Tanuwa (Hawk Anderson)
Character Sheet and Background.

AwakeningFrom the corner of his eye Hawk began to see the walls seemingly crumble away to reveal bare stone, and as it continued, a large plaque with a hawk on it broke away to reveal a living bird that screeched to the Native American, beckoning him, moments before it flew upwards through the roof, which then broke upwards to reveal a beautiful clear blue sky.

Hawk realized that he is still bleeding badly. Yet the pain seemed to have lessened, somehow. With each heartbeat his vital ichor flowed from him, but also with each beat he heard drums. Primal, tribal drums. Without exactly knowing why, he pulled himself to his knees and made toward a grassy mountainside ahead of him.

The drums in his head grew louder and louder. With each pulse he seemed to see a red haze flashing at the edge of his vision. He surmounted the hill and found himself in a glade before a great oak tree. The hawk called to him from the top, and he began to pull himself up the oddly evenly-spaced branches.

Behind him, the robber (who Hawk injured in the first place) mounted the stairs in search of his missing charge, following the bloody trail up towards the roof, gaining speed as he did so.

Having finally reached the top of the tree, the pulse is all Hawk can feel. It wasn't simply the pulse of his heart, pumping his blood out of his wound. It was as if the pulse of the living world is running through him. Barely able to stand, he staggered toward the eagle, perched atop a stone statue of an open book.

Atop the mighty tree, the hawk cried out to the world and opens its wings to their full span. It then lifted itself from its perch and dived headlong *into* Hawk, its entry resulting in a massive expulsion of blood from Hawk's chest that sprayed all over the stone statue.

Hawk gave a cough, and with his last strength, lurched forward to leave a bloody handprint on the book.

Back in the fallen world, the robber lowered his gun, wondering how long it would take for the guy to finally die.

As if all living things and spirits dwelling unseen rushed through him at once, Hawk felt the drumbeats reach a crescendo. A surge of life force overwhelmed him, and he can felt his flesh... repairing itself. All of the masks of the lie fell away from him, and his mind expanded tenfold, hearing and feeling the pulse of the Living World. He stood now before a memorial plaque on the roof of the bank. The plaque was covered in his blood, but he bled no longer. He stood, Awakened, and turned to face his attacker. His bleach white hair blew around him, and he felt no fear as Spirits whispered in his ear for the first time.

"But that's not possible.... I shot you! Twice! You should be dead!!!" The man shouted, before he raised his gun again in preparation for another shot.

Hawk instinctively clenched his fist, somatically activating his spell and weaving Life into his pattern, making his skin hardened against even gunshots.

The man pulled the trigger, but as the bullet impacted its target… nothing happened... the man doesn't even flinch. Aghast, the robber emptied the rest of his clip, but to no avail, the bullets seemingly doing nothing to the now white haired Native American. Tossing his gun aside, he ran in and brought his clinched fist to bear, but as it impacts, there is a sickening crack and his wrist gives way (the poor guy got a dramatic failure), the man collapsing to the ground in pain.

Hawk leaned down and checked the man’s pulse. "Not dead. He will have his justice. Now where did I put uncle's staff?" With a new confidence, he headed back toward the bank lobby, following his own blood trail.