On Hellhounds

Attributed to Xanthe, this text studies the hellish dogs. It credits them with uncanny intelligence —

an understanding of speech and even of dark concepts like hatred and revenge — while noting they understand nothing

of loyalty, obeying only commands that suit their own desires. Like vrakhiri, they crave blood,

and starved packs will slaughter each other until one remains. That hunger, the author argues, is the key

to mastering them: regular blood offerings forge an association in the hound's mind, linking feeding with its keeper,

so the beast follows and even protects its feeder while the blood keeps coming.

The warning is stark — miss a feeding and the hound may kill its owner — and the conclusion bleak:

no friendship is possible — only a partnership of convenience, forever teetering on bloodshed's edge.