Lunars and NPCs

Lunar Exalted

These mighty savages are the champions of Luna. The Lunars were once the mates of the Solar Exalted, as well as their bodyguards and commanders of their armies. The Lunar Exalts either fled to the hinterlands of the Threshold after the Usurpation or died alongside their mates in futile battle. Today, most of these shapeshifting warriors live as barbarians, blaming the downfall of the Solars (and even their inability to save them) on civilization's softening effects.

The Lunar Exalted are the Chosen of Luna and are the most chaotic and savage of the Exalted. In the First Age the cunning shapeshifters were skilled fighters and capable generals who were commonly bonded in wedlock to the Solar Exalted. Those that did not die with their Solar mates fled to the edges of Creation.

At the borders of Creation, and in the chaos of the Wyld, over the intervening centuries they have been changed - sometimes physically even, but mostly socially and psychologically. Shunning civilization they live a number of lives. Some have birthed whole tribes of animal-human hybrid barbarians while others live in deep seclusion in their hard to reach wilderness territories and others have abandoned their humanity to live as wild animals though the use of their shapeshifting powers.

Now Solar Exalted are returning, the Dragon-blooded's Scarlet Dynasty is teetering and possibly on the verge of collapse, the Wyld is encroaching further into Creation carrying with it manifestations of the Fair Folk and there is a new (and deadly) threat found in the Deathlords, the lunars may return to a world that has changed as much as they have.

Culturally, the lunars have developed a tribal hierarchy and ritualistically protect themselves from the warping effects of the Wyld with various charms and tattoos that serve as additional marks of their difference from the rest of humanity. Additionally, beyond self-inflicted distinguishing marks, each lunar has a "Tell" that manifests as an animal-like characteristic that is visible to some degree or another in their human forms, further setting them apart from mortals.

FIRST AGE LUNARS

Rain Deathflyer and Silver Python
Somewhat unusually for Lunars virtually unheard of for elders of any age, Rain Deathflyer and Silver Python are partners in the Thousand Stream River, Rain Deathflyer, a mihty hawk-aspected warrior, has the distinction of being the "youngest" elder who dates back to the Old Realm. He Exalted at barely 20 years old after his predecessor was slain during the Usurpation. Just a few months later, he entered the Wyld in the company of Silver Python, the Serpent Queen, an experienced Lunar some 200 years his senior who rescued him from the nascent Wyld Hunt and taught him the ways of the Silver Pact.

Over the centuries of exile, the student-mentor relationship evolved into a close friendship interspersed with occasional sexual dalliances. Silver Python changes gender every 20 years as a way to commune with the Fickle Lady, and Rain Deathflyer has made love to the Serpent Queen in her female form. However, he remains stubbornly squeamish about homosexuality (despite engaging in bestiality) and has never responded to Silver Python's advances while she wore a male form, a quirk she finds endlessly amusing. For her part, the Serpent Queen claims she cannot remember whether she was born female or male, and Rain Deathflyer insists on viewing her as a female regardless of the form she wears. Regardless of their unusual relationship, the pair acts like an old married couple. They often complete each other's sentences.

Centuries ago, the two attended the Great Gathering together. They became among the first Lunars to experiment with society-building. Today, many Lunars see the Republic of Halta as a model of how a Thousand Streams River experiment should be conducted. Surprisingly, considering the urbanized culture they fashioned, neither of the two No Moons belongs to the Winding Path. Rather, they are Wardens of Gaia who strove to create a nation in which humans recognize the importance of nature's bounty in all things. For the most part, they succeeded. But the two Lunars are also considered quite moderate for Wardens, and both of them have great respect for the ideals of the Winding Path. Accordingly, they have no problem with the Haltan Republic becoming far more "civilized" than any other Warden experiment. As with all Warden experiments, Halta will either survive or die, settling the question of its viability one way or the other. That said, Rain Deathflyer is the more emotional and humane of the two, and he has a much stronger attachment to Halta than Silver Python, who has grown increasingly detached and capricious over the centuries.

Both Lunars are geniuses at biology and sociology. They are both no moons with strong visions and paths of study they will teach to others.

Rain Deathflyer
No Moon (mystic), elder
Totem: hawk
Territory is Chaunta, Halta
Allied with Silver Python
Affliations: Wardens of Gaia

In mere days before the Usurpation (killing of all solars and lunars), a young man exalted in the light of Luna. Apprentice to a solar twilight, he stayed with his master unto his death. The Wyld Hunt, free in numbers and carried by the fanaticism of many successes fell upon the elderly solar and his apprentice. The man fought until burnt to cinders by a cabal of dragonblooded and their army. And then they laid into the apprentice. Blinding one eye, laying acids and destructive magics into his flesh. They tortured him before the dead eyes of his master. In that moment, Luna appeared and exalted him.

