The forest permeates everything. Oaks, dogwoods, lodgepole pines all fight for space to grow, and suddenly it all stops. Here, the forest runs out of space as the land drops sheer thirty yards or so to the valley floor. A curious mist obscures a good deal of the view below, but the hushed and garbled rush of water on stone betrays a waterfall, perhaps on the other side of the crevice some forty yards across. Despite an obscured view into the valley, the view from the northern rim is still inspiring.
The barely-negotiable trail leads down into the mist-covered crevice; around you, the forest stretches.
Obvious exits:
Forest Down the Trail
Shemas steps out of the forest.
Shemas has arrived.
Collin steps out of the forest.
Collin has arrived.
Shemas stops and looks around the clearing curiously before looking at Sepdet.
It is a long, long hike: perhaps half an hour, even in wolf, or longer. Sepdet allows plenty of time for sniffing, experimenting with legs, and listening to the cold clear silence of a forest at night under the moon, which holds a magic far more than any words she could stay. At last the world suddenly falls away before your feet in a roiling vale of mist, as if a cloud from the sky had chosen to make a nest here. She looks out and cups her hands to her mouth, giving a long, shimmering call, and smiles happily. "This...is the best place to See," she murmurs in a hushed voice. "I was here at the beginning. I saw this place born. A year ago, there was no Valley here. It is a great magic." She speaks with more passion than Marshall has probably heard before, a child's wonder in her tone.
Sepdet explains, "This is what we call a Caern: a place where spirit and reality draw close together, where the land is as it was long before humans began to change it. Powerful. Ancient. Pure. Sacred. It is a Gathering-place for the Garou, and the tribes. This one is Secret, and very precious to us." She shakes her head, turning to more practical matters. "The trail down is very steep. If you are unsure of your feet, you may want to...remember your human legs, and find them again."
Collin yeahs. So don't pee on it no matter how bad you have to go.
From afar, Collin giggles. I'm sorry.
Sepdet's expression breaks its solemn mold. She glances down at Collin mildly. "Yes. As he says, don't pee on it. Besides, the wolves think you'll be marking territory and challenge you on the spot."
Shemas stops for a moment and sits back and then makes a very human gesture and shakes his head. I think I'll keep this form for a while.
Collin errs. Well, that too. That'd hurt. Believe me.
Sepdet nods to Shemas. "Collin, go down in front of him. I'm not as steady as I'd like, and if he slips, I'll just slip too." She grins ruefully. "Half the time I just jump. There's a good, deep pool of water at the bottom, if you fall." With that, she starts down the narrow path, all but hidden by the spray, but probably easier to manage on four feet than two anyway.
You make your way as carefully as you can down into the mists and the caern below.
At the Rock Outcropping
Obvious exits:
Windy Spot Center Steam Vents Up the Trail
You paged Collin and Shemas with 'And we'll pretend Miss Sepdet didn't get lost, and that there IS a big pool of water at the bottom, even though I got mixed up and forgot which side the waterfall's on. No, I'm not trying to get you to jump and go splat into a boulder. Really. :)'.
l
At the Rock Outcropping
The Wheel flattens out here, a more stable and solid area than around the steam vents or even the Wheel's center. The grass near the center of this area is broken only by a single rocky outcropping, an oval slab of rock jutting out of the ground at a slight angle, ending up only about a foot above the ground. The slab itself is fairly smooth, with a few rough bumps and cracks as if to show that it has been untouched by the hands of any carvers. With its slight rise reaching generally towards the center, the rock slab seems to form a natural dais, a platform just a little above the level of the rest of the caern.
The caern circles away from the walls east, towards the swirling area, and south, towards the steam vents; the center is southeast of here. There looks to be a trail, not quite even a path, that may be navigable up to the rim from here.
Shemas makes his way down the trail from the northern wall of the valley.
Shemas has arrived.
center
You walk southeast, back toward the center and heart of the Wheel.
Center of the Caern
Obvious exits:
Rock Slab Windy Spot WaterFall Steam Vents
From the rock outcropping, Shemas heads into the center.
Shemas has arrived.
Sepdet paces slowly around the narrow, secretive valley, which looks almost impossibly perfect: sheer rocks, glittering mist, a waterfall that mysteriously isn't frozen, and puffs of steam hissing from great cracks in the rock. Over all looms a white tower of crystalline stone, whose faint etched patterns on its surface mysteriously seem to change from minute to minute. She walks towards the center in silence, places a hand against the pillar, and smiles. "A quiet night. Sometimes there are many Garou here, of many tribes. But perhaps it 's best that you first meet the _caern_, and see what it looks like of itself."
