W20 - Changing Breeds.pdf

Mostof the world’smyths about turtlesidentify them as creatorsand preservers, and this was true ofthe Ao as well. Among the longest-lived varna, otherMokolé saw especially old Ao as living wellsprings ofMnesis, the eyes that had beheld a thousand thousandmemories now given to all in dreams. As the Ao includea large number of sea turtles, they had the most contactwith the Rokea — appraising the weresharks of happeningson land, and lending an extra set of teeth and clawswhen the Rokea found something worth destroying.The Ao included all manner of turtles and tortoises,with the following statistics: Str +1, Dex –1, Sta +4, Man–4, Rage 3. Ao benefit from the Armored Scales characteristicin Suchid form but could only move at half theirHomid form’s land speed. Turtle Ao had a swimming speedequal to their Homid form’s land speed.The Mokolé dream differentdreams when searching Mnesisto find what caused the Ao’sdisappearance. Some claimthat their own solitary, secretivenatures doomed theturtle varna. Starting around540 BCE, other Mokolé beganto notice that the Ao’s numbers weredropping. When asked about it, however, theAo would dissemble or, if pressed, simply refuseto answer. The turtle varna became moreand more rare until, by the beginning of thefirst century CE, they had vanishedaltogether. Some Mokolé ascribesinister causes to the Ao’sdisappearance, while othersbelieve it was part of thenatural cycle, and that theAo will arise again if thetime comes right.A few weresaurians believethat the Ao were not doomed becausethey did not die. They point to the lack of any sign ofdismay or struggle, and say that the Ao did not succumbbut were called into the Umbra to serve Gaia in someunknown capacity. Perhaps the Mokolé varna best knownas preservers and creators foresaw the Apocalypse yearsbefore anyone else and retreated to an Umbral realm wherethey could weather the storm and return at the time ofthe Earth’s most desperate need.Ratkin BardsThe onrushing apocalypse has brought strange newAspects to the Ratkin, but it has also robbed them of partof their history: the Ratkin Bard. Rats are some of the mostsocial mammals in the world, and Bards were responsiblefor maintaining the complex web of social connectionsthat define a Ratkin colony.Unlike other “loremasters” found among theChanging Breeds, Ratkin Bards didn’t tell stories somuch as they led the community in creating the storythey needed to hear. Rather than performers, the RatkinBards were directors, leading the entire community ina spontaneous and improvised performance. The Bardsused the fact that everyone already knew the legendsto create a brand new tale that was exactly what thecommunity needed to hear, instead of reciting the sameboring words.Some Ratkin theorize that the Bards were too sensitive.As the world’s sickness and madness grew, the same250CHANGING BREEDS