In this world, there are thirteen clans who believe in different things. Among these thirteen clans, I am the Cheiftan's daughter, Nou, of the Unity clan. Originally, there were only to be twelve clans, but there was one strong man who came from nowhere and created his own- The Wolves. My father once told me about the Wolves. They were a clan of monks who were dying out. Many men did not want to believe in their religion because it was too strange and would not allow women to join.

The Wolves only swore themselves to an ancient Goddess whom they referred to as the MAMA. On the twelfth night without a moon, the men would build a huge bonfire and dance around it as a ritual. There were no sacrifices, just the strengthening of their beliefs. The only ones who danced around the fire were young men who were creating their oath to MAMA.

I was told that these men lived in the cold mountains of our land. My father had met with their clan leader once. A magical elderly man with a beard, growing as long as his own stomach. Father said he carried an ancient charm, the black pearl of magical origin, with him that was said to keep him safe from any magic used against him.

My father told me that he called himself 'Father Wolf' of the Wolf clan. His power and strength were said to surpass that of my own father's. He was well known in many parts of our lands as a fantastic hunter. Father Wolf taught each of our great clans how to hunt in the warm blazing temperatures of summer and in the freezing chills of the winter.

I remember overhearing rumors of 12 young Wolves who had been saved from a sacrificial fire by Father Wolf. My father told me that they were about my age. The day they were given birth to, they were to be sacrificed for the sake of MAMA, but Father Wolf did not believe in that and saved them from death.

One late night as I was fetching water from the river, I had caught sight of one of the young men. He had fair skin and hair the color of autumn leaves. His gleaming eyes were slanted down to the bridge of his nose. I noticed that he was quite small, if I was correct, he was shorter than me.

As I studied him some more, the stick of bamboo that I held fell from my hands, splashing into the water. Quickly, I picked it up from the river water and ran away, trying not to look back. Fear withheld my thoughts. My mother had told me to never come in contact with these men, afraid of what their magic might do to me.

Running as fast as I could through the forest, I had tripped over a branch from an old tree that was sticking out from under the dirt. The bamboo pole fell from my hands and rolled away into the dark. Scared and hurt, I lifted my head to look around for danger and, at the moment, there didn't seem to be anything in sight.

Back when my father was teaching me how to hunt, I was taught to rub myself with mud to hide my scent from creatures of the night. I drenched myself in a pile of wet mud and hid inside the chest of a hollowed tree I found.

Moments later, the growl of a wolf was coming from behind the tree. I held my breath for as long as I could, hoping for it to go away. My eyes shut tightly. Legs curled up to my chest. Heart beating as fast as the river's current.

I could hear the bamboo tube rolling around. The sound got closer and closer to the tree I was huddled in. And then it stopped. Curious as to what was going on, I slowly opened my eyes.

Right in front of my face, another pair of eyes were staring directly into mine. I dared not to scream or move for I was fearful of death's approach. Our eyes stared directly into each other for the count of ten seconds before I lost conciousness.

The next morning, I was told that the hunters of my clan had found me cuddled inside the hollowed tree covered in a blanket of deer's fur. The bamboo water pipe beside me. I had to believe it was the young man I saw.

From that day on, I began to have strange dreams of twelve children. They were not my own, but I somehow knew they were children given to me as gifts. But the two big questions that filled my little head were: Whose children are they and why were they given to me?

The further you read into this story, you shall know. The strange path that led me to where I am today answers all the questions that my mind would bring up. There was no doubt that I was destined to be the heroine of this journey.