Wolves at Curious Pastimes

The BLACK WOLVES: 

Back to Home Page - Last updated - 31 August, 2006

The name Meleki is taken by all new Warmasters in honour of the first Meleki who lead the ancestors of the Black Wolves to freedom after enslavement by the dark elves, Malandanti.

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Black Wolves History

In The Beginning

As told to our children’s children since we came to Norsca.

Many years ago in the frozen northern wastelands there existed the tribe of the Black Wolf. They were nomadic hunters who lived off the vast reindeer herds, following them through the seasons.

The tribes name originated with their worship of a totem animal, a great black wolf (Though now we know better, that is another story). This wolf was purported to imbue the tribes warriors with strength, cunning and ferociousness in battle, something their enemies were well accustom to.

On one of their annual migrations, the tribe accidentally strayed to near to an entrance to the Underdark and unknowingly camped far to close for safety. Late one night the tribe was attacked and overwhelmed by a large raiding party of the Malandanti. Despite their fearless spirit, all of the tribes warriors were slain along with the old and infirm. The women and children were captured and taken down in to the Underdark to become slaves.

Over the next ten years the children grew to adulthood suffering the whips of their overseers in the Malandanti mines. All this time memories of the upper world and the worship of the great Black Wolf were carefully nurtured and maintained in secret. Every night, all swore an oath that they would one day return to the world of light where they belonged.

It was in the eleven year of their captivity that a young man named Meleki gathered together a small band of would be warriors. Meleki was one of the eldest children to survive the slaughter of the tribes capture, and so was one of the oldest males. These few were determined that their people should be free once more, and after careful planning, and with Meleki’s inspired leadership, they managed to overcome their overseers and left them dead and weaponless. Swiftly they fled into the dark labyrinth of the Underdark.

Meleki led his band into the depths, and over the next ten years or so waged a guerrilla war against the Malandati, striking quickly from the dark tunnels and retreating. Their numbers swelled as the slaves they freed joined their ranks rather than face recapture by the Malandanti. Gradually they became better armed as they stripped the slaughtered of their weapons, and raided the rest Maladanti territory.  twelve years after their first escape and constant struggle for survival, Meleki determined that he had freed all of the Black Wolves that had managed to survive over two decades of slavery.

Meleki called them all together. In total they consisted of several hundred or so made up of the surviving Black Wolves and other slaves of assorted races , including goblins, beast men, dwarfs and humans. He spoke to them of the inevitable assault by the now enraged Malandanti, and of their only escape from their former captors, the upper world. He reminded tem of the old stories and people once more felt the urge to feel sun, wind and rain on their faces. Meleki vowed that he would lead them back to world of light or die in the attempt.

It took the band a further two years of fighting and running from the denizens of the dark before they finally found an exit. By this time they had suffered many loses, but the sorrow of their lose was far outweighed y their joy of returning to the upper world. Once outside they found a land that none had seen before with verdant plains stretching into the distance.

Not far from the exit, Black Wolf scouts soon found two armies locked in battle. One army was flying a wolf banner and was sorely beset by a far greater Malandanti force. Meleki could see that without their help the army of the wolf banner would soon be surrounded and crushed.

Without pause for thought he ordered the survivors forward to the attack, they fell upon the rear of the Malandanti army. So ferocious and sudden was this attack that the Malandanti commanders were slaughtered before the rest of their army new what was happening. With their leaders dead and facing two foes the demoralized Malandati soon fled back to the safety of the Underdark.

During the battle the Black Wolves did not escape unscathed Tragically, Meleki himself lay dying a shattered lance protruding from his chest. The Lord General of the Wolves himself rode over to convey his thanks and on finding Meleki dying swore to him that the Black Wolves would be found a homeland in Norsca.

After Meleki’s death the first Stor-Domstroll was convened, thus setting the precedence for future years. It was unanimously decided that to call the new multiracial group the “Black Wolves of Meleki”, and that each new leader would take the surname Meleki in honor of the leader that had led them back to the upper world and to freedom