Amarok ~ Something's in the works!

[aniu amarok]

• guild
  
• cert requests
  
• drop offs
  
• owner's list
  
• uncerted wolves

Month 1 :: Breedings
heart Month 2 :: Customs heart
Month 3 :: Event
Month 4 :: Break

For more information on what these months entail,
please check out this post on page 105!

Intro | News | Rules | Stages | Story | Map | Sales | Packs | Names | Credits

[aniu amarok]

recent news

• March 28th, 2015 :: MiKEY is MIA but that doesn't mean the shop can't move forward! The rest of the staff are working on a small springtime event for all of you!
  
• October 12th, 2014 :: this month will be a little quiet. Customs will hopefully open at some point, so keep an eye out!
  
• September 20th, 2014 :: Raffle on page 2! Infants from the first breeding should be born soon!
  
• September 3rd, 2014 :: Breedings are officially open in the guild! Check out the Customs and Breeding Subforum for all the info!
  
• August 24, 2014 :: wow it's been awhile since I made one of these! With school starting, I've been a bit busy. The shop's been quiet, but as school calms down, I hope to get things underway really soon! I've tweaked a few rules and policies here and there (customs, breedings, rank changes), but nothing big. Also, recently hired Rian-Chan as the shop manager, Lirende as a part-time colorist, and Zasshurou as another part-time colorist! Whoo!
  
• July 18, 2014 :: Pokévent is officially open on the second page! Wahoo! Also, some of the prices in the shop have changed. Customs have gone up slightly (though there are still very affordable options), and flat sale adult wolves will now be 10k.
  Basically, while I personally don't mind doing stuff on the cheaper side, I can't say the same for anyone I would hire. So. Hopefully these changes won't scare anyone away; I'm just trying to make sure that I have enough money to, you know, pay people. When I hire them. Which is hopefully soon.
  
• July 9, 2014 :: Dog Breeds Flaffle on Page 2 while we get everything ready for the upcoming Pokévent!
  
• July 8, 2014 :: Hiring for a variety of positions here! Part-time certist, full- or part-time colorists, and a manager!
  
• July 7, 2014 :: So sorry for disappearing, everyone! And for it being such a long time. But I'm back (and Lire stuck around, god knows I don't deserve that XD), and soon I'll be hiring more people to help me out so I don't poof in the future. More info on page 61 for those who are curious. Check out the Drop Offs in the guild!
  
• Older news is located here.

current conditions

• weather :: a slight chill in the air, but nothing I can't handle! *fluffs*
  
• prey :: does eating all these delicious rabbits make my butt look big? .___.
  

Intro | News | Rules | Stages | Story | Map | Sales | Packs | Names | Credits

[aniu amarok]

shop rules

• obey Gaia's TOS and the BC Forum rules and guidelines, obvi.
  
• don't steal the art.
  
  It's perfectly fine to resize/crop/rotate/flip your wolf for personal use (such as in your signature, journal, etc.), just don't claim you made the art or use it for your own personal gains. Also, no tracing plz.
• keep the melodrama out of the shop, kthx.
  
  If drama starts happening between you and another user, take a step back, breathe, realize this is a place full of pretend wolves that we use to write pretend stories, and chillax.
• any pms should be sent to the mule, aniu amarok.
  
• shop is run on mountain time during the winter, and pacific time during the summer.
  
  Arizona is a complicated state. Currently on: Pacific Daylight Time.
• don't stretch the pages.
  
  Don't quote the first page, don't spam a ton of pix, and please do shorten any large quote pyramids.
• please don't direct link; save images to your own stuff whenever possible.
  
• a growing faq is located here.
  
• "handsome" is now officially "hasmone;" please update your spellcheckers.

rp rules

• rp is encouraged and totally awesome, but not required by any means.
  
  You can get all normal things (rank upgrades, puppies, whatever) for a price. There are definitely perks for roleplayers, such as cheaper breedings, free rank upgrades, more puppies, etc.
• for shop-related roleplays (rank upgrade, breeding, etc.), each rp should be at least mildly related to whatever it is that your wolf is trying to achieve, and at least 15 posts by you of about 50ish words each (or about 500+ words).
  
  So if it's several people going back and forth, it should be a no less than one full page of posts. But, honestly, quality over quantity. Accomplishing your goal is worth more than useless padding.
• keep things mildly realistic; no magic.
  
  No need to stick to barks and growls, but these wolves aren't psychic, can't fly, and don't know how to summon fireballs (not that they could even if they wanted to).
• no god-moding.
  
