Agememnon lay in darkness, his nose and ears moving to catch the conversations and flow of life around him.  He heard Diane approach, four-footed, as was he, toward him in the small side cave.  She was looking for him, and found what she sought.  He whuffed a short greeting, continuing his sense's vigil.

Diane lay down next to him and answered softly in Garou, almost a whisper, "Hi to you, too."  Noticing how alertly he was attending to all around him, she quieted to keep from making his task more difficult.

"The dark one is gone?"  Agememnon asked.
 
Diane thought he meant Canth.  "She left just a little while ago."  The strangeness of Agememnon's family struck her again, as she configured the family tree of Canth, then Niko and Cassey, and Agememnon...

"Time is quickening."

"Yes," Diane agreed.  Somehow even through his enigmatic phrasing, Diane could usually feel what Agememnon meant, which fact surprised her a bit.  Usually she had more trouble figuring it out, then she'd be sure she knew, with say, Canth or Sho; but with Age, she knew and then questioned how she could possibly know.  In this case Diane felt Agememnon meant something like what most people would have phrased as, "Time flies," or "I can't believe it's so late," or something.  Which reminded her that he'd put her off the last time she asked him about Niko's request to help him get ready for his rite of passage.  "...time for you to be one of us."

Agememnon moved his head to rest on Diane's midsection.  She lay on her side and curled a bit to his movement.  "So.  You will teach me?"

Diane said, "I'm not sure what Tamara and her family taught you before you got here, but if there's any gaps you're aware of, I can fill them in, and I can kind of go over everything else and you can tell me which parts I can skip."  Roundabout as this was, it was an answer in the affirmative.

"Teach me as a pup."

Diane huffed a sound of agreement, though she felt a bit discomfited by the reminder of how young Agememnon was.  "I can do that.  Sure."  She hesitated, as the untruth of her words rung in her head.  She felt unsure, a lack of confidence in her ability to explain things to him, that was completely unlike her.  "I mean, I will try.  But you always seem to know things.  I feel kind of silly to tell you basic things."

"A thing known, is better explored many times.  I know only what I know.  Your teaching will expand this by one."

Diane fought off a feeling of stage fright, which she told herself was silly, but she was afraid she'd sound condescending or unfocused or in some other way inadequate.

Agememnon sensed her discomfort, and thought perhaps she would be helped by a suggestion.  "You are talespinner.  Tell me a story."  Very softly, he added, "Teach me.  Of the tribes, of our kind."

Diane nodded.  "Okay, uh... I guess I'd usually start off with a story about the Triat.  Something that would explain how they are... "  A question, posed earlier by contrast, brought itself to the forefront as she considered how the Balance would be portrayed.  "You're a Black Fury?"  Her own assumption.  "Or were you going to be a Child of Gaia?"  Was it Leigh who'd thought that?  Or possibly Clover?  Diane couldn't remember.  "I guess you have your choice, right?  Do you know yet or want to wait on that till after..."

"I am of my mother."

Diane's voice held a faint note of the satisfaction she took in having been right.  "That's what I'd thought."  She considered her store of tales, and chose one, adding and taking away bits here and there till it fit the mold she wished for it.

Agememnon listened intently.  "I will imagine as you speak; the story will paint itself for me."

Diane's confidence returned as she did something familiar, something wherein she felt sure of her expertise, storytelling.  Agememnon let the words form themselves into a picture in his mind, to marvel over as time permitted.
 

I think this is a Black Fury story ... you'll see why as I tell it, I think... but it's so old it predates the tribes.  But this would be how they would tell it, and another tribe would tell it differently, if at all.

Long ago, before there were Garou or human beings, there was the Balance.  Gaia was at the center, and her   three Eldest Daughters, Creation, who we call Wyld; Structure, who we call Weaver; and Entropy, who we call Wyrm.
 

Diane paused for a moment, sensing an echo in the story, but continued before it became fully realized.
 
They lived in harmony with the creatures of the world, for the most part, but there were times they came into conflict, being what they were.

