[OOC] History and Culture

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Territory

The Mountain Road is set well back in the mountains, right where the mountain and northern dragon ranges overlap. It can only be reached by the Mountain Road, which is maintained by Whetstones, although there are numerous escape routes into the hills. These escape routes are not clearly marked paths, nor are they maintained, but every member of the pack is taught during their student days where to run during an attack.

The valley is lush, and supports numerous herds of deer and mountain goats - and so are several other nearby valleys only known to the Whetstones and other hunters. The area is also riddled with caves, both natural and hollowed out by dragons, and is overall an excellent area to live as long as you can support the altitude.

There are also several well known landmarks:
The Forum.
Well worn by generations of dragons crossing it, the forum is a flat, dusty area in the middle of the valley that is frequently used for meetings and rituals.

Keystone Lake.
Fed by a waterfall, the Keystone Lake is large enough to keep all of the mountain dragons supplied with water during the worst of droughts. It is also sacred to the Keystones and used for their initiation ceremonies.

The Sacred Springs.
The Gemstones, Whetstones, and Riverstones each have a sacred spring hidden well back in the hills and known only to them. These springs are used during initiation ceremonies and other sacred events.  

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History

Before the Plague.
The Mountain Road Pack lived peacefully in relative isolation, deep in the hills. The easiest - and safest - way to approach was the mountain road from which the pack got its name, a well worn track maintained by all of the dragons in the pack, especially the Groundstones and Riverstones who specialized in construction. This road - along with the rest of the border - was guarded by Whetstones at all times, ready to fight or run back and warn the pack to disperse into the mountains at a moment's notice. Not that they expected trouble, the Mountain Road was a well established and well respected pack.

Despite its isolation, visitors were common. For the most part, these came in three varieties: supplicants, students, and visiting family. The supplicants came searching for advice, healing, or other forms of aid, and were rarely turned away, although serious matters were always referred to the Guardians. The students came for training, and were never turned away, regardless of whether or not they had an inborn talent for magic, as long as they proved themselves ready to work hard and devote themselves to the way to the pack. And finally relatives of the students would occasionally come to visit and check on their family member's progress.

Many of the students were sent to the Mountain Road for training, and left as soon as that training was complete. The pack never minded, and would even teach these students tricks that would come suit them best in their home packs. Other students, especially Ghoststones, found found an unusually supportive atmosphere among the other Gemstones and settled down for life, unwilling to return to packs that had never understood their strange powers.

Game wasn't overly abundant in the area, but the Mountain Road Pack held a large territory and famine was uncommon. On the few occasions famine struck, Riverstones and Gemstones simply dispersed to other areas with more game. Occasionally, they would settle down with other packs, and not return until years later, if at all.

Drought, famine's twin, was never a particular problem for the Mountain Road Pack for their territory includes a large lake nestled at the top of the valley and several freshwater springs hidden in the hills.

The Plague.
These years left the pack completely devastated. Due to its isolation, the pack was spared the plague itself, but many of the Gemstones left the pack to aid others and never returned, including all of the Ghoststones and many Keystones. Famine struck the valley, worse than any before, and some of the springs in the mountain went dry, a particularly bad omen. When the plague finally ended, all that remained was a scared, beaten pack, forgotten by the outside world and all too willing to remain forgotten.

After the Plague.
The loss of the Ghoststones coupled with the loss of students has proved to be a severe blow to the pack. Only a few scattered families remain, very few of which are Gemstones. Even the mountain road has started to fall into disrepair, and many dragons have started to lose hope. The death of the last Keystone, Nari, caused a great deal of chaos and panic, but her mate, Arbre, soon regained control of the situation.

"We will remain firm," he told the remaining dragons, "and we will keep the road ready for the day the next Keystone walks down it, so that one day again we may be a great pack. And we will take students, and we will train them, and we will rebuild our old way of life. We will not give up. We have never given up, it is not our way."

With someone to rally behind, the shattered pack has managed to survive, but now more than ever, they need new dragons, new students. They need other dragons to train, to teach, to aid.

The years of isolation must come to an end.  

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Beliefs

The Mountain Road Pack believes firmly in two things: equality and non-violence. They do not discriminate based on species or gender, and although they organize ranks according to magic use, they do not see it as a matter of some dragons being "better" than others, simply a matter of organizing dragons with similar interests and abilities so that they may better use those abilities.

Traditionally, the pack is led by two to three Keystones, advised by the Gemstones. Although they are leaders, the Keystones are not rulers, and all important decisions are put to the vote by all members of the pack, barring students, guests, and pebbles. Everyone is allowed to speak during these meetings, but the Keystones, Ghoststones, and Dreamstones are given center stage. The Ghoststones are listened to the most closely during the discussion of matters that relate to the past, for they are the voice of the dead, the Dreamstones are listened to the most closely during the discussion of future plans, for they catch glimpses of the future, and the Keystones are listened to the most closely during discussions of the present because they know the most about the pack's health and condition. All of this changes during times of crisis, when the Stormstones, Groundstones and Whetstones truly come into their own and assume command. Which group assumes command depends on the nature of the crisis.

