Anchorhead: A spirit gate between the Near and Deep Umbra (See Membrane.) Anthelios: The portentous Red Start hat has recently appeared in the Umbral heavens; largely seen as an omen of doom. Also called "the Eye of the Wyrm." Apocalypse: The age of destruction, the final cycle, the birth of death, the everlasting corruption, the end of Gaia. A word used in Garou mythology to describe the time of the final battle with the Wyrm. Many consider this time to be the present. Auspice: The phase of the moon under which a particular Garou was born, which is thought commonly to dtermine personality and tendencies. The auspices include: Ragabash (New Moon: Trickster), Theurge (Crescent Moon: Seer), Philodox (Half Moon: Judge), Galliard (Gibbous Moon: Moon Dancer), Ahround (Full Moon: Warrior). Bane: Evil spirits that follow the Wyrm. Many different kinds of Banes exist, including Scrags, Kali, Psychomachiae and more. Bawn: A boundary area around a caern, patrolled and monitored carefully. Blight: Any corrupted area in either the spirit world or physical reality. Breed: The ancestry of a Garou, be it world, human or other Garou. Caern: A sacred place; a meeting spot where the Garou can contact the spirit world. Celestine: The greatest spirits; the closest things the Garou have to Gods. Examples are Luna (the Moon) and Helio (the Sun). Concolation: A great moot, wherein many tribes gather to discuss matters that concern the Nation of Garou. Concord, The: The agreement all the tribes reached nearly 9,000 years ago, after which the Impergium ended. The traditions thereof are still obeyed today. Corruption: The act of destroying, devolving or debasing life; also, the often overwhelming effects of the Wyrm's actions. In the present age, it often refers specifically to the ecological ruin huamsn wreak upon the environment. Crinos: The half-wolf, half-human war form of the Garou. Deep Umbra: The aspects of the Umbra that lie outside the Membrane. Reality becomes more and more fragmentary the farther one travels from the Realm. Delirium: The madness and memory-loss suffered by humans who look upon a Garou in Crinos form. Domain: A mini-Realm in the Umbra, usually connected to a larger Realm in the Deep Umbra. Fera: Garou term for shapeshifters other than werewolves; most are presumed extinct. Feral: Slang term for lupus. Fomori (singular "fomor"): Humans who have turned to the Wyrm and who draw their power from it. Common enemies of the Garou. Gaffling: A simple spirit servant of a Jaggling, Incarna or Celestine. Gafflings are rarely sentient. Gaia: The Earth and related Realms, in both a physical and spiritual sense; the Mother Goddess. Garou: The term werewolves use for themselves. Gauntlet: The barrier between the physical world of Earth and the spirit world of the Umbra. It is strongest around technological (Weaver) places and weakest around caerns. Glabro: The near-man form of the Garou. Harano: Inexplicable gloom, inexpressible longing for unnamable things, weeping for that which is not yet lost. Some say it is depression caused by contemplation of Gaia's suffering. Hispo: The near-wolf form of the Garou. Homid: A Garou of human ancestry. Occasionally used disdainfully by ferals (e.g., "That boy fights like a homid."). Also the human form of the Garou. Impergium: The 3,000 years immediately following the birth of agriculture, during which strict population quotas were maintained on all human villages. Incarna: A class of spirits; weaker than the Celestines, but still greater spirits by any measure. Jaggling: A spirit servant of an Incarna or Celestine. Kenning: The empathic calling some Garou perform when howling. Kinfolk: Those humans and wolves who are related to the Garou and are not prone to Delirium, but who are not actual werewolves. Klaive: A fetish dagger or sword, usually of great spiritual potency and nearly always made of silver. Litany: The code of laws kept by the Garou. Luna: The Incarna of the Moon; powerful spirit patron to all shapechangers. Lupus: A Garou of wolf origin. Also the wolf form of the Garou. Membrane, The: The barrier between the Near and Deep Umbra. To breah it, an Anchorhead must be found. Alternatively, the Garou can travel through the Dream Zone. Metis: The sterile and often deformed