~The War of the Wolves~
"And out of the eternal night rose a pillar of light, a single candle flame amidst as sea of darkness. Her name was Avren, and within her burned a fire kindled by the ocean of blood about her. Tired and furious of being the hunted for so long, she rallied the humans, gnomes, and halflings, giving them the one thing they needed to survive: hope.
"'Come forth,' said she, 'and together we shall fight. For around us lies death and terror, but we can change it. Take up arms and battle, for our enemies are made of flesh and blood like ourselves. No longer shall we cower like lambs to the slaughter, but we shall be that which bites back!'"
- The Chronicles of the Hunters, Anonymous
The History
For hundreds of years, the Pack has ruled Ethnu. Nothing dared stand in their way as they hunted the lands, for they would be struck down with no mercy. They roamed unrivaled by predators and unchallenged by their prey until a woman by the name of Avren rallied the Alliance (human/halfling/gnome) and created an order called the Hunters, who stood for equality, chivalry, and law, but, above all, the protection of the innocent.
The Pack
The Pack is the worg/dire wolf/werewolf alliance. They are the apex predators of Ethnu and merciless. They aren't evil, they simply view humans as their prey. They function almost entirely off instinct. However, they are just as intelligent and often as tactful as humans, so beware.
The term for a werewolf/dire wolf/worg when referring generally to any of the three is simply 'wolf.' They take more damage from silver weapons than anything else, but other weaknesses have not been discovered.
The most dangerous wolves known are three individuals: a lycanthrope named Zylana, a worg called Valkyrie, and a dire wolf named Agrona. They often fight together, and are the alpha, beta, and gamma of the Pack (Zylana is alpha, Valkyrie is beta, and Agrona is gamma). Valkyrie is black with silvery-blue eyes and two-foot long saber-teeth (see the worg description below). Agrona is red with golden eyes. Zylana's appearance is unknown.
Dire Wolves
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Worgs
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Lycanthropes (Werewolves)
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The Hunters
The Hunters are the rulers, guardians, and law enforcement of the Alliance. They are lead by Avren and three higher-ups: Gryphon, known as the Guard Dog for his protectiveness; Adalhelm who is known as the Cougar for his leadership skills; and Apophis, known as the Dragon for her ferocity.
Instead of using a currency, they are still a trade-based economy, and currently a very fair one. Basically the idea is the craftsmen and farmers supply the Hunters, and the Hunters protect them with those supplies. It's seen as a fair trade, and one the commoners and the soldiers are happy with.
The Hunters have one main stronghold called Akaron Hold, named after the star Akaron which is the brightest star in the sky, the first to rise in the morning and last to set in the eve. It consists of a large tower and walls, within which most of the Alliance population lives. The only ones outside of the Hold are farmers who need large tracts of land. When the wolves attack, however, everyone evacuates behind the walls.
There are several ranks of Hunters, with a total of seven ranks, ranging from newblood or 'puppy' to Avren herself. Avren is the only first rank Hunter who leads everything, followed by Gryphon, Apophia, and Adalhelm as the second ranks.
Basically, seventh rank Hunters are the newbloods. Sixth rank Hunters lead squadrons of newbloods. Fifth rank Hunters are in charge of companies of multiple squadrons. Fourth ranks deal with battalions which are multiple companies. Third ranks lead legions of companies. Second ranks lead armies of legions, and Avren is on the very top.
Dogs
Hunters sixth rank and above have dogs. They aren't very far into the domestication process, and still look very wolflike. They're superbly trained and of two varieties: hounds and hunters. Hounds find and run down the wolves; hunters fight them and guard their humanoid companion. They are trained in the following:
- Finding (discovering werewolves among humans without a command)
- Attack (hunters only)
- Stand Down (hunters only)
- Sit
- Down
- Stay
- Come
- Guard (a given person or items, hunters only)
- Heel
- Scenting (tracking, hounds only)
- Give Chase (hounds only)
- Halt (stop moving)
Training
Combat (Hand-to-hand)*
Combat (Blades)
Combat (Bows)
Combat (Magic)
Riding & Mounted Combat*
Wolf Culture (Language, etc.)*
Code (Learning the code the Hunters use to relay orders, etc.)*
Survival*
First Aid*
Medical Skills (Practical)
Medical Skills (Magic)
Combat (Blades)
Combat (Bows)
Combat (Magic)
Riding & Mounted Combat*
Wolf Culture (Language, etc.)*
Code (Learning the code the Hunters use to relay orders, etc.)*
Survival*
First Aid*
Medical Skills (Practical)
Medical Skills (Magic)
*Required by all classes
Any fighter will take one selected combat class (in addition to the required hand-to-hand) where any healer will take either practical or magical medical skills. Other than that, there is no difference in what they learn. In the schedule is included the eating times and times used for taking care of your animal(s). The end/beginning of each class/break is signaled by a bell, as is curfew and the morning bell to wake everyone up.
The schedule is as follows:
Morning Bell
Breakfast (15 minutes)
Caring for Steed (15 minutes)
Combat (Hand-to-Hand)
Riding & Mounted Combat
Combat (Bows/Blades/Magic) or Medical Skills (Practical/Magic)
Lunch (20 minutes)
Survival
First Aid
Wolf Culture
Code
Dinner (15 minutes)
Caring for Steed (15 minutes)
Homework/Free Time/Detention (3 hours)
Curfew
Breakfast (15 minutes)
Caring for Steed (15 minutes)
Combat (Hand-to-Hand)
Riding & Mounted Combat
Combat (Bows/Blades/Magic) or Medical Skills (Practical/Magic)
Lunch (20 minutes)
Survival
First Aid
Wolf Culture
Code
Dinner (15 minutes)
Caring for Steed (15 minutes)
Homework/Free Time/Detention (3 hours)
Curfew
The Races
There are three races in the Hunters: humans, halflings, and gnomes. Humans are what you'd expect. Halflings are like hobbits- small, generally optimistic, and fair-minded. Gnomes are the ingenious creators and engineers, always making something new. Gnomes are slightly smaller than halflings, reaching maybe 3' tall. Tall halflings are about 4'.
Lycanthropy
There are a few different possible outcomes of being bitten/mixing blood with a worg or werewolf: a) you become a lycanthrope; b) you die; and the least common, c) you fight off the wolf blood and remain human (or halfling or gnome, depending on which you are playing. The first usually takes a maximum of a couple weeks and a minimum of a day. The average is about 7 days before you succumb to the wolf blood. The second usually takes a bit longer- you’re dying from rejecting the wolf blood but being unable to actually get rid of it. It generally takes a couple weeks. The last is around a month and very, very rare. Avren is the only known human to survive a worg/werewolf bite and stay human.
The Characters & Rules
You can play as any of the Alliance races and anything from a newblood to a fifth rank Hunter. You must be a Hunter, though you can be a medic or mage if you wish.
The rules are simple and detailed below:
- - No god-modding
- Violence or gore is allowed
- No sex or explicit romance
- Please keep cussing mild
- No killing, maiming, or injuring a character without first discussing it with the player
- Of course, be respectful to your fellow SBers
- Minimum post of four paragraphs
Character Profile Template
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