When the world was new, Mother Earth gave her beast children many gifts.
To the Rabbit, she gave fleetness of foot and a keen sense of hearing. To
the Wolf, she gave an understanding of teamwork and firm, unyielding jaws.
To the Cat, she gave agility and a fierce capacity for pleasure from the
hunt. But to all her children, the beasts, she gave freedom.
Freedom to hunt, to flee, to wound, to heal, to play, to mate, to live,
and to die. Freedom to live the moment, to achieve individual satisfaction.
Freedom to be the beasts we were meant to be.
The Beast Tribe will be made up of many creatures. We will each strive to
be the ultimate beast. We will compete with each other for recognition, but
we will never lose the respect others deserve for being themselves beasts.
We will never allow arrogance to dull our senses, because as powerful as
we may become, we can be brought low.
Becoming a Member of the Beast Tribe: One does not really "become" a
beast; one is a beast from birth, or has the makings of a beast from the
beginning. The tribe is open to beasts of all kind, including mythical,
magical, were beasts, and half-beasts. Even non-beasts who have dedicated
themselves to the defense and protection of beasts are welcome. To join the
tribe, a candidate must have a sponsor who is already a beast, the sponsor
and candidate must approach a leader together, the sponsor must propose a
relatively minor CHALLENGE for the candidate, the candidate must complete the
CHALLENGE with the sponsor as witness, and the sponsor must tell the tale of
the CHALLENGE at a moonlight gathering with the candidate present.
The CHALLENGE: As a beast, it is your responsibility to contribute to the
development of your personal strength and the strength of other beasts. A
vehicle for this development will be the CHALLENGE. A challenge can be
suggested by a stronger beast to a weaker one, and a challenge can be
requested by a weaker beast from a stronger one. A challenge can involve
defeating an opponent in combat, finding a place that a beast hasn't seen
before, or acquiring a useful item. The giver of a challenge should be
present to witness the completion of the challenge, so as to be able to
relate the incident later. The greatest reward from the challenge will be
the development of respect, between the giver and the receiver of a
challenge, and the reputation gained through the telling of a challenge
tale at moonlight gatherings of beasts.
The GATHERING: As a beast you will be asked to join gatherings to share
wisdom and tales of adventures. Any beast may try to form a gathering;
whenever three or more beasts can come together in the wilderness, a
gathering will be declared. Stories of CHALLENGES will be related by
the givers of CHALLENGES; these beasts will relate how the CHALLENGES were
met and overcome. Note that a beast's memory of failed CHALLENGES should
be unclear, and as such should prevent the telling of such tales. The
gatherings will be positive times, times to share gifts with others, and
times to give thanks to Mother Earth for her gifts. Outsiders may be
allowed to attend some gatherings; we may share our wisdom and knowledge
with non-beasts, and we have many things we can learn as well.
Other MadROM Tribes Scrolls:
