Upuaut

Upuaut, the wolf-headed warrior God, was once top dog in battling the Netjer’s enemies. His seat of power was Asyut, which the Greeks called Lycopolis: the City of Wolves. The eponymous beasts fought alongside the humans there to protect the city, whose patron Gods were Upuaut and Anpu, both canine funereal deities. As wolves were sacred there, the people often mummified them after death.

Over the years, Bast eclipsed Upuaut in popularity as a War God under the Mantle of Sekhmet. He was also sometimes mistaken for Anpu, the God most assumed to be his father, which led to some confusion and awkward Mantling thanks to the Netjer’s convoluted family tree. Eventually, Upuaut hit the road as a God of Journeys, patron of travelers and opener of the way to Duat for those soon to depart the mortal coil.

Upuaut knows when the tides of battle turn and when to accept loss. Life and death are both journeys, and no one makes it to Duat alone. Upuaut stands as one of Anpu’s assistants, leading the deceased through the Underworld and guarding them along the way. He keeps his ear to the ground and serves as the Netjer’s forward scout, keeping track of enemy movements and reporting them to Bast — thus opening the way for armies, as well.

A consummate lone wolf who wanders from place to place, Upuaut usually appears as a road-weary drifter traveling long roads on an old motorcycle he maintains himself. Sometimes he takes the form of a great golden wolf like Anpu, or a man with a white wolf’s head — which tends to spawn urban Legends in towns he passes through. When his bike breaks down, he takes it as a sign that he needs to stay put for a while to protect the vulnerable or ease the passage of the dying. Sometimes he acts as a macabre tour guide in places with long supernatural histories or famous hauntings, like New Orleans, Savannah, Port Arthur, and the catacombs of Paris.

Upuaut’s Scions experience intense wanderlust, unable to stay in one place for long as the adventure of the open road sings in their blood. Although this can make relationships difficult to maintain, many of these Scions enjoy the companionship of their father’s canine messengers, who keep an eye on their charges and remind them they aren’t alone. They have strong scruples and work to defend the less fortunate in whatever arena suits them best, be it as independent bounty hunters, law enforcement officers, or special military operatives. Others work in funeral homes, graveyards, or morgues to ensure proper burials.

In addition to Birthrights common to the Netjer in general, Upuaut’s Scions often possess Creature for wolves and other canine companions — which are sometimes also mummies — and Covenant, reflecting their father’s roots as Asyut’s divine protector.