#btwod

Inheritors of Gaia

Of all the Garou Tribes, the Children of Gaia were always the most willing to play ball at any given time. They were as open minded as the wolves can get, and even though the leadership was still very prone to propoganda from the Silver Fangs (see: Albrecht's Glorious Suicide Against the Strongest Werewolf Alive), they were a voice of reason amongst many, MANY fools.

This doesn't mean that their internal hierarchy wasn't tumultuous. Attempting to maintain a sense of decorum when you have centuries of colonial baggage to work through is hard enough when your Rage isn't making you want to tear the throat out of the guy beside you. We've observed for decades now that the youth in the Children of Gaia Tribe would complain about the inefficacy of their Elders. There was always the excuse that the Garou Nation's bureaucracy would gunk up the process if they tried to act on their own to help shoot most insubordination down. You can imagine where this is going right?

Surpising nobody, the Inheritors of Gaia are youth-lead, instead of Elder-lead. Scouts and envoys both have found them much more willing to throw off the chains of "Garou Tradition" and fight the fights that actually matter. They've been involved in hits across the globe on Pentex officials, they've been helping their communities overcome crushing Vampire presences, and they've especially been doing their best to inform people about how to use their land. Though their newfound identify is markedly more aggressive and violent, their most successful Packs are still ones dedicated to informing + uplifting their local humans, rather than themselves or their egos.

And it seems to be working out for them! They're recruiting a hell of a lot better than they used to from the ever-dwindling population of First Changes, and their reputation as a force for change in their communities is higher than it ever was.

Now comes the part in the summary where I report that things aren't all sunshine and rainbows for them. The Inheritors of Gaia, in pursuing this identity for themselves, have attracted a LOT of heat. In particular, Black Spiral Dancers and some yet-to-be-mentioned Tribes. More noise means more danger, and since many of their inherited Spiritual connections are more focused on making peace than war, they're sometimes finding themselves outgunned when time comes to fight.

Of course, all of this can and will change. The Tribe has been pushing for a more formal alliance with us Corax ever since their inception, and the backup they have provided on more sensitive excursions (even at the cost of their own lives) has been invaluable. Turns out, tit-for-tat isn't out of style quite yet for the Garou, huh?

I eagerly look forward to seeing how this Tribe of Garou shakes out. If any youngsters are looking for a quick way to get themselves noticed in these final days, reporting on the Inheritors of Gaia comes highly recommended.

Kingdom of Caspia

Hooo boy. The remnants of the Silver Fang Tribe. If there's anyone I feel bad for, it's the Fera of the Caucuses. For a while there, it seemed like the Silver Fangs were too busy trying to conquer Gaia to notice anything going on under their noses. I remember being a fledgling, doing some of my first reporting on the state of the Caspian Sea, and how its Spirit was breathing a sigh of relief now that the Garou were mostly gone.

I should mention a caveat before I go further- the families of Silver Fangs who remained in Caspia to hold down the fort? They were, generally speaking, the moderate ones. The ones who hid their Fera servants + allies from their marauding, genocidal family members until shit blew over. The ones who, you know, had already established themselves and their little baronies, and were far more concerned with fighting off threats like Vampires and Awakened Humans to bother with the Wolves' Holy Crusade. Were they self-righteous pricks who believed they were owed royal treatment for their ancestors' accomplishments? Absolutely. Did they resist the War of Rage in their own ways? Yeah, they actually did.

Now, as far as I'm aware, the Kingdom of Caspia is the neo-Tribe that has picked up the Silver Fangs' position in the Garou. And if my information from the Caucuses is good, that means that many of the families that once made up the ancestral royalty of the Garou are not a part of this Tribe. The Kingdom of Caspia is primarily populated by the disconnected, wayward, colonizer-baby members of the former Silver Fangs. The ones that grew up embroiled in conflicts over rights to rule, the ones that saw fit to exercise their status as minor lords over every other Garou they met, the ones that owned businesses.

