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They'd find a new home, Feldspar had said. They just had to keep moving. Soon.

  But was he right?  

He had to be. He was the Omen. The Chosen. His word was law and he knew more than all of them combined, surely. He knew this was right. He knew.  

But Jayana did not.  

Her family was dead, her home destroyed, and all that she’d worked toward her entire life had been stolen away like a lone snowflake on the harsh breeze. Everything was lost… everything but the packmates that remained. Perhaps that meant something.  

But Jayana could not feel particularly grateful right then.

  Instead, she lay atop the frost-tipped grass, numb to the stinging cold that nipped at her ears and nose as she dared to turn her gaze toward the stars.  

Her family’s faces flashed through her mind, as did the title of Flame that was no longer within her reach—a title that she wasn't sure she ever even deserved, and a single question danced on the tip of her tongue. It was a pointless question. A useless breath. She already knew the answer.  

And yet… her troubled gaze still sought out the moon, eyes narrowing as her body began to tremble with terror and anger and thinly-veiled grief.

It was a pointless question, but her mind asked anyway:  

Why?

Hintertomb [Prologue Event] [Part One],…Several weeks ago, the former Omen went missing. In his wake came the crumbling of the mountainside, the collapse of the first of many tunnel systems that the Tomb had known for so very long. Within it many wolves were lost, left to wander in the dark as transients, as souls with no vessels to return to. As a born member of the Tomb you know that this was no mere coincidence. Natural disaster following the death or disappearance of an Omen means the next one has been selected. It aligns with the wolf born into that season, the one who most closely matches the event. To be chosen is no joyous occasion; it means someone from the Choir has been marked. On that day, the Great Ones had done just that, and with it came the new Omen's first commandments:"...This is it." It was said with no flourish but rather the energy of someone attending a funeral; forlorn, melancholy, so dreadfully devoid of life it might as well have been a corpse addressing those left standing. “The Archives are lost t’us.”In some ways it was. A funeral, that is. Half of the pack was left above ground while the remainder was entombed below. The irony of it was unmistakable, but the only ones laughing were the birds that flew overhead. "Search for survivors. Dig up what rations remain. Pair up an' assess the mountain passes that are still intact. If y'see your Kin an’ they turn the other way… let 'em go. They don't need t’follow us." He is your Omen yet he does not address any of you by rank or Attunement. But you know why— another archaic custom, one that hasn’t been used for almost a decade. On that day you were all stripped of your titles. Your meaning. Your home. Yet there he stood: statuesque, no different than the ruins of the mountains that spiraled all around you and the others. That day has a name and it feels heavy on your tongue. The Southpoint Collapse.You know not know what to make of him. He does not know what to make of you, of the situation you have all found yourselves in. He has not been prepared for this. Neither have you. "We leave at dawn. When Their eyes cannot follow us." You shiver; is it the cold? His words? It's detail you've forgotten several weeks in. "...It's time, wolkin. Time t’go."...and that was only the beginning. , Presently, you and the rest of the Tomb follow the Omen, the new Omen, across great divides and plains that do not smell of home. They are not protected from the stars. You walk, day and night, resting only when the sun is highest, walking again when it kisses the horizon. Somewhere along the way, it seems the Tomb has picked up Strays. They do not know the secrets you know, and the Omen regards them with eyes that say you will not tell them. It is too fresh a wound, so you speak in tongues or not at all. These strangers join your Tomb and what little you have to offer them. Some ask about the pack, about where you are headed, about where you are from. Others are quiet, content to be in the company of something other than the whistling wind and its many strange songs. Sometimes the Omen speaks to them. Most of the time he does not. He is quiet. Distant. Absorbed in watching the sky when he thinks no one is watching.. But you can't help it; none of you can. Perhaps that is why, one day, he finally takes notice. That day is today. Today he smiles. It is small, forgettable, awkward on his face that looks hallowed from time and time alone. "The mountains," he says that morning. Your circadian rhythms are all out of tune. It should be night for this conversation, yet the sun stretches far and wide and your eyes hurt from its rays. "D’you see what I see? The peaks… the way they bend the clouds ‘round them. The air’s thick… ‘an cold.” The Omen takes a breath in. Several others do the same. “Smells like home.”Home?You and so many others look to the sky that day. Past two massive lakes and their smaller twins sits a mountain range. Clouds are split apart by its jagged teeth, snow clings to the peaks where they melt into the sky. Shades of pink and red kiss the cool granite of the stones that your Omen is directing you towards. What is this feeling? Is it… hope? Anger? Something else? Something… stronger?What do the others think, you wonder. You look around then back to the sky. In spite of all of the uncertainties that pool around you, you cannot help but believe him. Home. It could be. The Omen does not seem intent on navigating them quite yet and instead, it addresses the pack with a tired yet stern voice. “We… will cross this before the season’s end. Stick t’the lakes and the forest behind us if ya wish t’explore or hunt. No wolkin is permitted t’go further than that. We will wait, survey, an' hopefully, our missing Kin will find us before we move on.Behave yourselves, wolkin. We ain't yet safe from Their eyes. They may try t'deceive us yet. Remember our tenets. Remember your loyalties. May we forge ahead t'gether with the sun at our heels and the moon at our backs. May dust bind us still.”His eyes sweep over you and the others, settling on each face for only a moment before he finally looks towards the lake.