Lamps to guide through the season....

[Dale Hunt]

After positioning himself as instructed, Dale held up his rudimentary torch as Starflower walked up to light it. He bowed to his fellow Rahu as the flames caught onto the torch. Once the fire was burning strongly he turned to address the rest of the Uratha gathered around.

"I sing praise to the mighty Fenris-Ur! The Devourer, and fiercest of warriors amongst the children of Father Wolf. Guide us as we prepare to face our enemies, and know that we will offer NO surrender to those that stand against us! Oh Destroyer Wolf; ignite this light with all of your glory, as we march against our enemies! Let them know that we know they are out there, and we will NOT stop until they have met defeat at our hands!"

Once he finished saying this, the young Rahu raised his torch above his head as he looked up at the moon and let out a passionate war howl.

[MethodofDestruction]

The Right Words activated.

Emily raised the vietnam era flashlight forward, allowing Starflower to reach forward and flip the switch upwards. Her Dalu lips curl up in a predatory smile, the coming together of the packs and the new comers showing a solidarity she was proud to feel. <<Tonight, we gather in preparation. The coming winter will be a harsh one - the Gardener grows powerful, and the time of confrontation is near.>> She looks around the spiral, catching the eyes of her fellow Blood Talons and jutting her chin forward. <<Fenris-Ur's claws will claim first blood in this fight. We will coordinate, we will strike, and we will win.>>

She gives a moments pause. <<There was a young Blood Talon my father had met, back during the brethren wars. He was a loner, a traveler, a newcomer to the region where we lived. He had came, wanting to help the Tribes cause, but was turned away for fear of being a spy. The pup, however, held conviction, and would not wait idly by while the war waged on around him. He stayed in the outskirts, listening to the spirits whispers. He learned that the pure were on the move, and he shadowed them. He followed for miles, getting details, watching who was leading, who looked the most proficient with what. When he thought he had enough, when he knew he could no longer wait, he called my father. He told him everything he knew - and the Pure heard him. They chased him down, captured, tortured, and killed him.>>

The cahalith waits a moment, to give the unnamed Blood Talons fate its needed bleakness. The silence strings into tension, just enough to keep the audience on edge, before revealing the conclusion. <<My fathers pack slew the Pure that night. Thanks to eyes, insight, intelligence, and bravery. Lets this story be both an inspiration and a warning, for the dead warrior cannot continue his fight. But without that Blood Talon, without his death, our enemies would have overcome the Tribes of the Moon, and it is likely i wouldnt be here tonight. We are here to illuminate the darkness, to guide Lunas warming light into our hearts, and to show our enemies - We stand strong! United, against our foes! We will not back down, we will not flounder, but succeed! Survive! Thrive, in the face of tremendous odds!>> Hesitating not a second, her bones shifted places and fur grew everywhere, her face turning into the massive maw of Urshul. She raises her muzzle to the sky, jowls moving together to form a howl. What a howl is was, with what few fearless motes that hadn't fled in the arrival of the predators, scattered in fright. The howl felt powerful, as if a physical blow was moving through the air. It echoed across the spirit scape, the howl saying one simple, forceful thing.

We See YOU.

  Hell of a Howl

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2011-11-23 20:01:48		Emily rolls 13 to Pres + Exp + Spec + TRW (10 Again, WillPower)		8, 1, 7, 7, 4, 2, 2, 8, 2, 10, 4, 10, 2, 10, 1, 9		6 successes

[Iblardora]

Half waits, thinking as the others speak and emily howls. Then once it has died down steps forward and allows Starflower to light the lamp. He thinks for a moment then speaks.

"Sagrim-Ur, Red Wolf, one who questions. You who saw time changing and while you feared the change you also embraced it, finding the Cunning within. You watched and questioned, always remembering what was and looking for what will be. You found, through the Hardships of chaos, growth and understanding. We seek to emulate those ways, and through the harshness of winter and the Adaptations we make to it we shall also grow and understand."

He glances around the circle.

"May Red wolf Grant us cunning and ingenuity in these coming months."

[Lesingnon]

"Hikaon-Ur...the shadow unseen, the stalker unnoticed, and the hunter unfailing." Chantay paused just long enough to produce a strike-anywhere match from one of the coat's pockets, and a swift motion of her hand brought it's flame to life against the jacket's zipper. She touched it to the wick of the old kerosene lantern, letting its light sputter to existence. "She's walked the deepest, darkest, wildest, and most dangerous paths the Hisil has to offer. It is what she does."

"And she protects what is sacred. No matter where she ranges, no matter what desolate corner of the Hisil her hunt brings her to, she is always there to protect what is sacred to her. And she charges her children, the Meninna to do the same."

"When all the Firstborn considered it obvious that the wolf must hunt, that it didn't even have to be said, it was Hikaon-Ur who knew that we should always be reminded of something so important. The Wolf Must Hunt, it is the charge Hikaon-ur gave to her people, the Urdaga."

"To hunt down those who seek to undo all the good our kind has done over the millenia, to protect what is important." She begins to pace almost restlessly as her voice rises in volume and intensity; the moonlight illuminating dark skin and silvery brands, the old wire handle creaking in time with her movements, "These are the two tasks that Hikaon-Ur, in all her wisdom, has passed down to us through the generations. And it is what we must do here. The abomination that lurks in the river's depth is prey worthy of Black Wolf herself! An Idigam, almost beyond our comprehension. A being of ancient power that threatens to overwhelm us, that only the mightiest of spirits could go toe to toe with."

"But they're not the ones who're going to kick its ass out of the river, we are. Hikaon-Ur hunts with all her skill, all her patience, and when the time comes she goes for the throat." She stilled suddenly, holding the lantern out before her. "We've been patient, we've been hunting down every lead and scrap of information we can find. Soon, the time will come to strike. It will have to be swift, it will have to be sudden, and we will have to strike it down before it knows what's happening. We will do Hikaon-Ur, we will do all the Firstborn...proud."

[Matthew Kelly]

Matt had been content to stay quiet, listening to how each of the Uratha praised their totem, a small but genuine smile showing itself as their pride reached his ears. He smiled as the new Storm Lord sings a verse of fury worthy of a Celtic Bard and the smile increases in size when Emily howls, or Cry's Havoc, with strength and passion. The words of each Uratha, even the of the meekest sounding new arrivals, carry with them a white hot fire that if thrust into reality would light all of their lamps and burn away the darkness of the night. For awhile he is speechless, looking back at his experiences, the trials that have made him and gotten him to this moment. His free hand traces a pair of lines on his stomach seemingly independent of his mind and his eyes go hard, becoming the eyes of someone far older than Matt's 24 years.

<<Sagrim-Ur you command your children to Honor Our Territory in All Things. In these dark times your children find our territories pressed by the creations and maneuvers by one of the Uratha's oldest and most dangerous enemies, the River that protects our lands polluted by an foe that seems unbeatable.>> His voice is calm but there is a hint of passion that only his two present Packmates have ever seen from him. <<However you gave your children gifts to ensure that no threat was ever unbeatable. You taught us to be Cunning and how to adapt to the world around us, to find the weakness of our enemies and defeat even the most powerful beings which attempt to dishonor our lands. You taught us to know our territory, to learn and love it so that when even when the night was darkest, we would fight. You understood just how important it would be to honor our territory, understood how that bond would make us hold the line against any enemy.>>

The Elodoth's hands ball into fists. <<With your gifts Sagrim-Ur we shall honor and fight for our territory. We shall push back the darkness with our Cunning and ability to adapt.>> For the last words he switches to English, since it wouldn't quite sound the same in First Tongue. "We shall find this ancient enemy and kick its fucking ass."

[MethodofDestruction]

Starflower murmurs through the whole of the speeches. Shuffling along, in controlled, precise movements, the rahu moves to each person and lights their lamps. The glow towards the inside of the spiral - towards his own lamp - filled his heart with awe. Here the tribes were, working together, peeling back the darkness. Thank you, Luna, for giving us the temporary peace to grow....to learn. Eventually, he reaches his own oil pan, the bright white candle wax coming out of the center in a pile.

