Erebus

Erebus is the Garou's spiritual crucible, a place for the Garou to burn the chaff from their souls, purify their hearts and remove the taint of the Wyrm. However, the process is not easy. It is a surgery of the soul without anesthesia. No one leaves Erebus' clutches unchanged.

Erebus is the anger of Gaia given substance in the Near Umbra. The Realm is contained within an underworld of caves delving beneath the Umbrascape. Rivers of silvery fire wind through its caverns before joining together in a great silver lake. The citadel of Charyss, Lady of the Underworld, sits on an island in the center of the lake.

Charyss rules Erebus. She is a very powerful Incarna spirit. She is not a creature of the Wyrm. Her mission is to cleanse spirits, not corrupt them. Erebus is also known as the Silver Forge (thus the name of the rite that sends Garou to Erebus as punishment). Those immersed in the silver fires of Erebus are known as Unfortunates. The Unfortunates emerge from the Silver Forge finely honed or not at all. Erebus is a place of cleansing where the tainted can burn off their tarnish and begin healing. In Erebus, a Garou can redeem herself for wrongs she has committed. Erebus confronts the Garou with her weaknesses and fears. It is a waking nightmare terrifying enough to burn out the evil in one's spirit. Besides the Wyrm-tainted, those intoxicated with the Wyld or the Weaver can also purge themselves in Erebus.

Most Garou do not understand the true nature of Erebus. It is widely believed that Erebus is a hell for traitors to the Garou. In reality, Unfortunates truly can be released, most often when they truly are healed of all their weaknesses.

-- Excerpted from Umbra: The Velvet Shadow. © 1993, White Wolf Games.

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