Werewolf: The Forsaken - Blank It

BONDS OF THE MOON: AUSPICE
This story is true.
When our ancestors slew Father Wolf so that a stronger
hunter could take his place, they fell to fighting among themselves
almost immediately. Each powerful chieftain or alpha
vied for the right to inherit the full measure of Father Wolf’s
strength and duties. Blood fell on the earth as the fighting grew
fiercer, and Mother Luna wept to see it.
Nobody knows how long this lasted. Yet however long
they fought one another instead of the enemies they claimed to
oppose, it was too long. We might still be fighting even today,
with the world suffering for it all the more, were it not for the
descent of the Lunes.
Why did Mother Luna intervene? We don’t know.
Nobody can know her mind. Some believe that she acted
from benevolence, as a long-suffering but still loving mother.
Others say it was self-interest: that we were simply the best
choice to keep an eye on the world, and this was the best way
to set us to that task. Still others claim that she was obeying
some obscure ban of her own, that she walked on the earth
only when permitted by some cryptic celestial alignment and
that granting us our auspices was merely an afterthought. And
some say she did not intervene at all — that the Lunes did
not offer blessings, but rather were brought into submission.
Nobody will ever know for sure, but such is the nature of our
fickle, ever-changing mother.
At the behest of Luna, Lunes from the five choirs descended.
They told us that although Father Wolf’s full power
was too great to be held by any single being limited by flesh,
each of us could inherit an equal share of his duties. They
coaxed forth memories of Father Wolf’s five roles — warrior,
visionary, judge, wise man and stalker — and the magics that
Father Wolf used in each of those roles. From these wisps of
memory, the five lunar choirs taught each Uratha to adopt one
of Father Wolf’s five roles. Luna had seen the First Change
of each of this generation of Uratha, and she saw into each
werewolf’s inner nature, so she knew which of Father Wolf’s
roles was most appropriate. She promised to give an obvious
sign to future generations of Uratha, so that every werewolf
would know what his role would be.
Now every one of us — save the heretics who call
themselves “pure” — experiences his First Change under
Luna’s watchful eye. The First Change is not only a moment
of terrible change, but a brief flicker of communion with the
lunar choir attuned to the night’s moon phase. Those born
with the souls of warriors and killers reach their full potential
under the full moon, while those with the fortitude to face the
maddening trials of the spirit world come into their own while
the crescent moon shines.
Now the People have the tools to walk the Gauntlet as
Father Wolf walked the Border Marches, and the encouragement
to do so. Luna’s intercession and blessing has kindled a
new hope that the Uratha will not always be Forsaken.
Every werewolf of the Tribes of the Moon has an
auspice — an affinity for given tasks and a loose social
role determined by the phase of the moon during which
she underwent the First Change. The Forsaken bear five
auspices: the warrior Rahu (full moon), the visionary
Cahalith (gibbous moon), the judge Elodoth (half moon),
the wise Ithaeur (crescent moon), and the stalker Irraka
(new moon). Having rejected Luna’s embrace as a mark of
shame and guilt, the Pure Tribes forswear auspices. They
focus on acts of vengeance against those Forsaken enough
to bear the mark of their Mother.
Some suggest that auspice, as well as birth time,
are determined by the moon under which a werewolf is
conceived, but there is no real evidence to support that
theory. Auspices are social roles, but they are also paths
to power. Certain Lunes teach Gifts only to members of
particular auspices, so an accomplished Rahu has access to
Gifts that an Ithaeur never will.
Luna is fickle and moody. Over the course of the
month, her attitudes change just as her face changes. Her
mood is infectious, and it imprints itself on the souls of
every werewolf at the moment of birth, and again at First
Change. Luna is also a Celestine, a spirit above almost
all other spirits, so her power touches every First Change
— for she watches as it happens. Even as far away as she
is, her mood at the moment of First Change draws broad
lines across the personalities of the Uratha.
Luckily, Luna’s moods match her face. Around the
time of the full moon, Luna is said to wear her mask as
the Destroyer, angry, defiant and strong. When the moon
is full, her rage is at a peak, and that rage touches any
werewolf whose Change occurs under the warrior’s moon.
This not only denotes auspice, but also influences the form
of the First Change. During the half moon, Luna hangs in
balance — so a First Change under the half moon might
relate to crossing boundaries or making decisions between
two equally appealing choices. The First Change isn’t a
formalized rite of passage, though — it’s an involuntary
transformation that marks a werewolf from that point on.
RAHU: THE FULL MOON
The Rahu is a howler at the full moon, a reflection of
Luna’s warrior face. Rahu take the lead in war, be it quiet
war against neighboring packs or open combat against
their enemies. Rahu reflect every aspect of the warrior
archetype. They are the ravening berserkers and the
calculating generals. The two contrasting styles can even
be found in the same werewolf. Uratha warriors pass down
lore of combat ranging from Caesar’s battle tactics in Gaul
to up-to-the-minute tactical manuals stolen from elite
armed forces.
CAHALITH: THE GIBBOUS MOON
Every Cahalith’s First Change occurs under a gibbous
moon — one either well on its way to or just past full. The
Cahalith is a storyteller, vision-quester and lorekeeper
among the People. If the gibbous moon is “pregnant,” the
Cahalith who reflect that moon are pregnant with ideas,
emotions and creative energy. Some Cahalith experience
Bonds of the People
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