Silent Striders

Werewolves

Introduction

he Silent Striders are one of the tribes found in Werewolf: The Apocalypse. Nomadic, introspective, and highly spiritual, the Silent Striders have plumbed the depths of the Umbra, perhaps more deeply than any other tribe of Garou.

History

The Silent Striders appear to have roots in Africa and the Middle East. Alongside the Children of Gaia, the Silent Striders were among the first of the tribes to protest against the Impergium, although the reason for this was more pragmatism (humans getting increasingly hostile, stronger, and aggressive with every passing generation) than actual concern for them. In their tribal homeland of Egypt, the Silent Striders were among the few tribes still on terms with some of the remaining Fera following the genocides of the War of Rage. The River Pact between the local Mokolé and the Silent Striders ensured a clear division in territory and allowed for a peaceful coexistence. The Silent Striders allied themselves with the Osirian League to stop the Antediluvian Sutekh, a vampire of immense power and deeply tainted by the touch of the Corruptor. Their struggles lasted centuries, until Shu-Horus managed to wound the great vampire, who in turn spoke out one last terrible curse that severed the tribe from their ancestor spirits and banished the tribe from the ground of Khem. The curse took one year to scatter the Silent Striders to the four corners of the earth, forcing them to abandon most of their caerns and making them homeless vagabond in the eyes of their peers.

The Striders profited from the road network of the Roman empire, but preferred the wilds to civilization. During the time of the rise of the prophet Muhammad, the Theurge Fire Walker received a vision which foretold Gaia's death by fire and smoke under a Red Star, while the Garou desperately put Metis into the world to defend a lost cause. Fire Walker succumbed to Harano a short time afterward.

Dark Ages

Most Silent Striders stayed in the boundaries of the Caliphate, following its conquest into Asia. Some managed to gain the trust of a local Beast Court, while others began to roam the Central Asian steppes, even taking Kinfolk from the nomad barbarians there. When the Crusades reached the Middle East, many Striders followed them back to southeastern Europe, bringing with them the grim tales of the Flaying Plague. It was a terrible disease unleashed by the wizards of the Circle of Red, who found themselves destroyed by angry Garou. Many Silent Striders also followed the Mongols in their conquests against the Europeans.

Victorian Age

Although the Silent Striders were aware of the Pure Ones long before many of their European brethren, they had always respected the territorial boundaries. When America was colonized, many younger Striders followed them out of curiosity, establishing Kinfolk families and enjoying the unspoiled lands. Strife with the natives led to bitter grudges, although the Silent Striders were among the more progressive tribes that actually tried to make amends to the Pure Ones.

Modern Nights

The Silent Striders were faced with a serious drop in Kinfolk population during the Holocaust and when the surviving Jews managed to establish their own nation, opinions in the tribe over the incident as well as the rising Islamic tendencies in the Middle East and the growing power of radical groups began to diverge. When Fire Walker's prophecy began to seemingly fulfill itself, with Anthelios appearing in the night sky in 1999 and the Underworld wrecked by a storm of unmatched fury, many Striders were convinced that the End Times had finally begun. Also, the first children in centuries had been born that could hear the voices of their Ancestors since Sutekh had spoken his curse upon the tribe.

The Silent Striders were also among Kisasi's allies against Black Tooth and the Endless Storm, and later became official members of the Ahadi.

Organization

The Silent Striders have little in the way of formal organization. As the tribe is almost completely made up of wanderers and exiles, a formal hierarchy is of little practical use to the Striders. They communicate with one another mainly by leaving Garou glyphs, graffiti hieroglyphs, or similarly cryptic signs behind; a Silent Strider can sometimes learn where the local vampires' hunting grounds are just by scanning the walls of a subway station.

Striders congregate only when chance brings them together, save for the occasional grand moot, which all members of the tribe try to attend. The location of this moot changes with every occurrence, though such events are usually held on a desolate stretch of untraveled road. No outsider could say which Striders decide that a moot is necessary, nor is it known exactly how word gets passed from Garou to Garou. It simply happens, and the details of how are a tribal secret.

Among all the tribes, the Striders hold the smallest number of caerns. Few of these werewolves have any lasting love for a place (apart from those tales of his ancestral homeland a Strider might preserve), and most are born with a wanderlust deep in their blood. When a Silent Strider finally chooses a home to call his own, he intends to die there.

