The Sept of the Forgotten Spring is a Caern of Memory (Wisdom) patroned by Dragonfly. This Caern of Memory came into being after the fall of several Caerns in the surrounding areas of Rhode Island and Connecticut.
Rank: 3 Average Population: From 10 to 20 Garou Average Bawn: 350-800 acres Maximum Moon Bridge Distance: 3,000 miles Gauntlet:1
* Gauntlet has lowered since caern's inception, notably 2020
Advantages: Source of significant power; relatively easy to access spirits and mentors; reliable allies within Sept mates
Disadvantages: Rare chance for inexperienced Garou to fill Sept positions; defense is tricky due to larger size of Bawn; enough Garou for politics and in fighting; large enough to come to the Wyrm’s attention; difficult to expand or maintain properly.
The Earth Rots, the Seas Grow Wild, The Wind Dies, and the Flame of Hope flickers...
The area of Connecticut and Rhode Island were always well watched, and easy for the Wyrm to infiltrate. With so much city, it was a simple task for the Wyrm to slip in its talons. But so close to the High King's court, it was rare indeed that anything flourished for long.
Three Caerns once blessed the area. The Sept of the Thirteenth Floor in Providence, The Sept of the Golden Brew in Eastern Connecticut, and The Sept of Snow's Talon in Northwestern Connecticut. Many garou called the area home, or travelled through on moonbridges, called to battles far and wide.
Still, all that is good does not last.
In March of 2010 disaster struck. All fell quiet in the area, no messages could be sent in, and none were coming out. The moonbridges snapped, as if shorn in two. Overnight, in the Umbra, a dome of black and green fire covered the area. Those who entered in the realm came back hours later with no memory of the time, no explanation, and heavily tainted. Some went mad and had to be put down, while others fell to the Wyrm. Even those who had contact with other supernaturals could not find out what was happening within the now tainted place. It was as if the area had stopped existing for the rest of the supernatural world. So the High King issued an edict, banning anyone from entering, upon pain of death, till he gave orders otherwise.
And thus it stood, until a short time ago. In the Umbra there was a flash of light, like the rising of a second sun, a scream...and the wall of fire died away. The Umbra that was uncovered was bleak and twisted, but showed signs of Gaia and recovery here and there, as if the Earth Herself fought back with more strength here then elsewhere. Word has gone out for Garou to gather, that they would be going into the area that until just recently had been lost.
The High King's orders were to reclaim the Caerns. If that was not possible, to cleanse the area and see it brought back from the brink, as it were....
Three Caerns fell – behind a veil they were lost and we still have not found the story of what happened – or of how the enemy secured such victories or of what happened once the veil fell to blind us.
What we have found, are the hearts of those fallen Caerns – the stones that held the energy of Gaia given to each lost holy place. Three of these Heart Stones did Shards of Rage hold close and safe until the time came. All three Heart Stones were needed, were used, to awaken Old Wolf from his slumber here. Thus, here does beat not the heart of one Caern, but of four.
More than that, this place is the heart of something else as well. As Garou, we are part spirit in our hearts and souls and when our bodies depart from the face of Gaia, some of us are blessed by her to become ancestor spirits with wisdom and tales and guidance to pass to those who will take up the fight after our arms can no longer carry the fight. For, even when our arms are gone, do our hearts keep fighting. Here in this place, there are ever changing shrines to those hearts who have fought in their own ways for Gaia in the past – whose hearts continue to fight as they offer us their council and wisdom.
The ancestors are our past, and in us they see the future of their hopes and sometimes the completion of their works. This place, is as much theirs as it is ours. Their graves and shrines are ever changing – not enough room to honor all at the same time. Each gets a turn – each is honored and it is our duty and responsibility to keep them safe and protected and cared for. For what are we without our past? Without our past, we would have no heart, we would have no wisdom, we would know nothing of honor and the glory of our nation would vanish into the unknown like the fallen caerns – with mystery, enigma and in silence.
Here, at the Caern of Heart’s Past, we stand against the silence. We give voice to those whose stories have yet gone untold. We protect with Old Wolf the hearts of the past – so that the future will not be empty of all we hold dear.
"There was a great battle. Of this, you have heard.
There was a great rite. Of this, you can see! And feel!"
she indicates the caern heart and closes her eyes to bask in the feeling of the place to drive home her point.
"And when both were ended, the earth woke and welcomed home her warrior children.
