Tag Archives: past

A Vision of the Past… (Game 45 – 46, White Howlers game 1 – 2)

As we prepared to head for Lily and the Birthday Massacre pack, Crafty suggested that we rest in the Sept for clarity. Eli and the pack decided to heed his advice and rest in the Sept. However, I could not. I was too pent up from the death of my family. I walked the bawn instead.

As the pack dreamed in the Sept, they were given a vision of the past. They saw the White Howlers before their fall. It was 25 BC, before the first assault of the Drowned King. They watched as the Riders of the Storm pack who followed Caern Rattler as their totem. They belonged to the Sept of the Spinning Waters.

The pack comprised of Warsong, a Galliard who was the alpha, the Theurge River Speaks, the Ahrouns Left Paw and Crusher-of-the-Wyrm, the Ragabash Iron Wall, and the prophetic Theurge Sees-the-Beyond, ran the bawn for their early days.

The Riders of the Storm pack were contacted by their Master of the Rite and asked us to retrieve a new pup. We needed to find Morg and bring the pup back here. We must speak with the Cornavii tribe. They have clashed with the Orcadi tribe who have sided with the Roman’s. Now the Orcadi tribe are basically farmer slaves.

The pack made its journey immediately. It was short and the Cornavii tribe was enamored with them. Madi was the leader of the tribe and wanted to know what they wanted. They told him they were looking for Morg. He fed them and told them to speak with Carr, mother of Morg. Her brother is Finn, a Garou.

As the pack ate, a boy came in and said there was a body nearby. Madi went to check it out. After he returned, the pack traveled with him to the body. Instead of one body, there were actually four bodies there including horses that had been mutilated. It was definitely a Garou killing. There was likely three or four Garou there at the time of the killing. It was not normal for the Garou to kill the horse. There were strange scents in the area, but the pack could not track them.

The pack took care of the bodies in accordance to their totem’s ban. Madi tells the pack that they were prophesized to be here. He will assist them if he can. There was an evil nearby that the pack would have to look into. Madi told them that the “warriors of the Lion come and seek but do find what they are looking for. Doom to those in their way. Everything is white as it once was.”

The pack shifted to Lupus and began to track the scent. Sees-the-Beyond picked up the strongest scent and lead the pack to four men at a campfire. However, a man had snuck up on the pack and announced his presence. He was Cassius Truth Thruster and the rest of the men were his pack. They were Siminol Shatterheart, Atticus Broken Throne, Justin Shield of Gaia, and Philo Smile Splitter.

They offered the pack a drink and told the pack that they were Silver Fangs. They were wronged by one of ours. They have the bodies nearby as a show of good faith that it was self-defense. Cassius took Warsong to the bodies. It was an adult male and a boy of roughly 11 years old. There was a pile of weapons nearby.

He tells them that they meant no disrespect but even though Sees-the-Beyond could not understand his language, she could tell that he was not being entirely true. He seems to be making it up as he goes along. The pack is named Claw of the Falcon pack and they are waited for their troops to arrive from Rome.

The pack disposes of the bodies properly. Warsong told Cassius that the deaths do not look as he described them. However, Cassius only counters that he is trying to avoid bloodshed between the tribes. He told them that the fight happened to the north. Cassius offered to let the pack stay the night and they agreed, however they alternated watch during the night.

The next morning, Cassius and his pack headed southwest towards the caerns and the Riders of the Storm made their way north. There they found large rocks near the shore and signs of a battle. As they went to investigate, the rocks seem to come alive and become mud golems. The pack defended themselves and used their speed to their advantage. A lengthy battle ensured, but the pack triumphed.

Searching the area, the pack found five scrolls with ritualistic symbols written on it. There is some Latin, but nothing concrete. Nearby there is a boat with empty crates. As the pack searched the area, they spotted an eagle circling nearby. Crusher-of-the-Wyrm charged to its direction and we followed.

Sees-the-Beyond follows Crusher-of-the-Wyrm over a hill to see a druid standing near columns of stones reminiscent of Stonehenge. Sees-the-Beyond took the lead and headed down to meet the druid. He was apprehensive but she managed to put him at ease. He is Isic the Druid.

