an alliance...
This thread hosts the work-in-progress lore for Bones. Much of this thread is of draft quality and is subject to significant change and revision.
table of contents
- overview [you are here]
- membership
- museum
- journal
conduct.
A set of rules for the performance and stability of Bones.
- Wolves with visible bloodlines or connections based outside of Bones are not permitted to be true members. They may seek temporary shelter here, but must not overstay lest they risk exile.
- Any young born on territory grounds must be fully raised here to adulthood before any act of exile or expulsion can be imposed.
- Members of prey-retrieval units must have temperaments best suited for the act of hunting - powerful aggression or unwavering stoicism. Those with unfocused, flittering personalities are not permitted to be hunters.
- The bloodline of each subsequent leader must trace back to "Tucker", the founder of this organization.
- Repeating bloodlines is strictly prohibited.
origins.
 Artwork © Din (#26896).
A repeating deviant from Bones' rock-solid stoicism, he is a bit of a trickster, a dear friend to the shadows, who have blessed him with movement akin to liquid silence - or so was told of him. Much of the knowledge of his origin is up to the concoction of myth intertwined with the occasional fact. Most prominently, some say he might have fallen to earth from the skies that his elaborate coat resembled, a whirling mass of gloom and sleet. His true upbringing is not something he would spend much effort attempting to clarify - in fact, hearing such intricate theories about himself is one of his greatest sources of amusement.
He had been dubbed Tucker by the human hunters he would consistently elude on his wanderings. It is not a name he quite understands, but liking the noise - like teeth clacking against dry bone - he treats it as a little gift from these humans. A hollow name is at least much better to receive than a hollow point.
Tucker is the sole founder of Bones. He has an evidently poor idea of family dynamics - others speculate he has never been raised by a pack of his own. And nor does he wish to cultivate one. A loner and wanderer at heart, the idea of leading a company of other loners appealed to him more than the commitment of raising a family. Even then, he finds less fulfillment in confiding with his own kind as he would roving about the splayed-open body of the wilderness - time and time again other members would have to smack him out of his distant, hazy longing in the middle of communicative affairs.
Before Bones' establishment, Tucker happened upon the territory's grounds at the wake of spring. Over time a thaw had revealed strange patterns in the terrain at the base of the mountains, swaying him to venture over and investigate, to find in there a winding network of caverns and mines, all carefully crafted, all immensely vacant, perhaps having been so for several seasons. Spending some seasons of his own, he studied this realm and its passageways, mastering his footwork around the unusual topography. The value of this knowledge would only become evident to himself when another loner happened upon the terrain and quickly lost themself in the tunnels... and another, and another.
Over time, the basis of his supremacy over the territory, for the most part, was his extensive knowledge over its terrain and cavern network, without which its inhabitants would not hope to escape in good health. As more and more loners acquainted themselves with him, the foundation of a true coalition, it seemed, unfurled as the membership grew, until the dominion of Bones was realized, and the mass contract begun.
environment.
The known territory of Bones spans across a series of barren mountainside slopes, stretching halfway up the peaks and ending just where the trees cease to sprout from the stone. Ruts, nooks, and caverns populate the slopes, making unfriendly terrain for most creatures who depend on their legs and the forgiveness of gravity to navigate the world.
The mountains here were once conquered by humans, who now hide away in a small town far off and have since been absent from meddling with wildlife. During the area's peak of human activity, they carved winding tunnels into the mountain's base, churning the slopes' gentle flatness into the terrain it is now. Some tunnels crumble into themselves - perhaps the mountains' attempts to seal their own scars - while others remain still and sturdy, serving as adequate caverns to take shelter in, or passageways that cut down on traversal time. More often than not, the wolves are seen taking advantage of the convenience offered by these mines, especially during the area's most relentless weather.
Much of the territory is tucked rather deep into the mountains and is thus hidden away from the kindness of the sun. As such, sunlight and vegetation are a rarity. The area is regularly pummeled – or gently blanketed, depending on the season – by the recurring thick, gray weather, varying only between silent fog and turbulent storms, and seldom beyond those two ends.
