Get of Fenris

*"Pain is my lover. Death is my sister. Gaia is my mother, and Great Fenris is my father. You have NOTHING for me to fear."*

Even among a race of warriors, the Get of Fenris are the most warlike. The Fenrir, as they’re also known, value a glorious death over a peaceful old age. They wear their scars with pride, howl the glory of their victories, and revel in the fear that they spread among the minions of the Wyrm. To the Get, compassion is a luxury, not a virtue — the greatest virtues are valor and strength.

The Fenrir have their origins in Europe, where they once called Germanic tribes and Nordic raiders Kin. Yet even the most brutal and violent sagas of the regions pale before the lore of the Get. Their Galliards (or skalds) joyously recount grim tales of bloody death against impossible odds, of the eternal glory to be found on the battlefield. They have told stories of Ragnarok, of the Apocalypse, for millennia — and they are ready for it.

Blood alone doesn’t make a Get of Fenris. A cub could have the finest Pure Breed, but if he can’t make it through the bloody tribal Rite of Passage, he’s of no use to the Fenrir. Some cubs don’t even survive that first test. Harsh as it is, the Rite of Passage reflects the grim and fatalistic nature of life among the Get. The battles against the Wyrm will be no gentler,— and the Fenrir never run from battle. Every child of Great Fenris, no matter his or her auspice, must be ready to die gloriously for the Mother. This creed often seems contradictory to lupus cubs, who are used to survival as the first and most pressing mandate. Luckily, enough wolf-born find their Rage that the Get haven’t fallen too far behind in their ratio of homid-to-lupus members.

To make matters worse, many Get of Fenris embrace very elitist attitudes not just to strength and valor, but even to sex and ethnicity. This has been a source of internal conflict within the tribe for many years. Although modern Get are less prone to outright racism and sexism, the old prejudices against weakness run deep and take many forms. These haven’t done the tribe’s reputation among the rest of the Garou Nation any favors.

Although it’s not easy for outsiders to see, the Fenrir do possess admirable virtues beyond their courage. There are long-standing traditions of females doing as well as males in many Get septs — they frequently have to work very hard to earn respect, but this struggle is part of what earns them their status. Metis can excel as well, if their deformities don’t impede their actual strength — one who’s ugly as sin and has a terrible speech impediment will still earn much glory if he can fight to the tribe’s exacting standards. Many Get also care very deeply for their Kinfolk, taking family ties exceptionally seriously. This is a double standard for the Kin, of course: their werewolf relatives hold them to brutally high standards, but also defend them with great passion.

At every level, tribe society idealizes strength above all. Wisdom and cunning are valued, but as a complement to might, not a substitute. Fenrir leaders, or jarls, must earn their position through grueling physical trials, and be prepared to hold them in the same way. Tribal moots are full-moon affairs, beginning with a vicious gauntlet-running to determine who’s worthy to participate in the rites of the tribe. Rites of Renown entail bloody runes carved into werewolf hide; even mystical rites dealing with spirits involve ritualized combat between rite-master and spirit as often as not. Even their belief in an afterlife reflects the concept of Valhalla, a grand battlefield awaiting its heroes.

And for all their faults, the Get of Fenris produce many heroes. Their creed of strength is simple, but not simplistic — it teaches many Fenrir to master their Rage, to serve as examples of courage to the rest of the Nation, and to win battles that others would lose or abandon. They are remarkably loyal to those who earn their respect, and their harsh standards encourage other Garou to fight harder if they want to keep the Fenrir’s allegiance. With the Apocalypse at hand, no tribe is more ready to tear the Wyrm apart regardless of the cost.

## History

The mythic history of the Get of Fenris reads to outsiders as a twisted representation of Norse mythology. The Get, however, know that it was the humans who got everything wrong, and who cast Great Fenris in the role of a monster.

