Everything

The wereravens claim to travel every part of the Umbra, gathering secrets and information as they go. Rumors say the Corax homeland is connected to the Deep Umbra via Anchorheads, allowing them to travel through the Deep Umbra as a conduit to get to other parts of the Umbra. Some Corax say they have mapped out every single Anchor­ head in existence. Regardless of the veracity of the claims, the Corax travel through the Deep Umbra with frequency. Garou travelers may happen across a Corax flying through the Deep Umbra, making her way to some unknown des­ tination. That isn’t to say that the wereravens have some

kind of preternatural sense that allows them to navigate the Deep Umbra any better than werewolves. The Corax use tried and true paths, rarely straying from a known line from one point to another in fear of getting lost in the vast depths of the realm. Wereravens are likely to take interest in other travelers and stop to chat and exchange information. A Corax will gladly lead a traveler through the Deep Umbra, but only on the route she is currently taking — changing routes once started is dangerous, and quick way to get lost.

Members of the Umbral Danse travel through all of the Umbra as their brethren travel the physical world. The Nu­ wisha claim their homeland boasts doors into every part of the Umbra. The doors open and close at seeming random, as Coyote enjoys playing with his children. Sometimes doors open into the Deep Umbra, and the Nuwisha gladly pass through when the opportunity arises. Usually, the only reason the werecoyotes leave their Umbral homeland is because they must fulfill their duty in teaching hard lessons. Not all of those lessons need be taught on Earth. The Nuwisha see opportunity for lessons in the Umbra just as much as the physical world, especially when a traveler is so stupid as to travel to the worlds beyond that lie outside of his comfort zone. Encountering a Nuwisha in the Deep Umbra most often leads to a hard lesson learned, and sometimes it leads to the traveler getting lost and beaten before finding his way home. Travelers should be wary of meeting the tricksters, though recognizing them on sight within the Deep Umbra isn’t exactly easy.

The Membrane serves as an impenetrable wall, and for good reason. What lies beyond is a realm of horrors. For those that know where and how to pass the Membrane, entering the Deep Umbra is deceptively easy. Yet, navigating and understanding what hides within is not. The Deep Umbra is a home to a host of different areas, realms and landscapes. A traveler into the Deep Umbra may find himself walking amongst a vast expanse of star strewn land, delving into the deepest pits of black abyss, or floating amongst alien flora and fauna. No trods or paths wind through the land, and moonlit arits seem to appear and disappear as readily as anything else in the realm. Even a Garou’s internal senses are disrupted, preventing her from fully trusting her own instincts on how to navigate through this part of the Umbra.

The Deep Umbra is a conglomeration of many realms, residences, and spaces, and unlike the Near Umbra’s neat separation of realms, each flows into the other expressing elements in strange, beautiful, and often horrifying com­ binations. Those who have entered the Deep Umbra and returned to tell tales cannot define boundaries from their journey. Landscapes may have changed, yet the path and destination remained constant.

Some Theurges speculate that the Deep Umbra is what­ ever is required of it at the time, its realms being created as the need arises, and dissipating once used. Some travelers within the Deep Umbra might never experience more than one aspect of the ever changing landscape while visiting, when others might journey through the turmoil and chaos to eventually reach their destinations.

Not everything changes in the Deep Umbra. Spirits of vast power and influence inhabit the realm, and where those Celestines reside, their influence bends the Umbra into a shape that is an immutable reflection of the resident spirit. Travelers may walk through alien realms and constructs at random only to find themselves in lands with defined struc­ ture and order. Some of the areas may seem familiar, moonlit vistas, sun drenched beaches, deep lush forests, and even thick spider web covered lands. Many other areas are completely alien with cracked mirrored lands molded into shapes that require five or more dimensions to describe, or vast abysses filled with living shadows making up the entire realm.

When a traveler comes too close to one of these areas, he becomes anchored to it, his path taking him further into the realm. Sometimes this is a good thing for the traveler, as he may find an Anchorhead in the realm or a passage into one of the Near Realms associated with the Celestine. He

may also become lost within the recesses of a realm with no connection to the rest of the Umbra. If he notices in time, the traveler may attempt to turn around and walk out the way he came. While he may not reach the same path he started on, the edges of the realms are defined enough that he could retrace his way to it. The laws of reality do not apply the same in the Deep Umbra, and this tactic might not work if he has ventured too far into the area. Sometimes the best way is to just keep going, with hopes to come out on some other side of the realm. Some of the spirits in these realms will escort an intruder out, or even happily bring the traveler to a nearby exit from the Deep Umbra. Many more are likely to grow hostile at the intrusion, attacking the traveler for his mistake.

Garou have traveled into the Deep Umbra for little reason more than desire of exploration and seeking the unknown. Most often, a spirit has asked them for aid in some matter or another than requires the werewolves to pass through an Anchorhead into the depths of the realm. Below is a list of story ideas that give characters reasons to enter the Deep Umbra.