Cunning Pack

Followers of the Cunnende Moðer devote their lives to the protection of their family and friends from the various monsters that live in the world. The Cunning Pack respects the natural order of the world and its followers prefer to living in the countryside and wilderness rather than noisy cities. They are known for their fierce loyalty to each other and for tracking and slaying monsters and corrupted beasts.

Structure

Rankings in the Cunning Pack:

• Cunning One: The overarching leader of the Cunning Pack.

• Sire: The Eldest of the Alphas in the region they operate in.

• Cunning Alpha: An Alpha who has undergone the Sacrament of the Moon.

• Alpha: A Wolf who has distinguished themself through their service and prowess.

• Cunning Wolf: A leader of a singular group of Pack members.

• Wolf: A general member of the Cunning Pack.

• Pup: An initiate who has yet to complete their training and enter into a pack.

Mythology & Lore

As the gods were creating the world in its original form, the Cunning Mother is said to have whittle statuettes of all the beasts of the world and breathed life into them. As such, all animals born of this world are her offspring and She watches over these creatures as a loving mothers does her children. However, after all the gods finished creating their aspects of the earth and agreed to leave their creations to their devises, there was one god who stayed on the world, refusing to stop changing it, that this god is known now as the Slavering Maw. The Maw was obsessed with making the perfect creation, but it lacked the skill to create something of its own, and so the Slavering Maw took some of the creations of the Cunning Mother and started to change them, twisting these creatures to its own design. When the Cunning Mother learned of this unwanted corruption of her children, She returned from the firmament to stop the Slavering Maw. However, when the Maw refused to stop creating its "perfect" being and reached out toward another of the Mother's offspring to work on, the Cunning Mother grew furious and attacked the Maw.

The two gods struggled for many moons, until eventually the Cunning Mother had bitten the Maw to pieces and devoured it. However, gods do not die so easily and the Slavering Maw reformed itself in the stomach of the Cunning Mother and once again restarted its work. From inside of her, the Maw worked to "perfect" the Cunning Mother, attempting to corrupt her and get Her to do what it wanted. The Matron realized that the Slavering Maw was still alive inside her when She realized one day that she had stopped looking upon the beasts that She had carved so long ago as her children, and so she sought to combat the Maw's influence by tempering herself.

Tenets of Faith

Guard the Pack. The safety of the pack comes first and you must be willing to protect it.

Be Cunning. Know when it is best to act and when it is not. Keep your wits about you lest you become prey.

Hunt the Monsters of the Night. The night brings with it great terrors, and it is your duty to quell these monsters.

Stave off the Hunger. Practice a life of self-restraint and do not give in to your more primal desires.

Ethics

Guard the Pack

Members of the Cunning Pack are loyal first to their families. They view their pack as an extension to their family and are obliged to provide for and support this family. A pack member views their superiors as through they were a secondary mother or father, and they consider their packmates to be their brothers and sisters. A strong pack is one where all members of it work to cooperate with one another and to support each other in their endeavors. A pack that abandons one of its own is a pack not worthy being a part of. Of course, even true family members disagree and argue with one another, and this familial bickering is expected even in a pack, sometimes blows are struck, but should a member of a pack kill another of their group, they will be cursed with the Mark of the Hunted as this is viewed as kinslaying.

Be Cunning

A member of a Cunning Pack is expected to be cunning. They view those who act with wisdom in high regard. Like a wolf, a packmate must learn when to fight and withdraw, where best to strike an opponent, or how to use the strengths of a foe against them. A person who cannot turn their weaknesses into strengths will find themselves falling behind their other packmates, or worse, meeting an untimely end after being outwitted by some foe.

Hunt the Monsters of the Night

The Cunning Pack spends much of their time roving the countryside and wilderness combating monsters. The pack views itself as the protector of the wilds and of beasts, and it is their duty to treat animals as an extension of their family and to offer the same support and protection to animals as they would to their teammates. Just as the Cunning Mother does not tolerate the existence of monstrosities and corrupting agents, neither does the Cunning Pack. The twisted spawn of the Slavering Maw still exist in the world despite the Wolf Matron's efforts, and so the Cunning Pack take it upon themselves to continue their goddess's work by fighting these Maw spawn. Other than hunting monsters, the Cunning Pack also quell animals populations that have become too large to be sustainable by their environment. However, this does not mean that the pack may hunt a beast population to existence as this would be one of the greatest sacrileges against the Cunning Mothers. Although the Huntress is aware that an animal population that grows too large is a threat to the ecosystem and She allows her followers to hunt beasts, this is only to be done in moderation so as to return the ecosystem to its natural balance.

Stave off the Hunger

Just like the Cunning Mother has to stave off the corrupting influence of the Slavering Maw, the Cunning Pack seeks to temper themselves against their more base desires. They strive to practice moderation and temperance in all things so as to remain at balance with the world and its creatures. A packmate who gives into their desires, which the Cunning Pack refer to as the Hunger, is one who has failed the Cunning Mother and embraced the Slavering Maw.

Guard the Pack.

Type

Religious, Cult

Capital

Healfmona Ieg

Alternative Names

Wild Guardians, Wolf Matron's Pups

Divines

• Cunnende Moðer

Location

Healfmona Ieg

Controlled Territories

• Monasceadu Castel

Notable Members

• Ealdgyð