Also, please note that the Black Spiral Dancers are not for the weak of heart. Read this of your own discretion.
What are Black Spiral Dancers (aka: BSDs)?
The BSDs are some of the most dangerous and frightening monsters in the World of Darkness. They're werewolves who willingly and eagerly serve the Wyrm, en masse. It was bad enough when they had allowed the Wyrm to seduce them. They were dangerous, yes, but most Garou saw killing them as a chance of glory. They were monsters to be hunted, not real threats. Yet everything changed in the last century. Now the Dancers represent a far greater threat. Corruption and madness spreads like a disease throughout the Garou Nation. Harano claims more Garou every year. Garou allow their fury to overcome them. Gaia's greatest defenders have also become a danger to her.
This is the legacy of the Black Spiral Dancers. It's so much easier to fall when there's an entire tribe waiting on the other side of that fall, with arms open to recieve you. It's easier to succumb to your anger when a slight taint of Dancer blood runs through your veins. It's easier to let hopelessness overtake you when you see just how powerful the Dancers have become in service to the Wyrm, and how fractured the Garou have become in service to Gaia.
Once a werewolf loses the will to fight her own hopelessness, apathy and rage, she learns to embrace the pain and horror within her. Thus lies the path straight to Malfeas. Corrupted Garou are drawn or tossed straight into the coils of the Shattered Labrynth, walking it's path as surely as the White Howlers did. And once they have changed, they are welcomed eagerly by the winning side....
History
The Fall of the Garou
Philosophy
The Dark Litany
~ Serve the Wyrm in All its Forms ~ The forces of the Wyrm must not allow petty differences to get in the way of victory. Unity within the tribe is paramount. The Black Spiral Dancers may work with forces such as Pentex and Sabbat vampires as long as they do so in service to the Wyrm. "Service of the Wyrm" is open to interpretation of course. Some Dancers argue that all Pentex and Sabbat activity inherently involves servitude to the Wyrm. Others argue that caution must be used, lest the Dancers become nothing mroe than a cannon for other forces to wield.
~ Beware the Territory of Another ~ Hives maintain separate territories, and there are enough Garou caerns to be taken over that the Dancers don't need to compete for land in most cases. A Dancer may travel through the tunnels of another Hive or near another Hive as long as he doesn't endanger it in any way. Any Dancer who endangers another Hive is tortured and devoured. Some Dancers guard their territory more jealously than others.
~ Slay Those Who Will Not Join You ~ Prisoners may be offered the chance to walk the Black Spiral, to transmogrify instead of submitting to long torture. Prisoners who reject and disrespect such an honor must be destroyed. "Offer" is a loose concept, however. A choice of walking the Spiral and having the opportunity to slay Wyrm-spirits and die with honor, or dying a weeks-long agonizing death is considered a perfectly legitimate offer. Some Dancers consider tossing a Garou bodily into the Labyrinth to be an offer as well. If he didn't want to go, he would have broken free or died fighting his captors, right?
~ Respect All Those Who Serve The Wyrm ~ Dancers may consider the advice, requests and offers of non-Dancers, such as humans in Pentex and vampires in the Sabbat. Some Dancers also see this stricture as forbidding the death of Garou or others who appear to be on the road toward eventual capture.
~ The Veil Shall Not Be Lifted ~ The Inquisition made this lession brutally clear. Most supernatural creatures keep up some version of the Veil, in the simpe self-interest of not getting caught and destroyed. The less humans know of the monsters in their midst, the fewer protections they have against them. When Dancers act discreetly, they keep Garou from minding out about their plans; it gives them the advantage of suprise. This point is one of contention with the Sabbat. Dancers won't go along with Sabbat plans that call for the Dancers to compromise the secrecy of their Hives and goals.
~ Do Not Suffer Thy People to Tend Thy Sickness ~ Black Spiral Dancers uphold this stricture as religiously as any other. Weak cubs must not be allowed to grow, breed and poison the tribe's gene pool. Weak elders are liabilities. Dancers so insane that they pose a danger to the Hive may be torn apart as sacrifices to dark powers.
~ The Leader May Be Challenged at Any Time in Peace ~ Defeating renowned Black Spiral Dancers is a time-honored way to gain power and acclaim. Any leader who cannot defeat his own followers cannot be trusted to lead them against their enemies.
~ The Leader Shall Not Be Challenged in Time of War ~ The forces of the Wyrm must be united in times of war. This distinction is usually taken to refer to outright skirmishes and battles, as the Dancers are technically always at war with someone. There are one or two exceptions to this law. Any non-Dancer who leads the Dancers in battle and does so poorly may be killed. Under extreme circumstances of physical disability, a Dancer, who refuses to appoint a more fit leader may be destroyed, but this resort is reserved only for only the most dire of circumstances.
~ Ye Shall Take No Action That Causes a Pit to be Violated ~ This point of the Litany is generally interpreted as referring to secrecy and security. Any non-Dancer who enters a Pit must be destroyed immediately. Prisoners are never brought back to a Pit, nor does anyone speak of the Pit when they are outside of it. If prisoners are invited to walk the Shattered Labyrinth, the rite must be performed elsewhere. Any Dancer who leads enemies (or allies!) back to a Pit will be tortured and killed.
The Black Spiral
Since the very origin of the Black Spiral Dancers as a tribe, they have descended into Malfeas itself to better prepare themselves to serve the Wyrm. The dimension they travel is known by various names, including "the Shattered Labyrinth" and "the Black Spiral Labyrinth." Dancer cubs usually attempt their Rite of Passage at age 14, and they return each time they are ready to increase in rank. The metamorphosis that the Dancer undergoes in the Labyrinth is referred to as transmogrification.
The Rite of Passage and the increase in rank are both recognized in front of the entire Hive with elaborate ceremony and ritual. The Theurge begins the ceremony by tracing out a design (representative of the Labyrinth) on the floor of the Pit's central chamber, which takes 10 minutes and serves to open a gate to Malfeas. Meanwhile, a Galliard representing the petitioner chants the petitioner's accomplishments (or his lineage, if this is his Rite of Passage). (Note: when this rite is performed for prisoners or Garou who wish to convert, it is never performed within the confines of the Pit. Such an action would endanger the security of their Hive.)
The initate then enters a trancelike state in which he moves in a shuffling dance. With the Theurge's help, he dances sideways into the Labyrinth. As he crosses the Gauntlet, he is assailed by vast, horrific visions. Once he reaches the Labyrinth, his spirit moves through "circles" (of which there are 9), and he is tested at each circle. The amount of respect the Dancer is accorded when he finishes depends on how many circles he has crossed, but Dancers usually cross only one circle at a time.
The Dancers may hurt abducted Garou straight into the Black Spiral. The first circle gives the Garou insights into the taint of evil within him, usually driving him insane and causing him to abandon all hope. Some rare, valiant heroes have crossed the several circles in their first vision quest, achieving impressive respect despite being outsiders. The initiate's very identity is reshaped. "Adopted" Dancers are given as a name the first two or three words they utter upon leaving the Labyrinth, but particulary impressive converts may be given deed-names later in life.
The Madness of the Shattered Labyrinth
A Garou's first change brings with it a sensitivity to Gaia's suffering. A Black Spiral Dancer's transmogrification brings with it an echo of the Wyrm's fury and madness at its confinement. Not every Dancer is driven insane by his transmogrification. Those who return from the Labyrinth with a touch of insanity are seen as blessed, touched by one of the Urge Wyrms as an omen of great things to come. Some return hearing voices in their heads, which are seen as guidance from an Urge Wyrm that took an interest in the initiate.
The Nine Circles
Most entrances to the Shattered Labyrinth are temporary ones created for the purpose of the Rite of Transmogrification. There are few permanent entrances. The larges of these is an inlaid spiral permanently stained by blood and worked into the floor of a Gothic cathedral called the Temple Obscura. The temple is filled with an overpowering stench and illuminated by the sickly green light of balefire.
The Nine Circles, or thresholds, of the Shattered Labyrinth offer tests that the Dancer must overcome or outwit in order to advance in rank. Strong or ingenious petitioners may emerge with Gifts taught by the servitors of the Labyrinth. These vision quests may take many forms, but they often appear as surreal stories and vignettes presented by dark Umbral spirits.
The first 5 circles represent the first five ranks. It is extremly unusual for a Black Spiral Dancer to proceed to the sixth circle or beyond. Only two Dancers are supposed to have bested the 9th and final circle.
The First Circle, The Dance of Insight: The first circle offers the first ordeal that a Black Spiral Dancer must overcome in order to be seen as a full-fledged member of the tribe. Darkness initiates the experience, swiftly filled by visions that offer up dismal truths contained within the Dancer's own soul. The Dancer must overcome the limitations of her mind in order to accept the evil within her. The revelations offer great understanding, but those who are weak become hollow, shattered, mad shadows of their former selves.
The Second Circle, The Dance of Rage: In this 2nd circle, the initiate learns the strength of indulgence in violence of the most extreme kind. A Dancer who enters this portion of the Labyrinth encounters problems that may only be overcome through extraordinary violence and frenzy. This circle encourages BSDs to give in to any act of violation or psychotic destruction imaginable.
