Okay, I'm gonna try and sort out all my crazy ideas into some coherence so that you can understand them and tell me if you like them.
Also... can we use Grela for the language? Grela is my crazy mix of greek and latin which I use with my friends as a kind of code. I'll teach everybody! Alternatively, we could just put, "Hello," the wolf said in the cave-language. What are we going to call the language? Solian? Me likes. You?
Who do they worship in the religion? Harbringers like the Heru-Bes? Ooh! Ooh! Can we do ancestor worship? "The spirits of my ancestors shall guide me!"
My ideasName for pack: Sol Solus Companionship. Sol Solus is a play on words in Latin, and Companionship I like because it indicates that they're a tight-knit group who have good internal respect, loyalty, friendship etc, but to OTHER packs and outsiders, they are mysterious and secretive.
Pack Colours: Dark grey and royal blue. Because they're dark for dark caves, and also quite calm, thoughtful colours, like the pack itself.
Pack personality: They are trusting, loyal and respectful to each other and a very tight-knit group, but towards outsiders, they are secretive and mysterious. They are very isolated and don't fight much, as they're not ones for invading other people and nobody else actually wants their cold, dark territory underground. Due to this, they respect brains more than fighting skill, especially since you need brains to survive underground with them, growing their own food in the maze of tunnels and catching bats. Members challenging for higher ranks take part in a riddle contest against the challengee, and to gain entry you must answer a set of riddles.
Due to their isolation, they have their own language, Solian, and religion. Their isolation and lack of fighting means they spend much less time arguing and fighting or training to fight, and growing their own food means they spend less time hunting. In their free time, these wolves are often very philosophic, and in general it's a quiet, philosophic pack with not much infighting.
But apart from their general cleverness and close-knit-ness, these wolves strongly believe that you cannot take an entire packful of wolves and label them with certain characteristics. So this pack, instead of boasting about being the bravest / strongest / most loyal / cleverest, value each individual for their own characteristics, and give every wolf great freedom of choice and beliefs and morals. They believe that every wolf has the right to speak and think as they like, even lower ranked ones. This is why their language and faith is optional; because this pack values freedom, individuality, smarts and creativity.
(My idea for pack personality probably needs condensing)
Structure: This pack is not a great believer in ranks, valuing freedom and individuality. However, they are quite ceremonial, and have several different ranks. Generally, each wolf has a position with a specific job to do, and each wolf then has an apprentice. Cubs become apprentices when they are 9 months old, and generally who they are apprenticed to is a three-way decision between the leader, the cub, and the cub's parents. When a wolf dies or steps down from his/her position, his/her apprentice takes the position. There are special ceremonies to make cubs into apprentices, make apprentices full members, or allow a member to step down from her position; these ceremonies can only be carried out by an Arch-commander, Arch-deputy or Lore-keeper.
SOME RANK IDEAS
Going by my ideas for pack personality and structure I don't think this pack would really be one for giving wolves high positions simply because they're mated to the leader. I reckon who's mated to who and who's friends with who makes no difference as to who gets which rank; the person with the rank is the person who was apprentice for it, end of. All ranks can be either male or female, unless specified.
As for what we call the high ranks, medium ranks, low ranks etc... the Helm for the leades, the Gar for the regular members,(translates as spear, not sure why. RANDOMNESS! Uh, it sounds cool) and then we have Apprentice ranks and finally cubs, omega, prisoners etc.
THE HELM
Arch-commander: Leads the pack, has final say in all things. The only way to become an Arch-commander apprentice is to be specially selected for the job. The Arch-commander is expected not to favouritise, and to pick apprentices and who gets what apprenticeship based purely on talents and brains; s/he is not even allowed to favouritise his/her own pups unless it's for another reason, like them being very very very smart.
Arch-deputy: Is second in command of the pack. They do not succeed the Arch-commander when s/he dies, though, that's the Arch-commander apprentice; this wolf will have been trained since cubhood to be second in command and have limited powers, and was never intended to lead the pack. The only way to become an Arch-deputy apprentice is to be specially chosen for the position, and the choice is made purely on brains and talent.
Sub-deputy: Is essentially third-in-command, and advises the Arch-commander and Arch-deputy. Only way to become a Sub-deputy apprentice is to be specially chosen for your brains and talent as a cub by the Sub-deputy.
Lore-keeper: Is the final wolf in the helm, s/he is the wolf with the most knowledge in the Pack. They are expected to collect riddles and know the most riddles in the pack, to know all about the history and ceremonies and laws of the pack, and to basically be the keeper of all their lore and knowledge. They also act as a storyteller. They are generally one of the smartest wolves in the pack, which is why they are so respected. As with other Helm positions, the only way to become a Lore-keeper apprentice is to be specially chosen for your brains, talent and good memory.
