Anubis Hillwalker is a Homid Silent Strider Adren Galliard.
Overview[]
Anubis' mother was a preacher's daughter who enjoyed a few nights of forbidden pleasure with a traveling stranger and then bore the fruit of her sin into the world. Despite the stigma of bastardy, Anubis (or Joseph, as his mother named him) had a relatively happy childhood, although one somewhat circumscribed by the dictates of his family's religion. His grandfather doted on the boy; at the same time, he never let his daughter forget the error of her ways. Anubis' mother died in what passed off as a "drowning accident" when her son was five years old.
From that time on, "Joseph" spent most of his time at his grandfather's side and preached his first sermon when he was ten. He memorized most of the Bible by the time hw was twelve, and was well on his way to following in his grandfather's footsteps when he experienced his First Change. Terrified that he was possessed by the devil, the boy begged his grandfather to exorcise him. The ceremony only brought forth a further manifestation of Anubis' demon-shape, and his grandfather, overcome by the Delirium, lapsed into a babbling, mindless state.
The boy tried to care for his grandfather, wracked by pangs of guilt for what he had done. Finally, a stranger appeared at the boy's door, introduced himself as Horeb Farseer, and claimed the boy as his son. Horeb did something to restore the mind of Anubis' grandfather and then took the boy away with him.
Anubis, as he chose to call himself, still has bitter memories of his mother's untimely death (he now believes she committed suicide) and his own ignorance of his true nature. The Silent Striders have done their best to help him deal with his traumatic past and, for the most part, have succeeded. Anubis simply tries not to think about what pains him. Instead, he concentrates on a vision that came to him during his Rite of Passage, a vision that infuses his life with the same meaning he once found in his grandfather's religion.
Anubis now wanders southeastern Appalachia, from the Kentucky coal country, to the Cumberlands, all the way to Chattanooga, with eastern detours through western North Carolina. At every small community he passes through, he visits with the locals and brings them "the gospel," at least his version of the gospel. He has developed an evangelical religions which emphasizes respect for the land and the old ways, and contains enough familiar elements to pass off as an offshoot of Christianity. His charismatic presence and his knowledge of various scriptures (he has added both the Koran and the Torah to his repertoire as well as Cherokee spiritualism) has won a number of mountaineers to "the love of God in the land." He has handled snakes, spoken in tongues, led his followers to the "waters of rebirth," and held tent meeting throughout the Blue Ridge, Smokey, and Cumberland Mountains.
In Kentucky, he stumbled upon a group of odd individuals who, he later discovered, were changelings: faeries trapped in the mortal world. He is one of the few non-changelings ever allowed to visit the stronghold of the High Castle Crafters in Kentucky's Cumberland Mountains[1]. He now keeps his eyes open for other signs of faerie presence, hoping that he can enlist them in Gaia's fight to preserve Her land.
Image[]
Whatever marks of ethnic origin Anubis may have had are obscured by his weathered complexion and the lines carved by wind and weather on his craggy face. He appears to be a dusky-skinned, dark-haired man in his mid-thirties. He dresses in comfortable traveling clothes, but keeps a "preaching suit" and good shoes in his knapsack. His lupus form resembles a sleek jackal. His Crinos form is as weather-beaten as his homid shape.
Personal[]
The world is one place, Gaia's place, and her children are one family. He doesn't understand why there are so many divisions in the world. Then he remembers that behind all the evils that mar Gaia's beauty lies the Wyrm. He has visited many places since his youth, but these hills and these people have become special to him. Here, he is certain he can begin the work of uniting everyone in the work of protecting Gaia.
Stats[]
Breed: Homid
Auspice: Galliard
Tribe: Silent Strider (Seeker)
Nature/Demeanor: Visionary/Caregiver
Attributes: Strength 3 (5/7/6/4), Dexterity 4 (4/5/6/6), Stamina 4 (6/7/7/6), Charisma 5, Manipulation 3 (2/0/0/0), Appearance 4 (3/0/4/4), Perception 3, Intelligence 4, Wits 5
Talents: Alertness 2, Brawl 2, Dodge 3, Empathy 3, Expression 4 (preaching), Intimidation 1, Primal-Urge 2
Skills: Animal Ken 1, Etiquette 1, Melee 2, Stealth 3, Survival 3
Knowledges: Area Knowledge (Appalachian mountains) 4, Enigmas 3, Herbalism 2, Investigation 1, Linguistics 4 (Cherokee, Egyptian, Gaelic, Greek), Medicine 1, Occult 4, Rituals 3
Backgrounds: Allies 3, Contacts 2, Pure Breed 3
Gifts: Mindspeak, Persuasion, Sense Wyrm, Speed of Thought, Blissful Ignorance, Dreamspeak, Messenger's Fortitude, Staredown, Summon Talisman, Adaptation, Eye of the Cobra, The Great Leap, Long Running, Message Glance, Reshape Object, Tongues
Rank: 3
Rage 5, Gnosis 9, Willpower 7
Rites: Rite of Cleansing, Rite of Contrition, Gathering for the Departed, Rite of the Winter Wolf; (Minor) all; Baptism of Fire, Rite of Binding, Rite of the Questing Stone, Rite of Talisman Dedication, Rite of Becoming, Rite of Spirit Awakening, Rite of Summoning, Rite of the Fetish
Fetishes[]
References[]
- WTA: Rage Across Appalachia, p. 84-85
- ↑ CTD: Freeholds & Hidden Glens, p. 15