I call them Wolfkin. Mainly because there are probably some women in the world that can talk to wolves too. I’d like to try to explain the nature of Wolfkin, or Wolfbrothers if you like, by relating to another fantasy writer's world.
If you’ve read the Ender Quartet by Orson Scott Card you can probably dredge up some memory of Philotic Theory. If not, or if you haven’t read the series, here is an exhaustive overview of Philotic Theory:
Philotes are little itty-bitty sub-atomic particles that make up everything, they are smaller than electrons or quarks or any other sub-atomic particle you can think of. Each philote has a given sort of intelligence. It has definite ability to hold a complex pattern. These philotes that can hold a very large pattern are the ones that inhabit the bodies of human beings. Don’t get the wrong impression that philotes are like parasites or something. Philotes are like souls. They control the body. The empirical ego that JMC was talking about can be reduced to a single philote. This single philote has a nearly infinite amount of philotic rays that are connected to other philotes. The complex web of philotic rays that your philote uses to control your body is the sense of awareness that one has of one’s body. It can be described as the whole of your soul.
Anyway all philotes can hold some pattern, even if it is only the pattern of themselves. These "stupid" philotes are used to assemble matter and such, not used as souls. Every philote has that near infinite web of rays that spread from them. These rays are mostly connected to the Earth, that is why you think of it as your home. Others connect to those you love, or places you love, things like that. This connection is what I believe Wolfkin and other wolves use to communicate.
It is a mutated version of Philotic Theory that the wolves use to talk to one another. The wolves don't necessarily have to love each other, they just connect at will. They also have a sort of control over the mutated philotic rays, they can reach out to other wolves with them as Perrin does in times of need.
If you’re familiar with the Ender Quartet you also know that information can be sent through philotic rays. This is exactly what happens during a "sending" that Perrin experiences while talking with wolves. The keen sense of smell also goes beyond just senses. Philotic rays can be used to sort of smell a person's soul to see what they feel. The information received from these rays is translated into smell. This does not mean that Perrin does not have extremely good smelling abilities, it's just that he only thinks he can smell emotions.
Okay, recap: Wolves speak to one another using a temporary philotic connection into the other's souls. Perrin and other wolves also use this ability to temporarily connect to another's soul to "smell" their emotions. It takes me a long time to get to my point.
wotmania says: I have never thought too much about how the wolves connect and communicate with one another. I do not have much to say on this one except a side note about Card's work - if you have not read the series about Ender (which begins with Ender's Game) go out and read them. They are extremely good.
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