We who were here, took pause to glory in the feel of our connection with Gaia."
Again she pauses to do just that - actually stopping the telling of the tale to lie down on the floor of the caern heart for a moment to relish the feel of being so connected with their shared Great Mother - and encouraging her listener to join in the moment. After a nice long moment of peace, she rises again to her tale.
"Sore from the price paid, we hooooooooowwwwwwwled in victory.
As we did, the spirits swirled in eddies.
In the center of the heart, atop the crystal, there were a set of large bones.
Wolf bones.
The eddies that had been fed through the rite, gathered around those bones and fed them.
Soon, the bones had flesh of spirit.
Then fur!
And then, the bones were a wolf!'
She shifts effortlessly to Hispo to better show the majesty of the moment - using the shift to better illustrate how magical it was to see a great wolf suddenly be there!
"Strong with much wisdom from long years, he stepped like king from what had seemed his tomb, but now his throne!
With respect and thanks, he touched those who had performed rite to wake him.
Then, to us all, he spoke!
I am the Old Wolf of the Woods, and this is my place where the ancestors of old will gather and join the new.
These were his first words that he told the warriors who had fought to wake him from slumber.
She shifts effortlessly back down to lupus now that the Totem has been awakened in the tale
"In his wisdom, our Totem told us many things.
This place must be guarded.
If it is not, the ancestors who have gathered here - who WILL gather here.... will be lost."
She gives a whine - a rather pathetic whine - at the mere thought of losing so many. In fact, she turns in a circle to show just HOW MANY skeletons are in places of honor - just how many precious ancestors that would mean losing.
"So many - TOO many to lose! Yes! We must guard them! They must not be forgotten!"
She gives a warning growl, fierce and full of Rage - as though to say that any who would endanger such precious treasure of the Nation will first have to go through HER. This first charge of the Old Wolf - clearly she has accepted! And her listener should too!
"Old Wolf of the Woods then gave a second charge.
He asked that all who guard this place get in touch with their wolf side."
Her tail wags
"We are Garou - spirit of man AND of wolf! Yes! Yes, too often do homid understand only the form of two legs! Too often do lupus lose a part of themselves when they fall in love with new two legged form! In place where very heart of caern sits underneath a building filled with weaver bells and whistles, we MUST go out of our way to honor and learn the part of us that is Wolf if we are to remain whole - as Garou, as Pack, as Sept.
We can not bring land back in balance if we are not in balance with our selves!"
She gives a twirl and a jump in her lupus form and wags her tail to show that, yes, there are things you can do as a wolf that are simply impossible in any other form.
"Honor your ancestors and the ancestors of those around you.
This was the third charge of the Old Wolf of the Woods."
She sits up proud and tall and then walks towards her listener to brush against her fur - slightly mingling their scents as she continues to tell this part of the tale.
"So often, we forget the sacrifices of those who have come before - of those who gave up everything to unite the tribes to create the single Garou Nation. Too often, we honor only those who have directly come before us and we too little honor those of other tribes and lines who also sacrificed for the Nation.
In this challenge, there is wisdom.
Difficult for many, yes, but necessary if we are to stand strong together against what is coming.
For, if I learn how best to honor those who came before you, will I not learn better how to stand with YOU?"
She returns to the place she was sitting before she rubbed against the blond wolf she is speaking to.
"Care for the graves here
This was his fourth charge to our gathering of warriors"
She trots the circumference of the grave filled room as she talks - so that as she tells the story, the listener is forced to once again take in all the graves - how varied they are, and how numerous.
"So long they have been untended by hand or paw. So close they came to being forgotten.
Yes! As we tend the land, as we tend the spirits, so must we tend the graves of those who have been honored so highly as to be buried in such a blessed place!
Who were these members of the Nation?
What did they do to earn such a place?
How can we ever learn their stories or their lessons and wisdom if we do not first tend to their remains and their spirits?"
Again she returns to the center to speak eye to eye with her listener.
"Remember and honor your own ancestors in your own ways.
His final charge to those of this Sept.
Yes. I honor those that came before you - and I will strive to learn how to do so in ways that will best honor them -- but though I am of the same Nation, we must also recognize that our Nation is one of many cultures.
We must unite in respect, but we must remember too who and where we come from in our own ways. To lose the diversity of our customs would be equal to losing the diversity of our forms.
Just as unity must be honored, so must the wyld beauty of how Gaia made us different from each other.
