's End to find Cutter and Skywise, he volunteered to stay behind to teach the Sun Folk how to hunt and defend themselves. He was successful enough to create a fighting force of mounted warriors called Jackwolf Riders (after their wolf-jackal hybrid companions). He recognized Serrin while in wrapstuff after the battle for the little palace, and she gave birth to Bowki. Later, Dart traveled to the Forevergreen Forest with Kimo, Chot, Yun, Suntop, Windkin, Dodia and Shenshen to investigate a strange sending. Dart had a relationship with his "soul brother" Shu-shen, who was killed in the war for the little Palace.
Nightfall: (soul name: Twen) - Female, alive. A close friend of Cutter and lifemate to Redlance. Mother of Tyleet and grandmother of Pool, daughter of Longbranch and Brownberry (in "The Blood Of Ten Chiefs", volume one, her mother is identified as an elf-woman named Amber). Nightfall is an able huntress and scout. She is "the spear, the sword, the arrow" as opposed to her lifemate Redlance, whom she once called "the flower, the tree, the vine." The two are not Recognized, but Leetah helped them to induce Recognition after they exchanged soul names at the end of the Palace War, resulting in the birth of their daughter, Tyleet. Nightfall has long, curly honey-blonde hair and amber eyes. Her wolf friends include Woodshaver, Squirrel Bane and Mudmuzzle.
Redlance: (soul name: Ulm) Male, alive. Best tracker among the Wolfriders and also a treeshaper. Originally named Redmark until he saved Bearclaw from a sabertooth tiger by way of a spear, planting it in front of the charging the animal so it impaled itself with its own momentum. Redlance has a gentle demeanor which his tribe-mates respect, and is often assigned to guard the community's children while others go off to fight. Nightfall and Redlance are not Recognized, but following the traumatic events of the Wolfriders' battle of the trolls, Nightfall brought Redlance out of a catatonic
state by joining her soul to his, where they discovered the other's soul name. They then persuaded Leetah to induce Recognition so that they could have a child; Nightfall then bore a daughter, Tyleet. Redlance has long red hair, usually tied in front into twin braids framing his face, and green eyes.
Newstar: female, alive. Daughter of Rainsong and Woodlock, sister to Wing and Mender, mother of Kimo. Newstar was still a child when the Wolfriders made the desert crossing to Sorrow's End, and so spent most of her early years in the village. Her lifemate, a Sun Villager named Lutei (his name was revealed by Wendy Pini only in July 2006), was killed during the battle with the Go-Backs for the Little Palace. After the elves' war against Grohmul Djun, Newstar returned to the forest with her Wolfrider kin. Newstar has rather long golden-blonde hair.
Clearbrook: female, alive. Recognized lifemate with One-Eye, mother of Scouter and a daughter (long deceased) whose name was rumored to be Moss. One-Eye was killed in the first encounter with the trolls of the frozen north. After One-Eye's death, Clearbrook became consumed with her revenge against the frozen mountain trolls, but eventually came to terms with her grief following a time of healing and some encounters with the elf-troll Two Edge. Clearbrook is currently the oldest living Wolfrider female. She is now life-mated to Treestump. Clearbrook has very long silver hair and silver eyes.
Treestump: male, alive; Recognized lifemate with Rillfisher (deceased), father of Dewshine, now the lifemate of Clearbrook. Brother to Joyleaf and uncle of Cutter. The oldest of the Wolfriders and an elder who serves as an adviser to Cutter and is usually considered second-in-command of the tribe, though leadership is not his preferred role. Originally named Birdcall, he got his present name in his young adulthood in a battle with trolls when he was caught in multiple lasso
s by the Trolls. However, even so bound, he was "like a stubborn old tree stump" in chief Bearclaw's words, too strong to bring down. In the graphic novel, "The Searcher and the Sword," Treestump, with the help and support of Cutter and Clearbrook, took on a quest of his own: that of mastering, through trial and error, the art of blacksmithing, which until then was known only to the trolls. After successfully creating his first sword, Mornhowl, Treestump became the tribe's blacksmith, eliminating the need for the elves to trade with the trolls for weapons. Treestump has short, curling blonde hair and a full beard.
Shuna: female, alive, human; adoptive daughter of Leetah and Cutter, wife of Bee, briefly the wife of Nunkah. As a child she was healed from a deathly illness (probably smallpox) by Leetah. Several years later, she repaid the favor by freeing Tyleet when Shuna's father captured the elf. While the elves tried to reclaim the Palace shards, she led a revolution that overthrew Grohmul Djun, the dictator who ruled much of her native Junsland. It was during this war that she earned the respect of the Wolfriders with her bravery and saving Strongbow's life by allowing him to shoot an arrow through her hand while he was falling in mid-air. After the restoration of the Palace, she traveled with the elves to Howling Rock and was reunited with both Leetah and Tyleet. Leetah healed Shuna's hand, then she and Cutter invited Shuna to join the Wolfriders and offered to adopt her after the deaths of her parents. Later she decided to mediate between the elves and the human tribes near the holt. It is revealed in the beginning of "The Searcher and the Sword" that she will eventually learn sending, though it is not yet known how. At the conclusion of the 2006 series "The Discovery," she marries her longtime friend Bee (Ikopek), a trader and traveler from a tribe near the holt.
Chitter: female, alive; daughter of Strongbow and Moonshade, sister to Crescent(deceased) and Dart. The youngest Wolfrider, she was conceived and born during the events of "The Searcher and the Sword." After Strongbow and Moonshade received a vision from the spirit of their daughter Crescent about "joy above and danger below," it turned out the "joy above" was that the couple had Recognized for the third time. Two years later, Moonshade gave birth to Chitter, presumably named because she is a hyperactive toddler who talks and makes animal sounds non-stop. Unlike Strongbow, who prefers sending over talking, Chitter likes to talk to anyone within hearing range and usually asks her father to not "think-talk," but "talk like Shuna." Chitter has light reddish-brown hair and violet eyes.
Ember: female, alive; twelfth chief of the Wolfriders. She's the daughter of Cutter and Leetah, and Suntop's twin sister, though as different from him as day from night. When the twins were still in Leetah's womb, Ember called wolf-blood (and its subsequent mortality) to her, while her brother called for some unknown magic of the High Ones' time. As a result, the Wolfriders all saw in Ember their next chieftess, and knew someday she'd have earned the chief lock (a topknot worn only by the Wolfrider leader) from her father, Cutter. However, in her early years, this young tomboy was often jealous of how everybody's attentions seemed focused entirely on her brother; she thought he and Leetah could step on the stage whenever a magic user was needed, while she, Ember, had to stay back and wait till her own adulthood would have come - which wasn't to her taste. Redlance's support, along with Ember's very self-confident and outgoing nature, somewhat eased things; yet, by the time of her adolescence, the young daughter of Cutter was almost constantly at odds with her chieftain father (in a drama echoed, many years before, by Kahvi - and lately even the Wavedancer chief Snakeskin).
When Rayek tried to answer the plea for help echoing straight from the time of the High Ones' crash on the World of Two Moons, he abducted Leetah, Suntop, Skywise, Ekuar, Ember and Trinket (a troll girl) and took them into the 'Far Ahead Time'in the Palace. Although the captives felt it had only been one night since they left the Wolfriders, they learned that 10,000 years had passed for Cutter, who had chosen to sleep several thousand years in 'wrapstuff' along with his tribe so he could meet up with his Lifemate, soulbrother and cubs in the future instead of perishing of old age. After the family was reunited for some time, Suntop was to be taken to the Sun Village via the palace guided by Rayek, to develop his powers under the tuition of Savah.
Feeling left out, Ember disobeyed her father and went with Leetah and Suntop to the Sun Village as well, not understanding Cutter's emotional stress of being separated from his family again. At this time she also came across her very first lovemate, Mender the healer, and they shared a somewhat idyllic time together - she seeing him as a beautiful, trophy lovemate and he seeing in her his heroes- Cutter and Leetah. Ember, however, felt Mender was too much like her, and when her father chose to split the tribe in half to face the Shards War, she chose her mother Leetah to take care of the health of her branch of Wolfriders, while Mender would have gone fighting alongside Cutter and his warriors. They settled on a new holt to preserve the Way of the Wolfriders and hunt down the monsters left behind by Winnowill.
It was there Ember met Teir, a mysterious plains-dwelling elf who enchanted her more than she'd have ever thought possible. After a somehow stormy relationship worsened by Mender's jealously and Ember's sometimes not that smart choices as a chieftess, the two are now close to the point of being lifemates, and while she's probably given him her soulname, Ember still doesn't want to force Recognition, but patiently wait until the High Ones will give her and Teir a baby of their own. Much matured since her infancy, Ember has flame-red wavy hair long below her waist, blue-green eyes (though often depicted to be either blue or green) and a medium-dark complexion. Her soulname is unknown. Her wolf friends include Choplicker and Patch.
