Skill Specialties: Brawl (MMA), Streetwise (Urban Slang), Athletics (Training Regimens), Survival (Mountainous Terrain)
Gifts:
Warning Growl (Dominance O, Tribe)
Clarity (Full Moon O, Auspice)
Ward Versus Predators (Warding O, Free Gift)
Fetishes:
Mountain-River's Caress - A flask, more like a canteen, with the bound spirit of Lady Mountain-River within it. Her healing waters refresh and revitalize nature's bounty when opened, allowing its owner to revive dead plant life that has been destroyed by Izalco's firey claws. It may also restore up to two points of Bashing Damage when the water is drunk. This ability may be used once per Scene.
Backstory:
Manuelo never dreamed of achieving greatness. Born to a single mother (Dolores) in the fifth district of San Salvador, Manuelo was quickly required to juggle school and work from a young age to support his mother and, soon after his acceptance into elementary school, a younger brother (Alfonso). As a result, Manuelo never did superbly in school - His time was too focused working to worry about grades. The times he did get to himself were spent either caring for his mother or taking his little brother up in the mountains to camp.
As was the standard for those like Manuelo, he quickly fell into a bad crowd - Specifically, the dangerous gangs of the sixth district, the worst in San Salvador. However, his case was different. Manuelo was a tough kid from all the work he'd done, mostly physical labor, picking beans on farms and loading crates into and out of trucks. This made him strong - Strong enough to compete in the underground cage fighting matches that took place there, held by La Cabaņa for sport and money.
Manuelo hated what he had become - little more than a sideshow act who got his pay by bloodying noses - but the money was far better than the odd jobs in San Salvador. He was damn good at it, though, such that the locals began to call him "Izalco" after the mountain of the same name. This continued all through-out high school, and while Dolores and Alfonso questioned where all of Manuelo's money was coming from (and why he often came home all beat up), they stayed quiet. The vicious "Izalco" had never lost a match in the admittedly-short time the ring was run. Manuelo was just fresh out of high school when his life began to turn upside-down due to events decided well before he was born, however.
A group of three people had constantly been watching Manuelo, and he'd begun to take notice. At first, he assumed they were just tourists with an odd love of violence (since they always showed up to his matches), but around the time he noticed them stalking him to the grocery store, things got weird. One night, before a big match, a wolf jumped seemingly out of an alleyway and nicked Manuelo in the shin before running off through the night. Though disturbed, Manuelo continued to his match.
It was the first match Manuelo had ever lost. His opponent, a man by the name of Fidell Gomez soundly defeated Manuelo through dirty tactics, and he was enraged - mad, even. Mad that he lost. Mad that a cheater won. Mad that he had no money to support his mother and brother. How was Alfonso going to pay for college? Dolores for her medicine? That was when it happened - Manuelo's First Change. He became a mad beast and tore the ring apart in his fury, until the three stalkers restrained him and brought him to his senses.
When Manuelo came to, he was in an affulent home overlooking San Salvador, a man (one of the ones who stalked him) seated on the bed next to his. He explained that his name was Javier Salazar Benito, and through their talks, Manuelo learned his true nature. His father was, like him, a "werewolf" - But it seemed that Manuelo inherited his sense of honor from his mother's family, as his father was an opportunist and a coward who fled the pack after committing the sin of laying with another of the lineage. He went onto to explain that he'd taken in Manuelo's immediate relatives - Though his father was a coward, he still cared about them. And him, of course.
Manuelo found this a hard pill to swallow. However, he did owe the man his life. Thus, he became a member of Javier's small pack, consisting of the man himself (an Elodoth Storm Lord), Benjamin Guenadina (a Cahalith Bone Shadow), and Adela Bonita (an Irraka Iron Master). Surprisingly, Manuelo learned quicker the ways of the Forsaken than he did his studies as a high-schooler. If Manuelo had any complaints, it was that he felt his path was being chosen for him. Having been stuck in one direction all his life, he yearned to break free.
Javier caught wind of this and figured it was time to induct Manuelo into a tribe. He didn't plan to give him to his father's tribe of the Blood Talons - No, the stigma was too great. Instead, he set a task for Manuelo. The spirit known to the Pack as Lady Mountain-River had been angered much in recent years - The destruction wreaked by Tropical Storm Agatha was too much for her, and she made the river a stream of death which tore through everything in its wake, flora and fauna alike. Javier told Manuelo of his task: Alone, he would walk bare save for his pants through Lady Mountain-River's gauntlet and bring her to heel. No gifts of the moon or transmogrification of the shape were to be used.
Manuelo went above and beyond Javier's expectations. He survived Lady Mountain-River's gauntlet of watery death and in doing so awed her with his power. She knelt before the werewolf and offered him the first item of the foolish traveler she had claimed - a canteen - and willingly bound herself to it. Suitably impressed, Javier formally welcomed Manuelo to the Storm Lords, and told him, "Izalco, it is time you chose your own path. With my last blessing, I will send you to America, up north. Carve a life for yourself, find a pack, and lead, Manuelo. Paint your destiny and the destinies of those who swear allegiance to you."
And so, Javier made the arrangements and sent Manuelo off on his own. The boy whose life had been chosen for him was given reign to do what his heart spoke.
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