Background

[River]

Sirius brought us here to die...

Wolf Creek, Pennsylvania, was a larger community than anyone gave it credit for. It could be expected in a state containing both Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Classes were sharply divided by what compass direction they fell under: in the north were the richest citizens, in the west the middle-class "culture freaks", in the east a rural community of fishers and farmers, and in the south were the lowest of the low. For the longest time, the only dogs in Wolf Creek were the poodles and Pomeranians kept by the northerners. Things were peaceful for most of Wolf Creek, normal enough for the south.

Things changed when dogcatchers began popping up around northern Pennsylvania. A recent rabies outbreak meant that everyone was on the lookout for stray and feral dogs. Word of this outbreak hadn't yet spread to Wolf Creek itself, and so the ferals that lived in areas where they were persecuted began to see this place as a type of safe haven for their type.

Of course, some of them were infected with rabies. The northerners wanted to call in executioners and dogcatchers to do the dirty work of "cleaning up" Wolf Creek, while the southerners merely chose to shoot any funny-acting dogs in their neck of the woods. The artsy kids became staunch animal rights activists and the easterners were always against shooting something that was supposed to be known as "man's best friend". At a loss of what to do, those who were against the presence of feral dogs packed up immediately. Those who were left tried to rebuild but eventually gave up and left their home behind.

By all means, things should have been smooth sailing from then on out for the ferals. They had all the food they could eat from crops, livestock, and anything left behind. There were no more pesky humans keeping their numbers down, so when they multiplied only natural causes kept some of their youth from dying. Unfortunately, things never stay peaceful for long, and soon enough there were tensions between dogs.

In the beginning of the Time Alone, the canines only had one pack that was ruled by a King Shepherd named Ace. He was widely regarded as a great ruler, but he was also rather scatterbrained and would not always think of potential issues. When Ace died suddenly, he left no second-in-command to follow him. Dogs began campaigning to show why they were cut out to be his successor. When it finally came time to choose a leader, the dogs were thoroughly split and began two packs. Throughout the years, those packs have changed thoroughly. Loners managed to get by on their own for the longest time, but recently loose packs called gangs have been springing up, and false prophets parade cults throughout Wolf Creek. Fighting abounds and food from man is rapidly depleting.

Sometimes, it is as if the dogs were brought to Wolf Creek to die.