Chapter Seven: The Umbra

The Umbra

  We call the Umbra many things — the spirit world, the Middle World, the Velvet Shadow — and all our names for it reflect our reverence for this invisible half of the universe. It is the counterpart to the physical world, almost its twin. Though divided, the two once were joined. The spirit world still touches the material one, for were it to be gone completely, Earth could not sustain life. The Penumbra, the part of the spirit world that is closest to the physical one, reflects the material world closely. Powerful actions on the physical plane send emanations into the spirit world. The most powerful of these psychic emanations ripple past the Penumbra into the Near Umbra, where they can create whole Realms. Such Realms often form based on a single idea or collection of legends.
  You will find the Umbra filled with spirits, some of which will be your allies, some your enemies. Spirits representing all aspects of Gaia's world live in the Umbra. Animals, trees, wind, fire, water — they all have form and life here. Supernatural forces like hideous monsters and living pollution have form here as well. These spirits lack physical substance, and they can usually enter the physical world only when someone binds them into a fetish or a living being. The more powerful spirits can will themselves into the physical Realm with great exertion and energy. The philosophers among our people, see these spirits as concepts that have become self-aware.
  Here, in this place, I know that the prophets and poets have touched their true souls. They have tried to show us far more than the reality humanity knows. The terrors and wonders of the physical world are but shadows of those in this shadow world. Just beyond the grasp of the masses of people teeming on Gaia's surface lies an eerie landscape that is their loss, and our hope. Here, in the Umbra, we find our totem spirits and the horrors of the Wyrm's spawn. We find the spirits we hold sacred and the festering sores we must eradicate. Here we find Gaia's soul, and our own souls as well. The Umbra is not per feet. We are not truly at home here — we are still tied too much to our physical reality for that, but we know that the Umbra should be part of our home, and that we should be part of it.
  I defy you to find the Umbra on a map. Some Glass Walkers have tried to draw diagrams, and some of those human magic-workers have tried to pin down its location, in order to map its entrances and exits. They cannot do it. The Umbra is a place of possibilities, not a place of structure and finite thought. The Umbrano longer joins with our material world, but rather lies next to it and through it. The vast Gauntlet divides the Umbra's spiritual energy from the physical world. This barrier maintains the split between the twin worlds of matter and soul. They yearn to reconnect, but harsh reality holds them apart. The spirit Realm pierces the Gauntlet at many points to reach into the physical, but the two cannot shatter the Gauntlet and unite. Few but we, the werewolves, Gaia's chosen children, can break through the Gauntlet and journey from Earth to Umbra. Unfortunately, many wicked beings from the spirit world can travel in the other direction.
  If you can conceive of something, it can happen in the Umbra. If you can't conceive of it, it may still happen. The Umbra is beyond my small mind, and it's beyond yours as well. Gaia's mind and the hopes and fears and dreams and thoughts of every one of Her beings and spirits roam the Umbra. Some have form; some simply await the chance to spring into existence. In the Umbra, you can find all those things that have yet to be, but always have been. The Umbra is well beyond the comprehension of even Gaia's chosen, and I still have the task of explaining it to you. Since we are of the physical world as much as the spirit, we see the spiritual world in physical terms. We've defined "pocket dimensions," called Realms, within the Umbra, each governed by its own laws of reality. A Realm can look and behave like anything at any time. Some Realms even utterly defy all of Earth's physical laws. Most Garou are more comfortable in Realms that look and feel like the physical world, so these Realms are the ones we tend to visit. These Realms have ground, sky, foreground and horizon. While you travel in the Umbra, you will find that you can still use all of your formidable senses in the spirit world. Don't forget that you are part wolf. Take advantage of the keen senses Gaia gave you.
  Human philosophers and poets are not alone in their speculations on the spirit world. All of our tribes have unique perspectives on the Umbra. Spirituality and the nature of the Umbra spark just as many discussions and arguments as human religions do. The Native American Garou tribes have a simple view of the spirit world. They have only glimpsed it from afar, and they believe it to be as it appears in their visions. The other Garou have more complex views. The Stargazers, for example, speculate that the spirit world is radically and unknowably different from what it appears to be. They believe that this is because it is a world not of form and substance, but of fleeting impressions and potent symbols that are translated into sensory information by the Garou. The life experiences of the Umbral traveler literally shape her moment-to-moment awareness of the Umbra.
  Although we feel a great sense of peace in the Umbra, we are not born into it. I remember well the first time I dared to step sideways. Terror greater than any I have experienced since gripped my body. 1 would rather have been surrounded by a swarm of fomori than gone into the Umbra at that instant. I don't know why. Perhaps it was the realization that I was about to leave the only world I had ever known. It was mercifully brief, for by the time I understood my terror, I found myself surrounded by the comforting sense of belonging that the Umbra grants us. That formless fear never quite leaves even the most seasoned Umbral traveler, but we endure that moment of panic gladly for the rewards we receive. Despite its overwhelming dangers, the Umbra refreshes us, heals our broken bodies and restores our souls. When we feel forsaken by humans, wolves and our fellow Garou, we can return to the source of our life and drink from a spring that never runs dry. The source of that spring lies deep within the endless spirit worlds of the Umbra.

The Tellurian

  All of reality comprises Gaia, but to werewolves, Gaia's name connotes the living parts of creation that must be protected from the ravages of marauders. We also call all of reality the Tellurian. The Tellurian includes the parts of the universe from which monsters issue — the parts of creation that are dark and evil, I realize we have created an apparent contradiction. But then, we Garou do not have the pervasive fear of paradox so common among humans.
  Our various tribes and camps differ on many points about the Tellurian. The only thing on which we all agree is that we can never understand the whole of reality. We expect disagreements, and we know that we can only hope to know truth through direct unity with Gaia. And the only sure way to connect with Gaia is through the spirit world.

The Nature of the World

  Innumerable locales comprise the Tellurian: vast natural vistas, choking cityscapes, deep, infernal pits, indescribably chaotic Realms. Garou spirituality puts Gaia at the center of the universe, anchoring creation and emanating through the myriad Realms of the Tellurian.
  Just as human civilizations have creation myths and stories to instruct their youth in the cosmology of the world, so do we Garou. The Umbra envelops the material Realm in something akin to Earth's atmosphere. Our cosmology begins with the three levels that compose the Umbra. The most familiar to us is the middle world that lies on the back of the great World Turtle. The Heavens lie above the Turtle and the Underworlds lie in his guts. Werewolves, along with all the humans and animals and other things of the physical world, live in the middle world on the Turtle's back. Our Theurges say that the Heavens are an unknowable world visited by human wizards and inhabited by frightening astral beings. They say that worlds below are unfathomable crypts populated by specters and demons. These lands are not the lands of the Garou. Just as wolves do not live high in the clouds or deep in the mud, werewolves belong to the middle world.
  The Theurges say the truth lies in the Umbra. We can know the Umbra. We can explore it and understand it. If we heal the problems in the spirit world, we will also heal them in the physical. This is the essential guiding principle behind much of our crusade: find the true spiritual source of a physical manifestation, understand it and change it in spirit.

The Shape of the World

  At the heart of Gaia lies the Earth, with the Heavens above, the Underworld below and the Umbra surrounding it on its sides. The World Tree, the axis mundi, grows from the center of the Earth. The Native American Garou tribes believe that it sprouts from the back of the World Turtle. Its branches soar into the canopy of the Heavens; its roots dig deep into the soil of the Underworld. Like many things in the Umbra, the World Tree is both figurative and literal at the same time. Its principle of interconnectedness can be felt in all places, but it takes literal form somewhere within the spirit world.
  Three primal forces create and support the rest of reality: the Wyld, the Weaver and the Wyrm. These forces, called the Triat collectively, anchor all of existence. In the simplest terms, the Wyld is a body of vast potential that remains unrealized and in constant flux. The Weaver is the force of definition that takes the unformed creations of the Wyld and spins them into stable forms of matter and energy. Its power is the power to Name, to limit a thing's potential by giving it definition. The Wyrm is the force of destructive entropy that culls the myriad creations of the Weaver, thus creating sense from the senseless spasm of raw creation. The Triat's interrelations gave birth to the universe, and their continuing conflict ravages it. Some scholars see the Weaver as a great spider that nests in the World Tree's branches, coating the Tree in webbing, while the dragonlike Wyrm gnaws at the Tree's roots. The Wyld is the water that flows through the Tree, the sunlight that feeds its branches. Between the Weaver's webs and the Wyrm's destruction, however, the Wyld cannot nourish the Tree as it once did.
  The world is dying.

The Creation Myth

  This myth is the history of the spirit and physical worlds as the wisest Garou shamans tell it. They do not always express it in the terms used here, and some cannot express it in language at all. The Garou versions are couched in symbolic poetry and metaphoric imagery. This explanation is couched in modern terms for modern audiences with modern sensibilities, just as it might be told to the cubs of the last generation.

The One World

  Werewolves believe that once, eons ago, the world was whole and unified. Matter and spirit did not merely coexist, they were one and the same. The tripartite forces of the Wyld, the Weaver and the Wyrm intertwined for an eternity, and reality was born from their dance.
  And yet, even though the universe of the Triat was an integral, undivided whole, it was populated by individual, self-aware beings. These creatures gained sentience when the rich material-spiritual energy of the universe coalesced into unique forms. Even though these entities had identities separate from the substance of the universe, they understood themselves to be a part of the universal whole. They knew that their joy was the joy of the universe, and that their pain was the pain of the universe. Likewise, the pain of the universe was their pain, and the joy of the universe was their joy. These individualized spirit-matter beings understood that joy and pain were essential and meaningful parts of their lives.
  Life was eternal and ever-changing, for the unique forms assumed by these entities lasted as long as they chose them to last. These creatures could merge with other creatures, subdivide into smaller identities or dissolve themselves utterly into the undifferentiated void. If a "death" did occur, it wasn't a permanent one. The material-spirit forms would dissolve upon "dying," only to coalesce into new forms later.
  The Garou call this universe, the universe of the Dawn Times, the "true Gaia." According to their legends, nothing existed outside other at this time. Her children lived on her, and they were she. She was a greater whole that was somehow more than the sum of her parts. This time was a Golden Age of existence — a dream time that, while completely gone, is not completely forgotten. Garou shamans believe that all creatures, humans and wolves alike, have a secret memory of this time stored deep within the recesses of their souls.

