W20 - Changing Breeds.pdf

secret. They hid in plain sight as dancers, scholars, andharmless eccentrics — and assassinated any who workedagainst Gaia's interests.The Garou were the most numerous of the ChangingBreeds — and the most egotistical. They protected theworld, destroying supernatural horrors that threatenedit, and openly hunting down humans who endangeredits balance. In time, the werewolves began to considerthemselves greater than their shapeshifting cousins, anddemanded deference and obedience from those theylabeled “Fera” — all of the other Changing Breeds. AsGaia's hunters, they claimed ownership of early humantribes, and instead of guardians and caretakers, the Garoubecame humanity's masters. Throughout the world,villages of humans bowed down to their lupine masters,or else fell to their unstoppable might.The Garou drove off any who attempted to interferewith their tyranny. As tensions increased, somewerewolf leaders began to denounce the Fera publiclyas unnecessary, and privately as threats to Garou power.Eventually, for reasons that the Changing Breeds argueabout to this day, Gaia’s Warriors began hunting downand killing all of the rest of Her shapeshifting children.The War of RageThe Garou call this time the War of Rage. For therest of the Changing Breeds, however, it was nothingshort of attempted genocide.The Rokea escaped Garou attacks by retreating intothe sea. Many Corax and Nuwisha took to the Umbra,seeking to avoid their would-be-slayers in the spiritrealms. Most of the Gurahl followed, and those whostayed behind went into hibernation, hoping to waitout the Garou’s folly. The Ratkin, and Ananasi hid fromthe hulking Garou amongst the burgeoning villages ofman, relying on stealth to protect themselves, whilethe Nagah faked their own extinction to escape thewerewolves’ wrath. Many of the more martial ChangingBreeds attempted to stop the wolves’ tyranny, and as aresult, suffered terrible losses.Both the Apis and the Grondr chose to stand andfight against the lupine oppressors; both were eradicatedfor their efforts. The Bastet and the Mokolé were able tosurvive the werewolves’ onslaught — and even answer itin kind — but only at great cost. Across the globe, theblood of Gaia’s children stained the land; losses amongthe Garou were high, but the other shapeshifters sufferedfar, far worse.These battles only ceased when the Garou believedall of the other Changing Breeds to be dead or beateninto submission. By that time, however, the War of Ragehad distracted the Garou from both their duties and theirdomination of humanity. Once the wars had sufficientlydepleted the Garou population — and distracted theremainder — mankind broke free from the werewolves’control.Without the werewolves’ constant oppression,humanity expanded and learned to defend themselvesagainst supernatural and mortal foes. Within a fewcenturies, the first true cities sprung up in what wouldcome to be known as the Cradle of Humanity, andeventually, human empires began to grow across theland. By the time the Garou turned their attention backto their charges, it was far too late to regain control.The human population had skyrocketed, andtheir societies were organized and well-defended.The werewolves, weakened by their clash with theirshapeshifting cousins, were incapable of stopping themarch of human civilization. Mankind had developedbladed weapons as sharp as tooth or claw, slings and bowsthat attacked from a distance, and armor strong enoughto defend against all but the fiercest of Gaia’s warriors.Culling the human herd was no longer an option forthe Wolves working alone — and they had alienated ordestroyed all of their supernatural allies.After the WarOver the next several thousand years, the ChangingBreeds struggled to recover from the devastation, butthings would never be the same again.The War of Rage had transformed the world. Whereonce Gaia’s children were welcome wherever their dutiestook them, now humanity remembered the Garou’styranny and walled them out. Even amongst the ChangingBreeds, territorial lines were clearly marked. Only theCorax, who had quickly renewed their role as spies andmessengers for anyone with secrets to share, bridged thewar-drawn chasms between the Breeds.The Garou still dominated what is now known asEurope, and the rest of the Changing Breeds avoided thecontinent — or hid well enough that the werewolvescould not find them. Only a few furtive Ratkin lurkedin the shadows of humanity as it began to spread towardthe Atlantic, along with the ever elusive Nagah, whocontinued to ply their lethal business so subtly that noone — not even the sharp-scented Garou — could catchtheir trail.Across the Bering Strait, the Garou of North Americagrew distant from their European brethren, but it didnothing to mend their schism with the other ChangingBreeds. Nuwisha travelled from coast to coast, continuingtheir tricks as they always had, except that now someof Coyote’s Children pretended to be Garou, so thatthey might pass unmolested among the werewolves24CHANGING BREEDS