Tyleet (soul name: Sohn): female, alive. Daughter of Nightfall and Redlance and the product of an induced Recognition; mother of Pool. Has a particular talent for interacting with humans, and even went so far as to adopt an abandoned human "cub" named Little Patch, with bittersweet consequences. She Recognized Scouter, a development that his lifemate, Dewshine, approved of. Her relationship with Nightfall illustrates the effect of elfin longevity, since after five centuries the age difference between them was no longer significant and they behaved more like sisters than mother and daughter. Tyleet has red-gold hair that changes slightly with the season; during the "Kings of the Broken Wheel" storyline, her parents once commented "strands of white with red-gold means an early white cold- our cub's changing pelt never lies." Her wolf friends have included Bundles and Patience.
Pike: male, alive. The product of a healer-induced conception (he is the son of Rain the healer) and named for his weapon preference for spear
s. Lifemated to Go-Backs Skot and Krim, although Skot was killed during the war with Grohmul Djun. With Krim he later raised a son, Sust, who likely was sired by Skot immediately before his death in battle. Howlkeeper and dreamberry lover. He carries with him a pouch of dreamberry seeds so that no matter where he ends up there can be a harvest. Pike was also responsible for helping reveal the message in the wrapstuff dreams during "Dreamtime."
Dewshine: (soul name: Lree) female, alive. Daughter of Rillfisher and Treestump, she resembles her deceased mother, which serves as a poignant reminder to her father. Lifemate to Scouter, mother of Windkin, and cousin to Cutter. Despite her frail appearance she is one of the most daring and adventurous of the Wolfriders, which has gotten her into trouble on several occasions. In Blue Mountain she Recognized Tyldak, as a result of which Winnowill learned her soul name and used it against her. Much later, when Tyleet Recognized Scouter Dewshine was not in the least jealous but was glad that Scouter now understood Recognition and would finally have a cub of his own. She lifemated to Scouter and Tyleet and at one point the three exchanged soulnames. A short time later Dewshine played midwife to the couple, delivering their son Pool and helping to raise him. Dewshine has short, curly blonde hair, and is notably flat-chested (without being anything like a tomboy). Her wolf-friends have included Trollhammer, Squirrel-Bane, and Longshanks.
Scouter (soul name: Jial): male, alive. He's the son of Clearbrook and One-Eye, nephew of Longbranch and brother of an unnamed elfin girl who died before his birth. Lifemated to Dewshine and Recognized with Tyleet, he is the father of Pool. When Dewshine Recognized the Glider Tyldak, it was Scouter who offered to be a father for her son, Windkin and to love him because he was part of her. After helping to rescue Windkin and Dewshine from Blue Mountain, he and Dewshine decided to raise Windkin in the peaceful Sun Village. After returning to the Wolfriders, Scouter Recognized Tyleet. Scouter and Tyleet exchanged soulnames with Dewshine in the New Land, forming a deep, loving threesome. They successfully raised their son Pool together, and even though there was a time when Scouter challenged Ember
for the chieftainship and took temporary charge of the tribe, it wasn't long before he gave up and came back to his role of protective father and scout. He's best known for his keen eyesight. Scouter has dark brown hair and dark eyes. His most recent wolf-friend was Scrabble.
Mender: male, alive. Youngest son of Rainsong and Woodlock, brother to Newstar and Wing, lovemate of Ember and of Yun. He grew up in the Sun Village, but later joined the Wolfriders in the New Land, in part to find his heritage, in part to learn from Leetah to use his healing abilities to their best. Mender accompanied Cutter and the other warriors in the battle with Grohmul Djun for the shards of the palace. He has long, blond hair and crystal blue eyes.
Yun: female, alive. Daughter of Skywise and an unknown Go-Back; lovemate of Mender. She grew up as a Go-Back, but after a raid on the Sun Village decided to stay with the Sun Folk. She joined Dart's band on the expedition to the Forevergreen rain forest, and after the restoration of the Palace joined Ember's tribe. She has pale blonde hair and blue eyes.
Her wolf friends include Pondwallow, Wag-Rump and Suncoat (a wolf-jackal crossbreed).
Teir: male, alive, likely a descendant of the Go-Backs. He was raised by his father at Howling Rock, where Ember's tribe found him while Cutter's tribe was waging war for the Palace Shards hundreds of miles away. Teir's magical abilities of animal communication/influence were corrupted by Winnowill, nearly leading to a disaster, which was all the more troubling to him because of his own growing love for Ember (and hers for him). He left the tribe when they joined the other Wolfriders in the Palace, but rejoined them a time after they returned. When Scouter defeated Ember and banished her, Teir followed her rather than staying with the tribe, most likely saving her life. He has black hair, gray eyes, and olive skin.
Krim: female, alive, pure-blooded; lifemate of Skot and Pike, mother of Sust. A Go-Back who joined the Wolfriders after the first war for the Palace, together with Skot. She and Skot accompanied the other warriors in the quest to regain the shards of the palace; Skot was killed and Krim later mortally wounded, but she allowed herself to be healed by Mender only because he told her she was carrying a child. Two years later she bore a son, Sust, whom she raised with her surviving lifemate Pike.
Khorbasi: male, alive, human; adopted son of Yun. His history is largely unwritten; in Recognition we learn he was accepted as a Wolfrider and raised by Yun. He currently protects the tribe from afar.
Rainsong: female, deceased. Daughter of Rain, half-sister of Pike, lifemated to Woodlock, mother of Wing, Newstar and Mender. Was known for being highly prolific as far as elves go could sense her children's ability while pregnant, enabling her to reassure Leetah when she had to depart to find her mate that her next son will be a healer to eventually replace her. She fit well with the Sunfolk elves and spent the majority of her life in Sorrow's End. When Rayek took the palace, Rainsong, along with Woodlock and Wing, choose not to be cocooned in wrapstuff along with the other Wolfriders and Sunfolk. Instead she decided to wait out the years, marking each one's pass with a pebble put in a clay jar. She died of old age, one of the very few wolfriders to do so. She had short golden blonde hair and blue eyes. Her wolf-friend was Silvergrace.
Woodlock: male, deceased. Devoted father and mate to Rainsong. Usually gentle and placid, he became almost frighteningly enraged when he believed humans might pose a threat to his children. He also spent the majority of his life in Sorrow's End, and died of old age there. He had short golden brown hair and blue eyes.
Wing: male, deceased. Son of Rainsong and Woodlock, brother to Newstar and Mender. Along with his parents, he died of old age in Sorrow's End while waiting for Rayek to return with the stolen Palace. He was Recognized to Behtia, fathered Serrin, and in turn, was grandfather of Bowki. He had short, curly blonde hair and blue eyes.
One-Eye (soul name: Sur): male, deceased. Lifemate of Clearbrook, father of an unnamed daughter and Scouter. Grandfather of Pool. Originally named Woodhue, he acquired his more famous name because he had one of his eyes gouged out so completely that Rain could not save it and had to settle for sealing the eye socket. He fell in battle against Guttlekraw's trolls, but before his body completely expired, Petalwing cocooned it. When his body was discovered in Two-Edge's vault, Leetah attempted to heal it, but instead left it in an effectively brain dead
state that Clearbrook eventually decided to euthanize
. He had medium length brown hair and brown eyes (eye).
Skot: male, deceased, pure-blooded. Lovemate of Pike and Krim; possible father of Sust. A Go-Back who joined the Wolfriders after the first war for the Palace, together with Krim. He was killed during the war for the Shard of the Palace, when he chose to fight the peace hounds to the last on a burning bridge, rather than fleeing in time. It is somewhat ironic, considering he once mentioned fire was not the way he wanted to die. However, going down fighting is the Go-Back way, and Skot held true to his tribe and his nature to the end. He had long dark brown hair and brown eyes.
Zhantee: male, deceased, pure-blooded. A lovemate of Venka, he dreamed of Recognizing Leetah. Born a Sun Villager, he began as a quiet, mild-mannered potter, but later became one of several Sun Folk to learn hunting and fighting from the Wolfrider Dart. He then joined the Wolfrider tribe, partly for adventure but also because of his gallant (though chaste) love for his compatriot Leetah, the healer. He developed the magical ability to throw invisible force-shields to save people from physical harm, a skill that protected his elf peers and even allowed him to dive into the sea (his force shield doubled as an underwater bubble). While accompanying the Wolfriders who fought to regain the Palace shards from the human despot Grohmul Djun, he used his shielding skill to save his comrades. When a building where the elves were hiding caught fire and threatened to cave in, he used his powers to levitate the wreckage, allowing the others to escape; but in the end his strength gave out and the building collapsed on him, crushing him fatally. His last wish was sharing the feeling of Recognition with Leetah, which Cutter granted him. He had short dark brown hair and brown eyes.
Little Patch: male, deceased, human. Tyleet found him as an infant tied to a tree, where his parents left him to die, probably because they considered a port-wine stain birthmark on his face as a bad omen. Tyleet raised him as a Wolfrider. He returned to his human tribe in puberty, and later became their chief. As an old man he returned to the elves' land, and died of old age in Tyleet's arms.
