Is the Erubus a reeducation camp?

[Mercurial]

So you find a BSD Elder, one who was born and raised among BSDs, somehow subdue him and chuck him into the Erubus. Let us say that the length of his purification process doesn’t simply kill him. What happens next? Does he receive visions that show him that the path he walked did not bring true satisfaction? Is he stuck there forever because he has absolutely no real motivation to change? Does the Erubus kill him outright for not having even an ounce of remorse for his crimes?

[Shadeprowler]

Werewolves end up in Erebus when they have become too tainted by one of the members of the Triat, most often the Wyrm.
Either the werewolf will journey to Erebus to be cleansed, or will be dragged there by other werewolves.
Erebus is not necessarily voluntary
Yo udon't have to want to be clenased
Erebus seems to be Garou-exclusive, with members of every tribe of the Nation being present among the souls in purgatory.
There are stories of Black Spiral Dancers that are trapped in the silver lake, slowly being purged from the Wyrm's clutches. So far, it is unknown what would happen if one of these Garou would be fully cleansed. They could be the first uncorrupted White Howlers, or they could be born anew in Gaia's eyes, ready to choose a new tribe for themselves.
It is unknown if other Fera have a similar realm for penance. Most do not enjoy the close ties to the Umbra as the werewolves do, and some hold that Erebus was only created after the War of Rage, when the Werewolves proved their hubris. Others tell of Corax hanging in white-hot golden cages from Modgudur's Tree, or Mokolé wandering in waterless deserts as winds that carry gold and silver shrapnel tear at their flesh, but the Breeds remain silent in that matter. It is unlikely that any Garou would gain access to these realms.

The laws of Erebus give access to a werewolf’s body, mind, and soul while she is submerged in the silver waters linking to a silver mirror the Garou
The Brood, the Incarna Charyss' minions, works in pairs to step through the mirrors and into each sufferer’s mind. Here they work to seek out the sources of guilt, force the Garou to confront each and acknowledge her failure, and then purge her of sin.
A purified Garou is brought before Charyss, who evaluates her and tells her that the great secret of Erebus is that the realm itself cannot force repentance and that the only way to purification is the Garou herself.
She grants the redeemed werewolf the Rite of the Silver Forge and guides her to the Silver Gate, which will transport her anywhere she wishes.

So it is possible, while forcefully cleansed of the Wyrm, and maybe insanity, the BSD in question will not want to repent and would stay to suffer for an eternity
Or... the loss of taint and facing himself brings enlightenment and genuinely want to suffer/repent

As always, Storytelle's decision

[11twiggins]

W20 takes the stance that rumours of gold cage realms for Corax, and silver deserts for Bastet, are Garou myths; Erebus is unique to the Garou, and exists (likely at great expense to the resources of "Gaia", or the spirits beneath her, given the powers levied to maintain the realm!) because of events like the War of Rage, War of Shame, the fall of the BSDs, the Wyrmbringer fiasco and so on.

While no Fera Breed is perfect, the Garou have had a lot of what my table would affectionately call Gamer Moments.

Shade is right about the nature of Erebus - it's a spiritual/psychological/cathartic/energetic detox, and the intense pain and suffering is simply a conduit to the spiritual repentance happening within.

It's noted that the head of the Crones who manage Erebus quietly believes that The Unforgivable, the BSD who has been in Erebus for hundreds of years, may simply be the realm's first ever casualty. She wouldn't be upset if it happened, or shocked. But still, he keeps washing close to the shore... and then back out again. What happens if he does wash up alive is down to your table!

[Nyremne]

So you find a BSD Elder, one who was born and raised among BSDs, somehow subdue him and chuck him into the Erubus. Let us say that the length of his purification process doesn’t simply kill him. What happens next? Does he receive visions that show him that the path he walked did not bring true satisfaction? Is he stuck there forever because he has absolutely no real motivation to change? Does the Erubus kill him outright for not having even an ounce of remorse for his crimes?

Erebus is a purgatory, it doesn't works like a reeducation camp.
To answer your questions in order

first, to be precise, there's no chance for the bsd to be killed in the process. The gardians of the realm won't allow anyone to escape their penance through death.

Purified garou don't receive vision. What happens after the purification doesn't concern the inhabitants of Erebus. You're now pure, get out, and we'll be waiting for you if you fall again.

You can get stuck forever in erebus, there's one bsd who habe been there for at least decades. But it's not due to motivation but to the dept of the wyrm taint that dancing the black spiral do to you. The silver lakes will purify you, if it's possible, regardless of what the penitent wants.

Erebus also won't abandon one of their prisonner. Once you're there, you'll stay until you're pure, regardless of whenether this will requires centuries.