According to myths in the Garou Nation, Great Fenris was the Ahroun of the First Pack. Drawn to battle the giants of the Wyrm in the far Northern reaches of the world, Fenris refused to bring offspring into the world, for he felt that no mortal woman was strong and pure enough to be worthy to be his mate. In battle against the gigantic Jotunn, he beheld the first woman to ever catch his attention: the giantess Sigun of the Vanir people. Fenris pursued her into her homeland, where he proposed to her. Sigun told him that she was already betrothed to a frost giant, and Great Fenris, infuriated, challenged the giant to a duel. After a long and hard battle, Fenris proved to be victorious, but fell into unconsciousness. After being nursed back to health by Sigun, Great Fenris tested her honor, her wisdom, and her courage before taking her as his mate. From their union, Sigun bore Fenris three sons: *Garm*, an unrivaled skald; *Rábjórn*, heir to his father's fighting prowess; and *Frode*, who was the wisest among them. From these three, the Get of Fenris, named the Fenrir during these days, would be born. Tales from other tribes that the Get are descended from a line of Silver Fangs are regarded as propaganda and lies.

### Early History

The traditional homelands of the Fenrir are considered to be northern Europe, where they lived with their kinfolk, the Germanic, Scandinavian, and Norse tribes. The Get say that they did not support the Impergium at first; after all, no true Get wants to take a mate from a race of victims. After adopting the practice, however, the Fenrir became viciously effective at holding their human tribes under control. During the War of Rage, the Fenrir regarded it as a manner of hierarchy: as the strongest of Gaia's children, the other Changing Breeds were subordinate to them. When they challenged this situation, the Fenrir turned on them to put their cousins in their place. Since they were superior to them, the Changing Breeds were decimated in battle until nearly no one were left. The modern Get of Fenris accept that this was behavior unworthy of Gaia's defenders, but maintain that the Fera were also to blame and should make amends.

During the Bronze Age, the Fenrir battled against the minions of the Wyrm that crept from the earth and had survived the Ice Age. The Fenrir worked to repopulate their protectorates, sowing forests to strengthen the Wyld and making alliances with its children, the Fae, especially the Trolls. During these days, the capital Caern of the tribe was Heimhalla in the Ural mountains, the residence of the Vanir and home to Fenris and Sigun. During these days, the Fenrir of Heimhalla were locked in war with the Jotunn kingdom of *Utgard* and the Aesir kingdom of *Valhalla*. Valhalla was led by a being named Odin, whose blood-brother was Loki Sky-Walker (later remembered as Loki False-Sayer), who desired to rule both Valhalla and Utgard. To achieve this goal, he enticed Odin to make war against Heimhalla by showing him fake visions of the Fenrir planning to invade Valhalla. In response, Odin marshaled his forces and attacked Heimhalla while the bulk of the Fenrir was in a campaign against the Utgardian forces. Aided by two traitors, *Freke* and *Gere*, Odin burst through the Caern's defenses and massacred the Fenrir's Kin. Sigun fought valiantly, but could not stand against Odin. Her sacrifice, however, saved the heart of the Caern, as the entire structure collapsed over the invading forces. The surviving Fenrir, lead by Great Fenris himself, vowed vengeance and turned westward, settling in the lands of modern Scandinavia. Multiple great Caerns were founded in these years.

The Get were infuriated by the dilutions of their Tribal stories among their Kin, but accepted teeth-gnashingly that they could not correct them without breaking the Concord. Instead, they focused on their battle against Odin and his Aesir. In the battle at the Fimbul-Winter Sept, the Fenrir called upon the essence of Great Fenris, allowing him to walk the mortal realm in their flesh. Great Fenris ripped through the Gallow-God's armies and and defeated him. During this battle, a young Danish Fenrir Get-of-Fenris-slays-Grendel, better known as Beowulf, won accolades and became a mighty Jarl of the Tribe. From him, the future name of the Tribe would be taken.

