The Moot

[Danny]

(ST Note: I'm starting this now to get the long and boring NPC posts out of the way. Please just keep posting in your other threads until I poke you to post here.)

Tuesday, 21 March, 1989



Seventeen Garou assembled in the Library. The large wooden table at the Heart was overly crowded, and some extra chairs were provided. As always, Slagbröder sat on the right side of the table, with Vasara taking the first chair nearest to the fireplace, and his pack and their hangers-on sitting next to him. Wissenfalken sat on the other side of the table, and Cloud-Dancer's pack near head of the table. The packless Garou sat near Wissenfalken.
At the other end, near the fire, were the two Athros, Slit-Throat, the Warder, and Walks-with-Death, who opened the moot with the usual formalities.

Danny stood in his human form, just like everyone else, but spoke in the Mother's Tongue.

“Let me start by welcoming all of you to the city, and to the Sept. Berlin is a large and populous city, and human eyes and ears are everywhere. As such, you will find our moots quite different to what you are used to... well, to what most of you are used to. Here, among humans, we have to protect ourselves and our kind. We have to walk as humans, with a human face, and fight our wars under their noses without alerting them to it.
Many of you misunderstand the city. Many of you cannot see the beauty in it. You fear the strength of the weaver in this place. But you have still chosen to fight for it, and that is why you are here."

"Never before have our numbers been this strong. The signs are clear, the tide is turning. We will no longer be pinned on the defensive, fighting in enemy territory. This is our city. We will hold it.
I see before me warriors of Gaia. You may be young, and inexperienced. You may lack confidence. But you are the Sept. You are the heart and soul of this city.”

“Allow me now to introduce you. For many of you, there are new faces around. I will start, as rank requires, with Slit-Throat Packmangler,”
He indicated the man to his left, who sat in the middle chair at the head of the table across from Cloud-Dancer. He was obviously a seasoned warrior, with many obvious scars and many more hidden ones. Most obviously, his face was riddled with minor scars and his left arm was nothing but a stump.
“Ahroun and Athro of the Fenrir,” he said. “He has come from the Sept of the Blood Fist to help us stand strong against the tide of the Wyrm. He will be the Caern's warder, and every Garou present will take defensive and offensive orders from him.”
There was no need to pause for long, he let everyone take that in and continued.
“You have all met Cloud-Dancer,” he said. They all had. She tended to be pretty talkative. “Ragabash and Adren of the Fenrir. Cloud-Dancer is the Sept's Gatekeeper. Her packmates are Commands-the-Tides, the Caller of the Wyld, and Silent-Hunter, the Keeper of the Land and Truthcatcher.”
The two men sitting on each side of Cloud-Dancer gave a nod when their names were mentioned, but they didn't say anything.
Danny moved on to introduce the packs.
“For as long as I have been with this city, Slagbröder have stood to protect it, and for as long as this Caern has been opened, they have given their flesh and blood to keep it from the enemy. No pack has lost as much as they have for this city. Their fallen members will be remembered for as long as we have voices to howl their names.
The Alpha is Judgement-from-the-Skies, Fostern Fenrir and the Master of the Challenge. His beta, Saxon, has recently challenged for Fostern and succeeded. He will, from now on, act as Wyrm Foe for the Sept.”
That said, he turned to the group on the other side.
“The new pack, Wissenfalken, children Merlin, came here seeking lost lore, and they have found it. What they have found will turn the tide of a battle as long as it stands. Sigurd's banner was thought to have been lost through the years, but the Children of Merlin have returned with it.”

Danny finished introducing the packs, but he wasn't finished with the introductions. There was still one more group that needed to be mentioned.
“Behind me is our shrine for the ones who have fallen in battle,” he said. “It is no hall of heroes that will do them justice, and it is but a small token that we can afford them at this Caern. These are the faces of warriors like you, some Garou, some kin.”
He stepped aside so everyone could see the shrine above the fireplace. They could see the photographs of the men and women who had died within the year since the Caern was opened.
“Later tonight, we will remember them in song,” he said.
He fell silent for a while, and at the heart of the caern, he gave his essence to the Caern, to renew its strength, and its totem's strength. Cloud-Dancer's pack joined in as well, as did the Warder. In a sense, it was his Caern now after all.

(Moot Rite successful, Danny, Slit-Throat, Cloud-Dancer, Micah and Ben each give one gnosis.)


Ben stood up next and called to the totem spirit of the Caern.
“Owl, Silent Watcher and Protector of Wisdom. Another full moon has passed, and we still stand strong. We keep your creed of wisdom above all else.”

He called out to the Caern's totem spirit, and his pack followed his example and called too.


And before they knew it, Owl was among them. The children of his Caern felt his presence and heard his voice as they united under his roof.

“Children of Fenris, Bear, Merlin and Raven. Owl's Sept is open to you at all times, whether you seek Glory or Honour, whether you value strength in battle or cunning insight, Wisdom will always temper your actions. It is calm, prudent and merciful. Here at Owl's Library, many lost wanderers have found the answers they seek. I hope you will find yours.”

Owl hooted and strengthened the bonds of the Garou assembled. They could feel the strength of their Totem as it bound them closer as a Sept.