What life he had is not as important as the fight to live during those years. He was caught in the wars of the Dragon Blooded during the Usurpation. He was marred, hurt, burnt with magics, fighting to escape from the clutches of the Wyld Hunt. Another Lunar recognized the hawk as a lunar, just exalted, not in his right mind. Fleeing for his own life, Silver Python took the fledgling with her into the deepest wyld of the east, where trees moved, sang, and changed without need of seasons.

It was here during these years Rain Deathflyer became a No Moon, learning mystical arts under his savior become friend and lover. Together, they have sought to understand the mysteries of the life they experienced in the east. They witnessed and received some of the first moonsilver markings.

Unlike other lunars, these two are oddities in that they embrace civilization. For reasons only they know, they have taken up residence among the Chauntans, protecting the city, and minging their offspring (hawkmen and snakemen) with them. Lunars and humans live in harmony in this place, far different than others. They revere their lunar keepers.

Rain never leaves deadly beastman. If he ever did, the glory of his Lunar self would seem so painful compared to the ruin of his human self. Stunted, blinded, maimed. If left to his own devices, Rain can be morose and reflective. Yet by Silver, he is a man with a deeply turning past, with an abiding love for those around him.

He fears the dead and ghosts, more than anything else in this world. Being bound also terrifies him, leaves him manic beyond reason. Demons are something to be respected and hated, something he is terrible at entirely.



Silver Python
No Moon, elder
Territory of Chaunta, Halta
Totem: snake
Allied with Rain Deathflyer.
Affliations: Wardens of Gaia

In the first days of the Usurpation, Silver Python was becoming a learned elder. She was young in mind, ambitious, filled with ideas, and ready to seek them on her own. With the call to leave the realm and seek the wyld, Silver Python seemed to find comfort in this as some grand experiment.

In escaping, she found Rain Deathflyer, still in his first change. Intrigued, she kept him close, and taught him as a mentor. Soon they became friends, and kindred in their designs and desires for knowledge. Together they built Chanta, founded new races of godmen, created a civilization, and even laid the treaties with the fair folk to protect the very people that once tried to kill them.

Silver Python shifts often, sometimes while standing before you. She enjoys taking the forms of men and women, beasts on occasion, and seems to enjoy procreation. It is more science than passion. She is an enigma wrapped in a conundrum touched with a smile and a wink. She loves all men and women around her, this geneticist in the wyld.

A secret somewhat kept, she is also a seer. Lilith believes she inherited the gift from Brigette, the greatest of Solar Twilights.



Lilith, the wisdom of Luna
Changing Moon
First Age Lunar
totem: owl
Affliations: Sun King Seneschals

It is a testament to the versatility of Lunar Exaltation that a Waning Moon, whose caste was associated with stealth and misdirection, became one of the deadliest hand-to-hand combatants Creation has ever seen. Lilith is a peerless spy and infiltrator as befits a Changing Moon. but she also remains one of Creation's greatest non-Sidereal martial artists. Lunars who hear her tale are surprised, then, that this deadly combatant meekly accepted abuse and near-torture at the hands of her own husband. When they met, Desus of the Eclipse Caste was a witty gallant who matched her trick for trick. Centuries later, he became a crazed sadist armed with mind-bending charms.

In the First Age, Lilith supported the Sun King Seneschals. Her fellow travelers in that faction saw her loyalty to her mate as merely an acceptance of the natural order of things. If any Seneschals ever noticed that Lilith bore more wounds from relaxing with her mate than she ever did after battles, no one ever found it socially proper to mention it. And so, Lilith suffered for centuries, cursed with undeniable passion and implacable hatred or the same man. When the Usurpation came and Lilith saw her mate die before her eyes, her response was an earthshattering howl that somehow combined unutterable grief and indescribable joy. Then, she fled into the Wyld and gave herself to the beast within her, becoming an animal in body and mind.

Only the merest luck saved Lilith from becoming a chimera. Old allies among the No Moons, loathe to put down such a peerless warrior, captured her and worked to restore her mind, even as they forced the tattoos upon her. No trials were necessary for Lilith, whose renown was already legendary. Wen they finished their work, the No Moons released Lilith to her fate. She fled further into the Wyld, sparing a look to her saviors that could have been either gratitude or contempt.

