Profile of Isen

He was born to the first pack of seven. The pack of Dawn, like all of the other packs belonging to the Empire, had their place and their role to fulfill. Wardens of the northern White Echos, a mountain range that served as the border to the Empire for five hundred years, was once run and maintained by those only known as “The White.” This pack of wolves called the most desolate place in the Empire their home, and their bodies were formed by such extreme conditions. All those of Dawn were born in varying shades of white - with a minor few falling into a light gray at times. Isen was no exception to this rule. With a broad, muscular frame, shaped by hard living he is second in size to nearly no one he meets - since few wolves are made to hunt moose and bears early in their lives. This body is clad in thick layers of alabaster fur not entirely unlike the snow capped mountains he once called home. Orbs of soft blue that echo the sky are set within his corpulent skull, ever watchful. His life has known many battles and tragedies, though most of his scars go unseen due to the shaggy nature of his coat. The only scars one can really see are the minor burn scars that marr the pads of his feet and portions of his toes.

Isen is above all else, a Knight. A man sworn to the service of his Empress. Born among others of the Lords Sigil, Isen worked for many long years to embody the traits of a good, honorable man. Though he tends to be of the reticent sort and watches friend and foe alike rather carefully, he makes no mistake - he’s a fighter, not a mastermind. Despite this, he will always keep his word no matter the cost. He takes his oaths and vows seriously and will never turn his back on a friend or on anyone in need. There have been many in his life that have called him foolish, for he speaks too often of truth and despises liars and their ilk. For him, his words are a bond. Without honesty he feels there are no real answers in the world, only better and better liars.

He has always carried a soft spot in his heart for the downtrodden, as he knows of life’s cruelty better than most. When he was young his compassion at times felt fake, even to himself. As if it were but a mask to hide the fact that his stone heart didn’t truly feel anything for them. Merely performing his duties because that is what was expected of him. With age and, having experienced loss himself, he can now feel it in earnest. This wisdom came at a great price and he will never again turn his back on anyone he can help. He will never leave another brother to die when there is something he can do to save them. He will never ignore the cries of a pleading mother. The screams of desperate children. He has come to value life far more deeply than he ever thought possible after death came for all he held dear.

Isen was born as the only child to a sickly mother in the late, but still frigid spring of White Echos. He was first born to the new alpha, Cyr, which sealed his fate and determined the path he would walk for the whole of his life. As first born, he was meant to become The Lord Sigil. Not only of his birth pack, but for the greater Empire besides. This path meant that from an early age he learned to fight. Not only as a warden of the north, but also as the Lord Sigil he was meant to become one of the greatest fighters in the land. The sort that songs and stories are written about. Isen held up this expectation early into his lif because it was all he knew, but when he was but a yearling he and his father were called down from the mountaintops. The Empress Lusheena was about to give birth to her first litter. Being as this would be the birth of their crown heir, all Sigils of each of the Seven were bid come welcome their future ruler.

The journey from his homeland into the heart of the Empire was a long and somewhat troubled one. His mother had always been somewhat sickly, but his father had loved her and made her his mate regardless. It was on this journey to the heartlands that Isen realized his father was somewhat unwell himself. He grew more tired in this walk than he had ever seen the man before and soon began coughing just like his mother. Healers called this sickness the ‘short life fever’. A disease that ate at a wolf for years and it would ultimately cut them down in their prime. Upon realizing the state his father was in, Isen felt himself possessed with a determination to grow up. Grow up and become the Lord Sigil as quickly as possible to take such a heavy burden from his father’s shoulders. This way, so that even if his mother and father died early, they could do so without worry.

When they arrived at the heartlands, the Emperor Crow and his heavily pregnant mate Empress Lusheena met with all the Sigils and a great feast was held in honor of the soon to be mother. It was here, among all these starkly colored wolves that Isen realized how different the world was from his snowy mountain home. King Crow, a large black wolf that matched even his father with golden eyes, was a stern looking man with a no nonsense attitude. The only time Isen could remember the old King’s stoic nature breaking was when his mate would tease him. The Queen was a wonderful woman. Smaller than her mate, but her beauty was quite evident with a gold and cream coat paired with piercing crystal eyes. The Monarchy was something to behold indeed - for even the extended family of the Justicar were something to admire. For they were large, imposing, and everyone spoke so highly of their wit, cunning, bravery, and strength. To a young Isen it seemed like the Justicar were the perfect creatures - so imagine how startled he was to find out that they had a Guard.

Wide blue eyes watched in pure awe when he spied a row of imposing white wolves that matched and sometimes even outmatched his own father. They stood tall, like a great alabaster wall that nothing could ever penetrate. A bulwark the likes of which Isen grew to admire right away. They stood outside the dimly lit cavern the Queen was giving birth in while outside a storm had rolled in. They were plunged into night where the only thing Isen could see was the flash of lightning and the white pelts of the Kings Guard glowing in the night. Despite the cold that set in and the rain that pelted them, Isen watched with the other Sigils as these guards never wavered. Not a single muscle was seen to move well into the night - speaking highly of their discipline as those that waited outside began to bunch up for warmth. When the storm began to pass Isen asked his father who made up the guard, for they looked like them and none of the other wolves matched their pale complexion. He learned that day why his pack was often so small when compared to the others under the Dragon Sigil. His pack was responsible for breeding, training, and ultimately supplying the Empire with the members meant for their Kings or Queens Guard.

