"Falcon's Rebuke"

Mortal Name: Sky Davis

Home: The Sept of Stone's Heart

Breed: Lupus 

Auspice: Galliard

Tribe: Silver Fangs

Rank: Fostern    

House: House Winter Snow

Lodge: Sun Lodge

Camp: None

 

Title: Alpha of The Lug Breakers, Beta Talesinger Sept of Stone's Heart

 

Physical Description: 

 

 

(Left: Falcon's Rebuke in lupus. Right: Falcon's Rebuke in homid, complete with her signature head-tilt)

 

Often seen in her breed form, Falcon's Rebuke is an impressively sized she-wolf. She stands just under three feet at shoulder height, six feet long, and weighing just under 90 pounds; large, lean, and deadly. Her fur is sleek and white with the slightest bit of silver/gray on the tufts of her ears and running down her spine. She stares at the world through eyes as blue as the noon sky on a clear day. Falcon's Rebuke shows exemplary breeding for her tribe, save for the blue eyes in her wolf form (Pure Breed: Silver Fang x 4)

 

When Falcon's Rebuke shifts to her Homid form, she appears as a woman in her late 20's with icy blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. At six feet tall with a noticeably muscular build, she intimidates others with her presence. Among humans and kin, her clothing ranges from plain yet formal to primal-punk with a raptor motif (eagle and falcon-inspired accessories). When around her fellow Garou, she wears a white dress with an elaborate gold overskirt and hip armor that is decorated with glyphs of her deed name,  Breed, Auspice,  Tribe,  Lodge (Sun) and House (Winter Snow).

 

However, when it's time to kick ass and chew bubblegum, she's seen wearing night-black, Japanese-inspired plate and chain armor that adapts to her chosen fighting form. She also carries with her a short bow and "Cyclone", her fetished Morning Star whip. As a slight variance on this, when it's time to throat a b*tch, Falcon's Rebuke fights with tooth and claw in her Hispo form.

 

When in the umbra, she is often seen near her Numen: White Doe, the Princess of the Forest.

 

 

Demeanor:

Falcon's Rebuke comes across as a bit of an enigma and it's hard to determine whether she's dense or intentionally trying to test those around her. While she often acts like a jovial, free-spirited goofball, there are moments of insight and craftiness that throw even her own pack-mates off guard. Wolf-like behaviors manifest from time to time, and it is not uncommon to witness Falcon's Rebuke rolling around in a patch of flowers to share the scent with others or marking her territory (she uses graffiti tags or tokens rather than scent-marking, thankfully). Her mind synthesizes patterns with instinct, and this intuitive process frustrates logic-minded Garou.

 

She is maternal, pack-focused, and protects those who can't protect themselves. Whenever there is a Cub who has been left to their own devices or a Garou without a pack, Falcon's Rebuke watches over them from a distance. Being wolf-born, Falcon's Rebuke also struggles with understanding concepts around time, especially the future. While she is able to make strategic decisions, the ordeal is stressful because her mind overthinks through the potential (negative) outcomes. 

 

Previously,  Falcon's Rebuke was known for being ambivalent about leading Garou outside of her pack. However, it appears her time with White Doe, Princess of the Forest, along with the vision quest she underwent changed her attitude. She adopts a Wyld version of nobless oblige - that it is the responsibility of the strong to protect the weak. With the power that Gaia bestows comes the responsibility to protect those under your charge, even if doing so puts you at risk. 

 

Falcon's Rebuke is guarded around humans, curious and studying around Homid Garou and kinfolk, and most at ease among fellow lupus and her wolf kin. Women and children have a special place in her heart, and she goes out of her way to ensure their safety. She also seems rather uncomfortable in enclosed, man-made spaces. When in such locations she looks like she is staring at things that aren't there and moves around the room in odd patterns. 

 

Relevant Merits/Flaws/Pure Breed: Silver Fang Pure Breed x 4, Notable Heritage (House Winter Snow royal bloodline), Supporter

 

Character Tropes: Reluctant Ruler, Pretty Princess Powerhouse, Action Mom, Big Sister Instinct

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Character Information

 

Prologue:

Born under the waxing gibbous moon preceding the Flower Moon of May 2014, during the first month of the Garou lunar year, Falcon's Rebuke started her life as a wolf. Her name among the wolves translates to "Sky" in human concepts and language. Her mother, a wolf kin who's name roughly translates to "Dusk", is a descendant of the royal bloodline of House Winter Snow, the great-great grandchild (using human progeny terms) of  Winds of Change (also known as Spirit Tracker). Sky's biological father, a Homid Ragabash by the deed name "Strikes First", has been been near-nonexistent in her life. 

 

During the waning gibbous following the Buck Moon of 2014, four figures waited until Sky's mother left to hunt in order to approach the den. Alarmed at the sensation of water, Sky bit deeply into the ritemaster's hand during the Baptism of Fire. The glow of the baptismal water - the sign showing that she was True Bred - was all that kept the ritualist from dropping her in alarm. Fierce and feral - already the alpha of the pups in her litter - she struggled and nipped as she heard the panicked howls of her litter-mates. She was the only one marked with a kin-fetch.

 

In the spring of 2016, Sky was full grown. Rather than challenge her mother for alpha of the pack, she split away. She was guided by dreams, her fascination with the shifting moon and patterns in nature. This quest led her to protected area within Interstate Park.

 

It was there that she joined another pack of wolves - Silver Fang kinfolk from House Unbreakable Hearth who had recently been placed in the area. Before the winter began, she was alpha of the pack and had already chosen a mate. In the spring of 2017 she bore a litter of four pups, of which three survived.

 

Up to this point, Sky had no experience with man or humanity. 