The Kingdom of Caspia is following the former Silver Fangs' modus operandi of "God-Given Power Shall Win The Apocalypse". In more than one instance, my scouts reported that influential members of this Tribe were caught exchanging pleasantries and drinks with known Pentex representatives. It can be reasonably assumed that these events were due to the Garou looking to secure funding for their various projects, but I have my doubts. Personally, I believe that now these idiots aren't bound by the opinion of more reasonable Fera, they're thinking they can outwit the right hand of the Wyrm.

Oh, and if you thought the Silver Fangs weren't tolerant before, it's arguably gotten worse. The War of Rage is still on for them, and if you're caught by a member of the Kingdom of Caspia, you can expect to be killed on the spot, or worse. They hardly treat their fellow Garou better- if you're not with them in (what they feel to be) the days of the Apocalypse, you're no better than the enemy. They wield their superior Spiritual firepower with nigh impunity, and it's a miracle that the other Tribes of Garou have managed to avoid all-out war with them.

I am honestly quite surprised they haven't imploded. Reports are still being processed, but much of their internal drama sounds bloody. What was being solved with courtly rituals before is now being solved with duels, backstabbing, and LOTS of corporate sabotage.

It's recommended to keep your distance from the Kingdom of Caspia- even with backup and an escape plan, they're more dangerous than they've ever been. Crossing my feathers that they're not long for this world.

Kingdom of Iberia

Note; the Kingdom of Iberia are similarly the scattered remnants of the Garou Shadow Lord Tribe. Note; their status as royals was only preceded by their status as schemers and planners. Note; Corax responsible for reporting on them have been caught, on more than a dozen occasions, being PAID by the Kingdom of Iberia to feed us false information about them. I have personally seen to it that those responsible were taught the lesson of what it means to do revisionary passes on their work. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Okay? Okay. The report here isn't even that long. I just put this disclaimer here because I'm pissed off.

The Kingdom of Iberia is almost identical to the Kingdom of Caspia in that it primarily consists of the members of its former Tribe who were most power-hungry. It cuts the same shady deals with known Wyrm-tainted forces and has the generally the same bloody, self-destroying internal structure. According to the best reports I've received, they differentiate themselves primarily by their Spiritual connections, and their propensity to break or uphold the War of Rage as they see beneficial.

This is why discretion is so important when dealing with this neo-Tribe of Garou. They aren't like the Kingdom of Caspia, where your mere existence is a threat to their heavenly authority. The Kingdom of Iberia has reached out to us formally on multiple occasions, and informally countless more. They want you to believe that whatever they have to offer is actually worth your time and effort, since they operate under the assumption that you don't care about whatever it is they're planning.

Don't. Get. Duped.

The Shadow Lords have always operated on the fringes of what's "acceptible" within the Garou Nation. Now that the structure keeping them from actively murdering one another has fallen through, both the Kingdom of Iberia AND the Kingdom of Caspia have really begun losing the plot. Some would argue that they're reaping what they've sown- they've created a Gaia where doing anything to win your fight is all that matters, and it's brought them to their knees. You know what they say about cornered dogs.

Professionally, I'd say to follow my advice for the Kingdom of Caspia, but also remember to keep your beak shut. They're going to try to talk to you, and you just need to leave before anythig bad happens. Don't get clasped in irons, don't get caught in a conversation.

Order of the Reindeer

I am very pleased to announce that the Trans-Siberian Alliance of our ancestors is finally beginning to see a true revival now that the Garou Nation has ceased drafting Wolves from the Russian far north. And for those fledglings who slept through their history lessons, here's why this is important.

Back before the War of Rage, the Garou, the Gurahl, and the Corax were a core of power in the Arctic Circle. We supported each other, we looked out for each other, and we fought on behalf of one another. The network of communities that we formed were integral to our survival, and in our own way, it helped enforce peace between us where there would've been turmoil on other parts of Gaia.

There was no one Tribe of Garou that existed within Siberia, only a near endless number of families, each with their own history and stories and individual culture. If you ever want a fascinating read, we hold copies of reports from that time period- pretty sure that the Garou in Siberia alone outnumbered the worldwide population of Garou today. The Order of the Reindeer is, so long as the sources are as solid as I believe they are, a true return to form for these Garou families.