Danny produced a small, white, polished bone. Those expecting a howl of truth were once again disappointed, as all Danny did was speak in the Mother's Tongue again.
“As Truthcatcher, Silent-Hunter will observe the cracking of the bone. Let our grievances be voiced, and let nothing be left unsaid.”

He started, sharing the omens and prophesies on behalf of the spirits.
“I have seen the signs and interpreted them,” he said. “A great battle is coming. Whether we stand or fall depends on our strength as a Sept and as packs. We are weak as individuals. Our strength lies in our numbers, our totems, our bonds as packs. If we lose our will to stand together, we will fail.”

“There is another important matter I need to bring up before we move on,” he continued. “Our cover as Garou has been compromised. The veil had already been breached when a young cub lost control. There are those who know of our existence in the city.”
Martin was no longer here, but many of them had heard his story already. Danny didn't explain further.
“Then we found out that a certain organisation knows about some of us. They might even know about the Caern. They took one of our kin. Further events that transpired last week have led us to reach the decision to impose the high ban, in the interest of our safety, and that of Garou as a whole. Be mindful of who you speak to and what you say. Don't shift in the physical world unless it is absolutely necessary. Remember, your lives still come first. But these measures are taken to protect our lives.
The city has many enemies, and their eyes and ears are everywhere. Stay safe.”

He handed the bone to Slit-Throat next.

[Heinrich Von Ludendorff]

Slit-Throat took the bone and cleared his throat. Then he spoke with his low and raspy voice "As Walks-with-Death said, Sept now has numbers and weapon." Slit-Throat looked at the Wissenfalken and Hands-of-Mercy. "And as some of you might know, Sept also has acquired another ally to help us in our Quest of liberating this city." Now he looked at Slagbröder.

"Both will be needed as we run for War under the light of the Full moon, as we have done generation after generation. We will again let Wyrm cover in fear when the full face of Luna the Huntress shows itself."

"We were hoping one of our packs to return from their Quest in time, but as it seems not to happen, we must carry on instead of waiting. Thus, in the end of our Revel, we will make use of our numbers, make use of weapon carried by Hands-of-Mercy and we will make use of our new ally to crush the Wyrmbeast guarding one of the Gates of the Wall. At the same time some of us will scourge lands around the caern clean from Wyrms influence."

"We cannot Howl and Rage here because of the Veil, but when the Moot is over, we will enter the Umbra and unleash our Rage under Luna the Huntress, and we will make the ground shake under our paws and Luna herself to stir from Her Palace above the Clouds and witness our might!"

Slit-Throat was almost out of his breath. He had waited to be part of open war for so long. He looked at the other garou present and took few deep breaths to get stop his heart pounding out of his chest.

Then he looked at the next ranking garou, and gave the Bone to Cloud-Dancer.

[Corinna Cannstein]

Cloud-Dancer took the bone and spoke on behalf of herself and her pack.
“There are many new Garou here,” she said. “A few of you have joined packs since you got here. Some have needed a little extra push, but have done so eventually. Now is a time of war. It is not a time to hesitate or sulk alone. It is a time learn to follow orders of both the pack and sept alpha. Without a pack, you are more of a liability than an asset.”

She didn't direct the speech at one person in particular, but it was generally meant for the packless.

“My pack and I spend as much time as we can tending to our Caern duties,” she said. “But the Spirals have already shown that although they are not capable of a full attack, which would endanger the veil, they are willing to play dirty, and attack us and our kin at our weakest. The further away we are, the easier we make it for them.
If you can, move to Schulzendorf. If you can't, move in with a packmate. Commands-the-Tides, White-Crow, Claws-of-Fire and I all have havens within the village. In under a minute, we can be at the Caern. The Umbra here is affected by the presence of the Caern, and so are the people. It is safe to step sideways in most places in Schulzendorf. The gauntlet isn't as thick as it is in the rest of the city. But still, beware not to be seen doing it. Too many strange things happen in this village. We don't need to give the villagers more reason to suspect us.”

“Get phones. Put the library's number on speed dial. If you don't know how to use one, learn. If you don't want to learn, then you don't want to be here.
When all fails, you can step sideways and howl. Even if we can't hear you, the spirits of the Caern will. Never howl in the physical world unless you absolutely have to.”

She looked at the bone and then handed it to Vasara. Neither Ben nor Micah needed to say anything. They were a pack, and they spoke as one.

[Tony Vasara]

Shit... Vasara had not anticipated to get the Bone before Micah. He looked at Cloud-Dancer, she must have planned this all along. Now he needed to spit out things or leave them to the past.

"We are Slagbröder. We fight Wyrm where it breeds and where it dwells." he looked at Hands-of-Mercy and David. "These two will run with us for now. Hands-of-Mercy to carry the Banner into the midst of battle and David Verocha is trying to grow up and learn as fast as possible." Vasara deliberately didn't use honorifics on the Cub. That had to be earned with spilled blood, not given freely. He looked at Cloud-Dancer and didn't continue. Neither of them would run with Slagbröder, possibly compromising their pack-tactics on the eve of great battle, if she had not insisted.

"I am very sorry for your loss." he said to Commands-the-Tides. "I do not hold you responsible to keep your end of our bargain. Unless you wish to help us anyways."