The Severing

  Into this peaceful, whole, unified world of self-aware connection came division and death. The very fabric of the integrated universe was torn asunder by a cataclysmic force. The substance of the universe was split in two. Spirit and matter were wrenched apart, separated from one another by a massive calcified barrier called the Gauntlet. The twin sides screamed for one another, and they continue screaming to this day. Werewolves point to this division as the beginning of all evil in the world. Before this catastrophic event, all pain was accidental, the unintended result of hasty actions. After the Severing, there emerged a new form of pain in the universe: deliberate, intentional pain caused for pleasure.

The Two Worlds

  The source of the Severing is still a mystery. Many Garou blame the Wyrm reflexively. Some say that the Severing marked the birth of the Wyrm. Others say that it marked the day the Wyrm went mad. Still others believe that the Wyrm simply chose to be evil, and that it inflicted pain on the universe deliberately in a desperate attempt to free itself from entanglements to anyone and anything.
  Some Garou shamans have a more complicated explanation. They maintain that the Weaver went mad and began to spin frantically. The Wyrm was hard-pressed to keep up, and the universe began to metastasize out of control. As the Wyrm struggled to undo the Weaver's teeming creation, it became engulfed in the Pattern Web. The more it fought to escape, the more it became enmeshed. Soon the Weaver had engulfed the Wyrm. Trapped in the Weaver's iron hell, the Wyrm also went mad. The twin dance of reckless Naming and heedless destruction tore apart the natural cycle of Gaia's world. The world was spun, destroyed and spun again in the model of the mad forces.
  The Triat was now separated from itself, and all creation reflected that division. The universe polarized into twin worlds that were similar, but utterly different. The essential matter — the basic patterns that generate existence — collected on one world. The dense matter — the solid material from which the patterns generate forms — collected in the other world. They still reflected one another and continued their dance, but a wall now stood between them. Spirit created patterns on one side of the Gauntlet, and matter fleshed them out on the other, but the two worlds cannot cross the Gauntlet to unite once more.
  All creatures are separated from the land of their spirits. Their bodies have animating spirits that keep them alive and functioning, but their real spirits lie dormant, unaware of their celestial origin and their connection to the cosmos around them. Physical bodies can see and sense and communicate with other physical bodies, but souls can rarely see, find or communicate with other souls. Although most sentient beings have distant, dreamlike memories of a time when they were spiritual entities in a spiritual universe, they cannot journey to the spirit world.
  Nonetheless, the connection between the Umbral and the physical world remains. Atrocities in the physical world poison the nearby Umbra with spiritual corruption; damage inflicted on spirits wreaks havoc on their physical analogues. Although each world can reap only a few benefits of its link to the other, they share their pains equally. This interconnectedness of all things makes the Garou very likely the world's last hope.

Children of Both Worlds

  Only a few creatures are truly children of matter and spirit alike, and only those few can pierce the Gauntlet to walk in both worlds. The Garou retain that great power, and they have access to spiritual Realms that lie close to the physical Earth. (There are Realms farther from Earth, but the Garou face difficulties functioning in, and even reaching, these Realms.) Yet, even though the Garou have learned how to cross the Gauntlet, they are unable to destroy it and thereby allow the divided worlds to reunite.
  Werewolves are creatures made up as much of spirit matter as they are of flesh. By transforming their physical halves into forms of pure spirit, Garou can step into the Umbra. Crossing the Gauntlet is perilous, but the Garou can become quite proficient in spirit travel with courage and training. The Garou call this feat "stepping sideways," for they feel physically as if they have ceased walking forward in one reality and moved laterally into another.
  The Garou who venture into the Umbra are spiritual warriors. Their sojourns are visionquests in which they seek deeper answers to problems that surface in physical reality. Some go to the Umbra for power and glory, but others go to heal the wounded worlds, often at great cost to themselves. These agents of cosmic mercy are the greatest of Garou, and they are remembered forever in the hearts of their people.

Perspectives on the Umbra

  All tribes agree on the basic myths of the spirit world and its nature, but each has its own way of coloring the story. The nature of the Triat and the roles that its members play in the spirit world are another matter altogether. Each tribe has its own perspective on how the spirit world functions and how Garou should interact with it. The following are just a few examples.
  Excerpts from the e-publication "The Triat and the Umbra v.3.1"
  By Dr. Anthony Chandler, Glass Walker
  The Weaver defines the essence of reality. Think of the Weaver as gravity, drawing things in. The more Weaver-essence a thing has, the more reality it has — just as the amount of gravitational attraction an object is able to exert depends on its mass. Extending the analogy further, Gaia represents the sun, and the other Realms become the planets. They revolve around Her because they have less Weaver-essence. However, just as planets affect the orbit of the sun, so too do the other Realms affect the Gaia Realm. The Weaver defines the limits of the Umbra itself. As one approaches the Deep Umbra, one leaves the spiritual foundations established by the Weaver. The Pattern Web is not the end of creativity or the end of life, but a structure upon which life can build and evolve into new forms. The true menace to the spirit world is the Wyrm, the corrupter, who seeks to destroy the beautiful creation of the Weaver.
  From the teachings of Alessandra Mbari, Black Fury Theurge
  The Wyld is our true patron, that which grants us access to the universe's greatest mysteries. The Wyld contains within it all the possibilities of existence. Our spiritual essence, the Gnosis which imbues the Umbra with life, comes from the Wyld. All of creation starts with the Wyld. The Umbra is the world of the Wyld, while the Weaver seeks to claim Earth for itself. The Weaver restricts the Wyld; the Wyrm seeks to corrupt the Wyld. Yet the Wyld endures and remains above the fray.
  Truth-of-the-Mother, Child of Gaia speaks:
  Gaia is where the Weaver and the Wyld come together and where they must stay balanced in a constant pattern of creation. The Wyrm should maintain a balance between the two. Unfortunately, the dark one has turned from its true path, and it opposes Gaia. It seeks to rend the Weaver from the Wyld so that no more reality will be spun. Ultimately, the Triat encompasses only aspects of Gaia. We must place our faith in Her, and She will show us how to restore the physical world with the spiritual world, She will lead us to a golden age. We must always keep Her in mind, first and foremost, and remember that the greatest gift and greatest weapon that we have is Gaia's love. We must use our love, our passion, to save all that we know.

The Umbral Environment

  Strangeness surrounds me. It fills me. I am the stranger, the lost cub. Whenever I slip into the spirit world, the places that I've left seem like a dream. I always thought that it would be the other way, that the Umbra would be the place of misperception and illusions. It isn't so. Whenever I enter the Umbra, my first sensation is that I've woken up from a long dream. Have you ever woken up disoriented and unsure if you actually lived the last 10 years of your life or if you're still a child who's late for school! That's the spirit world, which shouldn't be such an odd sensation, considering that it's the true home of our spirit. Our spirits have spent far more time in the Umbra than we've spent among the iving. Of course, when we return home, it feels as though the time in the Umbra was just a dream. Usually... But no matter what, whenever I enter the spirit world, I am far more certain of its reality than I am of anything else I've experienced. I can't hide from myself, and this strange place, this shadow world, this Umbra... I belong to it, and it belongs to me.

The Earth

  The home of Gaia, the Earth, anchors the center of the Umbra. Some tribes believe that the Earth sustains the Umbra, but the opposite is likely just as true. The charts of the Glass Walkers show Realms of the Umbra orbiting Earth, just as the planets orbit the sun. The Gauntlet divides reality, sundering the Earth from the Umbra. All sojourners who would leave the Earth for the Umbra must pierce this veil. All spirits that wish to come to Earth must do the same. Werewolves use two methods to bypass the Gauntlet. First, there are places where the Gauntlet is weak and easy to part. These sites are near caerns, places that Garou need in order to replenish their spiritual energy. These openings where Earth and the Umbra still touch have many names, but most call them gates. One may simply walk between worlds through gates. All werewolves also have the ability to "step sideways" and force their way through the Gauntlet. This method is a bit more dangerous, but Garou can make the journey a bit easier by using reflective surfaces that show weak points in the Gauntlet.

The Gauntlet

  The Gauntlet divides the places of matter from the places of spirit. Matter and spirit, craving unity, pull toward one another with a palpable force, ever struggling to rupture the Gauntlet and be one yet again as they were in the First Times. An ancient war wages between the Earth, the Umbra and the Gauntlet since two sides are attracted to each other, and the third exists only to hold them apart. The Weaver maintains the Gauntlet, sending her spirits to reinforce its strength tirelessly. In some areas, the strength of the Gauntlet has rendered the physical world virtually spirit-dead. In others, though, spiritual energy leaks through the Gauntlet trying to force ever-widening holes in this barrier. Civilization is the Gauntlet's greatest ally. As humans seek to control the environment, they crush the Wyld and strengthen the Weaver, pushing the spirit world farther away. The relative strengths of spiritual beliefs in people from more "developed" countries as compared to those in the rest of the world act as some evidence of this theory.
  Yet, there might yet remain some hope for civilization. The Glass Walkers argue vehemently to promote the new creativity and connectivity of people brought about by the advent of the Internet. However, there are far more voices in other tribes that call for the destruction of the scabs and an end to the tempestuous escalation of technology.
  Every place on Earth has a Gauntlet rating from 2 to 9. Stepping sideways in areas with a high Gauntlet rating is well nigh impossible. Areas in which the Gauntlet is thin allow almost unhindered access for those who know how to step sideways.

