Lavras Colony

Closed Borders, Clever Spies

Healthy canines who are not visibly immune are forbidden entry to Lavras territory for any reason. The Guards will violently expel anyone who does not respect their claim. But this isn't out of cruelty. Exposure to the sick would be undoubtedly fatal to the outsider, for one. And if they intended harm to the sick or Empirics seeking to cure them, the loss could be devastating to the colony's efforts to find a cure. It is believed those dying of Wasting deserve to live out their remaining days in service to a greater purpose, with dignity, not at the fangs of idiot outsiders reacting with violence at what they do not understand. 

While the reclusive Colony's location is not widely known by outsiders, intentionally so for its own protection, it maintains a not insignificant presence throughout the Land by way of the many vague rumors relating to their Footpads. Because of the sensitivity of their task, Footpads must often be discreet about their true purpose. Many do not initially confess to having an allegiance to a pack at all - but the number of black-furred traders wandering the borderlands have given more worldly-wise factions reasons to suspect these strangers are aligned, regardless. 

Footpads are often regarded as rogue agents - just as likely to trade as to steal. To some, they are notorious invaders willing to spy and purloin to suit their obscure goals. But to factions that welcome them, they can be a good source of information and trade. With enough rapport, they may share their knowledge about the Wasting. 

Even friendly factions, however, might come to resent and expel visiting Footpads. If Wasting is discovered, and a pack refuses to take due measures to contain it after being made aware, the Footpad may take matters into their own paws. Stolen children and mysterious deaths have been known to follow in a Footpad's wake. And once infection breaks out, packs might find dark-furred strangers lurking often at the borders, leaving markers of blood and bone to warn of the sickness, and discouraging anyone from dispersing or entering the territory, even those who seem healthy. Lands found tainted and decimated by Wasting are known to still be able to transmit it even after the inhabitants have left. Those familiar with the markers would do well to respect them.

Not all packs are so blind to the dangers of Wasting, however. The hope for a cure, and the promise of a death that will not bring the plague down upon one's family and friends, is an appealing prospect. While forced incarceration isn't above Lavras, many sick came by choice to the colony. Some were also found wandering alone, and whether violent or docile, were led back by the Footpads.

Essentially, the Colony is friendly when possible, but circumspect. And if friendliness is rejected, will nevertheless do what is necessary to achieve their ultimate goal of preventing the spread of plague.

Expert Healers and Investigators

Lavras Colony is home to extremely talented healers with a wealth of knowledge all but unmatched regarding illnesses, thanks to their efforts in studying The Wasting. Many families have been ravaged by the disease, which has led to a significant collection of souls gathered in the colony who have a vested interest in finding a cure, either to save or honor their afflicted loved ones. 

Several individual schools of medicine exist. Some focus on herbology and the use of poultices and natural remedies to reduce symptoms. Some attempt more physical methods such as leeching and balancing of humors. Others are spiritual in nature, petitioning their respective deities, ancestors, or spirits. They might focus on the mind, the body or the soul. Many take a holistic approach. Some are highly specialized. 

Because The Wasting is so difficult to understand and has so far been incurable, experimentation is encouraged. While undue harm is not permitted upon the afflicted, many are asked (and accept) to take significant risks and painful treatment attempts in hopes of learning something valuable in the quest to end the plague.

Keepers of Flame

Lava bubbling up through various tunnels in the cave system offers reliable access to fire, which Colonists have learned to wield to some degree. Fire unchecked is dangerous, but when treated with respect, can be an incredible, perhaps mystical ally. Fire offers heat, which is known to ease aches and chills, and purify wounds through cauterization. Applied carefully, it can transform dried organic matter into vapors and incense, and combined with different kinds of rocks is capable of a wide variety of applications. These all might be useful in the quest for a cure. 