Timmorn Yellow-Eyes: First chieftain, very wolf-like in appearance, son of the High One Timmain and a male wolf. He sired many children, in and out of Recognition, supposedly with both elves and wolves, the slightly more elfin of which became the successful Wolfriders, and the descendants of their wolfish siblings became their mounts. He had distinctly red fur/hair and yellow eyes.
Rahnee the She-Wolf: Second chieftain, daughter of Timmorn and Valloa (also named Murrel and New-Wolf), lifemate of Zarhan Fastfire. Full sister of Laststar. She had numerous children with Fastfire, including Cat, Prunepit/Prey-Pacer, Bright-Eyes, Ice, and others. Tribal history claims she died during an attack of saurian creatures called allos, but it is revealed to readers in the "Blood Of Ten Chiefs" novels that she barely survived, and was cared for by pure-blooded plains elves known as "Trickster's Clan". Zarhan was reunited with her later, where both answered the call of Recognition to different elves. Her fate is unknown. She is believed to have had silvery hair and violet eyes.
Prey-Pacer: Third chieftain, son of Rahnee, formerly called Prunepit, Recognized to Wreath and lifemate to Softfoot. He was not a very apt sender, but he had the gift to bond with animals and read their movements, and allow his wolf-friends to know what those movements were as soon as he knew. Father of Two-Spear and Dove by Softfoot, and Skyfire by Wreath. He had dark hair.
Two-Spear: Fourth chieftain; son of Prey-Pacer and Softfoot, lifemate of Willowgreen the healer, father of Kahvi and Redbark, possibly Stonefist; formerly called Swift-Spear.
Two-Spear was fierce and opposed to new ideas. When Willowgreen suggested that it was possible to grow plants for dependable food, he considered it an insult to the hunters and verbally attacked her. He is revealed as being fairly abusive and somewhat "bipolar". He tried to kill his stepdaughter Kahvi when she attempted to challenge his legendary madness.
He is best known for his hatred for humans; he went so far as plan to start a war with the aim of killing all humans. Two reasons for this hatred are that humans killed one of his wolf friends, Blackmane; another that he found a place of old magic, where he saw visions of the High Ones arriving on the World of Two Moons and being attacked. When Two-Spear told the tribe his plans, his sister Skyfire challenged him for leadership. She lost, but Two-Spear spared her life, and let all Wolfriders choose if they wanted to follow her or him. He had a distinct dislike of pure elves and magic, resulting in much verbal abuse against his lifemate Willowgreen, who didn't come into her wolf-blood until later.
His wolf friends included Blackmane and No-Name. He had red-brown hair and brown eyes.
Icetooth: An elder in Two-Spear's tribe, who can be considered the first chief of the Go-Back
s. A lovemate of Skyfire, though he left with the elf he considered his chief. He supported Kahvi and was partly responsible for her challenging Two-Spear. After untold events, he became the leader of a group of former Wolfriders who had lost both wolf blood and their wolf-friends. When they found Kahvi, whom he had believed dead, he assumed the name Sharf and prepared her to be their next chief. He let himself be killed by a stag during a hunt.
Appears in the miniseries Kahvi. He had gray hair and one eye.
Huntress Skyfire: Fifth chieftain; daughter of Prey-Pacer and Wreath; half-sister of Two-Spear; attained chieftainship after a tribal schism during Two-Spear's reign. Lifemate to an outcast elf named Dreamsinger, who was considered half mad and lost in the racial memories of the Wolfriders. It is claimed in the "Blood Of Ten Chiefs" novels that she bore a daughter named Nightstar after Dreamsinger was killed by a mad elf, which leaves some readers questioning how Freefoot came into existence. She was also a lovemate of Pine and Icetooth. She had red hair and green eyes.
Freefoot: Sixth chieftain, son of Huntress Skyfire, lifemate to Starflower, fathered Tanner and two other sons with her. Died while rescuing children from a tree during a thunderstorm, where he was struck by a lightning bolt. The "Blood Of Ten Chiefs" novels say he Recognized Two Shadows, an elf from a tribe of plain-dwelling elves who claimed to be Wolfriders who had once followed Two-Spear and Greywolf, but their number was small and the wolf-blood was weak. They relied on domesticated goats for travel, food and clothing, and cooked their food. Freefoot did not see Two Shadows again, and later had to kill his son, Hawkcatcher, in self-defense, when the enraged youth engaged him in battle after telling him of the pain his mother had undergone, being separated from her Recognized. He had blond-brown hair.
Eldolil: The last pure-blooded elf who lived with the Wolfriders who stayed with Skyfire. He died of old age, being tired of the world. When he withdrew into the wilderness, Oakroot (Tanner) followed him to bring him back, but the old elf refused. Before he died, he shared visions of the High Ones with the chief's son, and convinced him that he would be a better next chief than his brothers.
Tanner (soul name: Lhu): Seventh chieftain; son of Freefoot, lifemate to Stormlight. He was originally named Oakroot, but earned his new name for his skill in transforming animal hide into functional, lovely leathers for his tribe, a talent acquired from much trial and error. He is also renowned for his unusually long and peaceful rule, which lasted some eight hundred years. He had light brown hair and brown eyes.
Goodtree (soul name: Neme): Eighth chieftain, daughter of Tanner and Stormlight, lifemate to Acorn and Lionleaper, mother of Mantricker (by Acorn) and Speedwell (by Lionleaper); a powerful treeshaper who created the Father Tree in which the tribe lived until its destruction during Cutter's leadership. Possibly sparked the magic that brought about Madcoil. She had long blonde hair entwined with leaves, and green eyes.
Mantricker: Ninth chieftain, son of Goodtree and Acorn, younger brother of Speedwell, who was killed by humans early in her adulthood, though she fathered Spark, possible father of Redlance. Known for his tricks, although he eventually cooperated with the human known as Demontricker to keep the elves and humans from each others' throats; father of Bearclaw through Recognition with Thornflower. He was also lovemates with Brightwater, Moonshade's mother. He had dark brown hair and brown eyes. His wolf-friend was Bentclaw.
Bearclaw (soul name: Grenn): Male, deceased. He was Cutter's father with Joyleaf, and the son of Mantricker and Thornflower. The tenth chief of the Wolfriders, Bearclaw was known for having quite a temper, and led his tribe of forest-dwelling elves in a time when indigenous humans started respecting less and less the "point-eared" demons. Bearclaw followed his ancestor Two-Spear's path to war, which eventually led to the death of many fellow Wolfriders such as Shale, Eyes High and Crescent.
Years later, his own lifemate Joyleaf was killed -along with four other elves- by Madcoil, a half-longtooth, half-snake monster born from a pool of stagnant magic brought to life by lightning, and the rage of Bearclaw and the humans' shaman. Devastated by grief, Bearclaw faced Madcoil himself, and was subsequently killed, but not before he could pass the chieftainship to his son. Bearclaw had long brown hair, dark eyes and face fur in the form of a short beard and mustache. He was well considered as quite an elf by the local trolls, including Picknose, for his gambling skills and his ability to hold his liquor. His wolf-friends included Crest and Blackfell, and Snapper in "Wolfrider".
Joyleaf (soul name: Dehl): Female, deceased. She was Cutter's mother by Bearclaw, as well as Treestump's sister and Dewshine's aunt. Every bit as sweet and loving as her lifemate Bearclaw was rogue and savage, she was often the calm to balance his most fiery side and the voice of reason into the tribe. Her relationship with Bearclaw started as a stormy one, but once their son was born, she slowly started to make him a better chief than he'd ever been. She was killed years later by the monster Madcoil, while she was with a scouting group to find out the source of several murdered animals (or find a new holt in "Wolfrider"); her death eventually made Bearclaw half insane and brought him to sacrifice himself for the sake of the tribe, but it was only their son Cutter who finally succeeded in killing Madcoil and avenging both parent's deaths with the help of the mourning tribe. Joyleaf had long blonde hair woven with leaves and deep blue eyes.
Rain: Male, deceased. He was the healer of the Wolfriders during Bearclaw's time, and though powerful, he was not as strong as Leetah. With his magic he helped eased the pain of One-Eye's lost eye, but he could not restore it; the best he could do was seal One-Eye's eyelid shut to completely cover the wound. In the same way, he saved Cutter from sure death after a human attack on the chiefs' son, and did his best to guarantee new life to the tribe; eventually trying to force Recognition upon himself. Rain fathered at least two known children, Pike and Rainsong, thought the mother's name is unknown (or if indeed they had different mothers). He was killed by Madcoil alongside Joyleaf and others.
Rain had short orange-colored hair, dark eyes, and face fur in the form of sidelocks.
