Feralia
This page is an index of all my Feralia logs. Feralia was a secret Strider ritual undertaken every year to cure the Striders of Harano.
1995 : 1996 : 1997 : 1998 : 1999 : 2000 : 2001 : 2002
The original WtA reference for Feralia didn’t give many details, so Anubis and I had a “House Rules” version that took what the book said and extrapolated:
(1) Striders would meet secretly at a Painted Stone and share signs of the Apocalypse, (2) we would leap into the Dark Umbra and be chased by shadows of our own selves that we had to outrun, (3) spirits of the dead (not Striders, but kin or others) might send us visions and warnings, and (4) by running all the way around the world, jumping successive Painted Stones, we would leave behind the darkness in our own hearts and have strength to face the new year.
In 1998, I tracked down the write-up of Feralia in the Storyteller’s Guide, p. 45:
Feralia (Level 4) Tribe: Silent Striders Time: February 13 Variously known as Feralia and The Dead Time, February 13th is a date of great importance to the Silent Striders of the world. The reason this rite always takes place on the 13th of February is lost even to the Silent Striders, or so they claim. Regardless, Feralia is a solemn and important rite, one that all Striders take part in, save perhaps those deepest in the throes of Harano or under bans of some sort. Even the Eaters of the Dead participate (although their versions of the rite may be slightly different; some Striders have reported finding “burnt out” Painting Stones they believe were used by the Eaters). If members of a Silent Strider sept or pack know of a fellow Strider suffering from Harano, they will normally do all within their power to convince the suffering Garou to participate in the rite, for it has been known to cure the Harano-stricken. Throughout The Dead Time, Silent Striders gather at places across Gaia wherever the objects known as Painting Stones are located. Other tribes are unsure how the Silent Striders know where to locate such stones when traveling in a foreign area, but it is rumored that the wandering Striders sniff out the powerful stones in the Penumbra. Painting Stones are not named for any marks they bear throughout the year; the name instead describes part of the Feralia rite. At exactly the middle of the night, the designated ritemaster walks silently up to the Painting Stone and traces the symbol of the Silent Striders on the stone.The tracing may be in mud, berry juice, blood or any other natural substance. As she finishes, the ritemaster quietly names one of the signs of the coming Apocalypse that she has learned during her life, and she then says whether she has seen evidence of this sign since the last Dead Time. In turn, each Strider present paints the symbol and speaks of a sign and returns to her place in the pack. When all have spoken and placed their mark on the Painting Stone, the ritemaster rises and circles the stone three times counterclockwise. She then leaps over the Painting Stone, passing into the Dark Umbra, the Umbra of the dead, at the top of the arc. The other Striders follow in turn. Within the Dark Umbra the Striders are met by members of their departed kinfolk, who whisper pieces of prophecies and knowledge to their living relations. Throughout this time the Striders run westward, ever moving as they listen to the wisdom of their Kin. It is said that as long as they keep running, they are protected from the wraiths. Should a Strider falter, though, even for an instant, she may become trapped in the Dark Umbra of souls, perhaps forever. The Striders continue running and listening to the whispers until they see a gleaming rock in front of them. Leaping over this new stone, the Garou find themselves at another of the Painting Stones, just as any Garou there are leaping into the Dark Umbra. This unexplained phenomenon can result in an odd sight in the physical world, as one Garou leaps upward only to have an entirely different Garou complete the leap. The rite sweeps westward with the night until all participants have completed their leaps. The Striders often learn much from their time among the dead; however, the information is always fragmented and unclear, and the Striders spend much time attempting to determine its exact meaning and import. System: The base difficulty for this roll is 7, but there are only a few Painting Stones within the area of a caern, so ritemasters are usually on their own. Failure indicates the ritemaster does not manage to open the gate between the physical world and the Dark Umbra. This results in a loss of Honor (3 points) for the ritemaster. A botch indicates that the ritemaster loses her footing in the Dark Umbra and may well become lost (by failing a second roll).