In the centuries since, Lilith moved into and out of Creation at whim. Her skills at stealth remain unsurpassed, no Wyld Hunt ever interfered with her passage through Creation. Unfortunately, her forays did not good for other Lunars. Only with the return of the Solars has Lilith snapped from her centuries long reverie. Rumors spread among the Lunars of the Northeast - Lilith is on the move, the Owl Woman has met the Mammoth Avatar, Golden-Eyed Jorst was torn asunder by a moonsilver clad warrior of ancient power.

Thus far, Lilith has not deigned to meet her fellow Lunars, least of all any members of the Sun King Seneschals. While the Seneschals themselves still claim her as a member, the leaders of this faction wonder exactly what Lilith shall for about the returning Solars. For yet another rumor that Lilith spent months pursuing the heir to her former mate's Exaltation, and none can say what Lilith will do when they meet.

------
Lilith is a strange creature of the world. In the first age, she was a sorceress and strategic planner for battles and war. She has a knowledge and skill in martial arts that rivals ALL sidereal, who invented the art. Her place was by the side of Solars, in duos and small groups far more than large scale wars. She was married to a Solar called Deseus, and took the blows of his horrific abuse. So terrible was his rage, that he killed her unborn child while beating her.

In the second age, she has resurfaced, hearing the return of the Solars. And her entire world is bent upon revenge. No one will control her destiny. But what will come once destiny is fulfilled? Who can say. Her steps now lead her to gather the first age powers, for war, against those that return...



Ma-ha-suchi
Lunar, Changing Moon (was Waxing moon)
totem: wolf
Affliations: Wardens of Gaia (seek to save the world by destroying civilization)
Ages of Dreams, Age of Sorrows

Wyld taint/cursed: Hooves and horns in every form
Previous names: The Wolf with Red Roses
Virtue Flaw: Curse of the Red Bull
Allies: Rain Deathflyer (esteemed), Silver Python (esteemed)

The Past
The Wolf of Red Roses is infamous as the terror of bedchambers across the Blessed Isle. The Solar Temen Ambereyes issued public chastisements of his platonic Lunar mate while privately encouraging Ma-Ha-Suchi's recreation. Despite the rare negative feeling the Wolf's habit engenders (and the Dreagon-Blooded assassins that often accompany such feelings), it is sharp and versatile political weapon for Ambereyes - and it delays the day that the Ma-Ha-Suchi seeks entrance into Ambereyes' bed.

Ma-Ha-Suchi is indiscriminate in partners, apart from his ambition to sleep with every Celestial Exalt, though few mortals intrigue him enough to attract his lust. He sleeps with few people more than once, and his only recurrent lover is Odovacar of Rust, husband-wife to a neighboring Lawgiver on the Blessed Isle. Odovacar's mate is jealous and unforgiving of affairs tat reach beyond that of convenience, so their trysts remain secret lest Odovacar, Ma-Ha-Suchi, and Ambereyes suffer large personal and political consequences.

Some people consider Ma-Ha-Suchi an irredeemable rascal, others an enemy, but none deny him admission into their principalities or their homes. He is too charming a guest and too pleasant a companion. He is not the oldest, most powerful or most socially convincing of the Exalted, but he uses that to his advantage. When Ma-Ha-Suchi cannot overwhelm potential hosts with his personality, he disarms them with his youth. Only the Sideral Hadeon avoids the Wolf with the Red Roses without respite. Ma-Ha-Suchi is confident that they will meet, because he prowls Meru and the Blessed Isles for the very reason that all Celestial Exalted come there eventually.

The Lunar has estates in the Threshold, some personal, some shared with Ambereyes and one for secret meetings with Odovacar. He rarely visits them. Everything in the world if in Meru, so why would he spend his time in barbarism? Ma-Ha-Suchi feels the same way about the dominion he and Abereyes administer on the Isle. While Ambereyes enjoys the arenas of political and economic combat. Ma-Ha-Suchi leaves the busywork to his Terrestrial (dragon blooded) exalted and aids his bonded mate as an afterthought. I AM conveys no messages left for him regarding his duties in the prefecture, by longstanding command. This would cause trouble, but I AM intelligently selects messages to share messages to share based on content and originator and has never been chastised by Ma-Ha-Suchi on the matter.

---------

Corpse Drill is Ma-Ha-Suchi's great Moonsilver Direlance. It was shown to him in mad dreams given to him by the wild goddess Luna as a gift for his faith and dedication. With it, Ma-Ha-Suchi will spread the tenets and blessing of Luna.

