Lost Lunar Castes

[Dracogryff]

I have not had time to read the whole thread, but my understanding was that the Lunars lost their Castes in the Wyld, simply remembering what Castes you used to be was not enough to regain them. This equally goes for Castless. The Wyld broke a part of the Lunars connection or relationship to Lunar. Later on the former Hidden (No) Moons found the knowledge to recreate 3 of the 5 Castes.

In part (excluding the part that the No Moons have actually truly found a way to regain all castes and are pretending to not have done so), this is the generally accepted canonical answer. Five castes, three of which are lost to the Wyld, and the Tattoos are their bastion against Chimeraism and madness. However, the Storyteller's section presents two alternate theories to this scenario.


One is your mention of the fact that the No Moons could have indeed long since fixed all five castes, but are pretending they can't because of the prestige boost they gain by having the Waxing Moons remain lost. Simply put, they don't want to lose their status as the Lunar Priests, and so are pretending they can't fix the castes completely. However, this isn't proven, known, or even necessarily true. Just a possibility the Storyteller could use if they wished to.


The second is that all of the above, about the Wyld breaking the castes and the Tattoos saving the Lunars from Chimeraism is a load crock sold to the Lunars by the No Moons. They are actually the ones who broke the Lunars, all the way back in the Golden Age, when they created the Tattoos to hold the Lunars to one single caste. They did this because they wished the power that the moonless nights granted them all the time. In punishment, the castes were warped and lost, and the Wyld took hold in their souls and stuff. Lunars are truly meant to be as the casteless are, ever shifting, never locked to a single caste, fickle and fluid, just as their patron Luna is....


So, it all depends on how you want to go about it, and what the ST wishes to have as the truth in their game as to how the castes might be fixed. I have no idea what the truth is in the game where I'm a Lunar who's trying to fix the castes, but that's part of the fun. Whether the No Moons are purposely hiding the three castes or honestly can't find them is open for interpretation. But it's all fascinating theories, and it'll be interesting to try to discover what might be done to fix them.


It might require a new tattooing process, it might require the Wyld and Solar aid...the possibilities really are endless if you're creative enough, to be honest. Part of what I find fun about it.

 

[Persell]

This is my general outlook on it:


In the First Age, there was a different way to fix one's Caste and it happened naturally.  A Lunar did not have to be a Waxing Moon or a Half Moon or a Full Moon from life to life; they shifted through the different Castes to test each one in the first few months of their Exaltation and gravitated to the Caste that was most compatible with their personalities.  Once this natural attraction had been cemented, the Lunar was then labelled under the Caste system as a Full, Half, Waxing, Waning or No-Moon.


Centuries after the Usurpation, the Wyld finally wore down and broke through the ancient protections given to them by Luna against such mutations.  This had, among other things, the result of disrupting the natural cycle of finding one's proper Caste.  Thrown completely out of balance, the Castes began shifting wildly even to those who had previously been locked.  


Those who could still harness the power of the No-Moon tried their damnedest to correct this unforeseen flaw and save their people from a very real threat to their mental, physical and spiritual stability.  Whether or not they could have repaired the Waning, Half and Waxing Castes is moot: they didn't.  They either salvaged the bare minimum or all they could into the new Changing Moon Caste, which conferred a conglomerate of benefits previously held by the three Lost Castes.


Whether or not they deliberately stole the priest status from the lost Half Moon Caste is also moot: it is theirs now.   Perhaps they tried to lock it to the Changing Moon but couldn't and stapled it to the next most suitable Caste -- their own -- or perhaps they took it for themselves after coveting it for so long.  There are certainly no Lunars alive today who know the full extent of all sides of the story, though there's been enough memory survive rebirth and stories circulated from the Crossroads Society to piece together a very fragmented picture of what happened.


Whether or not there was some treachery on the part of the No-Moons is shadowed by one very real fact: they gave their people a solid and true method of survival in the most hostile of places. They gave their people protections against all attempts to warp their bodies and minds no matter where they stood.  


It is not how it was once done, but those times are finished now in the minds of many.  It is not how it should be, but it is how it is.  The No-Moons, whatever their motivations, saved their people from pain and suffering and anguish and restored their ability to carry out their duties to Luna and Creation.


Of course, this is not to say that the Lost Castes cannot be restored, and there are not gods and spirits who would be able to tell interested parties the truth of the matter.  This is not to say what the No-Moons have done is irrevocable.  


This is just the way it currently is.

 

[Ledaal Kajiri]

One little detail...some of the First Age Lunars involved in fixing the castes are most assuredly still alive today. Doesn't mean they will answer all your questions, or necessarilly do so honestly if they do...but they almost certainly can offer plenty of knowledge on such...if they so choose.


Good luck getting the information from them if they don't. Lunars have some nice social defensive charms...and can keep giving you the proverbial finger all day long if they want...

 

[Persell]

One little detail...some of the First Age Lunars involved in fixing the castes are most assuredly still alive today. Doesn't mean they will answer all your questions, or necessarilly do so honestly if they do...but they almost certainly can offer plenty of knowledge on such...if they so choose.
Good luck getting the information from them if they don't. Lunars have some nice social defensive charms...and can keep giving you the proverbial finger all day long if they want...

I didn't say there were none who could give information. I said there were none alive who knew the every detail of the full story.

 

[Ledaal Kajiri]

One little detail...some of the First Age Lunars involved in fixing the castes are most assuredly still alive today. Doesn't mean they will answer all your questions, or necessarilly do so honestly if they do...but they almost certainly can offer plenty of knowledge on such...if they so choose.
Good luck getting the information from them if they don't. Lunars have some nice social defensive charms...and can keep giving you the proverbial finger all day long if they want...

I didn't say there were none who could give information. I said there were none alive who knew the every detail of the full story.

That would imply anyone alive ever knows all the details of any story. The same is true even of current events, generally.