Uratha
The Uratha are werewolves, territorial apex predators with an instinctive compulsion to hunt. They are able to shapeshift, assuming the forms of humans or wolves or one of several intermediate forms, shrug off even the most grevious of injuries, cross easily between the material world and the Shadow and call upon strange powers that draw on the animistic nature of that otherworld. They are creatures of strong and turbulent passions, eternally struggling with a burning, limitless rage that simmers close to the surface and may explode into violence without warning.
First Change
Any human with werewolf heritage, referred to by uratha as kinfolk or the wolf-blooded, may become a werewolf though it is not known what triggers such a change. This transformation is referred to as the First Change, a chaotic and stressful period of up to a month during which the werewolf-to-be experiences emotional instability, changing senses and alien sensations, psychological changes and rising instincts, and even hallucinatory visions of spirits or the Shadow. The impending Change churns the Shadow like a storm, drawing the attention of nearby packs and spirits cunning or foolish enough to try and take advantage of a new wolf. The nuzusul - the First Tongue word for a werewolf during this time before their Change - often feels that they are going insane, as the stresses continue to rise until they finally Change. This is usually an outburst of suddent violence and Rage as the new werewolf is overwhelmed by the full force of their instincts to hunt and kill. Many wake to their new existence with the blood of those they cared about under their claws.
Powers of the Uratha
Shapeshifting
One of defining abilities of a werewolf is to change shape. Uratha can shift between any of five forms at will. The ease with which they can change between these forms depends on their personal balance between the material and spirit sides of their inner being. All fives forms are considered to be their "natural" state of being at that moment in time, though any spoor they leave - blood, hair, or body parts - will quickly revert to that of a human when seperated from their being.
The five forms each have their own uses and purpose on the hunt:
- Hishu: The Human - Indistinguishable from an ordinary human aside from their sensory acuity and regenerative abilities. Uratha in this form can easily blend into crowds and disappear in the human herd.
- Dalu: The Near-Human - Able to pass for human in dim light or unless closely scrutinised. Uratha in Dalu form are 6-12" taller than their hishu form and nearly double the mass, all of it muscle, with claw-like nails capable of splitting flesh from bone, feral features including gold-tinged eyes and carnivorous dentition. The dalu form is imposing and powerful, able to exert a lesser form of the Lunacy or cow a crowd with a growl. It is the favoured form for violence when complex language or tools are required, or the devastating power of gauru is not required.
- Gauru: The War-Form - Resembles an enormous and terrifying fusion of man and wolf, it is the uratha's Rage manifest into flesh. An uratha in gauru form stands at 1.5x the height and four times the weight of their hishu form, heavily furred with limbs like tree trunks, murderous claws and fangs like butcher's knives. The gauru form is utterly terrifying to all but the most iron-willed, strong enough to topple cars and able to shrug off all but the most grevious injury in seconds. This form has only one purpose, to kill, and it is only commonly used at the moment of the killing blow due to the far greater risk of falling into death rage while in gauru.
- Urshul: The Dire Wolf - Resembles an immense wolf out of legends, nearly the size of a horse, with the same colouration and physique shared by the uratha's urhan and gauru forms. Urshul form cannot communicate with in any human tongue but can use the First Tongue with ease. This form is used to harry the prey, wear it down and hamper it with crippling injuries until the time is right to strike and kill with the Gauru form.
- Urhan: The Wolf - Indistinguishable from an ordinary wolf from the area the uratha was born in, with physique that reflects their hishu form. An uratha's exceptional senses are most accute in urhan form, though they are unable to communicate in any way except instinctual lupine methods and a few words of the First Tongue. This form is used for speed in crossing long distances, tracking prey, and blending in with nature.
