Places

Since Garou may be traveling in the spirit world for hours, days, weeks, or even the duration of an epic poem, cubs who have never made these journeys can’t help but wonder: What do you eat when you’re in the Umbra? Natural places where the Wyld is strong have abundant supplies of spirits that look like Earthly plants and animals, but not all of them are nourishing. Granted, Near Realms that emulate variations of the natural world (such as Wolfhome and Pangaea) offer chance to hunt, farm, and kill, but hostile realms can offer the exact opposite. Don’t expect a break for tea-time when you’re being tortured in a river of molten silver.

The easiest and most dependable method of sustenance involves expending one’s own Gnosis. A Garou who hasn’t found a way to eat or drink something that resembles food or drink (or chemical food substitutes) can easily live for the equivalent of a day on one point of Gnosis. If that’s not sufficient, the Wyld includes spirits that are

reservoirs of Gnosis, such as Englings or other ephemera summoned with the proper rites and Gifts. Desperation sometimes leads Garou to attempt extracting Gnosis from other spirits, but this can have unexpected results. For example, if you attempt to suck the life force out of a jackbooted stormtrooper in the Scar Realm, you might discover the spirit is an empty shell.

When none of these options are available, starvation takes about the same time as it does on Earth (when time is a factor): about four weeks or one lunar cycle. However, starvation in the Umbra doesn’t lead to death. Instead, dy­ ing of starvation is a lot like dying as a spirit: a shapechanger “discorporates” and “reforms” at a place where creation is possible. It’s a terrible way to travel (using what Glass Walker computer geeks call a “dead man’s teleport”), but the werewolf awakens with a ravenous hunger, a completely different locale, and the temptation to rage (or frenzy) when it feasts upon the first spirit it sees.

Of course, some packs try to bring food of their own or pack a lunch. That’s reliable, but certainly not the only option. A meal of cardboard provided by Bone Gnawers with the Cooking Gift can’t compete with the epicurean delights available in limitless variations of reality. Some feasts are unlike anything found on Earth.