Mneme

[Jam]

mneme of the island of innis

the character

name: mneme
age: two years
gender: female
pack: innis
rank: elder of peace
appearance:

breed, timber wolf
eyes, silvery gray
pelt, mix of black, white and red
height, thirty inches
weight, ninety-five pounds
other,

personality:

"Although it may not seem so, I am truly simplistic. I have not had enough real time in my life to develop into anything near complicated. I speak little unless otherwise required, but I speak with poise whenever lengthier speech is required of me. My greatest trouble is my temper. It has calmed, but I tend to snap at wolves that even push a single one of my buttons. Jumping immediately to the offensive had for so long been a tactic for survival that it became daily habit. It is hard to calm a storm when it has raged for so long.

For the most part, my being is still undiscovered terrain that needs to be charted."

history:

"My grandfather... he was an indescribable male. Even his name, Phrixus, to think it sends a chill down my spine. That is how much power he held within his being. A magnificent ruler, he served the Kumori Clan with every ounce of his being from the time he was a year old. The previous leadership had fallen through, and my grandfather was elected to lead our pack in their place. The pack was relatively young then, as my grandfather himself was, and his skills excelled him ahead of any other male of the group. They had placed their faith well. He had secured peace for the pack; all rival packs feared him and the warriors he had trained. His skill and tactic were unmatched by any in the region. And though he ruled with an iron fist, he cared deeply for his pack, and he viewed himself as a servant in the cause to uphold their well-being.

It's a damn shame my father came along to soil his good name.

My grandfather and grandmother had for many years found trouble in conceiving a litter. It was not until they were older, when my grandmother was reaching her final years of fertility, that they finally had a successful pregnancy. Two boys, two girls, an even litter. However, the second boy was born sickly and only lived a few days. As it was unlikely they would conceive a second time, that left my... father as the heir to the thrown.

Ajax, they had named him, had seemed promising enough; he was healthy, lively, and seemed to have the beginnings of the same intellectual prowess as his father. But it was only the beginnings, and they did not blossom as brightly as they had in my grandfather, whose health was beginning to fail as my father and his sister reached the year mark. He pushed on as long as he could, but we lost him shortly before my father was two years old.

Ajax took his place on the throne. He was almost a year older than my grandfather had been when he became leader, and the pack trusted that the son of Phrixus would continue their march in greatness. Soon Ajax took my mother, Phaedra, as his mate. Her beauty was unparalleled by any female; starting as a dark line along her spine, the black branched into a gentle brown that blended into red, all settled on top of a base of cream. Looking at her reminded you of the best days of autumn and beautiful serenity of them.

My father soiled her good name, too. But I am proud to call myself her daughter.

There were no fertility problems now, but food was scarce, and I was the only pup my mother could birth and support. My silvery optics are the only thing I gained from Ajax. The red in my pelt I gained from my mother while much of the darker tones came from my grandfather. But that was not the only thing I gained from him; the elders of the pack began to see, as I grew, the beginnings of the same instant tactic and intellect Phrixus had been famous for. And unlike in my father, it blossomed quickly within me.

And right there the winds began to change.

The food shortage was affecting all the neighboring packs that had once feared us. New leaders had taken the reins in them, too, and now that my grandfather was out of the picture they were willing to push borders. It came to a point where Ajax had to meet each of them with our warriors. And slowly, slowly, we began to lose our warriors. Mothers were losing sons because Ajax had absolutely no idea how to command in battle.

And slowly, slowly, our pack rebelled.

Everyone began to realize how much of a failure Ajax was, and how it was an insult to them that I, a female, should gain what made Phrixus great. Such an anger filled them that they did not banish Ajax but instead took his life.

But I was not placed into power. Although they recognized the powerful characteristics within me, they believed it taboo to place a female in power, and that this was a trick of the devil to give me what Ajax had lacked, mocking them for their stupidity.

So my mother helped me flee for my life. I was barely a year old.

... The rest of what happened following that is a blur in my memory. They were on our trail for days. They wanted my blood spilled as well, to wipe clean everything that had tainted Phrixus's good name. I remember constant running. I remember hiding, analyzing every step I took.

I remember my mother shouting, 'Run, Mneme, run!' as she defended me with all the life of her being so that I could live. The snarls, the screams, the ripping, the tearing... the sounds often fill my nightmares.

My sanctuary was among solitude. I lived on my own for months, threatening every wolf I came across. Whole packs of them, even. Many thought me mad. Perhaps I was deranged, who's to know for sure? But until I reached the island of Innis, I hated every wolf I came across. There was no one out there to trust but myself. And half the time I didn't even do that.

When I stepped on the sands of Innis, something changed me. Everything about it was different. It clicked in me that this was a chance to start over, start over even though I was yet so young. I took that chance, and found a wolf in me that before was never allowed to be.

There is a small spot on the island that I made as a memorial to my mother. I found the plants that reminded me most of mainland autumn and dug a grave to place them in. My mother's body will never be reclaimed by the earth this way, but this is a place that her soul could recognize on earth as meant for her, that she will find me here once again."

lineage:
birthpack:

sire, ajax
dam, phaedra
siblings, none

the roleplayer

ooc name: jam
age: eighteen
gender: female
roleplay level: literate