Creature: Lupine
Grouping: Landfolk
Gender: Male and Female
Physical Appearance: The Lupine live in the barren lands of the Northern Deserts. This means that their skin is often a dark olive tanned colour which comes not only from their exposure to the sun but also the mud and dust from their homelands. Their hair is often dark too as are their eyes. The men are huge and thick with strong muscles. The women are muscular also and lacking in feminine beauty. Both genders have savage appearances. Their skin is often tattooed or scared with various marks and symbols. Often symbols of how many they have killed. Their teeth are sharpened and faces mutated to look more like their wolves.
Magic: The Lupine has a special bond with the Desert Wolves also known as Kintara Wolves. The wolves themselves are incredibly powerful, some growing bigger than horses. The Lupine will bond with one wolf. Once the wolf has bonded, it becomes invincible. The only way to kill the wolf is to kill its Lupine. Its skin cannot be penetrated by any weapon and poisons have no effect. Not all Lupine have bonded wolves, however. In fact, it has gotten less common as the years have passed. Less and less Lupine are bonding with these creatures.
Physical abilities: Even though less Lupine are bonding with Kintara wolves, they still share physical traits with the beasts. Their muscles hold great strength. They can run at incredible speeds for many miles without breaking a sweat. Their reflexes are sharp as are the senses of smell, sight and hearing.
Weaknesses: It is hard to come up with weaknesses for these savages. They live so deep in the Northern Desert lands, that armies of any other race can barely survive them. Those who do survive and reach their cities are barely strong enough to do anything. Though they do struggle with food and water. There is not much that grows in their lands so feeding a nation is difficult, however, that does not seem to weaken their warriors in any way.
Other Facts: The Lupine are not ruled by a King or Queen. They are ruled by a Solavar (male) or a Lunavar (female). Though we do not know why they name themselves these titles. Their ruling system does not travel down one family line like our others. Instead, their rulers are whoever kills the previous ruler. However, each new ruler must have support from the people and high ranking Lupine members in order to stay ruling. They must maintain the support for as long as they can until someone younger and stronger takes control.

~The Creatures of Vivelle. Written by scholar Dominic Frey, Head of Creature and Magical studies during the reign of the Mad Queen Orianna and her successor King Niklaus.

We arrive at the arena. The carriage enters a large archway and veers off to the side before we enter the main area. My sisters and I all get out and walk over to were horses wait. There are six in total, all of them black beasts. Their fur glistens in the light as it ripples over their strong bodies. They are impatient and jumping around so much that the stable boys are almost being thrown off their feet. These are war horses. The biggest and strongest horse breed. Even though many high ranking soldiers own horses of this great breed, officially, they are all property of the King. Though these six are perhaps my fathers greatest pride. With their intimidating dark fur and huge build. They don't like to stand still either, always wanting to run or jump. They are extremely hard to control.

I am not worried as I walk over to my horse. He is one of the larger ones, standing far above me. He is a beautiful creature with his fark silky fur and flowing mane. He calms down immediately as I approach him and the stable boy looks relieved. 

"I've got him now," I tell him and the boy is glad to run off. "Hello, boy," I say to him as I remove the ropes that had been restraining him. He whinnies and I run my hand down his neck.  A stool is brought over but I don't need it. The horse lowers his body and I jump onto his back with ease. There is no equipment for me to use. No saddle or bridle. Warhorses don't like it so they are only made to wear it when riding into battle. He rears and I laugh as I clutch onto his mane and tighten my legs.

"Okay Trouble," I mutter as he returns to stand on all four legs. "Are you ready?" I ask. He whinnies again and I can feel his body tense as he readies to run. I look around at my father and sisters. They are all mounted on their horses. Stable boys come up to us and pull the skirts of our dresses neatly around us so they don't get in our way. Even my father's robes are being tended to.

"Are you ready girls?" he asks. They look nervous but nod their heads. "Then let's get on with it," he says and urges his horse on. His horse is the biggest and wildest of all of ours. Though my Trouble comes a close second. His horse rears and lets out a loud whinny then takes off with a powerful jolt. I feel excitement rise in me and a smile tugs at my face. I urge Trouble on and he takes off, following my father. I hear my sisters behind me. The sound of the horse's hooves against the stone floor is booming as we run through a tunnel. The crowd roars as we exit the tunnel and into the arena. Their cheers and screams ring loudly around us. The horses, excited to be in a large space, let out another burst of speed. The wind snaps at my face as Trouble runs as fast as he can. We run down the centre of the huge circle that makes up the floor of the arena. The stone benches rise all around us with towers and archways making up the walls beyond. Thousands of people sit on the benches which surrounds the arena floor. Once we have ridden in a line to the opposite end of the exit, we split up. My father, myself and Fallon all go left to ride around one side of the arena whilst the other three go right. We do a lap around the arena before running back into the middle where a stage of sorts is erected. A rectangular stone platform stands before us. Father urges his horse on. It effortlessly trots up the stairs onto the platform before rearing again. We follow up the stairs onto the risen stage, lining the horses up. The crowd still screams and I remember that even though racing around the arena on horseback is exhilarating, this is still just one big show.

