Surviving malcadhs who make it back to their clan become gnaw wolves.
A malcadh is a wolf who is born sick, late, prematurely, or with deformities, such as with a missing eye, tail, paws, ears, crooked hips, twisted legs, three legs, etc[1]. The word malcadh means "cursed one" in the wolf language[2]. Sometimes, pregnant she-wolves will go by-lang, in fear that they will birth a malcadh. If an Obea finds the she-wolf's pup, they will take it away to a tummfraw, where the pup is expected to die, and the parents of the pup will be exiled for the sake of the Clan's bloodlines.
However, if a malcadh pup survives and finds a clan again, they will be taken in, given a name (with the exceptions of wolves like Faolan, who had names before they became pack members) and become a gnaw wolf, the lowest ranking wolf in a clan[1].
On the rare occasion that a lone she-wolf births a malcadh and the pup survives, the pup is called a "free runner". Free runners may sometimes join a wolf clan or live alone most of their early lives but can compete in the gaddergnaw and join the Watch if they win.
History[]
Lone Wolf[]
A she-wolf of the MacDuncan clan, Morag, goes by-lang, as she feared her third and second-last litter would not be the same as the others. She gives birth to three pups, two tawny females and a silver male. However, the silver pup has a splayed paw, along with a spiral marking on the pad, thus making him a malcadh. Within a few hours, the MacDuncan clan's Obea, Shibaan, comes and takes the pup. She abandons him at an icy riverbank, and leaves. However, the pup manages to hold onto a chunk of ice as the thrashing river carries him down. The pup is rescued by a female grizzly, who he calls Thunderheart. Thunderheart names the pup Faolan, and takes care of him until she goes into hibernation, and is later killed in an earthquake.
Shadow Wolf[]
After Shibaan is killed in one of the earthquake's aftershocks, the she-wolf Lael is chosen as the new MacDuncan Obea. While on his Trail of Shame, Faolan sees her passing by with a malcadh pup in her mouth. Although not physically deformed, the pup was born early. Faolan sees Lael abandon the tawny pup on a moose trail.
Practices and Traditions[]
A three-legged malcadh.
At Birth[]
Sometimes, she-wolves who are pregnant go by-lang. Others stay in the pack. Where ever the she-wolf chooses as a birthing den, the clan Obea will come to check for any malcadhs. If she does find a malcadh, she takes the cursed pup to a tummfraw, where the pup is expected to die of starvation or hypothermia and/or be eaten by another animal, such as an owl[1]. The Obea returns and she and mother carry the surviving pups back to a pack, where the news of the malcadh is announced[3], and the surviving pups are nursed and raised by another she-wolf[4]. If the mother and father are to survive, they must seek separate and new clans never to mate with or see each other again. This is done to prevent the previously mated pair from producing similar offspring. Their destinies are marked by blight, and it can only be set right by finding new bloodlines[1]. Mothers may not resist the Obea taking the malcadh or all pups are immediately killed, so none dare try.
Gnaw Wolves[]
If the malcadh does survive, it may be allowed back into a clan and pack, and be named, it then becomes a gnaw wolf. But the life of a gnaw wolf is harsh. They are the lowest-ranking and most abused member, becoming a living symbol of bad blood. If they win a gaddergnaw, their life is changed, and they become part of the Sacred Watch.
A surviving malcadh.
Types of Malcadhs[]
Malcadhs have deformities, like:
- Missing an eye (Edme, Banja, Winks, Briar)
- Missing their tail (Heep)
- Crooked throat (The Whistler)
- Missing a paw (Creakle)
- Missing their ear(s) (Tearlach, Colleen)
- Splayed or backward paw (Faolan, Twist, Finbar)
- Born too early, and sometimes when she-wolves are late with pups (The Little Pup)
- Twisted leg (Hamish)
- Three legs (Leitha)
- A forked tongue, like a snake's (Snowdon)
- Crooked hips (Malachy, Heep)
- A missing paw with claws sticking out of the stub (Jasper)
- One ear, eye and a missing paw (Padraigh)
- Born blind (the first pup Shibaan took away)
Known Malcadhs[]
- Faolan
- Twist
- Winks
- The Whistler
- Heep
- Tearlach
- Creakle
- Banja
- Hamish
- The Little Pup
- Finbar
- Colleen
- Jasper
- Snowdon
- Briar
- Streak
- Malachy
- Leitha
- Other unknown malcadhs
Trivia[]
- Malcadh could come from the Irish word "mallacht" meaning cursed.