 

 

First Change:

Sky underwent her first change on September 30, 2017. The Silver Fangs had gone through great pains to keep the location of Sky and her pack a secret, but ultimately their preparations had failed. Hunters had discovered the existence of the pack, and saw their gorgeous silver pelts as prizes to take. Sky's curious nature had been passed on to her pups, and this shortcoming was something the hunters used to their advantage. 

 

One of the more curious pups - the beta of the litter - had wandered off in search of a meal. Ahead of him he saw a fresh rabbit carcass. Innocent to trickery of man, the pup approached, unaware that the food was bait. 

 

From a distance, Sky heard the alarmed and pained cry of her pup and rushed to his side - the pup's paw caught in a viscous leg-hold trap. She first tried to bite away at the metal maw and then noticed the chain and stake that held the trap to the ground.  The hunters saw her - a larger, more glorious prize - and started shooting at her. When the first bullet dug into her flesh, Sky saw red and the rage of her First Change overtook her. Enough of her mother's instinct held fast to where she did not harm her own, and instead lashed out at those who shot at her and her pup.

 

By the time that the kin-fetch reached Hero's Rebirth and the recovery party of Garou arrived, Sky had killed one hunter and severely maimed a second. When she recovered from her Rage, she refused to leave the area until all of her pups and her mate were found. None of them showed signs of suffering the Delirium, confirming that her mate and offspring were all kinfolk.

 

 

Garou Life: 

Falcon's Rebuke learned of the ways of the Garou through her Den Parent, Smith Writing-on-the-Wall, and his Beta, Abe "Walker of Ways". Sky completed her Rite of Passage in December 2017 and gained the deed name Falcon's Rebuke for her cutting words. 

 

Even though she had notable Silver Fang breeding, Falcon's Rebuke had none to teach her in the ways of her tribe. Etiquette and subtlety were alien to her, as were most homid and human idiosyncrasies.

 

In contrast to Tribal affairs, Falcon's Rebuke found the duties of her auspice to be easy, almost natural.  She hungered to learn more about the duties of the Galliards. Many - including herself - were surprised at her innate aptitude with Rituals. Much to the chagrin of the other storytellers on the sept, her tales were not ballads but rather a to-the-point accounting of events combined with excited prancing and tail-wagging. Her passion was in rallying others to battle, using her words and yips and howls to bring others to a fevered pitch so that they could smite their enemies, and getting her pack-mates to fight as one.

 

She engaged in several skirmishes, one mission almost costing her life. In January of 2018 she took part in an effort to prevent Black Spiral dancers from creating a hive. Falcon's Rebuke - along with the other low ranking Garou - were unprepared for the dangers of the mission and the strength of their foes The warehouse that they were sent to raid was filled with Wyrm creatures, Ratkin, and explosives. A secondary group focused their efforts on extracting members of the Sept and bringing them to safety. The rescue team realized that they could not save everyone who was trapped, and were forced to choose who would be left behind to die. Falcon's Rebuke was extracted from the burning warehouse right before the building collapsed; the last survivor from that mission.

 

After this brush with near-death, Falcon's Rebuke and several other Garou were tasked to create a pack together. This group chose Owl to be their totem, and named themselves Silence. The seasons changed and it was time again to mate. She saw the fascination that the homids have with pups and realized that her young would have defenders. In May of 2018 she gave birth to six healthy pups. The advent of new life was overshadowed by death; that same weekend the pack alpha of Silence died during the sept's battle against agents of the Weaver.

 

With the loss of their alpha, Silence disbanded. Falcon's Rebuke joined the Prowlers, packed under Jaguar. She was the youngest and lowest ranking member of the pack - a Cliath among Adren and Athro Garou. Due to tensions between the older members of the Prowlers and Sept leadership, the pack left the state and Falcon's Rebuke joined them, taking her kin with. Due to a combination of the more temperate climate and the watchful eye of her pack and tribe-mate, Rain's Indifference, the entire litter survived their first year. 

 

As the seasons changed and a new spring began, Falcon's Rebuke heard the call for aid for the caern building in Minnesota. The journey took longer than anticipated, and she arrived with her mate and pack of pups shortly after the rite had completed. Shortly after her arrival she met up with old friends and made new ones, among them a Lupus Glass Walker Ahroun named Black Wing. Surprised at how little the Glass Walker knew of the ways of the wolf, and took the fellow lupus under her wing... paw...

 

In the weeks that followed, Falcon's Rebuke courted the members of Black Wing's pack - The Lug Breakers - with the hopes of joining them. She not only got along with the other members of the pack but was able to show how the skills of a Galliard could enhance an Ahroun-focused war pack and make it even deadlier. After supporting a mission against a Black Spiral Dancer drug house, Falcon's Rebuke formally joined the Lug Breakers. 

 

The Burden of Leadership

Falcon's Rebuke quickly rose in power and influence, taking the role of Talesinger weeks after her return. She flourished in this role, actively seeking out the stories of the Garou with the Sept of Stone's Heart. She took Attenuates the Fade as her beta Talesinger; the Silent Strider Theurge was passionate and talkative, and Falcon's Rebuke guided him on how to make more of an impact with less words. This dynamic led to building a positive working relationship between the Lug Breakers and the Attenuates the Fade's pack at that time, The Spirit Workers.

 

Up to this point, Falcon's Rebuke received little mentorship from her tribe.  That which she knew of leadership came from her experience as an alpha of her own wolf pack. After some coaxing from Malcolm "Street Prophet", Falcon's Rebuke met with the local leaders of House Wyrmfoe in order to petition membership. Among the tribe, she had been a lone wolf, and that needed to end. The initial meeting was tense, yet Falcon's Rebuke left an impression by refusing to blink or look away when a member of House Wyrmfoe by the name of Trump Card locked eyes with hers.

