Post by Misha on Jun 10, 2014 11:31:12 GMT -5
Name: Silent Strider
Plural: Silent Striders
Pronounciation: seye'-lunt striy'-durz
Totem:
Owl: Totem of Wisdom. Totem Spirit of the Silent Striders, Owl is a quiet watcher, Owl strikes without warning from the darkness. Its hidden wisdom is associated with secrets of death and the shadowy Dark Umbra. Some believe that owls themselves are spirits of the dead seeking vengeance.
Those following Owls children are often gifted with premonitions of danger and the location of mystical things long forgotten. When entering the Umbra, each of Owl's children gain wings, allowing them to fly from place to place. They are silent when moving, and any gift dealing with air, travel, movement or darkness is easier to use with the many blessings of Owl. Along with the stories of Wisdom that will be told about them, Silent Striders may appear mysteriously to aid the pack when it is in danger. However, Ratkin and children of Rat do not get along with Owl's children, considering Owl's predatory nature.
Owl asks all his children, both those in packs to him and those of his tribe, to leave small tied up or helpless rodents in the woods for him and his kind to eat. No wonder they don't get along with those who follow Rat, eh?
Tales of the Tribe
The Silent Striders are wanderers, messengers and travelers; more than anything else they are enigmas. Though the tribe originally hails from Egypt, they no longer reside there, instead wandering the globe. Though it is claimed that no Garou can enter the lands of the dead, the scent of the Dark Umbra clings to them. And though they rarely do any other Garou wrong, few werewolves completely trust the Silent Striders.
When acting as messengers or bearing tidings of the Wyrm's activity, the Silent Striders are welcome visitors at nearly any caern. If rumors are to be believed, the Striders even find welcome among the fae and wizards of the world, and ghosts are said to follow them. When wandering the world, the Striders have an uncanny tendency to poke their snouts in where they don't belong and come out with trouble on their tails. This may be the reason they are so widely distrusted. Most Striders make a living acting as couriers or messengers between caerns; they know the hidden byways well enough, and, it is rumored, a few secret Moon Bridges to boot.
With the usual exception of Banes and Black Spiral Dancers, the Striders hold their greatest hatred for vampires. Tribal legend holds that the Striders fought an army of vampires led by a dark undead godling called Sutekh. Sutekh supposedly cast a great curse on the tribe that drove them from Egypt, scattered them to the winds, and worst of all, severed their bonds with their ancestors. Since then, many Striders take Egyptian names as a link to their past, and search the Umbra in vain for some sign of their forbears. The Silent Striders do have a relationship with the Restless Dead. The origin of the relationship is unknown, but Striders tend to attract ghosts' attention when passing through the Gauntlet into or out of the Umbra. Rare is the Silent Strider who doesn' have at least one wraith tagging along as he travels. Out of a sense of respect and politeness, the Srriders will generally avoid mentioning such ghosts in front of strangers.
History
During the Ancient times before the Impergium, the Silent Striders could have said that they were easily one of the largest, if not the largest tribe of all of the tribes of the Garou, stretching their territory out over the majority of north and north eastern Africa. Though the bulk of their numbers lived in Africa, particularly around the Nile, some ancient Silent Striders were rumored to have some territory in southern and eastern Asia.
Impergium:
It is said in the Silent Striders legends that a Children of Gaia who were the first tribe to plea to the Silver Fangs to end the Impergium, for it was cruel to cull the human race instead of letting it thrive along side the rest of the world. It was the Silent Striders who asked for the end of the Impergium next; not because it was inhumane or that they wanted to see the humans thrive, but they saw that one point of the Impergium was to breed quality breeding stock for them, that mean they were killing the smaller, weaker, and stupider humans so that smarter ones could grow. They soon realized that this would mean that the humans may very well eventually gain enough intelligence and power to overcome even the Garou, so the Silent Strider's first King Ancestor Horizon-Sight told the Silver Fang King of this and was ignored. When that King passed and died he approached the second King bearing the same message, only to be sent away once more. And as that King was buried, Horizon-Sight walked with old age bearing down on him and many, many allies from the other tribes, approached the next Silver Fang King bearing to him his wisdom. This time he was heard and the Impirgium was ended.
