Gurahl

The Gurahl are werebears, one of the surviving Changing Breeds of Werewolf: The Apocalypse. According to their lore, the Gurahl are Gaia's original protectors, created to ward off the descructive power of the "Pattern Breaker", but when it grew too powerful for them they petitioned Gaia for help, and she created the Garou.

Slower to anger, healers and protectors rather than warriors, the Gurahl are rare since the War of Rage. They were targeted for refusing to teach the Garou the secret of bringing the dead back to life.

Traits
Gurahl are blessed by Gaia with strong wills, and many of the traits of their bear cousins. Their sense of smell is far superior to that of humans, though when in non-human forms their eyesight is poorer. They have a level of conscious control over their biorhythms, allowing them to alter the speed of their metabolisms, but are prey to the seasonal urges of bears, becoming sluggish and lazy in Winter.

Breeds
The Gurahl have only two breeds: Homid (born of humans) and Ursine (born of bears). There are no Metis Gurahl - their mates are chosen through a special ritual, and even should two Gurahl mate, no child is ever born of their union.

Forms
Gurahl forms are analagous to those of the Garou:


 * Homid - human form.
 * Arthren - near-man form. Considerably stronger and tougher than the glabro form of werewolves, Arthren form Gurahl are thought to have inspired legends of the Sasquatch and similar creatures.
 * Crinos - the war form. Extraordinarily strong and tough, not to mention huge: anywhere between 10 and 16 feet in height, and weighing up to a ton.
 * Bjornen' - near-bear form. Resembling an ancient cave bear, with longer claws and fangs, the Bjornen form is almost as large and powerful as Crinos.
 * 'Ursus - bear form. Homid Gurahl take the form of bears matching their Tribe.

Gifts and Rituals
Gurahl gifts and rites are primarily concerned with healing and the purification of the land, and include few outright martial powers. All Gurahl can learn the basic healing gift Healing Tongue (equivalent to the baisc Theurge gift Mother's Touch), and most do.

As noted above, the Gurahl's most extraordinary and well-guarded secret is returning the spirits of dead shapechangers to their bodies. This can only be achieved soon after death, and at great personal and spiritual cost, using the gift Gaia's Breath. In cases of dire need, Gurahl may perform the Rite of Fighting the Death Bear, in which they must challenge Mangi, the aspect of Bear attuned to death. This rite is only ever used to revive fallen Gurahl.

Renown
Gurahl recognise three types of renown: Honor, for devotion and respect; Succor, for acts of healing, purification or giving aide to others; and Wisdom, for restoring, preserving or uncovering knowledge or gaining a deeper understanding of oneself.

Relationships with the Other Breeds
Gurahl live solitary lives often in remote wilderness areas, and so seldom encounter other Fera. They know little of the Ananasi or Rokea, and nothing of the Ajaba, Nagah or Kitsune (this last because the Asian Gurahl were destroyed in the War of Shame).

While they are happy for the Ratkin to remain in their cities, they maintain friendly relations with the Bastet, Corax, Mokolé and Nuwisha, particularly missing the company of the latter. While they still feel great anger from the War of Rage, they are willing to look past it and work with the Garou, who they once knew as their little brothers, to stave off the Apocalypse.