Gunayeide
Posted: Thu Dec 19, 2013 5:53 pm
"The Tlingit steadfastly believed that the river otter (Kushta-ka--"River Otter Man") was in reality capable in every way of harming people--charming them, driving them mad, and changing them into werewolves. It was the river otter that carried off the souls of drowned people, and the Tlingit, therefore, most feared dying in water. Not only the drowned but also those who perished in the forest and were not found were changed into Kushta-ka (Emmons 1991:119). Whether one drowned or died in the forest and was not found, the body could not be cremated and without cremation its soul could not reincarnate in a kinsman; therefore the soul was believed forever lost: the river otter spirits enslaved it."
The Tlingit Indians in Russian America, 1741-1867, A.V. Grinev
"Land otters have the most potent spirit power of all the animals. They alone can help retrieve kidnapped souls." - Spirited Waters: Soloing South Through the Inside Passage, Jennifer Petersen Hahn
As observed in anthropologist Richard Barazzuol’s thesis The Tlingit Land Otter Complex: Coherence in the Social and Shamanic Order, “The land otter was probably perceived as the most human-like animal in that environment. The sea otter had a prestigious place in Tlingit society as a bringer of wealth during the period of the fur trade until its near extinction in the nineteenth century. However it is the land otter that occupied a prominent place in the belief systems of the Tlingit. Particular attributes of the land otters lead to the perception that it has the ability to create a symbolic bridge uniting human and animal. It was seen as an ambiguous figure which had the ability, like the Tlingit themselves, to function well both on the land and in the water” (Barazzuol, 1981, p.74).
Name: Gunayeide (different)
Age: 48
Race: Kushtaka (river or "land" otter shifter)--totem of Otter, cunning and feared god of the People of the Tides
Height: 5'7"
Physical Description:
Personality-- a bit irreverent but fastidious. Despite appearance rather mannered.
Possessions:
Powers or Strengths:
Dexterity
Capable of making delicate, intricate jewelry that is deceptively strong. Good with his hands.
Soulstealer
Incorporate myth abilities -- turning anyone into another like him and owning their soul, needs balancing weakness and way for players to avoid. Drive people to madness?
Gift of Water
Incorporate myth abilities -- can preserve someone who is drowning or who is susceptible to hypothermia. Some control over water? Has seer-like abilities with water? Perhaps use this to keep track of ship trade/whale shifter?
Confidence
Ain't afraid of no carnivore! where this stems from, confidence in Otter etc, belief of Otter's strength against larger, stronger carnivores
Illusion
Can appear to the injured/dying/alone as a loved one, especially one who is dead or vanished. Used in conjunction with his soulstealing capability, or a means of ferreting out information
Money
Charms
Weaknesses and Flaws:
- strong, commanding women -- raised by parents who came from matriarchal society. It's been beaten into him to obey women in charge. Likewise, dismissive and contemptuous towards weak, shrinking women. Doesn't think highly of puffed-up men.
- nervous around ravens
- dogs - break illusion
-tobacco - immense aversion, cannot cross into a home where tobacco is smoked. Cannot directly harm a person who carries tobacco.
-physically weak in comparison to other shifters, slightly above average for a human male of his size/build
alcohol - not an alcoholic, just extremely susceptible to its effects.
Family:
mom- alive totem/shifter, position in zhaltev?
dad- dead human
History:
Parents from Otter moiety
tried to escape the People
named/charmed Gun to avoid the eye of Otter
Otter marked Gun as a totem to prove that none of the People in her moiety may escape her
To do:
collab with zina, when the two met, why Gun follows a male, his place in Engar's business (perfume guy?)
how Otter interacts with totem shifting (parallels to Kuyeix)
Gun's reputation in zhaltev -- ie, how he survived
mom's reputation in zhaltev -- ie, how she survived
Gun's current relationship with mom -- is she involved with Engar's business too? Did she order her son to follow Engar for Gun's own benefit?
The Tlingit Indians in Russian America, 1741-1867, A.V. Grinev
"Land otters have the most potent spirit power of all the animals. They alone can help retrieve kidnapped souls." - Spirited Waters: Soloing South Through the Inside Passage, Jennifer Petersen Hahn
As observed in anthropologist Richard Barazzuol’s thesis The Tlingit Land Otter Complex: Coherence in the Social and Shamanic Order, “The land otter was probably perceived as the most human-like animal in that environment. The sea otter had a prestigious place in Tlingit society as a bringer of wealth during the period of the fur trade until its near extinction in the nineteenth century. However it is the land otter that occupied a prominent place in the belief systems of the Tlingit. Particular attributes of the land otters lead to the perception that it has the ability to create a symbolic bridge uniting human and animal. It was seen as an ambiguous figure which had the ability, like the Tlingit themselves, to function well both on the land and in the water” (Barazzuol, 1981, p.74).
Name: Gunayeide (different)
Age: 48
Race: Kushtaka (river or "land" otter shifter)--totem of Otter, cunning and feared god of the People of the Tides
Height: 5'7"
Physical Description:
Personality-- a bit irreverent but fastidious. Despite appearance rather mannered.
Possessions:
Powers or Strengths:
Dexterity
Capable of making delicate, intricate jewelry that is deceptively strong. Good with his hands.
Soulstealer
Incorporate myth abilities -- turning anyone into another like him and owning their soul, needs balancing weakness and way for players to avoid. Drive people to madness?
Gift of Water
Incorporate myth abilities -- can preserve someone who is drowning or who is susceptible to hypothermia. Some control over water? Has seer-like abilities with water? Perhaps use this to keep track of ship trade/whale shifter?
Confidence
Ain't afraid of no carnivore! where this stems from, confidence in Otter etc, belief of Otter's strength against larger, stronger carnivores
Illusion
Can appear to the injured/dying/alone as a loved one, especially one who is dead or vanished. Used in conjunction with his soulstealing capability, or a means of ferreting out information
Money
Charms
Weaknesses and Flaws:
- strong, commanding women -- raised by parents who came from matriarchal society. It's been beaten into him to obey women in charge. Likewise, dismissive and contemptuous towards weak, shrinking women. Doesn't think highly of puffed-up men.
- nervous around ravens
- dogs - break illusion
-tobacco - immense aversion, cannot cross into a home where tobacco is smoked. Cannot directly harm a person who carries tobacco.
-physically weak in comparison to other shifters, slightly above average for a human male of his size/build
alcohol - not an alcoholic, just extremely susceptible to its effects.
Family:
mom- alive totem/shifter, position in zhaltev?
dad- dead human
History:
Parents from Otter moiety
tried to escape the People
named/charmed Gun to avoid the eye of Otter
Otter marked Gun as a totem to prove that none of the People in her moiety may escape her
To do:
collab with zina, when the two met, why Gun follows a male, his place in Engar's business (perfume guy?)
how Otter interacts with totem shifting (parallels to Kuyeix)
Gun's reputation in zhaltev -- ie, how he survived
mom's reputation in zhaltev -- ie, how she survived
Gun's current relationship with mom -- is she involved with Engar's business too? Did she order her son to follow Engar for Gun's own benefit?