The Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins With One Step...
Once, long ago, our kind reached the far corners of the land, from the greenest of the East, to the red deserts of the West, to the tropics of the South, and even to the Edge of the endless winters of the North.
Humans were among us even then, for as long as any living thing can remember, as long as the longest tales have been around. But, back then, we made a sort of uneasy peace with the humans. If we kept to our own, no war would break between us. For the most part, it seems, that worked.
There aren't many tales or oral history from this time, long ago. Most of what we know we assume to be a stretch of the truth, sometimes even only legend.
What we know for sure, is that terrible word came from the farthest East. A new kind of human had landed on the shores, with different coloration and different fur. And different weapons.
These humans feared us, but that which had kept the peace between us before, however dangerous and nervous it may have been, these new ones used as a reason to hunt and kill us. They spread into our lands, pushing us farther and farther back. The more we gave up, the faster it occured.
However...
Those same god-like destroyers of all would eventually become, also, our only salvation.
We'd lost nearly all the East, when there suddenly came a shift. The humans started designating what we now know as Protected Lands, usually forested, to protect beastkind from their very own hunters and slayers. Even wolves were welcome there. Though humans are allowed into these lands, and hunters could sneak through, endangering the native creatures is considered offensive, and is dealt with almost immediately. It's the safest anyone can ask for, these days.
This is where our kind hides now, staying as far from human presence as possible. Who is to know, now, how many lands we used to occupy, now abandoned, that have become Protected? How could we know?
We are paralyzed by fear, never straying too close to the boundaries of our protection, suffering from two-sided face of humanity.
But the winds of change are beginning to pick up.
Within the bravest of hearts, the most intelligent of minds, and the most cunning of wits, perhaps... lies a possibility. The urge to do what hasn't been done for hundreds of generations. To leave safety and expand the wolf's territory once more.
I wonder, however... When this time - this young one, does come - will we hear back from them? Or will our new mindset for our captors sustain?
This is a new world. A world less than ideal. But there is... A possibility.
Echo is an interactive visual story following a young female wolf's journey from Yellowstone National Park to be the first wolf in the Grand Canyon in 100 years. Along the way, she will meet several others to persuade into joining her in her quest to start a new pack.
The road is paved with dangers, both from nature and from humankind. Echo will need to prove her skills in leadership and survival to ensure each one of them makes it to the Grand Canyon.
The road is paved with dangers, both from nature and from humankind. Echo will need to prove her skills in leadership and survival to ensure each one of them makes it to the Grand Canyon.