It is important to know the circumstances of Saor's birth to understand her upbringing. Click here to visit her father Kelso's bio and get the details.

Saor is the product of a forbidden relationship between a pack wolf and an outsider. The alpha male of the Winterheart pack -- a stern, grizzled old wolf by the name of Cross -- would have killed all five of the newborn puppies if their mother hadn't thrown herself over them and pleaded desperately for their lives. Reluctantly, Cross let them be. Some speculated that he gave in to Kasaka's pleas because, as his youngest daughter, he had spoiled and doted on her in her youth. There was perhaps a grain of truth in that. There was also the fact that the aging alpha had not managed to sire a litter of his own in two years at that point. The benefits that five new puppies brought to his pack greatly outweighed whatever grim satisfaction he might have gotten out of killing an outsider's bastards.

But he was not a loving or attentive grandfather in the least. At best, he tolerated their existence. Despite Cross's disdain, however, the rest of the pack adored and cherished them, and the five of them grew up healthy, happy, well-taught, and loved.

Saor herself was an inquisitive and headstrong child. She had a strong drive to learn and explore. She was well known for questioning things and pushing boundaries, and she generally wasn't alone. While the Winterhearts were a close-knit bunch that seemed content to remain close to home, Ostregas are notoriously wanderers and nomads. A thirst for travel and adventure runs strong in their blood. The pack encouraged the children to wander and explore, though, fully believing that it would make them stronger, smarter pack wolves in the coming years. Each pup was doted upon, his or her strengths recognized and developed. Saor was particularly adept at tracking; she had a nose for scents that nearly rivaled that of any other wolf in the pack. The Winterhearts' lead huntress, a swift little she-wolf named Hawkeye, took Saor as an apprentice and helped her hone her skills.

And so it was thus that Saor had a strong and thriving upbringing. But, like a black cloud hanging over a sunny horizon, Cross's contempt always loomed over the pups. He was especially hard on Kasaka's only son, Dirge. In Dirge, he saw a potential contender for the alpha position. As the boy grew, Cross's treatment of him grew progressively worse in subtle, insidious ways. Dirge's sisters were not blind to the old wolf's low-key cruelty, and some of them -- particularly Saor -- were outraged by it. It was as though the alpha male hoped the boy would leave of his own volition before a challenge ever had a chance to arise. His worries were not unfounded, either, for as he reached maturity, Dirge was indeed larger, stronger, and faster than Cross.

Late in the spring of 2017, Dirge finally left the pack. Two of his sisters, Saor and Nyx, followed him and they traveled for a while on their own. The headed north, through the Sierra Nevada, across the desert landscape of eastern Oregon and up into Washington. Eventually, they came to the Teekon Wilds, and something about the area caught their interest (it was, for example, their first time seeing the ocean) and they decided to stick around for a while, not realizing that the area was home to large number of their Ostrega kin...

A NOTE REGARDING SURNAMES...
Saor and her siblings carry both the Winterheart and Ostrega surnames. Children born to the Winterheart pack always carry the family surname; however, due to the illegitimacy of their birth, Saor and her siblings were never formally granted it by their alpha. Cross refused to recognize them as his own by giving them his family surname. Stubbornly, their mother still insisted they carry it, for they were Winterhearts just as much as any other. As she still loved their father, Kasaka also wanted her children to carry the Ostrega name as well.

Her Winterheart name means far more to Saor than her Ostrega surname -- which is understandable, considering she never knew her father and has no connection to the Ostrega family. Oftentimes, she introduces herself as "Saor Winterheart", choosing to omit the Ostrega name altogether. As she meets other Ostregas in the Teekon Wilds and learns more about her father's side of the family, perhaps that will change.