Spirit Magic
Werewolves are as much creatures of the Shadow as they are of the physical world, and can draw upon strange animistic powers akin to those of spirits to aid in their hunts. Uratha refer to these powers as Gifts - Alathru in the First Tongue - and see them as blessed symbol-scars cut into them by deals with spirits or the blessing of Mother Luna. They are not lessons that can be taught or tricks that can be learned, but the raw symbolism of the Shadow carved so deep into the essence of the Uratha that they may call upon them with simple instinct and will. Gifts come in three types, based upon their source:
- Moon Gifts are the mark of Luna upon the werewolf, shaped according to their Auspice and granting powers associated with it. An Irraka may learn to disappear from sight, while a Cahilith can haunt the dreams of their prey, or a Ithaeur know a spirit's secrets with a glance. These gifts are scarred into their being during the ecstatic communion of the First Change. The Anshega, the Pure Tribes, reject Luna's gifts and flense her gifts out of their own flesh as a sign of their rejection.
- Wolf Gifts are manifestations of the Uratha's lineage and inborn refinements of their Essence and nature as predators. These are often the most subtle of Gifts, sharpening a werewolf's senses, enhancing their shapeshifting abilities, or heightening pack connection. They are gained through inner contemplation, self-perfection and epiphany rather than through any outside agency.
- Shadow Gifts make up the majority of Gifts. They are gained through bargains with spirits, ritualistically carved into the flesh and Essence of the Uratha in exchange for a service or boon. The possible powers granted by a Shadow Gift are as vast and strange as the spirits that they may be learned from. Shadow Gifts may enable a werewolf to exert impossible strength, command the elements, unearth hidden secrets, call down storms, or reshape the flesh of cities.
Werewolves are also able to their knowledge of the ancient laws and alien symbolism that governs the Shadow to perform ritual magic. These rites - galal in the First Tongue - are ceremonies that tap into the half-spirit nature of the Uratha to invoke half-forgotten pacts with spirits and compel the world to change accordingly. Some rites are considered to simply be a part of werewolf society, sacred but no more so than a human attending a place of worship or marking a notable anniversary, while others are rare ceremonies that kept secret from the unwise or unworthy due to their solemnity or the danger they present if performed carelessly.
One of the most notable rites among the uratha is that of binding a spirit into a specially prepared receptacle to create a fetish - hithdum in the First Tongue - an object of supernatural power. The powers of a fetish depend on the nature and temperament of the spirit bound within and the knowledge and intention of the fetish-crafter - ranging from a dawn shard, a sigil-carved mirror fragment that improves the opinion of volatile Helions to the bearer; to the greatest of klaives, mighty fetish weapons with potent and esoteric powers.
Lunacy
Werewolves are terrifying, far beyond even the understandable fear brought by their ferocity and capacity for brutality. Luna's madness seeps from demonstrations of an Uratha's changing nature - the sight of their hybrid forms, of changing shape, or the grotesque speed of their wounds healing - and infects mortal witnesses with such terror such that their conscious minds rebel from their own memory. Only the most iron-willed will truely recall what they witnessed, most others will forget and rationalise away the details to keep their world intact, while some will suffer long-lasting mental problems, or deep spiritual wounds that leave them vulnerable to spiritual influence. Werewolves refer to this cloak of terror as the Lunacy - Idigathim in the First Tongue - and use it as a weapon and mask to conceal themselves, but know to use it sparingly. The targets of a hunt and large groups are less affected by the Lunacy than bystanders or solitary victims, and sometimes even the most innocuous person may show surprising will. Only a fool would rely only on the Lunacy to conceal themselves from discovery.
Weaknesses
Silver
Uratha are phenomenally resilient creatures, able to shrug off minor injuries and recover from even grievous wounds would cripple a normal human with phenomenal speed. The only exception to this preternatural regeneration is from wounds inflicted with silver. Luna's metal is painful for a werewolf to touch and it is capable of causing agonising wounds as their blood boils and wounded flesh sears from contact with the metal. Such wounds heal as slowly as a human would. Unfortunately for any would-be werewolf hunter, a wound from silver that does not kill its victim will almost certainly provoke a werewolf into a death rage.