If you aren't as informed on Garou history, you might wonder what the hell happened to cause the Raven, the Wolf, and the Bear to break apart when things seemed so tight. Of course, the War of Rage had a severe impact. But that's obvious- digging a little deeper, and upon personally interviewing some of the Elders now in charge of the neo-Tribe, there's far, far more to the story.

In our records, the Siberian Families of Garou were "assimilated" by the Shadow Lords sometime shortly before the War of Rage was enacted. Also in our records, the Siberian Families were responsible for the Garou considering us an ally despite their all-encompassing genocidal mission. They fought and died to defend us (and the Gurahl), advocating for us and hiding us where necessary. Though the former Shadow Lords called them kin, they felt closer to us than the other Wolves. For that, they caught serious flak internally.

According to the Elder I spoke with (whose name shall remain hidden in these records, for the sake of the agreement I made with them), the Shadow Lords had brought them to their knees simply by targetting those they cared about. Those important connections, those alliances, those Spiritual bonds that run stronger than blood? It was considered a weak point. And so, the Siberian Wolves "forged an agreement" with the Shadow Lords to conscript their young to assist conquering efforts. Of course, we don't have a piece of writing to confirm this, but based on the way the Reindeer Elder was speaking, it wasn't meant to be something lawful. Only something enforced through severe group punishment.

While this report hasn't been the most informative about the Order of the Reindeer's current activities, there isn't much to actually speak about. They've been doing what most of the other neo-Tribes have been doing- seeking out old alliances, consolidating resources, and getting themselves acquainted after all these years of isolation. Just know that the Order will be mentioned in every monthly international hearing from now until the end of time, as their return is a massive win for us Corax.

Red Talons

Unsurprisingly, the Red Talons have remained in their current Tribal structure despite the collapse of the Garou Nation. Far more surprisingly, however, is their almost total retreat from Gaia. According to the reports I've managed to get from some very exhausted scouts, their intent seems to be to "seek out the source of Spiritual Corruption, since they cannot change the Land's Corruption". There's a part of me that hopes that the Tribe never comes back, since their stance on the War of Rage was something along the lines of "grrr, I hate you because I'm a wolf and I believe my leader when he tells me everything's your fault!"

But, there's a real risk here that the Red Talons might be heading for a fate similar to that of the White Howlers, a now-defunct Tribe of Garou that opened up a portal to the Black Spiral in Scotland a couple centuries back!

There are those who remain on Gaia who identify with the Red Talon Tribal name, but speaking to them has proven nigh impossible. Judging by their shared reactions to questioning and habits of self-isolation, I propose that the Tribe had come to an internal decision once the Garou Nation had dissolved, and that those staying behind had to take a vow of silence.

While they're impossible to crack in Gaia-Realm, the Red Talons have been busy in the Umbra. They are ravenously pursuing any source of Wyrm-taint present there, hunting in packs of multiple dozen when they work. They're working erratically too, like the warpath they've been given is... changing, whenever someone tries to catch a glimpse of it. Scouts have only ever encountered them through happenstance, never on purpose. Either way, it's recommended that you keep to observation distance if you come across them while traveling, as they're undoubtedly too hopped up on Rage to speak properly.

Something strange is happening with the neo-Red Talons. They will definitely require further research + field work to understand. Perhaps asking some of the traditionally Wyrm-aligned Breeds of Fera popping up would give some insight, too. Maybe they've finally found their role as "destroyer of everything all the time" to be enlightening rather than a burden!

Silver Chain Treaty

If you've kept up with reports coming out of urban environments at all, you'd know that the collapse of the Garou Nation has had knock-on effects for Vampire populations. Many of the former Tribes that would've had a presence in these areas out of a sense of obligation are now absent, and the Leeches have seized the opportunity essentially worldwide. We've had to raise the threat level of many major cities, some of which we recommend only entering the airspace of if you're willing to make your business quick.

You might ask where the Glass Walkers & Bone Gnawers have gone. Well, after having a bunch of their number poached by other, more immediately self-sufficient neo-Tribes, they seem to have come together to help secure their territory. The Silver Chain Treaty was created most recently out of all the other Tribes listed in these reports, and this is primarily due to the chaos that ensued directly after the Nation's implosion (but if you know your Garou history, you know that these two Tribes have had possibly the most love-hate relationship with one another since their respective inceptions).

