Black Furies
Tribal Totem
Pegasus
History
The legend passed down from early times says that the Black Furies were originally gathered by the moon goddess Luna, in the incarnation of the Greek goddess Artemis, and appointed as the protectors of the Wyld. The first pack of the Black Furies, the Medusae, embodied the five Auspices and saw themselves as the unconscious "Hand" of Gaia. They settled the territories around the Aegan Sea. The Black Furies claim that they were the force behind the Impergium once they discovered that Man had learned how sex and childbirth correlated and used this knowledge to subjugate Women and Children as property. Many Furies protested against the Concord and formed the proto-Bacchantes to continue their work (see Camps below). Many of their oral traditions are intertwined with Greek mythology: The Furies believe that the Titans of myth are the offspring of Gaia and a personification of the Weaver, and that their reign was an age of harmony and prosperity. The reign of the Twelve Olympians was seen as fall from this Golden Age, but the intercession of their Tribal Totem Artemis, who walked among the Olympians, convinced the Black Furies to coexist with them. The Furies saw (and continue to see) themselves as the Erinyes, the infernal goddesses of vengeance and hounders of those who transgress. In their stories, it was the Black Furies that hunted Orestes after he had slain his mother and who continued to seize the administration of justice in Athens after Orestes had been pardoned by Athena (a figure that is regarded as a counterpart to Artemis). Athena also sought to subjugate Pegasus, the new patron of the Black Furies after the last of the Medusae had died and Artemis had no longer the necessary resources to continue to act as a Tribal Totem. Her pawn, Bellerophon, had strife with the Red Talons and this inspired the story of the clash between the greek heros and the chimera. When Pegasus became old enough to rebel against him, Bellerophon gelded it, which outraged Pegasus and lead it to throw him off its back over the Aegan Sea. Afterwards, Pegasus landed in a Fury Caern and proclaimed that it would never again kneel before a male, but also spoke the edict to allow the Metis of Furies to be accepted into the tribe (though it would take centuries until the Furies actually consistently practiced it). The Black Furies were among those Tribes, together with the Fianna and the Get of Fenris, that worked to end the Roman Empire. The Furies saw Rome as tool of oppression and were happy to see it gone.Organization
The Black Furies are ruled by the Inner Calyx and the Outer Calyx, composed of the oldest and most renowned Furies of the Tribe. The Outer Calyx is comprised of members that are chosen by chance (officially) and consist of thirteen members. These thirteen dictate Fury orthodoxy and set tribal customs. The Inner Calyx is much more secretive and comprised of five members, each mirroring one of the original Medusae. No one knows how the members of the Inner Calyx are chosen, some speculate that Luna herself has a hand in it.Camps
Camps represent special interests within the Tribe, for the most part. Some camps are badges of honor, epitomizing the tenets of Honor, Glory or Wisdom that the Nation prizes so highly. Others are forbidden, secret sects and societies practicing Gifts and Rites that border on blasphemy taught to them by forgotten and often horrific spirits that hide deep in the Umbra.- Amazons of Diana: The Amazons of Diana rarely think or refer to themselves as a formal Camp, instead the term refers to any Black Fury who is primarily concerns with proving her prowess in battle. Given a choice between enacting justice or fighting some Wyrm creature, the Amazons will take the open battle every time. Although more conservative members of the Tribe look down on them, the Amazons are valiant and forthright. They are the first to defend the Furies' honor against outsiders, and are the Tribe's vanguard in the assault against Wyrm holdings.
- Bacchantes: A Bacchante fulfills her destiny by destroying the holdings and livelihoods of the worst violators of Gaia's laws: rapists, serial murderers, matricides and vast polluters. She brings personal violent punishment to the criminals she discovers. These assaults while hidden from the eyes of humanity, the large scale ones are frequently mistaken for natural disasters. While the Bacchante stand beside the rest of their Tribe, when a Nexus Crawler or vampire pack endangers a Caern, they prefer to come down like a hammer from orbit on the planners and perpetrators of Wyrm-like crimes.
- Freebooters: The Freebooters' mission is to find new Wyld places that can be consecrated to Gaia and made into caerns. The camp fears that the spread of humanity could result in fewer Wyld places in the world.
