Bears
Dens
Bears live in small groups called "Dens" which are typically family groups - usually at least one large extended family, often called a Clan - and possibly several smaller associated family groups. Clans usually form dens, but dens frequently exchange unmated males, who almost invariably have a strong urge to wander. Though the den is the primary social meta-unit of Bears, most of their day to day lives apart from the denmeet at the full moon are focused at the family level.
Bear lycanthropy, or "arktanthropy" as most Bears call it, is difficult to contract and is rarely passed on purposefully. To be created a Bear is one of the greatest honors that can be bestowed and it is usually reserved for mates or very close friends who are being adopted into a Bear's family or clan.
Denmeets
Denmeets occur on the first day before the night of every full moon. The den gathers at a retreat at a secluded place, usually approximately equidistant from the majority of den families' homes. The group shares a large meal, discusses the events of the month, plays games and various competitive sports, and usually, the family heads meet to discuss any pressing matters. The denmeet is meant to be a time of family and close friends and very few, if any, outsiders are permitted to attend. Exceptions include prospective mates - usually only after engagement - and close friends of the den.
The Major
The head of a Den is called the Major, Mayor, the Eldest or the First. The Major is usually the local Clan chief - the head of household of the eldest family within the Clan, though this status may pass to another family if the Major loses face or favor with the Den. Each den is ruled jointly by a Ruling Council, which may or may not take a formal title. Many are simply called, “the family heads”. In larger Dens consisting of a larger number of related families, subordinate or cadet branch family heads are usually also granted membership on the den’s ruling council. The Major serves at the pleasure of the Ruling Council, who choose the Major by assent, usually requiring three-quarters approval. If no family head has three-quarters approval, the rank of Major defaults to the local Clan chief.
The Major does not have absolute power within the Den. He is usually the wisest, strongest, and most trusted of the Bears who speaks to outsiders on behalf the Den and who is ultimately responsible for the protection and well-being of the Den. There is no one "second in command" in a Den of Bears. All heads of household are considered equal - including the Major, who is First among Equals.
The Ruling Council
The Major or his designated lieutenant - who must also be a family or cadet branch head - will preside over each meeting of the family heads. Any family head may propose a question to be considered by the ruling council. After a period of debate during which any den members present may speak, in order for a such a motion to be adopted, no less than one half of all votes cast plus one (not counting abstentions) must be "aye" or otherwise in the affirmative.
Such questions may include motions to grant infection to a human, whether to allow a Bear to found a cadet branch of his family line, or anything else affecting the den as a whole. A family head is considered otherwise autonomous in tandem with his mate when making decisions that affect only his family.
In reality, a mated pair always acts in tandem, as they are soul bonded and expected to work and act as co-equal partners. Should a mated family head pair find themselves in disagreement concerning a question on which the family heads will vote, tradition dictates that the male will abstain from voting on that question.
Emblems
Each clan and many dens formed of more than one large clan take up emblems to identify themselves in the Bear community at large. Much like a coat of arms, these emblems Bear symbols that describe or otherwise identify the Bear clan to which they belong. Each Bear within the clan is entitled to Bear the emblem, but the emblem is said to belong to the clan chief. Symbols are varied, as each clan is entitled to create their own emblem with the symbolism of their choice - the only requirement to be recognized as a legitimate clan is usually the assent of two already-recognized clan chiefs. Many Bear clans and dens have a special affinity for the constellations Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Boötes, and the stars Polaris and Arcturus, using these as symbols of their den in their emblems.
Family Heads and Succession
The eldest male by the line of primogeniture - that is to say, the first born of the first born - in each extended family is considered to be its family head. A family head may retire and pass his title on to his son; else the title passes upon the death of the family head. Family heads who retire take precedence along with their mate immediately below the mate and cubs of the new family head, but still above their other children and their mates.
If a family head has no heir, the title of family head passes to his next-eldest brother or to the eldest son of that brother, and so on. Bears who do not meet the qualifications to be a family head - that is, Bears who are not mated with at least one cub - will be automatically skipped in the line of inheritance and the title will pass to the first Bear in the line who qualifies.
If, at a later date, the title's heir apparent becomes qualified, he may but is not required to assert himself as the rightful holder of the title. In this case, tradition dictates the former holder be designated a cadet branch head.
Should no qualifying heir exist when the title is to be passed, the family line is considered ended or suspended until an heir should qualify. Suspended lines resume their order of precedence if an heir later qualifies, but ended lines are just that: ended.
Family in this regard refers to no less than one adult male, his bonded mate, and one cub. It is only upon meeting this requirement that Bears may become a recognized family and receive a voice and one vote on the ruling council.
Cadet Branches
Because each family receives only one vote, when families become quite large, it is common practice to permit second-eldest or sometimes also third-eldest sons to found cadet branches of a primary family line and to receive a voice and a vote co-equal to that of the main branch family head. A mated pair can be promoted to cadet branch family head if a majority of the family heads consent. Members of the same family must abstain from this vote.
Cadet branch heads pass on their titles in the same way as their main branch counterparts. If a cadet branch head inherits the main branch due to lack of heirs in the main branch, the cadet branch is then superseded by the main branch.
Precedence
Families – and, in fact, each Bear in the den – are ranked in order of precedence according to the length of the family's affiliation with its den. All single Bears not otherwise members of an established family take precedence below the lowest ranked families without respect to gender according to the length of their affiliation with the den. Should two or more Bears or families have equal length of affiliation, they will be differentiated by age – in the case of families, by the age of the family head. Within families, Bears hold precedence in their own right without regard to gender according to their order of birth.
Upon mating, female Bears will assume a new rank nominally subordinate to their mate, instead of to their father.
Precedence has little effect on day to day affairs, but it determines the order in which Bears are recognized to speak during meetings of the family heads. Any Bear may speak at the meeting, but only family heads or cadet branch heads may vote. It also determines the order of ceremonies such as the blessing of cubs and the blue moon communion sacrament.
Adoption
Orphaned or otherwise parent-less Bears under the age of 25 may be adopted by any mated pair. Adopted cubs attain all the rights and privileges and rank in the order of precedence as though they are blood children of that mated pair.
Mating
Finding a mate is an important part of Bear culture, as it is very difficult for Bears to conceive and carry to term. As such, Bear cubs are rare and extremely cherished and protected members of a Bear clan and their den.
Bears are usually expected to begin searching for a mate no later than twenty years, and those Bears who have not found a mate by the time they are twenty five generally find themselves unable to resist the urge to wander. Because children are so rare among Bears, monogamous homosexual relationships are frowned upon in Bear society - the greatest moral compunction being that homosexual Bears are less likely to produce offspring. Every Bear has a duty to clan and to den to have as many cubs as they are able.
Bears mate for life. When a pair of Bears is mated, they go through a ritual that binds them together in a very close way. This bond prevents male Bears from succumbing to the urge to wander after his mate Bears cubs. Each clan has something of a shaman or a priest – there is no fixed title, and such matters are usually decided individually by clan - who learns to manipulate the energy that flows into a Bear during transformation. It is through this energy manipulation that he conducts the binding ritual. This has a profound effect on the couple; when they are near one another, they can sense the other's location and emotions. When farther apart, they can still feel a vague tugging in their mate’s direction, such that they always at least know which way to go to find them. This bond creates the most extremely intimate connection during mating itself - the pair can actually feel everything the other feels, almost as if they are one body and one soul. This bond, once formed, can only be broken by death, and a partner's death has such a profound effect on the surviving Bear that unless they have something or someone very important for which to hold onto life, they typically die within a month of their mate.
Bear females do not experience an exceptionally strong urge to mate during their estrus period, which occurs in a regular cycle not unlike the human menstrual period. They may become pregnant during any estrus.
The den's shaman-priest also typically performs all religious ceremonies for the den from actual weddings, to blessing the cubs, to Sunday or Friday scripture studies, depending on the religious affiliation of the den.
The bonding process is simple but difficult. The officiant began as an apprentice, watching his teacher perform the bond for years before even beginning to consider participating. Almost every bonding will be observed by the priestly apprentice. After these many years of observation, the apprentice will begin to participate in the bonding as a sort of passive partner to the officiant, able to feel and learn the process without actually driving it. Eventually, the apprentice will be skilled enough to perform the bonding alone. The new teacher will then take an apprentice, gaining many years of experience in performing the bond while the apprentice gains experience in observing it.
The bonding itself is not fool-proof, and it can be botched. The consequences of a botched or "dropped" bond are similar to the effects of living through the death of one's bondmate. Both of the Bears will experience the same mental agony and the heightened risk of suicide or incidental death. For this reason, most if not all priestly Bears are hesitant to attempt to create a bond between two men (or two women). Because female Bears do not feel the urge to wander, it is far easier for gay females to remain together and far less likely for them to seek the bonding due to the risks involved. Creating or attempting to create a bond between same-sex partners feels significantly different from the bond the officiant will have learned. Because of this, the risk of a dropped bond is markedly higher than in the case of an opposite-sex bonding. While same-sex bonds are physically possible, most priestly Bears are unaware of this fact simply because they have never seen it done. Not knowing whether the bond even can succeed, most priestly Bears will refuse to risk effectively killing both prospective partners by attempting and failing to bond them.
Hibernation
During the winter season between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox, Bears feel an urge to hibernate. Bears are not required to do so, and typically, only those of retirement age do. During the winter, Bears may find themselves more groggy and testy in the morning, sleeping harder at night and being more difficult to wake.
Cubs
Bears develop more quickly in the womb than humans, and Bears typically give birth in Bear form after six months’ gestation; their young are born as Bears and only take human shape for the first time after the first week or so, at the earliest. Bear cubs continue to develop quickly, at a rate at least twice as fast as human children, until they are developmentally equivalent to a human four-year-old. At this time, Bear cubs slow their pace of development. At puberty, Bears resume their rapid development, often attaining their full adult size in the course of a single season.
Bear cubs are most frequently homeschooled, and most dens have at least one, usually a group of Bears who are trained and licensed as teachers by their particular State, who teach the cubs of the den. For two reasons, maintaining human form can be difficult for Bear cubs up to about their tenth year. First, they are born as Bears, and this form comes to them more naturally. Second, while they are in their human form, Bears act as something of a natural energy sink. The energy required for transformation naturally flows into Bears unless they willingly keep it out. This takes control and strength that young Bears take time to learn.
Infection
Humans who are successfully infected generally experience severe fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and insatiable hunger, with intense aches and intermittent sharp pains. To become a Bear feels as though one is constantly too big to fit inside oneself – the aches manifest themselves as feelings of splitting, as though one is bursting out of their own skin and bones, with periods of varying intensity. The sharp pains are often accompanied soon thereafter by vomiting, diarrhea, or both. Infected humans must consume large quantities of water and calories in order to live through the infection process. All symptoms may be mitigated by the continued presence of other Bears for the duration. Physical skin-to-skin and skin-to-fur contact with Bears greatly reduces the urge to vomit and increases the ability to keep food and liquid down.
In the final days before the day of the full moon, the fever breaks, and the vomiting and diarrhea pause. The infected human feels exceptionally ravenous hunger and may also experience unusually intense feelings of possessiveness as well as sweating and chills. As with all shifter infections, the longer the infection period lasts and the younger the infected human is at the time of infection, the more likely the infected human is to live through it.
Bears live in small groups called "Dens" which are typically family groups - usually at least one large extended family, often called a Clan - and possibly several smaller associated family groups. Clans usually form dens, but dens frequently exchange unmated males, who almost invariably have a strong urge to wander. Though the den is the primary social meta-unit of Bears, most of their day to day lives apart from the denmeet at the full moon are focused at the family level.
Bear lycanthropy, or "arktanthropy" as most Bears call it, is difficult to contract and is rarely passed on purposefully. To be created a Bear is one of the greatest honors that can be bestowed and it is usually reserved for mates or very close friends who are being adopted into a Bear's family or clan.
Denmeets
Denmeets occur on the first day before the night of every full moon. The den gathers at a retreat at a secluded place, usually approximately equidistant from the majority of den families' homes. The group shares a large meal, discusses the events of the month, plays games and various competitive sports, and usually, the family heads meet to discuss any pressing matters. The denmeet is meant to be a time of family and close friends and very few, if any, outsiders are permitted to attend. Exceptions include prospective mates - usually only after engagement - and close friends of the den.
The Major
The head of a Den is called the Major, Mayor, the Eldest or the First. The Major is usually the local Clan chief - the head of household of the eldest family within the Clan, though this status may pass to another family if the Major loses face or favor with the Den. Each den is ruled jointly by a Ruling Council, which may or may not take a formal title. Many are simply called, “the family heads”. In larger Dens consisting of a larger number of related families, subordinate or cadet branch family heads are usually also granted membership on the den’s ruling council. The Major serves at the pleasure of the Ruling Council, who choose the Major by assent, usually requiring three-quarters approval. If no family head has three-quarters approval, the rank of Major defaults to the local Clan chief.
The Major does not have absolute power within the Den. He is usually the wisest, strongest, and most trusted of the Bears who speaks to outsiders on behalf the Den and who is ultimately responsible for the protection and well-being of the Den. There is no one "second in command" in a Den of Bears. All heads of household are considered equal - including the Major, who is First among Equals.
The Ruling Council
The Major or his designated lieutenant - who must also be a family or cadet branch head - will preside over each meeting of the family heads. Any family head may propose a question to be considered by the ruling council. After a period of debate during which any den members present may speak, in order for a such a motion to be adopted, no less than one half of all votes cast plus one (not counting abstentions) must be "aye" or otherwise in the affirmative.
Such questions may include motions to grant infection to a human, whether to allow a Bear to found a cadet branch of his family line, or anything else affecting the den as a whole. A family head is considered otherwise autonomous in tandem with his mate when making decisions that affect only his family.
In reality, a mated pair always acts in tandem, as they are soul bonded and expected to work and act as co-equal partners. Should a mated family head pair find themselves in disagreement concerning a question on which the family heads will vote, tradition dictates that the male will abstain from voting on that question.
Emblems
Each clan and many dens formed of more than one large clan take up emblems to identify themselves in the Bear community at large. Much like a coat of arms, these emblems Bear symbols that describe or otherwise identify the Bear clan to which they belong. Each Bear within the clan is entitled to Bear the emblem, but the emblem is said to belong to the clan chief. Symbols are varied, as each clan is entitled to create their own emblem with the symbolism of their choice - the only requirement to be recognized as a legitimate clan is usually the assent of two already-recognized clan chiefs. Many Bear clans and dens have a special affinity for the constellations Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Boötes, and the stars Polaris and Arcturus, using these as symbols of their den in their emblems.
Family Heads and Succession
The eldest male by the line of primogeniture - that is to say, the first born of the first born - in each extended family is considered to be its family head. A family head may retire and pass his title on to his son; else the title passes upon the death of the family head. Family heads who retire take precedence along with their mate immediately below the mate and cubs of the new family head, but still above their other children and their mates.
If a family head has no heir, the title of family head passes to his next-eldest brother or to the eldest son of that brother, and so on. Bears who do not meet the qualifications to be a family head - that is, Bears who are not mated with at least one cub - will be automatically skipped in the line of inheritance and the title will pass to the first Bear in the line who qualifies.
If, at a later date, the title's heir apparent becomes qualified, he may but is not required to assert himself as the rightful holder of the title. In this case, tradition dictates the former holder be designated a cadet branch head.
Should no qualifying heir exist when the title is to be passed, the family line is considered ended or suspended until an heir should qualify. Suspended lines resume their order of precedence if an heir later qualifies, but ended lines are just that: ended.
Family in this regard refers to no less than one adult male, his bonded mate, and one cub. It is only upon meeting this requirement that Bears may become a recognized family and receive a voice and one vote on the ruling council.
Cadet Branches
Because each family receives only one vote, when families become quite large, it is common practice to permit second-eldest or sometimes also third-eldest sons to found cadet branches of a primary family line and to receive a voice and a vote co-equal to that of the main branch family head. A mated pair can be promoted to cadet branch family head if a majority of the family heads consent. Members of the same family must abstain from this vote.
Cadet branch heads pass on their titles in the same way as their main branch counterparts. If a cadet branch head inherits the main branch due to lack of heirs in the main branch, the cadet branch is then superseded by the main branch.
Precedence
Families – and, in fact, each Bear in the den – are ranked in order of precedence according to the length of the family's affiliation with its den. All single Bears not otherwise members of an established family take precedence below the lowest ranked families without respect to gender according to the length of their affiliation with the den. Should two or more Bears or families have equal length of affiliation, they will be differentiated by age – in the case of families, by the age of the family head. Within families, Bears hold precedence in their own right without regard to gender according to their order of birth.
Upon mating, female Bears will assume a new rank nominally subordinate to their mate, instead of to their father.
Precedence has little effect on day to day affairs, but it determines the order in which Bears are recognized to speak during meetings of the family heads. Any Bear may speak at the meeting, but only family heads or cadet branch heads may vote. It also determines the order of ceremonies such as the blessing of cubs and the blue moon communion sacrament.
Adoption
Orphaned or otherwise parent-less Bears under the age of 25 may be adopted by any mated pair. Adopted cubs attain all the rights and privileges and rank in the order of precedence as though they are blood children of that mated pair.
Mating
Finding a mate is an important part of Bear culture, as it is very difficult for Bears to conceive and carry to term. As such, Bear cubs are rare and extremely cherished and protected members of a Bear clan and their den.
Bears are usually expected to begin searching for a mate no later than twenty years, and those Bears who have not found a mate by the time they are twenty five generally find themselves unable to resist the urge to wander. Because children are so rare among Bears, monogamous homosexual relationships are frowned upon in Bear society - the greatest moral compunction being that homosexual Bears are less likely to produce offspring. Every Bear has a duty to clan and to den to have as many cubs as they are able.
Bears mate for life. When a pair of Bears is mated, they go through a ritual that binds them together in a very close way. This bond prevents male Bears from succumbing to the urge to wander after his mate Bears cubs. Each clan has something of a shaman or a priest – there is no fixed title, and such matters are usually decided individually by clan - who learns to manipulate the energy that flows into a Bear during transformation. It is through this energy manipulation that he conducts the binding ritual. This has a profound effect on the couple; when they are near one another, they can sense the other's location and emotions. When farther apart, they can still feel a vague tugging in their mate’s direction, such that they always at least know which way to go to find them. This bond creates the most extremely intimate connection during mating itself - the pair can actually feel everything the other feels, almost as if they are one body and one soul. This bond, once formed, can only be broken by death, and a partner's death has such a profound effect on the surviving Bear that unless they have something or someone very important for which to hold onto life, they typically die within a month of their mate.
Bear females do not experience an exceptionally strong urge to mate during their estrus period, which occurs in a regular cycle not unlike the human menstrual period. They may become pregnant during any estrus.
The den's shaman-priest also typically performs all religious ceremonies for the den from actual weddings, to blessing the cubs, to Sunday or Friday scripture studies, depending on the religious affiliation of the den.
The bonding process is simple but difficult. The officiant began as an apprentice, watching his teacher perform the bond for years before even beginning to consider participating. Almost every bonding will be observed by the priestly apprentice. After these many years of observation, the apprentice will begin to participate in the bonding as a sort of passive partner to the officiant, able to feel and learn the process without actually driving it. Eventually, the apprentice will be skilled enough to perform the bonding alone. The new teacher will then take an apprentice, gaining many years of experience in performing the bond while the apprentice gains experience in observing it.
The bonding itself is not fool-proof, and it can be botched. The consequences of a botched or "dropped" bond are similar to the effects of living through the death of one's bondmate. Both of the Bears will experience the same mental agony and the heightened risk of suicide or incidental death. For this reason, most if not all priestly Bears are hesitant to attempt to create a bond between two men (or two women). Because female Bears do not feel the urge to wander, it is far easier for gay females to remain together and far less likely for them to seek the bonding due to the risks involved. Creating or attempting to create a bond between same-sex partners feels significantly different from the bond the officiant will have learned. Because of this, the risk of a dropped bond is markedly higher than in the case of an opposite-sex bonding. While same-sex bonds are physically possible, most priestly Bears are unaware of this fact simply because they have never seen it done. Not knowing whether the bond even can succeed, most priestly Bears will refuse to risk effectively killing both prospective partners by attempting and failing to bond them.
Hibernation
During the winter season between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox, Bears feel an urge to hibernate. Bears are not required to do so, and typically, only those of retirement age do. During the winter, Bears may find themselves more groggy and testy in the morning, sleeping harder at night and being more difficult to wake.
Cubs
Bears develop more quickly in the womb than humans, and Bears typically give birth in Bear form after six months’ gestation; their young are born as Bears and only take human shape for the first time after the first week or so, at the earliest. Bear cubs continue to develop quickly, at a rate at least twice as fast as human children, until they are developmentally equivalent to a human four-year-old. At this time, Bear cubs slow their pace of development. At puberty, Bears resume their rapid development, often attaining their full adult size in the course of a single season.
Bear cubs are most frequently homeschooled, and most dens have at least one, usually a group of Bears who are trained and licensed as teachers by their particular State, who teach the cubs of the den. For two reasons, maintaining human form can be difficult for Bear cubs up to about their tenth year. First, they are born as Bears, and this form comes to them more naturally. Second, while they are in their human form, Bears act as something of a natural energy sink. The energy required for transformation naturally flows into Bears unless they willingly keep it out. This takes control and strength that young Bears take time to learn.
Infection
Humans who are successfully infected generally experience severe fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and insatiable hunger, with intense aches and intermittent sharp pains. To become a Bear feels as though one is constantly too big to fit inside oneself – the aches manifest themselves as feelings of splitting, as though one is bursting out of their own skin and bones, with periods of varying intensity. The sharp pains are often accompanied soon thereafter by vomiting, diarrhea, or both. Infected humans must consume large quantities of water and calories in order to live through the infection process. All symptoms may be mitigated by the continued presence of other Bears for the duration. Physical skin-to-skin and skin-to-fur contact with Bears greatly reduces the urge to vomit and increases the ability to keep food and liquid down.
In the final days before the day of the full moon, the fever breaks, and the vomiting and diarrhea pause. The infected human feels exceptionally ravenous hunger and may also experience unusually intense feelings of possessiveness as well as sweating and chills. As with all shifter infections, the longer the infection period lasts and the younger the infected human is at the time of infection, the more likely the infected human is to live through it.