Ilona and Karola Korányi, more often referred to collectively as the Korányi sisters, are a pair of Shadow Lord ahroun mistakenly identified as biological siblings.
The Korányi sisters serve as signature characters in the Shattered Nation sourcebook.
Biography[]
| “ | Was the Garou Nation really for Gaia? Or was it for the egos of the Silver Fangs who pretended to lead? We have a war to win and no more time to lose on pointless ceremony. Every wolfborn Garou understands that we are already close to extinction. Let's build something new that can win us this fight! | ” |
| — Ilona Korányi | ||
The legend of the Korányi twins fuels Garou hopes that victory could still be possible. It’s a powerful propaganda weapon in favor of the Shadow Lords and against the Silver Fangs. The argument goes that while the Silver Fangs squabble over their diminishing power and resources in the aftermath of the fall of the Garou Nation, the Shadow Lords are poised to lead a new, resurgent Garou force to final victory! As proof of the favor of Gaia, the Shadow Lords point to the improbable fact that the spirits have blessed their tribe with twin sisters, both powerful ahroun able to take on any Wyrm creature.
Does it matter that it’s all a lie if it gives the Garou hope? The Hungarian Baron Sándor Korányi is a wealthy Shadow Lord elder. Seeing opportunity in the splintering of the Garou Nation, he decided that he needed a modern legend, a myth for his tribe to rally around. Thus, using the Rite of Kinseeking, he set out to find two girls of the same age and similar appearance who could be molded, trained, and recreated as the Korányi twins. It took him seven years and considerable resources, but eventually he was successful.
Both Ilona and Karola had their First Change as teenagers, provoked by the Baron. He abducted them from their families, using the shock of the First Change to break them down and rebuild them as his perfect warriors.
Everything the girls did was designed with the myth in mind: Their Rite of Passage, challenging and winning against powerful Silver Fang champions, the destruction of horrifying Wyrm entities. And indeed, one thing about the myth is true. Ilona and Karola are incredibly well-trained, powerful ahroun. They are impressive singly but truly come on their own when they fight together, coordinated to anticipate each other perfectly. Originally, the Baron’s story was that he found the orphan twins and trained them himself. Since then, vanity has led to a change in the tale, and now he says that they really are his children, blessed by the spirits to become the mightiest warriors of the Apocalypse.
Unfortunately, while the sisters are physically extremely powerful, relentless fighters, their background has left them dependent on the Baron for guidance, scared of forming their own opinions. They vaguely remember that they were going to have different lives once upon a time before they were taught to accept the higher truth of the Shadow Lord legend. It’s an open question what happens when they meet other Garou, as is bound to happen increasingly often when they participate in joint attacks against the Wyrm. Perhaps they’ll suffer a mental collapse from the paradoxes they’ve been told to accept, or maybe they’ll escape the influence of the Baron. Or perhaps truth doesn’t matter, and they really will vanquish the enemy in the final battle, leading the Shadow Lords to preeminence among the Garou.
Quotes[]
| “ | A fool of a Hart Warden challenged me because I’d broken the arm of his human relative. To the death, he said. He was crying and sputtering, outraged and terrified. I tore out his spine. The party ended. His fault, not mine. Don’t challenge your betters. | ” |
| — Ilona Korányi recounting a failed moot | ||