### Dark Ages

The Get had followed their Vandal and Visigoth Kin south against the Roman Empire. It is told within the Tribe that Hermann Far-Runner, a Ragabash known as Arminius among the Romans, led them to a stunning victory against the superior forces led by Publius Quintillius Varro, and that future Rites of Passages are based on his strategies. The Fenrir fought with Gaulish Fianna against the Silver Fangs and Warders of Men that tried to protect Rome, and when Alaric sacked the city in 410, the Fenrir had taken up residence in nearly all parts of the former Empire.

Spurred by their victories, the Fenrir led great expeditions to find new places of Gaia they could protect. Following their Viking Kin, some reached Britain as early as 407, but clashed constantly with the native Fianna and Silver Fangs. Others are rumored to have reached the Pure Lands in Newfoundland, and founded the Ymir's Sweat Camp. The Fenrir also fought against the corrupted White Howlers, blaming the Fianna for the fall of their cousins. Seeing that they had become weak, the Fenrir launched invasions against Ireland to test their brethren's defenses and take their Caerns from them if they proved weak. Only after several hundred years was a truce called, seeing that the energies spent on fighting each other should rather be directed at the enemy. The Fenrir continued to travel with their Kin, even reaching as far south as Constantinople in their wake. During these days, the other tribes began to call the Fenrir the "get" of Fenris, originally to shame them. Most younger Fenrir, however, gladly adopted the name, pointing to the heroism of Beowulf and stating that it was better to be a mere "get" of Fenris than to be a part of any of the other weakling tribes.

In this epoch, Fenris returned to led his tribe against his nemesis Odin. Tracking him back to the Ural mountains, Odin was found, along with numerous vile servants, among them even Fenrir that had turned against Great Fenris. Among them was Tyr, who lost his hand in the struggle and later had regrets about his decision. The outcome of the battle was the complete eradication of Odin's army, but at the cost of the banishment of Great Fenris on the other side of the Gauntlet, bound in silver chains to prevent him from entering the Near Realms or the Gaia Realm. In the aftermath, members of the Tribe decided to leave the human nations to their own, instead focusing solely on battling the Wyrm and his minions to make Great Fenris proud.

### Victoriaan Age

When the Get of Fenris arrived in the Americas, they saw a land overrun with corruption and incompetent Garou who were unable to turn the tide. Seeing that their cousins were weak, they ousted them from their Caerns to safeguard them instead. This caused conflicts with the three tribes that last to this day. Only the Croatans are acknowledged by the Get for being honorable and capable of fighting, while the Uktena were respected for their potent rites that bound great Banes beneath the earth. The feud between the Wendigo and the Get, however, continues even today.

### Modern Nights

The Get of Fenris were greatly involved in the struggles of the European continent, partly because events like the Great War led to an upsurge of Bane activity. During the struggle, Get often ended up fighting Get, accusing the other of serving the interests of the Wyrm. This sentiment even worsened after the end of the Great War, and saw the support of numerous misguided Get for the growing Nazi Party and occult movement in Germany. Many felt that the reverence of the *Übermensch* was directed at the descendants of Fenris and Sigun and so supported the sentiment in the population. Others believed that such actions were heretical against Gaia's purpose for the Garou, since the battle against the Wyrm was all a Garou should strive for, not adulation from mere humans. During the War, Get fought Get again, this time with the entire tribe mobilized on either side of the conflict, until those opposed to the Nazis gained the upper hand.

In the aftermath, the Get viciously hunted down every last surviving traitor and Nazi-sympathizer, including the entirety of one of their own Camps, the Swords of Heimdall. One of their greatest heroes, Golgol Fangs-First, led the Amazon War and numerous Get traveled to the Amazon to prove themselves. Golgol has even made overtures of peace and cooperation to the Amazonian Fera. The Get were involved in the destruction of the Seventh Generation and in 2001, the Tribe eradicated the Thule Society, a coven of Nazi mystics that became a front for the post-war Asatru Futhark movement. After the event, the whole Tribe met in Uppsala, as the Red Star dawned in the sky. During the moot, the Tribe proclaimed that Ragnarök, the Apocalypse, was coming quickly, and that the Get would be ready to face it.