Vasara raised his voice. "Not every one of us is here." Now he looked at Danny. He didn't mind Slit-Throat beating the shit out of her, Vasara had done that himself too and knew she needed that so she could focus on anything else than bullying. "Nadezhda... Barks-Like-Toothless-Dog..." Vasara had some trouble forcing the given deedname out "...has been banished from the caern until she learns to behave. We are warriors and not diplomats. I ask you to relieve the ban so she could at least visit the bawn so she can keep her connection to Gaia alive." Vasara looked at Danny as he spoke.

About Tristain, Vasara thought really carefully. "I do not trust you anymore." he said to Danny finally. "...at all."

"...but whatever comes, I will give my Life for Fenris and Gaia if needed." his eye wandered to Slit-Throat, and he fully acknowledged Slit-Throat as trusted leader.

Then he gave the Bone to Jona.

[Jona]

Jona looked at Vasara and took the bone. He was a little surprised to see that a Fenrir actually spoke to his elder that way, but then he was a little surprised at the Fenrir around here in general. They were nothing like the Fenrir back home. But then here they were fish out of water, thrashing around in the dark, just like Zachary. And knowing you were out of your element changed you.

Now he had the bone, and he could speak his mind.

"You should learn to use the city to your advantage," he said. He tried to summon his courage, and speak up. But it was difficult to come out and tell a room of Fenrir: You're doing it wrong.
"Human laws can be used to our advantage," he said. "Learn them, live inside them instead of outside them. Bend rules, but don't break them. If the law is on our side, so is law enforcement. That makes things difficult for those trying to take things away from us."
As he continued, he seemed to gain a little confidence, and looked up. There was very little doubt who he was talking about here.
"Raiding labs and blowing up buildings," he continued. "Is all nice and good. But in the city, it'll get you some unwanted attention. It also won't stop your enemies. It'll barely slow them down. There are more subtle ways to take down whole corporations. Learn to think before you act. Learn to temper your actions with wisdom. Brute force might seem like the ideal solution now, but on the long run, such actions will come back to bite you in-- to haunt you."

There was one thing he agreed with Vasara about though. He didn't trust a rat-killing, Owl-following Silent Strider either.

"We are city wolves," he said. "And our tribe has survived in cities since the cities were first formed. Please, take our wisdom into account. We might be young and inexperienced in Garou and spirit matters. We might not be awesome warriors with a hundred kills under our belt and a bazillion scars, but this is our territory. We know what we're doing."

He took some comfort in the fact that while he had the bone, none of the Fenrir could rip his head off. He held on to it for a moment longer, before handing it back to Micah.

[Danny]

Micah took the bone and looked around at Danny, Cloud-Dancer, and Slit-Throat to see if they had anything to add. They didn't.
"The ban stands," he said sternly to Vasara. "When you can control your packmates, they can return. Access to the Caern is not a right, it is a privilege. Respect it, or you will lose it."
Danny might have placed the ban, but it was his place to enforce it as Keeper of the Land.
"If that is all, and no one holds any more grievances to air, then the bone is cracked. There is no more to be said."
He raised the bone and cracked it between his fingers.

Danny took on a more cheerful expression when he continued. The more serious part of the moot was over.

“Before I was Warder, and before I was a teacher, I was a talesinger,” he said. “I hope you are all comfortable, because this is a long story. It is the story of this city, and this Caern.

“Many years ago, an ancient Caern stood at the site of this Library. It was all forgotten as man turned the wilderness into a city and hunted our wolf kin to extinction, and it was not until the Glass Walkers found it, and built this Library, that it was remembered.
Berlin is a city that has seen many wars and much turmoil. In the worst of its wars, the Library stood strong, and the city survived despite the pain and suffering it was put through. Bombs fell on Berlin, most of the buildings were razed to the ground, and the City Father tormented in the process. To make things worse, there came the wall, erected from the fear of the rest of the world, the wall separated the West part of the city from the East. It became walled in like in a cage, and the last protectors of the Caern fled rather than fall to the Wyrm.
It was forgotten once more, and the wall around the city walled it in, and the weaver grew strong. The wall itself grew strong.

"Then I came to Berlin.
I came here in search of a cub of my tribe, a young Theurge. There were two other Garou who had managed to survive in the city. Of course, they were Bone Gnawers.”
He indicated the pictures above the fireplace, and the fate of these Bone Gnawers was clear to even those who had not heard of Abby and Kaleb.
“They never gave up on the city, and they never left it.
There were only a few of us, but we decided to stay and fight. Silent-Hunter and Judgement-from-the-Skies joined us quickly, then just Cliaths, newly rited half-moons. Today they hold the rank of Fostern, and they carry the scars that protecting the city has given them."

He looked at Micah's maimed arm and smiled. He had been his strongest ally in Berlin's darkest hour, and for that he was grateful.

“A short time afterwards, Anna had her first change, and Blake, a Child of Gaia, joined our cause.
Soon, the Spirals found out about our presence and launched an attack on my tribemate's home and murdered her family. I managed to hold them off long enough for her to run, but I got myself captured instead.
My old friends, at full disregard for their own safety, attacked the Black Spiral Dancers in their hide-out and killed them all, freeing me in the process. The Spirals knew then they had underestimated our numbers.
We returned victorious, despite our first heavy loss. Abby, one of the Bone Gnawers, fell during the rescue mission.
But we regrouped, and stood strong. Judgement-from-the-Skies united his first pack under Bear. Of that original line-up, only he and Anna remain, but Slagbröder are still here, dependable, as always.