After Sees-the-Beyond explained who they were and what they were doing, he asked her and the rest of the pack to come immediately. Following him, the pack is lead into the center of the columns. Here Isic chants and sprinkles powder on the fire pit in the center. Upon lighting the fire, a great bright light comes from it. The smoke from the fire forms a lion.

The lion speaks through Isic and tells the pack that he is White Lion, brother to Khan. In the past, he saved a Fianna pack known as the Lion’s Paw. Many years ago the White Howlers and Fianna worked together to complete great quests. The humans survived the Ice Age thanks to White Lion. Once the ice melted, the tribes split and went their separate ways. White Lion then told the pack that the Finn’s Bite pack needed the Riders of the Storm and they would have to head west to the Orcadi tribe and speak with Jetti.

With that, the smoke dissipated. River Speaks summoned a jaggling to send a message to their Sept about what they were undertaking at the moment. Warsong sent the pack out to find the proper materials to take one of the nearby boats.

After taking the boat as far west as the pack could go, they arrived at Orcadi. They met with Chief Keany. He told the pack that there was a pack nearby led by McFay of the Finnian tribe along with his packmates, Rends-the-Beast and Brosh Hunts-with-Skills. They worked with White Lion and may be the pack the Riders of the Storm need to speak with.

Heading outside of the village, the pack made their way to McFay. He told the Riders of the Storm that they would want to work with them to protect the Arcadia Gateway. In Arcadia, trolls were revolting against the people there. Wyrm creatures were also attempting to disrupt the gateway there.

As McFay was from the camp of the White Lion, once there cause was put into place, they must continue until it is complete. The Riders of the Storm agreed to join the camp. They were mystically marked with three claw marks in the place of their choice.

The pack would enter the Arcadia Gateway while McFay and his pack would defend the gateway from Wyrm creatures. The pack would have to find Lysander to learn more of what to do. Heading into the Umbra, the Riders of the Storm entered the stone doorway into the realm of the Fae.

They found themselves heading down a stone path. Turning around, there was no exit. They would have to complete the mission to return. The forest was rather pleasant and they could see a castle down the path. Getting close to the castle, they arrived at a town situated outside of the castle. It appeared tha the town was completely empty.

The pack slowly traveled through the village until they came across a small female. Sees-the-Beyond attempted to communicate with her. She nudged a rock to the Theurge who nudged it back. Nothing went on until Sees-the-Beyond mentioned Lysander. The small female wanted to know why we wanted him. She asked they were from Finn’s Bite. Warsong tells her no, but also informs her that the Riders of the Storm were sent to assist the problem.

She told the pack to follow her. Along the way, the pack asked her questions about the situation. Apparently, the trolls simply left the village and started attacking anyone who got near them. There are actually 25,000 people in the town, but they are in hiding either physically or through glamour until the troll revolt stops. She told the pack that her name was Nancy.

Heading into the castle and to the throne room, the pack was brought before King Lysander. They all bowed respectfully and the king offered them food. Warsong accepted and heard the king out about the problems with the trolls.

Lysander believed that the trolls were hiding in the Neutral Zone, a place between the Seelie and Unseelie kingdoms. He was going to have the pack meet with his Sword, or bodyguard. In the meantime, the pack asked about the trolls with questions ranging from height, danger, and whether or not they were allowed to kill them. The king said that most of the trolls were about 12 feet tall, some shorter and a few taller. They were all dangerous, but the pack was not to kill them unless they had no alternative.

Shanara the Sword arrives and escorts the pack with her. As the pack walked with her, she told them about the various types of trolls and the tactics that they use. She asked the pack whether they accepted any gifts and the pack answered that they accepted the king’s food. She told them that they were effectively his slaves until he felt they had repaid their debt to him. This was not known to the White Howlers who had little contact with the Fae.

Shanara had proposed a one-on-one duel with a chosen champion of the trolls to dispute the issue, but the king rejected this idea saying that her job was to protect him. Shanara led the pack to a gathering of various Fae. As the Fae and pack prepared for battle, Sees-the-Beyond painted a picture of the future with her fetish paintbrush.

As Sees-the-Beyond painted, the rest of the pack met with the colorful individuals of the gathering. Some included a dwarf named Casp who wondered why the Fianna weren’t assisting them, a pooka named Paul who wanted to trade for a magic egg, and another Fae named Cappel who didn’t think the group could win.

As Sees-the-Beyond finished her painting, it was twelve Garou dancing around a Lion’s pelt. Warsong made a stirring speech and rallied the troops by pointing out that this painting signified victory for them. With the Fae fired up, they waited for the trolls.

When the trolls did arrive, only ¾ of the predicted number came. Still, the fight was brutal and the Fae started strong, but began to lose ground quickly. As the pack charged in, each member, even Sees-the-Beyond who was the physically weakest, managed to slay a troll. Iron Wall managed to sneak behind the commander of the trolls and slay him from behind, showing the cunning tactics of the White Howlers. This forced the trolls to retreat, not expecting to encounter this kind of resistance.

As the trolls retreated, Warsong told Shanara to take the rest of the Fae back and consider the fight a victory. The pack then tracked the trolls back to their lair, a massive craggy hill. The pack debated what to do next, as they had Iron Wall sneak into the lair and learn what he could. As he did, he discovered a massive troll, at least a couple hundred feet high, resting deep within the cave. Near the troll was a small box with a ring inside. The ring was determined to be evil and not of this place. Most of the script on it was indecipherable, but there are some things that resembled the script the pack had seen on the Silver Fang gear

Heading outside, Iron Wall presented the ring to Warsong who then decided that someone would have to wear it and test its abilities. Crusher-of-the-Wyrm volunteered and put on the ring. No immediate effects took place so he wandered into the cave. When confronted by two trolls, he told them to put their fingers on their nose. When they complied, he had them take him to the master of the cave. There, he told the troll to give up his rebellion and return to where they belonged. The massive troll, without a word, turned around and walked away, taking most of the cavern with him mystically.

With the mission complete, the pack returned to the entrance to Arcadia. There, they met McFay. Six years had passed in that time. The pack showed him the ring and all agreed that the Silver Fangs must never get their hands on it. They destroyed and left the realm, heading back to their home. With that, the vision ended.

The Fall of the White Howlers… (Game 18)

As I was pulled from Delilah’s body, I found myself attached to the Drowned King. The rest of my pack was there along with the others who had participated in the Rite of Undying Pursuit. We fought endlessly, but I found I needed no food or drink. The Drowned King would occasionally kick us off him, but we inevitably returned.

When we were damaged too greatly by him, we were sent to the Deep Umbra to recover. There, we slept and dreamed. I didn’t realize as a spirit I could dream, but I did. I had dreams of my time with my son and of the past all at once. They were disorienting and comforting at the same time.

Once I recovered, I fought the Drowned King again, but this time the great Wyrm beast bucked and I was kicked off. I shuttled into a body not my own like before. I sat across from several men who looked disoriented and injured. We were on a beach, which considering the Drowned King’s affinity for water was not surprising.

As I looked around, I could see two bodies floating in the water face down. One of the men quickly went to their bodies and began checking their pockets for any food he could find. After grabbing what little food he could find, he introduced himself to John as Aidan Farwatcher. We knew he from the last vision of the past and we quickly acclimated ourselves to the situation and introduced ourselves to each other in order to determine who was who.

Scottish highlands

I could only assume after everyone introduced themselves and Bjorn and Eli did not that they were the two dead bodies on the shore. Thankfully, Aidan recognized the hilly land we were in as his home. He told us there is a shack nearby with a White Howler kinfolk we can go to where we can sort things out why we are here. Beyond the kinfolk’s home is a caern about 25 miles from here which should have some more answers to our condition but first we must get our bearings.

We initially were going as Lupus form, but after seeing a disoriented and completely zoned out man there who could not introduce himself, Aidan decided against it. Since it was only a mile away, Aidan helped the man along as we walked to the house.

The journey shouldn’t have taken more than twenty minutes, but the hills and carrying the dazed man slowed us down significantly. Still, we made it to the house and Aidan called out that he was a White Howler and in need of aid. From the house, a red-haired woman came out with a basket filled with bread.

