History

The WolfRiders are a tribe of Elves led by Cutter Kinseeker, Blood of Ten Chiefs, son of Bearclaw. They ride and communicate with wolves who they treat as family members. Although Elves are immortal (can be killed but don't die of old age), the WolfRiders do not since their blood is mixed with that of their wolfen companions. This is the result of their ancestor, Timmain (the High One), of having shape-shifted into the form of a wolf in order to survive on the World of Two Moons that she and other Elves had escaped to. Nevertheless they still live for hundreds of years, but they are much shorter than their pure-blood Elf cousins.

Timmain's son, Timmorn Yellow Eyes, was born half-elf/half-wolf, and his blood flows through the generations that followed. Eventually the Wolfriders were burned out of their woodland 'Holt' (Goodtree's Rest), by humans, convinced the WolfRiders were demons.

All of the elves have the ability to "send" or create a spiritual thought-link which allowed their family to converse with each other through their thoughts. Although this gift was limited by proximity and ability, the tribe of elves together in a united send proved to be the greatest protection for the family of elves. When a mortal elf would die, her spirit went to the Palace of High Ones, where its personality existed within this thought-communion, a oneness within the entirety of all that the elves ever were.

Cutter Kinseeker (Blood of Ten Chiefs) led his tribe of seventeen WolfRiders and fourteen wolves through the burning waste to Sorrow's End. Recognition cemented the bonds between the two tribes, but a desire to find other lost tribes of the children of the High-Ones led Cutter and his tribe on the Quests which would follow.

Cutter "discovered" the SunVillagers, the fold of Blue Mountain (the Gliders), the Go-Backs and, through his son Suntop, the WaveDancers (Suntop's use-name would change to Sunstream at that time).

The original seventeen WolfRiders consisted of Cutter, Skywise, Cutter's maternal uncle Treestump, his daughter Dewshine, her lovemate Scouter, his parents Clearbrook and One-Eye, Moonshade and Strongbow with their son Dart, Pike and his sister Rainsong with her lifemate Woodlock and their two 'cubs' Newstar and Wing and the young lovers, Redlance and Nightfall.

With the birth of Cutter & Leeta's twins, Ember joined the tribe, though Suntop/Sunstream was never a WolfRider (Ember "called" all the wolfblood to her in the womb). Redlance & Nightfall's daughter Tyleet and her child Pool are the latest of the WolfRiders to join the tribe. Of the tribe members who stayed behind in Sorrow's End a new tribe, the Jack-Wolf Riders, emerged.

Also, several members of the "found" tribes joined the tribe, but were not WolfRiders, Leeta, her sister Shen-Shen, Aroree, Shuna and Little Patch (the humans!). Mender (son of Woodlock and Rainsong) has Wolfblood but was raised in the SunVillage. Windkin was born a WolfRider, but as a baby had his wolfblood "cleansed" by Winnowill. Krim & Skot are as always GoBacks.

skywise also had his WolfBlood (mortality) removed, but remains a WolfRider.

The WolfRider chieftans are, in order

1. Timmain
2. Timmorn Yellow-Eyes
3. Rahnee She-Wolf
4. Prey-Pacer
5. Two-Spear
6. Huntress Skyfire
7. Freefoot
8. Tanner
9. Goodtree
10. Mantricker
11. Bearclaw
12. Cutter
13. Ember

Recognition

When eyes meet eyes, two souls become one. Recognition is the term coined by the Wolfriders when the urge to mate takes physical, mental, and spiritual hold of two induvial elves.

In the world the Pinis created, Recognition is when the magic that sustains the elves determines that two individuals need to mate NOW and create a baby. It just meant until conception, though it could lead to lifemating (a kind of marriage). Couples that pair off without Recognition either have no babies or babies with less magic (except in the case of Venka and Tyleet). These couples are called Lovemates, as opposed to Recognized couples that stay together as Lifemates.