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In The Beginning
Deep in the skies, on a higher plane, lies a legendary land with two gates – the Celestial Gate to Asgard, home of the Aesir and Asynjur – and the Infernal Gate to Niflheim, the realm of Hel and the Underworld.
And between these gates lies a massive expanse of uncharted territory. Rumors are that even the chief god Odin himself dares not to treat this land, for it is the home to inner daemons and wild beast specters. Perfect, indeed, to protect the great spirit tree, Yggdrasil, epitome of all life.
Odin’s twin, however, lived in the depths of Oblivion, lurking, waiting... Loki was a shape-shifting trickster and a cheater, his soul consumed by jealousy and greed. Working alongside his serpentine daughter, Hel, he plotted Odin’s demise and created a son – the great wolf god, Fenrir.
But Fenrir wasn’t a slave. May times, Loki would order Fenrir to kill Odin, as the beast had both the power and ability to do so. He tried to force Fenrir’s will to bend to his own, but the mighty god possessed the spirit of the wolf and he refused. Instead, he wandered through Oblivion and past the gates of Niflheim and found a friend in the form of Hel’s demonic hound, Garmr, and later she birthed him two horned sons.
Skoll of Goldenclaw and Hati of Silverfang were brothers but, like Odin and Loki, enemies, even as whelps. As they matured, curved horns grew from their skulls and the rivalry became a fight of dominance.
The battle left both Helwolves exhausted; so much that they no longer had the energy to be angry, and they drug their broken, tired bodies away from one another, each going in their own directions.
Skoll invaded the gates of Asgard, only to be chased out again. Feeling a great deal of surprise and respect for the Aesir, he merely sat outside the gates and waited. The wolf’s gentle golden eyes drew in visitors and, finally, Odin’s attention. They became close and Skoll was appointed a job: to chase the steeds who pulled the sun’s chariot through the sky every morning. Although the golden horses, Arvak (“early riser”) and Alsvid (“all swift”) didn’t care for this arrangement, Odin was pleased with his team and the great horned wolf.
Hati, on the other hand, stuck around Niflheim, picking up pack behavior from the small group of daemon dogs that Garmr led. Together, Hati and his mother ran, chasing deer and anything else that was edible. Fenrir watched from a distance for a long time until he finally approached. Garmr, never the loving type, snarled to protect only her kill, and the young Helwolf left her, following his father into Oblivion. The trickster Aesir was pleased with the horned hybrid and gave Hati a job to match Odin’s new beast, knowing not that Skoll and Hati were brothers.
And so, Hati ate away the moon a little every night until it was gone. The sky dark and his stomach full, the wolf slumbered and the moon, called Mani, regenerated itself piece by piece until he was full once more. Hati would wake up, hungry, and the process began again.
Protecting the Aesir’s stock from being stolen or killed by daemons was a sturdy shepherding dog of long leg and white fur. Both brothers saw the fine she-dog, Romani, at nearly the same time – Hati, from his place by the moon, and Skoll, while chasing his chariot through the skies.
Two months later, Romani’s litter was born, a mix of both sires. She hid her ill-bred puppies from the protective Aesir and the nurturing Asynjur, her mind corrupt from the pregnancy and protection her main priority.
The thoughts of raising a family didn’t appeal to Hati, so he kept hidden. Skoll, however, searched for his mate everywhere, but when he found her with their five whelps, 6 weeks old and all horned, he was greeted by flashing eyes and snapping teeth.
Without thinking, Skoll retaliated in a blow that would’ve merely struck his half-god brother to the ground. Romani fell dead, and horrified, the wolf took the pups deep into Oblivion to hide his sins. The two largest pups were a soot colored femme and a black and silver boy... Hati’s children. His own puppies ranged from pale gold to dark red, each with white markings.
When the small pack grew old enough to travel, Skoll took Hati’s pups and delivered them to the moon-dweller, where they grew and mingled with Garmr’s pack.
Skoll’s pups roamed with the pureblooded dogs of Asgard and the youngest female was even given her mother’s sheepguarding job, but soon the horned Helhounds grew bored and jumped the fence keeping them from the wild and with self-appointed alphas, began to make a name for themselves. They were merely voices among Oblivion.
The Hellhound Handbook ~ TBA
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= Male | 
= Female 
