Sept of Rippling Waters

The Caern

Tower Hill Caern, Map 89 G7

Level: 2

Gauntlet: 4

Type: Humour

Tribal Structure

Open, controlled by Fianna

Totems: Tulu the Kookaburra

Geography

Tower Hill is an extinct volcano, it's crater now filled with a lake divided in two by an irregularly shaped land bridge. Tower Hill is less than five kilometres north of the sea. The land around Tower Hill has been largely cleared for grazing, although reforestation efforts have resulted in patches of new trees on several hills. The land within the crater itself has been maintained as thick bushland. The area is lightly inhabited, with several nearby population centres.

Bawn

The Bawn of the Caern is Tower Hill itself and it's flooded crater. However, the scenic look-out on the land bridge is a popular tourist stop, so the sept is fairly tolerant of humans within the bawn, even if they are constantly monitored. For what is in essence a wilderness Caern, human habitation is fairly thick about the hill. The sept therefore makes it it's business to know what is happening for many miles around the Caern itself.

The Centre

An irregular land bridge crosses the crater lake, with a small road running in through the trees and scrub, and forming a loop near the scenic lookout. Near the scenic lookout, a small beach made up of polished black rocks faces west, surrounded by paper bark trees and low scrub. This beach is the Caern's centre.

Landmarks

The area around the Caern is unremarkable. Immediately north of Tower Hill is the small town of Koroit, to the south west is Port Fairy, while to the south east lies the larger town of Warrnambool. Many creeks and streams cris-cross the land about. Between the Caern and Warrnambool lies Kelly Swamp.

Umbrascape

The once pristine umbral bushland has been affected by the years of clearing and grazing. Scrub and undergrowth predominate, with only scattered trees to be seen. Reforestation has yet to have any umbral impact. The towns near the Caern are all quite old and have umbral presences, although the towns by and large appear as they were thirty to fifty years ago. The pollution they produce is relatively low, so that the towns in the umbra are pleasant enough places. Tower Hill in the umbra is almost identical to it's material counterpart, lacking only the road across the land bridge and the scenic lookout. However, the lake itself is a deep blue colour, and is much deeper in the umbra. At some points it appears to be bottomless, and some in the sept speculate that diving deep enough into the lake would take one through to Panagea, or some other umbral realm. The waters of the lake move in defiance of the weather in the umbra, reacting only to the power of the Caern and the laughter it produces. When Tulu is present, the waters quake and large waves pound the land. Even general good humour amongst the sept members can produce choppy waves.

History

An ancient Bunyip Caern, the Fianna gained control after the Jindabyne Council created the Gariwerd protectorate. Tower Hill was once thickly forested, but was cleared in the early 1800s for grazing, with the result that the Caern itself was threatened. The sept blames the Silver Fangs for the near-destruction of the Tower Hill environment, and have begun a reforestation campaign, using a landscape of Tower Hill (painted in 1815 by a Kinfolk) as their guide. The Silver Fangs have more than once tried to wrest control of Tower Hill from the Fianna, claiming that such an important Caern should be guarded by a more fitting tribe than "a group of Irish drunkards". After the last such attempt, in 1983, the sept complained to the Jindabyne Council who judged in their favour, much to the Silver Fangs disgust. The Tower Hill Caern is the principal Caern within the protectorate of Gariwerd.

The Sept

Although an open Caern, it's humorous nature discourages those Garou who are dour or take themselves too seriously from joining. The sept can boast 17 full members, with 11 Fianna, 5 Children of Gaia and a single Silent Strider. There is also a pack, primarily Fianna, who claim territory in the southern half of the Gariwerd protectorate, and who enjoy cordial relations with the sept.

Sept Leader: Bret Hutchinson

Caern Warder: Dana Brien

Master of the Rite: Leaps-In-The-Light

Gatekeeper: Russel Cole

Keeper of the Land: Sandra Norton

Master of the Challenge: Catherine Lie-Thrower

Packs

Spear of Tulu

Mae Fischer (Pack Leader), Retrieves-The-Stone, Gillian Battershill, Jenny Roche, Bends-The-High-Mists, Louis Ash-On-Snow

One Phone Call

Voice-That-Speaks-Last, Stephen Arcuri, Raids-The-Roost, Albert Forgione, Abina Yildirim (Pack Leader)

Garou

Bret Hutchinson

Homid, Ragabash, Fianna, Rank 4

Bret is a tall, lanky man in his early forties, his features weathered by constant exposure to the elements. He has curly brown hair, grey eyes, a large nose and an endlessly cheerful grin. Bret's responsibilities have tempered his Ragabash nature somewhat, although he is not always predictable. He lives at the Caern.

Dana Brien

Homid, Galliard, Fianna, Rank 3

Having no appreciable musical talent has limited Dana in his Galliard auspice somewhat, so he concentrates mainly on his role as Caern Warder. Around forty years old, Dana is a large man with receding grey/brown hair and brown eyes. Dana seems humourless and serious, whereas he simply has a very dry wit. Dana lives at the Caern.

