Raven Mocker
Summary
Of all the Wyrm-creatures known and feared by the Cherokee, the Raven Mockers are perhaps the deadliest. Appearing in the daytime as withered humans of indeterminate age and able to assume either make or female guise, these beings reveal their truly monstrous forms only at night. They are drawn to the side of the sick and dying, where they drain the remaining life from their victims, adding the time stolen to their own existence. Their vampiric-seeming nature is just that, for the Raven Mockers arose from a vile blending of the essence of spirits born of the Wyrm with the blood of the Children of Caine. These Umbral spirits are cunning and deadly, more so because they usually band together to attack their victims.
History
Only the oldest Uktena Theurges suspect their true origin, and the story of the creation of the Raven Mockers is not one that is willingly told, for it is a tale of failed vigilance against the Wyrm. When the Garou of the Uktena, Wendigo and Croatan first led the Pure Ones across the land bridge into the Pure Land, the Wyrm was aware of the arrival of humans. As the Garou traveled the American continents with their human charges, hunting and binding any Wyrm spirits they discovered, the Wyrm began casting about blindly for ways to combat them. Nothing worked, for the Pure Ones were resistant to the corruption of the Wyrm, until a group of Umbral Wyrm spirits made a pact with an ancient vampire - some say Nosferatu himself, though others claim it was one of his progeny. The infusion of potent vampire blood by these spirits sparked a curious transformation, spawning a new creature that was able to manifest bodily in the physical world. Now able to walk among the Pure Ones, the Raven Mockers (so called for the ravenlike cry they make when hunting) insinuated themselves into the tribe of Pure Ones that settled the Appalachian region.
Raven Mockers steal life from humans too weak to resist their attacks, most typically individuals who are themselves near death. Often acting in a group, Raven Mockers attack in the night. Cloaked in invisibility, they use their bat-like wings to fly unerringly to their victim where, if they meet no opposition, they torment their hapless prey to death, Raven Mockers ritually remove the heart from their victims and devour it, a process which leaves no scar on the corpse.
Uktena Theurges and Cherokee shamans have discovered a few ways to kill or defeat Raven Mockers. Fire will destroy them (damaging both their Materialized form and their Power), and cedar smoke will keep them at bay. Raven Mockers create others of their kind by inducing a mortal to partake of their unholy repast, and stories are told of Cherokee warriors who have encountered Raven Mockers in human guise who have offered to share a meal with them.
Image
In Materialized form, Raven Mockers are squat (5' tall), ugly creatures with round, hairless heads and soot-colored skin. They have low, overhanging brows, burning red eyes, and broad gaping mouths filled with sharp fangs. They possess batlike flaps of skin which allow them to fly and which they draw about themselves, thus making them seem cloaked in dark, shapeless robes. They use their ability to shapeshift into human form to allow them to travel in daylight, although they cannot attack in this form.
Stats
Rage 8, Gnosis 5, Willpower 6, Power 35 (+10 for every Health Level drained from a human victim)
Charms: Airt Sense, Drain Essence (Cost: 5; the spirit must Materialize next to a sick target, then roll Gnosis against a difficulty of 7. The target may resist with Willpower. Success drains one Health Level from the target. When all Health Levels are gone, the target is dead.), Invisibility, Materialize (Cost: 23; Strength 3, Dexterity 5, Stamina 5, Brawl 3, Dodge 4, Bite: Strength +1, Claws: Strength +2, Health Levels 10), Shapeshift, Tracking, Updraft
References
- WTA: Rage Across Appalachia, p. 124-125