Mythic Origins

The cougar is the only big cat that is native to North and South America, although it shares South America with its heavier bodied and more dangerous cousin, the Jaguar. Cougars are also referred to as Mountain Lions or Pumas, especially by those who are neither a Cougar or raised with Native American reverence for the species. The Indigenous tribes of the Americas have a great deal of legendry about Cougars and the role they play in the physical and spiritual worlds.

Almost all Cougars are born of Native American bloodlines and tribes, able to trace their ancestors back hundreds or thousands of years. The true origins of the Cougar's bloodline goes back centuries before the arrival of Columbus in the Americas.

Of the many tribes and peoples that existed in North America at the time, most had a war chief and a peace chief, along with a lead shaman, sometimes called a Medicine Man. The Medicine Men each experienced a vivid dream where Cougar, both a creature worthy of respect and fear, called them to the Big Horn Mountains in what would one day be known as the state of Wyoming. There, deep in lands held by the Lakota, was a sacred place called the Medicine Wheel. Most who held this dream were reluctant to refuse the call, and so many traveled for months or years, navigating hostile tribes and lack of communication to attend the summons. There, Cougar prophesied the coming of the Whites and the destruction of many tribes. He promised to secure the legacy and legends of the tribe, provided that the wise men present accepted his price and his burdens.

After discussion and argumentation, a majority of the Medicine Men present accepted the bargain, and were given the soul-bond, or totem, of Cougar, becoming the Cougar-folk. They were charged by Cougar to take one man in every generation of each tribe. The chosen men would bear the mark of Cougar and be taught the old ways, thus preserving the old ways for all time by Cougar in the form of the dead.

As time passed, memory faded and the number of men chosen to accept the soul-bond declined, with fewer and fewer Cougars learning the old ways from the departed dead. Now, cougars are rare, perhaps one of the rarest of the lycanthrope breeds. The Cougar strain of lycanthropy has a high likelihood of genetic transmission, but accidental infections are almost zero.

It is believed that in time, all the tribes remaining in the Americas will be united together into a single tribe, overcoming tribal enmity among themselves and with the Whites in order to regain their sovereignty. Then, the old ways will return, being taught to the lost ones who came after the Whites overtook their land.

Leadership & Social Structure

Of all the cat strains of lycanthropy, Cougars are the most solitary and independent. Each cougar in a territory knows one or two other Cougars that they can go to for help or to pass messages along, but gatherings are few and far between. When they are forced to gather, a group of Cougars is known as either a Clan informally, or as a Sept when referring to a group in a defined geographical area.

Three ranking positions are acknowledged amongst Cougar Septs:

• Sachem - A paramount chief who generally oversees the Sept on behalf of the Cougars, keeping an eye on things. Typically, this territory can be as large as a state, or as small as a city if there are multiple Cougar territories which overlap, but all the Cougars in an area will elect one of their number to serve as Sachem.
• Uktena - The horned serpent, a chief who is considered to be the War Chief for a group of Cougars in any given Sept. Typically, the Cougar chosen to be the Uktena is considered the strongest warrior in the Sept and is a position which can be challenged for if the current Uktena seems foolhardy, unworthy, or stupid.
• Diyin - The Sept’s spiritual leader, as well as the strongest Medicine Man in a Sept, who helps and guides other Cougars into remembering the old ways, honoring the ancestors that came before them, and preserving the history, oral traditions, and secrets of shamanic wisdom and power which help preserve the Cougar-folk and the tribes.

General Traits & Abilities

Werecougars are associated with the powers of water, death, and silence. As natural predators they move silently, stalking over the terrain with feline grace, with some able to vanish and reappear. Their movements are as fluid as water, an element they can often draw upon and manipulate using tribal magic.

It is believed some of their power, or at least their knowledge, comes from their ancestors. Cougars can sometimes connect to the spirit realm, calling upon their dead and learning secrets and wisdom from those who came before. The Cougar's cry is a foreboding, dreadful, terror-inspiring shriek.