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Each episode has three sections; cut scenes, trailer and synopsis. Cut scenes are out-of-character narratives to give the players a glimpse into the other forces threatening the Guardians. The trailer appears before each episode on the main page and is moved here after the episode airs. The synopsis is a brief recounting of the events of the episode.
Episodes are listed by air date, the date that episode was held. Click on a link below to jump to a specific episode:
The
great white wolf ran, the blazing Texas sun scorching his fur and mercilessly
heating the ground beneath his paws. His name was Skywise, and he thought best
while running. He thought of cool dens, his lovely mate, and the joy of his
long service to Gaia. He was her servant, her tool, and she rewarded his service
with simple pleasures. He was content to go where she led, and if she desired
him to go to Houston, so be it.
So thinking, Skywise ran, the miles passing unheeded beneath him. As he ran, he dreamed.
It was the middle of winter. Snow lay deep on the scented forest floor. Everything was quiet, still, with not even the noise of his passage to disturb the silence.
The forest gave way to a snow-cloaked clearing. In the center of the clearing burned a single, bright flame. He looked up, and from the sky descended a beautiful woman clad in a shimmering silver dress. The moonlight was in her eyes, the stars in her hair. Skywise stood awestruck at the sight of Luna in all her glory. Where she landed, the snow glowed with an internal luminescence that transcended any light Skywise had ever seen before. He sank to his belly, muzzle touching the ground.
Rise, gentle star-watcher, she said, the words reverberating in his mind. We are pleased with you.
"Oh highest one, I am your humble servant," said Skywise in a shaking voice, rising to his unsteady feet.
A storm is coming, gentle star-watcher, she said in her resonant mind-voice. My children are without shelter, berefit of the knowledge to see them through it.
They must seek the inner flame, or they will perish.
Skywise closed his eyes at the solemn tone of her pronouncement. When he opened them again, she was gone. The flame had gone out. He stood alone in the middle of the snowbound clearing, his tail low and ears back.
"Where shall they seek it?" he cried aloud.
And in a voice that shook him to his very bones, Luna answered him.
Evening comes like a cool benediction to the hot east Texas plains, spreading its gentle purple and blue cloak across the sky. The dry earth still radiates the intense heat of day, but still, the harshest part of the day is done. I'm always amazed that the Texas nights are surprisingly gentle. As the last rays of light disappear from the western sky, I go wolf to survey the perimeter of my territory, check on my hooved children and see what there is to see.
Nearly two hours later, night has completely fallen and I have swept through the entire territory. Sure, I'll admit that I took my time about it; but rarely is there any urgency to my patrols. There are better guardians than I to keep my home clear of interlopers, and there has been no real trouble since the red star descended upon the glowing city to the East. Without having thought about it, I have headed back to the eastern edge of my territory. There is a strange scent in the air. I sit back on my haunches, close my eyes, and inhale.
The storm is coming.
My eyes fly open. My body shakes as it realizes the truth before my mind can comprehend it.
The storm is coming.
I race back to the house, paws barely touching the ground, miles of dry earth passing beneath me. The land seems emptier now, more desolate, more fragile. The few green and growing things that have survived this horrible winter will not survive this life-devouring storm.
The door stands open and I enter my house still in wolf form. My partner lies before the fire, her golden eyes glittering with amusement at my abrupt entrance. We have a guest, a strikingly beautiful pure-white wolf with intense blue eyes. He carries himself with age and dignity, and I bow my head low in respect, muzzle nearly touching the floor.
"Forgive me for intruding, honored one. I do not mean to give offense," I say, glancing over my partner. "Someone left the door open." Her tongue rolls out in canine laughter.
"It is I who am honored by your hospitality, revered elder," the aged white wolf elegantly responds, lowering his own head. "You know why I am here."
"The storm is coming," I say quietly, staring into his bright blue eyes. My golden-eyed partner looks at me curiously.
"Yes," he says sadly. "The storm is coming. Yet hope still remains." He looks away from me, first at my partner, then into the fire. "I have no right to ask this of you, but I have come to beg a favor of you."
