[OWOD Project Khaos ] Mummy revised Reborn, Undying, Mummy's, Egypt, Khem *** Death is only the beggining ***
WoD: Mummy - revised WoD Mummy with splats and expanded use for the Wraith setting. a rules system based on my own Mummy campaign and designed to ignore that bloody awful Mummy: the Resurrection thing. A World World of Darkness: Mummy Mummy second edition revised *** or *** *** Mummy: the Athanasia *** TABLE OF CONTENTS The Premature Burial (Fiction) Introduction Lexicon Chapter 1: Setting Timeline History One - Two - Three The Soul, Death and Cosmology Reborn society A World of Immortals Outlook: A view on the rest of the World of Darkness Mortal cults Chapter 2: the Ogdoad The 8 Dynasties Cabiri: Immortals of the Classical world - those who stole Immortality Crochan Geni: the European Immortals – those who were sacrificed Ishmaelites: Egyptian Immortals - those who turned away Oboli: The self made Immortals - those who bought Immortality Shemsu-Heru: The Friends of Horus - those whom Isis chose Tzadikim: Middle eastern Immortals - those who are Worthy Xianren: Asian Immortals – those who mastered Alchemy Xibalba: American Immortals – those who wa lk with the Ancestors The Eanead: the nine Houses of the Reborn Chapter 3: Systems Character creation Additional and Optional rules Merits and flaws Paths Virtues revisited Chapter 4: Magic Hekau Spell List
Arcanoi New Spells The Spell(s) of Life Chapter 5: Going Forth The Underworld: the Dark Umbra revisited The Dark Kingdoms: part i The Dark Kingdoms: part ii Relics Chapter 6: Oblivion Oblivion Servants of Oblivion Akeldamach Aptrgangr Children of Apophis Metnal Syven Udug System Chapter 7: Storytelling Living forever Cross Dynasty stories Appendix Appendix I: A cast of Immortals Appendix II Templates Appendix III Long Tailed Cats Appendix IV Rénxiān Appendix V Ultra Mortalitas
*** A World World of Darkness: Mummy second edition revised *** *** or *** *** Mummy: the Athanasia *** The Premature Burial (Fiction)
The Premature Premature Burial Burial The veil was lifted from from my eyes and the light that flooded flooded in was the the most wonderful wonderful agony I had ever experienced. experienced. It burned and I felt the t he shock of it like a hot nail through my eye, but even as I cursed and beat at my face to shield my sight, I was overcome with joy. I was alive again. The tortures and the harrowing harrowing injuries inflicted upon me by the gods were over and I had defeated the slithering one with the gaping maw. I had proved that hissing, whispering whispering voice wrong. I am worthy, I am strong, I am … triumphant.
Even as I fought to screw my eyes as tight as they could go, thrashing around in an attempt to find some dark corner, my mind went through a checklist, tearing useful memories from the phantasms of million years. Well OK, not a million. More like three thousand give or take, but back when I first lived that was the in phrase. Everything was a million. A million stars in heaven, Pharaoh had a million devoted subjects, eternity eternity consisted of a million years – it was poetic license I guess. Imperfect recollections recollections of Ancient Egypt, or Khem as we knew it, slid into my mind, clamouring for space. My memory was warming up, it seemed the vagaries of amnesia that often troubled my kind were to be slight this time around. Which means I’d get screwed somewhere somewhere else. That was always the way it went, the stars aligned right for one thing they had to be all out of whack for something else. The things that require require no effort are are always there, there, walking and talking, riding riding a bike, bike, the muscle memory is much more resilient than the cerebral equivalent apparently. The bestial nature nature never suffers suffers either, either, a booze hound is always a booze booze hound, a floozy (such as myself) is apparently never going to wake up one day as chaste as a maid. The problem comes with the the higher brain brain functions, with with actual memories memories of the past past and of what you know about the world. You’ll You’ll rarely meet an Immortal who knows exactly how many times he has lived and died, and you can never guarantee that they’ll remember all their Hekau, that’s basically the magic we wield, or all the languages he was once fluent in. Names and faces, even your own, can be tricky buggers and more than once I’ve been convinced the face staring back at me from the mirror isn’t mine. Sometimes we return from the dark place with total recall, and sometimes we’re like a hung-over smackhead handcuffed to the bed in ER wondering what the hell happened. Annabel! Yeah, Yeah, that was the name I’d been using recently, Annabel Lee, and for good reason too. Why? Why that name .. oh yes of course, because of Edgar! Let me see, potted history of Annabel for the past couple of centuries, I’ve been alive three times since 1800. Each time, maybe even before then, I’d gone with Annabel. Because it sounded similar to .. oh, there we go, can’t remember my first name! That’ll be the balance balance I guess. guess. Nope, complete hole where that memory should be, told you didn’t I? I guess the synapse with that nugget rotted or was an entrée for the maggots while I was in Duat. Ah yes, Duat, the underworld, monotone hang out for the dead but not quite departed. Why are those memories always so clear and fresh for me I wonder? Maybe it’s because I have what others call a morbid fascination with that part of the gig, a little imp in my soul with a hankering for the creepy … the Imp of the perverse. Oh, there you go, Mr Allen Poe, my Edgar! The reason for my nome de plume! I used to follow him as he made his journey from the Bronx to Rhode island, courting some poetess apparently. Shadowing people and not being seen has always been something of a speciality of mine, apparently an ability that borders on the supernatural although I have no idea how I do it. I just kept my head down and always maintained a discreet distance - not that I am shy, hell no I was a temple
prostitute when I was just a mortal girl … Hmm, I don’t remember being one, but I remember remember telling people about remembering it. Pretty sure I was telling them the truth. Yeah, I used to screw for the Gods ... and I was damn good at it. Through every one of my many, many, lives I have enjoyed the attention of others, enjoyed what my shapely body and my good looks brought me. You You could say that I have survived on sex appeal and wits if it floats your boat! Forgive me, the mind is like the sea in these first moments. Like waves crashing on the beach, leaving the flotsam and jetsam of memories, the froth of the underworld mingled with the harsh sand of the living lands. It doesn’t help that my corpse wasn’t mummified this time around, just dumped in a shallow grave by that bastard …. But we’ll come to that. For now I really ought to try and focus on the narrative. You, you buzzing little bastard get to listen to me tell my story. Again. Not that you care, but I need to lay it all out to make sure sure it’s all straight and as you know - I’ve always preferred an audience. Where was I? Oh yeah, no not shy, but under orders. New York in the middle of the 19th century was something of a hotbed for people like me, people who don’t stay dead, the reborn, the undying, for Immortals. There were so many different nations pouring into the docks with their own monsters mo nsters and their own heroes among them. Of the eight dynasties that make up Immortal kind, there were none who didn’t have representatives representatives passing through the big Apple in that era. The winds of change blew a lot of ships into port and what you ended up with was one of the biggest gatherings of Immortals since the renaissance. To To cut a long story story short, this was at a time in my existence existence when I was looking to to mend a few bridges. I was kinda hoping to reacquaint myself some of my old admirers. Having been something of a lone wolf for a very long time, a member of the less than popular Ishmaelite dynasty, I was interested interested in reconnecting with the fellowship of Horus, the erstwhile leaders (in their eyes anyway) of the Immortals. I hung around until somebody decided to give me a job, which I then proceeded to do exceptionally well. Yes, Yes, I was suffering from from the delusion delusion that if I was a good girl I could could probably work work my way back into the inner circles of the Shemsu-Heru. Enough cleavage and pouting and they’d all but forget I walked walked out on that war camp in Kush. Kush. Officially I had been declared an outcast, an Ishmaelite, because I didn’t do what I was told blindly and found it impossible to follow all those codes of honour the soldierly types put all their faith into. Thus it was that, to please the dusty old corpses corpses who stood between between me and what I wanted, I was acting as a concierge. Meeting other Immortals from the boat and helping them get settled, informing them of the agreed meeting places where we gathered, giving them the run down on which vampire was on the undead throne and which Werewolves were howling at the New York moon. I had contacts, I could get newcomers housed and acclimatised, all in the name of the noble Shemsu-Heru. It wasn’t exactly a full time job though, and hardly 9 to 5. So long as I was at the jetty to meet and greet the expected expected Immortals the rest of my time was my own. Edgar’s books and his failed magazines filled the dull hours and I soon took a fancy to following him. Because of my.. . appetites, we fell into bed together a few times
before he would get an attack of guilt and creep off home to mourn in prose and poetry. Edgar had lost his wife and sought comfort in a variety of vices, many of which I was happy to provide. His life swung back and forth between bouts of melancholy, heart wrenching creativity during which he wouldn’t open the door to me, followed by nights of shocking debauchery where his energy and enthusiasm belied his age. Care was thrown to the wind and one of Horus wannabes found out and ordered me not to entangle myself with a man of public interest. I didn’t even know why the order to leave Edgar alone had been so emphatic and at the time I didn’t question it. Horus had commanded me and whether I liked him or not, he was the big daddy for us Immortals born in the kingdom of black sand. Back then I still didn’t really understand the subtle layers of the game, that some mortals are toys for the Vampires or the pet project of some faerie. That others are the descendents of an Immortal or a close relative, or prospective recruits to the Cult of Isis. For whatever reason, Edgar was off the menu for me and any other Immortal, he was somebody else’s property. I actually believed I could do it, the fascination with Edgar did not, as far as I believed; outweigh my wish to get back in with the movers and shakers. It was, in a way, a test that I set myself. I believed that by towing the party line I had mastered my own destiny. Silly bitch! It was in the autumn of 1849 that I fell off the wagon, as Edgar had done long since. By this time he’d moved out of the Bronx and out of my regular circle of influence. However fate conspired to deliver me to Baltimore one evening where I dropped off a party from the Cabiri Dynasty eager to make the acquaintance of a party from the Xibalba Dynasty. While a pretty girl works wonders to open the door, they soon shut in on you once they are sure all’s going to be OK. I was wandering the streets when I literally bumped into Edgar himself, looking a little worse for wear. He apologised, seemingly unable to recognise me, and stumbled off into the night but I couldn’t let it end there, and so I followed him. When he slipped into a notorious drinking den of which I had some previous experience, I felt it safe to follow him in. If anybody asked, well I had been in that hole for my own reasons and this was but a coincidence. Avoiding notice was easy, like I said, I have a knack. I sat a few tables away, in a booth with no lights, and watched him, matching him drink for drink no doubt. He had changed; darkness hung over him so that he seemed like a character from his own works. The way he tempted the reaper fascinated me, his talent brought him no joy, he was far from popular with his peers. He treated his body as if it could recover from death like one of us, but secretly he longed for its embrace. I was a little in love with him, with his self destructive urges and with his sorrow and grief. He was the living embodiment of the archetypal tortured artist and I watched in awe as he drown it all in cheap booze and a meal lousy with beetles. I really was going to stay away, remain unseen as the fog of the arcane and his
drunken state cloaked me from his attention. Just observe, like that Ishmaelite ponce who first tempted me away from the society of my equals with his florid speeches and promises of self determination. My so called mentor, Ahmose, had been fascinated by humanity. Already ancient by the time I was made Immortal he no longer considered himself one of them, yet he longed to be that innocent again. He ‘rescued’ me from a life of whoredom on the street of Par Bast, the inevitable conclusion after enjoying religious fornication so thoroughly, and took me to the Priestess of Isis. My fair lady in the shadow of the Nile! In all honesty, my obsession with Edgar was his doing. I was clearly trying to emulate him, the sick and twisted daddy fixation that I really need to deal with one day. But I digress as ever, back to the point. I really and honestly was going to leave, after the next drink or the next one. I could get up and walk out whenever I want. I had almost decided for certain when Edgar got into a fight with two sailors and before I knew what I was doing I was pulling my little knife out of the first ones heart and looking for an opening with the second. Those who know me would have laughed at that. At how quickly I dropped the masque of the respectable guttersnipe in favour of the snarling animal. But screw it, it’s my instincts that have kept me out of Apep’s maw for all these years, not delicate manners or tactics. The rest of the clientele were getting upset, apparently these two were regulars. So I let the second one live, grabbed Edgar and got the hell outta dodge. I might even have still believed I could have extricated myself from the situation at that point. Edgar was, to say the least, out of his gourd. Once I’d got his attention he became quite animated and insistent. He was quite a handy fellow when the booze was flowing, let me tell you, and he groped and pawed at me like a horny octopus. Which is where I really came a cropper, you see I was drunk too, and the adrenaline of a knife fight does something to a girl. The object of my fascination declaring undying love to me while rubbing my breasts - coupled with the euphoria of escaping what may well have become a lynch mob of the ruffian’s friends disarmed me. We got a bottle of Cognac and wound up in a flophouse for the night. When I sobered up the full weight of the situation hit me like a freight train. I’d broken the command of Horus, or at least of Horus’ little messenger boy, and if the one eyed bastard found out he’d have me thrown to the Spectres. Remember that the Undying of that time didn’t play together half as well as they do now. In fact this was the time in which the final steps were made towards open cooperation. Before now the Shemsu-Heru were a bunch of Snotty little boys who felt that being the first to be made immortal meant they should be in charge. This was an improvement from the previous millennia when they often felt that all other Immortals ought never to have been created at all and were quite happy to redress the balance if they could devise a way. After this time the Eldest began to accept the benefits that came from working with the other Dynasties. They took the majority opinion under consideration for its own
merits rather than simply because they couldn’t physically overpower the other seven Dynasties (they’d tried more than once). The less vitriolic had even considered offering the hand of friendship to those of us who had left the fold. The promise of a new age was in the air and I’d just pissed in the communion wine. I stood in the battered room that passed for a bathroom and tried to figure out what to do. Maybe a little Hekau, a little magic to mess with his memory. Or maybe just slip out before he wakes up, hell he was so bombed he probably won’t remember what happened, let alone who he finished the night with. Yes, just trust in the booze, it’s never let you down before. Put your clothes on and run for it, a perfect plan. As I said, it wasn’t for my tactical skill that the Cult of Isis chose me to receive the gift or eternity! I eased the door open, ready to grab my dress and bolt, but instead of a snoring Edgar I was confronted by an empty bed. Panic set in and I leapt for my clothes, only to discover they too were missing. No matter how many times I moved Edgars crumpled clothes about the room, there was no sign of my dress or my undergarments. Eventually I gave up looking and sat heavily on the bed, where my eyes fell upon a slip of paper on the night stand, a note which I opened gingerly and read. Dearest A Even now that he is forever sullied by your filth, the Poet is mine and I am not inclined to share. I would rather throw my table scraps on the fire than pass them down to the likes of you. My regards to the Cyclops! Reynolds. As I squinted from the note to the empty bed, I heard a commotion in the hallway and a voice I hadn’t heard for two Millennia. The voice of a one eyed man named after a Sun god, the hawk of the reborn. He bellowed for his lackeys to keep up, threatening all manner of impolite actions against my poor defenceless body. I Grabbed Edgar’s clothes and leapt from the window even as the door shook in its frame behind me from thunderous blows. Let us say no more except that I have o ften had to dress while racing through alleyways or across rooftops and I did manage to avoid my pursuers. The east coast had lost its lustre and I didn’t stop running until I had traversed the entire continent. In time I learned that Edgar had been found in great distress, and... in need of immediate assistance, wearing somebody else’s clothing. He had been taken to Washington College Hospital, and that he had died on the Sunday morning. Reports claimed that he had never been sentient long enough to explain what had happened to him or how he had become so unwell. They say he repeatedly called out the name "Reynolds" on the night before his death, and that his last words on earth were "Lord help my poor soul." Eventually I was beaten to death by a cattle hand named Eugene who discovered me drunk in bed with his brother, having sold the engagement ring he gave me for hooch money. The next time I resurrected was in 1949, by which time I’d given up all dreams of returning to the Shemsu-Heru. I was a free thinker, one of the Ishmaelites,
and the intervening years in the underworld had given me some perspective. There is no other Dynasty for me except the loners and the rebels, the freebooters of Ishmaels creed. I took the name Annabel Lee and have used it ever since. I guess I felt guilty about Edgar and my part in what happened to him. I started placing flowers on his grave every year and leaving him a shot of Cognac, until the public took notice and I had to stop. Seems I started a trend though because when I stopped, somebody else started doing it for me. Yeah, that crept me the hell out as well. Until I decided one year, for the hell of it, to hide up and see who it was. Apparently I was far less able to stay awake than I had thought and when I woke up, there’s this note tucked into my hipsters. Just says: dearest Annabel, I left the bottle. Reynolds. - Same handwriting, damn it, and the same paper as before. The bastard was still alive and was clearly more than an everyday member of the flock! I had to assume that Reynolds is one of us, one of the Undead or maybe a Faerie. Possibly a Ghost who can do the skin puppet thing and ride mortal people about like an off the rack suit. Not only has he been around since the mid 1800’s, he clearly has some interesting mojo to help him along. So Reynolds became my new obsession, something to focus my wandering attentions on. Most of the 90’s we played cat and mouse, and while I knew that every scrap of intelligence I had on him was because he left it for me, I was still happy to swallow the cheese. Then he seemingly dropped the ball, I met another of Ishmaels followers who knew the name. Said he’d been having an email debate for a couple of years with some knowledgeable geek calling himself Reynolds. He assumed it was one of us or a vampire given the firsthand accounts of the American Civil war, Elizabethan England, the reign of King Richard the Lionheart. I hacked his email account and followed the messages back to their source. Part technology (computer nerds can be so grateful it’s almost endearing) and part Hekau, I tracked him here. Thought I’d get the jump on him and see where it went from there. Unfortunately he really is a resourceful bastard, always well prepared. All I found is a werewolf, one of the sickly cancerous bastards who worship Apophis. It wasn’t Reynolds, that was clear, and it was a thousand times stronger than I am. He raped me, then he ate me, then I think he raped what was left a couple more times. Apparently he or somebody else buried me in the woods and left me to rot. My khat, that is my remains, were in such a bad state it has taken me nearly a decade to gather the juice from the afterlife to put Annabel back to gether again and to drag my perfectly formed butt out of the ground. So here we are, modern day and I’m back from the grave again. Apophis is stronger than ever, the old empires of the Underworld are totally screwed and the world of the living ain’t looking much better. My quarry has pal’s among Apophis Werewolves and that’s more of a lead than I had before.
I’m coming for you Reynolds and I’m itching for a fight!
Introduction About the most originality that any writer can hope to achieve honestly is to steal with good judgment. - Josh Billings Mummy revised is an ambitious Project which first grew out of the campaigns I ran for WoD: Mummy 1st and 2nd editions. It combines WoD: Mummy with Wraith: the Oblivion to give both sides of the life and Death cycle equal billing. It follows the pattern of other WoD games by presenting Splatts for the Mummy’s (the Ogdoad or 8 Dynasties), their own version of Clans or Tribes. Each Dynasty has its own politics and its own cultural heritage, along with their own followers and cults and their own strongholds hidden in the Dark Umbra. As well as the Dynasties, membership in which is governed by how a character was made immortal, there are the Het or Houses, which transcend the racial and national divisions of the Dynasties. The Het are sects or societies each of which is devoted to one of the six paths of Hekau (Mummy Magic), or to one of the three defining Virtues that lie at the heart of the quest to come to terms with immortality. The original premise of the 1st edition mummy game was of very long lived creatures to echo the protagonists of vampire: the Masquerade. Creatures who could all remember much further back than any vampire of a generation you might come across in the average chronicle, yet without the inevitable dehumanising that plague the Undead. It was, like all pre revised books, set in a unified World of Darkness (or the GothicPunk setting as it was then called) and the 2nd edition expanding on many of the ideas first explored in that book. The themes suggested by and touched upon by those books are what I have tried to stick to in my games of Mummy and in this fan project. They attracted Egyptophiles and history buffs to its fan base, and even with just two slim books to map out its premise still managed to hint at a full and exciting world. The potential of the game, offering almost all of history from the age of the Methuselah to the modern day in which to set stories for the same characters, captured the imagination of a lot of gamers. I was one of them, and I ran various Mummy games for a large selection of my gaming buddies, expanding on the two published books and developing some of my own. I wanted to try and tie all the various ideas I had thrown at my players, add some new ones and use a bunch of my favourite suggestions from other gamers on the forums. What might be more of a departure from the canon is the attempt to integrate Mummy with the Wraith: the Oblivion setting to a greater degree than the official books intended. This is always how I ran Mummy for my players, with the entire Wraith line as the supplements for 50% of the game. I have tweaked the original presentation of what a Mummy is while his body is dead, bringing it more in line with what a standard Wraith is so that stories told in the Underworld can be as full and diverse as the ones in the lands of the living.
This fan project, which I see not as a new setting but as a supplement to the ‘Mummy second edition’, presents eight distinct groups (or splats as the vulgar vernacular terms them) of immortals. All the mummies in this setting are created by the same ritual, they use the same rules systems, employ the same magical powers and are governed by the same virtues. What I hope to have created is a plausible setting expanding on the World of darkness Mummy foundation and adding new types of Mummy that retain the original notion and concept. Theme and Mood Theme: conflict Eternity for the Undying is defined by the struggle against the darkness - the external darkness of Apophis and the other agents of Oblivion or the internal darkness of his own demons. Above and beyond all other concerns, Isis created the Spell of life to empower her warriors; the gift of immortality drafts a human into a battle for the very fate of creation. On a less epic stage there are the conflicts between the different breeds (Dynasties) of the reborn and between the various factions, Philosophies, faiths and cults they cannot help but become involved with. At the top of the stack are Mummies eager to wipe the vampire Clan of Setites from the face of the earth, the South American Immortals plot to free their lands from the invading white men while the turncoats of the Ishmaelites fight for personal freedoms. Within his soul, every Immortal battles to balance his dual nature – to maintain his joy for life, to hold tight to his morals and to retain as much memory of himself as he can manage. He must combat the shadow of his darker ego, awakened by his first descent into death and eager to bring him low. Mummy: the resurrection What about Mummy: the Resurrection you may ask? To which I grimace. I know they say "if you can't find something nice to say, say nothing at all" but ... WoD: Mummy (2nd edition) revised ignores that games existence (except to plunder the expanded magic system) and is prevaricated on the assumption that the Metaplot that created the Ammenti never took place. This setting preserves the themes of Mummy that M:tR so completely did away with, themes such as Immortality, the span of history as a setting and Hope. After all, how can Immortality even be a theme of M;tR when the Ammenti only exist for a couple of years from the time of the sixth maelstrom (1999) to the end of the World of darkness (2004). At most such a character can have been a supernatural Ammenti for five years and can have explored or experienced none of the themes of immortality or a long life. Chances are he probably won’t have even ever visited the lands of the Dead in that short time or learned how to reanimate his body after dying. It might be said that another theme of Mummy is Questing! For balance, for enlightenment, for inner harmony and outer worth but ultimately all of this pales in the face of the struggle against Oblivion and the quest to prevent the utter end of all
creation. Mood: Hope The greatest struggle the undying have to face is the struggle against ennui and despair and that is why the mood of many games is hope! Hope is the commodity in so many stories involving the Mummy setting; hope lost, hope inspired, hope restored or retained. Mummies are both the embodiment of hope and at the same time utterly dependent upon it. Those still active in the struggle have found their hope tested through countless adventures but not yet depleted. The Immortals have to have to hope that they can succeed against all their challenges otherwise they will fall to the inevitable corrosion of entropy. While the reborn are faced with endless impediments, it is by facing these obstacles that hope is renewed. The belief that creation can be hauled back from the maw of oblivion is strengthened by each return from the Underworld, by each reconnection with an old friend or return to a beloved place. Hope is also as aspect of faith and belief, and many of the Immortals find faith less difficult to maintain. It is far easier for an individual who was alive in the Mythic age, who has dined with Gods and traversed the afterlife, who has lived for eons while rubbing shoulders with super human legends, to maintain his faith in the things the modern world has abandoned. Immortality Those who have undergone the Spell of the Life are known by many names, but the one used most often in this work is Immortal, plain and simple. Because this is what all protagonists within the setting are, living and Eternal witnesses to History. Immortals have not only lived for a long time, they also have the eons stretching out in front of them. Almost nothing can end the existence of the reborn and eventually all of them must come to terms with this truth. They have signed on to battle Oblivion for eternity with no hope of reaching paradise, unless perhaps they can achieve victory over the enemy. No other creature in creation understands the Immortals unless he too is one of them, and even then there are barriers. Vampires are often of a great age, but then so were the Mages of old, but the span of their existence seems trivial to many of the Shemsu-Heru. Some Wraiths remember periods of history so distant that we mortals are in awe of every archaeological facet of that time we can dig up. But age is not the same as Immortality. Immortality means that your existence will never end, death is just a change of venue, a vacation from the current trends of the world. Vampires are plagued by fears of the banes that can and do still bring their stolen lives to an end, mages usually understand that the extension is only hat and that it has a termination point just like any other humans span. Even the Wraiths have options that allow them to move on, to find rest and escape from existence. The Undying cannot escape themselves, there is no place for them in heaven, there is no path to Nirvana or any promise in the far shores. Even those who fall to Oblivion
find no release as their new master puts them to work doing much the same thing but for a new purpose. The best these unfortunates can hope for is a victory by Apophis to end their misery, much the same prospect as they had before. On the other hand those who can return from every fatal wound develop something of a unique view on risk and conflict. What they fear is rarely the same as what any other creature fears. Vampires fit fire suppression to preserve their unlives, Immortals do it to preserve property and avoid unnecessary pain. A mortal who makes the ultimate sacrifice are giving up everything for a cause, an Immortal is just accepting a set back or a detour. Immortal men and women can become Machiavellian schemers with plots that outlast all but the Methuselah’s, or fearless (even reckless) heroes rushing headlong into overwhelming odds. In the end, existence for an Immortal is like playing a computer game where the much of the risk is negated by the ability to start again from a save point or where failure simply means you use another life. Those who do not maintain some way to balance this effect become jaded, or worse, inhuman. Their empathy for the rest of creation spirals away as they lose any ability to understand the other living beings they fight for. Such creatures become easy prey for Oblivion, but the most terrible devolve into lone monsters even worse than the Bane mummies. Strict paths of morality, harsh training regimes, focus of Virtue, there are several tools the Undying employ to avoid becoming what they most despise and a great deal of an Immortals time is spent denying or dealing with the fallout from eternity. The dualities of the external and internal battlefields are at the heart of Immortal existence. How to use this product To play an Immortal is a difficult thing to get right and even the best role-player or Storyteller runs the risk of slipping into cliché and twee platitudes. But don’t beat yourself up if you do. The players and Storyteller should take joy from having the whole of human history to explore, they should feel free to indulge all of their fantasies about that foreign country that is the past. While they are at it, they shouldn’t get too upset about cold historical accuracy unless everyone in the troupe is a History major who prefers exacting detail to having fun. If the Ancient Egyptians interest you, then go wild with games in that era and just do your best to represent the periods your characters live through to the best of your ability. If you know nothing of the time period except what Hollywood feeds you, then use what Hollywood feeds you. If you can do some research or get advice from the others at the table, then do that too. In the end, don’t worry about the heated debates between scholars about what really happened in history, once the Storyteller tells you what’s happening in your game, that’s all you need to worry about. Have fun, smell the lotus and don’t stare at the topless Noble women if you can help it! Lexicon The WoD: Mummy Rosetta Stone
Ab The Spiritual heart (as opposed to the haty or physical heart). seat of the self, of good and evil. Akeldamach Bane Mummies created when they make a deal with something in the Spiritual realm. Most come from the Oboli Dynasty. Akh the Psyche, the positive life affirming aspect of the sahu or the Wraith. The part of the individual which battles against Oblivion. Amenti The Shadow realm of the Shemsu-Heru. The stronghold of the Egyptian dead hidden in the underworld. Apophis The great serpent which threatens to devour the sun, an avatar of Oblivion and its male aspect, first battled by the Shemsu-Heru. Synonymous with the Wyrm. Aptrgangr Brutal and strong Bane Mummy's who represent the dark reflection of the Crochan Geni. Arcanoi The magical paths and abilities of the true Wraiths, many of which are mirrored by spells of the Necromancy path of Hekau. Athanatos The four Immortal Dynasties of the Old World: The Shemsu-Heru, Ishmaelites, Tzadikim and the Cabiri Ba The part of the Soul that is nourished by the Underworld and must return to the Body for rebirth to occur. Ba is also the type of energy used to fuel this soul-parts activities and to effect rebirth. Bane Mummies Also known as the Grooms of Oblivion, Bane Mummies are twisted Immortal creatures brought into being by perverted versions of the Spell of Life in conjunction with the Spiritual energies of Apophis. See Akeldamach, Aptrgangr, Children of Apophis, Metnal, Syven and Udug. Bane Rite A variant of the great Rite of rebirth or Spell of Life, used to create Bane Mummies. Cabiri (singular Cabirus). Immortals from Europe and asia minor whose culture was shaped by the classical empires. Known for their cataloging and recording of the wider Immortal society. Children of Apophis Bane Mummies (once minions of Set) created by the Bane Rite, servants of the demonic male aspect of Oblivion called Apophis. Crochan Geni “The Cauldron Born are an Immortal Dynasty from Northern Europe which stems from various tribes the classical world would label as barbarian. Duat The Underworld (known as the Shadowlands by Wraiths), where the Restless Dead reside and the reborn go after death. the Location of the Shadow realms. Eanead The Collective name for the nine Het or Houses. Through the eanead Immortals are able to study and improve thier magical abilities and thier emotional defences against the rigours of eternal life. Eanead Council The unofficial governing body of the Immortals convened to deal with conflicts, to ratify policy and to discuss tactics. Eschaton, the The Eschaton is the war against Oblivion, against the end of all creation. The war which when all is said and done, is the reason the Immortals exist. First Death The ending of the characters first life, often the point at which the Spell of Life either suceeds or fails First life The first life is the life lived as a mortal man, the end of which is usually the culmination or the beggining of the great Rite. First Life The characters mortal life living, usually, among the culture whose Mages would make the Character Immortal. Ginnungagap (Yawning Void) – oblivion in the Mythology of the Crochan Geni. Gotterdammerung the twilight of the Gods. Gotterdammerung is the event that sees the defeat of the current order and the end of the world as it exists now. All Magic is gone from the world and only the Humans survive to forge a new world free of Gods, spirits or any supernatural influence. An Important event in the Mythology of
the Crochan Geni. Great Rite Also known as the Spell of Life and the great Rite of Rebirth. the Magical formula and rituals which create an Immortal. Harrowing (see Wraith: the Oblivion) a Confrontation between the Akh and the Kaibit. Hekau The Egyptian magical paradigm, now practiced soley (and more effectely) by the Immortal Reborn. Het 'house'. The Het are groups of like minded Immortals who focus on a specific path of Hekau or a Virtue. An Immortal can belong to many different Het over his lifetiems and often will move from one to another as he evolves. Heteros The four Immortal Dynasties from outside of the Old World: The Crochan Geni, Oboli, Xianren and the Xibalba. Ishmaelites A Dynasty of Free thinkers and indivilualists who stemmed from those renegade Egyptian Mummies that abandoned the Wat Hor. Ka The part of the Soul that remains in the vicinity of the tomb to guard the body (Khat). Also a Type of energy used to feul this soul-parts activities. Khaibit The part of the soul which equates to the Wraith's Shadow. the aspect lost to Oblivion. Khat The physical body. Khem Ancient Egypt. Khu The Shining aspect of the soul the altering of which by the Spell of life makes the Reborn Immortal and gives theml access to his Hekau and Sekhem. Known name The name 9and associated titles and identity) by which the Immortal was known during his first life. Uusually the name by which an Immortal is known by other Reborn. Long Tailed Cats Born as mortal domestic cats, these cats somehow gain extended lives and a human form. Ma'at Cosmic Order and Righteous behaviour which many believe has been overturned. Highly important to the Wat Hor and to the mythology of Egyptian Immortals. Metnal Hate fuelled Bane Mummies from the America's. Long time foes of the Xibalba. Mummies A slang term for Immortals (the Reborm, the Undying) based on the most common method of preserving the body for the Spell of Life. Most common usage being in the 20th century due to certain films. A probbale death sentence if used by non Reborn in the presence of the Undying. Oblivion The Femine principle of destruction and entropy. The gnawing void that seeks to end all life, even creation itself. Seen by the Immortals in various forms such as Apophis the serpent, Ginnungagap, the Wyrm, the Nidhogg. Oboli Immortals created with an evolved version of the Great Rite and granted Immortality by the energioes of the Duat. Ogdoad The Collective name for the eight Dynasties. Reborn Another name for the Immortals. Ren The True name - a vital part of the soul and of the person's existence. Renxian False Immortals with extended lives created through Hedge magic and sorcery. Most commonly found throughout Asia. Sahu The Wraith, the spiritual body, an everlasting and eternal part of the soul active in the Duat. Sebayet Literally 'Teachings', this is a body of didactic literature which teaches the origin and goals of the Immortals. Begun by the Shemsu-Heru and much improved and expanded by the Cabiri. Sekhem Power or Vital force, similar in some ways to the Chinese concept of Chi (Qi). Shemsu-Heru The Companions (or followers) of Horus - the original Egyptian Immortals who follow the leadership of Isis son and abide by the Wat Hor.
Syven Lusty Bane Mummies from Asia who seem outside of the usual alliance of Oblivion's children. Long time foes of the Xianren. True Death the final victory of Oblivion. The Annihilation, from which an Immortal cannot return. True Name See Ren, above. Tzadikim Immortals of the Middle east created by Mages from Elam, Akkadia, Sumeria, Babylon, Canaan, Persia and Assyria. The modern Dynasty is governed by Monotheism. Udug ( Utukku) Bestial and demonic Bane Mummies infamous for their imaginative cruelty. Ultra Mortalitas (beyond Mortality) False Immortals who have obtained long life through a bargain with a powerful entity such as a Spirit, God or Demon. Use Name An alias adopted to avoid attracting attention. Vizier Administrator of a given area, with a nominal power of the local Het and access to the Immortal resources for battling the forces of Oblivion. Wat Hor 'The way of Horus', also the code of Horus. The laws which guide the Shemsu-Heru and which form the basis of the crusade against Apophis and the Vampire Sutekh. Xianrén The Immortals of Asia. Xibalba The Immortals of the Americas who were created by Mages among the Maya, Olmec, Toltec, Maya, Wari, Inca, Aztec and even a few of the tribes associated with modern day North America.
Chapter 1: Setting Timeline BC 5000 – 4400 BC vampires. 4000 BC
Khem founded, Osiris and Sutekh embraced by 2nd Generation
Horus created by the Badarian society Cult of Isis.
4500-3100 BC. Amratian (Naqada I) started as a parallel culture to the Badari, but eventually superimposed itself on the other, and finally replaced it when Sutekh completely dominated the Badarians and turned them to his will. 3,500 Nekhen (Hierakonpolis) is the capitol of the Horus Cult and the largest city of pre dynastic Khem. The falcon God Horus was so pervasive that Queen isis names her son after him. 3,200 BC Abydos has become the most sacred burial city of the Khem empire. Osiris and many Kings are buried her for centuries. Aug 11, 3114 B.C The Maya Long Count starting date. Interesting in that it coincides almost exactly with the time an Amratian philosopher named Ishmael is given Immortality by the Cult of Isis. 3,100 The Khemet nation (First Egyptian dynasty) supposedly founded by Menes (also known as Aha or Scorpion). Built upon disparate societies and small kingdoms known as Dynasty zero. 2,800 Ishmael leaves the companions of Horus Approx 2100 BC First Tzadikim created in Elam. Bronze age Canaanites and Mesopotamians also begin to be made Immortal with the stolen Spell of Life.
Harrowing
(see Wraith: the Oblivion)
Hekau definition meaning whathaveyou ??? Western nomads in Xinjiang (North Western China) pass on the skills of body preservation to the locals. True Immortals are created not long after. 1700 bc Rise of the Hyksos in Egypt. The Mesopotamian and Elamite Immortals are first organised into what would become the Tzadikim Dynasty. Approx 1380 bc First two Xibalba are created. Within 100 years the Spell is being used throughout the region. More Xibalba begin to appear among the early Olmec and Tlatilco peoples. 1300 BC The sea people (philistines) invaded Canaan and disrupted Egyptian domination of the region. The Canaanite City states come under attack and suffer greatly (eventually suffering complete collapse). This economic catastrophe causes the nomads of Canaan to begin settling in larger numbers and to adopt farmers. From this period of turmoil the Israelites arise in the highlands of Canaan. 800 BC Worship of YHWH and his consort Asherah rises to dominance among Israelites. Eventually the Israelites adopt a true monotheistic religion and the other Gods are forgotten or demoted. Judah. Approx 700 BC
State of Israel ends, state of Juda absorbs much of the refugees.
750 – 650 BC The new faith in the Israelite God YHWH begins to dominate the Tzadikim dynasty. 700 BC
First Bog Mummy’s created in Eire, Denmark and Scandinavia
6th Century BC
First Cabiri created in Greece
586 – 537 BC The Babylonian exile, after which the Israelites abandon their gods in favour of total monotheism. The start of the Chayot domination among the Dynasty. 575 –550 BC first Xiānrén immortal created among the Pazyryk nomads. 5th century BC nomadic tribes of the Pazyryk and Scythians had perfected the alchemy of Immortality which would later be used by the wider Xiānrén Dynasty. 458 BC
Ezra writes the Torah
250 BC - year zero Zalmoxis creates first of the Oboli sometime in the first quarter of the first Millennium BC. AD Approx 800 - 900
“The Oboli rise to become a recognised Dynasty.
History Immortal society is made up of various groups, with their own mythology and bias.
Topics such as history and cosmology would run very differently depending which enclave one was among when they cropped up. However the Cabiri Dynasty have become the official chroniclers of the modern Immortal co-operative. Unlike most Dynasties they know the spell of life was not thier invention, not a gift from their gods. They began on the road of eternity as the bastard upstarts to the favoured Immortals and that has left them with a unique insight into the nature of their condition. Throughout this work you will be party to the varied beliefs and mythologies about the reborn that are particular to each Dynasty and the characters one might find in game, but most of the flat text is written from the point of view of a clued in Cabiri. It is as close tot he truth as anyone can get about the history of the Immortals and the particulars of the undying. Take what is written as canon, or gospel, with only the smallest garnish of salt. Also, don’t expect any Immortal to know all of this or to believe even half of it unless they are a Cabiri in the Het-Mnemosyne (see below). Zep Tepi The First Egyptian Dynasty is commonly given as being the one founded by Menes, also known as Aha or simply as Scorpion. This Dynasty, the so called unification of Khem (Egypt) is placed around 3,100 BC and the List of kings favoured by the Greeks starts at this time. However the True story of Khem began much earlier among kings and Dynasty never listed in detail. The brothers Auser (Asar, Osiris) and Sutekh (Set), along with their sisters and wives Auset (Esey, Isis) and Nebt-Hut (Nephthys) lived when Caine still sat upon his throne in Enoch. Details are impossible to verify but they clearly ruled in the Badarian society of Egypt and may even have been responsible for founding that culture. Each of the Brothers was embraced by a different childer of Caine; the First vampire and each went on to found a Clan of their own. Unfortunately the gift of Undeath soured their relationship and became the catalyst for a supernatural war from which only one lineage survived to the modern age. Osiris was a strong leader in life, and many a gree that he remained so in death. The embrace allowed him to remain on his throne for many centuries and his domination was absolute. Under his guidance the philosophy of Ma’at, cosmic order, was strictly observed and the anarchy of tribal society overturned. Though you would be hard pressed to find a historian that believes it today, Khem at this time was a place of civilization and stability. However where the elder brother looked to order as his guide, the younger brother was inclined towards chaos. Set was a warrior, youthful and proud, and he doubted the wisdom of his brothers methods. He pointed to the beats of the wild, remarking that they allowed only the strong to thrive, that even the pack animals turned away from the infirm and the weak and let them die. When Osiris became a vampire, Set grew even more insistent that Osiris ways would weaken the kingdom, allowing the weak to survive and even prosper at the expense of the strong. It was the wish of the old king that the two brothers would share the kingdom, with Osiris ruling the lower lands and Set the upper. But Osiris believed his brother could only destroy the harmony he had built up and when the younger reached the appointed age, Osiris refused to share his throne. The arguments that followed gave Osiris the excuse he needed and he banished his brother for a time, commanding him to find wisdom and maturity in the deserts if he could.
Little is known of what befell Set in his time away from Khem, but it is recorded that he returned as a vampire. Now fully the equal of Osiris, Set demanded his birthright with the arrogance of the undead, and on refusal he promised a civil war. The 3rd generation Vampires clashed many times and while most accounts paint Set as a thoroughly depraved villain, the Cult of Isis preserves heretical secrets regarding Osiris less than noble actions. Whomever they had been in life, they were typical of their kind in undeath. Set kept to shadows, using Guerrilla warfare, wits and guile, while Osiris had the support of the people, disciplined troops and a cornucopia of treaties with other creatures. Perhaps the greatest weapon that Osiris could wield against Set was the magick of Isis. Without doubt the most powerful of the family, Isis was a mage the like of which had never before been seen and never shall be again. At an early age she wrested the true name of Ra from the earth and used it to great effect. If half the testaments of the Cult of Isis are to believed she enacted spells that no other mage has ever achieved; not least of which was the temporary resurrection of her vampire husband to a fleeting echo of life that he might impregnate her. From this encounter she bore a son, who she named Heru (Horus) in honour of the great falcon god. As the ruling monarch, Osiris won the majority of their conflicts, sending Set back into the wilderness time and again to lick his wounds. As the cliché reminds us – History is written by the victor and later versions of their legend completely disregard Set’s original role as the enemy of Apophis and heroic champion protecting Ra. By the time these vampires had arisen to Godhood in the mythology of their homeland, Set had lost all semblances of nobility and integrity in the eyes of the populace. However Osiris grew distant as the years wore on, his humanity ever slipped away. Some of Isis followers whisper that he had grown to despise his nature, the very thing that Set revelled in. The beast that empowered Set only served to remind Osiris of their similarity, that they had once been close. Osiris turned away from the duties of state to fathom a way to defeat the beast. Whatever the reason, Set’s influence slowly grew and he used his arts to corrupt many of the people of the kingdom. With Osiris eyes turned elsewhere, set brought smaller tribes and disenfranchised peoples nations under his control. What he could not topple by might he would destroy with deception. The final confrontation took place behind palace doors, and the stories of what did occur have become muddied. There is a story about Osiris being fooled into sleeping in a sarcophagus which was then locked and thrown into the Nile. Another simply describes set dismembering his brother while a third claims that both are true. Set immediately set about destroying the childer of Osiris and put Isis under guard. He embraced his wife Nephthys and through her was able to thwart the magic of Isis. For some time he tortured both sisters and the child Heru, while hunting down the former allies of his brother. It was while in the clutches of Set that the sisters learned just how fully his fall had taken him. Set had made many allies while battling Osiris, but none had the power he needed to best his brothers superior forces and Isis magic. That is until Set made a bargain with the most powerful entity he knew. If Osiris had the power of Ra behind him, Set reasoned, then he would enlist Ra’s eternal enemy; Apophis. Having once been the sworn enemy of this destructive force, Set now gave
himself to the avatar of Oblivion. To the sisters horror he was now a willing servant of everything he had once struggled to overcome and his squabble with Osiris had blossomed into a war with creation. He could not maintain his blood bond over Nephthys in the face of the continuing battle with the allies of Osiris and it waned in time. With the aid of Isis she was eventually able to break free of his dominance and to free them both. Together with their few remaining allies and loyal subjects they escaped into the wilds, finding shelter on the farm of a man named Mestha. Isis knew her situation was desperate and so together with her sister she conducted what was perhaps the two greatest rituals ever performed with True magic. First she gathered the remaining Children of Osiris, the last few allies among the Crocodile folk and the cat folk, and what mortal subjects she could trust, together with magical beasts and the mundane creatures of the land. All of these she sent abroad to gather the corpse of Osiris from where set had flung it in his victory. Though they could not recover all of the dead kings body, they found enough of it for Isis purpose. The parts she sewed together and together with Nephthys and the blood of his vampire offspring she cast a spell that shook the realms. Dragging the nine parts of Osiris soul back from where they had gone she raised the God king to his former glory once more. But there are some things that not even Isis can overcome, and what she resurrected was still a vampire. However it was a vampire forever altered by and claimed by the underworld. Osiris would never again pass on his curse, his blood would barely keep his from final death long enough for the final battle. However his time in the lands of the dead, learning from the strange funeral God he met there, had allowed him to master his beast at last. He passed on his hard won secrets to his childer, instructing them in the mastery of their beast. He also answered many of the questions Isis had about the afterlife, allowing her to perfect her greatest magical endeavour. The spell she devised, apparently an improved version of the spell that raised Osiris, could sever Deaths claim on a human and bring him back from the underworld to live again. It created Immortal men without the corruption of the beast or the thirst for blood, the perfect opponents to Set’s undead spawn and to the ever hungering jaws of Apophis. After testing her Spell on Mestha (reports disagree as to whether there were one or two test subjects) she gave her own son the benefit of eternal life in what she grew to believe was an act driven more by emotion than by logic. Heru began the journey through the underworld, and when he returned he would be Immortal. In the time that came immediately after the war with Set’s forces grew more intense. Osiris had lost the will to fight, believing it fed the beast. His childer had begun to turn to his new philosophy and they became less and less effectual in battle. The Cat folk and the crocodile folk suffered badly, while Set’s followers went from strength to strength. Meanwhile the Badarian culture had begun to decline while that of the Amratian peoples (known to modern scholars as Naqada I) was guided to new strengths by the dark God. When Set eventually did lead his forces against the Osirian league the Amratian’s were the new power in the land.
The battle took place at Mestha’s farm, and Osiris earthly form was utterly destroyed this time. Set destroyed his wife Nephthys along with countless members of Osiris bloodline. As it became undeniably clear that Set would obliterate every last member of the league, Horus returned from the underworld. Horus and Set fought, and Horus prevailed long enough for the allies of Isis to escape, taking shelter among the Jackal folk who one day would become the Silent Striders. The battle of Mestha’s farm was over, Isis and her son could barely raise a household let alone an army, and so they withdrew from the world for some time. Meanwhile Set built his offspring into a power to be reckoned with, embracing devoted followers from among the emergent Amratians. Mercilessly he sought out the childer of Osiris and anyone who had been allied with the former king. As the warrior of the family there was little surprise when Set and his brood emerged completely victorious, the last remaining members of Osiris fledgling clan met final death with little fanfare. The Children of Osiris were not the only casualty of the war – it grew to such extent that even the native Garou of Egypt were eventually displaced by the conflict, the cat folks were crushed and brought to heel and the Crocodile Folk enslaved. Horus and the Mages of the Cult of Thoth gave as good as they got but they were out gunned from the very beginning. In the long and arduous years of the war between the Followers of Set and those who had been allied to Osiris, Isis created more Immortals to aid her son. Isis drew other Awakened individuals to her and used her authority as Queen to form a Priesthood known as the Veil of Isis. As the name suggests they worked is secret and the initiated learned the Spell of Life Isis had performed and more names were added to the List of Immortals. Eventually, when she withdrew from the lands of the living, she handed the responsibility of serving and guiding the Immortals created by her Spell to the Veil. At first only the most worthy and heroic, the elite of Khem, were granted the gift of eternal life, and Isis set down strict guidelines to decide who would be able to withstand the rigours of the battle against the darkness. Isis, now remembered as a Goddess of Life and creation was a visionary who saw the threat Oblivion posed to existence and was perhaps the first to truly do so. While she was able, she shaped the Veil and the Immortals it created and nurtured, into an army to fight for and uphold the very fabric of existence against the chaos and corrosion of Oblivion. As her long Life drew to a close, Isis set out on a great Visionquest and when she returned she provided her Cult with a list of names for yet unborn men and women who must be offered Immortality for her schemes to succeed. Even after her death, she believed, her vision could still serve her people and all the peoples of the world yet to come. Unfortunately not all of her Cultists were as dedicated or as wise as she and over the years mistakes were made, names were confused and some individuals lost before they could be given the chance for immortality. The Ishmaelites One of the Most Important names on the list was that of a Philosopher and visionary named Ishmael. Though he was Born after Isis faded from sight among her Cult, he was as wise and serene as she and during his life Ishmael managed to fulfil a series of prophecies that saved the Veil from itself and from darker external threats.
For some time in the Middle ages a heretical sect existed within the Veil of Isis that believed Ishmael was in fact Isis reborn and given a masculine form. Others who never met either of them have suggested that Ishmael was in fact Isis herself in disguise. Whatever the truth, the Cult gave Ishmael eternal life on August 11th 3114 BC and he rose to become Horus closest advisor. For three centuries Ishmael was the heart of the Immortal society, a growing fellowship now referring to themselves as the Shemsu-Heru, the friends (or companions) of Horus. Ishmael was the balance to Horus, the Ying to his yang, the verdant green to his desolate red. When Horus seemed likely to rush into a foolish endeavour, it was only Ishmael who could council him to show restraint or to try another path. However no friendship, no matter how strong, can survive eternally when so much confrontation is involved. Horus had always been single minded in his thirst for vengeance against Set even though Isis tried time and a gain to point his fervour at the larger army of Apophis. Ishmael continued in her efforts, and often succeeded in gathering the rest of the society together to thwart other threats. Horus could not allow his friend to continue to usurp his dominance of the Immortals and their relationship soured until it broke. Sometime around 2,800 BC things reached a head and Ishmael left the companions of Horus after a particularly heated exchange. The desertion of Ishmael became the catalyst that allowed many others to break away also. The Shemsu-Heru began to haemorrhage members until only the devout inner circle remained, those whose loyalty to or fear of Horus was absolute. Those who left were christened the Ishmaelites by the Shemsu-Heru, meant as a slur but in truth raising Ishmael himself to the role of free thinking hero. Those who left the companions travelled into the wilderness, hoping to find Ishmael and to follow where he might lead. Once the Ishmaelites exodus had come to what Horus took to be an end, only 42 Immortals remained within the Shemsu-Heru. Records among the Veil of Isis were altered to claim that these 42 were the only Immortals ever to have been created, and for a very long time it was a strict part of their code to never mention the Ishmaelites. The Shemsu-Heru continued on and Horus further developed the wat-Hor or code of Horus, detailing how and where the Immortals would combat Set. Meanwhile the outcasts stumbled on, Ishmael did not re-emerge to lead them and eventually they chose their own leaders and guides, forming a loose network that could barely be considered a new Dynasty except with the loosest of definitions. What organisation they did have in the early years came from their continued association with the veil of Isis. The mages and priesthood secretly refused to follow Horus commandments and worked closely with the Ishmaelites. In truth the loss of Ishmael and Horus increased focus on Set had soured the close relationship between the Cult and the companions, and strengthened the one with the outsiders. Ishmael, it appears, did retain contact with the high priests and even though his followers had no direct contact with him, through the cult they could gather hints and second hand reports. Though the Shemsu-Heru branded them Ishmaelites, they took no efforts to deny the title, ever hopeful that the first of thier kind would one day return.
The Tzadikim The self inflicted exile of the Ishmaelites was also the cause for the spread of the veil of Isis, and with it, the spread of the great rite. However, even by this time control of the Spell of Life had already been disseminated outside of Isis chosen mages. To the east, non-Egyptian Immortals had been created, Immortals who would one day be known as the Tzadikim Dynasty. Conflicting stories and incomplete memories differ as to the circumstances of their creation but while some believe the Veil of Isis shared the secrets of Immortality willingly with its allied neighbours, most believe that the Spell of Life was stolen or traded by a traitor, perhaps even one of Ishmael’s followers. The first of the Tzadikim was created at the height of Elamite society (part of modern day Iran) around 2700 BC but by the end of the empire in 539 BC, exact details of the first had become clouded and forgotten. Only those with the strongest of memories even remember the rumours of a semi-mythological figure called Dumuzid (Tammuz). In the earliest days Dumuzid was seen as a rogue abomination by the Shemsu-Heru. However as more and more Immortals from the eastern kingdoms began to show up, the name was used to describe all of them. The later incarnations of the Tzadikim Dynasty took great steps to eradicate any memory of Dumuzid and to replace him with a character named Elijah. There were no Dynasties at this time, only the Companions of Horus and the exiled rebels. Whoever the first Tzadikim was, he did not consider himself part of a new or separate faction. He was little more than an aberration, a non Egyptian Ishmaelite. The same was true of the others that began to show up from among the Mesopotamian and later Persian culture, their hand detected in those Empires development just as their counterparts can be detected in Egypt’s rise to glory. For centuries, the Ishmaelites of the eastern kingdoms and the Shemsu-Heru maintained an uneasy truce, if not exactly an alliance. Once or twice the followers of Horus would accuse the Ishmaelites of alliances with Set or of other crimes against Horus laws, but these tensions passed in time. For the most part, both groups were more concerned with their own battles and the struggle against Oblivion than with petty squabbles with each other. Some time around 2,000 BC the Shemsu-Heru closed its doors, believing that the last Ishmaelite had left their number and that they could ignore they ever existed. The wat-Hor declared contact with any Immortal not of the Shemsu-Heru a crime and punishments were severe. It was separation from Horus dominance that allowed both the Ishmaelites and the Tzadikim to evolve into true Dynasties. The Xiānrén At that time one or more Ishmaelites with trading interests in the east shared what they knew of the great rite to Awakened Shaman in the Taklamakan desert. These Bronze age Mages translated the methodology of Isis’ spell into their own cosmology and soon the Burial mounds in the Western foothills of Xinjiang had become the wombs for a new and distinctive dynasty of Immortal. It is unclear who was the first Immortal Xiānrén because the earliest Asian reborn were created at similar times unknown to one another. With little education and no centralised dating method it is impossible to decide which of the Eldest was first to undergo the Great spell and it makes almost difference anyway. It would be many
centuries before the various Mages even came to know of each other’s achievements and they would never unite or organise a cult like the Veil of Isis. Trade along the Northern Silk Road reached to the Steppes and Mongolia allowed the secrets of Immortality to reach slowly eastward to the borders of the so-called ‘Middle Kingdom’. The Contents of many hidden Kurgans and pit tombs speak of failed attempts to become Immortal and show that while the skills in body preservation were widespread, the entirety of the Great spell and its potential were not. From Siberia to Indonesia, and from Tibet to Japan, the fourth Dynasty (historically speaking) grew in spurts and waves. Though its numbers increased slowly, the ground it covered dwarfed the other Immortal societies almost immediately. Xiānrén came to exist among countless cultures, explained in terms of dozens of faiths. The few Ishmaelites who did travel east travelled slowly too, and the veil of Isis philosophy has less impact on the new undying. The mages and priests that passed the spell of life around were not the followers of Isis or Thoth, they had never heard of Horus or Set. Their ignorance came as a welcome relief to the exiles, and they embraced the opportunity to explore eternity through new eyes and in new dogma. Centuries passed and the Xiānrén blossomed in Asia, completely unknown to other reborn or the Veil of Isis. Meanwhile the lands of Khem was experiencing it’s own upheaval due to the arrival of the Hyksos (Habiru) who took the Throne from the rightful. Horus struggled to empower the native rulers of Khem but was beset by the machinations of Set. The dark god had undertaken a secret campaign of assassinations which resulted in an unusually low population of reborn. His wider interference had left Egypt struggling with floods and a weakened Kingship, chipping away at Horus support and resources. This time, known as the second intermediate period, was one of Set’s greatest victories. He placed the Aamu at Hoot-waret (Avaris) and they replaced the worship of the True Gods with the Cult of Apep. Hyksos Kings even took the name Apophis as their throne names to further compound the Egyptians disgrace. The Veil of Isis was forced underground and most of its supernatural leaders were lost to Set’s shadow campaign. Horus and his favoured Pharaohs lost Khem in a bloodless coup led by Aamu (Asiatics) from the Eastern delta and from Canaan or Mesopotamia. While these Aamu tribes contained Hurrians and Indo-Aryans, it was made up mainly of Semites who had been making their way southwards from their original homelands east of the Caucasus Mountains in Anatolia. Manetho calls the Invaders Hyksos, 'shepherds' or 'shepherd kings', but the Egyptian term for them, hekaoo hasoot, means simply 'rulers of foreign lands'. These occupying forces gained control over lower Egypt (except for Xios and the independent 14th Dynasty), ruling from Memphis and allowed the 13th Dynasty to rule from Thebes but treated them as a vassal state and exacted tribute. Once in control the rule of the Hyksos Dynasties was not unduly oppressive, they ruled with a firm hand and levied heavy taxes but managed to remain on cordial terms with the remaining native Dynasties. The Hyksos borrowed extensively from Egyptian culture, administration and religion. So much so that after they left Egypt they founded their newest nations in emulation of this advanced civilization and eventually became known as the Hebrews.