Rage
While uratha tend to be passionate beings, feeling all emotions with great intensity, none is felt so intensely as anger. Most of them struggled with quick tempers and simmering anger issues even before their First Change, but that was pale shadow of what they feel after finding the wolf for the first time. This rage - mir in the First Tongue - is raw fury wedded with an apex predator's instincts to hunt and kill. It burns endlessly in their hearts, never fully extinguished and always threatening to burst forth into violence. It is most evident in Gauru form, when they are driven to violence and brutality accelerates a werewolf's already prodigious regeneration to new heights.
The purest and most dangerous form of the rage is Kuruth, the Death Rage, which comes when a werewolf completely loses control of their anger and their conscious mind is drowned out by their instincts toward violence. A werewolf in Kuruth can retain a limited amount of control for a short time, a state called Wasu-Im, the Soft Rage, during which time they can try to destroy the trigger of their rage or remove themselves from anyone they wish not to hurt in their anger, but eventually that limited control will fail and they will fall into Basu-Im, the Hard Rage. In this state, they will assume Gauru form and destroy anything and anyone nearby before finally collapsing into unconsciousness. Worst of all, Death Rage is infectious within a pack and one member falling into Basu-Im may cause others nearby to follow suit. The only thing that a werewolf in Death Rage will not attack is a packmate who is also in Death Rage; everyone else, including other packmates who have resisted their rage, are targets to be destroyed.
Harmony
Uratha are creatures of two worlds, their very souls are eternally torn between the spiritual and the material, and they must struggle to maintain some degree of balance within this duality. They refer to this struggle for inner balance as Harmony - Zisilim in the First Tongue - and can suffer greatly if they are unable to maintain it. As a werewolf's soul falls out of balance, kuruth becomes more common as their rage becomes more potent and harder to control, and they become snared in the metaphysical essence of one side of their being. Werewolves too close to their material side find their changing shape painful and their instincts crushed under cold, human rationality, while those too close to their spiritual side begin to demonstrate the alien behaviours of a spirit and lose themselves in those same instincts.
If an uratha falls too far out of Harmony, the imbalance can become permanent as the internal strain becomes too much for their minds and souls. These pitiful beings are known as Zi'ir, "broken souls", forever lost in one side or other of their being. A Zi'ir may be lost forever to kuruth, endlessly changing or sealed into one shape, ravenously devouring loci or the heart of a spiritual dead-zone, or any of countless possibilities. Just as a mirror might shatter in countless different ways, so too a werewolf's soul.
History
Werewolves have an oral history, passing stories and legends through packs, protectorates, and tribes. While that’s a wonderful tool for keeping their culture alive, it does mean that when fact and narrative conflict, fact falls by the wayside.
Even so, almost every werewolf hears at least one tale of the time before, and how the Forsaken lost paradise. Just as many cultures and religions have a myth of the flood or the myth of how humans gained forbidden knowledge, werewolf history has a common theme. The worlds of Flesh and Spirit used to be so close that one could touch the other, then the werewolves came and brought ruin upon it. Among the Uratha, this typically bears a lesson along the lines of “they fucked up so now we have to do better.”
The common elements of these stories come together to tell of the Sundering, the story of the creation of the Uratha and of their fall from grace.
The Sundering
This story is true. In ages past, the worlds of flesh and spirit freely mingled in Pangaea. Humans could cross the Border Marches into the Shadow, while spirits could enter the world of Flesh to gather Essence. The great wolf, Urfarah kept the balance of the worlds through predation, hunting spirits that grew too bold, thinning the herd of humanity when they grew too numerous, and warring with other great spirits who would exploit the border for themselves.
The Sundering - the end of Pangaea, and the great crime of the People - began with love. Luna, Amahan Iduth, the Warding Moon who protects the Shadow from the void beyond, saw in the Wolf a kindred spirit and the two greatest guardians of the Shadow fell in love. From the Moon's ever-changing protean nature and the Wolf's guardianship and predatory instinct came the People. Bound to the earth and unable to join their mother in the skies, the first werewolves joined Wolf's pack and recieved the Moon's Gifts from the Lunes.
