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Post by Azaelia on Dec 26, 2022 12:37:26 GMT -8
A tropical jungle-island pack ran by female warriors will be debuting on TPR in January-February. Wolves of all genders arrived here long ago to establish a traditional pack unaware of the challenges they'd face, and over time the ways of the land dominated the lifestyle these wolves once knew. A collective awareness was required to overcome the immense storms that struck the island and to outsmart the predators and prey that thrived naturally in this exceptional environment, but no such unity was possible as long as the dominating males adhered to their egoic customs.
But their feminine counterparts knew better. They knew that the way through the land was to marry it willingly, not to overpower it. The land spoke to them in ways it didn't speak to their leaders, and a pattern emerged the more this dichotomy continued. Those who cared more for their power than for their home would perish. And so, through all the efforts of the leaders of old, every male was wiped out; either by their own doing, or the will of the land, which had become married to the will of the women.
Not every detail has been decided, but after your discussions and brainstorming on Discord, I have a general outline below. Please go through it, comment, and share ideas if anything should be changed or added on.
• Vote on a name
• Decide on images and find more - will do write-ups after we find pics
• Approve, change or add ranks
• Come up with specific activities and rituals for ceremonies
IMAGE GUIDE
these aren't official images, just a guide for finding images to get an idea of terrain
but if you do think one of these should be used, comment with the number and category!
1. i.imgur.com/xPoXtyE.jpgthese aren't official images, just a guide for finding images to get an idea of terrain
but if you do think one of these should be used, comment with the number and category!
Landscape
1. w0.peakpx.com/wallpaper/340/850/HD-wallpaper-kalalau-valley-view-kauai-hawaii-polynesia-jurassic-canyon-sea-valley-trail-polynesian-kalalau-islands-view-ocean-hawaii-pacific-vista-na-pali-mountains-coastline-island-kauai-hawaiian.jpg
2. www.itl.cat/pngfile/big/100-1002459_faroe-islands-wallpaper.jpg
3. lp-cms-production.imgix.net/2022-01/Iceland-Westfjord-Jan-Jerman-shutterstock_1879846174-RFC.jpg?auto=format&w=3840&q=75
4. www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/Travel/2018/September/laos.jpg
Terrain
1. wallpaperaccess.com/full/1286260.jpg
2. www.capturelandscapes.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Fallen-e1499694482182.jpg
3. www.wallmur.com/media/catalog/pdata/cache/1/crop_image/1100x/040ec0/s/s/tropical-forest-jungle-scenery-wallpaper-mural-wm-329365624ss-41484116.jpg
4. m.media-amazon.com/images/I/711h8Uyw5iL.jpg
Water Features
1. w0.peakpx.com/wallpaper/340/850/HD-wallpaper-kalalau-valley-view-kauai-hawaii-polynesia-jurassic-canyon-sea-valley-trail-polynesian-kalalau-islands-view-ocean-hawaii-pacific-vista-na-pali-mountains-coastline-island-kauai-hawaiian.jpg
2. www.itl.cat/pngfile/big/100-1002459_faroe-islands-wallpaper.jpg
3. lp-cms-production.imgix.net/2022-01/Iceland-Westfjord-Jan-Jerman-shutterstock_1879846174-RFC.jpg?auto=format&w=3840&q=75
4. www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/Travel/2018/September/laos.jpg
Terrain
1. wallpaperaccess.com/full/1286260.jpg
2. www.capturelandscapes.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Fallen-e1499694482182.jpg
3. www.wallmur.com/media/catalog/pdata/cache/1/crop_image/1100x/040ec0/s/s/tropical-forest-jungle-scenery-wallpaper-mural-wm-329365624ss-41484116.jpg
4. m.media-amazon.com/images/I/711h8Uyw5iL.jpg
Water Features
2. img.freepik.com/premium-photo/beautiful-waterfall-tropical-jungle-forest-with-big-green-tree-emerald-lake-foreground-nature-landscape-erawan-national-park-kanchanaburi-thailand_104337-8108.jpg?w=2000
3. t4.ftcdn.net/jpg/03/71/34/97/360_F_371349763_3hoDDzt6tW6Qdo0S0A54REo0i4pZ6iBz.jpg
4. i.pinimg.com/originals/5e/44/8c/5e448cefe8ca5dc5d5870e2438bef2b3.jpg
5. i.imgur.com/WYgxsks.jpeg (from Ren)
RANKS
There is no one leader. All wolves take on duties and adhere to them with the unified objective to protect, serve and honor their family and the spirit of the island. However, to ensure safety and order, there are some individuals who act as leads or guides pertaining to certain activities that are imperative for the survival of pack life and culture.
