The Dark Cities
Ghost pups, the survivors of a tragedy weren't always called by that name, as in the past they were called the "Dark Cities" and even longer ago they went with the name "The followers of Kumiko". A society that was slaughtered because they posed a possible threat towards the Shadow Clan had many secrets none knew about.
History
The history of the Dark Cities goes all the way back to the early days of Delv Ihoo, where species were formed and societies existed. The Dark Cities were a society of several packs together, which were said to be the origin of the white wolf of legends, as well as her followers and alliances. Kumiko, the wolf of legends who took in both Azure Dragons, initiated a new world and the development of species. The Azure Dragons, when leaving their home pack to a place referred to as the "Dragon Paradise", could not leave without showing their gratitude towards their adoptive mother. They ripped the land to create an island, which would be isolated to keep the wolves safe from past threats, but later on they also sent down their eggs. The dragons hatching from these eggs would take over the land, making wolves of the area develop within years into a species representing their god or goddess dragon. Kumiko herself was a leader until she died at the age of 22, which was very old back then, leaving her children and the many alliances she had created over the years. It is said that those alliances and those packs, having connections to Kumiko herself, formed what the Delv Ihoo inhabitants now call "the Dark Cities".
Originally these alliances and society were called "The followers of Kumiko" but this changed during the big gathering, causing their society's name to change to "Dark Cities". As the Gathering took place, many communities and societies all came together to discuss life rules, which were necessary with wolves now being the predator on top of the food chain. When discussing the rules, the followers of Kumiko were all present as well. When these rules were created, most of the followers had no complaints, until one rule was brought up that they heavily disagreed with. The wolves were discussing how the aging process had changed dramatically, making young pups dependent on their parents for years rather than months. This left elders to decide that young wolves shouldn't be trained for battle or hunt. The reason for this was that if young wolves join hunts at an early age, which would be around 10 years old, the amount of prey animals would drop faster, leaving less food. Having less food would leave them vulnerable, increasing the chance of natural death. This, however, drove the followers of Kumiko angry as they could not agree with this rule. These wolves wanted their children to be prepared and not to be vulnerable when attacked, therefore they left the meeting agreeing to a few rules but that one.
When the followers of Kumiko left, they quickly were addressed as the "dark Cities" by the main leading societies. One of the main societies that gave them their name were the Hero clans, who preferred to rule mostly over the land. They were angered by the followers of Kumiko not agreeing to their rules completely. Working together with other societies of wolves, they spread a rumor with a new name to cause wolves over the years to forget that these wolves were related to the wolf of legends, Kumiko, herself. As the name faded, more rumors were spread and due to the many skills and practices these wolves had, it was rumored that "all those who are born in the Dark Cities are blessed with an evil spirit". Because of many dangerous practices, the neighboring societies believed these rumors to be true, In the end, everyone avoided contact with the Dark Cities., which left the Dark Cities to depend only on their own society and alliances. The followers of Kumiko soon took on this name "Dark Cities" as they showed a name and some rumors wouldn't make them submit. They lived on in pride, not giving in to an already developing corrupted society "The Hero Clans".
For generations the Dark Cities thrived and had little conflicts. All of this changed through the first slaughter, caused by a new society by the name of the "Shadow Clans" who were on the rise. Although they didn't have any direct conflicts, from time to time leaders of the Dark Cities disappeared, but without evidence they couldn't possibly blame the Shadow Clans for this. When a pack by the name of "Elemental Fangs" was targeted, the damage done was horrifying. The Dark Cities only had a recent alliance with this tribe, as their pack only consisted of elemental wolf species, targeted by the Hero and Shadow clans. The public considered these wolves a threat to their own existence, leaving the Elemental Fangs with little options. They found out that the Dark Cities were generally kind and accepting. But sadly, their tribe was attacked and slaughtered till the last wolf, as wolves who seeked refugee either got killed or were chased off by other packs who didn't want anything to do with them. And unfortunately, due to a unique blessing from the dragons long ago, inside of the Dark Cities they had taken the rituals to ally the elemental wolves with them. This caused special hidden signs on their paw pads which can be revealed either by touching paws with another of the ritual or by special words. This gave the Shadow wolves the perfect opportunity to track them down as each symbol on a paw pad represents their species. And so, the slaughter had began.
