"You will find that werehyenas are fine warriors," Zuri wrote on, "though, unlike werelions, we are not arrogant and foolhardy. Our breed specializes in lightning raids on the supplies of enemy packs, not full-scale wars against enemies who outnumber us. The were lions say there is no glory in this practicality, but WE say that there is no glory in fighting without a brain. (I only wish Kibibi were more in step with the rest of us on that.) As you might have guessed, werehyenas are our natural enemies. They call us cowardly parasites who live off their hunting, as if we did none of our own! We, in turn, judge them to be cocky, swaggering warmongers who would fight the Sun and Moon just to prove they could. Our closest allies (at least in North America) are the were coyotes. Their packs understand the value of cleverness in a fight even better than us. After all, they lack our size and our mighty bite.
"As I'm sure you've noticed, werehyenas are a mixture of the male and female but lean towards the female. Unsurprisingly, we prize that which is feminine over that which is masculine, aside from our Moon-given penises. From what I have seen of humans, I vastly prefer their women to their men. They are wiser, more spiritual, and more inclined to use their inner power prudently rather than blindly as werelions do. I would advise you to avoid using your Werebrush and Ring of Embraces on males. They lack the feminine instinct to truly comprehend our ways, and it would be a hassle to train them into submission. If only my Kibibi could learn to be less boyish...
"I understand that you grew up on a werewolf homestead. You no doubt understand werebeasts' love of self-sufficiency and natural simplicity (aside from the urban werecats and wererats). To help you get started when you're ready to build your settlement, I am enclosing with this letter some blueprints from necessities such as composting toilets and rainwater harvesters as well as the basic cabin. Aside from cabins, your settlement will need a shrine near the shaman's home for public ceremonies, a dining hall for the communal dinners we treasure, and a proving ground for sparring matches (more on those later).
"Kibibi and Asanti will no doubt bring many traditions with them: our food, our music, our stories, our dances. Feel free to adopt as much as you want, but remember that your pack draw from other sources. Our own pack, for instance borrowed the practice of ceremonial pipe smoking from the native Oklahoma packs of werecoyotes, werewolves, and werebears that surrounded us. Perhaps your old werewolf pack had a tradition you really loved; feel free to use it. Werebeast culture is alive and always growing.
"Our religion is one that seamlessly weds heaven and earth. In the beginning there were only the spirits of Light and Dark. One day They desired a world beyond Themselves and became Father Day and Mother Night. Father day loved order, discipline, and civilization. The world of humans, angels, and wizards is His work. Mother Night loved freedom, intuition, and nature. Her favored children are the vampires, werebeasts, demons, and of course the fey. Witches are divided; some are basically female wizards, while others follow ancient fey rites. A few like Morgana Faye combine the two. To help them govern the new world, Day and Night made themselves each a queen: Lady Sun and Lady Moon. The Sun and Moon each gave birth to numerous spirits who govern the cosmos. Lady Sun's spirit children dwell in a court in the heavens where they reign as the Celestial Bureaucracy. Lady Moon's spirit children chose instead to live on Earth with us, dwelling in everything. Lady Moon is our chief goddess, but Her spirits are no less important. We ask them for advice, beg them for boons, thank them for their kindness, and greet them when we enter their lands. Each pack will become acquainted with different spirits; it's up to Taylor Wagner (with Shaman Kweli's help) to become familiar with your land's local spirits.
"Lady Moon's commands are simple: revere the pack above all else, remember that nature is sacred and refuse to rape its bounty out of greed, dwell within Mother Night's wilds rather than Father Day's cities (whatever nonsense the werecats and wererats may believe), and never touch Lady Moon's sacred silver on pain of death. Aside from these decrees, your packs moral code is yours to craft.
"After death, our souls enter a paradise called the Summerland, where sickness is banished and game is always plentiful. On certain holy days or with a shaman's aid, a departed ancestor spirit may return to commune with the living pack.
"The most frequent of our rites is the Sacred Hunt. On the full moon, when Lady Moon commands that we wear our blessed beast forms from sunset to sunrise in thanks to Her, the whole pack goes forth on a ritual hunt. Once the quarry is killed and its spirit is thanked, we return and hold the grandest feast we can manage. Be creative, the sky's the limit! Kweli will teach Taylor the prayers and songs shi'll need to know for this monthly rite.