There is no one leader. All wolves take on duties and adhere to them with the unified objective to protect, serve and honor their family and the spirit of the island. However, to ensure safety and order, there are some individuals who act as leads or guides pertaining to certain activities that are imperative for the survival of pack life and culture.
Shamans
There isn't a single leader of this pack, however, there is a highly respected Shaman (or group of Shamans) as the spiritual head(s) of the pack. Everybody in the pack views the island as a sort of divine organism and everything that inhabits it shares a single spirit, and Shamans are able to divine certain messages from that spirit and interpret them for the pack in special ways (dreams, visions, intuition, auras, etc... i will make a post on this). Thus, a Shaman is the character others look to when they need help making decisions, exercising negative emotions out of their bodies and minds, or seeking general guidance or advice.
Healers
Healers, while they don't have access to the divine, work with Shamans to learn how to heal bodies and minds using herbal remedies along with physical and emotional therapies such as counseling or chiropractic release. Healers of the island believe that one of the key ingredients for healing a wound is first healing the mind. Sometimes, a healer may refer a wolf to a Shaman if the spiritual wound is greater than the physical wound.
Atawa
The Atawa is the "sentinel." This wolf has dedicated their life to studying geologic processes and the biology of the island in order to effectively predict weather and other terrain challenges so that they can safely guide scouts and hunting parties across this difficult landscape. This rank is an informant to the pack and offers logistical advice when needed.
Scouts
With the guidance of Atawa, scouts survey the territory and work to relocate the pack out of harm's way when turbulent weather approaches or other threats arrive. They are the first-responders and both intellectual and physical talents to navigate various island challenges.
Orion
This rank has dedicated their life to studying animal behavior to effectively predict the movement of predator and prey. With the ability to track any animal down based on bitemakrs, footprints, dung shape, scents, and more, this wolf leads hunting parties to success. In addition, Orion can effectively and safely mitigate dangerous predators thanks to their hard-earned knowledge of predator behavior. They may also be able to identify what kind of venom/poison has inflicted a packmate and properly refer them to a healer.
Hunters
Most everyone participates in hunting, but there are a handful of wolves who are dedicated to this task in conditions that prevent the whole from participating, including weather, illness, rituals and anything else.
Rohara
The Rohara is the most skilled warrior. When Orion has identified a dangerous predator that cannot be warded off nonviolently, the Rohara is employed to lead a battle against it along with his warriors. Rohara also confronts canid threats that arrive at the borders.
Warriors
With the guidance of Rohara, warriors go to battle against the large predators of the island when necessary. Although it is uncommon for wolves to arrive at the borders, warriors are tasked with guarding the territory's outskirts and determining whether Rohara or Atawa should be summoned for initial council upon meeting new wolves.
There isn't a single leader of this pack, however, there is a highly respected Shaman (or group of Shamans) as the spiritual head(s) of the pack. Everybody in the pack views the island as a sort of divine organism and everything that inhabits it shares a single spirit, and Shamans are able to divine certain messages from that spirit and interpret them for the pack in special ways (dreams, visions, intuition, auras, etc... i will make a post on this). Thus, a Shaman is the character others look to when they need help making decisions, exercising negative emotions out of their bodies and minds, or seeking general guidance or advice.
Healers
Healers, while they don't have access to the divine, work with Shamans to learn how to heal bodies and minds using herbal remedies along with physical and emotional therapies such as counseling or chiropractic release. Healers of the island believe that one of the key ingredients for healing a wound is first healing the mind. Sometimes, a healer may refer a wolf to a Shaman if the spiritual wound is greater than the physical wound.
Atawa
The Atawa is the "sentinel." This wolf has dedicated their life to studying geologic processes and the biology of the island in order to effectively predict weather and other terrain challenges so that they can safely guide scouts and hunting parties across this difficult landscape. This rank is an informant to the pack and offers logistical advice when needed.
Scouts
With the guidance of Atawa, scouts survey the territory and work to relocate the pack out of harm's way when turbulent weather approaches or other threats arrive. They are the first-responders and both intellectual and physical talents to navigate various island challenges.
Orion
This rank has dedicated their life to studying animal behavior to effectively predict the movement of predator and prey. With the ability to track any animal down based on bitemakrs, footprints, dung shape, scents, and more, this wolf leads hunting parties to success. In addition, Orion can effectively and safely mitigate dangerous predators thanks to their hard-earned knowledge of predator behavior. They may also be able to identify what kind of venom/poison has inflicted a packmate and properly refer them to a healer.
Hunters
Most everyone participates in hunting, but there are a handful of wolves who are dedicated to this task in conditions that prevent the whole from participating, including weather, illness, rituals and anything else.