You paged Shemas with 'Type "look windy spot" or the names of the other exits. YOu'll be able to see all the parts of the valley that way. It's kinda pretty. :)'.
Shemas looks around himself in awe as he stares around the center of the Caern.
From the rock outcropping, Collin makes his way down the trail from the northern wall of the valley.
From the rock outcropping, Collin heads into the center.
Collin has arrived.
Sepdet crouches down next to the new wolf, just letting him drink in the scenery as long as he likes.
By the waterfall, Shadow Eyes comes down the trail from the rim above.
By the waterfall, Yuri comes down the trail from the rim above.
By the waterfall, Shadow Eyes heads into the center.
Shadow Eyes has arrived.
By the waterfall, Yuri heads into the center.
Yuri has arrived.
Shadow Eyes pads in. You howled, Sepdet?
Shemas looks slightly startled as he stops looking around the Caern and notices the two newcomers.
Yuri arrives right on Shadow Eyes' heels.
Sepdet smiles quietly as Collin trots down belatedly behind them; a strange young wolf is with her, with an obvious air of newness about him. And the expression on the young Seer's face is clearly the proud mother showing off a cub, but fact she is showing off the caern _to_ the cub. She grins quietly at Elan. "I did, but no emergency. Just felt like the caern needed a blessing tonight, and telling the spirits that I brought someone they might oughta check out for me."
l yuri
This large wolf looks like it should be ranging in the Scandinavian north. His pelt is a dark grey color with streaks of beige running through it. His hind haunches are powerful machines which could propel him forward at frightening speeds. His four legs end in hard claws used to get a footing in the wilds of the forest. His muzzle stops at a small black nose and two yellow eyes peer out inquisitively from his head. The fur at the top of his head is longer then the rest of his mane and it springs out in all directions. His ears twitch whenever he looks around. His mouth is closed but when you hear the occasional growl from him you might get a glimpse of his razor sharp fangs.
Collin yips over at Shadow Eyes.
Sepdet rises up from her crouch and takes a protective step closer to Shemas, putting herself slightly between him and the impressive-looking wolf that she doesn't recognize--although from appearances Yuri could probably break the littlest Strider right in two. The Seer seems relaxed, though, managing to make the gesture casual rather than challenging. "Who's the friend, Rat-cousin?"
Shadow Eyes licks his muzzle and nudges Yuri. Make your intro to one who is elder to you.
Yuri starts wagging his tail in a friendly manner. I am ~Yuri,~ cub of Fenris, and homid born under the Skald moon. I am very please to meet you.
Collin starts shifting on upwards towards his Homid Form.
Shadow Eyes wags his tail at seeing Collin. He turns to the new cub. This one is Shadow Eyes, a cliath Bone Gnawer crescent moon, and member of the city pack Cavall. Child of Dog.
Sepdet smiles--teeth carefully covered, lest it be misinterpreted by a wolf, even a human in wolf's skin--and relaxes her stance, lowering herself again stiffly to be closer to eye-level with the new cub. "Well, Yuri, I'm very pleased too. I have not known a Get Storyteller since my own rite-sister, one Dia Firedrums, left this caern many years ago on Quest." She gives marshall a reassuring nod, then continues. "For my part I am Sepdet Swims-through-Silver, Strider Seer and Harbinger of Hope." The last words are spoken with a sort of grim determination, as if reclaiming the words. "And...perhaps...Strider Elder."
Sepdet looks more than slightly pleased, as Shemas manages to get out the concepts in the wolf-form he is just getting used to.
Yuri looks from Sepdet to the other cub she was just talking about. I am just learning the art of the gibbous moon. In fact I have just been given my first task as a stroy teller. Soren-rhya has told me to find a story of brave deeds with in a week. Perhaps later, after you have finished showing Shemas around we may talk about the Get you called Dia Firedrums? Yuri then turns to Shemas, I am happy to meet another cub, perhaps we can stumble through our lessons together.
Shemas looks towards Yuri while still wagging his tail. I think I would like that. Hardships are better endured with others.
Sepdet beams all over her face. ~Dia didn't get along well with your tribe, since they never had time for a -girl- to teach her, but...~ she blinks, remembering who's present, and switches with effort back to human-tongue, "Um. Dia was a brave and true warrior o' Gaia, even if she was an outspoken girl which didn't altogether please the elders at the time. But I'd be glad if someone besides me remembered her. She and I fought a lot of battles together, over the years."
Yuri deciding that the conversation would benift Yuri starts his shift into homid form.
Yuri contorts and blurs as he is transformed.
Yuri shifts into Homid form.
Shadow Eyes thumps his tail to see the cubs seemingly hit it off so soon. He looks to Sepdet. Your cub is wolf-born?