As the news of one of their alliances being slaughtered was spread world wide, it left the Dark Cities confused as to who was responsible, since this tribe had so many enemies. Thinking that they couldn't have avoided this, they believed that such a horrifying event could never take place twice. Sadly that was not true. Both Hero and Shadow clans increased their armies, and the Dark Cities could never have imagined that the Hero clans agreed to a plan to work together with their former enemy. During pup season, an extremely important month, the attacks began and the Dark Cities were taken by surprise only years after the elemental pack fell. The packs were invaded and pups were used to take down their own parents and many others. The attacks happened so fast, it forced the wolves to scatter and search refugee to escape a painful death. Unfortunately, just like the Elemental Fangs, they got refused and most packs didn't take any of them in, leaving them to be hunted down and slaughtered. What made it even worse was that even though they were known for their dangerous pack ranks, it was not true at al that these ranks counted for all packs within the society. Some packs only consisted of healers, traders and other ranks, leaving many packs defenseless during the attack, not at all as dangerous as they were believed to be. The main focus were the leaders and adults, as the attackers wanted to keep young wolves knowing those would easier give into work than adults. Not one adult is known to have made it out alive. The wolves that did survive were young wolves, the oldest being teenagers. They were kept as slaves and slowly the entire community disappeared. Even years later the public believed they were only talking about a few slaughtered packs, even though there were a lot more of them. Sadly, the Dark Cities were -targeted for one reason only: they formed a possible threat to the Shadow Clans, leading to their deaths. One thing remains bizarre, though. Not one wolf knew the exact location of the Dark Cities and many didn't even know were they lived. To this day that remains a mystery. If they came in such great numbers, then why is there so little evidence? With the fading history of these wolves, the Dark Cities were slowly fading as well, until the only known society that has a connection towards them were the Ghost pups, the survivors of the Dark Cities.
Most well known ranks
The rumor, telling that all who were born inside of the Dark Cities had been blessed with evil spirits, accomplished its goal to convince the public of the many dangerous skills practiced by this society. They became well known for torture, Bounty hunters, Assassins, Bodyguards, Thieves and a unique skill practiced only by the Dark Cities themselves: "Ninja" or another term "Shadow warriors". Even though they did practice these pack ranks, they sadly were also judged by them. Rumors were spread, making the Dark Cities sound like a society of cruel and merciless wolves, as outsiders judged the nature and general society of the Dark Cities by their well-known practiced pack ranks.
What wasn't known by the public, and was mostly hidden from their vision, were the backgrounds and many other pack ranks practiced by the Dark Cities, including but not limited to healing, traders and teachers. Many packs were simply not interested in the dangerous pack ranks, but sadly even those packs were doomed from the start, as the societies with peaceful pack ranks were slaughtered easily while those with stronger pack ranks lasted longer. Although they were judging their pack ranks, what many wolves outside of the Dark Cities didn't know of were there absolute pack laws among the Dark Cities. They created their own pack laws to avoid wolves abusing the pack ranks in unacceptable ways. These wolves, unlike what the public knows and believes, strive for harmony rather than violence.
What wasn't known by the public, and was mostly hidden from their vision, were the backgrounds and many other pack ranks practiced by the Dark Cities, including but not limited to healing, traders and teachers. Many packs were simply not interested in the dangerous pack ranks, but sadly even those packs were doomed from the start, as the societies with peaceful pack ranks were slaughtered easily while those with stronger pack ranks lasted longer. Although they were judging their pack ranks, what many wolves outside of the Dark Cities didn't know of were there absolute pack laws among the Dark Cities. They created their own pack laws to avoid wolves abusing the pack ranks in unacceptable ways. These wolves, unlike what the public knows and believes, strive for harmony rather than violence.
Pack rank laws among the Dark Cities
-Pack rank Torturer => Torture was a dark practice. To any in the Dark Cities that would take enjoyment in the torture of another, strict rules were applied. Without these rules the wolves were forbidden to practice this method. The practice was only allowed in extreme cases, for example, if a Dark Cities member was kidnapped, torture could be used on the enemy. If they had to deal with deadly opponents, they could use this method too, to gain more information on why they had been attacked.
-Pack rank Bounty hunter => Rules were set for these cases as well, as they need to check up on background information before they would claim their bounty. If the hunted wolf was proven to be wrongly accused, the Dark City wolves would go after the one who gave out the bounty.
-Pack rank Assassin => Wolves outside of the Dark Cities were well aware that if they wanted someone dead, they couldn't hire a better assassin than one from the Dark Cities. They were known to be the most skilled and deadliest. However, hiring one could be tricky, as they followed an absolute law similar to the law of bounty hunters. Before they would kill the target they would do a background check, making sure that the wolf they were after to kill was, in fact, guilty. If the wolf was proven guilty, they would perform and take down the opponent with all the skill they have, but if the target was innocent, they would turn to the one that paid them with gems or artifacts and kill them instead. Known as the Assassins snakes, they could either do the job perfectly, or take the life of the one that hired them. A instant kill towards the wolf that hired them would occur if the target is a pup or teenager. In that case, they won't do a background check and will instantly kill the one that hired them.
-Pack rank Mercenary/Body guard => They would only protect someone or do the job as asked, if the ones asking have not committed crimes offending them. Wolves that have either killed innocents or have committed crimes towards any innocent wolf would not be protected by them.