Area	Typical Gauntlet
Science lab	9
Inner city	8
Most places	7
Rural countryside	6
Deep wilderness	5
Typical active caern	4
Powerful caern	3
The greatest caerns	2

Caerns

  The Gauntlet fluctuates from place to place. It is stronger in places of civilization and science, weaker in wild, primitive areas. In the areas where it is weakest, spiritual energy enters the mundane world freely. Wondrous and mystic phenomena are common in these places. Werewolves venerate these holy sites that they call caerns. They guard the few remaining caerns vigorously by forming septs, groups dedicated to defending the caern. They also sustain the caern spirits, which aid them in protecting the locale. However, the Garou are losing this war. Individuals win victories and packs triumph in battles, but the war takes its toll. Too many enemies and too few new werewolves to fight them seems to be the tale of the millennia. Mages and marauding spirits try to feast on the Gnosis that saturates such sites. Minions of the Weaver try to destroy the natural environment, choking the location off from the Umbra. The servants of the Wyrm corrupt and twist these places to their own foul and destructive ends.
  Many caerns have a specific purpose or spiritual nature, such as healing or war. Spirits attuned to these natures flock to the caern; some even spawn from these sites. Powers may be invoked at such places granting the Garou the ability to further the caern's sphere of influence.

The Penumbra

  Just beyond the Gauntlet lies the unfettered splendor of the spirit world. The area of the Umbra closest to the Earth Realm is called the Penumbra. The Penumbra is the most common Umbral destination of the Garou, who travel here to fight evil spirits bent on corrupting creatures or locations in the physical world. The Penumbra, or Earth's Shadow, is a gray, hazy, phantasmal world lit only by the radiance of the great Celestine, Luna. Luna's Umbral phase corresponds directly to the phase of the moon in the physical realm. Helios is not present, although some ambient sunlight can be found in places during the day. The only other celestial object to share the Penumbral sky with Luna is the Red Star — the sullen star that many werewolves call the Eye of the Wyrm, the harbinger of the Final Battle.
  Likewise, the Penumbra contains the spirit material that corresponds to the physical matter of Earth. The only material objects that appear in the spirit world are those with large amounts of spiritual energy. Matter that endures the passage of time on Earth gains a spiritual representation in the Penumbra. Old trees and old buildings have counterparts on the Penumbra; recently built structures and newer vegetation do not. Wyld, Weaver and Wyrm energies become tangible in this Realm. Wyld-spirits move through natural areas, Weaver webs emerge from technological equipment, and Wyrmlings scuttle through graveyards and polluted areas.
  Interestingly enough, spirit is more "real" than matter in some ways. The spirit of an object can often endure the loss of its physical body, but the physical body cannot withstand the loss of its spirit essence. If an old oak tree is chopped down on Earth, it may linger for a long time in the Umbra. If a living tree is destroyed in the Umbra, however, its earthly counterpart will sicken and die. Similarly, the spirits of extinct species such as dire wolves linger on deep in the Umbra, but if all the eagle-spirits in the spirit world were destroyed, the eagles of the physical world would soon follow.
  Penumbral streets and forests seem eerily deserted, for most sentient creatures do not manifest on the Penumbra. Only spiritually advanced people appear here. Sometimes Garou travelers see the spirits of humans who are deeply ensconced in the Periphery. Although attacks on these Penumbral reflections do not cause any lasting harm to their physical counterparts, they can make a person highly uncomfortable, much as if haunted by a painful memory.
  The Penumbra is filled with Domains — small zones that correspond to areas in both the physical Realm and the Near Umbra. These areas borrow energy and definition from their counterparts in the Near Umbra, allowing them to manifest in the Penumbra and the Gaia Realm.
  • Blights: Blight Domains are mixed Weaver/ Wyrm areas that appear as polluted, web-ridden cityscapes.
  • Chimares: These individualized Domains are places of dream, open to every being that dreams. Like dreams, they can be gently euphoric or unspeakably horrific.
  • Epiphs: These peculiar Domains represent abstract ideas or concepts, such as "low" or "seven." Most Garou cannot comprehend Epiphs, although the Stargazers claim to have gained great insight by mediating in such places.
  • Glens: Glens are Domains where Gaian and Wyld energies still run strong. They appear as vigorous, primal manifestations of the natural world, and they are often inhabited by sentient trees and talking animals.
  • Hellholes: These Wyrm-ridden Domains correspond to polluted areas such as toxic-waste-dump sites in the physical world. Even areas of heavy air pollution can become Hellholes. Hellholes are inhabited by Banes, and Wyrm-creatures scuttle through these Domains en route to the Gaia Realm from the Near Umbra.
  • Trods: These Domains of faerie energy appear as faerie rings and monoliths. These areas mark the spots that were sacred to faeries in the days before the Weaver's encroachment drove them from earth. Sometimes, faeries can still be found at these sites.
  • Webs: Areas where the Weaver encroaches on the Penumbra are called Web Domains. Webs correspond to large areas of technologically advanced cities, and Pattern Spiders and Net-Spiders inhabit them.
  • Wyldings: Areas where the Wyld still reaches Earth are fewer than Web areas. Some Wylding Domains exist in the Penumbra, but most are in the faraway Deep Umbra. Nothing is stable or permanent in these constantly shifting zones, and magic permeates the air. Appropriately enough, Wyldling spirits congregate here.

Reaching/ Stepping Sideways

  What does it feel like to step into the Umbra? It's like diving into cold water. First, you feel the splash as you break the surface. Then, for a moment, you freeze as your body and mind try to come to grips with the change. Finally, you swim for the surface, take a breath and try to get used to the water. Or maybe you panic, swallow water and start drowning. That's how it feels.
  The spirit world lies just a whisper away. Children feel it, hiding beneath their beds at night, lurking in the woods behind their homes. You dance through it in your dreams. It's where reflections lie, on the far side of the mirror. To go there, stop walking forward and backward, and just step sideways. It's that easy.
  All werewolves have the ability to "reach" or "step sideways" into the Umbra. This ability comes intuitively once the First Change passes. Somehow, they begin to sense the world waiting on the other side of the mirror. Shifting between worlds becomes a skill like walking; it's something that they can just do.
  But, of course, the Gauntlet lies in the way, and a werewolf must push through it to step sideways. In most places, the player must make a Gnosis roll against the Gauntlet rating. If she succeeds, the character slips through to the other side. Failure means that she can't push through the webs in this location and needs to move and try again. If she tries to enter the Umbra in the same place, Weaver-spirits reinforce the Gauntlet and the difficulty increases by two for each further attempt. The Gauntlet rating can never exceed 10, though. On a botch, the character may get trapped in the Pattern Web, appear in the midst of a spirit storm or simply vanish for a while, only to reappear hours later with no memory of the missing time. It's important to note that stepping sideways cannot be done as a Rage action. A character cannot normally use Rage and Gnosis in the same turn, after all.
  A pack may nominate a single "opener of the way" to lead the entire pack into the Umbra. The player of this character rolls once for the pack (the pack member with the highest Gnosis usually receives this task). Her result affects all of her packmates. Only packs may enter the Umbra this way, and non-packmates accompanying them must step sideways using their own Gnosis.

Successes	Shift Time
0	Failure; may not try again for another hour
One	Five minutes
Two	30 seconds
Three+	Instant

Mirror Mirror

  Garou have found a way to make it easier to reach into and out of the Umbra. Reflective surfaces, polished silver, a quiet pool of water and especially mirrors make stepping sideways easier. Some say that these aids let a werewolf concentrate on his true self and see his spirit. Others believe that they are holes in the Gauntlet, which reflect images because what lies on the other side isn't visible on Earth. Regardless, a werewolf who has access to a reflective surface has several advantages when trying to step sideways. First, the difficulty of the roll drops by one. Second, her attempts do not alert Weaver-spirits, so if she fails, she may try again in the same place with no penalties. Also, if the player botches, the reflective surface breaks, tarnishes or becomes agitated and unusable, rather than leaving the character trapped between worlds or missing time. Experienced fomori have a habit of breaking mirrors so that their opponents cannot flee. A common superstition also holds that werewolves need mirrors to emerge from "wherever it is they come from," which is blatantly untrue.

The Near Umbra

  When the Umbral traveler follows a moon bridge past the Penumbra, she arrives in the Near Umbra. This area is a swirling haze dotted with many Realms, great and small. These Realms orbit the Gaia Realm just as Luna orbits Earth. The Garou travel to these other realities to interact with their totems or beseech aid from their ruling powers. Many of these rulers are capricious and dangerous, but they possess great wisdom.
  There are 13 major Near Realms. Near Realms are pockets of immense spiritual power bordered by a membrane that contains their energies. These Realms feel as real and substantial to the Umbral traveler as the material world feels to the physical traveler. All the Garou's senses and powers work, although with some slight modifications in some Realms. Each Realm is governed by a set of world laws that determine the local reality. There may be even more Near Realms as yet undiscovered by the Garou.
  In addition to these 13 major Near Realms, myriad Domains, sub-Realms and Zones exist, including the eerie Dream Zone. All of the Domains listed in the Penumbra have larger Domains in the Near Umbra. The Tribal Homelands, representations of each tribe's ideal home, are among the strongest of these Near Umbral Domains. At the outskirts of the Near Umbra, just before the beginning of the Deep Umbra, lie several Vistas. Vistas are not really Realms, for they can only be viewed, not entered. Vistas are portals allowing observers to view embodiments of abstract concepts like death, chaos and stasis. They are said to be glimpses of the Heavens.
  Near Realms were formed when powerful, monolithic energies from the Triat collided with the weak but highly diversified spiritual emanations from the Gaia Realm. Some Near Realms are similar to the Triat energies that formed them, while some are similar to the earthly energies that breathed spiritual life into them.