 

That very same evening, Falcon's Rebuke completed the Fostern Challenge set forth by Faelen "Listens First" by reciting three human-based stories and what she learned from those stories that could strengthen the nation. Immediately after that milestone, Falcon's Rebuke joined her pack and others in the Rite of the Great Hunt. The battle was more dangerous than expected, and Falcon's Rebuke's pack alpha, Blinks Second, sacrificed himself against a Green Dragon spirit so that the other ritualists could escape. Falcon's Rebuke noticed how the burden of leadership weighed heavily on Black Wing and how it was an ill fit, and quietly took the role of Alpha for the pack. Her deeds during the Great Hunt as well as her rise to pack leadership were noticed, and soon after Falcon's Rebuke received a message from an eagle spirit (the patron totem of House Wyrmfoe) congratulating her on her accomplishments. 

 

Even with the burden of watching over The Lug Breakers as pack alpha, Falcon's Rebuke thrived as Talesinger for the Sept. She continued to cheer on her sept-mates, extolling their deeds to the spirits so that they would be remembered. In late June 2019, she performed the role of Talesinger during the moot rite and told four tales during the time for songs and stories, some of which were crafted at the last moment when she discovered deeds of her fellow Garou that had gone unacknowledged for far too long.

 

The Sept of Stone's Heart entered a period of flux within leadership, during which Falcon's Rebuke was removed as Talesinger in what seemed like a cheap political maneuver. The role of Alpha changed hands again, and the next leader caused more discord than the last. The ordeal taught Falcon's Rebuke a lot about the needs of the Garou of the Sept, as well as the importance of having a leader who is a solid communicator. She watched her tribe-mate, Street Prophet, challenge Salts Upon Wounds for Alpha and lose. Without hesitation, she also approached Salts Upon Wounds to challenge him for Alpha and accepted his request for the challenge to be completed in two weeks time. Few knew that Falcon's Rebuke fully expected to lose the challenge. With Salt Upon Wounds as the challenged, he would almost surely choose combat, and he was bigger, meaner, and tougher than Falcon's Rebuke. He was an Adren and she was a newly elevated Fostern - in her mind, there was no way that she would best him. However, the point of the challenge was not to win - it was to stand up against poor leadership and to encourage others to do the same, no matter the cost.

 

Falcon's Rebuke's plan backfired. When she arrived to the gathering spot in two weeks time, Salts Upon Wounds was nowhere to be found. Even the Warder did not know his location. The Master of the Challenge ruled that since Salts Upon Wounds was not present, he forfeited the challenge and that Falcon's Rebuke was Alpha of Stone's Heart. Rather than admit her lack of experience, and that she truly didn't want to lead in the first place, Falcon's Rebuke pushed forward, fearing that stepping back might allow a lesser Garou to take control of the Sept and make the situation even worse. 

 

Immediately following the announcement, Falcon's Rebuke met with the alphas of the respective packs in order to see what would be needed to regain stability within the Sept. The two-front war needed to end; Stone's Heart could not fight the Hive with the amount of fighting going on within. Falcon's Rebuke's first order of business was to choose her Beta. She sought someone who would provide a different perspective and challenge her beliefs while still submitting to her authority. After much consideration, she chose Ezra "Returns With Interest", a homid-born Ragabash of the Glass Walkers.

 

Falcon's Rebuke did receive some good news that night - her latest efforts within Stone's Heart caught the attention of House Wyrmfoe, and she was formally invited to join the house.

 

The months that followed took their toll on Falcon's Rebuke.  Leading a large, multi-tribal sept of Garou was nothing like leading a pack of wolves and nothing like leading a single pack. Used to being packed with stronger Garou and relying on them for guidance, she leaned on the guidance of various members of the Sept for support. While some saw wisdom in her ways, others viewed her tactics as weakness. She made mistakes and rash decisions, as one would expect from someone who was thrust into leadership well before their time. She actively sought counsel from those who she trusted, though there were more than a few times that more-experienced Garou saw her on the verge of faltering and said nothing until after the fact. Even though the honorable solution would have been for a more experienced Garou to challenge Falcon's Rebuke for the position of Alpha, none took that step.

 

As leader of the Sept, she found herself caught between those who wished to follow the older ways of creating an armory of Talens for missions and potential sieges, and those who felt such actions were barbaric and abusive towards the spirits. While those who were appalled that she would even consider such things as a possibility whispered in the shadows and refused to voice their concerns directly, Falcon's Rebuke worked with her Theurges to seek a solution that handled the needs of the Sept while respecting the spirits. Through this, a pact was made with Sodals (sp?), a spirit who agreed to serve as part of the Sept's defenses. The Rite of Binding could be done to bind a spirit to an object, with the spirit free to do its bidding until the moment when it is needed, at which point it would join with that object to become a Talen. In exchange for this blessing, Sodals required that members of the Sept actively work to settle their disagreements and issues with each other. Falcon's Rebuke knew that this deal was double-edged. While it would push the Garou of the Sept to settle (or set aside) their grievances and work together, she was well aware that would mean those who had issue with her leadership would have to face her or place the Sept's defenses at risk.

 

During the two months after the spirit deal with Sodals was made, no one came forth to question Falcon's Rebuke's authority or to attempt to remove her. The tipping point for Falcon's Rebuke discovery that she was a descendent of the royal bloodline of House Winter Snow,  with a potential claim to the throne of the losr. Given the rumors of a mole in the Sept, she could not openly share what she discovered as it would not only put her life - but the lives of over a dozen lupus kinfolk - at risk. Instead, she decided to push that which wasn't happening on its own.

