Embers, a live-action role-playing game, by Embers Productions

The following locations are ones which are known to all local Garou. Most are relatively easy to find, lying on well known landmarks (such as the Bawn), or being relatively stable in their positions. Nevertheless, the Umbra is a dangerous place, teeming with spirits. Wise Garou do not travel alone in the Umbra.

In the Umbra, the Bawn of the Buried Heart is a fluid, ever-changing place. Visiting it can be both exhilarating and terrifying - it is never dull. Vibrant and alive, there is a constant influx of water spirits which swim around and through visitors. The atmosphere pulses with the cycles of life - now slow and gentle, then building to a crescendo of activity before slowing down again.

There are many 'grottos' in the Umbral side of the Bawn. There are pools of fish, seals, and even a secluded one that holds several turtle spirits. Dilkoosha particularly likes to watch the turtles basking and can often be found there. Riverside scenes are also well-represented. Gentle, green hills slope down into calm, deep waters, and rocky cliffs overlook raging rapids.

While most areas in the Umbral Bawn are life affirming, there is at least one place that is haunted by sadness, mourning, and terror. When asked about the dark cave that is set in the side of sharp cliffs and overlooks a fetid and stagnant lake, Dilkoosha will simply call it the "Crying Place". She can often be found there after a member of the Sept is killed. No one has ever been able to follow her all the way into the back of the cave - they are overwhelmed by the time they get 9 steps in.

The Heart of the Bawn, and of the Sept, is located on the edge of a large lake. The lake feeds a stream which builds in strength and eventually speeds its way to the Caern of Zephyr's Mind. Periodically, the lake overflows and floods the surrounding areas, making the area green and lush. Lilies line the edges of the lake and stream. When she is feeling playful, Dilkoosha can be found here, gazing at the teeming fish in the water, or weaving the flowers into crowns. In the past, she has given such crowns as a sign of her favor. No one can remember the last time she did this.

The actual center of the Caern is located under the water, just as it is in the real world. Many Garou have tried to swim to it, and few have succeeded - Dilkoosha seems to regard such attempts as opportunities to play tag. It is a foolish Garou who refuses a chance to frolic with their Caern Spirit.

Quiet, peaceful, the Umbral version of the Bawn of Zephyr's Mind is a place to go to rest, meditate, and heal. The gentle susurrations of wind wafting through leaves can always be heard. The air is filled with the scent of fresh apples. Arboreal spirits - butterflies, bats, and birds - flutter and soar through the air in a harmonious dance of regeneration.

Those who visited the Salamander's Soul while it still thrived remember it as a vast cavern filled with the sounds of metallic clanking, and the smell of fresh soil. It was a strong, solid, comforting place. Those who have dared to visit this area since the Caern's fall have reported it to be a terrifyingly dark, claustrophobic and sweltering place, full of the sounds of tortured spirits and acrid smells. Those who have lingered too long in this lost Caern have not returned.

In the mortal world, the water from the Quabbin Reservoir travels east to the Wachusett Reservoir, then through Natick and into the Boston area. In the Umbra, there is a similar connection between the two locations. A powerful river flows eastward towards Boston. It is a dangerous place to swim in. There are creatures who live in the depths and those foolhardy Garou who dive under the water often never come back up again. Those Garou that do re-surface generally find themselves somewhere completely unfamiliar. However, the river surface is usually placid, and a boat can easily, though slowly, navigate it.

A dangerous stretch of water in the Umbra just after the Quabbin reservoir where the river trail from Quabbin to Boston begins. It is a treacherous place, filled with rocks, jagged edges, and strong current. However, if you can navigate a boat down it, it is the best way to travel to Boston, having picked up a frightening speed in the process (faster than running there). Because of the unique nature of the Quabbin Trail, this prodigious speed is not lost as the journey progresses and one can easily overcome travelers who have started farther downstream.

These wetlands used to be the property of the Silver Fangs north of Worcester and was known as a lush, peaceful area. Since the fall of the Salamander's Soul, the area has become a swampy morass, thick with chemical spillage. The Black Spiral Dancers probably use this spot as a dumping ground. Much like its namesake, it is said that creatures who get stuck in the muck will succumb to the Urge of Lethargy. Eventually being found thus by the Dancers ensures a tortuous death. As the legend goes, it is thought that a giant turtle lives within the middle of the swamp, having pulled itself into its shell long ago to avoid contamination. The turtle, of course, is a totem spirit of the Croatan, and thus the notion that it still exists is a hopeful one.

The woods of Europe used to be strong, dark, dangerous places, where wolves ran free and humans feared for their lives. There were parts of this continent-sized forest that never saw the light of day. That forest was nothing compared to the Ur-Forest. Stretching for days' travel in all directions, the Ur-Forest has no paths, no scent of humans, and no structures. Garou can run here in Lupus form and experience the joy that their ancestors must have felt - the wind in their fur, the thrill of no boundaries. Many a Garou in the depths of Harano has been cured by nothing more than an hour's run in the Ur-Forest.

Of course, danger does not only come in the form of humans and their settlements. The trees here are old and terrible in their wisdom. They know that humans have destroyed the forests in the real world, and they thirst for vengeance. Spirits lurk in the trees and under the ground and they resent the intrusions of trespassers. Jealous of their sanctuary, they play tricks on and sometimes even attack wandering Garou.

But for the Garou who has had enough of humans for a while, the Ur-Forest is a gift from Gaia.

Near the edge of the Quabbin River, closer to the Caern of the Zephyr's Mind, is a place where battle is always raging. The two sides come out of forests into opposite sides of a valley choked with the bodies of the dead and dying. The wounded are trampled into the bloody mud as the two sides race out of the forests to charge at each other. Holding muskets, knives, tomahawks, and clubs, they slam into each other and kill. There is no subtlety, no cries for mercy, no words of any kind are spoken. They simply charge, kill, and die.

There is no unity to either side. Each consists of Indians, men in tri-corner hats and uniforms, dirty rabble wearing only rags, and seamen. The hate and blood lust on their faces is so intense that most Garou are hard pressed to watch without joining in the fray.

This hilly area is covered in clear crystal towers. Growing up, out of the ground, some of them tower out of sight. Most are sharp, sharper even than obsidian, and many a Garou has broken off pieces to use as weapons. But some are more rounded and a careful Garou can climb them. At ground level, the crystals have many impurities in them - air bubbles, pieces of dirt, and even pockets of water. As the crystals grow higher, though, they become more and more pure. Some believe that if you climb high enough, the crystals become so pure that they reflect scenes from the real world.