Origin: From the First Moonweavers
The Moonborn Tribe traces its direct lineage to Lyra Stonevoice — the first werewolf, the recipient of the Moon Pact's gift in pre-history (see: The Moon Pact). The tradition of Moonweavers predates lycanthropy itself; after the Moon Pact, it became the custodial order of the transformation's sacred meaning.
The Moonborn Tribe's name is adopted from a specific period: Year 1,100, when the spiritual leaders of multiple packs formally united under the title "Moonborn" — meaning those born to serve the moon's purpose, as distinct from those born to fight under it. The consolidation was triggered by the realization that scattered shamanic traditions across the five packs were losing continuity, with important lore being lost between generations.
The Moonweaver Texts
The Moonborn Tribe's most significant contribution to Aeternum history is the Moonweaver Texts — a continuously maintained archive of everything that has happened in Aeternum since before Year 0, from a werewolf perspective. The Texts are written in a coded language that only Moonborn initiates can read, in blood-ink on preserved wolf-pelt vellum.
The Texts contain information that both the Iron Pack and the Crimson Court would prefer not exist:
- The complete terms of the Blood Covenant (vampire) — obtained through a Blood Moon Convergence vision in Year 450
- Evidence that the First Bite may have been accidental rather than deliberate (fragments of a vampire diplomat's true account, smuggled by a sympathetic House Cassivara courier in Year 340)
- The names of all Shadow Covenant members known to Moonborn intelligence, updated through Year 2,990
- Records of three separate occasions when peace could have been negotiated but was deliberately sabotaged — by factions on both sides
The Moon Veto
The Moonborn Tribe's only formal political power is the Moon Veto — the right, enshrined in the Iron Covenant since Year 95, to block any Iron Pack decision that violates the terms of the Moon Pact. The veto requires the Shaman Elder to formally declare, in open council, that a proposed decision would constitute a Moon Pact violation — and provide their reasoning.
The Moon Veto has been used exactly twice in 3,000 years:
- Year 834: Shaman Elder Lyra VI vetoed a proposal to use Void-derived weapons captured from vampires in battle. Reasoning: Moon Pact prohibits werewolves from channeling Void power. Iron Pack voted to accept the veto, 4-1.
- Year 2,456: Shaman Elder Lyra X vetoed a proposal to execute all vampires taken prisoner during the Third Subclass War's border conflict. Reasoning: The Moon Pact's prohibition on uncontrolled killing (the Pact-breaking clause) extends to helpless enemies. The vote on whether to accept this interpretation deadlocked 2-2 (with one Alpha absent). The constitutional crisis lasted 12 years before resolution.
Current Knowledge and the Third Eclipse War
The current Shaman Elder — Lyra Stonevoice XII — is 340 years old and believes the Third Eclipse War is being deliberately prolonged by a third party. Her evidence: the pattern of sabotaged peace negotiations over the past 40 years matches no known werewolf or vampire political faction's behavior, but does match the Shadow Covenant's documented tactics from earlier periods.
The questline eventually reveals the full contents of the Moonweaver Texts to the player — and presents a choice: use the knowledge to end the war through exposure of the truth, or keep it secret to protect the Moonborn Tribe's safety from retaliation by those implicated in the texts.