W20 - Changing Breeds.pdf

Deadly assassins, the Nagah survive to ply theirtrade in Gaia’s service only because they faked theirown extinction thousands of year ago. Now they sit injudgment of human and Changing Breed alike, executingthose who turn their back on Gaia’s purpose.HistoryBefore the War of Rage, the Nagah played the role ofGaia’s mystics — an individual weresnake might presentherself as a scholar, a sacred dancer, or an ascetic monk.They held territory throughout what is now north Africa, theMiddle East, and Asia, with a few clutches venturing further,ostensibly to share their knowledge. Other shapeshifters whovalued esoteric lore would travel far to learn their secrets,though few could bear to be around the wereserpents forany length of time due to the Nagah’s emotionless natureand serpentine demeanor. This suited the Nagah well, as itkept other Breeds from discovering the truth: that they wereactually Gaia’s executioners, merciless killers charged withsecretly eliminating anyone — human or shapeshifter —who posed a threat to Gaia. While the Garou hunted downobvious enemies and openly killed them, the Nagah dealtwith the secret dangers — including corrupt or traitorousGarou. In that role, the wereserpents travelled across theworld in service to the Mother, though they took great carethat other Changing Breeds did not divine their true purpose.Some of the most observant shapeshifters didn’t trustthe Nagah, but very few ever learned their true purpose —and fewer still survived to tell others. The oldest and mostpowerful weresnakes whisper stories of how, in ancient times,their kind killed several prominent Garou in an attempt tocurb the werewolves’ drive to dominate the Fera. Unfortunately,their plan backfired — the Garou blamed thesemurders on other shapeshifters. The anger of the Garou atthese murders was the spark that ignited the war of Rage.Very few Nagah actually died in the War of Rage. Whentheir mistake became clear, and the early battles began, theyretreated en masse into the Umbra. There, away from thefighting, the wereserpents faked their extinction — not justin the eyes of other shapeshifters, but to the Umbra itself,severing their ties with the spirits they once served andbeen mentored by. Without spiritual allies, and outside ofthe pact of kinship between Gaia’s children and the spiritworld, the Nagah prepared for the future.When they finally returned to the physical realm, theweresnakes concealed their presence and activities evenmore carefully than before. In order to maintain their charade,nobody could know of their existence. Since then, theNagah have been sufficiently careful that almost every othershifter still believes that they became extinct during the Warof Rage. Even in the Beast Courts of Asia — where a smallgroup of wereserpents revealed their existence in the beliefthat the Hengeyokai would make strong allies — most shiftersremain unaware of their existence. The few Hengeyokai whodo know of the Nagah are bound by honor not to tell of theNagah’s existence to those outside of the Courts.Kinfolk CultsBecause they hide their true natures from almost everyoneelse, most Nagah become quite close to their human Kinfolk— often a wereserpent’s Kin are the only people who know thatshe truly exists. A few maintain ties to their old human lives,but even then they need a tight network of allies to maintainan illusion of normalcy. Because of that, and to keep theirexistence a closely guarded secret, weresnakes keep carefultrack of their Kinfolk. The Nagah have an ulterior motiveto their careful records — they can also make certain thatnone of their kind undergoes their First Change someplacewhere one of the other Changing Breeds might notice them.For thousands of years the Nagah have used their Kinfolkto create secret serpent-worshipping cults and carefullyhidden clans of assassins. When a wereserpent discovers newKin — either through Samskara or tracing families thoughtlost to the records — she attempts to recruit any them intoa local Kinfolk cult. She can arrange offers of lucrativework, while existing sect members act as mysterious patronsand new friends who gradually bring the new Kinfolk intotheir social and spiritual circle. To preserve secrecy, thecult reveals only a few hints about their existence beforethe outsider formally agrees to join. The weresnakes watchfrom the shadows and protect those who seems like theywould refuse if they knew the truth. Despite being pitilessNAGAH153