Yuri smilies at Spedet, "I would be grateful to you for those stories."
Sepdet shakes her head in bemusement. "Not a bit. I was just giving him practice, since we had a long hike to take him here."
Collin contorts and blurs as he is transformed.
Collin shifts into Homid form.
Collin yawwwwns, then mockingly does 'staying alive' for a moment. "Ah. There. All stretched out."
You paged Collin with 'Dia and Sepdet were Rited together. They were like, two halves of the same shadow. Alter egos. Sepdet, the quiet, dark, silent, gentle, respectful. Dia, big, strong, loudmouthed, coarse, and true.'.
Shemas contorts and blurs as he is transformed.
Shemas shifts into Homid form.
Marshall shifts upwards and shivers slightly as he feels the change go through him.
Sepdet peers at Collin. "This is a human rite?" she asks solemnly.
Yuri surpress a laugh then waits to hear Collin's response.
Marshall stands up and looks around the Caern for the first time with human eyes and marvells again at the splendor before looking back to the people present.
Collin says to Sepdet, attempting to be as sincere as possible, "Yeah. It's the 'Staying-Alive' rite."
Collin says "It's a human thing we do every now and then. Go down the Street sometime in the city and do it. People will encourage you."
Sepdet nods thoughtfully. "It may come in handy for you, someday," she replies gravely.
Collin nods, "Definately."
Shadow Eyes contorts and blurs as he is transformed.
Shadow Eyes sparkles and blurs, shifting into Homid form.
Elan hides a smile at Collin's antics. "Glad to meet ya, kid." He puts out a hand to Marshall.
Marshall smiles at the more familiar greeting and grips Elans hand firmly.
Elan chuckles a bit. "You'll get used to all this, soon enough."
Sepdet smiles. "I told you, Marshall, some tribes grow in different places. Elan's are at home even in the city; they do much of their work there."
Collin stage-whispers to Elan, "Of course he will. He's got me around. How can he not help but understand faster with such an awesome person as *me* around?"
Sepdet chuckles drily. "Collin, I swear I'm going to rite you as the Loudmouthed Strider."
Sepdet tucks her hands into her kaftan, sobering again. "I could tell you a little story about this place, if you wish."
Yuri walks over to Marshall, "I hope you are ready to see so many beautiful places, the first time I came here I was amazed but, this isn't the only place, the whole forest is filled with wonderful places to discover."
Collin says, "Maybe I should take up 'Mime'."
Marshall nods to Yuri, "I have seen many different places and all of them have beautifull spots. I have always enjoyed walking in the forest and just watching it."
Sepdet shakes her head at Collin, as always, amused, in spite of her mock-serious ribbing.
Elan nods to Collin and turns to Sepdet. "Hey, at least he ain;t gonna get rited as 'Studboy' or something like that." He chuckles. "Well, cousin, I gotta get back to my sniffin' around. Gotta get my mind right for this rite Quiet is teaching Esther and me."
Yuri turns at the mention of a story. "Please do." He then turns back to Marshall, "well let me tell you they have a few surprises behind thier backs in this neck of the woods."
Sepdet chuckles at Elan. She looks curious at the mention of a rite, but doesn't pry. "I'll look after your friend. I confess I'm surprised the Get let him wander free, but I will make sure he isn't corrupted by the evil Striders." She winks. "Walk well."
Yuri turns to face Elan before he goes. "Thanks for the talk back there, I'll put your hint to good use," he says with a smile.
Sepdet moves across to the pillar again and sits down at the base of it, moving with the telltale care of one hiding an injury. She presses her back against it, and folds her hands on her knees, in the manner of her old elders who were, in fact, Galliards.
Elan grins to Sepdet, and nods to Yuri. "Good, Soren will be pleased with you, I hope. Another hint. Sepdet used to have that job." He gives MArshall a freindly clap on the shoulder and blurs down to dog-form, and lopes off.
Elan contorts and blurs as he is transformed.
Elan sparkles and blurs, shifting into Lupus form.
Shadow Eyes heads southeast, towards the waterfall.
Shadow Eyes has left.
By the waterfall, Shadow Eyes approaches the waterfall from the center of the caern.
By the waterfall, Shadow Eyes starts along the trail up to the rim of the valley.
Sepdet looks MORE curious now. "Someone inspired to challenge Shea for the Groundskeepership?" she muses, trying to sound lighthearted. "That would be tough. She replaced me, then erased all traces of my work."
Collin's quietly taken up miming the whole 'glass box' scenario.
Sepdet looks at Collin a bit distractedly, gives her head a sharp shake, and refocusses herself on putting a story together for them.
Marshall picks a small spot off to Sepdet's left to sit during the story.
