Ratatoskr

For Art Games: This character has both a feral design and a human design. You can draw them in either form, I have no preference.

General Info:

A haunting older wolf who appears weary and haggard, yet still has a lot of fight left in her. Ratatoskr has seen many battles in her day, and she has the scars to prove it. She once ruled over a pack of wolves known as "The Crows" alongside her partner, Emperor Dove. Ratatoskr is a contemplative wolf who often puts on a stoic front. She is a very closed-off individual who will often change the subject when asked personal questions, but she will not hesitate to pry into the lives of others. If you look past her menacing exterior, you can almost see an entire life of despair and hardship behind her striking yellow eyes. Although her demeanor has mellowed out over the years, Ratatoskr can still be confrontational and vicious at times. She has many secrets, but perhaps some secrets are best left hidden.

Backstory:

Ratatoskr's life was never an easy one—since birth all she ever knew was fear and war. She was only a couple seasons old when the conflict reached a peak, and most of her pack was wiped out in a raid. Ratatoskr barely escaped with her life, suffering only a minor injury to one ear. From there, the struggle to survive only got more intense.

She spent a good chunk of time as a loner with no clear direction or future. Life as a lone wolf was one full of endless uncertainty, territory disputes, and hunger. Even with her cunning, Ratatoskr would have never survived much longer if she hadn't been discovered by the Crows.

One winter morning, a young Ratatoskr was found battered and exhausted in the red snow. Her face was riddled with lacerations, something she received from an aggravated bull elk. In her hunger and desperation, Ratatoskr decided to take on a bachelor elk herd, and the results weren't pretty.

The Crow wolves who found the injured Ratatoskr led her back to their domain, where her wounds were promptly treated. Weeks went by, but she never returned to the outskirts. Ratatoskr doesn't remember exactly when she officially became one of the Crows, but she rose the ranks quickly. Soon, she was the Empress at the side of Emperor Dove—the leader of the Crow Empire.

This was perhaps the most rewarding and pleasant Ratatoskr's life had been, and would be ever again. She raised four pups: Spruce, Chai, Xerxes, and Quaoar while also juggling her pack duties. It was a busy life being a mother and an Empress, but she didn't mind. Ratatoskr preferred having a high rank to having more free time; nothing in the world was better than feeling important. She was only ever a monarch in name, however. During the meetings between the four kingdoms, she was often ignored by the other leaders, or even excluded all together.

Although Ratatoskr didn't have much say at the Kingdom gatherings, she did learn a lot from attending them. It didn't take long for her to realize just how cruel and gluttonous they all were, especially King Gray and her own mate, Emperor Dove. Their threats to one another of invasion and resource stealing disgusted her.

The Crows and the Eastern Kingdom had always been on vague terms, but soon tensions would explode into a terrible war. On a moonless night, the Emperor heard black wings crack through the air. It was Kiro, Dove's personal avian advisor, and he had come with a prophecy.

"When you hear the crow's caw, know that your time is coming to an end."

This was music to Emperor Dove's ears. Surely, this prophecy meant he was destined to take over the Eastern Kingdom. It was about time King Gray gave up his rule over the Eastern Kingdom; his rein had long ended. A new era of Crows was coming, and it was approaching fast. He tried to keep the prophecy a secret between himself and his subjects, but such revolutionary information didn't stay a secret for long. The prophecy had reached the other kingdoms in no time, and King Gray was furious. He too believed the prophecy was a threat to his rule, and declared war on the Crows.

The news sent Ratatoskr over the edge. She knew firsthand just what war could do—the horrors and violence it would inflict on her people. No, she had to devise a plan. But what if she could kill two birds with one stone? What if she, too, could have power? What if she could not only stop the conflict, but also to rid herself of... Them.

Ratatoskr organized a secret meeting. She told King Gray that Dove was looking to resolve things peacefully, and to meet with him and herself at the creek. Likewise, She told Emperor Dove that Gray wanted to surrender. When the three of them met by the creek, it didn't take long for both Gray and Dove to figure out something was off. There was no time to waste.

Ratatoskr ended Dove's life with a swift bite to the throat. King Gray watched on in horror as he realized the implications of this incident. Both Gray and Ratatoskr knew that with all the recent events, nobody would believe what had just happened. Why would anyone think Dove's own mate killed him, rather than his long-time enemy? For all they knew, King Gray had just committed the worst possible crime against the Four Kingdoms: One leader had killed another during a meeting. Suddenly, the prophecy made all too much sense.

Ratatoskr's scheme went as planned, and she was at peace again. With King Gray being exiled from his Kingdom, and Emperor Dove being dead, the two wolves she hated most were gone. Her shocking deed did not go unpunished, however. Æsir, daughter of Gray and new Queen of the Eastern Kingdom, was preparing for revenge. She was the only one to believe her father's words as he was being dragged from the Kingdom gates, and she wasn't going to let Ratatoskr get away with her lies.

Queen Æsir trekked alone to the Forest of Crows. Her mission? Challenge Empress Ratatoskr to a duel and win. She couldn't make it all the way to the heart of the forest without being stopped by guards, however. She needed a distraction, so she set fire to the undergrowth. The fire quickly got out of control, spreading to the trees and setting the forest ablaze. In spite of the choking black smoke, Æsir continued on. Finally, she found Ratatoskr, whose cavern had not yet been touched by the scorching flames. 

Ratatoskr would've never declined a duel, even if she had known how it would end. To her, it was a matter of honor. The battle was bloody and vicious, but Ratatoskr's bones ached with age, and her body was frailer than it had once been. She had no chance against a much younger wolf, and thus Æsir was the victor of the duel.

As was customary in a duel, Ratatoskr prepared herself for the Queen's killing bite, but it never came. Instead, Æsir told her to leave the lands of Tomorrow and never come back. To Æsir, this was a fitting punishment. Her father had been banished from his home, and now Ratatoskr would be banished from hers as well. 

When the next night approached and the fires simmered down, Ratatoskr left the Crows for good. There was no telling what Æsir had told her subjects, so she knew she could never return home. Nobody knows what became of old Ratatoskr, but she had always been a clever and adaptable canine. Surely, she found her way.

TLDR: Old fart becomes an Empress, double-crosses everyone, gets beat up, and is then promptly told to kick rocks.