Vkfenn **of Note** Texas twang now that she spoke English. ‘‘I’m called Rocio Parts-the-Water. Who’re you?” “Urn, I’m Erishka Derr. This is one of my Kin, Jolon.” She motioned to her companion watching from the comer, who gave a nod to Rocio. “Right,” said the woman, with a hard stare at Jolon. “Well, you’re both welcome anyhow. Didn’t expect you, but that’s okay. What can I help you with?” “I think Jolon has some business here,” Erishka answered. “I’m just the escort.” “Actually,” said the Kinfolk, “I was supposed to bring you here and let Rocio tell you stories about the Uktena. You’ve heard many already, and maybe we should’ve come here first. But I’m sure she’s got some tales you haven’t heard.” “Grandmother’s doing?” Erishka asked. “Something like that,” nodded her traveling companion. “Hmmm,” answered Rocio. “How much do you know about where the Uktena live? Have you met a bunch of us already?” “Some,” the girl admitted, “but I don’t have a clear idea of the big picture, so to speak.” “Okay. Let’s start in your home and mine. I’m no Moon Dancer, but I’ve traveled a fair bit in my time. Oh, and while I talk, you try your hand at pinching some pots,” grinned the Half Moon. “My wrists can use a rest.” Chapter Two: Feathered Pances Hidden Heat+ “I’m a border child, at home and a stranger in both the States and Mexico. But let’s look at the US. first. Once, the Uktena roamed in a wide range, almost coast to coast. Their favorite settlements were in the desert Southwest and along the coasts of the Gulf. Some moved into the temperate Southeast after the death of Middle Brother. As Wyrmbringers and Wyrmcomers pushed us aside, our territories became split and scattered. Nowadays, odd as it may seem, Uktena are almost everywhere, though in small numbers. Our strongest caerns, though, remain in the Appalachians, the rural deep South, along the Mexican border and among some of the large reservations in the Southwest. We’ve let the Wendigo and Red Talons roam much of the Pacific Northwest and the Plains, though you’ll find us mixing and mingling there often enough. And there’re a couple of islands we fancy, too, including Hawai’i and the Sea Islands of the Georgia coast. Our Kin live in these places, so we do, too.” “We just came from Kauai,” Erishka explained, as her hands tried to shape a squat pot. “Though Uktena may not be ‘native’ there, they’ve certainly formed strong bonds with the Kin they chose from there.” Rocio gave her a nod of approval. (‘The homeland of my mothers, Mexico, has a long and detailed history, which I’ll keep short,” continued the Half Moon. “Suffice it to say, this land became a battleground, not only between werewolves of the Old World and the New, but also between the Garou and the Fera.” “Fera?” asked Erishka. “I’ve heard them mentioned a few times. Who are they, exactly?” Rocio shrugged. “The other Changers. The ones specifically in Mexico were the Balam, the werejaguars. Beautiful creatures, but a bit feisty. Anyway, Uktena did have relations with many of the great civilizations of Mexico and Central America, such as the Toltecs, Mayans and Aztecs. We took some Kin from those peoples, but it all changed with the coming of Cortes and the Wyrmbringers. Thereafter, these lands were long subject to the whims of the Europeans, and even after they left, it’s remained a troubled country full of greedy politicians and both witting and unwitting agents of the Weaver. There is much wonder and beauty here, and no telling what kinds of secret places and hidden artifacts. But we’ve got no toehold, really, and those Balam carry a long grudge from the War of Rage. Deserved, I reckon. What Uktena do live in Mexico tend to stay in the highlands, away from the cities.” 4 d “Way up north, in Canada, is out of our turf. That’s the land of Little Brother, and we respect his territory. In the past, some of our Kin mingled with theirs, so you may occasionally find a rare Uktena born there among the Wendigo. But chances are, he’ll grow up among Little Brother and his Kin, and we won’t know anything about it.” “The numbers ofUktena dwindle sharply as you go further south through Central America to South America,” Rocio continued. “I’ve been there a few times, and as you might expect, it’s a place of incredible beauty. But again, you’ve got lots of Fera there still angered by the War of Rage. Some Uktena, especially those with ties to the U’wa of Colombia, have joined what’s been called the Amazon War, an all-out offensive against the forces of Wyrm and Weaver that’ve almost destroyed the rainforests. Nice place to make aname for yourself, if you ever get an urge to try out your claws.” From Erishka’s Notebook: Reading through some of my dad’s books, I came moss a reference to a Central American creature called the Onza by the Spanish, and cuitlumiztli (wolf cat) by the Aztecs. It supposedly looked like apuma with wolfish legs and