Cloud Chaser
History
On a warm, calm day a healthy male cub was born to a wolf named Hunts-For-Fish, the alpha female of a small pack that held their territory within a small forest in America. Growing swiftly and strongly, the young cub soon became quite strong, although not terribly large. Hunts-For-Fish, who retained her position as alpha female, often took her cub walking through the forest. It was here, several miles from the pack, that Hunts-For-Fish would tell the cub of many odd things - a breed of wolf that could walk as the two-legs did, of evil things in the night, of faraway places. Often she told him of a spirit-world, where all the spirits of the pack's kills went to rest. One day, returning to the glade that held the pack's den, they found the wolves in a panic. Within the clearing stood a tall, strong male wolf with grey fur. A vivid silver streak ran across his back, and he faced the alpha male defiantly. In the ensueing dominance battle, the alpha was knocked backward into a bush, where a fierce snap was heard, followed by a brief yelp. Cautiously, the new alpha approached the bush and sniffed. Leaping back, he let out a long, mournful howl. The cub, whose name was Cloud Chaser, padded up to the bush. Every one of the pack could smell blood - wolf blood. Peering within the bush, Cloud Chaser's eyes rested on the old pack alpha, his head cracked cleanly in two by the vicious steel jaws of a two-legs' trap. The sightless eyes gazed up at Cloud Chaser, who ran blindly back to his mother. The new alpha declared that a dangerous type of two-legs was about in the forest, a breed called 'hunter'. They must move quickly, he said. Cloud Chaser remembered little of the following days, as they left the forest and went away, always listening for the 'whup-whup' noise of the two-legs' metal birds that the 'hunters' would come in. They lost several wolves to the 'hunters' before, suddenly, they broke off. Without knowing it, the pack had crossed into the area known as Yellowstone National Park.
Cloud Chaser's mother still took him for walks through the park. He begged her for stories of the spirit world and of his father, of whom Hunts-For-Fish would rarely speak. Although Hunts-For-Fish knew little of the spirits and their world, she told the young Cloud Chaser all she knew. The spirit world, she had been told, was a big and dangerous place where many things that should not be able to happen could. If a wolf had the knack, she said, he could walk into the spirit world through his dreams. That night, as Cloud Chaser lay down to rest, he concentrated as hard as he could on his concept of spirits, and went to sleep, dreaming of walking in their world.
As he dreamed, he saw a wide, open plain devoid of trees, or even grass. Small shapes of light ran past him, and occasionally stopped to talk to him. They spoke in a very fast tongue, and Cloud Chaser could not understand what they were saying. One particular shape stayed very close to Cloud Chaser, talking to him in a hushed voice. This one he could understand. It said it was his Kin-Fetch, and that he was in the spirit world, and he must go back the way he came before evil things attacked him. Cloud Chaser was just saying that he didn't know how to get back, when a dark shape appeared out of nowhere and ran into him. Letting out a strange scream, the Kin-Fetch leapt to Cloud Chaser's defence. Watching in horror, Cloud Chaser saw three more dark shapes appear in front of him. As the Kin-Fetch was overwhelmed by the shapes, Cloud Chaser heard the spirit scream, 'Scrags! They are scrags! Run, Garou!' Not knowing why the spirit called him this odd name, Cloud Chaser ran as fast as he could. Soon out of breath, Cloud Chaser looked behind him to see the four ugly scrags materialise before him. Angry, tired and scared, the young Garou felt a fierce heat well up within him and, unable to stop it, he burst into his First Change.
One unschooled cub is no match for four healthy scrags, and things would have gone very badly for Cloud Chaser. However, summoned by the Kin-Fetch's screech, three shimmering patches of beautiful moonlight appeared not far away. Leaping unhesitantly to the Garou's defence, the moonlight spirits helped Cloud Chaser drive the scrags away, losing only one of their number in the process. When Cloud Chaser came around after his diminishing Rage dropped him unconcious, he found one of the moonlight spirits still hovering close to him. The two wandered the Deep Umbra together and the moonlight spirit, who called itself a Lune, taught Cloud Chaser something about the spirit world and even a little of Garou society. It taught him the spirit-tongue, and the two became good friends. After two and a half days they were found by an Uktena who had been brought by the second Lune. He introduced himself as Walks-the-Sky-Road, and told Cloud Chaser that he had much to learn, and it was time he joined his own kind.
After returning to the real world, Walks-the-Sky-Road took the young Cloud Chaser to a nearby sept of Uktena, and began his schooling. Walks-the-Sky-Road, a well-respected Garou of the Sky Walker camp, took Cloud Chaser under his wing and taught him much of the Umbra.
Soon, Cloud Chaser was told that he was ready for his Rite of Passage, and that he must stay within the real world for one full year before returning - as an adult Garou - to finish his instruction as a Sky Walker. Taken to a Get of Fenris camp by Moon Bridge, Cloud Chaser set off on his journey with a strong sense of purpose.
