The Umbral realms

No description.

1. #1Penumbraselective

   Keys: Penumbra

   Directly "overlapping" the material world is a portion of the Umbra known as the the Penumbra. The Penumbra mirrors physical reality, but reality as it is "supposed" to be. Though divided, the two were once joined. The spirit world still touches the material one, for were it gone completely, Earth could not sustain life.

   Powerful actions on the physical plane send emanations across the spirit world. The most powerful of these psychic waves ripple past the Penumbra into the Near Umbra, where they have the potential to create whole realms. Such Realms often form based around a single idea or collection of legends. For example, the Nazi concentration camps founded throughout the course of World War II created vast hellholes with pits that lead to Malfeas or the Atrocity Realm, while the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki sent the psychic reflection of dead zones into the Thousand Hells of the Yama Kings.

   In the Penumbra, a toxic waste dump site will swarm with malevolent Banes, while a city will be covered in the cobwebs woven by Pattern Spiders. A grove of trees will stand taller and wilder, and a volcano eruption or the flaming chimneys of factories could give birth to Fire Elementals.

   The appearance of the Penumbra seems to be based partially on the viewpoint of the one bearing witness to it. Werewolves will see it in a more animistic fashion, with an immense Moon dominating the sky (the Sun, conversely, tends to be much smaller), with everything from trees and rocks to the very stars themselves being represented by a spirit. Some mages may see it more as representing ideals and concepts rather than spirits. Other mages (and the rare vampire who makes it there) will see things in a state of decay: a swollen red sun shining sickly light down on crumbling buildings and the rusting husks of cars and trucks.

   An uninformed observer may assume, based on description, that there are three different Penumbrae, one for each Umbra. This is a mistaken assumption, however: if three different travellers arrive in the Penumbra, each viewing a different "facet,” they are still able to see and contact each other and interact just as easily ad they would in the physical world. Despite the varying perspectives of those who witness it, there is truly only one Penumbra.

2. #2Gauntletselective

   Keys: Gauntlet

   Separating the Earth from the Umbrae is a metaphysical "membrane" known as the Gauntlet. Some humans almost manage to get close to the Gauntlet in times of bliss, meditation, or creativity; this state is known as the Periphery.

   The Gauntlet is thinner in places such as a haunted graveyard or the open wilderness, and thicker in places such as laboratories and shopping malls. The strength of the Gauntlet in a given area determines the ease with which one can cross it, or "step sideways." The Gauntlet is usually treated as a single phenomenon, when it is actually sort of three Gauntlets in one: one separating the Earth from the Astral Plane, one protecting it from the Spirit Wilds, and one blocking access to the Underworld and the horrors that lie within. The latter Gauntlet is also referred to as the Shroud by wraiths, and as the Stormwall by agents of the Orpheus Group.

   As of 1999, the Avatar Storm has raged within the Gauntlet, composed of jagged shards of souls and Avatars. It does not affect most supernaturals, but the shards are drawn to the Avatars of mages. The more powerful the Avatar (and the higher the mage's enlightenment), the more the shards are drawn to him, and thus the more damage is potentially done when stepping sideways.

3. #3Astral Reachesselective

   Keys: Astral Reaches

   The Astral Reaches (also referred to as the High Umbra, Astral Umbra or Astral Space by several mages and Ensemble Space in Tychoidian Cosmology) are the spiritual realms of abstract thought and concepts, without direct analogs in the world of flesh.

   The Astral Reaches are most easily accessed via the Mind Sphere used by mages. Other variants, like stepping sideways in the way of shapeshifters, can lead to difficulty as the pattern of the body often has difficulty to adapt to the more complex realms (indeed, many minds are not capable of it without help). Astral time does not flow in the way it does in the world of matter, as it depends on the visitor how long he stays. If he is focused on a goal, he will find that time in the real world passes slower, and if he is yet searching for something, days can quickly become weeks in the real world.

   The Vulgate

   Behind the Astral Penumbra lies the Vulgate, the Realm of base thought, which features much of the concepts present in the material world. The geography of the Vulgate organizes itself in domains of cultural influence arranged in historic progression - the cities of the United States would be depicted as one super-megatropolis with every significant landmark arranged.

   Realms are:

   The River of Languages (which springs from the Epiphanies and flows down to the Vulgate)
   The Bibliotheca Iskandria
   The Grand Hall
   The Inventium
   

   The Spires

   As the concepts in the Vulgate become more rarified and accumulate similarities, they tend to cluster together to form Spires. They can be "climbed in order to reach higher realms of the Reaches. This is not a physical act in the strictest sense, since it is only the consciousness of the visitor that ascends. Persons who don't achieve this state of mind were observed to climb the Spires forever, without reaching their end and eventually dying of mental exhaustion.

   The Avatar Storm has become an additional hazard, as many mages who had managed to avoid the screaming soul-shards before are easy prey for them when they try to climb the Spires.

   The Courts

   Along the Spires, intersections and openings can be found that lead to the Courts, Realms of particular spirits that have assembled under especially powerful exemplars to form pantheons of their kind.

   Known Courts are:

   The Fortress of Government (although it stretches up to the Epiphanies)
   The Elemental Courts
   The Court of Muses
   The Afterworlds
   

   Epiphamies

   Epiphamies are observed as gigantic clouds of thought from the Vulgate. If someone reaches the end of a Spire, they gain access to the loftiest, most nebulous aspects of it that are assembled in the Epiphamies. It encompasses concepts like the number Pi, True Love and similar abstractions.

   Known Realms include:

   The Apex of History
   The Continuum Orrery
   The Nihil
   The Well of Souls
   

   No being below the power and insight of an oracle has witnessed or accessed a realm of the Astral Reaches beyond the Epiphamies.

   Composition

   The Astral Reaches, like every spiritual realm, are composed of ephemera. Astral ephemera, however, reacts to the meaning and significance attached to it and an umbral traveler has to decipher the symbology behind the objects it forms in order to properly utilize it.

   This indicators can be multiple. Shape and color are the most common, but several other associations have been reported.

   Transport

   The easiest way to navigate the Reaches is by thinking. However, this can quickly prove difficult for beings that are accustomed to muscles and nerves. Visitors have to imagine every step in all its repercussions, which makes usual locomotion impractical. A solution to this problem is to follow a spirit guide, who forms the ephemera to make it accessible to his follower.

   Experienced umbral travelers, however, find that once they have mastered the basics of movement in the Reaches, they are even capable of flight, although they must be careful not to bypass the wrong High Umbrood, who react to such offenses by hurling the unfortunate mage down to the Vulgate, something dubbed the "Icarian Fall" by the Traditions.

   Denizens

   Astral Space is inhabited by the spirits of immaterial concepts or abstractions and symbolizations of material objects. A cat-spirit in the Astral Reaches would not be the same like a cat-spirit encountered in the Middle Umbra, but instead an idealized form of what a cat should be according to the stereotypes made of cats. Other inhabitants are the Djinn or demonic entities of difficult classification.

   Mages have spent entire compilations of categorizing these spirits, ranging from the lunar phases to psychological personality types over the zodiac to complex astrological sigils. So far, most of these have worked, so some mages have speculated that all these references that are, in whatever obscure way, associated to a spirit can be used as means to bind it.

   Cosmology

   Across the Astral Reaches, bridges and portals spawn that lead to realms in the spirit worlds associated with them. While few supernaturals except for mages have direct access to it, exceptions do exist. The Mokolé, through their tie to the concept of Memory, usually reach this Umbra and some believe that the Astral Plane accessed by higher ranks in the vampiric Discipline of Auspex is actually the lowest level of the Vulgate.

4. #4Vulgateselective

   Keys: Vulgate

   A Vulgate- also known as Mundus Imaginalis- is the lowest part of the High Umbra. It incorporates the most easiest accesible concepts that the collective philosophy and mindsets of humanity (and, possibly, some other species) has thought of. It is one of the easiest parts of the High Umbra to reach, as it can be accessed from the Penumbra, the Middle Umbra, the Pattern Web and the Digital Web.

   The Vulgate itself acts as a doorway to the micro-realms and domains that incorporate mental concepts (such as learning, the thought of the sky, etc.) and that interact frequently with one another as human ideas and beliefs change. Within the Vulgate, only the most basic impressions can be found, such as the feeling of blinding light or the thought of a simple object like a chair. Others form domains, like the River of Language or the Bibliotheca Iskandria, that span up into higher umbral reaches.

   Above the Vulgate lie the Spires.

5. #5Pattern Webselective

   Keys: Pattern Web

   Overview

   In some parts of the Umbra, strands of the Pattern Web are visible as crystalline cobwebs; it is even possible for mages and Garou with the appropriate training to travel between Realms by climbing the Pattern Web, although doing so is difficult and dangerous. The center of the Pattern Web is believed to be the Shenti of Stasis, but no one has actually explored that far (or at least, no one has lived to tell the tale).

   The Pattern Web is spun and maintained by Pattern Spiders and other powerful Weaver spirits. These spirits are attracted to areas where reality is particularly unstable, and if they identify a specific threat to Stasis they may trap and bind it into the Pattern Web itself. This reflects how the Weaver originally trapped the Wyrm. Some are also capable of using vibrations of the Pattern Web to cause pain or discomfort to individuals from a distance.

   The Garou believe that the Pattern Web is overgrown and calcified, thanks to the imbalance in the Triat. They point to Umbral Realms where no visible manifestation of the Pattern Web exists as proof that it is not necessary for holding Realms together. On the other hand, Weaver-infested areas such as Blights or the Penumbra reflections of cities are so choked with Pattern Web that they are difficult to navigate at all without becoming trapped.

6. #6Digital Webselective

   Keys: Digital Web

   The Digital Web is a Zone based entirely within virtual reality, and the unofficial home of the Virtual Adepts. It is to be the foundation of the "Reality 2.0" initiative of the Adepts, moving humanity to a better world free of the problems of material reality on Earth. Just like the Internet is a sort of virtual "space" which has no bearing on an actual location, the Digital Web is theoretically an important Correspondence Point. It may also have some sort of connection to the Mount Qaf of the Ahl-i-Batin.

   The experience of the Digital Web seems to follow the state of technology and the sensory of the realm has tracked Sleeper technology. At current, the Digital Web provides exceptional sight and sound but images often still feel "flat" with taste, touch, and smell being generally dulled. History

   The Difference Engineers first conceived of "virtual space" in the 19th century, causing them to change the name of their Convention to the Virtual Adepts.[1] Alan Turing began working on practical implementation of Virtual Reality in the 1940s, decades before such a thing appeared on the Technocracy's Time Table. With the help of the Sons of Ether, Turing developed a simulated reality and projected his Avatar into it via a telephone line. Something, however, went wrong; by some accounts, there was an error in his calculations, while others suggest his body was assassinated by Technocrats while his mind was absent, or that he made contact with Mount Qaf. Whatever the case, his death transformed his simulation into the nascent Digital Web, and catalyzed his fellow Adepts into fleeing the Technocracy for good.

   Forms of the Digital Web

   The Digital Web has no known end and is difficult to chart. Areas divide into three large types.

   Virgin Web

   Area of the Web that is yet to be given form and seems to be tied to new users joining the Web. If new users were to stop joining and bringing a sense of potential, new Virgin Web would cease being formed. The sensory experience of Virgin Web is foggy, uncanny, and shrouded in digital mists.

   Formatted Web

   When someone claims Virgin Web and spits it into a fixed form, Formatted Web is created. The area is divided into sectors, regions of specific purpose and rules and conduits connecting these areas. Sectors can be free, open to all users, or restricted, barring users that do not observe the sector protocols.

   Corrupted Web

   These areas have been somehow broken or damaged and the experience tends towards the surreal. In these areas, digital death, or 'de-resolution', is a defining threat.

