-The Red Fang-
There are few beasts as ferocious and tenacious as the dreaded Red Fang of Jidoor. These battle hounds have roamed the plains of the western continent for centuries, the lost pride of a lost era. With their crimson fur and bloody disposition, these creatures have earned their names through countless fatal encounters with unwary travelers. Their poison fangs and terrifying cries have earned them a place in the nightmares of many a Kohlingen child, and to this day they remain an ongoing dilemma for our peacekeeping efforts.
What may come as a surprise to many non-Jidoorans is the fact that these dogs were once domesticated war hounds of the Jidoor army, trained to serve their masters faithfully. The times when any human could hope to control the Red Fangs has long since been buried in generation upon generation of feral regression. The only hint of their past servility is their higher than normal intelligence and seemingly impossible strength and abilities. Only a strict, human-guided regiment of breeding for savagery and brute force could have produced such perfect killing machines as these, and only master trainers could hope to tame them. It is a shame the secret of training these deadly predators has been lost to us, for the only predators these creatures have on the plains between Jidoor and Kohlingen are themselves. Even man is just another type of prey to these abominations.
The actual name "Red Fang" may seem appropriate enough in its own right for the beasts, but according to Jidoor records, this was actually the name of the brigade that bred and commanded them originally. At some point the brigade was annihilated and forgotten by history, but the hardy dogs managed to survive and spread across the entire western coastline even after their masters were destroyed. Nowadays, their intensely efficient breeding has allowed them to survive even the most thorough attempts at eradication, and they have become the apex predators of the western plains.
And if their man-made brutality wasn't enough, the flowing magical energy and shifting landmasses of the Collapse have added a new dimension to the twisted legacy of the Red Fang brigade. After the Fall, the Red Fangs managed to find their way into the mountains of Narshe, much to the horror of the already beleaguered inhabitants of that region. Through some infernal combination of genes and magic gone wild, the Red Fangs interbred with the Silver Lobos of the north to create an even more deadly and bloodthirsty monster. These hellhounds were dubbed Red Wolves, and were even more vicious and bloodthirsty than either the Red Fangs or Silver Lobos, if it can be believed. It was not long before the entire population of Silver Lobos had been driven to extinction, and now only the eerily glowing Red Wolves remain to prowl the harsh terrain of Narshe.
I have worked hard with Locke Cole, Kohlingen's most famous resident and hometown hero, to eliminate both the Red Fangs and Red Wolves from our world, but we have met with only limited success. The engineering of the ancient breeders of Jidoor was truly something to admire, however begrudgingly. Very few creatures were able to adapt and thrive in the new landscape that was created after the Fall as successfully as the Red Fangs and Red Wolves. It seems however much we reduce the Red Fang population, the Red Wolf population more than makes up for our efforts. Soon, there will be no more Red Fangs, and only Red Wolves to contend with. Whether this is a good thing or just the next chapter in the enduring tragedy of the once illustrious Red Fang brigade remains to be seen.
If there is a lesson to be learned from these menaces, it is that not all of the horrors that plague our world were caused by gods, magic and madmen. Sometimes the most difficult problems to solve are the ones well-meaning humans create for themselves.