Post by Tami on Nov 25, 2014 16:54:26 GMT -5
The War of Rage
The Garou call this time the War of Rage. For the rest of the Changing Breeds, however, it was nothing short of attempted genocide.
The Rokea escaped Garou attacks by retreating into the sea. Many Corax and Nuwisha took to the Umbra, seeking to avoid their would-be-slayers in the spirit realms. Most of the Gurahl followed, and those who stayed behind went into hibernation, hoping to wait out the Garou’s folly. The Ratkin, and Ananasi hid from the hulking Garou amongst the burgeoning villages of man, relying on stealth to protect themselves, while the Nagah faked their own extinction to escape the werewolves’ wrath. Many of the more martial Changing Breeds attempted to stop the wolves’ tyranny, and as a result, suffered terrible losses.
Both the Apis and the Grondr chose to stand and fight against the lupine oppressors; both were eradicated for their efforts. The Bastet and the Mokolé were able to survive the werewolves’ onslaught — and even answer it in kind — but only at great cost. Across the globe, the blood of Gaia’s children stained the land; losses among the Garou were high, but the other shapeshifters suffered far, far worse.
These battles only ceased when the Garou believed all of the other Changing Breeds to be dead or beaten into submission. By that time, however, the War of Rage had distracted the Garou from both their duties and their domination of humanity. Once the wars had sufficiently depleted the Garou population — and distracted the remainder — mankind broke free from the werewolves’ control.
Without the werewolves’ constant oppression, humanity expanded and learned to defend themselves against supernatural and mortal foes. Within a few centuries, the first true cities sprung up in what would come to be known as the Cradle of Humanity, and eventually, human empires began to grow across the land. By the time the Garou turned their attention back to their charges, it was far too late to regain control.
The human population had skyrocketed, and their societies were organized and well-defended. The werewolves, weakened by their clash with their shapeshifting cousins, were incapable of stopping the march of human civilization. Mankind had developed bladed weapons as sharp as tooth or claw, slings and bows that attacked from a distance, and armor strong enough to defend against all but the fiercest of Gaia’s warriors. Culling the human herd was no longer an option for the Wolves working alone — and they had alienated or destroyed all of their supernatural allies
After the War
After the War Over the next several thousand years, the Changing Breeds struggled to recover from the devastation, but things would never be the same again.
The War of Rage had transformed the world. Where once Gaia’s children were welcome wherever their duties took them, now humanity remembered the Garou’s tyranny and walled them out. Even amongst the Changing Breeds, territorial lines were clearly marked. Only the Corax, who had quickly renewed their role as spies and messengers for anyone with secrets to share, bridged the war-drawn chasms between the Breeds.
The Garou still dominated what is now known as Europe, and the rest of the Changing Breeds avoided the continent — or hid well enough that the werewolves could not find them. Only a few furtive Ratkin lurked in the shadows of humanity as it began to spread toward the Atlantic, along with the ever elusive Nagah, who continued to ply their lethal business so subtly that no one — not even the sharp-scented Garou — could catch their trail.
Across the Bering Strait, the Garou of North America grew distant from their European brethren, but it did nothing to mend their schism with the other Changing Breeds. Nuwisha travelled from coast to coast, continuing their tricks as they always had, except that now some of Coyote’s Children pretended to be Garou, so that they might pass unmolested among the werewolves who dwelled there. Only a few other shapeshifters dared remain on the continent, carefully hidden from the prying senses of outsiders: the nomadic Pumonca, the isolated Qualmi, and the Rokea who could retreat to the safety of Sea if the Garou came too near.
Centuries passed, with the Fera steadfastly avoiding contact with the Garou in the lands the Wolves held claim to. The werewolves assumed that those parts of the world without wolf populations were the same, but they were entirely wrong. The Mokolé, Balam, and Camazotz controlled the jungles of Central and South America, where the harsh terrain and verdant flora hid them from the Garou. On the Dark Continent, the Ajaba, Mokolé, and several breeds of Bastet likewise found sanctuary in the lush savannah, buffered from Garou intrusion by the northern desert wastelands.
For thousands of years after the War of Rage, different groups and Breeds of shapeshifters each had their own lands and only the occasional brave (or foolish) traveler had contact with shapeshifters in more than one region. Under the Garou’s shepherding, any human technologies that enabled people to travel further and faster had been suppressed, so as to allow the werewolves tighter rein over their “wards”. But as the scales tipped in humanity’s favor, the werewolves’ control faltered, and finally failed.
During the Age of Exploration, human expansion from the Garou’s stronghold in Europe spread out to the rest of the world. As humans migrated, some Garou sought to make a home on other shores, far from the cramped populations of their homelands. Soon European ships ventured out to India, China, and the Americas, and a few Garou accompanied the human sailors.
The Age of Exploration, and the following era of colonialism, brought new disaster for the Changing Breeds. European werewolves fought those native to North America, but these battles were nothing compared to the violence wreaked on the shapeshifters of South America. Garou were often horrified when they uncovered Fera they had long thought safely extinct. Many Changing Breeds were part of cultures that the hide-bound and insular European Garou found to be strange and terrible. After centuries of battling banes and Fomor in Europe, the Garou conquerors were quick to assume that any shapeshifters they didn't understand must be allied with the Wyrm. This attitude, and the brutal violence that stemmed from it, launched the Garou into a new War of Rage.
Just as the native human populations of Central and South America were devastated by early European expansion, so the Balam, Mokolé, and Camazotz paid a harsh price when the werewolves discovered their presence there. The werejaguars and weresaurians suffered under the Garou’s onslaught, but were able to survive by withdrawing deeper into the jungles and harsh terrain of the land they’d long made their home; the werebats were not so fortunate. Spurred by the assumption that the Camazotz’ webbed wings and batlike features meant they served the Wyrm, the Shadow Lords who travelled with the Spanish Conquistadors took it upon themselves to hunt down and slaughter the entire Breed.
A century later, western Garou turned their attentions to the Dark Continent, travelling with colonists, explorers, and traders. They saw the Changing Breeds they met there as primitive and were quick to label them Wyrm-servants as well. Some werewolves even sailed on the European slave ships and had any suspected non-Garou Kinfolk tossed overboard as "unfit" or dangerous. Overwhelmed and outnumbered, the Fera pulled back into the wilderness where they could, relying on the vast expanses of terrain (unfamiliar to the Garou) to prevent all-out slaughter.
These conflicts continued over the next several hundred years, climaxing in the 19th century with the first major battles between European Garou and the Beast Courts. This campaign of bloody violence lasted for many years, fueled by mistrust on both sides.
By the dawn of the 20th century, this new War of Rage was largely over. Even with their numbers greatly reduced and their cultures devastated, however, the Fera were not defeated. During the late 19th and the 20th century, many African and Asian shapeshifters used the human colonial wars of freedom as a cover for their own efforts to strike back against both the Garou and the foreign overlords ravaging their lands. Unfortunately, these Changing Breeds soon learned that once the era of colonialism ended, the new human rulers of their nations swiftly embraced the most destructive aspects of industrialization — and in a few cases exceeded their previous colonial overlords' talent for environmental devastation
The Garou call this time the War of Rage. For the rest of the Changing Breeds, however, it was nothing short of attempted genocide.
The Rokea escaped Garou attacks by retreating into the sea. Many Corax and Nuwisha took to the Umbra, seeking to avoid their would-be-slayers in the spirit realms. Most of the Gurahl followed, and those who stayed behind went into hibernation, hoping to wait out the Garou’s folly. The Ratkin, and Ananasi hid from the hulking Garou amongst the burgeoning villages of man, relying on stealth to protect themselves, while the Nagah faked their own extinction to escape the werewolves’ wrath. Many of the more martial Changing Breeds attempted to stop the wolves’ tyranny, and as a result, suffered terrible losses.
Both the Apis and the Grondr chose to stand and fight against the lupine oppressors; both were eradicated for their efforts. The Bastet and the Mokolé were able to survive the werewolves’ onslaught — and even answer it in kind — but only at great cost. Across the globe, the blood of Gaia’s children stained the land; losses among the Garou were high, but the other shapeshifters suffered far, far worse.
These battles only ceased when the Garou believed all of the other Changing Breeds to be dead or beaten into submission. By that time, however, the War of Rage had distracted the Garou from both their duties and their domination of humanity. Once the wars had sufficiently depleted the Garou population — and distracted the remainder — mankind broke free from the werewolves’ control.
Without the werewolves’ constant oppression, humanity expanded and learned to defend themselves against supernatural and mortal foes. Within a few centuries, the first true cities sprung up in what would come to be known as the Cradle of Humanity, and eventually, human empires began to grow across the land. By the time the Garou turned their attention back to their charges, it was far too late to regain control.
The human population had skyrocketed, and their societies were organized and well-defended. The werewolves, weakened by their clash with their shapeshifting cousins, were incapable of stopping the march of human civilization. Mankind had developed bladed weapons as sharp as tooth or claw, slings and bows that attacked from a distance, and armor strong enough to defend against all but the fiercest of Gaia’s warriors. Culling the human herd was no longer an option for the Wolves working alone — and they had alienated or destroyed all of their supernatural allies
After the War
After the War Over the next several thousand years, the Changing Breeds struggled to recover from the devastation, but things would never be the same again.
