Post by Tami on Mar 8, 2007 9:11:49 GMT -5
Once there were 16 tribes in the world, but only 12 remain in the Western Concordiat. One of the original 16, the Stargazers, has begun isolating its septs from the rest of the tribes. Three other tribes have fallen before the talons of the Wyrm. Each of their stories is a source of despair, grief and shame. Although many young cubs learn about their ancestor's mistakes, most elders are loath to speak too openly on these taboo subjects. After all, the fates of the Fallen reveal some of the deepest and most tragic flaws of the werewolf race.
The White Howlers
Once they were guardians of the frozen north, the heroes who sent their cubs into the deepest pits of hell to prove their prowess. Descended from the ancient Picts, the Howlers not only dominated the harsh wilds of Scotland, but also attempted to master the stygian depths of the Underworld. With each passing generation, their heroes descended into the Labirinth of the Black Spiral, a horrifying Realm of the spirit world.
Yet as they journeyed deeper and deeper into the Abyss, they were eventually overcome by the very evil they taunted. In retribution, dark forces rose from the earth to devour the Howler's caerns and drag their greatest heroes back into hell. Torture, torment and mystic revelations shattered their minds. A few survivors emerged, but they had become twisted, mutated horrors by then. Thus arose the Wyrm-spawned tribe of the Black Spiral Dancers.
The Spirals are still alive today. They still capture their werewolf rivals, often turning them to the service of the Wyrm. The White Howlers, on the other hand, are extinct. Many werewolves prefer to forget their memory, refusing to contemplate that any Garou can be corrupted so thoroughly by the Wyrm.
The Croatan
As one of the tribes of "Pure Ones", this Native American tribe originally guarded the shores of North America. Once they believed that they could live side-by-side with the early European settlers, but with these incursions came evils the tribe had never encountered before. The Eater-of-Souls, one of the three major aspects of the Wyrm, exploited starvation and despair, gaining enough strength to manifest in the physical world. Because of their ancestors' pledge to the Goddess, the Croatan decided to fight this evil to the bitter end.
Outside the fame Roanoke colony off the Carolina coast, the Croatan sacrificed themselves one by one to drive this evil from the world. Countless heroes faced the Wyrm's titanic beast, some braving ultimate evil by rushing straight into its hideous gaping maw. The legend remains, but both the tribe and the colonists are gone, memorialized by a few carvings on gnarled trees. Many modern heroes still believe that it is worth the ultimate sacrifice to drive the Wyrm from the world; few of them dare gainsay the lesson of the Croatan.
The Bunyip
The saga of the Bunyip is not one of glory, but shame. In many ways, it is the most tragic of the three tales. The tribe was not slain by the talons of the Wyrm, but by its own brethern. During the Impergium, the Bunyip tribe was strongest in Australia. European Garou and their settler Kinfolk, eager for a new home far from the Wyrm, invaded the Bunyip's tribal homelands and fought with them for dominance. In some caerns, Black Spirals set the Garou against each other. Overcome with despair at their brothers' pettiness, Bunyip in other caerns stalked off into the spirit world of the Dreamtime, never to return.
Over the course of centuries, the Bunyip and their strange Kinfolk, the Tasmanian wolves, were driven to extinction. Tribe continues to war with tribe, and since few would dare admit that they are capable of destroying each other completely, storytellers whisper the tale of the Bunyip only when they are most ashamed.
The Stargazers
Although they are still quite active and alive, the Stargazers have also become a source of great sadness for the Garou. The Stargazers are an Eastern tribe known for their command of mysticism, their contemplative natures and their enigmatic philosophies. Their history is decidedly different from that of the other tribes. In the West, the War of Rage brought about the deaths of thousands of shapechangers of all species. In the East, more species survived and continued to hide from the werewolves. In fact, many Eastern Garou rejected the harsh philosophies of their Western brethern, remained estranged from the Western Concordiat. The Stargazers were once an exception. No more.
The Stargazers have worked with their Western brethern for centuries, yet it has hardly been an equitable arrangement. Over the last 200 years, the tribe's homelands have fallen to the Wyrm. While the Stargazers have sided with Western Garou continually to fight in other continents, Asian sacred sites have repeatedly been captured and corrupted. With each successive generation, more Stargazers have undertaken journeys to the East to contemplate their history... often dying in the process.
Now the Stargazers have abandoned the Concord and found new allies. Their tribe has always been fascinated by enigmas, and the other shapechangers of the world are certainly enigmatic. The Stargazers have found common ground with the misterious hengeyokai, the shapechangers of the East. Part of the tribe's compromise involved turning away from the Western Concordiat and joining the hengeyokai's Beast Courts. Stargazers have always favored peace and reason over pointless warfare, therefore, they have formally abandoned the ways of the West. They are returning to their old traditions, reclaiming what's left of their culture, heritage, sacred sites and Kinfolk.
The decisions made by tribal elders now weigh heavily on the hearts of younger Stargazers. Many are reluctant to leave packs that they have run with for countless years, and some do not want to abandon sacred places they have pledged to defend. Yet throughout the tribe, more and more are becoming fascinated with their past, sometimes receiving visions and dreams in the depths of their meditations. Two unusual philophies have sized them. First, like the hengeyokai, the Stargazers are accepting the idea that the Apocalypse need not be the end of creation, but is perhaps the dawn of a new age. It is as though a great wheel is turning, and while the Wyrm may gnaw at its axle, there is a chance that the cycle of creation and destruction may renew itself.
A few have integrated a far more heretical idea. In the East, the Wyrm is not regarded with the same revulsion as it is in the West, since many still see it as a force of balance. It is a desperate force spiraling out of control, to be certain, but it is still one that must ultimately pare back the madness of the Weaver and begin the new age. As a result, other Garou have answered the Stargazer's decision with resentment and suspicion. The Stargazers who remain in the West are met with increasing contempt, continually torn between the decisions of their tribal elders and loyalty to their former septs and packmates.
