HEAR NOW THE LEADER
“Come now pups! It is time for the lesson,” Redbone, the old wisedog barks softly at the scampering puppies chasing and bounding onto each other. You sit at once and try hard to ignore your brothers and sisters still playing and dashing about. Redbone nods slightly to you with an appraising glace and then barks at the others “SIT!” Your pack brothers and sisters sit at once, all eyes suddenly on the wisedog. Silence falls, and he draws out the moment, his tail softly patting on the grass beneath him. His eyes slowly move over you all as he inspects you. You sit up straight, eyes ahead, and try not to fidget.
“Today, younglings, we will speak of the sacred duty that each dog bears,” he says at last in a deep grumbling voice. “A duty to the humans, our Best Friends.”
“The humans seem so knowledgeable and wise, don’t they? They make the machines run. They tame the cow and the sheep, they even pacify the duplicitous cat. But the truth is that the humans are incomplete without our help and friendship.
It is our duty to guard and protect them from things they don’t understand, things they don’t believe exist; evil things, night things. Things that will hurt them if we falter.
Many times you will not be thanked, because our friends must not know what you do for them, but you will save them, time after time, even giving up your life to do so.”
Redbone pauses, looking over you all. You sit tall, ready, and full of purpose. At last he nods with satisfaction and lets out a soft huff.
“If you are all ready, I will begin.”
SMART ANIMALS
A smart animal is one capable of true thought. This capacity varies by species: cats, crows, and ravens are almost always gifted, while fish, mice, insects, small birds, and reptiles rarely are. Smart animals can speak with one another, and, though they often clash, many also have allies of other species. Such alliances are usually based on mutual self-interest rather than friendship, but there are exceptions.
THE GREAT PROMISE
The Great Promise was an oath that was sworn between the Primogenitor and the dogs back when the world was young and full of terrors that stalked creation. As the Primogenitor slept, First Dog watched over him, and when he awoke, First Dog helped to guard the Primogenitor’s home. In exchange for faithful service the Primogenitor swore to First Dog and his children that as time went on their lives would become easier, they would be given warm places to sleep and plenty to eat, and they would never, EVER be replaced by another. This was how all of canine kind came to earn the title of Man’s Best Friend, a title dogs have jealously guarded ever since.
THE HIDDEN WORLD
Dogs live in a world very different from that of humans. A world of smart animals, spirits, creatures, lost magic, and monsters. Not all in this hidden world is hostile or evil, but sometimes it is difficult to tell an inoffensive spirit from a sharp clawed monster with a taste for babies’ breaths — and it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Most of the stories, tales, and myths of our human brothers and sisters contain a grain of truth. There is an unseen realm that touches ours in the wild places. Ghosts are real as are malicious spirits that our friends call demons. All the things of dreams and nightmares are out there somewhere, and there are some things far worse than these. Ancient, terrible horrors that most humans dare not dream of even in their worst nightmares. These beings are old as time, and some are older. Most humans do not know of these primordial agencies. They are unaware of them by dint of their own denial, ignorance, and the eternal friendship, watchfulness, and sacrifice of dogs.
But do not forget that there are far more common and sad ills. For one of the most treacherous of evils is a “bad dog” willing to betray humans, or smart animals — including other dogs — for their sickening dreams of power and glory.
A DOG HAS TWO NAMES
First is the dog’s Outer Name, an everyday name, often given to the dog by the humans in its life, our one based off of a physical characteristic, personality trait or quirk, or act of bravery or renown. Second is the dog’s Inner Name, its true and secret name. A dog cannot be forced to reveal this name, and it is shared only with a dog’s closest pack mates, friends, and lovers.
DOG TIMEKEEPING
Dogs have a somewhat more sophisticated, although accelerated, concept of time than other animals. The smallest time interval recognized by dogs is a “pad” — about seven seconds long. A “run” (one hour) is the standard measurement of time. Longer periods are measured in “watches” (roughly seven hours), days, moons (a dog month, roughly seven days, or one moon face change), years (a dog year being approximately 56 days or two full moon cycles), and ages (about seven years).
