The Pack's Heart

By Honorah O'Neill (hconeill@cc.owu.edu)

Level 4 Mystic Rite

Description

This Rite is used to reforge the ties that bind a pack together. It is used when a member of the pack wishes to leave, either for personal reasons or to join a new pack. This can leave a deep spiritual scar upon the members of the pack. This is used to reaffirm the pack ties of the remaining members and see the departing members off safely. More rarely it is used to completely break all pack ties but still see former pack members off. This rite is used most often by the Silent Striders and Stargazers, as they are the most likely to leave packs.

System: The Ritemaster may not be part of the pack that this rite is performed upon. The pack gathers all its members who are staying with the pack. The members who are departing need not be present. Once gathered, the Ritemaster calls the pack's totem to him. With a quick motion he traces the glyph for each of members of the Triat around the pack totem. With that done, he strikes the spirit, literally shattering it. It breaks into as many pieces as there are pack members. These reform into a smaller version of the Totem. Each somehow reflects the personality of the pack member it "belongs" to. The ones belonging to pack members leaving will scamper off to follow the one they belong to, acting as a one point Familiar until the Garou joins a new pack, when it will disappear. The reflection can be summoned by the remaining pack members to check on the wellbeing of pack members. If the rite was used to completely sever pack ties, everyone's reflection will follow him off.

For the pack members who choose to remain with the pack, all but one of the reflections will disappear. This one will "tag" the Garou it belongs to, then lead them off on a quest to recapture it. The quest will be reflective of the person it tagged. The reflection of a Get Ahroun might defy them to catch it by making the pack pursue it across The Battleground while the reflection of Uktena Theurge might lead them through a mirror maze. The solution for each problem is reflective of the pack member the reflection belonged to. Catching the Get's reflection might require the laying of a clever ambush while the Uktena's might require using their other senses besides sight to catch her reflection. After the first reflection is caught, it will vanish and the next pack member's reflection will tag its caster. It will however be greater in size and power. This continues on until all the remaining pack members have caught their reflections, once again forming their pack totem. However, it may be even more powerful than when they started due to their dedication. The Storyteller may see fit to give each member of the pack an additional dot in the Totem background.