Changing Breed Book #10
Ajaba


From a cauldron of hate boils a legacy of survival…

From the smoke and ash and night were we born,
No man, no lion, no king are we less,
Crushing bones, for the rain wept we have worn,
With teeth of fire and manes of darkness,
The Ajaba come, the Ajaba come.

-- From “Devour the Dead”, Snickers-at-the-Shadows, Twilight Fedha of the Mongoose Paws


Storyteller's Note: The following addendum is designed to both revise and expand upon the information provided in the Bastet supplement. In fact, some of the material incorporated into this expansion was taken verbatim from that book. As this Storyteller utilizes Werewolf: The Apocalypse 2nd edition, many elements that players of Revised Werewolf are familiar with will be missing. One of the most obvious items is that as far as this Storyteller is concerned, the hated Black Tooth still lives.

Introduction


Old Hand'i speaks:

It's a grim, dark world. It's a rotting carcass of a planet. And damn the monsters, the freaks, that made it so and kept us from doing our duty. But we aren't gone. And if we aren't dead, we're alive. If we're alive, we can perform the very mission for which we were uniquely created. But if you're sucking on Asura's teat, you are not doing your task. You joined the ranks of the freaks and monsters, and you're condemned to be chomped in our jaws, too. That is the fate of all traitors. Whether you're sick in the body, mind, or soul, you're on our menu. Get unsick, or get eaten. That is the law of nature. Not the sweet, loving Gaia some cats and dogs whimper about. That's just life. We are life, in its purest form.

The Choosers of the Slain

While the Bastet sniff the savanna earth for secrets drowned in hyena blood, the Ajaba grow strong once again. Outcasts? Never -- the Ajaba were a people onto their own since time could recall. In the beginning ages, before the War of Rage, the Bastet and Garou both held themselves above most other Changing Breeds. The Ajaba seemed to combine aspects of both cat and wolf. The hyenafolk never claimed there were no ties. They never cared. The Garou despised the Ajaba and even before the War of Rage, drove them from the northern lands. The Bastet, Bagheera in particular, took pity upon the "outcast" folk. Though they asked for none, the Ajaba are a race of survivors. So when the Bagheera offered an alliance and sanctuary, the Ajaba did not refuse. They did not care. When the Bastet, even their panther sponsors, eventually turned on them and "cast them out" again, they still did not care.

But this shared early heritage is where the Bastet get off calling the Ajaba a "lost Tribe". In truth, the Ajaba borrowed much of the tribal lore that the Bagheera generated for the Bastet race at whole. The scholars were all too pleased to pass on greater education to their "simple" cousins. So the hyenafolk included many Bastet terms in their people's history, or caliah. As far as the Ajaba are concerned, they're simply doing what they were created to do and always have. The werecats' rage against them was as unjust and wicked as the Garou's War of Rage. In fact, the Ajaba consider their shadow-war with the Simba a War of Rage. And it's not over.

Theme and Mood

The Ajaba do not possess the beauty, allure, and mysticism of the Bastet. Nor do they have the warrior's berserker edge and spirit-savvy of the Garou. They combine the best of both Breeds -- not to be better, but to be better at what they do. And their job is not a pleasant one. As "choosers of the slain", it is their appointed role to destroy -- by eating, that is -- all trace of the sick and infirm. Call it Darwinism in the extreme. The Ajaba are all about survival of the fittest. Unfortunately, this callous belief does not endear them to their changing cousins. The Ajaba have many enemies and almost no friends.

An Ajaba Chronicle is all about desperation and survival. In some Ajaba, this creates a sense of paranoia and xenophobic territorialism. In others, it creates bold daredevils, picking any fight and bringing all their pals along to make sure they win. The World of Darkness is brutal and savage, and the Ajaba might just be among the most brutally savage of all the Changing Breeds.

But that doesn't mean they're senseless maniacs hell-bent on chewing up the world and shitting it out. They have their own culture that, while washed in their own blood as well as their enemies', still thrives in the hearts of the elders. And from them, the young may be wizened and readied for the world at hand. It is not too late, even if so many embittered Ajaba have given themselves up to Asura.

Lexicon

Much of the Ajaba's terminology descends directly from the Bagheera's adoptive knowledge. This lingo has simply been deeply ingrained in Ajaba culture that there is no point in changing any of it. The following terms are common use among most Ajaba today.

