'The Backstory of the Esteemed Officer Cleatus' is a two-page story about the dog that is introduced in chapter three ('Starlight') of E. L. Lyons' Starlight Jewel. It is written in third person. We learn that Cleatus had a nature different from the other Yeshin Ice Desert shaggy hounds and the nomads they served because he didn't eat dead hounds or humans as the others did.

Cleatus was only a puppy when the Tarthian Army wiped out his nomads and fellow hounds in a battle. (Cleatus escaped death by hiding). He followed the scent of the victors to their camp. His attempts to beg for food were unsuccessful until he tried it with a soldier named Morez in front of General Arthur 'Grim' Grimwalt. Grim took Morez's bowl of food after the Morez batted the pup away and gave it to the pup. The puppy sought Grim at bedtime.

Grim names the puppy 'Cleatus'. The young hound becomes his loyal companion and proves popular with Grim's people. The last paragraph gives Cleatus' opinion of the novel's heroine, Axly.

If's nice to find out more about a good boy, even if I do like cats more than I like dogs. ( )