Longbranch: Male, deceased, formerly called Longreach. Possible son of Owl, twin of Greywolf. It is suggested he had Recognized many times. Lifemate of Brownberry, older half-brother of One-Eye, and father of Nightfall. He was the tribe's storyteller and it was he who trained Pike to be howlkeeper. One of the longest-lived of Wolfriders, he lived during the rule of five Wolfrider chiefs from Freefoot to Bearclaw. He, along with Joyleaf, Brownberry, Foxfur and Rain, was killed by Madcoil. His hair and beard were black, and he preferred rust-colored clothing.
Brownberry: Female, deceased. Lifemate of Longbranch, mother of Nightfall. She was a potter, killed by Madcoil. Her hair was chestnut colored with brown eyes, and she wore a necklace of berries and leaves. Possible former name was Amber.
Foxfur: Female, deceased. Lovemate of Skywise, she matched his love of dreamberries and the playful side of life. She had brown hair, brown eyes, and wore browns and purples. She wore a brown fur hat and metal wrist and armbands. She was killed by Madcoil.
Shale: Male, deceased. Father of Skywise, Recognized lifemate of Eyes High. He was killed by humans, stoned from the nest where Eyes High was to give birth to Skywise. His back was broken by the fall, and he was murdered in his helpless state. His eyes and hair were silver-gray, darker than his son's, and he wore greens and browns.
Eyes High: Female, deceased. Mother of Skywise, Recognized lifemate of Shale. She was a loner, but asked her mate to be with her for the birth of their son. She watched her lifemate get knocked out of the tree that she sat in; the injury to his back set off her labor, as she felt the pain as if it were her own. The human boys who knocked him down captured her and were to be honored by their elders at a feast to their god. She saw her captors stab Shale in the chest, killing him and part of her. While guarding her in their village, the youths watched her struggle to resist her labor and keep her child from being born. They could not bear to see her and the child be killed in such a way, claiming there was no honor in it, so they spirited her away. They escaped on a log raft together, and Eyes High gave birth at last, apologizing to Skywise, since she could not bring him close to the sky. She sent to her tribe to watch the river, bundled Skywise in her waterproof cloak, and set him adrift on the river for the tribe to find; she bled to death shortly afterward. One of the boys was killed for their deed and the other, who mourned that he could not save her and his brother, was sent to live in exile. Eyes High's eyes were bright blue, her hair shoulder-length, wavy and blonde, and she wore greens and browns.
Elf
An elf is a being of Germanic mythology. The elves were originally thought of as a race of divine beings endowed with magical powers, which they use both for the benefit and the injury of mankind...
on the World of Two Moons in the comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
Elfquest
Elfquest
Elfquest is a cult hit comic book property created by Wendy and Richard Pini in 1978. It is a fantasy story about a community of elves and other fictional species who struggle to survive and coexist on a primitive Earth-like planet with two moons. Several published volumes of prose fiction also...
, created by Wendy and Richard Pini
Wendy and Richard Pini
Wendy Pini née Fletcher, and Richard Pini are the husband-and-wife team responsible for creating the well-known Elfquest series of comics, graphic novels and prose works...
.
Wolfrider is also the title of an Elfquest story featuring Bearclaw, in some respects the archetypal member of his tribe.
History
For many millennia the Wolfriders lived in a forest known as the Holt (at least three different holts are known), hunting and gathering and living in balance with nature, until a conflict with humanHuman
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
s resulted in the forest's destruction. Led by their eleventh chief, Cutter
Elfquest
Elfquest is a cult hit comic book property created by Wendy and Richard Pini in 1978. It is a fantasy story about a community of elves and other fictional species who struggle to survive and coexist on a primitive Earth-like planet with two moons. Several published volumes of prose fiction also...
, the Wolfriders sought refuge with King Greymung's trolls in their underground caverns, but Greymung distrusted the elves and tricked them into a tunnel leading to a harsh desert.
After several days journeying through the desert, the Wolfriders discovered the oasis
Oasis
In geography, an oasis or cienega is an isolated area of vegetation in a desert, typically surrounding a spring or similar water source...
village of Sorrow's End, populated by a hitherto unknown elf tribe called the Sun Folk
Sun Folk
In the comic book Elfquest, created by Wendy and Richard Pini, the Sun Folk are a fictional tribe of elves on the World of Two Moons ....
. After an initial skirmish, caused partly by Cutter's paranoia after the trolls' betrayal and partly by his Recognition - and abduction - of the village healer Leetah, the Wolfriders and Sun Folk became friends and allies, learning new skills from each other.
Their use of magic before the destruction of the Holt was limited to utilitarian powers directly related to forested wilderness survival, such as telepathy (which the elves call "sending"), healing, plant manipulation, etc. However, after arrival at Sorrow's End, the Wolfriders learned other powers from the community's elders.
Most of the Wolfriders subsequently left Sorrow's End in order to find an unknown evil force that had caused the spirit of the Sun Folk's leader Savah to be trapped outside her body. This turned out to be an elf, Winnowill of the Gliders, a decadent and stagnating tribe cloistered within Blue Mountain. After a bitter struggle the Wolfriders temporarily defeated Winnowill, and the Gliders' leader Lord Voll, no longer in thrall to her, promised to take the Wolfriders to the lost Palace of the High Ones, where they would learn once and for all the secret of their origins.
But the Palace was jealously guarded by a warlike tribe of trolls under King Guttlekraw. Lord Voll was killed, Cutter was grievously wounded, and only the intervention of another, heretofore unknown elf tribe, the Go-Back
Go-Back
The Go-Backs are a tribe of elves in the comic series Elfquest. They named themselves from their goal to return to the Palace of the High Ones....
tribe, saved the Wolfriders from being wiped out. Joining forces with the Go-Backs, the Wolfriders defeated Guttlekraw's trolls and returned to the Palace, where they did indeed learn the truth of their origins and discovered the long-lost High One, their ancestor Timmain. But the Palace was not a home, and so the Wolfriders established a new holt within the woods near Blue Mountain, but hidden from all.
This covers the events in the original Elfquest series, 1978 - 1984.
Wolfrider characters
All Wolfriders are mortal unless otherwise noted, because of their diluted blood (with wolves). Their natural lifespan may be about 3,000-3,500 years.Current Wolfriders
Current Wolfriders are all Wolfriders who were alive and present in the story during and after the original Elfquest series, 1978 - 1984.Goodtree's Rest/Father Tree Holt
After its restoration, the Palace of the High Ones settled near Goodtree's Rest - the Wolfrider Holt that had been burned down at the very beginning of the comic series.Sword
A sword is a bladed weapon used primarily for cutting or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographical region under consideration...
, but also from his desire to cut through lies and deception and uncover the truth. Son of the previous chief, Bearclaw, and his wise lifemate Joyleaf, Cutter lost both of his parents to the monster Madcoil. He avenged them by killing the monster and took up leadership of the sixteen surviving Wolfriders. The tribe experienced a short period of peace until humans burnt down the forest where they lived. Alongside his soul-brother, Skywise, Cutter had led the Wolfriders underground to the Troll caves. Demanding passage to a new forest holt, they were tricked by the Trolls into the Burning Waste desert.
After a grueling three-day journey, the Wolfriders discovered a village of dark-skinned elves. These elves called themselves the Sun Folk, of which Cutter found his lifemate, the beautiful healer Leetah, as well as a lifelong rival - Leetah's suitor, the powerful magician Rayek. In order to protect his tribe from the threat of humans, Cutter embarked on a journey to find other sundered elf kin and gather them all together. He accomplished this by discovering the existence of the stagnant Gliders of Blue Mountain and the warlike snow elves known as Go-Backs (as well as, much later, the ocean-based elfin Wavedancer tribe).
Reasonable and kind, Cutter now leads his tribe at their native Father Tree Holt, which they resettled after a particularly bloody war with the human ruler Grohmul Djun. Cutter and Leetah fathered one of only three known elfin pairs of twins—the mystic Sunstream (formerly Suntop) and his wolf-blooded sister Ember, who now leads a branch of the Wolfriders as her own tribe. Cutter has long ash-blond hair, deep blue eyes, and well- developed facefur in the form of sidelocks. His wolf-friends have included Nightrunner, Warfrost, Timmain (an elf shaped into lupine form) and Holdfast.
Skywise (soul name: Fahr): male, alive, immortal. Father of Yun with an unknown Go-Back. The tribe's stargazer never knew his parents, Shale and Eyes High, and the few memories he has of his mother have been augmented by the tales of the tribe's elders about their tragic deaths. Knowing his parents were killed by humans has led Skywise to a general mistrust of humankind. Cutter's best friend and soul brother acts as his closest confidante, "partner in mischief," and, at times, furmate.
Skywise is nonetheless generally merry and a definite ladies' man, and after the death of his first lovemate, Foxfur, at the hand of Madcoil, he has "played the field." Skywise's greatest love is of the stars, whose secrets he yearns to know. It has been insinuated that he is a direct descendant of the high one Sefra, who was known for her snow-white hair and position as astronomer in the Palace. It has also been hinted that Skywise will find out what Recognition truly means with Timmain, the last surviving High One, who's woven an unusually deep bond with the good-hearted stargazer of the Wolfriders since the passing of Skywise's wolf-friend, Starjumper.