-Pack rank Thief => These wolves could be hired to obtain items for the ones hiring them. There were only two rules here: it was not acceptable to steal items for murderers, nor was it allowed to steal ancient crystals which belonged to the dragons of Delv Ihoo. When the location of the dragon was known, thieves would rather steal the item to return it to the dragon.
-Pack rank Ninja/Shadow warrior => This pack rank, like many others, did not have any specific laws or rules. Shadow warriors only preformed their skills for their own missions, and as a result their law was to use their skills when needed or assigned.
Societies of the Dark cities
Because of the bad name the Dark Cities society has received, The Hero Clans have done anything possible to hide their true nature from the public. What many other wolves do not know about the Dark Cities is the close bondings and loyalty these wolves possessed. These packs relied completely on the trust between one another, and have been known as packs without their typical flaws, meaning they had no issuess with possible traitors among their own kind. If a wolf showed signs of disrespect or other issues, these individuals would be send towards a special obedience camp. This camp existed to learn those individuals the importance of trust and care for one another, and always showed positive results for each individual sent there. The Dark Cities would also focus on young wolves with issues and problems, be it physical or mental, and would guide them through in order to make them strong or to find a skill that suits them. They would never abandon or give up on an individual inside their pack. Respect, loyalty, trust, love and care were important. Acceptance especially was focused on, as every wolf should be able to act how he or she felt. It didn't matter if a wolf was gay or had disabilities, they would always strive to accept one another.
Wolves had changed through generations and years into the species they are today. But one thing remained important for the wolves of the Dark Cities: the absolute goal to give their offspring a chance of survival in case tragedy would strike. They couldn't agree on the rule declaring that young wolves weren't allowed to practice fighting or hunting. They didn't agree, because if a pup got lost, it could starve to death if it didn't know anything about its own element and couldn't defend itself. They didn't want such a thing to happen, and therefore, it was important that training started as early as a few months after birth. The first months, pups were only allowed to observe their parents, and as they aged, they were told how the powers work, to prepare them for a future where they might need the basic skills of hunting and defending themselves. They accused the Hero Clans of being unfair for not allowing this training, as only the Hero Clans were still allowed to train their young. The Dark cities clearly knew that the Hero clans allowed only their wolves to be trained early so that their own pack would have more skilled wolves. The Dark Cities remained who they were until the very end.
Charms and Accessorizes
For the Dark Cities, it was all about acceptance and about who you were as an individual. They spent time teaching their wolves all about inner strength and that symbolism wasn't a must to be a powerful individual. But they also created something which made wolves feel happy and unique. Only in the Dark Cities items have been worn by wolves, ranging from charms to various other accessories. No tribe other than the Dark Cities can possess items, but not many wolves know how to attach the items or what is hidden deep within the item. Long ago, when more diverse dragons still wandered around, one of them used a special ritual to teach the Followers of Kumiko how to make these items by summoning the dragon spirits of arts. These dragons spirits would create items that could only be worn by the family members who completed the ritual. The ritual asked for several ingredients, such as gems of all kinds, but also one simple feather of the Rainbow Phoenix, a very rare unique bird.
Wolves of the Dark Cities were known to get along very well with these birds, as many of the birds had chosen the Dark City grounds to breed, allowing the wolves to collect feathers in return for their protection towards the birds. With all the ingredients they could finally preform the ritual that was once taught to them, and so they created unique items, which, again, could only be worn by family members that preformed the ritual. These items were so unique that, no matter if the animal aged or grew larger, the item would adapt to their size. But that was only the start. Not only would the ritual bring forth an item, but instead, it would summon an actual miniature dragon with only one sole purpose, which is to be one with their master. These little dragons do not require to have a day off, as they prefer shaping items over flying around. They come in different shapes, but they will always carry a special floating orb representing the family they serve (which, for example, in this case is Seth Wisteria). For the ritual of these items to exist, they must be blessed by another ritual which causes special markings on the paw pads when activated. This marking will also appear on the orb the dragons carry around and thus they won't activate nor serve another family, not even if they come from the Dark Cities, unless they are blood related. Special words are taught to the wolves wearing the dragons, words to call them off and on. They will rarely be called off as it disorientates them. They prefer to stay to their item shape. Once they do get called off, they fall into a deep sleep and live in their own dimension with their kind. When called off, they owner just has to call them back on, and they will float to the right spot and curl or attach themselves in an instance, taking on their item shape. |
They will usually come in one color only, though they can show multiple shades of that color, making them two-toned. The item decides what color they will receive, which in this case (a golden bracelet) will make the miniature dragon yellow. When called off for too long, these dragons will retreat inside of their orb. Once the owner reunites with the orb they will come back, but the orb can also be destroyed, ending the life of this tiny dragon forever. Because they are fragile as both dragon and orb they will usually remain on their master for years and years without ever being called off. Wolves who did call them off usually ended with the dragon returning to its orb, as it rather stays in a sleep mode than flying around. This is because their purpose is only to serve their master, and as a result they will be unhappy if that purpose can't be fulfilled.