- Order of Our Merciful Mother: When the Catholic church spread throughout Europe in the wake of the Roman Empire, the Order chose not to fight this patriarchal tool directly, but rather to infiltrate and subvert it. The Order works to reform huamn society using that society's tools: politics, the arts, and religion. Garou sometimes actually join a human religious order when they join this camp. This can cause internal conflict for the Garou who must now juggle serving God and the church they join while upholding their primary responsibility to Gaia.
- Avenging Mother (sub-faction): The Order of the Merciful Mother has gained a measure of trust within the Silver Fangs who view that camp as a valuable conduit to mortal society. The Avenging Mother (a secret, small sub-faction of the Order) exploits that trust, spying on the Fangs intra-tribal weaknesses in hopes of bringing down the predominantly patriarchal Tribe's stranglehold on the Garou Nation's powerbase.
- Temple of Artemis: As the most conservative Fury camp, members of the Temple are frim allies of the Bacchantes and serve as the wisdom to that group's rage. They believe that the Furies must work as a cohesive whole and allow each of the other Tribes to work on its own as well. To the Temple, cross-tribe packs are a travesty and violate Gaia's apparent intentions in separating the Garou Nation into different Tribes.
Tribal Culture
Black Furies place little importance on lineage. Too often history prized or destroyed women for something they had little control over. The Furies respect those that provide wisdom to others, who prove themselves valuable warriors, and who contribute to their community over their bloodlines. Furies can either be born into the tribe or recruited from other tribes, particularly tribes that show little respect to women. In part, the exchange of their newborn male cubs allows them to take away female cubs that are in dangerous circumstances.Homids
The Black Fury tribe consists mostly of Homids who can always be found where the darkest parts of humanity will press heavily upon others. Black Fury Homids vary wildly in appearance, from the matron who runs a school in an impoverished village to a grubby outcast singing for the end of governmental tyranny. They move within communities incorporating themselves into local cultures to better destroy those who abuse their power over others, then seed the efforts to bring improvement to the people and creatures who most need it.Lupus
The temper of the Black Furies is well known and the Lupus of the Tribe exemplify that there is nothing more dangerous than stoking that spark. They are not interested with integrating themselves with others. If their bluntness bruises someone's pride, then that is someone else's problem. They frequently operate in packs whose members share the single minded purpose of their female Alpha, choosing a goal and pursuing it, regardless of the consequences to their social standing or physical bodies. Homids wait and plot, Lupus act.Metis
Fury Metis are a reminder: Chaos runs thick in the souls of the Black Furies. While they do not cherish the idea of their bedlam made manifest, they choose to embrace their Metis, as they are born into discrimination through no fault of their own. The Metis in turn are exceedingly dedicated to their Homid or Lupus-born kin serving as bodyguards, scouts, and escorts to those responsible for raising them.Political Culture
The Black Furies divide their roles within the Tribe according to their age. Young Furies are considered "Maidens", as long as they have not birthed a child. The Black Furies believe that breeding is a sacred duty and gift, and carefully choose the fathers of their children. After that event, they are regarded as "Mothers". When a Fury is unable to bear children, either due to old age, injury or infertility, they are referred to as "Crones". Although Furies tend to operate with similar methods, there are lines of division in how much men are to be shunned. All Furies, no matter their view, will avenge a crime against a female. Older Furies tend to regard men more lowly than others, viewing them as little more than tricksters and troublemakers; but are also among those Furies that are the first to point out that Man is half of the equation and should not be pushed away. Younger Furies tend to have more liberal views regarding Garou in general and men in particular, while others tend to lose themselves to their own Rage.Tribal Weakness
Anger: -1 difficulty to enter frenzy when provoked by menBackgrounds: No Restrictions. Male Metis cannot go above Rank 3 and may not be pack Alpha
Physical Characteristics
As a lupus, Black Furies are small, sleek, black or dark gray wolves with white, silver or gray patches of fur. They exude a sense that they are wild animals both predatory and capricious as though their small size holds a greater danger to those that would underestimate them. |
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