When Skywise, Leetah, the twins, and the ancient rockshaper elf Ekuar were kidnapped 10,000 years into the future of the World of Two Moons (later called Abode), Skywise begged Leetah to take his wolf-blood away, asking for time after the shock of losing everyone he cared about to their mortality. However, his choice to become immortal has caused him trouble and disquiet over the years, and he's only recently managed to come to terms with the change, reluctantly accepting the probability that someday he will see his tribe die.
Sunstream (soul name: Klynn): male, alive. He was formerly known as Suntop, the male child of Cutter and Leetah. While he and his twin sister Ember were still in Leetah's womb, Ember called the wolf blood to her, while Sunstream called for "something else." He's an immortal, due to his lack of wolf blood, and possesses incredible magic powers such as astral projection, long-distance telepathy and magic-feeling, which makes him aware whenever something or someone around him has been modified by elfin magic. He lately helped his parents to restore the Father Tree Holt by purging a pool of malevolent magic left by Madcoil, and his name was changed to Sunstream to commemorate the feat.
Recently he has Recognized an elf maiden, Brill, from a seagoing tribe called the Wavedancers; the pair are now "long-distance" lifemates who will visit each other both physically and on the astral-plane. Sunstream is also destined to become the new Master of the Palace of the High Ones, a task for which he is preparing with the High One Timmain and the stargazer Skywise. He and his twin Ember have always been very close, despite the obvious differences between them. Sunstream has long, wavy butter-yellow hair, blue eyes and medium-dark skin.
Strongbow (soul name: Wyl): male, alive. Son of the long-deceased Trueflight and an unknown Wolfrider male, he inherited his mother's skills and is the Wolfriders' best archer
Archery
Archery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow, from Latin arcus. Archery has historically been used for hunting and combat; in modern times, however, its main use is that of a recreational activity...
. He is now a respected elder in his tribe. Strongbow doesn't say much, though he'll stubbornly fight for his beliefs and what he thinks best. Lifemated to the tribe's tanner, Moonshade, their relationship started centuries ago under Bearclaw's leadership, with the birth of a daughter named Crescent, who had apparently inherited all of her father's aim and skills; she might have been a great archer too, had humans not killed her early in her teens. Strongbow and Moonshade managed to overcome the sorrow over her loss, but it took both a great amount of grief and a second Recognition - resulting, this time, in the birth of a male cub, named Dart. Their family had just been rebuilt when humans burned the Wolfrider's holt, forcing Cutter's tribe to flee into the desert.
Strongbow never forgot what forced his tribe to a massive flight, and when humans stumbled upon the Sun Village, he opposed leaving them alive to relate the elves' existence to others of their kind. Later on he was caught and tortured by the Gliders' Lord Winnowill until Moonshade and the rest of the tribe came to help; he resisted and recovered from the psychic wounds and torment inflicted by the Black Snake due to his great mental will and strength. Strongbow and Moonshade were separated from each other at the time of the Shards War, with Strongbow following Cutter and his warriors to fight the human dictator Grohmul Djun. Moonshade was asked to accompany the Wolfriders' new leader, Ember, and her splinter tribe whose mission was to continue the Wolfriders' existence.
Reunited again at Goodtree's Rest, Strongbow and Moonshade play a significant (though not central) role in the 2004 graphic novel, The Searcher and the Sword, in which the receive a message from the spirit of their deceased daughter Crescent, foretelling "joy above and danger below". Shortly afterward the couple Recognizes a third time, and Moonshade bears another daughter, Chitter. Strongbow has long reddish-brown hair, dark eyes and a short beard. His wolf friends have included Briarsting, Lashpaw and Gnawbone.
Moonshade (soul name: Eyrn): female, alive. The tribe's tanner and tailor, and lifemate to Strongbow. Mother to Crescent, Chitter, and Dart and grandmother to Bowki. Conservative in her attitudes, she is completely devoted to Strongbow and defends him and follows him, even if she believes him to be wrong, as seen when they leave the Blue Mountain, thus separating themselves from the rest of the tribe. They were temporarily separated when Moonshade was chosen to follow Ember and Strongbow to accompany Cutter. She had a hard time, missing Strongbow and the fear of never seeing him again, coupled with the then teenaged Ember, whom she saw as nothing more than a half-grown cub. Disagreements soon broke out between Moonshade and the young chieftess. It took a false vision of her long-dead daughter Crescent to build a bridge between the adviser and her new chief.
After the Shards War she reunited with Strongbow, and in the 2004 graphic novel, The Searcher and the Sword, they are together again. Here they receive a true vision of Crescent ('sending' from the Palace). They Recognize each other again, and she bears life to her second daughter, Chitter. Moonshade has mid-length, dark brown hair and deep violet eyes.
Dart (soul name: Dyrr): Male, alive. Son of Strongbow and Moonshade, Soul-brother to Shushen, lifemate to Serrin (now deceased), father of Bowki (also deceased). When the Wolfriders and Leetah left Sorrow's End to find Cutter and Skywise, he volunteered to stay behind to teach the Sun Folk how to hunt and defend themselves. He was successful enough to create a fighting force of mounted warriors called Jackwolf Riders (after their wolf-jackal hybrid companions). He recognized Serrin while in wrapstuff after the battle for the little palace, and she gave birth to Bowki. Later, Dart traveled to the Forevergreen Forest with Kimo, Chot, Yun, Suntop, Windkin, Dodia and Shenshen to investigate a strange sending. Dart had a relationship with his "soul brother" Shu-shen, who was killed in the war for the little Palace.
Nightfall: (soul name: Twen) - Female, alive. A close friend of Cutter and lifemate to Redlance. Mother of Tyleet and grandmother of Pool, daughter of Longbranch and Brownberry (in "The Blood Of Ten Chiefs", volume one, her mother is identified as an elf-woman named Amber). Nightfall is an able huntress and scout. She is "the spear, the sword, the arrow" as opposed to her lifemate Redlance, whom she once called "the flower, the tree, the vine." The two are not Recognized, but Leetah helped them to induce Recognition after they exchanged soul names at the end of the Palace War, resulting in the birth of their daughter, Tyleet. Nightfall has long, curly honey-blonde hair and amber eyes. Her wolf friends include Woodshaver, Squirrel Bane and Mudmuzzle.
Redlance: (soul name: Ulm) Male, alive. Best tracker among the Wolfriders and also a treeshaper. Originally named Redmark until he saved Bearclaw from a sabertooth tiger by way of a spear, planting it in front of the charging the animal so it impaled itself with its own momentum. Redlance has a gentle demeanor which his tribe-mates respect, and is often assigned to guard the community's children while others go off to fight. Nightfall and Redlance are not Recognized, but following the traumatic events of the Wolfriders' battle of the trolls, Nightfall brought Redlance out of a catatonic
Catatonia
Catatonia is a state of neurogenic motor immobility, and behavioral abnormality manifested by stupor. It was first described in 1874: Die Katatonie oder das Spannungsirresein ....
state by joining her soul to his, where they discovered the other's soul name. They then persuaded Leetah to induce Recognition so that they could have a child; Nightfall then bore a daughter, Tyleet. Redlance has long red hair, usually tied in front into twin braids framing his face, and green eyes.
Newstar: female, alive. Daughter of Rainsong and Woodlock, sister to Wing and Mender, mother of Kimo. Newstar was still a child when the Wolfriders made the desert crossing to Sorrow's End, and so spent most of her early years in the village. Her lifemate, a Sun Villager named Lutei (his name was revealed by Wendy Pini only in July 2006), was killed during the battle with the Go-Backs for the Little Palace. After the elves' war against Grohmul Djun, Newstar returned to the forest with her Wolfrider kin. Newstar has rather long golden-blonde hair.
Clearbrook: female, alive. Recognized lifemate with One-Eye, mother of Scouter and a daughter (long deceased) whose name was rumored to be Moss. One-Eye was killed in the first encounter with the trolls of the frozen north. After One-Eye's death, Clearbrook became consumed with her revenge against the frozen mountain trolls, but eventually came to terms with her grief following a time of healing and some encounters with the elf-troll Two Edge. Clearbrook is currently the oldest living Wolfrider female. She is now life-mated to Treestump. Clearbrook has very long silver hair and silver eyes.
Treestump: male, alive; Recognized lifemate with Rillfisher (deceased), father of Dewshine, now the lifemate of Clearbrook. Brother to Joyleaf and uncle of Cutter. The oldest of the Wolfriders and an elder who serves as an adviser to Cutter and is usually considered second-in-command of the tribe, though leadership is not his preferred role. Originally named Birdcall, he got his present name in his young adulthood in a battle with trolls when he was caught in multiple lasso
Lasso
A lasso , also referred to as a lariat, riata, or reata , is a loop of rope that is designed to be thrown around a target and tighten when pulled. It is a well-known tool of the American cowboy. The word is also a verb; to lasso is to successfully throw the loop of rope around something...
s by the Trolls. However, even so bound, he was "like a stubborn old tree stump" in chief Bearclaw's words, too strong to bring down. In the graphic novel, "The Searcher and the Sword," Treestump, with the help and support of Cutter and Clearbrook, took on a quest of his own: that of mastering, through trial and error, the art of blacksmithing, which until then was known only to the trolls. After successfully creating his first sword, Mornhowl, Treestump became the tribe's blacksmith, eliminating the need for the elves to trade with the trolls for weapons. Treestump has short, curling blonde hair and a full beard.