“We reopened the Caern, I performed the Rite of Caern Building, and Judgement-from-the-Skies performed the Rites of Cleansing and Contrition. Owl listened to our pleas, and returned to us. He charged us with keeping this Caern from closing again, and with rebuilding the Sept, and keeping the city from falling to the Wyrm. He charged us with reopening the Library and letting knowledge flow once more, and feed the energies of the Caern. It has always been a Caern of wisdom, and the spirits of wisdom grew stronger as the children of the city came to the library to read and learn, and share what they had learnt. Garou, kin, and humans walked through the halls of this library together.

“But when we were attacked in this very room, we had to close the library to the public again. Knowledge was not meant to be hoarded and kept hidden, and the Glass Walkers have always been most adept at integrating with people... but we could not risk the veil or the safety of innocents. We live and fight in hope that the city will be safe enough for us to reopen the library, as it should be, for everyone who wishes.

“We are surrounded, protected by the wall, a powerful spirit of the weaver, and the guardians who watch over the checkpoints. Together, we have kept the Wyrm out for over a year while we rebuild the Sept.
It has not been without losses. We have lost Kaleb and Blake, and Eric and Simon, our kin. Two of our cubs were taken by the Spirals, and have endured the horrors of the hive when they refused to buy into their lies. But they still are with us today. Martin has returned to his Sept, where he will receive his rite of passage. Anna took hers not two weeks ago, and now stands among us as Cliath.”

“I honour them both,” he said. “I have had just a small taste of what they both endured, as cubs, to stay loyal to Gaia and the Garou Nation. I am proud of the strength of will they have shown, and humbled by the wisdom and honour they retained in that terrible place.”
He paused too look at Anna and then continued.
"Though outnumbered, our packs struck at the very heart of the hive and destroyed much of the evil that was in that place. They rescued our cubs, and the spirits of dead children. They returned victorious again, and once more the price of victory was great."

He paused. The story was almost over, or at least almost at the present date.
“Today we are stronger in number than we have ever been before. Dämmerlicht have quested for Owl and returned with the Caern's pathstone. Now they complete their quest by reopening the Moon Bridges, and securing our allies so they can come to our aid when the battle approaches.
And the battle does approach. The signs are clear, and the Spirits speak of it. Those who have slept within these walls have been granted the visions by Owl. Whatever is to happen here, it is bigger than us, it is bigger than Berlin. This Caern must stand.”

And that was the story of Berlin's last sacred Caern. Though long and detailed, it was a story many of them had not heard before, and Danny told it in a way only an experienced Galliard could. When he spoke, people listened.

(5 successes on storytelling. So the story is pretty captivating.)

“Judgement-from-the-Skies and his pack have quested in search for a guardian to protect the wall, after the bane falls.”
He looked at the group at his right.
“Who of you will tell the story?”
He looked at Vasara expectantly.

[Tony Vasara]

This was great... Galliard was banned and there was a story to be told. He seriously needed to trash Nadezhda for this, and he really could not force anyone else to take the possible failure on their shoulders.

"I guess it has to be me then..." Vasara growled. "We were drinking few beers at the Ragnarok and a thought popped to our minds. We knew the Wyrmbeast at the Wall was in dire need of killing, but we really could not afford anyone to stay there after the actual killing so we needed a plan." Vasara talked, clearly being not similar master storyteller as Danny. "So, our young theurge had an idea, she was involved with a Warwolf of Fenris' brood during her Rite of Passage, and we thought, what the hell, we gotta at least try."

"So we left to find him to the East, and damn, Anna had been right. There was a den of the ancient Warwolf. We called it by Blood and he honored us with his presence. Unfortunately he was a bit reluctant on coming with us as it wanted it's Den protected from wyrmhounds that lurked nearby." Vasara was thinking he actually was getting a hang of storytelling. "So, we made some recon and found those bastards. And we also found what had lured them there. In the physical side was some weirdo with robes, making some bad mojo over the book we later gave to Child of Gaia called... umm... Adran. Area was turning into Blight and we decided to interfere."

"We fought the guy in robes, and a nasty bastard he was. Leech I think. And his weird accomplishes who seemed to... I don't know what they did, but they brought Saxon to halt in no time. Some bad mojo, I bet." Vasara looked at Adran. "He fortunately carried Saxon to safety, then the book kind of exploded and in the end it was just us standing." Vasara waved with his hands to demonstrate the explosion, or wave of whatever that struck them.

"We were quite beaten up at that point, and we thought there still was the duty of making the Hounds sorry for the day they were spawned from any nameless pit they were spawned from. We left Anna and Adran to perform a Rite of Cleansing to the Book as it seemed to reek of Wyrm, and I guess that was when she and Adran took the last hit from it. AT least this time it seemed to heal the Umbrascape too."

