Exile

The mark of a traitor is not taken lightly within Eirmuir, and those who manage to escape are marked as traitors for life. If they are dangerous enough or their crime is severe enough, they will be sought out. Their name will be spread far, with details of their crime to alert nearby clans who may be unknowingly protecting the traitor. Not only this, but they are marked - across the face, between the eyes.

 So they may never see their mark without the aid of a reflection, but others will have a warning sign. The traitors are only given one luxury, they are given the opportunity to fight for their life. They will not be spared life, if they do not survive the fight against one of the Marshals.

What is a Life or Soul bond?

In Eirmuir, becoming mates with another Eirmurian is called a Life Bond. This term is unique to the clan!

The Clan considers those who become mates in the Waking Realm, are Life Bonded while in death they are Soul Bonded. Those who wish to be Life Bonded inform the Chief, Ri or High Gravesinger for their wish of union to be heard. Wolves must be within the clan to become mates, while the clan isn’t against cross-clan relationships - true unionship must take part where both wolves are Clanmates. 

The celebration lasts an entire day, where the bonding pair is presented with well-wishes and the ceremony performed on the coast. The pair being wed decorate their fur with seashells and flowers. All wolves present at the ceremony are encouraged to decorate their own pelts accordingly as well.

The ceremony itself is held at sunset, with the last of the sunrays washing over the pairs pelts. The High Gravesinger informs the pair of the importance of their bond and affirms that both wolves are devoted to one another. Once they both agree, swearing their lives to protect one another and do right by one another - the Chief declares them Life Bound. If the pair have Wing-Hooks the birds will fly around them, with seaweed in their maws and drop the seaweed on top of the heads of their bonded Valleyfolk.

The clan will sing together, feast and dance in the low tide for most of the night.

Bonded Poem:
“May the raindrops fall lightly on your brow

May the soft winds freshen your spirit

May the sunshine brighten your heart

May the burdens of the day rest lightly upon you

and May your Bond last true’’

New Life

The cycles bring new waves of life into the clan with each birth of a pup. The arrival of pups is cherished like in all communities, and they are protected within the safety of the Sea Hollow until they can be blessed by the Ocean. 

Once the pups are at least three months old, they are allowed to venture out with their parents' protective watch to the shoreline. Each pup is placed one by one between the forepaws of their parents at the water’s edge, allowing the cold tide to gently lap over the youngbloods’ paws. 

With this, they have been accepted by the all giving Ocean and accepted by the balance into the fold of Eirmuir.

What is a Winghook and why are they so different than a regular Familiar?

To begin with, based on the name Winghooks can only be creatures that are born with wings. They can be your common blackbird to that of a bat hiding in Eirmuir's cave system, and importantly - the Eirmuirian is unable to chose their Winghook, the one doing the choosing is that of their winged companion.
It is important to understand that this partnership is not the other way around, it is very much unlike any other situation of gaining a companion. 

The reason that a Winghook can only be  that of a winged creature, is that they can fly. They are able to be the eyes within the sky for their landlocked companion.

Being that the Clan has been cut off from the remainder of the Valley, due to the rocky scaling cliffs that keep them separated them from their neighbouring Faction, Waterthorn - as well as the greed of Goldenwind in the claiming of more land - the bond with the winged beasts known as Winghooks became more important than ever. Only one Winghook can be bonded with at a time per Eirmurian, to ensure that the bond is strong and true.

Merged Souls

What makes a Winghook more unique than that of a regular familiar, is that their soul through bonding with their four-legged companion becomes merged. Meaning, that when one of the bonded pair dies - the other loses part of their soul, they feel the other dying or having died and know that they have lost portion of their soul. This pact has been apart of Eirmuir for generations, since the beginning of the Clans' formation, and it is hoped that it will continue onward.

When one is fully bonded with their Winghook, and their souls have merged that is when they are truly one. They feel one another's pain, their grief and can locate one another without needing to call out - they cannot speak in one another's mind, but they can sense each others soul without trying.

There is another important part of Merged Souls but this information is secret for now!

Q: How does one bond to merge souls?
A: They train together, and spend time together to strength their bond. The Winghook being the eyes on the sky, while their canid companion is their eyes on the ground.

Important to Note:
> You cannot have any other creature become a Winghook, if it does not have Wings.
> Though it is NOT a requirement to have a Winghook, in prior times most Marshals would have commonly had one.