Noctisardor Bypass ungnädig

with wolves both upon sagtannet and in the tangled wood, which he had begun to churlishly name "riven," mahler split his time between each claim. 
last night he had spent in sagtannet; he opted for the pleasant detour of allowing the bypass to fill his vision. appraisal of the markers before had confirmed for him the presence of a female leader who led alone, as be could find no other dominant scents. the children here were half grown. 
he would avoid the mistake that had doomed sagtannet; the new thralls along with star and asra would not be ordered to fight a war for territory he wanted for himself. not yet.
keeping well back from the borders, mahler gazed upward toward the split in the mountain he had once attempted to claim alone.