Garou Nation

For other uses of the term, you might also check: Garou Nation (disambiguation).

Glyph signifying the Garou Nation.

The Garou Nation refers to the alliance of the 13 Tribes of Garou, although the alliance may be down to 12, as the Stargazers have departed the Garou Nation in favor of the Beast Courts.

1st through Revised editions stated that the Garou Nation has no true head and has no central governing body. Individual elders can attempt to influence the Nation, but cannot actually command it. From 20th Anniversary edition onwards, the role of the monarch of the Silver Fangs is expanded to cover rulership of the entire Nation. However, W20 states that this change is a recent in-universe development that occurred in the time between Revised and its own release, while W5 implies that it is closer to a full retcon of Revised's position, meant to have been the case for decades at the very least.

Second Edition

Rivals

The Werewolf Storytellers Handbook introduced and mentioned various camps that were seen as rivals to the Garou Nation. Many were conspiring to take power. These included:

• Shadow Lord Revolutionary Guard
• Loki's Smile - A secret Get of Fenris camp
• The Avenging Mother - A sub-faction of the Black Furies' Order of Our Merciful Mother
• Crest of the Horn - a sub-faction of the Children of Gaia's Servants of the Unicorn
• Fang Breakers - A multi-tribal camp of Red Talons and Wendigo
• The Inner Path - A small Stargazers camp trying to secure an alliance with the Silent Strider camp, the Harbingers
• Renewal - A secret camp of Silver Fangs
• Silver Pack - Many packs are working to break down the political walls separating Garou factions, but in so doing they risk becoming the pawns of the factions who help them.

Revised Edition

Positions Within the Garou Nation

Players Guide to Garou introduced positions within the Garou Nation.

• Speakers of the Nation - Chosen from among the most noteworthy Galliards and Philodox, these Garou have the responsibility of overseeing the maintenance of communication among caerns and tribes on a continental and global basis. These werewolves form the core of those who hear cases brought before any concolations or grand concolations. They take upon themselves the burden of hearing cases brought before gatherings beyond the level of a grand moot, delivering verdicts and assessing punishments. The most successful Speakers of the Nation are most often Silent Striders, Fianna or Uktena.
• Ambassadors and Emissaries - Recognized for their diplomacy and communication skills, ambassadors and emissaries of the Garou Nation usually come from the ranks of Galliards, with an occasional Ragabash thrown in from tribes such as the Bone Gnawers or Red Talons. These Garou are most often adren, though some fostern may find themselves tapped as emissaries f they seem destined for greater things. Ambassadors generally set up semi-permanent residences within the bawn of the sept to which they are assigned; emissaries travel to designated septs to bring messages when the need arises. While few septs play host to a permanent ambassador, many of the largest ones that acknowledge the existence of a governing body of Garou profit from a regular channel of communication with the larger Garou Nation.
• Spirit Speakers - Selected from the most skilled Theurges of the Garou Nation, these individuals make certain that the spirits are kept apprised of activities that affect the Garou Nation and Gaia Herself. They make certain that moon bridges between important caerns remain open and appease any spirits whose aid might prove necessary in affairs of the Nation. Spirit speakers also officiate at punitive rites that involve the actions of spirits or that affect the spirit world. While most spirit speakers have attained the title of athro, they often have junior speakers of lesser rank working with them as assistants and messengers.
• Warclaws - (Enforcers): Ahroun most often serve as these arms of the Garou Nation. When strong measures must be used to enforce sanctions against an errant sept or when inter-tribal or inter-sept feuds require outside measures to settle them, the Garou Nation calls upon its warclaws to bring their martial skills to bear to support and defend the Nation. These individuals usually work in single-auspice packs that train in small unit tactics and riot control.
• Eyes of the Nation - (Scouts and Intelligence Gatherers): Ragabash with uncommon expertise in stealth and investigation serve as the eyes and ears of the Garou Nation. Sent to act as information gatherers whenever serious charges are brought against a sept or against a group of Garou, these scouts often risk their lives by venturing into potentially hostile territory in search of the truth. The position of Eye of the Nation is not publicized; those who serve as Eyes do so all but anonymously, in the interest of secrecy.

20th Anniversary

(...)

Collapse (5th Edition)

“	We don't understand what we lost. My beautiful, perfect realm! The Garou Nation, the home for all of our kind. We could focus our energies on fighting the Wyrm, following the tenets of the Litany. Everyone was taken care of, everyone had their place. Why did it all have to end? Why did these traitors in the Cult of Fenris think they could do it better without us? Why don't these young cubs understand the value of tradition?	”
	— King Jonas Albrecht

Over the course of the Era of Apocalypse, the Garou Nation began to slowly crack under pressure, until eventually, by the current day, it is fully no more (at least not on any kind of international scale). Only 11 tribes were still part of it by the end, and nowadays individual septs are often isolated and mistrustful of one another, only weakening the forces standing against the tide of Apocalypse.

The first large crack to emerge was the departure of the Cult of Fenris, shortly after the beginning of the Era of Apocalypse. At one of the concolations made to try and hold the faltering Nation together, the Cult called for one final, glorious charge into the Wyrm’s maw to avert the Apocalypse. But the assembled Garou of other tribes called out their rally as suicide, whereupon most of the Cult of Fenris camp decided that all Garou had fallen, and only the Cult’s pure vision could serve Gaia. After a torturously long and bloody duel among champions of the tribes, renowned Garou solemnly declared a deadlock, and the Cult of Fenris abandoned the tribes to their fates, pledging their enmity and exiting the gathering.

The last concolation occurred only a few years later, and solidified the dissolution of the Nation in its entirety. Helmed by King Albrecht himself, the meeting of all the Garou Nation was meant to establish the direction of the Nation and present a reunified front against the Wyrm. Alas, by then, the cracks ran too deep, and the concolation exploded into acrimony and accusations. The Stargazers present announced that their tribe would be leaving the Nation to pursue a solution to the Apocalypse on their own terms, stating simply, "We seek a better way". Some claim that the Stargazers' betrayal was what guaranteed the concolation's failure and the Garou Nation's fall. Others know that the meeting only made apparent what had already been true for a long time.

To some, the saddest sight in the meeting was the Renewal Circle for King Albrecht to voice his concerns and vision in a calm and orderly manner, as was the way of the Rite. However, Albrecht was so lost in Rage he couldn’t keep still. Eventually, he stomped off, and the Rite tapered off, the last participants getting up and leaving in embarrassment.

Trivia

• The usage of the term "Garou Nation" started around 1994 with the Werewolf Storytellers Handbook for Second Edition. The book uses the glyph for moot and no glyph for the Garou Nation is in the book. The glyph for the Garou Nation wasn't formalized until the Rage card game in 1995, as seen in ads for the Garou Nation Fan Club.
• Werewolf: The Forsaken introduced Conclaves in the Forsaken Chronicler's Guide. These Conclaves are similar in structure to and may even inspired by Apocalypse's Garou Nation, but they are smaller in comparison.

See Also

• Ahadi
• Beast Courts
• Jindabyne Council

References

• WTA: Werewolf Storytellers Handbook, p. 31-42
• WTA: Players Guide to Garou, p. 25-53
• W20: Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition, p. 46
• WTA: Shattered Nation

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