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The Umbra:

A generation has passed since the Battle of the Umbra, where the Wyrm had risen up from the ground, creations of darkness, destruction and corruption had crawled out from their burrows deep within the Mothers womb and rampaged through the spirit-world. The most populated and influential cities were under attack and one after another fell victim to great atrocities. While the Garou rallied and launched strategy battles against the enemy, for every one of the enemy that was destroyed, the Wyrm killed two of Gaia's in return. Even with the Fera, the Spirits and Garou working together, the loss of numbers were great.

The Weaver, an unlikely ally, went to work. Some say that it was the Weavers plan all along, to separate the spirit world from everything else. And others believe that it was Gaia's own defense to protect the world, the physical shell of her essence, that had spurred the Weaver into action. In any case, the strengthened Gauntlet had prevented the Umbral War from spilling into the mortal world. The Weaver had protected the mortal realm from a potentially catastrophic disaster. The Veil remained in tact and mortals were saved from the horrors that still lurk their streets at night.

The after effects of the Umbral Battle are severe. Where once the penumbra held a vast array of spirits and was a realm in which the Garou could hunt, rest and, most importantly, become in tune with their spiritual selves, it has now become the Wyrm's domain. It's a violent and volatile place. The hunted have become the hunters, and those spirits that seek to live and thrive have vanished from the place in which they once roamed freely and called home.

Garou can no longer cross the Gauntlet at whim, regardless of Gnosis rating, nor can they peek to another side. The penumbra is lost to them and they are forced to seek alternative means.

Gates to the Umbra

There are some small places that still exist where the Gauntlet of the Umbra is weak. As with most structures the gauntlet has its straining points and its these locations that the Garou are able to access the Penumbra. Doing as such is usually a suicide mission, but its not unheard of a Garou slipping sideways, and often disappearing as a result. Naturally, if Garou are able to enter the Penumbra at these locations, there are beings able to exit the Penumbra in the same area, and these beings are generally hostile given the environment in which they live and breed.

The discovery of these places are becoming more frequent and this is beginning to cause concerns within the Nation. Garou are beginning to wonder whether or not the Gauntlet is able to hold with the stresses against it, and whether these small cracks found in, the otherwise impenetrable, Gauntlet and is the first signs that the Weavers attempt to stall the final Apocalypse has come to an end. It's a very real fear that the Nation debates and any Gateway that is discovered is closely guarded by packs of Garou.

Unlike the Caerns of old, these places, with their weakened Gauntlet rating, are not areas of serenity. Whether these Gateways are in an urban or rural setting, they are places of high tension and often become small battlefields of bloodshed, where creatures of the Wyrm fight against the Garou that guard the area. These Garou are typically known in the society as "Keepers of the Gates" and they keep a constant watch for anything going in, or anything coming out of Penumbra in their territory. The Wyrm is not the only threat for the Garou that stand by these Gateways, as they are often forced to battle with the Weaver and the pattern spiders that are sent to mend the weak web of the area. The Nation is concerned that if these Gateways really are stress fractures of some sort, and not faulty mistakes in the Pattern Web, and if the Weaver is successful in strengthening and sealing the Gateways, that there may be catastrophic results elsewhere in the Pattern Web.