Akawa is one of the prominent leaders of the Anarch gangs based in Milwaukee and a distinguished member of the Anubi. He has extensive knowledge of the Anarchists and gang activities, surpassing that of any other werewolf hunter. Despite his impressive age, Akawa continues to associate with younger members, a rare trait among the Anubi.
In the past, Akawa defied Decker and fervently defended the freedom of the Anarchists. However, he eventually witnessed the cost of that freedom, paid in wasted lives. During the war against the Sabbat, Akawa stood by Decker’s side, earning respect and recognition as a key figure among the Anubi werewolf hunters.
Biography[]
| “ | I was just a boy, still flush with the ancient rites that made me into a warrior, when he came to me. I was ecstatic, elated at my completion of the tasks the elders of the tribe had put before me. Then this strange man came to our village in the dead of night, weak and tired. All the other men were gone, seeking vengeance against enemies. As one of the few warriors remaining, it was my job to investigate this man... and kill him if necessary.
He was gone the next night. I knew I had changed but there was nothing I could do. I stayed with my tribe, and they kept me safe despite their sorrow at what 1 had become. When the blue mats came they left, and since they travelled both day and night, I could not go with them. My tribe was lost to me. I learned later that they had been penned up in some little bit of land where they grew weak, slowly dying away. I soon discovered the white cities were the only places safe for me. The Lupine were all around me and I fought with them frequently. The cities stank of horse manure and the people were foul and arrogant; their blood did not call to me. I fed from animals rather than touch the stinking vessels around me. How I hated the city then. Recently I discovered who it was that fathered my life afterlife. He is called Sir Edward Scott. That night he came to my village, that night that forever changed me, he was chased by white settlers who had caught him in his feeding. I do not think he remembers me. This will be his undoing. Now I have learned to love the city. I am a warrior again, in a wilderness far harsher than the one I was born to. Here I have learned strength will gain mastery over the wilds. Once I control the Wilderness of the streets then all the Kindred must come to me to get permission to feed. This is something that the white settlers taught me. When you control the food source of a people, no matter how proud or noble, they will eventually bend and give in to you and your ways. |
” |
Mortal Days[]
Akawa was born into the Native American Niúachi tribe of the Great Lakes region, known to some as the Missouria. His youth was a time of boundless joy. His family fostered his great love of riding and hunting, singing and storytelling. He was an intensely popular boy with the girls, often charming them into going on long walks along the riverside, and became known as something of a romantic among his fellow hunters.
There were, of course, challenges too. By the time Akawa came of age, his tribe had been decimated by the neighboring Sauk and Fox tribes, forcing many to abandon their traditional lands and merge with the Otoe, Osage, and Kansa. His family, and the families of his closest partners, remained Niúachi, but it wasn’t long before the French, with whom they had strained trade deals, took extreme advantage and left them close to starving and vulnerable to further attacks from their neighbors.
Akawa felt the loss of his friends and threw himself into the life of a warrior, dropping his hunting equipment for a costly Charleville musket. He’d only just been initiated when his family encampment fell prey to a raid, but the attackers weren’t the Sauk or Fox, nor were they the French — they were a vampire and his coterie.
A Brujah named Edward Scott chose this family of the Missouria to prey upon as he made his way across America. He thought their weakened state would make them easy prey for him and his fellow Kindred. Instead, they found Akawa harassing and hounding them, firing off shots with his musket and waking the rest of the local tribesfolk. Scott’s intended feeding was disrupted, but he admired the young man’s vigor and realized the odds were suddenly against him, forcing a retreat into the dark.
Akawa remained alert for nights on end, anticipating a further attack. Instead, Scott stalked him, and Akawa stalked Scott. The two played with each other, though the process was only fun for the Brujah. Akawa was bold to hunt the vampire but had no clue as to the monster’s nature or what powers he might possess.
When Akawa finally got the drop on Scott, he didn’t find the vampire as he expected him. The Brujah’s coterie-mates had grown tired of their time in his company, cut out his Achilles tendons with a hot blade, robbed him of his belongings, and headed to the city of Genevieve.
Akawa had the option of killing the monster, but instead, the two attempted communication. As Scott drew symbols in the dirt, attempting to convey his nature, Akawa drew closer. Injured and hungry, Scott’s Beast overtook him, and clutching Akawa’s wrist, he drank from the Niúachi warrior.
Akawa fought back, blasting Edward Scott in the torso with his musket. This only enraged the Brujah, who ripped into Akawa and left him bleeding to death. Scott’s Beast was sated, and his wounds healed. As he prepared to leave, a pang of conscience brought him back to the man who’d spared him, and he fed a dose of vitae to Akawa. Scott then fled.