Corpse Drill, unique Moonsilver Direlance Spd +15, Acc +4, Dam +11, Def +0, Rate 4, Min Str 3, Commit 12 (Includes Moonsilver Material Bonus)

The Exalted can use the protean nature of the Moonsilver in Corpse Drill to slip through the cracks of armor and bypass the protection it gives to enemies. By spending 5 motes, Corpse Drill deals piercing damage but damage dice is halved after the attack roll. This means you calculate the damage normally; adding the successes of the attack to the damage rating of the weapon and the character's Strength, and this number is halved for the total number of damage dice. This ability must be used for every single attack that the character wants to deal piercing damage.

For 4 motes, a character attuned to Corpse Drill and attacking with it can make an extra attack. The character cannot have more extra actions in one turn than his Essence score, and he cannot split his dice pools or use charms that give him extra actions. Corpse Drill has settings for 3 hearthstones.

The Wolf of Red Roses...what he once looked like.


Raksi, Queen of Fangs
Lunar, No Moon
Age of Dreams, Age of Sorrows

Keeper of the City of a Thousand Golden Delights or Mahalanka, once named Sperimin in the First Age
Secret: Keeper of the Book of Three Circles and many other hidden or lost sorceries
The Last Hunter of Xaal (in the east) is a former lover


Raksi is a No Moon Caste Lunar sorcerer who exalted just before the Usurpation. After the fall of the Solars, she fled deep into the Wyld, all who know her know she went too deep. At first glance she seems to be a normal, beautiful, nubile girl (until you notice her fingers curl backwards from time to time). The wyld's strongest impact was on her mind. She was also once lover to the Last Hunter of Xaal, but their relationship is strained and there is no telling how she would treat her former lover if she ever encountered him again. Today, she makes her home in Mahalanka, which she renamed from Sperimin. Her hobbies include breeding ape men to worship her, searching for the Mantle of Brigid (an artifact she believes would let her access Solar Circle sorcery), and eating babies for the fun of it.



Leviathan, First Age Lunar
Totem: Killer Whale
Caste: Full Moon
Admiral of the Western Fleet, Steward of Luthe

Born 4 and a half centuries before the Usurpation, on an isle in the Western Ocean, Leviathan was drawn to service in the Deliberative's navy from an early age. Even as a child, Leviathan was larger than his peers, yet lithe and handsome. As a warrior in the Realm's fleet, he was a prodigy unmatched by few outside of the Exalted. At age 21, already a young officer, Leviathan's scout trimaran was attacked by an angry storm mother and scuttled. Fighting to save his sinking crew and drive off the wrathful goddess, Leviathan was Exalted by the light of the full moon. The cowed spirit fled his redoubled defense, and Leviathan was brought before Kendik Arkadi, the aged Grand Admiral of the Deliberative's nacy. Recognizing Leviathan as the new incarnation of Arkadi's deceased mate, the powerful old Solar took the young Lunar as Steward under his wing.

Gifted with the spirit shape of a fearsome killer whale, Leviathan's love of the sea seemingly met with the approval of Lunar and the Solar Deliberative. Within a century, the young Lunar had risen to the rank of commodore, and was known for his friendly rivalry with Water aspected Dragon Blooded. Despite his strong bond to Arkadi, Leviathan fell in love with the Solar administrator of Luthe, Queen Amyana. Favored by two Solars, the Full Moon became the highest ranked Lunar with the Realm's navy. When the Usurpation began, Admiral Leviathan was torn between defending his Solar "mate" and defending his lover Queen. Ultimately, he failed both of them, though he ravaged the Dragon Blooded of the Western fleet, unleashed a deadly self-destruct protocol that destroyed numerous vessels and assumed the environs of sunken Luthe as his personal territory. Finally, he laid his weapon Islebreaker upon the throne of Luthe so that none save the new incarnation of Kendik Arkadi's essence might lift it.

In his true human form, Leviathan is a large, handsome man with dark bronze skin and black hair that glistens when wet. Lightly colored patches form the same pattern on his spirit shape. His moonsilver tattooed totemic true form is that of a gigantic orca. The largest found in Creation are a monstrous 32 feet long, but the Steward of Luthe possesses abilities to rival the size of a behemoth. For nearly 8 centuries, Leviathan has remained in his enhanced orca size and form, never leaving it, a 96 foot long orca of horrific strength. He is one of the most dangerous predators alive.

