
Marie Ives, Irraka member of the Lodge of Voices
The Lodge of Voices is a lodge of the Bone Shadows concerned with life after death for werewolves.
The spirit patron of the Lodge of Voice is a wolf spirit known as Hissu-Ur.
Overview[]
The Querents, as members of this lodge sometimes call themselves, have come to believe that when werewolves die, their souls pass on to a reward (or punishment) that no living Uratha can fully understand. Even so, the Querents say, some part of them — their memories, their knowledge or perhaps a random collection of thought — becomes what werewolves know as ancestor-spirits. These spirits are not the returned souls of dead werewolves, not “ghosts” as humans understand the term. Instead, they are spirits of the Uratha race, just as a cat-spirit is a spirit of cats in general rather than the reflection of one specific animal. On the rare occasions that a given ancestor-spirit might resemble a specific werewolf, this is a reflection on the living werewolf in the conversation, not the spirit. The spirit appears as a fallen packmate or parent to garner additional emotion from the summoner, not because the spirit is that loved one’s spirit. The Querents refer to the descant of these spirits as the Affahissu, the Ancestor-Shadow. These spirits differ from, but seem related to, ancestor-spirits that watch over a particular family line of werewolves. The latter spirits, called Imria Hithim, act as guardians to specific families rather than patrons of the race as a whole.
The Lodge of Voices is primarily concerned with contacting and understanding the Affahissu, learning whatever can be learned from these spirits. The Querents have learned much over the years. They know that as werewolves die, the Affahissu grows stronger, but that it seems to work on some kind of cycle, since such spirits do not overrun the Hisil, as they surely would had they been accumulating since the dawn of time. The lodge has learned to tap into the memories of these spirits and learn from their wisdom, but, interestingly, retrieving personal, specific memories seems to be impossible, as is contacting any particular werewolf. This lends credence to the theory that the part of the soul that makes a werewolf an individual moves on to a different fate than whatever makes up the Affahissu. The Ancestor-Shadow seems to be just that, lingering reflections cast by once-living werewolves.
Even considering their accomplishments, though, members of the Lodge of Voices still have many questions about the disposition of Uratha souls. The Querents believe that their success in tapping the Affahissu is the first step in a breakthrough in understanding, and some members of the lodge push for long journeys into the spirit wilds to try and find where the AncestorShadow might be located. Other Querents, though, raise an important question — what if every time a werewolf taps into the Affahissu, she weakens it a little more? If the Ancestor-Shadow dissipates, how long would it take to rebuild, and what knowledge might be lost? Come to that, how many Uratha would have to die before Affahissu would regain its present strength?
Membership[]
Most members of the Lodge of Voices join by invitation. The requirements aren’t as stringent as some of the other lodges, but the nature of the work is esoteric and, as mentioned, upsetting to many other werewolves. Whether by invitation or deliberate design, a Bone Shadow who wishes to join the lodge must speak with a member of the lodge and express their intentions. The lodge is careful to ensure that werewolves seeking power or control over spirits don’t become members. Utmost respect for the Affahissu is required from every member of the lodge. This interview is conducted entirely in the First Tongue, as the lodge requires complete fluency in the language of spirits from all its members. The main test of initiation is a journey into the Shadow, accompanied by a Querent. The applicant is required to speak with as many spirits as possible, showing respect (and, where necessary, restraint) and learning all they can from them. Of course, as many spirits hate and fear the Uratha, some amount of violence is to be expected, and the Querent watches the applicant to make sure that they can handle themselves in combat with spirits. This trek through the spirit wilds lasts as long the Querent feels they needs to gauge the applicant’s ability to deal with spirits, both forcefully and peacefully. The two Uratha then return to the physical world for the second part of the test. The Lodge of Voices requires that all its members know at least one rite. The lodge isn’t particular about which one, but understanding the basic precepts of Uratha ritual is crucial to dealing with the Ancestor-Shadow. For the second part of initiation, the applicant must demonstrate a rite to the Querent. Most of the time, they choose something simple such as the Rite of Dedication or Shared Scent, but some werewolves choose to show off and attempt a more difficult rite. The rite must be performed successfully for the applicant to be accepted. If the applicant fails any of these tests, or if the Querent comes to believe they are trying to join the lodge for the wrong reasons, the Querent may reject them at any time. Rejected applicants can try to join the Lodge of Voices again after gaining a dot of Purity or Wisdom Renown, and producing a Lune to vouch for the character’s deeds that led to that Renown. Upon successful completion of the tests, the new Querent is welcomed into the lodge. They must serve as an apprentice to a senior member for one lunar month, after which he undergoes the Rite of the Ancestor-Shadow. This rite, similar in form to the Rite of the Spirit Brand, allows the character to learn the Ancestral Vessel Merit. It is a level-five rite, and only the wisest and most powerful members of the Lodge of Voices ever learn it. The rite requires the new Querent to keep their eyes shut throughout the procedure, so only the elder members of the lodge know what the rite really entails. Lodge members all report a sense of vertigo, as though standing at the base of an impossibly high summit. They also state that they felt cold throughout the rite, as though all of the heat had been leached away from them. Once the rite ends, these sensation pass, but ever after Querents are prone to have very cold skin. In addition to opening the Querent’s mind to the Affahissu, the Rite of the Ancestor-Shadow also alters their shadow slightly. After the rite, the character’s shadow reacts to their body a second too slowly. Werewolves who know what to look for can therefore identify members of the Lodge of Voices by watching their shadows.
Game Mechanics[]
The following are an overview of the game mechanics.
Prerequisites[]
- Merit: Language (First Tongue)
- Wisdom ••
- Purity •
- Occult ••
- Rituals •
Benefits[]
Lodge members can purchase the Ancestral Vessel Merit. In addition, they gain a free Academics Specialty (Uratha History).
Merits[]
ANCESTRAL VESSEL(• TO ••••): The Lodge of Voices possesses secret rites allowing them to tap into the wisdom of the Ancestor-Shadow. This Merit does not allow a character to channel a specific ancestor. The accumulated knowledge of departed Uratha, however, allows a character with this Merit to accentuate his own experience with theirs. A character with this Merit may attempt to channel the knowledge of an ancestor-spirit as a reflexive action. Spend one Essence and roll a number of dice equal to your character’s Ancestral Vessel dots. Each success allows you to add one die to the dice pool of a specific Skill. That Skill may change with each application of the Merit. The Storyteller has final say on what Skill may be augmented. Ancestral knowledge isn’t likely to be useful with the Drive or Computer Skills, for example, while it could be with Medicine, Crafts (using older materials), Intimidation, Brawl or even Firearms (especially with bows). A character can attempt to boost a Skill they do not possess, but lacking a good frame of reference for the knowledge they suddenly gain, the unskilled penalty still applies.
References[]
- WTF: Lodges: The Faithful, p. 103-105