Yuri walks over and takes a seat off to the left of Sepdet. "No, no. Soren told me to find the Groundskeeper and tell her I have been sent to help her but, he wouldn't tell me who the Groundskeeper was, in fact he wouldn't even tell me she was called a Groundskeeper. You say her name is Shea? When and where can I find her?"
Sepdet gives a rough snort. "Sometimes I wonder that myself. I stepped down because, all my life, I've always been here every day, sweeping, cleaning, setting all things to rights, hiding every footprint and watering every tree. I made a dance of it, for the caern spirits like us to do them honor so...to make them know we think them worthy of such attention. I buried the dead, and carved their gravestones, and left honors to their spirits. A time came when I no longer had time to do these things each day. So I stepped down for younger, more enthusiastic blood...a cub like you...to have a chance at the job I'd had since cubhood." She grins wryly. "I have not seen Shea much, over the last year. I'm told she is to be found in the Grotto to the north, or with the Fianna."
Collin says, "Yeah. She's one of the ones I've never met either." he grins.
Sepdet sighs and looks at her hands. "This new caern requires less Keeping than the old one, which was made by hands, not by the living earth. So she need not come so often." She gives her head a sharp shake. "That's right, I was going to tell you how the caern came to be as it is now. A story for Marshall to see what things can happen, among Garou."
Yuri says "Well, it looks like Soren has given me a difficult task. Well acctually, I thought he had given me a hard task but, I thought that task would be to find a story to inspire him not to find the Groundskeeper."
Sepdet chuckles. "Ask other Fianna for her. I am bitter, Yuri, for I miss my job. Do not mind me." Then her face sobers. "Now: the tale of Three Caerns in One."
You say " Long ago there was the Medicine Wheel, a caern of the Wendigo, the native peoples, the tribe who first loved and cared for the northern forests and plains of this continent." She pauses and looks towards Marshall, adding, "Remember my friend Joseph Soulcatcher? He is one of their blood, and a better one I have never known. So. They were like him: brave, honest, proud, and at home in the forest, and with their good human folk who lived in harmony with the land. Thus it was for many long Wheels of the seasons."
Marshall nods absently to Sepdet as he listens.
Collin blinks, then leans over to listen to Sepdet. He stops his impromptu miming witha grin.
Sepdet brings her hands together in a slap. "But then like a thunderclap it came...and yet like a long horrible drought, for at first the danger wasn't clear. The Wyrmcomers. This the Wendigo still call us, the tribes from across the sea who did not stop our human kin from invading, raping, and covering this land. They did great damage in the human way. But they did not understand that in the spirit world, the effects of their actions were even more profound. For as the soul is the heart of the body, the spirit is the heart of the land. As the invaders built, changed, and took without understanding, evil moved across the spirit world. At last it came here, to the Medicine Wheel. It took the form of a giant cloaked in ice and storm...both in the spirit world, and in this one, for it had such power. The Medicine Wheel was broken, its power destroyed, its warriors killed, and every trace of the Wendigo gone from it save an old sacred stone set in the middle of a dead, sad clearing in a cold forest." Her face is sad.
Yuri sits and listens intently, hopeing he will remember the story in its whole.
Sepdet explains, "For there was no Valley of Mists, in those days. The ground then was up there--" she points to the clifftops looming in on all sides, over this narrow cleft where we now sit. "After many years, a Black Fury--that is another tribe, Marshall, the same as Arlen's--and a Silent Strider discovered this empty clearing, and the old ancient stone with Garou signs carved upon it. They realized they had found the bones of a ruined caern. They went back to their peoples to spread the news. And the news spread. My tribe's greatest Galliard and leader, Horus, came here with many friends and followers, of his own tribe, and others. Others came too, brought by the Fury's news. Horus believed that the Wheel could be repaired, and resolved that it should be a caern of all thirteen tribes, something which has never before been attempted. He was a prophet and a Harbinger, and a wise old man." She grins wistfully, obviously with some fond memory of one she worshipped once upon a time.
Yuri has disconnected.
You say "And so the Garou came together here. It was not easy, for the tribes do not always get along. But all respected Horus, for he was old and wise, and had a power of honesty in his voice. He led a great rite of power and magic, combining the strength in the hearts of every Garou that came,taking their spirits and will and strength of purpose, and breathing new life into this place. The Rite failed the first time: agents of the Wyrm came spreading silver fire from the sky, and he was almost slain by them. But a second attempt was made, and the Caern of the Wheel Renewed sprang to life. It was made by hand, as I said. A great round open space in the forest, with the old Wendigo stone set in a place of honor in the middle, and a pool of water, and a place for the wind-spirits to play and kick up leaves, and a great mound of earth where Garou could come to vie in tests of strength with each other, and a fire-pit where we could gather on cold nights and tell stories. I was a cub in this place, not long after it was made, and that was the caern for which I was Groundskeeper. I remember its every line and stone like my own scars.""