Experimentation has taught Colony wolves that affixing tar, or a pasty combination of lime and sulfur, to the end of thick branches can vastly extend the burn time of the "torch", enabling a mobile light source through bleak tunnels, deterring insects above ground, and making a useful tool to scare off invaders who have, by vast majority, never seen this destructive force wielded as a tool.

Thanks to this affection for fire, the Colony has also learned to cook food. While eating raw is permissible, especially for Footpads in the Borderlands, it is generally preferred to cleanse meat by burning it under a fire-stick, first. Particularly creative Colony wolves might also burn fruits and herbs to enjoy rather more advanced meals than canines are generally accustomed to. Non-colony wolves often find this unusual preference... bizarre, if not outright distasteful. 

Lava flows above ground also serve as a deterrent to incursions, and help purify earth that might have been infected with Wasting. Years of hard lessons have taught the pack much about anticipating and mitigating the damage of eruptions, and most major cave spaces have multiple exits, along with ways to seal up individual smaller passages or redirect spills long enough to evacuate. 

Law & Punishment

The Colony attempts to be permissive wherever possible, with the spirit of the laws being more important than the letter. It is generally up to the Almsans to arbitrate disputes and punishments, taking into account the damage caused by the violation and the capability of the offender to understand their crime. If a ruling displeases the involved parties, it can be escalated a single time to higher ranking Almsans for a review. 

• Fire must not be used recklessly or left unattended.

• Afflicted cannot leave the territory or interact closely with vulnerable outsiders.

• Undue violence is forbidden, and any physical enforcement should generally be left to Guards who have specialized training.

• Undue risk to the Afflicted in the search for a cure is forbidden, but Afflicted may consent to greater risk if it is clearly explained to them.

• Deliberate euthanasia is permitted only to Mori, and should still be reserved for those in extreme pain or otherwise unmitigated distress.

• Mates and mating are reserved for those who possess clarity of mind to reasonably consent to such acts.

• Afflicted females are greatly discouraged from carrying litters to term, due to the illness spreading to non-melanistic pups in the womb. 

• Most resources in the colony belong to the entire colony, and hoarding is disallowed. Personal ownership of a few sentimental items is permitted.

Punishments range from undesirable chores like cleaning out sick bedding, to probation of task, restrictions of rations, and - in the case of most extreme crimes like murder or rape, exile (to the immune) or euthanasia (to the afflicted.) Lavras tends to place the burden of punishment on the immune in any immune/afflicted conflict, and afflicted are often treated more leniently due to their reduced mental facilities. Most afflicted can simply have their management adjusted, but those who have become too violent and unpredictable for even the Guards to manage safely may be exposed to noxious vapors or fed a sleeping mixture to end their suffering. 

Gender/Relationships/Etc

With a wide variety of religions and cultures accounted for in the colony, views on mateship and ceremony are equally varied, and options for recognition are broad. Mates are permitted to be taken even between species, and even between healthy and sick individuals - but only so long as it can be deemed the sick are still within enough control of their faculties to understand the choice they are making. It is known that The Wasting afflicts offspring born to sick females, so litters born to them are greatly discouraged. Any that were not black of fur would die in infancy in extreme pain. Sick males are not similarly restricted. 

The colony is extremely tolerant of a variety of sexual orientations and gender identities. Sick come from all over, and their caretakers a great many religions and cultures. Tolerance and cooperation are crucial to uncovering a cure. 

Diversity of Species

As all canids (Canidae for you taxonomy freaks) are susceptible to Wasting, the colony is not comprised solely of wolves. A great many native species of canines call it home: Gray Wolves (& associated subspecies), Coyotes, Golden Jackals, Dire Wolves, Dhole, Racoon Dogs, Bone-Crushing Dogs, Foxes (Bengal, Blanford's, Tibetan Sand, Arctic, Kit, Ruppell's, Swift, Red, Gray), & viable hybrids thereof*

It is unusual, but certainly not unheard of, for other species like big cats and mustelids to be drawn to the colony and curious to learn thanks to its generally neutral attitude toward non-susceptible predators. Sympathetic Footpads may even bring orphans of other species home with them. It is common thought that since other carnivores cannot catch the disease, it is possible they may contribute in some way or another to a cure. 