   Sectors

   Sectors are area of Virgin Web that have had some order imposed. A sector may be in a formatted web area or corrupted web area and come in a variety of forms.

   Haunted Web

   These are areas that have been corrupted by whiteouts, a ghastly death, overlap with the Dark Umbra, or some other phenomenon. Endless loops and broken fractals are common motifs and may draw travelers into the Rip, a storm-tide that draws users into the Trash Sector, a virtual hell of lost data.

   C-Sectors

   Constrained sectors have had some limitations placed on what can exist in that space during the formatting process. This may include:

   SRVRSZ, the restricted Technocratic strongholds maintained by Iteration X
   FreeSpace that requires entrants to abide by the rules of idealistic transhumanists
   Saves, for private groups
   Coms which are open to all
   

   Grid Sectors

   These are areas containing the activities of sleepers and are set up to divert Sleeper traffic off of the rest of the Digital Web. These sectors have restrictions that prevent sleepers from wandering into the rest of the Digital Web.

   Access Methods

   The digital web is accessible in three main ways with increasing levels of immersion.

   Sensory Visitation

   Using VR gear, the entrant gains sight, sound, and touch but with a higher difficulty for magic (+2 difficulty). VR gear is made available to Tradition mages by the Virtual Adepts. The entrant remains aware and awake outside of the web, and while easily surprised, the mage will know quickly if someone tries to interact with them in meatspace.

   Astral Immersion

   The entrant uses Correspondence Sensing (Correspondence 2) to shift their senses and no longer incurs the +2 difficulty on magical effects. The character gets much more information and the world is in sharper detail. Since the mage's senses are elsewhere, the mage is unaware of what may happen to their body. The mage's astral self is hard to kill and any lethal interactions simply dump the mage back into their body with damage and effects depending on from where they were ejected. The character also uses Mental for Physical attributes except for Stamina which stays stamina.

   Holistic Immersion

   The mage wholly translates to the digital web and leaves no physical body remaining in meatspace. The character uses physical traits rather than mental to do physical things and dying in this state results in the character's death.

   Entering From the Umbra

   Characters already astrally projected or who have stepped sideways can enter the web by climbing the Pattern Web into the Digital Web or by entering from the Cyber Realm through the portals available there. This method can be overwhelming as the character is not shielded from any of the information coming at them and it may take time to adjust.

   Web Today

   The Digital Web 3.0 is after all, the real-life Internet is easier to use in 2015 than it was in 1994, so the cumbersome rules systems presented in the original Digital Web (book) are clearly obsolete. These days, adventures in the Web are more like adventures in material reality than they were back then. This era’s netizens are more native to that environment than the old school Web-spinners were, and the Web itself has – for better and worse – become more like our world than it used to be.

   As far as rules are concerned, we suggest treating the Digital Web as a Realm of the Middle Umbra, subject to Whiteout Paradox backlashes and accessed by several forms of astral and metaphysical projection, as outlined under Web Access, below. Keep things as simple as possible, and treat weird online life forms as spirit entities. If and when you want to get into the more complex and peculiar aspects of the Digital Web, check out Digital Web 2.0. Although those systems are based in the late ‘90s, many of the specific rules still apply.

7. #7Inventiumselective

   Keys: Inventium

   The Inventium is a Realm of the High Umbra full of every invention humankind has ever dreamed of. These inventions manifest with an audible popping sound and drop gently into massive piles that fill the Realm in all directions.

   Overview

   In modern nights, at least, access to the Inventium involves locating a nondescript metal foot locker floating in the High Umbra. There is a warning inscribed on the lid warning off travelers. Those who disregard the warning and climb into the locker find themselves descending a staircase into the Inventium.

   The Inventium was first discovered in 424 BCE by a group of mages called the Sons of Thucydides. They recognized what the Realm represented, and though none of the actual inventions could be brought back across the Gauntlet, schematics and notes could be. The descendants of the Sons of Thucydides are now called the Scavengers, and they continue to make a tidy profit selling their second-hand inventions; some were born in the Inventium and may not ever have visited Earth.

   A friend of the Sons, a mage named Herodotus, joined them there with a different purpose. Along with several colleagues, Herodotus hoped to document the contents of the Inventium, not for profit but to advance human knowledge. These mages became known as the Historians, and their leaders continued to adopt the name Herodotus as a title. After the formation of the Council of Nine Mystic Traditions, the Historians welcomed members from the four Traditions who shared their interest in the Inventium (Verbena, the Cult of Ecstasy, the Order of Hermes and the Celestial Chorus). Life in the Inventium is not a prospect most mages relish, however, and thus vacancies in the Historians go unfilled for years at a time, or are filled with disgruntled exiles rather than eager volunteers.

   The Technocratic Union discovered the Inventium in the 19th century, and in 1895 they built the Hackworth Technological Compilation Facility near the center of the Realm. They have attempted to drive out the Historians and the Scavengers by force, without success. Rather than cataloguing or exploiting the technology of the Inventium, the Technocrats identify inventions that violate their goals for the Consensus and use them to track down threat to the Time Table for elimination.

   The Sons of Ether also maintain a presence in the Inventium, which is devoted in equal parts to uncovering ancient inventions, and harassing the Technocrats at Hackworth. Their local headquarters is a Gothic-looking mansion called Exington Hall.

8. #8Elemental Courtsselective

   Keys: Elemental Courts

   The Elemental Courts are reflections of the elemental systems within the High Umbra. The entrance to the Courts are the Five Gates, which can be found mid-way on a Spire. While there are numerous elementals and many more form with the rapid changes brought by human society, only five are stable enough to be considered Courts. They are close to the Court of Muses and are often passed on the ascent to Epiphanies.

   The Courts are involved in a complex and intricate relationship with each other that reflects their involvement in the mundane world. Elementals compete with each other for power and influence, while intriguing against rivals of different Courts. Visitors who involve themselves in the affairs of the Elemental Courts often leave in a state of mental equilibrium, attaining balance through an understanding of the different positions of the Courts and how they influence each other.

   Known Courts

   The Elemental Courts are divided according to the paradigm of the mortal population. The Western world attend the Courts of the Occident, while inhabitants of the Middle Kingdom turn to the Courts of the Orient. Courts of the Occident

   Air: Associated with the gaseous state of matter, Thought, the East and the Dynamic Essence, the lords of Air are among the more receptive elementals and often confront the intellect of a visitor with riddles and similar techniques.
   
   Fire: Associated with the plasmic state of matter, Intuition, the South and the Questing Essence, the inhabitants of this realm are brash and direct, expecting visitors to state their business and get on with it.
   
   Water: Associated with the liquid state of matter, Emotion, the West and the Primordial Essence, the inhabitants of the realm often concern themselves with the general situation of visitors, by involving themselves with his feelings and viewpoints.
   
   Earth: Associated with the solid state of matter, Sensation, the North and the Pattern Essence, the lords of Earth are often interested in the circumstances that bring visitors to their court.
   

   Courts of the Orient

   Water: Associated with the North and home to tortoises, the court is ruled by Emperor Chuan-hsu, who is allied with the Court of Wood and a sworn enemy of the Court of Fire
   
   Metal: Associated with the West and home to tigers, the court is ruled by Emperor Shao-hao, who is allied with the Court of Water and a sworn enemy of the Court of Wood
   
   Earth: Associated with the Centre and home to oxen, the court is ruled by Emperor Huang-ti, who is allied with the Court of Metal and a sworn enemy to the Court of Water
   
   Fire: Associated with the South and home to phoenixes, the court is ruled by Emperor Shen Nung, who is allied with the Court of Earth and a sworn enemy of the Court of Metal.
   
   Wood: Associated with the East and home to dragons, the court is ruled by Emperor Fu Hsi, who is allied with the Court of Fire and a sworn enemy of the Court of Earth.
   

9. #9Epiphamyselective

   Keys: Epiphamy

   Epiphamies - or Mundus Intelligibilis, as the Order of Hermes and the Celestial Chorus classifies them, or Pandimensional Metaverse, as the Technocracy calls them - are among the most difficult areas to attain within the High Umbra. They embody concepts of complete abstraction, such as "Nature's Laws" or "True Love". They are marked as colorful clouds in the umbral sky of the Vulgate that can give the visitor hints about the concept they embody. Their transcendental nature makes Epiphamies difficult to reach and are usually visited due to means of meditation.

   Epiphamies can and will reject visitors who are not willing to understand their associated concepts or want to abuse its power.

   Known Epiphamies

   Apex of History
   Continuum Orrery
   Fortress of Government
   Motherhood
   Newtonian Physics and Einsteinian Relativity
   Nihil
   River of Language
   Well of Remembrance
   Well of Souls
   World Stage
   Realms of Fractal, Meme, Quark, Time, Art, and so on
   

10. #10City of Brassselective

    Keys: City of Brass

    Overview

    According to Djinn legends, the city is the result of the wishes of an ill-fated trio of mages, who asked a Djinn to build them a city according to their design. The djinn exerted the promise from them that they would reside within the city until their death, which they swore. As the mages had neither specified the location nor the material from which the city should be built, the Djinn created it over a node in the middle of an inhospitable desert, designed out of various strands of copper and brass. When the mages tried to defy the agreement and leave the city, they found out that they were not able to leave their new home. After the last of the mages had died a natural death, the city was translated into the Invisible World, commemorated as a symbol of Djinn victory over humanity.

    The City of Brass has the shape of a gigantic city with eight great streets made out of various shades of brass and copper and acted as an economic center between the Djinn pashas of the Invisible World and sorcerers who wanted to gain the Djinn’s aid without needlessly angering them by using the Solomonic Code to force them into servitude. As most djinn are excellent bargainers, liars and are blessed with long memories that remember if a mage has been disrespectful to a spirit friend of his, most mages avoided the City of Brass except in times of need. During the Medieval Age, when the Gauntlet was thinner, Shallowings lead into the City from empty places within the Arabian desert, allowing occasional mortals within its realm. Most of these visitors, however, died because of the immense heat within the city or were enslaved by vengeful djinni and sold as servants to mimic the practices of mortal sorcerers. The city is ruled by Caliph al-Dimiryat, who had served Suleiman himself and came to respect the wisdom of the Jewish king. The city has six codified laws that govern the relations between visitors and residents.

    In the Modern Nights, the City of Brass lies on the far reaches of the High Umbra, although the mortal activity within the city has diminished, as most djinn retreat completely into the Invisible World and few mages (besides the Taftani, who don’t really count on that matter, given their long history of djinn abuse) remember the right rites to coerce the djinn into service. As such, the city has evolved into a hub for spirits of all kinds, who visit the city to trade favors and exchange rumors. An outpost of Void Engineers has taken up residence within the city, monitoring visiting mages and studying djinn customs, believing them to be an alternate evolution of humanity within the Umbra. The djinn are not happy about their visitors, but tolerate them as long as they do not disrupt trading.

    Laws of the City of Brass

    The only laws in place to manage interactions in the City of Brass are the ancient traditions of hospitality:

    All civil entities are welcome and should be greeted in a manner that places them at ease.
    No guest may kill or seek to harm his host.
    No host may kill or seek to harm his guest.
    Guests to the city should bring a gift for their host.
    If he so chooses, and if he believes it will be of interest and delight to his host, a guest may tell his story as his gift.
    The Caliph's word is absolute.
    

    In these laws, the term host refers to the djinn who reside in the City of Brass and guest refers to any visitor to the City of Brass.

11. #11Djinnselective

    The Djinn are a sub-species of Spirit that dwell within the High Umbra and share some similarities with Bygones. They regard themselves as the rightful rulers of the world and look down on their spirit brethren and their narrow-minded agendas. They also have a certain dislike against humans, remembering the War of Enslavement and the humiliating magicks of the Taftani. They seem to be tied to the Web of Faith.