Really, their roles haven't changed much- they claim human urban developments as their territory, and operate within both high and low economic areas to prevent the spread of Wyrmtaint. What HAS changed, however, is their ability and willingness to work with outside Fera. To bolster their downturned population, the Silver Chain Treaty is offering a Gaia-wide deal to any and all Fera who's looking for work. They'll ensure safety from the rest of the less-tolerant neo-Tribes (as well as from Vampires and any other beasties of the Wyrm), so long as you help out however you can in their territory.

This has had... mixed results. Obviously, they aren't the only neo-Tribe to operate within the boundaries of human cities, and this has caused some SERIOUS tensions. The Fangs of the Far North in particular are hardly tolerant of their claim to sovereignty, even if they technically have the same goals and ideals in mind. Additionally, not all Fera are receiving equal treatment within the bounds of their purported agreement.

This can be attributed to an ignorance about just how many types of Fera there are, of course. If you don't know that Centipede Fera exist, you're gonna freak out when you find one and have to be restrained (if you're a Garou, that is). Also, Mockery Breeds have planted a seed of paranoia in the minds of urban Garou that will take generations to uproot. Mockery Yeren and War Wolves have done serious damage to the level of trust that can be expected from the Silver Chain Garou.

“The Garou Nation; We All Saw It Coming,”  a report by Electrum Wire, Beat Auspice, House Frugilex. Part 1 of 2.

Things have mostly settled since the collapse of the Garou Nation in 200X. New Tribes have been formed, alliances and allegiances are beginning to show, and honestly, it’s been a hoot to keep up to date with how things’ve gone in the past couple years. This report is to function as a benchmark, analyzing the political landscape of the Garou as of the year 201X. As per usual, only primary sources are used here— since this hasn’t been a priority, some of the sources p/Tribe have been a couple years apart from one another. I’ll be sure to note when certain quotes are more outdated than others.

The Acolytes of Polaris Figures that these non-white Garou Tribes would feel sidelined enough to team up. The Acolytes are made up of the frmr. Silent Striders + Stargazers Tribes, and claim their territory to be North Africa + West Asia (and even into Pakistan, but some are disputing whether that was ever in their ancestors’ range to begin with). A majority of the individuals we interviewed claimed that they weren’t ever really part of the Nation to begin with, so this new arrangement doesn’t change much.

We’ve got decent contact with them these days, since they’re looking more to build than tear down. Their wolf-kin are damn near extinct in the wild, and they’ve got enough of a brain to start making compromises for the sake of survival. They tend to trade in insight and secrets, and I’ve experienced first-hand how desperate they are. Some of the deals they’ve taken just for the sake of establishing a line? It’d make the Elders cry.

Additionally, we’ve got word from our pals in the Beast Courts that they’re looking to join up. The Hakken have always been sympathetic, after all. Who knows, as of the publishing of this report they very well could’ve made the alliance formal.

Coyote’s Council This one’s a fun one. After the Garou Nation crumbled, Patron Spirit Coyote went out recruiting from all of the Garou in North America who had native blood in them. Most of them were frmr. Ghost Council + mixed Bone Gnawers, but who knows how many other ex-Tribes were mixed in. Nowadays, they take orders from Patron Coyote, and they’re publicly working with the Nuwisha to the end of their shared master.

Has this made them more fun? Yes and no. They’re still Garou, and we all know how they can get when they’re the butt of a joke. But a bunch of them have embraced their inner coyote, and have turned into a well-oiled guerilla force in the process. Some of the reports coming out of the US’ interior sound like the plot to a rejected Tom & Jerry episode, if I’m being honest.

Strangely, they can’t be found outside of the North American continent. With the efficacy they’re showing, you’d think that Patron Coyote would want to start stretching his paws. But, nope. As of the publishing of this report, the only other place Coyote’s Council is found is in the Umbra, but that much should be obvious.

And, of course, they’re cagey as hell when it comes to their plans. Don’t trust a damn thing they’re feeding you unless you’ve got a prior arrangement, or have them under a Geas or something. 

