Croatan
History
The Croatan were one of the three tribes of Garou native to the Americas up until the arrival of the Europeans.
They valiantly sacrificed their entire tribe in order to banish a powerful spirit of the Wyrm from the physical realm and avoid the Apocalypse.
When the continents split apart and the Garou divided themselves into tribes, three made the long walk across the ice to the Americas. These three, the self-described "Pure Lands Garou" were the Uktena, the Wendigo, and the Croatan. While the Wendigo favored the northern portions of America and the Uktena ranged far to the south, the Croatan favored the lands around the Mississippi and much of the North American East Coast.
The Croatans were very lenient with their Kinfolk tribes, only intervening when they directly harmed Gaia or threatened to aid the Wyrm. For this reason, the Tribe tolerated the first inventions brought by the Weaver's gift, since they did no true harm and greatly enhanced the life of their Kin. The people of Cahokia and the Croatan coexisted for a long period of time, exchanging knowledge of the spirit world with each other. Making a pact with the spirits of crops, the Croatans promoted agriculture within their protectorates, which caused arguments with some of the more martial Wendigo. As some of the people became corrupted by the Wyrm and demanded blood sacrifice, the Croatans sought to find out how this practice could have spread so far. A cunning Theurge, Three Scars, was sent to investigate and found evidence of corruption from the Defiler Wyrm, as well as the first evidence of the existence of the Triatic Wyrm within the Pure Lands. The ensuing battles against the humans that had adopted the ways of the Weaver and made spirit alliances of their own shook the Pure Lands and ended when the Croatans called out to Turtle, who sent an earthquake that destroyed the cities of the humans.
The tribe died to the last in an epic battle in 1589, attempting to defeat the Eater-of-Souls after it managed to manifest in the physical world. As one of the great triatic Wyrms, if the Eater-of-Souls had remained in the real world, it could have started the Apocalypse. Only by sacrificing the entire tribe in a great ritual were they able to drive it back to the Deep Umbra and Malfeas. The sacrifice of the Croatan was so thorough that no new cubs were born to their kinfolk, and their tribal totem, Turtle, was plunged into deep Slumber and has not awoken for centuries. They were totally annihilated both physically and spiritually.
The death of Middle Brother also caused a rift between the Uktena and Wendigo. The Uktena prevented many Wendigo from sacrificing themselves with the Croatan. The Uktena felt they would need the Wendigo to fight new threats. The Wendigo felt they should have provided more aid to the Croatan and resent the Uktena's interference. Both Uktena and Wendigo harbor deep bitterness towards the European Garou, who they frequently call the Wyrmcomers, whom they accuse of bringing the Eater-of-Souls to the Americas, causing the terrible events that transpired in the 16th century.
Though the Croatan are said to have fully and completely disappeared by numerous sources, others cite their influence into the present day. Rumors exist of the last Croatan still alive somewhere within the Midnight Circus, preserved beyond time, and the disappearance of Roanoke is somehow tied to their sacrifice.
Comments