Shuna: female, alive, human; adoptive daughter of Leetah and Cutter, wife of Bee, briefly the wife of Nunkah. As a child she was healed from a deathly illness (probably smallpox) by Leetah. Several years later, she repaid the favor by freeing Tyleet when Shuna's father captured the elf. While the elves tried to reclaim the Palace shards, she led a revolution that overthrew Grohmul Djun, the dictator who ruled much of her native Junsland. It was during this war that she earned the respect of the Wolfriders with her bravery and saving Strongbow's life by allowing him to shoot an arrow through her hand while he was falling in mid-air. After the restoration of the Palace, she traveled with the elves to Howling Rock and was reunited with both Leetah and Tyleet. Leetah healed Shuna's hand, then she and Cutter invited Shuna to join the Wolfriders and offered to adopt her after the deaths of her parents. Later she decided to mediate between the elves and the human tribes near the holt. It is revealed in the beginning of "The Searcher and the Sword" that she will eventually learn sending, though it is not yet known how. At the conclusion of the 2006 series "The Discovery," she marries her longtime friend Bee (Ikopek), a trader and traveler from a tribe near the holt.
Chitter: female, alive; daughter of Strongbow and Moonshade, sister to Crescent(deceased) and Dart. The youngest Wolfrider, she was conceived and born during the events of "The Searcher and the Sword." After Strongbow and Moonshade received a vision from the spirit of their daughter Crescent about "joy above and danger below," it turned out the "joy above" was that the couple had Recognized for the third time. Two years later, Moonshade gave birth to Chitter, presumably named because she is a hyperactive toddler who talks and makes animal sounds non-stop. Unlike Strongbow, who prefers sending over talking, Chitter likes to talk to anyone within hearing range and usually asks her father to not "think-talk," but "talk like Shuna." Chitter has light reddish-brown hair and violet eyes.
New Land
These are the Wolfriders who, under Ember's leadership, returned to the New Land (called Junsland by humans) after the restoration of the Palace of the High Ones at the end of Shards. The latest publication used for reference is the Summer Special 2001 Recognition.Ember: female, alive; twelfth chief of the Wolfriders. She's the daughter of Cutter and Leetah, and Suntop's twin sister, though as different from him as day from night. When the twins were still in Leetah's womb, Ember called wolf-blood (and its subsequent mortality) to her, while her brother called for some unknown magic of the High Ones' time. As a result, the Wolfriders all saw in Ember their next chieftess, and knew someday she'd have earned the chief lock (a topknot worn only by the Wolfrider leader) from her father, Cutter. However, in her early years, this young tomboy was often jealous of how everybody's attentions seemed focused entirely on her brother; she thought he and Leetah could step on the stage whenever a magic user was needed, while she, Ember, had to stay back and wait till her own adulthood would have come - which wasn't to her taste. Redlance's support, along with Ember's very self-confident and outgoing nature, somewhat eased things; yet, by the time of her adolescence, the young daughter of Cutter was almost constantly at odds with her chieftain father (in a drama echoed, many years before, by Kahvi - and lately even the Wavedancer chief Snakeskin).
When Rayek tried to answer the plea for help echoing straight from the time of the High Ones' crash on the World of Two Moons, he abducted Leetah, Suntop, Skywise, Ekuar, Ember and Trinket (a troll girl) and took them into the 'Far Ahead Time'in the Palace. Although the captives felt it had only been one night since they left the Wolfriders, they learned that 10,000 years had passed for Cutter, who had chosen to sleep several thousand years in 'wrapstuff' along with his tribe so he could meet up with his Lifemate, soulbrother and cubs in the future instead of perishing of old age. After the family was reunited for some time, Suntop was to be taken to the Sun Village via the palace guided by Rayek, to develop his powers under the tuition of Savah.
Feeling left out, Ember disobeyed her father and went with Leetah and Suntop to the Sun Village as well, not understanding Cutter's emotional stress of being separated from his family again. At this time she also came across her very first lovemate, Mender the healer, and they shared a somewhat idyllic time together - she seeing him as a beautiful, trophy lovemate and he seeing in her his heroes- Cutter and Leetah. Ember, however, felt Mender was too much like her, and when her father chose to split the tribe in half to face the Shards War, she chose her mother Leetah to take care of the health of her branch of Wolfriders, while Mender would have gone fighting alongside Cutter and his warriors. They settled on a new holt to preserve the Way of the Wolfriders and hunt down the monsters left behind by Winnowill.
It was there Ember met Teir, a mysterious plains-dwelling elf who enchanted her more than she'd have ever thought possible. After a somehow stormy relationship worsened by Mender's jealously and Ember's sometimes not that smart choices as a chieftess, the two are now close to the point of being lifemates, and while she's probably given him her soulname, Ember still doesn't want to force Recognition, but patiently wait until the High Ones will give her and Teir a baby of their own. Much matured since her infancy, Ember has flame-red wavy hair long below her waist, blue-green eyes (though often depicted to be either blue or green) and a medium-dark complexion. Her soulname is unknown. Her wolf friends include Choplicker and Patch.
Tyleet (soul name: Sohn): female, alive. Daughter of Nightfall and Redlance and the product of an induced Recognition; mother of Pool. Has a particular talent for interacting with humans, and even went so far as to adopt an abandoned human "cub" named Little Patch, with bittersweet consequences. She Recognized Scouter, a development that his lifemate, Dewshine, approved of. Her relationship with Nightfall illustrates the effect of elfin longevity, since after five centuries the age difference between them was no longer significant and they behaved more like sisters than mother and daughter. Tyleet has red-gold hair that changes slightly with the season; during the "Kings of the Broken Wheel" storyline, her parents once commented "strands of white with red-gold means an early white cold- our cub's changing pelt never lies." Her wolf friends have included Bundles and Patience.
Pike: male, alive. The product of a healer-induced conception (he is the son of Rain the healer) and named for his weapon preference for spear
Spear
A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head.The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with bamboo spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastened to the shaft, such as flint, obsidian, iron, steel or...
s. Lifemated to Go-Backs Skot and Krim, although Skot was killed during the war with Grohmul Djun. With Krim he later raised a son, Sust, who likely was sired by Skot immediately before his death in battle. Howlkeeper and dreamberry lover. He carries with him a pouch of dreamberry seeds so that no matter where he ends up there can be a harvest. Pike was also responsible for helping reveal the message in the wrapstuff dreams during "Dreamtime."
Dewshine: (soul name: Lree) female, alive. Daughter of Rillfisher and Treestump, she resembles her deceased mother, which serves as a poignant reminder to her father. Lifemate to Scouter, mother of Windkin, and cousin to Cutter. Despite her frail appearance she is one of the most daring and adventurous of the Wolfriders, which has gotten her into trouble on several occasions. In Blue Mountain she Recognized Tyldak, as a result of which Winnowill learned her soul name and used it against her. Much later, when Tyleet Recognized Scouter Dewshine was not in the least jealous but was glad that Scouter now understood Recognition and would finally have a cub of his own. She lifemated to Scouter and Tyleet and at one point the three exchanged soulnames. A short time later Dewshine played midwife to the couple, delivering their son Pool and helping to raise him. Dewshine has short, curly blonde hair, and is notably flat-chested (without being anything like a tomboy). Her wolf-friends have included Trollhammer, Squirrel-Bane, and Longshanks.
Scouter (soul name: Jial): male, alive. He's the son of Clearbrook and One-Eye, nephew of Longbranch and brother of an unnamed elfin girl who died before his birth. Lifemated to Dewshine and Recognized with Tyleet, he is the father of Pool. When Dewshine Recognized the Glider Tyldak, it was Scouter who offered to be a father for her son, Windkin and to love him because he was part of her. After helping to rescue Windkin and Dewshine from Blue Mountain, he and Dewshine decided to raise Windkin in the peaceful Sun Village. After returning to the Wolfriders, Scouter Recognized Tyleet. Scouter and Tyleet exchanged soulnames with Dewshine in the New Land, forming a deep, loving threesome. They successfully raised their son Pool together, and even though there was a time when Scouter challenged Ember
Ember
Embers are the glowing, hot coals made of greatly heated wood, coal, or other carbon-based material that remain after, or sometimes precede a fire. Embers can glow very hot, sometimes as hot as the fire which created them...
for the chieftainship and took temporary charge of the tribe, it wasn't long before he gave up and came back to his role of protective father and scout. He's best known for his keen eyesight. Scouter has dark brown hair and dark eyes. His most recent wolf-friend was Scrabble.
