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Wolf 2312

Faolan is a gyre soul.

Gyre souls are souls of beings who die and then are reincarnated again as different animals in the next time period.

Meaning[]

A gyre soul is an animal that lives again or has past lives. The sign of a gyre soul is a spiral mark, like the one on Faolan's paw. For example, a wolf could originally be named Frost, but then dies and later comes back as a new wolf that could be named Poppy. Animals are normally reincarnated by choice or if they have earned it, but in some cases, such as the journey to The Distant Blue, it is necessary to help them survive and lead others to safety.

Faolan's Spiral

A spiral is the mark of a gyre soul.

Characteristics[]

The traditional marking of a gyre soul is a spiral mark on one foot, though only one gyre soul, Faolan, is known to possess it. Even if the mark is absent, a gyre may still display characteristics of their past life or lives, such as Edme feeling pain in the same spot her past life had a twisted femur.

Gyre souls may possess the body of their current life without sharing the same spirit, such as Fengo, Fionula, and Eo inhabiting Faolan's body while remaining separate. It is unknown if Stormfast possesses Edme or if she was simply reborn as her, and no other gyres have been recorded in the books. Either way, the memories of the gyres may pop up in the living animal's mind, which frequently occurs in Faolan. For an unknown reason, Fengo's memories seemed to dominate over Fionula's and Eo's, with Faolan remembering things such as the Old Wolf language and the history of the Ring more often than knowledge common to owls or bears. Stormfast's memories stayed buried in Edme until she sensed the spirit of Fengo inhabiting Faolan and realized she was his mate in her past life. The memories seem to come up when something reminds the animal of their past lives, such as the scarcity of elk antlers the year before the famine, or Edme's memories of Stormfast on the Ice Bridge, or when they are most needed, such as Faolan's need for all three of his gyres on the journey to The Distant Blue.

Occasionally, when there is reason to do so, the gyre may completely take over the animal's body, such as Eo repeatedly taking over Faolan, giving him the shape and strength of a grizzly bear. Only other gyres appear able to see this, such as Edme, with the transformation and the new behaviors remaining unseen to other animals. This could be due to gyre souls' uncanny ability to sense each other, such as Edme seeing Faolan's gyres on two occasions. The Whistler, though it was unconfirmed if he was a gyre soul, also had the ability to tell Faolan and Edme were old souls of some sort, though he never saw their gyres.

Most of the time, the gyres remain hidden except for the occasional memory the animal cannot explain. If ever necessary, the gyres may reveal themselves in dreams or visions. The best known function of this is traveling to a land the current generations have never seen, but the gyres might have.

History[]

Before the Books[]

Fionula, and Eo were reincarnations of Fengo, and all three painted in the Cave Before Time. Fengo recorded wolf-related events such as byrrgises, wolves at the Watch, and gaddergnaws. Eo inscribed about the events of his gyre soul (such as when he snapped an Outclanner's neck as Faolan), and Fionula inscribed about an owl's life.

Shadow Wolf[]

In Shadow Wolf, the Sark suspects that Faolan is a gyre soul. She whispers her suspicions into a memory jug.

Spirit Wolf[]

In Spirit Wolf, Faolan discovered that he is a gyre soul. He meets all three of his gyre souls, Eo, Fionula, and the first Fengo who helps Faolan lead the wolves to The Distant Blue.

Star Wolf []

Edme figured out that she was the reincarnation of Stormfast when she used her inner eye to read the bone and the Old Wolf text. Also, Faolan used his memory of his gyre souls to lead the Wolves of the Beyond to the Distant Blue. At the end of the book Abban acknowledges that "within his own life he had really lived two - that of a wolf and that of a sea creature", making him a possible gyre soul.

Snowy owl

Fionula was a gyre soul.

Trivia[]

  • Gyre souls may have helped Fengo lead the wolves into the Beyond.
  • Both Faolan and Edme are gyre souls, and were mates when they were known as Stormfast and Fengo, and are currently mates as Faolan and Edme as well. 
  • One of the past volcanos at the Watch was named Stormfast after Edme's gyre soul.

Known Gyre souls[]

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