"Mother Willow" Ashthorne
Remember Willow Ashthorne. Without her the Rootless would be beating down our door.
Mother Willow is known as the most prolific mother in the history of the eight territories. She is said to have cared for over 200 young werewolves during her 90 years. Invoking the name of Broken Tail Magnus, she created her own family when nature took her natural-born kin from her.
The Beginning
Willow Ashthorne was blessed by fate to be mated to the High Fang of the Willowbend Clan and she believes that is the same fate that not only took her only natural-born son from her, but stopped her and her mate, Arthur, from having any more offspring after that. She took her role as Hearthmother seriously, and though they sometimes argued, she reminded her mate constantly of Magnus Moonbane and how there would be no clans at all if it hadn't been for a broken, cast out infant wolf believed to be cursed.
It became her personal mission not only to mother as many foundlings as she could, but to find them and bring them to her hearth. That, she said, was what a Hearthmother was meant to do. (Some believe the term "hearthmother" comes from Willow Ashthorne. The true origins are unknown.) One after another, young wolves joined the clan until it became one of the largest clans -- one of the largest packs -- in the known territories. She cared for each and every one of them individually, loved each of them for their own strengths and individuality, and asked for little help from her own adopted kits or cubs in caring for the younger ones. The only help she would accept came from the Omegas, who insisted that they were born for this type of work. They were.
Finding the Foundlings
Many now believe that Willow Ashthorne had a special sixth sense. She would disappear into the wilderness for days on end, only returning when she had several youngsters in tow and often enough, one too tired to go on who she carried in her arms. When they arrived in the den, she always offered Root Beer and Stew, then gave the youngsters the chance to eat in peace without being watched.
While tending to their individual needs, Mother Willow ensured that each of her youngsters were treated the same. They were given her name, initiated into her clan, and when they were old enough, she encouraged them to find a mate within one of the clan's other packs or to create their own pack, often elevating their status to Alpha -- just as though they had been born to her.
Mating another foundling was forbidden (with the exception of a fated mate) and, following in the hopes of Broken Tail Magnus, the werewolf population began to grow as a result of this ruling. The Ozark Territory became so full that several packs moved to other territories, many of them to the Northern Rocky Mountains or to the Plains Territory.
The Legacy
Though she did not found the Foundling Pack system, she is known for its inception and adoption. It took nearly 50 years following Magnus's ruling on the subject for the foundling packs to "take off," and it happened only because Mother Willow's name was invoked when clans decided what to do with strays who wandered into their territory. Now, instead of one foundling pack per territory, there is one foundling pack per clan, giving foundlings -- youngster and adult -- a sense of place and belonging. It is because of her that foundlings take the name of their chosen clan in a ritual of belonging.
Many of her adopted children moved outside of the Ozark Territory, taking the system she established with them and creating sanctuaries for stray werewolves and treatment centers for Withering for those recognizing its effects and wanting to be cured.
Foundlings hear her story around the hearthfire, and women struggling to have offspring of their own invoke her name, praying to her as though she is a saint when asking for fertility or the courage to adopt a stray.
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