W20 - Changing Breeds.pdf

The Grondr believed that they were nearly incorruptibleas a result of their duty. Wereboars charged willinglyinto Bane nests, and waded into powerful Blightsand Hellholes to cleanse the taint. Where other Feramight retreat for fear of corruption or possession, Grondrwould advance, daring the minions of the Wyrm to stealtheir bodies or warp their minds. hen a spirit attemptedto posses one of their Kinfolk, the wereboar would notonly repel the invader, but tear it apart in the process.Grondr charged through balefire, taunted nexus crawlersin their dens, and emerged wounded and weary butspiritually unharmed.The secret was in the Grondr’s appetite.The Grondr were known asprodigious eaters, capableof digesting nearlyanything, and aparticularly common Gift extended this to Wyrm-taint.Many wereboars took great joy in using this Gift to eat anytainted matter and purge the corruptor’s touch from theworld, cleansing it as they digested. Other spirit-magicsgave the Grondr even more powerful weapons againstthe Wyrm’s taint.Unfortunately, the other Changing Breeds misunderstoodthis power. When the Grondr did somethingthat the other Breeds could not — like charging into aBlight and returning completely uncorrupted — onlookerswould sometimes doubt their own senses. Gaia madethem to cleanse Her, but surely any one shapeshifter couldnot have that much power over the Wyrm’s darkenergies. As time passed, they becamecertain that the Grondr must harborsome element of corruption.The situation worsenedwhen the Grondr developeda new ritual that let themliterally eat a Bane thathad possessed a person,place, or object. Whileit languished in hisbelly the ritemastercould use the Bane’sCHAPTER FOUR: THE LOST BREEDS243