 

Falcon's Rebuke gathered the Adren of her Sept, goading for one among them to either challenge her for Alpha or to stand by her side as Beta (she had removed Returns with Interest as her Beta earlier that night). Up to that point, Falcon's Rebuke had led out of necessity, and now that there were a plethora of Adren on the Sept she felt that one of them should lead or prepare to step into the role of leadership. Unfortunately, the Spirit of Halloween (Coyote) threw a wrench in Falcon's Rebuke's plan. 

 

Faced with the possibility that members of the Sept would continue to complain in the background, Falcon's Rebuke took proactive steps to right her own wrongs. She brought her failings forward, seeking resolution. Initially, Falcon's Rebuke expected a loss of renown, with the potential that a member of the Sept might challenge her for Alpha afterwards. However since she had called a Time of War due to the "Spirit of Halloween" threat - and thus could not be challenged in that moment (apparently waiting for the threat to be handled and the Time of War to be called off wasn't an option?)- the presiding Philodox decided that Falcon's Rebuke's punishment was to be removed from the position of Alpha outside of challenge.  Without a named Beta, the authority went to the Warder, and was transitioned to a new Alpha through challenge.

 

Later that same evening, Falcon's Rebuke was again appointed as Talesinger - the role that she had wanted and tried to excel at before the repeated changeovers of alphas the months before.

 

The Return of Winter

When Falcon's Rebuke was a Cliath, she learned of the goal to restore the lost house Winter Snow. She, along with several members of the tribe, pledged to support that endeavor. However, that work came to a crawl in the late spring of 2018 when Autumn Norris, "Winter's Eve" died during the battle to save the homelands of the Get of Fenris and Black Furies. his was also the time that Falcon's Rebuke birthed a new litter of pups, so her focus was more on tending to her offspring than on restoring the lost house. 

 

In early autumn 2019, Falcon's Rebuke's dreams called her to again pick up the task of restoring House Winter Snow. She, along with Blade for Others, were called to go to France to learn more about the royal bloodline so that the true heir of the house could be found. Much to her surprise, Falcon's Rebuke was listed among those of the royal bloodline of Winter Snow, a descendant of the offspring of Winds of Change (also known as Spirit Tracker) and a wolf kinfolk named Koda. Not only that, but Falcon's Rebuke was one of only three progeny who had proven to be True Bred, meaning there was the potential that she was the heir of House Winter Snow, should it be reinstated. 

 

Curious about her own past, Falcon's Rebuke traveled to the territory of her mother's pack. Her arrival was just in time - a group of poachers had set themselves up on the land and had killed most of the pack. Anger and the desire for revenge fueled Falcon's Rebuke's efforts to destroy the hunter threat. Amidst the battle, she discovered that the leader of the hunters was not a normal human, but rather a magically enhanced individual. Once the hunters were killed, she rescued the wolves who were captured and buried the remains of the dead. The gravity of the situation hit Falcon's Rebuke hard. She was not only faced with the burden of potentially being the royal heir to House Winter Snow, but the perception that her family was being actively hunted by other supernaturals. These two things combined pushed her to take measures to have another take Alpha'ship of the Sept of Stone's Heart.

 

Once Falcon's Rebuke was free to focus on Tribal (and personal) matters, she gathered information about those who the hunters worked with. This led her to rally others to take down a dog breeding company, which was the front for a eugenics project meant to create a domesticated breed of wolf kinfolk. This too was overseen by a supernaturally enhanced human, but this time they had blackmailed a fae to work as their accomplice.

 

Falcon's Rebuke realized how the truth about her heritage could cause conflict within the tribe, and how it could have implications for the Sept of Stone's Heart. House Wyrmfoe had claimed North America, and having a member of House Winter Snow's royal bloodline as (former) Alpha of one of the larger Septs in the United States  - with the majority of Winter Snow's kin living within proximity of that same Sept - could be seen as encroaching on territory rites. Falcon's Rebuke reached out to the two other true-bred progeny of Winds of Change, Far Cry and Choose Battle. In addition to confirming that the two Garou had a stronger claim to regency of House Winter Snow than she did (whew!), Falcon's Rebuke sought their aid in moving her wolf kin to a nature reserve in Wales. Moving her kinfolk would not only prevent them from being targeted by the Black Spiral Dancers of the Minneapolis hive, but would serve as an act of goodwill to reduce tensions between House Wyrmfoe and the soon-to-be-revived House Winter Snow.

 

Little did Falcon's Rebuke know that this gesture was only the first step in creating positive relations between these two houses. She accompanied her tribe-mate, Street Prophet, now called Shield of Hope, to Wales to handle an issue where resolution was long overdue. Queen Mary Campbell, ruler of House Austere Howl, was held in captivity due to accusations of corruption and infernalism, and four years later there was still no resolution. Much like human politics, the innocence or guilt of a powerful figure would be determined by negotiations rather than formal legal procedure. Queen Mary would abdicate her crown and bend her knee to the rulers of House Winter Snow, an act that would give the re-surging house land and vassals in Europe and keep the house out of North America in any meaningful way. Falcon's Rebuke's presence was to assure that the discussion was coming from a place of truth, as she was of House Winter Snow's royal line by birth, yet had pledged herself to House Wyrmfoe's servitude before learning of her birthright. Seeing this as a way to reinforce that Wind of Change's lupus descendants were the rightful rulers of House Winter Snow, Falcon's Rebuke ensured that the progeny with the strongest claim - Far Cry and Chosen Battle - were also part of the negotiations. Far Cry was declared heir and King of House Winter Snow. In an oath that was witnessed by Falcon, Mary Campbell of House Austere Howl pledged fealty to him and his House, and Far Cry accepted the oath and pledged protection in return.  The trial ended in Mary's favor, and she was finally acquitted and freed.

 

A few months later, Falcon's Rebuke gathered with her tribe-mates and her pack in Wales in order to fulfill the last requirement to reviving House Winter Snow. As a unified force, they took down the packs of Black Spiral Dancers that were corrupting the house's ancestral homelands. With this deed done, the spirit of Snowy Owl again took patronage over the once-lost Silver Fang house.

 

 

Throw me to the wolves...

Even though Falcon's Rebuke's efforts to restore House Winter Snow kept her from attending gatherings at home, she maintained her role as Talesinger and continued to craft stories that exalted the deeds of her fellow Garou.

 

In late February 2020, believing that she was finally ready to be seen as a student of the nation, Falcon's Rebuke approached Kasim "Splitting Silver" and challenged him for the rank of Adren. When asked her reasons for challenging him, she had stated that she respected him as a fellow former-Alpha of the Sept and she believed that he would push her to excel by setting terms that would truly test her abilities. 

 

Splitting Silver asked for one week's time in order to contemplate the terms for her Adren challenge, during which Falcon's Rebuke's resolve was tested. On the night that she challenged for the rank of Adren, the Sept held a combat tournament, during which she was matched with an opponent who made themselves invisible and attacked her at range, knocking her out during the first round. After recovering from that fight, she discovered that she had been paired against higher-ranking Garou, and it was unknown whether that was due to a misjudgment of Falcon's Rebuke's own rank and ability or if it was intentional. Falcon's Rebuke, wishing to assume positive intent, did not press the matter and instead focused on praising those Garou who had just completed their first honorable challenge through the tournament.

 

At the start of the next gathering, sept leadership once again removed her from the position of Talesinger without warning and without challenge, this time granting it to Word from Our Sponsors, an Athro Galliard of the Fianna. Her successor, seemingly surprised by this change, balmed the situation by immediately asking Falcon's Rebuke to be his beta Talesinger.

 

 

 

Following the sudden change sept positions, Splitting Silver approached Falcon's Rebuke with the tasks that she needed to accomplish in order to achieve the rank of Adren. No one knows whether that political change influenced the terms of the challenge:

 

• Task #1 (Silver Fang Theme): Identify the most influential Theurge of the Sept without actually asking the question to other Garou: Falcon's Rebuke made a solid argument that Dean "Remembers Their Voices" was the most influential Theurge on the Sept. She defended her decision even when other prominent Theurges were named, arguing that having the highest rank, having the most combat prowess, or being the most resourceful did not equate to being the most influential. 
  
  
• Task #2 (Lupus Theme): Find a meme that reflect each Garou in leadership on the Sept, with "extra credit" for the beta roles:  This part of the challenge took Falcon's Rebuke a few months to accomplish, first in understanding memes and online humor, and second in crafting the memes so that they punched-up in a way that wouldn't lead to her getting throated. Fortunately, Falcon's Rebuke did not have to share the memes with those leaders. She did, however, openly share the memes with the other Garou who were present at the main gathering during the "show and tell" to Kasim.

 

• Task #3 (Galliard Theme): Tell a tale that focuses on the importance of humility: Falcon's Rebuke told the story of Frozen from Elsa's perspective, focusing on the importance of knowing when to ask for help, and actually asking for help.

 

The Galliards of the Sept of Stone's Heart met to discuss how they could best support the needs of their fellow Garou. During this gathering, Word from Our Sponsors tasked each Galliard to seek out a mentor. When Mira, "Speaks for the Fallen", shared how she supported her pack in the battlefield, Falcon's Rebuke knew this Get of Fenris could help her overcome her shortcomings and become not only a stronger warrior, but one who strengthened her pack as a whole. The student-teacher dynamic evolved, and Falcon's Rebuke considers Mira a close friend and confidante. Speaks for the Fallen is one of the few who is aware of Falcon's Rebuke's fears around being a leader. Shee affirmed that Falcon's Rebuke's self-doubts were rooted in taking the role of sept alpha when she wasn't ready, and that her failings were due to a lack of experience rather than a deficiency of character.

 

Falcon's Rebuke was also approached by Henrick, "Fighting Wolf" to assist him in completing his Athro challenge. The Get of Fenris Ahroun was tasked with teaching younger Garou how to prepare themselves to fight against stronger foes, with the culmination of those lessons being to fight him and win. Henrick educated Falcon's Rebuke on his fighting style and defenses.

 

Realizing that she would lose in a head-on fight, Falcon's Rebuke studied ranged fighting techniques. Inspired by the Netflix series Castlevania, Falcon's Rebuke approached her friend Attenuates the Fade and asked him to create a fetished version of the Morning Star whip. Her Theurge ally was so enamored by Falcon's Rebuke's description of this weapon that he crafted a masterpiece and imbued it with a Twister spirit. 

 

Between the weapon's might and Falcon's Rebuke setting the terms of the battle so that Henrick had to fight her unprepared, she quickly overpowered him. Henrick taught her a valuable lesson - she did have the power to take on those who were bigger than her as long as she set the terms of the fight to her advantage. In helping Henrick with his Athro challenge, Falcon's Rebuke helped herself and overcame the insecurities that dug into her psyche during the past year.

 

The Unified Force

On the night that the Sept of Stone's Heart attacked the U of M hive, Falcon's Rebuke led the rest of her pack along with Howls for Gaia's Pain, Stands Before the Innocent, Ends the Nightmare, and Uspa Vitu in breaching the outer perimeter of the stronghold. Her team used a moon bridge to bypass the large gathering of security personnel outside, jammed the radio network so that they could not be tracked, and created choke points in the hallways so that the security guards could not easily get to them. Her group also rescued five innocents who were being used as human shields and used the moon bridge that they set up to bring those hostages to safety. Unbeknownst to Falcon's Rebuke and her group, the Black Spiral Dancers set up bombs to destroy the entire U of M campus, intent on killing as many Gaian warriors as possible and setting human authorities and hunters against the survivors. Between careful preparation, protecting those under her care, and utilizing the strengths of her team, Falcon's Rebuke's group was able to survive the explosion and quickly escape from being trapped underneath the rubble.