Long distance to Collin and Marshall: Sepdet apologizes for the spam. I've never tried summing The History Of The MUSH before. :)
Collin breathes a low whistle.
Sepdet smiles wistfully. "There were fights and politics and factions. Horus left, once he was sure the caern was secure, and passed power to another tribe. For the Striders guide and advise and question and watch over things: we do not lead unless we must, but choose others as leaders. And in cold winter, three great and awful things happened. The Ice King--for so it was called by us, having no fit words to describe something so terrible--returned. We had word of it crossing the north-lands of the Wendigo like a storm that would not die, felling trees, splintering towns, and killing as it went. The humans only thought the worst weather of all time was tearing through their lands, but we knew better."
Yuri looks on in amazement. "So there must have been a battle?"
Marshall nods agreement with Yuri and then turns back to Sepdet.
Collin just grins a little at that.
You say "Secondly, the Wendigo returned. Many did not think this good, for they returned and were angry, seeing their caern changed and occupied by descendents of the very ones who had taken their kins' lands and wrought so much damage. They determined to fight to get their caern back. It might have been war." Sepdet looks over at Marshall and Collin keenly. "But Horus, although he no longer led, spoke words of reason, as is our tribe's duty. So did many others. A common foe was coming, and there was no time for dispute between tribes. We braced for war. My own tribe sent wanderers as far as Africa to gain weapons of power--fire--to fight. And the battle was terrible." She nods to Yuri. "I was there. I cast the fire that melted the giant, but other warriors much stronger than me attacked him. He came twice. Many good Garou died in the battle, including almost all the Wendigo who had joined us, for their hate for him burned coldest. But we won. The sum of all the Wheel--all the tribes--all our cunning and strength--was enough to kill what the Wendigo could not."
Collin mutters, "And there was much rejoicing."
You paged Collin, Marshall, and Yuri with 'This battle, incidentally, being one of the many times when Sepdet earned the nickname "McNugget." She used Speed of Thought to get to the Giant before anyone else to unleash the Secret Strider Firebomb Horus had given her in case he couldn't make it. If Eligio hadn't known Sepdet's recklessness all too well, and made a dive to knock her out of the explosion, I'd not be here telling this. Sepdet and Fire don't get along well. :)'.
From afar, to Marshall, Sepdet, and Yuri, Collin laughs. :)
From afar, to Marshall, Sepdet, and Yuri, Collin's not reckless. Just cocky, a little brash, and capable of putting his foot all the way down his mouth. ;)
Yuri pages to Collin, Marshall, and Sepdet: Really? I hadn't noticed :).
Sepdet grins wryly at Collin. "Well. We lost some good friends that night. But at least the news got around, and the Wendigo that came here in the years after were resigned to the Wyrmcomers and what we'd made of their old home. But the third thing was perhaps the saddest, and the cost of it I still feel today. Horus was in the umbra--the spirit-world--keeping vigil against the Ice King's attack. Something caught him unawares and killed him. He had been to Hell and back. I mean that. He had fought enemies greater than the Ice King in his lifetime. Something, I say, slew him. It has never been found."
By the waterfall, Ash comes down the trail from the rim above.
Collin winces a little, "So that's what happened to him? Man. I kept hearing his name, but I didn'tk now what had actually happened to him. Bleah."
Yuri shivers at the mention of something more powerful than the Ice King, whom the whole caern had to fight to destroy.
Sepdet sighs. "Of all the Gatherings for the Departed I've ever done, his was the hardest. I searched the Umbra half a year to find his bones, which had been broken and scattered as if someone was trying to hide any trace of what had happened." She looks grim for a moment, some dark thought or darker suspicion behind her silence, then goes on.
Collin blinks a little. His brow furrows.
Yuri sits up even more intent then before his eyes focusing on Sepdet lips, as if he could memorize the whole story simply by watching the way her mouth moves.
You say "But the Wheel endured. For a while. Until finally, two years ago...it was just when I had stepped down as Groundskeeper, in fact... after Horus' pupil and successor Anubis left for other duties, leaving _me_ to keep watch--" she looks chagrined indeed-- "another foe struck us unawares. We did not have as many defenders then. He was cunning. He was what is called a 'mage', a human who knows how to bend the world to his will. And unlike some mages I know, he was mad, and hateful, and wanted to destroy the world and make it anew. Why he picked us for his target I don't know. Anyway, he sent minions here to attack the Wheel Renewed, and they attacked in the Real World, burning _my_ trees--" she breaks off, ducking her eyes in faint embarrassment at the telltale "my"-- "burning the trees, burning the forest. Most of the Garou came to this side to stop them. I called my pack, for my pack watches the spirit-world, to make sure nothing came that side. But the distraction worked. More things struck spirit-side, and my pack fought them, but could not stop them alone. The caern was raped. Its spirit, its heart, bled blood for days. And after that, it was weaker. You could feel it in the air like a wound that wouldn't heal."
