W20 - Changing Breeds.pdf

culture long denied them did nothing to convince therest of the Rokea of the betweeners’ stability.As the betweeners continued to return to land,making an open mockery of the other weresharks, theirSea-dwelling brethren grew more and more agitated attheir rebellion. After more than a decade of their rulebeing widely ignored, the ocean-dwelling Rokea decidedit was easier and safer for the Rokea as a whole to kill allbetweeners. This organized killing was new to them, anddriven by a largely unfamiliar emotion: fear.Over the years since Turna’a, the Rokea worked toincrease their numbers, but it’s slow going. The Rokeado not breed quickly, and depending on their species,gestation can be as long as two years. As well, theyface the one human force far greater than even fear orhatred: greed. Fishing fleets have increased in size andefficiency, swiftly depleting the stocks of some fish eatenby sharks, which impairs their growth and the Breed’sexpansion rate.ROKEA LEXICONBetweener: A Rokea who chooses to live on land, returning to Sea to regain Gnosis and retain her shapeshiftingpowers.C’et: One of the undersea Triat, an incarnation of stasis and permanence analogous to the Weaver.Dirtwalker: Derogatory term for a land-dweller.Grotto: An undersea caern. Some have specific totems spirits, while others are watched by Sea or Undersea.Kadugo: Human Rokea Kinfolk, offspring of a normal human and a Rokea. A Rokea mating with a kadugomay produce a homid Rokea.Kraken: Another name for Qyrl.Kun: One of the undersea Trial, the incarnation of creation and fecundity analogous to the Wyld.Kunspawn: Another name for the Rokea.Moon’s Blood: Silver. Believed to be the discarded remnants of the Oversea’s Balm mixed with his blood.Oversea: The sky, used to describe both the physical sky and the Celestine who rules the sky.Oversea’s Balm: The moon, sometimes called “The Balm”. The Rokea do not recognize Luna as a separateIncarna, to them, the moon is entirely part of Oversea.Qyrl: One of the undersea Trait, the incarnation of destruction, ambition, and entropy, analogous to the Wyrm.Rorqual: A dolphin or whale in service to Sea, capable of supplying Gnosis to the Rokea and mentoringweresharks.Same-Bito: Asian weresharks, considered traitors and heretics by the Rokea.Sea: The oceans and seas of the world. The term describes both the physical ocean and the Celestine who rules it.Sea’s Soul: The Umbra. On land, called Unsea’s Soul.Small Wounds: Originally used to describe stars, this term now describes nuclear explosions.Three Daughters: The undersea Triat of C’et, Kun, and Qyrl.Undersea: The sea floor.Unsea: Land; the term is used for physical land, including both Undersea and dry land, and the Celestinewho rules the solid earth.Wound, the: The sun. Sometimes called the Great Wound. The Rokea recognize it as part of Oversea,rather than an individual Incarna.196CHANGING BREEDS