Map and territories
Territory
AniWaya covers a small part of Beast's Grin Peninsula, and a lot of Serena Reserve. Below is a zoomed version of our territories as seen on the 'souls map, here.
Beast's Grin Peninsula
Just to the west of Ethereal Eclipse stretches a thin peninsula dotted with shallow pools from the ocean. The peninsula is mostly submerged during high tide, but during the low tide it's a place prosperous in shellfish and miniature octopi. Rocks dot each of the tide pools, and near the Eclipse itself is a grassy knoll where picnics are ideal. In the night, the tidepools turn into dangerous obstacles over which one could easily twist their ankle which, along with the shape of the peninsula, helped to earn its eerie name.
Serena Reserve
Named after its founder, the reserve was always a place where unimaginative humans gathered to believe they were helping. Rather than relocating animals that truly needed the help to this reserve, they kept a small pack of wolves and several herds of wapiti in the area. The wolves didn't exactly flourish, having small numbers, versus the large number of wapiti and, therefore, died out fairly early. They say you can hear the ghosts of these wolves still mourning over each of their pack mates' deaths. Wapiti roam freely here in overwhelming numbers, held in by barbed wire fences that have prohibited many usual predators from reaching the wapiti herds. The spacious reserve has many spots where forest take over the open fields, containing a mix of deciduous and coniferous trees, but all fairly sparse and easy to navigate.
Existing Sub-territories (as seen on the map)
AniWaya Village
Along the border to 'Souls itself a number of buildings have been raised to serve as dens for the tribesmembers living there. Typically made from huts, some larger buildings also stand out in the structure of the village. Torches light up the main road at night, one broad strip going through the whole village, from the storage houses in the south to the town hall in the north. Also called the council house, it is designed to hold political and social meetings in the wintertime, when the season is more hostile. Outside of it is a tall fire, a yard or two in diameter - the ceremonial fire. Never to be extinguished (unless for ceremonial purposes!), it serves as a beacon for any lost traveler who needs to find a way to help - or a home. Right next to it lies a carefully created square area, over fifteen yards in diameter. Perfectly flat, it has been created with immense patience, with specially crafted and cleaned rock, to serve as the dancing area for ceremonies and festivities.
The Working Fields
These are the crop fields for the AniWayans. A stable can be found near the village border, where the working horses are kept, along with saddles and any tools that are crop-related. The medicine and herb storage is also kept here, so it is easily accessible for any medic in the tribe, without having to move to either end of the village. To the south of the stables fields should be thick of corn before autumn hits properly, as well as some patches which have potatoes. To the north there is yet more corn, some tomato, but mostly Tobacco - the sacred plant. Growing close to the ceremonial fire, they are tended carefully by the tribesmembers, known for its many purposes both in medicine and the spiritual aspects of life.
Mersey Lagoon
Named after a river which runs nearby, the Mersey Lagoon is a former meadow-turned-floodplain that barely retains water half of the year. During the spring and summer and into early autumn months, the area is a muddy, murky pondlike swamp chock full of sinkholes that is occasionally flooded by the adjacent Mersey River. However, in the late fall and the entirety of winter, it is a frozen wasteland complete with icy pools where the sinkholes were once before. But despite its unappealing appearance, game in the form of deer and grouse frequently navigate its soft grounds.
Grandfather's Tears
In the south-west portion of the reserve, hidden in the trees of one of the most dense forests in the area, is a collection of four springs: Grandfather's Tears. They are sporadically placed and do not form any shape, and are all connected. They feed a strong river that courses all the way through the reserve and rushes out to the ocean by the peninsula. These springs were said to have been put here by the elder of the wolf pack's tears to give the wolves one last chance at survival, and they were said to be cursed when the winter claimed the whole pack. In the winter, the ice on these springs is a mysterious deep indigo and prey animals that wander near them seem to be found dead in the surrounding area not long afterward, with absolutely no explanation.
