Locale: Caern
Affiliation: Sept of the Last Klaive
Affinity: Strength

Located in a small inlet of sea at the mouth of a hidden sea cave in the Seattle metro area, near a chinese restaurant and a neighborhood that has largely been abandoned over the last couple of months.

The primary Caern for the Sept of the Last Klaive. The totem core to the Caern is Stag. Originally belonging to the Wendigo, a pack of Fianna, The Storm Lords, took control of it from them during a series of skirmishes in 1806.

The Caern is only accessible through a series of cave tunnels, half of which are located only within the Penumbra, or via a boat (although reefs and rocks make approaches difficult) or through some sort of aerial lift (like a helicopter).

Chapter 3: Duel between Brothers

Two of The Broken fought one another in the Caern at the end of Chapter 3- Ludwig Rages-Truth and Doctor Johnathan “Mercy Bringer” Roth. Ludwig completed his Rite of Passage when he surrendered to his own packmate and chided the Sept for behaving the way it had.

Then the Sept’s Warder was taken away by a Avatar of Great Fenris himself…

Chapter Six

The Battle of the Howling Storm was a brief skirmish by the BSD. It was short, and they left abruptly, but not without causing casualties, including killing Oaksong and Alia Twilighthow.

Caern Sites

As explained by Father Pisses-Gold, Keeper of the Land:

The Bawn

“Hey, take a sip of this.

" Sweet, right? Stash of mead I found in Duncan’s old quarters. Old Philodox had a nice wide variety of tastes.

“Anyway, the outer limits of the Caern are pretty fuzzy. The Heart is obvious next to the ocean, but Stag’s influence on the nearby area extends past that little cave and our favorite Chinese restaurant. The blocks around the bawn have always been lean and empty- our kinfolk own and live in the better of the old buildings.

" Our neighborhood is North Admiral in West Seattle. I’d like to think we’ve kept the neighborhood from succumbing to the wicked greed and Wyrmish taints of other parts of this city- its a more old school kind of place. Sadly, the last twenty years haven’t been too good on her. There used to be fewer abandoned buildings here. Most of these houses are empty, vandalized or were burned down without a care years ago. Few to nobody lives around here much anymore, although that plays to our advantage. Get more than five or six blocks though, and Seattle seeps back in.

" The MacPherson House and Kataryna’s house lie on the outermost borders of the Bawn, although we never really protect them. The Cave is better to guard, more defensive. The Westward Swords and the Seawalkers maintain their own living places between the two houses."

Shrines

" We maintain a shrine for each Pack’s totem, and the Westward Swords protect them from abuse. There is also a shrine for Stag, located atop Fong’s. I try to make daily services there. Why atop Fong’s and not in the cave proper?

“Remember that Fong’s is located close to the cliffs over the Caern’s cave opening. It’s as close and reasonable to the Heart of the Caern without letting too many of us come and go through the Heart of the Caern regularly. We get a place to show our respect, and in return, we give Stag some space.

“We also keep shrines for various tribal totems, since the Silver Fangs and Fianna have always felt it necessary to keep their favor. Some war-spirits have some shrines as well- places that the Westward Swords keep for allies they use to protect the Sept.

“I believe that the Westward Swords’ shrine to the West Wind is outside their front porch, that big wind chime collection of theirs. Notice how the bells they wear look like the ones at that shrine? The West Wind requires they be reminded of it, so they keep those chimes clean, untangled and keep sure to listen whenever they are near them.

" Contrast that with the Seawalkers, who keep their shrine to Gull hidden, close to the sea as possible. They make weekly pilgrimages out to it, to put out fresh food as a offering to Gull and to keep Gull’s animal children happy and coming to visit. You’d think that their collection of rusty plates and rocks would be covered in seagull shit, but the birds never touch the shrine- they keep it clean without ever needing the pack to clean it. But thats what you get with Gull.

" I keep a dumpster-shrine to Mother Rat up, and almost all we Bone Gnawers seek it out when we feel like thankin’ the old girl for keepin’ our skins intact.

" I know the Get of Fenris revere their shrine out in the woods. I think its some sort of apology rite they do- apologizing for not living up to Fenris’ example or shouting their victories or complaining about how weak they think their septmates are or something like that. What? All I do is make sure the spirits are happy, kid- nobody said I had to be frickin’ multicultured.

" There are also shrines to Wendigo, Raven, Owl and Unicorn. I believe that the Raven shrine is often visited by a Corax now and then, but the Broken don’t usually share that sort of thing with the rest of the Sept."

More on the Bawn

“Shit, I forgot a detail or two on the Bawn- talking about the shrines reminded me. We mark our border out along that area I described before. I maintain the markers, a compilation of scent and graffiti. You’d recognize them if you see them- a blend of stag, falcon, and rat and some other important glyphs.

“I also use a couple of different gifts and rites to keep the borders from attractin’ human attention. They tend to drift away from the border, not too interested to go past unless they got some sort of supernatural bang on their side.

" The Westward Swords patrol the Bawn all the time, and they will ask any other packs to help them to keep an eye out for problems and possible threats. I believe they try to keep their own traps and spirits about to alert them of incoming danger- we always assume the Bawn cannot be defended, not unless we find new members for the Sept.

Living Area

“Yeah, I might as well talk about where everyone sleeps and shit after talking about the Shrines.

" The MacPherson House, over on the west end of the Caern is where the MacPhersons used to live and sleep- most of the houses around it belonged to their kinfolk. They used to rule the Caern until Grady Slays-Wyrm-Spawn MacPherson handed power to Anton Childslayer back in ‘89. The Fianna purge ten years ago led to most of their kinfolk’s housing to be burnt down, and the MacPherson House survived in good enough shape to become a home for the Broken.

“Housing is rewarded by Kataryna based on the rank and kind of housing- she keeps to her own home on the east end of the Caern. The better and best places go to those she is more pleased with. Thus, the larger and more intact housing, usually with more easy defense, are the ones that Elders and the Westward Swords have.

“The Westward Swords have a big old house just twenty yards away from Fong’s, next to that pile of bricks that used to be a 7-11, back before we set the Wyrm-stinkin’ place on fire back in ’94. Their place is a gablefront, and has housed the Guardians of the Sept for the last fifty years.

“The Seawalkers sleep in a pair of rundown houses near my place, right next to the cliff. One of the houses is at risk of falling off and into the ocean, but the Seawalkers think that makes it a little more ‘sacred’ or some shit like that. They and their kinfolk have managed to keep the two places looking nice with a big tangle of plants hiding parts of it from view.

" The Screamers kept their home outside of the Caern, which seemed to mean the Caern of the Phoenix. Answers a couple of questions I had.

“I live on a open gravel plot with a tent, a trap and a good bottle of booze. A house always seemed too grandiose to me, although Kataryna claims to have had a place prepared for me, if I wanted to try it out.

" Kataryna’s place belonged to her father, Anton Childslayer. She kept it in the family- its the biggest of the houses available in the Caern, with a fairly large yard that Katayrna has let grow wilder, like the little stretch of woods near Fong’s."