You paged Xandra with 'Just telling the whole damn history of the Wheel.'.
Sepdet sighs. "That started a long, awful time indeed. Most of the Garou couldn't feel it as much as some of us, but as I say, my work is spirits. And I know it wouldn't have happened, if Horus had still been alive keeping watch. I and Quiet, whom you will meet: the Mistress of Rites, the wisest the Garou who work with spirits--spent many long months seeking some way to heal the damage. Many things were tried. Sometimes they worked for a while. But after a few moons the power would fade again. You see, the power here is not just in its beauty, which you see. It helps defend the place against the Wyrm." She glances at Marshall. "Of which I have not told you, but perhaps from this story you see a little what it is. The spiritual side of the damage which humans do to the world. It has taken on a life of its own, and spawns creatures to do its work. We fight them. Anyway."
Yuri shakes his head sadly as the plight of the caern grows worse.
You say "At last, I came across a story in the Wheel of Ptah, another great caern, of how some caern had been greatly strengthened by using a certain kind of magic. The power of change. It is called Wyld, for it is the raw stuff of nature, which causes night to be day, water to be rain, cub to grow into adult. We thought it might heal the caern. Quiet's pack and I quested for a long time to find a magic thing that would harness this power for us. A talen. We finally got one, and brought it back here. After many weeks of study, Quiet figured out how to unleash it. The whole caern gathered again, to try to Renew the Wheel once more."
Sepdet looks up soberly as Ash arrives. "And we failed. Utterly."
Yuri's eyes open wide with surprise. "But, but, if you didn't fix it then that means it is still as weak as it was after the Mage attacked?"
Sepdet shakes her head. "I'm afraid it's more complicated than that. The Wheel Renewed is _dead_."
A look of confusion crosses Marshall's face and he looks around the Caern for a second, "Dead?"
Sepdet nods.
Once more Yuri's surprise is obvious but he waits for the story teller to continue without questioning.
Sepdet explains more softly, "Nothing seemed to happen. A spirit of change burst out of the fetish like a ball of fire and went into the ground, the heart of the caern where it had been bleeding. But there was no change, except a strange glow in the earth. And then one day, it began to devour everything. In the spirit world only, but you could feel it here too. It devoured the spirits of the caern. It devoured our...our spirit friends, what we call totems, that lent their blessing to the place." She explains to Marshall, "Owl is a spirit of our tribe. Caerns have them too. Once, we had Buffalo, who lent his strength. Magpie, who lent us her cunnning and humor--something Garou lack all too often." She smiles a bit at Collin. "And there was Cougar, fierce and brave and quick. The Wyldling ate them all. We tried to stop it. In the end, when we held our last stand around Buffalo, Buffalo gored himself with his own horns, and died, and the Wyldling ate it too. And then the lights went out. The fire went up in spark and ash. The windy spot went still and dead. The Table Stone, the old wendigo stone, cracked. And once again there was no Wheel, just a dead clearing in the forest, and in the spirit world, it was gray and ashen-cold."
Collin pages: And they were Grrrreat!
Long distance to Collin: Sepdet giggles.: )
Yuri gulps down a huge ball in his throat.
Sepdet sits up straighter. "I told you, this was a Tale of Three Caerns. That was the second. The Wheel Renewed died last August, according to your words, with the death of summer. Most gave up hope then. I begged people to remember the story of Phoenix, reborn from ashes. For I knew that Change means the death of what was before. But few believed, and they rightly threatened me and Quiet with death, for we broke one of the Garou laws: Thou shallt take no action that causes the caern to be violated. We had tried to heal, and had destroyed."
Sepdet smiles. "But of course the story did not end there. We kept searching and looking. I went to the cave and spent a week without food or drink, begging the spirits for guidance. Quiet went to great lengths to find out what went wrong. Everyone who still dared hope tried to find out. It was very hard, for the alpha, Echen-rhya, did not believe anything could be done. But at last we discovered why Buffalo had sacrificed himself. The Wyldling had taken the power of the Wheel Renewed into itself. It demanded the death of all that had been. It demanded something New. So we debated, and chose a new Totem: Fog, for secrecy, for the caern had almost been discovered by humans many times. We invited Fog here with great gifts. And we tried one last time to Renew the Wheel. The Wyrm sent many creatures to attack us--that was when I knew we were doing what needed to be done. The whole caern fought to defend us. And at last, the earth split open, and fog filled the sky, and for a moment the spirit-world and the real-world were one and the same in this place. We all fell down. When we got to our feet, the old grassy clearing in the woods was gone, and this Valley had been forged out of the living earth."