After that long night, Lusheena had given birth to three pups. Two male and one female. The first born had been the little female. A small black little fuzz ball that Crow took great pride in introducing to all the other Sigils present. When it was Isen’s turn to look upon this little new born he thought very little of it. How could something so tiny grow up to be an Empress like Lusheena? Perhaps the little pup could feel what he was thinking, because the then new born Meera struggled in her father’s jaws and popped Isen on the nose just as he was smelling her. The young boy jumped back, rubbing his nose at such a surprise while the adults laughed and said she must like him. Whether this was true or not, the way the Emperor and his father spoke of it stirred something in his chest. Something he didn’t understand at the time but soon gripped him tighter than any blizzard chill had.

Between being so impressed with the Kings Guard and meeting that tiny pup who was one day to become Empress, Isen determined he wanted something more than merely to replace his parents. He didn’t simply want to be the alpha that watched over the border in a land where barely anything could live. Spending his days sending his own children to the heartlands that, even as he thought of them, missed the gentle warmth of. He took his training much more seriously and took the time to reveal his plans only to the second eldest son, Adaj. Adaj knew he would one day go to live in the heartlands to serve as a guard when he came of age for the majority prime of his life and hated the idea. He loved his home more than Isen did and the two agreed to break tradition. On the day Isen was to be named Lord Sigil, he invoked the Law of Heir.

A very old and nearly forgotten law made well before his birth stating that if the heir to any Sigil decided they could not perform the duties therein - they could nominate a replacement. In lieu of a replacement the current Sigil would remain leader until a new one could be named. Isen’s mother by this point had given birth to a second litter, but in so doing passed away from the stress of it and fever both. His father had grown more sick himself, but Isen did not forget his vow to take the weight of leadership off him. Ajda was named his replacement while Isen revealed his intent to join the Kings Guard himself to serve his country and protect his family. Though this was indeed an upset, the law was clear and Isen was released of all claims.

Upon reaching the heartlands he was taken in by patrols when he announced his intentions and brought before Emperor Crow. The King was surprised to see Isen and even more surprised to hear of what he had invoked in order to join the Kings Guard. To spurn his birthright was an offense, as tradition dictated that all had their place and all had their role they must fulfill. Isen had broken this tradition and the Emperor was nearly compelled to turn him away into exile. Before he could, Isen invoked another old rite. He would take the Vanguard. A special role among the rest of the Guard that could only be opted into by the one taking the vow. This oath was different from the rest who made up the Guard because their service was not forever. They would remain in the heartlands until six years of age before being allowed to return home and take a mate themselves in order to continue this cycle. Taking the Vanguard was a solemn oath of service to a specific member of the royal family - for life. His choice was to the young Meera. Isen had given up everything in order to dedicate himself to his future Empress, and Crow could not simply ignore such devotion. Isen was made Vanguard of the then one year old and trusted with her safety, as well as part of her training.

Over the next year of her life, Isen watched the young ebony female grow from a rowdy spit fire into a responsible, caring Queen. On the day of her coronation she passed the Dragon Rite and emerged no longer as Meera, but Aleera - The Black Dragon. He remembered never feeling more proud than when he could bow his head to her and call her his Empress. The whole of his life he had never really thought about romance or even taking a mate. Not of having children or leaving something of himself for the future. He had only ever wanted to serve as a Knight…but the day Aleera announced Koh to be her mate Isen could not lie to himself. He regretted never saying that with her, he wanted more. His oath bound him in service, a tragic fact he could never change. It was the first of many regrets he would come to carry within himself over the events of the next year.

Everything seemed calm and peaceful in the Empire, until Sapphire went missing. Aleera had bid her younger sister to go to each of the packs as an emissary for the birth of the next heir. Everything seemed in order and all continued on as planned, Isen content to watch over his heavily pregnant Empress while one Sigil after another arrived - including his brother Adaj. It was a happy moment of reunion until his Empress sent for him. She had a task for him to complete that she trusted only him with. While all of the Sigils had arrived, Sapphire was gone. She wouldn’t just not return and Aleera feared something had happened to her darling sister. For the first time since he took the Vanguard - he was sent from Aleera’s side. Obeying this order would become the greatest regret of his life.

He had gone far, but not far enough that he did not smell the smoke. Nor see it rising into the sky from the Monolith where the royal family remained. As fast as his legs would carry him he ran back. Something was wrong and for the second time in his life, he broke a vow. He disobeyed his Queen and abandoned Sapphire to her fate in order to return to Aleera’s side. Something he failed to do in a timely fashion. When he arrived back at the monolith, fire had burned everything to the ground. The lush green forest was gone, replaced by ash and the smell of burned corpses. All he found was horror and death, as the bodies of Sigils, Queens Guard, and commoner alike lay about in charred heaps. He did not find Aleera among the bodies, but he did find Crow’s broken body laying over Lusheena’s corpse as if he’d been protecting her - a circle of dead wolves around them. They must have fought to their last breath, but succumbed to their wounds themselves. The only one he found alive was Koh. The silver male had lost his right foreleg and his black left was broken. He was covered in wounds and burns alike, but somehow he still drew breath. Isen may never have truly cared for Koh - but he was still the Emperor and Isen would do everything in his power to save him. Sadly, it wasn’t much.

Nothing could save Koh. He knew it and stopped Isen from moving his broken body anywhere and hushed his frantic cries for a healer. With his final breath Koh told Isen that a coup had taken place. He didn’t know who by, but he knew a few wolves were screaming that Sapphire would be Empress. This revelation left Isen breathless - he could not believe for a moment that sweet, soft spoken Sapphire could be capable of this much death and destruction. Koh bid him to look for Aleera. He begged Isen to protect her. She’d escaped into the wildfire and hoped she had lived - somehow. Isen watched helplessly as his King died before him, his final words pleading for Aleera’s survival. On the moment of Koh’s death, Isen swore he would find Aleera once again. He would bring her home and together they would set things right! He swore it by all the Gods and by the blood on his paws.