Delta Pack Legends & Culture

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LEGENDS Once, long ago, when all the wolves in the world traveled in one pack, She turned her eye away from them. She has not walked on this earth since days long since past, but every wolf knows her. She is the mother that bore you and the jaws that latch around your prey. She was sickened by the wolves. They killed for pleasure more than necessity, leaving the bloating carcasses of their slain prey behind uneaten. All three of her faces wept. One for the young wolf, yet to know a mate, an embodiment of love and hope. One for the mother, teats swollen with milk, lips pulled back in a vicious snarl as she protects her pups. The last is death. She comes sweetly to take her pups home to live away from the harsh world at last. But all three of Her faces turned away. Rains stopped falling, grass stopped growing. Wolves began to starve. A young she-wolf, Mara, wept to see her pack torn apart by death, disease and strife. Along with her brother, Rayzarek, she left the mass of wolves, trying desperately to find a place teeming with life, a place to make a home She would be proud of. It was here, in the Rock River Delta that she found the mushrooms. Not even She can halt the ocean and the rivers, and they flooded together here, creating a bog that held treasured life like a she-wolf's womb. Mara was the first to eat the mushrooms, and she because the first Seer when she made a promise to Her to always live in harmony with nature. And life returned to the world. CULTURE Now that the population of the original Delta Pack is largely dead, the traditions of the pack are held in a sort of limbo. When the Seer returns, he/she will likely re-institute stricter forms of the culture. However, just broadly, the pack should show a respect for nature. Many say that the Delta wolves are filthy because they always roll n mud. For many of those wolves, it is hunting camouflage that also brings them close to nature. Depending on the parents' personal believes, the Seer may eat the mushrooms and have a dream in order to help name the pups. This has always been optional, but stubborn Seers will often call a pup by the name they think it should have, regardless of its parent's wishes. Some wolves call upon and think about the three aspects of Her, but again this is variable. They are typically refereed to as Ahniu, Dahniu, and Kaelyk. Because there are many strong female figures in both their religion and legends, there is no disparity between the sexes in the Delta Pack. Each position can be held by either a male or female. Even more importantly, candidates for powerful positions are judged solely on merit. There are two exceptions to the this rule. The position of alpha is hereditary, but it can be to any of his or her pups, generally determined by merit with the help of the Seer. The seer is a position held only by one wolf at a time who has the ability to pick their apprentice from any of the available pups in the pack, generally due to a dream they have had. This pup will begin its apprenticeship immediately. The rest of the pups are given general survival training until they reach 6 months of age. At this point, they are separated by ability into hunters and warriors. If, by any chance, there is a pup who does not seem to fit either of these roles he or she will be deemed an omega. Generally there is a small ceremony when this occurs that all the pups look forward to with excitement.