In return they introduced several new concepts to Egypt such as the Lyre, the vertical loom, the horse drawn chariot and several weapons including the composite bow. What the populace saw as advancement, Horus viewed as unwanted change and corruption. The chaotic gifts of set that forever altered his fathers kingdom and his people. Many Immortals believe that it was these changes that prompted Horus to abandon Egypt centuries later and to look further afield for his haven. It was during this time that an Immortal called Osarseph came to power among the Aamu. He was part of the priesthood at Heliopolis and was given the gift of eternal life by the Veil of Isis adrift sadly lacking in true leadership. One of a handful of Reborn created in an attempt to make peace with the invading Hyksos, he instead gave the secret of the spell of life to the Foreigners. For that crime he was known to the Peoples of Egypt as ‘son of’ and no more; a fatherless bastard with no family. But his betrayal did not end there. Osarseph built up a following amongst the Hyksos and many native Egyptians suffering under the weakened nation. He used his resurrection and his Hekau to sway the mortals, becoming a prophet to them and commanding absolute obedience from them. His Cult became known as the “diseased" people, an insult to their betrayal of Egypt and their foreign masters as well as a reference to the magical Plagues he unleashed on the nation. When the Hyksos were finally driven out of Egypt by King Seqenenre Tao II 'the brave' and his son, Kamose, Osarseph and his cult went with them. They travelled east and came into contact with the People of those lands, many of whom were already allied with or related to the Aamu tribes among the Hyksos. From here the influence of the Hyksos time in Egypt had far reaching effects and lead to the creation of a monolithic cult. The period of the Hyksos invasion is recorded in the bible as the period before the exodus, although clearly most of the facts have been altered to paint the Hyksos in a flattering light. Now the Tzadikim was truly formed into a dynasty, its baptism came during a dark time for the Peoples of the Arabian peninsula. The arrival of Osarseph, with many new secrets and advanced Hekau, made him popular. His control of so many mortal followers went a long way towards his renown as well. The Older Immortals of Elam, Akkad, and Mesopotamia had to admit his personal might and through clever politics and charisma, Osarseph grew to become the erstwhile leader of these Immortals and under his rule the Tzadikim grew into an ordered Dynasty to mirror the Shemsu-Heru. He created several new Immortals with his stolen Spell of life and the Dynasty grew in number to rival the Reborn of Egypt in a matter of decades. Although Set failed in his ultimate scheme to replace the local Immortals with his own pawns, he did manage to alter the nature of the Eastern Immortals irrevocably and gain himself a wild card in the battle. Even after the end of the Hyksos rule, Egypt was not free of Asiatic corruption and its eastern borders continued to be plagued with interference. Without order, Horus raged, Khem would be lost to Apophis thralls and Set would finally succeed in the annihilation of Ma’at. Osarseph himself, though no willing servant of Oblivion, served much the same end through his selfish nature and fervent nationalism. For many years afterwards he maintained a secret cold war with the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Dynasties who had defeated him and saved Egypt from foreign rule. Throughout the period of the New Kingdom, the reborn fought many secret wars and threw mortal thralls at one another in petty land grabs at pointless flexing of muscle.
Although many of the Immortals created by the Veil of Isis during the Hyksos reign travelled with the invaders back into Asia, becoming Tzadikim, not all of them did so, The Veil of Isis, even in its weakest hour, was still a force of great foresight and along with the unfortunate creation of Osarseph, they also created some of their best at this time. The Xibalba Sometime during the 14th century BC the Spell of life reached the shores of South America. Whoever taught the great rite to the mages of Mesoamerica did so without leaving his mark. Not even the Cabiri are sure if the secret was carried by mages or Ishmaelites, but they do know that the first two Immortals created on this continent were twin brothers who underwent the great rite together. Hunahpu and Xbalanque came from a land in flux, where Ma’at and Izfet continually changed place as the dominant power. They appreciated both the wider battle against Oblivion and the benefit of Immortal warriors on the front line. What they didn’t appreciate were the beliefs of distant Egypt corrupting their own spirituality and Ishmaelites who didn’t ‘go native’ were made to feel increasingly unwelcome. Even the lands of the dead here remained alien and unconquered to visiting Immortals and the Xibalba, as the emerging Dynasty became known, developed in line with local trends. With no Vampires to battle in the lands of the living and few Wyrm tainted creatures able to withstand the native shape shifters, the Xibalba focus shifted to the Underworld and the realm of the spirits. They required no permanent cult of mages or central infrastructure, living openly as they did among their own families. The Spell was disseminated through trade and war and within 100 years it was being used throughout the region. Xibalba begin to appear among the early Olmec and Tlatilco peoples, and eventually the Dynasty had members throughout the American continents. Enemies in life, the Xibalba found unity in death and in Immortality, the Dynasty grew strong and determined. Those who could not make peace with an Immortal of an enemy state received the education of the founders and ritualistic methods were devised to solve conflicts. Sports replaced bloodshed between the Immortals even as their families and tribes continued to butcher each other in shocking ways. The paradox seemed as natural to the Xibalba as every other diametrically opposed aspect of creation they experienced from day to day. The Dynasty thrived in this manner for almost three millennia, entirely separate from any other Dynasty. The Cult of Zalmoxis In direct contrast to the Xianrén and the Xibalba, the Ishmaelite who founded the Oboli Dynasty is well known to history. His name is Zalmoxis and in his first life he was a slave named by Isis in the lists she left behind. After being reborn through the great rite he went on to become a skilled Physician and an outspoken critic of Horus methods. After fleeing Egypt his wanderings came to an end amongst the Thracians and he came to care for his adopted nation, eventually teaching them of the path to Immortality. He worked with the Awakened priests, the Ctistae and Spirits of the Ancestors to reproduce the great rite, determined to share what he had been given with those who could benefit the world with their continued existence. Zalmoxis sought to bypass the entrenched beliefs and the priesthood of Khem, to free Immortality from Horus and the Veil of Isis or other mages and Priests susceptible to corruption.
Eventually Zalmoxis perfected a Ritual that allowed the creation of Immortals in the Shadowlands and his mage allies began to generate Immortals from the lower castes, from the disenfranchised and the downtrodden, most often from the slave populations. However within a few centuries Zalmoxis declared his quest a failure and he withdrew from Immortal notice. However his followers did not cease and the variation of the great rite he had fashioned would eventually lead to the creation of the Oboli Dynasty. The rise of the Chayot East of Khem the new faith in the Midianite God YHWH had begun to dominate the disparate tribes of the former Canaanite city-states, rising to equal prominence with the worship of El and his pantheon. The nation of Israel began to take shape from the ashes of the previous nation, brought low from within. The Immortals from among Canaanite nobility fell out of favour among the Tzadikim and were replaced by Immortals from the Hebrew culture. The entire Dynasty altered drastically as the region of the land moved from a pantheistic to a Henotheistic society. The Older Gods of Mesopotamia and the ancient Empires had been deposed by a mythology based loosely on the Egyptian model, the chief God having a Midianite name and grew to represent the freedom of the lower classes of Canaan, simple people who still held ill will towards the noble classes that had overseen the countries domination by Khem and eventual decline. The defeated Hyksos had passed on their stolen occult knowledge to the Hebrew nations and now they came to dominate the new Israelite nation. Mirroring this state of affairs a new sub sect among the Tzadikim begun to make its presence felt, encouraging one faith be adopted by the entire Dynasty. Immortals of the old order clashed with those who embraced the new and the Dynasty destroyed several of its own. Others were lost to the forces of Oblivion, or joined the enemy willingly to escape the purges. Many more of the elder Immortals either fled to the aegis of the Ishmaelite way of life or joined the new sect in name at least. Great temples to the One were constructed with the aid of Tzadikim from the Het Khnemu, new histories invented. Hundreds of people were killed in the name of the new God and the religious tolerance of the pagan world was swept away in a tide of blood. The Chayot, as the new cult within the Tzadikim were called, manipulated the new mythology and its adherents to cement their dominance of the region, forcing those who had once been their elders to capitulate or flee. The first half of the first Millennium BC was a time of chaos and reinvention for the Tzadikim and the Dynasty that emerged along with the Jewish state was very different to its routes. Civil wars were fought within the Dynasty, but few outside the Fertile Crescent even noticed, and by the time the Shemsu-Heru could discern what was going on, the Dynasty had become what it remains to this day. It was during the period of the Babylonian exile that the Chayot cemented their rule. The exile continued for almost 50 years, after which the Israelites abandon their gods in favour of total monotheism and the Tzadikim came fully under the control of the Chayot. The end of the Babylonian exile marks the beginning of the Chayot domination among the Dynasty. The Cauldron born
West and North of these conflicts, the wandering Ishmaelites had founded quite a network throughout Europe. Several reached the British Isles even before the Chayot emerged and were forced to accept that the tribes here were every bit as skilled in the construction of megalithic temples as the Egyptians. Seeing the temples created here before the construction of the great Pyramids, the Ishmaelites settled in small numbers. Others had a hand in creating new Immortals in Scandinavia and other parts of the Western world. A small cult of Ishmaelites, working with the Mages of the Wyck and other Awakened groups in Northern Europe, set about the study of these misty lands. They learned the preserving properties of certain bodies of water, quite the opposite to the dry deserts in which the Spell of life was first conducted. Through countless resurrections they came to understand how these places acted as portals between the worlds and a few visionaries began to construct a version of Isis spell to take advantage of this peculiar realm. The Spell they envisioned took centuries to perfect, but it eventually resulted in the creation of the Immortals known as the Cauldron Born. By 700 BC there were native Immortals in Eire, Denmark and Scandinavia as well as in the Alps and Germany. The Crochan Geni Dynasty first made itself known around the fifth century BC, exploding onto the scene as a relentless enemy of Oblivion. By this time Horus had already begun to look towards the west for his new camp and it seems certain that he became aware of the Crochan Geni warriors and their battles with the Banes of that land. Philosophers and priests he could ignore, but warriors he could not, and the seeds of change were sown amidst the Shemsu-Heru at this time. The Age of the Alchemists On the other side of the world the Xiānrén experienced a population explosion as the Pazyryk nomads of the steppes and Scythians perfected the alchemy of Immortality which would later be used by the wider Xiānrén Dynasty in the first millennium AD. From around 1,000 BC the older Shamanistic methods the Asian mages used were matched by newer Alchemical rituals. Although the way of the Shaman remained the most commonly used path to Immortality until the height of the Iron Age, it was eventually overtaken. Only after this upswing in successful Ritual based magic did Middle Kingdom Mages perfect their own version of the great rite complete with the additional hurdles and personal requirements considered necessary. The Xiānrén came to believe that the Immortals should undergo harsh trials in order to become Immortal, proving themselves worthy rather than being chosen as such by Mages with the great rite in their spell book. Varied philosophies and varied degrees of success allowed the Spell to mutate endlessly until it began to be written down late in the Qin Dynasty. By this time the Shamanistic trappings had been entirely replaced with Alchemical language and methodology, and the Xiānrén had evolved into a distinct type of Immortal. The Cabiri While The Tzadikim civil war raged an Ishmaelite named Cabirus recorded the Spell of Life and his ‘secret writings’ were used by Mages to create the first non Egyptian Immortal within range of Horus domain. The Cabiri Dynasty grew from a small group of mages studying under Cabirus, recreating the great rite from his knowledge, and the time he had spent watching the Cult of Isis perform it.
Cabirus was a devoted follower of Isis, so zealous that even her cult appears to have distanced itself from him. His demands that the list of names Isis left behind be made available to the Ishmaelites finally severed any relationship he had with them and Cabirus set out alone, eventually settling in Thrace with the Cult of Zalmoxis. Although Cabirus and Zalmoxis came from very different backgrounds and shared few philosophies, they did manage to work together for a short time. They shared knowledge of the great rite, but each wanted different things from the performing of it. The first Cabiri was created in Thrace, but the proto-dynasty immigrated to Greece not long the defeat of Persia. Here they expanded slowly and set about researching every aspect of the reborn. Despised by Horus, hunted by the Shemsu-Heru and ignorant of Isis intentions, the early centuries were a struggle for the Cabiri. Searching for the meaning of their immortal existence with the aid of the mystery religions and other spiritual paths, the Cabiri began as a cult with very specific ideal. In time the Dynasty was accepted by the Shemsu-Heru, Horus having left Egypt to the Ptolemy rulers. They presented the rulers of the Reborn with their gathered wisdom, information on the Underworld beyond Amenti, limited insights about the Ishmaelites wanderings, details on the Xiānrén and the Crochan Geni. More importantly, with the Shemsu-Heru finally accepting the need to communicate with the other undying, the Cabiri offered their services as translators and middlemen. The Cabiri became the emissaries and the messengers for Horus, and before long, for all the known Dynasties. The Common era In the last centuries of the first Millennium BC, rumours of the Xiānrйn reached Horus as he made plans to relocate beyond the borders of Egypt. Reports of the victories the Crochan Geni had achieved against the spawn of Apophis were already catching his interest and the additional tales from the east proved difficult to ignore. The Cult of Isis had begun to put pressure on some of the Shemsu-Heru to make their clandestine associations with the Ishmaelites common knowledge and the mood was changing amongst the Companions. Those skilled in the arts of Celestial Magic began to report on terrible omens about the Eastern realms, and at the same time the Underworld of Asia was stricken by a pregnant fear concerning the future. Something astounding was about to happen in the land of the Xiānrйn, something equally as disturbing as the rise of Charon _ s empire not long before. Horus had come to accept that the war with Set could not be won quickly, or without addressing the wider issues. His hatred for his vampiric uncle had blinded him to the threats his mother warned him about and in a time of rare introspection he came to understand the need to fight the larger war. Even conservative members of the Shemsu-Heru admit that the advances of the foreign Dynasties impressed Horus greatly and set the stage for the most drastic event in Immortal society. The rumblings from beyond the borders of Amenti forced Horus to acknowledge the existence, perhaps even the worth, of other Immortals. Not long afterwards, as Immortals measure such things, he reached out to the Cabiri and opened his doors to them, bartering a servile position at their feet for information on the other Reborn.
As the new Millennium passed, unmarked by the people of the time but a fixed point for those looking back, the Dynasties of the Immortals were revealed to each other. The Cabiri and the Ishmaelites were the conduit through which awareness passed and slowly a pecking order was established. It wasn’t a rapid thing, nor was it in any way peaceful, but it appeared to be inevitable even to the fiercest of the ShemsuHeru. The Cabiri and the Veil of Isis wove together alliances, and where racial differences clashed, the unity of the Magical paths offered shared ground. The final unity many Cabiri hoped for was, however, impossible in prevailing age. The Shemsu-Heru old guard still believed that only they deserved eternity and many even began to believe that Horus had gone soft. Immortal society took shape in spite of the Shemsu-Heru more than because of it, and even when the elder dynasty did cooperate, it was with a sneer and a contempt. The Oagdoad of Dynasties would have fallen to warfare if the reborn had asked who would rule them, but each group had their masters of Hekau, their schools of magical philosophy. The Eanead, the collected houses of study, formed the backbone of Immortal society. A Shemsu-Heru who had trouble accepting a Cabiri as his equal could see the worth in a fellow student of Alchemy. And so for centuries it was that the path the Immortals trod, rather than the lands in which they had been born, came to be the glue that bound them together. The six paths of magic and the three universal measures of Virtue erased the differences and crossed the invisible boundaries. The necromancers of the east were eager to learn the secrets of their African equals, while the readers of the Milky way from the Xibalba Dynasty shared their insights with the astronomers of the Crochan Geni. matters of war, the manoeuvres against Apophis and the forces of Oblivion, were decided by ad hoc councils formed from the representatives of the het rather than the Dynasties. Immortal justice and disputes were settled by these gatherings named Eanead after the nine houses. In time the Eanead council became an entity in and of itself, traditions formed and methods of conduct were approved. The Shemsu-Heru continued to believe they were chosen nobility and the leaders of undying, the orders they attempted to give were debated by the Eanead council and either ratified or thrown out. When the Council worked well both sides believed they’d come up with the idea first. The Unification of the Reborn The first Millennium gave way to the second, the so called dark ages gave way to new eras. The New world was discovered, much to the amusement of the reborn who had been regular guests of the Mesoamerican Immortals. The Xibalba however found little to laugh about once the White Folk landed. The 18th and 19th centuries stand out in the annuls of the Undying as the time of drastic change. The Shemsu-Heru again undertook a slow review of its opinions and began to acknowledge how much more effective the conquest fared under the direction of the Eanead council than it did without it. Though they would never openly admit it, they had grown accustomed to being part of the Immortal fraternity and few of them held any desires to rule the other dynasties. There were exceptions, those who had been kings in life or who had grown to believe they were Demi-gods in waiting now. However This was a time when several skilled orators toured the globe and stirred the fires. The Undying were encouraged to focus
on the struggle and the battle against Oblivion rather than on petty conflicts or personal desires. Though few ever knew it, Ishmael had returned. The Immortal wanderers who were at the forefront of this new direction, evangelising a return to the path Isis had set them, were working on behalf of the Ancient turncoat. Some of his dynasty claim that it was he who lead the way, although he must have avoided meeting with Shemsu-Heru who might have recognised him. The middle of the 19th century saw an increased collaboration between the Immortals of varying ideologies, a new accord. Horus set up a base in New York where so many of the reborn seemed to be congregating, or at least passing through. He requested a meeting of the Eanead council and offered his dynasties services to them. Asking that, if the other Dynasties agreed, the position of the Council should be made official as a means to avoid racial conflict and to centralise the offensive against Apophis. Within a lifetime the Eight Dynasties had thrashed out the majority of their differences and accepted that inter dynasty procedure would be decided by the council of the Eanead. The dawning of the 20th century was greeted by a newly unified nation of Immortals, just in time for the Wyrm to really sink it’s teeth into creation! The 20th century was a time of renewal for the undying, but also a time of desperate struggle. Millennia of internal conflict and arrogance had weakened Isis chosen agents and the enemy was on the verge of victory. Wars were fought in which the death tolls eclipsed any other conflict man had ever seen. The lands of the dead swelled ever more as the mortal population increased and was replaced. The same advances in technology that improved health care in the first world also helped mankind hurry more and more of his fellows into the great beyond. The end of the century was marked by a succession of victories by Oblivion. The Underworld and it’s empires were shaken to the very core, one of the largest having been completely destroyed. The 21st century feels for many Immortals like a pivotal point in history. Many claim that if the tide of battle does not turn, there may not be a 22nd. The Soul, Death and Cosmology The whole man is made up of nine distinct parts; the Ren (Name), Khat (Physical Body), Ab (Heart), Khu (Spiritual Intelligence), Sahu (Wraith), Akh (Psyche), Khaibit (Shadow), Ka (The Double) and the Ba (Soul). All are bound together and the welfare of one affects the welfare of all. Ren: Name Khat: Physical Body The Khat is the name for the mummified body in a tomb, or the slab of meat a coroner cuts into in a morgue. The Body is something that decays, this is its nature when it is separated from the other parts of the whole and because of this Immortals must preserve their bodies while they are dead or reconstitute them when they wish to resurrect. The Khat contained the Haty, the anatomical heart, seat of the Ab (or Ib). Ab (or Ib): Heart The heart is the source of life and being, of thought, intelligence, memory, wisdom,
morality, bravery, sadness, and love. It is the hearth of power in life, the foundation of good and evil decisions, the seat of Sekhem. Khu: Spiritual Intelligence A translucent, intangible casing/covering for the body which doesn’t perish, somewhat akin to the aura in that it contained intelligence about the individual, his moods and his nature. The word Khu comes from the words meaning “shining” and it is the Khu which is altered by the Spell of life to transform a mortal human destined for heaven into an Immortal human forever denied that final transcendence. The Altering of the Khu by the Spell of life gives the Imortal access to his Hekau and power to use Magic, the Sekhem. Sahu: the Wraith For those who have not undergone the Spell of life and who only die once, the moment of death gives birth to the Sahu, What the Storyteller system calls the Wraith. This non-physical body (corpus) is resurrected in the afterlife, a new entity that “germinated” from the Khat and into which the soul would slip. The Sahu does not exist until the person dies and is the physical housing for the diametrically opposed aspects of the dead persona, the Akh (Psyche) and the Khaibit (Shadow). The Sahu is everlasting and incorruptible except by Oblivion (and Moliate) and in the uncorrupted version of creation it was this aspect of the individual which can go to heaven and dwell with the gods, the sahu of the gods and souls of the righteous. Death not only releases the Sahu, it also gives birth to two lesser spiritual forms depicted as human headed hawks, the Ka and the Ba. Ka: The Double The ka is the individual's doppelg änger, or double; the guardian of the Khat which hovers
perpetually close to the corpse. Also known as the image, the genius, the double, the character, the disposition and mental attributes, the Ka is the Ghost that haunts and the terrible protector of the tomb. It is the spiritual memory which Funeral offerings are made to and which is empowered by the emotions of the living, by memoriam and passions. The Ka is the medium through whi ch the Immortal in her death cycle and the skinlands interact, the tether through which the Ba is fed and empowered and the tether and route to resurrection. The Ka can eat food left for it, it can even eat the paint and treasures in a tomb. It can be sustained with worship and with songs, with any interaction of the living with the Immortal to whom it belongs. Through that upkeep it can e mpower the Dead Immortal to resurrect. or paint, the ka dies. And thus, the rest of the human dies Ba: Soul The Ba, (often translated as “the soul”) conveyed notions of “the noble” and “the sublime.” It was sometimes depicted separately from the Ka (though with a similar form) but is little more than a measurement of energy or power. It dwells within the Ka like a heart, but was capable of traversing the afterlife and growing stronger from the energies of the afterlife and from the gl ory given to the Ka. Without the nourishment of the Ka, the ba decays. It is with the Ba energies that the Immortal actually makes its Khat fit for resurrection. THE KHAIBIT The act of truly dying exposes the Wraith to the tides and energies of Oblivion, nudging his nature towards the aspects of entropy, colouring his perceptions of the realm around him and transforming his beast into the entity known as the Shadow. But the Reborn, even while dead, are not so susceptible to the effects of Oblivion because they are still alive, still a part of the living world even while his corpse slumbers. Where a wraith sees the Shadowlands as a destitute wasteland, decreasing i n splendour as Oblivion takes a hold, the Immortals see the afterlife as a distant echo of the past. The Immortal is still balanced between the Yin and Yang of life and death and can perceive more than the terrible touch of death that all Wraiths must endure. Though Immortals are still aware of
the creeping decay in all things beyond the shroud, to them it is also tinged with sweet memories and the possibility of renewal. Where a wraith sees death and a spectre sees destruction, an Immortal sees the only the end of the current cycle making way for the new. Because the Immortals are not so stained by Oblivion as the Restless dead, their experiences in the afterlife are often less extreme. Where the Immortal and the true Wraith differ in the underworld is on the matter of the Shadow. The unsullied tie to life prevents the self-destructive anti-self from fully awakening and an Immortal has no Shadow to harass him through eternity, only a shadow of its malice is able to emerge from the cocoon. This lesser shadow is known as the Khaibit (although in truth many use that word to refer to true Shadows as well) and it has many similarities to the Shadow of a normal wraith character. The Immortals Khaibit is awakened by the first death but finds itself stifled because the creature into which it has blossomed is not so lost as the true restless dead, Oblivion has less of a hold upon it. The Khaibit can do little except push at its restraints in moments of extreme emotion, sometimes strengthened by proximity to the source of Oblivion. Sometimes, should the Immortal come across a force of Spectres or be foolish enough to actually delve into the Labyrinth, the Khaibit grows in power and can even rise to have the same abilities it might have had if the Immortal had been simply another wraith. Of course, most Immortals take steps against allowing this sort of thing to happen while they are in their death cycle with relic Amulets and Necromancy spells. Systems of the Shadow The rules that govern the Khaibit are almost identical to those that govern the true Shadow (see Wraith: the Oblivion). Creating the Khaibit runs in exactly the same way as creating the Shadow. It has dark passions which it seeks to fulfil, it has Thorns with wh ich to enact its will and Angst with which to power them. It has the same archetypes as the true shadow, except that these archetypes must be diluted and watered down to match the less complete personality of the Immortals Khaibit. However they lack the same constant and immediate threat that the true S hadow can bring to bear on a player and as such they rarely need a separate Shadowguide. Players and Storytellers of course may wish to increase the influence of the Khaibit (basing the result on the rules for the true shadow in Wraith: the Oblivion) and to make use of the Shadowguide as described in those rules. Acquiring Angst (see Wraith: the Oblivion 2nd edition pp 174 - 176) Arcanoi – the Immortal does not use true Arcanoi and so his Khai bit can never gain angst this way. Shadow dice – The Khaibit can offer Shadow dice in exactly the same way that the true Shadow can do. However the bargain is more instinctual, the act of the Immortal calling upon his negative reserves, his hatred and his wrath, to gain an edge. Shadow Passions – Again, the Khaibit and the true Shadow use the same rules for this event even if the indulgence isn’t quite so obvious. Storytellers discretion – The Storyteller (and even the player) still has some degree of input, the ability to add a point of angst here or there to reflect how the wheel of reincarnation is turning for the character. Failing a Virtue or a Path role – having one’s failures, one’s slow slid towards the dark made impossible to ignore has a psychological effect on an Immortal and it grants the Khaibit ammunition for the battle. Catharsis for the Immortal is likewise, the same as it is for the Wraith as far as the system i s concerned. When the Khaibit’s temporary Angst exceeds her permanent Willpower, the Khaibit attempts to take over. However if the Khaibit is successful it does not ‘assume control’ so much
as flood the Immortals emotions with instincts and desires. It forces the Immortal to pursue self destructive and nihilistic goals, flooding his soul with feelings of inferiority, of failure and self loathing, tempered with physical and spiritual pa in. Much like a Garou in rage or a Vampire in frenzy, the actions of an Immortal thus overtaken by his own darkest instincts tend to lack complex tactics or multiple stages. THE APSHAI The Apshai, the living Shadow, the awakened Khaibit, the voice of Apophis Once the Immortal resurrects and returns to his living body he discovers that Something new has returned with him from the underworld and that he is no longer alone in Immortality. The reconstituted whole of the Immortal is not quite as complete as it was in the first life for the Khaibit, once awakened, never fully returns to its realm of the subconscious. While the fact that the Shadow is weaker than that of true Wraiths might be something worth celebrating, the discovery that it remains just as much o f a presence in the dreams and weaker moments of the living Immortal is a terrible d iscovery. The Reborn must continue to battle the half of themselves which yearns for oblivion, his own small ‘imp of the perverse’ which tempts him and plots against him. Either side of the shroud, the Khaibit continues to test its prison, gathering Angst, waiting for its chance. It continues to whisper threats and distractions to the Immortal, extolling the virtues of Oblivion and the bliss of extinction. Its influence over him i s limited but still felt, most often acting as a further hurdle to his own enlightenment and happiness. Mummies refer to this dark passenger as the Apshai, after the insect monster of ancient Egypt, because its voice is like the constant buzzing of an annoying bug. Because it is a small dirty thing which can suddenly become deadly if the correct steps are not taken to thwart it and the sickness it brings. The fact that the Apshai is also part of the Hive minded army of Oblivion only adds to the analogy. Transcendence Immortals are forever denied the opportunity to transcend, that is just one of the prices they must pay for their eternal existence. The Khu, the shining aura which would transcend to the heavens in a normal individual is somehow altered by the Spell of life and nothing can ever return it to the innocent state it was once in. While the Immortals are blessed to be able to spend time among their ancestors, considered to be Gods by most, none may truly ascend to Heaven, paradise or the blessed afterlife of their faith. For the Immortal there is only the cycle or Oblivion; to carry on the struggle without end or to give oneself to the enemy. Neither option is a reward or a joy, and knowing what they have given up often helps to chip away at the Humanity and morale of the reborn in relentless waves. Even this knowledge, in the end, feeds oblivion and strengthens the enemy. Some groups, such as the Chayot faction of the Tzadikim Dynasty, teach that heaven will eventually be enacted upon earth once oblivio n is defeated and that they will be able to share paradise with those who are righteous. Unfortunately, not even those Immortals who proclaim this dogma the loudest truly believe it to be true. The Harrowing They were challenges designed to teach a wraith how to contend with her darker aspects and win out over them. Some of the dead were afraid of what was beyond, of Transcendence; they were unwilling to accept the proposed surrender of their own self-awareness. Others feared a terrible
afterlife of eternal agony. Because of this, wraiths often refused to face their shadow, hiding themselves from themselves and pretending they could continue on unchanged. Harrowings served as a cathartic experience, forcing such wraiths themselves, their shadows and the possibility of their dissolution or Transcendence whenever they were in danger of losing their passions, fetters, Corpus and Willpower. By making a wraith confront and deal with her darkest fears and desires. Harrowings cleansed the wraith, opening her to the new possibilities inherent in Transcendence: the purification of the soul and its passage to a higher realm. - Wraith: the Oblivion 2nd edition page 183 But the Immortals are denied transcendence when they undergo the great rite, they can never benefit from the lessons of the harrowing. Any confrontation and challenges the Immortal needs he gains from being judged by himself and whichever supernatural entities he is ultimately judged by. There was no need for such a rite of passage and perhaps that is why the Immortals do not suffer the same terrible ordeal that the truly dead must face. The Immortals Khaibit cannot force the Immortal into a Harrowing, its tie to the Tempest is simply not that powerful. Instead the Immortal is tossed violently back into it’s Khat for a period of nightmare wracked slumber at the mercy of the Khaibit – a micro harrowing if you will. There is no Spectre cast or elaborate passion play, merely the outrage and taunting of the Khaibit finally given full vent because it is only in this fitful slumber that the Khaibit is any match to the Akh (Psyche). While it has its captive audience, the Khaibit does everything it can to tempt its better half towards Oblivion, throwing all its stored hatred and the ammunition from a hundred Freudian slips at the weakened persona of the Immortal while it has a brief opportunity. It plays on past doubts and weak Virtues, bringing up old regrets and trying every trick in the book to have the Immortal turn away from the path of enlightenment he clings to in favour of the service to Oblivion. Like a true harrowing, this nightmare is designed to torture the victim, empower her Khaibit and force her into making mistakes which may rip away her passions, her Virtues or her Humanity. It is these confrontations with one’s own darkness that the Immortals fear the most, especially those such as the Shemsu-Heru who find it the most difficult to accept that they are flawed. All attempts at subtlety are thrown to the wind as the Khaibit seeks to destroy all the wall s of ego and self-restraint the Immortal has erected. Here the part of the individual that has grown weary with life aids the vile temptations, while the dreamscape becomes a constant cinema of everything the Immortal has been denied by himself or others. Worst of all, it is often during these emotional barrages that lost memories are restored, reminding the Immortal that his every happiness is stolen away by eternal existence. Reborn society The danger is not that a particular class is unfit to govern. Every class is unfit to govern. - Lord Acton The society of the Immortals is, like everything else about the reborn, a balanced duality – between Dynasty and Het. A combination of the two, and the interplay between them, defines each of the reborn. Dynasty is the phrase used to describe the group which created the Mummy while the Het are philosophical groups he chooses to associate with. Over the past 6 millennium the balance of power has shifted from the Dynasties to the Het (see history), abandoning racial and national interests for a unified and focused society. One’s dynasty is usually a matter of nationality and geography, however in Egypt one dynasty split to become two over matters of ideology. A rebel and free thinker named Ishmael left the first
Dynasty, the Shemsu-Heru, and others followed his lead – creating the Ishmaelite dynasty. An Immortal cannot choose his Dynasty and he can never change it. The earliest Ishmaelites are the exception to this rule, but the majority of even that Dynasty were created within the Ishmaelite framework. Horus declared all turncoats Ishmaelites with a single d ecree and from that moment onwards those named and those they created were Ishmaelites. The Shemsu-Heru are no longer restricted to a single nation or to a single path so such a split would be impossible to replicate. The Dynasties represent where an Immortal came from, what culture and viewpoint le d to his creation. The numbers a Dynasty can field has rarely had any direct effect on its clout in Immortal society. The largest Dynasty, the Oboli, are the least influential while the Ishmaelites who are perhaps the most respected due to their role in the spread of the Great Rite, are the smallest.
Idealism is what precedes experience; cynicism is what follows. - David T. Wolf If the Dynasties are the nationalities of the Immortals, then the Het are the political, or at the very least the philosophical, parties. As far as government and decision making is concerned, one might include the Cult of Isis as the tenth party, or perhaps as the civil servants who do the governments bidding. Membership in each Het is a matter of personal choice and has little i f anything to do with nationality or Dynasty. Neither is membership in a Het set in stone and Immortals move from one Het to another at regular intervals. Thus any estimation as to the modern spread of Het membership is subject to the fluid movement of membership and current trend. An executive is a person who always decides; sometimes he decides correctly, but he always
decides. - John H. Patterson The Eanead Council For many years Reborn society was ruled over by the first Immortals, the Shemsu-Heru. This society was already well established and firmly entrenched in the world by the time the other Immortals appeared on the radar. As the other groups of reborn established their own habits and centres of power, growing into new Dynasties, they had little choice but to follow in the footsteps of those who went before. The Immortals who turned their back on Horus, spreading the gift or eternal life across the globe, were raised in the culture of the Shemsu-Heru and unconsciously spread the Shemsu-Heru way of doing things to those they created. That is not to say however that the other Dynasties kowtow to the Shemsu-Heru or believe them in anyway superior. Over the past thousand years the Shemsu-Heru have been superseded as the directors of eternity and have allowed an elected council to assume governance of Immortal society. The council, known as the Eanead council or simply the Eanead, is made up of individuals chosen by each Het as the best representative from amidst their leading lights in the hope that it will remain apolitical and better able to set the mood of wider reborn civilization. During the latter half of the 19th century the S hemsu-Heru met with what may well have been the largest gathering of reborn ever and officially ceased its attempts to dominate the other Dynasties, ushering in the new state of cooperation and unity. At the suggestion of Horus the Immortals sanctioned a non political council wh ose membership would be chosen from among the leading lights of the Het and not from the power players within the Dynasties. The Eanead Council (council of the nine) was given the final say of what the beneficiaries of the great ritual would do and how they would do it. There had been occasional councils in the past, formed temporarily to adjudicate disagreements between Immortal groups or to show a united front against a shared enemy, and the precedent already had a large group of supporters. In truth, there is one thing that unites all Immortals and that is their understanding of the bigger pi cture and of destiny. They understand that creation is under attack from cyclopean forces that wish to see the end of all things. They understand this perhaps because they have become endless and are thus tied to the fate of the universe itself. Given that, it is little wonder that the undying are all concerned with preventing Oblivion from consuming the entirety of existence in some wa y or another. And so the Eanead was established with an acceptance close to unanimous and for the first time since the veil of Isis lost control of the reborn, the Immortals had a leadership and a cohesive direction. From that point, the rest of Immortal society was able to find structure, territories were acknowledged and no longer squabbled over, methodology for aiding those whose virtue had eroded were put in place and the tactics to be used against the a ccursed were defined. Since then the Cabiri have worked hard to maintain this unity through the spread of myth and parable, they teach the definition and terminology of the various traditions by sharing intelligence and wisdom among all of the Undying. The Spells devised by separate Dynasties have been made available to all Immortals through the Het and trade and communication opened between the various cells in the underworld. Horus may rule the Shemsu-Heru with an iron fist and the Tzadikim might be dominated by their faith, but beyond the boundaries of the Dynasty, it is the Eanead who govern eternity now. The Eanead has become the force by which the entire Reborn culture makes its will manifest and in the shadow of the council are, as always, the veil of Isis.
On rare occasions the Eanead has actively passed a decree or given a direction to the undying as a whole, but this is not the way it prefers to act. During such times when it becomes clear that the majority of vocal Immortals feel a certain way but that something needs to be put into coherent form, a council is called. Each het chooses a few of its members to represent them and the chosen all get together to create a statement or a definitive proclamation, which is then returned to the Het themselves and disseminated to the reborn. One of the first declarations made by the Eanead was when it openly called for the Xianrén to be given as much aid and shelter as they required while in their death Cycle to counter the dangers of the dark Kingdom of Jade. While the peace granted by this democracy has allowed the Immortals to make great advancements, it also means that those who disagree are left with nowhere else to turn but the enemy. In recent centuries the forces of Ma’at have made some truly magnificent headway in their quest, but so have the forces of Oblivion. Several of Apophis generals yearn to turn the Eanead against their enemies, thwarting the typically slow and thoughtful tactics of the reborn with a proclamation to hurry them along into the maw of oblivion. THE MASQUERADE Just as with other supernatural creatures, the reborn practice stealth and obfuscation to mask their presence from the mundane world. This serves not only to keep them safe from their enemies, but to prevent the doors of every gathering being hammered upon by mortals desperate for eternal life. Over the centuries it has become accepted practice to hide everything beneath layers of allegory and parable. The stories and legends told around the world often stem from or contain such nuggets of lore, preserving lessons on morality or the location of a Temple from the ravages of amnesia. While details often blur between incarnations, the gist of a legend is much easier to recall or record. The Immortals survive because of mystery and because of the Mysteries. We know almost nothing certain about the mystery cults of the Classical world or the real reasons for Bog body sacrifices in Northern Europe. The Secrets of Isis and Nephyts have yet to be revealed to us. What the followers of Orpheus really sought is recorded in no known form. But the Immortals were members of the Mysteries when they were popular and they retain varying memories of their practices. Myths and passion plays can communicate varied levels of information, and can often be told to large groups but interpreted only by those trained to recognise the symbology and metaphor. More often than not an Undying tutor expects his student to discern the lesson in a tale rather than simply spilling the facts. Then, by learning the story, that student can pass it along to his students. The masquerade of the Immortals has no hard and fast rules, a nd varies from dynasty to dynasty and from age to age. The sparse population of Immortals worldwide has helped to keep them hidden, as has the fact that the reborn often spend a lot of time away from the mundane world. Beyond that however, the cult of Isis and other mortal followers work to cover the tracks of the Undying, cleaning up after overtly unnatural conflicts, guarding the Khat of dead mummies etc. OTHER IMMORTALS Then there are the Bane mummies, the ones for whom existence is so unrelentingly painful they willingly align themselves with the avatars of destruction and work to further oblivions cause. While the majority of immortals are driven by some soul deep desire to battle oblivio n, the Bane Mummies are the direct opposite. They embrace Oblivion as a bride, something to be cherished and sought after. Oblivion is the ideal they seek, and the philo sophy they aspire to.
The battle between the two armies, between those who seek utter annihilation of creation and those who fight against them, is the fulcrum upon which Immortal society swings. Isis and her allies created the Immortals to thwart the demon Serpent Apophis, an aspect of the Wyrm, of Oblivion itself. Have the Shemsu-Heru failed in the task Isis created them for? Of course not! If they had, then we would not be here to talk about it. Their task was to battle Apophis and Apophis has still not achieved his Goals of destroying creation, ergo, the reborn are a glorious success!! A World of Immortals When Horus declared the great Diaspora, abandoning his homeland to the Followers of Set, the Shemsu-Heru trailed what would later be cal led Western civilization. Some few travelled south of the Sahara, or westward across the oceans, to the Americas. Still others journeyed eastward, across Asia. But these were always in the minority for those lands already had Immortals of their own. The Veil of Isis and the Ishmaelites had already been here, they had shared the secrets of the great ritual and the only positions available to the proud companions of Horus we re that of barely tolerated guest. In most cases, the Shemsu-Heru attempted to instil their own form of government and it was centuries before the Immortals knew peace. As the Egyptian reborn began to settle across the various regions of the earth, Horus saw a need for better means of monitoring the deeds of his followers. Thus he appointed viziers, or prime ministers, who would represent his authority. The duties of the viziers included enforcing the code of Horus, assisting the Shemsu-Heru as necessary, and monitoring the activities of other supernatural creatures. When the Dynasties finally settled on a cohesive administration, the concept of the Vizier was rolled across all the Ogdoad. Immortals with local knowledge, almost always hailing from the dominant dynasty in an area, where appointed and directed to report back to the Eanead Council. Meanwhile, in Asia, the Xiānrén had established their own system with the Bureaucratic Cheng-Huang (Town monitors) and the streetwise Tu-Di (neighbourhood monitors). Immortals took on a duty to watch over their place of residence, guarding against troublesome Shen and interacting with the more agreeable creatures on behalf of the humans. The position was replicated across the Immortal society after the dynasty’s found peace and now each Vizier employs a number of Cheng-Huang (sheriffs) and Tu-Di (usually anglicised to marshal or deputy) whom he can call upon in times of trouble. The actual duties of each office tend to blend into each other and it is only really the expected territory over which the Immortal watches that determines the title. The positions of Vizier, Sheriff and deputy are not lifelong – merely for as long as the Eanead deems it necessary or suitable. Some Viziers have held their title for centuries, others for only a few decades. However the position does come with the understanding that a vizier will take steps to ensure the job is still carried out while he or she is in the underworld. One Vizier might relish the role, having contacts in the criminal underworld, governments and churches, with a clear chain of command and an heir apparent among her Sheriffs while another might be alone wolf wandering the badlands and attempting to maintain control from the dark Umbra even while dead.
Egypt The land in which it all began was the physical and spiritual homeland of the Undying, or at least of the original dynasties, from the time of Horus until the great Diaspora during the height of the Roman Empire. However, even when the larger part of the Shemsu-Heru spread out from the banks of the Nile, there were those who remained behind amid the buried secrets and the mythical heritage. As the religion of Khem was eroded by the countless invaders and eventually gave way to Islam, the few remaining Immortals set up their headquarters in Alexandria and many other reborn joined them in time. Cabiri, Tzadikim and even Ishmaelites settled in Alexandria and remained there even as the mortal focus moved to Cairo. In time they were joined by members of the emergent Oboli dynasty and the port has remained a hub of undying culture to the modern day. However Egypt is still deeply corrupted by the accursed, with the followers of Set vampire clan holding the land as dear as do the Shemsu-Heru. To reside here is to dwell at the very forefront of the battle against Oblivions earthly pawns, and requires constant vigilance from the Undying. The Vizier of Egypt resides now in Alexandria and monitors activities in all of North Africa, Sudan, Ethiopia, the length of the Nile and the Red sea. He employs several sheriffs and marshals and it is acknowledged by all that he runs a tight ship Africa Beyond the realm of Egypt the influence of the Setites weakens due to the presence of native vampires. Here the Ishmaelites are the most common Immortals and those who followed the first freebooter have long considered central and southern Africa as their territory. Because of its vast empty spaces and dangerous supernatural entities, the other Dynasties have felt little desire to challenge them. It is believed that Ishmael travelled the continent once he parted company with Horus, and there are many myths and legends that seem to hint at his passing. Those who claim to have met with the Dynasty founder usually say it was here that the meeting took place. While the heart of the continent is considered the stomping ground of the Ishmaelite elders, they only rise to the role of vizier 50% of the time and thus younger Immortals or even those from other Dynasties often hold the post, existing in exclusion for the most part. Australia The Spell of Life itself has never reached the shores of Australia, its islands or of New Zealand. Not that these lands remain unvisited by the Undying and a Vizier for the antipodeans has existed for at least 100 years. Currently that Vizier is a Crochan Geni wanderer who harbours a strong desire to find allies among the native cultures of his adopted homeland and to further study Karta, the shadowy basement of the Dreamtime. This Vizier monitors the activities of Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia. The role is shared by all the Dynasties and was recently reassigned. Europe, Eastern
Until recently the Shemsu-Heru have avoided Eastern Europe; early encounters during the dark ages left many of them scarred and frightened, and for many years they were loathe to return. But now, as the West rediscovers the lands of Eastern Europe, the Shemsu-Heru are taking a new look. Not surprisingly, while the ShemsuHeru avoided Eastern Europe, a number of the Cabiri have long-established domains here. However the strongest Dynasty’s by far in these lands are the Oboli and the Crochan Geni, both of whom include a large degree of locally created Immortals amidst their numbers. The Crochan geni’s strongholds remain to the West, while these lands were the central territory for the Oboli for many years and they still dominate the landscape. Here the Vampires and the Immortals have established some of the most renown alliances of all, with scholars and philosophers from both races finding reasons to share a healthy relationship with fellow ancients. The Crochan Geni have established bonds with the local Garou tribes, forged in the fires of battle against a myriad of the accursed. Often an active and mercurial region, the Eastern European Viziers duties were recently reduced when the lands of the Soviet Union were split away from his remit. Even so, this is not a job for sedentary individuals. Since the fall of Baba Yaga and the breakup of the USSR, a new Vizier was promoted to monitor the nations of the exSoviet Union. Europe, Western Switzerland has been the European capitol of the Shemsu-Heru for almost three centuries, ever since Horus settled near Geneva. He still resides in a grand manor, heavily fortified against physical and magical intrusions; it is from this manor that he directs the operations of his followers worldwide, and prepares for the final battle against Apophis. That being said, the Shemsu-Heru are guests of the Crochan Geni who maintain their rights to the region fiercely even with their small numbers. Horus learned long ago to temper his pride when dealing with the cauldron born, a Dynasty more than willing to answer a perceived slight with a bloody slaughter. In truth Horus and his most adapt diplomats have brought the Crochan Geni into their compound and cemented their trust. Horus can count many of the Cauldron born among his own warriors when he steps out to do battle. Elsewhere Europe is the undisputed territory of the Crochan Geni and the conflicts for domain are internal to that Dynasty. They welcome all outsiders who respect their authority and their traditions and as such cities such as London, Paris and Berlin host representatives of every Dynasty. Such visitors often intend to remain neutral in the conflicts between the various camps within the Crochan Geni, but to do so is all but impossible for more than a decade or two. Although Horus himself is located in Switzerland, he does not concern himself with the details of his adopted home, leaving this task to another. The Crochan Geni traditionally fills this role, but in times of peace they can sometimes lose focus. The current Vizier is a member of the Cabiri Dynasty. India Considering how large the mortal population of India has grown, one might be
surprised how few Immortals there are among them. Some few Xiānrén were created from resident Indians and perhaps a handful of Oboli too, but there are almost as many Ishmaelites as there are native born Immortals here. Few Hindu or Buddhists would choose to remove themselves so completely from the wheel of rebirth and become an Immortal, and the Spell of Life has never once been performed on an unwilling subject, and so the numbers of aboriginal Immortals has remained very low. Those who do spend any time here have reported that relationships with the local supernaturals are tense and difficult at all times, with the native vampires being less than willing to join the struggle while the invading corpses from the East are determined to eradicate all local opposition to their rule. The Shapeshifters and the Fae are slow to trust and quick to anger, but a few alliances have been made even though they were short lived. The Ishmaelite Vizier of the Sub continent has been in place for centuries and his predecessor was the first Vizier of the region. Few Immortals not of the Xiānrén make their home in these lands and the position is a minimal one. South and Central America Even though the New World is the undisputed homeland of the Xibalba Dynasty, it is not unusual to find Shemsu-Heru, Cabiri and Ishmaelite Immortals in significant numbers here. The battle against Oblivion has a unique format here, not only because the local supernaturals all believe that the White man is the source of everything evil, including the Wyrm and it’s bride, but also because they seek a balance rather than a total victory. The Lords of Xibalba, to give them their proper title, have weathered the ebb and flow of eternity with stoic acceptance. They cherish the time before the white man, when life and death were in balance, the balance of power ever shifting and changing. They have endured the time of Oblivions ascendency when Tezcatlipoca ruled the underworld unchallenged, and the White men usurped their thrones. Now the dark kingdom of iron has fallen and the Lords of Xibalba believe the time to topple the heralds of Oblivion has come. The Xibalba and their allies have been patient, but that tactic no longer holds sway. The portents are clear and a great conflict is about to erupt south of the border. Perhaps this will be the first battle in the final war against Oblivion, the other Dynasties are certainly watching what transpires in an attempt to gauge if the time really is nigh. Those Immortals who ally themselves with the natives, who respect the traditions of the ancestors and who aid in the battle against the dark Spawn of Tezcatlipoca, are welcomed here. They are shown respect and showered with the benefits of hospitality. Those who seek to challenge the Xibalba and their people tend to disappear from the lands of the living and find the underworld into which they descend far more frightening than anything they experienced before. Traditionally a Xibalba of Aztec descent, the Mexican vizier handles all affairs in Mexico and works closely with his confederates the viziers of Peru and of South America. The heartland of the ‘lords of Xibalba’ is traditionally under the watchful eye of a local Immortal responsible for the whole of South America. The Dynasty has resisted any urge to share the viziership with outsiders, claiming the lack of tradition among other Immortals as the deal breaker. North America
Since the middle of the 19th century the New World has been a gathering place for the Immortals. None of the Old World dynasties have a historical claim on the land and even the Xibalba consider it unimportant compared to their immediate domain. Those native Americans born North of Mexico can be counted on the fingers of one hand and it wasn’t until the arrival of the Europeans that any reborn society really took hold. There were Ishmaelites who found their way here, along with a Crochan Geni or maybe two and legends suggest that the original Bane Mummies visited once or twice, but it wasn’t until the time of the Mayflower that the Dynasties really paid attention. However the 18th and 19th centuries were times of heavy Immortal traffic throughout the continent, and it played host to some of the most significant events in the unification of the Ogdoad and the formation of the Eanead council. North America is, in the minds of the Reborn, no man’s land. While members of every single Dynasty make their home in the newest Empire, many more see the nation as a crossroads or a stopover spot on their global journeys. Because there are no real claims on the region by any one Dynasty they see American as a mortal institution that might harbour a new hope for creation. Many Immortals have immersed themselves in America, its culture, corporate structure and its politics in the hope of influencing the next human empire. The vizier of North America is highly favoured by Horus and has been accused of unduly influencing the Eanead council from time to time. The North American Vizier, Hetch-Abehu ( WoD: Mummy 2nd edition pp 137-8), monitors the United States and Canada. However at the turn of the Millennium the violence on the West coast between various groups of Vampires prompted the Eanead to create a new post of Vizier for that region. The Middle East The Tzadikim have inherited a fractious domain, somewhat representative of their own inner Dynasty politics. The land is home to many ancient secrets all but swallowed by deserts or wars, and the servants of Apophis have always considered this a fruitful land. The Wyrm is strong throughout the Eastern kingdoms, and is well represented by the handful of Bane Mummies who congregate here. Although they do supply Viziers to report the situation within their perceived territory, the Tzadikim provide the Eanead council nominal Intel at best and misleading lies at worst. Due to the dynasties strong belief in self determination, there are still many parts of this realm which remain outside of the Immortals understanding or control. All the fractious kingdoms of the middle east are under the watch of a single Vizier, or that is what the Eanead are told. More often than not he hails from the Tzadikim Dynasty, but there have been times when the vizier was appointed from another Dynasty, often one of the Shemsu-Heru. The Middle Kingdom There is no doubt that the Xiānrén Dynasty are created from the most diverse societies, or that their traditional territory dwarfs that of all other Immortals. The entirety of all Asia, the so called Middle kingdom, is their domain. That being said however, it would be foolish to lump such a vast region into one single cultural stereotype.
The Xiānrén of China were once the driving force of the Dynasty, having first taken steps to unite the various Asian Undying and then encouraged them to work diligently on behalf of all creation. But they have fallen from favour among their peers in recent years, especially since the rise of Communism. This is partly because their nation is seen by many as being responsible for Yu Huang, Jade Emperor of the yellow springs (see chapter : going Forth), the scourge of the underworld. But it is also because the Xiānrén see what China has become as a betrayal of the virtues they hold dear. Xiānrén from the nomadic peoples, from the deserts and the Steppes, have withdrawn partially from the centralised organisation of the Dynasty to consider their position. Disenchanted with the modern world and the direction it is headed in, those who were the first created undying in Asia. Meanwhile the recent battles in the Dark Umbra have begun to have an effect on the Middle Kingdom too. After his failed attempt to invade Stygia (see Wraith: the Oblivion – ends of Empire) Yu Huang was forced to retreat back to the yellow springs in the face of countless rebellions in the conquered territories and on the border with the Indian Deathlands. Several powerful Malfeans emerged from the maelstrom eager to take his throne and his formerly insurmountable stranglehold over the Asian Underworld has been severely reduced. Erlik Khan, erstwhile leader of the rebellion, has begun to push for more aid from other Immortals believing that this is the time to wrest the dark kingdom of jade from it’s deathly emperor. In recent years he has begun to make alliances with the Xibalba who think as he does. While he is far from ready for an open war, his guerrilla tactics have escalated a thousand fold and he watches what happens across the pacific ocean and its Shadowland equivalent with interest. In prehistory the Xianrén considered the steppes and the deserts in the West and North of the Middle kingdom as their paradise and they still cling tightly to its dominion. The vizier of this region watches over the sacred tombs and spiritual hearth of the Dynasty, what else he sees he shares with the reborn. The Asian Vizier is currently located in Hong Kong, giving her access to many Western contacts. Her duties cover China, Japan, South East Asia, North and South Korea. As with Mongolia this region has traditionally been monitored by a member of the Xianrén Dynasty. The Spirit Umbra Not a realm completely understood by the reborn, they have long been intrigued by its denizens. Once the Undying came to realise that the male aspect of Oblivion had its nest in the Spirit realm a Vizier was appointed to gather intel on the realm. With a small cache of aides this Vizier has been building a library of lore about the Spirit world. The Garou As much an emissary as a Vizier, this role was created to preserve communications between the Immortals and the Shapeshifters. When the Osirian league was at its height the Silent striders and the Shemsu-Heru worked hand in paw and given the shared enemy, the reborn seek eagerly to resurrect that alliance with the other tribes. The Order of Hermes (and by extension, all Mages) The descendents of Thoth have long been tied to the fate of the Immortals. It
requires an awakened worker of true magic to enact the Spell of Life. While those magi aligned to the reborn are sequestered within the Veil of Isis, a vizier does exist who watches over the rest. It is considered vital that the Spell of Life not be rediscovered or used by unaligned magi and this Vizier is expected to take final actions should it become necessary. Mummification Across the world Newly created Immortals and their mortal associates may wonder why there are so many reborn in Egypt, with three dynasties claiming to have been born in the middle east, while other dynasties that are spread across entire continents report a smaller membership. The reason for this anomaly is simple however, the other dynasties lacked the central priesthood that the Veil of Isis provided the Shemsu-Heru and the Ishmaelites. The land beside the Nile was the birthplace of the reborn, and for almost two thousand years no other dynasties existed. The mages who did eventually create Immortals elsewhere were taught by Egyptian Ishmaelites or by the Veil of Isis itself, the influence of that empire couldn’t help but be imprinted on the undying. Though there would be a great deal of resistance to the idea now, the Veil of Isis were one of the earliest mage traditions and are even today counted as a craft by their peers. Masters of the sphere of Life, their ability to prolong and even regenerate life were unmatched. Even the lesser sorcerers and the mundane clerics of the priesthood were skilled in the ways of healing and of properly conducting those they could not heal into the afterlife. But the leaders of the veil had access to so much more knowledge, secrets of the dark Umbra, the means to battle Apophis once the purview of Set. Isis herself stole the secrets of Prime and Forces from Ra and used her unparalleled abilities to create the Spell of life. Anubis passed on to them the means to defeat biological entropy with the art of mummification, ensuring fetters for those who became Wraith’s. The true magic of Mages has always filtered down from the awakened mages, through their acolytes and sorcerers, to the mundane public. The list of superstitions and religious traditions originally inspired by rotes and spells of true magic could fill a reasonably sized book. Such was true of the Spell of Life, which over the years found several of its elements melded with common funerary practices. To the modern eye it appears as though all of Ancient Egyptian culture was focussed on death, however they were no more morbid or death obsessed than you or I. In truth the belief in the need to preserve the body and to provide for the individual in the afterlife resulted in the mausoleums and books of the dead being created from the most durable materials. They had as many brothels and markets and pastimes with no link to death as we do, it is just that fewer of them have survived to be studied. A vital element in the ritual which has remained consistent even as the Spell itself mutated is the need to preserve the body of the Immortal to be. In Khem the art of mummification was employed by the cult of Isis, learned from Anubis himself. Similar techniques arose among the southern American peoples while the nomadic shaman of Asia combined several procedures to conserve the bodies of their most honoured dead. Societies that created mummies almost always did so with some degree of memory
of the ritual of rebirth and were often motivated by some attempt to resurrect the dead in the afterlife. The magic of Isis filtered down into the general belief of the Egyptian peoples and led to their widespread practice of body preservation and mummification. Iron age Europeans sacrificed many to the waters without conducting the rituals that would transform them from just another bog body into one of the cauldron born. Tribes in the Andes bound specific members of their dead in baskets and preserved them in ritual burials so that they might continue to consort with the Spirits as the Xibalba had once done. Buddhist temples across Asia display the desiccated remains of monks who succeeded in starving themselves to death but not in obtaining Immortality. The mummified bodies we see today in museums and on the Discovery channel are often the attempts of non-awakened men and women glimpsing something of the true Spell of Life. Others may even be failed attempts to create an Immortal with the true Spell itself. Not every Crochan Geni came to terms with his inner demons before his corpse was cut in twain by peat diggers, while there are Wraiths from the Shemsu-Heru who gaze with regret at their own body on display in a museum wondering what went wrong.
