W20 - Changing Breeds.pdf

ship varies from tribe to tribe and individual to individual,a student’s relationship with their kuasha is often times thestrongest they will ever have with another member of the Folk.YavaTraditionally, Bastet give their cubs a year’s trainingin what it is to be Bastet and members of their particulartribe. The nature of that training differs depending onthe teacher, student, tribe, and Pryio, but the symbolismof the First Year transcends boundaries. Before leavingthe yearling to their own devices, a kuasha shares withher student several crucial tribal secrets — assumingthey believe the cub to be ready for the burden thereof.These secrets, known collectively as the Yava, mustnever be revealed to those outside of the tribe. Any outsiderwho learns a tribe’s Yava is a threat to the entiretribe. Anyone who knows a tribe’s Yava could control —or kill — a tribe with ease, as the Ajaba found out whentheir Yava were discovered by the Simba, Black Tooth(see Ajaba, p. 42 for more on the werehyena’s plight).Mechanically speaking, an individual who knows all ofthe Yava of a particular tribe reduces his difficulties bytwo when he uses supernatural powers of any sort againstmembers of that tribe. Bastet add two to the difficultiesof any magical actions taken against someone who knowsall of their tribe’s Yava.Fortunately for the Bastet, the nature of the Yava issuch that it can only be passed on willingly (althoughthe definition of “willing” is a broad one). No magic, nomatter how strong, can pry the secret from a cat whodoes not wish to reveal it; no mystic power can rip theYava from their minds.However, as some hunters have discovered, willingnesscan be coerced by physical, psychological, oremotional means. Some say the early Garou resortedto such measures during the War of Rage, torturing theYava out of their Bastet captives, and then using theknowledge to decimate the tribes.TribesWhile both Bastet and Garou use the term “tribe” todescribe an internal sub-set of their Breed, the import ofthe word is very different for each. While tribal pride canrun fierce among werewolves, Garou tend to recognizethemselves as a Nation, first and foremost, and to see theirtribes as an important, but lesser identifying feature, notunlike their auspice or breed. For the Bastet, however,many identify most strongly with their tribal Kin, seeingthe rest of the Bastet as loosely related cousins (andmany times, drastically inferior to their “own kind”).BASTETBagheeraWereleopards are renowned for their mystic insightsand ferocious tempers. They are a strong and sagaciousfolk, constantly plumbing the depths of Gaia’s wisdom,even as they fight savagely to rip the talons of Asurafrom the Earth.The Bagheera claim that when Gaia was creating theBastet, She created the Bagheera to be the lawgivers of theChanging Breeds. This role never fully materialized, in nosmall part due to the other shapeshifters’ short-sighted andselfish shunning of their cat-cousins. Still, traces of Gaia’sintent linger still; Bagheera possess a keen sense of justiceand a spirit of righteous wrath that is terrible to behold.OrganizationWhile they are not particularly social creatures,Bagheera social organization is nonetheless more highlydeveloped than that of other Bastet tribes. Low-rankingBagheera tend to maintain close ties with their elders,and it is not uncommon for the cats to form regionalor even global chains of communication dedicated tokeeping in touch and sharing information.Bagheera are the lawgivers of the Bastet, and theytake their duties very seriously. Bastet (or, indeed, any ofGaia’s children) who turn against Gaia, or whose actionsthreaten to rend the Veil, can expect to be held accountableby any Bagheera nearby. If the foe is particularlypowerful, it is not unheard of for several wereleopardsto band together to take him down.Bagheera war parties are truly fearsome entities.While not suited to long-term cooperation, they nonethelessrepresent a devastating short-term concentrationof power. Their tactics rely on using a combination ofGifts and Rites to run a victim to ground and then crushhim as quickly as possible, before disbanding to go abouttheir individual paths once more.Distribution and KinHistorically, Bagheera are the most populous ofthe werecats. They were once found (along with theirKin) throughout the entirety of Asia, the Indian Subcontinent,and Africa.However, in the past few decades, the habitat of theirfeline Kin has been fragmented, and leopards are now foundmostly in the sub-Saharan region of Africa, and scatteredin broken population zones in India and Asia. At the sametime, cultural, political, and economic factors have pressedgreat hardship upon many of the Bagheera’s human Kin.The plight of their Kinfolk has encouraged the Bagheerato abandon global exploration, and settle where they cando everything possible to protect their extended families,making them quite rare in places like the United States.73