Mender: male, alive. Youngest son of Rainsong and Woodlock, brother to Newstar and Wing, lovemate of Ember and of Yun. He grew up in the Sun Village, but later joined the Wolfriders in the New Land, in part to find his heritage, in part to learn from Leetah to use his healing abilities to their best. Mender accompanied Cutter and the other warriors in the battle with Grohmul Djun for the shards of the palace. He has long, blond hair and crystal blue eyes.
Yun: female, alive. Daughter of Skywise and an unknown Go-Back; lovemate of Mender. She grew up as a Go-Back, but after a raid on the Sun Village decided to stay with the Sun Folk. She joined Dart's band on the expedition to the Forevergreen rain forest, and after the restoration of the Palace joined Ember's tribe. She has pale blonde hair and blue eyes.
Her wolf friends include Pondwallow, Wag-Rump and Suncoat (a wolf-jackal crossbreed).
Teir: male, alive, likely a descendant of the Go-Backs. He was raised by his father at Howling Rock, where Ember's tribe found him while Cutter's tribe was waging war for the Palace Shards hundreds of miles away. Teir's magical abilities of animal communication/influence were corrupted by Winnowill, nearly leading to a disaster, which was all the more troubling to him because of his own growing love for Ember (and hers for him). He left the tribe when they joined the other Wolfriders in the Palace, but rejoined them a time after they returned. When Scouter defeated Ember and banished her, Teir followed her rather than staying with the tribe, most likely saving her life. He has black hair, gray eyes, and olive skin.
Krim: female, alive, pure-blooded; lifemate of Skot and Pike, mother of Sust. A Go-Back who joined the Wolfriders after the first war for the Palace, together with Skot. She and Skot accompanied the other warriors in the quest to regain the shards of the palace; Skot was killed and Krim later mortally wounded, but she allowed herself to be healed by Mender only because he told her she was carrying a child. Two years later she bore a son, Sust, whom she raised with her surviving lifemate Pike.
Khorbasi: male, alive, human; adopted son of Yun. His history is largely unwritten; in Recognition we learn he was accepted as a Wolfrider and raised by Yun. He currently protects the tribe from afar.
Deceased
These are characters that belonged to the Wolfriders since or after the original series, but have died since.Rainsong: female, deceased. Daughter of Rain, half-sister of Pike, lifemated to Woodlock, mother of Wing, Newstar and Mender. Was known for being highly prolific as far as elves go could sense her children's ability while pregnant, enabling her to reassure Leetah when she had to depart to find her mate that her next son will be a healer to eventually replace her. She fit well with the Sunfolk elves and spent the majority of her life in Sorrow's End. When Rayek took the palace, Rainsong, along with Woodlock and Wing, choose not to be cocooned in wrapstuff along with the other Wolfriders and Sunfolk. Instead she decided to wait out the years, marking each one's pass with a pebble put in a clay jar. She died of old age, one of the very few wolfriders to do so. She had short golden blonde hair and blue eyes. Her wolf-friend was Silvergrace.
Woodlock: male, deceased. Devoted father and mate to Rainsong. Usually gentle and placid, he became almost frighteningly enraged when he believed humans might pose a threat to his children. He also spent the majority of his life in Sorrow's End, and died of old age there. He had short golden brown hair and blue eyes.
Wing: male, deceased. Son of Rainsong and Woodlock, brother to Newstar and Mender. Along with his parents, he died of old age in Sorrow's End while waiting for Rayek to return with the stolen Palace. He was Recognized to Behtia, fathered Serrin, and in turn, was grandfather of Bowki. He had short, curly blonde hair and blue eyes.
One-Eye (soul name: Sur): male, deceased. Lifemate of Clearbrook, father of an unnamed daughter and Scouter. Grandfather of Pool. Originally named Woodhue, he acquired his more famous name because he had one of his eyes gouged out so completely that Rain could not save it and had to settle for sealing the eye socket. He fell in battle against Guttlekraw's trolls, but before his body completely expired, Petalwing cocooned it. When his body was discovered in Two-Edge's vault, Leetah attempted to heal it, but instead left it in an effectively brain dead
Brain death
Brain death is the irreversible end of all brain activity due to total necrosis of the cerebral neurons following loss of brain oxygenation. It should not be confused with a persistent vegetative state...
state that Clearbrook eventually decided to euthanize
Euthanasia
Euthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering....
. He had medium length brown hair and brown eyes (eye).
Skot: male, deceased, pure-blooded. Lovemate of Pike and Krim; possible father of Sust. A Go-Back who joined the Wolfriders after the first war for the Palace, together with Krim. He was killed during the war for the Shard of the Palace, when he chose to fight the peace hounds to the last on a burning bridge, rather than fleeing in time. It is somewhat ironic, considering he once mentioned fire was not the way he wanted to die. However, going down fighting is the Go-Back way, and Skot held true to his tribe and his nature to the end. He had long dark brown hair and brown eyes.
Zhantee: male, deceased, pure-blooded. A lovemate of Venka, he dreamed of Recognizing Leetah. Born a Sun Villager, he began as a quiet, mild-mannered potter, but later became one of several Sun Folk to learn hunting and fighting from the Wolfrider Dart. He then joined the Wolfrider tribe, partly for adventure but also because of his gallant (though chaste) love for his compatriot Leetah, the healer. He developed the magical ability to throw invisible force-shields to save people from physical harm, a skill that protected his elf peers and even allowed him to dive into the sea (his force shield doubled as an underwater bubble). While accompanying the Wolfriders who fought to regain the Palace shards from the human despot Grohmul Djun, he used his shielding skill to save his comrades. When a building where the elves were hiding caught fire and threatened to cave in, he used his powers to levitate the wreckage, allowing the others to escape; but in the end his strength gave out and the building collapsed on him, crushing him fatally. His last wish was sharing the feeling of Recognition with Leetah, which Cutter granted him. He had short dark brown hair and brown eyes.
Little Patch: male, deceased, human. Tyleet found him as an infant tied to a tree, where his parents left him to die, probably because they considered a port-wine stain birthmark on his face as a bad omen. Tyleet raised him as a Wolfrider. He returned to his human tribe in puberty, and later became their chief. As an old man he returned to the elves' land, and died of old age in Tyleet's arms.
Historical Wolfriders
Historical Wolfriders are all Wolfriders who have died or otherwise left the storyline prior to the original Elfquest series, 1978 - 1984. Many were featured in the Blood of Ten Chiefs series or in flashbacks.Timmorn Yellow-Eyes: First chieftain, very wolf-like in appearance, son of the High One Timmain and a male wolf. He sired many children, in and out of Recognition, supposedly with both elves and wolves, the slightly more elfin of which became the successful Wolfriders, and the descendants of their wolfish siblings became their mounts. He had distinctly red fur/hair and yellow eyes.
Rahnee the She-Wolf: Second chieftain, daughter of Timmorn and Valloa (also named Murrel and New-Wolf), lifemate of Zarhan Fastfire. Full sister of Laststar. She had numerous children with Fastfire, including Cat, Prunepit/Prey-Pacer, Bright-Eyes, Ice, and others. Tribal history claims she died during an attack of saurian creatures called allos, but it is revealed to readers in the "Blood Of Ten Chiefs" novels that she barely survived, and was cared for by pure-blooded plains elves known as "Trickster's Clan". Zarhan was reunited with her later, where both answered the call of Recognition to different elves. Her fate is unknown. She is believed to have had silvery hair and violet eyes.
Prey-Pacer: Third chieftain, son of Rahnee, formerly called Prunepit, Recognized to Wreath and lifemate to Softfoot. He was not a very apt sender, but he had the gift to bond with animals and read their movements, and allow his wolf-friends to know what those movements were as soon as he knew. Father of Two-Spear and Dove by Softfoot, and Skyfire by Wreath. He had dark hair.
Two-Spear: Fourth chieftain; son of Prey-Pacer and Softfoot, lifemate of Willowgreen the healer, father of Kahvi and Redbark, possibly Stonefist; formerly called Swift-Spear.
Two-Spear was fierce and opposed to new ideas. When Willowgreen suggested that it was possible to grow plants for dependable food, he considered it an insult to the hunters and verbally attacked her. He is revealed as being fairly abusive and somewhat "bipolar". He tried to kill his stepdaughter Kahvi when she attempted to challenge his legendary madness.
He is best known for his hatred for humans; he went so far as plan to start a war with the aim of killing all humans. Two reasons for this hatred are that humans killed one of his wolf friends, Blackmane; another that he found a place of old magic, where he saw visions of the High Ones arriving on the World of Two Moons and being attacked. When Two-Spear told the tribe his plans, his sister Skyfire challenged him for leadership. She lost, but Two-Spear spared her life, and let all Wolfriders choose if they wanted to follow her or him. He had a distinct dislike of pure elves and magic, resulting in much verbal abuse against his lifemate Willowgreen, who didn't come into her wolf-blood until later.
