Wolves Call, 1096 AF.
By Conor CuChulain.
The festival of Wolves Call was hosted by the Raggas on the islands of Orkneyjar. It has now been some two months since the festival but it is only now that The Gathering has passed I find the time to finally put quill to parchment.
Although held on the lands of the Raggas the festival was suppose to be hosted by Lord Thorvauld, Unfortunately, on a recent drinking expedition in Odensheim someone had tried to poison the lord and he was unable to attend. This left the Wolves Jarl of Orkneyjar to host the festival with little notice, a duty he performed well great competance if not with exceptional flare at times.
The main purpose of the festival was to unite the Wolves faction and bring them together once more between the Faction Moots and The Gathering of 1096. There was also the matter of the faction leadership to be resolved with finally confirming Thorvauld as the rightful heir following the loss of Lord Wolf and Lady Tigre through the rift in Norsca some months earlier.
The Friday saw arrival of peoples from many lands although being a Wolves muster by far the majority were from the lands of Norsca and Orkneyjar. Thomas Finn and myself were the only two Bears there making things a little tense for us as there was still considerable tension between our peoples despite much improved relations following discussions at the Faction moots some six weeks earlier. Thomas was there as an acting ambassador from the faction on behalf of Lord Wraith, I was there as a mere observer.
Upon arrival, although it was late in the day, I found the heat oppressive as it was to be throughout the whole weekend. Schadel thought the unnaturally hot weather was the work of Lord Satun on the island of Skald nearby. Apparently he needs the heat to aid the decaying process required for the animation of corpses to create zombies.
The Friday night was given over to partying where old enmities were laid aside for the night. Fortunately the night was cool as the heat of the day proved oppressive and combined with a recent injury sustained fighting the undead it meant I was unable to travel far during the heat of the day.
On the Saturday morning the festival itself began. Lady Lysandra went to the GrimStone circle nearby and a scroll she had prepared earlier from one of the four tomes of magic (Air I believe) she cast a limited ritual of peace that covered the main hall and associated encampment but reached no further.
Later on the Saturday night I was in discussion with Thomas on a few matters. It appeared an enterprising individual decided he would like to be privy to our discussions but what we mistook for a drunk was actually a man trying to listen in on our conversation. Upon discovery he fled. From where he was he have heard little and matters of import were not discussed so he can have learnt little if anything. The matter was brought up the next day in council and the Jarl assured us that he was not sent as a spy from the wolves and would be dealt with if he was found.
Over the weekend there were several councils held within the great hall and many matters were discussed. rather than run through the events of each meeting as they happened I will deal with each matter sequentially in turn.
The main business concerned the confirmation of Thorvauld as the rightful heir to the leadership on the Wolves. In order to do this it was necessary to travel to Thor's Cave high on a mountain top where the spirits of the gods could be contacted.
An ancient parchment had come to light. It was clearly a map showing the part of Orkneyjar upon which the festival was held. The writing on the map was in a runic script not totally unfamiliar to me although a few of the letters were different I could clearly make some of the text including the title which was "Part of Orkneyjar".
There was one symbol which appeared repeatedly on the map in many locations. Investigation of a couple of these locations nearest to the camp showed runes marked upon the stones and upon this discovery other groups left to find more of the runes at some of the further sites.
Upon return one party reported that they had found the location of Thor's Cave although they had been unable to reach it as the path was blocked by hordes of Undead. Schadel feared that Satun was turning his attention to the isle and left for most of the day in an attempt to distract Satun and draw his attention elsewhere although quite where he had in mind I have no idea and my suggestions could not be committed to writing here.
Eventually most of the runes were located with the exception of one or two I believe. One due to the fact that two were marked close together and it was unsure which had been located and the other because it to far away to be searched for in the limited time before the evening when the ceremony at the cave had to be performed. These runes spelt the word "Reflection" which was a clue to the answer to one of the riddles to be presented later which was a mirror.
In the afternoon a preliminary party was sent out to clear the way to the cave before the main procession there some time later. This part was successful as we found the path clear for our journey although there was evidence that hard fights had been fought along the path with many undead slain.
At Thor's cave the Jarl called to spirits of the gods. The first to appear was Odin who requested a riddle be answered before he would answer a question. The first question was "Is Lord Wolf going to return to us?" to which the answer was "No". Next to appear was Thor. The question asked of him was "Is Thorvauld the rightful leader of the Wolves?" which was answered "Yes". Finally Freya was called forth. When her riddle was answered she was asked "Will the Dragons and Bears invade Orkneyjar?" to which the answer was "No". At the time I was unsure as to the accuracy of that answer. It was certainly the solution I was hoping for but at that time still seemed some way off to say the least. At this point a forth god came forth unbidden. I immediately recognised the red attire signifying him as Loki. He demanded his riddle also be answered before people would be allowed to leave the cave. Fortunately this was done.
After the ceremony a small group travelled to the mountain top to sing and the sounds could be heard throughout the valleys. Although the idea appealed to me I took the opportunity of travelling back with Schadel and Lady Regan to let my injuries rest.
Politically the matter of Orkneyjar was discussed. It appeared the Wolves would not give up their claims to the land but had no desire to fight over it. Silkin pledged the Dragons support to the Bears claims to the lands saying they would "Aid the Bears in an battle upon Caledonian soil". The McMad's where there claiming that the Bears ate babies as well as other completely false allegations which did little to impress those there and confirmed the opinion in many that they are little more than a drunken rabble which was spectacularly confirmed that night when one of them fell into the fire!
Another matter concerned the rights of a thrall. It appeared that he had been badly treated by his master and had run away to be found with his masters dogs set upon him. There was much discussion about the whole practice of thralldom and the rights those involved. Many there including myself viewed the practice as little more than slavery and many spoke passionately on the subject including Pape of the fellowship and Lady Una who also condemned the practice. The only defence offered was that it was "traditional". Whilst I value belief and tradition I feel we must also look to change that which is unjust. The matter was eventually solved with the freedom of the man being bought which solved this one case but he overall problem remains. The cage for these Thralls may have no bars but it is still a cage non the less.
There was also the matter of the local Orcs and Trolls. Many of them had been displaced from Skald by Satun and they were trying to get lands on the main island. Unfortunately this matter was not resolved peacefully and ended in a bloody conflict on the Sunday which drew the festival to a close. Fortunately there were no fatalities amongst the festival attendees but many were sorely injured.
A ritual performed at the GrimStone circle on the Sunday by the high priests of the gods granted then a Honing Stone which could be used to enchant normal weapons by sharpening them with it.
Another matter which I couldn't help noticing over the weekend was that Thomas was spending a lot of time in the Company of Lady Orenda of Eastwood. At the time I paid this little note but since then matters have become more serious between the two. Lady Orenda's intended husband is no longer engaged to her and her and Thomas wish to marry.
At the end of the festival I took a leisurely trip back to Athenry in Erin for Conspiracy hosted by the Communists only returning home briefly to research a few matters in the library at Barothness.