• at least attempt literacy; no chatspeak in srs roleplays plz lol.
  
• while the wolves have heard of humans, they rarely make contact with them, so they are not currently in the metastory.
  
• it is fine to rp your growing wolf as younger than it is.
  
  It is also fine to RP a growing wolf at two different ages, if it grows before you finish a previous RP.
• please refrain from roleplaying a god or spirit from the shop's mythology.
  
  While the wolves can be very spiritual, they do not necessarily communicate directly with the spirits or gods (kind of like how we humans are incapable of communicating directly with any particular deities in the real world). If you really want a particular spirit or deity to interact with your wolf or pack, shoot a PM to the mule and we can talk about it.

Intro | News | Rules | Stages | Story | Map | Sales | Packs | Names | Credits

[aniu amarok]

Amarok's children live throughout the hidden valley that they call Nuna. Although there may be slight variations among different packs, overall the wolves are typically about 36-40 inches at the shoulder, and weigh anywhere from 125 up to almost 200 pounds, making them much larger than typical wolves. Their coloring is rather muted and natural, although some brightly colored accents can be seen occasionally.

These wolves believe that every living thing has a soul, and that many non-living things (such as the wind, the sun, rivers, trees, etc.) are homes to spirits. The wolves have a great deal of respect for the world around them, and often offer prayers: for luck before a hunt, for the soul of their downed prey to find peace in the afterlife, for a painless childbirth and the health of the pups, for the winters to be mild and the summers to be bountiful, etc. In addition to the spirits and souls, the wolves also believe in a host of more powerful deities, chief among them are Amarok (a trickster wolf god, and "father" of these wolves), Malina (a beautiful sun goddess, who brings about the pleasant summer), and Igaluk (Malina's brother, the moon, who chases after her and brings about the harsh winter). Different packs worship in different ways: the wolves living in the mountains up North often offer sacrifices to Malina and Igaluk, while the wolves living in the warmer forested regions to the South focus more on the spirits who surround them.

Infants > Pups :: ~1 week | Pups > Adolescents :: ~1 month | Adolescents > Adult (Default Gamma) :: 1-2 months
While there are not different lines for the genders, there are slight edits: (newly linearted) females have more head fur, tufts of ear fur, feminine eyes, and thinner eyebrows. The ones pictured above are all boys!

Intro | News | Rules | Stages | Story | Map | Sales | Packs | Names | Credits

[aniu amarok]

Amarok. Those who walk on two legs fear him, saying he hunts down and devours any of their kind who are foolish enough to hunt at night. But we do not fear our creator, for he is the one who gave us life, who made us special. We are his children.

the story so far…

A long time ago, so far back that history itself can only barely recall, Amarok, a minor Inuit wolf-god, stalked throughout the frozen North. Far from being a barren wasteland, the world that Amarok lived in was teeming with life, both plants and animals, as well as those two-legged creatures called man. Man greatly feared Amarok, and rightly so. He was an enormous wolf, more than double the size of those regular beasts who prowled the lands. Furthermore, his entire purpose was to strike fear into the hearts of men so that they stayed safe and warm together in their villages. And as a result, Amarok began to feel lonely. He tried befriending the smaller animals, including those small wolves who looked like him, but they were not intelligent enough to understand, and most fled at the sight of him.

So Amarok spoke with the lesser spirits who inhabit every non-living thing in the world. None knew how to help him. Amarok sought out the other gods: Sedna, the goddess of the sea and all its inhabitants, could not help a land-based deity such as Amarok; Malina, the goddess who carries a bright torch to light the day, could do nothing for him either; Igaluk, the god who carries a dim torch to light the night, was too busy chasing his sister to be of any value (also, Amarok wasn't too positive that a moon god obsessed with his sister would be all that helpful anyway). Amarok traveled across the lands, seeking out all of the powerful deities and asking for their help. Finally, he came across Sila, the god of air and the weather. Sila was also god of the winds, which are considered to be the breath of the world. Sila agreed to help Amarok, so he sculpted two wolf pups out of wet sand and breathed into them the gift of life. Amarok considered these two pups (a boy and a girl) his children, and named them He Who Came First and Daughter of Frost. He could see an intelligence and understanding in their eyes that he had never before seen from any of the other animals. He knew these two were special, and so Amarok raised them to respect the world around them, for everything that is alive has a soul, and everything that is not alive is inhabited by a spirit. Amarok led his children to a sheltered valley where they could live and prosper, and that is how the wolves of Nuna came to be.