"So, enemies were dead, the Blight seemed to be taken care of and we went to meet the Warwolf. He was accompanied by Owl and Bear-king, and we struck a bargain. He will come to our aid when we call him." Vasara finished. He looked around a bit nervously and continued. "Ummm... The End?"

[Danny]

It quickly became apparent that Vasara was no storyteller. But somehow, the absurdity of it all made the audience listen. After all, he was a purebred Garou and a natural leader, and even if the words didn't come easily, he had rank and breeding and that was something nobody could ignore.
And so most of the audience managed to suppress their giggles, and at least nobody tossed any tomatoes.

Danny nodded. The saddest thing was that their Galliard wouldn't really have helped things. She would only have made them worse. The pack really needed a better speaker.
“Thank you for that story,” he said to Vasara. “It was an honourable endeavour, and if anything, it shows you are better warriors and mystics than storytellers.”
He knew they had been through a lot to find a guardian. After all, he'd done it about seven times himself. It was no joke.
He turned to the group at his left and addressed Jona.
“Wissenfalken have returned with an ancient lost fetish. Who will tell us the story?”
He looked at Jess and Hands of Mercy to tell the tale.

[Hands of Mercy]

((Joint post with myself))

Hands of Mercy rises from his seat and steps into the centre of the circle. He takes a moment to turn full circle, meeting the gaze of everyone present, ending facing the Elders of the Sept. He dips his gaze in respect to them and begins to speak with his eyes down.

"I stand to start a tale that as yet has no conclusion. I speak of the history of the spirit banner that resides now within me. The history of Hrafnsmerki." Raising his eyes then, he begins to turn as he continues his tale, speaking to one group then another.

"In ages past, during the Wars of Rage, the Fenrir forged bonds of blood with Raven's Children. Since that time, with trust bought in blood, we shared blood times again, and strengthened our friendships and kinships. Hrafnsmerki is a mark of that kinship. Crafted by a volva of Raven's blood, for her son, Jarl Sigurd the Stout, a child of Fenris, the banner carried the great power of the Raven as a spirit of battle, crippling the Jarl's foes with waekness and fear. But all power comes with a price, and the Raven is a carrion bird, a spirit of death. The seer who crafted the banner prophesised that it would bring victory to the one it was carried before, but death to the one who carries it."

Hands of Mercy pauses to wet his throat with a swig of ale, then continues. "And so it proved, in the final battle the Jarl did see. He was challenged in battle by Kerthailfad, and rode out to meet his foe under the Raven banner. In the first charge, ful half of Kerthaifald's men were slain, but the banner bearer was slain by a young hotblood of Kerthailfald's line who breached the line and claimed half a dozen warriors before being brought down. The banner was reclaimed, but even as Kerthailfad's forces withdrew to regroup, a kin archer covering the retreat found the bearer's neck. Sigurd the Stout then called on Thorstein, son of Hall to take the banner, but Thorstien's packmate Asmund the White called out 'Do not bear the banner, for to bear it is to die.' Cursing their cowardice, Jarl Sigurd turned to his kinsman, Hrafn the Red, to bear the banner. But the child of Raven and Fenris was as close bound to Raven's blood as his leige, and knew the cost of that banner. 'Bear your own burden!' he replied, and so the Jarl lifted his own war banner. Holding it aloft, he rallied his people and led them back into the fray. And the prophecy was fulfiled, for his warriors carried the day, and his house was secured, but Sigurd the Stout was felled by the hammer of his foe Kerthaifald. Few have had the courage and commesurate need to lift the banner since, and in time it faded into memory, and then into legend."

As the last word fades into silence, Hands of Mercy meets Jess's gaze, and yields the floor for the next part of the tale.

Jess also steps forward, looking a little nervous in the centre of the crowd. She also turns to the elders to start her tale.

"Umm... yeah, so I'm gonna talk about how we found the trail to find it again." She glances around the group and begins her tale, less familiar with the format than Hands of Mercy, and less experienced at keeping moving she leaves her back to her pack most of the tale.

"Wissenfalken came to be in Freiburg, and we got our quest there. I'd been bound to the City Father of Koln before I met Jona, so Freiburg's City Spirit decided our pack would be likely to take on a task he had. He wanted us to find a way to heal Berlin. The spirit of a city reflects its people and its nature. Berlin is divided, physically, socially, mentally, and this division is cutting a single spirit in two, driving it mad with pain."

"We started our quest in Freiburg's Streets. The city father had told us that we would need to find a path before entering Berlin, but that it couldn't show us that path. It was Jona who suggested we called in on an old woman he knew. She never gave us her name, rank or tribe, but she knew a lot about Freiburgy's spirits, and the spirts knew her. We asked her for advice, but all she offered was some powder that she said would show us the way. Once we'd seen off some small Banes that had been causing trouble in her patch, she gave us the powder in a little bag and we set off."

"We were going to mix the powder in with some food and see what it showed us, but we hadn't got twenty feet down the road before some little shit grabebd it out of my hand and made off down the street. We spent the next week trying to find the bugger, and we had pretty much given up on it when we dropped into a squat in some abandonned warehouse. There was a girl there, nothing special to look at, but when she saw us, she freaked right out like she was having a fit. Then, with her body still flailing around out of control, she looked straight at us, and said 'Into the light the goodly are welcomed, with the light the darkness is banished.' It wasn't 'till I checked with Jona a bit later that I realised she'd said that in the Spirit's Tongue, and I'd been the only one to hear it. It was about that point the kid walked in."

"We got the powder back off him pretty sharpish. He hadn't touched it, and we went off somewhere quiet to take it."

"I saw a city, one half made'f steel and glass, the other timber and trash. In the middle was a... a hunger. It was dragging everything into it, sitting on the dividing line between the halves. Then I saw the city, still half and half but all mixed up and the hunger was... there and not there. Like it a slot machine and you're trying to stop it on the right bit to win, but if you get it wrong you loose the whole lot. 'course I couldn't choose, but that's what it felt like. Then I noticed that when the hunger wasn't there, there was a light. It wasn't in the same place twice, but it was somewhere in the city. Jona saw an owl carrying a book through the streets of a city, dodging banes and things."

"Between my vision and the girl's outburst, we figured that the hunger was some big bad bane and that the light was something that could see it off. We guessed it might be some powerful talen or perhaps a Gift known to a local spirit." She glances in the direction of Hands of Mercy. "Seems the spirits were telling us that this bane needed killing before the city was restored, else it'd swallow the whole place, and the weapon to do it was here. A bit more poking around and we linked Jona's vision to this place, and found our way here."

"We slept in the Caern here, and Owl gave us more visions. Jona got the main one this time, of standing under a tree with money. More'f a lead than anything else, it was Commands the Tides who suggested it might be a Raven we were looking for. We'd met a few others by this point. Emelie, Hands of Mercy and Zachary did most for us. It was Emelie that led the Summoning for a Raven gaffling to talk to. The rest of us took part to help. We traded shiney things with the raven for some answers, then for it to lead us to meet Hrafnsmerki."

She looks over at Hands of Mercy again then, and he stands to take over the telling.

Hands of Mercy bows again to the elders, and begins the next part of the tale. "The raven led us to Hrafnhild, the spirit of the Fetish, and it asked which of us would take up the burden of the banner. As we failed to come to a decision, the spirit declared we were not ready to bear it, and set us the task of reclaiming an item stolen from it by the Rat-kin. We entered their tunnels under the city, and they found us after Simeon found one of their traps. Some large blades that sprang from the wall and nearly severed his arm. Born from a Dark Wish found another in the foetid water as he rushed to aid Simeon."

"I retrieved the incautious ahroun from the water, and Jess healed both him and Simeon as we negotiated with the Rat-kin. They were far from friendly, but were open to negotiation, and agreed to trade us the item in return for the death of some 'vermin' that had been troubling them, along with my grovelling after I managed to offend them during the negotiations."

"First we set off after this vermin, and as with the Rat-kin, it seems the creature had prepared a welcome for any unexpected guests. Our first warning of its presence was when several pipes along the walls exploded, spraying us with steam and water, sending Born form a Dark Wish back into the water, where he found more traps. As we gathered our wits, the creature struck, grabbing White Crow and dragging her off. I again retrieved Born From a Dark Wish, but with White Crow abducted and Jess out of Gnosis, we could not get him up. So we pressed on after the creature, hoping that it would not circle back and finish off the ahroun. Unfortunately, it seems that it did not need to. We found White Crow soon after, also unconscious and the creature finally engaged us."

"I fought alongside Fire in the Junkyard to kill the creature while Jess and Simeon fought back a horde of rats that seemed to consider White Crow an easy meal. Fire in the Junkyard finished the creature off as it pulled me down, though my nature allowed me to recover swiftly enough once some metal mechanism it had clamped around my head was removed."

"Simeon raced back to the Caern to find a healer to restore White Crow to consciousness while the rest of us regrouped and returned to Born Form a Dark Wish." He pauses here. "It seems the rats that had been after White crow had already found him, and without anyone to protect him, he had been killed."

"In time Simeon returned with Shadow-Stalker of Slagbroder, and he healed White Crow. I lowered myself to the Rat-kin I had offended and asked his forgiveness, which he gave and the Rat-kin gave us the item. With Born From a Dark wish dead, and Simeon stepping back, it came down to whether Fire in the Junkyard or I would take up the banner. He suggested we place it in the hands of Fate, and Fate placed it in mine."

"We returned to Hrafnhild, and it judged us now worthy, and invested me with the powers of Hrafnsmerki. When we enter battle against the Bane, I shall call upon these powers to cripple our foes, to drain them of strength and speed for as long as I stand. Hrafnsmerki flies again, and the next chapter in its long history is ready to begin." Handsof Mercy bows again to the elders, and resumes his seat.

(Admin Edit for colours)

[Danny]

It was a good story, and Jess' parts especially were well told. She paused at just the right times, building up tension and letting her audience hold its breath. Much to their surprise, her informal tone and easy-going charm was actually quite well-received. She captivated the audience, and they listened to her more intently than they had listened to the two Fenrir who spoke before her.
Hands of Mercy's part, though more formal, seemed to fall a little flat compared to hers. Though he was better with words, he lacked her charm and good humour, and came off a little stiff.

(Jess gains 1 Glory and 2 Wisdom for telling an excellent story at a moot.)

“Thank you,” Danny said to them both. “It is a story that is worth retelling, and a glorious quest for an ancient and powerful fetish.”

He looked up at the clock. It was almost eleven. Midnight in Moscow.
He looked over at Cloud-Dancer.
“Tonight, if all has gone well with Dammerlicht, and they have succeeded in their quest, we will open the first Moon Bridge.”

Cloud-Dancer stood up again. She held the small pearly white moongem that Adiyah, Max and Yvonne had quested for. It was a large gathering, and it was a strong Caern. That would help.

She called to the totem spirit of the Caern, asking it to reach out to the totem spirit of the Caern of the Learning Hall. A Caern, that like this one, thrived on the collective learning of those who passed within its walls.
Somewhere, almost 3000 kilometres away, another Ritemaster, known as Professor Andrej Dashkov, performed a similar rite. And at eleven o'clock, midnight in Moscow, a shimmering portal opened in a library in Berlin, and another in a lecture hall in Moscow, connecting the two Caerns.

And out of the portal stepped a man. He was middle-aged, but had aged well and retained a sort of rugged handsome look even now. He looked around at the assembled Garou in the library, his library.
“Zdrazdvuy,” he said. “I am Professor Mikhail Ritsarev, Elder Theurge of the Glass Walkers. Here in Germany, I am known as Carsten Heller.”

He looked at Cloud-Dancer, who held the portal open.
“More come,” he said. And seconds later, they did. Adiyah stepped out of the portal first, followed by Max, Maria and Yvonne, and finally Claire. Then the Moon Bridge closed.

“I have returned,” Carsten continued. “Not to take anyone's place, but to observe the current state of Berlin. Maybe, with time, Owl will forgive me for abandoning the library.”

Danny stood up.
“Welcome home,” he said. “You are just in time to observe the closing of the moot.”
He indicated for them to join the gathering. There were no more chairs, but he vacated his for the elder, and turned to Simeon.

It was time for the final song.

(If you're wondering how we did this so fast, we actually wrote most of these posts in advance )

[Simeon]

He had already been told of his part in this gathering, and he was ready. Standing he stooped down long enough to grab his acoustic guitar that he had brought just for this moment. Slinging it over his shoulder he moved to a place in the room where all would be able to see him. The Simeon that stood before the gathered sept, this eve was not the one they normally saw. Gone was the mischievous glint and carefree attitude, and instead stood the Galliard, the teller of tales and keeper of lore. He had pondered long on how to start this…and had chosen to go with tradition, accompanied by the simple chording of the guitar. A few strokes of his talented fingers, set the tempo and soon his rich tenor voice floating through the air as he fell into cadence used by the bards of old.

Listen, Gaia! I am the bard,
Strider’s chosen Gallaird
Chosen by my kindred to sing
Songs that the great ancestors bring;
Recent deeds sung to a haunting tune
Before this throng below the moon,
Memories new and old of the wars
Hallowed to Mother Gaia’s cause!
Songs of the warrior’s blood shed
Which stained the earth like Autumn’s dead,


The night hears our werewolf howling.
Our foes know that the garou are near.
They taste their death in draughts of fear.
In fear they run with hurried breath,
The sheep that meet the hound of Death.
And throughout the deep nighttime skies,
The howling of a thousand cries
Summoning the tribes to be true,
The thirteen tribes of the garou.

From the Fianna’s master myths,
I bring to you the thirteen gifts,
Gifts of heroes from every age
Written in blood in Gaia’s rage.
Ancestral songs from each tribe’s lore,
Thirteen tales of Wyld’s War,
The wars our people will fight
When comes Apocalypse night.
Thirteen tales we shall sing yet:
From Strider, Walker and the Get,
From Gnawer and the old Wendigo,
The secrets that the gazers know,
Songs of Furies and glass walkers,
Songs from the Talon wolf stalkers,
Tales from the old Silver Fang,
And the duel the Fianna sang,
The Uktena shaman of old,
And Gaia’s Children, wise and bold –
Told and merged in the bardic spell,
The tales that this bard will tell.

Now the tales I will sing,
The legends that the moon will bring.
I will sing of the noble wolf,
Hunter of man-print and the hoof,
Guardian of the hidden north
Whose howling hurt was driven forth
From their old southern hunting ground.
By Weaver’s children wolf brought down,
By Wyrm driven from the old land.
At last the Wyld must take a stand,
Break snares and chains and then fight back!
Hunt the Wyrm’s tools – Attack! Attack!
Make Gaia’s defilers bleed and die
Beneath the moon, beneath the sky!
The claws that digs! The tooth that rips!
The fighters of Apocalypse!


The last was left lingering in the air, as the chording of the guitar took a more hauting sound as he began to tell the takes of those that had perish for the sept. He had spoken a bit with Danny about those that had died, getting a feel for who and what they were. His first chosen was the Talon Pack Griffon’s Heart. He sang of how they had too had been searching for lost cubs, and how they had found the Spiral hive and Slagbröder and help defeat the Spirals at the cost of their pack and lives. He then moved on to individuals, singing of Kaleb, who also lost his life in the fight at the hive, falling under the claws and fangs of the garou’s dark brothers. He sang of Blake, ambushed and murdered by the Spirals in their attempt to break the caern’s spirit in series of raid targeted at the garou and their kin. Then there was Abby, who life was given as the sept came together to rescue one of their own, giving her life so another could live. Of Zachary he sang of a ahroun, wanting to prove himself, fighting til the end for what he believed in. And lastly, he offered song to the kin who had lost their lives. Of gentle kind Eric, Micah’s companion who was shot by wyrm-tainted foes of the garou and of Simon who died protecting Anna.