    History

    The Djinn claim to be the first sentient beings and that they originally shepherded humanity and taught them gifts on how to survive. When the first Fera made their spirit alliances and Totem pacts, the Djinn refused to aid them, believing themselves superior to the Beast-men and abhorring the thought of serving another. All this changes with the coming of Suleiman and the Solomonic Code, who allowed humans to bind a djinn to their will. In 945 BCE, the djinn nobles agreed to end the human supremacy in the visible world, beginning the 10,000 Djinni Plague that were faced with a sudden change of aggression when the humans fought back and managed to capture many djinn under the leadership of Suleiman. Spiteful and outraged, many djinn allied themselves to the Infernalist Ishaq al-Iblis, the first Devil King. Even today, the relations between the Djinn and humanity are stressed, thanks to the practices of the Taftani.

    Society

    Djinn have a complex society that is centered around their cities within the Umbra, the most famous being the City of Brass. Each city is ruled over by an caliph, usually a very old and powerful djinn, who answers to an amir, who represents the Sultanate, the central government of the Djinn. The cities usually squabble among themselves, but most conflicts usually only last a decade or are fought out by proxies in the Material World (as many Middle Eastern tribes found out).

    Djinn are divided in different kinds that have different outlooks on humanity and their own purpose.

    The Aamar are the most curious and travel frequently into the Material World to experience it and sometimes live as usual humans in their midst.
    The Efriti are those djinn that allied with the Devil Kings and are regarded as Banes by many observers. They usually dwell within Malfeas and have an undying hatred against human society.
    The Rajîm are djinn who are outcasts from their umbral citadels and are forced to dwell in the Material world. They are usually bitter and aggressive against humans in general.
    The Shayateen are djinn that have committed themselves on fighting human influence in the Umbra and protecting their citadels from another War of Enslavement.
    

12. #12Malfeasselective

    Keys: Malfeas

    Malfeas is the mad Shenti realm of the Wyrm located in the Deep Umbra. This is a hellish nightmare world full of every horrible thing imaginable, and a few things so horrible that simply trying to imagine them would drive people insane.

    All aspects of the Wyrm are represented in Malfeas somewhere. Some Garou claim that the original Wyrm of Balance is imprisoned at the heart of Malfeas.

    Malfeas is ruled by the Maeljin Incarna, 13 great Banes that fight each other as often as they try to destroy the Garou. Their various territories within Malfeas reflect their associations. Lady Aife, the Caliph of Pain, has a domain filled with all manner of agony-inducing torments to break the bodies of visitors, while the domain of Doge Klypse, the Archbishop of Madness, is full of things that break minds.

    The most well known area in Malfeas is the Black Spiral Labyrinth. It's a mind-bending structure that defies several laws of physics and drives anyone that tries to navigate it insane and into the arms of the Wyrm. Black Spiral Dancers take their name from the Labyrinth and often try to prove their devotion to the Wyrm by dancing ever deeper into the labyrinth, searching for revelations, but usually only driving themselves ever more mad.

13. #13Black Spiral Labyrinthselective

    Keys: Spiral Labyrinth, Ebon Maze, Black Spiral Labyrinth

    Black Spiral Labyrinth, also called the Spiral Labyrinth, or the Ebon Maze in the Middle Kingdom, is a spiral labyrinth within the realm of Malfeas containing unimaginable horrors of the Wyrm. It is more frequently referred to as the Black Spiral (sometimes Black Labyrinth) in Werewolf 5th Edition.

    Overview

    Accessible through the Temple Obscura, this horrific Umbral labyrinth is the most sacred place to the fallen werewolves known as the Black Spiral Dancers for the act of walking through the Labyrinth and facing its mysteries is often called "dancing", hence, this Black Spiral is not only the place from which they draw their names, but all their madness as well, since every single one of the Dancers have once traveled deep into the Labyrinth and became tainted beyond recognition.

    Within the Black Spiral Labyrinth, the victim communicates with various Wyrm-spirits, commonly known as the Urge-Wyrms, emanations of the Wyrm himself, that can grant blessings and knowledge to the who are brave enough (or mad enough), to dare enter its grounds. Some Nephandi who call themselves Malfeans also walk the Black Spiral during their Caul. Normally, dancing the Spiral usually breaks and twists your mind and grants you various derangements. Many Black Spiral Dancers see these mental scars as marks of the Urge-Wyrms and pursue them in order to further their service.

    There are some who believe that there is a connection between the Malfean labyrinth and the dark Labyrinth beneath the Tempest in the Underworld. These levels of reality would be the last step before reaching the eternal jail of the demons, the infamous Abyss.

    The Nine Circles

    Theurges speak of nine thresholds of wisdom in the Spiral Labyrinth, nine concentric circles of unspeakable ordeals. Each circle offers a test that a dancer must overcome before she can advance in Rank. If she is particularly ingenious, she may even learn a deviant gift from the servitors of the labyrinth. The experience often resembles a little story; a surreal vignette set within endless corridors and presented by a host of treacherous Umbral spirits.

    The First Circle: Dance of Insight

    Before a werewolf can be recognized as a true Black Spiral Dancer, she must survive this first ordeal. The experience always begins in darkness. The dancer then receives visions representing dark truths within her soul. Often, these secrets have been hidden for the sake of the initiate’s sanity. Blasphemous revelations offer the promise of further understanding, but the dancer must first overcome the limitations of her own mind. If she is weak, the experience shatters her sanity.

    The Second Circle: Dance of Rage

    In the second circle, the initiate learns the strength of her anger, allowing her to indulge in violence as no mere Garou ever could. A dancer who enters this portion of the labyrinth is beset by overwhelming problems. The only way to overcome them is through frenzy. Utter psychotic ultraviolence is the only path leading out of this circle, encouraging the Black Spiral to enact any act of violation or destruction to achieve her goals.

    The Third Circle: Dance of Endurance

    In this realm, the dancer must endure tests of physical and mental anguish. The experience is often a twisted version of a test the dancer underwent in her previous life, ultimately showing that she is too strong to fall before such opposition now. Physical anguish results in a higher tolerance to pollution, radiation, or sheer pain. Mental anguish allows communion with the Urge Wyrms, increasing understanding of the spirits’ tactics so that the dancer may use similar methods against her foes.

    The Fourth Circle: Dance of Cunning

    The guardian at the threshold of the fourth circle is a treacherous Bane, one who must be misled in a test of wits before the dancer can pass. This draws upon the dancer’s Gnosis, requiring her to twist wisdom into false logic. Surviving this test allows the initiate to see through the deception of others, especially the spirits who serve the Wyrm. The Dance of Cunning may also involve realizing the truth behind a great lie.

    The Fifth Circle: Dance of Combat

    Before crossing the threshold of the fifth circle, the petitioner must overcome a legion of foes. This ordeal is more of a symbolic epic battle than a blow-by-blow brawl. Sometimes the dancer tries to impress her tormentors by using violence in the most imaginable ways possible. If she can overwhelm these enemies without betraying her fear, her prowess in battle increases dramatically.

    The Inner Mysteries

    Only a truly gifted werewolf can overcome one of the four Inner Mysteries. As part of this, very few Black Spirals are recognized as being above the Fifth Rank. The Dance of Corruption, Dance of Loyalty, Dance of Paradox and Dance of Deceit are pursued in the four innermost circles. In the history of their order, only two Black Spirals have allegedly crossed the threshold of the final circle. The first, Hakaken, was invested by the Wyrm as an Incarna. The second is rumored to be Number Two, the former ruler of Malfeas.

    The Sixth Circle: Dance of Corruption

    The dancer’s sense of self is distorted through vast physical mutations and mental schisms. The most secure aspects of her identity must be systematically destroyed, rebuilding the Spiral into a reflection of the Wyrm. Those who conquer this circle often undergo radical personality shifts. The journey may even resemble a little Kafkaesque story, one where the dancer realizes that a seemingly sane part of reality has become utterly corrupted.

    The Seventh Circle: Dance of Loyalty

    The dancer is presented with a situation where he must show how willing she is to sacrifice for the sake of the Wyrm. She may have overcome her greatest taboo, sacrifice her greatest love, or face her greatest fear. Often, the dancer sacrifices a link to the sane, human world, one that she has kept hidden all this time.

    The Eighth Circle: Dance of Paradox

    Very few pass this test, wherein the dancer must overcome a riddle contest posed by the Bane of Enigmas. Upon returning, any understanding the dancer gained during the test is lost. No one who has survived this test has ever been able to repeat the mysteries discussed, though many suspect that it has something to do with the true nature of the Triat.

    The Ninth Circle: Dance of Deceit

    The dancer must conquer a manifestation of the Wyrm, destroying it in single combat. Some believe that in the ninth circle, the dancer must briefly become the Wyrm, and that the revelation of the Wyrm’s true form is quickly forgotten. Regardless, only two Black Spiral Dancers have ever passed this ordeal; the rest were presumably devoured.

    5th Edition

    What the Garou outside the Black Spiral Dancers know of the Black Spiral is much more vague in W5. Many Garou believe the Black Spiral to be hidden somewhere in the depths of the Umbra — probably a portion of it foully proximate to the Wyrm, or somehow in what amounts to its attention, if such a statement can be accurate. Other Garou believe the “Black Labyrinth” to be a location in the physical world, or even a metaphorical location that moves throughout the physical world, to places where human defilement proves most satisfactory to the Wyrm… again, if it can be said that the Wyrm “prefers” things.[1]

    Some combination of a hellish caern and a crucible where would-be Black Spiral Dancers are broken down and forged anew, it’s at once a place, a spiritual horror, and a relentlessly cruel outlook on the world. It may be the locus of the final cancer that consumes Gaia herself.

    Mage: The Ascension

    The Ahl-i-Batin are often convinced to walk the Black Labyrinth from the Iblisi. The Tradition could not believe that the labyrinth, long held to be one of the best tools for teaching insight, could be used for the purposes of corruption. Right up until the end, they expected walking the Black Labyrinth to have no effect. Surprisingly, about half the time, they were right.

    The Nephandi assumed that their corruption of the labyrinth was automatic. They never realized that the Ahl-i-Batin could use the Black Labyrinth - even as it was acting on them - as a tool that let them sense the impinging waves of corruption and either fight it or retreat so deeply into themselves that it couldn't touch them. Furthermore, by recognizing the power of the labyrinth as a means to self-exploration, the Batini removed walls instead of being enclosed by them and found knowledge instead of becoming lost; this reversal of the Nephandic purpose meant that traversing the labyrinths often didn't have the corruptive effects that the barabbi expected.

    Of the Batini who walked the labyrinth about half still succumbed and became barabbi. Of the remaining half, a small handful simply disappeared once they reached the center, and the Nephandi were left wondering what went wrong. Most became catatonic, retreating so far within the labyrinth of their own minds that nothing - not corruption, not pain, not telepathy - could reach them. The remaining uncorrupted Batini became inadvertent spies, telepathically alerting the qutbs to the Nephandi's actions. Although the Nephandi discovered some of those (in which case the spies were slowly tortured to death), some old Ahl-i-Batin believe that there may still be ancient Batini infiltrators under deep cover within the Cauls of the Nephandi.

14. #14Maeljin Incarnaselective

    Keys: Maeljin Incarna

    he Maeljin Incarna are powerful Bane Incarna that are servants of the Urge Wyrms. They inhabit Malfeas.

    Overview

    The Maeljin were once mortals, yet they became so thoroughly corrupted by a particular Urge that they were transformed into powerful spirits that embodied that Urge. Each serves his patron until he fails in some way, or until a newer and more powerful candidate floats to the top. The Maeljin act as the eyes, ears, voices, and occasionally hands of the Urges whenever more direct action is necessary. They spread corruption according to their Urge in order to strengthen the Wyrm. Mortals who know of the Wyrm and wish to pledge themselves to its service must approach it through a Maeljin. A number of cults form around such servitude.