Leaps-In-The-Light

Lupus, Theurge, Child of Gaia, Rank 3

Like most of the Lupus of the sept, Leaps-In-The-Light is of dingo stock. He is in his mid twenties; a lean, tawny dingo with black tipped ears and white socks. Leaps-In-The-Light sometimes has visions, and has taken to ingesting hallucinogens to aid the process. He lives at the Caern.

Russel Cole

Homid, Philodox, Fianna, Rank 3

Russel is the sept's main point of contact with nearby humans, as he spends much of his time in Warrnambool, Port Fairy and Koroit. Russel is a handsome man in his mid thirties, with blue eyes, a reddish beard, and long blonde hair tied back in a ponytail. Although he has a small house in Warrnambool, he usually sleeps at the Caern.

Sandra Norton

Homid, Ragabash, Fianna, Rank 2

Sandra was a lost cub and a heroin addict before being taken in by the sept. Her unfocused rage has found an outlet as she struggles to restore the land around the Caern to it's former glory. Although in her late thirties, Sandra's life has aged her prematurely; her face is lined and her hair is grey. She lives at the Caern.

Catherine Lie-Thrower

Homid, Galliard, Child of Gaia, Rank 2

As well as her official Caern duties, Catherine is also in charge of making large quantities of home brew for the sept, particularly for the moots. Catherine is in her mid twenties, a slender woman with long black hair and grey eyes. Catherine uses a shed for her brewing, and she lives at the Caern.

Mae Fischer

Homid, Ahroun, Fianna, Rank 3

Mae actually prefers her lupus form, a dainty reddish white wolf. In her homid form, Mae is an attractive woman in her mid twenties, with short auburn hair, green eyes and many freckles. Something of a visionary and politician, Mae has definite leadership potential. She lives at the Caern.

Voice-That-Speaks-Last

Lupus, Theurge, Fianna, Rank 2

A first generation immigrant from Ireland, Voice-That-Speaks-Last is of wolf stock, with a thick grey/white pelt and light blue eyes. She is in her late teens. Voice-That-Speaks-Last is very amicable and tolerant, always prepared to believe the best of people and Garou. She lives at the Caern.

Retrieves-The-Stone

Lupus, Ragabash, Fianna, Rank 2

Another lupus of dingo stock, Retrieves-The-Stone is in his mid teens, a scrawny lupus whose coat is orange with black highlights, and whose eyes are brown. Retrieves-The-Stone walks with a limp, the result of a vicious battle. However it has not dampened his sense of humour. He lives at the Caern.

Gillian Battershill

Homid, Ahroun, Fianna, Rank 2

Although not the only sept member with nearby Kinfolk, Gillian is the only one who lives with them. She belongs to a great sprawling family that lives in the region. Gillian is in her early twenties, a large athletic woman with medium-length brown hair, blue eyes, and a devastating right cross.

Jenny Roche

Homid, Philodox, Fianna, Rank 2

Jenny is one of the more contemplative and serious members of the sept, who takes particularly seriously her role as Philodox. She is also one of the more politically active sept members. Jenny is a statuesque aboriginal woman in her late twenties, with sort-cropped black hair and brown eyes. She lives at the Caern.

Stephen Arcuri

Homid, Philodox, Fianna, Rank 1

Stephen tends to cause trouble for his pack and sept. Being young (only sixteen) and idealistic, he often acts out of the best motivations at the worst possible times. Stephen is an average youth; typically good-looking with shoulder length black hair, dark skin and brown eyes. Stephen lives at the Caern.

Raids-The-Roost

Lupus, Ragabash, Fianna, Rank 1

A lupus who re-inforces every stereotype other tribes have of the Fianna, Raids-The-Roost is a prankster and a thief, with little apparent respect for authority. He is descended from dingo stock, about five years old, with an orange pelt and brown eyes. Raids-The-Roost lives at the Caern.

Bends-The-High-Mists

Lupus, Theurge, Child of Gaia, Rank 3

Unusual for a Child of Gaia, Bends-The-High-Mist has grown fairly jaded and despondent over the course of her twenty three years of fighting the Wyrm. Bends-The-High-Mist is of dingo heritage. Her coat is yellow-gold with a white birthmark and her eyes are brown. She lives at the Caern.

Albert Forgione

Homid, Ahroun, Child of Gaia, Rank 2

Albert is typical of his tribe and auspice: a man who seeks understanding and peace with his opponents, who then breaks their spines when all other options are exhausted. Albert is a large and jovial man in his late twenties, with a shock of black hair, a large black moustache and brown eyes. He lives at the Caern.

Louis Ash-On-Snow

Homid, Galliard, Child of Gaia, Rank 2

Louis often seems hyperactive. He is always humming tunes, beating rhythms on his knees, fiddling with items and walking around. Louis is in his early twenties, an ordinary looking man of average height and build, with short blonde hair and blue eyes. Louis lives at the Caern.

Abina Yildirim

Homid, Philodox, Silent Strider, Rank 2

Abina has only been is Australia for a few years, and is not completely fluent with English. Although a pack leader, she sometimes goes off alone on unknown errands. Abina is of Arabic descent. Her hair is black and kept short, her skin is dark and her eyes are brown. Abina lives at the Caern.