Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone you may still exist, but you have ceased to live.
-Mark Twain

Hmm, you want my story do you? I suppose I can oblige you, to a point. Some things I just don't talk about, I'm sure you can understand that. But I'll give you what I can, it's an entertaining story even without the missing elements. But then, I'm Galliard so it couldn't help but be entertaining. If it wasn't, I wouldn't be doing my job. I'd surely hate to fail at that.

I was born in Scotland. Inverness to be exact. It's a very nice city, I surely have no complaints about it. It could occasionally get dull, but then, most places can. I'm sure even your big metropolises like London and New York can be boring sometimes. I can't say as that's the truth about New Orleans right now, but that's to be understood. But that's neither here nor there and the New Orleans part comes farther on in my story. I was on my earlier life, I believe. It's easy to lose track sometimes. And I'm not used to talking about myself.

My family was a somewhat big one. I have three sisters, two brothers, and my mother. I didn't know much about my father for quite a few years, my mother didn't talk about him too much. I don't know how much my older siblings knew, I never really asked them. But obviously he came around at least a few times after they'd been brought into the world. I just knew that he was still alive, just couldn't stay around due to some things she never did explain. I'm not going to go into much detail about my family, that's one of those subjects that I'm only going to go into in a cursory way. I only had one sibling younger than me, and that was my brother Sean. We all got along rather well, had all sorts of family gatherings with my mother's family and had a grand old time for the most part. Had a problem here and there with a few people, but that's a story for another day, if I decide to tell it at all.

The first indication I ever had that I was different than the others came when I was 8. It wasn't a very clear indication, I just overheard my mother talking to someone. I just caught the tail end of the conversation, I've always had a small tendency to overhear things. I guess I just happen to be at the right place at the right time a great deal. But this time what I overheard gave me some pause and set me to thinking for a short while. Because my name was mentioned and I heard the man who mentioned it say something about how I was the only one of my siblings that would turn out like my father. It was kind of a confusing thing to hear, as I'm sure that you can figure out. I didn't get to listen much more as they went outside together and the man left not long after. I decided not to broach the subject with my mother. After all, I thought that she might get a wrong impression as to how I had come to overhear it. Especially since I was supposed to be in school. But I only thought about it actively for a couple of days before pushing it all into the back of my mind and going on about my other business, or such business as an 8 year old can have.

It was two years later that tragedy struck my family. My mother was out shopping one day when an accident happened. Or at least it looked like an accident, sometimes things like that can be deceiving. Nothing was ever proved, but we do have our suspicions. She was tough and tried to hang on, lasted a few days. But six days later she died in hospital of her injuries. It was a hard thing, I'll tell you. She was a hell of a woman and I still miss her. However, we had to go on with our lives and the next obstacle was in deciding what was going to happen to those of us who were too young to be on our own. It just wasn't going to work for us to go with the two siblings who were old enough, it wasn't practical. So it was finally decided that we'd go to stay with our Uncle Findlay. The only rub on that was that he lived in the States. But he was our best choice; the one who had the best facilities for raising a few kids. His wife had died two years before so I guess we were also a good distraction. And we surely did distract.

So it was off to the States with us. It was quite an adventurous time in our lives, I can say that. Uncle Findlay's residence is in Atlanta, Georgia and that is quite a culture shock when compared to life in Inverness. It made it all the more exciting, at least. I'm afraid that I more than the others gave my uncle worries and fits, I simply had a hard time settling for things with which the others settled. The older I got, the more restless I seemed to get. There was something missing and I wasn't quite sure what it was. I had my fun around Atlanta, of course, especially in school when I remembered to go. You'd be amazed at just how easy some people are to fool. I suppose I can admit that I have a small knack for lying and getting out of things, it's nothing to be ashamed of. At least I'm honest about it, right? But after awhile even that started to grow stagnant and I became completely lost as to just how to spice up my life. As fortune would have it, I ended up not having to figure that out on my own. My father figured it out for me when I was 15.

Yes, that's right. My father finally poked his errant nose into my life. I was a bit put out with him for waiting that long, of course, but I did give him a chance to explain. That explanation did make a difference, no matter how reluctant I was to believe it at first. But then, it's hard to stay skeptical when the one trying to convince you that he's a werewolf uses a change to Crinos form to prove it. I don't recall ever being found speechless before that. Imagine my surprise when it happened. My father's tactic did have the right result, though. I believed all that he said after that. He sat me down for hours to explain my origin to me and how I was the only one of my family to inherit the Garou gene. It made sense what I'd heard back when I was 8 then, too. Bless my mother, she had wanted to tell me earlier but had been advised that such a thing would not be wise. And so she had to keep that secret along with the one about my father. I do feel for her about it all. Imagine loving a man who, due to what he is and the duties that come with it, cannot live the life with you that you'd like. I have even more respect for her now because it it. But on with the story.