I look over at my partner and meet her shining yellow eyes for a moment before straightening and doing my best to look like an alpha. "Speak, honored one. There is no need to beg within this house." The white wolf looks intently at me. "I have come to hear the voice of the people," he says softly. "I will give you whatever you desire, including my life."
"Nonsense," I snap, my mind racing at his words. "There's no need for that." I do not need to look to know that beneath my partner's relaxed pose her mind is analyzing the situation tactially, evaluating this intruder who has dared ask so much of us. If it comes to blows I will follow her lead. My eyes never leaving his, I consider his request.
The voice of the people? Why does he want to hear the voice of the people? Something about the phrasing of the request pulls at my memory.
"I am sorry, honored elder, but I cannot give you what you seek," I say sadly. "It has passed on. The voice of the people is no longer mine to give."
His eyes betray a great hurt. He had hoped so that I could give him what he asked for. "Where is it now?" he asks.
"The Valkyrie," my partner says in her coyote-accented voice. "The Valkyrie has the voice now."
He turns to face my partner, eyes wide, ears back. "Thank you," he says. "I am honored by your trust."
"As are we, revered one," I reply, bowing my head again. "Good luck."
He leaves without looking back, his ghost-white form slipping into the dark night. I watch him leave, my partner by my side. The wind picks up.
The storm is coming.
Kell stomped down the jetway with a scowl on his face and people made way for him. The flight from Portland was delayed four hours due to storms and sat on the tarmac for three and a half of them. It's just a stupid storm, Kell thought to himself, and nothing to be afraid of. People can be such cowards at times, he swore at himself. He hefted his duffel bag over his shoulder with his one good arm and steeled himself for meeting his old packmate. Skywise was a dear packbrother but his forgetfulness had reached epic proportions in the last few years.
Kell emerged from the gate and quickly detoured to avoid the crowd of hugging, happy people that blocked the exit. He scanned the crowd for his white-haired friend.
Five minutes later, Kell found him waiting at the gate for a flight from Shreveport. "I'm really sorry," Skywise was saying as they walked to the airport exit. "But it was an honest mistake! Shreveport, Portland... people shouldn't name places so similarly," he said as they passed security. "I should speak to someone about that. Who's in charge of these things, anyhow?"
Kell sighed and shook his head. He hoped that his friend had written down what they were supposed to be doing here in Houston, or it promised to be a long trip.
Skywise had some kin who were happy to put Kell up for a few days, though Kell found the luxurious home to be a bit too frivolous for his liking. Skywise just laughed at him when he grumbled and offered to let him sleep out under the stars with the mosquitoes, which made Kell grumble even more. For a week the pair searched out information on every Garou that lived in Houston. Finally, one evening after a long day searching for members of a pack rumored to follow Owl he found Skywise standing by the mansion's pool, staring into the reflected sky. Wordlessly Kell joined him.
After a few quiet moments Skywise spoke. "We are out of time, my friend. I have had another vision. I stand naked and alone on a featureless plain of dust. Great thunderclouds tower thousands of feet into the sky as the plain is ravaged by the storm. I watch it approach but am powerless before it. The clouds take on the shape of an awesome bird of prey, and then I return to myself."
"Time grows short," Skywise said solemnly, looking at Kell. "The storm is almost here. We must gather Luna's children and pray She will see us through."
Kell looked into the water and saw the spirits of death dance across the indigo sky. "And if She does not?" he asked finally.
Skywise shrugged. "Our time is past; Gaia will shelter us all in the end." He looked at Kell. "But there is still hope, and I will not abandon it, nor will you. Are you not one of Luna's children? Our weird is not inescapable while she smiles upon us." He turned and walked back into the house.
Kell stood there staring into the water for a long time before joining him.
Air date: May 27, 2000.
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Out of the ashes of Houston arises a new generation of heroes. Four werewolf packs strive against the forces of corruption - and each other - to raise a caern in America's fourth-largest city.
Seekers of the Inner Flame. Heroes wanted. |
Somehow,
Kell thought to himself, that crazy Silver Fang actually pulled it off. He shook
his head as he watched Skywise sit on his haunches and listen to the tales of
the gathered Seekers, offering encouragment and grinning his crazy smile. They
had been together for less than a day yet they were already starting to think
as one. Having seen a few septs come together in my day, of course, he thought
wryly.
