Rite of Still Skies

The Rite of Still Skies is all leads to a long quest into the Heavens for a rite that can bind the Storm Eater. Historically, the ones that succeed are the Two Moons Pack, a mixed pack of both native and newcomer tribes. They return in December of 1889 with the knowledge of the Rite of Still Skies, a modified version of the forgotten Uktena rite that bound the Storm Eater in the first place. The rite — taught to them by no less than an Incarna — has the power to injure, weaken and bind the ungodly spirit, but at a terrible cost. The rite itself has to be performed simultaneously at 13 separate caerns. At each caern, one of the greatest heroes of each tribe must lay down his or her life to empower the rite. But within a month 13 Garou step forward, each one of the sixth Rank, and each one well aware of the stakes. At the same time, the prophet Wovoka starts the idea of a ceremonial dance that would reunite the living with the dead, restore the prosperity of the land, and drive the whites out of the land forever. The Ghost Dance movement runs in alarming parallel to the pressure to perform the Rite of Still Skies. It’s uncertain whether or not the two are directly related, but the Ghost Dance does draw attention from other areas as it gains steam. Some human mages among the animistic Dreamspeakers faction attempt to enter the dance and charge it with true magical power. Other demented shamans do what they can to pervert the concept and remake the land in the Corruptor’s image. Any of these events may attract the player characters. The Two Moons Pack may be the players’ own pack, perhaps renamed before their quest or after their success (if they do succeed) to memorialize the intra-tribal cooperation. If any of the player characters have reached Rank 6, they might be among the thirteen volunteering to sacrifice themselves to bind the Storm Eater. They may even bypass the Rite of Still Skies entirely, drawn instead into the struggles surrounding the Ghost Dance.