Luath, Lord of Hounds
From Changeling Venue
The hunt is one of the oldest and most common fae traditions. Minstrels spin innumerable tales of glorious hunting parties bringing down some great unconquered beast. Listen for a while and undoubtedly some of those tales will mention Lord Luath's famed hunting hounds.
Lord Luath is well known for his hunts, but he is more widely reknowned in the fae realms as the premiere trainer of hunting hounds. His hounds are sought for their intelligence, obedience, and tenacious ferocity. They come at a premium price which keeps Lord Luath with no lack of resources and prestige. Lord Luath never reveals his training secrets, but the trick is in the humans his minions tempt across the hedge to shape into hounds. These unwitting volunteers are trained in tracking, hunting, and killing. They eventually devolve into canine animals to be sold to other fae.
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Luath Himself
Lord Luath is remembered by most as the epitome of the great huntsman, his head ringed with antlers and his garments made from ivy. Some claim he is a mastiff so large as to dwarf any common canine. Still others recall a tall gentleman clad in gray and scarlet smoking a long oak pipe. Despite these differing recollections, all agree on the Lord's ivory horn hanging at his chest. The details of the brass fittings are etched in their minds, and the memory of its sound carrying across the woodland brings a mix of delight and terror.
All those selected to be hounds meet Luath at least once. He is there at their introduction to the kennels, and he inspects each one himself before accepting them into his realm and contracts.
Selection
Luath's criteria isn't very strict. His loyal adherents in the mortal realm target wayward children and teens that are less likely to be missed when they disappear. An aggressive or violent demeanor is preferred, but not required since the training will build in brutality.
Children selected for training are tempted away, most often to a farm or halfway house where they are taken care of for a time and observed. Those deemed fit for training are taken across the hedge under the guise of field trip or transfer to another house. Those entering Luath's lands to be hounds must entering willingly.
Those lured away from their homes but not selected for training have worse fates in store.
Living
Farms and Halfways
The farms and halfway houses are large, well maintained, and very remote. In most of the homes the children are given complete freedom. They are allowed to smoke, drink, gamble, and fight all they want. No compensation or payment is requested for shelter and safety. Food and drink, however, have a cost.
Upon arrival the children are given a handful of tokens. These tokens are traded for food and water. Liquor costs more. The tokens are the only recognized currency at the house, and regular funds are not accepted. To get more tokens, the children may work around the house or help tend the farm. Most of the gambling is done for tokens as well. Poker and craps are common, but darts, grumbly pot, and pitching tokens against the wall work too. Some kids make their way by gambling or coercing tokens from other kids in various ways.
Those that refuse to work or that make their way by brutalizing the other children soon disappear, often bound for Lord Luath's kennels.
Kennels
Luath's hounds are kept in kennels where they form rough societies and packs. It becomes a literal dog-eat-dog life where dominance in one's kennel means more food and respect while the runts and weaklings fall to the torments of their superiors. Lord Luath encourages this primal behavior since it weeds out the failures from the prime stock.
The kennels consist of acres of property whose boundaries are invisible but impenetrable by the hounds. Each kennel has a shelter at its center. In this shelter is enough space for the kennel's hounds to hide from the elements. There are also cages where hounds are put for training or punishment. Each kennel has a name, and many have a reputation and rival kennels as well. A few kennels are listed here, but there are many more.
- Arms Kennel - One of many introductory kennels. New boys are put here to learn their place in the pack order and become used to kennel rules.
- Red Kennel - Hounds of this kennel are known for their ferocity and bloodlust. Fae who hunt particularly nasty prey or who seek protection at any cost seek hounds from Red Kennel.
- South Oak Kennel - These hounds excel at tracking and herding their prey.
- River Kennel - Those humans that find Luath's realm by chance or by force are placed in River Kennel. They become prey and practice for the training hounds.
- Lord's Kennel - Where Luath's personal hunting hounds are kept. Four to five packs of hounds roam here at a time. Rivalry between packs is common, but damage to another of the Lord's favorites is punishable by death. Hounds put into Luath's service are named and given a measure of identity as well.
Training
Training to be the best of the best takes years. Some hounds may train for a decade or more, and why not? They have the benefit of a human lifespan which allows Luath to take as long as necessary to make sure each and every one excel at their tasks.
New recruits start out in an introductory kennel where they learn their place in the social rankings. The boys are left mostly to themselves to play, fight, and bully each other until the social strata is set. Then they are separated into other kennels where their social standing fills gaps or where further refinement may be had.
Once placed in their kennels the boys are taught by Luath's trainers to track prey and distinguish various types of markings and footprints. They are caged and chained and treated like animals much of the time. Eventually they are taken on training hunts where they are sent running after rabbits and other hedge creatures. The children slowly devolve and become more canine in nature, and they learn to track by scent as much as by sight. Eventually they are moved to animal only kennels, and their graduation to the next level requires hunting and killing one of their own.
The hounds retain some level of cognizance from their human intelligence. In one respect the training is easier since they are able to listen and understand commands. However, this higher brain function presents a problem when the logical mind refuses to let instinct take over. Training the hounds is as much about becoming the hound as it is about learning new skills.
On occassion, Lord Luath loans some hounds in training to neighboring fae to help clear land or perform other duties. In these instances Luath may change the hounds back to their human forms to give them more versatility. In these rare times the hounds-made-human occupy their free time exploring, fighting, drinking, and seducing if such pleasures are available.
Ultimately, the goal is to do well and survive to be sold to another fae master. One may only hope to be sold to a keeper who may be less strict and demanding than Luath's training. A more prestigious fate is to serve Lord Luath himself and join Lord's Kennel. It is rumored that those most loyal and ferocious hounds are destined for even greater rewards.
Falconry
Less well known is Lord Luath's stable of falcons and raptors. Many of these he trains himself and uses for his personal sport. On occasion he may sell one of these or trade with other fae, and in some rare cases he may send one across the hedge to spy on a member of the Brotherhood.
