The Silver Fangs are the proudest, most noble of the tribes. Tracing their lineage back to the Progenitor Wolf, they represent the best of the breed, embodying everything it means to be Garou: strength, nobility, perseverance, loyalty and magnificence. Through their heroic example and awe-inspiring leaderships, they unite the tribes against their enemies.
That's one side of the story. A less flattering view is of the inbred rulers whose chief right of the rulership is the memory of their great grandfathers' deeds as king. They are mired in strict adherence to traditions only they remember, whose original purpose may be lost to time. In the Fang's court, action has given way to procedural points. They are doddering, even senile kings whose authority among the tribes extends only as far as the doors of the royal court.
Things changed as centuries passed. Their power waned, in the human realm as well as the Garou. In recent years many rotic, manifesting minor quirks such as the absentmindedness or an overdeveloped sense of vengeance. Their tendnecy to fall into Harano is explained readily as the price of the heavy burden of leadership in these trying times. As to the rest, well, the rich and powerful have always been eccentric, have they not? Some whisper, however, that centuries of breeding with exclusive bloodlines is beginning to take its toll. But Falcon's tribe insists that that exclusivity makes their blood run so pure in their veins.
The Silver Fangs borrowed many traditions from their noble Kinfolk. Territory is divided up into "protectorates" ruled by a king (by tradition, always Ahroun) who presides over a court. The court is divided into the Lodge of the Sun and the Lodge of the Moon. The former deals with temporal matters such as business and commerce, while the latter presides over spiritual affairs as well as concerns of the lupus population. Courts and lesser moots are lengthy affairs, at which all interested parties haggle over points of contention. Formal moots take all night (reciting the King's introduction alone may take half an hour). If there is important business, the debates can last for days.
Many Garou still look to the Fangs for leadership, showing the respect due by right of millennia of rule. Others see them as firegureheads, little more than mascots. Not a few consider them worse than useless, for a bad decision costs precious lives in the Garou's most desperate hour. Lately, the murmurs of discontent have grown louder as voices are added. The Shadow Lords have wasted no time in fanning the unrest, but there has been no open rebellion thus far. There is still loyalty enough to keep the Fangs in power, but Falcon's tribe had better show initiative soon. One movement within the tribe, the Renewalist faction, has been particularly aggressive in its calls to rebuild before the tribe collapses.
One of the Fangs' greatest strengths is personal charisma. A leader who meets often with other Garou can bind disparate factions together through sheer force of personality. Unfortunately many choose to sit in their courts and make everyone come to them. Thus isolated, their effectiveness wanes.
In these dark days, many Garou look to their own tribes for strength rather than shackling themselves to the mad ones who would drag them down into the Abyss. As Gaia's warriors are on the verge of being overwhelmed by the onslaught of Wyrm and Weaver, those who still believe in the divine right of the Silver Fangs see this time as their last chance to reward that trust.
Appearance
Silver Fangs come primarily from aristocrats of European and Middle Eastern descent, although one noble house has established itself neatly in Asia and India. In human form, they have refined features, often with familial peculiarities such as a distinctive nose or ears. Their wolf forms are always graceful, with fur of silver or white, long jaws and full tail brushes. In any form, they usually wear some form of jewelry.
Kinfolk
The Fangs keep very detailed track of their Kin, with "pedigrees" that fill whole libraries. Their human Kin are of impeccable breeding from the nobility of the countries of Europe; Russia in particular used to be the Fangs' homeland. Money is not a prime consideration. A penniless branch of the Romanovs would be more valuable than a newly rich industrialist family dscended from chicken thieves. Likewise, the tribe keeps close contact with their rare lupine Kin living on great estates, primarily in Russia and western Canada.
Territory
Silver Fang septs are scattered across the Garou Nation. They typically hold some of the choicest lands, to the displeasure of the tribes from which they commandeered those lands. They live in lands with splendid vistas -- great mountain chains, seaside cliffs or forested valleys -- places as majestic as the Silver Fangs are (to) themselves.
Tribal Totem: Falcon
Initial Willpower: 3
Background Restrictions: Silver Fang characters must spend at least three Background points on Pure Breed.
Beginning Gifts: Falcon's Grasp, Lambent Flame, Sense Wyrm
Quote: Under Falcon's banner I stand before you. Join your banner to mine, and all the Spirals in the world can't stop us from reclaiming the lost caern! Are you with me? Then follow me, for Gaia!
Stereotypes
Black Furies: How can so honorable and trustworthy a tribe be so confused? Bone Gnawers: Pathetic creatures, they squabble in the street and then expect to be welcomed into our mansions! They are Garou... technically, but they are like a branch of the family that one would just as soon forget about. Children of Gaia: Joyous lovers of peave, they lend us a sympathetic ear. Would that they were as quick to take our burdens from us as they are to heap more on. Still, they help keep the others in our cause. Fianna: For their songs that soothe and hearten and remind us of old times, we are grateful. For their satires of our leadership, we are wary. For tehir drinking and shouting, we are long-suffering. Get of Fenris: Complain all you wish about the Get's hunger for war, but you cannot call them honorless without proving yourself a liar. Glass Walkers: Cities have made them soft. Urban life has made them strange. Red Talons: They have embraced the Beast too closely, and they suffer for it. They never come to court and seldom do as we ask, but where I would see insubordination in other tribes I merely assume the Talons forgot what day the meeting was. Shadow Lords: They have "that lean and hungry look." We will put them in their place as needed, in March or any other month. Silent Striders: Mysterious travelers whom I prefer to see going rather than coming, for they seldom bring good news. Uktena: Secret-keepers of the first rank, who list their true feelings for us among their secrets. Wendigo: Wise and powerful, aloof and disdainful. I'm not sure if they are truly allies, but we both profit should they add their strength to our own. Stargazers: They were wise councilors, if a bit too ethereal. A pity that they chose such an insubordinate path for themselves.
Silver Fangs