“For now, s’time ta rest.”The sun is beginning to rise as his voice draws to a low murmur. The moon's waning reflection shimmers on the pale lakes before you., WELCOME TO HINTERTOMBAbove is your character's prologue and introduction to the pack’s rebirth and your first glimpse at your new Omen, Feldspar. If you think this is a vague, strange little sequence, you'd be correct! As of today, the Tomb is still in its stage of infancy, its rebirth. The pack is roughly a week out from reaching their new territory and you, dear reader, are responsible for their opinions and actions up until this point. For now however… The Tomb welcomes you to the Prologue. , PART ONEThe wolves of the tomb have left their ruinous home and found themselves seated at the edges of four great lakes. Feldspar has ordered all wolves to recoup, rest and mingle while they bide time waiting for any more survivors to find their way to them. ,CHARACTER / PLAYER NOTESNo wolf is permitted to go past the north rims of the lakes. Wolves must stick to the Monolith Gardens or the Pale Lakes if they choose to explore or hunt.This means wolves are sleeping out in the open, much like they have been while on their pilgrimage. Wolves can dig temporary burrows or find shelter at the edge of the forest if it makes them feel more secure.Prey remains will be buried to preserve rations and keep scavengers away.Birds that stray too close to the pack can be hunted for sport as they're seen as messengers of the Great Ones. These remains should be discarded away from the lakeside outpost.The Tomb has left a trail of coloured stones to mark their pilgrimage path in hopes that stragglers will find their way back home. The path has been mostly rolling, snow covered prairies. The pack has tried its best to stick towards the shadows, but they have been traveling primarily during by day to hide themselves from the moon’s prying eyes. Tomb wolves can, and should be, quite exhausted. Since arriving at the lake, they have been encouraged to return to a nocturnal routine— sleep during the day, wake and work at night., HINTERTOMB CHARACTER TRIVIA AND THOUGHT PROMPTS, Of the Tomb [Pre-Southpoint Collapse]If your wolf was part of the pack before the Southpoint Collapse, your character will know the following: The former Omen went missing in February of 2023. A landslide, known now as The Southpoint Collapse, occurred soon after and destroyed a vast majority of the tunnels and Archives and with it, the lives of a handful of former Tomb members. Survivors of the Collapse may have fled. They were permitted to with no chase or repercussions given. All wolves have been stripped of their former titles, Attunements and have lost their items they left in the care of the Archives. It seems as though the other former Choir members (save for Feldspar) have perished or gone missing too.All wolves have salvaged what they could and what remains of the pack had set off the following morning, less than 24 hours after The Southpoint Collapse. Wolves of the Tomb are forbidden from sharing information with passers by or Strays (loners) during this time. [ Hinterborn Character Observation Ideas ]The new Omen seems scared but does not mention it once. Does this make your character fearful? Do they trust its intentions?Did your wolf lose someone or something important to them with the Southpoint Collapse? Does this positively or negatively impact them?Does your wolf feel like they made the right choice to stay? What compels them to follow the Tomb? , Joined the Tomb [ Post-Southpoint Collapse]If your wolf has joined the Tomb from their journey between their old territory and the new one, your character will know the following: Wolves of the Tomb do not seem willing to share information about their pack. They may give you a name, a general location, but they do not disclose why they left or what their plan is. All Strays (loners/dispersals/travelers) seeking shelter must bring the pack something useful for their pilgrimage. What this 'useful' thing is is up to you. The Omen, Feldspar, seems very uncomfortable and downright inhospitable. He avoids you aside from small pleasantries.The pack seems keen on settling in the mountains across a series of partially frozen lakes.[ Stray Character Observation Ideas ]What does your character think of the pack and its secrecy? Are they unnerved by it? Do they pry for information? What gift did your character bring to the Tomb to earn their keep? Was it food, resources, directions, something else?You have been referred to as a “Stray” upon arrival. Does this bother you, or do you find it better than loner, traveler, etc?Does your character think this "Omen" is onto something or a total farce? Do they try to talk to others about this? , PART TWO PREVIEW…Dust trails aboveground shivers below.It is time to cross over,into the grey light of tomorrow.‘FAITH’ COMING MAY 2023.,...