FRIENDS
Friends are the people or entities that a dog is dedicated to protecting, whether a family, an entire neighborhood, a single homeless person, or a ghost. A stray will pick a person, people, or a business that they visit and think is worthy of protection. The highest level of this is the dog’s Best Friend, whom the dog completes, and for whom no sacrifice is too great.
THE DUTY OF DOGS
A dog’s duty is to protect their Friends from the forces that would harm them. Most of the time dogs protect their Friends from other people, but sometimes something far more sinister raises its head.
The world is not as simple as humans pretend; they have closed their eyes and hearts to what is. Some humans, especially children, have open minds and eyes. Because of this they among all are to be protected first. While the humans rest and sleep dogs guard and watch, ready to protect their friends with tooth, paw, and wise magic.
MUNDANE THREATS
Scheming cats, cars, bad people who leave out tainted or trapped meat, and overzealous animal catchers are but a few examples of the mundane threats that must be handled if the pack is to thrive. One of the most dangerous missions dogs will undertake is the “pound run”, a desperate effort to free brothers and sisters from captivity and potential death.
TERRITORIAL MATTERS
For a dog every place falls into one of four categories: my territory, my pack’s territory, someone else’s territory, or not my territory yet — and the lines between the last two are often blurry. Dogs often will designate a neutral ground, where those living in the area agree not to take it as their own territory.
THE COUNCIL OF DOGS
As brave and heroic as individual dogs and packs are, many threats they face are far more powerful than them. To vanquish such horrors they must work together. Thus they have a Council of Dogs, a tribal assembly of the region’s canines.
Each Council meets once a month, during the full moon to discuss important matters, to arbitrate disputes between its members, and to discipline dogs who break the rules. Every Council has its own bylaws, but all follow the “First Rule”:
Be yea a good dog, protect your friends.
The region over which a Council presides can vary greatly. A small town might be managed by a single Council, but in New York City a single Council might handle a region only a few blocks wide.
CANINE POLITICS
A Council of Dogs is a tribal unit. The Council is formed from one member each of all the local packs. The leader of the Council, normally an older “wise” dog, heavily influences the group, but each of the members of the Council has a say. Every dog is allowed to voice opinions on important matters and bring requests or calls to the Council.
TRAINING AND EDUCATION
Pups have to learn the practices and duties of dogs at some point. Ideally their parents teach them, but many are taken after weening and sent to homes far away. It therefore falls to experienced dogs to train their juniors in small, manageable groups.
CANINE MAGIC
Canine magic uses the link between something’s name and the thing itself. Knowing the True Name of your target makes your magic easier and more powerful.
Discovering the True Name of an enemy is a critical part of our work. This is easily done with most humans because generally their True Names are the same as their given names. They often carelessly speak their full names aloud or leave them lying around on pieces of paper for us to find.
Our most potent magics are fueled by the movement of the moon and the stars. To lengthen and empower our spells, we must time them to coincide with certain phases of the moon, the sun, or the stars in the heavens. Darker magics use the life force of living beings to empower them. Of course, no good dog would do such.
THE BLOOD MADNESS
Every dog knows a story about another dog who fell victim to this strange disease, and each dog fears that a bite from a wild animal may lead to them being taken away. The Blood Madness burns within a dog until they can no longer think straight, and their senses become too vivid to handle. Eventually, the victim runs mad, foaming, ready to bite out of sheer fear. No one knows if the Blood Madness is a natural thing or a curse created by another species to wipe out all others, but the Blood Madness causes division and fear wherever it is encountered.
DEATH
Dogs rarely think about death until it happens to their siblings, parents, or their humans. For a dog, life is so much more interesting in the Now than it is in the Then. Some dogs believe that they will travel to their own paradise when they die, where all their human friends will be waiting for them in an endless field of food and comfortable beds as a reward for their faithful service.
BAD DOGGY!
One great secret that dogs try to keep others from finding out is that not all dogs live up to the Great Promise. Some have turned against humanity and their own kind, and they have become some of the most dangerous threats for dogs to contend with.
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