So you saw me using that Gift. Never thought a Raven could shake the earth like that, did ya? Well, I could bullshit my way out of this. But you caught me dead to rights, so I figure you deserve the truth. Plus, it's about time I started getting some damned respect from you Tengu, here; I've been in the Beast Courts two years, and I'm tired of my "probationary membership" already.
I'm about to tell you a story that almost no one knows, a tale about a dead race of Shifters. Sit down; this'll take a while. And don't ask how I know all this, or where I got the Gift; if you knew, I'd have to kill you. Seriously though, if you want to find more than what I'm telling you, you need to find your own sources. If you do want to dig up more dirt... and of course you do. My advice to you is don't try looking in this world. The answers aren't here any more.
The Gana, when they were around, were Elephant Shifters. Yeah, yeah. I know the idea of were-elephants sounds funny. But don't laugh too hard; a wereraven is a pretty odd concept, if you think about it, as well as the idea of crocodiles turning into dragons or giant spiders turning into people. Enough digression, sorry.
Anyway, the Gana had their purpose under Gaia, though it was mostly a support role. They were the overseers of Gaia's children, making sure we did what we were supposed to. As you know, each of us has a dharma: a role for which were were created. The dharma of us Ravens is to uncover and distribute information, the dharma of the Garou is that of Gaia's warriors, and so on. One's dharma is more than just what type of Shifter we are, though. It's influenced by which breed we were born into, tribe or group affiliation, and other circumstances (for instance, a Pillar and a Fist do different things, and a Wolf born under the full moon has a different role to fill than one born under the crescent). It's all pretty complex. But the Elephants had it figured out (or thought they did), and it was their job to make sure everyone did what they were supposed to.
The Gana worked closely with the Nagah, as what they did was similar, but the Gana were meant to help keep us in line so the Serpents wouldn't have to do their job when we didn't. They weren't the leaders of the Changing Breeds -- hell, not even the Garou were that presumptuous. They were just administrators with broad discretionary powers. They'd smooth things along for those doing what they were supposed to do, and help out those fulfilling their dharmas. They could, and enthusiastically did, hinder those they felt stepped out of line. They were given the responsibility of influencing pivotal events, engineering schemes that would (presumably) line up with Gaia's Master Plan. Mostly the Gana sat back and observed, took notes, and once in a while give things a little nudge. Their raw power they wielded over the world was small, but they could achieve great things through ritual and by knowing exactly when and how to act. For the most part, the Elephants kept to themselves and didn't become too involved in the events of the world. However, they did enough to get lots of folks pissed at 'em. It seems the Gana seemed to serve the interests of the Weaver more than the Wyrm or the Wyld, if I had to take a gander. Though I do know they assisted anyone and everyone that had a purpose under Gaia, and would have worked with minions of the Wyrm and against Shifters had they felt it to be necessary. And, according to my sources, they sometimes did just that.
I'm sure how you can see how all this might make the Elephants unpopular. Ask the Western Nagah about how much it sucks doing a job no one appreciates -- that is, if you can find any. And no, I'm not telling you who my sources are.
How exactly did the Gana influence other Shifters? Good question. Sometimes, they got involved personally. For example, Gana would sometimes show up at critical times and support those that were fulfilling their roles. More often, they just subtly influenced matters from a distance, with their benefactors (or patsies) none the wiser. They'd use rites and Gifts to bolster the resolve and efficiency of a group of Shifters when the need was great enough, giving them a critical edge when they needed it most. However, they could also hinder your efforts if they felt you weren't doing your duty. And it was their call, and their right, to grant boons or strip them as they saw fit. They didn't intervene all the time, and come in and start fiddling with things whenever anybody did anything; there weren't that many of them, and besides, their eyes were focused more on the Big Picture than the little stuff.