longer, pointed ears, but it was more aggressive. The book suggested it was a remnant of a cheetah species that lived in the Americas back in the Pkis tocene Era. Several were killed in the 1900’s, but the specimens have been lost OT stolen. I asked Tide-Borne if they might be a crossbreedingof Garouandsome other Fera, but he said that was impossible, and he’d never heard anything about Mexican cheetahs anyway. I need to remember to ask some western Uktena about it when I get back over that way. “Oh, how I’d love to go to Africa! Can you imagine seeing theruinsofcities likeGreat Zimbabwe?MuchofCentral, West and East Africa are the ancestral homelands of some of our Kin. Still, it’s not a place where Uktena would be overly welcome. There are numerous Fera there, and it’s also the traditional homeland of the Silent Striders. Our relations are quite good with that tribe, andnow they’ve evenestablishedastrongpeace accord in Africa called the Ahadi. But until they get all the kinks worked out, I’ll hold back on my visit.” “Hmmm, let’s see, what have we not covered.. . ? Oh, I didn’t mean to forget about Asia, especially not Siberia. It’s part of Russia, true, but the Siberian Uktena are much more like us than those flighty Silver Fangs. We’ve got some very important caems there, and for many years, the Uktena kept to themselves. But as of late, they’ve actually flirted with the idea of maybe mending their fences with the other Russian werewolves. And I guess I need to tell you a secret, since it’s sort of a tradition for me to share one as part of my teaching. At least one of those mighty caems cages an ancient Bane. Yep, it’s buried deep beneath the caem’s heart, and I imagine they keep the lid on real tight. Don’t go blabbing that to anyone else, but you file it away for safekeeping.” &mp Erishkafinished shapingarathersad-looking pot, but at least its sides were even. “Not bad,” said Rocio, “especially for a first try. You’ll do better on your next one,” she explained, tossing the pot back into the clay mound, and giving her pupil another slab to work with. “I’m afraid I can’t say too much about Europe. Never been there, ‘cause it’s Weaver Land if you ask me. Too many cities, too many trains and jam-packed with people. But I know other Uktena have gone there, and they’ve found a decent welcome for the most part. It’s certainly a good place for a Moon Dancer to collect stories and lore. I guess you already know, that when we Uktena get curious about something, we’re bound to pursue it wherever the trail leads. Maybe in the coming years, that’ll be a reason for more of us to get over to Europe and see what kind of trouble we can find.” “So where do you travel next?” asked Rocio. “I get the sense you two’ve been on the road for a while now.” To Erishka’s surprise, Jolon answered. “Yes, the journey has been long. I’m to take Erishka to Australia, then our travel is over.” “Well, in that case, let me talk a bit about what you might find,” responded their host. “Australia is a sad place. I say that because it had so much wonder for the Uktena, at least at first. The native peoples, the aborigines, had a close relationship with the Australian werewolves called Bunyip. These werewolves also managed, by some lost rite, I suppose, touse the native marsupial ‘wolves’ known as thylacines as Kinfolk. They weren’t wolves like we’ve got here, but hey, they were still Kin. I reckon you can guess what happened. Wyrmcomers and Wyrmbringers showed up. They harassed the human Kin of the Bunyip, murdered their wolf Kin and then started taking caems. But it gets worse. Australia was the site of the War of Tears, where by trickery and deceit, we killed off the Bunyip. Yes, I meant to say we. I’ve heard tell the Uktena tried to stop the killing, but to no avail, so we’re guilty, too.” Rocio dropped her head to her chest, seeming to stifle a moan of pain. “We’ve got at least one well-known sept there,” she continued after a long pause. ‘(It’s called the Sept of the Waking Dream, and I know they’ve got representatives in the big council of all the werewolves in Australia. But I don’t think much is getting accomplished. Maybe when you come back here, you can give me an update.” Rocio pounded the clay a few minutes, then gave a quick nod to Erishka’s latest pinchpot. Rather than throwing the clay back into her stash, she set the pot aside to be fired. %U& “You didn’t ask me about it specifically, but I think there’s one more place I should mention,”Rocio said, doling out more clay. “That’s the Spirit Lands, the Umbra. If you know about the Skywalkers, you’ve probably heard they have a lot of shindigs there. If you can find it, the Uktena homeland is a place of rare beauty, a microcosm of Earth itself, with a mixture of forests, rocky mountains, rolling hills and even desert. Water is predominant, in streams, rivers and lakes. And when the crescent moon rises, you’ll