The tales that were told that night were tales of glory; the Wyrm-creatures were driven back, the Seekers had acquited themselves well in battle. The tales were also tales of honor; of revealing the ghost of Jonas and recovering the Voice of the People. The tales were also tales of wisdom; Kell nodded when he heard of the Raven's crafty tactics on the Syndicate's thugs and the visits of the Valkyrie.
Kell's eyes drifted over the assembled Garou, some in homid form, others in lupus. His gaze settled on Ash Walker, Ashurban, the night-black wolf on the other side of the fire. Kell had seen him fight like hell's own demons earlier that day, slaying four of the Wyrm-beasts without breaking a sweat. Kell cursed his missing arm for preventing him from besting the theurge in battle, and as he looked up Ashurban stared right back at him.
Kell got up and left. Skywise and Ash Walker both watched him, their faces unreadable.
Near midnight, June 18, 2000.
The unopened stone door of the Valkyire's tomb is cool to my touch. I had sealed it with the holiest prayers I could speak, and it resisted all of the Syndicate's devices today. The air smells of fresh earth from the disturbed ground mixed with the stale odor of spilled blood.
Behind me, my partner awaits, her yellow eyes sweeping the graveyard for potential threats. It was to her that the White Lady appeared in a vision of light and fire, her who took the sword and awakened the spirit of freedom within.
I wearily rest my head against the carved stone door and close my eyes.
"Open," I say in the tongue of the ancients as I push on the door. The wards release their grip upon the portal and the door silently swings open.
It is the middle of winter. Snow lies deep on the scented forest floor. Everything is quiet, still, trembling in the silence before the storm.
The forest gives way to a snow-cloaked clearing. In the center of the clearing burns a single, bright flame. The Valkyrie kneels in the snow, her red cloak drawn about her. A mighty spear carved with the runes of protection and war lies in the snow beside her. An archway of three monolithic stones stands opposite the flame from the kneeling warrior. You are standing behind and slightly to one side of the Valkyrie.
Through the archway comes a beautiful woman clad in a shimmering silver dress. The moonlight is in her eyes and the stars in her hair. You are filled with a sense of great reverence and awe and sink to your knees in supplication.
Beware the false messenger, she says in a voice like the heavens.
You awake, disoriented.
It is the middle of summer. The scented forest floor is cool and welcoming. Everything is quiet, with the soft sounds of life murmmuring all around.
Everything is as it should be. You go back to sleep.
In darkness, the mighty dragon stirs. Soon, it thinks to itself. Soon.
The Gathering of the packs. Skywise relates the call of Luna. Several Wyrm-fiends attack the gathering place but are repulsed. The Valkyrie appears. The Rat and Owl packs track the Wyrm-fiends to a stagnant umbral swamp in the warehouse district. They are approached by men claiming to represent the Syndicate, who offer information about the Voice of the People. Falcon and Raven discover that the ghost of the slain sept leader Jonas haunts them. While questioning the spirit they discover the Voice of the People is in the tomb of the Valkyrie. At the tomb the Seekers find the Syndicate preparing to use heavy construction equipment to retrieve the fetish. The Black Spiral Dancers attack both the Seekers and the Syndicate but are slain. The Raven Pack ransacks the files of the Syndicate. The Voice of the People is recovered from the tomb.
Air date: June 17, 2000.
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Four packs. Five fetishes. One caern. One vision. Three days to go.
And you thought yesterday was exciting.
Seekers of the Inner Flame. |
Very early morning, June 19, 2000.
Each of the Geats every man
of them
who crossed with Beowulf the curling sea-road
was worthied with gifts by the wise old king
honored with heirlooms----then he offered wergild
gold for that wretch ravaged by Grendel
viciously murdered----as more would have been
had not God in his wisdom and one man's courage
withstood wyrd there. The Wielder controlled
all of mankind as he always does.
Forethought is best future in the mind
plans for everything. All who are given
loan-days in this world life before darkness
will suffer and enjoy sorrow and happiness.
Kell read the words from the battered copy of Beowulf, carried in the same outer pocket of the duffel it had resided in for many years. He was reading his favorite part of the tale, when Beowulf returns to Herot from slaying Grendel's mother and the skalds sing his praises. That was the life of a warrior!