Adagio Creek
Creator: James
Leading off of Aniwaya's main river is a small territory called Adagio Creek. True to its name, this creek runs very slowly, seeming still at times compared to the relatively fast waters of the river. Around the low creek are many partially submerged caves, some of which have long stalactites growing down from their ceilings. Drops of water fall down from these formations onto the floor of the caves in soothing rhythms, each one sounding its own separate tone. Slow and simple, this territory brings a musical array that is pleasing to both the ears and the soul.
Adella's Rage
Creator: James
Along the river that runs through Aniwaya lays a stretch that flows faster and stronger than the rest. Adella's Rage is a series of river rapids that twist and turn unexpectedly, and it is a very dangerous territory for wolves of any age. There are several dropoffs in places, and near the end of it water rushes over large boulders that lay beneath the surface, turning the normally dark blue river white with foam. The embankment alongside the rapids is sloping and innocent, washed with sparkling stones and shells of all sort that lure creatures to the water's edge.
D'alli Ranger Station
Creator: Shannon
Located within the Serena Reserve there still stands one ranger station, the outpost for the park rangers that kept watch over the lands. Located up high on stilts the cabin looks over Mersey Lagoon right near the river. If one is daring enough to climb up the old rickety stairs or the old weather beaten ladder they would find an excellent view of the rising sun from the panoramic windows on the east side of the station. Articles confiscated from poachers hang on the walls and sits on desks in the main room. In the back of the cabin there are two smaller rooms, one a first aid station and the other a bedroom. It's rumored that humans very recently occupied D'alli, but who believes that kind of gossip.
Adanvdo Tsusga (The Spirit Oak)
Creator: Catherine
The forest is particularly dense in this area, until a wide field emerges out of a sudden, filled with very tall grass. In its center a small, a giant dead oak springs from the ground, the branches creating a big shelter around its thick, contorted trunk. When looked closer, along its trunk and branches, animal forms had been carved on them. Also, there are a few shallow holes on it.
The carvings are the Spirit Guides of the tribemembers. Whenever a Spirit is earned, the one blessed with the new companion shall carve the image of the animal on the Oak, without any help. If a member dies, the Gola Watsi, relatives and close friends goes to the Oak and takes the late's animal carving from the tree. It is burned, and the ashes are burried along with the deceased body, so te Spirit Guide can follows it to the other life.
The Salt Lake
Creator: Libri
In the eastern part of Serena Reserve, the lands slowly roll down to beneath sea level. In the centre of the crate looking looking hole, salt water from an underground channel bubble up to the surface, creating a pool of fresh sea water. The pond is only partly shadowed by towering trees, and with some help of the sun on warm days, it is possible for the Aniwaya tribe to collect salt from the rocky shores. Furthermore, this pool can be used to keep live aqua life caught from the sea, or maybe just to take a dip in the cool, calm water if one is not up for leaving Aniwaya to reach the sea.
Asgina Usvdoni (Ghostly Hollow)
Creator: Libri
Underneath the south-western parts of Serena Reserve lies newly discovered catacombs of an antique human tribe. The entrance to the human made cave system is partly hidden by wild life, and is hard to spot. Once inside one should take care to watch one s steps, as animal parts and dust cover most the floor. The walls and roof are made out of human skulls, grinning down on all intruders that decide to disturb their eternal slumber. The catacombs break into several separated tunnels, an effective maze for those who are careless enough to get lost. Exactly how old these tunnels are is impossible to know, but during the centuries some of the tunnels have collapsed in a sea of skulls, and some are nothing but blind ends that were never finished. Clouds of dust leak from the grinning faces of death from the roof, sometimes creating the illusion of twisted faces in a dissolving cloud. It almost seems like there is something, or someone down there in the depths of the tunnels, sighing heavily through the tunnels, forever cursed. This is not a place where one should dwell too long.
AniWaya was formed on December 15th in 2008. The concept was first thought of by Amber, former forum moderator and one of the founders of 'Souls. The idea has later been developed further by Marit, co-founder of AniWaya and now leader of this tribe, and her sub-leaders James and Sace. The native american lifestyle that this concept is based upon has largely taken materials from what is known and available of information on the Cherokee.
Site design by Marit