All of the True Seekers, except for Melissa, have been kept busy working on their respective challenges for achieving Rank 4. Naomi and Vilna have been working on making fetishes, Lachlan and Glenn have been busy working on their lodges for the Silver Record and their Garou lore. Naomi has taken a Garou name, Chases-The-Wyld. Chases-The-Wyld has been working on a fetish, in the form of a carved hearth-stone, that produces Flames of Hestia (heals everyone, but harms Wyrm things). Chases-The-Wyld spent most of a year in Canada, raising a new litter of pups. None of the pups are Garou. Vilna has developed a healing blanket Lachlan has made a fetish of a silver tome that contains the Silver Record. Glenn asked for and was granted permission to build a silver lodge at the Sept of Life's Promise. He has also been travelling around Australia, talking with the members of the Jindabyne Council.
Steve has been developing self-discipline and learning Kailindo at the Spirit Orrery in the Aetherial Realm. Steve received a gift from Luna for the sacrifice he made in preventing the Blood Warrior from being corrupted. It is a sliver metal harness that clamps around the stump of his arm. It forms a fully functioning arm of silvery light.
Theurges across Australia, including Naomi and Vilna, have been having ominous dreams. These have been interpreted as meaning that the remaining unattended Wyrm Beasts have broken free of their bindings, or are about to. None of the dreams have provided any useful information for finding the Beasts, or the sites of their binding. The possibility of several Wyrm Beasts on the loose is cause for great concern.
Fingal Flashing-Claws is reportedly ill, and is not expected to live much longer. This has caused speculation as to who will be the new Fianna Councilor.
Carla Grimsson has brought about the formation of a new sept at the formerly disputed Caern on the Get of Fenris/Red Talon border. The new sept is the Sept of Life's Promise. While Get of Fenris form the largest group in the new sept, it includes Black Furies and Children of Gaia. Despite offers, no Red Talons have joined the new sept.
Since the issue of the disputed Caern was resolved, their has been tension amongst the Red Talons. There have been two challenges to Mamu's position on the Council, and three to his leadership of the Shattered Wheel sept. A Garou has been killed in the process. Being an Elder (Rank 5), few Red Talons are in a position to challenge Mamu at all. Other members of the Council fear that if Mamu is deposed, the Red Talons may renew their claim to the Caern, and blood-shed will follow.
Over Barry Heaton's grave stands an umbra statue of Barry in homid tending to a fallen wolf. Barry is staunching a wound in the wolf's side. Over Georgina Quittner's g rave stands an umbral statue of Georgina in homid form, holding a complete works of Shakespeare. Over Petrov Kovalev's grave stands an umbral statue of Petrov in Crinos form rising out of the body of a fallen Black Spiral Dancer.
Despite the number of deaths, all of the packs are still viable. Kirsty Surfs-The-Train is still an outside figure in her pack and in the sept. Her pack mates make a deliberate effort to include her in all activities. A new Garou, Germaine Stolz (Homid, Galliard, Bone Gnawer), is being taught about Garou society, and will soon undergo her Rite of Passage.
With the destruction of the Black Spiral Dancer's hive and the departure of the mages, the Garou around Melbourne decided to take an organised and pro-active stance at monitoring and controlling Wyrm influence. This involves more spirit monitoring of areas not directly connected to the Caern, and greater interest in human institutions. The sept has agreed to spend more resources directly monitoring and investigating industry, as well as aiding the sept of Hidden Green in monitoring the media and the finance sector.
With Fingal Flashing-Claws' sickness, Mae Fischer has adopted a more prominent profile in Fianna buisness Australia-wide. It is assumed that she will be a contender for the Fianna position on the council when Fingal dies.
Mae Fischer attained Rank 4.
The landscape, both mundane and umbral, have changed radically, following the attack of the Wyrm Beast. The centre of the Caern is now a caldera-like chamber, open to the sky. The loss of all of the pictures and symbols in the umbral cave seemed to have no impact on the power of the Caern. This suggests that they were something other than an integral part of the Caern itself. Access to the cave is difficult in the mundane world. In the umbra, rough winding stairs have been carved out of the walls, allowing passage.
In the mundane world, the tunnel became increasingly unstable, collapsing approximately six months after the attack.
The rivalry between Ion Apostolova and Irena Sliviak has been settled for the time being. Felix sided with Ion, claiming that monitoring criminal groups was part of Ion's sept role, whereas it was distracting Irena from her pack duties. Despite what everyone imagined would happen, Irena did not challenge Ion for the role of Master of the Challenge. For now, Irena appears to be content to take a back seat.
The new agreement with the sept of Sleeping Lore to curtail Wyrm influence in Melbourne has freed up more of the sept's resources, making them better able to deal with problems that arise.
After the earlier tension that culminated in Huros leaving the sept, things have calmed down again. Commands-The-Waters held the position of Caern Warder for a time, fending off a challenge from Mark Sutherland and one from Sveta Dotashkoi. She ceded the position to a new-comer, Johann Sant (Homid, Galliard, Silver Fang, Rank 4), who has also fended off challenges for the position.
Malajimbarra attained Rank 5
Once again, the sept of Reconciliation has remained a center of calm in a sea of troubles. Only one event of note has occurred, when Huros turned up at the Caern one night, having not been seen in Australia for several months. He met with Antoinette Cloak-of-Mourning and Nicholas Andrei in private, and a long and heated exchange ensued. Huros left before dawn. No-one in Australia has claimed to have seen Huros since then.