Yuri blinks and looks around himself for a second. "You mean this place just sprang up out of the earth?"
From afar, Collin imitates Beavis, "Huhuhuhuh. Gaia passed gas. HUhuhuuh.'
Sepdet pats the stone pillar. "Just like that, Yuri. One minute I was in the spirit world with Quiet and all the caern, who were fending off these things in the shadows that had great claws and teeth. And the ground of the dead Wheel was gray and cold. The next moment, a great flame came from the place where the Wyldling had gone into the ground." She taps the pillar at her back. "Just here. Where the Wendigo's Stone once stood. And you could _feel_ the power thrust the shadows back, and the earth fell like an earthquake."
Sepdet grins slyly. "And this is the longest story you'll ever have to listen to from me. The Fog you see here is but a ghost of the Spirit that guards this place in the spirit world. And the Tale of Caerns is not over, for there will be other foes, and other threats. But for now, we live here, and meet here. And I beg you to love it, for it should never be forgotten how precious it is." She drops her eyes.
Collin grins, "And hopefully it won't have another big old tragedy ended up on top of the last few. But, you know what? I'm here now so that shouldn't be a problem." he grins, then reaches over and pats Sepdet on the arm. "And you keep saying you're a crappy storyteller too."
Yuri says "That is an amazing story. I have never heard it told before. Tonight I had told Elan that I had almost convinced myself that I would give my life for Gaia. After hearing this you have convinced me that my life is worth the price to keep miracles like this caern alive."
Sepdet chuckles at Collin. "A real Strider storyteller could have said all that in ten elegant lines. My mother was one. But then, this story kinda meant a lot to me. I grew up here, you know."
Marshall stirs and blinks his eyes as he realizes that was the end of the story.
Collin says to Yuri, "Yeah? Really? Okay. Just remember not to die for it *stupidly*, okay?" he grins.
Sepdet looks over at Yuri keenly. "I've pledged to die for the Wheel Renewed since I was twelve years old, and yet outlived it. I tried to give my life for it, after the caern was weakened. But you know what? The Harbinger-spirits picked me up by the scruff of the neck and shook me, and said that a dead Garou can't do any more, but a live Garou can keep trying to fix her mistakes." She smiles ruefully. "It took a year or two, but they were right."
By the waterfall, Ash chuffs softly. Do not let the Hope-Star mislead you into thinking all should pledge their lives to a single Caern. For most of our tribe, that is not the way.
Yuri nods to both Collin and Sepdet, "I don't want to die but, before tonight I still had doubts in my mind that this whole lifestyle was the right thing for me to be doing. Now I am convinced.
Sepdet looks over at Ash and nods. "It is very true. Most Striders, Marshall, wander. We have no fixed place. Our task is to find out our own skills, and go where we are most needed, and when." She grins. "Perhaps I've cheated, a little."
Sepdet looks relieved at Yuri. "If you See, then I am glad. As Horus always taught, 'The battle shall not be fought only with tooth and claw, but in the hearts and minds of the Garou.' And the first thing one must have in the heart is purpose, or deeds shall never come easily."
Collin grins, then starts shifting back down to Lupus form, all the way, way down.
Sepdet takes a few breaths, gathering up a bit of silence to balance out all the yapping she's done. (Not that the Longwinded Strider can ever really hope to atone for that bad habit of hers.) "So. Marshall. You have heard the sum and scope of an awful lot of what the Garou really do tonight. How much of it makes sense now?" She grins wryly. "Or have I overwhelmed you like a river in flood? Sometimes my convictions carry away my mouth."
Yuri looks at Sepdet then says, "Well I'm not sure if I see yet but at least I know I am walking in the right direction. Even if I am still walking blind." He then turns to face Ash, "I don't think I have introduced myself to you, my name is Yuri. I am a cub of Fenris, and a homid born under the gibbous moon.
By the waterfall, Ash considers Yuri for a long moment. I am Ash, a Strider ragabash.
Marshall smiles at Sepdet, "Many things you have talked about make sense, but many others have brought new questions. But I believe that is the way of life. There will always be more to learn."
Sepdet says under her breath, "We're all walking blind. The Wheel of cycles is gone, and we walk now a Hidden path." But she refocusses on Marshall and grins. "That is the basic road, yes: learning. And people get lost who do not ask for directions." She cocks her head. "So, enough of my voice. Care to pose some of those questions?
