Maniye, daughter of two peoples
Maniye’s life was once dominated by fear of three men. Akrit Stone River, her father, was the chief of the Winter Runners – one of the tribes of the Wolf. Kalameshli Takes Iron was their priest, the Wolf’s voice. He was master of the magic of iron, and constantly sought to punish her for any infractions he could find. Lastly, Broken Axe was a lone hunter of fearsome reputation. And when Akrit tired of Maniye’s mother, he gave Broken Axe the task of her murder.
Maniye’s mother was queen of the Tiger people, captured in war. Maniye therefore has two souls and can take the shape of both tiger and wolf. This is unlike the rest of her people who can Step only into the form of the wolf. When she found out her father intended to use her to subjugate the Tiger and become High Chief of the Wolf, she fled into the wilderness. She left with the old Serpent priest – Hesprec Essen Skese – whom she freed to spite Kalameshli. Broken Axe was sent to pursue them across the northern wilderlands, but they found sanctuary in the home of the Bear, Loud Thunder.
Asmander, Champion of the South
Also travelling the north was Asmander, a Champion from the southern Sun River Nation. His goal was to recruit the legendary ‘Iron Wolves’ for his friend and prince, Tecuman. The south was, and still is, on the point of civil war between the young Tecuman and his twin sister. And foreign mercenaries are valued there as the loyalty of local warriors remains suspect. Asmander arrived accompanied by the Dragon pirate Venat, his slave. Shyri, a girl of the Laughing Man tribe – who had been dogging his steps for her own reasons – also formed part of his party.
As a Champion, Asmander Steps not only into a crocodile, the shape of his people, but also to the sickle-clawed Running Lizard, swift and deadly. After Hesprec’s intervention, he can also take the shape of a bat-winged reptile. These are great souls from an age before humans walked the land.
Events at the Stone Place
At winter’s end Loud Thunder was summoned by his cousin Lone Mountain to the Stone Place, the sacred heart of the Crown of the World. He was called by his Mother, shaman ruler of the Bear. She had sensed the same doom coming to the land that Hesprec had come north to investigate.
Keeping ahead of Broken Axe, Maniye and Hesprec travelled with Thunder to the Stone Place. Here, the wise of all the northern tribes had gathered. Kalameshli and Akrit were already present, but so were the Tiger. Chased by her father, Maniye found shelter with the Tiger priestess Aritchaka, thence travelling west to the Shining Halls where the Tiger holds court.
Asmander and his comrades had also been at the Stone Place and witnessed Akrit’s pursuit of Maniye. For their own reasons they set out in pursuit and met Hesprec. As a native of their own land, his priestly authority was enough to recruit their aid to help Maniye.
Maniye on the run
In the Shining Halls Maniye discovered the secret the world has been keeping from her. Her mother Joalpey is not dead and Broken Axe is not her enemy. Against Akrit’s orders Broken Axe had set Joalpey free because of his own personal code. However, the Shining Halls did not offer the homecoming Maniye had hoped. Despite doing her best to become a fitting daughter for the queen, Joalpey could not overlook the Wolf blood within her and they came into conflict. Maniye had to flee her mother even as she had her father.
Fleeing the Tiger, they ran into the jaws of the Wolf. Hesprec was caught, and died shortly after Maniye rescued him. The news of his death released Asmander from his oath of fealty to him, and he reverted to his original mission. In the midst of a battle between Tiger, Wolf and the newly arrived Loud Thunder, he delivered Maniye to her father to secure the Iron Wolves for his prince.
Maniye found herself caught between Akrit and Kalameshli. Her father wanted her death, but Kalameshli begged she could still be of use. Through this encounter Maniye divined she was Kalameshli’s daughter, not Akrit’s. In his cruelties towards her, he’d aimed to drive the Tiger from her and make her a true Wolf, safe from his god.
Asmander, torn by guilt, suffered a change of heart. He rescued both Maniye and Broken Axe and took them to a camp of the Horse. Here they were reunited with Hesprec – now in the body of a young girl. He had been reborn in a new skin, as is the way of the Serpent. By then, Maniye was losing control of her two souls, and their antipathy was driving her mad.
Maniye’s transformation
With Akrit and the Tiger both coming for Maniye, she conceived a desperate plan with Hesprec – based on what she understood of Asmander’s Champion status. At a ritual site nearby, Hesprec sent Maniye on a vision quest into the Godsland. Their goal was to find a Champion to adopt her. She fought her own souls across the land of all the clawed and fanged gods. Bringing both the tiger and wolf within her to heel, she was visited at last by a great beast from the deep past, equal parts bear, wolf and tiger: a Champion.
While she was questing, her friends fought both Tiger and Wolf to keep her safe. And Venat, whom Asmander freed before the fight, returned to save his former master. Broken Axe faced Akrit in single combat and fell. However, this won Maniye enough time to emerge in the vast form of the Champion of the north. She fought and defeated Akrit with the aid of Kalameshli – choosing his daughter over his chief at the last minute.
Maniye the Champion had become a force to be reckoned with and the Crown of the World was not ready. Half the tribes feared her influence and half wanted to control her. A few hunters and outcasts offered themselves to her service, and these she took as her warband. Then she escaped the demands of the north by travelling south with Asmander, to serve as his Iron Wolves.
The Bear and the Serpent