W20 - Changing Breeds.pdf

the Zhong-Lung as wise and sacred teachers, and, fromthem, have learned much about both the land and thelong history that these two Breeds share. However, forall their wisdom and good intentions, the Same-Bitoremain a minority among a depleted Changing Breed.Fighting QyrlFor the vast majority of their existence most Rokeaobeyed Kun’s law and simply survived. They didn’t fightagainst Qyrl — and for most, this inactivity remains thestatus quo. Their ancient ones counsel the weresharksto wait, promising that soon humanity will destroy itself.Then, the Rokea will remain and can rebuild theirnumbers. Some Rokea, especially among the betweeners,have begun to question this passive attitude.An increasing number believe that the survival of theirBreed — and perhaps all sharks — depends upon taking actionnow, before the situation becomes worse. For thousandsof years, agents of Qyrl have operated undisturbed in theoceans. None of the other Changing Breeds can easily get tothem, and most Rokea ignore the Kraken and its minions. Ifthey take action against ocean-going manifestations of theWyrm, the Rokea’s efforts could help the other ChangingBreeds — whether the dirtwalkers realize it or not.Currently only a handful of betweeners fight Qyrl,but this situation is beginning to change as an increasingnumber of younger Rokea travel Unsea to gaininformation about threats to Sea and to their kind. Asthese temporary land-explorers do not live on Unsea,they are less likely to be seen as having forsaken Sea.And, since they do provide information that helps theRokea to survive, most of their fellows are willing totolerate them — or at least not kill them on sight. Asthey explore, these adventurous Rokea are learning tohate the being that dirtwalkers call the Wyrm — andsome wonder it is Qyrl bearing a new name.PiracyFor almost two decades, one of the ways the Rokeahave defended Sea has mimicked human piracy. Weresharkstarget fishing vessels that hunt sharks, and cargoships that dump nuclear and chemical waste in the oceansfar from any oversight. From Indonesia to Africa, angryand desperate Rokea swim up to these ships and devourthe crews. Once they are finished, they either drag theship down to Undersea or run it aground. Althoughgovernments have no idea that weresharks are responsiblefor missing ships, most of the developed world hasstepped up efforts to stop piracy.The First ChangeThe Rokea do not breed with each other, and theyhave no metis. Except for the rare homid Rokea (only198CHANGING BREEDSfound among the Same-Bito) almost all of them begintheir life as sharks. Awakening from shark to Rokea isa slow and relatively painless process that occurs whenthey reach maturity, between the age of two and threeyears old. The shark’s mind gradually expands and theybecome simultaneously conscious and instinctively ableto understand and use the Sending.After they awaken as intelligent beings, young Rokeaperform a journey known as the Long Swim, where theybegin exploring the ocean, talking to any spirits, weresharks,or other entities they encounter, and eventuallyfinding a grotto where a Rokea or spirit teaches themGifts and instructs them on how to change form. Fromthis moment onwards, the young wereshark ceases toage, and can only die by violence, disease, poison, orother non-age-related harms.OrganizationRokea organization is just as simple as one wouldexpect. Their organizational unit is the slew — a groupof between three and seven weresharks, gathered ina similar way to a Garou pack. The highest-rankingmember of the slew chooses the leader for any particulartask. Ideally, the member with the most knowledge ofa particular place or situation is the leader for any taskrelating to their knowledge. Leadership in most slewsis highly fluid, with most or all members taking turns,depending upon the particular situation.The Rokea have no formal organization above that ofthe slew; instead, Rokea society revolves around respectfor elders. The oldest and wisest weresharks have survivedfor centuries — and on a few occasions, millennia. OtherRokea treat them with great respect, but as honoredelders rather than rulers. Ever since the Turna’a blastkilled almost all of the elders, what little leadership theRokea possesses has been in flux. The eldest survivingDimwaters claim to speak for all Rokea, but many resenttheir influence, and obtaining a consensus on anythingbut the simplest issues has proven almost impossible.TraitsAs Gaia’s only Sea-dwelling children, the Rokea differin many ways from the rest of Her family. These differences,both physical and spiritual, all contribute to the schismbetween the Rokea and the rest of the Changing Breeds.In Chasmus or Gladius form, anyone striking theRokea with bare hands or feet takes two levels of lethaldamage (that can be soaked), due to the wereshark’srough, tooth-like scales.Rokea cease aging when they reach adulthood. A carefulRokea — if such a thing exists — is practically immortal.