Crispen Gray

Alright, so you want to know about the youngest Corax to ever achieve Legendary rank, huh? You want to know about the infamous, glorious, and ever-knowledgable Crispen Gray, huh?

Well, that's too bad. I've got to have some secrets. Some secrets are important. I mean, look at that whole Veil thing.

Okay, okay, okay. I'll tell you a bit.

It was my Dad who was the Corax. He did the rite to me as a baby that gave me my Raven half. He was the wonderous Edward Gray. Never heard of him? Well, he died pretty young -- he was still an Adren when the BSDs got him. I was just three at the time, so I don't really remember him. And my Mom and I -- well, I guess the world couldn't handle two people as cool as us at one time, so she had to die when I was born. The world can only handle so much cockiness, you see.

So I was sent off to live with my my Mom's mother. My grandmother was a wonderful, kind old woman, though she wanted desperately to protect me from the harshness of the outside world. Well, if you've ever met a young Corax-to-be, you know that nothing can foil a strong enough curiousity.

In school, I didn't have very many friends -- I think they could tell that there was something different about me, even then. The Curse, and all. But one boy was different. Chris Garran seemed intrigued by my differentness. And he was a bit unusual himself, which peaked my curiousity.

Well, we became best of friends. Turns out that young Chris had what the Romany call "the Sight;" he was more sensitive than a squirrel on crack. This combined with my dangerous curiousity got us in loads of trouble.

When Chris was 11, his mother died -- she had fallen down the stairs in her home. Chris later confided in me, two years later, that his father had pushed her in a drunken fit. I began to realize that Chris always seemed to have some injury or another from tripping, or slipping, or falling down stairs, and I realized what was actually happening. I wanted to go to the police, but Chris made me promise that I wouldn't tell anyone. Reluctantly, I agreed.

In the meantime, the two of us got into a great deal of trouble. We started learning more and more about the world around us, and we saw things that most people wouldn't believe -- I'm still not sure about half the stuff I saw, and I was there.

Without a doubt, the gutsiest move we ever made was when we were 17 -- we managed to find out about a Vampire Club in San Francisco, just an hour's drive north, and we managed to sneak in. We'd already learned more about the vampires than I think they'd ever want anyone to know (yes, I can name the 13 clans and their founders, as well as the fallen clans and several major bloodlines, and the important sects and the titles and politics associated with each... yeah, I know my shit). So when we entered the Alexandria club, we knew exactly what we were getting into. Unfortunately, our luck didn't last as long as we were planning, and we were soon discovered. So we put on our best faces, pointed at a nearby Malkavian -- sort of like the Ragabash of the vampires -- and said we were with him. He agreed, then later told us that he liked our Prank.

Needless to say, we never tried that ever again.

When Chris turned 18, we went up to San Francisco to celebrate for the weekend. We returned Sunday afternoon to find Chris's father in a drunken rage. He began accusing us of... well, of being more than friends. And, yes, I am curious, but not in that way, thank you. Chris was like my brother to me. When I tried to intervene, Chris's father hit me. Chris attacked his father, but his father was larger and stronger, and much much meaner. I saw my friend being beaten to a pulp -- and something within me snapped and hatched.

Most of my brethren get their First Change by age 15 at latest, and most turn into their Corvid form (if they're homid, at least). I didn't. I changed late, and when it came, I Frenzied.

When it was over, my tattered clothes hung in rags off my body. Chris stood in shock, staring at me. And his father was in bloody ribbons. And his blood was all over me.

I turned and ran. I don't think it even came as a shock when I turned into a raven on my way out the door. And I flew home.

Unfortunately, when a Corax goes through their First Change, it sends out a call that most anyone with half a sense of occultic knowledge can hear from miles away. The first people to respond to the call was a pack of Black Spiral Dancers. They beat me home, ate my grandmother, and waited there for me. Before they could get me, though, a pack of Children of Gaia came to my rescue and helped me to their caern, where a Corax eventually came to train me. From there, I ran away to the Pacific Northwest, where I began my proud career as a messenger and spy.

Well, that's my tale.

What? You want more?

You want to know how I met my Verbena girlfriend? You want to know how I eventually made amends with Chris for killing his father? Above all, I'm certain you want to know how, in the space of ten years, I managed to become one of the highest possible ranks of Corax in the world. Forget it! Like I said, I've got to have some secrets...

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