The Third Circle, The Dance of Endurance: This circle presents tests of physical and mental anguish that must be endured. The test makes use of the Dancer's own experiences, showing him that he is stronger than he once was, that he can endure that which defeated him before. The Dancer often emerges with a higher tolerance to pollution, radiation, pain, fear and so on. The mental anguish caused by this test may help the Dancer to commune with the Urge Wyrms, encouraging a greater sympathy with the Wyrm's traumas.
The Fourth Circle, The Dance of Cunning: A treacherous Bane guards this circle, and he must be bested in a test of wits. The Dancer must learn to draw upon her Gnosis, to twist wisdom into false logic. Doing so teaches the Dancer to see through the deception of others, particularly the Dancer's own allies. The Dance of Cunning may also teach the Dancer the truth behind a great lie.
The Fifth Circle, The Dance of Combat: This is a symbolic battle, not a blow-by-blow contest. The Dancer must impress her foes by using violence in imaginative ways and by not showing fear. Traditionally, success bestows greater ability in combat.
The Sixth Circle, The Dance of Corruption: The sixth circle brings about terrible physical mutations and mental abnormalities, all but destroying the Dancer's sense of identity and self. The experience systematically destroys the most secure aspects of his identity, one by one, until he no longer sees himself as the same person he was. This test causes radical shifts in personality and results in at least one physical deformity and one mental disorder, sometimes more. It undermines the Dancer's faith in what seemed to be a sane, secure and stable part of reality.
The Seventh Circle, The Dance of Loyalty: The Dancer must prove her willingness to sacrifice for the Wyrm. She must sacrifice her dearest possession, whether that is a fear, a love or hidden link to the sane, human world that she supposedly left behind a long time ago.
The Eighth Circle, The Dance of Paradox: The Dancer must overcome a riddle posed by a Bane of Enigmas. Any Dancer who returns successful from this test loses any understanding she gained through the experience, and no one has ever been able to explain what has happened to them within this circle. Some Dancers speculate that the secret of the Eighth Circle has something to do with the true nature of the Trait.
The Ninth Circle, The Dance of Deceit: The Dancer must overcome a manifestation of the Wyrm in combat and destroy it. Only two Dancers have ever passed this ordeal and returned; they became an Incarna and a Malfean. Some speculate that the Dancer must briefly become the Wyrm within this circle.
Playing With Others
The Shattered Moon: The 13 Tribes Corrupted
The Wyrm rejoices when the tribes do its work, and many times, they do so unwittingly. Race hatred, elitism and stereotyping appearing more frequently than many would like, and even the best packs have been guilty of it. Every tribe also has some weakness that can provide an opening to a Dancer who is clever enough to exploit it.
Gaian Garou spend most of their post-change waking lives on the front line of the war against the Wyrm. There's little shore-leave, rest-time is scarce, and many hardened leaders in the tribes or septs see requests for time away as being selfish or indicative of weakness. Garou who tire of this pressure eventually return to their human or wolf lives, often in the first stages of harano. As Harano deepens, the Garou isolates herself, plagued with dreams and nightmares of her past lives. It is often during this time that she feels called to come to the Underworld, where her pain will end at last.
A Garou who accepts the revelations of the Shattered Labyrinth becomes something utterly different from what she was. She may use her knowledge of her tribe's weakness to tailor the temptation tactics, or she might betray her sept with her memory of its defenses. Some Garou do come looking for fallen packmates, and they may end up fallen themselves. Worst of all is when a pack must stare into the face of their fallen comrade, knowing that she wishes them all dead or riddled with Wyrm-taint.
Black Furies - The Furies have grown frustrated over the years with the Garou Nation's inability to do more for women beyond attempting to alter society's attitudes and the fact that many male garou only perpetuate the things the Furies seek to end. Life after the Spiral is one of consummated dreams. Women hold a great deal of power among the Dancers, and some take advantage of this, although some few do give up their independence to become breeders for the tribe. The dementia frequently revolves around violent misandry, extreme smexual practices or altered notions of gender.
Bone Gnawers - Gnawers are often treated with scorn by their "betters" among the tribes, and they're seen as mere street mutts. Many grow frustrated in their efforts to improve their lives, then angry at the notion that Gaia must intend for them to suffer like this. Those who walk the Spiral are often appalled to recognize what they have suffered in Gaia's name. Survivors are often plagued with neuroses such as compulsive cleanliness (in rebellion at what they saw in the Spiral) or other obsessive behaviors. Depression is common. Since mental illness is common among the homeless, many Gnawers walk openly on the streets, spreading their taint, which the Dancers reward.