 

Vowing to not leave anyone behind, Falcon's Rebuke tasked her team to search for where the other outer assault group was buried and to attempt to rescue them. When the authorities arrived, Falcon's Rebuke used a Gift of her auspice to keep the humans entranced by her spoken word, buying time for her team to continue their rescue attempt and escape. What Falcon's Rebuke did not know was that at the exact same time that her crew was trying to save the other strike team, Blood Eagle, Athro Theurge and Wyrmfoe, mystically learned that the other group was in danger and used a spirit deal to free them, negating the need for Falcon's Rebuke's rescue efforts. Also unbeknownst to Falcon's Rebuke, the federal agents who accompanied the first responders were unaffected by her supernatural abilities, and they apprehended her. She was later rescued from a government black site later that evening by her tribe-mate, Shield of Hope. 

 

When the Fire's at My Feet Again

In the months leading to and following the attack on the Minneapolis Hive, Falcon’s Rebuke observed events within the Sept of Stone's Heart that affirmed her perspective that with power comes the risk of abuse. Further, she noticed the complacency of others who were perceived as in authority. She witnessed her fellow Garou shame-bramded for a crime they didn't commit, and the Truthcatcher showed their implied support by handing the judgment to their Beta, who made a judgment on a completely different topic that had nothing to do with the shame branding.

 

On the 6-month anniversary of her surprise removal from Talesinger, she had enough.

 

Weeks had passed since the Minneapolis Hive was destroyed,  yet the leaders of the Sept maintained a Time of War so that their authority could not be deposed or have their rulings questioned. This meant that their judgments, including the planned execution of a Garou, could not be challenged. Falcon’s Rebuke sat calmly and asked pointed questions, and the lack of direct response led to a minor uprising followed by a change on Sept alpha.

 

The new leader was more republic in their style, forming a council of auspice alphas to provide transparency and checks and balances in decision-making. Falcon’s Rebuke was appointed to the position of representative for the Galliards.

 

Quiet power brings its own flavor of opposition. 

 

And the Vultures All Start Circling

 

Falcon's Rebuke faced several setbacks and losses. Still fearing the potential of power abuse, she stepped back from the possibility of leading a mission to save a Red Talon Sept and instead allowed Howls for Gaia's Pain to be mission alpha. The Athro Lupus Galliard ordered the group to directly assault a HIT Mark, a mage construct whose very presence sapped away a Garou's spiritual strength, Rage, and will. When Falcon's Rebuke discovered the mage who controlled the HIT Mark and subdued them with the intent of intimidating them to turn off their war-toy, Howls for Gaia’s Pain killed her target in a moment of rage. With the HIT Mark now without its handler,  Falcon's Rebuke and others were in the direct line of attack. The mission alpha called for a retreat without attempting to save those already weakened. Falcon’s Rebuke barely made it out with her own life. Too weak to react, she watched as her friend and ally, Attenuates the Fade ran off to distract the HIT Mark, ultimately sacrificing herself. The survivors guilt and regret was so great that Falcon’s Rebuke couldn't bring herself to go to her friend's gathering.  

 

Weeks later, Falcon's Rebuke lost another friend. She had grown fond of Accord of Fire, a Shadow Lord Philodox who was part of JR's pack. This Garou had responded to her own grief by taking on a vampire lover and was turned into an Abomination through an act of betrayal. The friend who Falcon's Rebuke had lifted up, to the point where Accord of Fire has become Truthcatcher at a moot, was beyond saving.

 

The grief and regret took its toll. Others assumed - they expected - Falcon's Rebuke to be okay, as if being both wolf-born and high tribe made her immune to trauma. However, she was far from okay. She bounced from being disinterested to making rash judgments, as if her guilty conscience pushed her to seek punishment. She procrastinated on taking out the Giovanni who attempted to take ownership of the sept's land, and the delays almost led to a security breech.

 

Her grief-fueled sloppiness led her to making a decision that had far-reaching consequences. Her pack tracked down a supernatural serial killer who had gained the attention of hunters. In their attempt to subdue their target, they accidentally killed their quarry. Falcon’s Rebuke asked her Theurges if they were willing to summon Death in order to engage in a spirit deal to question the spirit of their target. The pack Theurges, both Cliath, made mistakes which led to Walks Through Frozen Flame unintentionally bartering away their entire bloodline to Death's service.  

 

 

They're Whispering, "You're Out of Time",

The Alpha's Council convened to discuss Falcon’s Rebuke's failings and the following punishments were given:

 

• Falcon's Rebuke was removed from the Alpha's council
• She was ordered to make contrition to Stag for the damage done to the Fianna Homelands.
• She was ordered to not lead any mission that includes Garou outside her pack until she demonstrated to the Council that she is worthy to do so.
• Her pack was banned from recruiting further members until Falcon's Rebuke can demonstrate complete knowledge and understanding of her current packmates' strengths and limitations. This ruling happened when the pack was in the process of vetting two potential recruits,  who they subsequently could not add.
• She was subjected to the Rite of Satire, reduced to the rank of Fostern of the Nation
• It was declared that at Spring's end The Council would reconvene to evaluate what Falcon's Rebuke had done and what damage she was able to mitigate or undo. At that time, should Falcon's Rebuke have been found to have failed to properly and seriously work towards undoing the damage done by this spirit deal, Falcon's Rebuke will be executed by the Rite of the Hunt, performed by the Council.