Outlook: A view on the rest of the World of Darkness Vampires The relationship between the reborn and the undead, or the Nak as they term the blood drinkers, is a troublesome one. Much of the vampire’s nature seems to pl ay into the hands of Oblivion at a cursory glance, however no more so than a natural predator might do. Of all the supernatural creatures it is the vampires with whom the reborn have forged the most personal relationships (see a World of Darkness: Mummy 1st edition) and longest lasting associations. Humane vampires can seem, to many Immortals, to be an ideal companion to share eternity with and few other creatures can even begin to grasp the weight of years that the reborn must face. However unlike the reborn, vampires are cursed and their humanity almost always erodes over time and the relationships become untenable. Storytellers note: By comparing paths and Virtue ratings it should be possible to gauge how likely it is that an Immortal and a vampire might be able to stomach one another ’s company. The 1st edition of ‘a World of Darkness: Mummy was designed primarily as a supplement to Vampire: the Masquerade and is told from the perspective of a neonate vampire befriended by one of the reborn, and the 2nd edition includes a ‘vampire impersonator’ as a player template. That Vampires and Immortals can form friendships is essentially hardwired i nto the setting and with Storyteller permission, can lead to some fascinating role-playing experiences. The Children of Osiris One group of vampires who have retained a link with the Shemsu-Heru are the Children of Osiris. A group of vampires from various Clans and bloodlines who seek to deny their beasts and to live in concord with the lessons the Antediluvian Osiris shared with his childer after returning from Death. The Children are considered, nominally, to be members of the Osirian league even if they are no longer on friendly terms with the veil of Isis. Followers of Set Of all the Nak that exist, the childer of Sutekh retain a special hatred from the Immortals. From the Reborn’s point of view, the followers of Set are the unliving army of Apophis, every bit as vile
as the bane mummies and the spectres. Horus spent thousands of years focused on the battle with his uncle before accepting the wider scope of Oblivion’s armies and even today the ShemsuHeru will break off from other concerns to thwart the schemes of a Setite. Werewolves The Veil of Isis and the Silent Striders have had a close relationship since even before the Spell of Life was perfected, and that alliance i ncluded the Shemsu-Heru when they did come into being. The Garou elders advised Isis and her acolytes and aided her exploration of the underworld, and today the tribe continues to advise others as to the essential and balanced nature of the Immortals. However as the Ishmaelites travelled across the globe, teaching the Spell of Life to Mages and creating new Dynasties, not all Garou could benefit from the deeper knowledge of the Silent Striders and friction occurred. The majority of the Garou, those who have come to understand the nature of Immortality, are not only comfortable with Immortals but are usually glad to have such allies in the fight against the Wyrm. Despite certain obvious differences, Garou understand Oblivion as an aspect of the Wyrm and so the greatest warriors against Oblivion are, to these Garou, warriors worthy of their respect. The Silent striders believe quite firmly that Isis was an avatar of Gaia herself, or at the very least a divinely inspired mage guided by the mothers wisdom. Many also allow that Nepthyhs was Luna in an earthly guise and that the creation of the Reborn was an act all Garou should give praise for. However there are times when a Garou comes to know of an Immortal and doesn’t understand the subtle aspect of their existence. Meeting an individual they have already witnessed dying can cause such rage-fuelled individuals to le ap to the wrong conclusions. More than one Immortal has been ripped limb from limb by a nine foot Werewolf screaming something incoherent about unnatural abominations unto Gaia. Ajaba The Hyena folk once enjoyed spiritual prominence in Khem, where their kind were seen as the living avatars of Am-mit the devourer. However as Sekhmet and the Simba b ecame closely linked with Ra, the Werelion’s natural enemies fell out of favour. Now the Ajaba are in no state to form any relationship with the reborn and the bad press of recent decades would no doubt paint them in a light from the pallet of Oblivion in the eyes of the uneducated. Bastet One tribe of Cat folk, the Bubastis, stood beside the Shemsu-Heru in the war with Set and paid dearly for it. Their numbers were decimated and their sacred kinfolk taken prisoner to be used as hostages against the children of Bast. Since that time the reborn have declared the Bubastis as compromised (at the prompting of the Bubastis themselves if rumours are to be b elieved) and take great steps to avoid all contact. In the later years of Egypt’s glory the Simba tribe became associated with the sun god Ra and in many ways took over the role of the Bubastis in the Osirian league but they clashed frequently with the Silent strider Garou and only ever worked with the reborn sporadically and when it suited them. Moloke Like the Bubastis, the Crocodile folk who made their tribal home in the Nile and the Fayum once allied themselves with Osiris and the Immortals against Set, but that was a very long time a go. The enduring memory of the Mokole has ensured that they recall this relationship, but it also means they remember how badly that ended.
Mokole and reborn can and do find common ground because of the Crocodile folk’s ability to access memories of the distant past, and there have been times when the two groups have come together for mutual aid. In the Americas the Mokole and the Xibalba still maintain much closer relationship against the encroaching corruption of foreign supernaturals. Hengeyoki In the east the Xi ānrén work closely with the beast Courts and have a fairly peaceful alliance with them. Western Immortals have been known to question the Xiānrén, asking how they might tighten the friendships with the shape changers they share the world with. Mages The reborn and the awakened have been intrinsically linked since Isis first perfected the great rite. As one of the greatest mages who ever lived, the tutor to Thoth (the prototype Hermetic mage) and a living goddess to the Verbena, Isis is held in high esteem by all tradition mages. The balance is that no Immortal can be created without the true Hekau of the awakened, and every example of a new dynasty has been the result of interaction between the Ishmaelites and local mages. The reborn and their Veil of Isis allies keep a careful watch on mages in an attempt to prevent the great rite being used by the unworthy. Each reborn a mage creates has the potential to turn to Oblivion and so it is essential for all Immortals to control the Spell of life and who possesses even knowledge of its existence, let alone partial copies of the actual ritual. Throughout history, the reborn and the awakened have weaved in and out of each other’s war. Immortals have often emerged from the mists of time to reveal forgotten occult secrets to the mages, and in return the mages have resurrected the spell of life many times. But no mages can boast such an alliance with the reborn as that the veil of Isis craft has maintained. Liches These undead mages (see dead magic I) are particularly abhorred by the reborn as debased copies of their own existence. Those hungry to avoid Oblivion, or just the afterlife, have been guilty of terrible crimes the reborn seek to negate. Because of the tendency for liches to align themselves with the agents of Oblivion, the reborn keep an eye open for hints of their fell sorcery and stamp it out whenever they get a whiff of it. Wraiths If the relationship between and mages has been close, it has nothing on the intrinsic link between the reborn and the spirits of the dead. Spending at least half of eternity in the underworld, wraiths are to the reborn in their death cycle what mortal humans are to them while they are alive. Stygia’s borders have spread as the centuries wore on, annexing the afterlives of all the Reborn except for the Xiānrén and the Ishmaelites in Africa and Australia. The once downtrodden Cabiri whose mortal allies tended to be the cultures at the heart of Charon’s empire have managed to get their feet truly in the door of Stygia. The Immortals do well to avoid those Wraith’s loyal to any of the Dark Kingdoms, and all parties concerned have their own laws forbidding interaction. Heretics Those heretics whose philosophy matches a particular sect of the reborn are almost
always recruited to the shadow realms maintained by the Immortals in their death cycles. It is true to say that any Wraith who serves in the shadow realms or allies herself with the undying is technically a heretic in the Stygian lexicon. The problem comes when a heretic whose faith doesn’t match that of the reborn meets an Immortal. Those still possible of open minded reflection are likely to see the Immortal as a god or a messenger of their god. The majority see Immortals as the demons and antichrist to match their pantheon, and take appropriate action. Renegades As outsiders themselves the immortals sometimes find enough common ground with the renegades. Several circles of renegade ghosts share the beliefs and status of Stygia’s outcast. Of all the Wraiths in the dark Kingdom of iron, it is the renegades who have the most knowing interactions with the reborn. Stumbling through the byways in a desperate bid to escape Spectres or the legions of Stygia, more than one renegade has been thankful for an Immortal’s passing by. Changelings The Fae are as eternal as the reborn, and share more closely the destiny of the undying than even vampires can. Like the Immortals, Fae live long lives but can be killed, upon which event they retreat into their own spirit realm for a time before returning refreshed and rejuvenated. On the surface their cyclic existence is similar enough that one can understand individual friendships and alliances formed in much the same way and for much the same reasons as friendships with the vampires. Truthfully, in the Spring of creation the Immortals and the Fae inevitably did make many compacts and formed many companionships, but in the wake of the Sundering all but a few have crumbled and been forgotten. Eshu The Eshu are to the Fae as the Ishmaelites are to the Immortals - wanderers, catalysts, as sedentary as the wind. As the followers of Ishmael were spreading into Africa they often met the Eshu coming out. Many cultures assumed these lone vagabonds were the same creatures, or at least closely related cousins. Sluagh The Whisperers have always had a special relationship with the Ghosts of the underworld, able to interact with them with much less effort than other entities. Because of the two way trade in information between the Sluagh and the Dark umbra it is little surprise that they are fully aware of the Immortals and their war. Any large scale attempt to build alliances with the Dream folk would almost certainly be made through contact with the Sluagh. Demons There is a heretical school of the Necromancy path that first surfaced in Babylon and which still circulates between certain members of the Reborn. These spells deal with the summoning of demons and Spirits not tied to the Shadowlands in any way. While outlawed and despised by the majority of the undying, there are still some among them who continue to pursue this path and who are sometimes willing to teach it to others. For their part, the Demons do not take kindly to such creatures holding so many secrets about them and take great steps to counter immortal demonologists. Although an immortal with his memories intact might well know the subtle differences between a fallen Angel and an Umbrood spirit in theory, in practice it is
never so easy to discern the servants of Lucifer from the thralls of Oblivion or the spawn of the Wyrm.
Mortal cults Cults and Followers Those who serve while they are able Oh, if I had Orpheus' voice and poetry with which to move the Dark Maid and her Lord, I'd call you back, dear love, from the world below. I'd go down there for you. Charon or the grim King's dog could not prevent me then from carrying you up into the fields of light. -Euripides Most Immortals rely heavily on those mortal cults which know of them to protect their tombs and their physical remains as well as their investments and their property. They rely upon these secretive orders when they resurrect, often to remind them just who they are and what the hell is happening. As they regain their place in the lands of the living many Immortals still return to such Cults for support and back up, or simply to find a sympathetic ear. There are cults allied to all the reborn and those who reserve their aid to a certain Dynasty or even a single Immortal. Some have full knowledge of the reborn while others are drip fed just enough to keep them loyal. Many have, i n their years of service, learned more about the undying than was strictly intended by their Immortal wards. But, for the most part, the relationship i s reciprocal with the Reborn providing as much to their cults as they take back. The Veil of Isis [see Craft book: Veil of Isis] First and foremost among the many allies of the Athanatos reborn is the Cult of Isis, or more correctly, the Veil of Isis. This mystery cult was founded by the living Goddess Isis who Taught Thoth the art of Ra Hekau (true Magic), who revealed the paths of Sorcery to her priests and who created the Immortals with the Spell of Life. It's wisdom and secrets predate even Horus, and its history is every bit as chequered, having maintained a priesthood of awakened mages since the time of Zep Tepi. They served Isis in life and have continued to do so since she ascended (in their beliefs) to become Queen of the Neteru. The Ferrymen (The boatmen society, the Oath circle of the Oar, the Legion of the shining Ones, the grey Pilgrims) Anubis trained the ferrymen (who call him benefactor) and it may even be true that the entire Wraithly sect of boatmen is subject to the whims and schemes of Horus. Themselves highly reminiscent of the mystery cults, the ferrymen see themselves as the guardians of those seeking transcendence and the enemies of oblivion. Though they have evol ved and changed with time to deal with changes, they too take their structure from the same mystery cults that gave the Immortals such direction and indeed many ferrymen were members of the Hellenistic schools. The Dead (and undying) of Neter-Khertet have a treaty with the denizens of Stygia. In return for the promise of assistance against enemies and mutual non-aggression, the kingdom of NeterKhertet provided tutors to teach the people of Greece in the arcanoi and teach the Ferrymen the truth about the manifold soul. The Ferrymen bolstered the defences of Neter-Khertet while the Shemsu-Heru were more concerned with their interests in the lands of the living. Anubis single-
handedly forged the underworld wing of the Osirian League. Later, as Charon rose to rule the Dark Kingdom of Iron, the Ferrymen grew less enamoured of his methods and of the hierarchy. Their loyalties lay not with the Emperor but with seeing wraiths to the far shores. It is to the credit of the Ferrymen that they remain behind to guide others to transcendence rather than accepting transcendence themselves. As the Empire of Stygia became more corrupt, the Ferrymen sought employment and safety elsewhere. Some found it with the Lady of fate while others settled for a time in the Shadow Realms of the reborn. These pockets of resistance gained favour from the Ferrymen who held a special dislike for any tradition which treated the Underworld as a final destination. For this reason an Immortal can usually expect aid and friendship from the enigmatic Wraiths of the Byways while in their death cycle. [For more information on the Ferrymen see Wraith: the Oblivion and the Ends of Empire supplement.] Those who study with the Cabiri The Cabiri have insinuated themselves i nto countless secret societies and mortal cults down through the years, shaping them to their needs before casting them aside when they were no longer safe to associate with. They have had their hands in the dealings of the Arcanum and of the Golden dawn. All of this pales in comparison however, when seen against the Cabiri domination and manipulation of the Orphic circle. Female Immortals have influenced and directed the Dikeia for millennia, while the ruling council of the Orgiophantes is just as much a tool of the Cabiri. The Eumenides (Erinyes) The original Eumenides served the Goddess Dike, and the name was given to to the Wraiths enslaved or employed by the Cabiri in the Elysian Fields. They serve a similar roll to the Ferrymen, seeking out and escorting the Cabiri in the Underworld. They guide the Reborn and those truly Dead whose understanding of the mysteries has reached a certain degree, through the pitfalls and the Valles Avernae (Valleys of Hell), into the Cabiri Shadow Realm. In the myth of Orpheus, when the Poet descended into Hades to rescue his love, it was the ability of his words to move the implacable Furies that won the sympathy of the Chthonic Gods of Death. The legends tells how Orpheus lament for Eurydice was so profound that it tamed the furies and brought them to his side when they had remain unmoved by any o thers plight before that time. Clearly a tale of the Cabiri establishing this 'army of furious shades'. The Elysian Fields now house many Eumenides Wraiths, faithful servants to the Cabiri and citizens of a faux paradise. But those within the Fields and those without rarely interact, because to do so would put the Cabiri realm at risk. To leave the Elysian fields requires one to have the memory of that place forcibly removed for security and so those who act as ferrymen are looked upon with special reverence. The Benandanti [See Mediums; Speakers with the dead] The Cabiri have maintained strong ties to the Benandanti, having subtly and overtly influenced many of the cells within that movement over the centuries. Although it is rare for a Benandanti, or their predecessors the Moldonati Padroni, to consider anyone not born wi th a caul as a 'member' of their group, they are often more than willing to befriend and ally themselves with others who show wisdom and understanding of the U nderworld. Cabiri have used snippets of truth and information, as well as their Hekau, to manipulate the Benandanti into acting as their unwitting (although sometimes not) pawns in many cases. It is not unheard of for a Cabiri Immortal to step
in to the role of the Sapienza (mentor) for young Benandanti Novizio, especially if the former tutor dies or is otherwise unable to complete the role. Cabiri cannot teach the Benandanti rituals, but once a student has learned them, an Immortal can make a wonderful makeshift mentor. The Risen Those Wraith who tear themselves out of the shadowlands and manage to reanimate their former flesh without the spell of life are looked upon with a special fondness by the Cabiri. Such creatures can often find aid and employment among immortals of this dynasty.
Those who fight beside the Crochan Geni The Valkyrja Dottir The Daughters of the Valkyrie are a Craft of Mages who trace their heritage back to the Norse Wicce. Closely related to the Modern Verbena and Euthanatos Traditions, they may be the only Awakened still in possession of the Crochan Geni Spell of Life. Mostly they come together because of the urgings of their Avatars (almost always female warriors of the Chain mail B ikini variety, but occasionally other Norse archetypes) who claim to have been the guides and tutors of the original Craft Mages, and the alliance between the dwindling Valkyrla Dottir and the Crochan Geni has worked well for both parties over the eons. Völva The Völva were the wise woman, shamans and priestesses in Norse and Germanic pre-Christian society. They were Sorcerers and hedge Witches who practiced shamanism, prophecy, herbalism, natural healing and other forms of indigenous magic. Highly respected members of society, they cared for the spiritual and physical needs of their people and sacrificed the prisoners of war and sprinkled their blood. It was believed that this practice allowed them to glimpse the future and held such powers that even the father of the gods, Odin himself, consulted a Völva for what the future had in store for the gods. Never a fully unified Cult, the Völva maintained a hereditary initiation based culture to pass down their skills which has provided allies to the Crochan Geni down through history. The Sons of Annwn Also known as the Warriors of Hel, the Sons of Annwn are the Wraiths and Crochan Geni who watch over the realm of Eliudni. The governing body and military academy of the Underworld requires a dedicated force at all times because of its proximity to the monolithic bastions of the Dark Kingdom of Iron. As well as manning the barricades of the great hall, the Sons of Annwn train Crochan Geni for the battle of Ragnarok and conduct the slave trade which Eliudni thrives upon. The Cult of Nerthus This Norse Cult worshipped the mother Goddess Nerthus, a fertile peace bringing Goddess of the Norse and the Angles, mother or the divine Freyr and Freyja. When she came to earth great festivities were held, weapons were put awa y and war was not made. At the end the Goddess was bathed in a secret lake by slaves who, as soon as it is done, are drowned in the lake. In this way mystery begets dread and a pious ignorance concerning what that sight may be which only those who are about to die are allowed to see. The Wraiths of those slaves are often granted to the Crochan Geni as servants while they are in their Death Cycles and many make use of such subjects even while within the Living lands. The Cult holds itself separate from others in Eliudni and are considered Heretics by the Restless dead in general. Those in the pay of the Oboli
Oboli are very often likely to form cults around themselves and the miracle they seem to have performed. Sometimes it is through these cults that other occultists or rich and p owerful mortals learn what is necessary to join the ranks of the undying. It is quite often these cults whom the Oboli owe their debts to and to whom they are beholden in their immortality. It is quite common for the Oboli to have hired retainers and servants, or those attracted to them through personality. Many were aided in their quest for life eternal by the living they left behind, living they later return to as resurrected lords or prophets. For every 'voice of God' that proves himself able to transcend death and reinvigorate his cult there is an Oboli whose retainers carried out the nonsensical conditions of his will in order to keep being paid only to find Dead old Mr X back from the grave and signing their cheques again personally. These small cults and sects are too numerous to list separately. Illuminaten The original Illuminati were founded by free thinkers in Bavaria and that secret Society i s purported to have many modern inheritors, those who continue some or all of the original political groups aims. At least one of the offshoots of the original enlightenment era society was co-opted by Immortals of the Oboli Dynasty around 1789 and has been shaped into a mortal cult to serve the reborn. Although the group is rather small and boasts little of the world shaping power attributed to it by conspiracy theories, the Illuminaten (this one at least) does have a substantial bank balance and influence over several European political families and alliances. Those who serve the Shemsu-Heru The Osirian league The battle between Set and Osiris raged for many centuries, and the peoples of Osiris kingdom, mortal or otherwise, were drafted into the Pharaohs armies and e xpected to join the war. The ingrained hatred between Werewolves and Vampires, or between Werewolves and werecats, so obvious in the modern age makes it difficult to believe that any alliance could have existed. However the natives of Khem believed from ancient times, in the divinity and right of kingship and even many entities who would normally take up arms against any vampire, instead pledged their lives to the lord of the land. Dedication to Osiris was bolstered by the subtle and skillful diplomacy of Isis, and the queen's presence allowed natural enemies to work closely for several thousand years. Many Garou of the time suffered doubts and lack of direction, the Impurgium had onl y recently ended allowing humanity to prosper and spread, the war of rage severed old allia nces, the Weaver and the Wyrm appeared to be behind every corner. Khem was at the very centre of the study of True magic, Isis having stolen the secrets of the Spheres from ra and in turn passed it on to her student Thoth. Dreams and Spirits strode the Deserts and few other civilizations built monuments to the dead that could match those of Khem. The promise of a society governed by divine order appealed to many of the benign groups to be a worthy cause, Set soon found himself fighting a multifaceted coalition serving his brothers will. Thought this alliance was simply seen as the natural form of the kingdom at the time, later scholars often refer to it as the Osirian league. Of course, many supernatural scholars doubt such an alliance could have been possible, but they would be wrong. Even after Osiris had been killed and Isis had retreated from her cult, the league managed to work together under Horus many times, pooling their forces to thwart Set and the minions of Oblivion. That the main focus of Horus hatred was h is Vampiric uncle Set, and that many of the
leagues members shared an abhorrence of the undead, meant that any cracks that appeared in the alliance appeared around the vampires. With Set's victory over the direct Childer of Osiris and the retreat of his undead cult (see child ren of Osiris) from the front line, Horus new league underwent a renewed period of unity. Eventually however, Set was triumphant. He evicted the Silent striders from Khem, he corrupted the Pharaohs and Horus left his homeland for places new. The strength of the Osirian league was shattered and even though it still exists in the modern era as a handful of non reborn allies of the Shemsu-Heru, it is nothing in comparison to i ts glory days. The voices of Ikhnaton (1353 BC to 8th century BC) During the 18th dynasty, Set achieved a seemingly minor victory over the mortal kings of Egypt which went on to destroy the noble lineage entirely. Through various means he promoted Amenhotep IV to the throne and encouraged him to force his henotheistic beliefs on the nation. He changed his name to Akhenaten (effective spirit of Aten) and raised the importance of the sun disc Aten above all other deities. Akhenaten, often mistakenly referred to as a monotheist, was soon overthrown by his people and the true religion of Khem reasserted, but the odd ideas the madman had taught (aided by set's mind twisting skills) took hold with a few loyalists. Though the religion was abandoned by the mortals, a few awakened and long lived individuals held on to the principles of Ikhnaton and formed a craft in his name. For approximately 500 years the Voices of Ikhnaton operated on the edges of the Osirian League, keen to battle Apophis at every opportunity but less than comfortable with the credo and the religion of the larger membership. Despite their differences with the core of the league, the voices covered their names in glory in several bitter encounters with the Followers of Set. Eventually their idea of henotheism was replaced by monotheism and the Voices of Ikhnaton allied themselves with the Tzadikim until the last members of the inner circle were slain by a Bane Mummy sometime in the 8th century BC, leaving only new converts who were subsumed by the evolving Messianic Voices (Celestial chorus). That much of their Dogma had once been the delusions of a madman inspired by the machinations of a dark god was lost in transition, as was the previous alliance with the Osirian league or indeed even the awareness that the reborn existed. Those who serve the Tzadikim Mogen Ha Chav [see World of Darkness: Sorcerer 1st edition pp 48] The shield of the 36 are an Orthodox Jewish cult of kabbalistic So rcerers dedicated to the uncovering the identity and location of the Tzadikim. The Cheyot faction of the Tzadikim dynasty have long manipulated the cult without ever revealing the truth about themselves or anything else about the supernatural world. Every few decades one of the Reborn allows himself to be 'discovered' by the Mogen Ha Chav, subtly revealing just enough about his current incarnation to guide the sorcerers towards the Dynasties goals. In turn, the Mogen Ha Chav work through agents and paid employees, directing them from the cults modern day centre in New York. Reliant mostly on divination and the retranslation of ancient texts, the noticeably male membership are cautious but single minded in all things. There is no denying that the cult has, in the past, used some extreme tactics but then they fully believe that
they are protecting the individuals whose continued righteous existence secures creation. Those who study the Xianren The Quanshen Dao (Kuanhsien Tao) The central school of Northern Taoism and often referred to as the complete perfection or complete realisation, the Quanshen Dao [lit. The Way of the immortals] are a Taoist sect dedicated to the eight Immortals of Taoist myth. Begun under the Southern Song dynasty and supported by the Mongol rulers of the Yuan dynasty the Complete Realization sect is the only "reformed" Taoist movement to survive through the 20th century. The Kuanhsien Tao emphasized the integration of the teachings of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism and the practice of inner alchemy. Their art and praise of the Immortals can be seen in tombs and palace walls across China. The sect is a monastic and meditative tradition whose masters teach mutual respect for the traditions of Chan Buddhism and Neo-Confucianism and individual, spiritual, and moral discipline as opposed to liturgical, ritual, or philosophical concerns. Small temples and rarely visited monasteries of the Quanshen Dao often fulfil roles similar tot eh veil of Isis in the west. They watch over the Immortal's Khat and guard his possessions while he is dead, making sacrifices to the Ka to help encourage the Immortal back to life. While alive the Xianren can expect little in the way of martial or monetary support, but he can al ways get a hot meal and a soft bed if he needs it. The Khara Kam - Black Shamans The Khara Kam or Black Shamans are not evil, they simply practice magic focussed on Death and the shadow world. They are Shaman who deal with the Underworld and Wraiths as opposed to the Ak Kam or White Shaman who deal with the Spirit Umbra and the Umbrood. The Khara Kam are able to take the Dolbor (Underworld journey) into the Shadowlands by ways of a ritual taught to them by Erlik Khan. This they do in order to battle and retrieve wayward tormented Spirits of individuals suffering from various forms of affliction in order that they might heal them. They also cross the shroud to find lost Souls of Suicides in order to guide them out of their self-made Hells. It seems clear that the Khara Kam have inherited the skills of the Mages who first created the Xianren and they can still bring a man back from the Dead by means of their journeying to Tengri (heaven) to retrieve the Kut (soul), otherwise one would have an automated body possessed by another 'Spirit'. (see Appendix) Though Erlik was the supreme God of the Underworld, he rarely caused evil, which is primarily the province of the all too Human. He did however teach the Khara Kam how to dispose of their material bodies by cremation after their demise to prevent evil spirits gaining a corpse to inhabit in the living world. Malicious Spirits (Kermeses) of the deceased who had indulged in evil activities while alive dwelled in the Underworld and the Khara Kam learned to put them to flight. The Khara Kam made sacrifices to Erlik in ancient times which were conducted at night, by slaughtering domestic animals with some defect (a broken horn, lameness, etc), as i t was believed that the invisible Underworld contrasted with the visible one, where humans dwelt wherefore everything was in reverse of mirrored reflection. Even today these Shaman make offerings of broken knives, bent coins, torn silks, food bones (but they have to be complete) and the like to him by burying them in the ground at night at a secret place whose surface is then sprinkled with Vodka in counter-clockwise spiral motion and set alight. A ritual can be conducted prior to said offerings whence one creates an image upon which is drawn a Snake, Black Bear or a Black Horse along with Sigils encapsulating ones desire so as to avert some calamity or otherwise of intent such as to win one of his Daughters.
The Khara Kam often paid homage to Erlik Khan in order to gain the attention of the Syvén, Erlik Khan's daughters. These Immortals could visit them in dreams to grant them wisdom or teach them spells such as the Dolbor, usually taking payment in sexual congress, or they could manifest and give the Shaman direct help (or pleasure) in the mortal realm. Rénxian Rénxian (human Immortals) are occultists, sorcerers and enlightened individuals who h ave managed to escape the reaper and their destined time of death through hedge magic and trickery. The majority of them live lives extended by only a decade or two, existing in quiet places with the constant fear of Heavens punishment. Eventually all of them are rediscovered by the Heavenly Ministers and most are simply ushered on to their original fate. Those whom Heaven considers to be worth the risk are offered a position as celestial peace keepers. These conscripts often seek out or are handed over to the Xianren becoming agents and allies of the Immortals and their servitude can be pleasant o r harsh depending on the age and the Immortals they follow. See Appendix iv
Those who suffer alongside the Xibalba The Balamob [World of Darkness: sorcerer 1st edition pp 26 -30] The animal shamen sorcerers of the Balamob are a loose knit cult founded by the Hero twins Hunahpu and Xbalanque, the first two Xibalba Immortals. Taught of the existence of the spirit realms and the energies they posses by these pair when they returned from Xibalba, the Balamob went on to become the mortal priests and magicians of the Mayan culture. Drawing their power and their faith from the Umbral realms and from their link with totem spirits they have a chequred past to match that of the Mayan peoples amongst whom they first held power. Often used and patronised by the Xibalba, the Balamob have been said to be the Yang to the Immortals yin, the echo of the spirit Umbra that mirrors the Xibalba attachment to the dark Umbra. The remains of the Balamob cult has little coherence and no formal structure and so it is impossible to claim that they are all ied with the Xibalba, but individual alliances are frequent. Both groups are built around solitary warrior priests with a dedication to the community and to the spirit worlds, and those similarities make for comfortable working relationships. The Balamob revere the reborn as their founding tutors, and also as living avatars of the Spirit worlds, and even in the cults darkest days, they strove to aid the reborn at every opportunity. The Xibalba often see the Balamob as 'their' priesthood, sometimes comparing them to the Cult of Isis when the pissing contests with the Shemsu-Heru get too heated. Several Xibalba were Balamob sorcerers in their first life and it is fair to say that without access to the Immortals memories and guidance, the Balamob cult would never has survived so long in the face of Monotheistic onslaughts. In the modern age the Xibalba believe the Balamob can be shaped into a focus for the reclaiming of Mesoamerica's spiritual and national heritage. Chapter 2: the Ogdoad The 8 Dynasties Cabiri: Immortals of the Classical world - those who stole Immortality Crochan Geni: the European Immortals – those who were sacrificed Ishmaelites: Egyptian Immortals - those who turned away Oboli: The self made Immortals - those who bought Immortality Shemsu-Heru: The Friends of Horus - those whom Isis chose Tzadikim: Middle eastern Immortals - those who are Worthy
Xianren: Asian Immortals – those who mastered Alchemy Xibalba: American Immortals – those who wa lk with the Ancestors The 8 Dynasties of the Undying Dynasty (Society) There is more than one breed of Immortal in the World of darkness, because there is more than one culture seeking to endow its heroes with immortality in the battle against Oblivion. There are many roads to the Great Rite but only one final destination, the variant Spells of Life all create an Immortal who is almost identical in nature and capabilities. The magick of the Great rite that transforms a mundane mortal human being into an Immortal is called the Spell of Life, even though it not always a recognisable Spell in the traditional sense. It is however, always a process of personal, Spiritual and physical Alchemy which forever alters the recipient in the same way. The Egyptian reborn called their Societies Dynasties in an act of snobbery, because each has an age and a lineage. The Shemsu-Heru Were the first Dynasty, the true Undying created by and for the Gods to wage a Holy war against Apophis. Then came the turncoats of the Ishmaelites, the second dynasty, created by a desire for freedom and self-determination. The third dynasty were the Tzadikim, a political union of Ishmaelites and finally came the bastard thieves of Immortality, the fourth Dynasty of the Cabiri. When the Undying of the Spell of Life became aware of other Immortals from other lands, they naturally fell into calling them Dynasties (or foreign Dynasties, bastard dynasties etc). These Foreign Dynasties certainly do not b elieve that the Shemsu-Heru are the pinnacle of any Immortal pyramid or in any way better than them, if they consider the Egyptians at all. When the Cabiri undertook their quest to quantify and understand the eternal life of the reborn they distinguished between those created by the original Spell of Life as devised by Isis (ShemsuHeru, Ishmaelites, Cabiri and Tzadikim) with the word Athanatos (meaning undead / immortal) and those created by variations (Crochan geni, Oboli, X ianren, Xibalba) by use of the word heteros (meaning ‘other). Athanatos Heteros Ishmaelites Xianrén Tzadikim Oboli Cabiri Xibalba Shemsu-Heru Crochan Geni As with other Ogdoad, or groups of 8, the Dynasties are divided into two groups of 4 giving a male set and a female set. Thus Immortal culture has its own dualistic philosophy with the dominant, active Athanatos and the mysterious, spiritual Heteros. The original Ogdoad of Khem Athanatos Heteros Huh Hauhet: eternity or infinite space Ishmaelites Xianrén Kuk & Kauket: the Darkness Tzadikim Oboli Amun & Amunet: the hidden one (air / invisibility) Cabiri Xibalba Nu & Naunet: the primordial waters Shemsu-Heru Crochan Geni The rest of Immortal society have adopted these names and the p hilosophy behind them, using them as their own. Over the centuries, as the various D ynasties came into more and more contact (and conflict) the lexicon of the Cabiri came to be used as the common terminology of all Immortals. Almost all written records and book keeping among the Reborn is recording with the Greek pronunciations and phrases and though some with a strong sense of national pride insist on using their own terminology, most accept the familiar language at least when dealing with Immortals from other dynasties. This book follows their lead and uses mostly the common words and phrases to describe the multi national, multi lingual (and indeed multi historical) society of the
undying. Cabiri
The Cabiri are the lesser stepchildren of the Spell of Life, created from the secret writings of an Ishmaelite named Cabirus between the sixth century BC a nd the 15th century AD (though it appears there have been others since Horus beli eved he destroyed the last copy of the writings). Most Cabiri are Greek or European nationalities, and their society owes its traditions to the classical world and the Mystery Cults rather than the echoes of Ancient Egypt. Cabiri: The Wise Bastards
Quote "I have seen the world for all its wonders and all its horrors, and still I do not understand my own existence. But exist I do, and I shal l yet find purpose to my endless life – which must be something greater than the religious crusade of a six-thousand year old tyrant with a family name to uphold." DESCRIPTION A Dynasty of philosophers and scholars according to many Immortals, the Cabiri straddle the fence on many issues. Their cataloguing of myths and facts has meant that their lexicon is the one used by the Het and during inter-Dynasty relations, but they are the victims of bad feeling from many of the other Dynasties. The warlike Immortals of the Crochan Geni and the Xibalba look down upon the Cabiri as impotent or cowardly, while the Shemsu-Heru and the Tzadikim disdain them as bastards of the sacred rite. The Cabiri are the lesser stepchildren of the Spell of Life, created from the secret writings of a young Ishmaelite named Cabirus. This renegade left the lands of Khem and travelled to Greece sometime in the sixth century BC where h e traded a written copy of the Spell of Life to a mortal Mage. The Mage made copies and the Spell was distributed and used to create new Immortals separate from the Wat Hor and the War with Sutekh. These Cabiri, as they were named by the Shemsu-Heru, were still being created up to the 15th century AD (when Horus believed he destroyed the last copy of the writings), and it appears there have been others created since then (Proving Horus wrong). Most Cabiri are of Southern European or Northern African nationalities, and their society owes its traditions to the classical world of Greece and Rome and the Mystery Cults of the Mediterranean, to the echoes of Ancient Egypt rather than to its direct influence.
In fact it is often the philosophy of the Orphic cults and the classical societies that defines the Cabiri from the general Ishmaelites, where the latter are distinctive because of their individuality, the Cabiri soon came together for safety in numbers. As an outsider one could say that the Cabiri are a cult of the Ishmaelite Dynasty, turncoats from a distinct location (usually) who chose the trapping of a society and a shared philosophy rather than the diversity and solo road of the other Ishmaelites. The first Immortal created from the secret writings of Cabirus, known simply by the honorific ‘Orpheus’, was created somewhere on the Aegean coast in the Hellenistic kingdom of Thrace. From here the Society spread slowly along the shores of the Mediterranean and into the rest of Europe. Its core tenets were guarded carefully and each new immortal had to decipher the clues of the mysteries for him or herself. Although the magic that created the Cabiri was clearly the same Spell of Life that created the Shemsu-Heru and Ishmaelites, the teachings and trappings of that Society did not travel with it. Early Cabiri had to forge their own path through the Underworld and find their own answers to the gift and plagues of immortality and cyclic resurrection, based on the Mysteries of their mortal lands. They were aided greatly by the society of the dead in the Dark Kingdom of Iron, a hierarchy with which they shared philo sophy and culture. Most Cabiri-to-be were found through the various and widespread mystery cults, which were fascinated with the mysteries of life and death; thus they tend to have more philosophical and esoteric inclinations. It taught its secrets through the legends and plays of the Eleusinian and Orphic cults and found its moral compass in the same philosophies of intellectual Spirituality. The Cabiri today are perhaps the only surviving repositories of the Mysteries as earlier Orphic literature survives only in Papyrus fragments or in the quotations of other works. The philosophies of the Mystery religions are well-guarded secrets unknown to those outside of each various cult or circle of believers. Though they share some of their ways with other Cabiri, even members of the other dynasties, they still retain certain variations of the Orphikos bios, or "Orphic way of life". While all cells believe in the first tenet; dedication to the mysteries and the arts, they hold differing views on the other common practices such as vegetarianism, abstention from Sex, the prohibition against eating eggs and beans. The only requirements for membership in the Eleusinian Mysteries were a lack of "blood guilt", meaning having never committed murder, and not being a "barbarian" (unable to speak Greek). Men, women and even slaves were allowed initiation. Some abstain from having sex altogether while others take the story of Orpheus to mean they should seek true love or remain loyal to one through any circumstances. Eventually most Cabiri come to see the story as a metaphor for the relationship between the worlds of the living and the dead. As they progress through the mysteries they come to see much of the classical myths as lessons couched in euphemism and metaphor. Everything from the birth of Venus to the labours of Hercules is part of what the Dynasty refers to as the riddle of the Sphinx – the quest to understand the nature of man and of mortality. That riddle, the final mystery, is at the heart of the Cabiri Dynasty. Whether through debate, experimentation or the pursuit of rare knowledge, they have grown to see the seeking of answers as what sets them above the other Immortals. Many believe that the Dynasty i s destined to discover some great secret which will allow all Immortals to defeat Oblivion once and for all. Who were Orpheus and Eurydice? There is much heated debate and phil osophising among the Cabiri as to this question. Some, most often the ancient Immortals, believe Orpheus was a real person, the first human to become
immortal through the secrets writings of Cabirus and thus the first Cabiri. Orpheus underwent the Spell of life to rescue his dead love Eurydice from the cold embrace of Hades but she was truly dead and he could no more bring her back to life with him than he could do for any denizen of Tartarus. There is a Cabiri, a man who almost all of the reborn believe to be the first of their kind to become undying, whom the Myths of Orpheus might well b e speaking of. His name is Rhodopeius Eubouleus and he was, in life, a bard and a devotee of the Eleusinian Mysteries. Rhodopeius is not, however, sharing the answer to the mystery of his role in the Orphic myths. He neither denies nor acknowledges that he is Orpheus, or wa s ever influential in the creation of the Orphic Mysteries. He is certainly in no hurry to accept the role of the Cabiri Horus! Others, usually the more recently created reborn, believe that the stories are an allegory. That the Hero Orpheus represents any and all Cabiri in their trials and adventures, and that Eurydice represents the true Shades of Hades, unable to return to the lands of the living. Such Cabiri also look to the story of Persephone, accepted in underworld mythology as the first of the Risen, considering the desolation wrought by Demeter in her grief as the machinations of Oblivion. The reborn of the Cabiri Dynasty could well have remained on the lowest rung of Immortal society, forever shunned by the Shemsu-Heru and others, but their self-appointed role as archivists led to the unification of the Het and turned all of that around. As the other Dynasties discovered each other, often through contact with the Ishmaelites, it was the Cabiri who forged the lines of communication and who won the respect of the larger family of mummy’s, circumventing the pariah status foisted upon them by the Dynasties of Egypt. Where the ShemsuHeru felt Immortality was there divine right and its secrets theirs alone to know, the Cabiri were eager to share. Unlike the Shemsu-Heru, the Cabiri were n ot raised on the ideas of an exclusive afterlife reserved only for the nobility, they retain a more egalitarian approach to immortality. Although there is a period of overlap, the cult of Isis ‘ officially’ stopped creating immortals long before the mystery cults ever did and that reality has had a dramatic effect on where the Cabiri fit into Undying culture. The Cabiri are the youngest of the immortal Dynasties (or where at least the last to find their place in Immortal society) and are, in general, more open to new ideas and new experiences than the other reborn. They lived through the changing politics and social orders of the classical world and for many of the Cabiri, ideas like democracy and social mobility can seem a real possibility. On the down side, they come from cultures and spiritual paths with a lower opinion of women as a whole than the others and sexual equality is a rare philosophy for the majority of the Dynasty. The Shemsu-Heru teach that there is no single religion or philosophy that guides the Cabiri, no single mentor or hero they aspire to emulate or serve, not even Cabirus himself. They are very wrong however because the Dynasty has several e xamples of note and a highly developed moral code. Those Cabiri not on the Path of Humanity follow the path of Dikaiosyne, a code of morality much like the path of Ma’at. They believe in concepts of Noblis Oblige and societal responsibility, that the war against Oblivion serves all mankind living or dead, and that the greatest tool against an unthinking foe is wisdom and intelligence. The Shemsu-Heru are equally misguided in their belief that the Cabiri are selfish o r eager to turn their back on creation. Though they care nothing for Horus quest or his laws, and his displeasure at their existence means nothing to them, the Cabiri are just as engaged with the war against Oblivion as any other immortal. Just because they have other names for Apophis and his minions, or because the Cabiri have many unique foes of their own, does not mean that they are not fighting for just the same cause as H orus own cult. The truth is that the Cabiri and the ShemsuHeru ought to be great allies and close companions, but the spell of life does nothing to quell human nature and they remain divided by petty misunderstandings and rash judgements.
Occultists and scholars, as much out of necessity as anything, the Cabiri are survivors. They hold the mysteries of Egypt as vital to their path, but no more so than the secrets of Atlantis and Ultima Thule, of Mu and Shamballa. Like the Mages who inherited the Egyptian paradigm, the Cabiri follow a Hermetic model. They are hoarders of esoteric knowledge, willing to share and quick to prove the adage that knowledge is power. A Cabiri can match an immortal Shemsu-Heru twice his age when the need arises, having learned secrets from a wider world and perfected the arts of self-sufficiency through lifetimes of hardship. In the Underworld they are even more formidable, having access to an army of Wraiths and the strings to some of the Stygian legions if need be. In fact the Cabiri have forged a number of associations with allies and dupes on both sides of the shroud. Cabiri Immortals have a great degree of influence over the Arcanum and the Benandanti, and routinely employ Risen in their schemes. It is not unheard of for a Cabiri Immortal to step in to the role of the Sapienza (mentor) for young Benandanti, especially if the former tutor dies or is otherwise unable to complete the role. All of this pales in comparison however, when seen against the Cabiri domination and manipulation of the Orphic circle. Female Immortals have influenced and directed the Dikeia for millennia, while the ruling council of the Orgiophantes is just as much a tool of the Cabiri. At the very core of the Cabiri Dynasty are the Mystery religions; the Orphic and Eleusinian Mysteries which claim that while the Gnostics hoped to acquire knowledge through divine revelation, they already possessed it, locked within their allegories and myth cycles. These Mysteries taught that soul and body are united by a compact unequally binding on either; the soul is divine, immortal and aspires to freedom, while the body holds it in fetters as a prisoner. They claim that death dissolves this compact, but that the uninitiated are quickly re-imprisoned in a new body: for the wheel of birth revolves inexorably. Thus the soul continues its journey, alternating between a separate unrestrained existence and fresh reincarnation, as the companion of many bodies of men and animals. For the Undying this process is halted and they are given complete control over their own incarceration. They have countless lifetimes of continuing searching to purify themselves and to seek their final destiny, an ascension to Godhood for some, or simply a transcendence to eternal existence as a spiritual entity without the purgatory of the Wraith’s existence. AT DEATH The Elysian Fields are the secret Realm of the Cabiri in their Death Cycle, their answer to the Shemsu-Heru kingdom of Ammenti. This pocket of the dark Kingdom of Iron is the home of an intellectual elite among the Wraiths, as well as the last bastion of the ancient mystery cults. Since the sixth Maelstrom the Elysian fields have i ncreased the defences at their borders and become even more insular and elitist in whom they deal with. In the lands of the living, the Shemsu-Heru rule the Immortals, and the Cabiri walk in their shadows, sometime even cowering in fear. But In Death, the Reborn of Egypt must hide away in Ammenti for the most part while the Cabiri have much greater freedom and power. But the route to the afterlife is no less difficult for the Cabiri than it is for other immortals to be. The Myths of the Cabiri tell of dedicated group of Wraiths, the Eumenides, who ensure that they are met and well looked after, guiding the Reborn through the pitfalls and the Valles Avernae (Valleys of Hell). On their way into the Tempest they must cross the five rivers of Hades, which form the boundary between upper and lower worlds. The journey involves facing and beating several tests, either through skill and guile or by seducing the Eumenides as Orpheus himself once did with his music
and song. By crossing these rivers, and the tests they present, the Dead have proven their lives worthy of admittance into the Elysian Fields. Those who cannot pass these tests, or at least some of them, to the satisfaction of the Eumenides are left to their own devices. If this is their first death, they never return to their bodies to become reborn. If it i s simply one of the many death cycles, they are left to battle the shadowlands alone mostly, unless something or someone can change the minds of the Furies. With the challenges met and defeated, or the Eumenides won over, it is on to the Elysian fields where he is judged by three ancient Wraiths; Aeacus, Minos, Rhadamanthus, the inflexible judges of the dead. It is uncertain whether this trio is really the same three Wraiths as they are alw ays masked, or whether the names represent three roles with their own distinctive garb of office. The actions of the Cabiri are debated by these three Ancient Ghosts and weighed against the teachings of Dikaiosyne. Though the Judges of the Cabi ri are less strict than the 42 judges of Ammenti, they still demand strict adherence to the chosen path and a life lived by the Orphikos. ORGANISATION The Cabiri appear, from casual observation, to lack organization, seeming to be little more than a lineage of mummies with a common origin with little other affiliation or loyalty. The truth is that the Cabiri maintain the trappings of the Mystery religions and as such any structure and dogma remains secretive and obscured. In accordance with the mysteries, much of their development and journey is taken alone, with challenges overcome by the individual and her own abilities and charms - an approach learned from the Ishmaelites and assuring an amenable relationship with the turncoats on both sides of the shroud. Though this does not mean that the Cabi ri lack fraternity or culture, or that they will n ot work in unison when the need arises, the Dynasty does not commit such things to record. Not everything in life can be recorded in scrolls or carved into stone, some things simply need to be experienced and passed on through the plays and rituals of the mysteries themselves. As for numbers and spread, while the Shemsu-Heru believe there are no more than a dozen Cabiri and the Cabiri themselves would rather it stayed that way, the truth is however that there are probably as many bastards as there are Shemsu-Heru creeping around the two worlds and staying under the radar. No mean feat considering the dedication of Horus’ fanatics, hoodwinking them isn’t always an easy task. With only a limited organisation and network, beyond the shared mythology of the sacred mysteries, the Cabiri suffer greatly from the plague of amnesia. Much of their workings and information is preserved by secretive cults or hidden b etween the lines of the Mysteries and it may have to be rediscovered again and again by members in each regeneration. On the other hand, no other immortals are so blessed when it comes to the virtue of Joy as they seem to be able to take almost anything in their stride. MAGIC THE HOUSES The Cabiri were the ones who defined the nine houses and whose record keeping played a large part in which names were finally settled upon for each of them and so among the Dynasty the nine Het are named for the same E gyptian Gods as they are in Shemsu-Heru circles. FACTIONS
Due to societal persecution and Suppression, the mystery cults were secret schools studying the "Inner Nature" of man and of surrounding nature. By understanding these mysteries, the student attempted to perceive his intimate relationship with Divinity, and strove through self-discipline and devotion to become at one with his "Inner God". For every possible permutation of that search there was a school and a Cabiri faction that emulated it, too many schools to list here. However there are some generalisations that can be defined here, the gulf between the devotees of the Orpheus (the Orphici) myths and those of the Myths of Persephone (the Eleusinian’s). Eleusinian’s The Eleusinian mysteries, which celebrate the story of Persephone’s return, predate the Orphic mysteries and the Cabiri Dynasty by almost a thousand years. They are about a great deal more than just the predicament of the Immortals and those who follow this philosophy believe that the ultimate design of the Mysteries is to lead us back to the principles from which we descended, a perfect enjoyment of intellectual [spiritual] good. They seek transcendence in some intellectual manner, hoping to forever unchain themselves from the need for the physical (the Khat or fetters) in order to exist forever. They believe that such a destiny is possible for mortals and Immortals alike and that those who attain epopteia, who learn the secrets of the greatest mysteries of Demeter, will be forever immune to Oblivion. Orphici The Orphici on the other hand are more concerned with the destiny of the Immortals, and of themselves in particular. They seek personal purification and enlightenment, and they believe that this destiny has been achieved by others who left behind clues and signposts to the road that must be followed. They believe that each individual Cabiri is on a journey to become a god. Rising through the Ranks from Acolyte to Mystes until they truly become a Hierophant, an interpreter of sacred mysteries and arcane principles. The Redeemed (of Bacchus) "Now you are dead, and now you are born on this very day, thrice blessed. Tell Persephone, that Bacchus himself has redeemed you." – So goes the credo of the redeemed who walk a path between the Eleusinians and the Orphici. They bel ieve that intellectual purity or ascension to some other plain are beyond even the undying and that the meaning of existence is simply the need to find joy in all things and to be happy with ones lot in eternal life. The Vulcanites There exists amidst the Cabiri a small cell of Roman Immortals. Once powerful men from prestigious families who were buried near intersections and crossroads as the first step in a l ong and complicated cult induction. The patriarchs look to the God Vulcan and his gift of fire as the lesson for their eternal existences, but they act as much like a private club as they do a mystery religion. Their detractors claim that these Vulcanites carry the perpetual stench of myr, brought from middle east and used as disinfectant and deodorant then preserving their bodies. That Rome eventually came to rule over Egypt has not endeared the Vulcanites to the Shemsu-Heru in any way! PATHS The Cabiri favour the the path of Ma’at, which they know as the path o f Cosmos. They also maintain a path of Dikaiosyne (Righteousness), but not al l of them can maintain its harsh rules and the Path of Humanity is equally well represented among the Cabiri. Fallen members of the
Cabiri follow the path of Adikia (Injustice). WEAKNESS STEROTYPES Crochan geni “There is nothing noble in the way of the berserker, little of merit in boasts and coarse humour” Ishmaelites “While we respect their individuality which gave birth to us, we prefer the unity and order of our path” Oboli “Midas bought only sorrow with his gold, I think that tale holds a moral for the Oboli!” Shemsu-Heru “I await, as patiently as I am able, the day when they fall from their high horse and are forced to acknowledge us!” Tzadikim “Such hope, such wisdom, lost to them now because of one upstart cult.” “Self reliance is a worthy trait in hardship, but why cling to it when Xiānrén surrounded by allies?” Xibalba “They have tasted defeat in the lands of the living, but turned those harsh lessons against the thralls of Oblivion in the lands of the dead.”
Crochan Geni
The Immortals of Northern Europe share the Spell of Life first perfected by Freyja and a common theme of sacrifice. They are the blessed dead who gave of themselves for the good of the people and whose suffering after death is eventually rewarded in a paradise Realm of the Underworld. Although mostly hailing from Celtic and Norse cultures, there are Bog Mummies from the length and breadth of Europe. Crochan Geni: The Cauldron Born QUOTE: If I told you that no matter what you did, that today you would not die, that steel would not bite, nor arrows sting, how would you live? If I told you that no matter what you did, that today you would die, that no prayers would be answered, no reprieve given, how would you live? Each day is as thus, you will die or you will not, the mystery is how you will live. DESCRIPTION The bog bodies found in the wetlands of Ireland, the U.K., Scandinavia, Germany, the Netherlands, and especially Denmark are a naturally embalmed testament to mysterious rituals during northern Europe’s Iron Age. Hundreds of these unusual mummies have been found and have led to wild speculation or worse still, reliance on dubious sources of antiquity such as Tacitus. Accordingly, many bog bodies were interpreted as people in disgrace, supposedly
punished with torture, execution, and burial in the bog instead of more customary burial practices. But the truth is far more mysterious than the archaeologists could imagine. These bodies, seemingly sleeping in miry wetlands now drained and dug out for p rofit, also hint at the rare few individuals who rose again from the depths they were consigned to. For some, the Spell of Life brought them back into an existence of perpetual resurrection and endless life. These are the ‘Cauldron born’; the mummies of Northern Europe. The creation of the Crochan Geni date from a time when the region’s Celtic and Germanic peoples looked upon Rivers, lakes and bogs as portals to the supernatural world. Here Iron Age peoples sacrificed loved ones and even the anointed and powerful, to win the gods’ favour. As a sign of reverence they also spilled the blood of the cursed, outcasts, criminals and defeated foes as tribute to the Otherworld. Those who went into the water gave something to the society that sacrificed them, the act bringing prosperity and good fortune to the many. Such acts created a resonance in the shadowy afterlife, created ripples in the tempest, and those who were exposed to the Spell of Life before being sacrificed to the waters found they could return to their bodies and live again and again. Sometimes these Reborn found their way back within mere days, at other times it took years or even centuries. For some, the long wait wh ile their bodies dwelt deep beneath the water stretched on for too long and other forces destroyed any hope of their resurrection. Over time, as their secrets were lost due to invading faiths and the resultant end of the Mythic age, the moss decayed and turned into peat, which the rural peoples burned for fuel in ignorance o f what it held. Knowledge of the Spell of Life did nothing to unite these societies, and thus the Crochan Geni dynasty is barely a dynasty at all in the cultural sense. Rather it is a collection of varied immortals with different terminology, society and philosophy who share a common creation method and hold uneasy alliances with one another in the face of greater dangers. Though each can recognise certain similarities in their brethren, similar Gods and Goddesses and a shared understanding of the Otherworld, there are still many differences to be overcome. The Crochan Geni are an emotional breed, quick to anger and long to h old grudges. Something about the alchemy of their watery rebirth brands them with the same inconsistent emotions of that element, even if they were peaceable in their mortal lives, they return with passion and something of a bi polar nature. Violence and disagreement are the constants among the Immortals of Northern Europe, and it marks everything from their Hekau to their paths. The Spell of Life used by the Wicce, the primal Mages of these lands, has been lost for over a thousand years and no Crochan geni have been created since that time. But for the 1,700 years that it was employed, Immortals from a multitude of backgrounds found their way i nto the ranks of the Dynasty. Gaellic Celts, Angle’s, Norsemen and Franks rub shoulders and start bar brawls with Picts, Hun’s, Saxons and Visigoth’s. The myths and the Hekau spells have been recorded in Ogham, Pictish, Futhrak, Latin and English. The Crochan Geni cannot even agree on a common language for communicating Dynasty ideals, let alone a cohesive code of conduct. The majority of phrases and titles among the Crochan geni derive from the languages of the two strongest peoples making up the Dynasty, the Norse and the Celts. Other Crochan geni often replace the common terms with words from their own language and an outsider might be forgiven for believing he was witnessing two (or more) distinct Dynasties. Even many within the Crochan geni culture prefer this vision. Any meeting of Dynasty members is just as likely to break into a fight over who deserves the right to dominate the gathering, as it is to break into a fight over past slights or boasting. But the cultural split does not entirely prevent the Crochan geni from sharing certain ideas and
beliefs. For as much as the cauldron Born differ, they also have some core tenets that have b een adopted by almost the entire Dynasty. Among the core elements that define the Crochan geni are a warriors ethic, the willingness to give their lives in sacrifice for others, and the utter belief that a great war against the forces of oblivion is coming the result of which will decide if life can persist. The Crochan geni are warriors first and all else second, whether they be martial types with swords or poets who inspire armies, it is the act of battle that defines the dynasty as a whole. They are not the masters of magic or phi losophy that the other immortals appear to be, they are the brave and the fierce who makes the otherworlds tremble. “Better to be utterly destroyed taking down one agent of Oblivion than to live a thousand incarnations pe rfecting a parlour trick or bauble” say the Crochan geni in unison. The Crochan geni are shaped and defined by the battle against Oblivion, the force they call Ginnungagap (Yawning Void). It is a constant source of tension and inspiration to the Dynasty, and by their own garbled myths, the core reason for their existence. Whether they are in Niflheimer (The Drak Umbra) or Midgard (the Mundane world), Ginnungagap must be battled at every step. Sometimes they have common cause with Shapeshifters or Mages or even the fair folk in this battle, and sometimes even they are ranged against them through poor communication or deceit. But the torment of the Crochan geni is to know that the battle for existence will be the only continuous thread in their long immortal existence. Ragnarok, the final battle, is coming, on that the Crochan Geni all agree. But again there is a duality in the Dynasty as to the final outcome of this battle. One camp, known as the Einherjar, believe in Gotterdammerung, the twilight of the Gods. Gotterdammerung is the event that sees the defeat of the current order and the end of the world as it exists now. All Magic is gone from the world and only the Humans survive to forge a new world free of Gods, spirits or any supernatural influence. But their philosophical rivals, the Cruithne, scoff at this dystopian view and believe that fate is uncertain as to who will win. They believe in the New Dawn model which promises a return to the Mothers embrace for humanity and a place in paradise, the Summerland, for all Crochan Geni after the final battle. This disparity of philosophy, unsurprisingly, often leads to bar room brawls. AT DEATH The first death of the Crochan geni is a horrific experience, the spilling of their blood only the appetiser for the true sacrifice they make. With the effects of the hallucinogens necessary for the Spell still as potent to their Wraith as it was to their flesh, they are thrust into a psychedelic nightmare of epic proportions. The Wraith is also far more aware than usual for a Wraith still enwrapped in their caul, the Spell has heightened the newly dead senses. Although the difference is subtle, they are not Wraith’s in the technical sense, i nstead they are Coifi, the Hooded one, and they will not be rescued by any reaper. Instead the Coifi falls, almost immediately, into the Tempest, or a realm of the Tempest called Niflheimr (the Mist-World). As above, so below, and the waters of the underworld swall ow his spirit as the waters of the skinlands swallowed his body. He undergoes traumatic a harrowing (see Wraith: the Oblivion) made all the worse by the memory of being sacrificed by his people and by the mind bending ergot that still effects his psyche. Not to mention the proximity of Nidhogg and the Creatures of the Tempest, twisting the distant sensation of the land of the dead and what transpires with his fetters and his people. Luckily for him, the Caul is still in place and while his Psyche cannot take him to safety, neither can his Shadow gain control. His inner torment and harrowing may take a few days, it could last for eternity - many of the Crochan geni mummies are still battling their own doubts to this day,
having never come to terms with their deaths and returned to life once again. Some are only freed by the destruction of their bodies back in the skinlands, an act which destroys them utterly. Nidhogg turns from his gnawing of Yggdrasil to devour them, oblivion triumphs through the ignorance of the living or simple entropic bad luck. Those who do move on to the next step only do so when they reach some form of acceptance. Those who were sacrificed as a punishment often need to accept that their fate was of their own making, as must those sacrificed as defeated prisoners of war. The sick or disabled must come to terms with their deformities and often figure out what weakness or crime against creation caused them to become so. The willing sacrifices have the hardest time of all because the things they must reconcile are not so easy to discern. There are Kings who eventually accept that while they loved the Goddess and went willingly to her bosom, she was not so eager to embrace them until they had undergone this test. Others might be forced to concede that the bad harvest they were killed to prevent will have happened anyway because the Village was greedy or simply unlucky, or that there was no appeasing the Gods this year because of the crimes of the past. For many proud warriors and noblemen, the truth they must accept is that Death did not transport them to the bountiful Summerlands or the halls o f Valhalla, but to Hel. The dread place thronged with the shivering and shadowy spectres of those who have died ingloriously of disease or in old age. The final abode of the worthless and the dishonourable who have broken oaths. Only when the inner turmoil is brought under control by the Coifi does h is caul shear of its own cause and free him to battle his way out of Niflheimer. He must climb up past the third root of the world tree and into the Shadowlands once more. From there he can follow the visions imparted by the ergot to Eliudnir, the Dark Realm of the Cauldron born. Named for the fabled hall of Hel, Eliudnir is an echo of many mythological locations, a feasting hall a nd a keep, a glass fortress and a training ground. Though the Crochan geni are by far the weakest undying Dynasty in the lands of the dead, what they lack in political power they make up for with defences. Some Crochan geni were not selected as a fitting sacrifice, but chosen as they hovered close to death following a battle. There was a sisterhood among the Wicce that saw itself as the earthly avatars of the Valkyrie, the choosers of the slain. They would sometimes select a dying warrior whose actions shone like a light to their vision. The sacrifice of this noble warrior was deemed not only worthy trait, but a necessary one for the final battle. As the life seeped out of the dying warrior, the Valkyrie Mage conducted the Spell of Life over him and then ensured his body was consigned to the waters after death. In that way, the dying warrior became an Immortal as the myths of the Norse promised he would. ORGANISATION Calling the Crochan geni a Dynasty is an entirely external concept because there is little to no internal unity or even recognition of a single people. The Wicce maintained no singular Cult on a par with the Veil of Isis and the Spell of Life that creates the Crochan geni was disseminated across several cultures, the Immortals were created independently and with varying degrees of purpose. Even today these reborn work together only when it suits them to do so and have nothing by way of a fraternity or sense of combined society any stronger than a war band or a mercenary outfit. What does bring the Cauldron born together is a strong leader or a common foe. There are many creatures in service to Ginnungagap, the followers of Crom Cruach, those created with the rite of the Black cauldron, the Gangrel Valkyrie (vampires of the all fathers brood), Haugbui, Draugr, Aptrgangr, all are enough of a threat to bring the dynasty together. At times, when certain heroes of the Crochan geni are in their living cycles, the Dynasty can present a united front and achieve
great things, but such times became less and l ess frequent as time goes on. Life in the Crochan geni Dynasty has clearly stratified distinctions governing occupations and castes. Those who received the Spell of L ife can be divided into five broad categories; Thregn (Warriors), Bondi (Aristocrats), Skald (Poets and craftsmen), Guthi (Priests, Sorcerers and seers) and the Disgraced (disabled, outcasts and defeated enemies). The Thregn always have and always will dominate the Dynasty because their positions are the most respected and admired by the Cauldron born. They set the tone for Crochan geni tactics and temperament, dominating the gatherings and the government of Eliudnir. SEID (MAGIC) Magic among the Crochan Geni takes a second seat to martial prowess and direct confrontation. Hekau (called Seid by the cauldron born) is generally seen as a less than suitable tactic if force of arms and bravery can be used in its stead, and so the Dynasty has made far fewer additions to the lists of spells (galðrar; sing. Galðr) than o ther Immortals. Seid is an old Norse term for sorcery, including both divination and manipulative magic and was the speciality of the Vanir; gods of fertility, the sea, crops, Magic and prosperity. The word has been adopted by most, if not all, of the Cauldron born even if the N orse reticence over its use is less widespread. Crochan Geni practitioners of Seid can be of either gender but for the Norse such skills were predominantly the domain of women, although there were male practitioners as well. In the Viking Age, Seid had connotations of "unmanliness" or "effeminacy" (ergi) for men, as its manipulative aspects ran counter to the male ideal of forthright, open behaviour. But Odin himself was a Seid practitioner, a fact which the Het are keen to remind the Crochan Geni of a t any opportunity. The official word on Seid is that it is too valuable a resource to ignore in the battle again st Ginnungagap but many male cauldron born, even those not of Norse descent, prefer to use Galdr (songs and chants) as a means to magic rather than ‘spells’ and rituals’. How each man differentiates between Galdr and rituals is up to him. THE HOUSES The Crochan Geni divide Seid into three distinct disciplines; Siedhr, Runnor and Hallristingar. Siedhr combines the paths of Alchemy, and Nomenclature and is considered especially poor Seid for men to practice. Runnor is the paths of Amulets & Effigy, the most suitable Seid for men while the Hallristingar consists of the knowledge o f the Norns; Wyrd (celestial), Necromancy and Arcanoi. To the Crochan who believe in Gotterdammerung, Joy is a difficult Virtue to embrace. There are few of that number in the Het Qedesh, and those who are desperately seeking to master the emotion have an uphill struggle on their hands. FACTIONS The Einherjar The Einherja are the largest camp within the Crochan geni, hailing originally among those male Immortals with a Norse background. Named after those great warriors who died on the battlefield and who spent eternity practicing for the battle of Ragnarok by day and feasting in the Hall of the Valiant (Valhalla) by night, the Einherjar espouse the warrior ethic. Over the years the group have accepted both females and those of other nationalities into the Einherjar, so long as they fit their peculiar outlook and martial ideal. The word Einherjar itself means "Those who fight alone" or
"Soldiers of The Only Army" and this is how they see their destiny. All Crochan Geni dedicate their immortal existence to an eternity of training in readiness for Ragnorok, but the Einherjar are defined by their belief that the final battle will result in the destruction of the Gods and the army of the Crochan geni. These Crochan Geni consider themselves as the final sacrifice at the time of the Gotterdamerang (the twilight of the Gods) and unlike other Immortals each Einherjar knows that his life shall be forfeit to the final battle that could destroy the world. Pe rhaps that is what makes them so terrifying to those who face them, they do not fight to win. They fight because the courage of their convictions demands it, their death and destruction is foretold and absolute, as is their sense of duty. The Cruithne Only slightly smaller than the Einherjar, the Cruithne are the Crochan Geni in fluenced by the the Celtic, proto-Celtic and Gaellic branches of the dynasty, along with their followers. More important in the modern age, it is used to define those who believe in a more hopeful outcome to the final battle than the Einherjar. In times past, when the Einherjar maintained a more strict rule on its membership, the Cruithne numbers were swelled by non Scandinavians and women, but as the Final Nights approach things have changed and more Crochan Geni have come to expect Gotterdamerang rather than a new Dawn. The Cruithne tend to be altogether more cheerful than the Einherjar, delighting in drinking, feasting and boasting. But they also lack some of the strong organisation of their Northman allies, preferring single combat and glory to disciplined tactics. These Crochan Geni are much more accommodating and happier to see magic as a unisex pursuit and to show equal honour to bards and artists. The Avagddu The First of the Avagddu was a deformed simpleton executed by the early Christian missionaries who believed his physical and mental state were signs of the Devi ls favour. As he lay dying from being stoned to death by the pious, a Wicce consumed by anger decided to cast the Spell of life upon the poor unfortunate that he might return as a reminder of the false religions crimes. Since that time a cult has former by those whose physical state has marked them as an outsider among people that worship physical purity, and they have raised the ugly God Avagddu as their totem. The faction includes most, if not all of the disgraced caste of Crochan geni; the deformed, the criminals and dishonourable. Many whose skills lay in areas other than combat have also gravitated to the Avagddu and the Faction has nobles and poets to call upon too. PATHS The Crochan Geni follow the Path of Humanity and the Path of Orlog in roughly equal numbers. Some follow the Path of Balance, find ing in it a counterweight to their own impending doom. WEAKNESS STEROTYPES Cabiri “Scholars and philosophers, but every army needs its thinkers. The Cabiri know more about our eternal state than any of us.” Ishmaelites “I can respect a man who forges his own path, but they are just as capable of choosing the wrong path as the right one!” Oboli “To capitalise on opportunity is the sign of a quick mind, but do not expect to be admired for doing so with something as sacred as Immortality.” Shemsu-Heru “Those who claim to be the first immortals have forgotten that Ginnungagap has
many soldiers besides the Vampires of their own homeland!” Tzadikim “The worthy ones don’t seem all that special to me. Still, their people kept us rich during the Viking age and if I need to sell some slaves …” Xibalba “Worthy warriors who can teach us much about the spirit world. They’re also a good bunch to go watch a game of Football with.” “Our Asian brethren are a curious lot, too serene and quiet for my Xiānrén liking.”
