Post by Annabelle Devonshire on May 17, 2020 2:54:21 GMT -5
------------------------------
------------------------------
History and Betrayal
Long before the dawn of human history, shapechangers walked the Earth. The world was honest and brutal then — monsters had no need to hide their true forms. Legends speak of the Changing Breeds, shapeshifters who served as the guardians of the Earth. First and foremost among the shapechangers were the Garou, a race of werewolves entrusted with the safety of mankind. For three thousand years, the Wolves watched over hordes of humans. The worst of them exploited the humans as slaves, culled them as breeding stock, and sacrificed them to fulfill carnal urges. Loremasters who know the old stories call this time the Impergium, an era when the unrestrained force of chaos reigned supreme.
Surrounded by a primal world of rage, humans lived in fear of violence in the night, especially when the moon was full. Werewolves stalked the darkness, inspiring terror through sheer atrocity. Monsters bred in the darkness, but the Children of Wolf protected mankind from the savage horrors of the night. Racial memories of Garou violence have been buried in the human subconscious ever since. To this very day, the mere sight of a werewolf in its Crinos form is enough to drive all but the staunchest humans beyond the fragile limits of their sanity, overwhelming them with the madness of Delirium. The terror of the Impergium will never be forgotten.
Nonetheless, the story ends badly. It’s said that the Garou’s triumphs were so great that they became proud of their savage accomplishments. Soon, they declared themselves the greatest of Gaia’s children, intimidating any who threatened their supremacy. As the Wolves’ fury and false pride grew, they exacted their rage on the other shapeshifters of the world. Overcome by hubris, some even demanded that the other Changing Breeds serve as their subjects. Of course, the other shapechangers refused, secure in their devotion to the Earth.
The Garou lashed out at human villages that prospered too much, limiting their flocks to strict population quotas. Eventually, they culled the population of any other race that supposedly threatened their supremacy. All of their victims — at least, those that have survived — remember the horrors that followed, though each disagrees on the original cause. It was a dark age in the history of the Changing Breeds: the War of Rage, a holocaust for Gaia's children. Entire species were devastated or driven into extinction. To "protect" mankind, the earliest Garou conducted campaigns of genocide against the other shapechangers of the world.
This would change history forever.
The werewolves asserted their dominance over the physical world. Showing false contrition for their crimes, they established the Concord, a treaty that brought an end to three thousand years of terror. The Western Concordiat reached the agreement that humanity had the right to develop its own civilization. The Garou were to stay hidden, watching over Gaia’s creation from hidden places. The Earth Mother entrusted them with Her greatest sacred sties… leaving the victims of the War of Rage with undying memories of betrayal. Since then, the werewolves have been at odds with the rest of the Changing Breeds.
The Concord began the Age of Man, and the werewolves compromised the purity of the Wyld by allowing human society to flourish. But now, as the Last Days approach, that age is ending. We live in the winter of the world.
The Garou had forgotten many of their ancient victims or thought that they had passed from the world… but they were tragically wrong.
-------------------------------------------------------
© Copyright White Wolf Publishing, Inc.
Way of the Fera
------------------------------
History and Betrayal
Long before the dawn of human history, shapechangers walked the Earth. The world was honest and brutal then — monsters had no need to hide their true forms. Legends speak of the Changing Breeds, shapeshifters who served as the guardians of the Earth. First and foremost among the shapechangers were the Garou, a race of werewolves entrusted with the safety of mankind. For three thousand years, the Wolves watched over hordes of humans. The worst of them exploited the humans as slaves, culled them as breeding stock, and sacrificed them to fulfill carnal urges. Loremasters who know the old stories call this time the Impergium, an era when the unrestrained force of chaos reigned supreme.
Surrounded by a primal world of rage, humans lived in fear of violence in the night, especially when the moon was full. Werewolves stalked the darkness, inspiring terror through sheer atrocity. Monsters bred in the darkness, but the Children of Wolf protected mankind from the savage horrors of the night. Racial memories of Garou violence have been buried in the human subconscious ever since. To this very day, the mere sight of a werewolf in its Crinos form is enough to drive all but the staunchest humans beyond the fragile limits of their sanity, overwhelming them with the madness of Delirium. The terror of the Impergium will never be forgotten.
Nonetheless, the story ends badly. It’s said that the Garou’s triumphs were so great that they became proud of their savage accomplishments. Soon, they declared themselves the greatest of Gaia’s children, intimidating any who threatened their supremacy. As the Wolves’ fury and false pride grew, they exacted their rage on the other shapeshifters of the world. Overcome by hubris, some even demanded that the other Changing Breeds serve as their subjects. Of course, the other shapechangers refused, secure in their devotion to the Earth.
The Garou lashed out at human villages that prospered too much, limiting their flocks to strict population quotas. Eventually, they culled the population of any other race that supposedly threatened their supremacy. All of their victims — at least, those that have survived — remember the horrors that followed, though each disagrees on the original cause. It was a dark age in the history of the Changing Breeds: the War of Rage, a holocaust for Gaia's children. Entire species were devastated or driven into extinction. To "protect" mankind, the earliest Garou conducted campaigns of genocide against the other shapechangers of the world.
This would change history forever.
The werewolves asserted their dominance over the physical world. Showing false contrition for their crimes, they established the Concord, a treaty that brought an end to three thousand years of terror. The Western Concordiat reached the agreement that humanity had the right to develop its own civilization. The Garou were to stay hidden, watching over Gaia’s creation from hidden places. The Earth Mother entrusted them with Her greatest sacred sties… leaving the victims of the War of Rage with undying memories of betrayal. Since then, the werewolves have been at odds with the rest of the Changing Breeds.
The Concord began the Age of Man, and the werewolves compromised the purity of the Wyld by allowing human society to flourish. But now, as the Last Days approach, that age is ending. We live in the winter of the world.
The Garou had forgotten many of their ancient victims or thought that they had passed from the world… but they were tragically wrong.
-------------------------------------------------------
© Copyright White Wolf Publishing, Inc.