{Reference Image Used }

This takes place while Hintertomb is still travelling, before they reach the Pale Lakes!

Jayana (c) xCinderfrostx

DotW (c) The Admin Team

Description

They'd find a new home, Feldspar had said. They just had to keep moving. Soon.

  But was he right?  

He had to be. He was the Omen. The Chosen. His word was law and he knew more than all of them combined, surely. He knew this was right. He knew.  

But Jayana did not.  

Her family was dead, her home destroyed, and all that she’d worked toward her entire life had been stolen away like a lone snowflake on the harsh breeze. Everything was lost… everything but the packmates that remained. Perhaps that meant something.  

But Jayana could not feel particularly grateful right then.

  Instead, she lay atop the frost-tipped grass, numb to the stinging cold that nipped at her ears and nose as she dared to turn her gaze toward the stars.  

Her family’s faces flashed through her mind, as did the title of Flame that was no longer within her reach—a title that she wasn't sure she ever even deserved, and a single question danced on the tip of her tongue. It was a pointless question. A useless breath. She already knew the answer.  

And yet… her troubled gaze still sought out the moon, eyes narrowing as her body began to tremble with terror and anger and thinly-veiled grief.

It was a pointless question, but her mind asked anyway:  

Why?

Hintertomb [Prologue Event] [Part One],…Several weeks ago, the former Omen went missing. In his wake came the crumbling of the mountainside, the collapse of the first of many tunnel systems that the Tomb had known for so very long. Within it many wolves were lost, left to wander in the dark as transients, as souls with no vessels to return to. As a born member of the Tomb you know that this was no mere coincidence. Natural disaster following the death or disappearance of an Omen means the next one has been selected. It aligns with the wolf born into that season, the one who most closely matches the event. To be chosen is no joyous occasion; it means someone from the Choir has been marked. On that day, the Great Ones had done just that, and with it came the new Omen's first commandments:"...This is it." It was said with no flourish but rather the energy of someone attending a funeral; forlorn, melancholy, so dreadfully devoid of life it might as well have been a corpse addressing those left standing. “The Archives are lost t’us.”In some ways it was. A funeral, that is. Half of the pack was left above ground while the remainder was entombed below. The irony of it was unmistakable, but the only ones laughing were the birds that flew overhead. "Search for survivors. Dig up what rations remain. Pair up an' assess the mountain passes that are still intact. If y'see your Kin an’ they turn the other way… let 'em go. They don't need t’follow us." He is your Omen yet he does not address any of you by rank or Attunement. But you know why— another archaic custom, one that hasn’t been used for almost a decade. On that day you were all stripped of your titles. Your meaning. Your home. Yet there he stood: statuesque, no different than the ruins of the mountains that spiraled all around you and the others. That day has a name and it feels heavy on your tongue. The Southpoint Collapse.You know not know what to make of him. He does not know what to make of you, of the situation you have all found yourselves in. He has not been prepared for this. Neither have you. "We leave at dawn. When Their eyes cannot follow us." You shiver; is it the cold? His words? It's detail you've forgotten several weeks in. "...It's time, wolkin. Time t’go."