Story Synopsis

I figured that now I should get to the gist of things and post a synopsis for the story itself. I don't think many people would be that interested in something if they're totally clueless about all aspects of the plot. So I'm going to give you a somewhat detailed synopsis, including the first chapter's basic back story, and then lead that up to an introduction to the main current plot and my characters. So here you go.

Shifted Spirits takes place in a world that still runs itself by sovereign cities. The main setting is a forested mountainous region close to a shore, called Miakoda. There are two civilizations on either side. One is a somewhat small town called Algoma. Algoma's people mostly understand the importance of respecting and embracing nature rather than trying to fight it. The other is a city called Empor, which runs itself in a more totalitarian-like fashion. Empor used to be the original home of the people of Algoma, but it was conquered long ago, forcing the survivors to found the new town of Algoma.

The legend of the werewolves says that the creatures were created by an Algoma native after the natives were pushed off their former land. Three angry and vengeful natives were said to summon a large group of wolves, paint markings on them, and then wait for nightfall. Under the full moon, he sent the wolves to bite anyone from Empor that they saw venture into the wilderness, and they would do this every night that the moon was out, until the wolves were killed by Empor hunters.

This was said to have a strange effect on the city. The people who were bitten didn't appear to suffer any additional side-effects other than the bites themselves. However, any children they had in the future would be born as werewolves, identifiable with distinct markings on their skin and hair/fur.

Once werewolves were being born, and as they went through their first transformations, the city began to take notice of the strange creatures taking over their city. The people noticed that everyone who had been seen transforming into a wolf had strange markings on them, which made werewolves easy to identify. Anyone with an unusual hair color or skin marking was immediately ostracized. The people were fearful, and began considering werewolves to be menacing monsters. Eventually, they were all banished.

While some of the human relatives of werewolves abandoned all ties with them, some remained close and refused to sever their bonds. As a result, many humans left the city with the banished werewolves.

Werewolves that left the city without any humans were able to live like regular wolves in the wilderness. The werewolves that had human family or friends with them, however, could not, without being separated from them. Luckily, the found Algoma. Algoma didn't seem to have any knowledge of werewolves, at least not as anything more than myth and legend. They didn't seem to recognize their markings, either. The werewolves saw this as a solution, and the they thought that if they just kept their real forms a secret, they could live in peace with their human family members.

Generations later, the two civilizations both manage to survive, but with a great deal of conflict.

The two towns have to share resources, but Empor officials have been known to go against agreements and steal from Algoma. There are even rumors that Empor wishes to conquer and ransack Algoma, just as they did to their original land. However, mysterious forces of nature seem to protect Algoma and the surrounding wilderness that keeps Empor from getting too powerful and keeps Algoma from falling.

Many hunters of Empor claim that werewolves are the culprit, while people of Algoma generally claim that werewolves are nothing but a myth. Their disagreement often leads to further conflict, since only Empor seems to suffer any losses from the forces they believe are werewolves.

As it turns out, werewolves are indeed the ones giving Algoma extra protection. Werewolves have protected Algoma ever since they arrived. They know that if Algoma fell, they'd lose a large barrier keeping Empor from stripping away all of Miakoda's forests. The werewolves would also be left with nowhere to go, and would die out. Some werewolves also bonded with a few humans of Algoma, causing them to feel attached and obligated to protect them.

The only werewolves that seem to be left in present day are all within a single small pack that live in the same home together. They go on nightly runs through the wilderness, patrolling around Algoma's territory for any suspicious activity. Usually by night, the werewolves discreetly thwart attempts by Empor to hog resources from the wilderness or steal from Algoma. They've also been known to care for injured or abandoned wolf pups and raise them to be healthy, then train them to live in the wilderness in a pack of their own later on.

However, a group of hunters in Empor believe strongly in the existence of werewolves as a reality. They're lead by an over-zealous young man, determined to eradicate the werewolves from existence so that Empor can more easily manipulate Algoma, eventually dominating it, taking it over, and then proceed to take over the entire region.

Eventually, the hunters and the werewolves meet face-to-face, causing an escalated clash, not only between them, but between the two towns as well. A wolf pack in the region also gets caught up in the situation, causing additional strain. Now, the werewolves have to continue to protect Algoma, the wilderness, and its creatures, while also fighting for their own lives.


All of this will be revealed in the story itself one way or another. This is just a synopsis of it so you can get a good idea of the plot.

Next to come: Character introductions!