The Wyld had created some new creatures.  They were not meant to breed, or to become common in Gaia's realms, but just one of a kind, unique beings to wonder at and enjoy and the Weaver had captured one and was 'taming' it to her needs.  At that time great herds of wild horses roamed through verdant fields, and this creature much resembled those.  Also many great raptors soared and hunted Gaia's wild skies; this creature also had some resemblance to them as well.  It was, as you may have guessed, the very young form of the spirit we know as Pegasus, the winged steed.

Wyld was insisting, in her usual unfocused way, that her pet, or daughter, or whatever this creature was, should be let free, to wander as she willed, not broken to a harness for some scheme of Weaver's that Wyld couldn't even understand, much less approve of.  So Weaver, miffed at Wyld's obvious lack of understanding that progress simply required some sacrifices on her part, decided she'd learn her lesson better if she gave the creature to Wyrm to be destroyed. After all, Wyld could always make another one, she was just being difficult.

Wyrm took the creature.  but it was evident to her that the creature's time had not yet come.  She regretted not being able to absorb such rich essence back into herself, but she knew it would be better at the right time, richer for the living its full life out.

So Wyrm set it loose in one of her many realms.  there were terrible risks there, but much power to be won, and Pegasus overcame the odds, and found her way out.   Wyrm told Weaver she'd had no idea the creature could escape that place.. and now Pegasus was a full fledged power in her own right, and Weaver sighed, and found some other creature to do the task she'd allotted to it.

Wyld was sad, in a way, but happy, in a way, and this was her usual way, so no one was very surprised.  Weaver was annoyed, but got on with things, and this was her usual way, and no one was surprised about that either.  And Wyrm was enigmatic, and despaired, and longed, and kept her own counsel.  And the Balance lasted a good long time after that, but long before we were born, it was shattered.


"But that is another story, and a much sadder one."  Diane smiled a small, sad smile.  "And you probably know it already."  She stopped, then continued, feeling a need to explain just a bit more, "My tribe -- and the Furies too, at least sometimes -- feel it's important to know how things were, and should be, before going on to how they are now."

"Understanding is important.  Without understanding, there is no growth.  It's good to grow."

Diane nodded her agreement, and thought, and spun another tale.  "And you asked me to tell about the tribes.  I can tell that one, too, I think.  It was after humans were created, and started being a nuisance; but a nuisance that at the time, Gaia felt gave more benefit than harm... anyway, when Garou were created humans were already here."  Agememnon smiled to himself as he listened.
 

Out of human and wolf she made us, and the other shifters too, like the Gurahl.  Not all at once, but no one really knows anymore what the order was.

In one of the versions I like, the sharks were first, because their species is the eldest.  The Rokea.  and then the snakes, and alligators, and other reptiles who Gaia made into shifters.  and then the Corax.

But anyway, the first Garou were all one tribe.  One among the many shifter tribes.   and we were led by Luna, Gaia's moon-daughter.  Luna's many forms gave us our auspices.  Her brighest form is the warrior goddess Athena, our Ahroun reflect that aspect.  The next is the singer and tale teller, Diana.  Who I am not actually named after, but I might as well be, don't you think?  The Galliards are of her sign, and I'm a Galliard, too.


"Mother goddess," Agememnon said as he shifted, curling closer to Diane.

Diane smiled, realizing how much she enjoyed the Furies' tales and melding them with her own Child of Gaia ones to make new old tales.  She nodded her agreement.  "The moon is our mother.  all of her, all Luna, in every form... but her shapes all have names in the Fury tradition."  She added softly, "I think I'm remembering them right.. I hope so."
 

The half moon is the dealer of justice, Artemis the huntress, whose adherents are the Philodox.  Luna's crescent form is Hecate, the seeress and witch.  She sees the spirit realm, and Theurges take her path.  Finally, the new moon is Cybele, the dark trickster.  The Ragabash follow her way.


"When no moon shines, humor lights the way," Agememnon said.

"Or plays tricks in the darkness," Diane said, whuffing a soft laugh.

"Ragabash are the teachers.  Galliards sing of their lessons.  Philodox weigh the lessons with their cause.  Theurges seek the unasked questions in the lessons.  And Ahroun rant that they needed no lessons."

