Thread: BELTANE MOOT!! (WW: Attn All!)

At exactly midnight on April 30th as Luna hangs a perfect glowing pearl in the sky, the radiance of her Full Moon casting down upon the Caern, Ashalyn stands proudly next to the fire at the center of the Caern.

He is shirtless and wearing a tattered and torn pair of jeans that look like they had been worn while shifting to Crinos several times. His eyes are wild, fueled by the intensity of glorious Luna high above, and his massive mane of dark auburn hair is disheveled with random lengths of hair braided and hanging low into his face.

His eyes take in the faces of all presently around the fire, before regarding beautiful Luna. In a single moment his form shifts to mighty Crinos, and he looses a powerful howl that echoes through the woods and can be heard for over a mile. It is a Howl of Gathering, announcing an impending Moot. His howl continues on, lingering for several moments as he basks in Her silver light.

Shifting back down to Homid, he then waits a small time for the Garou to gather. Once assembled, he addresses them all:

"Brothers and Sisters of Gaia! I call you together tonight to make you aware, that beginning at sunset tomorrow, I, Chases the Tale, Fostern Galliard of the Fianna, will be leading a Moot Rite for this Caern and it's Garou! We have claimed this Caern, and now we must fuel it so that it may grow strong! We cannot let this newly awakened Caern be neglected!! It is the duty of all Garou of this Caern to attend and participate!!"

"So it is known, spread the word to all your fellow packmates! Tomorrow we will howl! We will remember and give thanks! We will tell tales of renown! We will settle disputes! and we WILL GIVE OF OUR GNOSIS TO THIS CAERN SPIRIT SO THAT WE MAY HAVE IT'S BLESSING AND GUIDANCE AND CALL THIS HOME!!"

"As Master of the Howl, I have called upon Claudia of the Silent Striders to be our Caller of the Wyld! I have called upon Donovan Meris of the Fenrir to be our Truthcatcher! I have called upon Tala Gaurav of the Silver Fangs to be our Talesinger! I have called upon Dietrich of the Fenrir to be our Fool!"

After his passionate words he will again regard the assembled Garou, and then go back to gathering wood and building several scattered log teepees around the Caern; obviously being built for bonfires for the Moot to come.




Out Of Character:

Hey guys! This forum is going to serve as the thread for the Moot that is going to start tomorrow. As Kathy is busy with her finals, she has asked that for the Moot I start the thread and kick it off!

I wanted to take a very brief moment to go over what a Moot is and what it involves for folks that are new to the Werewolf Venue. The STs figure that if we inform you of what happens in a Moot, and why you'll be more likely to participate, and that is what a Moot is all about; everyone jumping in!

To very simply describe a Moot - it is a gathering of the Garou for the purposes of donating Gnosis to the Caern Spirit to keep it strong. If Garou fail to perform Moots then Caerns fall into hibernation and that's a hugely bad thing because there aren't very many active Caerns anymore. So, to keep this from happening, every month Garou get together and hold a Moot where they celebrate and tell tales of renown and settle disputes, all the while they are donating to the Caern and participating in their local Garou community.

Now Moots are lead by a group of Moot "officers" who each lead different phases of the Moot. The responsibility of those officers are:

Master of the Howl: The Master of the Howl's job is to start the Moot off with the Opening Howl, and to lead the Garou in the different howls that take place through out the Moot. They also are the ones who howl to announce the start of the different segments of the Moot.

Caller of the Wyld: Caller of the Wyld's responsibility is to call to all of the Spirits of the Caern, Pack Totems, Caern Spirit, etc. Before the Moot, the Caller of the Wyld selects four separate Garou (called The Shining Ones) to each represent and call to the four winds (N, S, E, W and the Inner Wind) and thank them for their Blessings. Since we're operating on short notice for this Moot, and it is the first Moot we've done, the Caller of the Wyld will do the part of The Shining Ones.

Truthcatcher: The Truthcatcher's responsibility is to act as referee and judge during the Cracking of the Bone (discussed in a second). It is by his words that a subject is deemed settled and by his judgement that the Cracking of the Bone has ended. He also chooses the order in which different Garou voice their complaints; often letting those of higher rank speak first.