Ishmaelites
Named for the first of the Shemsu-Heru to turn away from Horus and his never ending thirst for vengeance, the Ishmaelites are Immortals created by the Cult of Isis who walk a path other than the Wat Hor. They share the Egyptian trappings and first lives o f the Shemsu-heru but have forged a culture and a Dynasty of their own. The Ishmaelites: Those who walk alone
QUOTE “The metaphor of the Feather of truth balancing one’s heart, where we o nce believed the consciousness to reside, is a clear and direct lesson to us all. We must each find our way to Ma’at alone, and we are all our own judges when the day comes. Let no other tell you they sit above you, it is you alone who knows your worth!” DESCRIPTION Named after Ishmael; the first of the Shemsu-Heru to turn away from Horus and his never-ending thirst for vengeance, the Ishmaelites are Immortals who walk a path other than the Wat Hor. The eldest of them share the Egyptian trappings and first lives of the Shemsu-Heru, in fact most of them were created as Shemsu-Heru, but they turned away from their companions and have forged a culture and a Dynasty of their own. Once they had established themselves as a distinct entity, the Ishmaelites went on to help create new Immortals completely divorced from the expectations of Horus and his dominion. However loyalty to Horus is the only real distinction between the two groups; all else about the Shemsu-Heru is equally present in the Ishmaelites, from the ritual that creates them to the language and mythology. Both groups are inducted into the mysteries of Osiris, they are taught to combat the minions of Apophis and of the absolutely essential need to maintain a personal moral path. However the Ishmaelites simply refuse to abide by any legal code established by a ruler whom they consider a petty tyrant attempting to validate his o wn vendetta.
That code, the Wat-Hor, is very demanding and requires complete faith for anyone to maintain its tenets over millennia. Some of greatest men and women ha ve founds it impossible to live up to Horus expectations, either because of their own doubts or because they are not inclined to turn their free will over to a demagogue. Though the Shemsu-Heru cast accusations and insults at the Ishmaelites, it would be short sighted to bel ieve such slander. Certainly there are some in the Dynasty with questionable morals, but it is far from a universal stereotype. What broad statements can be made about the Ishmaelites are rare, given how diverse its membership has become over the years. Freedom to explore Immortality, morality and the paths to enlightenment is a central tenet embraced by the first turncoats and taught fiercely to all those they helped create. A constant curiosity is also present for the majority of the dynasty, driving them to wander and to seek out n ew experiences. On a less aesthetic note, there is a certain arrogance that permeates the group as well, especially i n their opinions of Horus and those who remain loyal to his cause. The friction between the parent dynasty and its offspring has never erupted into violence or assassination, as much as they despise each other and are prone to verbal assaults, both are aware of which side of the war they are on. Ishmaelites and Shemsu-Heru can and do work together, they can even become friends on a n individual basis and within the Het, but ideologically they will never see eye to eye. The Shemsu-Heru claim that Horus banished Ishmael for questioning the father but the Ishmaelite dynasty tell the story with a different emphasis. They say Ishmael (or whatever his true name was) chose exile because he could no longer follow where Horus led. Ishmael set out alone, following Sutekh and many others who came before him, into the desert. His wanderings are a matter of legend within the Dynasty and Ishmael himself has remained an infrequent visitor to the Dynasty that took his name and has never sought to rise to lead it as Horus does his own Companions. When Ishmael stormed out of the company of his former friend he did so alone and he remained that way for a very long time. Over the following millennia a handful of Immortals felt the same way and followed Ishmael’s lead into exile, but they rarely met with him. At time two or more turncoats ran into one another and they might share each others company for a time, debating philo sophy and dogma. The foundation of an actual Dynasty with its own organisation and practises took centuries, if it ever truly happened at all. Occasionally an Immortal was created who came to see exile as a more comfortable life choice than the war against Apophis in any form, but the intellectual rebelli on of the Ishmaelites gave such people the perfect smoke screen under which to flee the rigours of eternal conflict. Despite the slander, nobody truly knows why each Ishmaelite chose the lone path over the Wat Hor. By the time of Egypt’s new Kingdom, when the Cult of Isis was going through its darkest days, the number of Immortals leaving the Shemsu-Heru to become Ishmaelites had turned from a trickle into a fully fledged leak and in the Ptolemaic age the Cult of Isis was making as many poor choices for the ritual as it made wise ones. Those few from this time who did retain the wherewithal to come back from death often held little affection for the Wat Hor or for Horus himself and the Ishmaelite Dynasty soon equalled its parent sect for members. A true census of the Ishmaelites today would likely show them to be twice the size at least of the Shemsu-Heru. Finding little love in Egypt, the first reborn to follow Ishmael into the desert spread through the conquered territories and vassal states of Khem’s mighty empire and from there they moved beyond the scope of the pharaoh’s domain. They migrated into Africa, across the Mediterranean and into the Middle East, reaching Mesopotamia and beyond. An Ishmaelite named Cabirus passed a copy of the Spell of Life to a Greek Mage and gave birth to the Cabiri Dynasty. Other
unnamed and unlamented Ishmaelites created Immortals to the East in the lands w here the Tzadikim would one day appear, and perhaps the other Dynasties owe their existence to far travelled Ishmaelites also. Although nobody knows how the Spell of Life spread across the globe and whether the Spell used to create the Xianren and the Xibalba are the same magic or a simple case of paragenesis, the wanderings of the Ishmaelites certainly suggest a common lin k. It is entirely possible that the Ishmaelites taught a version of the ritual of rebirth to the mages who went on to create the Crochan geni, the Xianren and the Xibalba, not to mention the Oboli. Meanwhile, those who would remain under the Ishmaelite umbrella began to set up kingdoms and domains in Sheeba, Kush (Nubia) and Ethiopia, creating more Immortals from among the Bantu, Nok, Aksumites, Garamantian and other peoples them came into contact with. Crossing the once fertile plains that had begun to become the Sahara desert they spread across the African continent and in a matter of centuries had established an Ishmaelite ‘promised land’. Some founded cults in which immortality was a reward, or a way to p reserve loved ones. Others sold the Spell of Life for personal reward and others allowed it to fall into the hands of Mages through their own carelessness. Though the Dynasty kept Egypt in its memory and its heart as the fondly remembered homeland, its far wandering members survived the purges and conflicts that might otherwise have brought them low by making a second home in the Dark Continent. Nubians, with Ishmaelite aid, even ruled Egypt for a time and as the great e mpire declined it was among the Nubian territories that much of the traditions survived. Political exiles and those driven out of Khem by the machinations of Sutekh found the kingdoms of the Ishmaelites welcoming and hospitable. Garou of the Silent Striders and battered remnants of the Osirian league often came to the Ishmaelites doors and through such aid the Dynasty remained an active force in the war against Oblivion even while remaining aloof. Faithful Shemsu-Heru found it increasingly difficult to despise the turncoats when they did so much to aid and nurture the cause against Apophis. When Horus declared the Diaspora and decreed that his loyal followers had to leave Egypt, the Shemsu-Heru met with the many Ishmaelites, and learned of their fortunes in exile. Some had set themselves up as mortal princelings, with armies at their command and many powerful allegiances; others lived as hermits, exploring the nature of immortality. Of course, as Horus and his kind left Egypt, many Ishmaelites chose to return to the lands of their birth. The Sebayet, the collected writings of the S hemsu-Heru, claims that Ishmael was as shifting as the desert sands, ever moving like the Nile, and they draw parallels to a similar tendency among his followers. The Dynasty itself maintains that eternal life l eads to ennui, and stagnation is one of the greatest enemies for any immortal. The Ishmaelites teach several tried and tested methods to deny this curse, extolling change, personal transformation and even chaos as much as it does Ma’at and tradition. A single-minded dedication to Ma’at alone is as dangerous as any other single mindedness and so the Ishmaelites seek to avoid any slavish chains. Thus the Ishmaelite exile was the making of the Dynasty, transforming them into the widest spread group of Immortals in the Ogdoad. From Africa to Asia, Russia to S outh America, Ishmaelites have wandered the globe and spread the mysteries of eternal life with them. Each new vista brought new enlightenment, and the nature of wanderlust and chaos helped to stave off the weight of the centuries. Who created the Dynasties? Did the Ishmaelites provide the Ritual which was used to create the Xibalba, Xianren, Crochan Geni and the Oboli? Well that is up to you and your stories but the possibility of it being true is
clearly supported by the mythology of the Immortals if you want it to be true. The ravages of Amnesia and the loose organisation of the Ishmaelites themselves mean that nobody will ever truly know one way or the other and so the golden rule applies. Isis’ ritual, the Spell of life is possibly the only way to turn a mortal into an immortal, and if that is true then it is more than li kely that the Ishmaelites nature has had afar greater effect on the supernatural world than they are given credit for. However it is also possible that Mages hit upon the Spell at different times in different cultures, or that some other entity shared it with others. Perhaps Anubis or another Wraith wanted to ensure the spell was more wi dely available or maybe some Spirit or Demon with a vested interest in thwarting oblivion p layed a hand in the whole affair? AT DEATH What happens to the Ishmaelites in the Underworld is what happens to the Shemsu-Heru. They have no power as a Dynasty beyond what each individual can barter for, but they are welcome in Ammenti and many other places. In fact the truth is that Horus does not rule Ammenti and the Shemsu-Heru couldn’t deny the Ishmaelites entry even if they wanted to. The Shemsu-Heru and the Ishmaelites are the same people with the same knowledge and beliefs about Death. In truth the only major difference comes from the concept of judgement because the Ishmaelites refuse to submit to the judges of Ma’at any more than they will submit to the l aws of Horus. By refusing to submit himself to the j udges when he comes before the scales of Justice an Immortal marks himself forever as an Ishmaelite and not a Shemsu-Heru. From that moment on, he can never go back and will never be accepted by the Judges again. The Ishmaelites follow the same mythic paradigm as their parent Dynasty, but they see the Judging of the soul and the teachings of Ma’at as a requirement for personal responsibility rather than an external expectation. In Ishmaelite philosophy there is no authority in the judges beyond their role as witnesses and when each Immortal comes before the scales of judgement, there is only the individual’s actions and their own heart to be weighed against the feather of Ma’at. They are the final arbitration of whether or not Ammit goes hungry, they believe, and that judgement is a matter of self-fulfilment and personal accomplishment. Everything else is archaic ritual portrayed by Wraith actors seeking to maintain a false hegemony. Wanderers in life, the Ishmaelites are just as trackless in death - they wander the tempest and travel between the varying Dark Kingdoms and shadow realms, answering some aspect of their nature forever seeking new vistas and varied experience. No other Immortal knows the byways as well as those of Ishmael’s brood and no other Dynasty has quite the same relationship with the Ferrymen and Anubis’ brood. ORGANISATION The Ishmaelites are not by any sense of the word a society; rather they are the Egyptian mummies who, for whatever reason, do not belong to Horus’ fellowship and those they created and educated. They may possess any agenda they choose; they frequently develop relationships with each other, sharing the common bond of ‘outsiders,’ but they do not have a legal code and any voice of authority the Dynasty has i s liable to be short lived by dint of its very nature. The movers and shakers within the Dynasty change on a regular basis as their own stars rise and fall. The Ishmaelite Dynasty is resembles a cult of personality from the outside, with status and position highly dependent on popularity and kudos. Those who have achieved the most are given the highest regard, whether that be in the secular world or along the road to enlightenment. However this has more to do with the Dynasty wide search for higher concepts and higher goals, and the desire to learn from those who have proven a degree of success on that road.
The concept of change and evolution i s maintained by the Dynasties personality, and they avoid what they believe is the greatest failing of Immortality - the hidebound stagnation of the ShemsuHeru, still tied to a single visionary leader. Immortals who have gained power or wisdom influence their fellows precisely because of those achievements, and they only do so for as long as their methods continue to prove effective. Ishmaelites take what wisdom and guidance they can from anyone they meet but none of them ever doubts that they are capable of surpassing their teachers and heroes in time, the one resource all immortals share. MAGIC Although the Ishmaelites practices of the magical arts mostly resemble those of the Egyptian Immortals, the Dynasty has adopted some of the practices and trappings of the African continent. They can often be seen using fetishes instead of hieroglyphs and war dances in stead of amulets. The Ishmaelite use of Hekau can arguable be described as more animistic and primal in flavour even if the end result of the spells is identical. Nomenclature that allows the Immortal to transform into an animal or natural phenomena is popular, as are body modifications created with the path of Amulets. THE HOUSES The Houses of the Ishmaelites are the Hou ses of the Shemsu-Heru and the Cabiri. They use neither different names nor do they have secret societies, having already established their individuality elsewhere. However the Ishmaelites are far more comfortable with change than any other Dynasty and it is the norm for them to change focus, Hekau path speciality and Het several times per millennium. FACTIONS The Dynasty is itself a Cult, a branch of the Shemsu-Heru tree, and it can be argued that the Tzadikim and Cabiri dynasties which both owe their existence to Ishmaelites are themselves factions of the Ishmaelites. However, as far as the recognised Ishmaelite Dynasty is concerned, there are specific factions. The society of Izfet Izfet is the opposite of Ma’at, chaos and di sorder and everything the Shemsu-Heru detest. But there are some among the Ishmaelites who see chaos as the natural order and the only true way to embrace the philosophy of change. They are far from thralls of Apophis but openly cla iming membership in the society would get them n amed as such and so the faction is a very secret society. They seek to master chaos, to make it their tool and to not let it corrupt them. Members of the Society are often the loudest voice in slandering Horus and his companions for their inability to embrace change and that in itself has put them at odds with many other immortals. Khasewet Even given the degree to which the Ishmaelites have been disowned and disavowed by the Shemsu-Heru, there is still a strong bias towards those immortals born of Egyptian tribes over those born from outside the empire. The Khasewet (Foreigners) is a faction that acts much like an action committee to counter this bias and to ensure that Immortals from outside the bloodlines of Khem receive their fair share of the pie. Little more than a voice to remind their brethren of the need for equality, they are supported by the vast majority of the Dynasty. Society of Tsenetnofret Society of Tsenetnofret (the Perfect Companion) is a loose alliance of Undying which came together to provide material and social support to its members. While describing it as a social club
would technically be accurate, it would also trivialize the importance of the organization to its members. When one lives forever, meaningful relationships become difficult. It's easy to loose oneself in loneliness, depression, and ennui. The Society provides members with a sense of continuity, companionship, and community in a world where they are often alone. Members make it a point to visit one another, and maintain correspondence through mail (never e-mail; too impersonal) debating philosophy, history, etc. PATHS Ishmaelites are a varied group and almost all of the Paths of Enlightenment are practiced by o ne member or another at some time or another. As far as stereotypes are able to ascertain, Humanity, Ma’at and Balance are popular. The Ishmaelites also practice a unique path calle d the path of change. In the end, all Immortals are judged alone and so, the Ishmaelite creed maintains, they should walk their own path. This leads to even more bad feeling between the Ishmaelites and their loyal Shemsu-Heru brethren who see such arrogance as proof that the turncoats no longer walk a path that could stand up to scrutiny. Such commentators often fail to recognise the strict judgements the Ishmaelites inflict upon themselves and how few of them can manage to survive unless they remain their own harshest critic. In the end an Immortal who remains true to his path’s teachings through fear of punishment is no different to one who climbs to the same moral hi gh ground because their own sense of honour demands it. Both act the same way and both are equally placed on the barometer of sin and virtue. WEAKNESS STEROTYPES Cabiri “We do not see ourselves as teachers, and yet we have given birth to something rather wonderful and wise.” Crochan Geni “All life came from the infinite waters, but the cauldron born are more attuned to its ebb and flow than others. ” Oboli “One cannot help but admire the balls it took these Immortals to steal immortality!” Shemsu-Heru “How better to waste the gift of eternal life than by championing stagnation?” Tzadikim “What can we say? We can only apologise so many times.” Xibalba "Personally I believe we have more to do with the creation of the Xibalba than accepted wisdom would have you believe." “If there is any Dynasty we feel affinity with it is these guys, there Xiānrén quests for enlightenment are worthy of our respect.”
Oboli
Since Isis first perfected the spell of life in the heady days of the mythic age there have been mummys who became immortal simply because they could pay for it. They were buried with vast riches and were able to barter that for the spell in the short time before their souls became impossible to reunite. They are usually self-made men and powerful women, mortals with a knack for getting what they want from others. Whether they use riches or personality, they come to their last breath with a plan for rebirth and the resources to initiate it! They are the Oboli! The Oboli : The Dynasty that bought Immortality Quote "Prefect Charon demands the toll up front before he’ll ferry transients in his stitched boat to the distant shore. So you see, even among the dead greed lives, and Charon, that collection agent of Dis, is not the kind of god who does anything without a tip. But even when he’s dying, the poor man’s required to make his own way, and if it happens that he d oesn’t have a penny at hand, nobody will give him permission to draw his last breath. To this nasty old man you’ll give one of the two coins you carry - call it boat fare - but in such a way that he himself should take it from your mouth with his own hand. The se cond coin? You’ll need that to pay for the journey back!" DESCRIPTION That the spell of life exists in one form or another in the afterlife is undeniable, given that several of the Dynasties must achieve their immortality only once they have died for the first time and their spirits have slipped free of the mortal coil. That the secret of rebirth is well protected, intended by Isis as a gift for worthy heroes is also true, but wealth and power can get past almost any vow or hesitation. Everybody has a price and that is just as true of the restless dead as it is among the living. Even among the cul ts and cliques of noble wraiths that reside within the undying capitols beyond the veil there are those who are wiling to break a confidence … if the price is right! Since Isis first perfected the spell of life in the heady days of the mythic age there have been mummys who became immortal simply because they had the resources to pay for it. They were buried with vast riches and were able to barter that for the spell in the short time before their souls became impossible to reunite. Some even managed to bribe mages of the Veil of Isis while they still drew breath, and were given the normal rite as they passed away. They are usually self-made men and powerful women, mortals with a knack for getting what they want from others. Whether they use riches or personality, they come to their last breath with a plan for rebirth and the assets to initiate it! True Oboli are created with a specific variation of the Spell of Life developed by an Ishmaelite called Zalmoxis and the Mages of his Cult, however the Dynasty also includes the ‘accidental’ Immortals who were not created by that group. It is because of the willingness of the Dynasty to accept none traditional members that it has become the catch all culture for the reborn. In truth
almost all Immortals created by Ishmaelites who did not become members of other Dynasties have gravitated to the Oboli. Following the list left behind by their founder, the Veil of Isis gave the gift of Immortality to the slave Zalmoxis and took it upon themselves to educate him in the higher arts of medicine and philosophy. By the first Millennium before the Common era this wandering Ishmaelites had founded quite a network throughout Europe and finally settled in the lands of the Gatae. Still driven by desire for equality and self-determination he sought to elevate the Gatae and then their peers to the levels of the Egyptian heyday. He worked with a handful of Ishmaelite Immortals, Awakened priests and local Wraiths to reproduce the Great ritual, seeking for a way to create fellow immortals without reliance on the Veil of Isis or even on large groups of powerful mages or corruptible Priests. First and foremost he wanted to give the peoples of Europe an Immortal army against Oblivion that was not beholden to or thought unworthy by the Shemsu-Heru. Always the cult laboured to find a way for individuals to conduct the great rite it alone and without the need for lengthy preparations before they died, believing that the cults and priesthoods were the strongest link in the chain of enslavement. Slowly successes were achieved, changes were made to the core ritual of the Spell of Life and the focused on the power of the underworld, calling upon the energies of the Ancestors to replace the mortal Priests and embalmers required by Isis ritual. Unknown to the cult, others were working on similar goals. Mages died and became Wraiths with a memory of the great rite, as did many of the mortal’s in the veil of Isis and other mystery cults. In truth, the throng of the restless dead had its own methods of learning the secrets of the living and the ability to resurrect certain recently arrived Wraiths to the state of immortality spread slowly through the underworld. Though it was rare for a human whose corpse had been correctly preserved to meet a Wraith with the right knowledge, it did happen and Immortals began to appear with no Dynasty to lay claim to. Eventually Zalmoxis achieved what he had set out to do, but the end result was not the victory he had envisioned. The new road to eternal life did not free people, it did not act as the great equilizer in Immortal society, in far too many cases it acted as a shortcut to greater enslavement. Those who sought Immortality without the Veil of Isis or a similar priesthood were at the mercy of the Dead and often had to promise servitude or pay dearly for the aide they required. Too late did Zalmoxis come to see that the energies required by the Spell of life must be balanced, for the Immortals stood with a foot in either realm. The D ead wanted something of the living world in payment for their services, whether that be relic wealth or servitude, and the Oboli had no choice but to pay it to satisfy the balance of the S pells magic. Within a decade of achieving his goal, Zalmoxis disappeared from sight and le ft his cult to teach his version of the Spell. Memory of Zalmoxis eventually merged with the myths of the God-onhorseback Sabazius, the Thracian Dionysus or Zeus and he was elevated to demi-god status by those he taught. His realm as a god is not very clear, as some considered him to be a sky-god, a god of the dead or a god of the Mysteries. Those rare few Dynastyless Immortals soon found their way into the burgeoning Cult and various myths and legends were added to the melting pot, along with allies and debts. The Cult of Zalmoxis continued to teach the spell and many of the original mages hoped to become Immortal themselves once they did finally pass beyond the shroud. In the meantime they focused on collecting wealth with which to pay the dead and on furnishing the Underworld with Wraiths willing and able to help them complete the ritual. From this Cult the dead (and several of
the soon to be dead) learned all details of Zalmoxis Spell. The Wraiths of Charon’s Kingdom began to understand how that knowledge could make them powerful in the afterlife off the desperation of others. And so becoming Immortal with (or without) Zalmoxis ritual became a matter of commerce, and only those who could pay the toll could return to eternal life. Those who were successful grew into a Dynasty and took the name Oboli after ‘Charon’s Obol’, the coin or Totenpass placed with the dead so that they might pay for their journey across the river of death. Historically it was more common for the dead to be buried with a single coin and for that coin to be placed in the mouth or even within the clothing. The practice of sending the dead on their way with two coins over the eyes probably stems from allegorical teachings of the Oboli Dynasty. The two coins serve the plot of such tales by providing fare for the return trip as well as the initial passage across the river; suggesting the soul’s rebirth. That each eye is uncovered with each payment hints at the awakening and new insights the immortal gains along the journey. The Oboli are greatly concerned with wealth, power and commerce as a natural side effect of their philosophy and the road they take to immortality. They keep track of their debts to one another and to others, they seek secular strength before spiritual enlightenment. This natural inclination doesn’t mean they are all greedy, however, many prefer to see themselves as the realists and the practically minded of the Immortal nations. By the time they were officially recognised as a distinct Dynasty it was too late to tell if greedy and powerful men were spiritually destined to become Oboli or if they were simply in a better bargaining position because of their accumulated wealth. Over the centuries many Oboli have sought a spiritual path by following the mysteries of the earth. They are often happy to point out that chthonic deities such as Hades, Pluto, Cernunnos, Yaksha and Cratylus as well as psychopomps like Hermes were often also the Gods of wealth and commerce. The priesthood of the Oboli believe that all members of the Dynasty are slaves, whether because of their ignoble births or because of the debts they agreed to to become Immortal. At the deepest level the dynasty uses phrases and symbology that echoes this belief and their tombs are often littered with chains and locks. But the darker truth is that the Dynasty makes slave sof its own. Zalmoxis withdrew from his experiment in the b elief that he had made matters worse and that all the immortals he created were worse slaves than he ahd ever been. Many powerful men have been known to seed the underworld with willing servants before they die in the hope of using their enslavement for their own rise to resurrection. Sacrificing their dupes or willing acolytes to learn the secrets of Immortality ready for when their master dies. Outside of those gifted (or cursed) with Immortality by the Cult of Za lmoxis, the Dynasty includes kings and nobles, heroes and misers buried with their wealth as well as those who already knew of the possibility of Immortality; occultists and those who already had truck with the dead. Because the Oboli are often wealthy and powerful in life they cross the shroud with quite a significant haul of Relics or favours to trade. It could be hoarded treasures, sacrificed vassals or grave goods when an Oboli-to-be is reaped he is somehow able to pay off his reaper and still retain enough afterlife currency to buy his way into the hallowed halls of the immortal Oboli with what is left. One Oboli may have been the chieftain of a great kingdom, buying his place in the dynasty with the souls of the attendants killed to accompany him into the underworld. Another could have been a rich widow who or relic cash and sports cars while a svengali of a death cult might trade favours from his congregation or unnamed services once he himself is back in the skinlands. AT DEATH
Even the Earthly Cult of Zalmoxis is unable to create an Immortal on their own because their founder finished his research in the underworld and much of the requirements of the spell as they know it require that it be performed by Wraiths (not Immortals in their Death cycle). This Spell can only be cast in the Dark Umbra and complete understanding of its subtleties is lost to anyone who takes physical form (including Risen and Wraith skin-riders). Because of this peculiarity there are circles of Wraiths who master the art of conducting the Oboli Ritual of rebirth and some who employ extended contacts in the skinlands to make the most of the payments they receive for such knowledge. How each Oboli finds the Wraiths to help him enact the ritual and what he pays them for doing so is unique to each case. The quest to become a wraith, to ensure ones corpse is properly conserved and to enact the ritual of rebirth before the opportunity is lost can fill an entire campaign on its own. The pitfalls, betrayals, accidents and failures that can prevent a dead man from completing his journey towards resurrection are varied and endless. ORGANISATION Because of the original desires of the Dynasty founder and the cult he left behind, a great many of the older Oboli were slaves or the lowest castes in society. However it is often the rich and powerful who managed to buy resurrection and so the Dynasty is a study in contrasts. Before the Oboli emerged as a power among the Immortals sometime in the ninth century AD, its membership to be had to employ various means to get by. Some set themselves up as petty Princes, while others like Midos played upon the Hekau they could master to impress mortals and Immortals alike. Returning from the dead can often guarantee an Immortal a following of willing subjects. At least one Egyptian pharaoh, rich with grave goods, managed to pose as a member of the Shemsu-Heru created while the veil of Isis was adrift. As they grew into an organised society, the practice of deception and misdirection remained. The habit of forming close knit cells of fellow Oboli with pyramid shaped hierarchies has also become a mainstay of the Dynasty. If it wasn’t for the Cult of Zalmoxis the entire Dynasty would likely be viewed as a group of Ishmaelites. By making it clear that their founder was foreseen and chosen by Isis, Immortals of the central cult have parlayed their minimal status into a grudging recognition by the other reborn. Zalmoxis himself was constantly disheartened with the results of his experiments and by what individuals would do to gain Immortality. More and more Wraiths enslaved themselves for the chance of resurrection and the very society of the Underworld itself trundled towards a slave society. The rise of the Stygian empire was the final straw for Zalmoxis and almost all of his peers believe that he fell to Oblivion through heartache and the belief that he had failed. However the core cult within the Dynasty feels very differently about their founder and honours him as a true visionary. They point to the fact that Isis herself was said to have decreed his resurrection and that his vision gave birth to one of the Eight Great Dynasties of the Immortals. Because it is the Cult of Zalmoxis around which the larger Dynasty i s arranged, even those who found their way to immortality alone tend to hold the founder in some degree of worth a nd many have come to believe (or desperately hope) that it is through the teachings of his cult that they will finally be freed from their debts. In the modern age, the Oboli are able to function as a dynasty because of its multitude of contacts and its varied resources. They have offered banking and financial services to the most established Dynasties and bartered that for a degree of (grudging) respect. The power and control the Dynasty has gathered in both the lands of the living and the lands of the dead far outweigh their limited and
rather small membership. From merchant houses to tomb robbers, Wraith slaver traders to modern business magnates, the Oboli are the corporate and mercantile masters of Immortal society. MAGIC THE HOUSES By the time the Oboli rose to take their place as the eighth Dynasty, the Het had long been established as the status Quo among Immortal society. They saw no reason to rock the boat and soon came to learn that there was far more to learn at the foot of such teachers than there was from going it alone. The Oboli use the standard names and appellations for the houses, having made very little obvious impact to the ancient practices of the Houses. FACTIONS Though there is no organised faction of the Immortals not created from within the cult, there is an obvious delineation between the Cult of Zalmoxis and ‘everybody else’. Those who joined the Dynasty out of self-preservation and who have not taken up the fervent worship of Zalmoxis are and always will be on the edges. They can put pressure on the central authority at times, but rarely have a Dynasty wide goal that would encourage them to do so. For the most part the Cult of Zalmoxis governs the Dynasty and the many ‘outsiders’ simply pay lip service to their rules and go about their own business as usual. The Cult of Zalmoxis (see Mount Kogaionon in the Oboli shadow realms section). Despite Zalmoxis wishes, the Dynasty he created still need a support network and for the eldest and most social of them that support comes from the Cult of Zalmoxis. Nothing like as large as the Veil of Isis this society exists in a few centres of population, often places that claimed to support freedom or equality, and work to continue the work of their master. The cult still believes that the gift of immortality can be used to grant freedom to the enslaved, that when they succeed in finding what Isis indented them to find they will be able to guide all Immortals, indeed all humanity, towards some great achievement. The only time these aesthetics ever make themselves known is when they find themselves unable to remain outside of mortal struggles for freedom. Rumours persist that they have had a hand in countless coups and freedom struggles, and they are all too open about their role during the American civil war. The Saboi (see Saboi in the Oboli shadow realms section). The Saboi stand out in the Oboli because they have embraced a far more radical faith and worldview than almost any other member of the Dynasty. They believe that Zalmoxis was not devoured b y Oblivion but that he did in fact face the terrors of the labyrinth and return rejuvenated. No longer a seeker after spiritual or society equality, he became a vital warrior and hedonist bent on taking what he wanted. The Saboi are often fool hardy and bacchanalian, desperate to quaff as much as possible and then rush headlong into battle with the forces of Oblivion. The Department of the Liches A small number of former Mages and their Acolytes, the Liches have banded together out of a shared sense of superiority and culture. They tend to chaff under the dominance of the Het, having struggled to the lofty heights of magical expertise once already before having to start once again from the bottom with Hekau. Over the years many of the Liches have believed that their
understanding of true magic would grant them a qu icker grasp of the new philosophies, and a ll have been sorely disappointed. Now they retain cohesion as much from a shared disappointment in their setbacks as they do from their unique mortal philosophies. Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung) Led by an Immortal known only as Alberich, der Ring look towards Chthonic myths and legends for their lessons and have taken the focus on wealth and commerce to its ultimate degree. Rumours insist that der Ring had a hand in the underworld slave trade (through Wraithly employees) as well as maintaining caches of hidden treasure. With a healthy membership of miners, tunnellers and artisans they have strong contacts in the Guilds as well. The Cult of Zalmoxis and der Ring see each other as dire enemies and have been waging a hidden battle for centuries. Portorium (the Toll) The Portorium are bankers for other Immortals, acting as a safe haven for wealth as well as investment advisors and financial agents for the reborn. While ensuring that death and long periods without activity do not empty an Immortals bank account, they also maintain Tombs, sanctuaries, sepulchres and temples for the Immortals. Over the past two centuries, the Portorium has created and advanced several mega corporations to act as fronts for their investments and while they always look out for their own finances first, they are will ing to share much of their skills to those reborn who are willing to pay for the wisdom. Naulum (the boat fare) The Naulum maintain their greatest resource sin the underworld, trading with botht he restless dead and Mummy’s in their death cycle to provide protection, guidance and support for a nominal fee. They own and run several Tempest going vessels and caravans through the Shadowlands, transporting relics and wraiths through the troublesome domains. At some point in history, the Naulum managed to gain the attention of the Ferrymen and these enigmatic Wraith have continued to look upon the group with trust, no doubt aided by the fact that the Immortals and their agents charge far less for the services they offer than the open market could feasibly support. PATHS As with so many things, the Oboli learned the paths of enlightenment just as they are taught by the majority of the Immortals. The cult of Zalmoxis prefers the path of Liberty or even the Wat hor, while others in the Dynasty choose paths that suit their individual morality. WEAKNESS STEROTYPES Cabiri “The great unifiers ought to to receive more credit than they do, for without them we would never have been accepted at the high table.” Crochan geni “We understand what it is to sacrifice for your immortality, perhaps more so than these barbarians care to admit.” Ishmaelites “Just as with the Cabiri, the Ishmaelites laid the ground work for our own dynasty. They are Oboli without our networking skills.” Shemsu-Heru “Arrogant, anachronistic and bloody annoying at times. But then which other Dynasty can claim to have carried the torch for so long, or to have made such a dent in the forces of Oblivion?”
Tzadikim “Worthy is as worthy does. If the bible thumpers stay out of the boardroom, I guess the money lenders can stay out of the temple.” “The orient is an untapped market, philosophically, spiritually and of Xiānrén course financially. Let the priests befriend them and the bankers climb into bed with them!” Xibalba “All that gold, all that wealth, yet the Xibalba have never benefited from the natural resources of their homelands. I try to tell myself we would have fared better.”
Shemsu-Heru
There has to be a first, and among Immortals that honour is accorded to the Shemsu-Heru, the friends of Horus. Created by Isis and her sister, originally to follow and serve her son Horus, they are the oldest undying in the world. The original Immortals of Khem, the land of Black sand and pyramids. Bound together by their shared culture and the tenets of the Wat Hor they continue to work towards Horus twin goals: vengeance against Set and the defeat of Apophis. The Shemsu-Heru :The Friends of Horus
Quote “I am Immortal! Chosen by Isis herself as an exemplary warrior in the battle for creation. My heart has been weighed more times than I can count and never have I been found wanting. You think me conceited only because you cannot begin to grasp what I have given up in six millennia of constant conflict against the most tenacious foe in existence. Only when you are as worthy as we will you have earned the right to pass judgement, and you have some way to go yet!” DESCRIPTION There has to be a first, and among Immortals that honour is accorded to the Shemsu-Heru, the friends or companions of Horus. Created by Isis and her sister, originally to follow and serve her son Horus, they are the oldest undying i n the world. The original Immortals of Khem, the land of Black sand and pyramids. Bound together by their shared culture and the tenets of the Wat Hor they continue to work towards Horus twin goals: vengeance against Set and the defeat of Apophis. The history of the Shemsu-Heru is the History of the Reborn and it has been told many times. The first members of the Dynasty, indeed the first Immortals, were created by the Mage-Goddess
Isis and her sister Nephthys in the time after the Vampire Set had killed his brother, the Vampire Pharaoh Osiris. One of the first (versions differ as to how many came before him) of the Immortals was the son of Osiris and Isis, Horus, and he became an immortal with a burning hunger for revenge. The Shemsu-Heru were created either by Isis herself, of by her cult after she died (if she truly did die) and their mission to dethrone and destroy Set evolved into a quest to defeat the Vampires true master, Apophis – the maw of Oblivion. For the last six millennia the Shemsu-Heru have continued in their holy war against all the forces of darkness, chaos and ultimately, the very concept of Oblivion itself. Their devotion to Ma’at and to Horus are legendary, their code of honour austere, but the Reborn are as fallible as any mortal human and it has been such a very long path to achieve their goals. Sometimes these devout warriors and ancient heroes lose their way, either through ennui or hubris, sometimes through corruption, and while they are recognised as the best immortal society has to offer, they are an awful long way from perfection. Because of their unity and the self-confidence brought on by experience the Shemsu-Heru are the de facto leaders of Immortal society, having perfected many of the tactics and taught their lesser siblings the paths of Hekau they are simply revered, often grudgingly, due to their seniority. When the Ishmaelites travelled to Mesoamerica and the orient to share the great rite and give birth to the other dynasties, they still considered themselves Shemsu-Heru. The tales of the first Immortals passed into the legends and myths of all the Reborn and most Dynasties held them in reverence without ever having met them in person. Once the Dynasties began to come together and the concept of an Immortal Society began to take shape, the reverence in which the S hemsu-Heru had been held went a long way to helping establish the pecking order and despite the fact that they didn’t always live up to expectations, nobody has yet felt the need to topple them from their pedestal. During times when it seemed a new order might be ready to emerge, external events conspired to remind the rest of the reborn just how completely they needed the leadership and guidance of the Companions. Many Reborn view the Shemsu-Heru as arrogant and unyielding, but they also recognise what the Dynasty has achieved and what it has allowed the younger Immortals to achieve. Many of the perceived flaws that serve to drive a wedge between the companions and the other reborn are the result of their own i mmense age tied with their birthright as the chosen o f Isis. The Shemsu-Heru benefit from the guidance of Godlike entities and traditions begun in the Mythic age. When Horus was created, Caine still ruled Enoch and the 13 founders of the vampire Clans openly dominated their people. The traditions and laws the Dynasty follows were given tot hem personally by living Gods and many of the Companions believe that Horus, their ever present leader, is himself a God. With such an ancestry, it is no wonder that the Shemsu-Heru are guilty of vainglorious pride and conceit. For two millennia the Shemsu-Heru were the only Immortals in existence and they fought the war against Apophis unaided. The eldest of this Dynasty are at least twice a s old as any other Immortal, and it is to their desires that the Veil of Isis still tends. The dark Kingdoms and the empires of the dead were distant possibilities when the Shemsu-Heru founded their own dark realm of Amenti, many of the Arcanoi of the Wraiths little more than the restless dead’s attempts to replicate the effects of Necromancy Hekau. History is the Dynasties ally as much as it is their shackle; they are the first Immortals and thus the oldest enemies of Oblivion. Where other Dynasties struggle with tactics and dilemma, the Shemsu-Heru have a lready tried and perfected them. What many detractors see as the greatest flaw of the Shemsu-Heru, its strict devotion to Horus and its rigid code is in truth its greatest strength. Imagine the Christian Church if Jesus Christ was at its head, or the Vampire Clans with a benevolent Caine to guide and rule them - focus and devotion in the hands of true believers can bring down the walls of Jericho or the moral outrage of
the world. The Shemsu-Heru are order personified in rude determined health, the ve ry living antithesis of Oblivion. To them the way of Ma’at is almost instinctual and rarely doubted, they draw undisputed strength from their knowledge of the ‘right path’. At it’s heart, the Dynasty is an army of the faithful, sometimes zealots, dedicated to the battle against Apophis and his earthy prophet Sutekh. Warmaster Horus himself sees the destruction of Set as the core goal of his Dynasty, the method by which victory will be achieved. He is a general of astounding genius, but his foes are as easy to pin down as smoke. As Set is the God of darkness, evil and chaos, so the Shemsu-Heru must continue to be the paladins of light, virtue and Ma’at. This is the true reason for the Dynasties rigid code of honour and its demand for dedication. Horus and his inner circle are losing ground however, the vampires continue to dominate the cities, their curses have robbed Khem of the S ilent Striders and the Bubastis as a viable presence. Oblivion and the Wyrm grow stronger and stronger while the world has all but forgotten about the old gods and their laws. Effective leadership of Immortal society is always just out of reach, rifts have formed by the Shemsu-Heru’s own actions, or because of the cultural differences of those concerned. While the other reborn respect the capabilities of the first Dynasty, they rarely trust them entirely and most find it hard to cal l them freinds. After all the Shemsu-Heru attempted to eradicate the first new dynasty they learned of, the Cabiri, and they have never been quick to treat others as equals. In the final nights of the 20th century a new mood emerged within the Dynasty. There are now Immortals in the Shemsu-Heru who believe in the cause, in the battle and the need to keep Ma’at, but who have lost faith in Horus himself as the ultimate Prophet of the way. As difficult as it is, they have begun to question Horus and his lieutenants, to demand changes, new tactics, an admittance that the status quo and the old traditions has failed. This isn’t a new trend, it has happened countless times through the groups long history, after the first and second Intermediate periods of Khem, when Alexander invaded Egypt, when Rome was at its height and when the empire fell, when millennial fever struck a thousand years ago and a few times since then. In the end it is always the experience and the tested methods that return the Dynasty to its united state, a few members may have left to become Ishmaelites, sometimes new Immortals are created, but in time things always returned to normal. However there is one difference in this version of the eternal cycle, and that is people are talking openly about the inevitability of such habits. For the first time in its long existence, members of the Shemsu-Heru have begun to believe that victory is in fact impossible. They have lived long enough to see everything they have experienced come a round many times, and even the spectacular and unique has become repetitive habit. There is a growing belief that the reborn can expect only two things, those who remain l oyal to Ma’at can expect an eternity of wa r, just keeping Oblivion from completely devouring the worlds, and those who prove unworthy of the task will be simply add their weight to the scales on the side of the enemy. AT DEATH Amenti, the dark kingdom of sand, is by far the largest of the shadow realms, and the model for all of the other immortals underworld domains. This Kingdom contains many cities and was at one time even larger, having once been much larger than the modern day Dark Kingdom of Iron could have hoped to have suppressed. Even with its vast wealth and resources, Amenti never sought to dominate the Underworld and simply took steps to mask its presence when the True Wraiths founded their own kingdom. Shemsu-Heru are met at death by a ferryman, nearly always one who claims to be Anubis
himself. This Ferryman leads the newly dead Immortal to Amenti where they are free to reside in safety or dabble in the affairs of the underworld however they see fit. Though the immobile Wraith of the vampire Antediluvian Osiris sits upon a throne here, it has been many centuries since he has even appeared to notice what takes place around him. Governance of the City is carried out by ancient Wraiths who once served as Osiris courtiers in death. ORGANISATION The Shemsu-Heru have a unity and fraternity to be proud of. They have maintained a close and reliable network down through the centuries that can b e called upon by any Immortal faithful to the Wat Hor. Their reactions to any event is laid out for them by the governance of Horus and by the expectations of Ma’at. Horus himself is still very active, although most of his Dynasty wide rulings are heard from his inner circle rather than from the man himself. The Viziers of each g eographical area report to the founder and receive orders from him in turn, ensuring that Horus and his cabinet have a direct effect on the war effort and on Immortal society itself. Since the fall of Khem to Alexander’s forces in 332 BC the Shemsu-Heru have treated Amenti as its capitol, and they all but abandoned the land of their birth after the rise of Islam. Even during his time in the lands of the living Horus rarely resides in Egypt anymore, preferring to dwell among the Veil of Isis or in his current favoured castle in the Alps. Egypt is their spiritual home but rarely their physical one, without the temples to the gods or the language of their childhood it has become a foreign land to them. THE HOUSES Membership in the Het Alethia is almost unheard of for members of the Shemsu-Heru because at the core of the Dynasties belief system is the Wat Hor which they see as the ultimate arbiter of Integrity. In fact those few Shemsu-Heru who do haunt the edges of the group usually do so in an attempt to co-opt the house into becoming a tool to spread the tenets of the Wat-Hor through Immortal society. Otherwise, the Shemsu-Heru have no preference for the remaining 8 houses and can be found equally represented in all of them. FACTIONS While there are Companions created after the golden years of the Veil of Isis who view Horus as a literal God, many of the elder members have a more balanced view of their l eader. The problem has always been that there is more than one Horus in the Egyptian pantheon. There is Horus the Sun God, a version of Re, and then there is Horus the son, offspring of Osiris and Isis. The leader of the undying Shemsu-Heru is only Horus the son but his followers and many others from lesser Dynasties elevate him to the role of Horus the God. Although they rarely come to blows over their different beliefs, it is a distinct gulf between the two largest factions within the Dynasty. The Siheru (Son of Horus) or SitHeru (daughter of Horus). This is the title usually given to those who believe Horus is both the God and the man, and they often add the title to their name. They also a dopt names such as Herumes or Herumoses (Born of Horus) or Herunefer (Beauty of Horus). The faction has many similarities to a fully fledged church and given where Marianism originally came from that’s hardly any wonder. The Siheru could conceivably be called the hardliner faction within the Dynasty, devoted to the Wat Hor almost to a man. They regularly break out into open condemnation of the Ishmaelites and the Dynasties they have created and e ven on their best behaviour they remain convinced
that only the Shemsu-Heru have earned the right to eternal life. The Het-hert (House of Heru) The Het-hert are those Immortals, often among the oldest of the Shemsu-Heru, who imbue Horus with no Godly status beyond being a prophet of Ma’at and the avenging agent o f his father Osiris. The Goddess Hathor’s name has much the same meaning and this is something the group is keen to elaborate upon. Hathor is the Goddess of motherhood and using her name reminds the Immortals that it was Horus Mother Isis who gave them the gift of eternal life. The Het-hert had a very close relationship with the veil of Isis and even in the final nights they are the cults greatest supporters and allies. Preferring the Path of Ma’at, they Het-Heru are without a doubt the most moderate faction within the Dynasty and without them the Shemsu-Heru would never have come to accept the other Dynasties as equals. Menmaatre (Eternal is the Justice of Re) The Menmaatre are a close-knit sect of special agents drawn mostly from military or noble backgrounds. They take the battle against the enemies of Ma’at very seriously, and are loyal to the ideal behind the Dynasty. For every negative rumour floating around about the Shemsu-Heru, there is a Menmaatre hero to cast doubt upon it. Down through the long history of the Shemsu-Heru the Menmaatre have been the secret police punishing traitors, infiltrators sent into the labyrinth to battle spectres, death squads tasked with the eradication of the bastard Dynasties, assassins employed to topple Sutekh’s thralls a nd even monster hunters set to kill the undead themselves. They are experts in tracking, battling and killing vampires and other monsters and they have also perhaps the greatest understanding of how to utterly destroy an Immortal. A skill they claim is used to kill the Bane Mummies but which has been used at times against the Cabiri, the Oboli and the Ishmaelites. Wahankh (Strong in Life) The Wahankh are a new and still highly secretive faction within the Dynasty, a result of the whispered changes in Shemsu-Heru philosophy. They have come to believe that the actual defeat of Oblivion is impossible, if not to be actively avoided at all costs. They no longer see victory over Apophis as their ultimate goal. Instead they seek to preserve the world and the balance by keeping the forces of Darkness in check. Hushed whispers have been voiced to the effect that the Wahankh might one day have to undo the very forces they fight beside if it looks as though the balance swings too far in favour of the armies of Ma’at. A few Immortals from other Dynasties have come to share the beliefs of the Wahankh but for now it is mostly made up of Shemsu-Heru. To openly speak such heretical beliefs to non members would invite destruction and so the sect grows slowly and makes no overt moves to evangelise its viewpoint. For now they simply collect evidence to support their belief and take comfort in knowing the truth while redoubling their efforts to keep fighting the fight. Tepemkau (Best of Souls) The Tepemkau were formed in Amenti while Neter-khertet was in its golden age, they have a firstclass pedigree in the Underworld. They are masters of necromancy and have a network of allies
among the various factions of the dead, from the guilds tot he legions, with a w orking knowledge of the far shores the Hierarchy would be jealous of. Occupying a position of power and influence in the shadow realm of Amenti, the Tepemkau Tepemkau operate with a degree of autonomy from Horus and the Inner circle, preferring to safeguard the Dynasties underworld holdings and to serve a s guardians of the Ba of Osiris. In fact members of this select group claim to be the last individuals to whom the Vampire Antediluvian ever spoke and they are not afraid to remind the rest of the Dynasty of this fact when it can gain them some leverage. One of the practices of the Tepemkau Tepemkau that Horus is less than pleased with is their jury tampering. While it was common for temple texts, such as the papyrus of Ani, to include spells and cheats to ensure that the deceased could pass the tests of the negative confessions and not be turned over to Ammit when his heart was w as weighed against the feather of Ma’at, the Tepemkau went a step or two further. They They have developed ways and means to ensure that the reborn come off favourably when they are judged by the 42 gods of Amenti and have been known to sell these spells not only to other Shemsu-Heru, but to other Dynasties as well. PATHS Almost all Shemsu-Heru Follow the Path of Ma’at or the Wat Hor. Hor. In fact, all at least least claim to follow one or the other sanctioned routes to enlightenments and keep any deviation a closely guarded secret. The Wahankh have begun to turn to the Path of balance in secret and it may, in years to come, gain prominence in the Dynasty if they ever step into the open. The Wat Hor (way of Horus) is a strict code that governs the Shemsu-Heru - it governs every aspect of the Alpha Dynasty, from ritual observance to laws and communication. In many ways the Shemsu-Heru Dynasty resembles a religion, with a God and his Prophet at its head and a set of commandments to be followed without question. Membership in the dynasty means as near to absolute adherence of the code as can be portrayed and at least two thirds of the friends of Horus truly take the worship of Horus to it’s ultimate extreme. Some of the most terrible act committed by the Shemsu-Heru are rationalised away by the commandments of Horus, he who must be obeyed and it might be easy to portray them as fascists or zealots. However the strict code of honour that binds the companions together has also preserved them through countless millennia and has allowed them to inflict more defeats upon the forces of Apophis than the remaining seven dynasties and their Wraith allies combined. The demands of the Wat Hor is truly no harder to follow than the path of Bushido or o r the requirements of most hardliner religions. It supports and directs its adherents, but they remain intelligent and free willed warriors to the cause. Many of them have met the Gods themselves and would laugh at any who suggest that Osiris or Sutekh were anything other than a deities. Each death allows those who walk this path to pass the harshest judges in creation and reminds them that remaining faithful to Horus is clearly the way to walk wholly in the path of Ma’at! WEAKNESS STEROTYPES Cabiri “They lack the dedication and the the strength that that those chosen chosen by Isis have. This is why the the great rite should only be performed on the anointed ones.” Crochan geni “Criminals, sinners, sinners, the the unclean and worse still, how can a Dynasty achieve anything with such ingredients.” Ishmaelites “The way of Horus demands a heavy toll and I cannot hate those who have been
found less than capable. I can only o nly wonder why Isis would have chosen them if their destiny was to fall short.” Oboli “If the accident of the Cabiri offends me, the act of theft that creates these these bastards is like a dagger to my heart.” Tzadikim “While imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, flattery, the Tzadikim need to temper it with more respect and remember where they got the idea for their religion.” “We are all a mystery to ourselves, but our Oriental brothers abuse the Xiānrén privilege.” Xibalba “There are many worthy men and women among the Xibalba and I believe they need only be shown the path of the Wat Hor”
Tzadikim
The Tzadikim (Righteous or Saintly people) are the Immortals whose roots are scattered across the Levant and the Arabian Peninsula. They maintain a sense of purpose and direction matched only by the Shemsu-Heru even while they are internally split over the nuances of their divinely ordained function. Whatever the human interpretation of righteous man, the reborn of this Dynasty believe they are immortal in order to preserve creations. They have taken the war against Oblivion to its ultimate level and battle its effects on all levels in an attempt to preserve the world from destruction. The Tzadikim: The Righteous Ones QUOTE: I have been a man of Elam and Akkad, a Sumerian, and a Babylonian, then a Pe rsian, a Hebrew, a Hindu, a Christian, a Sufi, a Seikh, then a Muslim, I have h ave seen my Dynasty hide behind many peoples and many faiths! Like the Twin Rivers of the Tigris and Euphrates are we, two immortal strains between which great things come to pass. While we endure, the world is safe. DESCRIPTION The Tzadikim are the Immortals whose roots are scattered across the Levant and the Arabian Peninsula, their sphere of influence stretching even to the Western territories of India. They maintain a sense of purpose matched only b y the Shemsu-Heru, an unflappable vision of their worth and a belief in their divinely ordained function. Despite their modern day domination by the religions of the Book, the oldest members of the Dynasty predates even the earliest JudeoChristian Mythology. Mythology. The name the Dynasty adopted comes from Talmudic Talmudic tradition which speaks of the Tzadik Nistar or lamedvovnik, the 36 Tzadikim (Righteous or Saintly people) of each generation. This tradition says that at least 36 anonymous Tzadikim are livin g among us at all times; and it is for their sake
alone that the world is n ot destroyed. Through history this accolade has been applied to nobility and political leaders, or to messiahs and prophets, but whatever the human interpretation of righteous man became, all Tzadikim were created because they fitted that model at the time in history. history. At times the meek have been lauded over the powerful and the Tzadikim dynasty includes beggars and kings and everything inbetween. And so the reborn of this this Dynasty believe that they they remain immortal in order to preserve creations, to work actively and through example to combat the destructive forces of an imperfect world. Certainly in the eyes of o f the Tzadikim themselves, the gift and burden of immortality are not given lightly. Even when they lost their way and were seduced by a charismatic messiah, they never lost sight of their responsibilities to the world, only to the whom the final arbiter of their actions ought to be. The first Tzadikim were created in Elam (now Iran) at the height of Elamite society, but the exact details of the first are long forgotten, remaining only in the plays and lessons of the mysteries. The legends speak of a semi-mythological figure named Dumuzid (called Elijah by Tzadikim of the Jewish faith) who was the first of the Dynasty. His story is a metaphorical blueprint for the Immortals themselves; acknowledging self sacrifice and service to others, the need to obey the commands of the divine and how duality and conflict are at the heart of everything. Conflicting stories and incomplete memories differ as to the circumstances that led to the creation of non Egyptian immortals but while some believe the Veil of Isis shared the secrets of Immortality willingly, most believe that the Spell of Life was stolen or traded by a traitor, perhaps even one of Ishmael’s brood. Whoever the first Tzadikim was, he did not consider h imself part of a new or separate dynasty he was what the Immortals call an Ishmaelite and so were those who came after him. Certainly the first immortals from the eastern empires maintained a relationship with the Shemsu-Heru just as temperamental and delicate as those Ishmaelites born within the borders of Khem. They haunted the edges of Horus domain and were accepted into the more progressive houses of the time to learn about the paths of Hekau and share their own discoveries. The Mystery Cults of Osiris and Dumuzid had an even more fruitful relationship. For centuries, the Ishmaelites of the eastern kingdoms and the Shemsu-Heru maintained this uneasy truce, if not exactly an alliance but then the Hyksos (Habiru) came to Egypt in an hour of its weakness and took the Throne from the rightful rulers during the second intermediate period. While Egypt was struggling with floods and a weakened Kingship it was invaded by Aamu (Asiatics) from the Eastern delta and from Canaan or Mesopotamia, lands in which the Tzadikim were plentiful and influential. While these Aamu tribes contained Hurrians and Indo-Aryans, it was made up mainly of Semites who the modern world know as the Hyksos, 'shepherds' or 'shepherd kings'. These occupying forces gained control over most of lower Egypt, ruling from Memphis and allowing the 13th Dynasty to rule as vassals and to pay tributes to the Hyksos. This time was one of Sutekh’s greatest victories. He placed the Aamu at Hoot-waret (Avaris) and they replaced the worship of the True Gods with the Cult of Apep. Hyksos Kings even took the name Apophis as their throne names to further compound the Egyptians disgrace. The Veil of Isis was forced underground and most of its supernatural leaders were lost to Sutekh’s shadow campaign. Once in control the rule of the Hyksos Dynasties was not unduly oppressive, they ruled with a firm hand and levied heavy taxes but managed to remain on cordial terms with the remaining native
Dynasties. The Hyksos borrowed extensively from Egyptian culture, administration and religion, a practice that shapes the Tzadikim dynasty to this day. In return they introduced several new concepts to Egypt such as the Lyre, the vertical loom, the horse drawn chariot and several weapons including the composite bow. It was during this time that an Immortal called Osarseph came to power among the Aamu. He was part of the priesthood of Osiris at Heliopolis and was given the gift of eternal life by the Veil of Isis. One of a handful of Reborn created in an attempt to make peace with the invading Hyksos, he instead stole the secret spell of o f life and gave it fully to mages among his own people. For that crime he was known to the Peoples of Egypt as ‘son of’ of ’ and no more; a fatherless bastard with no family. But his betrayal did not end there. Osarseph built up a following amongst the Hyksos, using his resurrection to sway the mortals and his charisma to band the undying into a formidable sect. His Cult became the central body of the Asiatic Immortals and when the Hyksos w ere finally driven out of Egypt, Osarseph and his cult went with them. They travelled east and came into contact with People already allied with or related to the Aamu tribes and they formed a religion based on the Egyptian mysteries. Around the growing mythology and burgeoning society of these people the Immortals came together under a single leader; Osarseph under whose rule the Tzadikim were born. He created several new Immortals with his stolen Spell of life and the Dynasty grew in number to rival the Shemsu-Heru in a matter of decades. Osarseph himself, though no willing servant of Oblivion served to weaken the Imortal cause none the less through his selfish nature and fervent nationalism. For many years after being ejected from Khem he maintained a secret cold war with his Egyptian counterparts. Throughout the period of the New Kingdom, the reborn fought many secret wars and threw mortal thralls at one another in petty land grabs at pointless flexing of muscle. Slowly and surely the Tzadikim began to polarize and two distinct strains emerged depending o n which side of the second intermediate period the Immortal was created and whether or not he or she embraced the new faith. The older Immortals who came before Osarseph became known as the men of renown, or simply the renowned. Those who came after and who followed the teachings of the book came to be known as the Chayot, the living creatures. The latter quickly rose to lead the Dynasty while their elders withdrew to study the mysteries. As much as the younger Immortals Immortals would have loved to to have followed the example of their mortal kin and forced the entire world to convert to their new faith on pain of death, they could not achieve that with their own Elder brethren. A state of stalemate developed between the two factions, which continues to this day. For the last 3 and a half millennia the Chayot have been maintaining control of the Dynasty and working to create a world in their image while the Renowned have focussed on seeking enlightenment and remaining worthy of their accolades. All Tzadikim were considered worthy of the title tzadik, "one "one whose merit surpasses his iniquity," iniquity," during their lifetime. They were chosen because the Dynasty considered them to be saintly enough that the demiurge would not destroy his creation while they were still a part of it, whatever that meant in the current philosophical climate. This could be as simple as being a popular celebrity with the faithful or exemplifying the dogma of the current faith, but it often demanded that the recipient be predestined and ‘have no evil inclination’. Both camps believe that the Soul and a nd life comes directly from God or the divine and so to retain that which was only lent out, the Tzadikim must continue to be of service either to hu manity to be chosen by the men of renown, or to God specifically if one is chosen by the Chayot. The Dynasty
observes a simple truth - "He who breathed life into man, breathed from Himself." AT DEATH Upon death the Wraith of the Tzadikim (the Etemmu) separates from the physical corpse (the Esemtu). The Etemmu or death spirit is not considered the life force or soul (the ???) but it is the mortality of the being, the reason a living person dies. It is this portion of an individual which passes into the underworld. In the earliest myths man i s created from the flesh of a God or Gods, but the etemmu makes him less than a god, he can die. When the Tzadikim enters the underworld he must find hi s way to the Palace of Ganzer. The first journey to that secret location is often aided by Akhkharu; Wraiths who know the way and who demand payment for their services. Tzadikim pay with the Relics they carry, created from the rich grave goods interred with them as part of the spell of life. Some Tzadikim are fortunate enough to be given an Amulet by a fellow Immortal which al lows them to gain the Akhkharu’s favour and to carry on without further need to pay the tolls and tithes of the underworld. Once they come to Ganzer the Tzadikim must deal with the gatekeeper; who goes by Nedu or Neti among other names. This fearsome looking Wraith takes even more payment from the Tzadikim, exhausting the Relics the immortal has remaining. He takes particular interest in any protective spells and amulets the Wraith carries with him, removing them before the Immortal can pass beyond and leaving the traveller striped of his magical wards and protections. He leads them through seven gates, just as Inanna was led through the seven gates, and he takes a payment for unlocking each portal. Those Wraiths who cannot pay with relic or soulforged coins must pay with memories or passions, sometimes even with a term of service or pieces of their very corpus. Nobody living, dead or undead gets through the seven gates for free until they have been marked and nobody gets marked until they have passed through the seven gates at least once! The last thing Neti removes from the Tzadikim is the Etemmu itself, and with that gone the Tzadikim truly loses his mortality. From this point on the Spell of Life can truly be said to be complete and the ever living Tzadikim has achieved immortality. Neti uses his Molaite to forever mark the soul of the Tzadikim and he or she passes beyond the Palace of Ganzer, never needing to pay the tolls again. The Tzadikim are judged by the Anuna just as the S hemsu-Heru are judged in Ammenti by the 42 judges of Ma’at. Those not found worthy suffer greatly as their corpus is hung upon a hook until another agrees to take their place. ORGANISATION Historically there are two distinct and separate phases of Tzadikim history and thus philosophically there are two clear camps within the Dynasty itself (se factions below). The Renowned date from before the Egyptian new Kingdom, and the Chayot date from after that period and the creation of the Jewish faith that followed. The zealotry and fervour of the Chayot has led to their ascension as the dominant sect within the Dynasty and many of the Renowned have either adopted their philosophies and their faith or pretended to do so. The remainder have retreated from wider dynasty participation in the lands of the l iving and often prefer time spent in the underworld. For the past three thousand years the Tzadikim have ben dominated by the Monotheistic faith of the Hebrews and their inheritors. Even though the d ynasty was founded by divergent Pantheistic cults and traditions, it was the emergence of the Jewish religion that brought the Immortals together into a single cohesive unit. Without the mythology and law of that movement the
Tzadikim would not exist and its members would be Ishmaelites, Immortals created by the original Spell of life but not members of the Shemsu-Heru. The Tzadikim dynasty is inclined to deceit and misdirection, it teaches such skills to its members and respects those who are adept with such tactics. At the heart of the Tzadikim personality is the complex system of ritual politeness – Taarof – that governs the subtext of life. Hospitality, courting, family affairs, political negotiations; Taarof is the unwritten code for how people should treat each other. The word has an Arabic route, arafa, meaning to know or acquire knowledge of. But the idea of taarof – to abase oneself while exalting the other person – is Persian in origin. Described as ‘fighting for the lower hand’, but in an exquisitely elegant way, making it possible, in a hierarchical society, ‘for people to paradoxically deal with each other as equals.’ Those who live in the lands once dominated by the Persians can get so caught up trying to please, or seeming to, and declining offers, or seeming to, that true intentions are hidden. There is a lot of mind reading and light-hearted, meaningless dialogue while two parties go back and forth with entreaties and refusals until the truth reveals itself. In part, it is these layers and smoke screens that allows a dynasty apparently dominated by a closed minded religion to secretly include varying beliefs and mythologies. The way to succeed among the Tzadikim i s to be good at misdirection. Being smooth and seeming sincere while hiding your true feelings – artful pretending – is considered the height of taarof and an enormous social asset. The Tzadikim never shows his intention or his real identity. They make certain never to expose themselves to danger, because throughout history they have had to weather many dangers, not least of whi ch was the danger of their own dogma. A major factor in the Tzadikim dynasty is the concept of geography as destiny. If you draw lines from the Mediterranean to Beijing or Beijing to Cairo or Paris to Delhi, they all pass through Iraq, Iran, and the middle East, the lands straddling a region where east meets west. Over many tens of centuries, a blending of the hemispheres has been going on here – trade, cultural interchange, friction – with the Tzadikim smack in the middle. When the land was being over run tine after time there was nowhere to run to and so the locals stayed. They got along, they pretended and they made Taarof. As a saying goes ‘the tree here has very deep roots.’ MAGIC TThe magic of the Tzadikim is the magic of their Egyptian peers. Although they have gathered new spells and new rituals from the mages and sorcerers of Babylon and Arabia, the core tenets are the same. The Tzadikim have been in the shadow of the Shemsu-heru for many paths but it is with their mastery of Ushabti that they stand head and shoulders above their former teachers. The Tzadikim Golems are creations of legend and awe. There is a heretical school of the Necromancy path that first surfaced in Babylon and whi ch still circulates between certain members of the Dynasty. These spells deal with the summoning of demons and Spirits not tied to the Shadowlands in any way. While outlawed by the Chayot masters of the Tzadikim, there are still some among the renowned who continue to pursue this path and who are sometimes willing to teach it to others. THE HOUSES Originally the Tzadikim referred to the schools of Hekau and the virtues by the names of their own Gods; Alchemy is the focus for the House of Namtar, Amulets of the House of Kothar, Necromancy the House of Ereshkigal, Celestial the House of Anu, Ushabti the House of Marduk, Nomenclature is taught by the House of Nabu while Arcanoi is the focus of the House of Ne rgal . Integrity is upheld by the House of Gula, Joy by the House of Qadeshtu, and Memory by the
House of Ninurta. The Houses of the Cheyot Tzidikim have no set names based on Gods or Mythological figures. Instead they are named for the Sephirot (Sephiroth) on the tree of li fe: Binah (Alchemy), Chesed (Joy), Chokhmah (Memory), Da'at (Celestial), Gevurah (Integrity), Hod (Nomenclature), Malkhuth (Necromancy), Netzach (Arcanoi), Tiferet (Amulets), Yesod (Ushabti). Although the Chayot consider all other Immortals as infidels and pagan’s, they have at times managed to work together with such reborn for the sake of enlightenment. However there are far too many tales of Chayot Immortals ejected from a group or het because of their evangelism and religious fervour. Over the centuries the two factions have developed a way of avoiding the most contentious topics and those tactics have slowly filtered through the Het themselves to allow less fractious debates and study. Most commonly known of these ‘tricks’ is the use o f Kabalistic euphemisms, for example Keter (crown) is a euphemism for God or the Divine, used by the Tzadikim to refer to the final arbiter in a way that will not invite dogmatic dissention. FACTIONS The Renown The Renowned, often are simply called the Ancients, predate monotheistic myths and consists of the oldest members of the Dynasty and their followers. They were the peers of the Shemsu-Heru and hail from societies that were contemporary with Khem; from the ancient empires of Sumer and Mesopotamia to the super powers of Persia and Akkadia. Since the rise of the Jewish faith within the Tzadikim, the Renowned faction have focussed on the mysteries and seek to gain what power they can in the afterlife. The Chayot The second group, sometimes pejoratively called messianics, are the Chayot or "living creatures". So named because the Tzadikim of Monotheistic faiths believe them to be as angels. The Chayot are guided mostly by those Tzadikim created from among Hebrew and later cultures and are influenced by Gnostic and talmudic philosophy. Their defining personality is shaped by the ‘peoples of the book’, by the Jewish Christian and Muslim faiths. This faction is concerned much more with the secular world and with governing the Dynasty. The maids of Irkalla Given the undeniable male prejudice within the Tzadikim, those females of the Dynasty who chaff under the gender bias naturally banded together. In the Underworld they had the undeniable figures of Ereshkigal and Inanna to look up to and to draw comfort from. They are a mixture of modern feminism and heroine worshipers, even lauding Female archetypes of the Monotheistic religion such as Mary and the Shekinah. This sisterhood acts much like a secret society within the Dynasty, offering aid where it can and countering the male dominance of the Dynasty. The maids have even worked in tangent with the infamous Harem conspiracies of the Cult of Isis. PATHS OF ENLIGHTENMENT Tzadikim belief in personal accountability and in reaching for perfection and as such many of them follow the Path of Ma’at or even the path of Dikaiosyne over Humanity or Balance. Devout Tzadikim follow the Path of the Wali and the path of Fanna in relatively small numbers, but those who do adhere to such strict paths a re afforded a great deal of respect. WEAKNESS STEROTYPES
Cabiri “Democracy and other abominations unto the lord are the bread and butter of these idolatrous scribes, how far from righteousness they are I shudder to think.” Crochan geni “Pagans and primitives always seeking to throw themselves into the adversaries ever devouring maw.” Ishmaelites “Historically we are the children of Ishmael too, but we have made something of that status and have forged our own destiny.” Oboli “The Chayot have a saying about rich men, camels and the eye of a needle. I think the Oboli prove that to be as much nonsense as anything else they say.” Shemsu-Heru “Those from whom we took so much, both freely given and stolen, we have left them behind in so many way.” Xibalba “They blame mother church for the destruction of their civilization but in truth their own iniquity and lust for violence is what brought them low.” “They border the roof of the world to the east as we do to the West, but Xiānrén the gulf between us is as vast as the mind of Allah!”
Xiānrén
A Xiānrén is an Immortal of the Asian lands created with a Spell of Life entirely separate from the one created by Isis. The word, Xiānrén, means simply an ‘immortal person’ or a ‘transcendent'. It also reveals thier independent nature and the alchemical methods used in achieving thier undying state for it can also mean saint, alchemist, one who seeks the elixir of life, wizard, magician, or shaman. They have been known to hail from countless races and civilizations in the East from India to Japan, Mongolia to Taiwan. The Xiānrén : To ascend the Mountain
Quote “I am the quiet flame atop the mountain, I serve to light the way for others yet I am still in awe of the sun in the heavens.” DESCRIPTION The Xiānrén are the Immortal’s of the Asian lands created with a variant of the great rite, a Spell of Life which calls upon the philosophy of Alchemy, the dry elements of the deserts and acts of aesthetic shamanism. The word, Xiānrén, means simply an ‘immortal person’ or a ‘transcendent’. By extension it can refer to an enlightened person, translatable in English as any of the following: spiritually immortal; physically immortal; transcendent; super-human; celestial being, immortal person; immortalist;
saint, alchemist; one who seeks the elixir of life; one who practices longevity techniques or by extension (alchemical, dietary, traditional Chinese medicine) methods for attaining immortality, wizard; magician; shaman, immortal (talent); accomplished person; celestial (beauty); marvellous; extraordinary. Immortals of the Xiānrén Dynasty have been known to hail from countless races and civilizations in the East from India to Japan, Mongolia to Taiwan, owing their knowledge of the great rite to the time when Eurasia was a single world. However the earliest Xiānrén were created in the Western foothills of Xinjiang on the borders of the Taklamakan desert. Here bronze age nomads had begun to settle and trade with locals by the 2nd millennium BC and continued to do so throughout the Iron age. Among these westerners were Mages and a few wandering Ishmaelites creeping slowly Eastward along what would become known as the Northern Silk Road. Resurrection and the road of the Immortal is a lonely journey for the Xiānrén. There is no mythical first Immortal among the Xiānrén, no hero of the mystery plays whose story leads the way. It is unclear when the first Immortal was created in these lands, or when the Spell the Ishmaelites traditionally used mutated into the rite used to create the Xiānrén. However the road marks along that journey are clear to see, from the early Kurgan burial mounds that emulate the tomb internments of Egypt to the modern and modest resting places of failed Xiānrén of the contempory era. The path to Immortality eventually passed to the Pazyryk nomads of the steppes who perfected their own version of the great rite a thousand years later and from them it eventually passed into the entire Middle Kingdom among Shaman and protoAlchemists. The skills of these Shaman spread to the prehistoric Chinese religions in China and beyond, and some of them found their way into Taoism and other philosophies, the Shaman eventually becoming the alchemists and magicians of court and citidel. Xiānrén sprang up all across Asia, their path to immortality begun by the Nomads of the steppes but walked alone by each new undying creature. The first Chinese alchemists laboured long and hard to master the creation of elixirs for immortality, an idea which came, like so many other Chinese fads, originally from India. Many of these substances, far from contributing to longevity, were actively toxic, and more nobles and their alchemists poisoned themselves than ever achieved immortality. Despite the eternal hunger for the secrets of immortality in the east, it was a rare achievement and though this dynasty can be said to control the largest physical domain, it is among the smallest in term of membership. Eventually Chinese interest in alchemy and the elixir of life declined in proportion to the rise of Buddhism, which claimed to have alternate routes to immortality. But the elixir of immortality was still created by a rare few alchemists, from Amrita supping Brahmin to Yak blood guzzling steppes Shaman. The rise of Buddhism eventually ensured that the elixir fell out of favour in India (where the pursuit of nirvana and the belief in the benefit of reincarnation was so strong), and while there were many Xiānrén created in the Northern Buddhist temples, the practice was followed much less beyond the foothills of the Himalaya. There are Indian Xiānrén, even some who were Hindu or Buddhist (the Chiranjeevin faction), but they are exceedingly rare in comparison to other’s of the Dynasty. Immortals began to crop up in many stories and myths across Asia, and especially in Chinese art, so when religious Taosim gained popularity, it quickly picked up this tradition with its own immortals. These Eight Immortals quickly became eminent figures, frequently associated with other prominent spiritual deities such as the Three
Stars (the gods of longevity, emolument, and good fortune). While immortal Xiānrén were still created, or in truth creating themselves, in other lands, it was in China that they were most adored and where their stories were most openly told. So it was that many rulers and despots sought the fabled Elixir of Immortality, and in their search they spread the myth of such a potion as far as Bagdad. In Ancient China the First Emperor Qin Shi Huang who went on to become Yu Huang, Wraithly Emperor of China’s underworld; the dark Kingdom of Jade, sent his alchemist Xu Fu to the eastern seas to find the elixir in his desperation to avoid his dead enemies. (See Wraith: the Oblivion). Yu Huang/Qin Shi Huang is almost as much the enemy of the Xiānrén as the forces of Oblivion. They would love to topple his kingdom but it stands firm against their greater enemy and a harsh order is better than no order at all. To take down such a vast and bloated empire would leave a vacuum ready for Oblivion to fill. The Xiānrén spell of life is a synchronisation of the Egyptian Great rite with the magical workings of Shamans from across Asia. Through the Spirit workings and the preparation of the flesh before the first death, the Xiānrén rite is complete at the moment the Immortal dies and he does not need to complete any final steps in the underworld. Retreat, self focus, and the final ascension (of a mountain representing the Heavenly perfection) are all a part of the Xiānrén philosophy and the path to immortality and resurrection as one of the reborn. He goes into the first death already one of the Undying, to face possibly the harshest Underworld of them all: the Dark Kingdom of Jade. Because of the state of dark Kingdom of jade and the Xiānrén focus on duality existences in the Underworld is very different to the ones they maintain in the land of the living. The Xiānrén in the underworld is called the Guǐxiān ("Ghost Immortal") while in the living lands he is known as a D ìxiān (“Earth Immortal”). The Xiānrén make a great study of the two different states, between the Guǐxiān and the D ìxiān and the interplay of the Yin and Yang natures. Immortal’s have spent lifetimes contemplating the mysteries of the two states, meditating on two sides of a coin or two hands to gain insight. Burial mounds (Kurgans) and self mummified Buddhist corpses across Asia reveal the methods employed to find Immortality and show what becomes of those who do not succeed in the rather daunting task of becoming a Xiānrén. The method of achieving immortality for Xiānrén has always been a path of self-discovery and personal wisdom, leading to many failures of half failures. (see Appendix) The true Immortals of the Xiānrén are served and haunted in equal measure by these half damned and long-lived failures. Some have passed into Asian mythology as monsters and demons while others are recalled as heroes and kindly spirits. In folk entomology and Folk literature Xiānrén can also mean a "sage living high in the mountains; mountain-man; hermit; recluse" or even a "genie; elf, fairy; nymph". Such secondary meanings are typical of the Dynasty itself and the Immortals who make up its numbers. The Xiānrén are the result of Alchemical dedication and spells. If nothing else can be said to be certain about them apart from this fact, it is the central tenet of their Dynasty. Becoming truly Undying is a long and treacherous Journey for these beings and the Spell of Life for them is something of a never ending quest for worth in the eyes of some heavenly bureaucracy or philosophy. These immortals believe they
must remain on earth acquiring merit by teaching mankind about the Tao or aiding them in other ways. At the height of the Xiānrén Dynasty it was believed that to become Immortal a Human must be a practitioner of or receive the benefits of Dān (Alchemy) and drink of the Elixir of Immortality only Alchemists can brew. Most Mages also insisted that the imbiber had followed rigorously one of the other three philosophies of immortality: Qi (“Pneumas”) – Breath control and meditation. F àn (“Diet”) – Ingestion of herbal compounds and abstention from the S ān Shī Fàn (“Three-Corpses food” - Meats, raw fish, pork, dog, leeks, and scallions and Grains) or Fángzh ōng Zhī Shù (“Arts of the Bedchamber”) –
Sexual Yoga. The strict paths of any of those three (often more than one) paths prepares the body for immortality and allows the Eli xir to work its magic, the Xi ānrén -to-be becomes a transcendent. But that is far from the end of the Journey. The Xiānrén must keep up with even stricter enactments of dedication until the moment of their first death. They m ust balance the two states of Yin and Yang, death and life and many believe that only those who have cultivated a great deal of Yin Energy can become an Immortal. Thus it is common for the Xiānrén to mollify their flesh and bring about their own demise by slow starvation and other difficult means. A large majority of the Dynasty can be recognised due to such rigours and their Wraiths bear the marks of awful deaths upon them in the Shadowlands. In later years many came to believe (quite incorrectly) that they must die alone and unseen for the transformation to work and for this reason most Xiānrén seal themselves up in small caves, readymade graves or Kurgans for the final part of the suicide. AT DEATH The Asian Underworld, the Dark Kingdom of Jade, is an unpleasant place for all inhabitants, and travelling through it is a dangerous prospect. After passing through the shroud between life and death, the Xiānrén must find a safe haven in a realm utterly under the yoke of a tyrant. That safe haven often has to be along the lines of any port in a storm, but the ideal location is the islands of Horai. However reaching that mysterious location requires a great deal of effort and many Xiānrén take several years, even several Death cycles, to find their way there. The Immortals have kept their Shadow realm secret in such a hostile Kingdom by restricting access even to its own kind. A Xiānrén must have a sponsor to be shown the way to Horai or else prove himself over time to the others of the Dynasty before they will allow him to approach. It is not unusual for an Immortal to be destroyed utterly or lost to the prisons and hells of Yomi because they lack the wherewithal to enter sanctuary. For most, upon their first death, the Xiānrén must survive by his or her own wits, making alliances and deals with renegades and heretics, or by buying off corrupt officials to remain under the radar. A Xiānrén in his death cycle may make allies, may make contact with rebels and heretics, but for all the good they can do him he has doomed them. For that reason, all but the most desperate of either group avoid one another. By default the Xiānrén have few allies in the yellow Springs itself, such rebels against the Emperor are quickly singled out and destroyed if identified. Simply becoming one of the Xiānrén is an immediate soulforging sentence for your ancestors and descendents in the Dark Kingdom of Jade. The Emperor brooks no seeds of rebellion and his hatred of the Xiānrén is never ending! This is simply
another chain of guilt for the Xiānrén to deal with when they become aware of it. Usually they do so when it is too late and they are already immortal. ORGANISATION The Xiānrén are individuals and they follow no concrete structure. But they do acknowledge that some of their number have achieved greater enlightenment and have been recognised by the Greater beings. These Immortals are the heroes and honoured ones whom the Xiānrén aspire to emulate and even obey if truly required to do so. The Xiānrén nearly always agree that these enlightened ones are called the Tiānxiān (Celestial Immortals) and that they number eight individuals, each a facet of the Bagua (Eight Trigrams) which are further represented by eight coins with two faces (yin and yang). Led by an ancient warrior Queen they are probably the most famous immortals and in Xiānrén society they represent a sacred mountain and appear in art and literature across China. These immortals are believed to have the power to travel back and forth between the earthly and celestial realms at will and almost nothing can damage them enough to kill their bodies before they can retreat to the heavens to heal. Their serene wisdom is as close to faultless as it is possible to be and on the rare occasions that a Tiānxiān deems it necessary to pass a law or make a request, it is followed to the letter by the rest of the Dynasty. Stories, legends, art and even texts supposedly written by the Tiānxiān themselves are passed between the Immortals and from these the Dynasty draws its practices, laws, direction and methods. The Earthly organisation of the Xiānrén is basically the attempt to emulate those who have proven themselves worthy of the highest accolade. Where other Dynasties look to mythical founders or the mystery cults devoted to them, the Xiānrén observe the lessons and texts set out for them by the Tiānxiān. Thus it could be argued that the 8 Tiānxiān are the equals of Horus, Orpheus, Enoch or Hunahpu and Xbalanque. How one becomes a Tiānxiān is hotly debated but at the very least one must maintain ten dots in their path of enlightenment for several lifetimes and continue a selfless existence teaching the wisdom of Daoism (or whichever morality ones path and faith requires). Once enough merit is accumulated, they are called to heaven by a celestial decree where they become the legendary Tiānxiān. In the underworld everything is very different, survival and the rigours of the Jade Emperors dictatorship leave little room for the gentle society of the Earthly realm. Small and secretive cells operate across the Eastern Underworld, avoiding the attention of the authorities by maintaining a cautious and subdued society. Working together in small numbers is the recognised means of weathering the time in the Underworld, and even the chain of command has been tailored to work in the same way. The voice and the vigilance of many among the Tiānxiān never makes it into the Dark Umbra and the quest for Enlightenment is often put to one side in the face of endless danger and persecution. MAGIC As with everything about the Xiānrén, Magic consists of two techniques, Neidan (internal alchemy) and Waidan (external alchemy). One could easily call Neidan
magic passive and Waiden magic active and draw obvious parallels between the theory of yin and yang. Neidan techniques included taixi ("embryo respiration") breath control, meditation, rotes and spoken spells, visualization, sexual training, and Tao Yin, Qigong, Energy manipulation, Tai Chi, Yogic exercises and Shamanic vision quests. On the other hand, waidan techniques for immortality included alchemical recipes, magic plants, sexual yoga, energy absorbsion, rare minerals, herbal medicines, drugs, and dietetic techniques like Inedia (existing without food or water) as well as magical talismans and sigils. THE HOUSES Prior to the centralization of Immortal society at the hands of the Cabiri, the Xiānrén had three schools of study rather than the traditional Het Eanead. These three schools are formed from the three traditional paths to immortality most Xiānrén followed when mortal. Though the Xiānrén may well change her focus over the years her first incarnation (or three) is usually an extension of the route and philosophy followed in her mortal years. The concept of groups dedicated to the Virtues was almost unknown among ancient Xiānrén, and even today they have a limited number of followers from the Asian dynasty. The Houses concerned with the paths of Necromancy and Nomenclature, along with the Virtue of Memory are considered to follow the School of Qi (pneuma). Those concerned with the paths of Alchemy and Amulets, and with the Virtue of Integrity are considered to be of the School of Fan and the Houses involved with the paths of Celestial and Ushabti, and with the Virtue of Joy are all included among the broad umbrella of the School of Fángzhōng Zhī Shù.
These three schools exist now as three directions within the dynasty and each school has developed its own path. The slow metamorphosis towards the western tradition of nine houses has begun, but for now each house is considered to be a division of the larger school. FACTIONS The Xiānrén are by far the most diverse and the most widespread (geographically) Dynasty. In truth it could be just Western bias that lumps themes together as a single Dynasty when some of the factions could well be true and distinct entities of their own. The Xiānrén themselves have no complaints at the title or even the fact that it includes such a diverse and culturally unpopular mix of nations, tribes and peoples. The Guǐxiān (Ghost Immortals) The Guǐxiān are the Xiānrén in their death cycle, at least those in the Yin realm. They are harried and persecuted in the dark Kingdom of Jade and have learned the benefits of co-operation and stealth. If the Xiānrén are often hermits in life, seeking the path to everlasting life, their first time in the underworld almost always teaches them that there is safety in numbers. Many alliances and even animosities that are raging in the living world are forgotten while dead, making the Guǐxiān the largest faction as well as perhaps the most peaceful and accommodating. Many philosophies that because of the need to work together in the underworld, even the most nationalistic Xiānrén soon comes to an accord with his racial enemies. The Guǐxiān look to the secretive network of Erlik Khan, who govern hidden Shadow Realms deep in the tempest, for help and guidance.
The Shénxiān (Spirit Immortals) The Shénxiān are the small sect of Umbral explorers among the Xiānrén. Rumours abound about why the Shénxiān risk the dangers of the Spirit realm, for which they are not nearly so prepared as they might wish, but the commonly accepted wisdom is that they are searching for something – perhaps the next stage in their Alchemical evolution. It is through the work of the Shénxiān and their limited ability to blur the line between the Yin and the Yang Umbra, that the Xiānrén have managed to weather the fury of the jade Emperor. The Tiānxiān (Celestial Immortals) The Tiānxiān, if they exist at all, are the top ring of the Xiānrén dynasty. They are believed to have access to the gods or sages of the various Faiths. The Xiānrén believe that the Tiānxiān are summoned to heaven and given minor offices at first, promoted as they prove themselves and finally become administrators of the celestial realm. These immortals have the power to travel back and forth between the earthly and celestial realms at will, or so the story goes. What is known is that the laws and traditions of the Xiānrén are said to be handed down to them by the Tiānxiān, and even that those who turn to the service of Oblivion are executed with the full sanction of the Tiānxiān. Some immortals speak of meeting incredibly wise and powerful Xiānrén who spoke as if they expected to be obeyed and who had the charisma and presence to command attention even from the Gods themselves. PATHS Many Xiānrén follow a version of the Path of Ma’at known as the path of Rta which mixes Taoist and Vedic concepts, however strongest in the eastern lands are the three paths that grew from the three schools. The Path of Qi, Path of Fan and the Path of Fángzhōng Zhī Shù enjoy roughly equal status in the minds of the Xi ānrén. WEAKNESS STEROTYPES Cabiri “STo give names and to provide serenity through identity is admirable and necessary, the war against Oblivion would be lost without the Cabiri.” Crochan geni “I know the pain of the Cauldron born, I have seen where their strength comes from, but I fail to understand their barbarian emotions.” Ishmaelites “Some say we should thank the Ishmaelites for our existence, but it was not they who brewed my elixir or taught me the ways of alchemy.” Oboli “the path we walk in life is the path the Oboli walk after death; the final destination is the same!” Shemsu-Heru “I admire their unity and their sense of purpose but I wonder how well they would fare without their companions?” Tzadikim “One’s worth can only be measured by the individual in question, the path to immortality is rarely walked by the lazy or the reckless but it is no absolute proof of enlightenment either.” Xibalba “The dedication of the Xibalba to the past is a larger barrier to overcome than the Ocean between us.”
AN: I have tried to keep with White Wolf’s curious persistent orientalism with this Dynasty, please forgive the crass over simplifications and sweeping generalisations but without them this project would not mesh with t he rest of the oWoD Middle kingdom setting. Some wise souls might also notice that the word Xiānrén is westernised as hsien and has thus already been used in oWoD in the book ‘land of 8 million Dreams’. Well lets be fair here, it’s a crap book written with total disregard for its subject matter and most people ignore its blighted existence. If you do not then perhaps assume that the reborn Xiānrén took their name from the exiled servants of heaven and that both groups use the name.
Xibalba
The Xibalba are the reborn of Mesoamerica, The blessed ancestors who act as Emissaries between the spirits and the living world. Some believe they are chosen by their gods to maintain the order of their world, as guardians of the ancient traditions and protectors of their own descendents. Others believe they are Gods themselves, trapped for a time in mortal flesh and released with each death they experience.
The Xibalba *** Shih - Bal - BA
Quote: “We are the voice of our people in the Underworld, Quetzecoatl’s warriors against the Darkness. We are the last who remember nations long gone whose wisdom was burnt by simpleminded followers of a jealous God. We are the line in the dirt and you shall not cross!” DESCRIPTION The reborn of Mesoamerica, the Xibalba, can normally look back into their lives and pinpoint the certain moments that changed them. For a few, that moment is defined as the exact instant they willingly died for their gods. For others, there are memories of struggling back from the realms of the dead and crawling back into their bodies. As with all things connected to the lands of the Dead in South America, the reborn Xibalba are caught in a cycle of ebb and flow governed by two balanced forces known as Quetzecoatl and Tezcatlipoca. life and death, eidolon and shadow, creation and oblivion. They are the avatars of the balance, of l ife and death, growth and destruction, fertility and sterility, expanse and retreat. At least that was the way before the conquest of the Spaniards in Southern America. The arrival of the Conquistadors was the catalyst for change and the once balanced forces are now broken and out of sync, with Quetzecoatl disgraced and unable to regain his position in the lands of the dead. Tezcatlipoca manipulated events in the skinlands to prevent
Quetzecoatl’s return to power and in the process doomed himself. The Malfean (for that is what he now is) is a dedicated servant to, indeed a force for, oblivion. The name Xibalba is Mayan, as are several but not all of the common terms used by the Undying of the continent however they come from diverse cultures and tribal groups across the Americas the Olmec, Toltec, Maya, Wari (hauri), Inca, Aztec and even a few of the tribes associated with modern day North America. In Maya mythology Xibalba is the name of a region in the underworld, the Flayed lands, ruled by the Mayan deities of death. There aren’t many of the Xibalba in existence, but their power is great, and they have influence over the people and the land that the vampires can only dream of possessing. Some beli eve they are chosen by their gods to maintain the order of their world, as guardians of the ancient traditions and protectors of their own descendents. Others believe they are Gods, trapped for a time in mortal flesh and released wi th each death they experience. None of them can p rovide any evidence for their claims beyond their own existence. Those given the Ritual of rebirth in the America’s were usually important people, worthy sacrifices such as the children of nobles or decorated warriors. Often those chosen already displayed a certain degree of spirituality or strange nature which led the Mages of their society to believe they were favoured by the Spirits and the ancestors. Most people who were mummified in mundane ways were chosen for such traits. South America is littered with mummified ancestors who were revered and cleaned and fed by the living. These ancestors were the conduit to the spirit world who entreated the spirits to ensure fertility (of women, fields and lama), and that was doubly true for the reborn. The most important aspect of the Xibalba Spell of Life is conducted not on earth by Mages and priests, but in the Flayed Lands themselves. Powered by the Faith of the individual or perhaps by the prayers and bereavement of those he leaves behind, the Lords of Xibalba conduct the final ceremonies that transforms the dead into one of the undying. To the Xibalba, Immortality is a test! The Underworld after which they are named is absolutely lousy with tests, trials and traps for anyone wh o came into the city. Even the Road to Xibalba was filled with obstacles: first a river filled with scorpions, a river filled with blood, and then a river filled with pus. Beyond these was a crossroads where travellers had to choose from between four roads that spoke in an attempt to confuse and b eguile. Upon passing these obstacles one would come upon the council of Judges, ind ividuals who appear to be more interested in wits and prowess than morality or perfection. Half the Judges were really elaborate dummies and the benches the confused would then be i nvited to sit upon were actually a hot cooking surface. The Lords of Xibalba would entertain themselves by humiliating people in this fashion before sending them into one of Xibalba's more tests in the six deadly houses filled with more trials. The first was Dark House, a house that was completely dark inside. The second was Rattling House or Cold House, full of bone-chilling cold and rattling hail. The third was Jaguar House, filled with hungry jaguars. The fourth was Bat House, filled with dangerous shrieking bats, and the fifth was Razor House, filled with blades and razors that moved about of their own accord. In the next house there is a sixth test, Hot House which is filled with fires and heat. The purpose of these tests was to either kill or humiliate people placed into them if they could not outwit the test. As if all of this wasn’t enough, the Xibalba continue to put themselves to the test even when it is not demanded of them. Sport was important among ancient Mesoamerican cultures, and the Xibalba share that pastime. Whether it be ball games or Russian roulette, there is something in the Xibalba that drives them to constantly seek out competition and risk and ways to test and measure their own abilities and worth. This practice leads to a Dynasty of ferociously competitive
yet incredibly capable individuals. Like the Crochan Geni, the Xibalba are governed by the primordial waters. Their underworld domain is a water-logged place and the spell of life itself is highly dependent upon marine oils from across the south American continent. Like the Cauldron born they are ruled by their emotions and have often been categorised as unstable – fun at parties but never the first choice as diplomats or peacemakers. Both Dynasties are made up of a large percentage of warriors, and most of the remaining members are spiritually aware. They like to argue, to seek social justice and to fight for their people, their friends and their rights. Fighting for what is right is a part of the Xibalba nature and i t’s not as though they have far to look to find a worthy cause. Beside the global war against Oblivion, in which the Xibalba are often on the front line, there is also the battle for their homeland. The Western world has raped and pillaged Central and south America for over half a century. Now that Stygia has fallen, the Xibalba and the Wraiths of the flayed lands are becoming bolder. They have even dared to hope that Tezcatlipoca can be overthrown and Quetzecoatl returned to the throne of the underworld. Some even dare to hope that the government of their homelands could be turned over to pure-blooded native rule. In that Dream they often find common ground with fellow supernatural’s such as the changing breeds and the Mages. The Popol Vuh, written at a time contempory with the arrival of the Spanish, tells the story of the western Wraiths invasion of the flayed lands (as does the Wraith: the Oblivion players guide) along with some ancient memories of these first i mmortals. The Heretical wraiths are portrayed in the story by Vucub Caquix and his family: and Hun Came, Zipacna & Cabracan who are killed by the Hero twins Hunahpu & Xbalanque. The later Stygian Hierarchy (who had more of a hand in overthrowing the heretics) become confused with the original dread Lords of Xibalba, led by one death and seven death. Though the Xibalba have not defeated the Western usurpers yet, the tales of the Popol Vuh claims otherwise and stands as a possible future or a source of inspiration. THE LIVING MYSTERIES The reborn of the flayed lands don’t have to look to semi-mythological founders of the Xibalba or euphemistic tales to illustrate their eternal nature because their Mysteries all talk about a pair of founders who are very active and present within the Dynasty. These two, the Hero twins Hunahpu and Xbalanque (also called Tepeu and Gucumatz) are characters at the centre of the mythologies as well as the present day leaders of the Xibalba. Their grandmother was a Witch and most likely the one who conducted the Ritual of rebirth upon them both when their father and uncle were murdered by powerful Wraiths. They died to fulfill the promise they had made to avenge the murder of their father, One Hunahpu and their uncle Seven Hunahpu. They defeated the perils of the underworld and finally came to Xibalba itself, where they defeated the tainted Wraiths who ruled there by intelligence and trickery as well as by their astounding commands of magic. With the Spectres defeated Tezcatlipoca, the champion of Oblivion, was deposed and his opposite number Quetzecoatl returned to rule the underworld. They retrieved the buried remains of their father and attempted to resurrect him but he was not able to return to life and the twins were forced to leave him in the lands of the dead. Their attempt to cast the spell of life failed because the body of that Wraith had been too l ong in the ground with no burial rites to preserve it. The pair themselves knew that their bodies had been properly prepared and housed in a cold dry tomb, and so they resurrected themselves with ease. They departed Xibalba and cli mbed back up to the surface of the Earth to live again as the first Mesoamerican Reborn. In time, the Spell they performed in the caverns of Xibalba would allow others to become immortal and more undying Indians crawled their way back to the mundane realm. They took the name of their sacred city, the watery underworld of Xibalba where the spell of return is recorded in a series of puzzles and pictograms for all to see, if they have the will.
Hunahpu and Xbalanque are the spiritual leaders of the Xibalba, the heart of the reborn and truly deserving of the title ‘the hero twins’. They are seen as a balanced pair, representing the duality at the heart of pre-Columbian Philosophy. The myths have grown to overshadow the facts now and it is hard to know exactly what is true of the pair and what is nonsense applied to them by their followers or the later works of the Quiche Indians. It has been noted however that in the upper world, Hunahpu takes the dominant role, whereas i n the underworld it is Xbalanque who leads. Hunahpu & Xbalanque stand out for the Xibalba as the first immortals of the Americas, holding a position much like that of Horus, they set the tone for much of Xibalba existence.
AT DEATH At death, the Mesoamerican reborn must find their way to Xibalba, the water-filled underworld from where these Immortals take their name. They walk the tracks of the two-headed serpent, symbol of the Milky way and the rest of the celestial world, emblematic of l ife and death until they come to the water filled caves of Xibalba. To do so in the years since the conquest of the New World, they must evade or battle the stygian hierarchy and its agents. But when the flayed lands were ruled by the native dead, the journey was no less perilous. The caves are not welcoming and Xibalba was regarded as a place of fright even back then. What happened next depended on who held power in the Flayed lands at the time. If it was a time when Quetzecoatl was strong, the journey was less problematic because he would have guides and friendly Wraiths posted at difficult junctures, to encourage and aid the Wraiths onwards. But when Tezcatlipoca held sway, these Guides were far rarer and sometimes even gave false clues. Now Tezcatlipoca has seized full control of the Dark kingdom of Obsidian, things are worse than ever. Here no Ferryman or Funeral God meets prospective immortals or newly dead Wraiths, only monsters and spectres, Reapers looking to enslave them as ju st another enfant. From here on in it’s a fight for the Wraith of the Xibalba-to-be to get to hi s destination. Luckily for him, or her, she has some help in the journey. She can feel a pull towards her destination, a warming and inspiring glow in their soul. Many reborn believe this guiding sensation is the final gift of Quetzecoatl, or perhaps another figure such as Ix Chel. Even if they have no other knowledge about what has become of them or what lies ahead, this urge is too strong to ignore and it draws (almost) all Xibalba to the Deepest cave of all, where the City of the New Sun resides in secret. Here a massive Cave larger than anything that could possibly exist in the mundane realm, h ouses the new capitol of the dark K ingdom of Obsidian, the flayed lands. To make it to Xibalba and to achieve immortality the Wraith must be both worthy in the eyes of the other denizens of the underworld and they must have taken some steps (accidental or deliberate) to preserve their mortal bodies after they first visit death. Some are bu ried in tombs or starve to death in caves, while others are carefully wrapped in cotton and placed in the ground, preserved by the cold and the lack of water in the deserts. This requirement is symbolic rather than practical, and the method of preservation need not be pe rfect or foolproof, it simply needs to slow down the natural decay of the dead body until the Wraith can transform itself and the flesh it left behind into true Immortals. Being found worthy is somewhat less easy to clarify however. There are plenty of tests simply to
reach cyclopean Xibalba. The passage through the houses, the defeat of the guardians and monsters are all character building, but it requires something more than just beating the odds. Those who can fight there way in but who lack the extra something are merely rewarded with citizenship in the caves of Xibalba. They are safe from the Tempest, the forces of Oblivion and the Stygian dead, they can use the byways that lead only from Xibalba to come and go with ease, but they will never again return to their bodies and live again. Willingly dying for your Gods always goes a long way towards impressing the dead of the flayed lands, as does taking a stand against the invaders. However being worshipped and enfolded in the faith of others is also a feather in ones cap as far as this strange popularity contest goes. Others truly believed they were Gods or demi-Gods and their audacity and personal faith is what impresses the dead of Xibalba. Whatever it takes, the Wraith never really knows if the crowd are for or against her until the Spell fails or succeeds. ORGANISATION The Xibalba have few meetings, save for planned occasions where a few acquaintances d iscuss the state of the world and exchange notes on how their lives have changed. They only have a few established rules for co-existence: they work together to keep others of the reborn out of their domain, and they leave each other alone in most things. Beyond these simple guidelines, they have little to discuss. Each is too busy working on forging his or her own destiny. Some have used their numerous rebirths in an attempt to reach spiritual and physical perfection. They seek to better their environment by means of their o wn experience, and work to guide humanity to the next step in the destiny they believe the gods have designed. Others choose instead to reshape the world in their own images, accepting that this is the reason they have been granted immortality. In some cases the images they would see reflected by the world at large are distorted and dangerous. MAGIC At the heart of Xibalba magical practice are the two paths of Celestial and Necromancy. This pairing is the favoured specialities among many of the Dynasty as well as influencing their adherence to the paths of Enlightenment and the most dominant houses in their society. It is worth noting that to the Milky way is an ever present metaphor for their existence. They believe the dark rift which is visible in the Milky Way is the road to the underworld and a symbol of the connection between the celestial vista and the lands of the dead. Many of their structures and secret writings include the double-headed serpent symbol that reflects the Milky way, a symbol they use for the paths of celestial and necromantic magic. THE HOUSES The Houses of the Xibalba are often referred to by the names of local Gods. The House that oversees the path of Amulets is named for Toci, Nomenclature is the focus for the house of Coxcox, Celestial magic by the house of Camaxtli, Necromancy by the house of Xiuhtecuhtli, Alchemy by the house of Ixtlilton, Ushabti by the house of Tepeu, Integrity by the house of Teoyaomqui, Joy by the house of Xochiquetzal and memory by the house Alaghom Naom. FACTIONS Bolontiku Among the more successful groups among the Xibalba, this esoteric secret society consists mostly of Shaman and hippies who preserve and promote Xibalba affairs in return for the secrets of the Aztec (or the Inca, the Toltec, the Maya, the Olmec …).
Nandyón Yuka-krinã These Xibalba are named after Ghosts who are said to rise from fresh bones right after all the flesh was consumed. They are the modern face of the Dynasty, those created since the Spanish Conquest. Their focus is often less devoted to the recovering of past glories. Nimhiâmíe Named after Ghosts formed from old bones, these are the ancient Xibalba created before the Spanish conquest. Often at odds with the younger Immortals they hunger for revenge against the usurpers of their homelands and a redressing of the balance in the underworld. PATHS OF ENLIGHTENMENT Tezcatlipoca, Oblivion, Spectres and Wraiths lost to their shadows rule the Flayed lands. The burden of righting this balance now lies in the hands of each individual wraith, and with their Immortal allies. What was once a cosmic struggle through which all of creation was slowl y changed for the better has now become a personal battle, fought in each Wraiths soul. Such a situation has rapidly forced the Xibalba to diversify their devotion to different Paths and practically every path is followed by one or more member of the Dynasty. WEAKNESS STEROTYPES Cabiri “They are not warriors at heart, but then wisdom rarely comes from a broken body.” Crochan geni "They can be sullen, but there are few I’d rather have at my side in war.” Ishmaelites “If there are any Immortals who understand the need to be self reliant it is those Horus cast away.” Oboli “Immortality should be something given by the Gods, or at least the lords of the underworld.” Shemsu-Heru “Such devotion to a warrior king is inspiring but they need to learn some humility I think.” Tzadikim “The Church would have destroyed our culture if it wasn’t for the Xibalba, the Tzadikim should have done more to stop the evil’s of the Christian zealots.” “They have proven their unwavering courage and their self sacrifice. Xiānrén That is enough for me!”
The Eanead: the nine Houses of the Reborn The Het eanead The Ennead (a Greek word meaning "the nine") consists of a grouping of nine Deities, most often appearing in the context of Egyptian Mythology. As a three of threes, the number nine became associated with great carnal power, and ancient peoples considered groupings of nine Gods very important. Het means house, though less like a dynasty or family and more along the lines of an actual place. The house each group of Undying met in might be the private residence of a noble immortal or the temple of the priests of Isis. In time, as the cliques of reborn began to focus on specific aspects of immortal life, larger societies formed around each of the paths of Hekau. During his time as a living being any single Immortal might be said to be visiting the house of
necromancers or the house of the Alchesmist, or more likely some euphemism of those titles based on a deity or figurehead. As the society of the Undying took shape, certain Gods grew in favour and were eventually accepted as the patron deities of each group. The Het were named after the corresponding Gods and although different Gods rose and fell in favour, by the time the Cabiri took steps to cement the structure of the Houses (and apply the bGreek versions of the gods names to each one) they were named in a way that is still current to this day. The house frequented by the masters of Amulets being called the Het Ptah, Nomenclature was the focus of the Het Tehuti, Celestial magics of the Het Nereru, Necromancy and Arcanoi of the Het Ap-uat, Alchemy of the Het Khepri and Ushabti of the Het Khnemu. Thus the social distinctions of the Shemsu-Heru were born. In their exile, the Ishmaelites (and later the Cabiri) had also begun to define the ideas of Immortal virtue, based upon the teaching Isis passed on to her own cult. These teachings said that without Joy, integrity and the memory of themselves, all immortals would fall to Oblivion as the millions of years came to pass. And so the Immortals began to study each of the three Virtues with the same degree of dedication as they did the paths of Hekau. Before too long there were n ine Het, one for each of the six paths of Hekau in the mortal realm and three for the three virtues of eternal life. The final three het were named for Greek gods rather than Egyptian ones (although the ShemsuHeru have their own versions of these names) and the House dedicated to joy became known as the Het Iakkhos, the one dedicated to Integrity became known as the Het Aletheia and the house dedicated to preservation of memory became known as the Het Mnemosyne. Elsewhere in the world the other Immortals tended to form cliques and mutual holdings based on the paths of their own magic, each h ad its own version of the Het to some degree or another. The Ishmaelites took this tradition with them to the Caibiri, who formed smaller cells of each house among their own numbers. The Cabiri, as with o ther aspects, quantified the traditions and practices and infused the varied traditions into the houses as they are now; strong groups with a determined focus and practice. In the modern age house affiliations are often strong enough to bridge the gap between faithful friends of Horus and those who haunt the borders. However, the degree to which a Shemsu-Heru is willing to befriend a turncoat or a Cabiri depends entirely on the individuals involved. In the past, simply giving an Ishmaelite the time of day was enough to be cast out into the same darkness socially. Today the judgement of the Wat Hor is nowhere near as harsh. The Houses are more than just repositories of knowledge and coll ections of scholars, they are the glue that holds immortal society together where the Dynasties might otherwise fracture and cling to their insular customs. Because the Cabiri were the ones who cemented much of the Houses habits and practices, the Het use the Greek versions of the names of the Egyptian gods. The other Dynasties sometimes use names of their own Gods with one another, but the focus of each Het is pretty much the same and they are otherwise unhindered by the racial bias. They are tied to one of the paths of Hekau or one of the Virtues of existence, and fill similar roles among there own peoples. Mastery or affinity with a Virtue or Path leads to certain traits, certain ways in which immortality manifests. A South American member of the reborn may be a member of the Het Iakkhos, its Tzadikim counterpart the Het Qedesha even if they have never heard of those God’s or have openly recognised their focus and dedication to the virtue of Joy. A character need not have any minimum or maximum score in the trait associated with his current Het, it simply described his current focus and some philosophical leanings. He may h ave only just drifted into the Het in order to raise his understanding of that Het’s area of expertise and it is not unusual to see character listed as a member of a het with no actual dots in that path or with that virtue being his lowest Virtue.