Children of Gaia - Many Children are known (and sometimes scorned) for their attitudes regarding recreational drugs and free love. Some do find love of revelation in these practices, but others become jaded, using them to hide from responsibility. The Spirals offer many perks to fallen Children, such as the tribe's orgiastic breeding ceremonies, amazing drugs and fanatically bound community of allies. Smexual fetishes and manias are indulged, and even encouraged. A number of Children go on to serve the Dark Fungus.
Fianna - Many Fianna treasure their Celtic heritage, unaware of the taint that runs through it. The Dancers have preserved many traditional beliefs of Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales, and their lure of forgotten knowledge can pull at some. Some Fianna have so much of the old tainted blood in their veins that they dream of the Pictish lands and pasts that are best forgotten. On their return from the Spiral, some Fianna join the Cluithi camp, seeking to rekindle their lost heritage. Others become strangely ashamed of their pasts and blood, and take to stalking humans who bear Gaelic blood (northern Ireland has become a popular hunting ground...).
Get of Fenris - The Get are filled with Rage, and they stroke the furnace with violence. But with violence comes the risk of frenzy, and for some Get, too many frenzies risks making the Wyrm-taint in their souls grow. Eventually, the taint consumes the Get, and they walk the Spiral, looking for blood in which to drench their claws. Fallen Get lose their moral inhibitions. They can experience long bouts of fighting and ultraviolence without a single qualm. Indeed, it may be truly ecstatic! Since the tribe appreciates pain, it often forms some of their madness, from sado-masochism to mutilation to thrill-killing.
Glass Walkers - For once, the Garou and the Dancers agree on something: The Glass Walkers are an abomination. The cities where they live choke off all aspects of their Trait, and they embrace technology with unhealthy fascination. Pentex is most likely to recruit Glass Walkers to the Spiral, often in the form of job searches or corporate headhunters. Those Glass Walkers who go through "employee orientation" bring their not inconsiderable knowledge about the Weaver and the modern world with them. Some experience a dramatic turnaround, becoming raging technophobes. Obsession-compulsion and mechanophilia are other common forms of Glass Walker dimentia.
Red Talons - The Red Talons are just as likely to fall as any other Garou. What begins as an irritation with the leaders who sit and jabber like the stupid monkeys that they imitate develops into full-blown hated as the humans consume the world and the Garou do nothing. Their hearts break under the strain of their Rage, and they welcome the Wyrm as an ally. Fallen Talons dream of the Impergium at it's height - when the foolish humans were kept in their place, when those who strayed were culled - and they enforce it with gruesome enthusiasm. Cannibalism and brutal (*cough* uh.. "animal love") are common forms of dementia for this fallen tribe. Abhorra, Urge of Hatred, takes particular interest in these former tribe members.
Shadow Lords - The Shadow Lords fall more frequently than they would believe, and their weakness - power-lust and pride - make them easy targets. Their attempts to play both ends against the middle may likely finish when something comes up that they can't put down. Fallen Lords either rise to positions of power or humble themselves before greater powers than they've ever encountered. Hakaken has entire packs of Shadow Lords to do his bidding, while Sykora and Kirijama seek elite Lords to work for them. Fallen Shadow Lords usually suffer from paranoia or delusions of grandeur.
Silent Striders - Silent Striders frequently travel to some of the most dangerous places in the earthly realm and the Umbra, especially the lands of the Dead. Not every path to the Spiral begins in a Pit. Not a few Striders stray from their paths in the Underworld, led on by the pain in their souls, and end up at the First Circle. Fallen Striders become masters of Malfeas and the Underworld, and many also take on the challenge of learning to navigate through the thousands of miles of tunnel connecting the Hives and Pits. They also take up communicating with things in the outer darkness. Spending so much time in the Underworld, the Striders forget the norms of behaviors in the earthly world and take up shocking practices that they learned in the Stygian depths.
Silver Fangs - The so-called kings of the Garou teeter perilously close to the edge, and their madness makes them easy prey to further corruption. Some have trouble remembering their past lives, or they can't remember anything but the worst details. Once past the Shattered Labyrinth, many Fangs suffer from amnesia, which the Dancers take as a sign of the Wyrm's forgiveness, allowing the new ones to start with a clean slate. Others sufer from multiple personalities or delusional past lives due to their nightmares during transmogrification. The most wild suffer delusions of grandeur, believing that they will be the ones to lead the Dancers to glorious victory against Gaia. The Dancers are always hapy to let these ones lead the charges.
