Pack of Ferventi
This group is made not just of Ferventi's worshipers, but also massive nomadic tribes that wander the Land of Gods rarely calling any place home for long. All races make up the pack, living as one with Ferventi's children and many mates, learning to ride and hunt with his wolves as a unit.
Structure
The Pack is primarily led by those closest to Ferventi, over all being led by his mate, Chezira whenever Ferventi is absent and many duties relegated to two of Ferventi's sons- Odii, his eldest son with his mate Chezira leading the pack's military functions, and Amos Vulapin, his son with Hikaru Vulapin, God of Foxes, leading most of the cults religious affairs and functioning as his high priest.
Unlike many of the pantheon's cults, Ferventi's pack is divided into many subsections and individual smaller cults or 'packs', each of which usually led by the eldest and most experienced member, often only loosely associated with the main sect of the pack. Within each sect there is a consistent hierarchy of rankings, based in the wolf god's own aspects, often associated with one's role within the group and often shown through a loose dress code.
Pack Leaders
Pack leaders are the highest ranking members of their sect, and of each sect, are the only members permitted to wear Needlecoat Mantles automatically without having done a task, trial, or extraordinary feat to earn it. Pack leaders most often are associated with white or yellow in their ritual clothing, donning white furs and cloaks.Caretakers and Healers
Overseeing many of the more day to day aspects of life, caretakers and healers among a pack are highly respected and often down to earth. While not typically as high ranking as warriors are, they are most often the ones who will fulfill leadership duties when one is unavailable or incapacitated. A more strict uniform than most sects of the pack, those of this ranking generally wear bright crimson cloaks embroidered with animals associated with their roles- Salmon and tuna for health and bounty, wolf pups for vitality, and birds of prey for vigilance. Caretakers are most well known for watching and rearing the children of the whole pack, teaching them the knowledge needed to survive their way of life easily and with pride in their work.Hunters and Woodsmen
As the providers of food and water to all sects of the pack, hunters are highly respected and only outshone by those whose duties are of life and death. As much time as they spend hunting, they also spend foraging, often alongside the woodsmen among the pack and learning the local area's game trails and hunting grounds. It is extremely careful work that the hunters take care to maintain the region's ecosystem, never killing more than is needed, and often the primary force in keeping others in check. More seen than the warriors of the pack, they are often confused for them, as they interact with outsiders the most often due to their shared duties as those who trade for supplies with the public. The hunters are also in charge of most of the pack's food preparation, holding recipes passed down for generations, from pack to pack.Warriors
The most aggressive members of the pack, warriors protect the group and are known for doing battle with other gods' cults. Often outside of times of war, they will function as guards, scouts, and the bulk of the pack's workforce, assisting other roles where they can. More loosely defined than other rankings, there is often fierce competition among them when war time comes for one to earn ranking among their brethren, often through mock battles and sparring. Warriors typically do not wear long cloaks or robes, instead having woven teal cloth worked into their armor, usually at the waist or joints.Navigators
The last and lowest ranking of the primary roles in Ferventi's pack is that of the Navigator- Those local to the range the pack inhabits or is passing through, and knowledgeable about the local topography, wildlife, and safe havens. Navigators often will change between different sects, still nomads themselves, but staying with the pack currently within their home region, rather than traveling the continent with them. This is thought to contribute to their lower standing among the official ranks, as they typically do not spend their entire lives with their pack and earn respect like others, particularly the caretakers and healers, normally would over a lifetime. Most often, navigators are identified by wearing primarily black clothing and often sleeping during the day.Culture
Revering nature, life, death, and the exchange of it, the pack has a culture dominated by preserving the environment and removing the trace of mortals whenever possible. Self sufficiency, cooperation, and survival is regarded to be in the image of Ferventi himself, with those mastering it held in high regard. Family bonds by blood are also revered, with having and raising one's children into proper, strong individuals with strong senses of purpose and survival being seen as the best and most worthy act one can do in their lives.