* Most fox have wildly different chromosomes. Offspring are possible but would mostly be sterile, like mules. Only Kit, Swift, & Arctic fox species can crossbreed to produce fertile offspring. "Cross-foxes" are not a Red/Gray cross, but a melanistic color morph of Reds, the same as "Silver foxes." Furthermore Gray Wolves, Coyote, and Golden Jackals can produce fertile offspring together, but cannot usually produce litters with any other species. 

Ranks

MINISTER - Immune Colonists who have attained great respect due to their age and experience, generally regarded to have the highest authority.  Free to create.

SWORN - Immune and Early-Stage Afflicted Colonists who have dedicated themselves to the maintenance of Lavras and the fruition of its ultimate goal.  Free to create.

TESTED - Immune and Early-Stage Afflicted Colonists-to-be, either newcomers integrating or youngsters building their skills.  Free to create.

MORI - Colonists (primarily Afflicted) who's health is significantly deteriorated, who's primary concern is being made comfortable until their passing.  Free to create.

Roles

EMPIRICS - Immune and Early-Stage Afflicted healers and mystics who focus primarily on canines ill with The Wasting, and attempt to understand the disease as well as experiment with treatment and ease the suffering of the sick. They also examine the deceased and ease the passing of the dying.   Free to create.

FOOTPADS - Immune traders, thieves, and infiltrators who spend more time above ground than any other role. They promote a wealth of material for the colony, bringing back diverse herbs, corpus, and holy items for the Empirics to experiment with. Their most sacred task, however, is locating sick to be brought back to the colony, as well as identifying and marking afflicted lands with symbols to warn off trespassers.  Free to create.

ALMSANS - Immune and Early-Stage Afflicted caretakers and companions of the colony. They keep the sick clean and maintain colony denspaces, as well as offer companionship and counsel to the fearful and dying. They may also serve as wetnurses, assist the Empirics in preparing or administering treatments, and arbitrate disputes between colony members.  Free to create.

GUARDS - Immune protectors of the colony, who maintain the borders and warn off would-be intruders, as well as help restrain and maneuver violent sickwolves during treatment and end-stages of illness. They are trained to restrain and subdue without causing harm to their opponents as much as possible. Guards do most of the hunting and fishing for the colony. They usually do not leave the territory, but may sometimes accompany Footpads on specific missions through dangerous territories.  Free to create.

AFFLICTED - The sick. Non-immune canines afflicted with The Wasting and in various states of advancement. They are kept mostly sequestered in the caves and canyons to reduce the risk of spreading their infection. The other roles work to reduce their suffering and offer them experimental treatments in hopes of finding a cure for the savage disease. (Can be held along with Almsan and Empiric roles, if the Afflicted is still relatively sound of mind)  Free to create.

PILGRIMS - Canines who may have been exposed to the Wasting, and quarantine above ground on Lavras lands until they can be verified as clean or sick. They are usually forced to remain solitary outside of visits from Immune Lavras, though sometimes small families or pairs will stay together.  Free to create.

Unsure if your character would reasonably be immune? There's a handy guide image over on The Wasting's main lore page!

Lavras was founded by a handful of melanistic wolves who lost their natal packs to Wasting. Determined to protect their sick family members and uncover the cause of this mysterious illness, they banded together to pool resources. Over time, more and more joined them, and Lavras became better organized, with more resources at its disposal. Though not as large as other major factions in the Land, they have a reputation that far precedes them.

Densite

• The Den is a large, twisting maze of tunnels carved by lava and erosion. Dark corridors are interspersed with wide openings that allow light through the ceiling where streams might run down and plant life takes hold. Many individuals claim small cubby-holes as their personal dens.

Prey

The Colony makes use of a variety of available prey, including, but not limited to: