| Paperback
- 158 pages
Sir Burnham Carrington felt strangely uneasy.
He rode on the back of an elephant, with two
Hindu guides at his side. The basket-like
space was uncomfortable at times, but it was
a small price to pay for travelling relatively
safely through the jungle. The guides seemed
a little frightened, too. There is nothing
to be afraid of, Sir Burnham thought to himself.
Two other great hunters like himself were
riding this bizarre elephant convoy. He had
requested this.
The guides had told him that the great white
tiger was marauding close to one of the villages.
And he was heading towards it, to see the
mighty beast, and to find a prey that was
worthy of his great hunting skills. The other
two hunters had joined him to satisfy their
own curiosity. But he would let none other
claim the beast’s head. They arrived
at the desolate village.
Signs of a bloody battle stained the huts’
walls with the usual dark red, dismembered
body pieces lay scattered across the field.
Some huts had been literally torn apart, all
of their inhabitants missing. The tiger had
moved fast. With almost human-like cruelty
and surgical precision. The beast was everything
Sir Burnham expected. He smiled at the death
that had walked, four-legged, among the huts.
That head would adorn the spot above his fireplace,
back at his Cornish countryside estate. He
didn’t know, yet, that his head, not
the beast’s would adorn a wall, and
that he’d never leave the Indian jungles
again...
Bastet is the first of the Changing Breeds
Books, a series of nine volumes that detail
each of the Changing Breeds, also known as
Bête and Fera. These beings are men
and animals, physical and spirit, just like
the mighty Garou werewolves. In ancient times,
there were many Changing Breeds, some of which
are now extinct. All of them had a task set
by Gaia, but the Garou waged a terrible war
upon them, the War of Rage.
This war, which happened some 10,000 years
ago, killed off entire species of Changing
Breeds, and left the surviving with bitter
scars and silent hatred. The Garou, the protectors
and warriors of Gaia, out of their own pride,
led this genocidal war and were never punished
for it. Now, the Apocalypse is at hand, and
the Garou have finally learned about their
mistake, but it’s too little too late.
The Bastet are the powerful were-felines.
Just like the Garou, they are divided into
tribes, all of which claim different species
of felines, from the housecats of the Ceilican,
to the lions of the Simba. Their task is to
be the eyes of Gaia, those who learn the secrets,
and, in lands unpolluted by the presence of
the psychotic Garou, they also protect the
land.
This book details their history, their connection
with the cat-cult in ancient Egypt, and their
secret war on the Setite vampires. In the
past, they were strong and numerous. Now,
one of the tribes (the Ceilican) is presumed
dead, and another (the Bubasti) is too weak
to withstand a heavy blow. But the cats’
burning hearts have devised schemes of vengeance,
some of them even consider using the Cahlash
(the Wyrm) as a tool. When those who own the
most important secrets plot, the world begins
to shake.
This book covers everything about the Bastet.
Each of the Bastet tribes is dealt with separately,
and as neatly as each werewolf tribe in the
core-book, and the reader finds out the difference
between them and Werewolves, and even amongst
themselves.
There are new Abilities, new Merits &
Flaws, new Rites and new Gifts… and
a disturbing bit of knowledge… beside
the Gifts, the were-cats can use human magic!
Discover about their magic weaknesses (Java)
and their spiritual companions, called Jamak.
The reader will also discover the nature of
their secret Den-Realms, places they control,
where land and Bastet become one being, a
really disturbing notion. With secrets like
this, it’s logical that they don’t
want to share.
Another secret is revealed within the pages
of Bastet: the were-cats used to host, among
the tribes, a different kind of Changing Breed,
the were-hyenas, known as Ajaba. This folk
used to help the sickly to die, but they have
been hunted down and all but destroyed by
the Simba, and their mad King Blacktooth (in
more recent books, we learn that this nice
guy has been put down for good, thank Gaia)
who rages across Africa in his unique war
of rage: he and his buddies, against everyone
else.
Who will you kill for all of these secrets?
Fortunately, you don’t have to kill
anybody in order to obtain them, as the Bastet
would. This book is a must-have for the serious
Werewolf Storyteller, and is a good read for
any feline fan just like me. Are you allowed
to play Garfield as a character? I don’t
think so… but who’s to say?
I must depart now… One of my contacts
has told me about a secret book containing
the lore of the night-folk commonly known
as vampires. If this book really exists, I
shall find out. It might give us a great advantage
in our shadow war against the children of
the monster some call Set or Sutekh.
Reviewed by Matías Timm
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