Sex and Relationships
Sex, relationships, and life bonds such as marriage are seen as the foundations of a person and the perpetuation of the cycle of life. Ferventi's pack are encouraged to form such bonds, as they are vital to a feeling of belonging and those who have them will fight and work harder to ensure the survival of themselves and their partners. Although not outwardly stated to be the case, the pack has quite an open mindset to polyamory and freely taking part in relationships with whomever one wishes, with many members having multiple partners in their own family units with incredibly strong bonds. There is little shame in having many sexual partners or none at all, as long as a person respects all involved and the bonds they may have with others. For members of the pack with bonds and relationships with those outside the pack, there is a term called a 'pack wife/pack husband'- as there is often a great amount of time, weeks to months, that the pack may not return to settlements to trade and rest, these outside partners often have an understanding their spouses may have relationships within the pack itself while away, but will resume their relationships with them upon returning, with the 'pack husband' or 'pack wife' relationship being put on hold when with their other partner. There is another term almost exclusively used by the pack, in a more platonic sense- 'Nishka'. It can refer to companion animals such as wolves, horses, and dogs, but also one's relationship with another person, strictly those the individual has no romantic or sexual relationship with, essentially meaning a lifelong companion. Generally, it is expected that a person will only have one they call their Nishka, and switching it considered an insult. The term is considered a great honor for the recipient of it and one of the strongest forms of endearment.Children
Children are held in the highest regard within the pack, and there is a deep culture around protecting and raising them properly. Any person who would do harm to a child is disgraced and often chased out of their territories, with many stories of child abusers being violently killed and presented to Ferventi himself. Children of such people are taken in by the pack and raised among them, given the proper love and attention they did not receive at the hand of their old guardians. Although it is not forced, there is a great reverence for those who do have children and plan to start their own families. Pregnant people are cared for by the entire pack and encouraged to rest and take time for themselves and their children, with fathers being pressured to take care of their partner and children during the pregnancy. Those who do not are often shunned and shamed, at risk of having their pregnant partner taken in by another who will care for them in their stead. Orphans and abandoned children are often raised communally among the pack, alongside their own children and said to be the children of Ferventi himself. As Ferventi is the god of Fathers and Sons, there is great pressure in the pack for fathers and sons to be the best they can be in protecting their families, raising their own children, and taking care of them properly. This often means that those who shirk their duties to care for their parents and siblings are shunned, and abusive fathers seen as the highest disgrace.Exiles
To be an exile of the pack means one must have committed the most vile and putrid of acts, often only reserved for predators, abusers, and murderers. One must have shown no signs of changing or repenting for their actions and a continuous effort to continue to be a danger to others in order to be exiled. As staying with the pack, particularly in the furthest northern reaches of the Land of Gods, is often the only means of survival, becoming an exile is to be served a death sentence. Being exiled, a person will be stripped of all equipment aside from a water skin, a knife, firestarter, and a tent, along with whatever clothing is currently on their person at the time. They will be given no food or water and are tasked with surviving on their own after being marked with a magical brand that turns their hands black like coal that does not fade for one year. Once branded, the exile is chased from the camp and cannot return until the mark has faded, although most are unable to survive more than a few weeks on their own. Should they survive and encounter another pack once the mark has faded, they may rejoin, however prejudices often remain and the former exile is still shunned until making amends. If they attempt to rejoin while still baring the mark, the exile is once again chased off and the mark will remain for another year. Continuous attempts to rejoin or cause harm may cause the pack to kill the exile.Assets
The Pack of Ferventi has exclusive trading deals with the Laramidia National Park Services, often buying up old equipment no longer of use, such as old models of the LNPS Offroad Jeep that are then converted into LNPS Pack Jeeps.
The very children of Ferventi are often used as mounts and hunting companions by the pack as well.
Demography and Population
As to be expected, most of the pack is made up of Werewolves, descendants of Ferventi, however is open to all of any race who would call themselves a member of the pack. Mages, Vampires, Angels, and Centauri are incredibly common within the pack, having long since shed their ties to the outside world and politics associated with it. Due to the fact the pack ordinarily travels over land, it is almost unheard of for Mermidae to be members, but some coastal packs do have some regardless.
Territories
The pack is many different smaller groups and sects, usually those bound to differing regions they inhabit. Although nomadic, the differing groups typically will only occupy particular regions, and rotate their dwellings between different temporary settlements within them. Each group or separate 'pack' will maintain these territories as their home regions, occasionally merging with other packs to defend them or when fallen on hard times.
It is most common to find Ferventi's packs in the Land of Gods, although there are many in North America such as Appalachia and Laramidia, Asia, and Europe as well outside the Land of Gods. While Ferventi has followers around the world, true members of Pack of Ferventi are almost nonexistent in the southern hemisphere.
Military
The most primary function of the pack is as Ferventi's own army. All members are trained to some degree in combat, generally guerrilla warfare using the natural environment to their advantage. As different packs often occupy different regions with different environments, biomes, and terrain, this often comes into play when packs merge and are able to share experience with one another. The pack is most well known for its wolf riders, combatants who often wield bows, spears, or rifles atop Ferventi's own children and work in tandem to take down prey and enemy alike by steering the god's divine children while their rider finishes them.
The Pack prefers ambush tactics, surrounding enemies at night under the cover of darkness. When escape has been sealed, they will signal the begin of a battle with howls and battlecries, hymns to Shia and Mora, and songs of battle. They charge their enemy camps and often use wolf riders to scale barriers or leap over them entirely, and brutally kill those in opposition. Those who surrender are unharmed and taken prisoner temporarily- they are given the option to join the pack or be released at the first settlement they come across and then set free. Prisoners of war are treated as well as any member of the pack, and escapes are common, as due to the harsh environment, often the only option is to remain with the pack or die.