 

Even with all that, there were members of the Sept who attempted to deal out their own forms of justice. The local members of her tribe decided on their own that Falcon’s Rebuke should approach the Athro Fianna and offer herself up for their judgment, even if such an act would re-traumatize the local Fianna and put Falcon’s Rebuke at risk of injury that would inhibit her ability to save the condemned bloodline.

 

Further, others took the moment as an opportunity to disrupt the harmony within Falcon’s Rebuke's pack, planting seeds of doubt on her authority to lead them and attempting to cause a coup through a challenge of pack Alphaship, which would have distracted the Lug Breakers from their critical mission.

 

Both attempts to politically (and potentially in one case, physically) maim and inhibit Falcon’s Rebuke failed, and the assailants received a passive reaction for their attempts to bypass authority and sow discord. The human reality of two "systems" of justice had bled into Garou society.

 

However, the spiritual side of Garou life had its own opinion on everything that was happening and what needed to be done.

 

But Still, I Rise

Little did anyone realize that Falcon, the patron totem of the Silver Fangs, was watching all along. He witnessed one of his devotees fall on her proverbial sword to protect the younger members of her pack from harsher punishments. He observed her handle the council tribunal with grace. However, when he witnessed how the local tribe first focused on appearances rather than how to fix the spiritual problem, Falcon saw their plans wanting and personally intervened.

 

The tribal totem of the Silver Fangs conferred with Stag, the patron spirit of the Fianna, on how best to bring peace between the Fianna and the Sept of Stone's Heart, as well as how to ensure that Falcon's Rebuke had the support needed to save the endangered bloodline. The two spirits agreed to a political alliance through a spiritual marriage. White Doe, Princess of the Forest, wife of Stag, spiritually bonded with Falcon's Rebuke and became her Numen. This connection served as a sign of friendship between the Silver Fangs and Fianna, thus holding back the threat of a tribal war. In addition, White Doe provided Falcon's Rebuke with a more Wyld-leaning perspective of leadership: the responsibility of powerful creatures to care for weaker ones.

 

News of this spiritual alliance spread far and wide. Choose Battle, Falcon's Rebuke's distant cousin and Princess of House Winter Snow, visited the Sept of Stone's Heart to witness the ceremony and offer Falcon's Rebuke whatever support she needed. When Princess Choose Battle saw the level of support that her distant relative was receiving (little), an Elder named Find Bliss was brought in to provide aid. The Silver Fang Theurge was able to review the information that Falcon's Rebuke and her pack had gathered and laid out the steps that the Lug Breakers needed to take in order to save both the living and ancestral members of Walks Through Frozen Flame's family. Find Bliss discerned that in order to save Walks Through Frozen Flame and their bloodline from the botched deal with Death, Falcon's Rebuke needed to accomplish three tasks - one for each facet of the spirit deal.

 

The first involved saving the still-living members of the bloodline connected to Walks Through Frozen Flame. In order to do so, Falcon's Rebuke needed to acquire something that Death was willing to consider as an equitable exchange. Through additional research, Falcon's Rebuke's pack discovered not only said item, but the reason why Death was so willing to take advantage of a "blank check" spirit deal.  A couple hundred years ago a member of that same bloodline made a deal with a corrupted swan spirit in order to live forever; if their body died, the spirit would take over the physical form of a nearby, living member of that family. That revelation explained why Death staked a claim on the entire bloodline - if she wiped them all out, she could then take the one that continued to escape her grasp. Based on descriptions of the demeanor of the body-jumping ancestor, Falcon's Rebuke determined that Walks Through Frozen Flame's father was likely a "host" for this wayward spirit and that he had been grooming her packmate to become his next vessel. 

 

In order to prevent the wayward ancestor from body-jumping, Find Bliss tasked Falcon's Rebuke with travelling to the Dark Umbra to find a weapon called a "Death Scythe" which would capture the soul of whoever was cut with its blade. Leaving the Cliath of her pack on the safety of the Bawn, Falcon's Rebuke made this dangerous journey with Black Wing, Over the Top, and Titan's Rebirth. *Falcon's Rebuke tasked Shield of Hope with leading the multi-pack assault team. Through additional investigation, the group learned that a Fianna elder had killed the shell that was Walks Through Frozen Flame's father, becoming possessed in the process. The strike team quickly took down the new physical form of their target, using the Death Scythe to trap the host spirit. Find Bliss showed up shortly after, taking the scythe and using it to coerce Death to accept the runaway spirit in exchange for releasing her claim on the still-living members of the bloodline.

 

The next step was to retrieve the ancestor spirits of Walks Through Frozen Flame's bloodline from the underworld. In order to do this, Falcon's Rebuke and her pack needed to travel to the Legendary Realm and follow the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. Falcon's Rebuke chose Word From Our Sponsors, an Athro Galliard Metis of the Fianna, to lead this endeavor as mission alpha. She also brought along Vanguard of Hope, Breath of Muspelheim, and Night Regent. The group encountered Persephone and Hades and quickly discovered that Hades had the power to veto Death's claim over the ancestor spirits.

 

Hades tasked the group with completing three tests to show their worthiness to claim these souls. Walks Through Frozen Flames passed the first test, identifying which spirit (in the form of a pig) represented his bloodline. The second test required all present to reject an offer - a few more days with a loved one before they died. Of those present, this test hit Falcon's Rebuke the hardest, as her mate who had been with her since before the change was ill and dying. However, she held fast to her convictions and refused the offering. The final test was to escort a spirit from the underworld to the surface without looking at them. Key Turns Slowly blindfolded herself and then offered to hold the hand of the spirit to escort them out, also utilizing Falcon's Rebuke as a "seeing eye wolf" to keep the path ahead clear. Even with a couple of potential hiccups, the group got the spirit to the surface, completing their deal and releasing the souls of Walks Through Frozen Flame back to their respective afterlives. 

