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The following posts contain information about the Lycan culture and beliefs. The information present is meant to be a resource for those whom play Lycans, so they can be better informed as to the ways of the Lycans

The Clans follow a strigent set of Rules and Traditions. Breaking any of these rules is often a unforgiveable offense. Likewise, each Pack has their own rules that they follow, though these rules are a bit more bendable in accordance to the will of the Head.

Family packs are granted territory in which they may hunt and make homes. Packs very rarely wander off their own territory, in fact they guard their home dilgently against any intruders. Only Pathless Lycans openly wander the territories, and only with the permission of the Head of the territory. Sometimes if a Head is generouse he or she may grant a Pathless Lycan permission to linger in their territory.


Pack Culture: Each family pack is allowed to design their own rules in accordance to the will of the Head. Mating pairs, child rearing, and even duties are all subject to the ruling of the Head. However there are certain set rules that apply to all family packs and are expected to be fulfilled.

1) Laws of Honor: No Head may refuse a request of Audiance. - No harm may be visited upon he or she who request Audiance until such time that the Audiance is complete. - No harm shall be tolerated upon the Audiance requesters part.

2) Laws of Courage: No Pack may ignore the cries of a child. - Reguardless of gender, no adult shall be denied the right to Battle. - All pack mates have the right to proclaim Challenge. - No Head shall intervene when Challenge has been proclaimed.

3) Laws of Justice: The will of the Head shall be Law. - No retribution shall be carried out against those who peacefully sunder ties with the Pack. - He who spills the blood of his brother shall in turn have his blood spilled by the hands of his own family.

There are four ceremonies that Lycans participate in discounting the yearly Council gathering. Each ceremony corresponds with the New Moon in accordance to it's seasonal appearance.

Spring Moon: The Allure Moon. This festival is held when a New Moon occurs in the Spring season. This celebration is a wild fling of colorful ribbons, flowers, wine, and whimsical events. This is a festival in which young males often move freely between neighboring packs before returning to thier own pack. The ritual of the Allure Moon is also a fertility celebration. Females who are unhappy with their current mate, may at this time, seek out a new male to become mates with. Or males who desire specific females of another male may seek permission of the females mate to couple with her, or even attempt to steal the female away. It is only during the ritual of the Allure Moon that these actions are accepted.

Summer Moon: The Conquest Moon. Held when a New Moon occurs during the summer season, this ritual is primarily observed by the Sun Clan fanatically. This celebration starts out with a wild unrestrained party of dancing and drinking. The focus of this celebration is a Hunt that takes place at midnight. Traditionally a Gargoyal is captured alive for the sake of this hunt. It's wings are broken or cut clean off, and a hour before the Hunt is to begin it is released. The Hunters are often young Lycans ready to taste their first blood. The Hunt reachs a climax at midnight, when the wild youngsters take their leave of the party to hunt down the wounded Gargoyal. Whomever it is that claims the victory of the kill is often honored for the next few weeks and is allowed to ask a boon of the Head as his or her prize. In the case a Gargoyal can not be procurred, one of the elder Lycans dresses up as a 'mock Gargoyal' for the sake of the hunt. The ending of a Mock Hunt is more like a game of Hide and Seek with the victor being treated to a reserved amount of respect.

Fall Moon: The Mourning Moon. Held when a New Moon forms during the Fall season. The Mourning moon is a ritual of revereance. During this time all Lycans of a pack are called forth to sing a Song of Decendacy. This celebration is observed with a great deal more control then the Allure or Conquest Moon. No alcoholic drinks are permitted to be partaken of. Rather, urns of a special 'Departed Wine' is prepared by the eldest of the Pack. These urns are taken to the burial mounds and placed at each grave. It is believed that during the Mourning Moon the spirits of deceased Lycans return to look upon their decendants. Reguardless of whether or not a Lycan is buried in the graves present, it is believed that the spirits will travel unerringly to all who share their blood. The urns are placed as a gift of respect for the dead spirits that have traveled so far. Over the course of the night, each member of the pack sings his Decendacy song, as a way for spirits who might possibly have gotten lost to find them. It is believed that if a spirit becomes lost during this time or becomes angry with his, or her, decendants the spirit may not return to the Land Beyond. Spirits that become lost wander aimlessly, thier pressence slowly draining the life from the land and making it ill. Spirits that become angry, perhaps over the lack of a Departed Wine offering or over the shameful actions of their line, may forsake their paradise in the Land Beyond to inflict misery and punishment upon those whom they feel have wronged them. These Spirits are often blamed for mysterious deaths and unexplained illnesses.