Gerd Marrow-Eater
totem: Eagle
No moon
North/Haslanti


Gerd Marrow-Eater became a legendary warlord and pillar of the Silver Pact by founding the Haslanti League. He began as the son of a Haslanesh chief, born in the time when the Guild cemented its power over the Haslan tribes. He Exalted in RY552, in the mid-20s, when mercenaries attacked his family to drive them off land the Guild wanted. The mercenaries crippled Gerd's mother and tied Gerd to a tree as they prepared for a torturous execution. Then a vision of soaring eagles overwhelmed Gerd. He broke free and slew the mercenaries.

Gerd knew exactly what had happened to him, from old legends of the Haslan tribes' ancient patron, Arvida of the Crescent Eye. So did the rest of his family. They were tremendously proud but said as one that Gerd must leave them to pursue his greater destiny.

The young Exalt spent the next 30 years learning the arts of war and politics with the Silver Pact, that he might lead his people against the Guild. The hardest lesson came, however, from studying the career of Arvida. He concluded that Arvida's rule had nearly destroyed the Haslan people. Gerd turned to the Thousand Streams River philosophy (Ma Ha Suchi) that, while the Lunar Exalted bore a duty to foster new societies, they must not presume to rule. Lunars were the Stewards of Creation - not its makers.

Every Haslanti child knows the tale of how Gerd called the leaders of their people to Twisted Stone and led the tribes to victory, leaving the final victory against the guild for the Haslanti warriors to achieve with out his aid. Since then, Gerd has appeared but rarely to the Haslanti people, to discuss a knotty political problem perhaps or to rescue a family from bandits because he was int he area. he has decided, though, that the Haslanti League truly does not need him anymore. Gerd now seeks new challenges.

Gerd currentlt claims a patch of mountains between Gethamane and Shanarinara as his personal domain. He watches the Guild (which he still despises) and watches the White Sea for invasions by the Northern Fair Folk or other Wyld forces. Herd also breeds a legion of the North's great eagles, pulling the species back from the brink of extinction, and confers with Silver Pact savants about the possibility of raising the mighty birds to human intelligence, like the sapient beasts of Halta (Rain Deathflyer and Silver Python's brood).

Most of all, Gerd now serves as a mentor to younger Lunars, delivering lectures on war, social engineering, shapeshifting or the other fields of Gerd's expertise. Other members of Gerd's former pack, the Twisted Stone Conclave, sometimes asist with the training. Propectice students must fight Gerd, as the Haslanti champions did at Twisted Stone. Gerd does not kill his hopeful applicants, but he takes a joint from the little finger of the left hand of any he deems worthy to learn from him.

Gerd can take the shape of an eagle, wolf, blue whale, bear, elf, and reindeer, among many others.In his human form, he is tall, surprisingly youthful, with a clean-shaven face, dark eyes, and long straight white hair. His war form stands over 10 feet tall, with white feathers massed at his clawed hands and feet, and on his head like hair and sideburns. he dresses in practical Haslanti leathers and wool, donning armor when necessary.



Shriek
No Moon
totem: bat
Scavenger Lands

Shriek was once a farmer named Marvel. He worked his land, pushing the dusty plains and rocky terrain to give his family and village food. He married, loved his wife as much as a man could in his painful situation. The marriage was more of practicality than love, but they got along well enough. He never had a child, just spent every day and night focused on that land.

He never noticed how sick his wife got. Or how it began to spread to himself. But as they got weaker, the land grew brighter, healthier, with fruit and vegetables ripe on the vine. The more they toiled, the more beautiful it was. As if every dream they had was made real, killing them.

She passed away. And he would have passed soon after. But a dream came to him. A truth. The land was plagued, suddenly fertile from bodies laid into it. Diseased and horrid things from a history long forgotten. But the ghosts remembered, angry twisted things that would not be denied their retribution. He fought their plague, confronted them, always with the mother moon watching. Body shivering with fevers, eyes bulging from the sight of these lost souls, he fought them until all that remained was a dying breath.

There in the night, as day broke, he wished them peace as he tore what remained of his fields apart. She embraced and exalted him as the sun rose. A gathering of bats flew in the warming day to find a place to rest. He chased them, capturing and eating one. His new life began.