Diane laughed again.  "Yes, I like that.  Do you know which auspice you were born under?"

"No veil is hidden from me, though my eyes see only darkness.  I seek the unknown." 

Diane nodded, matching this claim to his previous recital, she took it that he was a theurge.  Taking his jokes to heart, she added for the time being a bit more humor into the tale she was telling.
 

So there we were, all one happy wolfpack family, and what happened?   Well, they just couldn't get along.  Fractious bunch... sound familiar?  After a while of trying and failing to work things out, the pack split, three following one Ahroun, seven following another, and five went off alone or in pairs to find their own ways.

The three who went off together, Gaia found well matched.  They were an Ahroun, a Philodox and a Theurge.   The Ahroun was the youngest, but with Gaia's inspiration he led them to a new world, a pure land, which just happened to be North America, as it turned out.


"The pure ones," Agememnon murmured.

"Yes, Wendigo, Croatan, and Uktena."  Diane returned to the story of the tribes.
 

Of the five who did not stay in a pack, two focused on living with humans, and one with wolves.  Those were the ancestors of the Glasswalkers, the Bone Gnawers, and the Red Talons.  In this story, the Glasswalker's forefather and the Bone Gnawers' went together to the First City of humanity, and there had a falling out over which humans were worthy of attention.  The Red Talons' went to where no humans had ever been, and tried to keep it that way.  The Bunyip's went far, far away alone, and found a great desert; the Silent Striders' went to another, closer desert -- but they never did quite stop wandering.

The other seven stayed together, for a while, in the lands that would later be Europe.  The leader of their pack was Silver Fang.  He was Ahroun, and so was Fenris.  Fury and Fianna were Galliards, and Shadow was a Philodox.  White Howler was a Theurge, and my own tribe founder.. refused a name.  He was the Ragabash of the pack, and would answer to only the title Son of Gaia.  He thought this howlingly funny.

After a time, though they still pretended to get along, each of them had a family that needed its space, and there were still very few humans at that time.  So they spread out over the lands that are now europe, dividing them and becoming each a tribe.

Fianna had Britain, my ancestors Spain and Portugal, Howler had France, Fenris Germany, Fury Greece, Fang took Russia and Shadow the Balkans.  Tragedies happened to some of the tribes.  The Croatan and the Bunyip vanished; the White Howlers were corrupted into the Black Spiral Dancers, and they are still with us in that terrible form.


"Croatan fell to Stormbringer.  Bunyip fell to pride, though not their own.  And the dark ones... fell to themselves."  Agememnon spoke softly.

"The rest became what we see today.  Whether you consider we've fallen, or not, is probably a very good question.   Most probably the Glasswalkers have, though I am not quite sure from moment to moment, to what... Weaver, or Wyrm, or both?"  She took a moment to puzzle over, yet again, the riddles of the Qualmi from her vision of a few months before.  She would have to recite it to Agememnon sometime, and the song, too, to get his insights.  "And the will to power of the Silver Fangs, Shadow Lords, and Wendigo, makes me wonder about all three. "

"Every tribe will fall, though not all will remain."

"Remain fallen? Or remain at all?"  For once Diane didn't quite think she knew what Agememnon meant.  It was primarily that she just didn't want to know, in this instance.  Because she did, really, know... and would have rather not.

"We shall see," he answered, so softly Diane was able to not quite hear it, and set her train of thought back on its determinate rails.

"Hmm.  I've covered the Triat, Gaia, the auspices, the tribes... that's about it for the puppy lectures, I think.  Did I miss anything you can think of?"  Obviously the Litany.  And the breeds, and forms.  Her nervousness was back, returned full force now that she was no longer mid-tale.  She hoped he didn't suggest any more topics.

"You have given me much to think over."  Agememnon sensed Diane's tension.  Not needing to know the cause, he began grooming her, starting at her muzzle and workintg his way down.   He did not suggest any more lessons, but thought about the ones just told.  Though time was quickening, there was yet enough of it remaining, and only so much should be learned before the new learning must be absorbed.  It was late, and the Dark One had gone, and when Diane fell asleep to his grooming, he lay next to her and thought it over, and over.