However a member of a Het is almost certainly going to focus mainly upon the Path or Virtue of that Het and any experience point spending should reflect this. Those in the Het Ptah are not restricted to spending experience points on just the path of Amulets, after all some of the Spells from other paths may well compliment the current focus. But it is unlikely that a member of the Het Ptah will increase his repertoire in other paths above his pursuit of the path of Amulets itself. Characters do not have to be a member of any Het, there are those who attempt to forge their path alone. Such a challenge is incredibly difficult and alienating however and few chose to do so for more than a handful of lifetimes. In fact many of those corrupted by oblivion, the rumours go, fell from Ma’at because they lacked the social network of a het to guide them. Membership in a Het does however give a benefit to characters in that they can buy Dots in that trait for a reduced cost. The Het Eanead are: Het Focus Description Het Ptah Amulets The body of the reborn. Concerned with the physical world Health and the body, the living cycle. The Healers and seekers of perfection. Het Tehuti Nomeclature The mind of the reborn. power and wisdom, the leaders of the reborn, law makers and society builders Het Neteru Celestial The vision of the reborn. Seers, prophets, advisers and viziers Het Ap-uat Necromancy The Soul of the reborn. Spiritualists, masters of the death cycle and the spirits of the dead. Het Khepri Alchemy The heart of the reborn. Driving force, those who study the art and the very nature of immortality. Those who are marked by change. Het Khnemu Ushabti The hands of the reborn. The guardians and workers. The crafters, builders, designers and the mechanics. Het Qedesha Joy The joy of the reborn. joy, celebrants Het ???? Memory The memory of the reborn. lore keepers Het Hor Integrity The morals of the reborn HIGH HEKAU Het Khepri The Het Khepri, acknowledged as the heart of the reborn, are the Alchemists of the Undying. They are the driving force of the Dynasties, those who study the art and the very nature of immortality and transformation. The Het Khepri are the Immortals marked by change. In the modern world it can be said that the Het Khepri are the scientists of the undying, having followed their field from alchemy to chemistry and beyond. Understandings of the sciences, o f medicine and of simple cooking are all disciplines at the heart of the Alchemists craft and there is no member of the Het Khepri without an in terest in at least one of those fields. Alchemy is the path of transformation, physically, mentally and spiritually. Its masters fully believe in the statement "As above, so below." This phrase expresses the core concept in alchemy, in hermeticism and in western magic as a whole and no other philosophy so clearly demonstrates the legacy of the Egyptian magicians. The Het K hepri look to Thoth and all the masks he wore (Hermes Trismegistus, Simon Magus, Hermes) as the authority a nd patron of spiritual transformative magic, and the House is patient and teaches the i mportance of observance. The Alchemists seek to learn every truth about their condition and to master transformation of the mind, body and spirit. They are hungry for enlightenment and understanding, often willing to face all manner of hardships and tribulations to gain even a mere insight. Whether it be the sweat
lodges and self scarification of the Xibalba or the mortification and starvation techniques of the Xianren, the Alchemists are not afraid of the cost of their pursuits. Being a member of the Het Khepri involves a great deal of time studying with masters or in pouring over such great works as the E merald tablet and the secret of secrets, and when that is done they sequester themselves away in laboratories and workshops to experiment with the base matter of creation. Their rituals and ceremonies are full of mysterious references and allusions which point to the way the work of magic connects to the world and to the spirit, and learning to understand the recorded wisdom of the Het requires learning an entirely new language full of allegory and hidden meaning. Others within the Het may well aid with experiments and study, with tutoring and even with texts or equipment, and the house promotes such support among its membership. To refuse to aid another Alchemist without good reason is a certain way to loose status within the house. Het Tehuti The Het Tehuti, whose field of interest is the varied Path of nomenclature, are referred to as the mind of the reborn. They represent power and wisdom and are the de facto leaders of the Het Eanead, if not of the reborn as a whole, the lawmakers and society builders. They are often compared to the Gods themselves, if not in terms of worship at least in terms of possible ability. The path of nomenclature deals with the language of creation, the very base code of existence, and thus the greatest extent of its power remain yet un known and untapped by even the eldest master of the art. The Immortals who consider themselves to be a part of this house study the various hieroglyphs, kaja, pictograms and primitive forms of writing as well as runes, Ogham, Numerology and Gematria, the Enochian scripts as well as DNA and other tools that might allow them to access the raw tongue of the fundament. There are many immortals who strongly believe that complete mastery of N omenclature would allow them not only to far outstrip the Magic of the Mages but to rival the greatest Gods themselves. Even the smallest spells, they teach, work by al tering the world that Ra brought into existence much as a scribe might edit the words of a predecessor on a stele. Such an act requires careful attention to detail and a g rasp of the possible ramifications. But if the punishments for changing a p yramid text were grave, the possible catastrophes that might arise from incautious use of this path we re too terrible to contemplate. Altering too much of creation, changing too many names and structures of the greater whole, they fear, could lead to oblivion. The Het Tehuti have spent millennia debating and testing the bounds of their art, wondering how much damage the immortals are doing with their recoding of the blueprint that the world is built upon. Those who also have a grasp of the celestial path watch for signs of fracture around them, while others study Alchemical observations to watch for inner signs of distress. Unlike the Het Kepri, those within the Het Tehuti rarely practice sharing or supportive relationships with one another. They see the struggle to master Nomenclature Hekau are a test of the individual and their worth in the eyes of the Gods. Thus status in the house is measured by the individuals time spent on the path and his worth to others who might have seen his power. A Namer who is held in high regard in a Nobles court and who has been a member of the Het for many years might have greater status than an Immortal who has shut himself away to master his art and achieved greater success in secret. MIDDLE HEKAU
Het Ap-uat The Het-Ap-uat are the Soul of the reborn, concerned with the varied spirits and the spiritual realms and with the paths of Necromancy and Arcanoi. They are masters of the death cycle and of the spirits of the dead trapped forever beyond the shroud. Though their undeniable field of e xpertise is the Dark umbra, they also have the best grasp of the other realms of any House. They seek what information they can of the Umbrood of the Spirit Umbra and the Fey creatures of the Dream realm. Their interest in the cosmology and the spirituality of other awakened individuals has led them to make many interesting alliances wi th the other creatures of the shadows. Whether it be Spirit mages or Werewolf Shaman, vampire necromancers or Fae sorcerers, the Het Ap-uat possess perhaps the widest web of contacts and insights of all the Immortals. A small cult exists within the Het Ap-uat called the Ashipu from the Babylonion word for ‘exorcist’ or ‘conjurer’. They use the Paths and spells to summon Demons and Umbrood, even Banes and Spectres, in order that these spirits may do their bidding . The benefits of such action can be many, there are Demons capable of providing wea lth, women, brute strength or sexual gratification. But the costs are equally high, more than one Immortal has fallen to oblivion by consorting with the dark entities of the void. For some among the het Ap-uat, the remedy of disease and sickness was also a concern. Mankind has long believed that spirits and witchcraft are the cause of many illnesses and maladies and the Necromancers were often called upon to diagnose and treat sickness that conventional medicine seemed unable to combat. Babylonians and Assyrians among the Tzadikim are especially fond of the healing paths of Necromancy but all Dynasties have some degree of belief in the extra dimensional possibilities of sickness and disabilities. Whether the eventual answer is to battle a Bane in the Umbral realm or to rid a human of a possessing Wraith, the Necromancers have dealt with more than their fair share of human discomfort. The Holding of the het Ap-uat are often linked to the dead such as mortuaries or tombs, but there are also many secret groves and fairy rings in which they gather. Whether they be attending a wild bacchanalian revel or a sombre spiritual retreat, the Necromancers look for the deeper meaning behind every action, and serve to remind one another that death comes to all things and that nothing is static. For the house of Necromancers, status is a measure of o nes power and control in the underworld. It can also be raised while the Immortal is in the living realm if he displays insights or support from among Spirits of one kind or another. The ambassador to the Dream courts or to the local spirits of the earth was often an important man in the Het Ap-uat and in the wider Immortal culture of his birth. Het Nereru The Het Nereru are the house concerned with celestial Magic’s, truly the vision of the reborn. They are considered the wisest and best informed of the Immortals and few Dynasties pass decrees or make decisions without consulting the He t Nereru in their number. Celestial magic may seem to be focused upon the stars and heavenly bodies, but in truth it is just as concerned with the earth and her seasons. It also includes the cycles of vegetation and the cultivation of crops, echoes of the reborn themselves and the Gods and heroes held as important figures in mummy mythology. The stories of Odin's sacrifice, the hero twins journey to hell, the resurrection of Christ and the Wheel of reincarnation are al l repeated in the meeting halls of the Het Nereru, reminding them of the greater responsibility they hold as they advance in the
understanding of celestial Hekau. This group consists of seers, prophets, advisers, astrologers and viziers as well as farmers and astronomers. They are masters of fate and time, of the elements and the seasons of the Earthly realm itself. Though they lack the specific understanding of the l iving cycle that the Het Ptah have or the familiarity with the death cycle that sets the Het Ap-uat apart, they surpass them both in their grasp of how the two states interact with one another. Celestial astronomers understand the duality of the gods, that one such as Sutekh can be both a God of darkness and trickery and a b rave warrior protecting Re from Apophis on his nightly journey through the underworld. They know that Osiris can be the God of the afterlife, a hero and worthy King and be a blood drinking vampire who enslaved thousands to his sunless Empire. The gods' characters, malevolence or benevolence, and associations changed according to the days in the calendar or the positions of the sun, moon, the planets, and the stars. They understood that Deities had this split personality, associating them with day or night, life or death, and that it was their job to keep track of such things. Astronomers often work together or base their predictions on the findings of others and they record much of what they discover in codices or prophecies, almanacs and charts. Status in the house is a mixture of guidance given to others and accurate science. Some are known for interpreting the dreams of Pharaoh while others gain prestige by mapping the heavens for posterity. LOW HEKAU Het Khnemu “Technology and magic are exactly the same thing! Take any technological process or device and show it to a society not yet advanced enough to understand it and they will label it magic. This is as true of toasting bread as it is of reading minds.” The Het Khnemu are the hands of the reborn, the undisputed masters of artifice, construction and the Hekau path of Effigy (Ushabti), the crafters, builders, designers and the mechanics of the immortals. The moving parts of their creations echo their ever-moving minds, their quest to utilise ingenuity and apparatus in order to solve the problems of life and the mysteries of rebirth. If any Immortal is likely to speak about the human body as a complex machine, to study the chemical reactions over the effects of the soul, it is the Het-Khnemu. In their quest to solve the riddle they ponder the machinery of life, the physics and the physicality. Equally, there are many of this House who share the philosophy of the masons, painting their God or Gods as grand architects or intelligent designers of creation. Artefacts such as the Antikythera Mechanism, the Baghdad battery, Egyptian lamps and light bulbs, the Saqquara glider, the Vimana of India and the aeroplane like devices of pre-Columbian America, descriptions in the book of Ezekiel and the Book of Enoch, the Voynich manuscripts all point to a underground school of advanced mechanics in the ancient world. Enigmatic artisans such as Hero of Alexandria, Philon of Athenia, Al-Jaziri and Leonardo Da Vinci hint at the possibility of technological abilities that do not match the accepted timeline of human achievement. It is not just the Technocratic paradigm of the awakened who have had access to advanced inventions. The Het Khnemu have been behind such advancements, or hot on their trails. Studying with some of the greatest thinkers of the ages, or teaching them as part of some cult or following. The Het Khnemu are also the workers in stone, the medium of eternity. Cultures across the globe have always built memorials in stone to represent the dead who have passed from the short existing period of life to the eternal existence beyond death. It has been said that those who work
with the Path of effigy take on something of the traditional characteristics of their medium. Stable and reliable as stone, cold as metal, yielding as wood etc are often used to describe the artificers. They build monuments, tombs, temples and the like. They understand the artifice of community, how cultures work together like a complicated machine and how those cultures can come together to build things of eternal glory. The reborn have always known what archaeology has only just fully discovered, that khem was not a slave based economy and that for the most part, the great edifice where simply not the work of slaves. Part of the Het Khnemu’s field of interest are the various ways in which large groups function, whether that be work gangs, armies or the residents of a city. The path of Effigy comes into its own in the afterlife when the statues can be used to build entire empires in the shadowlands, It was the path which allowed the Immortals to build such impregnable empires in the Underworld and to defend them against the various Dark Kingdom empires that grew up around them. With armies of tireless and devoted Ushabti to serve them in the afterlife, the Shemsu-Heru were able to fortify and expand the kingdom of Amenti, using necromantic spells to mask it from the eyes of the dead. Other Dynasties learned the path and followed suite, ensuring that they had a realm within the Shadowlands to withdraw into during their death cycles. The Het Khnemu of the Tzadikim Dynasty had a great deal of influence on the Jewish Sefer Yezirah (book of creation) and from them came many of the developments in Golem and automaton creation. The Sefer Yetzirah describes the universe as being created through Ten Numbers ('Sefirot,' the origin for the Sefirot of later Kabbalah), three Mothers letters, Seven double letters and twelve elemental letters and that God created the universe through these four structures. These structures correspond to the astrological symbols in the sky, the planets, human physical functions, the parts of the human body. It talks in detail about the dragon or ‘ coiled one’ as well as many of the Secret’s passed on by Thoth and Isis by giving them a monotheistic veneer. Status among the Artificers is a simple measure of achievement and knowledge. New and interesting inventions, fascinating architecture, cunning traps or impregnable tombs all serve to raise the Immortal in the eyes of his fellows. It is not unusual for a great artificers to attract apprentices who are happy to admit their l ack of skill, and who will in the future rise in stature because they studied under a great member of the house. Het Ptah The Het Ptah, the masters of creating Amulets, are the body of the reborn. It’s membership is concerned primarily with the physical carnal world, with the living cycle, with matters of Health and the body whether that be to do with procreation and sexual union or Sports and active pastimes. The Het Ptah are healers and seekers of pe rfection who congregate in Gyms, hospitals and tombs. They are also the guardians, building defences and weapons, setting in place the security of their Dynasty and their companions. Other Houses sometimes call the focus of the Het P tah a fixation; members of this group often obsess about their own bodies, perfecting the simple cl ay from which they are made. Even those who do not instantly break out the weights and plastic surgeons phone numbers tend to be far more concerned with their existence in the world of the living and the benefits found here. The fascination with the physical form extends to the rest of the living as well and the members of the Het Ptah are often the greatest healers and physicians in the Immortal pantheon. They seek perfection in themselves and their surrounding and are more than happy to guide others towards such lofty heights. However the House itself is dedicated to the study of and creation of magical
talismans and trinkets. A side effect of Amulet creation is the pursuit of crafts and artistic abilities. Some are artists on canvas while others might work in human flesh with tattoos or body piercing. There are make up artists alongside the jewellery makers, creators of custom motorbikes along with the designers of sarcophagi and body armour. While the Het Khnemu were often concerned with the medium of the dead, the Het Ptah traditionally worked with wood or vegetable matter, or with the flesh itself and the transitory medium of life. However, no matter what they work in, all members of the Het Ptah are capable of producing fine works, whether they be imbued with magical powers or not. The Het Ptah are less communal in their endeavours than the het Khnemu and few take on apprentices or students. While they often come together to work in similar mediums, they reserve the creation of magical items for their private workshops. Status is a simple matter of what they have designed and created and as objects and styles go in and out of fashion, so the status of the Het Ptah waxes and wanes through the years. THE VIRTUES Het Aletheia The Het Aletheia are the morals of the reborn, concerned with upholding Integrity. They take their name from Aletheia (or Alathea) who was the daimona of truth, truthfulness and sin cerity. Her opposites were Dolos (Trickery), Apate (Deception) and the Pseudologoi (Lies). Very few of the Shemsu-Heru are members of this House (which they refer to as the Het-Hor) because they see the Wat-Hor as the ultimate guide to integrity and refuse to recognise a wider degree of responsibility and morality. In fact those few Shemsu-Heru who do haunt the edges of the group usually do so in an attempt to co-opt the house into becoming a tool to spread the tenets of the Wat-Hor through Immortal society. To an Immortal, integrity is something that they must all struggle to maintain, but giving oneself to the Het Aletheia means that the Reborn must help others with their own moral struggles. They must also take it upon themselves to hunt down and destroy those who fail to retain their integrity. Status is gained by living an exemplary existence or by helping others to walk the right path. Those who are recognised as the living examples of their path or philosophy are considered the greatest treasures of the Het, a repository of saints or wise advisors. Het Iakkhos The Het Iakkhos (often referred to by the name Het-Qedesha) are concerned with the virtue of Joy. They are the celebrants of the reborn, devotees of the Mysteries and often the House which stands as common ground between the differing spiritualities of Immortal society. Debating the similarities and differences between Odin and the Babd, or between Osiris and Orpheus. Iakkhos (or Iacchus) was a Demi-God or daimon attendant of the goddess Demeter and the leader-in-chief of the Eleusinian Mysteries. He personified the ritual cry of joy iakhe of the procession of the initiates and is seen as the avatar of the mysteries themselves. It is the self appointed task of the Het Iakkhos to help fellow immortals battle the ever present Ennui and depression that results from eternal life and the constant struggle against Oblivion. They organise festivals and ceremonies, or just road trips, for their associates, reminding even
the most focused warrior that life isn’t all about the grind. Some are courtesans and sacred prostitutes, others simply poets and bards, or entertainers in other ways. Those who cannot dance and sing become ever living party people, immortal Hugh Hefner’s providing a safe haven and crash pad for the local reborn. While those born since the Victorians coloured so many aspects of joy in a grey miasma might view the Het Iakkhos as wanton or decadent, even sinful, almost none of the reborn is young enough to be effected by such odd morality. For the vast majority of human existence, sex and revelry, idyllic pursuits and the joy of existence have been something to be celebrated and experienced without shame or secrecy. Status isn’t a particularly difficult thing to gain in the house of Joy, it is often a difficult thing to hang onto. One bad party, one bad wrap of coke or a ritual that seemed to not please the Gods and all the status earned until that point can be lost. Het- Mnemosyne The Het-Mnemosyne are literally the memory of the reborn. Serving as lore keepers and working to maintain the identity of each Immortal they interact with. The Virtue of Memory is about more than just recalling the past, or so the Het-Mnemosyne say, it is also about retaining who one is. It is about retaining the individual, the divine spark in each life, the Psyche - “the quickest way to Oblivion is to lose your sense of self” they teach. Holdings the house of memory sponsor and frequent are often full of physical history, whether it be the collected journals and trophies of Immortals or locations of great events. The House is well heeled, having recovered many lost treasures from tomb paintings to burial goods, and they keep careful track of important items in private or public collections as well. Some take positions in museums or on security forces so that they can get a ccess to the physical items which might aid the reborn in their attempst to retain or recover their memories. This Het Mnemosyne is rumoured to have some cl ose ties with the Wraithly guild of the Mnemoi in the Underworld, and detractors can point to several times when they appear to have aided the heretical Ghosts as proof of that Rumour. The House itself neither denies or admits to such a link, but if it is true it is certain that only the longest serving luminaries of the Het are aware of i t. Status in the Het Mnemosyne is gained and maintained by the gathering of knowledge and the aiding of others to retain their memories and their identities. Whether they can hold court on the Veil of Isis in the dark ages or lead an amnesiac back to wisdom through hypnosis, the status is something others can see displayed quite easily. Chapter 3: Systems Character creation This system assumes that Character creation generates both a WoD: Mummy Character as per the rules in Mummy 2nd edition and a Wraith Character as per the rules in Wraith: the Oblivion. However Reborn character who die for the first time should be aloud to create a Wraith: the Oblivion Character following the same guidelines. For the Characters time in his living cycle he uses the Mummy sheet (and rules) and thus has The following traits: The following traits are identical on Both sheets: Names, Player, Chronicle, Nature, Demeanour, Concept, Year of birth. Attributes (Strength, Dexterity, Stamina, Charisma, manipulation, Appearance, Perception, Intelligence, Wits)
Abilities Sekhem (Pathos) Hekau Paths (Alchemy, Amulets, Celestial, Necromancy, Ren-Hekau/Nomenclature, Ushabti/Effigy) Willpower Virtues Humanity / Path Ba Ka During their time in their Death cycle the Character can use the original sheet or create a new Wraith sheet which adds certain traits and alters others (see below). 1) Character Concept The Mummy character sheet has room for three names. Current Name – Also called the use name or alias, this is the name by which the mummy is currently known. Immortals routinely adopt a use-name common in their present time and place, in order to avoid attracting attention to themselves. Known Name – This is the name by which the character was known in his first life, and often the name by which he will be known by other Immortals. Trone Name – The true name, or Ren, is an integral part of the characters being, the blueprint for his very being. Anything that happens to a true name will affect the bearer of the name; this is the basis of Ren Hekau (nomenclature) magic, and a powerful incentive to keep the entirety of one’s true name a secret. However part of the Ren w ith titles and deed names, often called the throne name, which is used to address and exalt a character is often recorded in tombs and on sarcophagi. A characters year of birth and apparent age should also be recorded at this time. Year of Birth – This age usually depends upon the Dynasty and the period du ring which it was actively creating Immortals, however with Storyteller discretion a player might be able to stretch the facts to allow Immortals created outside of the accepted historical span. Apparent Age – This is how old the character seems to be – typically the characters age at the time of the first death. Becoming Immortal puts an end to physical aging forever. Choose Nature and Demeanour - from any of the standard oWoD books including pages 55-56 of WoD: Mummy 2nd edition, or the Sodium Noir page Choose Dynasty- (Record it in the Occupation field of the Character sheet) Cabiri: Immortals of the Classical world - those who stole Immortality Crochan Geni: the European Immortals – Those who were sacrificed Ishmaelites: Egyptian Immortals - Those who turned away Oboli: those who bought Immortality Shemsu-Heru: Egyptian Immortals - The Friends of Horus Tzadikim: Middle eastern Immortals Xianren: Asian Immortals – The masters of Alchemy Xibalba: American Immortals – Speakers with the spirit world Choose House No man is an island, no Immortal either, and while the houses (Het) are not required, few Immortals go very long without gravitating to one or a nother of the social groups. The Houses are concerned mostly with one of the six magical paths or with one of the Immortal virtues.
Het Khepri – Masters of Alchemy - the heart of the reborn Het Ptah – Masters of Amulets - the body of the reborn Het Ap-uat – Masters of Necromancy - the Soul of the reborn Het Nereru – Masters of Celestial - the vision of the reborn Het Khnemu – Masters of Ushabti - the hands of the reborn Het Tehuti – Masters of Nomenclature - the mind of the reborn Het Aletheia – servants of Integrity - the morals of the reborn Het Iakkhos – Servants of Joy - the laughter of the reborn Het Mnemosyne – Servants of Memory - the memory of the reborn The House chosen at Character generation grants an automatic dot in the associated Hekau or two dots in the associated Virtue. This bonus is only granted once, not each time an Immortal character joins a new Het. 2) Traits - from any of the standard oWoD books, or the Sodium Noir page Choose Attributes - Prioritise your three catagories. Primary 7 points, Secondary 5 points, Tertiary 3 points. Choose Abilities - Prioritise your three catagories. Primary 20 points, Secondary 15 points, Tertiary 10 points. 3) Advantages Choose backgrounds - 6 points to spend in Backgrounds - from any of the standard oWoD books, or the Sodium Noir page Choose Hekau (Magic) = 3 dots plus one free dot in Necromancy Record virtues = Memory, Integrity, Joy (all start at 1) - seven further dots to distribute BACKGROUNDS Backgrounds are bought separately for each sheet, so the Mummy has 6 points (plus freebies) to spend on – Allies, Arcane, Artefact, Contacts, Fame, Influence, Journal, Mentor, Military force, Resources, Retainers, Status, Tomb. The Wraith has Allies, Artifact, Contacts, Eidolon, Haunt, Mentor, Memoriam, Notoriety, Status, Wealth. Of course, some of these Backgrounds can be a measure of things from both sides of the veil. If the player wishes to have access to the Background in both cycles it must be paid for with points from both pools (either background pools or Freebie points). Even if it is a one-point background, a minimum of two points must be spent on it, one from each pool. Shared Backgrounds include: Allies, Arcane, Contacts, Fame/Notoriety, Mentor, and Status. Haunting ones Tomb is possible but requires separate backgrounds, one to measure the power of the tomb as a Haunt and one to measure its worth as a tomb. The passage from one state to another will often make certain Backgrounds worthless as time or circumstances in the story do away with them. A Mummy with her own private army is unlikely to retain that force into death and it is very unlikely it will still exist when she finally returns to life again unless she does so within a very short time. If your player wishes to play some despot whose army was slaughtered with them to become sl aves in the after life, let them buy the background again, but do not forget that the troops won’t come back to life again when the Mummy does. Final arbitration on this is down to the Storyteller. 4) Last Touches Record Base Willpower = Integrity + Joy Record Base Path of Enlightenment rating = Memory + Integrity
Record Base Sekhem = 3 Record Ba = result of a single dice roll Record Base Ka = 5 Spend your 30 Freebie points 5) Choose Hekau Spells NB: Membership in a house allows players to buy dots in the associated virtue or Hekau path at a reduced cost with freebie points. A Character does not immediately gain access to Hekau spells merely by having a rating in a particular Hekau path. The path rating merely entitles the character to learn spells up to a certain level; the spells themselves must still be learned. Spells are chosen at the very end of Character creation, after freebie points have all been spent. To determine how many Spells a character begins with the player must multiply the Characters Sekhem score by the sum of the Characters Hekau path ratings. The player may then select spells whose difficulty number adds up to no more than this number. Remember that a character can only learn Spells up to the level he has in the Hekau path. For example: Nekhen has a Sekhem score of 4. With all her Freebie points spent, she has one dot in Alchemy, Two in celestial, One in necromancy and two in Nomenclature – a total of six. This allows her to start the game with spells whose difficulty numbers add up to no more than 24 (6 x 4); these spells may be chosen freely by the player from the list of first-level Alchemy spells, first and second-level Celestial spells, first-level Necromancy spells, and first and second-level Nomenclature spells. 6) fill in the finer details. Going Forth At some point the Immortal will die, her Soul will fragment and her Wraith will descend into its second home, the Underworld. In the World of Darkness, death is rarely the end for exceptional individuals often linger on in the form of Wraiths, inhabiting the Dark Umbra. This same realm is the abode of discorporate Immortals while they are in what is euphemistically referred to as the Death Cycle. As far as the Storyteller system is concerned an Immortal in his Death Cycle is a Wraith in almost every way. Apart from a few cosmetic differences such as a brighter countenance and a less dystopian view of the underworld he is a Wraith and everything a Wraith can do, he can do. He can use his Sekhem in the same way that a Wraith can use Pathos, and where a Wraith's passion would feed her pathos, the Immortal receives an increase of Sekhem instead. During their time in their Death cycle the Character uses the Wraith sheet (and rules) and thus has The following traits: Passions Fetters - Spell of Life *****, Khat *, Journal 0 - *****, Tomb 0 - *****. Additional Fetters bought at death. Hekaut Paths (Alchemy, Amulets, Celestial, Necromancy, Ren-Hekau/Nomenclature, Ushabti/Effigy). The Wraith's of an Immortal do not learn Arcanoi like normal Wraith's, instead they learn Necromancy. All of the Wraith Arcanoi powers available to Wraith's are available to Immortals as Necromancy spells. Corpus rather than health levels
Pathos is replaced by Sekhem which functions identically to Pathos while an Immortal is in her Death cycle The Shadow Character (Apshai) and all its peculiarities. The transformation from vital living human to restless dead (and back again) is marked by a few alterations to the character sheet and the traits, many of them optional or dependent upon the Storytellers whim. FETTERS All Reborn characters have two fetters. One is their Khat (a 1 point fetter) and one is the Spell of Life (a five point fetter). Neither of these Fetters can be resolved or destroyed. In addition, the Background’s Journal and Tomb count as an automatic Fetters of the same point value as the background itself. Choose additional fetters (up to 5 points). When an Immortal dies he has the o ption of buying additional fetters with Experience points on a one for one cost basis. They represent the things left undone from the last incarnation and can help to remind an Immortal why he wants to return to the living lands. One’s Additional fetters are often guided by the characters highest Virtue. Freebie Points Attribute Current rating x 5 Existing ability Current rating x 2 New ability 3 points for first dot Willpower 1 Sekhem Current rating x2 Ba Not allowed Ka Current rating x4 New Hekau 7 points for level 1 New Het Hekau 5 points for level 1 Existing Hekau Current rating x 7 Existing Het Hekau Current rating x 5 Virtue Current rating x2 Het Virtue 1/2 current rating (round up) Background 1 Experience Points Attribute Current rating x 4 Existing ability Current rating x 2 New ability 3 points for first dot Willpower Current rating Sekhem 1 per point Ba Not allowed Ka Current rating New Hekau 7 for first point New Het Hekau 5 points for level 1 Existing Hekau Current rating x 5 Existing Het Hekau Current rating x 4 New spell Spell’s difficulty number
Weather Spells: Certain Celestial magic and a couple of other spells cannot be figured pe r the normal method. In this case, treat the cost as (Level of the Spell+4). Why so many points?
Immortals in this version of the system get a much higher point pool than any other character it seems, but that is intentional. This should seem common sense to anyone who has read the rules for creating Elder vampires of course but the rest of you might be wondering how to justify this to your troupe. There are three very strong reasons for the higher point pool, most importantly the actual calibre of individuals chosen to be reborn. Those who will b ecome the immortals of the world of darkness are special individuals, unique and larger-than-life. The Mages and cults who guard the Spell of life choose them, or they find a way to cheat death by dint of their own individual power. There are few mistaken inductions or poor genes among the Immortals, few if any of them are Joe Average. This does not mean that there have been no evil or flawed Immortals, but even the worst choice for eternal life were extraordinary people already. Age is also a large factor for an Immortal. Unless playing a game set during the Immortals first life, Mummy deals with people who posses a great deal of experience, often many lifetimes worth. The average Mummy character has lived many times, experienced many cultures and periods of history as a living being and even longer as a Wraith in the afterlife. No matter how devastating the effects of ennui and amnesia, the Immortals mind, souls and body have still had much longer to improve, learn and mature. The third reason has more to do with game balance and player enjoyment than ithas to do with basic common sense, but anyone who doesn’t grasp the i mportance of such things is in the wrong hobby anyway. The Immortals live in two worlds with almost entirely exclusive cultures and holdings. The Backgrounds, powers, influence and status that serves one in the lands of the living do very little for him on the other side of the shroud. As with any game using the Storyteller system, a character new to the supernatural world should have his points reduced to match his lack of experience. If the players are playing through their characters first life or first death, they will have no powers and a much lower pool of freebie points with which to build the character. Recent Immortals Some players and storytellers may want to tell the Immortals story from the very beginning, from the earliest experiences. Less pointsDo not get the extra dots for their Het and cannot buy Hekau with freebie points. Upon the first descend into the Death cycle, give the player a number of points equal to her [Ka + Ba at death ÷ 2] with which to buy (on a one for one basis) spells from the Arcanoi list (Necromancy path). If the player has not yet bought any dots in Necromancy, one of these points must be used to b uy a Dot in that path. This represents the ....
New World of Darkness Want to play Immortals in the new World of Darkness? Want to use the 5 by 5 template? Sure, just squeeze all the Mummies created with by the Cult of Isis Ritual (the Shemsu-Heru, Cabiri, Ishmaelites and Tzadikim) into a single Dynasty, giving you five ‘splats’. Ditch the Het of the three virtues and the Het of Necromancy, and use the remaining five Het as the five societies. This will leave you with the five by five model of the nWoD.The arts of the shadowlands, Necromancy and Arcanoi, in fact the entire Death cycle does not fit in with the nWoD. You will have to ditch the death cycle aspect of the game, perhaps replacing i t with a period of slumber in a tomb. Maybe the Ka wanders the world of the shadows while the Immortals body slumbers and leads to some of the threats the Werewolves face and some of the more obscure ghost stories and urban legends. Additional and Optional rules OPTIONAL Choose Occupation (do not record it on the character sheet)
During the first life, a character followed some kind of occupation which defined him within his society. For many cultures such as the Egyptians, occupation and caste went along way towards deciding why an individual was chosen and given the great rite of eternal life. Obviously, an Immortal has had plenty of opportunities to pick up additional skills and knowledge since then, but the original occupation determines much about the Traits with which the character embarks upon an Immortal existence. World of Darkness: Mummy 2nd edition lists a selection o f Occupations from page 50 to page 55, each of which includes a suggested primary Attribute class – Physical, Social, Mental – and a selection of Abilities reflecting the kind of life represented. Players are not compelled to choose this as a primary attribute class for their characters or to restrict themselves to the list of abilities given, but should have a good reason for not doing so. The list i s also far from exhaustive and players seeking to invent new Occupations should follow the same logic to choose the Suggestions for Primary attribute class and Abilities. (See appendix XX possibly) Alchemist Architect Artist Assassin Bandit Beggar Chieftain Craftsman Courtesan Courtier Doctor Embalmer Entertainer Entrepreneur Explorer Farmer Fisherman General Governor King Labourer Magician Mandarin Merchant Mourner Mortician Noble Pharaoh Philosopher Priest Sailor Scribe Servant/Slave Shaman Skald Soldier Sportsman Thief Tomb Robber Vassal Warrior Merits and flaws Paths "Everyone dies. It is the final and only ever-lasting justice. Evil exists; it is intelligence in the service of entropy. When the side of a mountain slides to kill a village, this is not evil, for evil requires intent. Should a sentient being cause that landslide, there is evil; and requires justice as a consequence, so that civilization can exist. There is no greater good than justice; and only if law serves justice is it a good law. It is said correctly that law exists not for the ju st but for the unjust, for the just carry the law in their hearts, and do not need to call it from afar. I bow to no one and give service only for cause." ―Boba Fett – The last one standing; the tale o f Boba Fett by Daniel Keys Moran (Tales of the Bounty Hunters anthology) There is, at the heart of reality, a war between the expanding, fecundity of life and the nothingness at the heart of creation. The concept known as Oblivion erodes everything, not only matter and gases, liquids and plasma, but also souls and morals, memories, virtue, joy and desire. This conflict rages always because if it did not then all of the wonders of existence would cease to be. The Undying play a larger part in this cosmic battle than any other individual born of woman. To be Immortal is to be flung onto the wider field of battle and to endure the slow hunger of entropy. Basic ands instinctual morality cannot survive the e ndless passage of the eons, not with Oblivion itself to hasten the natural erosion of ennui and world-weariness. To weather this harsh erosion the Undying forge strict paths of dogma to cling to so that the seductive whispers of Oblivion can be ignored – these are the paths of enlightenment.
The path of Enlightenment is a measure of how much of one’s higher nature remains through the succession of lives and rebirths. The path rating is often seen as the balance between an Immortal’s integrity and his Apshai, or the dark part of his soul; as his path rating diminishes, the influence of his Apshai grows. To lose one’s Enlightenmentis to become a Khaibit, a caricature of a mummy: a shambling killing machine driven by barely rational motives, unable or unwilling even to free itself of its wrappings when it is reborn. The default path of Morality in the Storyteller system is Humanity and all Immortals are assumed to have begun their eternal life by following this path. In fact many Immortals continue to follow the path of Humanity through eternity, however many more will not. Immortals will often come to realise that they can no longer stave off the corruption of Oblivion from without and the Ennui from within, by pretending to be what he once was and he adopts a new philosophy. Some Dynasties such as the Shemsu-Heru encourage its members to follow certain moral philosophies, while some Het teach their own paths. All supernatural’s share an awakened Id, a darker reflection of their natures which can both inspire and corrupt them. Vampires and Garou have a raging Beast, Mages have a tempting Avatar, Keui-jin have the demonic P’o, Wraiths have a self destructive Shadow and the Mummies have the Apshai! The truth is Humans are fortunate in that they are rarely aware that they carry such an Imp of the perverse within them, tempting them to darker acts. The Beast almost never awakens in the mundane. Those few mortal humans who d o hear their inner darkness almost always give in to it and become serial killers or worse, because Humanity is simply ill equipped to deal with the Beast. Humanity is what separates the Human from the Monster, whether you’re talking about mummies, Vampires or even mortals – mortals with low Humanity scores would include alienated killers and unfeeling autocrats. It is quite possible for a “monster” such as a vampire or a mummy to be more human than many mortals. A characters base Path score is the sum of the Memory and Integrity scores. The Path rating cannot be increased with Freebie points, except b y raising the Characters rating in one or both of these Virtues. A character whose path rating drops to zero becomes a Khaibit, a true monster, and is removed from the players control – there are no exceptions to this rule. In play, the characters Path rating dictates the maximum number of dice that can be rolled in any social situation involving mortals – except situations involving intimidation. Likewise, a character may never roll more dice against a Virtue score than the current Path rating score. The further you sink, the faster you sink. The characters rating in his Humanity or (or other path) is a rough guide to his ability to Empathise with others and to follow the urges of his higher self over his base urges. Therefore at the most basic level all paths are comparable as to how Humane an Immortal remains at each level even if the methods he uses to retain that level alters depending o n the philosophies and expectations of the path. 0 Monstrous 1 Horrific 2 Bestial 3 Cold 4 Unfeeling 5 Distant 6 Removed 7 Normal 8 Feeling 9 Compassionate 10 Saintly
The Path of Humanity Humanity is a measure of how much one acts in accordance with the current societies idea of Humanity, how in touch he is with the status quo of morality and laws. It is not a true measure of how Human one is, only of how Human one appears to Humans of the time. The slow advance of years serve to separate the Reborn from the instinctual aspect of Humanity and force him to replace it with the memory of what it means to be Human. It is a great challenge for an immortal being to hang onto his humanity and not let it ebb away, despite living for centuries and experiencing things – both in life and in death – that far transcend mortal experience or understanding. Even more so as the idea of Humanity and what it means to be Humane changes with mortal fashion. One thing members on the path of humanity have discovered is that many Younger Vampires struggle with the same deceit. Careful alliances and relationships have been formed around the shared experiences and the Camarilla tends to hold the majority of undead with whom Immortals find common round. Path of Humanity - Hierarchy of Sins 1 Utter perversion or heinous act. Sadism. Offences against Individuals, including murder, rape, torture and similar crimes. 2 Casual violation of accepted morality (thoughtless killing). Not preventing another from commiting sadistic or heinous acts or anything from the a bove list. 3 Planned violation of accepted morality (outright murder) 4 Impassioned violation of accepted morality (Manslaughter), lack of empathy for the lives of others 5 Intentional property damage, violations brought about through reduced capacity (theft to survive or harming others while strung out and desperate for a fix) 6 Accidental violation of accepted Morality (“I sweat I thought she was 18”) 7 Theft, bribery, failing to stop after an accident 8 Injury to another (accidental to another), careless use of firearms or leaving weapons lying around. 9 Minor selfish acts 10 Selfish Thoughts PATH'S OF VIRTUE The Path of Ma'at Ma’at is the Goddess of Order, cosmic harmony, truth and justice in Ancient Egyptian morality. She plays an important role in the judgment of the dead for the heart of the deceased is weighed against the truth of Ma’at represented by a feather. Ma’at was the upholder of what the Egyptians considered to be the right way of life and could, better than any other deity, judge how far from this principle a person had fallen. This role of Ma’at in human life created a continuity between religion, political action, and elite morality. Ma’at (Maat), also spelled Mayet is the personification of truth, justice, and the cosmic order and embraced notions of reciprocity and moderation. The concept of Ma’at was fundamental to Egyptian thought. The king's role was to set Ma’at in place of Izfet (“disorder”). Ma'at was crucial in human life and was manifest in the form of the Goddess Maat, whose domain includes not only the order of the nature, but also the social and ethical orders. Not only must man live according to Maat but also the gods must live by her truth and order; according to Egyptian texts, the goddess Maat is the food by which the gods live. In its abstract sense, Ma’at was the divine order established at creation and reaffirmed at the accession of each new king of Egypt. In setting Ma’at, “order,” in place of Izfet (Isfret), “disorder,” the king played the role of the sun god, the god
with the closest links to Ma'at. Although aspects of kingship and of Ma’at were at times subjected to criticism and reformulation, the principles underlying these two i nstitutions were fundamental to ancient Egyptian life and thought and endured to the end of ancient Egyptian history. If, then, we are to believe that the concept of Ma’at stands at one end of the Ba lance or the ‘path’, like the Vampiric quest for Golconda, Izfet must surely reside at the other. The further one is from Ma’at, the closer one is to Disorder. The path of Ma’at, as represented on the character sheet, is a journey just like any other path of enlightenment. Undying whose Ma’at trait drops to three might be considered to be in the thrall of Apophis, a score of 5 might indicate indifference towards the tenets of Ma’at while a score of 9 could be considered a learned teacher on the ways to maintain Ma’at and would be sought out my others of the Undying for instruction. To the Shemsu-Heru Ma’at is the ultimate goal, the only correct way to live and all those who oppose it must be destroyed. Although the central tenets should be recognizable to all civilized peoples as the basis of correct behavior, the path of Ma’at is predicated upon a much stricter interpretation of right and wrong. By living in conjunction with Ma’at, the Immortal knows he has nothing to fear when it came time for his Final Judgment when he must confront a total of 42 separate gods and perform what is known as The Negative Confessions. The Negative Confessions are the Commandments within Egyptian culture and they have had a major effect on the moral structure of many other cultures, all of the 10 Christian Commandments are taken from here. While many mortals can use trickery and spells to gloss over any smaller foibles, the Shemsu-Heru consider such deceits beneath them. They must deny having broken any of the established expectations of Ma’at to be allowed to pass to the next god. Only when they have passed all the Judges can the Shemsu-Heru enter Amenti with all the rights and privileges of a full citizen. The negative confessions that the dead must make to the Gods are impossibly strict and few men, if any, ever managed to truthfully make claim to all of them. Looking at the li st the only way to pass the test of the Gods and go on to have ones heart measured against the feather of ma’at was to confess that they have not done iniquity, have not robbed with violence, have not stolen, done no murder, done no harm, have not I have not stolen, have not multiplied words exceedingly, spoken lies, set their lips in motion against any man, snatched away food, caused pain or the shedding of tears, caused terror, committed fornication, dealt deceitfully, transgressed or acted guilefully, defiled the wife of any man, polluted himself or fouled the water. They must continue on to claim that they have not defrauded offerings, filched the food of the infant, sinned against the god of their native town, cursed God or the king, laid waste the ploughed land or been an eavesdropper. Furthermore they must not have been angry or wrathful except for a just cause, burned with rage, judged hastily, spoken scornfully, worked grief, acted with insolence or stirred up strife. Lastly they must not have stopped their ears against the words of Right and Truth, diminished oblations or plundered the god, nor defrauded the offerings of the gods, nor plundered the offerings to the blessed dead or slaughtered with evil intent the cattle of the god. Path of Ma'at - Hierarchy of Sins 1 Offences against Individuals, including murder, rape, torture and similar crimes. Any deliberate act that leads to death or permanent harm of a living person who live sin harmony with Ma’at. The lives of all persons living in accord with Ma’at must be honoured and respected. 2 Any of the above intentional offences against any living creature living in accord with Ma’at. Allowing any of the above offences to take place without trying to prevent it. 3 Causing harm to any person out of hatred, jealousy, fear or the like (although self defence is acceptable). Destroying particularly valuable or inspirational objects such as ancient ruins or religious icons. Causing harm to yourself, including destructive patterns of behaviour, addictions and so forth. 4 Doing intentional harm to personal or public property without just cause. Impassioned harm against any living creature. Inflicting emotional on another pe rson intentionally.
5 Doing harm to another person through ignorance, negligence or thoughtlessness. To turn your ears away from those in need or those speaking on behalf of Ma’at. 6 Theft, deception or betrayal against any person. Telling lies or defrauding another, to pass of somebody else’s work or achievements as your own. 7 Doing harm (physical, emotional or spiritual) to any person, for any reason other than self-defence or the upholding of Ma’at. 8 Doing harm to any edifice or aspect of the duly appointed representative of Ma’at (such as the state, pharaoh, Horus or your general superior), for any reason other than self-defence or the upholding of Ma’at. Breaking of any law or commandment of the same. 9 Allowing any of the previous offences to take place in your presence without making an effort to prevent it. Allowing oneself to become angry or impatient with another for anything less than the most extreme of causes. 10 Doing anything less than your absolute best to uphold and embody Ma’at at all times. Putting your own comfort or desires above that of the duly appointed representatives of the common good. Path of Orlog: (created by RevFuggit) Instead of adhering to increasingly stringent moral steps, like champion of Balance must, the Einherjar strive to master the Ten Noble Virtues of the Ancient Law. The number of virtues mastered represents each Einheri’s Orlog rating. Just as the Judges of Ma’at determine when a n Amenti may raise his Balance, the Aesir decree when an Einheri is worthy of advancing his Orlog rating. Just as the Amenti can lose Balance for failing to uphol d Ma’at, so can the Einherjar lose Orlog for acting in contrary to the Virtues. This loss affects the Einherjar in the same way that a reduced Balance affects the Amenti (M:tR, pg 147). Tenets of the path The Ten Noble Virtues Courage Truth Honour Fidelity Discipline Hospitality Industriousness Self-reliance Perseverance Wisdom Of the 10 Virtues only Odin is known to have mastered that of Wisdom. Path of Dikaiosyne Dikaiosyne (Righteousness) - Another Figure important to the Cabriri is Dike (or Di cé), the Goddess of justice, fair judgements and the rights established by custom and law. She was also one of the Horai, goddesses of the seasons, and keepers of the gates of heaven. Her sisters were Eunomia (Good Order, Good Pastures) and Eirene (Peace, Spring). Like her siblings she probably also represented some aspect of the springtime growth and it was her judgement that set the tone for Classical morality.
Just as the Shemsu-Heru look to the Goddess Ma’at as the arbiter and personification of right and wrong, so too do the Cabiri look to Dike to show them the path to Righteousness and away from her opposite number Adikia (Injustice). Nothing offends the Cabiri so completely as the existence of the Malfean Zyras the all consuming who not only uses the name a nd visage of Dike, but who has usurped many of her cults and myths. Thus it is the path of Dikaiosyne that the Cabiri follow. It teaches that fair play and evenhanded morality is the way the Cabiri should follow. Democratic concepts mixed with Nobles Oblige, and also with the concept of an eye for an eye if wronged. In all things, the crimes of Adikia, Izfet to the Shemsu-Heru, must never become the crimes of the Cabiri.. PATH'S OF BALANCE Path of Balance Path of Chaos Cause and consequence Chaos is the complexity of causality or the relationship between events. This means that any 'seemingly' insignificant event in the universe has the potential to trigger a chain reaction that will change the whole system. A well known saying in connection with this i ssue is "A butterfly flapping its wings in one part of the world can cause a tornado on the other side of the earth." This is also known as the "butterfly effect".[1] Scientific and mathematical chaos Mathematically, chaos means an aperiodic deterministic behaviour which is very sensitive to its initial conditions, i.e., infinitesimal perturbations of boundary conditions for a chaotic dynamic system originate finite variations of the orbit in the phase space. In lay terms chaotic systems are systems that look random but aren't. They're actually deterministic (predictable if you have enough information) systems that are governed by nonlinear dynamics. The path of Chaos is not the same as the path of Izfet, it is a path devoted to what modern man calls Chaotic systems. It is a quest for enlightenment based on the belief that creation may seem to be chaotic (without order or predictable patterns) it is in fact quite the opposite. Creation is only predictable and understandable if you have enough information or wisdom. PATH'S OF CULTURE & HERITAGE The path of Cosmos The Cabiri take much of their moral direction from the classical world, which in turn took most of its ideas from Ancient Egypt. So then it is little wonder that the Cabiri follow a version of the path of Ma’at with a slight flavour of their own. They refer to this path as the path of Cosmos. A phrase meaning order and beauty, in its most general sense, a cosmos is an orderly or harmonious system. It originates from a Greek term κόσμος meaning "order, orderly arrangement, ornaments," and is the antithetical concept of chaos. In t heology, the term can be used to denote the created universe, not including the creator, and thus the Cabiri often see it is a way in which lesser beings such as themselves can support and shape creation for the better.
Much like their Egyptian forbears, the Immortals of the Cabiri believe in an ordained right and wrong, a correct way for the universe to exist, and this path is designed to help them walk within those guidelines. The path carries a strong belief that the Cosmos is something that is self-regulating and unless upset will continue on as intended. In this aspect it differs from the traditional beliefs of the path of Ma’at – a path which believes that the ordered state of affairs needs to be fought for and actively maintained by others. Unfortunately the Cabiri suffer from a degree of bigotry and many individuals tend to fall outside of their version of worthy peoples. A Cabiri often talks about a Citizen or the polis. An important aspect of polis citizenship is exclusivity. Citizenship in ancient Greece and Rome, as well as medieval cities that practiced polis citizenship, was exclusive and inequality of status was widely accepted. Citizens had a much higher status than non-citizens: Women, slaves or ‘barbarians’. For example, women are seen to be irrational and incapable of political participation. This bigotry has been compounded by the way the Cabiri were treated by the Shemsu-Heru in the earlier centuries and has found its way into the path of Cosmos in certain ways. While many forward thinking followers of the path try to avoid such distinctions, old habits are hard to break and many of the stronger commandments of the path are considered to apply only to certain groups or castes of society. Where two followers of the path have widely different views on who counts and who does not, heated debate is the more likely outcome as the Cabiri pride themselves on their intellect and civilization. Path of Cosmos - Hierarchy of Sins 1 Offences against Individuals, including murder, rape, torture and similar crimes. Any deliberate act that leads to death or permanent harm of a living person who live sin harmony with Cosmos. The lives of all persons living in accord with Cosmos must be honoured and respected. 2 Any of the above intentional offences against any living creature living in accord with Cosmos. Allowing any of the above offences to take place without trying to prevent it. 3 Causing harm to any citizen out of hatred, jealousy, fear or the like (although self defence is acceptable). Destroying particularly valuable or inspirational objects such as ancient ruins or religious icons, any works of knowledge. Causing harm to yourself, including destructive patterns of behaviour, addictions and so forth. 4 Doing intentional harm to personal or public property without just cause. Impassioned harm against any Citizen or worthy individual. Inflicting emotional injury on another Citizen intentionally. 5 Doing harm to another citizen through ignorance, negligence or thoughtlessness. To turn your ears away from another citizen in need or from the will of the polis. 6 Theft, deception or betrayal against any person (citizen). Telling lies or defrauding another (citizen), to pass of somebody else’s work or achievements as your own. 7 Doing harm (physical, emotional or spiritual) to any living person, for any reason other than self-defence or the upholding of Cosmos and the Polis. 8 Doing harm to any edifice or aspect of the polis, for any reason other than self-defence or the upholding of Cosmos. Breaking of any law or commandment of the same. 9 Allowing any of the previous offences to take place in your presence without making an effort to prevent it. 10 Doing anything less than your absolute best to uphold and embody Cosmos at all times. Putting your own comfort or desires above that of the Polis.
PATH'S OF PHILOSOPHY OR WISDOM Path of Fanaa – ‘the way’ Fanaa is the Sufi term for extinction. It means to annihilate the self, while remaining physically alive. Persons having entered this state are said to have no existence outside of, and be in complete unity with, Allah. Fanaa is equivalent to the concept of Nirvana in Buddhism and Hindusim or Moksha in Hinduism which also aim for annihilation of the self. In fact Several Tzadikim from the Persianand Indian nations prefer to use such Hindu terminology for their adherance to the path. Fanaa may be attained by constant meditation and by contemplation on the attributes of God, coupled with the denunciation of human attributes. It is a sort of mental, yet real, death. The man of the "Way" experiences it freely; it is the final passage which leads to the summit of the Stages. It liberates man from all contingency outside of his spiritual quest; his ultimate aim is the Truth. Three degrees may be distinguished here: fan â' of acts, attributes and essence.
The Three Schools Prior to the centralization of Immortal society at the hands of the Cabiri, the Xi ānrén had three schools of study rather than the traditional Het Eanead. These three schools are formed from the three traditional paths to immortality most Xiānrén followed when mortal. Though the Xiānrén may well change her focus over the years her first incarnation (or three) is usually an extension of the route and philosophy followed in her mortal years. The concept of groups dedicated to the Virtues was almost unknown among ancient Xiānrén, and even today they have a limited number of followers from the Asian dynasty. The Houses concerned with the paths of Necromancy and Nomenclature, along with the Virtue of Memory are considered to follow the School of Qi (pneuma). Those concerned with the paths of Alchemy and Amulets, and with the Virtue of Integrity are considered to be of the School of Fan and the Houses involved with the paths of Celestial and Ushabti, and with the Virtue of Joy are all included among the broad umbrella of the School of Fángzhōng Zhī Shù.
Path of Qi (Chi, Pneuma) Necromancy and Nomenclature, along with the Virtue of Memory Path of Fan Alchemy and Amulets, and with the Virtue of Integrity Path of Fángzh ōng Zhī Shù Celestial and Ushabti, and with the Virtue of Joy PATH'S OF FAITH Path of Arta The renowned faction of the Tzadikim have a version of the path of Ma’at peculiar to their own Dynasty known as the path of Arta or aša. While the path of Ma’at concerns itself with a cosmic
order which exists despite external influence, the natural state of creation, and the path of Cosmos teaches that cosmic order is influenced by humanity and the consensual will, the path of Arta is a philosophy that believes cosmic order is very much the work of the Gods themselves. The Zoroastrian term aša refers to the concept of a d ivine order, or divinely ordered creation. Like Ma’at and Cosmos, arta is the driving force behind the idea of ultimate and inviable 'truth' and 'right(eousness)', 'order' and 'right working'. The word is also the proper name of the divinity Asha, the Amesha Spenta that is the hypostasis or "genius" of "Truth", "Best Truth" or "Righteousness" and who is clearly Ma’at cloaked in a foreign name and pantheon. In many ways the Path of Arta is a form of religious devotion akin to the aesthetic practices of hermits or zealots, it requires almost total dedication to the expectations of one’s religion. The final word on morality comes entirely from the Gods or their priesthood. Although the followers of the path of Arta seem to have little problem sharing their philosophy with those who worship different Gods or pantheons, the Monotheistic faction of the Dynasty refuse to accept its context because it suggests that the God or Gods in question must somehow be separate from the single divine entity. Asha, or any other provider and arbiter of the divine truth, often has to remind other Gods and heroes when they have stepped out of line and to those who believe in a single deity, this suggests a fractured personality. Path of Arta - Hierarchy of Sins 1 Offences against Individuals, including murder, rape, torture and similar crimes. Any deliberate act that leads to death or permanent harm of a living person. The lives of all persons living must be honoured and respected. 2 Any of the above intentional offences against any living creature living in accord with Arta. Allowing any of the above offences to take place without trying to prevent it. 3 Causing harm to any righteous person out of hatred, jealousy, fear or the like (although self defence is acceptable). Destroying particularly valuable or inspirational objects such as ancient ruins or religious icons, sacred animals or specific taboos of the individuals faith. Causing harm to yourself, including destructive patterns of behaviour, addictions and so forth. 4 Doing intentional harm to personal or public property without just cause. Impassioned harm against any righteous individual. Inflicting emotional in jury on another person intentionally. 5 Doing harm to another person through ignorance, negligence or thoughtlessness. To turn your ears away from those in need or those speaking on behalf of Arta 6 Theft, deception or betrayal against any person. Telling lies or defrauding another, to pass of somebody else’s work or achievements as your own. 7 Doing harm (physical, emotional or spiritual) to any person, for any reason other than self-defence or the upholding of Arta. Refusing to give aid and support to the priests of chosen of the Gods. 8 Doing harm to any edifice or aspect of the Gods, for any reason other than self-defence or the upholding of Arta. Breaking of any law or commandment of the same. Being dishonest in any way, not dedicating oneself to the cosmic and universal concept of truth. 9 Allowing any of the previous offences to take place in your presence without making an effort to prevent it. Allowing oneself to become angry or impatient with another for anything less than the most extreme of causes. 10 Doing anything less than your absolute best to uphold and embody the will of the Gods at all times. Putting your own comfort or desires above that of the universal will. Allowing dishonesty of any type, especially self delusion. Path of the Wali (Waliullah) Wali is short for Waliullah or friend of God. Here Wali means friend. Usually these people are members of Sufi (mystic) communities who are considered to have a special relationship with Allah. Wali is an Arabic word, meaning master (or boss or owner), trusted one, or friend.
Path of Reincarnation If reiencarnation is a way to reach enlightenment, how much more equipped are those who do not suffer from the erasure of their selvs and their memories at each death? Those who cling to this path believe that all souls reincarnate (although there are various beliefs about wehy they do so) and they believe that Isis granted them Immortality so that they may achieve the final result of this quicker or in some more complete manner. Those who lean towards the Hindu ??? that karma dictates the form, each soul id reborn into see Immortality as a correction of this mistake. Path of Change Path of Liberty Path of Quetzacoatl DARK PATHS Path of Χάος Chaos (derived from the Greek Χάος, Chaos) typically refers to unpredictability, and is the antithetical concept of cosmos. The word χάος did not mean "disorder" in classical-period ancient Greece. It meant "the primal emptiness, space" (see Chaos (mythology)). Chaos is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root ghn or ghen meaning "gape, be wide open": compare "chasm" (from Greek χάσμα), and AngloSaxon gānian ("yawn"), geanian, ginian ("gape wide"); see also Old Norse Ginnungagap. Due to people misunderstanding early Christian uses of the word, the meaning of the word changed to "disorder". (The Ancient Greek for "disorder" is ταραχή.). Path of Tezcatlipoca The path of the shadoweaten, servants of the darkest urge. Path of Adikia With the Virtues of Trickery (House of Dolos), Deception (House of Apate) and Lies (House of the Pseudologoi) Life is unjust … go with the system! Path of Izfet (Dosorder) The dark Virtues!! With the Virtues of Trickery (House of Dolos), Deception (House of Apate) and Lies (House of the Pseudologoi) Paths of Enlightenment The shields against Oblivion
A large and complicated list of Paths might seem grandiose to some, but to not provide them seems disrespectful to me. Immortal society is made of eight globe spanning dynasties each of them with thousands of years of spiritual and moral
development. The only way not to lump these vast cultures and histories into a handful of homogenous stereotypes is to provide an extensive concept for the paths.