"Welcome!" my father shouts and the arena hushes. His voice echoes around the whole arena, though I seriously doubt he can be heard by those right at the top. There are speakers placed throughout the crowds. They shout what they hear from my father. The ones further away hear what the first speakers have said and repeat it. Making one big chain so that everyone can hear. "Today is the first test of the Queen's Trial!" His voice echoes around the arena. "On this first test, my daughters will be delivering speeches and trying to convince you that they deserve to be your queen!" The crowd roars and I gulp, my heart racing in my chest.

"We shall start with our youngest princess and proceed in order until we reach the eldest. Princess Illyana, who is my personal choice!" he shouts and screams echo around me. There is a hush as my father holds up his hand. He smiles and looks at Shaelyn, nodding his head. A few whispers rush around the arena as she steps forward. I look at her as she turns back and faces me. I give her a reassuring smile. She gulps and nods her head before taking a deep breath and beginning her speech. I drown her out. I know I should listen but my heart thuds loudly in my ears. I lick my dry lips and clench my fists as I watch the crowd. They are all hushed, listening to Shaelyn who is now almost shouting so she can be heard and so she can stand strong. You don't want to mumble and come across as shy. That is one sure way to lose any support you may have from anyone. If you can't stand in front of a crowd confidently and talk, then how can you help rule? I hear nothing of what Shae says. My nerves are so high and my mouth has gone dry completely. My eyes dart over our audience as they whisper to each other about us. I wonder what they are saying? Whether they like us or dislike us?

"Next up is Princess Illyana," my father shouts. I look at him. My turn already? How long have I been stood here in this daydreaming state, watching the crowd and missing all my sisters had to say? I look at my father and step forward. He whispers in my ear.

"Say what you need to say to win," he snarls in my ear. I nod my head. I let a calmness take over my body as I force myself to relax. Don't worry father. I will say what I need to. It just won't be to win this competition. It will be to win their support. I need to do this my sisters are relying on all our plans working and this is a major part of them. I let a soft smile cross my face.

"Welcome," my voice is calm. There is no shaking and I do not shout. That does not stop my voice from echoing softly around the arena.

"What a privilege it is to have you all here today to witness the first trial," I continue and stop so they can all cheer. I smile wider and laugh a little. Finding the right things to say has always come easily for me when in a speech situation. Words just seem to flow out with no fear or effort.

"This morning, we received our Marks. The symbols that represent us. It represents what we value. It represents our strengths and weaknesses. On my chest sits a wolf." I pause for a moment, letting it sink in for those high up who can't see my mark. There are a few gasps around the arena and I allow a chuckle to escape my lips. "Now the first thing you think of is the Lupine," I sigh and let an easy smile cross my face. "But the Lupine do not own the images of wolves," I tell them. "They do not own what a wolf represents. Do you want to know why such a creature sits permanently marked over my heart?" I ask. "Because wolves are great creatures. They are creatures or strength. They are creatures of freedom and they are creatures of loyalty. For these are the values that I cherish most. Though what I really cherish most is Loyalty." I pause for a second. "I am loyal to my country, to my duty and to all of you. I will do what is right to ensure that all those in Vivelle are strong and free. Free to chose where they live. Free to chose who they love. Free to make their own choices. Because isn't that as a nation what we value most? If we take away these freedoms, then what are we?" I ask as the arena hushes. "That is why there is a wolf on my chest. A symbol of that freedom. I am not ashamed of it. When I look at it, I am reminded of my loyalty to all of you. I am reminded that I must be strong to ensure that everyone is treated with fairness. To remind me that everyone deserves opportunities to make their own choices and mistakes. To remind me that there are more values than the latest fashion or the money in my pocket. That true wealth lies in the hearts of the people. The smiles on a child's face as you show them a little bit of kindness and their laughs as you play a simple game. The joy when someone receives the aid they so desperately need. For years, kings have been sucking you dry. Raising your taxes so their rich friends could get richer and the poor could get poorer." I can feel my fathers glare on my back. "I know my betrothed could not be here today. He is off protecting us from the Lupine, risking his life to protect yours. Together, we will make it our vow to help all of you. No more feeding the pockets of the already wealthy. No more starving on the streets begging for food because all their money has gone to the monarchy. No more having to work tireless hours every day in harsh conditions with little pay because business owners don't want to pay you a wage you can survive on. That isn't freedom. That isn't right. I know that I can help you. I know that under my rule, you'll be able to actually spend time with your families and be able to feed them proper food without having to work from dawn to dusk. I know this because I don't need or value your hard-earned money. Because what I value most are the people standing right next to me." I say as I step back and take Fallon and Cordelia's hands. They, in turn, take Rayana and Shaelyn's hand and I smile, lifting them into their air. There are a few seconds of tense silence as everyone thinks about what I have just said. Then, the arena roars with joy. I smile and my pulse races. Warmth fills my body. I truly mean what I said. I want these people to be able to live instead of just survive. 

My father tries to calm the cheering but it doesn't work until I speak on last time.

"And of course!" I shout, continuing from my previous sentence. "The people all around me!" The cheering gets louder and my father turns to me, a fake smile plastered over his face. I can see the annoyance in his eyes. I smile at him. He did tell me to say what I had to.