W20 - Changing Breeds.pdf

Wisdom by performing their duties well, obeying theirelders, and attempting to live in accordance with theprecepts of the First Age.RankHengeyokai possess five levels of Rank, just likeWestern shapechangers. They name their Ranks aftersignificant materials: wood, iron, steel, gold and silver,in that order. All hengeyokai use these titles, regardlessof their Breed. When introducing themselves formally,they combine rank and Auspice into a single title, namingthemselves as Iron Courtier, Steel Leaf, etc.Most hengeyokai wear badges or some other markerto allow spirits and other shapeshifters to easily identifytheir rank. They usually combine this symbol with thebadge or colors of their court. A Steel rank Tengu of theBright Feather Court might wear a steel feather on hisperson or else wear robes embroidered with dark bluefeathers. The Beast Courts typically represent Silverrank with the color white, since most of the ChangingBreeds have trouble with the actual metal. Likewise,those Breeds that are vulnerable to gold use yellow badgesinstead of a gold medallion.Hengeyokai refer to any of their number that havenot yet gone through their Rite of Passage as Stone, theirCHANGING AUSPICESAlthough no member of the Beast Courts isborn into an Auspice, once chosen, they usuallyremain in a particular Auspice for life. Werea shapeshifter to feel the need to change herAuspice, she can do so by means of the SecondFace, though only a handful of hengeyokai gothrough this rite more than once.Hengeyokai who turn their back on the BeastCourts to work solely with their Breed, or anothergroup of Changing Breeds, leave both the BeastCourts and their Auspice by undergoing the Riteof the Great Burden.Most members of the Beast Courts feel thatthe Emerald Mother gave them their chosenAuspice. They believe that changing Auspicewithout some significant reason is both wrongand unlucky, and that turning one’s back on theBeast Courts is to disrespect the Emerald Mother.As a result, both rites are relatively rare.color is gray. From lowest to highest, the Ranks and theirassociated colors are Wood (brown), Iron (red), Steel(blue), Gold (yellow) and Silver (white). Silver holds thehighest rank due to its association with the Moon. A fewhengeyokai attain the rare Sixth rank, called Jade andassociated with the color green. As with the sixth-rankshapeshifters elsewhere in the world, those inside theBeast Courts and among their own kind accord anyonewith Jade rank the greatest possible reverence.A dishonorable shapeshifter could pretend that she isof a rank she has not attained by wearing the badge andcolor of that rank. While she could fool those individualswho do not know her, most spirits can detect more subtlesigns of rank and strongly disapprove of these deceptivehengeyokai. Since spirits witness the Rites of Renown,they will certainly reveal any deceptions that they discover.On a rare occasion, a skilled trickster might evenfool the spirits. Those few who do so in the defense oftheir Court can earn respect for doing so. When mosthengeyokai need to disguise their true status, they pretendto be of a lower rank. Doing so is not necessarily honest,but it brings no dishonor.The BreedsThe Beast Courts recognize nine different Breeds ofhengeyokai. Only eight belong to the Beast Courts inany great number—the vast majority of the Kumo arefallen creatures who serve the Wyrm. Physically, each ofthe Breeds is identical to their Western counterparts, butmost differ greatly is their culture and history. The eightbreeds listed below all possess Western counterparts andtheir descriptions reveal how these Breeds differ from theChanging Breeds elsewhere in the world. The Kitsunehave no western counterpart, and the vast majority aremembers of the Beast courts. Two other Tribes of Garouoccasionally join the Beast Courts. The Boli Zouhiszeare a branch of the Glass Walkers who primarily live inChina and who cross paths with the hengeyokai quitefrequently; some Stargazers prefer the Beast Courts tothe Garou Nation.HakkenThough the Hakken consider Japan to be theirhomeland, a substantial minority now make their homesin other nations around the Pacific—primarily in China,South Korea, and the West Coast cities of the UnitedStates and Canada. Some werewolves believe the Hakkento be nothing more than an Asian branch of theShadow Lords. Any similarities pale in comparison tothe vast differences between the two. Most Hakken considerthe Garou Nation to be little more than murderous272CHANGING BREEDS