    Relationships

    Black Spiral Dancers refuse to traffic with the Maeljin, whom they see as more interested in their own politics than serving their master. The senior Pentex board has such close relations with the Urges themselves and the Triatic Wyrms that they need no intercessors. The Maeljin, for their part, see the Pentex Board of Directors as a threat to their own positions, so they seek to discredit the board members in the eyes of the Wyrm.

    Even among them, there is struggle and conflict, as each Maeljin strives to become the favoured servant of the Wyrm.

15. #15Incarnaselective

    Keys: Incarna

    Incarna is a term used by the Fera to describe a certain class of spirits; weaker than the Celestines, but still greater spirits by any measure.

    Overview

    An Incarna is a powerful spirit among the denizens of the Umbra, usually a servant to a Celestine servings as servants, warriors, and advisors to those cosmic forces. Nearly all of them derive their power from their patrons, but command various Jagglings and Gafflings to do their bidding. Most dwell in the realms of the Celestines, but a few have independent domains of their own. In contrast to a Celestine, an Incarna is able (but often not willing) to switch its purpose and gain Gnosis, and some Celestines are rumored to have once been Incarnae.

    Incarnae have a defined purpose and sphere of influence, but they are powerful enough to exist on multiple levels of reality. Garou typically interact with one incarnate avatar, although elder Theurges tell tales of spiritual travelers who have communed with an Incarna in the remote realms of the Deep Umbra, marveling at its awesome and overwhelming spiritual might. The most famous Incarna are the Totem spirits that guide the tribes of the Garou Nation.

16. #16Empress Aliaraselective

    Keys: Countess Desire, Empress Aliara

    Empress Aliara, also known as the Countess Desire, is the Maeljin Incarna of Karnala, the Urge Wyrm of Desire.

    Biography

    Empress Aliara is rumored to have been a popular courtesan during Caliph Haroun al-Rashid’s reign. She has a profound understanding of people’s innermost lusts and desires, and spurs her victims to act with reckless abandon by falsely assuring them of the lush rewards they will obtain. She appears as the ideal object of desire to whomever she speaks.

    She can appear to be an incarnation of wanton sexuality, maternal or paternal nurturing care, or the most loving child imaginable. When she wishes, every person she deals with sees her differently. While almost everyone she encounters desires her, Aliara sees others as nothing more than disposable tools to satisfy her own desires.

    Only someone Aliara desires can destroy her. To destroy her, someone who is under her influence (Mental Taint) must locate her, temporarily resist her charms, and while seemingly captivated by her, swear allegiance to her. As he so swears, he must steal a weapon from Aliara and use it to deliver a killing blow. The most difficult part of this act is failing to kill Aliara; he actually has sworn allegiance to her, thus giving himself over to the Wyrm. A few have tried this tactic, and Aliara enjoys collecting and playing with servants who were failed assassins.

    The typical servants of Aliara are the fomori known as Enticers.

17. #17Lady Aifeselective

    Keys: Caliph of Pain, Lady Aife

    Lady Aife, also known as the Caliph of Pain, is a Maeljin Incarna of Angu, the Urge Wyrm of Cruelty.

    Biography

    Lady Aife cares only about causing as much suffering as possible and often seeks advice from the Countess of Desire as to what her victims care about most. She destroys or threatens to destroy these objects both to inflict suffering and to motivate victims to cause others to suffer.

    Lady Aife was once an enthusiastic torturer for the Spanish Inquisition. She appears as a beautiful woman who sends shards of glass flying every time she tosses her flaming red hair. She rides a steed made of rusted metal and wields a pair of jagged glass whips.

    Few can kill Lady Aife: the Nameless Angel of Despair, Pattern Spiders, or any similar entity that is aware of pain but is also entirely indifferent to it can kill her. The problem is of course arranging some reason for one or more of these entities to try to destroy Lady Aife.

18. #18Lord Steelselective

    Keys: Lord Steel, the Duke of Hate

    Lord Steel, the Duke of Hate, is a Maeljin Incarna of Abhorra, the Urge Wyrm of Hatred.

    Biography Lord Steel

    The current Lord Steel was once a conquistador who sacked the native civilizations of Central and South America. He thrives on all forms of hatred, especially that of large groups of people. Devotees offer him sacrifices of burnt flesh in the hopes of gaining vengeance on their rivals. Caring nothing for the political games of the other Maeljin, Lord Steel sits on his Malfean throne lost in the currents of his endless hatred. He only leaves this throne to lead his bane armies in war. He wears armor and a contorted mask of black steel. In battle, he rides an iron steed with metal wings.

    Some believe that only an innocent challenging Lord Steel to battle can slay him, but innocents merely die. Others have tried fighting the Duke of Hate while filled with hatred for him, but such a victor would simply become the new Lord Steel. Instead, a would-be assassin must remove his black steel mask, weakening him by exposing the rather ordinary-looking human face beneath. Only then can his attackers capture him. They must imprison him in a well-lit chamber with mirrors in all directions, forcing him to look always at his own face — the shock of which forces him to remain within the chamber. After a full lunar month confined in this fashion, Lord Steel will rip himself apart, dying in the process. During his imprisonment, his followers will track him and attempt to free him.

19. #19Hellbringerselective

    Keys: Chieftain of Rage, Hellbringer, General of the Armies of the Wyrm, Patron of Abuse

    Hellbringer is a Maeljin Incarna of brutality. He is also known as Chieftain of Rage, General of the Armies of the Wyrm, Patron of Abuse among other names.

    Biography Hellbringer WTA

    This spiritual entity serves both Ba’ashkai and Beast-of-War. Hellbringer is the general of the armies of the Wyrm and the patron of abuse. Anyone struck by a bolt from his crossbow attacks whoever is nearest. He has never been defeated in battle, and were one to try, they would surely replace him.

    Hellbringer has another face, that of Malik Harjaq, the Master of Mayhem — a Viking berserker with a dozen arms each wielding a different weapon. Minions of the Wyrm know that both of Hellbringer’s guises wield the full power of an Incarna, but a Maeljin Incarna cannot simply divide in two.

    Destroying either of these warriors must occur away from battle. Hellbringer must find himself in a situation where he is entirely alone and he is enticed to stab himself with one of his own crossbow bolts. When he does, he attempts to destroy himself. If someone has supplied him with a sufficiently powerful weapon, he can successfully kill himself. However, no one can wield the bolt as a weapon or set it in a trap where it is hurled, shot, or thrown at Hellbringer — he must inflict the wound voluntarily.

    Malik Harjaq periodically sates himself with violent revelry after a battle, and at this point, he is vulnerable. Even here, he can only die if someone can make certain that he consumes several drops of a poison distilled from the liquid flowing from one of the Wyld Founts in Malfeas. The recipe for this poison is a well-guarded secret, and acquiring it is no easy task.

20. #20Nameless Angel of Despairselective

    The Nameless Angel of Despair is a powerful spirit of the Wyrm, a Maeljin Incarna of the Urge Wyrm of Despair.

    Biography

    The patron of suicides, the Nameless Angel can manifest in many places at one time and feeds on sadness. It cannot speak, communicating only in waves of negative emotions, and has the innate ability to appear whenever its presence would help push someone over the edge. It takes no part in Maeljin politics, but all of the Wyrm's servants fear its grey robes and the cold, dark cloud of despair that travels with it.

    The Nameless Angel is the source of the epic grief of Harano, and this feeling is also its weakness. To destroy the Nameless Angel, the Garou once created a legendary ritual where the participants fill themselves with hope and Rage. The rite can only work at a Concolation, a grand moot of Garou from far and wide. Garou from three different Septs must simultaneously work part of the ritual at their caerns.

    At the end of these rituals, all the participants howl their Rage at the Wyrm in one vast and terrible instant. This surge of emotion destroys the Nameless Angel of Despair. Unfortunately, the details of the Rite are lost to time — and once the initial Concolation occurs, the Nameless Angel of Despair knows what is happening. It will attempt to stop the completion of the final Rites.

21. #21Thurifugeselective

    Keys: Thurifuge, Lord of Disease, the Master of Stagnation

    Overview

    The death of democracy is not likely to be an assassination from ambush. It will be a slow extinction from apathy, indifference, and undernourishment.
    — Robert Maynard Hutchins, Great Books
    

    Thurifuge is the Maeljin of Apathy, and is responsible for plagues, stagnation and procrastination. His talons are firmly clenched in the news media and through that organ he promotes isolationism and spreads despair. He is also in charge of water pollution and the like. When Saddam Hussein caused an environmental disaster by dumping crude oil into the seas of the Persian Gulf, Thurifuge summoned many Banes and bathed in the unholy muck, glorying in the kiss of the foul water.

    In the Umbra he transports through a materialized pool of slime.

    History

    Werner Herzog, one of the first filmmakers to bring his film crews into Kuwait after the Gulf War, is rumored to have destroyed a reel of film containing footage of the Master of Stagnation and his Bane retinue frolicking just off the Gulf coast. Thurifuge is a creature devoted to plagues and water pollution, and enjoys moderately good relations with Lady Yul. He is pledged both to Lethargg and to the Eater-of-Souls itself, and has worked hard to maintain the Eater-of-Souls' agenda since its passing from Gaia.

    The current incarnation of Thurifuge is said to have been, in mortal life, a chief surgeon in the Nazi death camps who continued his ghastly work in South America after World War II. His hideous war crimes were motivated not by loyalty, not by cruelty, not by hate — but simply by a lack of spirit. Now the Lord of Disease has much with which to busy himself, and he pursues his agendas of desensitisation, isolation and procrastination with ironically good (if morbid) cheer. His spirit form is that of a tall, lean man with the striated skin of a corpse and an oily grin. He invariably appears from a fetid pool of slime that mysteriously seeps into the area before his arrival.

22. #22Doge Klypseselective

    Keys: Archbishop of Madness, Doge Klypse

    Doge Klypse, also known as the Archbishop of Madness, is a Maeljin Incarna of the Urge Wyrm of Paranoia.

    Biography Doge Klypse

    The Doge is a short and pudgy man, with a round hairless head and sunken eyes that mirror the insanity he embodies. Dressed in black robes embroidered with hypnotic patterns of purple thread, he wears a ring that is a slimy violet tumor and forces everyone he encounters to kiss it. This kiss drives the victim insane. The Doge is also quite mad and regularly becomes lost in bouts of mindless insanity. During these fits, he attacks and mutilates anyone around him, including his servants and allies.

    The only way to destroy Doge Klypse is to locate a tarnished brass box containing the name and memory of the last person he trusted before becoming a Maeljin Incarna. This box is roughly the size of a cigar box and rumored to be located somewhere in Malfeas.

    Opening the box sends this memory back to him, rendering him temporarily unable to be Sykora’s representative. Suddenly mortal, he must perform an hour-long ritual that purges the memory, locking it in another box. Only during that ritual is he vulnerable.

23. #23Knight Entropyselective

    Keys: Knight Entropic, Knight Entropy

    Knight Entropy, also known as the Wyrm’s Spawn and Knight Entropic, is a Maeljin Incarna of the Urge Wyrm of Consumption.

    Biography

    The Knight Entropy’s gaze rots its target and its touch turns people and objects to dust. It never negotiates, even with its fellow Maeljin, and is impossible to coerce or control. Instead, anything or anyone pure, honorable, and perfect attracts its deadly gaze. It appears as a feral human of indeterminate gender with bloody hair, wearing the remains of a crusader’s armor. On its shield is a black dragon encircling and constricting the world, and its mount is a black horse with bloody fangs.

    The only force that can destroy Lord Entropy is the pure and creative energies of the Wyld. Direct exposure to the Flux Realm would instantly kill it. Alternately, some of the Changing Breeds might discover a way to channel the power of several powerful caerns into a single site. If Knight Entropy attempts to drain this caern of power, as he has so many others, he would be overwhelmed with the Wyld’s boundless creative energy. That force would obliterate him and his energies of decay.