Opal Eye
totem: Kirin (mix of unicorn and dragon, mythical creature, only 1 ever)
Caste: No Moon
Location: "North", in truth the Realm

Opal Eye is perhaps the worst Lunar...ever... He is not much of a warrior, more a survivor. He was born of House Nellens with the name Osan. He lived his life as a mortal noble with a slight chance of exalting, alas he did not. He continued his work within his house, taking on the challenge of foreign affairs with the North. While there, he was cornered and attacked by a rival, poisoned to die. Yet somehow, he fought it, with every idea he could conjure. Finally, he fell in a secret grotto of the Syndics. And there he faced a mythical creature believed by the gods to select the next leader of the deliberative. A Kirin.

And...he ate it. Exalting as a Lunar. Well damn.

He continued his work in House Nellens, but his look and plans drastically changed. He is more a politician and historian than a sorcerer.

Nellens Osan


as Ponana, the pampered


As a Lunar:


Darkling Zephyr
Changing Moon, Young Lunar, Rider of the Plains
Totem: Horse
Zephyr tends to wander alone, with a spitfire temper but one heck of an open heart. She spends her time among the humans, getting into trouble, and mainly earns honors through getting herself out of them. Poker is an old past time, and what got her in trouble originally. Yet for all of her faults, she does understand that fine line between the life you had and the life you make. She is an excellent Lunar to know by those newly exalted who are trying to come to terms with everything that has changed.

Brother Sky
Changing Moon, young Lunar
Totem: Heron
Brother Sky had a rather simple life. He upheld the duties of his family, remained in the fields and plains of Halta to work the rice fields and graineries. A thankless and hard life, he lived it as well as he could. He married, fathered sons, and spent his time in the fields. But the difficulties of this life were more than hard labor. Linowens attacked, seeking breeding stock and supplies. Brother had a choice. Fight or run. He stood before the Linowens, screamed, made himself as great a threat as possible, as his family and friends ran for his life. Other men say his courage, and stood with him.

Many died in the onslaught. Brother laid in the rice, bleeding to death. He watched the skies, the herons flying overhead, and wished to the gods his family would make it safely home. Lunar answered, spilling her tears as rain on his wounds. He felt a need to consume the birds above him, to gain in strength, and to find some way to honor their memory.

Brother Sky has remained in the plains, watching and protecting the lands he can. He has yet to come to terms with his loss, still unsure if he should seek the bloody path of retribution or find a new calling.


Swift
Full Moon, Lunar
Totem: "Komodo" dragon

Little is truly known of Swift. His past is a mystery, though Rain Deathflyer knows how to find him. He accepts students, teaches, then simply disappears. No one has ever heard him speak a single word. He is a master of every weapon he can find. He seeks his enemies no matter where they lead, be it the Wyld or cities.

In truth, his past is too painful for him to speak of. Born in the west, Swift was a man tricked by the pirates in that land. As a boy, he wished fervently to sail the oceans, see the world, and be a pirate. Joining them was a far different affair. As an outsider, not born into the pirating ways, he was ritualistically muted. His tongue has been removed, vocal cords severed and burnt. He witnessed atrocities, committing many by his owns hands. Rape, murder, theft. Yet the small boy in him wished for the simplicity of the sea.

Holding a boy in his hands, blood spilling hotly, Swift realized he had killed himself with a single act during a raid. Hands shaking, eyes closing, he fell over the side of the ship into the churning seas. Death is what he hoped for, but he could not die. Landing on a beach, he woke to a great lizard biting his leg, dragging him off. Part of him thrilled to finally die, but some instinct took over. He killed the lizard, and in the moment, Luna helped raise the heart's blood to his own lips. He woke as the lizard and was a Lunar.

His trip to the east holds secrets. Only Luna knows. She is the only one that can hear him.

The Last Hunter of Xaal
No Moon, elder Lunar, sorcerer ruler
Lives in the east (manse once owned by the dragonblooded)
Totem: spider

The No Moon known only as the Last Hunter is not a native of Haltan lands. His story begins much further south (Savage Lands), in the court of his former lover, Raksi, the Queen of Fangs.

The Last Hunter is old (though not nearly so old as his venerated mother) and from early youth was a cunning, amoral creature. Born two centuries before the Contagion, his mother became a consort for Raksi, and before long, the children his mother bore to the Queen of Fangs overshadowed his place in his family’s tribe. He hunted the Southern jungles with his half-brothers and -sisters, allowing them to wander into danger and even death if it would protect him or win him glory. He allowed entire hunting parties to die weakening a beast whose skin he wished to take, simply so he could deliver the deathblow and claim the glory and trophy. This ruthlessness wasn’t without wisdom, however. Most of the Last Hunter’s siblings were God-Bloods and, as such, were much more capable hunters (physically) than he could ever be. But regardless of the reasons for them, the Last Hunter’s tactics earned him first resentment — and then plans for revenge.