(Revised core book pp35-36)
The White Howlers
Once they were guardians of the frozen north, the heroes who sent their cubs into the deepest pits of hell to prove their prowess. Descended from the ancient Picts, the Howlers not only dominated the harsh wilds of Scotland, but also attempted to master the stygian depths of the Underworld. With each passing generation, their heroes descended into the Labirinth of the Black Spiral, a horrifying Realm of the spirit world.
Yet as they journeyed deeper and deeper into the Abyss, they were eventually overcome by the very evil they taunted. In retribution, dark forces rose from the earth to devour the Howler's caerns and drag their greatest heroes back into hell. Torture, torment and mystic revelations shattered their minds. A few survivors emerged, but they had become twisted, mutated horrors by then. Thus arose the Wyrm-spawned tribe of the Black Spiral Dancers.
The Spirals are still alive today. They still capture their werewolf rivals, often turning them to the service of the Wyrm. The White Howlers, on the other hand, are extinct. Many werewolves prefer to forget their memory, refusing to contemplate that any Garou can be corrupted so thoroughly by the Wyrm.
The Croatan
As one of the tribes of "Pure Ones", this Native American tribe originally guarded the shores of North America. Once they believed that they could live side-by-side with the early European settlers, but with these incursions came evils the tribe had never encountered before. The Eater-of-Souls, one of the three major aspects of the Wyrm, exploited starvation and despair, gaining enough strength to manifest in the physical world. Because of their ancestors' pledge to the Goddess, the Croatan decided to fight this evil to the bitter end.
Outside the fame Roanoke colony off the Carolina coast, the Croatan sacrificed themselves one by one to drive this evil from the world. Countless heroes faced the Wyrm's titanic beast, some braving ultimate evil by rushing straight into its hideous gaping maw. The legend remains, but both the tribe and the colonists are gone, memorialized by a few carvings on gnarled trees. Many modern heroes still believe that it is worth the ultimate sacrifice to drive the Wyrm from the world; few of them dare gainsay the lesson of the Croatan.
The Bunyip
The saga of the Bunyip is not one of glory, but shame. In many ways, it is the most tragic of the three tales. The tribe was not slain by the talons of the Wyrm, but by its own brethern. During the Impergium, the Bunyip tribe was strongest in Australia. European Garou and their settler Kinfolk, eager for a new home far from the Wyrm, invaded the Bunyip's tribal homelands and fought with them for dominance. In some caerns, Black Spirals set the Garou against each other. Overcome with despair at their brothers' pettiness, Bunyip in other caerns stalked off into the spirit world of the Dreamtime, never to return.
Over the course of centuries, the Bunyip and their strange Kinfolk, the Tasmanian wolves, were driven to extinction. Tribe continues to war with tribe, and since few would dare admit that they are capable of destroying each other completely, storytellers whisper the tale of the Bunyip only when they are most ashamed.
The Stargazers
Although they are still quite active and alive, the Stargazers have also become a source of great sadness for the Garou. The Stargazers are an Eastern tribe known for their command of mysticism, their contemplative natures and their enigmatic philosophies. Their history is decidedly different from that of the other tribes. In the West, the War of Rage brought about the deaths of thousands of shapechangers of all species. In the East, more species survived and continued to hide from the werewolves. In fact, many Eastern Garou rejected the harsh philosophies of their Western brethern, remained estranged from the Western Concordiat. The Stargazers were once an exception. No more.
The Stargazers have worked with their Western brethern for centuries, yet it has hardly been an equitable arrangement. Over the last 200 years, the tribe's homelands have fallen to the Wyrm. While the Stargazers have sided with Western Garou continually to fight in other continents, Asian sacred sites have repeatedly been captured and corrupted. With each successive generation, more Stargazers have undertaken journeys to the East to contemplate their history... often dying in the process.
Now the Stargazers have abandoned the Concord and found new allies. Their tribe has always been fascinated by enigmas, and the other shapechangers of the world are certainly enigmatic. The Stargazers have found common ground with the misterious hengeyokai, the shapechangers of the East. Part of the tribe's compromise involved turning away from the Western Concordiat and joining the hengeyokai's Beast Courts. Stargazers have always favored peace and reason over pointless warfare, therefore, they have formally abandoned the ways of the West. They are returning to their old traditions, reclaiming what's left of their culture, heritage, sacred sites and Kinfolk.
The decisions made by tribal elders now weigh heavily on the hearts of younger Stargazers. Many are reluctant to leave packs that they have run with for countless years, and some do not want to abandon sacred places they have pledged to defend. Yet throughout the tribe, more and more are becoming fascinated with their past, sometimes receiving visions and dreams in the depths of their meditations. Two unusual philophies have sized them. First, like the hengeyokai, the Stargazers are accepting the idea that the Apocalypse need not be the end of creation, but is perhaps the dawn of a new age. It is as though a great wheel is turning, and while the Wyrm may gnaw at its axle, there is a chance that the cycle of creation and destruction may renew itself.
A few have integrated a far more heretical idea. In the East, the Wyrm is not regarded with the same revulsion as it is in the West, since many still see it as a force of balance. It is a desperate force spiraling out of control, to be certain, but it is still one that must ultimately pare back the madness of the Weaver and begin the new age. As a result, other Garou have answered the Stargazer's decision with resentment and suspicion. The Stargazers who remain in the West are met with increasing contempt, continually torn between the decisions of their tribal elders and loyalty to their former septs and packmates.
(Revised core book pp35-36)