Winter Moon: The Solace Moon. Held when a New Moon occurs in the Winter season. The Solace moon is a very serious ritual for the Lycans. All young males who reach puberty are forced out of the Pack's territory and are required to wander as a Pathless for a total of three months. During this time of being Pathless, it is expected for the young male to provide for himself and refuse the aid of all others. The purpose of this ritual is to teach all young males the hardships they would endure without the aid of his pack, and so he may come to understand the lonliness and troubles that Pathless suffer. At the end of his forced wandering, the Lycan is expected to return home and make a Request of Audiance with the Head of his pack. During this private Audiance he is to recount his trials and beseech the Head to accept him back into the pack if it is his wish to return. It is a unspoken rule that the Head must accept the young Lycan back should he be asked, but there have been tales of young Lycans turned away for unexplained reasons.

Lycan's follow a general guideline set of rules surrounding Mating. Many Heads may choose to add onto these rules as is their will.

* A Male may choose as many as three females as his Mate.

* A Female must remain faithful to her Mate alone.

* A Male may not cast aside a female after he has accepted her for any reason.

* A Female may choose to leave her Mate during the Allure Moon or during Council Gatherings with her Mate's acceptance.

* A Male may challenge another Male for his Mate.

* A Male may not favor one Mate over another and must provide for them equally.

* A Male must see to the welfare of any cubs his Mate's may birth.

* A Male must provide for his Mates before himself.

* A Female must remain loyal to her Mate.

* A Female must not harbor jealousy for other Females that her Mate takes for himself.

* A Female will not harbor ill will towards the cubs of her Mates other females.



Before a pair of Lycans are openly accepted as a Mated pair, there is a month long courtship that is performed by the male. Over the course of thirty days, the male must make some form of offering to the female. A string of gifts if you will. These gifts range from hand made items, to game hunted in the forest, to simple acts of menial service. If the female refuses each of these gifts over the course of the thirty days, it means she has no interest at all in the male. If the female accepts a few gifts, it means she may have some slight interest, or perhaps is still judging the male's worthiness as a mate. If the female accepts twenty nine of the gifts offered by the male, it means that she is very interested in becoming his mate.

The final gift offered is traditionally a hand made item the male has procurred for the female. If the female accepts the final gift, it means she has accepted his courtship and the next step is for the female to move in with the male as his new mate. If the female turns down the final gift, it could mean she is not yet ready to become the males Mate, reguardless of whether or not she has accepted every gift he has offered prior.

If a female refuses the final gift, but has accepted other gifts over the course of the thirty days, the male may wait a indetermined period of time before offering the same gift to the female again. (This is why the final gift is traditionally a hand made item, as a gift of fish would not make a very good gift a month or so later.) He may continue to offer his final gift until the female either accepts it, or accepts a final gift from another male.

Lycan Ageing: Lycans count their age in accordance to the amount of New Moons that they have passed since their birth. Typically there are 12 New Moons a year, so in order to fully grasp how old a Lycan is, just take the amount of New Moons they have lived and divide it by 12. For example: Lufier is 360 New Moons old. 360/12 = 30 Years. So Lufian is 30 Years old.

Same Gender Pairings: On occassion a Lycan male may take another male as his mate. Just as there are the rare occurances in nature when a pair of like gender creatures will form a bond, so too can the Lycans. It is acceptable for a male to assume a submissive role of the female, though it is extremely rare. The submissive male is no longer viewed as a male any longer by his packmates, and is treted as a female in all aspects. Even to the point of referring to the male in a feminine manner. Such as calling him a 'her'. Submissive males are called Feour. In retrospect, it is unacceptable for a female to attempt and assume the role of a male. There is no acceptable way for a female to take on the role of a male in the Lycan culture. Typically, females who rebell against their position in the pack are cast out. These rare females become Pathless known as Reorin and mark themselves by cutting off their tails so no other Pack will accept them.

Home Village: Lycans with established territory create villages in the same manner you might imagin a indian village. Each Lycan male has his own home hut, which is called a Tenei. Tenei's are half dug into the ground and reinforced with sun baked clay bricks. Stairs step down into the Tenei that are often painted in accordance to the tastes of the Females who reside in the Tenei. The upper half ot the Tenei is formed of bent saplings with stretched hides sewn together. Normally these hides are replaced each fall to ensure their durability for the coming winter. A small fireplace like alcolve is also dug into the earth and reinforced with more clay bricks at the back of the Tenei to provide heat, light, and cook fires in bad weather. Normally rounded river stones are placed in the bottom of the fireplace to heat up for cooking and heating purposes.

Lycans do not store their food independantly. Rather they all share in a single storehouse. It is much like a Tenei, save there is no fireplace and it is completely located underground. This storehouse, called a Chulpah, is open to all Lycans to feed from. Children are never denied access to the Chulpah and it is only rationed during ties of duress. Woven baskets filled with dried plants and fruit are stacked carefully in groups. Strings of smoked and salted meats and fish are stored in air tight clay boxes that are sealed until the time comes to eat the food within.