The Keepers of Crown Mountain
Members of the Pack
Territory
During their height, the Crown Mountain Wolves controlled a fairly large chunk of Northwest Georgia ranging from Dahlonega and Crown Mountain and along the north shores of Lake Lanier all the way to Clarksville and Baldwin. Over the years, however, the pack has let much of its former territory slip away -- either losing it to younger packs or simply allowing them to take over land they couldn't effectively oversee any longer. Ever since the death of Elizabeth Cross, this disintegration has only accelerated and the pack currently only holds Crown Mountain as their exclusive territory.
However, despite this, the Crown Wolves remain vital to the region. No one yet has the level of insight into the unique problems facing their old territories, and the pack still holds a particularly impressive level of influence over the town of Dahlonega itself. They spend a good bit of their time watching over the packs that are taking over their old responcibilities, ensuring that they do a good job and that everything remains as it should. Despite their advanced age the Crown Mountain Wolves are still a force to be reckoned with.
Totem
White Face, the Totem of the Crown Mountain Wolves, has been the tribes totem for well over 140 years. Little more than a minor rock-face spirit when he was found by Jebediah, White Face has grown strong indeed, now holding the raw power of a Greater Jaggling and fashioning himself as the spirit of Crown Mountain itself. While White Face is well-aware of how he got where he is today, he also knows that no Pack lasts forever, and he's more than willing to allow the pack to finally die off. In fact, White Face has even gone so far as to turn away any new Storm Lords wishing to join the pack.
The Crown Mountain Wolves are the oldest and one of the most renowned packs in the region, with a rich history dating back to the Civil War, when Jebediah Cross tamed White Face and took the Mountain God as the patron and totem of his pack of Storm Lords. A half-Cherokee Rahu, Jebediah served with the Confederacy for most of the war before deserting to find his way back to Dahlonega and found his pack. The original Crown Mountain Wolves spent most of their time keeping the war from overly affecting their territory and soothing its effects on the wild areas. Of all their deeds, however, the original pack is best known for its actions to contain and trim the Wound that had erupted within Fort Dahlonega during the removal of the Cherokee Indians. Cahalith of the Blue Ridge Mountains still tell tales of the packs efforts against the black spirit of the Wound.
Some 40 years after the founding of the pack, most of its members had fallen in battle or settled into a well-deserved rest. Jebediah himself simply disappeared into the Shadow one day, his fate never discovered. Yet instead of fading into the mists of history, young Nathaniel Cross took up the mantle of leadership and earned the trust and approval of White Face. The revitalized pack took up where their predecessors had left off, having access to much of the spirit allies and renown of their forefathers as well as the guidance of the sole surviving member of the original pack. It didn’t take long for the new pack to forge its own legend however, discovering and putting down the first infestation of Beshilu throughout Lumpkin county. The pack also gained significantly more influence over the city of Dahlonega, and forged tighter relationships between most of the packs in the region. Much of that work was ruined when, in the 30s, the pack developed a strong rivalry with a now-defunct Blood Talon pack known as the Ridge Walkers who had been from North Virginia. The rivalry lasted over 5 years and nearly destroyed the Crown Mountain Wolves as a group. In the end, however, the Storm Lords emerged victorious but badly beaten. The survivors disbanded, and for 6 years the Crown Mountain Wolves were no more.
The third, and final, iteration of the Crown Mountain Wolves was formed in the late 40s by yet another scion of the Cross family. Elizabeth Cross was the granddaughter of Nathaniel Cross, and she carried in her breast the raw charisma and natural leadership skills of her great-grandfather. While the pack stood watch over Fort Dahlonega and was ever vigilant against the Beshilu, Elizabeth and her pack mates were most involved with the slow invasion of modernity into the Mountains that marked the later half of the 20th century. The pack itself, benefiting both from the leadership of Elizabeth and its rich history, also served something of a leadership role over the region. Elizabeth herself was well regarded throughout the region, and served as an important figure within her tribe. Following her death last year, howls and rites and mourning echoed up and down the Blue Ridge Mountains from Georgia to Pennsylvania.
The remainder of the pack is in their mid to late 70s, and they all know that the days of their heroic youth are long since past. Elizabeth left no children, and White Face has proven quite resistant to extending his service any longer, seeming content to allow the Pack to die off. Thus, in the short time left to the pack, they are focusing on passing on their legacy to another pack of Forsaken that can in turn shape the destiny of their home.
Currently, their favored candidates to take over their territory include Shelly Long (a Hunter in Darkness) and Augustus Valen (a Bone Shadow). Both individuals gather up packs around them, and work to prove themselves.
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