The Last Hunter rules his own Manse now, has his own beastman children and, in his way, has escaped the legends of being “Raksi’s pet.” But he still fears her and knows that the only way to put those fears to rest is to journey south again and return to Mahalanka. At times, he wonders if Raksi even remembers him — he took a mere fraction of the magical writings she had accumulated, barely enough to warrant notice. But the Queen of Fangs’ justice is harsh, and as long as the Last Hunter stays in the center of his own web, he will never face it. This is the dilemma that gnaws at him — Raksi might forgive him, or she might at least give him the chance to redeem himself for his theft and betrayal. But Raksi is a much greater hunter than he, and what creature would knowingly walk into the spider’s web?

In his beastman form, the Last Hunter grows two extra arms and chitinous armor over his entire body. The armor showcases his Hearthstone and obscures his human features completely, save for his ever-present silvery eyes. He stands nearly 10 feet tall in beastman form.

Arr-D'Gado, Stalker of the Proving Ground
Changing Moon, older Lunar, lord of the Proving Grounds
Totem: Mountain Lion

The Proving Ground is, as the name suggests, a harsh place to make a life. Prey exists, but it is hardly plentiful, and what game roams there is quite capable of injuring a predator if not killed cleanly. The natural and magical hazards of the Proving Ground make it a natural “pilgrimage” site for Lunars of all lands — but only one has chosen to make it his home. Arr-D’gado was born to an Eastern tribe called the Blight Hunters and raised to venerate death and the dead as his gods. But Arr-D’gado was different from his fellows, and that difference disturbed them. Perhaps his skin wasn’t the same deathly pale as his fellows or his breath seemed to warm the air too much. Regardless, Arr-D’gado was cast out from the Blight Hunters one morning.

Although the pronouncement was banishment, he knew differently. He had to reach a safe distance before nightfall, or else, his tribe’s hungry ghosts would surely devour him. And so, he ran across the snow like a hare, never looking back at the western sky, always looking forward toward his shadow to see how much time he had. As his shadow grew long, he realized he’d never have enough time to outrun the ghosts. His steps faltered once, and as he stumbled, he discovered the ground had grown stony beneath him — he was in the Proving Ground.

The ghosts followed the trail for hours, Arr-D’gado staying always ahead, just out of sight. Finally, when they caught him, he was sitting on a hilltop, looking away. They climbed the hill to seize him, and Arr-D’gado stood to face them… just as the sun rose behind him. “If I die here, let me rot on this stony ground before serving death again,” he said, and collapsed upon the hill. The last sound he heard before passing out from exhaustion was the screams of the hungry ghosts, melting in the sun.

But Arr-D’gado did not die. Luna came to him as a warming breeze and light on his face and Exalted him. He emerged from the Proving Ground to join the Silver Pact, who fixed his caste as a Changing Moon. Since then, he has returned to the harsh, stony land he calls home. He claims the fire Demesne in which he first hid as his lair and acts as a patron of wisdom and strength to any human who braves the Proving Ground without losing nerve or breath.

Arr-D’gado is merciful as Lunars go, but he would sooner die than be ousted from his home. He despises the undead and any who serve them and carries a grudge against the Dowager of the Irreverent Vulgate in Unrent Veils, as it was she who yoked his people to the service of death. Arr-D’gado, when in human form, stands five and half feet tall. His skin is paler than most Easterners (as is true of all Blight Hunters), but his eyes are a deep, rich brown, and his body is hale and vital. The palms of his hands are black and padded like a cat’s (his Tell). He dresses in animal skins. When hunting or expecting trouble, he wears armor fashioned from the skin of a steel shadow (see p. 72).

In beastman form, Arr-D’gado grows to nearly nine feet in height. His face contorts into that of a mountain lion and fierce claws spring from his fingertips. Arr- D’gado uses this form exclusively for battle, preferring to hunt in human or mountain lion form.

Kakuri (means darkness in Seatongue)
Caste: Changing Moon
Totem: needle fish (think ocean piranha with tons of tiny tiny spines)
Location: Home Bluehaven (LINTHA), now: Unknown, wandering

What would Kakuri say to you if you met? To fuck off. Of course, with a smile. And really fuck off. He means it.