...and that was only the beginning. , Presently, you and the rest of the Tomb follow the Omen, the new Omen, across great divides and plains that do not smell of home. They are not protected from the stars. You walk, day and night, resting only when the sun is highest, walking again when it kisses the horizon. Somewhere along the way, it seems the Tomb has picked up Strays. They do not know the secrets you know, and the Omen regards them with eyes that say you will not tell them. It is too fresh a wound, so you speak in tongues or not at all. These strangers join your Tomb and what little you have to offer them. Some ask about the pack, about where you are headed, about where you are from. Others are quiet, content to be in the company of something other than the whistling wind and its many strange songs. Sometimes the Omen speaks to them. Most of the time he does not. He is quiet. Distant. Absorbed in watching the sky when he thinks no one is watching.. But you can't help it; none of you can. Perhaps that is why, one day, he finally takes notice. That day is today. Today he smiles. It is small, forgettable, awkward on his face that looks hallowed from time and time alone. "The mountains," he says that morning. Your circadian rhythms are all out of tune. It should be night for this conversation, yet the sun stretches far and wide and your eyes hurt from its rays. "D’you see what I see? The peaks… the way they bend the clouds ‘round them. The air’s thick… ‘an cold.” The Omen takes a breath in. Several others do the same. “Smells like home.”Home?You and so many others look to the sky that day. Past two massive lakes and their smaller twins sits a mountain range. Clouds are split apart by its jagged teeth, snow clings to the peaks where they melt into the sky. Shades of pink and red kiss the cool granite of the stones that your Omen is directing you towards. What is this feeling? Is it… hope? Anger? Something else? Something… stronger?What do the others think, you wonder. You look around then back to the sky. In spite of all of the uncertainties that pool around you, you cannot help but believe him. Home. It could be. The Omen does not seem intent on navigating them quite yet and instead, it addresses the pack with a tired yet stern voice. “We… will cross this before the season’s end. Stick t’the lakes and the forest behind us if ya wish t’explore or hunt. No wolkin is permitted t’go further than that. We will wait, survey, an' hopefully, our missing Kin will find us before we move on.Behave yourselves, wolkin. We ain't yet safe from Their eyes. They may try t'deceive us yet. Remember our tenets. Remember your loyalties. May we forge ahead t'gether with the sun at our heels and the moon at our backs. May dust bind us still.”His eyes sweep over you and the others, settling on each face for only a moment before he finally looks towards the lake.“For now, s’time ta rest.”The sun is beginning to rise as his voice draws to a low murmur. The moon's waning reflection shimmers on the pale lakes before you., WELCOME TO HINTERTOMBAbove is your character's prologue and introduction to the pack’s rebirth and your first glimpse at your new Omen, Feldspar. If you think this is a vague, strange little sequence, you'd be correct! As of today, the Tomb is still in its stage of infancy, its rebirth. The pack is roughly a week out from reaching their new territory and you, dear reader, are responsible for their opinions and actions up until this point. For now however… The Tomb welcomes you to the Prologue. , PART ONEThe wolves of the tomb have left their ruinous home and found themselves seated at the edges of four great lakes. Feldspar has ordered all wolves to recoup, rest and mingle while they bide time waiting for any more survivors to find their way to them. ,CHARACTER / PLAYER NOTESNo wolf is permitted to go past the north rims of the lakes. Wolves must stick to the Monolith Gardens or the Pale Lakes if they choose to explore or hunt.This means wolves are sleeping out in the open, much like they have been while on their