24. #24Maine duBoisselective

    Keys: Maine duBois, Esquire, Honorable Maine duBois, Chamberlain of Lies, Corruption’s Advocate

    Maine duBois is a Maeljin Incarna of the Urge Wyrm of lies, he is also known as the Corruption’s Advocate, the Chamberlain of Lies or simply as the "Honorable Maine duBois, Esquire".

    Biography

    Maine duBois is the most accomplished liar in any realm. He most often operates by convincing others to act for him, especially previously innocent politicians and bureaucrats. Dressed in an old-fashioned suit that is tattered and drenched in slime, a fluttering storm of paper and papyrus constantly accompany him. His grin stretches from one ear to the other and his tongue forks, like a serpent’s.

    Profiting at his expense when negotiating a contract with Maine duBois is merely a way to take his place. To destroy him, someone must find a way to cause him to sign a contract that requires him to forfeit his title if he fails to uphold his end of it. Beyond that, nobody involved in the contract may profit from it, whether the Chamberlain of Lies succeeds in his end or not. If Maine duBois cannot fulfill the contract, he instantly ceases to exist.

25. #25Lord Chokeselective

    Keys: Lord Choke, Master of Smog

    Lord Choke, the Master of Smog, is the Maeljin of Hoga, the Elemental Wyrm of Tainted Air, and controls the Duchy of Smog in Malfeas.

    Overview

    Lord Choke enjoys smothering his victims' freedom as he poisons their air. He directs his servants to clog the air with smog and smoke, delighting equally in stalled rush hour traffic and burning oil wells. His sickly sweet smoke deludes and befuddles his victims, twisting them to his will. This smoke precedes him wherever he travels, and gathers about his bluish, bulbous form like a living coat. His favorite offerings are of healthy lungs and brains.

    Domain

    The Duchy of Smog is filled with thick toxic clouds that make normal vision impossible. Only creatures that are immune to poison gases can breathe for long in this Duchy. The Maeljin himself resides in a factory made out of black iron that is the source of the constant smog clouds, attended to by eyeless Banes and strange mechanic devices that generate even more smog.

    Conditions for His Destruction

    The Garou must locate the four greatest and most powerful air elementals, and convince them to work together to disperse Lord Choke. Unfortunately, all four are bitter rivals, and none of them wishes to share their air with each other or Lord Choke. The Master of Smog is powerful enough to defeat any one of the elementals himself, and can hold his own against two. Only when all four blow as one wind can they achieve victory.

26. #26Lord Collumselective

    Keys: Lord Collum, Master of Sludge

    Lord Collum, the Master of Sludge, is the Maeljin of H'rugg, the Elemental Wyrm of Tainted Earth. He controls the Duchy of Sludge in Malfeas.

    Overview

    Collum is a creature made entirely of raw sewage. His influence extends throughout the sewers of all cities, allowing him to gather many secrets. He watches those dwelling there, attempting to corrupt Ratkin, Nosferatu vampires, and stranger creatures, tempting them with foul but useful gifts and bits of wisdom in return for their aid. He particularly enjoys contaminating clean drinking water with his poisons. He is the consort of Lady Yul, fertilizing her toxic eggs and adopting some of her viler children. Collum appears as a roughly humanoid figure made of raw sewage. His stench is powerful and lingering and he speaks in a hideous liquid gurgle.

    Domain

    The domain of Collum consists of glaciers of frozen sewage and mountain ranges of frozen debris. On the top of the largest glacier, Collum resides in a castle made out of polluted ice. Banes resembling worms feed through its tunnels and seek to devour anyone not under the protection of the Maeljin.

    Conditions for Destruction

    Anyone seeking to destroy Lord Collum must locate the seeds of five rare magical plants that each possesses a supernatural ability to purify toxins. Within a few minutes of planting these seeds in Lord Collum’s foul body, they sprout and grow, swiftly transforming him from a being of sewage into a plant elemental. The transformation is not final until three days have passed, and if sludge elementals can capture this plant-spirit, they can corrupt it back into Lord Collum.

27. #27Lord Kerneselective

    Keys: Master of Balefire, Lord Kerne

    Lord Kerne, the Master of Balefire, is the Maeljin of Furmas, the Elemental Wyrm of Tainted Fire. He controls the Duchy of Balefire in Malfeas.

    Overview

    Kerne is a creature of radiation and balefire who delights in nuclear accidents. He has grown fat on both the Chernobyl and the Fukushima nuclear disasters. Although his spirit form seems cadaverous and frail, his flesh is boiling lava and his breath atomic fire. He rides through the Umbra on a blazing chariot of hellfire, trailing sulfurous black smoke and deadly radioactive fallout in its wake.

    Domain

    Kerne's duchy is illuminated by the glow of Cherenkov radiation. In center of the realm stands a large Balefire volcano that emits radioactive lava. Kerne resides in a plutonium-infused fortress at the side of the volcano, and presides over hundreds of fomori that are slowly transformed by the contact with the balefire into hideous Banes.

    Conditions for Destruction

    Killing Lord Kerne is an arduous task that requires freezing him solid and then encasing his frozen form in lead. Anyone attempting this task must work fast, as the raw power of the Master of Hellfire thaws and melts any lead within an hour of contact.

    Though trapping him in this manner destroys Lord Kerne, anyone breaching the lead case returns him to life. Any werewolf foolish enough to imprison a Maeljin Incarna had better have a good hiding place in mind.

28. #28Lady Yulselective

    Keys: Lady Yul, Mistress of Toxins

    Overview Lady Yul

    Yul is the Maeljin of toxins of all forms, from addictive drugs to painfully lethal acids and poisons. She has masterful knowledge of genetics and biochemistry, so agents of the Wyrm often ask her to provide specially designed creatures for them. She alters creatures in precise and terrible ways, such as changing a creature’s lungs so that it breathes carbon monoxide rather than oxygen. She bears within her eggs enough to hatch a litter of her latest creations. Other than Collum, her closest allies are Aliara and Thurifuge.

    Legends say that an ancient herb known as Moly could purify Lady Yul, as it is an antidote to all toxins. Unfortunately, this herb now only grows deep within Pangaea. A few wise and ancient Mokolé or an exceedingly clever Nuwisha might be able to help searching Garou to locate the herb, but harvesting it is every bit as dangerous as any other visit to Pangaea. Finding the Moly is only half the problem — Lady Yul must ingest it in food or drink. One taste destroys her instantly.

    Domain

    Yul's domain is a warm sea of multicolored toxins, inhabited by aquatic wyrmspawn that ranges from Banes to giant lampreys. Near the center of the duchy is an archipelago where Yul houses a great laboratory complex that contains her most vicious and unstable creations.

29. #29Foebok, The Urge of Fearselective

    Keys: Foebok

    Biography

    Most Garou believe that Foebok is the first and oldest of the Urges, born from the Wyrm’s terror of its captivity. Normal fear allows creatures to be wary of threats. Foebok takes these fears and magnifies them. It mutates fear into mindless panic, while also inducing a persistent and lingering dread that grows to consume the victim’s mind. Because it is such a basic and primal emotion, Foebok has no Maeljin Incarna. Instead, the Black Spiral Dancers call upon the totem Hakaken, “The Heart of Fear”, when they seek to deal with Foebok.

    Mage: The Sorcerer's Crusade

    "The Howling Blindness;" male urge-spirit of terror. Called upon when worshippers wish to cripple their foes without risk. Sacrifices are often buried alive in tiny cells or caskets. Manifests as a wave of bowel-emptying panic.

30. #30Vorus the Urge Wyrm of Greedselective

    Keys: Vorus

    Vorus is the Urge Wyrm of Greed. In the 1900s, increased materialism and wealth, particularly in the United States, strengthened it.

    No Maeljin serves this Urge. Apparently, Vorus either needs no help, or it refuses to share even the least bit of its power with another.

    Mage: The Sorcerer's Crusade

    "The Eternal Hunger;" Urge-spirit of greed and avarice. Invoked by Dutch and Italian merchants who own the Liber Labyrinthus; said to be a secret Patronus to some Explorators. Invoked while standing in a pile of riches. Loves sacrifices of beloved people and things. Often manifests as the Greek King Minos, and may be an aspect of the demon of that name.

31. #31Mahsstracselective

    Keys: Mahsstrac

    Mahsstrac is the Urge Wyrm of Power.

    Biography

    The Urge of Power cultivates in its victims the idea that dominance and control are ends in themselves, rather than means to an end. In their lust for power, those in Mahsstrac’s thrall lose sight of whatever goal they originally wished to achieve. Tyrants become obsessed with retaining and expanding their power, and employers impose meaningless rules on their workers. The Urge of Power has no Maeljin Incarna, since it lives in the heart of almost all of the Wyrm’s servants. Black Spiral Dancers appeal to it through the totem known as the Green Dragon, “Destroyer of Life, and Crusher of Enemies”.

    Mage: The Sorcerer's Crusade

    "Destroyer of Life;" gargantuan hydra-spirit said to block out the sky when he manifests. The Urge-spirit of power, Mahsstrac inspires worshippers to acts of inhuman prowess and recklessness. In return, he craves human sacrifice, accompanied by pillage and rape.

32. #32Karnalaselective

    Keys: Karnala

    Karnala is the Urge Wyrm of Desire.

    Biography

    Karnala is raw, untamed desire. It can attach itself to any goal; just when victims achieve one goal, they swiftly discover a new, equally pressing desire they must fulfill. Karnala creates and feeds upon yearning, not attainment. It also blinds a victim to anything beyond his desires, including any long-term consequences, which could cause him to lose everything he has gained.

    Karnala is far more about having experiences rather than accumulation of things, and as such differs from Vorus. Few in the thrall of Vorus gamble unless they are almost certain they will win, because losing deprives them of some of their accumulated money or goods. Gamblers in the thrall of Karnala gain the thrill of risking everything even if they lose the bet.

    Mage: The Sorcerer's Crusade

    "The Lighting of the Heart;" Patrona of wanton desire. Very popular among degenerate courtiers and rapacious tribesmen; sometimes invoked by very ugly people who cannot find a lover on their own. Enjoys sacrifices of painfully precious things; also sends large cats to devour human hearts in her name.

33. #33Abhorraselective

    Keys: Abhorra

    Abhorra is the Urge Wyrm of Hatred.

    Biography

    Abhorra grew from the Wyrm’s hatred of the Weaver for trapping it. It is pure and potent loathing in search of a target. When it touches someone, all dislike or discomfort that he feels towards individuals or groups of people grows into the mixture of disgust and rage that lies at the heart of all hatred. When in the grips of Abhorra, he sees every action taken by those he hates as loathsome and threatening. Often this hatred brings reciprocating hatred upon the victim, causing Abhorra’s influence to spread and grow. The Duke of Hate, Lord Steel, is this Urge Wyrm's chief advocate.

    Mage: The Sorcerer's Crusade

    "Flayer of Souls;" Urge-spirit of hatred and guardian of war. Invoked when a tribe wishes to harden its collective heart. Loves copious amounts of human sacrifice. Abhorra's rites often involve self-mutilation, genocide and fratricide. Manifests as a warrior bathed in blood.

34. #34Anguselective

    Keys: Angu

    Angu is the Urge Wyrm of Cruelty.

    Biography

    Many Garou believe that Angu is the foul offspring of Abhorra. Tortured by its captivity, the Wyrm seeks to inflict its pain on others. Angu is nothing less than the desire to cause suffering to others. Its touch erodes victims’ sympathy and compassion. Victims first attempt to justify the suffering they cause and eventually learn to revel in the act itself. Those under Angu’s influence may claim that their cruelty has some greater purpose, but they also enjoy it for its own sake.

