History of the Vyusher R'asa

Vyusher R'asa - History to the Present

War is a savage thing, but perhaps more difficult is the time after the war, when those who survived must rebuild. This was the task the werewolves were forced to face after their loss and banishment by the mulo, the vampires, though at first they did not realize it. These were the first of their kind, the earliest generation of werewolves, and after they were left with nothing to fight for, they dispersed, not realizing they were destined to create a new civilization.

Survival in the wilds was not as easy as it had appeared. Worse than the cold and the hunger, though, was the loneliness that crept upon the werewolves over time, driving some mad. Fortunately, others were driven to band together, to create followings and unite as one pack. Understanding intuitively that they were better off together than alone, small groups began to form, clusters of families and friends and tagalongs, and these groups began to travel, to search for others like them. The years that separated the banishment from this drawing together left many werewolves' locations a mystery, and to this day they engage in a constant search for their brethren.

Even so, these traveling groups managed to snowball, diversifying as they went along, through back roads and wilderness, always seeking each other out. They found others who were like them in their journeys, humans who wandered for reasons of their own. Both groups being secretive by nature, they were reluctant to intermingle, but soon found that their paths crossed so much that their respective cultures could not help but be affected. Thus as time went on, two groups emerged with striking similarities - the humans, the Roma, also called the Gypsies, and the werewolves, the Vyusher R'asa.

The Vyusher R'asa grew in a very organic way, with the Legion, the military force of the pack, being the main force of order, until the first Alphas, brother and sister Shandor, united them under one banner. From there, gradually structure and order emerged, yet they still preserved their unique way of life, traveling and living off the land even when their commerce and military grew more sophisticated and their populace more educated.

It is no wonder, then, that after a time the dreaded mulo, and the banishment of the werewolves, faded into misunderstood myth or were forgotten entirely. They were simply so successful in adapting that they hardly realized there was a reason they were forced to adapt in the first place.

And so the years marched on.

The Age of Discovery

While the Vyusher R'asa made a place for themselves in this world, complete with their own unique culture, for many years they did not aggressively pursue a foothold in more urban areas, nor did they attempt to create cities of their own. Their evolving culture only reinforced this behavior - customs dictated that settling into cities was oppressive. The Vyusher R'asa were a free people, not to be tied down to human nationalities. Thus their own behavior perpetuated their oppression to some extent. Many believe that their ancestral recollections contributed to this instinctive avoidance of cities as well. There was to some extent a misinterpretation, for surely Vyusher R'asa's ancestors were not telling the next generation, through their murky mediums, to avoid cities because they were to be feared for their own sake. There was something too irrational, too systematic about this avoidance, to simply be attributed to culture or superstition.

It was the Mulo. Vampires - they were real, and they were responsible for Vyusher R'asa's oppressive fear of cities.

It was one thing to believe that, and quite another to prove the truth of it, but after years of searching the unjust treaty signed after the werewolves' dreadful defeat was at last discovered and brought into the light.

The Vyusher R'asa Today

The Vyusher R'asa have, since the discovery of the treaty, made every effort to grow in strength and power. Searching for ungifted relations, which had up to this point been a slow but constant effort, became an urgent and earnest goal. The Legion, which had faded over the years to a few key roles that were mostly figurehead titles, was reformed and continues to expand. As a pack they worked toward expanding their territory and gaining political influence in nations worldwide. They stockpiled arms and began to develop weapons of their own, specifically for use on vampires.

The changes came first in whispers, flickering from one kumpania to the next as the Alphas toured the globe, visiting their pack to explain their new goals. A Polemarch has been selected, they said. The Alpha male planned to run for Mayor in Nachton. There was a call to arms. The war effort had begun.

And so, after generations of peace and freedom that proved to be nothing more than an illusion, The Vyusher R'asa will once again fight for their right to exist and thrive in a world with both humans and vampires, for the treaty must be defied at all costs. There will be bloodshed, and death, and terror, but they will take back what is theirs; what the vampires tried for so many years to take from them and what they, in turn, took from themselves. This mission serves as a focal point for all other pursuits. They aim to gain political power and achieve economic growth while preserving the social values they hold dear - family, freedom, discipline.

The werewolves have suffered grave injustices over the course of their existence. The Vyusher R'asa believe that these injustices should be remedied, and further contend that any and all measures should and must be taken to ensure this goal.