Appearance:
The Silent Striders have the look of the jackal about them, lean and muscular. They have black coats and yellow eyes, appearing as though they just sprang from the hieroglyphs on a tomb’s wall.
Homelands:
Whether as individuals or as a tribe, the Silent Striders do not have a single homeland. They are wanderers, travelers, born to the road. They may stay in one place for an extended time, but for the most part they do not congregate for long periods at any particular caerns, save for a rumored caem in Casablanca. Their Kinfolk are likewise disparate -Rrom, circus troupes, nomadic tribes, truckers or hitchhikers.
Tribal Advantage:
The Omen of Danger: Silent Striders travel places that are tainted with the feel and aura of death, as such they have premonitions of danger and what is to come. However this only affects the Strider in question, and doesn't always come into play.
Tribal Disadvantage:
Silent Striders tend to attract the attention of ghosts, due to an ancient curse levied upon the tribe. At the Narrator’s discretion, if a Silent Strider loses his challenge to step sideways, he may attract the attention of the Restless Dead. A ghost will attach itself to him, making his life considerably more difficult (see “Wraiths”, p. 264) until such time as the Strider completes a task on the ghost’s behalf. This Drawback functions as per the Flaw: Haunted.
Tribal Organization:
The Silent Striders are loners, without explicit hierarchy or titles, but they do occasionally gather ingreat moots. Typically these moots take place alongside barren, empty expanses of road, although outsiders remain mystified about how the tribe knows where and when to meet. More commonly, rather than congregating, the Striders leave one another messages on roadsigns or in subway tunnels, using a pictographic scrawl whose meaning is generally kept secret.
Camps:
Wayfarers
Harbingers
Seekers
The Dispossessed
Eaters of the Dead
Plural: Silent Striders
Pronounciation: seye'-lunt striy'-durz
Totem:
Owl: Totem of Wisdom. Totem Spirit of the Silent Striders, Owl is a quiet watcher, Owl strikes without warning from the darkness. Its hidden wisdom is associated with secrets of death and the shadowy Dark Umbra. Some believe that owls themselves are spirits of the dead seeking vengeance.
Those following Owls children are often gifted with premonitions of danger and the location of mystical things long forgotten. When entering the Umbra, each of Owl's children gain wings, allowing them to fly from place to place. They are silent when moving, and any gift dealing with air, travel, movement or darkness is easier to use with the many blessings of Owl. Along with the stories of Wisdom that will be told about them, Silent Striders may appear mysteriously to aid the pack when it is in danger. However, Ratkin and children of Rat do not get along with Owl's children, considering Owl's predatory nature.
Owl asks all his children, both those in packs to him and those of his tribe, to leave small tied up or helpless rodents in the woods for him and his kind to eat. No wonder they don't get along with those who follow Rat, eh?
Tales of the Tribe
The Silent Striders are wanderers, messengers and travelers; more than anything else they are enigmas. Though the tribe originally hails from Egypt, they no longer reside there, instead wandering the globe. Though it is claimed that no Garou can enter the lands of the dead, the scent of the Dark Umbra clings to them. And though they rarely do any other Garou wrong, few werewolves completely trust the Silent Striders.
When acting as messengers or bearing tidings of the Wyrm's activity, the Silent Striders are welcome visitors at nearly any caern. If rumors are to be believed, the Striders even find welcome among the fae and wizards of the world, and ghosts are said to follow them. When wandering the world, the Striders have an uncanny tendency to poke their snouts in where they don't belong and come out with trouble on their tails. This may be the reason they are so widely distrusted. Most Striders make a living acting as couriers or messengers between caerns; they know the hidden byways well enough, and, it is rumored, a few secret Moon Bridges to boot.