 

Four weeks later, Falcon's Rebuke participated in a spirit quest to find out how to save her packmate, who had yet to be saved from their deal with Death. During this guided vision, Falcon's Rebuke had to first face those who previously hurt her - those who used their power to serve themselves rather than to support others. The dream-image versions of these people chastised Falcon's Rebuke's own ability to lead, simultaneously accusing her of being too wolf to truly master human politics, while not being wolf enough to assert dominance on situations around her. The lupus galliard rebuked these apparitions by calling out their own failings, showing that she would not take feedback from those who refused to acknowledge their own failures. Afterwards, she encountered four ghosts - the spirits of deceased pack alphas, friends, and companions - each calling out her response to their deaths. They reminded her that they, and others, acted of their own volition, and thus Falcon's Rebuke no longer needed to feel responsible for their deaths. She encountered the spirits of one of her ancestor spirits who was trying to work through his own grief and shame, and counseled the spirit on how to move past difficult mistakes. The spirit ended up being an ancestor of her bloodline.

 

As she continued, Falcon's Rebuke finally encountered a Reaper, a spirit who served death. The spirit had found a work-around to meet with Falcon's Rebuke face to face. He wanted her to know the truth: that Death was not going through the proper cycles of end, rebirth, and renewal, which is what contributed to her pettiness and vindictiveness. The Reaper offered to assist Falcon's Rebuke by reaping Death and assisting the spirit in being reborn, in exchange for Falcon's Rebuke saving a life. She agreed to the terms, and the Reaper guided her to a newborn who had been left in a dumpster by their scared teenage mother. When Falcon's Rebuke rescued the newborn, she sensed the deal had been completed and her packmate freed from their deal with Death.

 

Falcon's Rebuke's ability to oversee the resolution of not only undoing the effects of her packmate's spirit deal - but the impact of a two-century old spirit deal AND ensuring that an Incarna was returned to the proper cycle of renewal and rebirth did not go unnoticed by her tribe. House Winter Snow welcomed her back, and she gained membership to their Sun Lodge. Shortly after this homecoming, Falcon's Rebuke travelled through Europe to share the stories of her family line - those who accept their failings and rise from it stronger - and how those of her bloodline worked to support the Get of Fenris, Fianna, and Fae. Her family line - the descendants of King Aaron Everstone and thus the royal bloodline of House Winter Snow - became recognized as a notable bloodline (even though Falcon's Rebuke was seen as a "black sheep" in her family due to her Satire to Fostern).

 

 

Pack:

The Lug Breakers, packed under Boar (Pack Alpha)

 

Personal Totem: Eagle

Totem of War

Regal yet vicious, Eagle is the herald of House Wyrmfoe. Eagle was formerly not highly regarded, but now he may be the most well-known spirit of Falcon's brood.

Benefits: You gain the Physical Trait Ferocious x1, and are up two traits on all Brawl challenges.

Ban: You must display the decapitated heads of your foes in Eagle's name, and always be faithful to your mates. 

 

Tribal Totem: Falcon

Totem of Respect

Tribal totem of the Silver Fangs, Falcon soars majestically above the Garou, looking down with eyes that can pierce the heart. Those in whom he sees virtue and honor, he rewards; those in whom he sees iniquity feel his talons. This spirit's devotion to duty and excellence is such that even the failings of his chosen tribe have not been able to sully his reputation among other tribes of Garou.

Benefits: You gain the Abilities Leadership x3, four additional Willpower, and the social trait Charismatic x1. This social trait cannot be lost, which means you retain it if you fail a social challenge, but it cannot be spent for use in gift activations.

Ban: You must never lose Honor; doing so is worse than death itself. If you do, you must put right the wrong if possible, and if you cannot, then perform a Rite of Contrition and sacrifice yourself in battle against a powerful creature of the Wyrm.

 

Numen: White Doe, Princess of the Forest

A mix of the Deer Women myth of the indigenous people of the united states. The Princess of the forest is a spirit who believes in leadership and sacrifices to protect those under her charge. She is both the wife of Stag, a friend of Pegasus and known to the pure-landers. She is a spirit that conveys the idea of "the responsibility of powerful creatures to care for weaker ones". Princess of the forest often would take women and children away from a place that was unsafe for them to be. As she ruled the forests of the Americas she also was willing to give her life for the people to survive the harsh winters. Her skin is tough and she has a belief in a leader’s role to protect her people even if it is laying down her own.

Taboo: Refusing aid to your subjects when you can provide it.

 

 

Renown 

 

Red strikethrough tales lost due to Rite of Satire

 

Glory (5)

• Rite of Passage
• Rite of Passage
• Helping to defeat a group of minor foes
• Helping defeat a group of dangerous foes (Fostern/Adren Black Spiral Dancers in a drug house) 
• Siege against the U of M Hive 
• "Though captured, she never gave up hope, and fought against that which held her bound till she was free."
• Visiting a highly dangerous umbral realm 

 

Honor (0)

• Upholding the traditions particular to your Tribe
• Actions that demonstrate your dedication to the duties of your Auspice 
• Participating in an honorable challenge
• Siege against the U of M Hive 
• Honorably mating 

 

Wisdom (2)

• Rite of Passage 
• Learning Rites (Accomplishment,  Gathering for the Departed, Peacock, and Prayer for the Prey) 
• Teaching Rites 
• Offering good advice on a major matter