Those are the Five Charges of the Old Wolf of the Woods that he gave upon his waking.
These are the challenges we face here as a sept.
So too do we know that those who disrespect the fallen will answer to our Great Totem itself - for that was his final warning before he let out a great howl.
And those of us who joined his howl, we did so in pledge to rise to his Challenges to the best of our ability as Garouuuuuuuuuuu...
At the end of her tale, she turns the last word into a howl so that the listener can join in as well and offer her pledge to the Totem of the Caern and accept his Challenges.
"The Sept of Heart's Past stood before that of the Forgotten Spring. It was the first to rise after the dome of fire fell, its Heart made of the Heart Stones of the three caerns that had fallen when the dome had risen, those being the Sept of the Thirteenth Floor in Providence, the Sept of the Golden Brew in Eastern Connecticut and the Sept of Snow's Talon in Northwestern Connecticut." The Fenrir looked around. "One Heart Stone comprised of three. Some would say this is familiar, for the Forgotten Spring's Heart Stone is one comprised of three, our Talesinger has told us, but what she has failed to convey is that this Heart Stone, the one that rests here, is that stone."
Niko paused but persisted, "The Sept of Heart's Past has gone unmentioned in the history of this sept, a grave oversight because the Sept of Heart's Past is the history of the Forgotten Spring."
He shifted his weight and began to walk around the tale circle. "Heart's Past was plagued with troubles from the very beginning, it is said. It was, after all, underground, and we are not meant to live underground so deeply, and above it was the Mohegan Sun casino, leaving no place for the Garou of the sept to run, howl, play, revel in their wolf selves." He shook his head and his gaze seemed saddened by the very thought. He patted a hand over his chest. "The loss of the skies, the loss of fresh air, the loss of freedom, these things allowed depression to take root in the hearts of many of the Garou who called Heart's Past home.... and in others it sowed the seeds of madness."
He frowned and dropped his hand as he shifted his direction, his steps keeping an internal count for him. "Even the Alpha of the Sept, Alexis Mourningtide, known as 'Bears the Scars of the Lost', was not untouched.... or perhaps she was especially touched by the troubles plaguing the caern." The Skald glanced down. "She wandered into deeper parts of the caves of Heart's Past, concerning some." A meaningful look went to the magpies and then he looked ahead of him again.
Niko continued. "She fell to madness during a battle in the Devil's Hopyard, a battle in which the sept's members were led to believe they were pursuing and regaining the Pathstone that had belonged to the sept that was once within the Hopyard. 'Bears the Scars of the Lost' appointed an untested Cliath by the name of 'Bane of Thieves' in charge of those heading into the Hopyard, where 'Bane of Thieves' showed her inexperience by failing to direct those who followed her effectively and frenzying before setting foot into battle simply from frustration after a cave-in split their warparty in half, and in her frenzy she almost killed a septmate and much-needed Ahroun." He shifted his stance. "'Sun Within the Storm' took over the leadership of the assault to prevent senseless loss of Gaian Garou; having her own pack divided by 'Bane of Thieves' and the cave-in allowed her to direct both teams through her connection with 'Redshirt 2.0', her pack's Ahroun."
"However, 'Sun Within the Storm' received news that the Sept Alpha's pack, Shards of Rage, was fighting the Fallen above-ground, and she made an executive decision to divide their party further--the group that had been split off from them by the cave-in was set to regroup with them and so she sent half of her own group ahead to meet with them with orders for each to follow Redshirt and Wrench, while she took the remaining Garou with her above-ground to assist Shards of Rage." He stopped walking and instead stood still and strong with his shoulders rolled back.
"While the two groups left behind converged on the cave where they believed the Pathstone would be found, the Garou that went with 'Sun Within the Storm' to support Shards of Rage learned just how far their Sept Alpha had fallen into her madness." His tone was strong but it softened here. "'Bears the Scars of the Lost' and her pack were engaged in a battle with the Fallen and they were losing--two were dead, one was missing, one was set upon by three Fallen while a fourth was trying to aid him, and 'Bears the Scars of the Lost' was engaged in single combat with another Fallen. It was only natural for those returning from the caves to leap into the fray to assist their septmates, but when they did 'Bears the Scars of the Lost' became angry with them for stealing her kill, 'Sun Within the Storm' in particular."
