W20 - Changing Breeds.pdf

244CHANGING BREEDSCharms without risk of corruption. The Grondr triedto keep this new power a secret, aware that their fellowChanging Breeds would view it with suspicion, but it wasimpossible for them to keep it hidden forever.The Grondr were charged with rooting out corruption,but that extended to more than just the land and themonsters that might lurk beneath it. The wereboars alsouncovered corruption hiding in the other shapeshifters. Ifthe taint was not total, the wereboar would try to consumeit herself, or attempt to cleanse the victim in conjunctionwith a Gurahl. When they could not remove the taint,the Grondr were perfectly willing to execute the victimthemselves. Those few who knew the true purpose of theNagah despised the wereserpents — though they struckdown enemies of Gaia, all too often their victim’s crimeswent unreported. The Grondr believed it far better totell the world why the victim had died.The Grondr did their best to work with the otherFera to root out taint and corruption. If nothing else,it’s easier to investigate a target when working alongsidehim. The other Breeds were somewhat standoffish — thewereboars had a reputation forgoing to any lengths todestroy corruption, even if it meant killing a belovedhero who had kept his taint hidden for years.The Grondr saw little difference between the taintof the Wyrm and overwhelming pride, ambition, andcruelty. Grondr investigators would stop short of murderinganother Fera for the crime of vainglory, but they werenot above teaching her a lesson. The wereboars lackedthe same sense of subtlety and humor that allowed otherbreeds like the Corax or the Nuwisha to get away withthe same kind of education. A Grondr’s lessons wererough, painful, and humiliating — made all the worseby the breed’s hypocrisy. For all that they thought pridea crime, few among the wereboars thought to look attheir own actions.The air was thick with rumors of Grondr seeneating Banes and using their powers, and influentialGarou leaders nursed broken bones and wounded egosfrom the wereboars’ “education.” Needing an outlet fortheir Rage, the werewolves convinced themselves thatthe Grondr had fallen to the Wyrm. When war brokeout, the Grondr made it clear that they would lay downtheir lives to defend the Gurahl. The werewolves werehappy to oblige.Early in the War of Rage, before the Fera saw thatthe Garou had genocide in mind, the other ChangingBreeds did not intervene in the fight between werewolfand wereboar. They too, had endured Grondr investigationsand were suspicious of the Grondr’s use of BaneCharms. They hoped that the stubborn wereboars wouldbe weakened and humiliated; never imagining that theGarou would drive the wereboars to the brink of extinction.By the time the other Fera realized what the Garouintended, it was too late.The Beast Courts learned too late what had happened.They did not count many of the wereboars amongtheir number, and most of those left the Courts to fightagainst the Garou. Only after the whole Breed died outdid anyone comprehend the magnitude of the problem. Tohide their shame, the Hengeyokai excised the wereboarsfrom their stories and records. To this day, only the mostpersistent and conspiracy-minded members of the BeastCourts even suspect that Asian Grondr ever existed.After the EndUnlike some of the other lost breeds, the Grondrwould not find it impossible to re-establish a footholdin the material world. Their human Kinfolk still exist,scattered across the face of the Earth; their bloodlinesdiluted but not lost entirely. Their beast kinfolk are evenfurther diminished, but a small number of wild boars mightcarry the changing blood. Boar allows his lesser avatarsto teach Gifts to Garou and patronize their packs. Ofall the Lost Breeds, the Grondr are in the best positionif something were able to bring them back.Any attempt at bringing the Grondr back fromextinction would have to confront the problem of theSkull Pigs. While nobody but the Wyrm will ever knowwhat truly happened, these twisted Wyrmspawn bear allthe hallmarks of the Grondr. They are the inheritors ofthe wereboars’ legacy. For the Breed to return, the bestway would perhaps be to find the lost ancestor-spirits ofthe Grondr, lost in the Deep Umbra.Perhaps those are not the only signs of the wereboarstrapped in the Deep Umbra. Though incredibly stubborn,it’s possible that a few Grondr fled into the spiritworld rather than die at the claws of the Garou. If theydo exist, they would not return without good reason —the werewolves claim dominion over the whole worldin a way that no Changing Breed did during the Warof Rage. This last Sounder could be holding fast againsta corrupt Umbral realm that threatens to disgorge itslegions should they divert any resources. Alternatively,they might have found a realm more to their liking, andspend their time reinforcing their grudges against thewerewolves, plotting their grand return without realizinghow bad things have become. No matter their powers tocombat Wyrm-taint, a handful of Grondr cannot hope tocleanse the whole world before the Apocalypse. Maybethey are consumed by bitterness — Gaia rejected them,allowing Her warriors to slaughter the Grondr, and theother Changing Breeds let it happen. Whatever thecase, given the strange way time can pass in the Umbraany surviving Grondr would nurse a grudge going backthousands of years.