The Near Realms

  • Abyss: In the Umbra, acts of extreme destruction can carve rifts into the very fabric of the spirit world. Those who delve into these cracks find a way out of whatever Realm they may be in to the lip of a gargantuan pit so wide and deep that it seems an infinite void. Anything that falls into the Abyss is lost forever. Hideous creatures cavort within chasms that lead down the inner walls of the Abyss. Even the most powerful Incarna avoid this Realm at all costs. Some Garou say that the Abyss is an Umbral cancer and the first sign of the impending Apocalypse. Others say that the very bottom of this seemingly bottomless rift is the mouth of the Wyrm itself.
  • Aetherial Realm: The cosmological apex of the Umbra is an infinite vaulted: ceiling of heavenly light that stretches from the Gauntlet to the Deep Umbra. Garou can reach the Aetherial Realm easily by traveling toward the Umbral "sky." This Realm is the home of the Planetary Incarnae, from the Incarnae of Luna (Phoebe or Sokhta) and Helios (Hyperion or Katanka-Sonnak) to the Incarnae of the planets themselves. This Realm is also home to powerful spirits of the air and stars. All moon bridges travel through the Aetherial Realm, and the Umbral aspects of Sol's planets appear in its skies. Here, the Celestines hang constellations of the greatest heroes. It is also here that the celestial prophet of the Apocalypse, the Red Star (Anthelios) blazes at its brightest.
  • Atrocity Realm: Humans are capable of visiting horrible tortures and violations on themselves and others, and they do so far, far too often. The pain and degradation that pours from these atrocities has shaped a Realm that mirrors such suffering. All atrocities on Earth — animal cruelty, sword-point religious conversions, child-abuse, rape camps, genocide — have reflections here. Banes spawn freely here in larval pits guarded by Scrags. One can escape from this Realm only via empathic suffering with the victims.
  • Battleground: Mankind's glorification of war has created a Battleground Realm. Here, spirit warriors fight grisly re-creations of every battle from the Impergium to the struggles in Southeast Asia. Signposts point the way to each battle. Shades of all the world's wars appear in concentric rings that lead toward the Plain of the Apocalypse — a vast, empty field that waits for the final battle. Difficulties for all frenzy rolls decrease by two here, and Garou who enter the fray gain a point of Rage per turn of combat. Garou who seek to learn the secrets of their foes visit this Realm to observe or fight their enemies' Umbral doppelgangers. Garou also come here for a chance to unleash their Rage.
  • CyberRealm: The rapid escalation of technology and the technoshock it creates have spawned this Weaver Realm, a reflection of science gone berserk. Here, technology has overwhelmed the inhabitants, who must meld with machines to survive. Half of this mechanistic land is a glass, concrete, plastic and steel monstrosity called the Sprawl; the other is a subterranean world called the Pit. Glass Walkers love the CyberRealm (although they also tread with care here), tapping its secrets for weapons for use against the Wyrm. Weaver-spirits are strong here, and Wyld-spirits are virtually unheard of.
  • Erebus: As the Aetherial Realm lies in the cosmological heights of the Umbrascape, the depths of the Umbra contain an infernal underworld. Erebus is the Purgatory of the Garou, a place where werewolves burn in a lake of molten silver. They take aggravated wounds, healing just in time to suffer further. A great, three-headed wolf-creature prevents Garou from leaving. The few who have returned from Erebus rarely speak of it. Some believe that this Realm is a crucible that burns its victims until they are strong enough to purify themselves.
  • Flux: A pocket of pure Wyld energy has extruded through the powerful Weaver barricades of the Tellurian to create a massive Flux Realm in the Near Umbra. This Realm is the very heart of the Wyld, allegedly given to Gaia to sustain Her and keep Her from total Weaver suffocation. Anything is possible within the constantly shifting Flux Realm. Time shifts unpredictably, and the Garou themselves transform uncontrollably, shifting among their various forms. Werewolves can learn to manipulate the very fabric of the Flux Realm, literally controlling the changing, unbridled reality tike gods, or they may be driven mad in the process. No entity may be bound or controlled here.
  • Legendary Realm: The legends of the Garou are so powerful that they have sprung into existence as living shadows. The Legendary Realm is a composite mythic-fantasy Realm that incorporates all legends of all tribes into one impossible world. Each tribe has a territory that corresponds roughly to its ancestral homeland on Earth, and Garou travel to these lands to live the lives of their ancestors and thus gain the wisdom of the past.
  • Malfeas: This Realm is the home of the Wyrm itself, a blasted wasteland that exudes spiritual corruption. It is death itself to travel Malfeas, for nothing lives there that would aid a Garou. Indeed, werewolves are great prizes to the mighty Banes who inhabit this Realm. Any Garou captured here is destined for a day or an eternity of suffering before death or before being forced to dance the Black Spiral itself. This structure lies within the heart of a great temple in Malfeas, and it is the source of the Black Spiral Dancers' name, cause and power. A trip to Malfeas is tantamount to a slow, painful suicide.
  • Pangaea: Earth spent vast amounts of time in a primordial state, and the spiritual energies of that age have left an enduring mark on the Umbra. The eons have etched Pangaea into the fabric of the Umbra with a strength and solidity unknown to any other Realm. It is filled with massive woods, virgin jungle and pristine rainforest. All species that ever lived flourish here, even titanic dinosaurs, and a great lncarna dragon called the Elder Serpent makes its lair here. Forces of the Wyrm have been trying to seal Pangaea away from the rest of the Umbra, and many Garou feel that this Realm holds a secret to preserving the world beyond the Apocalypse. Here all Garou receive one Gnosis point at dawn, and all Primal-Urge rolls made in Pangaea receive one automatic success.
  • Scar: The worlds, both physical and spiritual, changed forever with the coming of the Industrial Revolution. This powerful event created ripples in the Umbra that gave birth to the rusted Umbral city called the Scar. Here, the ideals of industry and prosperity have been corrupted into soul-grinding oppression. This Realm is a gloomy, gritty city of ashen slums, befouled shantytowns, deafening factories and endless pollution. The Scar's factories produce many of the fetishes used by Wyrm minions in the Gaia Realm. Escape is difficult, for the Gauntlet around the Scar has a rating of 9.
  • Summer Country: Some Garou insist that the Summer Country is just a beautiful rumor. The tales say that Gaia spent an eternity in a state of pure, uncorrupted love before the first cataclysm. This time created an enduring reflection in the Umbra — an achingly beautiful world where all is peace, grace and pleasure. In this Realm, a blissful, crescent-shaped island in a beautiful blue sea, all creatures have an abundance of Gaia's Gifts. No werewolf finds the Summer Country by choice; legends hold that only those who have undergone a great epiphany and embraced the full love of Gaia are brought here for a time. All wounds, diseases and curses are cured here, although some Children of Gaia insist that the wounds were cured by the inner healing process that resulted in the Garou arriving in the first place.
  • Wolfhome: Although it looks almost identical to the physical world, Wolfhome is actually among the strangest of the Umbral Realms. It is the only Realm in which the Garou are radically transformed. Here werewolves are trapped in Lupus form, without Gifts, rites or fetishes in a world where wolves are hated and hunted predators. Only their regeneration and Rage protect them from the humans who hunt them with guns, helicopters and high-tech equipment. Escape is possible only by understanding the wolfs place in the world.

Dream

  The Dream Zone is another Umbral area that seems to transcend the "normal" limits of the Umbra and extend into other parts of the Tellurian. This area is mysterious even to the denizens of the Umbra. It is a world of immense power, frightening unpredictability and potent symbolism. (The Chimares are mere glimpses into this place of unfettered dream.) Even the hardiest Umbral travelers treat the Dream Zone with uncharacteristic trepidation.
  The Dream Zone could be compared to a multifaceted gem of extraordinary beauty that encloses the Near Umbra and borders the Deep Umbra. Werewolves willing to risk the dangers can actually bypass the rest of the Umbra and enter the Dream Zone directly through their dreams. Instead of traveling outward — past the Gauntlet, into the Near Umbra and through to the Deep Umbra — the voyager goes inward, into his dream, and emerges at the border between the Near and Deep Umbra. The dangers of this world of dreams-made-real are obvious, but there are few shortcuts to match this one. Garou can also enter the Dream Zone by means of traveling though Chimares.

The Membrane

  Between the relatively comprehensible world of the Near Umbra and the mysterious world of the Deep Umbra lies a barrier called the Membrane. This barrier is like the Gauntlet, but even less porous. To bypass the Membrane, Garou must reach an Anchorhead.
  Some Stargazers assert that the Gauntlet and the Membrane are but two layers in a sevenfold Weaver container that encases the spirit world. They believe that the Dream Zone extends to each of the seven layers, and that they can breach the remaining barriers with practice — just as they can enter Dream from Earth and reach the Deep Umbra in so doing.

Deep Umbra

  Past the walls of sleet lies the Deep Umbra, an area where Gaia's presence is less and less perceptible to Garou travelers. Reality breaks down here, and navigation becomes difficult. This is the realm of the abstract, the source of alien concepts and strange vistas. The Deep Umbra is the home of the Wyld, the Weaver and the Wyrm, and only the most experienced Umbral travelers dare travel here. Luna traverses a path through the Deep Umbra, and she is one of the few comforting beacons to wandering Garou.

The Periphery

  The Gauntlet wall bulges like an over-inflated balloon, allowing trickles of spirit energy to bleed through it in many places. Some werewolves believe that this bleed-through is deliberate — a ploy on the Weaver's part to relieve pressure on the Gauntlet to keep it from bursting open. Others take it as a sign that the Gauntlet is not infallible, and that it might yet come down. Although these tiny streams of spirit are of little use to werewolves, they can grant humans a connection to the spiritual that they might not receive otherwise. The human desire to use ritual, drugs, religious rapture, exercise, meditation, even pain and sexual pleasure to reach a "higher state" is an unconscious yearning for what werewolves call the Periphery.
  Some werewolves call the Periphery the "Penumbra of the Deep Umbra" — the secondary shadow cast by the Deep Umbra on the physical world. Whether this assertion is true or not, it is true that the Periphery grants an altered state of awareness when one reaches it. Colors and senses become sharper, brighter; intuition and insight flourish. Artists, writers and poets who touch the Periphery find it to be pure inspiration.
  This inspiration isn't necessarily beatific, though. For every Wordsworth who finds rapture, there is a Poe who finds visions of bleakness and torture. Although these visions seem like hallucinations to others, they are quite real to the person touching the Periphery. Sometimes, they can even cause physical trauma. Benign spirits can even contact humans on the Periphery, although Banes and other malevolent spirits can also reach Peripheral travelers.
  Unfortunately, people who use dmgs to enter the Periphery are unable to leave if their visions go bad. They can't return to the physical world and snap back to normal if their minds or spirits can't handle the Periphery. Such Peripheral "imprisonment" can cause hideous psychic disfigurement and spiritual shock. Charismatic spiritual leaders can bring an entire congregation into the Periphery and cause psychic damage to their parishioners, who usually cannot leave at will. The only people who do not risk psychic shock from travel to the Periphery are those who learn to enter by force of personal will. These fortunate souls are reasonably safe because they retain the ability to leave at any time.
  Humans who spend time with werewolves are more likely to touch the Periphery. Perhaps it is a side effect of the Garou's spiritual nature, but no one is certain. It doesn't seem to matter if the person knows about a werewolf's true nature.