## Appearance

Strong Fenrir blood manifests as huge gray wolf forms with broad shoulders and vicious jaws. There are precious few Get whose hides aren’t marked with scars and tattoos. Some even brand their fur or ceremonially carve runes into their flesh.

## Kinfolk and Territory

The Get of Fenris claim their oldest homelands in Europe, ranging from Scandinavia to Germany. They have followed their original Kin throughout many lands, and adopted new bloodlines wherever the local human population produced strong children. They favor rural territories, particularly where the weather is harsh, and are involved in more territorial conflicts than any other tribe. Their largest protectorates are in the Black Forest of Germany and the wilderness of Scandinavia.

## Tribal Totem

Fenris, the Great Wolf, one of the mightiest of war totems. Other spirits allied to the Get include Aegir, Hrafn the raven-spirit, the Norns, and Surtur, spirits both warlike and wise.

## Character Creation

The Fenrir naturally stress combat and survival Traits. They almost never purchase Contacts: they want true friends, not associates.

**Initial Willpower:** 3

**Beginning Gifts:** Lightning Reflexes, Master of Fire, Razor Claws, Resist Pain, Visage of Fenris

## Organization

Get of Fenris are usually led by the strongest local member. Any Get that wishes to obtain a higher rank has to beat his opponent in a challenge. Tribal moots are full-moon affairs, beginning with a vicious gauntlet-running to determine who's worthy to participate in the rites of the tribe. Rites of Renown entail bloody runes carved into werewolf hide; even mystical rites dealing with spirits involve ritualized combat between ritemaster and spirit as often as not. Even their belief in an afterlife reflects the concept of Valhalla, a grand battlefield awaiting its heroes.

When the Get of Fenris split into camps, it is less often due to their vision of their individual roles or duties, and more commonly along lines of each individual's particular intolerance and hatred. One group, focusing on the core tenets of Fenrir philosophy, is unwilling to be distracted by the presence of someone or something that a fringe element feels is intolerable, and a new Get camp is born. Despite this fracturing along lines of prejudice, however, not all Get camps are bigots; intolerance of those who prey upon children is still intolerance, and hatred of corrupt warleaders, cowards, or wife-beaters is still hatred.

## Camps

When the Get of Fenris split into camps, it is less often due to their vision of their individual roles or duties, and more commonly along lines of each individual’s particular intolerance and hatred. One group, focusing on the core tenets of Fenrir philosophy, is unwilling to be distracted by the presence of someone or something that a fringe element feels is intolerable, and a new Get camp is born. Despite this fracturing along lines of prejudice, however, not all Get camps are bigots; intolerance of those who prey upon children is still intolerance, and hatred of corrupt warleaders, cowards or wife-beaters is still hatred.

### Fangs of Garm

Of all the Get camps, the Fangs are the most suited for interaction with the rest of tribes of the Nation, and with outside society. They think in the long-term, believing in fighting the Wyrm by preventing it from sinking its roots into humanity. They organize neighborhood watches, teach self-defense and crime prevention, and, on the lupus side of the War, mount educational campaigns for humans about the value of the wolf and other natural predators in the wildlands. Other Get may see them as weak, but the Fangs believe themselves to be the Fenrir of the future.

### Glorious Fist of Wotan

A radical group that shares more beliefs with the Red Talons than with most members of their own tribe, the Fist of Wotan see humanity as just another tool of the Wyrm — a fetid breeding ground for the Wyrm’s agents and influence. As a camp of predominantly lupus Garou, they see the Nation’s protection of the human race as weak at best and self-defeating at worst. They are fairly secretive by nature; most homid Fenrir have no tolerance for the Fist’s agenda. But if a given Get’s plans include coincidentally destroying as many humans as possible while still accomplishing other goals, there’s a good chance they may belong to this camp.