THE GAR
All Gar positions are equal, they are just different. There is only one wolf and one apprentice for each position; an apprentice may be considered experienced enough to be a second person for that rank, but is still officially an apprentice until their mentor dies or steps down.
Hunt-facilitator - this is the wolf who coordinates the hunts and makes the plans. They have no greater rank than any of the other hunters, they simply try and make sure everybody is working together nicely and offer a third viewpoint in disputes. During bat hunts, they usually just do whatever needs doing, as every hunt is different and needs different skills and tactics; this is the tactician and odd-job-wolf for the hunters.
Bat-scarer - basically, when the hunters go on hunts, the Scarer has to scare the bats off the roof and then channel the swarm into another tunnel, where the other hunters will be waiting to take down as many as twenty at a time.
Left-hunter / left-huntress - when the Scarer scares the bats into the tunnel where the hunters are waiting, generally a dead end, this wolf stands on the left of the tunnel and kills as many bats as possible from the swarm.
Centre-hunter / centre-huntress - as Left Hunter, but stands in the centre.
Right-hunter / right-huntress - as Left hunter, but stands on the right.
Head-fighter: this wolf is generally the best fighter in the pack, but because the pack doesn't value fighting very much, this wolf isn't actually all that respected, but is simply equal, like all Gar wolves. They are in charge of keeping the pack's fighting skills up to at least the bare minimum in case of invasion. If there was an invasion, they would be in charge of forming a strategy and leading the pack into battle.
Herb-healer: This wolf uses herbs and remedies to cure other pack members who are ill or treat their wounds when they are injured. They also make checkups on the pups etc.
Heart-healer: This wolf doesn't heal with herbs, instead she heals hearts. She's like an agony aunt, a shoulder to cry on, she helps the mothers look after the pups, and she is a deep, philosophic thinker good at comforting people. She has equal rank to most, but is very respected for her position as confidant and helper.
Greetings-wolf: This wolf is like a scout, she patrols around the entrances to the mountain and greets ambassadors from other packs, new members, etc. In the case of new members, she will ask them a set of riddles and then allow them entry; in the case of ambassadors from other packs, she will generally send her apprentice out to notify the Helm of the ambassador's approach and then escort them to the pack, where they will meet with the Helm and say whatever it is they want to say.
Inner-scout; unlike the Greetings-wolf, this wolf does not greet new people or patrol the entrances and outer mountain. Instead, she patrols the innermost passages of the mountain for dangers such as cave bears.
NB: Wolves who are nursing cubs temporarily give up their position, their duties will generally be shared by all wolves until they're ready to take them up again. Wolves nursing cubs are known as Cub-mothers.
APPRENTICESHIP
The third tier of ranks, below the Helm and Gar, these wolves are basically the apprentices. Each apprentice is given a Gar mentor who stays their mentor for their entire apprenticeship in most cases. The mentor teaches them about the position they hold. When their mentor dies or steps down from their position, the apprentice will inherit the position. Therefore there are the same positions in the Apprenticeship tier as in the Gar, but the apprentices are just learning to inherit that position rather than actually having the position. They are known as <position>-apprentice, eg. Arch-commander-apprentice.
LOW RANKS (can't think of a name for them! We have Helm, Gar, Apprenticeship and... Sub Apprenticeship? Maybe something in Latin, like the pack name?)
Young-cubs - prior to choosing a mentor and becoming an apprentice at 9 months, all wolves are known as Cubs. They have no duties, but are allowed to do odd jobs if they wish to help out / feel bored or useless. They are looked after by their mother / Cub-mother and the Heart-healer, but all Cub-mothers take equal care of all cubs.
Low-omegas - these wolves are wolves who no mentor wanted as their apprentice, who didn't have the talents or brains to excel in this Pack. However, being weak is not their fault, and they have done nothing wrong, so the rank is not frowned upon. Yes, any wolf can order them around, but they're usually treated as a sort of odd-jobs-wolf, and they're not just toys for people to take their anger out on and order around. They are wolves with rights too!
Prisoner-criminals; these wolves are captured wolves from other packs and wolves who have committed crimes. They are given demeaning, menial jobs and occasionally very mad wolves take anger out upon them. Anybody can order them around, even Omegas.
So do you like my ideas? Pleeeeeeeease can we use them? Can I be a co-founder, pleeeeeeeeeease?
~Lyta