<<The path of Death is not for all.>> He begins somberly, crouching down in front of his lamp, rolling out his speech in the First Tongue, the words of the Spirits....so the Spirits will know this is for their ears as well. <<Not everyone can stomach that their existence, as is everyone elses, is limited. We might go so far as to say that Death is the one thing that every living thing has in common. I know what i have felt, in my travels and in my search for knowledge. I have felt Death Wolf's unearthly gaze on me - only for the barest of moments, and only once. The memory still terrifies me. She, who can travel to where the dead go, the spirit that has seen the end of all things, it is her path i follow. She has taught us to never leave a stone unturned, to fill our heads with the terrifying secrets of the shadow...and to never, ever let a wrong go unrighted.>> The rahus meaty arm flings outward, pointing towards the river. <<Hear us, oh Moon-Banished! Your existence is a wrong! Your contamination of our city shall be driven unto you five-fold! Lunas piercing gaze lays upon you, now! Her children gather, and we shall prevail!>> Starflower leans down, lighting the bright white candle wax. It jumps to life, a brilliant, bright blue flame. Seconds after it is ignited, this same blue fire quickly flies down the spiral, turning the flames (or lightbulbs) blue, before a ripple of the purist white light explodes across the Shadow landscape. It illuminates everything - every crack, every hidden burrow, every leering spirit flying above. And just as soon as it exploded, the light was gone, the shadows were back. A silence descends upon the gathered uratha.

  

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2011-12-01 23:33:29		[11] Starflower rolls 8 to Spirit Lamps of Autumn (total bonuses/penalties negate) (10 Again)		6, 6, 4, 8, 8, 5, 8, 5		3 successes
2011-12-01 23:33:29		[10] Starflower rolls 8 to Spirit Lamps of Autumn (total bonuses/penalties negate) (10 Again)		6, 7, 4, 1, 9, 1, 6, 3		1 success
2011-12-01 23:33:29		[09] Starflower rolls 8 to Spirit Lamps of Autumn (total bonuses/penalties negate) (10 Again)		2, 10, 1, 9, 3, 2, 10, 7, 6, 7		3 successes
2011-12-01 23:33:29		[08] Starflower rolls 8 to Spirit Lamps of Autumn (total bonuses/penalties negate) (10 Again)		7, 4, 4, 3, 5, 2, 2, 5		failure
2011-12-01 23:33:29		[07] Starflower rolls 8 to Spirit Lamps of Autumn (total bonuses/penalties negate) (10 Again)		3, 2, 7, 4, 1, 5, 9, 7		1 success
2011-12-01 23:33:29		[06] Starflower rolls 8 to Spirit Lamps of Autumn (total bonuses/penalties negate) (10 Again)		1, 5, 2, 2, 4, 3, 1, 6		failure
2011-12-01 23:33:29		[05] Starflower rolls 8 to Spirit Lamps of Autumn (total bonuses/penalties negate) (10 Again)		6, 8, 3, 1, 7, 8, 3, 4		2 successes
2011-12-01 23:33:29		[04] Starflower rolls 8 to Spirit Lamps of Autumn (total bonuses/penalties negate) (10 Again)		9, 1, 2, 2, 2, 4, 6, 4		1 success
2011-12-01 23:33:29		[03] Starflower rolls 8 to Spirit Lamps of Autumn (total bonuses/penalties negate) (10 Again)		7, 9, 3, 9, 10, 10, 1, 1, 3, 8		5 successes
2011-12-01 23:33:29		[02] Starflower rolls 8 to Spirit Lamps of Autumn (total bonuses/penalties negate) (10 Again)		4, 4, 10, 10, 1, 2, 2, 5, 8, 4		3 successes
2011-12-01 23:33:29		[01] Starflower rolls 8 to Spirit Lamps of Autumn (total bonuses/penalties negate) (10 Again)		2, 4, 4, 2, 4, 4, 9, 1		1 success

Ritual is a success! Until December 21st, participants have six discretionary dice to use towards interacting (not fighting) spirits. Another thread for the Winter Ritual will be posted when appropriate. Good job all around, GREAT posts guys! Feel free to socialize/mingle for a few! Hope everyone had fun!