Category:Nuwisha

Setting
The Nuwisha are consummate tricksters and explorers of the Umbra. They have little problem in teaching harsh lessons and if the other changing breeds can’t survive said lesson, well perhaps they’ll learn it in their next life. They have had no caerns under their control, so when the Caern Plague happened it did not affect them. However, they did have some trouble when the umbral storms began, making travel via the umbra difficult, and the collapse of the den realms took away their small safe havens.

The Nuwisha and Corax have a lot in common with the travel and exploration of the Umbra. The two breeds don’t often cross paths in the Umbra with how vast it is, but when they do often it is something that they both feel is not just a coincidence and thus often speak about and occasionally work together to travel a realm easier and to learn the knowledge they are both seeking. However, unlike the Corax, no realm is off limits to the Nuwisha; they can travel into any realm with the right abilities, even Malfeas.

The Nuwisha have no Rage as they did not participate in the Impergium, or if they did it was in a small number. Coyote sought Luna’s heart, and thus traveled to her realm in an attempt to sway her, but instead was only able to take something valuable, as he could not truly reach her, so he took a memento. This infuriated Luna and she deemed Coyote and all his children untrustworthy, but her fury was quick to fade, and she still seems to favor them more than Garou.

Purpose
A Nuwisha’s purpose is simple, to teach, to laugh, to live, and to ensure others grow as a person. This isn’t always what an individual wants to do, but it is what they feel called to do. They, like the Garou and other Fera, have strong opinions on the rest of the changing breeds. It is important to consider those perspectives to understand just how to play a Nuwisha and not end up on the wrong side of a silver blade.

Opinions on the other Changing Breeds
The Garou - Our cousins, for better or worse.


 * The Black Furies - They have a permanent mean streak about twice as wide as the Rio Grande. They have punished their own for the sin of being male. Isn’t that like beating your child because you didn’t cut her hair right?
 * Bone Gnawers - Most Garou look down on the Bone Gnawers. That’s a shame, ‘cause they could learn much from the scavengers if they would only try. There are few exceptions, but for the most part, the Bone Gnawers are the best example of Garou. Nobel, brave, and resourceful. Unlike their counterparts, they think before they act. They also lack manners. I’d like them even better if they’d bathe a little more often.  Some of them are proud of the fact that they have grease spots two years old on their pelts.
 * The Children of Gaia - They come from all tribes. Unlike others, they didn’t always run rampant. Now they are growing faction within Garou society, and they are one of the best hopes the Garou have of ever uniting as a force against the Wyrm. Many Garou look at them as weak, feeling that their desire for peace is a flaw. Perhaps someday the fools will learn. Perhaps we will teach them yet. On the other hand, some of the Children are a bit arrogant. I wonder if they’ll decide that the other Changing Breeds need culling somewhere down the line.
 * Fianna - Many a person is selected and found wanting simply because of her heritage. In this case, the stereotypes fit. Most drink too much, and fight too much. They sing and dance and enjoy life, but are quick to get mad and slow to calm down. With only the slightest provoking, they are as violent as the Get of Fenris. They also, like the Get, take too much pride in their region of birth and spend too much of their time dealing with the mistakes their human cousins make. They outdo the Get in their ability to sing sad songs, though. They should be fighting the Wyrm, not screaming for an end to the British rule of their land. On the other hand, they do know how to throw a party, and St. Patrick’s Day is always fun. You haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen a dozen drunken Garou charging down the street with their fur dyed green. That’s the one day of the year I think Fianna don’t care about the Veil.
 * Get of Fenris - They believe they are the strongest of the Garou. They believe that they must teach all others how to be strong. There is a certain wisdom in that notion, but I was taught how the Get were all too eager to hunt down other Changing Breeds during the War of Rage. I’ve heard the tales of the atrocities some committed during the Second World War, and I know they are often dicks. They are strong in body and second to none in combat. Sadly, they lack the intelligence to rule the other tribes. They also lack the ability to see their own flaws.
 * Glass Walkers - They live their own lives in cities of humans, and do what they can to fight against the Wyrm in political battles. The Ti Malice command the notion, and point out that a surprising number of Glass Walkers stop fighting the war and started playing the human game of profit and loss. Too many would sell their souls for a good pension plan. Too many have.  They think themselves as being special; they like to believe they are adaptable. They are wrong, and daily they grow closer to feeding on their Mother’s carcass.  On the other hand, they do have nice suits, and are a lot of fun to mug. I had a Ferrari automobile once. It used to belong to a Glass Walker stockbroker in New York. Now it belongs to a junkyard in Hackensack, New Jersey. Maybe I should have learned to drive before stealing it.
 * Red Talons - The wolves of the Garou should be the perfect example of what Brother Wolf tried to teach his children. Unfortunately, they’ve allowed themselves to be tainted by the ideals of their brethren. The Red Talons look upon all humans as a blight, never realizing that some of the ones they kill are trying to help them. They have no mercy for the humans, nor room in their hearts for anything but vengeance. We could have gone that way when the humans began killing coyotes wherever they saw them, but we decided to learn from the Red Talon’s errors. Coyotes are not normally hunted down with the same prejudice as wolves. I pity the Red Talons. They have lost so much and still they cannot see what they do wrong
 * Shadow Lords - They are not happy being second best. They see the SIlver Fangs as their enemies, and all other Garou as pawns. I take special delight in returning the compliment. The Shadow Lords are amazingly easy to manipulate. Just soothe their perpetually wounded egos to make them useful pawns. Do not trust them. They dance too close to the heart of the Wyrm. If your looking for a place to stay, getting past their security systems and borrowing their big-city apartments while they’re away is always good for a laugh. Make sure you mark the territory well, so they know you have been there. It’s more fun when they have to get their expensive carpets cleaned.
 * Silent Striders - We have a lot in common with them. It’s far too easy to allow ourselves to think of them as friends. By all means, be friendly to the Striders. They’re far more likely to strike up a conversation than any other Garou. Just never trust them. The Striders betrayed a trust once, and we cannot allow that to happen again. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. On the brighter side, they know some of the best riddles.
 * Silver Fangs - I often wonder how the Silver Fangs can see when they constantly have their muzzles in the air. We know who caused the War of Rage. We know that their insanity is a dangerous thing. The most lethal of the Silver Fangs seem perfectly sane. They’re the ones who smile politely before they order your head served to them on a golden platter. Do not trust them. They are more subtle than the Shadow Lords, but they are just as deadly. More so, for they can command the other Garou to do their bidding. Want to make an enemy fast? Start rumors about a Silver Fang’s heritage.
 * Stargazers - We share a passionate curiosity with the Stargazers. They constantly seek answers to every puzzle in the universe. Sometimes they’re so busy looking at the stars they forget to look where they’re going. I’ve actually seen no less than Three Stargazers walk into trees while trying to solve new riddles. Then they stop to wonder how the tree got in their way. They’re silly, I like that about them. Sadly, they have become accustomed to a certain level of complexity in the puzzles they find, and often miss the easiest solutions. In all their time they have not yet realized that the Wyrm needs freeing from his bonds. Once freed, he would also lose the rage that holds him prisoner as surely as it does the Garou.
 * Uktena - There was a time when the Uktena could smile. They danced, and they sang, and they celebrated as all of the Pure Ones did. Now they have forgotten the songs and forsaken the memory of their brothers, the Croatan. In trying to make sure the Wyrm can never awaken his greatest servants, they overlook the smaller perils and traps he set of them. Too many of the Uktena fall to the Wyrm’s embrace. The means they used to fight him became suspicious to many, and not just to the Garou or us. They cannot see the forest; the trees get in their way.
 * Wendigo - Where the Uktena have forgotten Croatan’s sacrifice, the Wendigo cannot forget it, or forgive it. They hold a grudge that spans centuries, and they feel no pity for the foolish who are easily led astray. The Wendigo hate the Europeans with a fercoity that is unfathomable. In fighting what they hate most, they have become all too like their enemies. They have become a bitter reflection of the Get of Fenris - just as in keeping their stock pure, and just as determined to die for what they know in their hearts is not the proper way to act. Pain has blinded them. The entire tribe just needs to get laid and relax a little. Pass the peyote, and let’s have a giggle festival.


 * The Bastet - Most are solitary. They do not care for the company of humans or even each other. If they could learn what they needed without consulting with their elders, the Bastet would likely never speak to each other. The Children of Cat are a perfect example of what happens when the student is taught well. They are independent and normally self-sufficient. They are the luckiest of the Changing Breeds, besides us. There are almost as many tribes of Bastet as there are of Garou. The difference is, the Bastet divided by race, not region.
 * Bagheera - The Werepanthers are wise and well learned. Also insatiable. If something catches their eye, they follow it endlessly in order to study it. Curiosity killed the cat, and, in the case of the Bagheera, satisfaction brought him back. In their own way they are a fellow Trickster. Just never tell them that, they take it as a slight. They are as arrogant as they are wise.
 * Balam - The werejaguars are a lot like the Wendigo. They don’t like strangers, and hate Europeans.
 * Khan - The weretigers are rather like the Get of Fenris: violent and deadly. Also have no sense of humor. Never make reference to “kitty cats” around a Khan, unless you can run very, very fast.
 * Simba - Regal and Beautiful. Simba remind me of the Silver Fangs with feline disposition. I like them especially, because they gather in prides. They are also lusty, so if you can sneak around when one of them is away from the rest of the pride, you can have a lot of fun. Be careful when you're annoying them! Coyote, they’re touchy!
 * Pumonca - The Werecougars are funny. They’re strong and dangerous, but they know how to smile and love a good story. Cougar was always a friend of Coyote, so we get along well with them. Just don’t use any Hollywood slang around them. I saw what one did to a Glass Walker after he called her a “squaw.” It wasn’t pretty, but I laughed for hours.
 * Qualmi - The lynxes are just as amusing. They pretend not to care, but they have a curiosity as strong as our own. Hold something in your hands, cover it completely, just peek at it from time to time, and if there’s a Qualmi in the area, he’ll be doing his best to look cool and sneak a look at what you have. That’s the best way to meet a werelynx. They hate secrets almost as much as Europeans. One last thing - Catnip. They love catnip.
 * Gurahl - The Gurahl are large, amiable, fuzzy, and cute. They’re also strong enough to rip the average Garou in half. How can you help but like the combination? When you n eed a hand, the werebears are some of the first, eager to be helpful, and they are. They’re also known for very long memory when it comes to slights. Wonderful friends, deadly enemies; I’d rather keep them as friends.
 * Corax - The Wereravens are our brothers, and the wisest of all Changing Breeds. They know how to watch, and they know when not to act. That is more than I can say for our own people, who are often willing to sacrifice all for a good laugh. On the other hand, you have hours of fun and games with a little glitter and some glue near a Corax’s home. They can’t resist examining anything shiny.
 * Ratkin - They are greedy to a fault, bitter over the War of Rage. They are secretive and power-hungry. The Ratkin thrive on skullduggery and outmaneuvering the Garou. They built secret passages that they feel are inviolable, never realizing that we often walk among them. Those are good qualities. Never turn your back on a Ratkin. It is in their nature to take advantage of that sort of opening. On the bright side, they are honest to Rat, and they admirably did their work of keeping humans from growing too far, until the Garou slaughtered most of them. The Ratkin grow stronger now,perhaps they will again bring the humans back down to where they belong. Respect the Ratkin. They work very hard to be exactly who they are.
 * Mokolé - Mokolé are our comrades. We do not fight with them and they do not fight with us. The werealligators are the history of Earth Mother, and the memories of every race that has passed into oblivion. They are knowledge that we should learn. We, in turn, are their humor. They are bitter with lessons forgotten by the others, and they are angry at the loss of so many of their own. If not for us, they would weep and scream. Instead, they endure.
 * Nagah - The Wereserpents are devious. They hide their secrets well, ad it takes a great deal of time to learn any of their ways. For instance, most people think they’re dead! Clever, aren’t they? Fortunately, we are curious folk and willing to invest time and effort in a good trick. Respect the Nagah. I would tell you more about them, but I think you should have to go through the same amount of trouble I did to learn anything of their ways. I thought I saw a man turn into an eel once. I still can’t decide if this was a Nagah.
 * Rokea - They are greedy, they feed constantly, and well. They fight among themselves, and they crush any enemy they come across. They are a simple people with simple ways. Many have fallen to the Wyrm, but even then they remain true to themselves. They are the Children of Shark, and they do what they must. Swim with them, but do not become loke them. Their ways would kill us. We are not strong enough to survive what they must endure every day of their lives. For extra fun with Rokea, spill chum in the ocean and add lots of hot sauce. They make the funniest faces when they’re in the middle of a feeding frenzy.
 * Ananasi - Spider’s Children are sturdy and strong. They have patience to wait for years before moving in after their prey, and they can endure what would kill any other shapechanger. Unfortunately they are torn between the Triat, and it has caused them to kill themselves. Pity the Ananasi. They know not what they do. They do make beautiful webs, but sometimes they are too complex.
 * The Lost Ones - Once, long ago, there were other skinchangers. They flew high in the air and hunted on the land. They lived in trees and caves and they each served Earth Mother as they were told by their creators. The Garou killed them in the War of Rage. I will speak of them no more.