offspring of two Garou. Generally reviled by Garou society. Moon Bridge: A gate between two caerns; it most often appears during moots. Moot: A sept or tribal conclave that takes place at a caern. Mule:Slang for metis. Near Umbra: The spirit world surrounding the Gaia Realm. Pack: A small group of Garou bound to each other by ties of friendship and mission as opposed to culture. Prenumbra: "Earth's Shadow"; the spirit world directly surrounding the physical world. Many, but not all, terrain features have reflections here. Protectorate: The territory claimed and patrolled by a pack of sept. Reaching: Traveling into the spirit world. Realms: The worlds of "solid" reality within the Tellurian. Earth is referred to as the Realm. Ronin: A Garou who has chosen or been forced to leave Garou society. It is a harsh fate to become a "lone wolf." Sept: The group of Garou who live near and tend an individual caern. Stepping Sideways: Entering the spirit world. Many elders consider this term flippant and disrespectful. Tellurian: The whole of reality. Totem: A spirit joined to a pack or tribe and respresentative of its inner nature. A tribal totem is an Incarna, while a pack totem is an Incarna avatar (a Jaggling equivalent). Triat, The: The Weaver, The Wyld, and the Wyrm. The trinity of primal cosmic forces. Tribe: The larger community of Garou. Tribe members are often bound by similar totems and lifestyles. Umbra: The spirit world. Veil, The: A poetic term for the false assumption that the supernatural does not exist, which the Delirium reinforces. Ways, The: The traditions of the Garou. Weaver, The: Manifestation and symbol of order and pattern. Computers, science, logic and mathematics are examples of the Weaver's influence on the material plane. Wyld, The: Manifestation and symbol of pure change. The chaos of transmutation and elemental force. Wyrm, The: Manifestation and symbol of evil, entropy and decay in Garou belief. Vampires are often manifestations of the Wyrm, as are toxic waste and pollution. Wyrmhole: A place that has been spiritually defiled by the Wyrm; invariably a location of great corruption.
Vulgar Argot
Cadaver: A derogatory term for a vampire. Flock, The: All of humanity, particularly those humans from whom the Garou recruit their members. Gremlin: A malevolent spirit. Leech: See Cadaver. Run: A ritual hunt or revel that takes place at the conclusion of a moot. Sheep: Humans. Throat: To best another in ritual combat. Used as a verb (e.g., "I throated his sorry butt!").
Old Form
Adren: A pupil or student who learns from a Mentor. Airts: The magical paths within the spirit world (e.g., Spirit Tracks, Moon Paths, etc.). Aisling: A journey into the spirit world. Anamae: "Soul-friend"; most often a bond with a pack totem. Anruth: A garou who travels from caern to caern but is bound to none of them. Athro: Teacher, Mentor. Awen: The sacred Muse, the creative impulse. Some says she is a spirit, but she has never been found. Moon Dancers go on quests for her periodically. Brugh: Any sort of mystic plce, whether a Garou caern or a Wyrmhole. Often a glade or cave located somewhere in the wilderness. Charach: A Garou who sleeps with another Garou or has done so in the past. Often used as a word of anger. Chiminage: A form of "favors done for services rendered." A werewolf may perform a task as chiminage in order to repay a spirit for teaching him a Gift, or to repay a sept for allowing him to use its caern. Cliath: A young Garou, not yet of any significant rank. Fostern: Your pack brothers and sisters; those who are your family by choice. Gallain: The Kinfolk of the Garou. -ikthya: "Of the Wyrm"; a suffix appended to a name. Inceptor: A Garou who guides another trough a rite. An inceptor is also called a ritemaster. Kinain: The relationship among Garou who are related by blood through an ancestor. This term of endearment and pride is never used when referring to metis. Moon-Calf: Idiot, simpleton. Pericarp: The Near Umbra around each Realm. Phoebe: An Incarna of Luna, representing the Moon. Praenomen: The guardian spirit of a pack. -rhya: "Greater in station"; a suffix appended to a name. Urrah: Garou who live in the city; also, the tainted ones. -yuf: "Honored equal"; a suffix appended to a name.