The Skald looked for the alpha but then looked around the circle. "She turned on 'Sun Within the Storm', but 'Sun Within the Storm' had been prepared--in her concern for the growing suspicion of madness, in her times following the Alpha into the caves, in her worry that there was something at play that would necessitate removing 'Bears the Scars of the Lost' from power to protect the sept and the Garou who called it home, she had sought the aid of an Ancestor known as 'Slayer of Mountains', who had agreed to help her take out the Sept Alpha if 'Sun Within the Storm' could find proof that 'Bears the Scars of the Lost' was a danger to the sept, and the proof was here." It was a grave matter and a graver deal to make, but it had been necessary and showed foresight.
"She called upon his aid then and 'Slayer of Mountains' joined with 'Sun Within the Storm' in her body to combine their skills to fight the powerful Alpha in a challenge made in a time of war, in the midst of battle." His verbal pace quickened as the impassioned nature he did not show often crept into the tale. "It was difficult, it was bloody, and those who fought stood back from the dance of death when it became apparent the issue stood between 'Bears the Scars of the Lost' and 'Sun Within the Storm'. When 'Sun Within the Storm' and 'Slayer of Mountains' had the upper hand, they demanded 'Bears the Scars of the Lost' submit, but she refused." He slowed again and shifted his weight. "'Sun Within the Storm' and 'Slayer of Mountains' had joined together to remove a threat to the sept."
"Together they succeeded." He allowed that to linger for a minute, and then he continued slowly, "And in that moment 'Sun Within the Storm' became the new Alpha of Heart's Past."
"After the threat passed, the Fallen defeated and the fighting Garou all finally able to rest, the work was still not done. 'Sun Within the Storm' and Wrench learned from 'Bears the Scars of the Lost's surviving packmates where she had been going when she ventured deep into the caves, and there they discovered a tainted pond that the former alpha had been feeding Gnosis, animals, spirits, anything. It is theorized that she was trying to control it and learn from it, but she only made it stronger, and when 'Sun Within the Storm' and Wrench found it, the pond had become a lake and they learned there was nothing that could be done to correct the damage the former alpha had done. They sealed it off as best as they could and sought a Stargazer they had met in previous travels to discuss moving the caern to someplace safer through a Rite known to the Tribe."
"They began to search for a new place for the caern, and Dragonfly called to them months later--for several nights, Dragonflies swarmed and created unusual lights in the sky, beckoning to them in Luna's light." A shadow of a smile touched his face at the mental image. "'Walks With Spirits' traveled to this place to speak with them, and Dragonfly said that here could be their new home." He lifted his hands to indicate around him, and he looked around as he paused. His tone softened, "'Sings in Harmony with Spirits', a Stargazer whom 'Sun Within the Storm' and Wrench had met while in Africa, agreed to assist with moving the caern without hesitation, but he had only just arrived when the darkness welled up from below."
Now he began to walk away from the tale circle, but his tale was not finished for he still spoke as he walked, "The Garou of the caern were pulled into desperate battle, but then many were knocked unconscious and awoke here." The Skald's voice was somber. "It was the Old Wolf of the Woods' last act. He would have patroned this caern, but he stayed behind and sacrificed himself in order to evacuate the Garou before all were lost and collapsed the caves that had housed Heart's Past in order to contain the darkness for at least a little longer." He straightened. "And so it was Dragonfly who answered the need for a totem to guide the sept and protect the caern."
He was quiet as he walked further away from the tale circle.... and to the challenge mound. "There is more to this story, so much more. However, to tell it all in all of its parts now would be to take away from the events that led to that moment."
Niko stopped on the challenge mound, and he paused for a minute before he shifted up into Crinos and lifted his voice to conclude his tale. <gt> "This sept, that of the Forgotten Spring, has a complex history that has up to this point never been told in full. It has fallen to our Talesinger to tell these tales, but for months she has sat silent." The accusation was unflinching and his manner bristled with challenge, daring any to contradict him. <gt> "I have waited and I have listened so that I might hear if she would speak, but no words have risen and the disservice this sept has suffered has gone on for far too long. So in her silence I tell you now what has needed to be heard." He lifted his ears. <gt> "This is how your Alpha came to be Alpha, this is how the lands this caern rests within came to house such power. Strife and conflict are no strangers here. Silence is no stranger here."
A growl rumbled in his throat as he declared, <gt> "But no more!"
~Tale by Niko 'Heeds the Wisdom of the Norns' Reinard