    Mage: The Sorcerer's Crusade

    "Angu of the Howling Entrails;" male Urge-spirit of cruelty and sadism; loves sacrifices that involve ingenious, prolonged torture. Occasionally invoked by zealous Inquisitors, torturers, and even the victims of excruciation, who consider their agony a sacrament. Said to possess certain Churchmen.

35. #35Ba'ashkaiselective

    Keys: Ba'ashkai

    Ba'ashkai is the Urge Wyrm of Violence.

    Biography

    Along with Foebok, Ba’ashkai is one of the most primal of the Urge Wyrms. It begins as a drive to use excessive violence in some situations, and becomes a desire to use it to solve and simplify all problems. Victims settle discussions with a fist or a knife and become blind to the consequences of these actions. Ba’ashkai doesn’t arouse hatred or even anger; it inflames the bloody and terrible enjoyment of violence for its own sake and the willingness to see violence as the best tool to solve any problem.

    Mage: The Sorcerer's Crusade

    "The Claws of Night;" Male urge-spirit of raw violence. Manifests in two forms: the Hellbringer, a brutal warlord in spiked armor (said to resemble Gilles de Rais); and Malik Harjaq, a 12-armed Viking or Dervish. Loves bloodshed; invoked by Infernalists who lead violent cults.

36. #36Khaaloobhselective

    Keys: Khaaloobh

    Khaaloobh the Voracious is the Urge Wyrm of Consumption.

    Biography

    Khaaloobh is the most mysterious of the Urge Wyrms and known by many names: “The Dark Fungus”, the Urge of Consumption, Indulgence, or Decay. Its exact nature is unclear but it represents a breakdown of order. Those affected suffer some form of decay in the mind, will, emotions, or body. This progressive collapse has destroyed a number of the Wyrm’s minions as well as its foes. Often sends a minor manifestation, the Knight Entropic, to retrieve sacrifices and execute its will. This figure, a blood-stained Crusader, bears a black dragon oroboros device on his shield; he rarely speaks, and his words are never remembered. The Black Spiral Dancers revere the Dark Fungus as Khaaloobh’s messenger.

37. #37Pseulakselective

    Keys: Pseulak

    Pseulak is the Urge Wyrm of Lies.

    Biography

    Lying for gain, convenience or the enjoyment of deceit feeds Pseulak, the Urge of Lies. It begins affecting victims by urging them first to small, convenient lies, and then creating both the habit of lying and a sufficiently complex web of falsehoods so that the victim’s only choice is more lying. It leads victims into the depths of hypocrisy, causing them to lie to everyone, including themselves. The only falsehoods that do not serve Pseulak are the deceptions inherent in the natural world — camouflage and the feints used by hunting animals.

    Mage: The Sorcerer's Crusade

    "Psuelak of the Thousand Tongues;" Urge-spirit of lies and deception, invoked by Infernalists who prefer subterfuge to confrontation. Sometimes sends demonic courtiers as emissaries.

38. #38Sykoraselective

    Keys: Sykora

    Sykora is the Urge Wyrm of Paranoia.

    Biography

    Allied with the Urges of Fear and Hatred, Sykora causes personal failure and random misfortune to appear to have malevolent causes. Some of those in its grip retreat from the world, but it prizes more those who strike out at their assumed enemies. Sykora fosters both a lack of trust and a narcissistic belief that the victim is the focus of a vast amount of negative attention and effort. Much of the inter-tribal conflict within the Garou nation owes its origin to the Urge of Paranoia.

    Mage: The Sorcerer's Crusade

    "Sykora, 10,000 Eyes of Night;" Lord of paranoia, called upon by corrupt courtiers and certain Celestial Masters. Said to manifest as a shambling mass of eyes, hands and mouths, or as a cloud of impenetrable darkness.

39. #39Greeselective

    Keys: Gree

    Gree is the Urge Wyrm of Despair.

    Biography

    Gree devours its victims’ will, destroying their desire to act or to attempt to take control of their lives in even the smallest ways. It floods its victims with an overwhelming sense of sorrow and loss. The most common result of extended possession is suicide, through either deliberate action or passive neglect. After its Fall, Bat became a totem of despair, although some Garou are now attempting to redeem it.

    Mage: The Sorcerer's Crusade

    "Gree the Weeper;" Patron of suicides, Urge of despair. Said to appear as a sexless being in gray robes, shrouded in fog and thick emotions. Rarely worshipped by tribes - the Weeper's self-destructive rites quickly deplete any group that worships it.

40. #40Letharggselective

    Keys: Lethargg

    Lethargg is the Urge Wyrm of Apathy.

    Biography

    This child of Gree replaces will with a growing loss of feeling where victims first become indifferent to the lives and suffering of others and then cease caring about their own lives. The most fully possessed lose themselves in catatonia or fall into comas. Today, Lethargg causes masses of humanity to ignore the horrors and injustices around them. Those firmly in Lethargg’s grip ignore anything beyond the immediate scope of their lives, convinced that nothing they can do will improve the world around them, or affect it in any way. Lethargg has always been one of the most potent and effective Urge Wyrms.

    Mage: The Sorcerer's Crusade

    "Lethargg the Swollen;" Male urge-spirit of apathy and stagnation, alive and well during this period. Worshipped by remote tribesmen who believe that all things are doomed, and by certain orthodox persons who trust in the coming Apocalypse and feel they are ready to meet it. Sometimes manifests as a black cloud of impenetrable darkness.

41. #41Middle Umbraselective

    Keys: Middle Umbra

    Unlike the High Umbra, the Middle Umbra is not organized hierarchically. Instead, it is divided into a series of discrete realms of physical reality divided by gulfs of relative emptiness and pockets of spiritual activity. Roads between these realms vary considerably (moon paths and trods being two examples). Realms in the Middle Umbra usually have their own Gauntlet and many are apparently infinite in their own private scope. While many realms in the Middle Umbra resemble the abstract realms of the High Umbra, the important distinction is that the realms of the Middle Umbra exist independently from the consciousness of humanity, while the High Umbra does not. The Middle Umbra is also notable for the influence of the Triat and the presence of entire hierarchies of spirits associated with them. While many realms are not controlled by one of the Triat, most realms have also been touched by one or more of them.

    Realms found within the Middle Umbra include:

    Abyss (also called the Chasm)
    Aetherial Realm/Reaches
    Atrocity Realm
    Battleground (also called the Realm of Fighting Spirits)
    CyberRealm (also called Dystopia)
    Erebus
    Flux
    Hy-Brasil (also called the Arcadia Gateway)
    Legendary Realm
    Mountains of Heaven
    Pangaea
    Scar
    Summer Country (also called the Gardens of the First Age)
    Tiger Lands
    Umi (also called the Dragon Kingdom of the Sea)
    Wasteland
    Wolfhome
    

42. #42Abyssselective

    Keys: Abyss

    The Abyss is one of the Near Realms of the Umbra. It was created by acts of extreme destruction, though all Fera have different opinions on what exactly happened. There are many hideous creatures within the chasms that lead down to the inner walls of the pit. It is also known as the Chasm by human mages.

    Overview

    The equivalent to a spiritual black hole, the Abyss is surrounded by thick mists, leading to a realm of barren mud and rocks. This in turn leads to the gaping pit that is so deep and wide that it must be bottomless. Anything tossed into the Abyss is forever lost, simply disappearing as though they never existed. Almost anything that has fallen into the Abyss has never come back out again. The only thing that does seem to come out of the Abyss is the strange lulling call that can inspire Harano in Garou.

    Getting to the source of this siren song isn't terribly difficult, as there are many paths that lead here. In fact it is said that any mundane crack in the Umbral soil will if followed long enough, lead to this vast nothingness. Powerful gusts of wind buffet travelers and threaten to fling them in the great nothingness below. This realm devours all forms of sensory perception, whether they come from light, sound or even scent. If one is foolish enough to go far enough, there is the threat of complete sensory deprivation. At that point however, they are lost for all times.

    To the Garou, this is the depot of all things lost. Persons, cultures, totems, even the forgotten spirits of dead tribes come here to wither and die. If one dares to enter the Abyss itself, they will be met with frightful visages. The names and faces of totems and forgotten heroes seem to be carved out of the cliff face. However these carvings may also be the monsters that are waiting to be unleashed during the Apocalypse.

    To the Bone Gnawers, the Eldest of Vampires lay in torpor here, waiting for the night when they can come to suck the world dry. The Get of Fenris have a similar legend, but they believe that hordes of loathsome Wyrmspawn will rise from this "Maw of Jormungandr." The Star Gazers see the Abyss as the greatest of paradoxes, an embodied spiritual koan. Only Klaital, greatest of the tribe, was able to descend fully into the Abyss and return from within.

    The Silent Striders whisper that, should the greatest of Garou heroes sacrifice himself by voluntarily hurling himself into the Abyss, the entire realm will close in on itself, sealing itself shut for all time. Of course, the Striders also remind those listening that, despite several heroes' attempts, it is still there intact and inviting others to try. Not only are the Garou aware of the Abyss. Thus is the impact of this terrible ..thing.. in the umbra that the other Fera have their own legends about it.

    The Bastet believe it to be the first Den-Realm, seazed by the Wyrm and desecrated into what it is now. The Mokolé see the Abyss as the anathema of Mnesis, the embodiment of all that has been forever lost from even their prodigious memories. The Ananasi tell tales of a bloated Goblin Spider who forever spins a web in its depths, seeking build a bridge and bring the Apocalypse to the world. The secretive Nagah believe the Abyss to be the mark were the Wyrm struck the spirit world and injected it with its poisons, referring to it as the Shadow Fang. While the Corax, for all their Umbral travel, will simply not speak of it.

    Geography of the Void

    Like any rock on the physical or Umbral plane, the Abyss's walls are just as scalable. However, one is welcome to do so at one's own risk. Powerful gusts of wind buffet travelers and threaten to fling them in the great nothingness below. This realm devours all forms of sensory perception, wither they come from light, sound or even scent. If is foolish enough to go far enough, there is the threat of complete sensory deprivation. At that point however, they are lost for all times.

    There are three paths that lead down into the Abyss, all of them lined with vast networks of caves were nearly anything and everything lost can be found. Each one is lined with a particular kind of mineral that gives the path its name.

    The Golden Path: Named because of the nodes of pure gold that line this path. This makes this path the most tempting to take, however those who wish to take from the path, as it were invoke a potent curse. To add to this, it is the most precarious of paths, lined with fissures, sheer drops and other obstacles. This is the deadliest of the Abyssal paths.
    
    The Iron Path: The Iron Path, like the name preludes is striated with bands of iron ore. This path is favored by poor lost cubs that accidentally wonder about the umbra and find their way to the Abyss. It is over run with endless numbers of caverns, however these caves are almost always filled with stranded creatures or spirits who have gone insane because of the ever consuming nature of the Abyss. Rescue is possible though difficult, and is worthy of great renown by those who do. Of the three paths, the Iron path is the easiest to traverse.
    
    The Silver Path: It is said that the Star Gazer hero Klaital took the Silver Path through and out of the Abyss. Most of the great totemic carvings lie along this enigmatic path. Silver taken from this path is said to be particularly useful in the forging of klaives. The Silver Path is more difficult and treacherous than the Golden or Iron Paths -- in its own way -- other wise more would be known about it. However, no two Theurges can agree on the precise nature of its challenges.
    

    Getting In and the Hell Out

    The Abyss calls to those who look into it for too long. Tugging at the emptiness in their souls, convincing them that they aren't worthy to defend Gaia, or that in the long run their existence is meaningless. Some shapeshifters, particularly Corax, have been known to fly directly into the Abyss. Those who do so ultimately suffer the effects of sensory deprivation as they travel deeper and deeper into the lightless, silent void. They begin to hallucinate as maddening terror fills their being.

