Bonds of the Moon: Auspice

This story is true.

When our ancestors slew Father Wolf so that a stronger hunter could take his place, they fell to fighting among themselves almost immediately. Each powerful chieftain or alpha vied for the right to inherit the full measure of Father Wolf’s strength and duties. Blood fell on the earth as the fighting grew
fiercer, and Mother Luna wept to see it.

Nobody knows how long this lasted. Yet however long they fought one another instead of the enemies they claimed to oppose, it was too long. We might still be fighting even today, with the world suffering for it all the more, were it not for the descent of the Lunes.

Why did Mother Luna intervene? We don’t know. Nobody can know her mind. Some believe that she acted from benevolence, as a long-suffering but still loving mother. Others say it was self-interest: that we were simply the best choice to keep an eye on the world, and this was the best way to set us to that task. Still others claim that she was obeying some obscure ban of her own, that she walked on the earth only when permitted by some cryptic celestial alignment and
that granting us our auspices was merely an afterthought. And some say she did not intervene at all — that the Lunes did not offer blessings, but rather were brought into submission. Nobody will ever know for sure, but such is the nature of our fickle, ever-changing mother.

At the behest of Luna, Lunes from the five choirs descended. They told us that although Father Wolf’s full power was too great to be held by any single being limited by flesh, each of us could inherit an equal share of his duties. They
coaxed forth memories of Father Wolf’s five roles — warrior, visionary, judge, wise man and stalker — and the magics that Father Wolf used in each of those roles. From these wisps of memory, the five lunar choirs taught each Uratha to adopt one of Father Wolf’s five roles. Luna had seen the First Change of each of this generation of Uratha, and she saw into each werewolf’s inner nature, so she knew which of Father Wolf’s roles was most appropriate. She promised to give an obvious sign to future generations of Uratha, so that every werewolf
would know what his role would be.

Now every one of us — save the heretics who call themselves “pure” — experiences his First Change under Luna’s watchful eye. The First Change is not only a moment of terrible change, but a brief flicker of communion with the
lunar choir attuned to the night’s moon phase. Those born with the souls of warriors and killers reach their full potential under the full moon, while those with the fortitude to face the maddening trials of the spirit world come into their own while the crescent moon shines.

Now the People have the tools to walk the Gauntlet as Father Wolf walked the Border Marches, and the encouragement to do so. Luna’s intercession and blessing has kindled a new hope that the Uratha will not always be Forsaken.

• Rahu
• Cahalith
• Elodoth
• Ithaeur
• Irraka

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