She called out to Bone Whittler, which we initially did not know who among us it might be. Aidan came to realize it was the name of the body he was inhabiting. Aidan calls out for a specific person, but the woman just questions why he would ask for her grandfather. We now realize we have slipped forward in time. She then turns to Miguel and asks Alec why her husband is not with us. She then turns to me and ask Jamie what happened to her husband. I break the news that he did not make it and she faints in turn.

John catches her before she falls and Aidan tells us to take her inside. Her home is plain and simple, but inviting. Behind the house I see a pen with some sheep and a single cow. The woman eventually comes to and asks Aidan about her husband. She wonders why he doesn’t remember anything. Aidan makes up a story about a massive Wyrm beast attacking us and how it destroyed our memories. We ask if she could help fill us in on who we are in hopes of helping us along to remember.

I am Jamie Andraste, a Fianna Ahroun who hates the Silver Fangs with a passion and has a kinship with Larid, Hunts-His-Land, a White Howler who is a member of the Sky Shakers pack. I also have the strongest ties to the White Howlers. Alec, which is Miguel, grew up on a farm near here and married her sister Blair. She knows nothing about William, who is John, except that he has a sister. Aidan is Bone Whittler, a Theurge from the Sept of the Mile Deep Loch, who was to meet with the Sky Shakers for an important ritual.

She, herself, is Elizabeth, wife to Malcolm. She is with child and Malcolm promised we would protect her. Malcolm also created the weapons we carry. The man sitting dazed is Ronald McElray. The Bruce family wants him dead for a past transgression. He claims to be a ladies man, but most consider him nothing more than a thief and a liar. Finally, there was Lothar. He always fought for leadership with Malcolm and many thought he wasn’t quite right in the head. He had converted over to the Fianna and was being assisted in this by Tock, a fae, and Malcolm.

She offers us food and tells us she is going to find her husband. As Aidan digs in, I ask her if she is going to be alright. She just tells us she’s Scottish and she’ll be fine. I insist she should be accompanied since we made a pact with Malcolm. Aidan is obviously agitated by this and agrees to go with her.

On the beach, Malcolm manages to come to. He tries to resuscitate Lothar, but to no avail. Elizabeth arrives during this and is surprised at him not being dead. Malcolm claims to have lost his memory from drowning in the water, but Elizabeth tells him his pack is at the house and she can help him remember as Aidan helps him up.

As Malcolm returns, Ronald comes to, and we take the time to inform them of what we know and where we are. As we eat and gather our strength, a howl of war is heard. Heading outside to see who it is, we see an approaching pack of Garou. There are five of them: Maugh the Axe, Connor the Blade, Dannon Shakes-The-Sky, Grego the Hammer, and Karlson Sleeps-With-Death.

Maugh is overjoyed to Aidan and hugs him vigorously, much to Aidan’s discomfort. He thought Bone Whittler (Aidan) had been lost. As he begins to greet us, Grego makes a snide remark about the Fianna, which Maugh quickly tells him to be quiet as they are his brothers. It’s obvious that Grego and Karlson are not White Howlers, but Fenrir (Get of Fenris). The others are White Howlers.

Aidan cautiously asks about his (Aidan’s) fate. Maugh only tells him that Aidan Farwatcher left on a spirit quest 200 years ago and never returned. The reality of the situation is crushing for him, but he tries to bury this feeling to not alienate Maugh. Maugh tells him a Theurge from the Sept of the Mile Deep Loch has seen a vision of coming into contact with the Wyrm and prevailing. He asks us if we want to join him. Eli agrees, but I feel apprehensive. We were obviously knocked into this time for a reason much like traveling to distant past to see how the Drowned King was bound with the ancestor spirits in the Rite of Undying Pursuit.

Aidan asks about the Sky Shakers pack and Maugh tells them they went to the Spiral. At this point I went from apprehensive to outright fearful. It began to dawn on me what was happening here. Ronald (William) asks about it and Maugh only retorts that he’s a Fianna and he knows about the Rite of Passage all White Howlers do there.

Eli tells Maugh the truth about who we are and what happened to us. William describes the battle with the Drowned King and the Rite that was enacted that brought us here. Maugh is a little perplexed, but the Get outright dismiss us as drunks.

spiral entrance

In spite of the revelation, we still accompany them to the entrance of the Spiral. Contrary to what ideas I might have had about it and its appearance, it is simply a large hole in the ground. Aidan is visibly distressed at being at the entrance to the Spiral. He gets close to Eli and whispers that Bjorn has told him about a prophecy of the future. During this, Maugh and the others wonder why Aidan won’t enter.