Kindred Nights[]
Akawa remained with his tribe for a brief time, but his vampiric nature forced him to part ways with his people. He cried tears of blood as he bid his mother and father, his girlfriends, and companions since birth a firm goodbye, knowing he could never return and risk harming them.
Akawa did as many of his people had and made his way to the white cities. He occasionally came into conflict with Lupines, who he knew to avoid after the first encounter almost ended his existence, but found no trace of creatures like himself or his absent sire. Akawa was no fool: he knew there must be others like him, but their ability to hide, whether in the wilds or in the frontier towns, was prestigious indeed.
Akawa fed from animals where possible, the blood of the kine not appealing to him for a long time. It was only with age that he was forced to drink from human necks, and around the same time he started, he found himself in a society of Kindred, in the domain of Milwaukee.
Akawa’s first instinct was to strike out at the vampires around him. He had no desire to be like the monster that made him or play puppet master to ignorant mortals. Yet, he understood that doing so would be suicidal without a family of warriors to call his own.
He found an organization of largely French and native vampires in Milwaukee who likewise appeared to detest the predators in charge, and with them, he formed his first coteries, unknowingly practicing the schemes of the Anarch Movement in America through attacks on Camarilla strongholds, assassinations of elders, and the rejection of ancient — and, to Akawa’s mind, insultingly irrelevant — vampire laws.
All the way through to the end of the 20th century, Akawa fought on the Anarch side, adapting with the times as his own people folded into one tribe, then another, and eventually, he lost all trace of his ancestry. He turned this sense of isolation into a passion to strike further against the Camarilla, nearly decapitating the former Prince of Milwaukee, Merik of Clan Ventrue, in an ambitious attack.
Akawa believed in the Movement as a philosophy and reason for being. He was a warrior, and his war wouldn’t end until the Camarilla died.
It therefore came as a shock to many Brujah when he abandoned the Anarchs at the start of the 21st century, joining forces with the new Prince, Mark Decker of Clan Gangrel.
Age had slowly jaded Akawa, and he concluded that the Camarilla weren’t the enemy he’d been led to believe: the Sabbat were the scourge on America, and the Lupines were the predators picking off vampires just as vampires pick off mortals. His shift in allegiance wasn’t an easy one, but in all his time fighting, he’d lost over 40 coterie-mates to wights, Lupines, and vampires far more ancient than he. It was time to take over Decker’s Anubi coterie and dedicate his existence to defending Milwaukee's Kindred and kine from all outsiders who would seek to harm them.
Akawa's commonly seen among Anarchs as one of the worst turncoats. Many had heard his speeches and stories about Anarch victories and celebrated his triumphs over decadent elders. Now, they believe he’s sold himself to the Man and seems to have no regrets about doing so. He hunts people on Prince Decker’s behalf, apparently finding some twisted faith in the tyrant Prince.
He brought the visiting Cuthbert Beckett to Prince Decker during the Siege of Milwaukee.
Appearence[]
Akawa is a Native American of Great Lakes extraction. His face is thin and dark, his body tall, muscled, and covered with scars earned during his mortal days as a hunter. He prefers the form of a gray wolf when scouting beyond Milwaukee. When he speaks, which is seldom, it’s in a deep voice and with emphatic statements. He has little time for politicking or ranting.
Character Sheet[]
Image: Akawa is an American plains Indian. He has a sharp, tanned face and is very large and well muscled. His chest is marked with ritual scars his tribe gave him and his long black hair flows down to the middle of his back. When out with the Blood Brothers he prefers to change himself into a wolf.
Roleplaying Hints: You are a very serious, grim Vampire. Always talk in a rather stiff, out-of-date style, speaking of time in terms of "sunrises" (instead of "days") and referring to death as "the final sleep." Remember that you consider yourself a leader among the Anarchs. You are not as rash or loud as many of the other Anarchs and remain calm, observant, and in control. Indeed, your skill at observation and plotting is worthy of an Elder.
Haven: Akawa has no set haven. He floats from place to place, staying wherever the Blood Brothers stay. He lives much like he did when he was an Indian; only now, his tribe is an Anarch gang.
Influence: Akawa has complete control of the Blood Brothers, giving him an enormous amount of power. Refer to the Politics section to more fully understand Akawa's influence.
Gallery[]
References[]
- VTM: Milwaukee by Night, p. 31-32
- VTM: Let the Streets Run Red, p. 87
- VTM: Beckett's Jyhad Diary
- VTM: Children of the Blood, p. 61-64