Uktena - Uktena are likely to fall in one of two ways. Either they grow frustrated with their failing efforts to preserve tribal homelands and indigenous Kinfolk (and start looking for outside help), or their occult studies lure them into seeking forbidden knowledge (and they make deals with one too many dark powers). Bane Tenders are watched constantly for signs of taint due to their particular duties, but even the most vigilant sentinel blinks once in a while. Fallen Uktena often carry encyclopedic knowledge of Banes and other Wyrm-spirits, Spectres and the Nephandi's demonic servents. Many submit themselves to humiliating obeisance and develop penchants for live sacrifice, scarification, self-mutilation or torture. Panzaism - a belief that supernatural influence is so pervasive that only the true occultist (the believer) can command it - is also frequent.
Wendigo - A Wendigo isolated from his tribe and homelands becomes easy prey for the Wyrm as doubt and introspection creeps into him. Frustration over his failed attempts to protect his homeland or raging hatred for the work of the white man often push him over the edge. After the fall, Wendigo often use their knowledge of local defences in the service of the Wyrm, and they show little interest in defending their lands. Many take up worship of Eater-of-Souls, an even greater cannibal spirit than the Great Wendigo. Some also dream of something buried in the great ice of Antarctica, some great mystery that follows another Black Spiral migration....
Agendas
The major agenda of the Black Spiral Dancers is clear: the destruction of human order, the death of all Garou who will not join them and the subjugation of the mortal world. How, then, do they intend to get there?
Corruption - Corruption is the first order of business for most Dancer Hives. Some Dancers work slowly and carefully, using research, rites and delicate manipulation to orchestrate the fall of their foes. Others spread their taint physically, through rape, abduction and the spread of radiation, toxic sludge and pollution. Still others demoralize the Garou through repeated attacks, leaving them subject to exhaustion and Harano.
The Dancers work paw-in-hand with Pentex to corrupt humanity and the Wyld itself, creating fomori, birthing Banes and despoiling wild places. In particular, the Dancers have made ample use of the Rite of Blood Taint and similar rites of late to exploit the pollution that they have spread throughout the Garou Nation. Pentex is also working on drugs that will make the job of corruption easier, weaking the resolve of Garou and Kinfolk alike.
Thanks to the resorces of Pentex, the Dancers have also rediscovered a few of the other Changing Breeds. They've begun efforts to taint the other breeds as well. IN some cases, the job is easy. For example, the Bastet tribe of the Simba (were-lions) have already fallen much of the way on their own. The Dancers hope to drag the entire tribe over to their side, where Lion would no doubt welcome them graciously. The sudden infusion of numbers, fresh blood and sheer suprise should put them a large step ahead of the game, if they succeed. There's no guarentee, however, that the lions will be willing to work with the Dancers if they fall.
Reproduction - The Dancers do their best to increase their numbers day by day. They abduct humans, Garou and Kinfolk to act as breeders. They rape unwilling subject and warp their memories through the Rite of the Survivor. They enact procreation rites and work furiously on a means to make their metis fertile. There are few taboos where sex is concerned. The only abomination is chastity.
Some Dancers have pinned their hopes on the Pentex interest in genetic engineering; perhaps Pentex can prevail where the Theurges have not. A handful of metis participate willingly in Pentex experiments to this end.
Dancers don't care whether or not their cubs are raised within the purview of the Hive, as long as they can be found and brought home eventually. This leaves them free to span with whatever partners they want, caring little for the ultimate disposition of those partners. It also means that, in many cases, they don't need to worry about paying child support, college tuition and other costs traditionally associated with having children. On the other hand, as their taint asserts itself, these children are likely to spread corruption to the very youngest and most defeseless victims.
Destruction - This goal may be harder to achieve than one would think. The Dancers must be careful not to give away the location of their Hives. If they simply launched wave upon wave of assaults on Garou caerns, the Garou wouldn't need to wonder long where the attacks were coming from. When the Garou know what they're fighting and where to take the fight, it gives them a morale boost that the Dancers most definitely don't want them to have.
The Dancers prefer to work like terrorists. They pay attention, and keep abreast of their enemies' movements. They take advantage of a momentary weakness in the defenses, or they engineer one themselves. They wait until the Garou are busy elsewhere, divided and already fighting a war on another front. Then they attack, quickly and decisively. They do as much damage as possible and then disappear again.
The Apocalypse - Above all, the Dancers await the coming Apocalypse. They do what they can to prepare for it. They want as many Garou as possible in the grip of Harano, hopelessness, despair and corruption when that time comes. The greater numbers of Dancers and the fewer the number of Garou, the easier the Apocalypse will be in the coming. The Dancers watch all their allies closely in these times for signs of betrayal. They know that the Wyrm has promised them dominance, but they also know that their allies may have other plans.
