Cobra

Camp: Dispossessed

This Gift was used in bygone days to assassinate corrupt officials or merchants who were the tools of vampires. Beautiful young Garou would dance for them, then strike when the target least suspected. The secrets of the dancer's knife had been kept alive by members of the Dispossessed camp, who found it useful to play on their gypsy heritage. In these desperate times, it's a common tool of the camp's Galliards when a fight gets messy. This Gift is taught by a cobra-spirit.

In the days of ancient myth, the Wyrm-creature Raktabija terrorized the Indian subcontinent. Raktabija could not be slain; every drop of blood that touched the earth sprang up another Raktabija. Soon after the battle against him began, the field was crowded with Raktabijas, each eager for the blood of Garou and Gaian spirits The mother-goddess Parvati (an aspect of Gaia) finally took to the field against Raktabija, in her guise as the hideous demon-warrior Kali. Kali spread her tongue out over the battlefield and prevented any of Raktabija's blood from striking the Earth; she then commanded the Garou and gods present to destroy the Wyrm-creature, which they did.

Camp: Judges of Doom

Like the Ratkin and the Nagah before them, the Judges of Doom have learned to quickly slip into and out of the Umbra so that they may surprise their prey. When using this Gift, the Judge disappears for a moment and reappears behind his victim, whereupon he may attack his victim with complete surprise. This Gift is taught by a cobra-spirit.

No other tribe among the Garou has as much hatred for vampires, for as just a cause, as the Silent Striders. It is no surprise then that the Striders sought out this Gift, searching long through the spirit world and the physical world for the secret to incapacitating a vampire. They found an answer from the spirit children of Cobra, who taught them a spirit-poison usable against the vampires who defiled Cobra's name.

Some Stargazer metis have used this Gift to deliver a fatal blow to unsuspecting enemies, even knowing that the cost will be their own lives. After a Garou has been dealt her own deathblow, if she invokes this Gift, she may strike her enemy once more ere she dies. It's bittersweet but often leads to an enemy falling dead alongside the metis warrior. This Gift is taught by a Cobra-spirit.