W20 - Changing Breeds.pdf

The Apis once worked openly with humanity. Theywere sages, as well as matchmakers. Just as humans breddomestic animals to encourage desirable traits and eliminateflaws, the Apis walked among humanity encouragingrelationships that would produce children who were cooperativeand wise. They subtly discouraged matches thatwould produce children inclined to mindless destructionor dangerous foolishness. They also sometimes used thissame ability to encourage or discourage matches betweenhumans and shapeshifters, and were well known for beingable to predict matches between shapeshifters andKinfolk (or between two Kinfolk) that would breed true.Their wisdom and peaceful advice were only half of theirnature; they could also be fierce and terrible. If anythingthreatened them or anyone under their protection, Apiscould assume their war-form: huge and deadly minotaurscapable of devouring their enemies and shattering stonewith their metal-hard horns.The Apis were relatively social creatures who livedin herds of between six and twenty-four individuals. Amighty bull ruled each herd and defended his title againstall challengers. This bull was in charge of protecting theherd and leading it in battle. A pair of cows advised theBull. They were also in charge of breeding advice andleading the herd in peacetime.The Apis’ numbers were savagely reduced duringthe War of Rage, where they battled the Garou in Europeand the Near East. The Garou gradually pushedthe Apis south, as the werewolves struggled to reachAfrica. The wereaurochs held the Garou off, but at ahorrible price. Only a few of their number survived. Fora time, the remaining Apis hoped that their expertisewith fertility would allow them to renew their numbers.But between the Garou’s continued predation and theother supernatural and mundane dangers of that ancienttime, it quickly became clear that the battle they werefighting would eventually end in their demise. Even forthese experts in breeding, there would be no recoveryfor the Apis.HistoryMuch of the Apis’ existence focused on the cycle ofbirth, reproduction, and death. Apis mystics had magicto find a person’s destined mate, and if they had difficultyconceiving, the Apis could aid that process as well. Apisoversaw the rituals that accompanied puberty, adulthood,and partnership, as well those of aging, maturing, anddeath. For the Apis, there was no greater honor than tobring a person into the world, advise him during his life,and then escort him out of it, acting as their charge’smidwife, teacher, and pallbearer.The Apis were one of the most peaceful ChangingBreeds, with a mastery over their Rage that put eventhe modern Stargazers to shame. When the wereaurochsfought among themselves, their duels were usuallynon-violent challenges, games of strategy or contestsof singing, oratory, or spiritual proficiency. On the rareoccasion that only violence could answer an insult orresolve a dispute, the Apis used the same methods astheir animal kin, taking Aurochs form and locking hornsuntil one combatant was forced to the ground. Deathsfrom a first-fall duel were extremely rare.Though peaceable on the surface, a few could firethe wereaurochs’ terrible Rage —the taint of the Wyrm,and any threat towards their own and those under theirprotection. When faced with an immediate threat, theApis were quick to assume their war-forms and tramplethe offender under their brazen hooves. When facedwith Wyrm-taint, their response was perhaps surprising:they built coalitions of all the Changing Breeds. TheApis were Gaia’s matchmakers, and everyone respectedthem; the Apis used that as leverage to bring disparateallies together against a common foe.The Apis never glorified violence, even against theminions of the Wyrm. A Lunar Apis might take of grimsatisfaction from butchering monsters, but it wasn’tsomething to be proud of — they instead took pride indefending and protecting others, using their strength and230CHANGING BREEDS