"Aside from the monthly Hunts, werebeasts celebrate eight annual festivals. Of course, different werebeast cultures call them by different names. The Surname 'Lyall' is a Scottish adaptation of a Norse name, so I'm assuming you're pack is Celtic in origin (with perhaps a touch of Viking blood). That would mean you call these holy days Mean Geimhreadh (Yule), Imbolc (Dísablót), Cónocht an Earraigh (Ostarafest), Beltane (May Eve), Grianstad (Midsummerfest), Lughnasadh (Freyfaxi), Meán Fómhair (Fallfest), and Samhain (Winternights). I believe those Gaelic and Germanic name sets are the most likely names for a werewolf pack of Northern European origin to use. In my pack, these days are called the Darknight, the Reed Dance, the Seed Festival, the Greentime, the Longday, First Fruits, the Feast of Faith, and the Ancestor Festival. Use whichever names work for you and your pack. The proper way to celebrate each (along with coming-of-age rites, mate-taking ceremonies, and funerals) shall be taught to Taylor by Kweli's visions.
"Packs operate according to status. The alpha and hir mate lead the pack, commanding the respect of all and being served first at the communal dinners. Beneath the alpha pair is the beta and hir mate. The beta is the alpha's trusted advisor, second in command of the pack. In a truly large pack, there may be a council of elders below the alpha rather than a single beta. Below the beta are the delta hyenas, members for the rank and file of the pack who have earned some distinction for themselves. Just below them are the gamma hyenas, the truly ordinary pack members, the average Joes. Last of all is the Omega, a sort of reverse alpha. The omega ranks below everybody, the lowest of the low. It isn't a glamorous job, but an omega's existence is crucial to the morale of the rest of the pack. Without both an alpha and an omega, the strong rope that is the pack begins to fray at the ends. Some packs use their omega as a scapegoat, heaping scorn and humiliation on hir, while other (wiser, in my opinion) packs treat their omega with a certain dignity, simply using hir as the everyone's valet.
"Status can be won or lost by great deeds and great blunders. It can also be fought for on the proving grounds, a simple arena, where werebeasts physically challenge each other for rank. This is normal, even necessary. Just see to it that the battles never get out of hand. Kibibi can get absolutely vicious on the field.
"Besides the general caste system, a pack has certain specialist positions that bestow automatic delta-rank on their holders. The first, obviously, is the shaman. Shi is the pack's priest, seer, and healer. Shi speaks with the spirits, reads their omens, takes them into hir body, crosses into their hidden world, and brews magical potions as well as simpler medicines. Then there is the Mistress of the Hunt (who leads the pack's hunters), the Lady of War (who commands the warriors), and the Queen of the Dance (who is the chief of the sacred dancers who perform in religious rituals). There is also the storyteller, who remembers the great tales of our culture and thus keeps our culture alive. I think Asanti, having grown up in an established pack, could do well as your storyteller. And then there's a role found among the werecoyotes which I have been considering adopting for my pack (mostly because there's a pup called Asha who isn't good for much else): the trickster. The trickster is a sort of sacred clown who questions and jests at everything. Essentially, it's the trickster's job to mock you. It keeps the alpha humble and ensures that we always look critically at our traditions and abandon ones that have grown harmful.
"Of course the most important role in the pack is your own. It falls to the alpha to make the decisions that guide the pack. Besides being in charge of the pack's collective actions, an alpha is expected to spend an hour or two of every day hearing disputes between pack members. They look to you to keep the peace by finding compromises and punishing troublemakers. A status demotion or reduction of food rations is the standard punishment for minor crimes. Serious betrayal might warrant castration or even death, but think carefully before doling out such grave sentences. An alpha's word may be law, but an alpha who has proven to be useless or cruel will likely be challenged in the proving grounds ans replaced if they lack the strength to beat back the challenger. On that note, many packs consider it good manners for an alpha to volunteer for a challenge fight every five years to prove shi is still a mighty leader with Lady Moon's favor. An alpha also usually retires before getting too old. Shi names a preferred successor, but said heir will have to win a series of battles against every other young werehyena who fancies hirself a natural alpha.
"Well, this is getting pretty damn long. If you have any questions, write again, and I'll answer them. Good luck with your pack and may we soon meet face to face.
Best wishes,
Alpha Zuri Mwangi of the Fort Hyde Werehyena Pack"
That done, Zuri scooped up the letter, the blueprints, and Kweli's potion for Taylor. She found Hermes and handed the load over to Morgana's messenger owl. She watched Hermes fly off in the direction of Stokerville. She hoped that Selena would receive it promptly, certainly before Kibibi and Asanti arrived in about three days' time. Shi then shifted into hir werehyena form and walked back into hir cabin.