Rohara
The Rohara is the most skilled warrior. When Orion has identified a dangerous predator that cannot be warded off nonviolently, the Rohara is employed to lead a battle against it along with his warriors. Rohara also confronts canid threats that arrive at the borders.
Warriors
With the guidance of Rohara, warriors go to battle against the large predators of the island when necessary. Although it is uncommon for wolves to arrive at the borders, warriors are tasked with guarding the territory's outskirts and determining whether Rohara or Atawa should be summoned for initial council upon meeting new wolves.
SPIRITUALITY
As mentioned, this pack shares reverence towards a singular spirit that they believe lives in the island. It's the spirit of nature itself and shouldn't be considered god or or deity. It's something born into every living thing and is therefore considered a natural function of the earth, though there is an understanding that this spirit can penetrate the intangible aspects of nature, including the soul, but only Shamans are able to directly receive information through this funnel of divine energy.
Virtues
The generally understood commandments are expressed through a collective awareness, wherein all packmates understand that the whole is greater than each individual wolf and no one has any inherent power over another, including Shamans, who must dedicate their entire consciousness to honoring the spirit so as not to anger it. Angering the spirit through violence, hatred, arrogance or greed is believed to cause natural disasters, famine, diseases of the mind and body, and other spiritual ailments (this is how all the males disappeared). Thus, when prey is scarce, for example, the pack searches for answers in somebody's unfaithfulness.
In benevolence, though, achieving collective awareness by uniformly following spiritual virtues rewards the land with food, clear skies, clean water, healthy minds and healthy bodies. The happiness of the pack and overall wellbeing reflects how strong their faith is.
Ceremonies
Ceremonies serve two main cultural purposes. One, to express continued faith towards the spirit to receive abundance and good fortune. Two, to express social customs such as mourning, celebrating, and greeting. I brought a lot of this in from the Google Doc.
Possible Ceremonies
• Transition between seasons
- Fasting, for good fortune of abundance next season
• Death ceremonies
- Burying the body with plants and animals in a sacred place
• A day to honor the dead
- Wolves honor spirits of the dead
- Shamans commune with dead and relay messages to family
• Initiation ceremonies for newcomers
- need ideas
• Coming of age ceremonies
- Be baptized by the Shaman(s) and receive divination for a rank
• Trial ceremonies for males
- Cross the bridge and make it back
- more ideas
• Courting ceremonies
- Bathe together in the jungle lake
- Test fidelity by embarking on some kind of journey together
• Fertility ceremonies
- Flower festival
• Healing ceremonies
- Supaya, a ritual where the Shaman exercises "demons" (negative emotions, spiritual/physical ailments) out of a wolf's body in front of everyone
- Packmates empathetically share emotions with the ailed to help relieve their pain
- a cry fest! (have you seen Midsommer? lol)
Virtues
The generally understood commandments are expressed through a collective awareness, wherein all packmates understand that the whole is greater than each individual wolf and no one has any inherent power over another, including Shamans, who must dedicate their entire consciousness to honoring the spirit so as not to anger it. Angering the spirit through violence, hatred, arrogance or greed is believed to cause natural disasters, famine, diseases of the mind and body, and other spiritual ailments (this is how all the males disappeared). Thus, when prey is scarce, for example, the pack searches for answers in somebody's unfaithfulness.
In benevolence, though, achieving collective awareness by uniformly following spiritual virtues rewards the land with food, clear skies, clean water, healthy minds and healthy bodies. The happiness of the pack and overall wellbeing reflects how strong their faith is.
Ceremonies
Ceremonies serve two main cultural purposes. One, to express continued faith towards the spirit to receive abundance and good fortune. Two, to express social customs such as mourning, celebrating, and greeting. I brought a lot of this in from the Google Doc.
Possible Ceremonies
• Transition between seasons
- Fasting, for good fortune of abundance next season
• Death ceremonies
- Burying the body with plants and animals in a sacred place
• A day to honor the dead
- Wolves honor spirits of the dead
- Shamans commune with dead and relay messages to family
• Initiation ceremonies for newcomers
- need ideas
• Coming of age ceremonies
- Be baptized by the Shaman(s) and receive divination for a rank
• Trial ceremonies for males
- Cross the bridge and make it back
- more ideas
• Courting ceremonies
- Bathe together in the jungle lake
- Test fidelity by embarking on some kind of journey together
• Fertility ceremonies
- Flower festival
• Healing ceremonies
- Supaya, a ritual where the Shaman exercises "demons" (negative emotions, spiritual/physical ailments) out of a wolf's body in front of everyone
- Packmates empathetically share emotions with the ailed to help relieve their pain
- a cry fest! (have you seen Midsommer? lol)
MORE IDEAS, REQUESTS FOR CHANGES, ALL WELCOME. PLS.