The pages slowly turning in the firelight, Kell continued as the years passed and Beowulf became the old King of the Geats and the dragon awoke to ravage the land. Beowulf rode out to slay him; all his companions fled but Wiglaf; and the dragon and Beowulf perished together. How like him I am, thought Kell, a warrior who was only good at fighting and never wanted to be better at anything else. And now...
Kell looked over at Skywise, finally curled up and resting after communing with the spirits for most of the night. Skywise's white tail was wrapped around him and his wounds were mostly healed. Kell had been terrified when he saw Skywise go down before the Wyrm-hounds earlier that day; that terror had transformed into rage and he ripped the face off of the attacker who laid out his old packmate. Skywise was a mighty shaman but no warrior; until the loss of his arm, that glory had always been Kell's. Now that had passed on to others, and to the Shadow Lord in particular. Ashurban slew four of the Black Sprial Dancers without taking a wound in return. Who was this Ash Walker, this Ashurban, Kell wondered? Everyone had withdrawn to their private encampments for the evening, and Ash Walker melted back into the gathering gloom like a grey ghost.
"Kell," Skywise grumbled sleepily from across the fire.
"Yeah, Sky?" Kell asked quietly.
"Stop thinking so loud. You're hurting my ears."
"That obvious?"
"Any more obvious and even you'd notice it."
"Sorry."
"Don't be. Just stop."
"Okay. I know how you old folks need rest. I'll keep it down."
Kell carefully put the book away and saw one of his friend's shining green eyes peeking out from under his white tail. Five minutes passed.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Skywise asked suddenly, his ears back.
Kell sat for a few moments before answering. "No," he replied finally.
Skywise regarded his old friend for a moment. He knew the distance that had grown between them over the years had only been reinforced by the loss of Kell's arm and Skywise's choice to leave Portland and would not be bridged in a night, if ever. He thought of the young arden Edge, deep in the throes of Harano, and how close Kell had come to that state himself after Laughs-at-Dawn's death.
"Stubborn homid," Skywise said, grinning his wolfy grin, tongue lolling to one side.
"Crazy lupus," Kell responded, mouth twitching suspiciously. "Get some sleep." Skywise closed his eyes, still grinning.
The fire burned lower. Kell did not get up to refuel it.
The Raven Pack unearths more information about the Syndicate, particularly about one their front companies, Yoyodyne Tech. Many Seekers report strange dreams. A Red Talon representing the Thunder Pack introduces himself to the Seekers and quickly angers them. Falcon holds the Rite for the Departed for the slain members of the Unicorn sept and introduces the new cub, Aidan MacKinnon.
The Rat and Raven packs journey to St. Michael's Cathedral where they see spirits of light and darkness locked in combat and interrogate several rats. At the same time, the Falcon and Owl packs visit the Yoyodyne R&D campus and are approached by the were-pine Quickbeam who appeals to them to help end the fighting between the pines and the oaks.
The Rat and Raven packs converse with the holy door of St. Michael and it is persuaded to come with them, turning into a golden star. The Falcon and Owl packs converse with the Council of the Pines and journey to the Arboreal Battleground, where they are introduced to the Oak diplomat Arms-Spread-Wide and their old Red Talon friend from the Thunder Pack, Speaks-at-Dusk. Putting aside hundreds of years of emnity, the Oaks and Pines join forces with the Seekers to free the trees from the Weaver-fortress of the Yoyodyne R&D lab.
Reuinited and allied with the were-trees, the Seekers assault the Syndicate's lab in this world and the Umbra. Jonny-Walks-All-Over, Skav McCoy, Quickbeam and several of the other were-trees are among the casualties. Kell is paralyzed from the neck down. The Umbral dome is shattered by the harmonics of Jonny's spirit song and Joseph's Sioux chant; those in the real world recover a small feather in a birdhouse and retreat.
Tending their wounds back at the gathering-place, dissention breaks out between Dying Light and Rhugal over their uninjured states. Harsh words are exchanged and blows appear imminent when the Valkyrie appears, running towards the gathered Garou through a frosted gate. A black-armored man plunges his sword through her and the Seekers charge onto a iced-over hell of a battlefield between knights in gleaming armor and 35-foot tall giants. The giants fall upon the wounded Seekers and slay them with silver-studded clubs as a white dragon appears, claiming several more lives.
