Book 1: The Legend of Luag
Prologue
On a spring morning, when the sun had just begun to rise, a she-wolf named Mungan bore a pup. Unlike most wolves who had litters of three to six, this pup was the only one born to her. The pup was male, and had a pure white coat.
When he heard the yips of the pup Mungan's mate Eochaidh entered into her den, and saw what a beautiful white he was. Immediately the pup opened his eyes, and his parents were shocked to see that they were a bright red. No wolf had ever been known to have red eyes before, but they did not believe this was a bad sign.
"He is beautiful." Eochaidh gently tapped the pup's pink nose, making him sneeze. "Welcome to our pack, young one." Eochaidh looked up at his mate. "Do you have a name for him?"
"Yes," Mungan replied. "Luag."
Along with being the mother of the pup Mungan was Faidh, the pack's prophet and shaman, and for this reason she was the one who would look into Luag's future and the future of the pack. "I must perform the ritual now. As he is your son, I have faith that he will make as good an emperor as you."
That night, Mungan took Luag to her tree where she performed Faidh duties. Under the roots a den had been dug, and the trunk was hollowed out so that one could look up through it and see the sky. On the wall a portrait of herself and of Eochaidh had been painted by the previous Faidh; Eochaidh when he was crowned and Mungan when she was empressed to him. Mungan raised her head, looking through the trunk up at the sky. "Rionnagan, thoir dhomh do ro-innse," she called to the stars.
A voice rang out deep inside Mungan's head.
"There will be hardships, but there will be love. There will be pain, but everything will end in happiness."
Mungan smiled. "I do not fear a future that ends in love."
She took Luag and propped him onto the part of the den where the bottom began to rise and morph into the side, and looked at him with a deep smile.
Mungan painted a circle with white clay, filled it in, and flicked a stroke up on each side of the head to form ears, then three on each side to form the cheek fur. She took red berry paste, then pressed it once onto each side, creating the eyes. After that she mixed the red and the white to make a pink color, which she pressed onto the middle of the face to make a nose. She then used black to create pupils and a mouth.
Yes, there he was. Mungan had created a perfect image of her son. "Luag."
Mungan turned Luag around and placed her paws under his front legs, and held him up, showing him the painting. "Thusa mo mhac, is tusa a 'ghrian."
She then placed Luag down and lay down herself, curling protectively around him. "Oidhche mhath."
They slept, and the night eventually faded into morning.