The Dark Umbra

  Few werewolves know much about the Dark Umbra, the realm of death. When a werewolf dies, his spirit returns to the Earth Mother; some Garou linger on as ancestor-spirits to guide their kin, while others are said to be reborn in different bodies. For this reason, most werewolves have less a fear of death than a fear of dying poorly.
  Humans, on the other hand, fear death immensely. They fear pain, disconnection, oblivion. They fear that punishment might await them on the other side. Some even fear that they will find that everything they ever believed was wrong. They fear leaving their business unfinished; they fear age and weakness and the loss of control. And, as the Garou say, this collective fear of death is what created the Dark Umbra.
  The Dark Umbra is believed to be the final resting-place for many humans when they die. It's a gray, terrible underworld wracked by constant tempests and terrible wars among the hungry ghosts. Only a few werewolves — most often Silent Striders — dare to venture into the Dark Umbra for its wisdom. Many Garou philosophers hold that the Dark Umbra is a necessary third to the spirit world, the final part that balances the Deep and Middle Umbrae. But almost all werewolves believe that the human dead built this place for themselves — and they are welcome to it.

Umbral Travel

  A werewolf steps sideways and enters the Penumbra at the spiritual manifestation of the place he stood on Earth. Once in the Penumbra, he can walk physically to other areas corresponding to those on Earth, just a step and a shadow away. He can also go farther out into the Umbra. Thoughts and feelings lead the werewolf outward, beyond the shadows of the things he knows. All he has to do is think of traveling deeper in the spirit world. Doing so is a little like stepping sideways, but the Gauntlet is not involved.
  Werewolves move through the Umbra like they do on Earth, usually either walking or running. As a werewolf walks through the spirit world, the scenery unfolds and evolves around him, beginning to take on aspects of his destination as he draws nearer. A werewolf on the path to the Battleground Realm might find his road taking on the consistency of powdered bone and the sounds of distant drums and gunfire surrounding him until he has no question that he is on the road to the greatest battlefield of all. Once the Penumbra has been left behind, distance starts to lose meaning. Space and time are both subject to the fluctuations of the Wyld, and they can change in a heartbeat.
  Direction is left almost to chance. So, the only way to travel safely without getting lost is to find a path.

Moon Paths

  One of Luna's many gifts to her children are paths through the mists of the Umbra. A moon path appears in the Penumbra as a shaft of moonlight. A werewolf who touches the light can find herself traveling on a moonbeam with the mists of the spirit world swirling all around her. Spirits called Lunes guard these ways when the moon is full. The paths are also at their strongest and are easiest to find then. However, Garou should be cautious when dealing with the ghostly moon-spirits during the full moon. They are fickle tricksters, and the warrior's moon raises their wrath against Luna's enemies. This wrath can just as easily be turned against an obnoxious cub. There is no end to the stories of arrogant wolves demanding help or service from a Lune, only to find themselves suddenly lost near the Deep Umbra. Dire spirits like to lurk near the edges of moon paths, just far enough away to avoid the Lunes. Given the opportunity, most would like nothing more than to lure an unsuspecting werewolf off the, path to her doom. The most basic adage among experienced spirit runners is, "Don't step off the path."
  Moon paths can be dangerous during other phases of Luna. When the Theurge's moon shines through the Umbra, the paths twist and turn strangely, either resisting the desires of travelers, or possibly paying heed to their unconscious desires rather than their conscious ones. A werewolf accustomed to solving enigmas will find herself challenged to follow a moon path during the crescent moon.
  When the new moon comes, the moon paths don't disappear entirely. They become shadowed and dim filaments of Luna's light. The Lunes hide during the new moon, and foul twisted spirits make the moon paths their own. Few souls dare to travel the moon paths during these times. Instead, they seek other ways through the Umbra.

Spirit Tracks

  Another way to travel through the Umbra is to find a spirit track or airt. When spirits move through the Umbra, they part the shadows and mists, creating a track upon which Garou can travel. Spirit tracks are not as reliable as moon paths, as they follow the course of the individual spirit, be it whimsical or dangerous. If a Bane destroys the spirit during its journey, a werewolf may find herself at a dead end or following the Bane's spirit track. When the Umbral winds blow, spirit tracks disappear back into the mists. If the winds erase the track a werewolf is traveling on, the wind will blow her deep into the Umbra, possibly even to the edge of the Abyss.

Gates

  The ancient places have many strong ties. In times past, mighty spirits forged gates between realms in the Umbra. Gates transport travelers from one location to another instantly. They are permanent constructs able to withstand any force that a werewolf could bring to bear. One of the most famous gates is the Black Portal, a rusted iron archway that stands in the Penumbra of the Greek highlands. Anyone stepping through this Portal finds himself in the heart of Erebus almost instantly. Unfortunately, the mystic lore of gate creation has long vanished. Although gates are the safest and fastest means of transport through the Umbra, they are also the most rare. Discovery of a new gate would gain a Garou great renown.

The Webs

  The Weaver's webs hold all things together. Without the Weaver, there would be no form or substance. Some young werewolves have dared to use the webs as a highway of sorts. With the Glass Walkers leading the way, they simply find the Weaver's webs and force their way past Pattern Spiders and other spirits. This method of travel is unmentioned in the traditions of the Garou, and few old ones trust it. The secrets of traversing the webs are well guarded, but if a werewolf could master the webs of the Weaver, then nothing is beyond his reach.

Wyrm Tunnels

  Finally, agents of the Wyrm have carved dark passages through the Umbra and the Gauntlet. Wyrm tunnels abound with Banes, and the Black Spiral Dancers use them to move secretly through the spirit world. A few brave packs have ventured into these dark pathways, but if any have returned, they have not shared the horrors that they faced with other werewolves.

Peeking

  Most spirits от the Umbra can't see us on Earth, anymore than we can see them. Now, there are a few with special abilities, like Naturae tied to an area or Wyrm spies — and please, don't try to hide from your totem — but you're generally safe from their prying. The invisible watchers that you need to be aware of are other werewolves. You've felt that sensation. Suddenly, the hair on уour neck rises and some thing inside goes, "I' т being watched." You look around, but уou don't see anyone. Well, maybe no one is there... in a physical sense, at least. We are still bound to Earth; all of us are children of Gaia (in the broader sense, of course). Anyway, my point is that we werewolves can steal peeks at Earth from the Penumbra, just across the velvet curtain. Trouble with that is this... if you're watching one thing, you aren't looking at another. The Umbra has a way of sneaking up on you.
  — Pearl River, Child of Gaia Theurge
  To have her character peek at Earth from the Umbra, the player must roll her Gnosis against the local Gauntlet rating. If she succeeds, the character sees a shadowy monochromatic version of the physical world, including the people and items that leave no spirit shadow in the Umbra. The character cannot discern fine details, such as newsprint, without multiple successes. She can also hear noises from the other side, although they may seem to echo or be distorted slightly. Most importantly, werewolves find that they can smell everything as easily as if they weren't in the Umbra. They can even track prey through the Umbra.
  On the down side, a werewolf becomes completely oblivious to events in the Umbra while peeking, unless she starts losing health levels. Her pack can't communicate with her, and enemies can do all sorts of twisted things to her as long as she doesn't take damage. In the Umbra, her eyes glow brightly, and her expression is one of obvious intense concentration, Glass Walkers refer to this condition with the slang term AFK, meaning "away from keyboard."
  Werewolves may also peek from Earth to the Umbra, although doing so is often more difficult. A player must roll Gnosis against the Gauntlet rating plus 3 (maximum 10). The disadvantage to watching one world while you are in another is the same either way. Once characters learn certain Gifts, such as Pulse of the Invisible, peeking becomes much easier.
  Although most spirits cannot peek, they have other methods of learning about events on Earth. They can see signs in the Penumbra of dramatic spiritual changes. Spirits with direct connections to Earth, including many spirits of Gaia, do have the ability to peek, and they are perpetually aware of events near their territories. For example, a caern spirit knows all that transpires at its caern. Spirits with these abilities do not become oblivious to the world around them when peeking; they can manage both sets of perceptions easily.

The Nature of Spirits

  The Umbra houses a staggering variety of spirits. They are creatures of raw soul force that are not intertwined with flesh and blood. Some are related closely to beings in the physical world, but many are unique to the Umbra and are difficult to describe in physical terms.
  Spirits don't quite have personalities in the way that people understand them. They lack a certain amount of free will, and they find it impossible to act against their nature. It would be impossible for a rabbit-spirit to lunge courageously at a group of attackers or for a fire-spirit to resist the urge to devour offered fuel, without powerful coercion from a third party.
  The denizens of the spirit world have a clear hierarchy. The very greatest spirits exude or create lesser sprits, which devolve in turn into still lesser spirits. These greater spirits are considered patrons of the lesser. Although most spirits appear to have patrons, the Garou suspect that certain rogue spirits exist outside the chain of spirit patronage.
  The werewolves hold that the greatest spirit is Gaia. Below her is the Triat: the Wyld, the Weaver and the Wyrm. Below the Triat are the Celestines, who are akin to gods. Below the Celestines are the Incarnae: the lords and kings of the spirit world. Their servants, the Jagglings and Gafflings, are like knights and vassals.

