Pack History

After the treaty was signed, the Kadzait, as promised, moved themselves away from any sort of vampire culture. Eventually they found their way into the colder and more remote regions of the earth; Russia, Siberia, the mountains of Nepal and Tibet, even parts of Europe like what today are the Swiss and Italian Alps. Their thick, warm wolf coats were ideally suited to the weather and helped give them an edge in those climates. Aggressive hunting while in wolf form helped to sustain them in the harsher months, and they were always able to trade stores of frozen meats for other items to nearby towns. Interbreeding, over the years, led to their human forms eventually growing hardier and sturdier. Although this is by no means a modern Kadzait biological trait, it did have an effect in the early years of the pack's formation.

Over the years the Kadzait expanded into what is now North America, by way of Alaska and Canada. They were well-received in these new areas, for the first time. Bands of Inuit, once they discovered their dual forms as wolf and human, considered them special; not necessarily sacred, but something beyond man. Thus the heavy influence of the Inuit on Kadzait culture. This, of course, is where they got the name Kadzait (wandering wolves), and first began to recognize themselves as more than just many isolated groups of changelings.

The Kadzait have since learned to accept and embrace their wolfish sides. They are encouraged to take pride in their gift and to use it for the betterment of both human and changeling. Close ties to the Alaskan Inuit (where the largest pack settled and where many of the Kadzaits' current ideas radiated outward from) have taught them to value spirituality and oneness, both with themselves and the world around them.

The Kadzait have survived largely because of their ability to work both with their environment and with the people around them. However, their roots and some inherited memories may have led some of their pack members to believe they are, indeed, some sort of superior beings to humans. For this reason, although there have always been full humans in the pack, these pack-friends, called Illamar, have not always been accorded the same status as members. They have been uninvited to pack meetings, never allowed to reach any sort of dominance, and in general treated as something more than slaves but less than people.

Kadzait inherited memories can be confusing, as the treatment of humans in the Pack has changed in several ways over the years. For the past several hundred years, humans' treatment was fairly harsh, the worst it has ever been.

It was this which ultimately led to one of the most difficult changes in pack leadership the Kadzait have experienced thus far. Normally, leadership changes much in the way of wolves; by unspoken consent and deference to an alpha, male or female, who has shown themselves capable and willing in the past.

However, some thirty-five years ago, influenced by the African American Civil Rights movements, the Illamar of the Kadzait began to evidence their discontent with this archaic law*. The former pack leader, a man by the name of Liam Xephier, fought against any form of change**. His son, however, agreed with the Illamar and although it was assumed that Aidan would lead the pack after his father, their differences led to a good deal of fighting between the two.

It became uncertain as to whether or not Aidan would remain with the pack at all, and for a while the pack succession was uncertain, as there wasn't anyone else ready or willing to step up after Liam. The Kadzait were on the brink of being torn apart from the tight family unit they had become, returning to the wandering nomads of their beginnings.

Aidan, however, came to a decision and issued a Challenge to his own father. Emerging the victor, he became the leader of the Kadzait in 1972 and has remained so ever since. Liam has returned to Europe, not in disgrace, but not in high standing either.

Under Aidan's leadership the pack has thrived and the Illamar have become full members, completely equal to their Amaroq counterparts. Aidan has relocated the seat of his pack to Nachton, not only in competition with the Vyusher R'asa, but as his own silent protest to their forced exile at the hands of the vampires.

* - It should be noted that this is considered archaic by human standards. By werewolf standards, the idea of humans as completely unequal and of lesser worth is actually a perversion of the much older idea that humans are merely 'different.' Technically speaking, it is Aidan's (Xeph's) previous generation who are the radicals with the new ideas (ie: Liam Xephier and his constituents).

** - Note here, Liam fights against change as he understands it, in the very short span of history that has been his life, compared to the thousands of years the Kadzait have existed. While Liam considers Aidan (Xeph) the harbinger of change, Aidan is actually trying to gradually bring the Pack back to its roots, which involves accepting humans as equals once again.