After another full day of traveling through the wild, Sheila "Won't-Back-Down", who you have learned is a Galliard of the Black Furies, and pack alpha of The Winds of Change pack, has decided to allow everyone a rest. The Bone Gnawers seem particularly uncomfortable, being so far away from their native environment. Grandfather Beasly, whom the other Garou have taken to calling "Grandfather Silvertorn", has spent the better part of the trip coughing and wheezing.
As the large group comes to rest, Sheila shifts into her homid form, that of a very attractive woman, her body exceptionally toned. Her complexion is olive-skinned, with raven black should-length hair that has a certain sheen to it. Her eyes are narrow, and astonishingly green. She wears a plain black sports bra, and black capri pants with black skele-toe "shoes". A glint catches your eye, and you notice a highly stylized weapon hanging at her hip by leather thongs. Too big to be a dagger, and too small to be a full sword, it's blade seems to made of silver, rather than steel, and you can see a glyph carved onto the pommel.
Her packmate, Matteo "Old Steady Hands" shifts as well, he is a white male, tall and thin, his upper lip hidden behind a thick mustache which is as black as his wavy head of hair. He wears a black turtle neck, and black denim jeans.
The other Black Fury, "Never-Breaks-A-Pact, Never Forgets-A-Grudge" remains in her her lupus form, which is a mottled brown and gray, and pads around the campsite, sniffing here and there as if in search of something.
The pack's last member, "Splinters-The-Rotting-Oak" shifts as well, appearing as a stocky black woman of perhaps 30 years of age. She is dressed in a black sweater, blue denim jeans, and has a large pair of hoop earrings, with the name "Latonya" in the middle of the circle. She looks around, and her face contorts into a sneer as she mutters something to herself and then goes and sits down with her back against a tree.
Crazy-Heart seems content to rest in his lupus form, and the Union St. Goodfellows all shift to homid as they sit a small distance away from the rest of the group.
"Cubs, come with me and help me collect sticks and logs suitable for a fire. We're going to bed down here tonight, and I expect it to get cold. Now that we aren't traveling, I can answer some of your questions. I'm sure the first thing you want to know is why we're out here.Your Bone Gnawer babysitters were smart enough to realize that the little light display that occurred in your town was a manifestation of the Wyld. Why do you have that stupid look on your face? They didn't explain the Triat to you? Ugh. I'll give you the short version.
The first creation of Gaia was The Wyld,. That's W-Y-L-D. It is essentially the force of creation, in it's purest form. Unlimited energy, potential, the raw stuff of the universe. That's the best way to understand a primal force of the universe. We really have no other way to explain it.
Gaia was happy with this creation at first, for it made many, many beautiful things. But those things didn't last, and were constantly broken down, and reshaped. Gaia desired some sort of stability for the Wyld's best creations, so that they might be enjoyed at length and observed, allowed to grow on their own.
So, Gaia created The Weaver. The Weaver was to be the force of stability, spinning it's webs around the Wyld's creation so they would stay in existence for Gaia's pleasure. The Wyld, being an unthinking being with a chaoitc mindset we can't even begin to understand, really didn't take notice. There was no shortage of raw matter, and it carried on it's work. The Wyld created, The Weaver maintained.
And Gaia was happy for a time, but it noticed that The Weaver was unable to discern between that which was worth keeping, and that which was better off destroyed. The Weaver spun it's webs over everything. Gaia knew that if this were allowed to continue, that there would be far too many things in existence.
Gaia created her third child, The Wyrm. The Wyrm was to be a force of destruction, in order to balance raw creation and bounded things. And for eons and eons, this balance was peacefully maintained.
Now this is where the story gets mucky. Noone, spirit or Garou, knows why, or exactly when, but at some point, The Weaver began to grow angry that it's efforts to give shape were done in vain, as The Wyrm would destroy that which was deemed necessary. The Weaver began to re-double it's efforts and giving shape to the Wyld's energy, but The Wyrm kept pace, balancing the other two forces. Taking it upon itself to protect that which it had spun into stability, The Weaver began to spin it's webs around The Wyrm. At first, The Wyrm was able to resist, destroying all that would bind it. But destruction is a mindless, and unorganized effort. The Weaver, it's mind having become calculating and precise by this time, was quickly able to outwit and outpower The Wyrm...partially. The Wyrm became entangled, and for the first time in it's existence...it became sentient. It thrashed and fought against the webs, and as it began to acknowledge that it was trapped, it slowly grew insane at both the inability to free itself, and the inability to carry out it's Gaia-given purpose.
And so, to this day, The Wyrm reaches out and grabs whatever it might. Humans, The Weaver's creations, and yes, even Garou, and seeks to corrupt them, for it cannot create anything of it's own. I have heard the mad rambling of Wyrmspawn. Those that have gained a higher level of insight believe that the evil things they do are done in an effort to tear the Wyrm free of the Weaver's Web, so that it might destroy all of creation by freeing the Wyrm. Well, that's what some of them believe anyways. But what they believe doesn't matter. It is our duty as Garou to combat the Wyrm wherever it dwells, and find a way to restore balance. Or die trying."
Sheila allows a moment for this to sink in before speaking again.
"And so, that brings us to the reason we're out here. Those lights above your city last week were some sort of manifestation of Wyld energy. This day in age, The Wyld is by far the weakest of the Triat. In order to make an effort to restore balance, however small it might be, we need to seek out this energy, or perhaps it is a spirit, and see if we can ally with it, or at least harness it."
"To what ends, you ask? Ahhh yes, A Shadow Lord through and through you are. I'm not sure. The Wyld is a difficult thing to make use of, and is often uncooperative, even if our intentions are to strengthen it. Unlike the others in the Triat, it has no real 'mind' to speak of. It's actions are unguided, and it cannot even act in it's own self-interest. It simply
does. As a Black Fury, I belong to special group within the tribe that is exceptionally sensitive to seeking out these energies, or types of spirits and making use of them. If we are successful in harnessing it, it will be a major boon to the Garou nation. So, now that you have some idea of what we're looking for, focus your senses, and stop your whining. We have a war to win."