The War of Rage had transformed the world. Where once Gaia’s children were welcome wherever their duties took them, now humanity remembered the Garou’s tyranny and walled them out. Even amongst the Changing Breeds, territorial lines were clearly marked. Only the Corax, who had quickly renewed their role as spies and messengers for anyone with secrets to share, bridged the war-drawn chasms between the Breeds.
The Garou still dominated what is now known as Europe, and the rest of the Changing Breeds avoided the continent — or hid well enough that the werewolves could not find them. Only a few furtive Ratkin lurked in the shadows of humanity as it began to spread toward the Atlantic, along with the ever elusive Nagah, who continued to ply their lethal business so subtly that no one — not even the sharp-scented Garou — could catch their trail.
Across the Bering Strait, the Garou of North America grew distant from their European brethren, but it did nothing to mend their schism with the other Changing Breeds. Nuwisha travelled from coast to coast, continuing their tricks as they always had, except that now some of Coyote’s Children pretended to be Garou, so that they might pass unmolested among the werewolves who dwelled there. Only a few other shapeshifters dared remain on the continent, carefully hidden from the prying senses of outsiders: the nomadic Pumonca, the isolated Qualmi, and the Rokea who could retreat to the safety of Sea if the Garou came too near.
Centuries passed, with the Fera steadfastly avoiding contact with the Garou in the lands the Wolves held claim to. The werewolves assumed that those parts of the world without wolf populations were the same, but they were entirely wrong. The Mokolé, Balam, and Camazotz controlled the jungles of Central and South America, where the harsh terrain and verdant flora hid them from the Garou. On the Dark Continent, the Ajaba, Mokolé, and several breeds of Bastet likewise found sanctuary in the lush savannah, buffered from Garou intrusion by the northern desert wastelands.
For thousands of years after the War of Rage, different groups and Breeds of shapeshifters each had their own lands and only the occasional brave (or foolish) traveler had contact with shapeshifters in more than one region. Under the Garou’s shepherding, any human technologies that enabled people to travel further and faster had been suppressed, so as to allow the werewolves tighter rein over their “wards”. But as the scales tipped in humanity’s favor, the werewolves’ control faltered, and finally failed.
During the Age of Exploration, human expansion from the Garou’s stronghold in Europe spread out to the rest of the world. As humans migrated, some Garou sought to make a home on other shores, far from the cramped populations of their homelands. Soon European ships ventured out to India, China, and the Americas, and a few Garou accompanied the human sailors.
The Age of Exploration, and the following era of colonialism, brought new disaster for the Changing Breeds. European werewolves fought those native to North America, but these battles were nothing compared to the violence wreaked on the shapeshifters of South America. Garou were often horrified when they uncovered Fera they had long thought safely extinct. Many Changing Breeds were part of cultures that the hide-bound and insular European Garou found to be strange and terrible. After centuries of battling banes and Fomor in Europe, the Garou conquerors were quick to assume that any shapeshifters they didn't understand must be allied with the Wyrm. This attitude, and the brutal violence that stemmed from it, launched the Garou into a new War of Rage.
Just as the native human populations of Central and South America were devastated by early European expansion, so the Balam, Mokolé, and Camazotz paid a harsh price when the werewolves discovered their presence there. The werejaguars and weresaurians suffered under the Garou’s onslaught, but were able to survive by withdrawing deeper into the jungles and harsh terrain of the land they’d long made their home; the werebats were not so fortunate. Spurred by the assumption that the Camazotz’ webbed wings and batlike features meant they served the Wyrm, the Shadow Lords who travelled with the Spanish Conquistadors took it upon themselves to hunt down and slaughter the entire Breed.
A century later, western Garou turned their attentions to the Dark Continent, travelling with colonists, explorers, and traders. They saw the Changing Breeds they met there as primitive and were quick to label them Wyrm-servants as well. Some werewolves even sailed on the European slave ships and had any suspected non-Garou Kinfolk tossed overboard as "unfit" or dangerous. Overwhelmed and outnumbered, the Fera pulled back into the wilderness where they could, relying on the vast expanses of terrain (unfamiliar to the Garou) to prevent all-out slaughter.
These conflicts continued over the next several hundred years, climaxing in the 19th century with the first major battles between European Garou and the Beast Courts. This campaign of bloody violence lasted for many years, fueled by mistrust on both sides.
By the dawn of the 20th century, this new War of Rage was largely over. Even with their numbers greatly reduced and their cultures devastated, however, the Fera were not defeated. During the late 19th and the 20th century, many African and Asian shapeshifters used the human colonial wars of freedom as a cover for their own efforts to strike back against both the Garou and the foreign overlords ravaging their lands. Unfortunately, these Changing Breeds soon learned that once the era of colonialism ended, the new human rulers of their nations swiftly embraced the most destructive aspects of industrialization — and in a few cases exceeded their previous colonial overlords' talent for environmental devastation