### The Hand of Tyr

The Hand do not believe in surrender, and are utterly dedicated to their task. There are precious few members in this camp, and they are all executioners: hunters who seek out and destroy the enemies of Gaia. They focus on the horrible results of the Wyrm’s corruption of humanity: rapists, murderers, pedophiles, and terrorists. Because they target the symptoms rather than the core cause of this corruption, other Fenrir sometimes claim the Hand is remiss in its true duty to the tribe. Such claims, however, are usually made where the Hand cannot hear them.

### Loki's Smile

This camp seeks to topple the Silver Fangs’ leadership of the Nation because they believe themselves more worthy of ruling the Nation in the Fangs’ place. The camp only admits those who have somehow crossed current Get leaders in trying to challenge the Fangs’ leadership, but they will work with almost anyone. They have even allowed metis to join and have used Wyrm minions to further their goals. They also seek to embarrass Fang and Get leaders by finding their weaknesses or shameful secrets and exploiting them.

### Mjolnir's Thunder

This ancient camp consists of those who have lost (or cut) all ties with the world around them and dedicated themselves solely to destroying the Wyrm. They care for nothing else: not humans or wolves, spirits, the Veil, or even Garou society as a whole. They are the monsters that other tribes sometimes picture all Fenrir to be, having traded all shreds of compassion, empathy, and common sense for their single-minded, sociopathic dedication to the Wyrm’s demise.

### The Swords of Heimdall

Although the rest of the tribe would argue, the Swords believe themselves to be the one true race of Gaia. They see wolves (even lupus and their Kinfolk) as nothing but dumb animals, and feel non-Get-Kin humans (especially those who are not Caucasian and male) are useful only for their servitude. They seek to “cleanse” the world of non-European Garou, to silence the voices of women of the Nation, and to crush any tribe that does not recognize the Fenrir as the proper leaders of the Garou Nation. Even within the Get, Swords are generally seen as extremists, at best.

### The Valkyria of Freya

Get philosophy dictates that a warrior is exactly as cunning, strong, wise, or honorable as he (or she) has shown; no more, and no less. However, even within the tribe, some have embraced outsider attitudes, claiming female Get are not capable of the same prowess and bravery as their male counterparts. The Valkyria, an all-female camp dedicated to glorious battle, prove otherwise. Some see them as unnecessary, but the Valkyria say until there is no Jarl who refuses female Modi the chance to fill their rightful role, the camp will continue.

### Ymir's Sweat

More of a bloodline than a camp, the members of Ymir’s Sweat supposedly owe their heritage to Get who interbred with Wendigo and Uktena kin after the earliest Scandinavians arrived in the New World. They do not commonly make themselves (or their lineage) known, as both the Fenrir and Wendigo have been known to look unkindly upon those who come from “sullied” breeding.

## Fenrir Caerns

* Sept of Anvil Klaiven
* Arctic Axe Sept (Northern coast of Russia, across from Novaya Zemlya)
* Sept of the Blood Fist (Black Forest of Germany.)
* Sept of Fafnir's Brood (cove on the Baltic Sea, near St.Petersburg, Russia.)
* Sept of the Harrowing Sky
* Sept of Luna's Forest Glory (shared with the Fianna)
* Caern of the Sentinel (Adirondack Mountains, New York State)
* Fimbulwinter Sept (Vancouver)
* Sept of the Wind Catchers (The Glen, Hyde Park, Chicago, Illinois)
* Stone Heart Sept (Kananaskis Provincial Park, Calgary-Alberta Canada)

## Tribal Culture

The prime focus of the Get of Fenris is heroism; all members must act against their enemies, particularly the Wyrm. There is no room for cowardice or indecisiveness among the Fenrir, and retreat is not in their vocabulary.