Yet this act of creation weakened Wolf and he grew slow and weak, and both worlds suffered for it. Spirits set themselves up as deities among human tribes, Essence and resonances surged uncontrolled as humanity spread unchecked, and the great spirits escaped Wolf's slowing jaws by shattering themselves into uncountable shards that infested the worlds. The Uratha and their wolf spirit cousins knew that strong young hunters must replace a weak elder, and Wolf's ban forbade him from surrender. Only in death could another take his place. So the Uratha and the greatest wolf spirits fought their father and killed him.
Urfarah's death howl shattered the Border Marches, raising a Gauntlet between worlds and forever dividing Flesh and Spirit. Luna saw what Wolf's children had done and, stricken with grief, cursed the People with madness and to burn at the touch of silver. Pangaea was lost and the world grew into that which we see today.
The Sundering still divides the People. Some, led by the Firstborn wolf-spirits who joined the battle against Urfarah, took up Father Wolf's role and pledged themselves to Luna to carry out his duty to guard the divide between Flesh and Spirit. They recieved Luna's forgiveness and call themselves the Tribes of the Moon, or Urdaga, or simply the Forsaken in memory of their patricide. Others believed that killing Urfarah was a mistake and follow the Firstborn who did not join take part in the murder. They call themselves the Pure Tribes, or Anshega, and hate both Luna and their brethren who swore themselves to her.
Society
The base unit of werewolf society is the pack, a grouping of uratha and wolfblooded bonded with a totem spirit as a way to unify themselves into a common cause. Packs enable werewolves to hunt greater prey or to protect larger swathes of territory, but primarily to have companions who understand their struggles in ways mere humanity cannot. A pack will generally claim a specific area of territory as their own, though not always as some choose to roam. Whatever territory is claimed by the pack will be vigorously defended from anyone who may try to lay claim to it as will any people the pack members have close ties to, often without them being aware that the pack is watching their backs.
Packs within a particular region often form networks of alliances, social connections and tribal ties. Over time this develops into more formal social structures, known to the Uratha as a protectorate or sept, often centred around a particular locus that becomes neutral ground for packs to meet and resolve their differences with minimal violence. Such social structures rarely lasts more than a generation, often falling to internal strife rather than external threat, but those that last the test of time have become legends.
The Tribes
While packs are the primary social unit among werewolves, the tribes are the most widespread form of broader organisation. Each tribe consists of werewolves who have sworn themselves to one of the Firstborn, the powerful wolf spirits who were among the original children of Father Wolf. Each tribe is a loose network that crosses the boundaries of pack and territory, united by similar philosophies and ideals, but also divided by local traditions. The tribes long schismed into two sects - the Tribes of the Moon and the Pure Tribes - due to their disagreements regarding the death of Urfarah, and the Oath of the Moon.
The Tribes of the Moon count five major tribes among their numbers:
- Blood Talons (Suthar Anzuth): The complex and oft-misunderstood tribe of Fenris-Ur, dedicated to struggle as a spiritual command, something to be pursued because honing the mind and body into a weapon honours Urfarah.
- Bone Shadows (Hirfathra Hissu): Occultists who focus on the ephemeral worlds beyond the realm of flesh, courting and sometimes hunting its strange denizens, with the guidance of their patron, Kamduis-Ur.
- Hunters in Darkness (Meninna): Dedicated to Hikaeon-Ur, a tribe of primal stalkers who hold their territory to be utterly sacrosact and protect it by hunting any who violate their 'holy killing grounds'.
- Iron Masters (Farsil Luhal): Adaptive and ever-changing, these followers of Sagrim-Ur take after their patron by questioning everything, challenging norms and keeping only what is worthy.
- Storm Lords (Iminir): Cold, unrelenting hunters always trying to prove their worth as heirs of Urfarah, following the precepts of Skolis-Ur in holding self-reliance and personal strength as the highest virtues.