Intro | News | Rules | Stages | Story | Map | Sales | Packs | Names | Credits

[aniu amarok]

Click the map for more information in the guild!

setting information

Amarok, the shop, takes place in an isolated valley that the wolves themselves call Nuna, which means "land." Located far to the North, the weather in Nuna is quite interesting: summers are pleasant and warm, and there is an entire month where the sun does not set; winters are usually below freezing and snowy, and there are well over two months where the sun never rises. Nuna is bordered by an ocean to the West, and tall, treacherous mountains on all other sides, making it quite isolated.

Intro | News | Rules | Stages | Story | Map | Sales | Packs | Names | Credits

[aniu amarok]

• breeding rules
  
• custom rules
  

general sales rules

• do not ever edit your post while participating in some sort of sale or event.
  
  If you goofed, make a new post and explain the mistake. It's seriously no big deal and should be fine (I realize it might suck in a situation like a speed sale, but there will always be more opportunities). If I catch you editing a post during a sale, bad things. Bad things!
• there are five basic ways to obtain a wolf: flat sale, raffle, auction, roleplaying, and playing games.
  
• no stupidcrazy gloating/whining if you do/don't win.
  
• do not attempt to buy a wolf if you do not have the funds.
  
• co-buying/co-owning are allowed for auctions only.
  
• typically, you are only allowed to win one wolf per sale type.
  
• you cannot resell your wolves.
  
• all payments must be sent within 24 hours.
  
• proxies are allowed for all kinds of sales.
  
  Unless the sale specifically states otherwise. Just make sure your proxy-pal makes sure to state that s/he is, in fact, proxying for you. Proxies may not simultaneously participate in the event for themselves, because that just gets confusing.

about flat sales

• flat sales are conducted in one of two ways: speed or flaffle.
  
  Speed Sale :: I call out GO and everyone races to claim their wolf. Winners are first-come, first serve.
  Flaffle (flat sale + raffle) :: I call out GO and everyone claims ONE wolf that they want. After a set amount of time, I raffle off each wolf to those who applied.
• all flat sale adults cost 10k.

about raffles

• raffles are conducted in one of two ways: paid and free.
  
  Paid: Tickets cost 1,000g each, and are awarded first come, first serve. Payment should be sent and confirmed ASAP.
  Free: Everyone can claim 1 free ticket each. Newbies can claim 2! No using multiple/mule accounts, or I will make a severe frowny face at you.
• you cannot win more than one wolf per raffle.
  
  If the RNG picks one of your ticket numbers again, that choice will be rerolled.
• winners choose their wolves in the order that the tickets were rolled.

about auctions

• auctions are conducted in one of three ways: normal, silent, and poor man's.
  
  Normal :: You bid however much you want until the auction is over. The highest bidder wins. All normal auctions have a Snipe Guard.
  Silent :: no one knows what the current bid is. You PM your bid to the mule once and only once, so consider carefully how much you want to offer.
  Poor Man's :: the bid increases by exactly 100g each time, every time. The winner pays the final amount, and there is no snipe guard.
• no more than 12 items per bid.
  
  Items valued at the 95% Average Market Price.
• do not retract your bid.
  

about roleplay sales

• rp sales typically involve a simple prompt to which you write a response.
  responses should be about 300-500 words.
  
  You can go over or under, but if you submit a novella at some point I will just stop reading.
• quality over quantity!
  
• attempt good grammar.
  
• rp sales are always free!

about games

• games are a variety of different activities that you can participate in to win a wolf.
  
• examples include, but are not limited to, dice games, scavenger hunts, "egg" grabs, etc.
  
• games are always free!

Intro | News | Rules | Stages | Story | Map | Sales | Packs | Names | Credits

[aniu amarok]

For way more information, click the banner to go to the thread in the guild!

current packs

• none! :<

A wolf pack is typically led by a monogamous, mated pair of wolves: the Alpha male and female (who share equal rank and responsibility). The rest of the pack is typically composed of their offspring, siblings, other relatives, and other unrelated wolves with similar interests or beliefs. Large packs typically have a Beta wolf or two (or more), who help keep order in the ranks.

Each pack is led by a pair of Alpha wolves who are almost always lifemates (read: "married" ). While it is not unheard of for a pack to be led by a single Alpha, a wolf's instinctual drive to find a mate (combined with their monogamous nature) often leads to a couple as the Alphas of a pack. Alphas establish the rules and maintain order; their word is law.