Camps

• Harbingers: These were the first Garou to take the Prophecy of the Phoenix seriously, or so some say. They spilt up and wandered the world looking for Wyrmsign and brought the word back. They are still not done telling the Garou of all the Wyrmsign they found. Most importantly, they bring hope. They are among the wisest of the Garou, so you better jump when they tell you to.
• Seekers: Most of us are a Seeker in some form or another. Seekers wander from place to place looking for information they have not yet learned. Seekers tend to be clever, resourceful, inquisitive, and stubborn as all hell. If you want to know something, ask a Seeker. If they do not know the answer, they will point you in the right direction. Seekers know what has happened and what is happening now.
• The Dispossessed: One cannot help to worry about the Dispossessed. They try nothing harder than to settle down somewhere. Something always prevents them from settling down. It is no wonder that they are so bitter. They study about the Apocalypse and are the most morbid among us. They watch for portents of the coming Apocalypse and tell their warnings to those who will listen. There are even rumors that they try to help bring about the Apocalypse. They believe that they will have a home after the Apocalypse.
• The Swords of the Night: Originally known as the Daggers of Nut, the Swords are dedicated to break the hold of Sutekh's descendants over Egypt, and by extension, that of vampires over their territory in general. Other Tribes are often not happy to be drawn in conflicts created by assaults of the Swords against the local Leech population, which forces the Swords to act undercover.
• Wayfarers: Perhaps the ones that really make the rest of us angry. These Striders sell their services to the highest bidder. They are talented, though. If one says he will get your message through, it will go through. Just because we have talents that make us good messengers, we should not be selling them to the highest bidder.

Additionally, there are two secret Camps that practice ways that are not orthodox with the culture of the Tribe at large.

• Eaters of The Dead: When we were exiled, we stopped eating the brains of humans due to possible Wyrm taint. Some of our tribe did not stop. The Eaters of the Dead still practice the Rite of Dormant Wisdom in secrecy. Sure they know a lot, but at what cost? Some say they have begun to perform the rite on immobilized Leeches while they are still conscious.
• The Bitter Hex: These Striders are so ill-natured and spiteful at this point that they have taken it upon themselves to avenge all the slights the Striders have suffered over time. They are not violent like some camps in the Fianna. They use the evil-eye, the curse, the bad mojo, the Amria. Be careful not to cross them or you will find yourself on the receiving end of a curse. Your guts will be twisted into knots and leave you puking and feeble as a cub for a week.

Tribal Culture

Striders are rarely found in the company of other Striders, perhaps occasionally pairing up with another for a difficult journey. More often than not, a Strider in a group is found in a pack composed of many tribes. Otherwise, they tend to remain loners, never settling down.

One of the reasons for their frequent wandering is to find and destroy the influence of the Wyrm. To meet these ends, the Striders have pierced into the Umbra and into the realms of the dead. They are the only tribe to have mastered this art, and for this reason they have an unsettling air about them that tends to disturb other Garou.

With the usual exception of Banes and Black Spiral Dancers, the Striders hold their greatest hatred for vampires. Tribal legend holds that the Striders fought an army of vampires led by a dark undead godling called Sutekh. Sutekh supposedly cast a great curse on the tribe that drove them from Egypt, scattered them to the winds, and worst of all, severed their bonds with their ancestors. Since then, many Striders take Egyptian names as a link to their past, and search the Umbra in vain for some sign of their forbears. The Silent Striders do have a relationship with the Restless Dead. The origin of the relationship is unknown, but Striders tend to attract ghosts' attention when passing through the Gauntlet into or out of the Umbra. Rare is the Silent Strider who does not have at least one wraith tagging along as he travels. Out of a sense of respect and politeness, the Striders will generally avoid mentioning such ghosts in front of strangers.

Political Culture

Perhaps no other tribe is as adept at gathering and spreading information than the Striders. As much as many of them talk, telling stories and bearing messages, they are also, on the whole, excellent listeners, and will pick up subtle details in a conversation others might miss.

Since they are usually the most well-traveled Garou of all the Tribes, the Silent Striders categorize the Tribes into four groups. First of them are the Pariah Tribes, who are different from the other Tribes and include the Bone Gnawers, Red Talons, and Glass Walkers, along with the lost Bunyip. The Tribes of Honor, who act as leaders for the Nation, include the Children of Gaia, the Shadow Lords, and the Silver Fangs, along with the lost Croatan. The Tribes of Glory, who are the greatest warriors of the Nation, include the Get of Fenris, the Fianna, and the Wendigo, with the former White Howlers as the lost members. The last group are the Tribes of Wisdom, which include the Silent Striders themselves, the Uktena, and the Black Furies, with the Stargazers as the lost ones who have turned away from the Nation. Each lost member is hold up as a cautionary tale against falling to deep into one of these pursuits and losing sight of the greater good of the Nation.

Religious Culture

Because they are wanderers, the Silent Striders have the fewest caerns of any tribe, and the few that exist tend to be along roads or popular points of travel. It is often the guardians of these caerns that prove to be the rare example of a Silent Strider who actually stays put.

The Silent Striders believe that originally the Triat was in a state they refer to as Ma'at, balanced and in accordance with Gaia's will. In the state of Ma'at, the Wyld was Ptah, who formed new things; the Weaver was Djehuty, who gave order and structure to the universe, and the Wyrm was Apep, who returned the old and weary back to cycle. The modern Triat is twisted into Chaos, Stasis, and Corruption, and only by bringing these forces back into Ma'at will the original Harmony return.

Each Silent Strider who passes his Rite of Passage adopts a "Name of Remembrance". The Name of Remembrance is usually a Greek form of an Egyptian name, done to remember their lost Ancestors and their place of origin. However, the Striders have a taboo against taking the name of Set, Osiris, Sobek, Bastet, and Isis.