Sidenote: the passage of time is denoted by season followed by the season's age in moons, one moon being the length of one month. On average - but not strictly - a season is three moons long. An example of this phrasing would be "Second Spring, Third Moon" for something that has occurred in Bones' second springtime on its third month.
structure.
The coalition of Bones is not a "pack" - at least, it does not quite behave like one. While the typical wolf pack is known to be an intertwined family unit, these wolves appear to be loners operating on a contract. Few are bound by blood relations, and even fewer have a full awareness of who they share their territory with.
Rarely are the wolves seen feeding together, grooming each other, or sleeping in proximity, as true bonded packs would - though there is the occasional exception of a pair or more of wolves having had some previous bond before admittance to the territory. New bonds here are not necessarily impossible to form, but the wolves' general aversion to friendliness or romance contribute to the suffocating weight of the social atmosphere, already bogged down by the territory's own bleak conditions. As such, most of them remain distant from one another, quiet and content in their own rocky burrows - perhaps for the sake of stability, as some particularly aggressive wolves are best left alone in their solitude.
The internal ranks are constantly shifting, as many of the wolves are seldom permanent members. Some appear unannounced, recruited from the wilderness, while others may wander off and disappear over time, perhaps to be swallowed in by the wilderness once again. It is because of this general impermanence that Bones, as a whole, does not prioritize strong fondness for or memory of most of its regular members. No one, however, will be exempt from a proper burial and ritual mourning if they are to pass away on territory grounds.
Even as a disparate band, Bones has a clear outstanding leader, the keystone of the mass contract whom which each member must directly meet at least once.
the magnate.
The leader of Bones is known as the Magnate, for the territory is their manor, the topography of which they have the most familiarity. As such, the Magnate gets to determine several factors of their dominion and its occupants:
- The territory's bounds.
- The occupations of the members.
- Where certain members are allowed to take shelter.
- The composition of hunting units, and where and when units will go.*
- Who may be expelled or exiled from the territory.
- Ownership of any relics or artifacts.
- Alliances.
The Magnate, however, expresses leniency at the self-will of the members - much freedom is allowed for personal affairs, such as who to mate with, what and when to eat, and whether one would like to leave the coalition. Dictatorship is the least of the Magnate's desires, or at least, it should be.
* It bears mentioning the role of a particular corn snake living just outside of the territory, who the Magnate often confides in for an exchange of services and benefits. Some of the snake's demands involve the efforts of hunting teams, hence the Magnate is justified in dictating their motions - but no further.
As with all roles, that of a Magnate is never permanent, as all creatures are guaranteed a mortal end. Heirs are usually chosen well in advance, and certain guidelines are used to train those heirs for this position.
- Full knowledge of the terrain and cavernous network offered by the territory.
- Sufficient understanding of the occupation system and the roles wolves are obligated to fill.
- Sociable disposition for interacting with and building good connections with each member. This may be a personality of any temperament, excluding those that promote self-isolation, violence, obliviousness, or bigotry.
The most vital trait of an heir is the connection between themself and the founder by bloodline. Heirs are vessels of the founder's legacy; a leader of Bones not related to Tucker is a false, unwhole vessel, where the essence of Bones itself is not guaranteed to fit comfortably, or even exist.
occupations
The 'occupations' available for members are separated into two broad categories:
Caretakers - those in charge of health-related manners. Caretakers stay within territory bounds the most, extinguishing maladies, rearing tender new litters, and managing rituals. Among the caretakers is a minor leader, an herbalist concerning themself with craft and medicine, who may direct the others to lesser tasks such as storage management or supervision of the young.
Wanderers - those in charge of explorative manners. Wanderers leave the territory bounds the most, retrieving prey, surveying the territory's fringes, and running expeditions. Wolves with the skill and disposition to retrieve prey are sorted into hunting units, which are sent out from time to time at the Magnate's instruction. The scouting task is a notably hardy occupation for those with the patience to endure expeditions; it is often these pioneers whose tenacious bloodlines continue throughout Bones' legacy.
locations.
this subsection is a work-in-progress, to be finished eventually
... bound in pale bone
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