Gaia

  The Realm-system begins with Gaia and is bounded by Gaia. Many Garou hold that all things that exist within the Tellurian are of Gaia, although some refute the notion that evil beings are truly a part of her. Gaia's growth and development are inextricably linked to the growth and development of the living beings within her. Gaia loves all of her Creations, and she extends to them a pure, unconditional acceptance and respect. Life is both a manifestation of Gaia and a celebration of her glory. Death is but a transfiguration of her energy, as the dying being ascends to a new state of in the cosmological cycle. This natural cycle of life and death has been altered by powerful intelligences, which, in turn, weakens Gaia. She is also weakened and degraded by the ongoing clash of the Triat. The Garou rage at the violence that the Weaver and the Wyrm inflict on Gaia, and they have pledged their lives and souls to defending, upholding and restoring her. They fear that the impending Apocalypse may signal her ultimate destruction.

The Triat

  Below Gaia in cosmic power (or at least so it's said) are the mysterious, personified forces called the Wyld, the Weaver and the Wyrm. According to the Garou, these entities, known collectively as the Triat, shape and control eternity. The interplay of these impersonal spiritual forces makes up the Tellurian and comprises all within it.
  At a base level, the members of the Triat represent the forces of creation, growth and destruction, but they are far more. They represent potential, materialization and unraveling. They also embody chaos, order and balance.

The Wyld

  Creation begins with the Wyld. The Wyld is pure change. It is not so much undifferentiated chaos as it is elemental transmutation. It swirls constantly with change, adaptation and change again. The Wyld is alive with possibility: The Wyld is possibility. Every ant and tree contains a particle of this chaos of possibility within its spirit. No Garou Theurge or human mage or caretaker spirit has ever been able to quantify that tiny drop of eternity. Gaia draws the power of potential from the Wyld. Indeed, some say that she could not exist without it.
  The Wyld is a complete entity, but without the Weaver, the Wyld loses all the forms it spawns. They return to the primal forge at the very moment of birth. To be all forms at all times is to be formless. Life without bounds cannot know itself in all parts. Therefore, the Wyld is the least personified of the three. Its constant mutability precludes true form or nature. The Wyrm is also essential to the Wyld, because the Wyrm destroys select aspects of the Weaver's Web and returns the uncreated matter to the Wyld.
  In the Deep Umbra, the Wyld has the potential to be the most powerful member of the Triat — almost as powerful as Gaia. In the physical Realm, however, the Wyld is the least powerful of the Triat. Its very essence, limitless possibility, is forced from the physical world daily by humanity's focus upon "logic" and reason." As logic is forced upon an illogical world, there is less and less room for the magic of uncaused change. Only a few scattered sites of pure Wyld energy still exist, and the Garou guard them with their blood and the blood of their offspring. Although the Wyld loses sway in the physical world steadily, it is unassailable in its home in the Deep Umbra, No danger can threaten it there, for any enemy is dissolved into primordial protoplasm upon coming into contact with the Wyld. The Weaver or Wyrm must win victory in the physical world if they are to gain the power to assail the Wyld at its heart. To some Garou, this hope is all they have as a promise that they might yet win the war.
  Werewolves venerate the Wyld, seeing it as a symbol of their struggle against the Apocalypse and a promise of a brighter day. Its Realms teem with countless forms of life. In the world that grows from the Wyld, anything can happen. Outnumbered, outfought, outmaneuvered Garou may even be able to prevail against the forces that threaten to devour Gaia. The Wyld is a bright hope, a promise of change from a wicked world of entropic destruction.
  Although the Garou can expect no direct aid from this unfathomable force — for it knows no compassion or loyalty — the Wyld may prove to be their greatest ally.

The Weaver

  From the heedless change of the Wyld came ordered growth. The Weaver selected sections of the turbulent creation and kept them from dissolving into the boisterous whole at the instant of their birth. Undifferentiated creation was thereby structured and locked into form. Thus did the Weaver spin the first strands of the structure that would become the fabric of the universe — the Pattern Web.
  And with that, everything changed. Where there was form, there could be growth and progress. Meaning was now imposed on meaningless potential. Inconstant infinity had yielded to enduring eternity. Then the Wyrm arrived and pruned away sections of the Weaver's creation. The Weaver's perfect patterns were now imperfect, but balanced. According to the Garou, this pattern is the true cosmological cycle of chaos, creation and destruction. It lasted an eternity, but it was ultimately shattered when the Weaver gained consciousness — or, as some theorize, went mad.
  One theory holds that the Weaver tried to spin the entire Wyld into full patterned existence. This goal gave birth to an explosion of creation, which drove the Weaver insane. She looked into the Web and saw only madness. The Wyrm, exhausted from trying to maintain the balance, became ensnared in creation. The Wyrm is still there, these theorists say, struggling to free itself and destroying all creation - from the inside.
  Others say that the Weaver was far more calculating, and that her only madness is power-lust. The Weaver, these werewolves say, attempted to make logical advancement and permanence the cornerstones of the Tellurian. Once she established causality, she set out to impose causality on everything. The Wyrm was an obstacle to this process, because it destroyed by its own rules rather than the rules of the Weaver. So the Weaver ensnared the Wyrm in the Pattern Web and directed its destruction along the lines of causality. But her control over it is not absolute, and it still manages to destroy blindly, along a pattern other than hers. This destruction limits the Weaver's power, which is cosmologically helpful, but it injures Gaia, which is not.
  The Glass Walkers claim that the Wyrm is the source of trouble, because the Wyrm attempted to destroy the Wyld altogether. If the Wyld were gone, nothing more could be created, and the Wyrm would destroy everything that was left. The Wyrm tried to use the Weaver to weaken the Wyld by ensnaring it, but the Weaver could not bind all of infinity. Instead, she spun herself into madness. The Wyrm was caught in a trap of its own devising, and it remains there to this day. Meanwhile, the eternal Wyld endures. The Glass Walkers insist that the Weaver is simply trying to defend herself, and that she holds the key to stopping the Wyrm.
  Most Garou agree that the Weaver was the first of the Triat to gain intelligence. Whether that intelligence drove her mad or is a product of her madness is unknown.
  The Weaver is now powerful beyond her station. Stagnation and decay have replaced the ancient balance of pattern and chaos. When her Webs are finished, all the Tellurian will be bound in rigid, motionless, changeless strands.

The Wyrm

  The Wyrm is the third and last force in the Triat. It was once the restorer of balance, bringing harmony where there was none and ensuring that neither the order of the Weaver: nor the chaos of the Wyld prevailed throughout reality. Suspended between Chaos below and the Pattern Web above, the Wyrm removed all that was not harmonious.
  Then the Wyrm became ensnared in the Pattern Web. By looking into the madness of the Weaver's Web, it gained sentience and became trapped in the Weaver's deadly apocalyptic game. The Wyrm fractured into three personalities, and it is not always able to coordinate its actions as a result.
  Where the Wyrm was once the bringer of harmony, it is now the harbinger of the Apocalypse, spawning entropy, decay and corruption. Unable to destroy overtly and honorably, it destroys from within. Scholars say that it wears three heads — Beast-of-War, the Wyrm of Destruction; Eater-of-Souls, the Wyrm of Consumption; and the Defiler Wyrm, the Wyrm of Violation. It destroys all those weak enough in spirit to succumb to the temptations of hatred and envy. Even its base desires are powerful enough to take on forms of their own, becoming the powerful Urge Wyrms of Hate, Lust, Fear and other dread sentiments. With so many heads, the Wyrm is more hydra than serpent — and each head is all but impossible to sever.
  Some say that the Wyrm began the great imbalance by seeking to use the Weaver to calcify the Wyld into nothing, thereby freeing the Wyrm to destroy all of creation. Now the Wyrm is caught in its own trap — a tribute to the perils of greed.
  The Wyrm's Urges and spawn have found many beings weak enough to surrender to corruption, so it now has many servants. Because its decay is in all things, its servitors may whisper to the dark places inside all intelligent creatures. Its disease spreads thus in the physical and spirit worlds, where it has won many battles and conquered many Realms.
  Werewolves have traveled to the Realms of the Wyrm — places that blind destruction has left utterly devoid of Gaia. Those who dwell there are enslaved or destroyed by the most wicked of Banes and Incarnae. If the Wyrm has its way, the entire world will be remade thus until all is destroyed.

Celestines

  Below the Trial on the cosmological totem pole lie the Celestines. The greatest of the Celestines are Luna, the spirit of the Moon, and Helios, the spirit of the Sun. Gaia's most directly comprehensible manifestation is a Celestine form, although some say that this spirit is merely the Celestine of the planet Earth. Theurges claim that Her true form is so much larger than the Triat as to be completely unknowable by any means other than the transcendent bliss of mystical union. Other Celestines are powerful servitors of the Triat, but their forms are all but unknown to the Garou. They are sentient and highly intelligent. Most Celestines abide in Realms of their own design, in which they are omnipotent and omniscient. Only Incarnae usually visit them.
  Celestines sometimes send avatars to communicate with werewolves. These avatars are aspects of themselves that lesser beings can comprehend and interact with. They contain a small amount of the Celestine's power and Essence, although even this sliver of power still makes them among the mightiest beings in the Umbra. The true from of a Celestine is unimaginable. It is only through an avatar that communication between them and lesser beings can take place.
  To create an avatar, the Celestine wills itself to appear in a finite, limited form. Because of its near-infinite nature, a Celestine may have many avatars active at one time. These avatars usually seem omnipotent and omniscient to the werewolves who encounter them.

Incarnae

  The Incarnae stand one step below the Celestines. Incarnae are minions, consorts, advisors and warriors who serve the Celestines and derive power from their patrons. A few have their own Domains, but moast dwell in the Realms of the Celestines. These powerful spirits define a purpose and have a specific area of influence. Most of these spirits believe that they have the potential to become Celestines.
  Totem spirits are the Incarnae most familiar to werewolves. They guide tribes, septs and packs of werewolves. These servants of Gaia create avatars to communicate and interact with the Garou. Pack totems are totem avatars. Totem avatars resemble Jagglings in form and powers.
  While an Incarna is significantly less powerful than a Crffestine, it is still immensely potent and vast, existing on many levels. One can usually hope to interact with only the avatar of an Incarna, although Theurges tell legends of great seers who encountered Incarnae in the Umbra and came away with a truer understanding of power.