Unlike Swift who joined some of the Lintha pirates as a forced existence from capture as a slave from the south, Kakuri IS Lintha. Thin as his blood tie is to Lintha Ng Oroo, it is stronger than most can say in this time of passion and pain. The Family prayed he would be born a girl, but alas, a man was given. He might have been embraced a full-blood, but the calamity of a man's birth has tossed him among the half-blood. In time, he hoped to earn the bloody rites of infernalism.

He worked his harsh life hard, knowing a truth, but accepting his fate. Yet in his heart, where there is love for the Grandmother, there is retched hate for the Family. But if he is not hating, he is not happy. And that suits Kakuri just fine.

Fickle strange it is that Luna took him. Embraced and woke in him a Lunar's soul. His people consider him outcaste, tossing him from the Primordial touched line back into the seas that birthed the people. Bad choice on their part. He never forgets or forgives a slight.

Now he roams. Pissed off. No ties that bind him to anyone. Itching for a fucking fight.

NOTE ON LINTHA: The reason exalts are hated and outcaste among the Lintha is that the Lintha...are...Infernalists! Their mother and grand keeper is a Second Circle Demon.

Templar
Full Moon
Blessed Isle
Totem: sewer rat

What happens when you exalt as a slave? On the blessed isle? And you eat a door mouse?

It's not pretty. At all. And yet Templar is such a mouse. He wanders the Blessed Isle, learning, growing, listening. And in time, he has become one hell of a force to be reckoned with. Few lunars know of his existence. But his followers are limitless. Influence grand. And desire to end the Dragon Blooded threat...severely skewed!

Lunars of the Black Crags

Sings of Death
Maugrim (was Miran)
Changing Moon
Member of the Highlands Conclave pack
Black Crag Mountains, North

A simple hunter, Miran supported her family in the foothills of the Black Crags. A freakish snowstorm pulled her adrift from her home far late in the season for such weather. Yet she needed to complete hunting if they were to feast well or have stores. Deeper she plunged until she edged too far for Sooka's liking.

The ancient wolf of the forests sought her with her sons. She tried to battle valiantly, but nothing would save her from the pack. Bleeding in the snows, eyes shining in the dark, howls in the air, she twisted on her side and pulled herself into a tree trunk. Fear and adrenaline fought through her veins, as she knew the cold, the wounds, or the wolves would kill her. In an instant, a raven lighted on the tree, pecking through at her seeking blood and flesh.

Her hand reached through, snapping the bird's neck, consumed into her mouth. Once eaten, she flew from the tree as that raven becoming a lunar. During the ensuing years, she learned from Gerd Marroweater and a few other Lunars the will and way of her path. She has sought every transformation option available, testing the limits of forms, until settling finally as a man.

And since finding the shape she felt best suited, Miran became Maugrim, male in every way and possibility. He has fathered a child with a huntress that lived as he once did, but rarely spends time with them.



Spirit of the Crags
Deep in the mountains, many shapes and forms come. Not all are normal, nor all wyld. Among them was a wolf of fierce cunning and dark grey fur. She raised many pups during her years, protecting and teaching in the simplicity of life. But when the Guild came for rich timber and veins of precious metals, she found hatred in her heart.

For years, she battled the guild with her mate. Tearing open throats, destroying tools, anything to protect their lands. Many of the wolves did not understand. But something in her heart feared what it could be. It was during these battles her mate died.

Heart broken, she returned to the mountains and howled upon the highest peaks. So it was a god answered. When next she returned to the woods, the great wolf had a name. Sooka.

Nearly the size of a cabin, she moved among her kind teaching them of the horrors of man. Bound together, they drove fear into mankind. For every wolf they kill, she destroys tens to hundreds. As long as the locals remain in their territory, she will not hurt them. But invading on her territory ensures a doomed end.

Wailing Rocks
Demense of Earth

Far in the mountains of blackest slate and granite, where the edges become sharp as talons and broken edged glass, a cavern opens unto depths just as jagged and foreboding. When invited or assisted by the Highlands Conclave of Lunars, the halls of the demnse will not immediately shred you to slivers.

The entire cavern system is heated by natural springs, filled with warm sand and smooth pebbles. Rooms are caverns with shimmering light from the pools and carved springs that run through it. Yet in the far deep, the heat becomes a furnace and the truth of this place is learned.

Forgotten and chained in the heart of an underground lake is a demon of fire and fury. The rage of this creature has built for eons, leaving the water boiling enough to temper all forms of metal and magical materials. A spar of stone juts over the water with an ancient anvil formed from a vein of hardened iridium. The Highlands Conclave guard this special forge, building a demense to protect entry to it.