The Seekers awake in a large, chilly hall with tapestries, armor and weapons on the wall. The Dream King, an old man past his prime, rises and addresses them. "Welcome, Seekers, to the Dream of the Legendary Lands. We have great need of you," he says.
Air date: July 8, 2000.
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"What if you were unable to wake from that dream? How would you know the difference between the dream world and the real world?" - Morpheus, The Matrix
The nightmare begins again.
Seekers of the Inner Flame. |
A dark figure stands on a lonely hilltop. Dark clouds gather overhead. Flashes of lightning shine through the gloom. Have you done as I requested? the storm's spirit-voice thunders.
"All is in place, father, although I fear it shall not be easy for us. Even now Luna draws warriors to her cause," the figure states calmly.
WHAT? You were to take care of this! I will tolerate none of her interference. You will not fail me! I have staked too much on this, Stormbringer! roars the thundercloud.
The Stormbringer smiles, raising his arms to the heavens. He catches the first drops of rain in his outstretched palms.
"As have I, you old fool," he mutters to himself.
Air date: August 5, 2000.
 And from the ashes he shall return,
Seekers of the Inner Flame
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I stand, my arms soaked in blood. What has happened? I glance over the bodies at my feet. They are broken and torn, their life taken from them by my hands. I do not recognize them as friend or foe. I inhale their scent and the stench of corruption forces me to my knees. It does not come from them though - I am the source. I look closely at myself and detachedly note the changes. One of my victims moans, begging me to end his life. I begin to walk over and honor his request when I remember. I turn and he screams at me, cursing me to a lifetime of pain. I laugh as I leave, the man-thing’s pain means nothing to me.
I am surprised as a voice cackles in my ear.
Razor-1, Razor-1, come in, over, it whispers. Reaching up, I find a cord in my ear that leads to a box on my belt.
Commander Walker, sit-rep, over. I tire of the chattering voice I do not recognize, and know I could destroy its owner with but a thought. I can’t seem to control my laughter, so I don’t bother.
Dammit Walker! I can hear you giggling! What the hell has happ...urk!
Colonel Shapton’s voice stops as he dies. The beast that did it clings to my wire. I pluck it off and crush it.
The wounded man is talking to me now. Calling me by a name I do not recognize. Ash. Ash Walker. He claims I am his friend. He is mistaken, I am no ones friend. I am not this being he claims me to be. I have remembered. I know what I must do.
December 3, 1999 - The red star appears in the umbral sky over Houston.
December 31, 1999 - The antediluvian Set awakens and destroys much of Houston's supernatural population. Rumor has it that he was defeated by a cabal of vampires, werewolves and clergy, a vampiric messiah, the Children of Osiris, the demon Caliban, or Caine himself.
January 1, 2000 - Ash Walker is reuinted with the spirit of Stormbringer.
June 1, 2000 - Skywise receives a vision from Luna. He sets out for Texas immediately.
June 6, 2000 - Skywise reaches the border of Texas sometime around midmorning. He contacts his old packmate Kell and asks for his help. Kell dubiously agrees to meet Skywise in Houston in seven days.
June 10, 2000 - Skywise arrives in Houston and encounters Ashurban (Ash Walker).
June 11, 2000 - Skywise meets ex-Prince Cutter at his ranch.
June 13, 2000 - Kell arrives in Houston. His flight was delayed and he's grumpy. He and Skywise begin searching out the packs of Houston.
June 16, 2000 - Skywise senses Stormbringer's conversation with Grandfather Thunder and has a premonition.
June 18, 2000 - Episode One: From the Ashes. At midnight, the Seekers have a shared dream.
June 19, 2000 - Episode Two: The Warrior's Choice.
June 20, 2000 - Episode Three: Storm Front.
June 21, 2000 - Episode Four: Phoenix Rising. Summer Solstice.
©2000 Brett Peters. "January 1, 2000" ©2000 Phil Lockwood. Last revised April 3, 2001 23:27 EST.
