Starwolf

The Starwolf are one of the Four Great Tribes in the Tribes Universe. Nicknamed "howlers," they were supposedly formed in 3455 by renegades from the Children of Phoenix and Blood Eagle tribes.

History
Some tales tell of a band of Blood Eagle and Children of Phoenix stranded on an icy world, of a truce that became true friendship. Many of the stories add mention of a vision or a visit by the Great Wolf. Whatever the truth, adversity bred strength. When the Starwolf eventually exploded into the tribal struggles of the wilderzone, they carved out a large holding with predatory swiftness.

The Starwolf follow a shamanistic religion, honoring "The Great Wolf" as their tribal totem. Warriors who fall in battle are said to "walk with the Great Wolf." Starwolf holdings sprawl across vast regions of space, and Starwolf warriors are the first to explore new worlds and follow jumpgates into the unknown. This great dispersal makes massing large armies difficult, and so the Starwolf favor fluid, guerrilla-style tactics and mobility.

Their symbol is the most ancient among all the Tribes, taken from the aboriginal American tribes of ancient Terra. Though other Tribes ridicule the "Starpony," the Starwolf smile in the knowledge that the others use shallow symbols empty of meaning. The corpses of those who jested about the Starwolf banner litter the wilderzone, giving rise to a common tribal expression for foolishness: "to mock the wolf to its face." However, Starwolf factions that have ventured beyond the Cassopeian Gate have reportedly adopted a new sigil that departs from the original tribe’s traditional look.

Of all the tribes, the Starwolf are the most independent. This independence has been both a great strength and a great weakness, for they distrust powerful leaders even within their own ranks. Their own clan-feuds are the stuff of legend, and they do not cooperate well in large groups. Starwolf organize themselves into Packs named for their world of residence.

In 3610, after a series of battles against the Blood Eagle, the Starwolf founght them on the planet Ganges III. During the battle an ecocidal weapon was detonated, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides and reducing the planet to a lifeless husk. Both sides denied using the weapon and relations between the two tribes radically deteriorated. As time went on several prominent Blood Eagle leaders were assassinated, and the Eagles always blamed the Starwolf. It wasn't until the BioDerm invasion in 3941 that the two tribes were able to put aside their differences and work together.