Jagglings

  Most of the dangerous spirits that werewolves fight in the Umbra are Jagglings. These spirits include such monstrosities as large Pattern Spiders, Vortices and Nexus Crawlers. Most Jagglings serve an Incarna, but a few obey Celestines directly. They are formed from a part of the spiritual essence of their patron, and Jagglings are quite loyal as a result. Some develop (or are given) free will by their patron. A few Jagglings can create Gafflings, just as Incarnae created them. Some Jagglings teach Gifts to Garou, while others, such as Englings, can provide an entire sept with Gnosis.

Gafflings

  At the bottom of the spiritual hierarchy are Gafflings. These spirits are semi-sentient servants of Jagglings. Their masters use them as tools and are willing to sacrifice them for the greater good. Gafflings remain in constant communication with their patron, and their patron sometimes assumes complete control over them. Many of them feel most "whole" when they allow their patron to dominate them. They are completely loyal to their masters.
  Some Gafflings are fully intelligent, but they are the exceptions, and their existence is often the work of mysterious higher forces.

Spirit Traits

  Spirits don't normally have Attributes or Abilities like physical creatures. They possess them only if they appear in the physical world. Instead, spirits simply use Willpower, Rage and Gnosis to determine whether they succeed or fail in actions. They also have Charms, which give them different powers. Instead of health levels, they have an Essence rating that is the sum of their Willpower, Rage and Gnosis. Traits work differently for spirits than werewolves. For example, spending points of Rage won't let spirits take extra actions. Spending a point of Willpower won't give the spirit an extra success. The way these Traits work for spirits is detailed here.

Willpower

  For a spirit, Willpower provides coordination and self-control over thought and form. Willpower allows a spirit to take "physical" actions, such as attempting to strike an enemy, racing after another spirit or flying through the Umbra. The spirit also uses its Willpower to resist damage, and it may soak most attacks with it. Almost every spirit possesses the ability to "soak" damage to some degree, although those with the Armor Charm are more resistant. As a rule of thumb, if an action would involve Dexterity or Stamina for a physical creature, spirits should use Willpower. Standard difficulty numbers for spirit actions include:

Difficulty	Action
3	easy action
5	fairly simple action
6	normal action
8	difficult action
10	virtually impossible action

Rage

  Some spirits refer to Rage as "the fire within." Rage is like a hunger for the spirit, a desire to survive and live. Spirits attack others with their Rage, using it to sharpen their teeth or claws, or to power a more mystical attack. After a spirit uses Willpower to hit its opponent, it uses Rage to determine damage. Rage works like the Strength Attribute for most actions.
  Rage also determines the difficulty to harm a spirit. If a werewolf strikes a spirit, her difficulty for damage rolls equals the spirit's Rage. This difficulty is normally not modified, although the Storyteller has final say, as always.

Gnosis

  This Trait measures a spirit's cosmic awareness. Spirits use Gnosis for all Social and Mental rolls. For instance, a riddle contest with a spirit could be resolved using the questioner's Wits + Enigmas resisted by the spirit's Gnosis; whoever scores the most successes wins. Likewise, a spirit would roll its Gnosis when trying to intimidate, scare or fool a target.
  High Gnosis usually aids with Charms, as well.

Essence

  Essence measures a spirit's survivability. It is a sum generally equal to the spirit's Rage, Gnosis, and Willpower (although a Storyteller may adjust Essence up or down to tailor spirits to his liking). As a spirit takes damage, it loses points of Essence. When a spirit loses all of its Essence, it "dies" by fading slowly into the Umbra. Werewolves can bind spirits stripped of their Essence into fetishes or harvest Gnosis from them, bringing them to a permanent end. Otherwise, the spirit slips into a state called Slumber, where it rebuilds its Essence before reappearing elsewhere in the Umbra.

Incarnae and Beyond

  Some spirits, such as tribal totems, Incarnae and Celestines, have power beyond understanding. They may take forms with Attributes and Abilities, but these forms are only shadows of their true magnitude. Storytellers should break with game mechanics to fit the whims of these beings. To challenge one of these greater spirits, Garou will have to use more than brute force. Ancient lore may guide them on quests or lead them to forgotten artifacts with the power to harm these beings. This is why the war for the Apocalypse will not be won so easily. It would be easier to extinguish the sun than to slay the Wyrm itself.

Charms

  Charms work in a similar fashion to Gifts. Most Charms last for one scene, but, combat-oriented Charms last one turn per use. According to some Garou traditions, every Charm has a corresponding Gift that a werewolf can learn. Spirits have even been said to promise to teach Charm-like Gifts in exchange for services from Garou.
  The following list serves as a guideline for Storytellers. It should be a starting point for the magical abilities of spirits in chronicles. Many Charms have similar game mechanics but appear in different forms. For example, Blast could appear as thorns shooting through the air if used by a nature spirit, while an electrical spirit would probably blast its opponents with lightning. Be creative and have fun.

Common Charms

  Storytellers and players may assume that any spirit has these Charms. If a spirit does not have one of these abilities, either it has been weakened, or it is the subject of a punishment from its patrons.
  • Airt Sense: Most spirits have a natural sense of the airts (directions) of the spirit world, and they are able to travel about without much difficulty. They can create or find spirit tracks at will. The Storyteller rolls Gnosis for a spirit to locate a particular place or individual in the Umbra. However, even spirits aren't infallible, and a botch can lead them to an unforgiving Realm (especially if they are leading a pack of werewolves).
  • Materialize: This Charm lets a spirit take physical form on Earth. The spirit must have a Gnosis score equal to or greater than the area's Gauntlet rating. A spirit's physical form appears just as the spirit appears in the Umbra. The spirit's Gnosis rating is used for all Social and Mental rolls. Stamina and Dexterity rolls use the spirit's Willpower as a dice pool. Strength uses Rage. All rules for spirit Traits in the Umbra apply to the physical world. Materialized spirits don't have Abilities, but their dice pools are assumed to take the spirit's knowledge into account. In some circumstances, such as a toad-spirit trying to program a computer, the Storyteller should divide the spirit's dice pool in half and raise the difficulty numbers to reflect the spirit's lack of knowledge. Materialized spirit forms do possess health levels like most physical creatures. Spirits usually have seven health levels, but the Storyteller may make exceptions for things like elephant-spirits or particularly monstrous Banes. If a spirit "dies" in the Material world, it enters Slumber automatically upon its return to the Umbra. Many spirits will not use this Charm except in extraordinary circumstances. The modern world is far from welcoming to their kind.
  • Realm Sense: The spirit can sense all that transpires in its Domain both in the Umbra and on Earth, although it still requires successful Gnosis rolls for specific perceptions. This Charm is usually associated with Naturae, woodland spirits of Gaia, but most spirits bound to an area possess this ability. Free-floating spirits without direct ties to Earth may have this Charm, but with the abilities to sense only their dens in the Near-Umbral Realms or home Domains.
  • Re-form: Spirits may dissolve their forms and transport themselves through the Umbra to their home Domains. Glass Walkers refer to this Charm as "re-spawning." It takes a spirit a full turn to try to re-form. The Storyteller must roll the spirit's Gnosis successfully for this Charm to succeed. Spirits use this Charm to flee their enemies.

Specialty Charms

  The following are examples of Charms that a variety of different spirits possess.
  • Armor: This Charm grants a spirit a measure of protection. By expending two points of Essence, the spirit gains a soak pool equal to its Gnosis for the remainder of the scene.
  • Blast: This Charm allows the spirit to direct its Rage at opponents from a distance. Depending on the spirit, this effect may take different forms. Some spirits send bursts of fire at their targets, while others use glass, lightning and even swarms of insects. The spirit causes its Rage in dice of aggravated damage; no roll to hit is required. However, this attack drains a point of Essence from the spirit.
  • Cleanse the Blight: This Charm is similar to the Rite of Cleansing, in that it purges spiritual corruption in its vicinity. The Storyteller must roll the spirit's Gnosis at a difficulty determined by the strength of the Blight. Most spirits have a limit to this Charm, such as only being able to cleanse woods for example.
  • Control Electrical Systems: The spirit can exert control over an electrical system. The Storyteller rolls the spirit's Gnosis (difficulty from 3 to 9 depending on the system's complexity). This Charm can allow the spirit to overload a system, shut it down or manipulate it. For example, it may use a security system to open some doors and lock others.
  • Create Fires: With a successful Gnosis roll, the spirit can create small fires. The difficulty varies (from 3 for small fires to 9 for conflagrations). The fires must have fuel in order to keep burning.
  • Create Wind: The spirit can create wind effects. The Storyteller rolls the spirit's Gnosis. The difficulty varies - from 2 for a breeze to 10 for a tornado.
  • Flood: The spirit can cause all the waters in a given area to rise rapidly, causing flooding. Doing so requires losing a point of Essence.
  • Freeze: The spirit can lower the temperature drastically in the immediate area. The spirit loses a point of Rage for the remainder of the scene, but everyone in the area of effect suffers the spirit's newly reduced Rage in dice of aggravated damage automatically. Using this Charm may have additional effects at the Storyteller's discretion. Some fire-spirits have similar abilities involving flame that are more powerful than the Create Fires Charm.
  • Healing: This Charm allows a spirit to heal physical beings (such as Garou). A spirit can heal up to its Gnosis in health levels of damage. So, a spirit with 5 Gnosis can restore five health levels. The Storyteller rolls the spirit's Gnosis against a difficulty of 6 for regular damage and 8 for aggravated damage. This Charm can be used only once per scene per target.
  • Open Moon Bridge: Creates a moon bridge to a desired location. A spirit using this Charm regardless of whether there is a caern present. The moon bridge extends a total distance of 1000 miles.
  • Peek: Spirits with this Charm are able to peek at will from the Penumbra to the physical world, no matter where they may be. This Charm is common among nomadic spirits with no Domain of their own.
  • Shapeshift: The spirit may take the form of anything it desires. It gains only the form and visage of its new shape, not its powers or abilities. If the spirit wishes to appear as a specific individual, the Storyteller must roll its Willpower to determine how successful it is.
  • Shatter Glass: The spirit can cause all glass in the vicinity to break (Gnosis: difficulty 6). This charm may cause incidental damage as well.
  • Short Out: The spirit can cause electrical systems to short out (Gnosis: difficulty 6). This Charm is a more limited version of the Control Electrical Systems Charm.
  • Swift Flight: The spirit with this Charm can outdistance most pursuers easily, flying through the Umbra at triple speed. Its maximum movement per turn is [60 + (Willpower x 3)] yards.
  • Tracking: The spirit can track its prey unerringly. This Charm is not easy to use, and the spirit must lose a point of Essence to activate it.
  • Umbraquake: The spirit can cause the Umbra to shake with such force that all those standing are thrown to the ground. Everyone within the radius suffers bashing damage from the spiritual concussion equal to half the spirit's Rage roll, rounded up.
  • Updraft: The spirit can lift a human-sized creature into the air, but doing so requires a successful Willpower roll.