Fangs of the High North Before this section begins, a preface; Canada is off-limits. The Fangs of the High North are in the process of skirmishing with colonizing Garou (in addition to their usual activities of destroying Pentex infrastructure where they can), and the place is dangerous to the Corax. We’ve been told on multiple occasions that if we’re not there to actively help, we’re to stay the fuck away. While I’m not an advisor, I can say for certain that it scared the shit out of me, and that I can’t say I’d encourage anyone else to head there, not even for migratory purposes.

So, yeah! The Fangs are another neo-Tribe native to North America, and are primarily made up of frmr. Gale Stalkers, Red Talons, and sympathetic Get of Fenris. Now that the Nation is out of their way, they’ve been looking to take back their land by force. Can’t say I blame them. They’ve been on the warpath ever since, and considering how many other native Fera are joining the effort, I’m of the opinion that there’s a good chance they’ll give those bastards the boot.

Let’s just hope that none of the occupiers get desperate enough to turn to Malfeas for help. As of the time of publishing, there’ve been no reports of unusual Wyrmtaint coming from some of our American kin, so keep your feathers crossed!

Get of Fenris Okay. The Get has (to nobody’s surprise) become the dominant Garou Tribe in the European Continent, has made significant progress in recruiting pissed off Americans from the North and South continents, and has found incredible success in changing literally nothing about their viking/berserker philosophy. In fact, the crumbling of the Garou Nation was a GOOD THING for their leadership, as they now are unbound by any bureaucracy. We’re all very familiar with these details by now.

One thing I want to put to bed before you birdbrains start freaking out is this— THE GET ARE NOT NAZIS. The Get have a longstanding tradition (that HAS BEEN WELL CATALOGUED BY THE CORAX, LEARN TO VISIT THE LIBRARY) of forcing their cubs to shed all former ties to their human lives if they’re born Homid, including any kind of racist beliefs they might hold. ANY Get found participating in upholding any form of hierarchy OTHER than “might makes right” is immediately liable to being ganked by their peers until the racism leaves their bodies. I’ve literally seen it happen. And yeah, there was a faction of them back in WW2, but we all had some dead branches to trim from our kin back then.

Does it excuse their behavior? Abso-fucking-lutely not. But if you want to start pointing fingers at real Nazis, we’ve got dossiers your Pack can to be assigned to. Put your activism to real work, kids.

Grave Howlers They still refuse to talk to us. All of them. Not a single one gives us more than a passing sentence. All we have to go on are rumours and hearsay from other Tribes.

If you’ve heard the name “middle brother” thrown around by the American natives, take it with a grain of salt. If you’ve heard people talk about the blue runes on their fur, remember that anyone with Scottish heritage can put on woad. If you’ve heard people speaking protective rituals under their breath when they come near— eh, maybe follow their lead.

The Grave Howlers stink of Wyrmtaint, are horribly scarred from head to toe, and spend much of their time avoiding all Garou other than the Black Spiral Dancers. All reported conflicts between them and the other Tribes have been started by the latter, indicating that they’re up to something.

And just as a reminder to anyone thinking of looking into them, all of the Packs who’ve come back from their assignments refuse to talk or write about what happened. All of them. 100%. So if you’re down to gain some forbidden knowledge that’ll make the Elders pissed off, be my guest.

Everyone’s got a fuckin’ stain on their record as far as I’m concerned, haha. It’s easy to take the piss with the Garou, but the other Fera just looooove to pretend they’re squeaky clean. You look back far enough, you’ll see what I mean. When the Apis wore the crown, they were nepotists and holier-than-thou pricks who couldn’t take a joke. Rodens are pragmatic, sure, but speak to a couple about their practices of culling those who can’t do their job anymore and watch them hold back little mousy tears. The Rokea are swimming relics who also can’t take a joke, the Ananasi are if the Samsa weren’t as fun, the Bastet are too smug when it’s least convenient, and the Aquila are really starting to concern me with the nihilistic bullshit these days. At least we’ve still got the Anurana and the Corax.

But hey, you wanna know a secret? I heard this one from a Mokole-Mbembe I’m pals with down in The Big Easy, he said it really changed his perspective on things. Lemme finish this glass real quick and I’ll regale you. I’ve got all night.