His wolf friends included Blackmane and No-Name. He had red-brown hair and brown eyes.
Icetooth: An elder in Two-Spear's tribe, who can be considered the first chief of the Go-Back
Go-Back
The Go-Backs are a tribe of elves in the comic series Elfquest. They named themselves from their goal to return to the Palace of the High Ones....
s. A lovemate of Skyfire, though he left with the elf he considered his chief. He supported Kahvi and was partly responsible for her challenging Two-Spear. After untold events, he became the leader of a group of former Wolfriders who had lost both wolf blood and their wolf-friends. When they found Kahvi, whom he had believed dead, he assumed the name Sharf and prepared her to be their next chief. He let himself be killed by a stag during a hunt.
Appears in the miniseries Kahvi. He had gray hair and one eye.
Huntress Skyfire: Fifth chieftain; daughter of Prey-Pacer and Wreath; half-sister of Two-Spear; attained chieftainship after a tribal schism during Two-Spear's reign. Lifemate to an outcast elf named Dreamsinger, who was considered half mad and lost in the racial memories of the Wolfriders. It is claimed in the "Blood Of Ten Chiefs" novels that she bore a daughter named Nightstar after Dreamsinger was killed by a mad elf, which leaves some readers questioning how Freefoot came into existence. She was also a lovemate of Pine and Icetooth. She had red hair and green eyes.
Freefoot: Sixth chieftain, son of Huntress Skyfire, lifemate to Starflower, fathered Tanner and two other sons with her. Died while rescuing children from a tree during a thunderstorm, where he was struck by a lightning bolt. The "Blood Of Ten Chiefs" novels say he Recognized Two Shadows, an elf from a tribe of plain-dwelling elves who claimed to be Wolfriders who had once followed Two-Spear and Greywolf, but their number was small and the wolf-blood was weak. They relied on domesticated goats for travel, food and clothing, and cooked their food. Freefoot did not see Two Shadows again, and later had to kill his son, Hawkcatcher, in self-defense, when the enraged youth engaged him in battle after telling him of the pain his mother had undergone, being separated from her Recognized. He had blond-brown hair.
Eldolil: The last pure-blooded elf who lived with the Wolfriders who stayed with Skyfire. He died of old age, being tired of the world. When he withdrew into the wilderness, Oakroot (Tanner) followed him to bring him back, but the old elf refused. Before he died, he shared visions of the High Ones with the chief's son, and convinced him that he would be a better next chief than his brothers.
Tanner (soul name: Lhu): Seventh chieftain; son of Freefoot, lifemate to Stormlight. He was originally named Oakroot, but earned his new name for his skill in transforming animal hide into functional, lovely leathers for his tribe, a talent acquired from much trial and error. He is also renowned for his unusually long and peaceful rule, which lasted some eight hundred years. He had light brown hair and brown eyes.
Goodtree (soul name: Neme): Eighth chieftain, daughter of Tanner and Stormlight, lifemate to Acorn and Lionleaper, mother of Mantricker (by Acorn) and Speedwell (by Lionleaper); a powerful treeshaper who created the Father Tree in which the tribe lived until its destruction during Cutter's leadership. Possibly sparked the magic that brought about Madcoil. She had long blonde hair entwined with leaves, and green eyes.
Mantricker: Ninth chieftain, son of Goodtree and Acorn, younger brother of Speedwell, who was killed by humans early in her adulthood, though she fathered Spark, possible father of Redlance. Known for his tricks, although he eventually cooperated with the human known as Demontricker to keep the elves and humans from each others' throats; father of Bearclaw through Recognition with Thornflower. He was also lovemates with Brightwater, Moonshade's mother. He had dark brown hair and brown eyes. His wolf-friend was Bentclaw.
Bearclaw (soul name: Grenn): Male, deceased. He was Cutter's father with Joyleaf, and the son of Mantricker and Thornflower. The tenth chief of the Wolfriders, Bearclaw was known for having quite a temper, and led his tribe of forest-dwelling elves in a time when indigenous humans started respecting less and less the "point-eared" demons. Bearclaw followed his ancestor Two-Spear's path to war, which eventually led to the death of many fellow Wolfriders such as Shale, Eyes High and Crescent.
Years later, his own lifemate Joyleaf was killed -along with four other elves- by Madcoil, a half-longtooth, half-snake monster born from a pool of stagnant magic brought to life by lightning, and the rage of Bearclaw and the humans' shaman. Devastated by grief, Bearclaw faced Madcoil himself, and was subsequently killed, but not before he could pass the chieftainship to his son. Bearclaw had long brown hair, dark eyes and face fur in the form of a short beard and mustache. He was well considered as quite an elf by the local trolls, including Picknose, for his gambling skills and his ability to hold his liquor. His wolf-friends included Crest and Blackfell, and Snapper in "Wolfrider".
Joyleaf (soul name: Dehl): Female, deceased. She was Cutter's mother by Bearclaw, as well as Treestump's sister and Dewshine's aunt. Every bit as sweet and loving as her lifemate Bearclaw was rogue and savage, she was often the calm to balance his most fiery side and the voice of reason into the tribe. Her relationship with Bearclaw started as a stormy one, but once their son was born, she slowly started to make him a better chief than he'd ever been. She was killed years later by the monster Madcoil, while she was with a scouting group to find out the source of several murdered animals (or find a new holt in "Wolfrider"); her death eventually made Bearclaw half insane and brought him to sacrifice himself for the sake of the tribe, but it was only their son Cutter who finally succeeded in killing Madcoil and avenging both parent's deaths with the help of the mourning tribe. Joyleaf had long blonde hair woven with leaves and deep blue eyes.
Rain: Male, deceased. He was the healer of the Wolfriders during Bearclaw's time, and though powerful, he was not as strong as Leetah. With his magic he helped eased the pain of One-Eye's lost eye, but he could not restore it; the best he could do was seal One-Eye's eyelid shut to completely cover the wound. In the same way, he saved Cutter from sure death after a human attack on the chiefs' son, and did his best to guarantee new life to the tribe; eventually trying to force Recognition upon himself. Rain fathered at least two known children, Pike and Rainsong, thought the mother's name is unknown (or if indeed they had different mothers). He was killed by Madcoil alongside Joyleaf and others.
Rain had short orange-colored hair, dark eyes, and face fur in the form of sidelocks.
Longbranch: Male, deceased, formerly called Longreach. Possible son of Owl, twin of Greywolf. It is suggested he had Recognized many times. Lifemate of Brownberry, older half-brother of One-Eye, and father of Nightfall. He was the tribe's storyteller and it was he who trained Pike to be howlkeeper. One of the longest-lived of Wolfriders, he lived during the rule of five Wolfrider chiefs from Freefoot to Bearclaw. He, along with Joyleaf, Brownberry, Foxfur and Rain, was killed by Madcoil. His hair and beard were black, and he preferred rust-colored clothing.
Brownberry: Female, deceased. Lifemate of Longbranch, mother of Nightfall. She was a potter, killed by Madcoil. Her hair was chestnut colored with brown eyes, and she wore a necklace of berries and leaves. Possible former name was Amber.
Foxfur: Female, deceased. Lovemate of Skywise, she matched his love of dreamberries and the playful side of life. She had brown hair, brown eyes, and wore browns and purples. She wore a brown fur hat and metal wrist and armbands. She was killed by Madcoil.
Shale: Male, deceased. Father of Skywise, Recognized lifemate of Eyes High. He was killed by humans, stoned from the nest where Eyes High was to give birth to Skywise. His back was broken by the fall, and he was murdered in his helpless state. His eyes and hair were silver-gray, darker than his son's, and he wore greens and browns.
Eyes High: Female, deceased. Mother of Skywise, Recognized lifemate of Shale. She was a loner, but asked her mate to be with her for the birth of their son. She watched her lifemate get knocked out of the tree that she sat in; the injury to his back set off her labor, as she felt the pain as if it were her own. The human boys who knocked him down captured her and were to be honored by their elders at a feast to their god. She saw her captors stab Shale in the chest, killing him and part of her. While guarding her in their village, the youths watched her struggle to resist her labor and keep her child from being born. They could not bear to see her and the child be killed in such a way, claiming there was no honor in it, so they spirited her away. They escaped on a log raft together, and Eyes High gave birth at last, apologizing to Skywise, since she could not bring him close to the sky. She sent to her tribe to watch the river, bundled Skywise in her waterproof cloak, and set him adrift on the river for the tribe to find; she bled to death shortly afterward. One of the boys was killed for their deed and the other, who mourned that he could not save her and his brother, was sent to live in exile. Eyes High's eyes were bright blue, her hair shoulder-length, wavy and blonde, and she wore greens and browns.
Disambiguation
- In The Lord of the RingsThe Lord of the RingsThe Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
, "Wolf riders" refers to a category not of Elves, but of Orcs.