Places

The Great Mountain dominates the Realm of the Shad­ ow Lords. This names both the highest peak in the range and the imposing fortress that stands atop it. Thunderstorms rumble across the sky, casting shadows over everything. These reverberations remind the Shadow Lords of Grandfather Thunder’s constant oppressive vigilance.

Below the mountain ranges the homeland is full of dark, forbidding forests, foothills covered in great jagged outcrops, and crashing rivers with bone-shattering waterfalls. Storm­ crows roost in the treetops and the various Shadow Lord

enclaves use them as messengers and spies. To the north is a forbidding sea where legend tells of a great kingdom of ancestor-spirits on the far shore, who gave rise to both the modern tribe and their Hakken cousins. No recent expe­ ditions have managed to find these fabled lands but new heroes try every few years to see what they can find.

On each lesser mountain peak stands another mighty fortress, home to one of the greatest living Shadow Lords. Within these walls Machiavellian werewolves plot to gain control of their rivals’ fortresses, while confounding similar schemes from their lessers. From here they rule armies of wolf and human emanations and command elite packs of Garou sworn to their service. Many younger Shadow Lords pledge allegiance to one of these great masters for a time. In exchange for service and courage they gain valuable ex­ perience in the Shadow Lord arts of warfare and conquest.

Shadow Lords covet the right to rule the Great Mountain above all else. According to Shadow Lord legend, the one who controls the fortress will become ruler of the entire Garou Nation. The few non-Shadow Lords who know of this legend do not mention its self-serving nature nor the fact that it does not specify a Shadow Lord must be the one to claim the Great Mountain.

Many Lords have tried to take the Great Mountain but it has confounded every attempt. Most have approached it

with armies via narrow mountain paths that lead through its defenses. Some have sought to scale the rugged mountainside. Others have tried more fanciful techniques such as flight, or exploring secret passageways within each lesser fortress that some say lead to the Great Mountain. Most attempts still end with death or disappearance. A few Garou who have returned suffer incurable madness. Others appear to be intact but it soon becomes apparent their outlook has changed. These Shadow Lords withdraw from politics and quietly abscond from their hard-won domains to return to the physical realm. Their honor, courage and prowess are strong but their thirst for conspiracy is shattered. None of these unfortunates have spoken of what they encountered, but they tend to be viewed with wary disdain by other Shadow Lords. Clearly they were unworthy of glory in Grandfather Thunder’s eyes.

Despite these centuries of failure, no shortage of young, headstrong Shadow Lords are willing to try to claim the Great Mountain.