Listen up kids, ‘cause I’m about to tell you about The Great Monkeying. Back before the Impergium, a long, long time ago— Shifters didn’t have Homid forms. Didn’t have Half-Homid forms neither. Makes sense, doesn’t it? We were just animals that could get bigger and smarter and tougher when we needed. There were outliers who could take weird-ass forms like the Dragon Kings could, but as far as we know, they didn’t look like Humans.

Have you ever wondered why we Fera can all turn into a single type of ape? It’s not like Homo Sapiens ain’t a fuckin species of animal too. It’s basic biology shit.

But, there were species of Were-Ape that existed, and that I’m pretty sure are still around. You might know them by the name “Yeren” or something. Their symbol looked a bit.... like.... this. Yeah, the ones that Pentex claims they invented. No, they didn’t invent a Shifter. The Wyrm can’t invent anything, didn’t you pay attention when your Elders were giving you lessons on the Triat, kids? Fuck. Where was I?

Yeah, the Yeren. They loved to push the boundaries, inventing crazy shit and diving deep into the Umbra with the best of us. Honestly they sounded like a hoot, but that kind of ambition can leave you open to some nasty customers. They got approached by a powerful Spirit at some point who made them an offer they couldn’t pass up.  It would teach them a powerful ritual that would grant their fellow Fera brand new forms to use in the fight against the Wyrm.

Imagine that! Granting every Fera that currently exists and will exist the capability to use entirely new forms?? The offer was too good to refuse obviously, and they entered a relationship with this new Patron. Time went on, and since nobody was really paying attention to them, they got to finishing their Ritual without a hitch.

Of course, the final step was to sacrifice themselves. Yeah, everyone. All at once. Hey, listen here. You might not think that it’d be a good idea, but these fuckin apes were crazy. They knew they’d die, but they also knew that they’d have committed such an incredible sacrifice that they’d live on forever. And, well. They kinda succeeded, just not in the way they might’ve wanted.

Here’s another thing you gotta realize too, kids. There were no mages or whatever before Humanity got its footing. There just weren’t. Not the way we know them. You can blame the monkeys for them showing up though, ‘cause their sacrifice essentially irradiated the earth around their Kinfolk with so much Gnosis that a bunch of them turned into the first mages.

And you know how mages can shape reality to whatever the hell their twisted perception is? It should be obvious by now where this is going.

These new mages saw themselves reflected in the Fera. Anthropomorphized them and shit. Like if steamboat willie were a cave painting. They applied Human characteristics to the Shifters, and as a result, they literally made them Human. One by one, as mythologies about men who turned into beasts and back spread across the earth, the Fera suddenly found themselves Human, in addition to being whatever animal they are. 

You really wanna call bullshit on this one? I’ve never been more honest in my life, it’s so hard to lie when I’m drunk. And it’s fucking HARD to get drunk! If you want the rest of this story without the bullshit, you’d fill back up my glass. That’s my explicit consent, by the way! Quit being shy with the pours!

Okay, so. Everyone’s obviously pissed that they suddenly can turn into naked apes. It’s a violation of just about every conception of consent out there. Everyone turns to the Homen to turn them to mush— wait, shit. I forgot something. The Yeren had a couple Tribes, and the one that did all this shit were Clan Homen. Homo sapiens. The gorillas and orangutans didn’t have shit to do with it. Anyways, the spiders tell everyone that Clan Homen had been working with an extension of the Weaver directly, and that they probably’d been tricked. 

That didn’t do shit to make anyone less angry. They wanted blood, and even more so after not even the greatest mystics around couldn’t figure out how to undo it. So, the Fera decided to turn on the other Yeren— just a little too late, though. About 99% of the bastards had fled deep into the Umbra before retribution could come ‘round, and we only rarely see them these days.

No, the Pentex-made ones aren’t real, I already said that. They’re not actual Shifters. It’s like if someone drew an evil crayon version of a Shifter and it came to fuckin’ life. No, I don’t know for sure, but I know a Fera when I smell one, and those guys just smell like cheap cologne and hate. You wanna hear the end of this story or not?!