The Pure Tribes include only three major tribes, though each is larger and more fractious than any of the Tribes of the Moon:
- Fire-Touched (Izidakh): As much a fractious cult as a tribe, the fanatical followers of Gurim-Ur are the spiritual leaders of the Pure who seek to convert or cleanse the Forsaken with fire.
- Ivory Claws (Tzuumfin): Obsessed with purity and perfection, the children of Hathis-Ur are cold and calculating territorial xenophobes who allow only those of the purest bloodlines to live.
- Predator Kings (Ninna Farakh): Misanthropic and brutal, the tribe of Huzuruth-Ur are unified only by rejection of the modern world of man in favour of the savage purity of predator and prey.
Both sects also contain a number of smaller tribes. These include lodges that have grown so large that their patron spirit has risen to rank among the Firstborn, factions of another tribe that have split from their fellows are growing to become a seperate tribe, fading tribes dedicated to lost members of the Firstborn, and other stranger groups. The line between lodge and tribe is very blurred and often just a matter of recognition by other tribes.
A werewolf who has chosen not to be part of any tribe is considered to be a Ghost Wolf, whose status varies from region to region. Generally the Tribes of the Moon consider Ghost Wolves to be part of their society, albeit on the fringes, if they are willing to swear the Oath of the Moon, or outcast and below concern if they refuse to. The Pure Tribes consider Ghost Wolves to be easy prey without the support of a tribe at their back, and will either inducted and indoctrinated them, or destroy them as yet another Forsaken dog, depending on the desires of the pack.
Lodges
Holding a nebulous place somewhere between tribe and pack, lodges honor lesser aspects of Forsaken society. Lodges are groupings of werewolves around a common purpose, ethos, interpretation of tribal belief, or regional difference. While some lodges cross tribal boundaries or even sect boundaries, the most common exist as factions within one of the major tribes. They may focus on one particular aspect of the tribe’s oath or sacred prey, or have a broader philosophical purview.
Despite being smaller than tribes, lodges have a wider social net. A given Blood Talon likely knows most of the Suthar Anzuth in her state, and maybe the states surrounding it, but she probably knows every member of her lodge on the same continent — and with rise of global communication, even beyond. As lodge members move around and spread their teachings, they’re more likely to keep in touch.
Werewolves in Blackmouth
The Uratha of Blackmouth are currently a fractious group of disconnected packs who are still dealing with the fallout from the events of the Nights of the Broken Moon in the 1990s, in which saw the sept collapsed violently following the betrayal and destruction of one of the elder packs of the city. Old prejudices festered without their guiding hands, and accusations of breaching the Oath of the Moon were laid against the entire Iron Master tribe for allegedly venerating Hecate in place of Luna.
A faction of Blood Talons and Storm Lords lead by Neil McCracken and Baishan Kensas sought to purge the Farsil Luhal from the region. Dozens of werewolves died in the violence that followed, along with their wolfblooded and human kin and allies, as escalating tit-for-tat violence consumed the sept and shattered what remained of social structure. The violence only ended when Silvijo Dragić, surviving leader of the local Iron Masters, challenged McCracken to ritual combat to excise their perceived sins in a deal brokered by Conall Stonetalker and Morella Doomwise. Dragić died at McCracken's claws, as he knew he would do, but in doing so he forced the Blood Talon to end his crusade against his people.
The packs of Blackmouth have each stood alone since those dark nights, with deep and bloody divisions between and within the tribes. While the majority of the Blood Talons in Blackmouth are part of the McCracken Clan or acknowledge Neil McCracken's local dominance of the Tribe, and a large contingent of the Storm Lords are members of Baishan Kensas' Lightning Chains, neither alpha truely commands the loyalty of their tribemates. McCracken is too focussed on his family over any other ties and Kensas is only interested in controlling the underworld assets seized from Iron Masters like Dragić. The Hunters in Darkness and Bone Shadows maintain some connections within their own tribes and with a small number of others, but each pack remains only interested in their own agendas, while the Iron Masters has started to recover but they are a shadow of what they once were and they still bear the stigma of association with Hecate.
This all may change with the rise of the Black Trees and the first moot called in a decade...