Ajaba

## Culture and Kinfolk

In the past, werehyenas placed great importance in family ties, ancestry, and group identity. They hunted as a pack, keeping their Kinfolk close. Most hunting parties had human, hyena, and shapechanger members, and although the Ajaba had the upper hand, the Kinfolk had a say in group activities. Now many of the ancestral bloodlines are cut; the Endless Storm slew the Ajaba’s Kin alongside their cousins. These days, the Ajaba mate with whomever they can to keep their kind alive. The older members dislike “polluting their blood” with undesirable strains, but this is survival, and the end is all that matters.

## Appearance

While their traditional Kinfolk are from the tribal villages (and hyena packs) of Central and Southern Africa, because of the cataclysm of the past few decades, modern Ajaba may descend from any human racial stock. Regardless of their heritage, werehyenas tend to have large lower jaws, thick teeth, bristly hair, heavy builds, broad shoulders, and hoarse voices. They’re not the most attractive of the Changing Breeds. These days, most tend to dress in cast-off clothing and carry improvised weapons out of necessity. While their Yava is not commonly known to outsiders, many Ajaba are careful to wear some sort of protection over the weak spot near the base of their skull — once bitten, twice shy.

## Yava of the Ajaba

Each of these secrets has been seized by the Simba and played a key element in their near annihilation of the Ajaba. Even so, they are not common knowledge — the Lions have carefully cultivated their image of superiority and deny that the Yava had anything to do with their success against the hyena-folk.

• Each Ajaba has a nick the size of a quarter on the back of her skull. He who strikes this spot will demolish the brain.

• Mixing white wine in a hyena’s footprint intoxicates the animal who left it. The stronger the drink, the longer its effects will linger.

• An Ajaba cannot bear the taste of baby meat; an infant younger than a year of age is always safe.

## Willpower

Although they can be great warriors, and their mystic tie to the needs of their homeland was a matter of great pride to them, Ajaba are not noted for their strong will. All Ajaba begin play with 3 Willpower.

## Breed

### Homid

Historically, most homid Ajaba were of native Central and Southern African descent. As Europeans pressed south onto the continent, however, they were also incorporated into the werehyenas’ breeding pool, creating a broad spectrum of racial representation. That diversity has increased even further since the Ajaba were driven out of their native homelands. Desperate to renew their numbers, the Breed feels a stronger imperative than ever before to ensure their next generation is a populous one.

***Starting Gifts:*** Apecraft’s Blessings, City Running, Master of Fire, Persuasion, Smell of Man

### Metis

Matings between two Ajaba are also exceptionally fertile, and when conception occurs between two werehyenas, it always results in a metis offspring. The race has never shared the usual Changing Breed view of metis, however, and the current crisis only makes them more accepted. Now more than ever, metis Ajaba tend to be fully accepted as members of the tribe. While they are sterile (and thus cannot help increase the Ajaba’s population on their own), they develop into functional adults within a few years of being born, rather than undergoing the decade-long childhood and several-year adolescence of homid Ajaba. This, coupled with the near-assurance of conception has led some Ajaba to turn to interbreeding as a solution to increase the Breed’s numbers — at least in the short-term. While observers mistakenly thought all natural hyenas to be hermaphrodites, metis Ajaba do exhibit a higher-than-average rate of hermaphroditism as their metis disfigurement.

***Starting Gifts:*** Create Element, Primal Anger, Rat Head, Sense Wyrm, Shed

### Hyaenid

While there are several species of hyena, only one — the spotted hyena — is the traditional Kinfolk of the Ajaba. Despite having a reputation as foul scavengers, spotted hyenas hunt up to 95% of the food they eat, and other “predators” of the region (such as lions) often attempt to steal their kills. Hyaenid breed Ajaba have historically been the most common, as hyenas have outnumbered humans on the African continent for much of its history. Today, the shorter adolescence period of hyaenid Ajaba would be a great boon to the Ajaba’s efforts to restore their population to its pre-massacre heights. Unfortunately, due to the mystic wards the Simba have raised over much of their native homelands in central and southern Africa, most of the Ajaba’s wild hyena Kin are out of their reach. Some Ajaba are working to counter this ban by freeing captive Kin from zoos, preserves, and refuges in an attempt to create a new wild clan for the next generation. Others have moved into northern Africa, the Middle East, and India to try to court the striped hyena there who share ancestry with the Ajaba’s spotted hyena Kin. The results have been less than promising so far, but Ajaba do not give up easily.

***Starting Gifts:*** Hare’s Leap, Heightened Senses, Predator’s Arsenal, Prey Mind, Sense Prey

## Aspect

### Dawn

Dawn Ajaba are filled with fury and Rage, eager to fight with their foes or to prove their dominance over their own kind. They are feisty and combative, easily-offended and hyperactive, and have historically made strong pack-leaders — although they usually lack the control necessary to lead an entire clan.

***Beginning Rage:*** 5

***Beginning Gnosis:*** 1

***Starting Gifts:*** Beat of the Heart-Drum, Finishing Blow, Lightning Reflexes, Pack Tactics, Razor Claws

### Midnight

Midnight Ajaba are balance made manifest. While their anger may not equal that of the Dawn aspect, nor their supernatural strength that of the Dusk, neither do they have particular weaknesses in either area. Historically, males among the Ajaba frequently exhibited the Midnight aspect. This gave them a unique place in Ajaba society, as they were considered some of the most stable and balanced individuals of the Breed, despite their low social standing. The irony of this state of affairs was not lost on them. Midnight aspect Ajaba are often the glue that holds the pack or clan together, and many of their aspect Gifts reflect that talent — or the simple ability to endure in the face of adversity.

***Beginning Rage:*** 3

***Beginning Gnosis:*** 3

***Beginning Gifts:*** Beast Speech, Burning the Vision, Mindspeak, Perfect Recall, Tears of the Heavens

### Dusk

Dusk Ajaba turn their Rage inward, learning more subtle ways to fulfill their sacred duty. Dusk aspect werehyenas strike from the shadows, stalking their prey until they are most vulnerable. They know how to see beyond the obvious, ferreting out their target’s weaknesses and using them to full advantage, whether that be to cull the herd, or lead the clan.

***Beginning Rage:*** 1

***Beginning Gnosis:*** 5

***Starting Gifts:*** Blur of the Milky Eye, Fatal Flaw, Open Seal, Scent of Running Water, Whispers in the Grass