With the usual exception of Banes and Black Spiral Dancers, the Striders hold their greatest hatred for vampires. Tribal legend holds that the Striders fought an army of vampires led by a dark undead godling called Sutekh. Sutekh supposedly cast a great curse on the tribe that drove them from Egypt, scattered them to the winds, and worst of all, severed their bonds with their ancestors. Since then, many Striders take Egyptian names as a link to their past, and search the Umbra in vain for some sign of their forbears. The Silent Striders do have a relationship with the Restless Dead. The origin of the relationship is unknown, but Striders tend to attract ghosts' attention when passing through the Gauntlet into or out of the Umbra. Rare is the Silent Strider who doesn' have at least one wraith tagging along as he travels. Out of a sense of respect and politeness, the Srriders will generally avoid mentioning such ghosts in front of strangers.
History
During the Ancient times before the Impergium, the Silent Striders could have said that they were easily one of the largest, if not the largest tribe of all of the tribes of the Garou, stretching their territory out over the majority of north and north eastern Africa. Though the bulk of their numbers lived in Africa, particularly around the Nile, some ancient Silent Striders were rumored to have some territory in southern and eastern Asia.
Impergium:
It is said in the Silent Striders legends that a Children of Gaia who were the first tribe to plea to the Silver Fangs to end the Impergium, for it was cruel to cull the human race instead of letting it thrive along side the rest of the world. It was the Silent Striders who asked for the end of the Impergium next; not because it was inhumane or that they wanted to see the humans thrive, but they saw that one point of the Impergium was to breed quality breeding stock for them, that mean they were killing the smaller, weaker, and stupider humans so that smarter ones could grow. They soon realized that this would mean that the humans may very well eventually gain enough intelligence and power to overcome even the Garou, so the Silent Strider's first King Ancestor Horizon-Sight told the Silver Fang King of this and was ignored. When that King passed and died he approached the second King bearing the same message, only to be sent away once more. And as that King was buried, Horizon-Sight walked with old age bearing down on him and many, many allies from the other tribes, approached the next Silver Fang King bearing to him his wisdom. This time he was heard and the Impirgium was ended.
Appearance:
The Silent Striders have the look of the jackal about them, lean and muscular. They have black coats and yellow eyes, appearing as though they just sprang from the hieroglyphs on a tomb’s wall.
Homelands:
Whether as individuals or as a tribe, the Silent Striders do not have a single homeland. They are wanderers, travelers, born to the road. They may stay in one place for an extended time, but for the most part they do not congregate for long periods at any particular caerns, save for a rumored caem in Casablanca. Their Kinfolk are likewise disparate -Rrom, circus troupes, nomadic tribes, truckers or hitchhikers.
Tribal Advantage:
The Omen of Danger: Silent Striders travel places that are tainted with the feel and aura of death, as such they have premonitions of danger and what is to come. However this only affects the Strider in question, and doesn't always come into play.
Tribal Disadvantage:
Silent Striders tend to attract the attention of ghosts, due to an ancient curse levied upon the tribe. At the Narrator’s discretion, if a Silent Strider loses his challenge to step sideways, he may attract the attention of the Restless Dead. A ghost will attach itself to him, making his life considerably more difficult (see “Wraiths”, p. 264) until such time as the Strider completes a task on the ghost’s behalf. This Drawback functions as per the Flaw: Haunted.
Tribal Organization:
The Silent Striders are loners, without explicit hierarchy or titles, but they do occasionally gather ingreat moots. Typically these moots take place alongside barren, empty expanses of road, although outsiders remain mystified about how the tribe knows where and when to meet. More commonly, rather than congregating, the Striders leave one another messages on roadsigns or in subway tunnels, using a pictographic scrawl whose meaning is generally kept secret.
Camps:
Wayfarers
Harbingers
Seekers
The Dispossessed
Eaters of the Dead