I found out from my father that I belong to a Garou tribe called the Fianna. I suppose that's not much of a shock to anyone who knows anything at all about the Garou, considering my Scottish origins. It's a fine tribe to be a part of, the very best in fact. No, I'm not at all biased. I always keep an open mind. It was a fascinating talk that I had with my father, especially when he told me about how I would soon be going through my first Change. It sounded exciting but also frightening. I'm sure anyone would agree with that. He told me that he didn't know when I would be going through it and that he wasn't going to be able to stick around for long. That made me feel a little isolated, I can tell you. However, he had arranged for me to join up with a pack. The Free Spirits, to be exact. It's a mostly Fianna pack and a very lively one at that. Led by Carmichael Ale-Song, it is one of the more respected of the Fianna packs. Carmichael and my father had known each other for years and so it was no trouble at all getting me in. My uncle was sorry to see me go, at least for the most part. I'm sure a part of him was breathing a sigh of relief about it as well. I don't know why, of course. But my father took me to the Free Spirits and Carmichael welcomed me rather heartily. It was odd how well I felt that I fit in, but it was certainly not an unpleasant feeling. My father stuck around for another couple of days and then had to be off on his own business again. The Free Spirits began to train me in the ways of the Garou and what I should expect, so I was quite well occupied.

It was about seven months after I met the Free Spirits that my first Change finally came about. A few of us were out having a fine time, I'm sure you can guess what that was comprised of, considering how you've seen at least somewhat how Fianna are. A good party is a very important part of a Fianna's life. During this particular party, however, a rather stressful situation occurred. You remember me mentioning about how my mother's death was not necessarily an accident? Well, suffice it to say that we have a family enemy. Another family, in fact. They hold a great deal of malice for us, and they know about Garou. I'm not sure why that is, I don't know if they have Garou as well, or what. I never have learned a lot about them. But that night, they decided that I was the one in my family upon which they should focus. And they did so. Too bad for a couple of them.

While the small group of us was busy having a good time, there was a loud sound that I recognized as a gunshot. I jumped up as soon as I heard it and my attention quickly turned to the other young one beside me. He and I had hit it off rather well, he'd joined up not long before me. Sadly, he was forced on to his next life far too early as the bullet struck him in the back of the head, killing him outright. I felt a slight burning after I heard the next gunshot, a wrenching pain in my shoulder as the bullet lodged there. And then... well, things got strange. I'd been warned as to what sort of experience it is to go through the Change, that still didn't quite prepare me. However, I gave little thought to it at the time as I focused on going after the one that had caused me pain. He didn't last long, I'm afraid. Even when they know about Garou, it still doesn't help keep you going when you're faced with one trying to rip you apart. Or, I should say, succeeding in doing so. One other did not survive that encounter, although I was not the one to finish him off. Drake was the one that got that pleasure. I can't remember much of anything for a short time after that, but I do remember coming out of my foggy thoughts and finding myself back at the caern with the others. I had quite a bit of blood all over me, and felt a sense of satisfaction at my victory. We had a ceremony for my departed friend and not long after I went through the Rite of Passage with three other young ones. That was quite an experience as well. But we'll save that story for another time as well.

I started to gain a bit more freedom to do things away from the pack after my Rite of Passage and so I put that time to good use. I might as well say right off that I've always liked having an ear to the ground. Or should I say Underground? Yes, I have always had a small interest in the less than savory seeming walks of life. A person can gain all sorts of valuable information that way, and gain some very helpful friends and alliances. I guess you could say that I know the right people to go to when something needs to be done in a more subtle way. And that I have my finger in a few pies out there. I don't get my hands too dirty, of course. Some things I would never get involved with. I do have my standards. But things certainly did take an interesting turn when Claude Heinrich took over, I can tell you that. The Underground picked up quite a lot and it became a little more dangerous to be involved with things like that unless you sided with Heinrich. Many did, others still take their chances. He hasn't seen fit yet to do anything about it, but then they haven't done a lot of work against him. If and when they do will be the big problem. Especially since they don't understand that he can use magic to find out things that he wouldn't ordinarily be able to find out. And I haven't been able to figure out a way to pass on that information to them without looking like I'm mental.

Speaking of mental, recent events bring me to my latest adventure. One that I got out of in the nick of time. I very nearly became like several other Garou have recently as a bitchy little Malkavian vampire named Mora tried to turn me into an Abomination. I got very lucky that people were quick to jump to my aid, I'll tell you that. It was the closest call I've had, including that bullet in my shoulder. I would very much like to pay that woman back, I don't care how daft she is and what excuses she has for trying to do that to me. Carmichael has told me that I need to not go out so much and need to stick with groups of others. I can do that to a point, but some of my activities are those in which I have to go it alone. I'll be as cautious as I can, hopefully the woman will not decide to try and finish what she started. It's not a fate that I would like to have, I can tell you that. I've heard a couple of the new Abominations.. and I do hate that word.. talk and I couldn't even begin to understand how they've managed to get through it. I admire them for it and wish them all the best. And I very much hope not to join their ranks, no offense to them, of course.

A mother understands what a child does not say.
-Jewish Proverb

Be curious always! For knowledge will not acquire you: you must acquire it.
-Sudie Back