Simeon ended the song with a few more strings of chord they he let grow fainter til they couldn’t not be heard at all. Putting a hand over the string he even silenced them, as he bowed his head letting the words and deeds sink into the heart and minds of those gathered. Finally into the silence he said “We must never forget, those that have left us, their deeds great and small define us, drive us and make us who we are.” As eh spoke the last he looked up at those gathered, meeting each and everyone in the rooms eyes, acknowledging them and their presence.

[Corinna Cannstein]

Silence fell over the crowd as Simeon's tenor voice told the tales of their fallen brothers and sisters. When it was over, and the last notes faded away, the Sept was left in silent memory of the dead.

Cloud-Dancer broke the silence. The time for battle was drawing near. This would be a revel none of them would forget easily.
"Those of us who return," she said. "Will return victorious. Those of us who don't, will join our fallen brothers and sisters in Valhalla."

She spread out the map and called to Vasara and Adiyah to gather their packs around the table.
"Once we reach the wall," she said, pointing to the area on the map. "The bane will try to trick you. It will try to show you things to make you approach it. Be careful. Don't trust your own eyes."
She looked around at the two packs. Her own packmates stood behind her.


(I'm told this is confusing, mainly because up is not north on this image, it's actually west.
So I'll try to flip the image when i get home.)

"We have found that the banes move in from here, and here," she pointed to two black dots on the map. "After watching it for a while, we have come to the conclusion that the bane actually feeds on the essence of other spirits. The banes strengthen it. My pack and I will hold this point. We should be strong enough to keep any banes from reaching the pack fighting the bane, here."
She indicated a large circle on the map. They didn't know exactly where the bane was. Its lair was somewhere in that circle, but it usually managed to collapse the earth quite a bit.
"The archers, along with the banner, will stand behind this line," she said. "Keep your footing, if the ground shakes, fall back. Do not let yourself fall into the pit. That's where your alpha will be."

She turned to Adiyah next.
"You and your pack will hold this line," she indicated the area to the west of the circle. "From where we stand, we should be able to cover the south. You will need to make sure nothing gets through from the west. We are not expecting much, because of the guardians. So you in theory, you needn't worry. But we need to be extra safe. If anything gets through to the banner bearer, we'll lose our edge."

She folded the map and stood up.
"You have ten minutes. Gather what you need and meet me on the Umbral side. Our Wyrm Foe will lead the run to the wall. There we will split up and take our positions. We'll fight in the throes of rage. We'll show no mercy. We'll leave nothing that's tainted undestroyed."
She smiled.
"Ten minutes!"

(Thanks for your patience. You may all post now.)

[Maria]

The moot, or what Maria saw from it, was great. The galliard again wanted to howl, but kept her voice down. She looked around her, so many new faces. Especially the old man with one arm made her squirm.

After Cloud-Dancer had ordered the ten minute strategy session, Maria moved next to her pack. Her voice was stronger than ever, a result of all the rage burning in her.
" I know a gift of far sight, even if I am half-blind, I shall use it and be your eyes" she stated, looking at her pack. For her, this had been a long road in a short time. The arrival, the quest of Lion, the fight at her alpha's home, meeting Claire and going to Moscow. And now the first revel here.
" Thank you, Adiyah, for letting me join this pack" Maria said, tears in her eyes.

[Anna]

This had been Anna's first moot as a Cliath, and first real moot with a full Sept. Things had really changed in the past month. Making a mental note never to let Vasara tell stories again, she headed upstairs and picked up the bow that Aleksi had crafted, along with the arrows he had given her. She had spent days working on just those two arrows.

She headed back downstairs and found Hands of Mercy.
"Here," she said, offering him one of the arrows. It was beautifully crafted and decorated, and the arrowhead was made from a dark-coloured glass that Hands of Mercy probably didn't recognise.
"As a thank you, for teaching me how to use the bow," she said. "It will always hit its mark, as long as its mark is a bane."

She then stepped sideways and joined the rest of her pack in the Umbra.

[Hands of Mercy]

Hands of Mercy has little to prepare, so he doesn't move from the table. Instead he watches the others coming and going for a couple of minutes before standing to pull himself across. He's about to step across when Anna approaches and hands him the arrow. He nods his appreciation and understanding, and takes a moment simply holding the talen in his hands, running his fingers across the flight, committing the feel of it to memory so he can find it when he needs it, and won't accidentally loose it if he doesn't.

Then he steps into the Umbra, and moves over to Slagbroder before preparing himself - knives strapped to his thighs, bow in hand and quiver across his back. Then he catches Anna's arm to get her attention again. "I have a request. If I fall, don't leave Forest's Hunger on the battlefield. If it wishes it, release the spirit within, else pass it to whomever it accepts, but don't leave it behind."

((I'm assuming I can have restocked on dedicated arrows during downtime?))