Adjua Ka: The last High King of the Ajaba, probably forever. His charisma summoned many Ajaba into what became a death-trap, so it isn't likely that the Ajaba will ever appoint a High King again -- that is, provided they manage to enumerate their population to warrant such a leader.
Ahu: The Tellurian -- the world of earth and spirit, as far as the Deep Umbra.
Aktu: The leader of any given Ajaba pack, usually female. Attaining this status is usually performed through trial-by-combat, and ritually-anointed. Sometimes, however, intimidation and coercion is enough for the biggest werehyena to stake claims to the title.
Asura: The Corrupter Wyrm. To the Ajaba, like the Bastet, this is the ultimate spirit of darkness that seeks to make the world a rotting compost heap. Lesser demons in service to Asura are referred to as asura, too.
Binu: A site of spiritual power and purity, protected by several Ajaba packs (and which a Court is usually based upon) -- the equivalent of a Garou caern. Ajaba do not keep Den-Realms. Of course, particularly since the Massacre, they don't keep many caerns either.
Bonecrushers: A more brutal name by which the Ajaba occasionally refer to themselves.
Buree Pa: An ancient secret revealed only during a great ritual, usually as a reward for some service or accomplishment.
Caliah: Verbal lore, particularly in regards to the history of the world and the race. Usually recited during official court ceremonies.
Cahlash, the Unmaker: This is name given to the essence of entropy, or that force that breaks down everything in time. Called death by some, Cahlash is not evil but simply a necessary facet of all existence. However, Asura is a fragment of spirit that broke off from this great metaphysic. Asura seeks not natural death and destruction, but complete and total corruption, to freeze the world in rot.
Catshit: Bullshit. The droppings of large herd animals are pleasant compared to feline dung, as far as the Ajaba are concerned.
Chattam: The Ajaba Litany. This can also refer to a Hyena King's right to rule, in his duty to enforce the hyenafolk's rules. Also known as The Law.
Chaya: The spirits of the Umbra.
Choosers of the Slain: A more flowery moniker the Ajaba adopted for themselves.
Court: An Ajaba Court is a collection of three or more packs in any given region. A Court is not a Court until a King is crowned. There were once many courts, but the Simba changed all that. This is the rough equivalent to a Garou Sept -- the Ajaba are much more cooperative than the werecats.
Crinos: The fierce, hyena-man war-form of the Ajaba.
Crocus: The proto-man form between crinos and homid.
Cub: A young werehyena, a baby, or a newly-changed Ajaba still learning the ways of his people.
Dakat: Fomori -- humans who opened themselves to the sickness of Asura and should be devoured regardless of any physical strength the demons may give them. Illness can be of the mind and soul, too.
Damu: A term used to mean brother or sister or one’s peer; also the title for Rank 2 Ajaba.
Dogs: The Garou werewolves -- and this is pretty common usage, particularly seeing how much trouble Ajaba's hyenakin have with wild dogs in Africa.
Fedha: A prized member and leader of the people; also the honorific term for Rank 4 Ajaba.
Fisilu: The common language of the Ajaba, a blend of hyena sounds with human concepts.
Folk, the: Usually spoken in conjunction with "hyena", saying "the Folk" refers to instead Changing Breeds at whole.
Gaia: The Earth. To the Ajaba, Gaia is neither good or evil, kind or cruel -- she simply is, and all that dwell upon her learn to be the same if they wish to be in harmony with nature. Pondering moral implications of the amoral is pointless.
Ghost Man: Or Ghost Woman. This is the head shaman(ess) of any given Hyena Court, and the leader of most ritual ceremonies. Also called the mchawi.
Hairballs: Bastet werecats. Of course this is a common term!
Homid: The human form or breed of a werehyena.
Hyaena: The animal form or breed of a werehyena, such as the Garou's lupus and Bastet's feline.
High King (or Queen): The highest-ranking King of all Ajaba, whose rule insures the Law is fairly enforced for all Choosers of the Slain. Also known as bora-mfalme, this can also be termed for a Rank 6 Ajaba -- although Adjua Ka was the last High King to have lived.
Hyena King (or Queen): The highest-ranked Ajaba in any given area. There were once many courts, each with a great king or queen, but the courts were scattered. Only three courts now stand, and each boasts a harried and paranoid, but wizened and powerful, Hyena King or Queen.
Jamaa: Powerful spirits, Celestines and Incarna, that are akin to gods, but still part of the great, extended family -- the nyota jamaa, which includes the three dynamic entities: Cahlash, Nala, and Rahjah. These three ultimate entities define the universe and are inseparable parts of creation.
Killi: "Fellow" Changing Breeds. Rarely used except in formal and ceremonial circumstances. The Ajaba don't think much of their cousins.
Kiwanja: A strong, experienced, and wise one; also the honorific title for Rank 3 Ajaba.