The Get of Fenris is one of the most selective tribes when it comes to choosing members. A potential Fenrir must prove themselves to the rest of the tribe, even if they are born into it. The Rite of Passage for Fenrir cubs is one of the bloodiest and most brutal of rites, and even after they have passed, they are continuously tested to improve their battle skills and ability to survive. Weak Fenrir cubs are usually abandoned or, in more recent times, turned over to other tribes to be raised. Some Get also practice a belief in the purity of blood as a sign of worthiness.

In past times, the Get have been extremely harsh towards female members, but in the last century, female Get have had a chance to prove themselves to be as heroic and fierce in battle as the tribe's male members. Get blame this on Homid indoctrination: Females that believe that they are not great fighters will not become great fighters. By the time that these females underwent the First Change, they were so indoctrinated into human thinking that they had nothing to offer to the Get, who refused to coddle them or lower their standards. Since then, the attitude among mortals has changed again, and woman have become more self-confident, meaning that they now are capable of serving the Tribe again.

Even though the Tribe's reputation for cruelty and intolerance is well deserved, a sizable number of modern Get of Fenris have begun to incorporate compassion and kindness into their cultural creed. Strength, they reason, is a gift from Gaia that they have a responsibility to use to protect the weak with; and those who dare to bully the weak are therefore cowards of the lowest order, undeserving of life.

### Political Culture

The Get of Fenris, as a rule, disdain the politicking of the Garou Nation, instead preferring to focus on tangible war efforts and Wyrm incursions. Nevertheless, they see the waning strength of the Silver Fangs, and some believe that it may be the time to support a new Alpha for the nation, who can command the Get more efficiently.

### Religious Culture

One of the most common practices of the Get is the recitation of *skald*, or epics of past Garou who have proven themselves worthy of heroism. Most Fenrir also strongly believe in fate, believing they are destined to die fighting for a worthy cause.

The Get of Fenris revere the Triat as *Edda*, the Weaver, *Móthir*, the Wyld, and *Jormungandr*, the Wyrm. The Weaver keeps the Wyrm at bay, while the Wyrm devoures Edda's strands to keep them from entangling the entirety of the Wyld. The dissonance came when Edda named Jormungandr, trapping it in a form rather than existing as a force of nature. It is the duty of the Get of Fenris to destroy Jormungandr's physical form during Ragnarök so that the original balance can be restored.

In addition to the Glyphs used by the rest of the Garou Nation, the Get of Fenris use a rune-system derived from Futhark runes to inscribe their Fetishes. These runes are also used for foretelling the future via Rites. The Tribe also makes use of mighty Jarlhammers instead of traditional Grand Klaives.

## Sterotypes of Other Tribes

### Black Furies

A warrior is defined by fang and claw and klaive, not by a womb. You want respect? Earn it.

### Bone Gnawers

You can run at my back if you’re too afraid to take the lead. But if you abandon me, I’ll carve you apart like the dog you pretend to be.

### Children of Gaia

You think you were given these teeth, these claws, so you could sit about and talk of dreams of peace? Fight, you sheepfuckers!

### Fianna

Your ancestors were almost as strong as ours, and you’re almost as strong as we are. What? It’s a compliment.

### Glass Walkers

The old ways are hard and painful and merciless. Not surprising that cowards will find any excuse to disdain them.

### Red Talons

I admire a wolf who picks a war because he feels it must be fought, not because he thinks he can win.

### Shadow Lords

Their schemes against the other tribes are treacherous, which is why they are not friends. Their schemes against the Wyrm are brilliant, which is why we haven’t cut them down.

### Silent Striders

They remind me of the ravens: keen-eyed and clever, but better at scouting than fighting.

### Silver Fangs

Speak with the voice of a true king, and we’ll follow. You’re too weak to be worth it any other way.

### Stargazers

You want to master your Rage by avoiding battle? Why not master fire by eating raw meat all your life while you’re at it?

### Uktena

Our ancestors found dark things in their lands when we were at war. Was binding these things the only way to stop them — or a way to keep them in reserve?

### Wendigo

You still want to fight us over the deeds of our ancestors? There are more productive ways to commit suicide.