Night of the Dread Moon

The Night of the Dread Moon is an ancient ritual that represents the transfer of leadership of a Lycanthrope clan to a new leader. Carried out by clans under the banner of the Blood Moon, it stabilises the leadership & prevents any conflict within it.

History

The Night of the Dread Moon started roughly 100 years ago about the year 700 AD. It came about due to the constant problems of internal fights arising within packs of Lycanthropes after their leader dies, dying or retires due to age. The need for a smooth transition became apparent when many of the leadership at the time was actively stalked & killed by Ulmist Inquisitors in central Europe. This led to a bloodbath without further action by the inquisitors.
It was soon devised to allow for the chosen leaders that are left to fight it out amongst themselves in hidden conclaves to determine who is fittest to lead. Those that aren't successful are generally left alive where possible to take up lesser leadership roles, and the winner is crowned pack or clan leader. Blood of the outgoing leader, where possible, is taken and the new leader drinks it to represent an unbroken line, and hopefully take on some of the traits of the previous leadership.
It is done at the first full moon when possible, and during an actual Blood Moon is auspicious indeed. The winner is generally looked upon favourably afterwards especially if the latter is present. Sometimes other challenges are tacked on too, mainly to weed out the weaker earlier on so the strongest get the chance to fight it out. These generally involve bring back the remains of a dangerous enemy while changed, or a series of athletic feats, or even thefts from specific targets.

Execution

The usual practice of the ritual is unarmed combat, usually non-lethal but still allowed to draw blood. Some specific precombat rituals may be observed as well. These range from drug induced meditation, theft of very specific objects, or the killing & return of the remains of a specific prey for example. When these are used, it is done to weed out potentially weaker members who might not be suitable for leadership.

Participants

Many of the higher ranking members are able to take part in the initial stages, and eventually weeded down to potential best of the clan or pack. They are then forced to fight for dominance by the members until the best fighter emerges. Only then can they take part in drinking the blood of the one they are to replace. At each stage other leaders or elders are present to judge the outcome and may turn down a combatant if they think they would do more harm than good.

Observance

This is only carried out when the leader is dying, been killed or too elderly to be able to lead any more. Always carried out when the moon is full, it is also the time many become more animalistic. A Blood Moon is preferred and any member who becomes a leader during this is seen as being blessed under such an auspicious moon.

"We discovered one of those werewolf clans. They were operating deep in Ilmen territory. A large clan had gathered - lycanthropes, shifters and Loup Garous were all there. Three Loup Garous were fighting in the middle of the camp. All three were battering the hell out of each other while an elderly Loup Garou looked on. When it came time when the moon was at full zenith, he gave a command and they stopped fighting. All three were injured, but one seemed to have less damage than the others. He was also the toughest & looked more experienced. than the others. He approached the elder and a small cup was brought out. The elder was bled into the cup and the winner drank it. After that everybody bowed to him, and he was given a cloak that the elder had worn. He seemed to start ordering the others around him, and the elder stood up and walked off to a tent with the aid of others.
After that we ran, ran far enough to get help. When we returned with a sizeable group, the camp had moved on, and little remained. We never saw them again."
An Ulmist Inquisitor in an tavern in Aachen.