Latrine, to: To latrine someone is to do to them what Ajaba do: kill and devour them. Every last bit. And then, of course, after digestion, to be shat out.
Lunar Trail: A Moon Path, a spiritual road connecting two or more binu (caerns). Most Lunar Trails were lost to the Ajaba when they lost most of their caerns. The Trails maintained today are kept secret and narrow roads of travel between the few remaining binu.
Lwa: The equivalent of Garou Totems, the Ajaba's tendency to form packs as well as pacts with spirits permits this sort of patronage. Of course, their spirit allies are limited -- but no less powerful. Also spelled "loa", and pronounced the same.
Mane of the Worm: A pretty obvious metaphor for Simba werelions.
Massacre, the: The Massacre brought upon the Ajaba by the Endless Storm and their veritable army of allies. It is estimated that around 300 Ajaba perished in that single battle, and hundreds more in Kin. Only about fifty Ajaba escaped or avoided the Massacre, and their numbers haven't improved much since.
Mfalme: An honorific term for a Hyena King or Elder; also the title for a Rank 5 Ajaba.
Mlinze: The guardian protector of a binu; the equivelent to a Garou Warder.
Monkeys: Humans. Pretty common usage.
Mwana: A newly Changed Ajaba or hyena cub -- or someone who acts like one; also the honorific term for Rank 1 Ajaba.
Naa: A werehyena who comes out of nowhere without a name or earned the trust of others in the pack or court yet.
Nala, the First Mother: The essence of the Wyld, her chaos keeps the dynamics of the universe between Entropy (Cahlash) and Order (Rahjah) ever-changing.
Nyani: An insult, literally “baboon”.
Pack: Most Ajaba join a pack at some point in their lives. Like normal hyenas, these packs are normally run by the most powerful female. Sometimes a higher-ranked male Ajaba will even defer pack leadership to the female. An Ajaba pack normally numbers from 3-8 members, and can be as much as triple that with Kinfolk or takuya involved.
Pryio: The "Moon Favor", this is a personality tendency based simply on the time of day in which an Ajaba First Changes. Unlike the Bastet, the Pryio is not a "secret face" for the Ajaba -- their Pryio are made well-known in title per tradition and more or less in manner.
Rahjah, the Maker: Rahjah is the essence of Order and Stasis, the Weaver. It is his works that keeps the world from tearing apart by the wild chaos and condemning entropy of the other two Triatic entities.
Rainmakers: Another euphemistic name for the Ajaba, originated from the human tribes of Africa who suffered losses to the hyenafolk.
Salama: Traditionally, an Ajaba diplomat to speak with other Killi. The Salama is taught to be better refined and more genteel than his brethren, but carried an important task. Unfortunately, they were also cannon fodder by which Hyena Kings determined who was enemy and who wasn't. The Ajaba's foes tended to murder even their diplomats (the honorless scabs they are), but sending Salama to their possible deaths was once standard foreign policy. Now Salama don't exist -- screw those Killi assholes!
Seb-at-Al: An incarnation of Cahlash (not Asura!) that fathered the Ajaba according to caliah.
Seline: Seline is the Moon, the patron of most Changing Breeds, who bear her Rage to the enemies of Gaia. The Ajaba liken her spiritual mysteries to cool, clean water from which to drink on a parched night. She is not a benevolent patron by nature. She simply provides what she provides, as with Gaia. The Ajaba do not have the same (perceived) close relationship with Seline that the Bastet do, though the Ajaba are no less empowered and cursed by those waxing and waning emotions. (The hairballs are just full of themselves.)
Shadow Folk: A common term for other supernatural creatures, such as mages, vampires, and faeries. Unlike the Bastet, the Ajaba are extremely cautious in their dealings with Shadow Folk. After all, the hyenafolk are not the Eyes of Gaia. The Shadow Folk's secrets are not their concern.
Siracca: The mother of the Ajaba, a great hyena matron that mated with Seb-at-Al to create the Changing species.
Spela: The terrifying "cave hyena" form Ajaba can take to devastate foes with powerful bites, and invoke the dread Delirium in humanity.
Takuya: Allies, mainly Shadow Folk or other Killi, that are allowed to join an Ajaba pack. Once very rare, it is much more common nowadays. Many Ajaba packs do not select takuya prudently, and through poor choice of allies, Asura has insinuated himself in the hearts of many hyenafolk.
Twilight Courts: The four remaining and growing Hyena Courts of the Ajaba kingdom.
Ua: A gathering of the local packs at their Court's base (traditionally a binu); the equivalent of a Garou Moot.
War of Rage: The genocidal war for dominance that the Garou waged upon all other Changing Breeds. It was long ago, and the Ajaba still recall the northern lands lost to the werewolves. But much more fresh on the Ajaba's mind is the Simba's unholy War of Rage called against them.
Yava: A tradition inherited from their Bastet patrons they wished they hadn't. These mystical secrets can (and did) condemn any Ajaba when confronted with an enemy that knows them.