pilgrimage. Wolves can dig temporary burrows or find shelter at the edge of the forest if it makes them feel more secure.Prey remains will be buried to preserve rations and keep scavengers away.Birds that stray too close to the pack can be hunted for sport as they're seen as messengers of the Great Ones. These remains should be discarded away from the lakeside outpost.The Tomb has left a trail of coloured stones to mark their pilgrimage path in hopes that stragglers will find their way back home. The path has been mostly rolling, snow covered prairies. The pack has tried its best to stick towards the shadows, but they have been traveling primarily during by day to hide themselves from the moon’s prying eyes. Tomb wolves can, and should be, quite exhausted. Since arriving at the lake, they have been encouraged to return to a nocturnal routine— sleep during the day, wake and work at night., HINTERTOMB CHARACTER TRIVIA AND THOUGHT PROMPTS, Of the Tomb [Pre-Southpoint Collapse]If your wolf was part of the pack before the Southpoint Collapse, your character will know the following: The former Omen went missing in February of 2023. A landslide, known now as The Southpoint Collapse, occurred soon after and destroyed a vast majority of the tunnels and Archives and with it, the lives of a handful of former Tomb members. Survivors of the Collapse may have fled. They were permitted to with no chase or repercussions given. All wolves have been stripped of their former titles, Attunements and have lost their items they left in the care of the Archives. It seems as though the other former Choir members (save for Feldspar) have perished or gone missing too.All wolves have salvaged what they could and what remains of the pack had set off the following morning, less than 24 hours after The Southpoint Collapse. Wolves of the Tomb are forbidden from sharing information with passers by or Strays (loners) during this time. [ Hinterborn Character Observation Ideas ]The new Omen seems scared but does not mention it once. Does this make your character fearful? Do they trust its intentions?Did your wolf lose someone or something important to them with the Southpoint Collapse? Does this positively or negatively impact them?Does your wolf feel like they made the right choice to stay? What compels them to follow the Tomb? , Joined the Tomb [ Post-Southpoint Collapse]If your wolf has joined the Tomb from their journey between their old territory and the new one, your character will know the following: Wolves of the Tomb do not seem willing to share information about their pack. They may give you a name, a general location, but they do not disclose why they left or what their plan is. All Strays (loners/dispersals/travelers) seeking shelter must bring the pack something useful for their pilgrimage. What this 'useful' thing is is up to you. The Omen, Feldspar, seems very uncomfortable and downright inhospitable. He avoids you aside from small pleasantries.The pack seems keen on settling in the mountains across a series of partially frozen lakes.[ Stray Character Observation Ideas ]What does your character think of the pack and its secrecy? Are they unnerved by it? Do they pry for information? What gift did your character bring to the Tomb to earn their keep? Was it food, resources, directions, something else?You have been referred to as a “Stray” upon arrival. Does this bother you, or do you find it better than loner, traveler, etc?Does your character think this "Omen" is onto something or a total farce? Do they try to talk to others about this? , PART TWO PREVIEW…Dust trails aboveground shivers below.It is time to cross over,into the grey light of tomorrow.‘FAITH’ COMING MAY 2023.,...

{Reference Image Used }

This takes place while Hintertomb is still travelling, before they reach the Pale Lakes!

Jayana (c) xCinderfrostx

DotW (c) The Admin Team