"Everyone dies. It is the final and only ever-lasting justice. Evil exists; it is intelligence in the service of entropy. When the side of a mountain slides to kill a village, this is not evil, for evil requires intent. Should a sentient being cause that landslide, there is evil; and requires justice as a consequence, so that civilization can exist. There is no greater good than justice; and only if law serves justice is it a good law. It is said correctly that law exists not for the just but for the unjust, for the just carry the law in their hearts, and do not need to call it from afar. I bow to no one and give service only for cause." - Boba Fett – The last one standing; the tale of Boba Fett by Daniel Keys Moran (Tales of the Bounty Hunters anthology) There is, at the heart of reality, a war between the expanding, fecundity of life and the nothingness at the heart of creation. The concept known as Oblivion erodes everything, not only matter and gases, liquids and plasma, but also souls and morals, memories, virtue, joy and desire. This conflict rages always because if it did not then all of the wonders of existence would cease to be. The Undying play a larger part in this cosmic battle than any other individual born of woman. To be Immortal is to be flung onto the wider field of battle and to endure the slow hunger of entropy. Basic ands instinctual morality cannot survive the endless passage of the eons, not with Oblivion itself to hasten the natural erosion of ennui and world-weariness. To weather this harsh erosion the Undying forge strict paths of dogma to cling to so that the seductive whispers of Oblivion can be ignored – these are the paths of enlightenment. All supernatural’s share an awakened Id, a darker reflection of their natures which can both inspire and corrupt them. Vampires and Garou have a raging Beast, Mages have a tempting Avatar, Keui-jin have the demonic P’o, Wraiths have a self destructive Shadow and the Mummies have the Apshai! The truth is Humans are fortunate in that they are rarely aware that they carry such an Imp of the perverse within them, tempting them to darker acts. The Beast almost never awakens in the mundane. Those few mortal humans who do hear their inner darkness almost always give in to it and become serial killers or worse, because Humans are simply ill equipped to deal with the Beast. The path of Enlightenment is a measure of how much of one’s higher nature remains through the succession of lives and rebirths. The path rating is often seen as the balance between an Immortal’s integrity and the dark part of his soul; as his path rating diminishes, the influence of his Apshai grows. To lose one’s Enlightenment is to become a caricature of a mummy: a shambling killing machine driven by barely rational motives, unable or unwilling even to free itself of its wrappings when it is reborn. The default path of Morality in the Storyteller system is Humanity and all Immortals are assumed to have begun their eternal life by following this path. In fact many Immortals continue to follow the path of Humanity through eternity, however many more will not. Immortals will often come to realise that they can no longer stave off the corruption of Oblivion from without and the Ennui from within, by pretending to be what he once was and he adopts a new philosophy. Some Dynasties such as the Shemsu-Heru encourage its members to follow certain moral philosophies, while
some Het teach their own paths. Humanity is what separates the Human from the Monster, whether you’re talking about mummies, Vampires or even mortals – mortals with low Humanity scores would include alienated killers and unfeeling autocrats. It is quite possible for a “monster” such as a vampire or a mummy to be more human than many mortals. A character's base Path score is the sum of the Memory and Integrity scores. The Path rating cannot be increased with Freebie points, except by raising the Characters rating in one or both of these Virtues. A character whose path rating drops to zero becomes a true monster, and is removed from the players control – there are no exceptions to this rule. In play, the characters Path rating dictates the maximum number of dice that can be rolled in any social situation involving mortals – except situations involving intimidation. Likewise, a character may never roll more dice against a Virtue score than the current Path rating score. The further you sink, the faster you sink. The characters rating in his Humanity (or other path) is a rough guide to his ability to Empathise with others and to follow the urges of his higher self over his base urges. Therefore at the most basic level all paths are comparable as to how Humane an Immortal remains at each level even if the methods he uses to retain that level alters depending on the philosophies and expectations of the path. 0 Monstrous 1 Horrific 2 Bestial 3 Cold 4 Unfeeling 5 Distant 6 Removed 7 Normal 8 Feeling 9 Compassionate 10 Saintly The lower the path rating, the more influence the Apshai has and the more disconnected the character becomes from creation. The stronger the Apshai, the more likely it will effect the character. It's whispers and temptations are more likely to succeed and thus the Immortal is more likely to fall to Oblivion. Paths are not a strict description of a philosophy as they are in the Vampire game, rather they are generalisations of belief systems. A quick and dirty guide to the characters moral compass and success in the struggle against Oblivion. The truth is that many of the Paths serve as much to separate immortals as the het serve to unite them, faith and philosophy have always been the blue touch paper of conflict. Several paths are the extension of a cult or religion among certain Immortals and those who follow them would no more accept doubt or dissension than any other fervent believer. Given the vast expanse of time and the varied cultures involved it would be impossible to fully detail every Path of enlightenment a character might ascribe to in his eternal existence. However most paths can be considered to fit into one of seven broad categories, or 'core paths', each of them can (and should) be considered to be
a broad title encompassing various ways to battle Oblivion and to seek the meaning in the Undying existence. Examples of the more specific paths within each of these umbrella philosophies are included but should not be considered to be the only paths. The Categories are: the Paths of Virtue, the paths of Order, the paths of the mind and the paths of Destiny as well as the three schools of the middle kingdom. Each core path is given a hierarchy of sins and a list of tenets. After the general overall description there is a handful (literally) of examples taken usually from the most common versions practiced or from a path that shines an interesting light on the basic formula. Creating new paths It should be quite simple to create a Path that fits any character idea, putting what she would and wouldn't do into a few bullet points, deciding her barometer of right and wrong, and her version of the ideal reward / outcome of her eternal life. Either by editing an existing path or by inventing one from scratch, thereby expanding upon the personal journey's of the reborn. Some players may wish to look at the vampiric paths of Enlightenment and adapt them for use with Immortals. A few paths such as the Path of Paradox (Vampire: the Masquerade revised page 293), the Path of Honorable accord (Guide to the Sabbat page 139) and even the path of Power and the Inner voice (Guide to the Sabbat page 144) are suited to this conversion if the Storyteller is willing. The specifics of the path an Immortal follows should be discussed with the Storyteller and other players, perhaps even put into words to describe the basic tenets of that path. There is no need to create an entirely new hierarchy of sins for this variation of the path as the one for the core path will do just fine. This is more of a role-playing element and a way to record the Immortals inner journey away from or towards oblivion.
The Paths of Virtue "The very purpose of existence is to reconcile the glowing opinion we have of ourselves with the appalling things that other people think about us." - Quentin Crisp The paths of Virtue are the core paths of the Immortals, without a doubt the most commonly followed paths amidst the Dynasties. For every Immortal who walks a path of Destiny, the Spirit, Order or of Death, there are five more that walk a path of Virtue. Even those who do not walk these paths are aware of their basic teachings because they are in many ways the consensual tenets of all Immortals, in fact of most sentient beings. The concept of right and wrong has changed through the eons, while slavery is now frowned upon it was perfectly acceptable to those who wrote the bible, who built the Hagia Sophia. However theft and murder have always been considered evil when committed against the people considered worthy by the individual. History and reborn memory seem to suggest that the Paths of Virtue are the legacy of Isis and her priesthood. Since Isis first took Horus in her arms as a child she taught him the three Virtues of Joy, integrity and respect for the past. As a Queen she also imparted the requirement of sacrifice in him and the more nebulous ideas of right
from wrong that evolved into the idea of Humanity. Her Cult took these virtues to heart and they have always attempted to use them as the pillars of their society and their craft. The Virtue measured by the paths in this category often measure measure how much one acts in accordance with the current societies societies idea of morality, how in touch he is with the status quo of civilization and it's laws. But many other paths are grounded in Virtues of the Immortals homelands or the era in which he lived his mortal life. The Virtues he follows are sacrosanct and inviolable no matter how much the world changes. It is a great challenge for an immortal being to hang onto his humanity and not let it ebb away, despite living for centuries and experiencing things - both in life and in death - that far transcend mortal experience or understanding. understanding. Even more so as the idea of Humanity and what it means to be Humane changes with mortal fashion. Hierarchy of Sins for the Paths of Virtue 1 Utter perversion or heinous act. Sadism. Offences against Individuals, including murder, rape, torture and similar crimes. 2 Casual violation of accepted morality (thoughtless killing). Not preventing preventing another from commiting sadistic or heinous acts or anything from the above list. 3 Planned violation of accepted morality (outright murder) 4 Impassioned violation of the path's morality (Manslaughter), lack of empathy for the lives of others. A lack of regret for crimes against the path. 5 Intentional damage to, or violations of the paths morality unless brought about through reduced capacity (theft to survive or harming others while strung out and desperate for a fix) 6 A lack of remorse after an accidental violation of the path's Morality, no attempts to put right damage to the paths morals. 7 Corrupting others or acting in a way that might lead them away from the paths morals. Breaking the laws of the society from which the path arose. For example; Theft, bribery, failing to stop after an accident. 8 Deliberate attempts to buck the paths morality. morality. Such things as Injury to another, careless use of firearms or leaving weapons lying around. 9 Minor acts outside of the path's strictest ideals, even accidental ones. 10 Anything less than the most Virtuous acts, the slightest slip from the path's idea of sainthood. The Path of of Humanity The path of Humanity is much the same as its namesake namesake from from the Vampire: Vampire: the the masquerade rules and should be instantly recognisable to players of that game (or to players of the original Mummy game). It teaches the Immortal to emulate and recall what he once was, a mortal human with basic morals and virtues. In some ways it allows him to temporarily forget what he has seen, to block out the times when black and white have become a little grey. But it's main theme is based upon the commonly accepted ideas of right and wrong. Humanity is a measure of how much one acts in accordance with the current societies idea of Humanity, how in touch he is with the status quo of morality and laws of the age. It is not a true measure of how Human one is, only of how Human one appears to Humans of the time. The slow advance of years serve to separate the Reborn Reborn from the instinctual aspect of Humanity and force him to replace it with the memory of what it means to be Human. It is a great challenge for an immortal being to hang onto his humanity and not let it become an anachronism at best or ebb away
at worse, despite living for centuries and experiencing things – both in life and in death – that far transcend mortal experience or understanding. understanding. Even more so as the idea of Humanity and what it means to be Humane changes with mortal fashion. One thing members on the path of humanity have discovered is that many Younger Vampires of the Camarilla hold to the same views and struggle with the same deceit. Careful alliances and relationships have been formed around the shared experiences of Immortals and other long lived creatures creatures who find such common round. The Path of of Integrity The path of Integrity Integrity is strict strict and unforgiving, unforgiving, but also respected respected by the undying. Having adopted teachings from Bushido and chivalry among many other human philosophies, it helps its followers stay on the straight and narrow. Practitioners faced with a moral dilemma often ask "what would [insert guiding light here] do?" They look to men and women of valour to guide them by example and cling faithfully to the tenets of reliability, truthfulness and honour. The Path of of Memory The Path of of Memory teaches teaches the Immortal to respect the past, to acknowledge acknowledge the sheer time spent on him and the battle for existence. It teaches that wisdom and knowledge must be preserved for its own sake and that by knowing where one has come from, one can move forward. Those on the path spend a great deal of time examining their own actions in the past, taking great steps to recover lost memories, memories, in order to measure the present against them and the lessons learned. The Path of of Joy The path of Joy appears appears on the surface surface to be a frivolous frivolous morality, self-indulgent self-indulgent and self-centred. To outsiders, those on this path seem to be hedonists flittering away the gift of eternity on hippy ideals or the distractions of the Bacchanals. It is against these very misconceptions that the followers of Joy are set to battle - reminding other Immortals that it is impossible to maintain the battle for creation unless one stops to appreciate it from time to time. They buoy up the reborn against the emotional and spiritual decay of the enemy, because joy is the first thing that time in the Underworld depletes. depletes. It is the most vulnerable emotion to oblivion, how quickly it is sapped being the best barometer of an individual's battle against the enemy. The Path of of Sacrifice The path of Sacrifice Sacrifice teaches acceptance acceptance of the undying undying lot and helps helps them to take take comfort in the heavy cost they pay for the sake of creation. It is the path of servitude, where the reborn willingly act as the conduit between their people and the ancestors. Where soldiers come to accept the need for their suffering, where priests are given an insight into the God's needs and where the barren womb of the Immortal maid becomes a little less terrible to bear. Those on this path rarely complain and are often able to give cold comfort to their despondent allies.
Paths of Order "Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one ..." - Thomas Paine Paine The paths of Order Order are concerned concerned with the laws of creation, with law and justice and with unchanging philosophies. While the paths of Virtue often have the capacity to
change with the passage of time or to encompass the individual's beliefs, the paths of Order are set in stone for everyone who follows them. Their tenets are taught to followers by a superior figure and the practitioner is expected to keep to those tenets for as long as he on the path. Some path's hold to the beliefs of the founding Dynasties, or to the Immortals purpose as the warriors against Oblivion. The wat Hor or way of Horus is the central doctrine of the devoted inner circle of the Shemsu-Heru, while the path of Ma'at is based upon the overriding faith of ancient Khem. It cannot be denied that much of an Immortals existence existence is spent within the Underworld or the Dark Umbra. The Death cycle for many outlasts their times in the living world by some considerable degree. degree. That many take their moral and philosophical guidance from Anubis and Osiris, Osiris, or the the ever present enigmas of their own shadow realm, is no surprise. These paths are are focused on living in conjunction conjunction with Ma'at, Ma'at, or another divine divine sense or order. order. Those with a high rating in these paths knows they will have little to fear when it came time to Final Judgment by the Gods or some other form of Underworld authority. authority. In Egyptian cosmology the dead must confront a total of 42 separate gods and perform what is known as The Negative Confessions, swearing swearing that he has broken none of core Commandments of his culture. These negative confessions have had a major effect on the moral structure of many other cultures, cultures, all of the 10 Christian Commandments are taken from here. The negative confessions confessions that the dead must make make to the Gods are impossibly impossibly strict and few men, if any, ever managed to truthfully make claim to all of them. Looking at the list the only way to pass the test of the Gods and go on to have ones heart measured against the feather of ma'at was to confess that they have not done iniquity, have not robbed with violence, have not stolen, done no murder, done no harm, have not I have not stolen, have not multiplied words exceedingly, spoken spoken lies, set their lips in motion against any man, snatched away food, caused pain or the shedding of tears, caused terror, committed fornication, dealt deceitfully, transgressed transgressed or acted guilefully, defiled the wife of any man, polluted himself or fouled the water. water. They must continue on to claim that they have not defrauded offerings, filched the food of the infant, sinned against the god of their native town, cursed God or the king, laid waste the ploughed land or been an eavesdropper. eavesdropper. Furthermore they must not have been angry or wrathful except for a just cause, burned with rage, judged hastily, spoken scornfully, worked grief, acted with insolence or stirred stirred up strife. Lastly they must not have stopped their ears against the words of Right and Truth, diminished oblations or plundered the god, nor defrauded the offerings of the gods, nor plundered plundered the offerings to the blessed dead or slaughtered with evil intent the cattle of the god. Hierarchy of Sins for the Paths of Order 1 Offences against Individuals, including murder, rape, torture and similar crimes. Any deliberate act that leads to death or permanent harm of a living person who lives in harmony with the cosmic order. The lives of all persons living in accord with society and order must be honoured and respected. 2 Any of the above intentional offences against any living creature creature living in accord with the cosmic order. Allowing any of the above offences to take place without trying to prevent it. 3 Causing harm to any person out of hatred, jealousy, fear or the like (although self defence is acceptable). Destroying particularly valuable or inspirational objects such as ancient ruins or religious icons. Causing harm to yourself, including destructive patterns of behaviour, addictions and so forth.
4 Doing intentional harm to personal or public property without just cause. Impassioned harm against any living creature. creature. Inflicting emotional on another person intentionally. Working in conjunction witht he enemies of the Cosmic Order. 5 Doing harm to another person through ignorance, negligence or thoughtlessness. To turn your ears away from those in need or those speaking on behalf of the cosmic order. 6 Theft, deception or betrayal against any person. Telling lies or defrauding another, taking actions against the community or its representatives. representatives. 7 Doing harm (physical, emotional or spiritual) to any person, for any reason other than self-defence or the upholding of the cosmic order. 8 Doing harm to any edifice or aspect of the duly appointed representative representative of cosmic order (such as the state, pharaoh, Horus or your general superior), for any reason other than self-defence or the upholding of that order. Breaking of any law or commandment of the same. 9 Allowing any of the previous offences to take place in your presence presence without making an effort to prevent it. Allowing Allowing oneself to become angry or impatient with another for anything less than the most extreme extreme of causes. 10 Doing anything less than your absolute best to uphold and embody the cosmic order at all times. Putting your own comfort or desires above that of the duly appointed representatives representatives of the common good. The path of Ma'at Ma'at (Maat), also spelled Mayet is the personification personification of truth, justice, and the cosmic order and embraced notions of reciprocity and moderation. The concept of Ma'at was fundamental to Egyptian thought. Ma'at was crucial in human life and was manifest in the form of the Goddess Maat, whose domain includes not only the order of the nature, but also the social and ethical orders. The path of Ma'at is identical to the path of Balance recorded in the Mummy: the resurrection book. However Ma'at is not the only God of righteous behaviour and the path is known by many names such as Dikaiosyne among the Cabiri and Asha by the Renowm faction of the Tzadikim. One very famous and ancient variation of the Path of Ma'at is the path of the Wat Hor which governs much of the Shemsu-Heru approach to eternity. The Companions of Horus believe that not only must man live according to Ma'at but also the gods and their servants must live by her truth and order too. Just as the king's role was to set Ma'at in place of Izfet ("disorder") so must his companions in line with the tenets of the Wat Hor or way of Horus. To the Shemsu-Heru the Wat Hor is the ultimate goal, the only correct way to live and all those who oppose Ma'at must be destroyed. Although the central tenets should be recognizable to all civilized peoples as the basis of correct behaviour, the path of the Wat Hor is predicated upon a much stricter interpretation interpretation of right and wrong. The path of Cosmos It is little wonder that the Cabiri follow a path of Order with a slight flavour of their own, a path they refer to as the path of Cosmos. This word meaning order and beauty, in its most general sense, a cosmos is an orderly or harmonious system. It originates from a Greek term meaning "order, orderly arrangement, ornaments," and is the antithetical concept of chaos. In theology, the term can be used to denote the created universe, universe, not including the creator, and thus the Cabiri often see it is a way in which lesser beings such as themselves can support and shape creation for the better. better. The path carries a strong belief that the Cosmos is something that is selfregulating and unless upset (by the servants of Oblivion for example) will continue on as intended.
The path of Chaos This path is not concerned with chaos as an illiterates word for evil and it should never be confused with the Bane Mummy's path of Izfet, it is a path devoted to what modern man calls Chaotic systems. It is a quest for enlightenment based on the belief that the true order of the universe is too immense for mere mortals to grasp and that all existence is a chaotic system which appear random but are not and which are truthfully deterministic (predictable if you have enough information). Most followers of the path tend to towards the secular view, either believing that there are no Gods, or that what Gods there are entirely non interventionist in mankind's daily existence. It is a path that satisfies those Immortals with a scientific bent, those who find it difficult to believe that their Gods would allow Oblivion and evil to prosper and those who think it arrogant for anyone to claim they understand the mind of God. The path of Arta or Rta First popularised by the Xianren, the path of Rta is concerned with natural, religious and moral order. While the path of Ma'at concerns itself with a cosmic order which exists despite external influence, and the path of Cosmos teaches that order is influenced by humanity and the consensual will, the path of Arta is a philosophy that believes cosmic order is very much the work of the Gods themselves. That the most the Immortals can do is to help Order along. It eschews the taking of drastic or dynamic actions in preference to observing and working within the natural order. Rta was the philosophy behind the concept of d harma, growing from the physical to the divine, from the natural to the moral. Rta, as a moral code, was seen as the equitable law of the Universe. The path is identical is the path of Arta or aša, referring to the concept of a divine order, or divinely ordered creation, preferred by the Tzdikim. The path of Balance The final approach to order is the path which seeks to emulate the natural order. At times savage and seemingly cold, the followers of this path look to the way things are arranged in the natural kingdom and uses the o bservation of flora and fauna to judge right from wrong. Much of the Path's basic tenets were developed alongside the Blood mages, shape shifters and nature spirits and those on the path often use language recognisable from the Werewolf: the Apocalypse setting. The ethics of the path teach that the strong survive, but that one's community or pack can preserve the weak if they have some other merit. That the Universe is out of balance and thus the devourer who should be left to its own devices must be conquered and brought back to its natural purpose.
Paths of the Mind "He who has learned to die has unlearned slavery; he is above any external power, or, at any rate, he is beyond it" - Seneca, Letters 26.10 The morality of these Paths is one of intellectual philosophy rather than of society or of faith and its ethics are usually arrived at through self examination and debate. They appeal to sceptics and scientists, but also to those who refuse to be dictated to by others. The Immortal is less concerned with the preservation of his humanity and more with the upkeep of his personality and his intellect in the face of Oblivion. If, then, we are to believe that the concept of Ma'at or cosmic order rests in one pan of the scales, Izfet or unnatural disorder must surely reside in the other. The further one is from Ma'at, the closer one is to Disorder. The paths of the mind often seek a
form of internal morality without blind dedication or faith in any external measure. It teaches that order is maintained on an individual basis, that by following the right path oneself and by helping and inspiring others to do the same, disorder is defeated and robbed of its servants. Historically these paths grew to popularity over the last millennium, although versions with a similar ethic have existed for much longer. As old faiths and old gods were swallowed by the inevitable passage of Oblivion and the mythic age ended, so the Immortals who remained began looking to other guides to show them a path to eternal peace. Practitioners of these paths are often found in libraries or laboratories putting their path to the test in practical ways. They improve on the stepping stones to enlightenment through trial and error and these paths have changed and evolved more than any others. Hierarchy of Sins for the Paths of the Mind 1 Offences against those Individuals you should protect or cherish, including murder, rape, torture and similar crimes. Any deliberate act that leads to death or permanent harm of a living person who lives in harmony with your personal ethics. 2 Any of the above intentional offences against any living creature living in accord with your personal ethicsr. Allowing any of the above offences to take place without trying to prevent it. Failure to impose your wisdom and ethics upon lesser men and women. 3 Causing harm to any person out of hatred, jealousy, fear or the like (although self defence is acceptable). Destroying particularly valuable or inspirational objects such as ancient texts or places of solitude. Causing mental harm to yourself, including destructive patterns of behaviour, addictions and so forth. 4 Doing intentional harm to personal or public property without just cause. Impassioned harm against any living creature not considered worthy by your personal ethics. Inflicting emotional on another person intentionally. Working in conjunction with your enemies or those who actively oppose your ethics. 5 Turning away from the opportunity for insight ot self discovery. Preventing others from gaining the same. Turning your ears away from those in need or those seeking your wisdom or opinion. Allowing a lesser person's commands or opinions to countermand your own moral compass. 6 Deception, betrayal, telling lies to or defrauding a seeker after wisdom, taking actions which hampers the community or an individual from seeking enlightenment and insight. Failure to record your insights that might show the way for others. 7 Doing harm (physical, emotional or spiritual) to any person, for any reason other than self-defence or the pursuit of knowledge. Failure to test your theories and ethics whn the oportunity arises. 8 Doing harm to any signpoast or text on the path to self discovery, destruction of the trust or property of those who guard or distribute wisdom to others. Breaking of any law or commandment of the same. 9 Allowing any of the previous offences to take place in your presence without making an effort to prevent it. Doubting oneself due to the trickery or impatience of others. 10 Doing anything less than your absolute best to uphold and embody what you believe to be right. Turning from your own beliefs and moral compass for any reason, even death. The path of Death
The path of Death was once known as the path of Seker, taking its name from the Egyptian god of light and protector of souls passing to the underworld. It was first espoused by a cult of Immortals dedicated to a calling similar to the Ferrymen of the Dark Umbra. In the modern age there are many who follow the moral teachings without dedicating themselves to the strict lifestyle of the founders. These individuals rarely leave their death cycles and maintain a small cadre of elite wanderers, seeking to maintain the light of Isis teachings in the dark Umbra, to protect the dead who served her in life and to punish the enemies of the reborn in the afterlife. An important aspect of their morality is to battle the denizens of the far shores and to help the dead resolve their fetters, especially when those fetters are the physical remains of the khat The ethics of this path teach that all Immortals are tied to the Underworld, and that understanding its subtleties leads to a better understanding of themselves. They study death and all its varied faces from both sides of the shroud. They focus on the plight of the dead who suffer as greatly in the Duat as the living do in their realm. They commonly see the underworld as their natural home in a reversal of the standard Immortal approach and spend more time in their death Cycle than their peers. The tenets of the path reflect their core ideals and are concerned with the acceptance of death and what it brings, even for Immortals. It demands that the Immortal not ignore or trivialise each death, nor are they encouraged to rush the process of returning back to life at the expense of experiencing death. At the very least they expect the death cycle to be a time of repentance spent aiding and protecting others, reflecting on one's actions during their previous incarnation and of letting go of the things from that incarnation that they can no longer carry with them. To mourn the mortals they have lost so that they may love those they meet during the next incarnation, to forget the fashions of the age and the failed goals of the past. The Path of Tawret Similar in some ways to the path of Death, this path concerns itself with the nature of the cycle. Dedicated in the name of the Goddess Tawret (Taueret, Taurt, - Greek Thoueris, Thoeris, Toeris) "The Great One" who was the protectress of rebirth into the afterlife and the provider of vengeance, in the underworld, she carried the deceased toward a new destiny. The cult and its path teach the inevitability of the reborn nature. That death follows life and that, for them, life follows death. Patience brings the chance to avenge slights, to restore the khat and to one day defeat Apophis. Path of Freedom Although it is doubtful whether the tenets of this path were originally put forth by Ishmael himself, the dynasty that bears his name have added to and explored its methodology over the eons. Its ethics are concerned with freedom and self reliance of making judgements free from the mores of religion, tradition or authority. Many of them refer to it as the path of Ishmael, or even as 'walking in Ishmaels footsteps'. A clear offshoot of the path of Freedom is the path of the Hermit which promises recovery and comfort at times of stress. Because of that aspect few Immortals take up its tenets for eternity. It teaches the reborn to cut themselves off, sometimes from everyone and sometimes just from certain influences such as other reborn or from supernatural entities as a whole. When separated from these personalities the path teaches its followers how to weigh up situations alone and without relying on others. It teaches that we all have the scales with which to judge our actions. The path of the way (or of Fanaa, Nirvana, Tao, Moksha)
Fanaa is a Sufi term for extinction, it means to annihilate the self, while remaining physically alive - a state equivalent to the concept of Nirvana in Buddhism or Moksha in Hinduism. The path teaches the Immortal methods which lead to the annihilation of the self. It liberates them from all contingency outside of their spiritual quest; his ultimate aim is the Truth. Persons having entered this state are said to have no existence outside of, and be in complete unity with the divine. In this case that Divine is the will of Isis or of Horus or whichever paragon of the battle against Oblivion suits the individual. The path of Sophia The Path of Sophia grew from the ordered and intellectual schools of Philosophy in the classical world and provides a frame work for battling the pitfalls of eternity which embrace all of the schools. From the Academics come the Ethics concerned with the betterment of the self, the pursuit of wisdom and perfection along with the betterment of humanity, the study of the mysteries and the fulfilment of Isis plan. Added to this are the Stoic's belief in the upkeep of virtue and not to let chaos govern your eudaimonia. From the Peripatetic school comes the proclamation that life should be lived as reason dictates and directs, reason here being the gods / sciences / nature depending on the individuals beliefs. From the Epicureans come the reminder to enjoy one's existence through wisdom, good health, reasonable wealth, fine friendships, pleasant surroundings and enjoyable experiences.
Paths of Destiny ""For certain is death for the born And certain is birth for the dead; Therefore over this Thou shouldst not grieve." - Bhagavad Gita The paths of destiny (alternatively known as the paths of caste and of dharma) describe those paths in which an Immortal draws strength to battle Oblivion from his perceived roll is society or from some integral aspect of their being. As a path to true enlightenment it is a much more inwardly focussed set of paths than the paths of Order or the Paths of Virtue, with its morals drawn from more specific goals. Their Ethics teach that the reborn must work together and put each resource to the best use possible. Therefore each and every Immortal has a role to play and they should accept that role and excel at it. The so called Dharmic paths are concerned mostly with the Destiny or caste status of the Immortal, and how the defined label can be appreciated as a path to enlightenment while providing a bulwark against Oblivion. Its basic message is to "know thyself" and to know ones place in the universe. Sometimes it works because it allows an Immortal to cling to the one thing they believe about themselves as everything else changes around them. Who or what sets ones destiny in place differs depending on the belief system of the Immortal and followers of this path can abandon their faith in one God or philosophy in favour of another without abandoning the path itself. It is for this reason that the followers of these paths rarely feel the need to search out another approach to dealing with the inner darkness, the changing morality of society and the passage of years are less able to erode the core tenets of these paths. Hierarchy of Sins for the Paths of Destiny
1 Offences against Individuals, including murder, rape, torture and similar crimes. Any deliberate act that leads to death or permanent harm of a living person whose destiny remained unfullfilled. 2 Any of the above intentional offences against any living creature living in accord with the cosmic order. Allowing any of the above offences to take place without trying to prevent it. Abandoning ones destiny and ones role completely. 3 Causing harm to any others for your own sake rather than because it is your role to do so (although self defence is acceptable). Denying others insight or information concerning thier destiny. Patterns of Behaviour which will impede yours or someone elses destiny from being achieved. 4 Dereliction of your duty or your post through fear, lust, or any unworthy emotion. Allowing harm to come to others you were expected to protect. Impassioned harm against any living creature with a Destiny. Knowingly thwarting the will of fate. 5 Doing harm or allowing it to come to others through ignorance, negligence or thoughtlessness. To turn your ears away from those in pursuit of thier destiny. 6 Misdirecting or countermanding the fate of any person. Telling lies or defrauding another, taking actions against the community or its representatives. 7 Dereliction of duty or of one's post for any reason other than self-defence or the protection of others. 8 Denial of ones destiny due to an exagerated sense of self worth, or from a lack of faith in your companions and leaders (such as the state, pharaoh, Horus or your general superior). 9 Allowing any of the previous offences to take place in your presence without making an effort to prevent it. Allowing oneself to become distracted from ones role or failing in that task. 10 Doing anything less than your absolute best to fulfil your destiny and the destiny of others. uphold and embody the cosmic order at all times. Putting your own comfort or desires above that of the duly appointed representatives of the common good. The path of Sekhmet Like so many of the path's of Destiny this path encourages the follow to embrace his role and to excel at it. To accept what gifts he has and to pay little mind to the skills he lacks. Sekhmet, Ra's blood thirsty Warrior was so determined to master her role that it almost consumed her, but that dedication stands as a glowing example to those who follow the path of the warrior. For some its apex is reached by becoming a berserker in battle, devoid of doubt or morality while the battle rages. For others it is about bravery, of never showing fear or questioning one's companions. There are those who seek to master every form of combat and those who seek to teach the honour and skills of the warrior to others that decency will thrive and Oblivion fail. The Path of the Guardian In the shadow of the warriors path is the more aesthetic path of the guardian or the path of the soldier (once the path of Sutekh), dedicated to protecting the weak and to preserving those beloved of the Immortals. Guardians believe that the gift of rebirth comes with an obligation, and they can be found as the protectors to the Veil of Isis high priest, in Horus personal body guard or as a wandering itinerant openly offering their skills to Immortal groups or secretly watching over worthy mortals. The path teaches that self preservation is important only in that it continues to allow them to protect their charges. Sometimes just as military as the path of the warrior, they take no small joy from confronting and besting the fiercest of opponents in the same way that Sutekh once battled Apophis every night to keep Re safe on his barge. It teaches that not all can lead, that not all can be adored, that some must be content with the rear guard role. The strict chain of command within the Shemsu-Heru requires its
rank and file troops as much as it does the heroes and generals, those who also serve find solace in this path. Its ethics teach the follower not to seek a greater and more glorious role in the Eschaton, but to excel and the one Horus, fate or circumstance has assigned them. The path of the Neteru or of the Million stars The Neteru are the royal family of Egyptian Gods and those on this path believe that the great rite was the first step on the long path to becoming one of their number. Historically it was begun by an Ishmaelite based on the beliefs of the Egyptians and it has adopted Asian ideas along with its Kabbalistic overtones. The path ethics teach that the Immortal should adapt to and seek out change on a personal, spiritual, physical and social level. That he should experience all that existence has to offer without allowing the enemy of creation to exploit that exploration. Its eventual goal is to allow the Immortal to evolve past his current state and to become a God. It requires challenge and tests, self advancement and self improvement. The Path of the Neteru has had a chequered history as more than one of its followers has fallen to Apophis through Hubris. However at its heart the path teaches that the spell of life opens up the possibility of ascension for the reborn. That while heaven is denied to them in their current state, they may one day truly become Gods and join Isis and Osiris in the final reward. These Immortals believe that they are on a journey to join the Gods in the heavens, just as the Pyramid texts once promised. Whether they seek to learn the magical spells to eventually achieve their place in heaven or simply believe that the rebirth is but the first step on the path to evolution into something more. Borrowing ideas and clues from many occult philosophies they seek to climb a very slippery pole, perfecting themselves through knowledge and character. For some this means having perfect karma, for others it means empowering their will, or confronting and defeating their own personal demons. Most doubt that they will achieve the Godhead before the battle for creation is won, but some few have turned away from the noble pursuit in order to achieve personal deification. Because of these few black sheep, many who walk the path prefer to keep it under their hat The path of the Sephirot The path of the Sephirot shares many of the basic ideals of the path of the Neteru. Followed by a subset of Immortals and led by ancients once on the path of the Neteru they take their guidance from the Kabbalah and they see the ten sephirot as the signposts and ranks on their journey to the Godhead. Firmly supported by the Tzadikim Dynasty, the Path of the Sephirot is slowly growing in popularity throughout reborn society. The Path teaches its followers to rise above the greatest mortals, even the Kings, and to become beings of ultimate power. From righteous ones to splendid ones, then through victory to beauty, severity, kindness, then to reach understanding, gain wisdom and finally claim the crown, to become a God. Certainly those with a low rating in this path are just as susceptible to the entropic taint as those with a low rating in any other path, but they choose to find reason and strength in their status. But nobody knows for sure what the undying can achieve while bound within the confines of the Tapestry itself. For all anyone knows an Immortal could become a living deity, a God on earth. The crown, as achieving the highest level on this path is called, will elevate one to a new breed of God not removed from creation or cloistered away in some distant realm. Certainly those with a low rating in this path are just as susceptible to the entropic
taint as those with a low rating in any other path, but they choose to find reason and strength in their status. But nobody knows for sure what the undying can achieve while bound within the confines of the Tapestry itself. For all anyone knows an Immortal could become a living deity, a God on earth. The crown, as achieving the highest level on this path is called, will elevate one to a new breed of God not removed from creation or cloistered away in some distant realm. First and foremost the Path seeks to teach the Immortal about all four realms of creation. To encourage its followers to understand the subtle relationship between the fractured realms or emanations created when the mythic age ended. Because of the importance of the wider realms to the path, many of its followers are experienced in Necromancy. The Realms, as the followers of this path understand them are Atzilus (the world of emanations, the Spirit realm, the Umbra), Beriah (the realm of creation, the Dreaming), Yetzirah (the world of formation, the Underworld, the dark Umbra) and Asiyah (the world of action, where creation is relegated to the physical, the mundane realm of mortals). Some teachers count a fifth world, a higher, fifth plane of existence. This level is the realm that was never part of creation, the source of creation understood as Heaven or the home of the Gods, the manifest Godhead level. Path of Shai This path embraces the power of destiny itself and trusts to it in a zen like fashion. Its followers seek to be guided by fate itself and to 'go with the flow' to couch its philosophy in modern parlance. Its tenets teach that fate works whether you resist it or not and that it works in subtle ways. Its ethics encourage followers to follow up on accidental opportunities and to trust in the direction fate chooses for you. If Isis chose who should be given the gift of Immortality, she must have known that at some point in the future they would be the one in the right place at the right time.
Paths of the Middle Kingdom Prior to the centralization of Immortal society at the hands of the Cabiri, the Xiānrén had three schools of study rather than the traditional Het Eanead. These three schools are formed from the three traditional paths to immortality most Xiānrén followed when mortal. Though the Xiānrén may well change her focus over the years her first incarnation (or three) is usually an extension of the route and philosophy followed in her mortal years. The concept of groups dedicated to the Virtues was almost unknown among ancient Xiānrén, and even today they have a limited number of followers from the Asian dynasty. The Houses concerned with spells of Necromancy and Nomenclature, along with the Virtue of Memory are considered to follow the School of Qi (pneuma). Those concerned with the Hekau of Alchemy and Amulets, and with the Virtue of Integrity are considered to be of the School of Fan and the Houses involved with the Celestial and Ushabti paths of magic, and with the Virtue of Joy are all included among the broad umbrella of the School of Fángzh?ng Zh? Sh ù.
Each of these three schools have developed a path of their own which teaches its own method of empowerment and defense against Oblivion. The Hierarchy of sins for these paths is much the same as the Path of Humanity, it is just the methodology of resistance and restoration which i s unique. Path of Qi
Practicing the Hekau paths of Necromancy and Nomenclature, but employing the other paths almost equally, this is the school of the true Magician. Its members share the Virtue of Memory and preserve much the other Xianren have forgotten. Qi has many names and many forms, Sekhem among them, and this path teaches the Immortal to shield he rself with her very Sekhem. The mind and soul are strengthened by repetitive breathing exercises, advancing from the simple counting of breaths to the structured control of Sekhem through language. From there the path teaches the ways to control the flow of Sekhem through the body or through the corpus, repairing damage and invigorating the soul. Those who walk the path of Qi learn to calm their mind, to awaken their potential and to close themselves off from temptation through the rotes of their path. The inner peace and outward power that this grants allows them to withstand the depredations of Oblivion and to rise above their flaws. Path of Fan The Path favoured by the School of Fan teaches that a strict diet and the a voidance of many corrupting substances grants an Immortal the power to become Immortal and to resist the entropy of death and Oblivion. Through its focus upon Alchemy and Amulets the school seems to resemble a Western Witchcraft or Wise woman tradition, and the Virtue of Integrity tips the school towards a more medical and community centric focus. The Path's Hierarchy of sins is, for the most part, a list of the "Three-Corpses food" which the Immortal must avoid. The list begins with filth and human flesh at lower levels, through meats such as dog, pork, raw fish and goes on to vegetables such as leeks, then grains and at the highest level the Immortal exists completely without food of any kind except for herbal compounds that have been magically treated and purified through Alchemy. The Immortals will is strengthened by his self denial and Oblivion's ability to weaken his resolve diminished. The Herbs and spells strengthen his resistance to the whispers of the Labyrinth and harden his heart against ennui and loss. It is a path of denial and strictly observed rituals, but it is highly successful if followed to the letter. Path of Fángzh ōng Zhī Shù The School of the Fangzhong Zhi Shu teaches the path of the same name, the arts of the bedchamber. Its ethics are based upon the universal interaction between the macrocosm and the microcosm, as above, so below. For this reason they specialise with the Arts at either end of the cosmos the vast heavens and lowest imitations of life as represented by the Hekau paths of Celestial and Effigy (Ushabti). As with the cosmic union, the associated virtue with this mixture is the Virtue of Joy. Favoured by and more appropriate thematically to female Immortals the path draws heavily from texts such as The White Tigress Manual, a treatise on female sexual yoga. It teaches that energy can be created by the sexual act, but that it can also be drained during that process - usually stolen from the woman by the man. The techniques of this school seek to teach Alchemists and Magicians to balance and perfect their natural instincts in order to defeat "decay and traumatic discord". Furthermore it promotes the pursuit of the utmost joys of sensuality and the application of the principles of yin and yang to sexual activity to improve health, vigor, and joy in order to benefit from the fruits of longevity and immortality. This path assures its followers that the p ursuit of sexual pleasure is not only natural, it is empowering and godlike. By observing the balance of the universe and participating regularly in
its earthly mirror activity the Immortal is empowered and enhanced enough that Oblivion can take no hold over his heart. Through Yoga, meditation and sexual congress, the Immortal finds inner peace and harmony with the universe. Virtues revisited Chapter 4: Magic Hekau Magic of the Reborn Because this system uses the new expanded spe ll lists from Mummy: the Resurrection and Mummy: the Resurrection players guide, we have to use the Mummy: the Resurrection magic system and Sekhem costs as well. So ignore what WoD: Mummy 2nd edition says and use this system. To cast a spell, Roll a dice pool equal to your characters rating in the appropriate Hekau path plus a designated trait (typically an ability or attribute) as specified by the spell description. The roll is made against the Spell’s listed difficulty level. Successes are applied as appropriate to the spell description. Many spells also list a Sekhem cost which must be spent immediately and is lost whether the spell succeeds or fails. You may spend additional Sekhem points prior to the roll to gain automatic successes, but up to a maximum equal to your rating in the Hekau path being used. Some spells are listed as rituals and have a time requirement. This simply means that they cannot be cast as an instant action and the rolls are considered an extended a ction. While casting the ritual your character must gather a number of successes equal to the rituals Sekhem cost. Multiple Immortals may collaborate on a ritual and may pool their successes. At Character creation the player gets three dots to spend in Hekau and an begins with a free dot in Necromancy. If the House chosen at Character generation is a house dedicated to one of the paths of Hekau it grants another automatic dot in the associated Hekau. Het Khepri – Alchemy Het Ptah – Amulets Het Ap-uat – Necromancy Het Nereru – Celestial Het Khnemu – Effigy (Ushabti) Het Tehuti – Nomenclature (Ren hekau) NB: Membership in a house also allows players to buy dots in the associated virtue or Hekau path at a reduced cost with freebie points. Choosing beginning spells A Character does not immediately gain access to Hekau spells merely by having a rating in a particular Hekau path. The path rating merely entitles the character to learn spells up to a certain level; the spells themselves must still be learned. Spells are chosen at the very end of Character creation, after freebie points have all been spent. To determine how many Spells a character begins with the player must multiply the Characters Sekhem score by the sum of the Characters Hekau path ratings. The player may then select
spells whose difficulty number adds up to no more than this number. Remember that a character can only learn Spells up to the level he has in the Hekau path. For example: Nekhen has a Sekhem score of 4. With all her Freebie points spent, she has one dot in Alchemy, Two in celestial, One in necromancy and two in Nomenclature – a total of six. This allows her to start the game with spells whose difficulty numbers add up to no more than 24 (6 x 4); these spells may be chosen freely by the player from the list of first-level Alchemy spells, first and second-level Celestial spells, first-level Necromancy spells, and first and second-level Nomenclature spells. Spell List ALCHEMY Alchemy is the core Art of the Immortals, both as a means to understand their own existence and as the primer to all other paths. The path o f Alchemy is the study of change and transformation, but also of the use of natures bounty. Its masters study the world and its flora, they observe the effects that one substance has upon another and can be called upon to explain the various properties of toxins and unguents. Level one Anallyze Material - M:tR - PP 83 Cloud of smoke - M:tR - PP 83 Drink of Seven days rest - M:tR - PP 84 Mild Poison - M:tR - PP 84 Potion of Resilience - M:tR - PP 84 Simple Elixir - M:tR - PP 84 Simple Philtre - M:tR - PP 84 Simple tonic - M:tR - PP 85 Stasis - M:tR - PP 85 neutral scent - M:tRPG - PP 118 saran paste - M:tRPG - PP 118 powder of purification - M:tRPG - pp 122 Garland of sacrifice - M:tRPG - pp 129 Gourd of the Capacocha - M:tRPG - pp 129 Cleansing touch - M:tRPG - pp 134 winter respite - M:tRPG - pp 135 Body-mending Technique - M:tRPG - pp 139 Lingering Aid of the Caregiver - M:tRPG - pp 139 snake-fist strike - M:tRPG - pp 140 sweet dream’s caress - M:tRPG - pp 140 Iron body meditation - M:tRPG - pp 146 Level two Blood of the Snake - M:tR - PP 85 Cobra Spit - M:tR - PP 85 Essence of Longing - M:tR - PP 85 Eyes of the Ka - M:tR - PP 86 Ice of the Desert - M:tR - PP 86 Lesser Quiddity - M:tR - PP 86 Reed of Hidden Currents - M:tR - PP 86 Spark of Ra - M:tR - PP 86 Cat’s [or other shape shifters] Anointing - M:tRPG - PP 120 Pusanga - M:tRPG - pp 130 Tellbread - M:tRPG - pp 131 Cleansed of impurity - M:tRPG - pp 135
Leaping tiger pounce - M:tRPG - pp 141 Spirit lantern - M:tRPG - pp 141 Stormwind prana - M:tRPG - pp 141 no mind kata - M:tRPG - pp 148 Level three Complex Elixir - M:tR - PP 86 Complex Philtre - M:tR - PP 87 Complex Tonic - M:tR - PP 87 Dangerous Poison - M:tR - PP 87 One Hundred Thousand Tongues - M:tR - PP 87 Potion of Valor - M:tR - PP 87 Salts of the Dead - M:tR - PP 87 Tears of Isis - M:tR - PP 87 the walking healer - M:tRPG - PP 120 Chichi of the Mighty Ones - M:tRPG - pp 131 Dust of Tomorrow - M:tRPG - pp 136 Endless Slumber - M:tRPG - pp 136 freeing the shadows of madness - M:tRPG - pp 136 elegant crane deftness - M:tRPG - pp 142 flame hand strike - M:tRPG - pp 142 opening the third eye - M:tRPG - pp 142 Level four Ashes to Ashes - M:tR - PP 88 Greater Quiddity - M:tR - PP 88 Panacea - M:tR - PP 88 Philosophers Stone - M:tR - PP 88 Potion of the Seperable Ka - M:tR - PP 88 memory of water - M:tRPG - pp 126 within the river - M:tRPG - pp 127 Summon forth the Frigid Soul - M:tRPG - pp 137 Voyage without End - M:tRPG - pp 137 Mantle of divine authority - M:tRPG - pp 143 plague curing method - M:tRPG - pp 143 Level five Catalyst Crucible - M:tR - PP 88 Deadly Poison - M:tR - PP 89 Dust to Dust - M:tR - PP 89 Flesh of the Gods - M:tR - PP 89 Potent Exlixir - M:tR - PP 89 Potent Philtre - M:tR - PP 89 Potent Tonic - M:tR - PP 89 Potion of the Devine - M:tR - PP 89 Potion of the Vile Body - M:tR - PP 90 Flesh of Purity - M:tRPG - pp 138 Godbody of the celestial emperor - M:tRPG - pp 144 restoration of youth’s vigour - M:tRPG - pp 144 transcendent living flame - M:tRPG - pp 145 AMULETS The creation of object that hold and can even activate spells is a common form of Magick the world over. Whether that be the paper charms of China or the flayed flesh of Aztec sacrificial victims. Those who master the art of Amulets are crafters, artisans, but rarely i f ever mechanics. Their creations are beautiful, often intricate, but always static.
Level one Ashen Shroud - M:tR - PP 92 Eye of the Horizon - M:tR - PP 92 Simple Ward - M:tR - PP 92 Warding Sign - M:tR - PP 92 Wood Ward - M:tR - PP 92 Incense ward - M:tRPG - pp 118 Plant the soul - M:tRPG - pp 122 Pumapuncu - M:tRPG - pp 122 Ward of the three sisters v3 Wrap the mantle - M:tRPG - pp 123 Shelter of the Chosen - M:tRPG - pp 134 Still the fluttering Wing - M:tRPG - pp 147 Level two Amulet of Cloud Walking - M:tR - PP 93 Lesser Talisman - M:tR - PP 93 Lesser ward - M:tR - PP 93 Prayer of the Aken - M:tR - PP 93 Scarab of Life - M:tR - PP 94 Feed the cave - M:tRPG - pp 124 Raise the roof beam - M:tRPG - pp 124 Sunay - M:tRPG - pp 124 Tellbread - M:tRPG - pp 131 Eggs of Cursing - M:tRPG - pp 130 Follow the Hoofbeats - M:tRPG - pp 130 Winter Charm - M:tRPG - pp 136 Level three Major ward - M:tR - PP 94 Metal ward - M:tR - PP 94 Sign of Luck - M:tR - PP 94 Veil of Amaunet - M:tR - PP 94 Wrappings of Imhotep - M:tR - PP 95 Kentipuncu - M:tRPG - pp 124 Platform of destiny - M:tRPG - pp 125 Stonecutters defence - M:tRPG - pp 125 Chichi of the Mighty Ones - M:tRPG - pp 131 Lesser Curse - M:tRPG - pp 131 Aura of Purity - M:tRPG - pp 136 Pilgrims Rest - M:tRPG - pp 137 Shield of Fortune - M:tRPG - pp 149 Level four Ebon Bindings - M:tR - PP 95 Eye of Sekhmet - M:tR - PP 95 Geb's Blessing - M:tR - PP 95 Greater Veil of Amaunet - M:tR - PP 95 Greater Talisman - M:tR - PP 96 Greater Ward - M:tR - PP 96 Geoglyph - M:tRPG - pp 126 Greater Curse - M:tR - PP 132 Summon forth the frigid soul [first & second version] - M:tRPG - pp 137 Scroll of the Minds Eye - M:tRPG - pp 149 Level five Buckle of Isis - M:tR - PP 96 Princely Talisman - M:tR - PP 96 Princely Ward - M:tR - PP 96 Scarab of Death - M:tR - PP 96
Ward of Permanence - M:tR - PP 96 Wrappings of Osiris - M:tR - PP 97 Swallowed by the mother M:tRPG - pp 127 Summon forth the frigid soul [Third version] - M:tRPG - pp 137 Freezing the essence - M:tRPG - pp 138 CELESTIAL The study of omens and signs, of understanding and mastering the heavens, is the purview of the masters of the Celestial path. They are charged with warning the dynasties of future danger and with helping Immortals reach a reconciliation between freewill and destiny. They study the sciences of astrology and astronomy, the actions of animals and the vagaries of the weather. It is not unheard of for Immortals to use celestial to gain an advantage over others at the card table or the stock exchange. In the modern world they are drawn to the theories of chaos and randomness chance, as well as to statistics and mathematical patterns. They are as likely to be storm chasers or artic biologists as they are to be tarot readers, investment bankers or Gamblers. Celestial Spells also include the Arcanoi of Fatalism which can only be used by the Undying in their Death Cycle – Level 1 (Kismet, Scrying, Fatal Vision, distant Visions, sensing the Strands), level 2 (Danger sense, A quick Read, Malocchio), level 3 (Interpretation, Pulling Strings), level 4 (Lachesis’ measure, Fated Course, presage, Tangles), Level 5 (luck, Ensnare). Level one Becalm - M:tR - PP 98 Grip the water - M:tR - PP 98 Hanging the Stars - M:tR - PP 98 Hiding the Stars - M:tR - PP 99 Simple Weather magic - M:tR - PP 99 Weather Sight - M:tR - PP 99 Bring the true water - M:tRPG - pp 117 Follow the smoke - M:tRPG - pp 117 Paint the forest - M:tRPG - pp 118 Polishing the stone - M:tRPG - pp 122 Curse of the false eunuch - M:tRPG - pp 128 Unsight - M:tRPG - pp 130 Climb the sky - M:tRPG - pp 134 Vision of winter - M:tRPG - pp 135 Sense luck’s flow - M:tRPG - pp 140 Still the fluttering wing - M:tRPG - pp 147 Unseen passage - M:tRPG - pp 147 Kismet - W:tO2E - pp Scrying - W:tO2E - pp Fatal Vision - W:tO2E - pp Distant Visions - W:tO2E - pp Sensing the Strands - W:tO2E - pp Level two Book of Thoth - M:tR - PP 100 Lesser Weather magic - M:tR - PP 101 Read the Stars - M:tR - PP 101 Sahu Ra - M:tR - PP 102 fire blessing - M:tRPG - pp 118 gaze into the bowl - M:tRPG - pp 118 pitcher of illapa - M:tRPG - pp 119 vision vine - M:tRPG - pp 119 rain ward - M:tRPG - pp 125
Eggs of Cursing - M:tRPG - pp 130 throw the power - M:tRPG - pp 131 whispers from the mountain - M:tRPG - pp 135 drunken monkey dance - M:tRPG - pp 141 Danger sense - W:tO2E - pp A quick Read - W:tO2E - pp Malocchio - W:tO2E - pp Level three Call the Stars - M:tR - PP 102 Divine Forms - M:tR - PP 102 Major Weather Magic - M:tR - PP 102 Burn the Bundle - M:tRPG - pp 119 Rite of the Sacred Marriage - M:tRPG - pp 131 vessels of knowing - M:tRPG - pp 132 Interpretation - W:tO2E - pp Pulling Strings - W:tO2E - pp Level four Greater Weather Magic - M:tR - PP 103 Ra's awakening - M:tR - PP 103 Read the Tree of Life - M:tR - PP 104 Sandstorm - M:tR - PP 104 Wisdom of Isis - M:tR - PP 104 Rite of the toad - M:tRPG - pp 120 Straddle the wave - M:tRPG - pp 121 Call the cold sea - M:tRPG - pp 126 Walking the light - M:tRPG - pp 133 Lachesis’ measure - W:tO2E - pp Fated Course - W:tO2E - pp Presage, - W:tO2E - pp Tangles - W:tO2E - pp - W:tO2E - pp Level five Divine Greatness - M:tR - PP 105 Plague of Ma'at - M:tR - PP 105 Potent Weather Magic - M:tR - PP 106 Rousing Apophis - M:tR - PP 106 Hunt of the Sun - M:tRPG - pp 121 Urcuchilla - M:tRPG - pp 121 Command the lords fire - M:tRPG - pp 134 Entombment - M:tRPG - pp 138 shattering the shell of impurity - M:tRPG - pp 139 gently typhoons passing - M:tRPG - pp 144 eye of the tempest - M:tRPG - pp 151 The Kings Highway (tread the dragon tracks) - M:tRPG - pp 151 luck - W:tO2E - pp Ensnare - W:tO2E - pp EFFIGY (USABTI) From Imhotep the architect to Hero of Alexandria, the creation of machines and automatons has long been the field of the genius, of civilization itself. Those of us with a written language look down upon those without. Those of us with wheeled chariots and composite bows conquered those without such tools. This is the way of the sentient mind and the dominant species across the globe.