As a general rule, the dragons in the pack are humble, even those with powerful gifts, much of which stems from their time as students. Although never ill treated or made to feel inferior, students are are not pack members. If they lived in the pack as pebbles, they must take a formal leavetaking from the pack before they may begin their training. They are separated from their families and trained in turn by a Riverstone, a Whetstone, and a Gemstone. They are never punished, but should they show the slightest disrespect, their current teacher(s) will walk away and refuse to teach them any more until they show proper respect. This may very well be the source of the pack's legendary patience, for many students, especially those that have come to train about magic, are put off and frustrated by the way they must first learn to mend roads and care infants.

On occasion, students have tried to leave the pack, and they are allowed to run free, followed at a distance by the Whetstones, until they reach the packs border, where a Whetstone will be waiting for them. If they have not yet gained mastery of their magical ability, they are forced to stay until they do so - especially if they have a dangerous and powerful ability - but otherwise they are granted a choice: stay and learn or leave, never to return, even as supplicants, until they are ready to finish their apprenticeship.

There are very few grounds for expulsion from the pack and permanent banishment, and they are as follows: attacking another dragon (exceptions are made for Whetstones and cases of self defense), failing to aid a dragon in need, and forcing another dragon to act like a servant or inferior. Even students are well treated, despite the fact that they are neither full pack members nor guests.  

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Ranks

Keystone.
Keystones are healers and essential to the function of the pack. They are very highly respected, but these dragons spend the longest as students for there is always a great deal to learn. Healing is almost always a full time job for these dragons.

Gemstone.
Gemstones are magic users who can not heal. Depending on the magic in question, they may take on a secondary job. Ground Readers frequently help repair the Road, for example.

Whetstone.
Whetstones are the only dragons permitted to use violence, although they do so sparingly, and rarely lift their paw to a pack member. Their job is to protect and defend and quite a bit of their time is spent teaching escape routes to students.

Riverstone.
Outsiders might consider Riverstone to be a lowly default rank, but this is far from the case. Crafters, hunters, nannies: it is a very diverse group, but dragons in this rank who are good at what they do are as well respected as the highest of Keystones.

Pebble.
Pebble refers to children too young to take the rank of student. It doesn't matter if they were born inside the pack or who their parents are; all children are sacred.

Student.
Students are teens and adults undergoing training to become full members of the pack. All students start as apprentice riverstones until their mentors deem them ready to apprentice to a specific rank. They also spend some time working with the Whetstones, and are taught how to us one of the many escape routes. Students are NEVER trained by family members unless no one else is present to train them.

Guest.
Visitors and supplicants, these dragons are treated with respect but are not members of the pack. Guests who wish to stay long term must go through a student apprenticeship and become full members of the pack.  

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Rituals

Leaving the Pack
This is a formal ritual for Pebbles and guests who wish to become Students. As the sun begins to set, they are marked with dye from berries and crushed stone mixed with water by their parents. (Guests who arrived on their own are assigned temporary parents who look after them for a week ahead of time, teaching them the ways of the pack.) Once the sun has fully set, the dragons are left on their own in the forum, sitting together in a circle, all facing outwards. They sit in sacred silence, undisturbed by the rest of the pack, and are expected to stay awake. They are not to look towards the center of the circle, for that is where the ghosts dwell, looking over the new members. (Ghoststones often recount the terrifying experience of hearing dragons walk around behind them, saying nothing.)

Come dawn, Riverstones come to collect the Students, circling them at least once before tapping the Students they have chosen to mentor. The Students then follow them to their dwelling and their first of many new homes. (Students are never selected by close relatives, only strangers.)

Rejoining the Pack
Once the Gemstone that has taken over the last leg of a Student's training feels that that student is ready, they lead the student to one of the secret springs at dawn. There, the two stay together until sunset, when the Gemstone leaves. It is at this point that the group that the new dragon will belong to (Keystone, Gemstone, Whetstone, Riverstone) arrive and conduct their own secret form of initiation. Some initiation ceremonies last longer than others, with Keystones holding the record of a week, followed by the Whetstones at four days, the Riverstones at three days, and the Gemstones at two days.

These rituals are never spoken of, not even by traitors turned from the pack. It is the most sacred ritual of all, for after a dragon has joined the pack, they are a member for life, whether they stay in the territory or not.

A Change of Heart
See "rejoining the pack." The only difference is that this is for full members of the pack, not Students or Pebbles, who wish to change their rank. The dragons approach the spring on their own and stay for up to three days before they are approached by the group they wish to join and are formally adopted.

Call to the Forum
Whenever there is an important decision to be made, or a dispute to be settled, the dragons who wish to discuss the matter most gather in the form and rhythmically thump their tails on the ground, chanting in low voices. Due to the acoustics of the forum, this sound is readily heard by other dragons nearby, who cry out "By the Road!" as loud as they can. If they wish to join in the discussion, they head to the Forum and join in the chant. After two to three hours, this discussion begins, but is immediately halted if any dragons that the argument will particularly effect are not present. If a dragon is accused for a crime, for example, no word will be heard against that dragon until that dragon is found and brought forth to defend themselves. All sides of an argument must be heard.

Banishment
Whenever a dragon is banished from the pack - an exceedingly rare event - all of the dragons in the pack gather together in the amphitheater at dawn and sit in stony silence, staring inwards. Come nightfall, three dragons from the rank the banished dragon belonged to go to their sacred spring and stay for four nights and three days.

If the dragon is still on the territory at the time of the banishment, they are escorted to the border by Whetstones. If necessary, the Whetstones use force.