Bane Charms

  The Wyrm grants these Charms to its minions. Beings allied to Gaia, including most werewolves, cannot (and would not) learn Gifts related to these Charms.
  • Blighted Touch: The spirit can deliver a blight unto a target. If the spirit attacks successfully, the target's player must make a Willpower roll immediately. If she fails, her negative characteristics dominate her personality for the next few hours. A botch on the Willpower roll causes the blight of personality to become permanent.
  • Corruption: The spirit can whisper an evil suggestion in a target's ear, and the target is inclined to act upon that thought. The Storyteller rolls the spirit's Gnosis against a difficulty equal to the target's Willpower. This Gift can be used across the Gauntlet.
  • Incite Frenzy: The spirit can cause a Garou to enter frenzy. Roll the spirit's Rage against a difficulty of the target's Willpower. All normal frenzy rules apply.
  • Possession: The spirit (usually a Bane) may possess a living being or inanimate object. Possession requires a successful Gnosis roll (difficulty of the victim's Willpower). The number of successes equals the speed with which possession occurs as per the following chart:

Successes	Time Taken
1	six hours
2	three hours
3	one hour
4	15 minutes
5	five minutes
6+	nstantaneous

  During the time it takes to possess its victim, the spirit will find a dark, isolated part of the Umbra (usually a Blight) and remain there, concentrating on the possession. During this time, the spirit can take no other action. If it engages in spirit combat, the possessive link is broken. Others of their kind often guard possessing spirits, in order to ensure that the possession process continues undisturbed.
  A spirit that has possessed a victim is able to manifest certain characteristics and abilities through the vessel of the victim's body. Such hapless humans are known as fomori (see Chapter Nine). This relationship is permanent — as long as the human host lives, that is.

Weaver Charms

  These Charms are granted to spirits by the Weaver. They involve spinning and strengthening the Pattern Web. Spirits with these Charms may also use their Airt Sense to navigate the Pattern Web.
  • Calcify: This Charm allows the spirit to bind a target into the Pattern Web. The Storyteller rolls the spirit's Willpower against the target's Rage. Each success subtracts one dot from the victim's Physical Attributes (or Essence in the case of spirits). When the target's Essence or Attributes drop to zero, the victim is bound fast into the Pattern Web until freed. Werewolves can usually be freed from the Pattern Web by their packmates with a solid bit of effort. Spirits are more difficult to release, but Wyld energy should dissolve the Pattern Web.
  • Solidify Reality: This Charm enables the Weaver spirit to spin the Pattern Web, thus reinforcing the laws and rules of the Weaver upon aspects of the Umbra. The power requires only a Willpower roll. Each success makes the object or spirit more solid, increasing its Essence or effective health levels by one per success. The effect lasts for about a day. This Charm can be performed on a target only once, until the effects wear off. Even different Weaver spirits cannot perform this Charm multiple times on the same target. Many times, Pattern Spiders will perform this Charm on each other before entering combat.
  • Spirit Static: The spirit may raise the Gauntlet in a given area by one. Spirits working in conjunction with each other may raise the Gauntlet rating by a maximum of three. A spirit must stay in the area to keep emitting the spirit static. While it is distracted, all of the spirit's dice pools drop by two.

Wyld Charms

  • Break Reality: With a successful Gnosis roll, the spirit can disrupt the reality of a substance, and thereby modify its Umbral form. For example, the spirit could create a door in a wall, enabling the spirit to pass through. The extent of the attempted change and how interesting, sensible and clever the action is determine the difficulty. The number of successes obtained determines how much change is actually accomplished. A failure with this Charm causes the spirit to lose a point of Essence. A botch on this roll is extremely harmful, and it causes the spirit to lose a Gnosis point as well.
  • Disorient: The spirit may alter landmarks and directions completely with a successful Gnosis roll (difficulty 6 or the Gauntlet rating whichever is higher).

Slumber

  When a spirit is low on Essence, it begins to look translucent, as if it is not fully there. Spirits replenish their Essence by entering a completely inactive state called Slumber. During this time, the spirit finds a secluded spot in the Umbra and floats there, entering a deep sleep. Some believe that spirits may go to a dream world of their own far in the Deep Umbra.
  When a spirit is in Slumber, it may be bound easily through the use of a rite, regardless of its willingness. When a spirit is bound into a fetish, it enters Slumber automatically and stays in that state until released. The user activates the fetish's powers, not the spirit. A newly created fetish will not work until the spirit has regained its Essence (which can take a long time for the more powerful spirits).

Movement

  All spirits can fly (and float) in the Umbra. The maximum distance (in yards) they can move in a turn is 20 plus Willpower.
  The Umbra is not always a strict geographical reflection of the physical world; sometimes yards and feet just don't add up in the spirit world. The Storyteller is free to warp distances as she pleases when running stories in the Umbra. However, the Penumbra (the zone directly surrounding physical reality) does maintain distances analogous to the physical world, so one yard always equals one yard.

Communication

  Spirits speak a different tongue than physical beings do. Spirit communication is not so much a language as a sharing of feelings and thoughts, an understanding by both parties of the other's intent. Not everyone can understand spirits; the Gift: Spirit Speech is requited to speak with and understand spirits.
  Spirits allied to the Garou (such as a tribal totem's Jagglings or Gafflings) may speak the tongue of the Garou if they choose. Likewise, many other spirits also know human or Garou tongues. Unless these spirits chose to speak so a Garou can understand, the Garou must have the proper Gift to speak to them. Gifts that allow control over or interaction with spirits do not require the user to understand spirit speech or that the spirits understand the user. For example, the Gift: Command Spirit works magically, regardless of what the commander actually says.

Fetishes

  Garou can bind spirits into appropriately prepared vessels called fetishes. The owner of a fetish can invoke the spirit within to perform a specific task. The powers a fetish grants depend largely on the nature of the spirit within. The multitude of spirits within the Tellurian ensures that fetishes of almost any type imaginable are possible. Werewolves hold fetishes in great reverence, treating them with the utmost honor — such are the terms of the Pact, which binds spirits to serve the Garou only as long as the Garou honor the spirits in turn. Of course, the servants of the Wyrm are able to bind Banes into revolting fetishes of their own...
  Most fetish vessels are made from natural materials such as wood and clay, although the fetishes of the Glass Walkers are often made from technological objects. Similarly, most fetishes are portable. (They'd be of little use otherwise.) Many are adorned with feathers, beads, braids and carvings depicting the spirit contained within, which is a practice meant to honor the spirit inside. Some are actually weapons, from simple spears or arrows to the majestic silver klaives.
  All fetishes are created through the Rite of the Fetish. Such creation almost always involves a willing spirit. However, certain mystics bind spirits into fetishes permanently, against the will of the spirit. These fetishes are almost always rebellious, and the Garou consider them cursed.
  To use a fetish, a character must first attune herself to it by making a Gnosis roll. Attunement effectively binds the fetish to the wielder, creating a spiritual bond that enables the wielder to take the fetish anywhere in the Tellurian and provides empathic knowledge of the fetish's powers. The difficulty for this roll is the fetish's Gnosis rating. As long as the player scores a single success, the wielder may use the fetish. If the player rolls no successes, that character may not use that fetish or even attempt to attune it again until she has somehow made accord with the resident spirit (in a manner of the Storyteller's choosing). Attunement also effectively "dedicates" a fetish to its wielder, just as if the Rite of Talisman Dedication had been performed on the fetish. Since they have their own Gnosis, attuned fetishes do not count against the maximum number of objects a werewolf can have dedicated to him.
  Each time the wielder wishes to use one of her fetish's powers, the player must make a Gnosis roll (difficulty of the fetish's Gnosis rating) to "activate" the power. Alternatively, she may just spend a Gnosis point to activate the power automatically.
  In order for a Garou to create a specific kind of fetish or talen, he must first procure a spirit affiliated with the item's intent. For example, a spirit of healing would not enter afang dagger fetish or a Bane arrow talen. A spirit of war, pain or death might. Fetish spirits are almost always Gafflings.
  A list of sample fetishes appears in the Appendix.

Talens

  Talens are simpler versions of fetishes that are easier to create and use but more limited in effect. Like fetishes, talens are objects that contain spirits. They require a Gnosis roll to activate (but not to attune) — but talens can be used only once. After serving its function, a talen's spirit escapes into the Umbra, and the item loses its potency. Anyone with Gnosis may use talens. Talens are created with the Rite of Binding. A werewolf who knows this rite may cajole or even force spirits into objects, binding rather than destroying the spirit. Werewolves consider it rather less immoral to force a spirit into a talen, because the use is only temporary. A talen receives Gnosis equal to the bound spirit's Gnosis. One extra talen of the same type can be made for each additional success received on the Rite of Binding roll. For example, three successes allow the creation of three Bane arrows. Gafflings are commonly bound to make talens, however, more powerful spirits can make the creation of multiple talens easier. Use of greater spirits adds an automatic two or three extra talens to the total number as the essence of the spirit may be bound in multiple items. Once created, a talen lasts until used.
  A list of sample talens appears in the Appendix.