Religion
At the formost, the Pack of Ferventi are worshipers of their namesake, but do not exclude those who also worship other gods. They have deep ties to the Cult of Life and Shia's Cult, without much of the hostility between the two seen elsewhere, as the exchange of life and death is revered among the pack and worshiped in tandem between the two forces. The pack also has strong ties with the cults of other Minor Gods, particularly those with strong ties to wolves such as the Crow, the vulture, bear, fox, and deer. These may vary in the region the pack is present, with other gods having a much higher prescience than others.
Foreign Relations
Outside of the Land of Gods but still within god dominated regions, Ferventi's pack is regarded by most as simply his cult, if a highly militarized and independent one. As the pack generally follows all conduct and laws of whatever area they have settled on or passed through, they are often held in high regard and given the distance and freedom to do as they wish. Most often, these interactions with them are for the sake of trade and benefit both parties, as the pack will sell their wares such as skins, hides, furs, and meat, while buying supplies such as food, medicine, and equipment.
When within draconic territory however, there is a high degree of mistrust, particularly with Lunar Dragons.
Trade & Transport
There are hundreds of natural trails, often only marked by stones and beaten soil throughout their territories. These often follow natural resources such as wild edible plants, fresh water streams and rivers, or alongside cliffs that can be used as shelter.
Infrastructure
Experts on survival and the wilderness, the pack very rarely will shape the land around them to suit their needs, instead themselves adapting. They leave the land as they found it, if not for the better, and often dismantle the camps and settlements of mortals who have become hopelessly lost. Often, the only signs of the pack settling in an area will be the stuffed out remains of a fire buried under snow, or the occasionally forgotten tool.
The Pack carries all of their tools, equipment, and tents with them on the backs of wolves, on sleds, or when available, horses. Tents, tools, and fire starters are of the most importance and always will have extras within a pack.
Areas around Ferventi's shrines, however, are different, as the pack continuously add onto them with their own offerings and discard those that have been spoiled.
Divine Origins
The Pack is thought to have begun as a small group of Werewolves who became devout followers of Ferventi, God of Wolves in the early age of gods. Many of these members had children with the wolf god and also helped to create the modern race of werewolves, following their god in his travels, assisting in hunting, and learning to live off the land at his side.
Not every follower of Ferventi is a member of the pack, and not every member of the pack is a direct descendant of the god.
Tenets of Faith
The pack holds onto the ideal that all things are in balance, however turbulent or unpleasant they may be. Life cannot exist without death, hunger without fulfillment, happiness without sadness. It has led to a culture of a sort of 'brutalist optimism' among many members of the group.
Ethics
The Pack of Ferventi reveres the exchange of life and death through hunting. No creature is killed without reason, and every aspect of it used in some way, be it for furs and leathers, meat, or tools. Acts of war are seen as a right, but not one without limits those who cross them as dangerous entities to be taken down to restore the balance of the world. Only the pack is permitted to hunt the Needlecoat Wolf and wear clothing made from their hides, such as Needlecoat Mantles.
Worship
Sacred hunts and sacrifices are not required but seem so in how common they are. All of these hunts and sacrifices are made with natural weapons- bone tipped spears, arrows, and knives, or ones carved from granite and antler wrapped in leather. All of the cult's weaponry is blessed with the very blood of the god, the same blood that dons their faces during these acts. In order to perform a sacred hunt or sacrifice members must also wear the proper attire: All clothing must be natural, in leather, fabric, or fur, any metals on their person must not be silver, and sacred paints on the face, either crushed red Godsbane roots, the blood of Ferventi, and charcoals.
Political Influence & Intrigue
As the Pack is highly associated with war and also the Land of Gods, their influence across the world in these domains is massive. Aided by the fact that Feventi's Cult is one of the largest in the world, they can easily sway smaller cults to their ideals, or pressure governments into submission. Many a dictator has fallen or found themselves surrounded by their wolf riders with a taste for blood, backed by the god's own children.
Type
Religious, Cult
Alternative Names
The Wolf Cult, Ferventi's Pack
Leader
Head of State
Head of Government
Power Structure
Semi-autonomous area
Major Exports
Furs, hides, and meat from hunting are often traded when the pack travels outside its borders, especially those in excess. Members are often skilled in leatherworking and tanning, and make a variety of products from hides and pelts to trade and survive the harsh wilderness.
Major Imports
Most often, the pack will buy medicine and supplies whenever possible, and equipment to better travel the lands. It is uncommon, but some packs also utilize snow mobiles and planes when possible, and will need fuel and equipment for them as well. They also refurbish old models of LNPS Offroad Jeeps into the LNPS Pack Jeep, obtained from the Laramidia National Park Services.
Official State Religion
Subsidiary Organizations
Permeated Organizations
Location
Related Traditions
Related Professions
Neighboring Nations
Manufactured Items
Organization Vehicles
Notable Members
Related Myths
Comments