The Chakashi

The Chakashi are spiritual beasts. They are headed by a ghostly man, known only as Red Crow. This was the name given to him by the Pueblo indians, who worshiped these creatures as a god.
== Domain ==
The Chakashi are limited in their territory, confined by ancient magic to the Western portion of The United States of America. Generally they are the most powerful in the Southwestern states' deserts such as Arizona, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, parts of Colorado and Southern Wyoming. Their presence seems to fade towards the East and have never been reported as being sighted further than the Mississippi. They also seem to avoid water, so it is also rare to have heard of them in California, Oregon, or Baja Mexico. They also have never been recorded further north than Idaho.
== Appearance ==
They are often described by locals and natives as "dust demons". An attack typically will begin with the sight of a large smudge of dust on the desert horizon. As the cloud moves in on the unfortunate town, settlement, village, or individual, the wind rapidly picks up and has been reported at gusts of 57 mph. What follows is laced with superstition and folklore and the actual facts remain somewhat mysterious, but the few surviors who have lived to tell the tale have several themes in common. It is said that the dust swirls into the distinct form of a pack of coyote/wolf-like creatures. The size of the pack is seemingly dependent on how many beasts are needed to dispatch their victims. The creatures systematically kill every inhabitant, usually leaving no survivors. Sightings of a tall, lanky man with dark hair and golden eyes who seems to either be in control of the creatures or one of them himself are also reported. After an attack, what is found is bodies and piles and piles of sand. The unfortunate settlements that undergo an attack are usually covered in a thick coat of desert sand, streets are filled up to two feet thick with it, and even the inside of houses are blanketed.
==Mythology==
The Pueblo Indians were conscientious of these creatures and worshiped them as a god, whom they named Red Crow. The name likely refers to the mysterious man that seems to be part of this spirit. The group of creatures is called "Chakashi" by the Pueblo, meaning, "golden wind" . Red Crow was the god of the Western wind and is considered an evil spirit. He hunts at random and nothing can appese him. 
==Eyewitness Account==
One survivor, a certain Jacob Rimbsy from the mining town of Yardstand, Arizona wrote a description in his personal journal while recounting the attack on his town in 1883. He described the creatures as "unholy beings" with "piercing, golden eyes, black teeth, and soulless expressions." He also described that at one point, "A beast was advancing upon a young woman who was holding a little boy of about 4 years of age and a shotgun. She shot frantically at the approching beast, over and over again until the shot was all gone, but the lead seemed to pass right through the beast, as if it wasn't there and I saw with my own two eyes the same bullets drill 3 inch holes into the ground behind the creature. After the shot ran out, the beast leaped upon her as if it was solid, took her and the child to the ground, and quickly dispatched them. Then the creature rose up in a cloud of dirt and suddenly a tall man was standing in its place. He walked around, surveying the beasts' work calmly, carrying a sickeningly wide and slightly insane-looking grin upon his features." Rimsbsy ultimately finished with, "after the rest of the inhabitants were murdered, each creature swirled around the man in a massive column of dust, some 30 feet high, which then dissipated. All that was left where the pack once stood was the man, standing in the middle of the street. He then walked calmly down the street, around the bodies, out of the town, into the desert, and was never seen again. I swear to the Lord and on his Holy Word that these happenings occured just as I put down."
Rimsby claimed to have survived by hiding in an old mine shaft near the stables and went on to tell his tale concerning the fate of the little town to the authorities who investigated it, but he was written off as a madman and generally ignored. Yardstand was claimed to have been a victim of a brutal indian attack and used as a catalyst for a bloody, vicious raid upon a nearby Mojave indian village a few weeks later.
== Dealings with TARP ==
The Chakashi have never had a full out confrontation with TARP; only a few members have run into them once in a while. They are very deadly, but constrained to their particular boundries. Since the members of TARP are outside of the mortal world in more ways than one, they have a greater understanding of them and have on occasion outsmarted the spirits.
Note, 5/20/14, HKoD, Xyz Lib: Intelligence is the only key to survival against these creatures. They cannot be outrun and they usually can not be hidden from, but Red Crow seems to become easily bored and not prone to wishing to involve himself in long, drawn out hunts. He is as quickly changing as the wind he is known for and very tricky, but not impossible to outwit. If in a situation involving the Chakashi, try to make your escape as difficult to follow as possible, chances are he will become bored. Always, always try to escape. Battle is highly unrecommended. Not even the greatest warrior has a chance at fighting the wind.
Category:Enemies