Eli decides, at William’s suggestion, to Mindspeak with Aidan about what he was told and if it is what we think it is. Sure enough, Bjorn has told Aidan of the fall of the White Howlers. William decides to show the fate of the White Howlers to Maugh. He is visibly taken aback by this revelation. Maugh offers to set up camp and wait for the Sky Shakers to return to which Aidan agrees.

It’s obvious the Get are annoyed with this course of action. Knowing the Fall could happen here, Eli suggests that only our pack and the Get go in to prevent any White Howlers from being corrupted. We quietly ask if we should let the Get know, but Maugh tells us no due to it creating backlash against the Tribe.

Going with Eli’s suggestion, we decide to enter the Spiral. The Get insist to go first and we willingly let them. Eli tells Miguel and I to stay behind in case anything goes wrong we are to leave and warn everyone. As the Get charge in Crinos form, we shift and follow behind them. The pit is dark and the Get leap over something on the ground. John activates his fairy light and we see the body of a Garou, badly injured.

The Garou sounds out the Howl of Succor and we stop to tend to him. I heal him with Mother’s Touch, but while recovering from his wounds he begins the transformation into a Black Spiral Dancer. I quickly ask for him to be held down as I perform the Rite of Cleansing as a last resort in the hopes that it will stop the corruption.

Eli tells John to hold him down while the rest of the group goes forward to make sure the Get are fine. As I start the Rite, the corrupted Garou tells us he is Coruroc of the Sky Shaker pack. He is the White Howler who escaped the Spiral to tell the others before dying in our time. As I continue the Rite, he begins to speak. He looks at me and says: “you, Larid left a day ago. He went to find you. His secret is known.” I try to maintain my focus on the Rite as he speaks.

Ahead, Eli and the rest of the pack watch as the Get enter a vibrating dark light. He stops the group, unsure of what to do.

About halfway into the Rite, I can tell it is starting to work. Coruroc continues to speak: “He is wanting to finish the conception. He wants your seed to inherit the Earth.” The words are unnerving and I try to maintain my composure as I finish the ritual. Coruroc has been managed to be saved. Something that didn’t happen in our time. Still, it is obvious the experience of the Spiral and corruption has left more than a little crazed.

Eli returns with the rest of the group realizing that saving the Get is hopeless at this point. Coruroc wants to warn the Fianna and I agree to go with him. He tells us the Sky Shakers have gotten out. We return to Maugh and the other White Howlers telling them of the corruption of the Sky Shakers pack. We tell them they have become Black Spiral Dancers, inadvertently naming the Tribe.

Coruroc is pushing hard for warning the Fianna and evacuating any nearby kinfolk. He says the Spirals are going to the Sept to look for me. Aidan goes with Maugh and the others to warn the White Howlers and protect the White Howler kinfolk.

We realize Elizabeth is in danger and decide to head to her house, much to Coruroc’s disagreement. Arriving there, we find the house has been attacked. Entering it, a cooking pot has been knocked over and a fire is beginning to spread. It is obvious that the house will become engulfed shortly.

Heading towards the beach where we arrived, we see three Black Spirals holding Elizabeth hostage. They haven’t realized we are there and Eli decides we should attack. Leaping towards them, Eli manages to hurt one and knock the other away. We all shift to Crinos and begin to battle.

William quickly shifts to Hispo form and charges forward grabbing Elizabeth. As he does, he sees Coruroc in the distance running away from the battle as fast as he can. One of the Black Spirals grows silver claws and is immediately singled out. Eli and John take him down while Miguel and I tie up the other two. The fight is rough and potentially deadly, but we come out on top. I look down at the Black Spiral with silver claws. He has a J carved into his shoulder. It was Larid and I have helped this ancestor from falling to the Wyrm while Eli has prevent his line from being extinguished.

As the fight ends and we watch Coruroc run in the distance, we fell the now familiar pull of leaving our bodies. It was time to battle the Drowned King again.