A rank that is not found in every pack, Betas are ranked below Alphas, but above the regular Gammas. While smaller packs typically have no need of Betas, large packs most certainly do. Can you imagine just two wolves maintaining order over twenty or more wolves? Yikes. This is where Betas come in handy. They are usually (but not always) related to one of the Alphas, and help to keep all the other wolves in line. It is not uncommon in larger packs to have a Beta in charge of the Hunters, another in charge of the Scouts, etc.

Gammas (the "regular"-ranked wolves) compose the vast majority of every pack. They perform a variety of roles, from hunting and patrolling the borders, to baby-sitting and chasing off unwelcome strangers.

Omegas are the lowliest of the wolves in a pack, and rank below all other wolves (including the pups and adolescents). Omegas are ranked the way they are for a multitude of reasons: perhaps they are weak and are unable to help the pack, perhaps they are a Lone wolf who joined the pack recently and is working his way up, perhaps it is a wolf who broke one too many rules and was demoted, etc.

A wolf without a pack, Lone Wolves wander around between pack borders, doing their best to avoid the packs themselves (since most packs don't take kindly to strangers eating their food). Many of them are loners by choice, having left (or been kicked out of) their last pack. Some are looking to join a pack, some are looking for another wolf with whom they can start a pack (winky-face), while others are quite happy being alone, thanks very much for asking.

Intro | News | Rules | Stages | Story | Map | Sales| Packs | Names | Credits

[aniu amarok]

Ever since Amarok himself breathed life into his first two children, He Who Came First and Daughter of Frost, names have been very important to the wolves who dwell in Nuna. The wolves believe that their names are directly connected to their souls. Names are passed down from generation to generation, and by a wolf's name alone, one can often identify its lineage.

The wolves are named for things with which they are familiar. As such, names are derived from their surroundings: smells, sounds, animals, and places are all legitimate sources for names. Things that are unknown to these wolves (tigers, razors, cacti, etc.) would never be used in a name since the wolves have no knowledge of them. The wolves also never have foreign, human words in their name, as using a human word is seen as a sign of ownership.

Pups often receive names inspired by their parents' names. For example, He Who Came First and Daughter of Frost's first litter of pups were named Morning's First Snow, Frostbite, Ancient Ice, Son of Snow, and Before the Storm. Another source of inspiration can come from recently deceased relatives, or major events that occurred near the time of the birth.

naming rules

• all wolves must be named after natural things that the wolves themselves would encounter in their daily lives.
  
  While Astronaut and Tiger's Claw are rockin' names, they don't really work in this environment.
• no regular human names or cliché foreign words.
  
  No Sakura, Thomas, or Charlemagne. While I'd prefer "natural" names like Autumn Leaf, if you want to name your wolf more of a fantasy name, such as Nymeria, I'm totes cool with that too. Also, Alaskan Native (e.g. Inuit and Aleut) words are perfectly okay.
• pups should be named after their parents.
  
  I'm not gonna be hardcore about this rule, but...it's part of their culture.
• before choosing a name, it's a good idea to head over to the owner's list and be sure that something eerily similar doesn't exist.
  
  Unrelated wolves need unrelated names, yo.
• here are some awesome examples of names that owners in the shop have given their wolves...
  
  Flying Trout (that handsome fella right up there!), Mountain Teeth, Silver Path, Blood Claw, Suinnak (which means "Good for Nothing"!) and Tiglikte (Suinnak's brother; his name means "Thief" ), Darkness Howl, and Flies Over Ice (the daughter of Flying Trout!).

Intro | News | Rules | Stages | Story | Map | Sales| Packs | Names | Credits

[aniu amarok]

current staff

username :: aniu amarok
job description :: shop mule

username :: MiKEYxCORE
nickname :: Mikey
job description :: owner, artist, colorist, pokémaniac, team targaryen

username :: Rian-chan
nickname :: Rian
job description :: Assistant to the Regional Manager, part-time certist

username :: Lirende
nickname :: Lire
job description :: part-time certist, part-time colorist
has put up with my nonsense for the longest time <3

username :: Zasshurou
nickanem :: Zass
job description :: part-time colorist, full-time wolf hoarder

past staff

username :: moonlit-raven
job description :: temporary manager during the grand opening

links in

[url=http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/t.87739197/][img]http://i1332.photobucket.com/albums/w611/aniu_amarok/banners/advertbanner1.png[/img][/url]

links out
PM the mule for affiliate consideration, plz. We'd like other fuzzy, four-legged shops if possible. 200x40 only, because it looks so nice! ;D






Intro | News | Rules | Stages | Story | Map | Sales| Packs | Names | Credits