The Wolves of Shiral

This supernatural pack has been mentioned in legend and story for decades, a black stain of terror that has touched every culture with its dark presence. Though the reasons and stories surrounding the appearance of the Wolves varies, their description is constant, a pack of gray-furred beasts, each the size of a pony, armed with dagger-like teeth. Legend claims the Wolves are peerless hunters, tracking their prey by smell and sight, their slit-pupil, yellow eyes cutting through the blackest night or thickest fog.

The Wolves of Shiral are native to another plane of existence, a grim, shadowy realm where they are little more than predatory beasts. They can only appear in the mundane world with assistance. There are three ways the Wolves can be called forth from their native plane of existence:

• Summoning Ritual - The Wolves can be called forth with a carefully prepared ritual. Researching this rite requires access to a Superb quality library of magical lore. Due to the Wolves' terrible nature this lore is often kept locked away by powerful organizations, so anyone seeking this information must navigate a maze of bureaucratic red tape and organizational obstructionism. Fully researching the ritual requires four Epic tests of ritual lore once the appropriate materials are at hand. The actual ritual requires a Superb expenditure of coin on tools and components, which include diamond dust for inscribing magical sigils, a silver-bladed dagger to carry out the requisite human sacrifice, a silver chalice to the victims blood, and a red silk robe laced with silver thread to protect the ritualist. The actual ritual requires three Epic tests of ritual magic on the part of the ritualist, though carrying out the ritual at the proper time (midnight on the night of a new moon) reduces the difficulty of these tests to Great.
• Wolfhead Stone - This unique artifact was found by Dwarf miners in ages past. It is a nugget of pure silver the size of two fists, its tarnished form  bearing the shape of a snarling wolf's head. No hammer or fire has been discovered that can affect this relic. Legend says the Dwarves set the nugget in a heavy gold setting suspended from a silver chain. Anyone that obtains the Stone can call forth the Wolves by bathing it in the blood of a human sacrifice at midnight on the night of a new moon.
• Altar of Doom - In a haunted wood stands a monolithic altar to some unknown god. Black power radiates from this site, tainting the surrounding woods with fear and shadow. Legend says that anyone with the will to brave these dark woods and sacrifice themselves upon the black altar can summon forth the Wolves of Shiral to exact revenge upon their enemies.

When a successful summoning is carried out the nine Wolves appear, ready to hunt down and slay anyone named by their summoner. The Wolves have the following characteristics:

• Epic toughness and endurance. The Wolves move with Great speed over all terrain, hunting by day or night with equal ease. Their tough bodies are immune to mundane weaponry and they have Superb resistance to all forms of elemental damage.
• Their Superb senses cut through the foulest weather or deepest dark, unraveling complex trails or obscuring spells with ease. The pack's own trail is obscured by Superb magic that disguises their passage and misdirects spells seeking their location.
• The Wolves are immune to spells of warding or protection. Any attempt to return them to their own plane of existence before their mission is complete suffers a three rank penalty.
• When their prey is located the Wolves attack with Epic strength razor sharp fangs and claws, inflicting terrible bleeding wounds that heal at one-quarter the normal rate.
• The howls of the hunting pack reduce the strongest soul to shaking terror. Anyone within 60 feet of the pack must make a Superb test of will every three rounds or suffer a cumulative one rank penalty to all skill tests.

The Wolves are as capricious as they are deadly. After they have carried out their assigned task there is a 20% chance they will turn on their summoner. This chance rises by 10% for each day the pack has been active.

Note that there is only one pack, and if someone attempts to summon them while they are already active the original summoning breaks, causing the pack to seek out and destroy both summoning parties.