Joseph Cochise

Centuries ago, each tribe had its place. There wasn't peace, but there were only battles here and there. It wasn't the total war of the white man.

Then a new force came to these shores. The white man was poor in spirit, but rich in trade goods. And the tribes did not stand together against the white man, who would bribe one tribe into helping him fight another, sometimes bribe members of the same tribe into fighting each other.

The people cried out to the great spirit, who sent them strong leaders to lead them in their fight against the white man, Philip, Pontiac and Tecumseh. But the white man was stronger.

The great spirit tried speaking to the prophets of the tribes, but the prophets did not hear the message clearly and still the white man in his numbers and his guns pushed the tribes back. Some tribes, like the Cherokee and Choctaw tried to become like the white man. The white man took their lands anyway.

Some like the prophet Tenskwatawa asked his people to reject all things of the white man. But this too failed.

And so the white man pushed through the eastern forests and out onto the plains.

The plains tribes were strong. And had become stronger by taking some things from the white man, like the horse, and making it their own. Still they weren't strong enough, even with leaders like Sitting Bull and Geronimo. For the white man killed the buffalo upon which the tribes depended.

And so the tribes were forced to settle on reservations. And the tribes cried out to the great spirit again, in the form of the ghost dance. Hundreds of dancers at different reservations would dance for days on end, asking for the help of the great spirit.

The great spirit was greatly weakened at this time, but he made one more effort to send leaders for his people. He sent to his people the finest warrior and the greatest shaman ever to lead the people.

But the warrior was proud and could not hear the wisdom of his brother. And when they disagreed on how to lead the people, the Warrior struck his brother. Warrior was strong, but the spirit of the bear and the wolf and the eagle came to fight for the shaman and warrior was left broken on the land. Wounded, Shaman crawled away. The battered body of the Warrior was found by a family of white farmers who nursed him back to health, not realizing the hatred he bore for them. When he was strong enough, the warrior picked up his weapons and slew the farming family, first the father, then the mother, and finally the daughter.

But as he struck at the daughter he saw the fear in her eyes and realized what he had become. In despair he cried out to his brother, but his brother did not or could not reply.

So he went to the strongest of the plains tribes to try to begin his mission, for he still believed it possible to push the white man from the plains. He was just in time to be on the wrong end of the massacre at wounded knee, where he saw more women and children slain, slain because he was stubborn. For while the history books state it was a deaf Sioux warrior that wouldn't give up his weapon and triggered the massacre, it was actually Warrior that refused to lay down his gun.

Realizing he needed to understand more about his own people and about his enemies, Warrior set out to do that. He spent the next 55 years moving from one reservation to another. When the first world war broke out, Warrior saw this as an opportunity to study the army from the inside and so joined the US forces. Later in World War II he did the same thing.

He was with the allied troops that liberated some of the concentration camps. He also heard about the power of the Atom bomb. He became frightened of what the white man could and would do to other human beings, and decided that the time had come to act, so he began looking for ways to improve his power. It was this effort to gather items of great power that brought him to the attention of the Gentleman's club in Baltimore.

Members of the club debated the issue and decided Warrior was dangerous and had to be dealt with. A delegation from the club was sent to speak with Warrior and force him to stop his activities. Negotiations did not go well, and Warrior ended up being taken captive. He was a prisoner of the club for some considerable time. Currently Warrior is free. The club is not quite sure how do deal with him. He seems to be rehabilitated. He actually went to school and got a degree. He hasn't sought out any artifacts of power in the recent past. Many older members of the club do not trust him, though some of the younger members are quite good friends with him. He even helps members of the club deal with various issues that arise.

But Warrior is playing a part. He still believes that he has a mission to free his people. And he still keeps his eyes open for anything that he can turn to that end. He has however decided that he must be careful of when and how he strikes, so that he doesn't end up fighting a battle that he can't win. He still hopes that when the time comes to strike, his brother will return to fight with him. And he still sees the fear and dismay in the eyes of the little girl he once slew, when he tries to sleep at night.

Joseph is a servant of the great spirit. He was created to be the great spirit's warrior. He is strong and fast. He also possesses the ability to take the form of a coyote.

Joseph is at a crossroads at this time. He is looking back at over a century of living and hasn't been able to see any great improvement in the life of his people. He also lives with the knowledge that in a moment of anger and misplaced pride, he struck down the heart of the great spirit, who was created at the same time as Joseph and was Joseph's brother. He has recently learned that his brother is trapped in the never never. Joseph wishes to free his brother's spirit but suspects the price will be high. He is also questioning if continuing to work for the Midnighter's Club is really what he should be doing for his people.