Editing Werewolf Paris/Paris (section)

==The Uratha of Paris==

The Forsaken of Paris are broadly split between the Lamplighters Protectorate that holds wide swathes of territory in the banlieues, the Zero Point Protectorate that struggles to keep its grip in the arrondisements, and those packs that remain unaffiliated with either. There are a great number of Uratha in Paris, more than one might expect, and still there is much unclaimed space to be taken by newcomers.

The Zero Point Protectorate formed back in the early 90s among the packs of the central arrondissements, in response to the discovery of the growing energies in the cromlech lines by the Bone Shadows of the Red Children pack. The overall purpose of the Protectorate is to monitor the cromlech lines, prevent a disastrous level of Essence forming in the zero point itself, and to do what they can to discover what is causing the problem and to prevent any other creatures from using or aggravating the surge. Because the Protectorate's territories include various symbols that are important to the wider Shadow of France, they have good connections and influence with Uratha from beyond Paris, and hold many valuable spiritual resources. However, the Protectorate's creation caused plenty of friction. The Protectorate of the Dance, formed in the 60s, was slowly falling apart by the end of the 80s and the formation of the Zero Point Protectorate caused it to topple; the new, more insular Protectorate cut many of the Uratha of Paris out from the influence and access they had once enjoyed.

The Lamplighters Protectorate formed around ten years ago, binding together the more powerful packs of the banlieues under the leadership of two elders - the ancient Blood Talon Scourge-of-Valais and the Iron Master Dolon Laguerre. The two elders are reputed to loathe one another, but the collapse of the Protectorate of the Dance had left both of them with greatly weakened power-bases. Fortunately for them, they were able to take advantage of the Zero Point's focus on the cromlech lines and the spiritual energies within the Isle-de-France itself, a focus that left fewer resources and less aid being given to the packs out in the banlieues. During a renewed period of Pure aggression, one that scattered two packs entirely, the elders managed to put aside their differences and forge the Lamplighters under the banner of fighting the war and shouldering the duties to the Forsaken that Zero Point seemed unwilling to do. More numerous than Zero Point but more widely scattered and less well-resourced, the Lamplighters have nonetheless managed to fight back effectively against the Pure and take some steps to managing the rest of the city's unstable spiritual ecology. The two ravenous elders, however, are as much feared as they are respected, and often refered to mockingly as Hirsent and Isengrim when out of earshot.

Ghost Wolves are extremely numerous in Paris, largely as very small packs or even individuals in the banlieues. Many have a warped mixture of Uratha and Christian (or Muslim) beliefs; these werewolves are usually referred to as devil dogs or hellhounds by other Uratha, since they tend to believe that they are demons or have been cursed by Satan in some way. A few maintain cults of Ys, maintaining a myth of the sunken city that considers it as both lost homeland and promised paradise that they can attain by through hunting whoever it is that their particular cult holds as sacred prey; both the Storm Lords and the Fire-Touched use the Ys cults as intermediary recruiting grounds, the latter as a step towards the belief of Taga Dan. Unfortunately, lone Ghost Wolves also often seem to form their own little cults of humans in France, teaching rite-craft to the herd and preparing cultists to become Claimed for their spirit-allies; these cults have been a major source of witches and sorcerers over the centuries, but at least in Paris they used to be easier to hunt down. The vast population of the city now means the opposite is true; it's easy for a cult to hide amongst the masses.

The Apollonians are a source of trouble for the Zero Point Protectorate in particular, and contest a few key territories in the arrondissements and inner banlieues. These bizarre cultists are all members of an esoteric lodge of Uratha who worship Apollo in his aspect as a wolf, and reject the Forsaken and Pure mythologies alike. They consider themselves to be guardians of places that are sacred to the Light of the Sun, and the Forsaken have some evidence that they may have started as a Hunter in Darkness heresy. The Apollonians have been practicing their frenzied, ecstatic rites and debauched entertainments for at least a couple of centuries. The lodge claims to hold defilers of their sacred places as their holy prey, but the hidden little shrines can hardly have enough curious trespassers to justify the Apollonian cult's numbers.

The Amazigh are traditionalist Uratha from the Berber immigrants into France, both Pure and Forsaken alike. Amazigh packs are insular and refuse to embrace any werewolves who are not strict adherents to the supposed traditions of the Maghreb Uratha, even other immigrants who they judge to not hold to the old ways enough. The Amazigh hold themselves to be purer and wiser than French Uratha, regardless of those Urathas' origins, and while they do partake in the Forsaken Protectorates and the Pure cults, they always hold themselves aloof to some extent. Even the rivalries and feuds amongst the Amazigh Pure and Forsaken are highly opaque to outsiders. The Amazigh lack numbers, however, and their power is only likely to diminish and take them closer to irrelevance as even young Berber-immigrant Uratha feel they have little in common with some traditionalists following old and strict rites for little obvious practical benefit.

As for the Pure? Well, they have their own divisions and rifts. The Ivory Claws of the Silver Principality, centred in Versailles, are united but their influence in Paris itself is strictly limited. The rival Fire-Touched sects of the Iron Banner, the Blind Sight and the Scarlet Cathedral squabble with each other and the other Tribes for power. Old families of Ivory Claw lineage sneer at the Fire-Touched masses but carefully trade their knowledge and skills to Rabid Wolf's children in return for the lore and the blood that they seek. Even their totems are divided, and not along Tribal lines; a small enclave of Fire-Touched in the far west recently came under attack by both Fire-Touched and Predator King packs, whose totems sought the destruction of the enclave's own spirits due to some transgression or other.



[[Werewolf_Paris |Back to main page]]<br>