    Getting into this realm is terribly easy. Falling off a moon path, wandering off course, or even failing to fully cross the Gauntlet. Most don't even know that they are entering the Abyss until it is too late. Exiting the realm is much, much, much harder. One can be trapped in the realm for days following the many cracks that lead elsewhere. And even then, they must be free of any of the maddening effects of the Realm. Creatures suffering from either Harano or a derangement find themselves in for a long trip unless either condition is cured.

    Residents of the Abyss

    There are few who permanently choose to dwell in this lonely land. And rightfully so. Spirits that wish to come to this place must materialize to enter the realm, falling out of touch with the rest of the Umbra as they do so. Neither the Weaver or the Wyld are strong in this place, as their charms simply do not function. Break or Solidify Reality isn't very useful in a place that seems to eat at reality. So both kinds of spirits give the realm a very wide berth. Ironically however, the Abyss acts as a beacon or "spiritual" magnet to spirits. Anyone attempting to summon a spirit whiles in the realm, will find it very easy to do so.

    The Hive of the Jagged Maw

    The Hive of the Jagged Maw is a group of Black Spiral Dancers that have chosen to dwell permanently in the Abyss. This insane group is devoted to the worship of the aspect of the Triadic Wyrm known as the Eater of Souls, the leader of this hive, lead by its priestess Grythyg, believes the realm to be the mouth of this Wyrm incarnation. Members of remain by the great pit, enacting horrific rites in preparation for the Apocalypse, when they believe the Wyrm-monster will rise from the ground and devour the world. Members of this hive seek to keep the Abyss "pure" of outside contamaninates. This of course means keeping those devoted to Gaia from "polluting" the region. Cunningly they often pretend to be lost Gaian Garou. Once a pack has "located" one of them, they ambush them, and then relish their victories by torturing and tossing their would be "saviors" into the Abyss alive.

    As one can imagine they hate Nightmaster with a passion, but as his forces are greater then their own, there is little they can do about him. In a twist of irony, hive members occasionally aid in his lesser schemes in an attempt to gain information about his weaknesses. To date. they have found none. The Lost Legion

    As of late, Umbral travelers have started to see strange phantasmal figures near the Abyss. They bear the chill of the Low Umbra, and appear to be the spirits of the human dead. Coming in many shapes, but all bear weapons, cuirasses and hauberks of black iron. Moving in with the preciseness of a military formation and bearing a soldierly seeming, they handle the swords, pikes, guns and other armorment with ease. Once in service to the Lords of the Dead, these hapless ghosts were blasted from their posts in a great spirit-storm. And try as they might they are unable to find their way back from this umbral realm. Now this rag-tag hodge-podge of a military unit has erected an encampment along the Iron Path, claiming it as their home. As of yet they are uncertain what to make of their new surroundings, and are wary of travelers. They know of Nightmaster, but nothing more.

43. #43Nightmasterselective

    Keys: Nightmaster

    Biography

    Of the few that dare to call the dreaded Abyss a home, none is as infamous and terrifying as the Shadow Lord known as Nightmaster. Once a great hero to the Garou and a member of the Society of Nidhogg, he traveled into the Abyss long ago with his pack. Seeking out the realm's secrets, his pack went mad with the nature of this realm and he was forced to put them down, one by one, till he was the only one standing in the lightless void.

    There, he made a pact with the Abyss itself, either becoming its slave or its master. In doing so, he sacrificed his soul to the dark, and destroyed everything in his being that was weak or natural. He now walks the Abyss with impunity, freeing those creatures suited to his whims and subduing them into his service. He is a fitting ruler for this gloomy realm.

    Stats Umbra: The Velvet Shadow and Umbra Revised

    Umbra: The Velvet Shadow is * and Umbra Revised is ^ Breed: Homid Auspice: Philodox Nature: Bravo* Demeanor: Bravo* Tribe: Shadow Lord (Society of Nidhogg) Attributes: Strength 5 (7/9/8/6), Dexterity 4 (4/5/6/6), Stamina 5 (7/8/8/8), Charisma 3, Manipulation 4 (3/1/1/1), Appearance 1 (0/0/1/1), Perception 4, Intelligence 5, Wits 5 Abilities: Alertness 5, Athletics *4/^5, Brawl *4/^5, Dodge *3/^5, Empathy 1, Intimidation 7, Primal-Urge 3, Subterfuge 4, ^Crafts 2, Melee *3/^5, Leadership 4, Performance 3, *Repair 2, Stealth 5, Survival 4, Enigmas 5, Medicine 3, Occult 5, Politics 3, Rituals 5 Backgrounds (Velvet Shadow): Pure Breed 2, Resources 3 Backgrounds (Umbra Revised): The entire Abyss and its secrets are open to Nightmaster; if he takes the time to look for something lost within the tunnels, he'll eventually find it. Nightmaster is notably Pure Bred, but has been cut off from any access to totem spirits or ancestor-spirits. Gifts (Velvet Shadow): Aura of Confidence, Fatal Flaw, Persuasion, Resist Pain, Scent of the True Form, Truth of Gaia, Call to Duty, Clap of Thunder, Luna's Armor, Staredown, Strength of Purpose, Disquiet, Icy Chill of Despair, Paralyzing Stare, Reshape Object, Body Shift, Open Wounds, Roll Over, Scent of Beyond, Stench of the Peasant, Take the True Form, Geas, Obedience, Shadow Pack, Stealing the Soul, Gifts (Umbra Revised): Nightmaster has been around so long that the Storyteller can presume he has access to any and all Gifts that seem appropriate; all Shadow Lord Gifts in particular ate his to command. He also wields a unique Gift granted to him and him alone by the Abyss. Special Gift (Velvet Shadow): The Abyss has granted Nightmaster the Gift: Stealing the Soul. It is a Level Five Gift that allows him to roll his Gnosis against an opponent's Gnosis. For each sucess he surpasses his opponent, he drains a point of his opponent's score (temporarily). This is the only way that Nightmaster can regain Gnosis. Nightmaster must see his target to use this Gift. He can (and does) use it in conjunction with Scent of the Beyond. Also, his only legions are from his Shadow Pack Gift. •Stealing the Soul (Level Five) (Umbra Revised) - By focusing on an opponent, Nightmaster may make an opposed Gnosis roll (difficulty of his target's Gnosis) against his victim (difficulty 10). For each success by which he surpasses his opponent, he drains two points of temporary Gnosis from his opponent. This is the only way that Nightmaster can regain Gnosis. Rank: 5 Rites: All Fetishes: Nightmaster has a Heart of the Spirit fetish filled with 10 points of Gnosis. He also owns an ancient klaive. (Velvet Shadow)/Assassin's klaive; Storyteller's choice of 4-8 other "toys" of the moment. (Umbra Revised) Rage 7, Gnosis 10, Willpower 10

44. #44Aetherial Realmselective

    Keys: Aetheria, Aetherial Realm

    The Aetherial Realm, also known as Aetheria, is the farthest expanse of the Near Realm within the Umbra that spans over the Spirit Wilds up to the Membrane. It is reflected in the physical world as the skies above that constantly cycle through night and day.

    Geography

    The Aetherial Realm is accessible from the clouds of the Spirit Wilds. Its lowest point is the fantastical mountains made out of clouds and inhabited by aerial spirits. They have a spongy top layer but are solid and easy to walk on. The clouds shift and flow to their own rhythms and form wondrous landscapes of plains, hills, valleys and mountains that all have the same spongy solidity. Behind that, the sky is in a deep dark blue, illuminated only by the lights of Luna and Helios. Garou either have to gain means to fly higher, or use Moon bridges that lead upwards. More risky approaches are climbing up the Pattern Web.

    Between the domains of Helios and Luna, other planetary Celestines spin around each other, each a separate Realm into themselves within the greater Aetherial as well as an independent Incarna spirit that is even able to act as a Totem. Each of their realms harbor unique dangers and conditions linked the Incarna in question. The Garou Nation maintains a single Sept among these Realms, the Sept of the Stars, an disembodied sept under the leadership of the Stargazers that is dedicated to unraveling the mysteries of this realm.

    Behind the domains of the planetary Incarna lie the Aetherial Reaches, which are the domains of the Triat and stretch from behind the Membrane that separates the Aetherial Realm from the Deep Umbra. Numerous Anchorheads tie the Aetherial to the Deep Umbra.

    Weaver Reaches: The Weaver Reaches are strands of calcified reality, similar to an astronomer’s computerized map. The web’s intersecting nodes lock cold stars and frozen planets to an unnatural symmetry. No signs of life exist. Colossal Weaver spirits such as ‘star spiders’ patrol and maintain the web and ensure everything remains in its ordained place.
    Wyld Reaches: The Wyld Reaches are a place of chaos. Planets and comets dance around each other with colliding according to ever-shifting laws. Burning cold suns that freeze everything around them and others that push everything away with antigravity waves circle among them.
    Wyrm Reaches: The stars within the Wyrm Reaches have burned-out to lifeless husks or collapsed into black holes that usually lead into Malfeas. Nebulas of pollution and balefire swirl around them, obscuring their constellations from anyone who looks at them, making them dark blotches within the Umbral sky.
    

    Incarnae

    The planetary Incarnae are facets of greater Celestines that embody the planets of the earthly solar system. The Garou see their influence on the physical world codified within the Garou Lunar Zodiac.

    Eshtarra, Incarna of Earth and an aspect of Gaia
    Katanka-Sonnak, Incarna of the Sun and an aspect of Helios
    Sokhta, Incarna of the Moon and an aspect of Luna
    Mitanu, Incarna of Mercury
    Hakahe, Incarna of Vulcan
    Tambiyah, Incarna of Venus
    Nerigal, Incarna of Mars
    Rorg, Incarna of the Asteroid Belt
    Zarok, Incarna of Jupiter
    Lu-Bat, Incarna of Saturn
    Ruatma, Incarna of Uranus
    Shantar, Incarna of Neptune
    Meros, Incarna of Pluto
    

    In the Final Nights, Anthelios, the Red Star, pushes from the Wyrm Reaches into the Aetherial Realm. Those Garou alerted to this fear that this marks an attempt of the Wyrm to finally breach into the Gaian Realm and begin the Apocalypse.

    Minor Incarnae include spirits associated with constellations, comets and meteor showers as well as specific stars like Polaris, the North Star, or Sirius.

    Aspects of the Realm

    When traveling upwards, the air remains “breathable” for creatures that are part spirit. Gravity, however, ceases and if the being steps sideways into the physical world, it ends in outer space (where it will probably immediately decompress and die).

    If a being falls within the Aetherial Realm, it gains no damage. Instead, it falls through the clouds into another Realm, where it will land without taking damage from the fall.

    Contacting star-spirits, Lunes and Helions is far easier within the Aetherial Realm than it is in the physical world.

45. #45Eshtarraselective

    Keys: the Songteller, Eshtarra

    Eshtarra, the Songteller, is the Planetary Incarna of Earth according to Garou Astrology. She prefers not to act as a Totem, and when she takes a pack, she does so in her aspect of Danu.

    Overview

    Considered an aspect of the Great Mother--who perhaps represents all life giving worlds--Eshtarra only represents the Earth that cradles humanity. She emphasizes music, fertility, and defensive combat, the kind that fights to protect something, as opposed to Nerigal, who stands for combat in all its forms. She does not lend herself as a totem out of fear of misinterpretation that one tribe is favored more by Gaia than another.

    Her colors are blue, green, and white, and she corresponds to the zodiac sign of Taurus.

    Other Names - Rhea (Black Furies), Ishtar (Children of Gaia), Danu (Fianna), Ostara (Get of Fenris), Terra (Glass Walkers), Zemyna (Shadow Lords), Isis (Silent Striders), Eseasar (Uktena), Maja (Wendigo)

    As Totem

    Eshtarra herself prefers not to act as a totem to packs, feeling that such packs might grow heady with arrogance, believing themselves Gaia's especial favorites. When she takes a pack, she does so in her aspect of Danu

46. #46Katanka-Sonnakselective

    Keys: Katanka-Sonnak

    Katanka-Sonnak, the Wind Rider, is the Planetary Incarna of the Sun in Garou Astrology.

