The lost race

"The Lost Race" by Robert E. Howard is an early 20th-century fantasy novella that plunges into a world of ancient conflicts and hidden histories. After a brush with bandits in a shadowy forest, a Briton named Cororuc finds himself in a desperate struggle for survival when an ancient race of Picts captures him. The Picts reveal a long history of suffering under the Celts, and their leader plans to execute Cororuc as revenge for his race's perceived role in their civilization's decline. A surprising intervention by a wolf-like figure, who is actually a Pict in disguise, rescues Cororuc and unveils a past filled with both conflict and camaraderie. Cororuc is then guided back to his people, forever changed by his experiences with a lost race, and is forced to consider the complex relationship between the Picts and his own people.