In the most remote outskirts of Edmonton, Canada, there was a small town that people had taken to calling "Wolf Mountain."
It lay in a valley of vast plains and rolling hills, backed by a range branching off from the Rocky Mountains. Several streams and rivers ran through it, and every view was a picture-perfect example of the continent's natural beauty.
On a slope at the foot of the mountain stood a grand mansion built like a castle.
It was an eighteenth-century European castle, with long stretches of blue-stone walls following the mountainside and a towering main keep. A few pagoda-style pavilions with sweeping eaves were scattered among them.
East and West blended together, yet somehow the result felt harmonious.
Below the mountain stood hundreds of detached and terraced villas, forming a small town that wound down the slope along the road from the castle.
On the endless plains to the west, powerful, tall horses galloped, while fat cattle and sheep dotted the land.
They said the ancient, mysterious castle atop Wolf Mountain had stood for more than a hundred and fifty years.
The town below had been built by the descendants and followers of the family who had lived in the castle for generations.
Travelers sometimes passed through by chance and received a warm welcome in town. But no matter how fascinated or curious they were about the castle, they were met with the owners' smiling silence. All they could learn was that the place belonged to a rare family with the surname Howlett.
Beneath the old castle was a vast underground space, large enough to be called an Underground Palace. Its many high-tech devices and machines stood in stark contrast to the ancient structure above, yet there was no sign of anyone around, lending the place an eerie,