    Overview Katanka-Sonnak

    Just as Eshtarra and Sokhta are merely aspects of Gaia and Luna respectively, Katanka is but an aspect of Helios, representing only the Sun of Earth, rather than all suns. Also known as Hyperion by Mages, he commands the solar winds, and emphasizes the energy or renewal and rebirth, which is seen in those born under him as boundless vigor in both combat and dramatic mannerisms. Much like fire, however, he is known for his temper and gluttonous appetite.

    The Wind Raider blames the Garou for the harm done to his children during the War of Rage, and some say he believes the Garou have helped bring the Apocalypse. Among the Garou, only the Children of Gaia and the Wendigo truly hold his favor.

    His color is yellow, and corresponds with the zodiac sign of Leo. He has many forms and many names. One of his forms is the Aetherial sun, but he may also appear as a human warrior clad in bright armor, a golden eagle, a huge raven, or a diamond-bright crocodile.

    Other Names: Helios (Black Furies), Merodach (Children of Gaia), Lugh (Fianna), Freyr (Get of Fenris), Sol (Glass Walkers), Dazhbog (Shadow Lords), Ra (Silent Striders), Mir-Susne-Khum (Silver Fangs), Pautiwa (Uktena), Katanka-Sonnak (Wendigo), Hyperion (Mages).

    As Totem

    Just as Luna's face of Sokhta/Phoebe will sometimes act as a pack totem, so does Helios' Incarna of Katanka-Sonnak. He does so very rarely, and only when thoroughly impressed with a pack's mettle and foresight. Mokolé and Corax, the other children of Helios, respect Hyperion's children and will cooperate with them as necessary.

47. #47Heliosselective

    Keys: Helios

    Helios is a Celestine and an embodiment of Earth's Sun. In contrast to his sister Luna, he gives his blessing only to a few selected Fera.

    Overview GlyphHelios

    Garou glyph for Helios.

    As a Celestine, Helios's existence is tied to the actual sun. His home is within the Aetherial Realm; however, no changer could dwell on his surface. The Incarna of Helios is named Katanka-Sonnak, according to Garou astrology.

    Helios is in most cases affiliated with aerial spirits, such as the Corax, who claim his favor, or Falcon, the tribal totem of the Silver Fangs. However, he withheld his favor to the Garou after the massacres of the War of Rage and only teaches few gifts to them - apparently, the Uktena and Wendigo hold a better standard before Helios compared to other Garou, and some sources claim the same for the Children of Gaia as well. Helios was also worshipped by the early Mokolé during the Age of Kings. He has not withdrawn his favor to them, and to this day, the weredragons honor him. Those patronized by Helios - the Corax and Mokolé - are vulnerable to gold, just as those patronized by Luna are vulnerable to silver.

    The area of the Deep Umbra that houses Helios is nothing but heat and brilliant white light. Bridges made up of reddish light similar to solar flares lead across deep chasms filled with superheated atomized elements. Fire elemental Incarnae dwell here, bright and cheerful, yet charged to defend the realm against intruders. They will attack any werewolves who enter the realm, though they welcome the Corax and others who worship Helios. Any surface within Helios’s realm is too hot to stand or remain near for too long. Only flying spirits enter this area of the Deep Umbra, and travelers without the ability to fly burn up in the fire before they have a chance to realize their mistake.

    There is a legend going around the Garou regarding an insane Shadow Lord known as the Nightmaster, who strides with impunity across the Abyss, destroying what he finds or recruiting it into his growing army. He is empowered by the Abyss but unable to depart. Some Garou worry that he found the secret he desired and now waits for the Apocalypse to slay and consume Helios.

48. #48Sokhtaselective

    Keys: Lambent Lady, Phoebe, Sokhta

    Sokhta, also known as Phoebe or the Lambent Lady, is the Planetary Incarna of Earth's Moon according to Garou Astrology.

    Overview Sokhta

    Much like how Eshtarra is an aspect of Gaia, Sokhta represents only the Moon of Earth, as opposed to Luna, who reigns over all moons. Sometimes called Phoebe, she emphasizes tranquility, reflection, and practical meditation. Those born under her are elusive and subtle in their pranks. Unfortunately, she is susceptible to madness, much like her mistress, and is known for her envy.

    Her colors are silver, gray, and white, and she corresponds with the zodiac sign of Cancer.

    Other Names: Artemis (Black Furies), Caelestis (Children of Gaia), Frigg (Get of Fenris), Diana (Glass Walkers, Mages), Myesyats (Shadow Lords), Tsuki-yomi (Hakken Shadow Lords), Ashtoreth (Silent Striders), Hov-ava (Silver Fangs), Sokhta (Stargazers), Bomo Rambi (Uktena), Pah (Wendigo), Phoebe (Mages).

    Ascension Stats

    Diana Diana is slender and pale, with long silvery hair framing a round face. She might appear young or old, depending on how the light strikes her. Her personality, too, tends to shift between lighter and darker phases - warm and friendly one moment, bitter and scornful the next, or shifting from grim determination to hopeless resignation and back again with little apparent cause. She will tell but little of her life or origins, but her aristocratic bearing and her given title of "Princessima de Lune" enable the spirit-savvy to recognize her as a moon spirit of high rank. (Three successes on an Intelligence + Occult or Spirit Lore roll.) She is equally coy about the exact identity of her mother, saying such cryptic things as, "She is all around you - you have known her all your life."

    Willpower: 8, Rage: 6, Gnosis: 9, Essence: 23 Charms: Appear, Cleanse the Blight, Flood, Influence, Open Moon Bridge, Arrows of Lunacy (An arrow from Diana's silver-stringed bow, charged with two Essence points, will derange the sensibilities of any hit by it. Targets have the difficulty of all Mental rolls increased by two for the duration of the scene.) Sphere Charms: Mind 5, Spirit 5

49. #49Lunaselective

    Keys: Luna, Seline

    Luna, also known as the Lambent Lady and Seline, is a Celestine, the spiritual embodiment of Earth's Moon. Notably, she is also one of the great spiritual patrons, the female alpha.

    Overview

    Luna herself embodies the Moon - unlike a mere Incarna, a Celestine literally is its affiliated concept. To destroy Luna the Celestine in the Umbra would destroy the moon itself. Luna's Umbral home is in the Aetherial Realm, which may or may not blend into a Penumbral reflection of outer space. Journeying to the Umbral moon is a most serious quest in Werewolf society, but one often necessary to take. It is only from Luna that one can acquire Moonsilver and Pathstones.

    Luna's character is mercurial, changing with each phase of the Moon; she generally reflects the traits of each of the Auspices of the Garou when in the appropriate phase. During the new moon, she is a playful trickster and fond of riddles. During the crescent moon, she is a mysterious prophet. During the half moon, she is judge and counselor, a giver of sage advice. During the gibbous moon, she is a storyteller and particularly fond of song. During the full moon, she is at her most warlike. She has no set appearance, differing greatly depending upon which avatar she is appearing through. She is strongly associated with insanity.

    Avatars and Servants

    Luna herself is, as a Celestine, far too powerful to appear before such beings as the Garou. Instead, she appears through Incarna avatars, facets of her greater self through which she can appear. Of course, no one avatar can exactly represent Luna in all her glory. One of the most prominent of her faces is Sokhta, or Phoebe, generally considered to be a more accurate representation of Luna than some other Incarnae, and also affiliated with the lunar zodiac described in Rage Across The Heavens. Moira is another such avatar, appearing as an old woman, associated with fate and destiny.

    Luna also has a variety of spirit servants to carry out her will throughout the Tellurian. The most common spirit servant of Luna is the Lune, a Jaggling spirit that waxes and wanes in power along with the lunar phases. They are capable of opening Moon bridges, and are generally well-disposed to the Garou. There are also Moonshadows, shadowy counterparts to the Lunes that can act as Anamae to beings that enter into pacts with them. Others include Blood Warriors, Great Green Cheese-spirits, the Harvester, Selene, Tythus, Falling Stars, and Strangelings.

    Patronage

    Luna is of deep importance to the Garou. Creation myths differ, but many cite Luna as the most direct creator of the Garou, although others say Gaia created them and Luna took over as a guide and patron. It is her ever-shifting face that determines the Auspice of a werewolf when it is born. She is also tied into their Rage; Luna is one of three beings generally listed as giving the Garou this potent spiritual weapon (along with Gaia and the Wyrm). The first sight of the moon each night replenishes a werewolf's Rage, and the phase also affects the likelihood that they will frenzy, with the greatest possibility during the full moon.

    Moon bridges are one of the most significant forms of travel through the Umbra, many of them occurring between two caerns. To establish a moon bridge, each of the two caerns must have a pathstone (obtained only from Luna herself) and have performed the proper rites. They travel in large arcs through the Umbra, the top of which reaches into the Aetherial Realm itself. Moon paths are a related form of travel (most accurately, moon bridges are a specialized and more reliable form of moon path) that appear more randomly through the Umbra. Both are easiest to travel during the full moon, and incredibly difficult to cross during the new moon.

    Since the beginning of the Era of Apocalypse, Moon Cults have begun springing up in veneration of Luna, choosing to support her ends over Gaia's. Although these cults are often mistrusted and separated from other Garou, they nevertheless maintain many of the old gifts and rituals granted by Luna that have fallen to the wayside for Gaian Garou, such as communing more effectively with Lunes and (in very rare cases) opening up the moon paths of old.[1][2]

    Many common gifts are taught to the Garou by Luna's spirit servants, and many of their most potent gifts can only be taught by an avatar of Luna herself. She might also be tied into their shapeshifting ability (refer to Losing the wolf). In exchange for the strengths she offers the Garou, Luna exacts a price - the werewolf's weakness to silver. This is in keeping with the Umbra of Werewolf: the Apocalypse, in which nothing is gained without something given in return, where every act is repaid in kind.

    Luna acts as patron to some of the Fera as well, including the Bastet. The Bastet are not as closely tied to Luna as the Garou, and as such do not receive auspices, though they are still weak against the lunar metal. She also acts as patron to the Gurahl, Mokolé (along with Helios), Ratkin, Ajaba, and Rokea. Those last three seem to have a relatively weak connection compared to the others, but still enough to make them suffer from a weakness to silver. None of the extant Fera have such a close tie to Luna as do the Garou, that much is certain. The Mokolé remember that the Camazotz were closer to her, however. She was also a patron to the Grondr and Apis.

    Deep Umbra

    Entering the Deep Umbra through Anchorheads near Luna’s domain in the Aetherial Realm leads to beautiful moonlit expanses populated by powerful Lune Incarnae. How the Lunes react to travelers depends on the phase of the moon. If Luna is full, they tend to be hospitable to a degree, playfully interacting with travelers as the full light of Luna infuses them. As Luna wanes, the Lunes become more anxious and sinister, willfully tricking travelers, or growing hostile at the slightest perceived insult to their mistress.

50. #50Mitanuselective

    Keys: Mitanu, the Clever Rogue

    Mitanu, the Clever Rogue, is known in Garou astrology as the Planetary Incarna of Mercury. He is both a trickster and a lover of comedy.

    Overview

    Garou born under the Third Lunar month are blessed by Mitanu with flexibility and sharp wit. He serves as a totem to those who prove versatile, able to think on their feet, and have a sense of humor. To him, adaptability is strength, though he has a penchant for being greedy.

    His colors are pale brown and gray, and represents the zodiac sign of Gemini.

    Other Names: Hermes (Black Furies), Ogma (Fianna), Mercury (Glass Walkers), Hermod (Get of Fenris), Belobog (Shadow Lords), Min (Silent Striders), Eshu (Uktena), Ockabewis (Wendigo), Jurima (Bastet).

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