In order to force Narrander to remain, Eostra took his eight-year-old son Narik hostage. Narrander and the Wolf Mage became disillusioned with their evil colleagues and wanted to resign. The source of their power was the Fire Opal, a powerful red stone that grants its wielder the ability to control demons. Though Eostra is the only one who is confirmed to be able to eat souls, the Soul Eaters used the fear their new title inspired to their advantage. They held the Forest in their grip of terror, and people started spreading rumors that they could eat souls, leading them to be called the Soul Eaters instead of Healers. Believing they knew that was best for everyone, they aspired to unite all the clans and make them stop practicing different rites. They wanted to rule the Forest and force all of its inhabitants to submit to them. However, most of the Healers were soon corrupted by their ambitions. Calling themselves the Healers, they all tattooed on their breastbones a black three-pronged fork, a tool used by mages to snare lost souls. They were not evil at first, for they wanted to help the clans across the Forest by curing the sick and warding off demons. They were Eostra from the Eagle Owl Clan, Thiazzi from the Oak Clan, Seshru from the Viper Clan (though she had changed both her name and her clan), Nef from the Bat Clan, Tenris from the Seal Clan (though he was not at the time the official mage of his clan), Narrander from the Otter Clan, and an unnamed man from the Wolf Clan who happened to be Tenris' biological brother. Slightly over 13 years before the events of Wolf Brother, seven talented mages from different clans banded together in secret. The Soul Eaters (namely Seshru) are also the posthumous overarching antagonists of Viper's Daughter, Skin Taker and Wolfbane. They also appear as the main antagonists of Spirit Walker, Soul Eater, Outcast, Oath Breaker and Ghost Hunter.

The Soul Eaters (namely Tenris) serve as the unseen overarching antagonists of Wolf Brother.

Ancient darkness