Needless to say, many didn't like this meddling, and it's not unthinkable that some Gana abused their privileges. But, even assuming they didn't (which I don't buy), no one likes being told what they're doing is wrong, whether it is or not. See, the Gana had two things going against them, here: They didn't like innovation, and they didn't seem to account for free will. They figured that Shifters should be like spirits, lining up in neat little rows and carrying out their marching orders. When you're dealing with sentient creatures, things don't work like that. For example, take a full-moon Garou that wanted to bring prosperity to her village instead of fighting the Wyrm. A Gana catching wind of this would come in and interfere, making things hard on the Wolf: After all, she's a warrior among a breed of warriors, and she should be out raging against the Wyrm. Or, for something that hits closer to home, take you. You're one of the more accomplished fighters in our Court, but how would you like it if someone came and told you you shouldn't do that because your role was to spy on folks? And then, if you didn't agree with him, you'd start finding yourself falling flat on your face in fights, and the spirits wouldn't deal with you anymore. No, I didn't think you'd like that. They didn't seem to grasp the idea someone can serve the Mother on his or her own terms, and this earned them the enmity of many.
Yeah, like I mentioned, the spirits seemed to agree with the Elephants. If you were on the outs with the Gana, you quickly became unpopular with the spirits too. Whether this is because the Gana held sway over them, or that the Gana had a special 'in' with the spirits and were carrying out their will, who can say?
I'm sure the Gana didn't have monthly focus group sessions with Gaia. Like all of us, they were given a role, and I'm sure they more-or-less stuck to it. Some may have fallen to hubris, others may have lost their own way, but it's pretty obvious their control slipped and they didn't do their job of keeping the other Breeds in line. When the Gana got wind of the Garou getting anstsy and uppity, talking about taking the fight to the other Breeds, what'd the Gana do? They sat on the info, not telling anyone else, and instead tried to handle the problem themselves. Which was sort of their job, I guess, but they presumed they could put the Garou in their place by themselves. Gana weren't perfect; they had made bad decisions in governing the Breeds before this, but none that affected them so badly. I don't think it occured to them that they could fuck up permanently.
Yeah, I know this is a dragon nest. No, I won't watch my language But thank you.
Anyway, much to the surprise and dismay of the Gana, the Wolves went nuts and declared war on the other Shifters -- we all know the War of Rage bit. The Gana were among the first to fall to Garou claws, because of the Elephants' presumption in asking them to pretty please behave. However, the Simba and the Ajaba weren't any better, as they had recently fallen to fighting the Gana for meddling in their little war. Taking advantage of the chaos, the Lions and Hyenas redoubled their attacks on the Gana. And the Elephants, few in number and attacked on three fronts, died pretty quickly. And no one, save maybe a few Snakes and maybe the odd Bagheera, came to help the Gana; they had their own problems to worry about, and they figured they'd be better off without the controlling bastards anyway. So while the Bears and Cats and Dragons all helped cover each others' asses during the War of Rage, the Elephants were left to die on their own. Toward the end, all Gana became warriors in the fight to survive, deserting their Ways of Knowledge and Honor, but it wasn't enough to save them. Like most of us Shifters, the Gana didn't hang with each other very much, which is why they went down so fast when faced with organized foes. And the Emerald Mother Beast Courts, neighbors to the Indian Gana, didn't step in and help the Gana out or even offer asylum to those that fled here. (Hey, don't get in a snit. I'm just letting you know what happened, okay? We have to stay impartial, here.) The Gana became a statistic, an inconsequential Breed quickly forgotten among the casualties of the War of Rage. I'm not sure if any survived by running into the Umbra. If they did, they're all spirits now, and are someplace no one can find them. And where they can't help us anymore.
Yeah, you saw that coming. If the Gana were right, and weren't just boasting about how important they are like the rest of us do, we may be in big trouble. And the Elephants kept their own council, and had no one to brag to; that, to me, lends more creedence to their claims than anything else. The Gana were responsible for helping us Changing Breeds remain true to Gaia's plan and hidden wisdom. But the Sixth Age draws nigh, disillusionment and despair strikes Gaia's children, and the Gana's help is needed more than ever... and it so happens we don't have it.
So let's hope that maybe we Shifters can get our shit together and do what we're supposed to do without someone having to coax us. Though if history is any sort of indicator of where we're headed, things look very bad indeed. But there is some hope. Creatures and races and empires and Ages may die, but information doesn't. The dirt on the Gana, and their Gifts and rites, and the spirits they were allied with, are all out there... somewhere. Hell, my little trick is proof of that, huh? I think it's good idea to try to dig up as much as we can about the Elephants, and to learn what they knew, and use it... maybe we, collectively, can do their job for them if we find the right bit of lore and spread it to the right ears. And try not to end up like them.