Yuri says "Pleased to meet you Ash, I have not met many ragabash yet, but if I were to take a guess I would say Collin over there is one?"
Collin looks innocent, "Oh, not. Not me. I'm really an Ahroun. CAn't you tell from these *huge* Biceps?" he grins, flexing, "Yeah. That's me. Strider Ragabash too."
By the waterfall, Ash tosses her head. He'd certainly make a poor show of anything else.
Marshall nods thoughtfully as he thinks back to Sepdet's narration. "You talked alot about the Wyrm. What is the Wyrm and where does it come from?"
Yuri can't help but smile as the two no-moons barage him with their witty words.
Marshall pages: If you are tired we can quit for tonight, my questions will wait untill the next time we meet. I know it's 2 am where you are.
Sepdet bites her lip. "Oh dear. Another story." She attempts to summarize. "There are three basic forces that shape the world. Raw creation, which is also change--for becoming from nothing is both creation, and change. There is Pattern, the force which orders the raw creation into things: this is a tree. That is a house. This is day. That is night. And, there is destruction, for without it, the world would finally fill up. Garou call these Wyld, Weaver, and Wyrm. Now, the trouble is, even these forces have a spirit-side. In fact, they are usually only spirit: have you ever met a Pattern or Idea walking down the street? And the Three went wrong long ago. The Weaver weaves more and more, trying to bind and calcify things: that is why the humans seem to delight in covering everything with buildings, pavement, killing it, and call it progress. The Wyrm went crazy trying to keep up and trim the mess. Now it spews rot, decay, and corruption everywhere, and tries to destroy everything. The humans' activities when they poison and pollute are a reflection of what's happening in spirit. And each reinforces the other. The Wyrm sends physical things, monsters, to try and destroy things faster. Garou are made for many things, Marshall, but most of all to fight the damage of the Wyrm."
You paged Marshall with 'My hands should rest (arthritis gets grouchy when I type too long) but I should be good one more hour. :)'.
Long distance to Marshall: Sepdet got enough sleep the last two days.
Sepdet grins apologetically. "It sounds very--ugh. I don't know a human word for it. Complicated. But what this all means is: there _are_ monsters. There _is_ evil. There _are_ people, and other things, working to defile and destroy this earth, this Gaia. We are called Gaia's Defenders, and all of us have different gifts, to help stop the Wyrm. That's another reason for all our different shapes. Especially this one."
Sepdet gets to her feet, small figure rippling into a larger, but not all that much larger.
[Sepdet shifts to crinos and back spam]
Yuri turns back to Sepdet, "I know you have told many stories tonight and will probably tell more as you explain things to Marshall so I will only ask you if at some time before this week is done would you tell me a story about the greatest battle you and Dia were ever involved in? Soren has commanded me to tell him a story to harden his resolve before this week is out and I told him I would find a story that exemplified the might of Fenris. I will understand if you are too busy though."
Sepdet takes a moment to answer, for even with her minimal Kailindo training, the change isn't instantaneous. When she's settled, she shakes her head. "I don't know. The Wyrm seems to have corrupted _itself_. Disease upon disease, rot upon rot, and madness on top of madness. The things it does make no sense--it no longer culls the sick, the weak, and the excess, but tries to rot everything it can grasp. It may not be able to revert. It may be time for the force of Change to make something which would replace it." She grimaces. "My packmate, Dylan Sky's Laughter, a very odd Garou, thinks that _we_ are the Wyrm's replacement."
By the waterfall, Ash sneezes in amusement.
Sepdet chuckles wryly at Yuri. "I will think about it, Yuri. Dia was very young, when she and I hunted together. Young and brash and fearless. But we didn't have any foe the size of the Ice King to sink our teeth into--which is just as well, since we were cubs, and nowadays, cubs are not even allowed to fight, for we have lost so many." Her face darkens for a moment, drawn up in a sudden spasm of pain. But it passes just as suddenly. "But I may find a story or three of Fire-Drums the brave, and the Dancers' hive, or the time we rescued Grandmother Salmon from a Wyrm-creature that was polluting all her spawning grounds on the northwest shore." She touches the small red wooden fish hanging from her necklace with the other charms. "That, at least, I would like remembered."
Yuri's face lights up. "Oh that would be great. Thankyou so much for all you have told me tonight. It is very late though and I have a lot of work to do tomorrow in my search for Shea the Groundskeeper. Goodnight everyone, this has been one of my most enjoyable nights spent in Caern of the Hidden Walk."
Sepdet smiles over at Yuri. "Walk well on your new path, cub. I look forward to hearing stories from _you_, in payment."