Talesinger: The Talesinger leads the Time of Tales in a Moot. She tells Tales of Renown and calls out for any who would dispute the validity of tales told and dispute the earned Renown.

Wyrmfoe: The Wyrmfoe leads the Revel which is at the very end of the Moot, and often lead the Garou on a Hunt of Wyrm at the end of the Moot. For this Moot, there will be a revel, but we don't have a Wyrmfoe.

Fool: The Fools job is to play Devil's Advocate through out the entire Moot. Essentially, it is his job to make fun of the Litany and Garou traditions and to question the words of Garou that speak. He questions the Litany as a test to see if any can refute his words, doing so gains the successful Garou renown. He questions those who speak so that there can be someone to point out when the Garou are being stupid, despite Rank. The Fool is meant to be forgiven of ALL words and deeds done while performing the role...and this works in theory.

Holding an office for a Moot is an honor and is worthy of Renown, but it is not a guaranteed position for every single Moot. Garou should volunteer to hold the different positions for the next coming Moot; so please - FEEL FREE TO VOLUNTEER AND GET INVOLVED! It's fun and worth Renown!


The Phases of the Moot are:

The Opening Howl: The Opening Howl is the kickoff of the Moot. The Master of the Howl leads the howl, and is followed shortly thereafter by the other Galliards, and then finally followed by the whole Sept - which creates a massive group howl that fills the air with unearthly cries and sets the mood for the Moot to come.

The Inner Sky: The Inner Sky is started in silence, and is the part of the Moot where the Caller of the Wyld and the chosen Shining Ones step forward and call to the Five Winds, in the order of East, South, West, North, and finally the Inner Wind. Once the Winds have been called, the Caller of the Wyld then calls to each of the Totem spirits of the Packs of the Caern and asks them to join, as well as any other Spirits that are closely associated with the Caern, like our Willow. This is also when the Garou donate their Gnosis to the Caern to fuel it and keep it active.

Cracking of the Bone: The Cracking of the Bone is overseen by the Truthcatcher, and it is the time when the gloves come off and the Garou make their grievances with each other known so that issues can be settled and grudges don't build up and cause a Sept to self-implode. Garou can request arbitration of a dispute they have with another member of the Sept, regardless of Rank, and the Truthcatcher's responsibility is to see through to the truth of the matter and see the issue finally resolved. For larger matters or more drawn out ones, the Truthcatcher may postpone the issue to the next Moot. Also, Garou can question Sept policies or address the actions of their fellows.

This process is handled by passing around a "talking stick", essentially, a big bone femur that indicates who the Truthcatcher has given leave to speak. Speaking out of turn can result in a loss of honor. The Truthcatcher himself is allowed to interrupt anyone he chooses and ask any questions necessary to resolve the dispute or may call any dispute null, void, and settled.

Once the Truthcatcher decides that all disputes have been sufficiently handled or are put on pause to be resolved, he snaps the femur in half - marking the end of this phase of the moot.

Time of Tales: The Time of Tales is when the Talesinger tells the Tales of Renown for different Garou. The tales of Renown can be disputed and disputes will be heard and granted at the leave of the Talesinger. If a dispute is voiced, the Talesinger then polls the Garou in attendance for their opinion in the matter. Those who favor the tale and the earning of Renown voice first, and then those opposing the tale and Renown voice second. The Talesinger then decides the validity of the tale and the Renown.

The Revel: The best part of the Moot. THE PARTY!! Different Moots Revel in different ways, but even after the Revel the Garou should feel rejuvenated and re-energized having just completed a Moot.

Now that we've discussed the essentials of how a Moot works, we hope that when this thing kicks off tomorrow night that everyone will be up for getting involved to make this as awesome of an experience as possible! This Moot will progress on this forum somewhat slowly, and while in real time the Moot takes about a day to actually start and finish -- we intend with the different phases and roleplay for this thread to be active for a few days so please feel free to contribute and join in!


David Doherty
Werewolf Narrator