Ushabti deals with sympathetic magic and with complicated devices, with machinery and the manufacture of magical automatons to serve magicians in this world. It a lso deals with the creation of relics to assist the Ba in the Underworld and to strengthen and protect the Shadow Kingdoms of the Immortals in their death cycles. Words of power carved into ir recited over a model or picture might spiritually link it to the thing it depicts, so that what befell one befall both; or they could give it a kind of life and enough intelligence to obey simple orders; or they could make the thing it represents appear and be real in the world of the dead. The Cabiri guard their subterranean vaults with mechanical three headed dogs, the Xibalba are protected from Tezcatlipoca by cloaks of ghost feathers, the magick of Ushabti is the only sure fire way to create Relics that survive into the Shadowlands and beyond. Given to mortals because of the1st dynasty practice of sacrificing servants to get afterlife thralls. An alchemist also passed it on to the yellow emperor bloke. Level one Command Simple Implement - M:tR - PP 108 Simple Creature - M:tR - PP 108 Simple Inertion - M:tR - PP 108 Simple Servitor - M:tR - PP 109 Simple Wrest - M:tR - PP 109 fodder of hunin pacha - M:tRPG - pp 121 gallows of the sun - M:tRPG - pp 128 Level two Command Lesser Implement - M:tR - PP 109 False Door - M:tR - PP 109 Lesser Chattel - M:tR - PP 110 Lesser creature - M:tR - PP 110 Lesser Inertion - M:tR - PP 110 Lesser Writ - M:tR - PP 110 litter of the sun - M:tRPG - pp 130 call upon the servants of snow - M:tRPG - pp 135 Level three Command Complex Implement - M:tR - PP 110 Complex Chattel - M:tR - PP 110 Major Bond of Fate - M:tR - PP 111 Major Creature - M:tR - PP 111 Major Inertion - M:tR - PP 111 Major Relic - M:tR - PP 111 Major Wrest - M:tR - PP 111 Modest Reflection - M:tR - PP 112 Overseer - M:tR - PP 112 Sekhem Vessel - M:tR - PP 112 cist of the offerings - M:tRPG - pp 124 mold the body - M:tRPG - pp 125 stonecutters defence - M:tRPG - pp 125 Level four Greater Relic - M:tR - PP 112 Guard - M:tR - PP 112 Majestic Reflection - M:tR - PP 113 Superior Bond of Fate - M:tR - PP 113 Superior Chattel - M:tR - PP 113 Superior Creature - M:tR - PP 113 Supererior Inertion - M:tR - PP 113 Superior Wrest - M:tR - PP 113
crown of Lucochulpec - M:tRPG - pp 137 Level five Ka Vessel - M:tR - PP 114 Living Bond of Fate - M:tR - PP 114 Princely Chattel - M:tR - PP 114 Princely Creature - M:tR - PP 114 Princely Inertion - M:tR - PP 114 Princely Reflection - M:tR - PP 114 Princely relic - M:tR - PP 114 Princely Wrest - M:tR - PP 115 lord landslide - M:tRPG - pp 127 warriors of stone - M:tRPG - pp 128 Apu - M:tRPG - pp 133 NECROMANCY The Hekau path of Necromancy gives the Immortal power over the restless dead and all wi thin the Dark Umbra. But it is many ways the path of the soul, the path of Spirits; with it, the immortal gains powers over his own soul. For beings who straddle two realms, Magick needs to embrace the difference between flesh and spirit and to bridge the gap that separates the two. Necromancy is the art and philosophy which does this, it teaches the Reborn ways to manipulate the unseen world and to harness the energies of the spirit world, as well as ways and means to survive when dealing with the denizens of the otherworlds. Necromancy is the brother art to Arcanoi, the specialisation of the dead and the spirits. Though several spells from each path appear at first to repeat the same effect, they are often used in different ways and my those with different focus. To the Undying, each Art is more an extension of their personality. Mastery in Necromancy is almost always a sign that the Immortal in question is more comfortable in his life cycle while mastery of Arcanoi is an indication of the opposite, of one most happy during his death cycle. A selection of new Necromancy Spells is taken from the Wraiths Arcanoi, mimicking the free powers a wraith gets with each Arcanoi. With these Spells, a Necromancer can sense and detect much of the activities of the Truly dead. Wraiths manifest the disciplines of Arcanoi based on distinctive and separate fields, while the Undying learn each Arcanoi effect as a separate spell of the Arcanoi Hekau. The rarer Arcanoi powers known by and taught by the Guild Wraiths to trusted Guild members are available to the Undying in theory, but in practice it is highly unlikely they will gain more than one or two in all their lifetimes. The Undying can gain the free powers that come from mastering each separate Arcanoi path in two ways, these powers are by Necromancy Spells or are available as level one Arcanoi Spells. The Arcanoi of Fatalism is not part of the Arcanoi Path and is covered by cel estial magic there is no avatar storm so the Storm Sheild and similar Spells is actually used to defebd agaisnt the ravages of Oblivion in the Tempest. Level one Boddy Preservation - M:tR - PP 115 Death's Shroud - M:tR - PP 115 Ghost Lantern - M:tR - PP 116 Judge the Soul - M:tR - PP 116 Seperate Ka - M:tR - PP 116 Stormwalk - M:tR - PP 117 Summon the Dead - M:tR - PP 117
plants of power - M:tRPG - pp 118 chase powder - M:tRPG - pp 128 coyllur riti - M:tRPG - pp 128 crop the mane - M:tRPG - pp 128 slingshots of the moon’s feast - M:tRPG - pp 129 winter respite - M:tRPG - pp 135 See the Lands of the Spirit - M:tRPG - pp 140 Hundred shadow cloud - M:tRPG - pp 146 Tempestpeek - W:tO2E - pp Bulwark - W:tO2E - pp Ghostly Touch - W:tO2E - pp Sense Gremlin - W:tO2E - pp Grave Mold - W:tO2E - pp Self Imntimation - W:tO2E - pp Perfect Pitch - W:tO2E - pp Locate Fetter - W:tO2E - pp Shapesense - W:tO2E - pp rewind - W:tO2E - pp Leap of rage - W:tO2E - pp Sense Chaos - W:tO2E - pp Sleepsense - W:tO2E - pp detect Possession - W:tO2E - pp Lightnings Bite - W:tO2E - pp Lifeline - W:tO2E - pp Enshroud - W:tO2E - pp Coax - W:tO2E - pp Attunement - W:tO2E - pp Whispers - W:tO2E - pp Surge - W:tO2E - pp Bind - W:tO2E - pp Command Line - W:tO2E - pp Rot - W:tO2E - pp the Gleaming - W:tO2E - pp Dirge - W:tO2E - pp sense Strand - W:tO2E - pp Imitate - W:tO2E - pp Lizard tail - W:tO2E - pp Skinmold - W:tO2E - pp In Memoriam, - W:tO2E - pp Erasure - W:tO2E - pp Ping - W:tO2E - pp Affect Speed - W:tO2E - pp After image - W:tO2E - pp Breath of the Grave - W:tO2E - pp Weirdness - W:tO2E - pp Scripture - W:tO2E - pp Wild Bloom - W:tO2E - pp Elysia - W:tO2E - pp Cognizance - W:tO2E - pp Conclave - W:tO2E - pp Lingua - W:tO2E - pp Skinride - W:tO2E - pp Analyse - W:tO2E - pp Skinride Animal - W:tO2E - pp Transfer - W:tO2E - pp Level two
Banish the Dead - M:tR - PP 117 Bind the Dead - M:tR - PP 118 Fertility of Osiris - M:tR - PP 118 Revisit Death - M:tR - PP 118 Sense the Dead - M:tR - PP 119 Storm Sheild - M:tR - PP 119 call upon the servants of snow - M:tRPG - pp 135 call the spirits - M:tRPG - pp 141 ebon bonds - M:tRPG - pp 147 ice-hand strike - M:tRPG - pp 148 spirit lantern - M:tRPG - pp 140 Tempest Threshold - W:tO2E - pp Soulsight - W:tO2E - pp Maintain Form - W:tO2E - pp Sense Fluxion - W:tO2E - pp Twinge - W:tO2E - pp Sotto Voce - W:tO2E - pp Glow - W:tO2E - pp sense intellect - W:tO2E - pp Mouth of Madness - W:tO2E - pp Phantom Wings - W:tO2E - pp Return - W:tO2E - pp Storm Robes - W:tO2E - pp Dark Secrets - W:tO2E - pp Bolster - W:tO2E - pp Confession - W:tO2E - pp Faustian Rapport - W:tO2E - pp Mask castigation - W:tO2E - pp Moment - W:tO2E - pp Lucid - W:tO2E - pp Phantom - W:tO2E - pp Ride Electrons - W:tO2E - pp Flawsight - W:tO2E - pp Reconstruction - W:tO2E - pp reliquary - W:tO2E - pp Strengthen - W:tO2E - pp Quash - W:tO2E - pp Ballad - W:tO2E - pp Distraction - W:tO2E - pp Web Presence - W:tO2E - pp Fetter Sentry, - W:tO2E - pp Sculpt - W:tO2E - pp Calcify - W:tO2E - pp Desperation’s lash - W:tO2E - pp Mnemotechnics - W:tO2E - pp Swipe - W:tO2E - pp Wraithgrasp - W:tO2E - pp Rap - W:tO2E - pp Recoil/Follow - W:tO2E - pp Wrench in Gears - W:tO2E - pp Befuddlement - W:tO2E - pp Bite Me - W:tO2E - pp Folled You - W:tO2E - pp Haunting - W:tO2E - pp Lucidity - W:tO2E - pp Inspire - W:tO2E - pp
Sudden movement - W:tO2E - pp Alter Vital signs - W:tO2E - pp Control Creature - W:tO2E - pp early Withdrawal - W:tO2E - pp Level three Bind the Living - M:tR - PP 119 Death's Hand - M:tR - PP 120 Manifestation - M:tR - PP 120 Seperate Ba - M:tR - PP 120 Shadow Portal - M:tR - PP 120 rite of the table - M:tRPG - pp 132 sucking the Chonta - M:tRPG - pp 132 dust of tomorrow - M:tRPG - pp 136 Pilgrims rest - M:tRPG - pp 137 bind the demon’s servant - M:tRPG - pp 142 brambles on the road - M:tRPG - pp 148 ghost walking method - M:tRPG - pp 148 projection of inward being - M:tRPG - pp 148 Orienteering - W:tO2E - pp return of Visage - W:tO2E - pp Flicker - W:tO2E - pp Purify - W:tO2E - pp Storm Quell - W:tO2E - pp Transfer Angst - W:tO2E - pp Statue - W:tO2E - pp Shadow presence - W:tO2E - pp Gremlinise - W:tO2E - pp Sympathy - W:tO2E - pp Wipe me - W:tO2E - pp Decay - W:tO2E - pp Deep desiring - W:tO2E - pp Muse - W:tO2E - pp Splice Strand - W:tO2E - pp Early warning - W:tO2E - pp Martialry - W:tO2E - pp Chorus of throats - W:tO2E - pp Embed - W:tO2E - pp Volley - W:tO2E - pp Mindspeak - W:tO2E - pp Soulkeeper - W:tO2E - pp Stonehand Punch - W:tO2E - pp Irresistible Force - W:tO2E - pp Relic Wrap - W:tO2E - pp Dark Ether - W:tO2E - pp Wyldfire - W:tO2E - pp Stretch Reality - W:tO2E - pp Dreams of Sleep - W:tO2E - pp Mending - W:tO2E - pp Master’s voice - W:tO2E - pp Healing - W:tO2E - pp Obliterate Animal - W:tO2E - pp Charitable Trust - W:tO2E - pp Level four Amenti's Grace - M:tR - PP 121 Animate Corpse - M:tR - PP 121 Khaibit's Embrace - M:tR - PP 121
Server Soul - M:tR - PP 122 Sin-Eating - M:tR - PP 122 Track - W:tO2E - pp geoglyphs - M:tRPG - pp 126 change of the guard - M:tRPG - pp 132 drink of the Moche - M:tRPG - pp 133 Ghost pot - M:tRPG - pp 133 walk the barriers - M:tRPG - pp 143 blur the mind - M:tRPG - pp 149 whispering stones - M:tRPG - pp 150 Jump - W:tO2E - pp Tempest run - W:tO2E - pp Travel - W:tO2E - pp Casting Out - W:tO2E - pp Mass Chastise - W:tO2E - pp Purity Bulwark - W:tO2E - pp Shadow Screen - W:tO2E - pp life-in-death - W:tO2E - pp Corpse - W:tO2E - pp Claim - W:tO2E - pp Creeping Rot - W:tO2E - pp Hi Mom - W:tO2E - pp Shadow weapon - W:tO2E - pp Puppet theatre - W:tO2E - pp the Craving - W:tO2E - pp Crescendo - W:tO2E - pp Brendan’s lay - W:tO2E - pp Spectre song - W:tO2E - pp Sever Strand - W:tO2E - pp Rend - W:tO2E - pp Chrysalis - W:tO2E - pp Girding - W:tO2E - pp Casting the Scene - W:tO2E - pp Tabula rasa - W:tO2E - pp Death’s Touch - W:tO2E - pp Shroudshield - W:tO2E - pp Bilocation - W:tO2E - pp Foul Humour - W:tO2E - pp Form of Chaos - W:tO2E - pp Stigmata - W:tO2E - pp Agon - W:tO2E - pp Incubus - W:tO2E - pp Dream Canvas - W:tO2E - pp Rein in the Mind - W:tO2E - pp Anesthesia - W:tO2E - pp faint - W:tO2E - pp Manipulate Herd - W:tO2E - pp Exchange rate - W:tO2E - pp Danegeld - W:tO2E - pp Level five Call the Khaibit - M:tR - PP 122 Entrap the Ba - M:tR - PP 123 Heart of Life - M:tR - PP 123 Panoply of Shadow - M:tR - PP 123 Reshape the Lost Soul - M:tR - PP 123 Scouring Oblivion - M:tR - PP 124
pillcopuncu - M:tRPG - pp 127 Qaya (Great Summoning) - M:tRPG - pp 134 tread the dragon tracks [the kings highway] - M:tRPG - pp 1 51 Oubliette - W:tO2E - pp Maelstrom Bridge - W:tO2E - pp Defiance - W:tO2E - pp Shadow Summons - W:tO2E - pp Shadow Wrack - W:tO2E - pp Materialise - W:tO2E - pp Forgetting Death (Slip Lethan Bonds) - W:tO2E - pp Empower - W:tO2E - pp H&V control - W:tO2E - pp Impress, Kinesis - W:tO2E - pp Ludd’s Grip - W:tO2E - pp Automaton - W:tO2E - pp Cupitatis - W:tO2E - pp Requiem - W:tO2E - pp Songs of living - W:tO2E - pp Soul pact - W:tO2E - pp Torsion - W:tO2E - pp Bodyshape - W:tO2E - pp Cripple - W:tO2E - pp Kiln - W:tO2E - pp Maelstrom Visage - W:tO2E - pp Soothe - W:tO2E - pp Onslaught - W:tO2E - pp Memorycrafting - W:tO2E - pp Obliviate - W:tO2E - pp Centre of Gravity - W:tO2E - pp Corsican Synd - W:tO2E - pp Furious Spiral - W:tO2E - pp Tempus Fugit - W:tO2E - pp Death’s caul - W:tO2E - pp Phantasmagoria - W:tO2E - pp Dream Cloak - W:tO2E - pp Oneirataxia - W:tO2E - pp Supplant - W:tO2E - pp Obliterate Soul - W:tO2E - pp Marionette - W:tO2E - pp Shadow Possess - W:tO2E - pp Investment - W:tO2E - pp Composure Wellspring - W:tO2E - pp Lien - W:tO2E - pp Sustenance - W:tO2E - pp NOMENCLATURE Language and elucidation are the tools of this path, it’s masters are wordsmiths and historians, anthropologists and cryptographers. They study the connection between creation and mans ability to name and control it, seeking for the tools and language to do so for themselves. The idea of spells performed with spoken words and incantations were born from the practice of Ren Hekau and the first faltering steps of this path can often resemble spell casting from popular media. Level one
Asking the Trees - M:tR - PP 126 Forgetting the Stone - M:tR - PP 126 Forgetting the Tree - M:tR - PP 126 Name the Secret - M:tR - PP 126 Naming the Warning - M:tR - PP 126 name of the fountain - M:tRPG - pp 118 strength of the Ayno - M:tRPG - pp 129 The way of the calm soul - M:tRPG - pp 147 - M:tRPG - pp - M:tRPG - pp - M:tRPG - pp Level two Becoming the Stone - M:tR - PP 127 Becoming the Tree - M:tR - PP 127 Cloud the Name - M:tR - PP 127 Command the Beast - M:tR - PP 128 Mend Flesh - M:tR - PP 128 drinking the dust - M:tRPG - pp 123 the seals breath - M:tRPG - pp 124 snare the name - M:tRPG - pp 130 - M:tRPG - pp - M:tRPG - pp - M:tRPG - pp Level three Become Animal - M:tR - PP 128 Command Thought - M:tR - PP 128 Name of Hekau - M:tR - PP 129 Whispers tot he Heart - M:tR - PP 129 fire sway - M:tRPG - pp 120 Icaros - M:tRPG - pp 131 - M:tRPG - pp - M:tRPG - pp - M:tRPG - pp - M:tRPG - pp Level four Enslave - M:tR - PP 129 Fortify Flesh - M:tR - PP 130 Naming the Body's Destruction - M:tR - PP 130 Speaking all Names - M:tR - PP 130 ward of sky metal - M:tRPG - pp 133 curse of the South - M:tRPG - pp 137 ten paces strike - M:tRPG - pp 143 - M:tRPG - pp - M:tRPG - pp - M:tRPG - pp Level five Forgetting the Person - M:tR - PP 130 Ptah's Word - M:tR - PP 131 Whispers to the Body - M:tR - PP 131 Word of Authority - M:tR - PP 131 name of the forgotten - M:tRPG - pp 121 Death touch - M:tRPG - pp 151 - M:tRPG - pp - M:tRPG - pp - M:tRPG - pp - M:tRPG - pp
W:tO2E Wraith:the Oblivion 2nd Edition M:tR Mummy: the Resurrection M:tRPG Mummy: the Resurrection Players Guide WoD:MR WoD: Mummy Revised (this tomb / website) Arcanoi New Spells The Spell of Life All Immortals were created by the Spell of Life (or a variation thereon). The original spell was created by Isis and Nephthys and was used to create the Shemsu-Heru. From these ShemsuHeru came the Ishmaelites, and from them the Cabiri and the Tzadikim. Then there was a transmutation of the spell worked by Mages in distant lands after they received the knowledge of the Spell from Wandering Ishmaelites. In both Asia and Europe the Mages employed elixirs or consumable component's to create the Xianrén and the Crochan Geni, while other mages latched onto the Necromantic aspects of the Spell of L ife to create the Xibalba and the Oboli. However, the assumption that all versions of the spell have a single parent is not written in stone, even if it much of the text seems to lean towards this version. Should you be unhappy with the Egyptocentric concept there is nothing in this version of Mummy that prevents you telling stories in a world where the Immortals were created separate from one another. Paragenesis of the Spell of life in more than one culture is far from impossible, after all look at other effects the mages managed to come up with on their own only to discover there foreign brothers to have done the same. Add to that the lack of borders and distance for the awakened in the Mythic age and there is nothing to stop the Mages of South America perfecting the same great work as the students of Thoth and the Wyck. The true magic of the spell of life is powerful stuff from the time when the Mythic age was undaunted and the worlds undivided. Each g roup or camp of Mages that practiced it have added their own elements, beliefs and foci. The Cabiri have documented over 60 cosmetic variations of the Spell, all of which hint at various fashions and outlooks within the veil of Isis or different cults and cultures of Magi conducting the ritual. As knowledge of the Spell travelled further away from the Nile, it's rituals and wording went through changes and alterations dictated by local patterns and paradigms but the Spell itself remained essentially the same. One of the most vital aspects of the Spell of life is death. Isis was acutely aware of the natural cycle as her magic style was far closer to what modern Verbena practice than any other Magical tradition. She knew that all things must be born of the dual powers of the male and female and that all things must eventually pass onto the next stage of life through the doorway of death. The Immortals shape-shifting allies, especially the Silent Striders, understood the process of the Spell of Life and witnessed it's adherence to the natural cycle. To these Garou and those who listened to their wisdom, there was never anything unnatural about the immortals eternal journey around the wheel. But this is more than just a religious belief or a new age conceit; Death is essential to everything that lives and to deny it feeds Oblivion. Thus all Immortals created with the Spell of life must die before they become Immortal and not until they have died can they become Immortal. Those mages who deny death, Liches and some of the worst dark Immortals, who create Immortals that have not tasted death first, they ultimately serve Oblivion in ways too terrible to countenance.
Historically the first Mummies created by mages other than the veil of Isis were the eldest Tzadikim, followed soon after by the first Xibalba. Either through the betrayal of an Ishmaelite or some now forgotten trade with the Veil of Isis itself, the Spell o f life found its way into the hands of Elamite Mages sometime in the 2nd millenniu m BC and was used to create the Tzadikim. Except for being spoken in a new language and being dedicated to different underworld Gods, this Spell is to all intense and purpose, identical to the Spell that created the Shemsu-Heru and the earliest Ishmaelites. The Xibalba Spell of life shares many details with its counterparts and hushed whispers claim that the spell travelled to South America along with an Ishmaelite from the Fertile Crescent. However nobody knows from whom exactly the Peoples of MesoAmerica learned Isis great work. Certainly the world was a smaller place in the Mythic age, and both the Dead and the Awakened made it even smaller in their own domains and circles. Perhaps Mages of Egypt met Mages of the EpiOlmec in the cerebral realms that would one day become the Umbra, or maybe the Wraiths of magic users shared their secrets after death on some Far shore or Tempest byway. When the Ishmaelite shared the Spell of Life with Cabirus in the 6th century BC he could not have known that others had already let the ritual slip into the hands of Wicce in the distant Isle of the Mighty or to Alchemists in distant Cathay. Even these mutations of the original spell are further sub divided by cultural and philosophical details. There are Xibalba from Northern America whose preparation included self-mutilation and long periods in sweat lodges or hanging from ropes. While in Mexico, one cult of Magi moliated the Wraiths of the immortal-to-be until they appeared to be flayed as part of the preparation ceremony. Mongol Xianrén prepared themselves for the first death as warriors, with the magic taken care of by court Alchemists and wizards and they cross into the Shadowlands after a quick and violent end. They share the Dynasty with Tibetan Buddhists who reached their reborn state almost completely solo, having crafted the elixir themselves and then slowly starved themselves to death over a long and painful process. Each Dynasty write up includes some of the camps within each group who are notable for distinct trappings and methods to their Spell but players and Storytellers are encouraged to flesh these ideas out and to add any culturally or thematically appropriate camps of their own. Some players might be uncomfortable with the suggestion that an ancient Egyptian travelled to South America and the hints that the Spell of Life used to create the Xibalba is in fact the exact same spell of Life that Isis created, or a very close rendition thereof. We may scoff at such new age mumbo jumbo and state quite clearly that the Natives were every bit as capable of such magic. We also know that the Mummies of the Andes and the rest of south and central America are nothing like the mummies of Egypt. In our world it is foolish, and a little insulting to other cultures, to assume they must have all learned Pyramid construction and body preservation from one culture. But this is not our world, this is the World of Darkness. This is a world that evolved from the Mythic age and its prehistory is not that of our world. The Mythic age is difficult to imagine for us in a world where only be truth can exist. The age allowed paradox and conflict to exist together. Adam really was the first man, but at the same time other humans not only existed, they predated Adam and Eve by a very long time. By the time the gates to Eden were locked to Adam, Lilith, and Eve, humanity in Africa had evolved from primates and had been breeding for millennia. While we scoff at those who believe in the prehistoric contact between Mesoamerica and Egypt, in the World of Darkness they are the enl ightened ones. Thier tenuous linking of the pyramids, the similar legends and myth structures, and of course the mummies are correct in the other world where our games are set.
So use soem of that counter culture, mention that Mummies from Peru and other cultures show some very sophisticated and recognisable methods of preservation including the removal of internal organs, the importance of the 'opening of the mouth' ritual, the barge of the afterlife journey and several other aspects. Peruvian mummies were coated in resin as part of the process that prevents decomposition. This resin uses tropical plants (including Araucaria conifers from the pacific islands, over 7000 miles from the Peruvian coast) and marine oils from all around the Southern American Coastline, showing a shared knowledge of preservation across the continent. The reborn however know that the actual mummification process has little to do with the spell beyond being a method of preserving the b ody to satisfy one aspect of the Great Rite. That in fact, what the sleeping world knows about mummification comes only from improper attempts to copy the spell of life and the true mummification involved in the spell of life. They also know that as vast as the Oceans are, when you can walk on clouds or fly in the barge of Re, when you can traverse the tempest or employ untiring Ushabti to row your boats, distance has no meaning. Chapter 5: Going Forth The Underworld: the Dark Umbra revisited The Underworld The Underworld, known by mages as the dark Umbra, came about as the mythic age ended. The dead who had once walked the earth, or withdrew to realms just a whisper away from their descendants, were now increasingly bound into a separate dimension, while dreams withdrew to their own lands and the spirits of nature and enigma were similarly fractured from the core realm. Eventually the emotional shadow of the liv ing world drifted far enough away that i t touched on the tempestuous storm that marked the borders of Oblivions maw and the Underworld as we know it today came into being. It is impossible to say exactly when the Shadowlands first existed as a distinct dimension but the rise of civil izations and human cities had a monumental effect on the process. The Fae and the Shapeshifters noticed it first, when Humans b egan to master the world they lived in. Mages notices soon after, and the Undead last of all but the death of magic has been and continues to be the most significant act in the World of Darkness. As the earliest human society arose in ancient Egypt, guided by the Vampires Set and Osiris, the awakened individuals came to understand that the dead had not completely abandoned the world, simply retreated to this new Underworld, which they called the Duat. Mages like Isis, Garou like Anubis, the Duat was not the great mystery then that it is now and when the first Immortal was given the Spell of life he did not go into the afterlife unarmed. The Hekau paths of Necromancy and Usabti allowed the first Immortals to expand and fortify the realms they found in the Duat. Echo’s of the living lands formed by the passions and desires placed upon the great cities, tombs and temples of the Kingdom. The substance of the Duat was workable by the Immortals and they built their shadow realm Amenti into a stunning kingdom beyond the shroud. In later years the Shemsu-Heru and the Ishmaelites taught the necessary skills to the other Dynasties, allowing each of them to found shadow realms of their own. Charon was, to the Undying, quite a latecomer. His empire of Stygia, built during the time of the Roman republic, a comparatively modern event. Amenti stood in the Underworld for thousands of years before the structure of the Dark Kingdom of Iron was even begun and it’s Wraiths can be forgiven if they barely pay the slightest mind to the Hierarchy, the Guilds or the Legions. The same is true of all the Shadow realms built by the other Immortals, or more correctly, by the legions of Ushabti in their employ.
But as the Dark Kingdoms did begin to arise some of them pushed the Shadow realms into the shadows, either outstripping by dint of sheer numbers or attempting to conquer them out of a desire for their power and riches. Erlik Khan had ruled the Underworld of the east from Siberia to the Yangze River for centuries but it was toppled by Qin Shi Huang (Yu Huang). Amenti, with the aid of great magic’s, slipped from sight, as did the Duat holdings of the Crochan Geni and the Tzadikim. The lands of the Xibalba remained in control of the dark Kingdom of Obsidian until the Spaniards came, but they eventually followed the tactics of the other Dynasties, disappearing from the notice of the Wraiths. They all remain independent and protected from the stygian empire because of the power of their dead and by the treaties forged between Anubis and the ferrymen. To this day the Shadow realms remain masked from anybody not invited to journey there, hidden b y power spells of stealth and misdirection and by the untiring Ushabti guardsmen. Today the Underworld is less about geography and more about concepts and emotions in locations only partially connected in a recognisable fashion. The dark kingdoms dominated the Shadowlands for two thousand years, with the Shadow Realms hidden away on the edges of the tempest, but now the old order has fallen and the Duat is in tatters.
The Dark Kingdoms: part i The Elysian fields, shadow Realm of the Cabiri Now by these regions filled with fear, by this huge Chaos, these vast silent realms, to which are owed ourselves and all creation; a brief while we linger; then we hasten, late or soon to one abode; here on road leads us all; here in the end is home; over humankind this kingdom keeps the longest sovereignty. The Cabiri are well looked after in the underworld, their every whim seen to by a dedicated group of Wraiths called the Eumenides (see below). These servants ensures that the Cabiri are met when they die and well looked after in their journey through the Shadowlands. Their leade r Hermes Psychopompus guides the Important Reborn and sends chosen agents to look after the safety of the rest, bringing them through the pitfalls and the Valles Avernae (Valleys of Hell). On there way into the Tempest they must cross the five rivers of Hades the Archeron (the river of sorrow), Cocytus (lamentation), Phlegathon (fire), Lethe (forgetfulness) and the Styx (hate), which form the boundary between upper and lower worlds. E ach River runs eventually intot he Sea of Shadows, and no matter what route is taken, all five must be crossed. By crossing these rivers, and the tests they present, the Dead have proven their lives worthy of continuance. They have walked through Fire and cast out sorrow and doubt, they have not fallen to the Shemsu-Heru flaw of hate and most importantly, they have not forgotten themselves or their way. They are on the home stretch for the Elysian fields. However, those who cannot pass these tests, or at least some of them, to the satisfaction of the Eumenides are left to their own devices. If this is their first death, they never return to their bodies to become reborn and are left to the fate of Drones. If it is simply one of the many death cycles, they are left to battle the shadowlands (and the Stygian patrols) alone mostly, unless something or someone can change the Furies mind. In the myth of Orpheus, when the Poet descended into Hades to rescue his love, it was the ability of his words to move the implacable Furies that won the sympathy of the Chthonic Gods of Death. With the challenges met and defeated, or the Eumenides won over, it is on to the Elysian
fields. Once he has found the Elysian fields, the Spirit of the Cabiri must face three Wraith judges who go by the names Aeacus, Rhadamanthus and Minos (almost certainly not the same Minos who heads up the Mnemos guild) the inflexible judges of the dead. His actions are debated by these three Ancient Ghosts and weighed against the teachings of Dikaiosyne. Though the Judges of the Cabiri are less strict than the 42 judges of Amenti, they still demand strict adherence to the chosen path. Those Cabiri who find the Path of Dikaiosyne too extreme are still expected to walk their own path with devotion, whether that be the path of Humanity or another foreign path. Similarly, just as the Egyptian Dead could cheat their way through this test with the funerary spells, there are ways around the Cabiri judges. Those who live by the Orphikos bios, or "Orphic way of life", that is dedication to the mysteries and the arts, vegetarianism, abstention from Sex, and refrained from eating eggs and beans — got extra marks and often managed to scrape through. Living in a manner that the Judges might not approve of can be balanced wi th a single life cycle of abstinence and patronage. It truly is a matter of bargain and balance. THE ELYSIAN FIELDS The afterlife that the Cabiri experience is already well documented in the Wraith canon, for it i s the Dark Empire of Steel in which they rest when they are dead. The Cabiri still use Greek terms and mythological references to describe their world. The lands of the dead are named Hades (the house or domain of Hades (domos Aidao), Hades, Erebus, the Asphodel Fields, Stygia and Acherontia), the Stygian empire being at its core until recently. The Tempest is named Tartaros – the great pit which was originally the exclusive prison of the old Titan gods, but which later came to mean the dungeon home of the damned souls. The Cabiri often refer to the Malfeans as Titans. The far Shores are understood as the Islands of the Blessed or Elysian Islands ruled by Cronus, where the great heroes of myth resided after death. And then there are the Elysian Fields, where the virtuous dead and initiates in the ancient Mysteries were sent to dwell. The Elysian Fields are the secret Realm of the Cabiri in their Death Cycle, their answer to the Shemsu-Heru kingdom of Amenti. A realm of Marble temples and vast amphitheatres, of thoughtful debate and erotic plays put on by the shades of the dead. The Elysian fields are maintained by those Wraiths who served or loved the Cabiri in life, an ever growing sect of the dead still searching for some reward in the afterlife or the answers to the Mysteries themselves. The Byways and sacred paths that lead to the Elysian fields are unknown, or more likely long forgotten, by the Stygian Hierarchy. However the truth is that this realm would fare far worse if discovered because it has none of the sapiritual defences common in Amenti or other realms. The Realm is difficult to discover, but once found the portals stand open and unguarded. The Heretics have heard rumours of them and the renegades share a few myths that paint them as some sort of utopian sanctuary. Cabiri thralls have been captured from time to time and tortured by the Deathlords, only to discover that the Thrall knows only a drop point and not the location of the realm itself. In truth, without the aid of the Cabiri and the lessons hidden in the Mystery plays, no wraith or Spectre would find their way to the Fields easily. Stygia was built upon the philosophy, language and Culture of the Classical world, on the memories and ideals of the Greeks and R omans who inherited much of the Ancient ways of the Egyptians. While the modern Hierarchy has its own methods and beliefs, at its heart is still this relic of the past and it is into that memory that the Cabiri have tapped for their own comfort and security.
Through careful manipulation of agents and servants the Cabiri enjoy the benefits of the Stygian empire, able to trade for the same relics and services the average Hierarchy Wraith could. Transactions in both directions go through a number of Wraith’s, none of whom know more than necessary about the Cabiri, and none can reveal the final destination of trade goods. Ushabti, only able to speak of the trade like an automated shopping list, handles the final leg of the journey. Taken from the pre-programmed route these relics crumble to dust. Those Cabiri who have mastered Necromancy often take simple steps to hide their true nature and go about the Empire as if they were truly dead themselves. Though few in number, these reborn have managed to subtly effect Stygia down through the ages, bribing officials in Necropolis or advising those Wraith’s not quite up to the task of government. In the lands of the living, the Shemsu-Heru rule the Immortals, and the Cabiri remember an age where they walked in fear. But In Death, the Reborn of Egypt must hide away in Amenti for the most part while the Cabiri have much greater freedom and power. Before the Sixth great Maelstrom, members of the Cabiri were able to manipulate many aspects of Sygian policy and actions. Should the Shemsu-Heru ever decide the decade w as right for a purge against the Cabi ri, they could counter with redirected Hierarchy legions. Not that a couple of dozen Immortals who spend part of their existence in the shadowlands can effect large changes on a monolithic empire, but they have been known to delay attacks or redirect minor crusades from time to time. The Eumenides (Erinyes) ” It shames me too, alas! how Tartarus opened a way to the Odyrsian plaint [Orpheus]; with my own eyes I saw the Eumenides shed base tears at those persuasive strains, and the S isters repeat their allotted task. Their cheeks, it’s said, were wet with tears; and the queen [Persephone] and he whose sceptre rules the underworld could not deny the prayer. The Myths of the Cabiri tell of a single Ferryman, Hermes Psychopompus, who took a great interest in the first of the Cabiri and brought him to the Elysian Fields. There a re heretical rumours among the Dead that this figure is in fact Anubis enmasqued, having adopted a suitable guise with which to watch over the bastards of the great rite just as he does the Shemu-Heru and their Ishmaelite associates. He trained a large number of the Dead who had been faithful to the Mysteries in life and gave them the name Eumenides (Erinnyes) after the ferocious spirits that served the Goddess Dike. As patroness of the Path of Dikaiosyne (Righteousness), Dike was already much loved by the Cabiri and the Immortals took these dead to their hearts from the earliest meetings. From a small group of guides and aides, the Eumenides grew into a large contingent. Some joined to escape the Stygian grind, but most came because they had been followers of the Mysteries in life, or even friends and lovers of the Immortals. Serving the Immortals meant entry to the Elysian fields, and even if they were not the real ones, they were a vast improvement on the rest of the Underworld. Thus now the Cabiri, formerly a minor offshoot of the Immortal race, became a force to be reckoned with in the afterlife. The Elysian Fields now house many Eumenides Wraiths, faithful servants to the Cabiri and citizens of a faux paradise. But those within the Fields and those without rarely interact, because to do so would put the Cabiri realm at risk. To leave the Elysian fields requires one to have the memory of that place forcibly removed for security and so those who act as ferrymen are looked upon with special reverence.
In the myth of Orpheus (often a mask for the first Cabiri Immortal), when the Poet descended into Hades to rescue his love, it was the ability of his words to move the implacable Furies that won the sympathy of the Chthonic Gods of Death. The legends tells how Orpheus lament for Eurydice was so profound that it tamed the furies and brought them to his side when they had remain unmoved by any others plight before that time. Clearly this legend recounts the time when the Cabiri established their ‘army of furious shades’. Annwfyn: Shadow realm of the Crochan Geni yn annwfyn ydiwyth, yn annwfyn ygorwyth, yn annwfyn is eluyd… in Annwfyn the peacefulness, in Annwfyn the wrath, in Annwfyn below the earth... As with all Dynasties of the Undying, the Crochan geni have carved out a realm for themselves in the land of the dead. But for these reborn it is less a paradise than for many other immortals. Their Shadow realm is known by the Welsh word annwn, annwfyn - traditionally translated as "otherworld," "un-world," "very-deep," possibly "extreme world" and is akin to some of the Irish worlds of the gods (Tír na mBéo, "Land of the Living," etc.) Rising out of the sea of shadows is an siland, the shores of which are shallow and boggy. The only relief from the swampy morass are sharp tooth li ke rocks and scattered outcrops. A river called Gjoll runs from the sea, and its shores are boggy and treacherous too. The river snakes around a great craggy uprising in the centre of the island, the only large expanse of solid ground, atop of which is a vast fortress the size of a modern town seemingly buil t out of the very bedrock. This island is the Shadow realm of Annwn and its capitol Dun Scáith, the Fortress of Shadow. The realm is hard to find and even harder to reach, the Bogs require a great skill to cross and few outside the ferrymen are capable. The only way to reach Eliudnir is to cross the river Gjoll, which is freezing cold and has knives flowing in it. The walls of Eliudnir are woven from the spines of serpents which drip poison down onto those who wade in the rivers of blood below. The only way across the river is over a bridge that appears to be made of human skulls. If a living person steps on the bridge, it rings out as if a thousand men walk across it, yet the dead pass without a sound. Furthermore, the Bridhe is over looked by the great gatehouses of the fortresses and the gates themselves are guarded by the Moliated barghuest Modgud, possibly an entire group of Wraiths in one form. That hall is in truth merely the fabled hall of Hel who was rumoured to have great possessions there ; her walls are exceeding high and her gates great. Named Eliudnir (or Éljúðnir in Old Norse) this hall echoes with boasting, drunken conflict and the songs of bards attempting to deny the Tempest outside. Inside the walls are many halls, each surrounded by a constellation of smaller huts and houses. Here the Crochan Geni and their Wraithly allies have tried to recreate the paradise they expected to find in death. They strongly believe that such just rewards await them should they ever succumb to true death, and are thus happy with the simulacrum. There are gardens and terraces festooned to look like the Summerland. And the main hall itself could almost fool you into thinking it is Great Valhalla. Daily existence inside Dun Scáith is an uneasy mix of many cultures trapped within foreboding walls. The icy wraith of Hel sits within the hall of Eliudnir, with other powerful spirits at her high
table. Distant and aloof, conducting all her afterlife through servants and administrators, Hel attempts to maintain an atmosphere of high days and festival, perhaps knowing that the dead of Annwn are easier to handle if entertained. She provides what order there is in Annwn, tasking the ghosts of bards and performers to keep their subjects distracted. Tournaments and mock battles are common, as are tests of manliness and seamanship. In recent centuries, Annwn has received an influx of pathos from the living lands where there has been an increase in interest in all things Celtic and Norse. Dun Scáith has begun to look as it did in the years before the cult of the nailed god, with repairs and upgrades a regular occurrence. Modern beliefs, and the hankering for a mythical past have had an effect on the Fortress – an effect that is instantly recognisable to returning Immortals. The realm has evolved recently and the Fortress looks more like a medieval city then an ancient dwelling, something clo se to Hollywood’s vision of Camelot perhaps. The many Shadow Realms of the Oboli As with everything else concerning the Oboli Dynasty, their Underworld holdings are piecemeal and diverse. They have no central realm like other Dynasties, and many of the minor ones they do have are kept only for certain factions and alliances within the Dynasty. It would be impossible to list every coterie of Heretics that give succour to a lone Oboli and every haunted mansion, which is in truth the only safe harbour for a single member of the dynasty. It is common for the Oboli to remain in the Shadowlands, which is sometimes safer than travelling deeper into the dark umbra but comes with its own drawbacks as far as Sekhem accrual goes. Some Oboli use the same skills that got them by while alive and enjoy the hospitality of other Dynasty’s, more than a few can be found in the Elysian fields or Amenti. Two of the largest realms claimed by the Oboli, though relatively small, have had a huge impact upon the Dynasty and the wider Immortal world. Saboi and Mount Kogaionon both claim a very different history for the founder of the Oboli, Zalmoxis and their citizens could even said to be at war with one another. Borderlands and byways Some 40 Irish bog bodies including Oldcroghan Man and Clonycavan Man were b uried on borders between ancient Irish kingdoms. Oldcroghan Man was found at the foot of a hill that has marked a border in Ireland since ancient times. Today two townlands come together at that spot, west of Dublin. Two thousand years ago it served as the boundary of two kingdoms—the territories of Tuath Cruachain and Tuagh na Cille. Some believe Oldcroghan Man was sacrificed to a fertility goddess at the inauguration of a new king to bring protection and prosperity. The concept of Borders is important to the dead of the Celtic world, somewhat less so to the Norse and other cultures under the Crochan Geni u mbrella. Punishment in Annwn usually means a Wraith is buried in the shadow bogs, awake and sentient, serving as a sentinel against the tempest and the creatures of Oblivion. For many this punishment is a sentence for a certain period of time, a period to regret breaking the few rules of Hel’s kingdom, but for the worst offenders, it can be a permanent state. Captive prisoners, those in service to Stygia, the worst elements, they are all now permanently moliated alarm beacons dotted around the edge of the island. Kogaionon – the sacred mountain of Zalmoxis Mount Kogaionon is the home to the faithful Cult of Zalmoxis, those Wraiths and Immortals who believe they carry the torch for the ancient visionary and founder of the Oboli Dynasty. To these ardent worshippers Zalmoxis is only a memory now, for as their dogma teaches he wa s lost to Oblivion sometime around the rise of the Stygian empire. The Mountain itself is little more than rocking outcropping closer to the far shores than it is to
Stygia. The Mountain looks vaguely volcanic and has a large indentatuon in the centre as though most of the peak was blown off at some distant point in history. It is this depression that houses the settlement, allowing several small buildings to be built inside and to remain unseen from the sea or even the beach. There is a small monastery and a villa built on its inner slopes, along with two dozen or so simple cell like dwellings that line the floor of the crater. The highest building in the exact centre is a three story tower in which burns an ethereal flame, unseen except from within the crater bowl itself. The Immortals of the Cult of Zalmoxis sometimes retire to this sacred place during their death cycle, and some have been known to rest here for centuries gathering the will to resurrect. There are many relics within the monastery, from books and puzzles to primitive pieces of art. A great deal of the realms inhabitants seek in sight and enlightenment on what they see as Zalmoxis original quest. Existence here is frugal and contemplative, the wraiths of Zalmoxis original mage allies reside in the villa and are joined by those few followers of the mortal cult they could bring here. If any of these wraiths still have fetters, they are careful about keeping them a secret and only leave the enclosure on rare occasions. One reason they do have for leaving is to stir up denizens of the far shores or Hierarchy outposts to rebellion. They will risk much if they believe they can help others throw off their chains and forge their own destiny. The normally sedate and peaceful Oboli of the sacred mountain can become surprisingly warlike and heroic in such circumstances and only the blasphemy of the Saboi cult can arouse them more. Saboi Over the gulf of time, Zalmoxis has often been confused with others. Sometimes with heros and sometimes with Gods, the likes of Dionysus a nd Bakkhos, even Jupiter of the Romans. But the most enduring myth is that Zalmoxis (and those he is confused with) is really the God on horseback Sabazius. According to certain myths, Dionysus was initiated into the mysteries of the Great Mother of Gods by Cybele (Meter, Gaea, Rhea, Demeter) and he assumed the name Sabazius. A cult started around this local version of the vegetation god and Sabazius survived for many years as a lesser deity. His name is found preserved in many examples such as Dionysus Sabazius and Jupiter Sabazius. Part of his cult’s myths clearly match the Orphic mysteries as they i ncluded the god's annual death in the grain fields, with the participants of this ritual weeping for him. An important symbol of his cult was a snake, which is a chthonian symbol as well as one of revival. The cult of Sabazius (similar to that of Cybele or Dionysus) was accompanied by music, particularly by the pl ayers of double flute and castanets, and by ecstatic dancers holding these small snakes. For those with the eyes to see, this is clearly the mysteries of an Immortal or society of Immortals and the Saboi believe that Zalmoxis and Sabazius are one and the same individual. They teach that Zalmoxis did leap into the labyrinth to end his existence, in fact they say he joined with a group of Doomslayers, eager to make some last stand before his end came. But the cult teaches that something happened to him there and that he eventually returned from the clutches of Oblivion mounted on a spectral horse a much different Immortal. This twice reborn hero, they say, has taken the name Sabazius and he is now the greatest enemy Oblivion has ever known. His Cult seek to relish their existence and to live up to the example set by their hero
or meet their end trying. Saboi, the shadow realm of the Saboi, is a place of Bacchanalian celebration and excess, but also of wailing and passions given vent. One might be forgiven for thinking they had stumbled into an underworld brothel or a lunatic asylum, for it takes a much deeper look to see the united ideal of these crazed believers. The Wraiths are often strong supporters of the guild system, and the Immortals often members of the Het Iakkhos. But all are welcome here for a short time, with lifetime seats in the inner sanctum if they embrace the philosophy of passion. Doomslayers and the more reckless ferrymen spent time here and the Immortals that call this realm home are the hedonistic warriors of the Oboli. The Garden of sixty blossoms There is a byway in the tempest that leads into a walled garden, a place where plasm roses blossom in spectral beauty. Everything fashioned my sentient hands appears as if it were made of gold, from the walls to the paving slabs, and not even the entropic nature of the Underworld can fully dull the vista. This is the garden of Sixty Blossoms, a small shadow realm maintained by Wraiths still enamoured of the guild system and grateful for a p lace to gather. The doors to the realm remain open to Immortals of the Oboli dynasty and it is often selected a clan destine meeting place by the Reborn when they seek to make deals or barter for the great rite. Those wraiths who know the secrets of Zalmoxis spell of life can often be found in the garden, and so too can others (Wraith or reborn) looking to hire out their abilities to patronage. In recent years the garden has attracted other names, as it helps to be euphemistic when discussing such a place. A generation ago it was fashionable to cal the ga rden Casablanca’ or Rik’s bar, but now the newest Wraiths have started to refer to the place as the Mos E isley Cantena. Amenti, Shadow realm of the Shemsu-Heru and the Ishmaelites. Amenti and the Egyptian Underworld are further detailed in WoD: Mummy 2nd edition on pages 108 – 112 Anubis was said by some of the Wraith’s of Neter-Khertet (the Egyptian Shadowlands) to be the first man who ever tasted death. Certainly he was ancient even when Charon passed into the underworld and he had explored the afterlife extensively by the time the Stygian empire arose. He is the protector of the Egyptian underworld, a character spiritually akin to the lady of fate and he taught Osiris the shadowlands section of the great right that turns mortals into immortals, in the hopes that they might safeguard Neter-Khertet. Because of this enigmatic Wraith, an entity who could be said to have risen to some greater status among the Spiritual pantheon, Amenti enjoys the status as the capitol of Immortal shadow realms. Hidden completely from unwelcome attentions, it does still manage to enjoy a strong relationship with the Ferrymen. Tzidik the sacred Mountain of the Tzadikim The Shadow realm of the Tzadikim lies deep within the Dark Umbra, beyond a region of the Tempest known as Tehom. Entrance to this Realm is gained through a series of gateways housed within a structure called Ganzer. The Byway which leads to Ganzer is d ifficult to navigate and even more difficult to locate. At some point long before the Dynasty ever discovered this realm, a vast valley through which the Byway ran was filled in with deliberate rock fall, leaving only a tunnel beneath the rubble. The Tunnel is partitioned with sturdy and impenetrable gates through
which the dead must pass to reach the land on the far side. Once the Wraith has gained access to the seventh and final gate he passes into the Realm of Tzidik, a rocky domain in the foothills of the sacred Mountain of Kur. The actual realm of Tzidik is found in the various crevices and wadi’s formed by some long dried up waterways. It has been extended further through digging and excavations and now e laborate entrances carved intot he valley walls lead to deep underground warrens. Upon death the Wraith of the Tzadikim (the Etemmu) must find his way to Ganzer. The first journey to that secret location is often aided by Akhkharu Wraiths who know the way and who demand payment for their services. Tzadikim pay with the Relics they carry, created from the rich grave goods interred with them as part of the spell of life. Some Tzadikim are fortunate enough to be given an Amulet by a fellow Immortal which al lows them to gain the Akhkharu’s favour and to carry on without further need to pay the tolls and tithes of the underworld. Once they come to Ganzer the Tzadikim must deal with the gatekeeper; who goes by Nedu or Neti among other names. This fearsome looking entity takes even more payment from the Tzadikim, exhausting the Relics the immortal has remaining as they travel on through the gates. He takes particular interest in any protective spells and amulets the Wraith carries with him, removing them before the Immortal can pass beyond and leaving the traveller striped of his magical wards and protections. Neti leads them through seven gates, just as Inanna was led through seven gates, and he takes a payment for unlocking each portal. Those Wraiths who cannot pay with relic or soulforged coins must pay with memories or passions, sometimes even with a term of service or pieces of their very corpus. Nobody living, dead or undead gets through the seven gates for free until they have been marked and nobody gets marked until they have passed through the seven gates at least once! The last thing Neti removes from the Tzadikim is mortality (or so the most ancient rites if the Dynasty claim). From this point on the Spel l of Life can truly be said to be complete and the ever living Tzadikim has achieved immortality. Neti uses his Molaite Arcanoi to forever mark the soul of the Tzadikim and he or she passes beyond the gates, never needing to pay the tolls again. Tzidik is surrounded much closer by the storms of the tempest than any other Shadow realm. They roll fiercly across the desert sand into which the valleys are gouged, often passing right overhead of the Shadow realms more exposed locations. Those who leave Amenti must travel for sometime in any direction before their realm simply ceases and the storm begins to rage but for the denizens of Tzidik, the tempest can be seen from the gullies and trenches and those who climb its higher buildings sometimes feel that they could reach out and touch the ho wling souls. Because of this proximity, the lands through which the dead must walk to get in to Tzidik are plagued by Spectres, called Edimmu or Eki mmu by the Tzadkim. The Underworld around the shadow realm is especially dangerous and this is why such powerful (and expensive) guides are required to get to safety. Many speculate that this is why some unknown entity filled in the only valley that leads into Tzidik, symbolically closing the way to the forces of Oblivion in some magical undertaking. Mythology claims that the land was formed by the Goddess Ereshkigal, also called Irkalla and the land is still watched over by two mysterious creatures that go by the names Ereshkigal and Nergal. Of all the wraiths in Tzidik, nobody truly knows what they are or from whence they came or even if they ever were living souls who have passed beyond the shroud to become Wraiths. They follow no rules or logic familiar to the dead and they seem more like Gods than even the Deathlords themselves.
Some who know of the Shemsu-Heru’s mythology speculate that Ereshkigal was in fact a vampire of the third generation and Nergal her childer but that they were destroyed before they could engender a Clan of their own. However accusations that the Tzadikim plagiarise and mirror the Shemsu-Heru are nothing new and less kindly commentators are fond of pointing out how many of the Righteous myths seem to be echoes of the original Egyptian tales. Those Tzadikim of thre Chayot refuse to give any greater due to these two than the fact that are very powerful and very ancient Wraiths. They state with certainty that their God put them here to watch over the righteous dead and the righteous reborn of the Tzadikim and the fact that neither Ereshkigal or Nergal talks directly to Immortals allows them to continue with this claim unchallenged. The realm has a vast and entrenched hierarchy that mirrors the hierarchy of Stygia in many ways. Tzidik is ruled by seven Great Wraiths called the Annunaki, Wraiths who claim to receive their orders from Ereshkigal herself. These seven Wraiths are subject to the law and the judgement of the Anuna, the servants of Ereshkigal’s will, just as all within the Shadow realm are subject to them. The speech of the Anuna is the speech of anger, their shouts are the shout of heavy guilt. Each time a Tzadikim dies and returns to Tzidik, they must face these judges just as the ShemsuHeru are judged in Ammenti by the 42 judges of Ma’at. Beneath the Annunaki and the Anuna, but above the Tzadikim themselves are the Wraithly citizens of the realm, the Akhkharu. Although the Tzadikim are respected and acknowledged, they reside on the lowest social rung of the ladder beneath the true Wraiths. The Immortals are here as guests, and while cherished, this is a necropolis of the dead first and foremost. While some Tzadikim chafe in this social position, others claim that it helps to humble them and teach them a valuable lesson. The strict social order of Tzidik is maintained by the Wraiths of the Anuna, ancient dead with relics moliated into their corpus and a repertoire of Arcanoi not to be sneezed at. They have lost much of their humanity and seem now to be almost drones infused with the will of Ereshkigal. Disturbances are dealt with quickly and harshly, and the Anuna carry out sentences without recourse to trial or appeal. But they are also the guides to the realms many lo cations, the protectors who battle Spectre incursions and the Shepard’s who ensure all citizens of Tzadik are behind walls when the maelstroms erupt. Each time they die, the Tzadikim must face a panel of judges from among the Anuna. Those not found worthy suffer greatly as their corpus is hung upon a hook until another agrees to take their place. Although this is a painful penance, a worthy or decent Tzadikim who has wavered from his path will often find a willing soul to take his place for the good of the world. If he has no allies among the Akhkharu or a fellow Tzadikim who will spend a lifetime on the hooks and allow the Immortal the chance to redeem himself, he can sometimes pay another to hang in his place. From then on he may return to the lands of the living and attempt to set right any wrongs he perpetrated and change his personal debt so that when next he comes before the Anuna his soul is clean and both he and his scapegoat can go free. There is a kind of hierarchy or status among the dead within Tzadik - fathers of a multitude of sons lead a better afterlife than those who only had one or two sons in life. Lazy people are powerless, while those who died young or as soldiers are rewarded for their short life. Stillborn children sit side by side with the gods of the underworld while sinners (disrespectful men, outcasts, oathbreakers) are shunned and often offer to pay another penance to gain some social standing. Those who die being burned al ive (Tzadikim excepted) do not go to the underworld at all.
LOCATIONS To many modern Tzadikim, Kur is the mountain known as Purgatory, where souls await the final trumpet and their ascent into Heaven. It stand above the Real m as a foreboding reminder of just how far away Heaven truly is, casting its shadow across the valleys and canyons that house the populous of the realm. This mountain’s summit is invisible from the rest of the realm, shrouded in Tempest and black storms. Its peak is reported to house the lowest gateway i nto heaven, or at the very least a very unique far shore based on specific Middle eastern beliefs. Others hold that if you climb to its peak you will come out in the Shadowlands. Cutha Built within a high walled crater close to the mountain itself is the city of Cutha, the Death citadel of the Mysteries and the bone tower of Irkalla. Cu tha, the city of Nergal is surrounded by b lack, scorched earth; while a strange sun shines down mercilessly on the city, within its narrow streets the heat is stifling, but the light is swallowed by sinister shadows. All of the city was built to pacify the underworld and soothe Nergal and Ereshkigal so they abstain from raising the dead and command them to conquer the world of the living. The Wraiths have struggle dlong and hard to make it as close to the lands they left behind as they possibly can, but are careful not to let too many modern ideas creep in lest they remind Ereshkigal that this only a shadow of the mortal world she has left. Thus the City is an anachronism, even more so than the other Shadow realms. Cutha is also a city of learning, with intellectual distractions piled high among its stone architecture. This is the place to go to find forbidden lore and black magic rituals, but also the lost stories of Scherezade, the Apocrypha and the Gnostic texts. Somewhere hidden in its vast libraries and collections of ancient artefacts may even be the bronze pillar of Enoch on which all the secrets of the world are said to be engraved. The Bone Tower In the western district (if the Underworld can be said to have a west) stands the bone tower of Irkalla. A beautiful ziggurat that shines brightly even in the dulled hues of the underworld. Its stone walls and steps feel exactly like bone, cold and smooth, and it is lit by skulls with eerie glowing sockets. This is where the Wraith’s Nergal and Ereshkigal reside, rarely moving and never speaking aloud. She is impossibly beautiful in a cold porcelain way while he is fat and balding, yet seems to retain the memory of great power and heroic adventures. The tower is their palace and their temple, and they require ceremonies and entertainments to distract them from whatever it is that might trouble a God. The priests of their religion are known to pay well and offer tremendous rewards to those who can bring new pleasures and new entertainment to Tzadik. Immortals of the Tzadikim dynasty earn relics and renown by entertaining the twin colossus, rewards often soon needed in the secular realm they find themselves drawn to. HORAI – Shadow realm of the Xianrén In the tempest, far from the Shadowlands, is a mountainous outcrop known a s Horai with five peaks forming five islands. The tallest and most obvious of these peaks is Penglai mountain (forming the island known to the Chinese as Penglai Island). The four other peaks, forming four smaller islands close to Penglai are called Fangzhang, Yingzhou, Daiyu, and Yuanjiao. This is the realm to which the many legendary Immortals withdrew to seek enlightenment. The Xianrén
believe that this Realm is simply the Deathly mirror of the true Penglai mountain in heaven (most probably the Yang world or Spirit Umbra). Access to this Archipelago is only possible by sea and most come ashore on the island of Yuanjiio after having navigated the reefs and crashing waves within the shadow of the five peeks. In fact, those new to Horai will assume that this is the only mountain that they can expect to find comfort upon as the others appear uninhabited from the Sea i tself. Only once the visitor knows the secret caves or the hidden mountain passes can he discover the rich vistas of the realm. Yuanjiao is developed somewhat in the style of medieval China and Japan, with examples of buildings from other Asian lands scattered around. A temples very similar to those in Angkor wat and Angkor Thom rests in the mangroves. There are huts and small buildings on stilts dotted throughout the inland. Great Bamboo forests cover the outward facing slopes and although they are populated, the buildings are well disguised. Yingzhou has been landscaped and populated the least, and only the hardiest souls ever bother to scale its steep cliffs. Those who do find a plateau and then a second unassailable incline with a storm wreathed peak many hundreds of fete above. The plateau has the suggestion o f the tundra or the steppes and the only real dwellings here are yerts or wooden huts. Although what structures are found on the islands have been here longer than the Dynasty itself has existed, one new area has grown up seemingl without any effort from those who dwel;l here. The flattest peak, atop Fangzhang, is dominated by a modern city. Built from the memories and passions of the developed world, from the Japanese and the natives of Hong Kong rather than the larger majority of souls who remember an idyllic life this is the city of Shinkiro. The Japanese name means Mirage or vision of the Intangible, and it is a suitable moniker. Shinkiro attracts a great many plasmic entities and mindless wisps of soul shards all but destroyed by the many maelstroms or the depredations of the Jade Emoperor. In it’s depths one can begin to see the worst practices of the Western Stygia starting to take hold. However the remaining underworld real estate is unspoilt and serene, with many temples or simple villages scattered amidst woods and terraced rice fields. At the top of Daiyu snow and ice form a permanent cap yet many spring heated pools form a natural spa for those who can manage the ascent. Because of this place of retreat for the Asian Immortals and the extreme danger they face whenever they go abroad in the underworld, the Dynasty has the least secure status in the afterlife and are far more likely to remain here until time for their return. The Islands of Horai boast only minimal ranks of sentient Wraith allies and servants, small numbers of Wraiths dwell on the Islands, often those who have no Family and yet managed to survive. A handful of times in the History of the Yellow Springs the Jade E mperor has ordered the destruction of a Wraith family and one or two o f that families members manage to escape into the tempest. A few find their way to Horai and are for evermore stuck there. To leave the islands would invite destruction, Yu Huang never issues a pardon! So then, those who attend to the Xianrén are often thankful for their existence, but disheartened by their situation, and the place is rarely a place of joy or merriment. Those not quietly seeking enlightenment are often cowering in fear or deep in a spiritual depression. The greatest horror in the yellow Kingdoms is that P’eng Lai has become the name for the path to transcendence. Many Wraith seek for this mythical release and perhaps consider Horai to be one of the far shores. Others follow disreputable Wraith’s who speak of P;’ng Lai simply because they
have heard good things about Penglai and the peaks of Horai. Erlik Khan In the underworld beyond Horia everything is very different, survival and the rigours of the Jade Emperors dictatorship leave little room for the gentle society of the Earthly realm. The Xi ānrén are often advised and organised (led is too strong a word) by a Xiānrén known only as Erlik Khan who may or may not be one of the Tiānxiān. Having taken his name from the Mongolian lord of the Underworld as much as from his short stocky stature, it is obvious that he was once a horseman of the steppes. Though he is no truly dead Wraith, his mortal name is unknown and nobody has admitted to meeting with him in the living lands. From a small but well hidden Shadow Realm deep within the Tempest Erlik trades with other Guǐxiān and provides them with a way station when they need it. Like a crime lord at the centre of an organisation, he manipulates his lieutenants and agents throughout the dark Kingdom of jade. There are others in a similar position, providing organisation and aid for Xiānrén in their death cycle in return for coin or wisdom or other minimal rewards. Larger groups or strongholds would attract too much attention and Yu Huang would overrun them before any meaningful defence could be mounted and thus the Xiānrén in the Underworld tend to be careful and subdued. Erlik Khan is a devout enemy of those Wraith s attempting to sell the idea of the far shores or of transcendence, although much evidence seems to suggest that he hates any form of aesthetic or peaceful religion. Some Immortals suggest this is why he avoids Horai and prefers to live as an outlaw in the Jade Emperors territories. Those who he aids often tell of his retinue of female Immortals who seem to look upon the Xianrén as a Demi-God. Highly sexual in nature, these Deva Devil girls (as the modern slang seems to prefer to call them) apparently act as the Tiānxiān’s agents and if the rumoured numbers are even half accurate, the rest of the Dynasty is right to be concerned. Whatever Erlik khan plays to do with his army of Immortal girls, for now he seems to be nothing but a friend to his Dynasty mates. Those in danger have often been saved by these hand maidens, and they can teach a great many Spells that benefit the enemies of the jade Emperor. Xibalba; Shadow Realm of the Xibalba In the beginning there was the creator God who was also creation, (known by many names including Ometeotl) and who unfolded itself into lesser Gods who in turn unfolded themselves into everything in the universe. Thus everything is formed from a part of Ometeotl and upon death everything returns to Ometeotl to be at one again with creation. At least, that is what happens to most things upon their demise. When Ometeotl divided, so did existence, the lands of the living and the lands of the dead separated and the flayed lands came into existence. Three of the most powerful beings born of Ometeotl’s first unfolding shaped the lands of the dead. First of these was Ometeotl’s shadow, Huracan ‘the Heart of Heaven’. He was the opposite of Ometeotl, the storm to Ometeotl’s calm, the tempest to his Nirvana. Huracan dwelt in the depths of the flayed Lands, spreading out and devouring all those who came too close. Those devoured by Huracan suffer an awful fate because they are completed obliterated and can never return to the unity of Ometeotl. Oblivion to a wraith of the
flayed lands is more than just a loss of the soul, it is a loss of part of the universe, the destruction of a small part of Ometeotl. It is outside the natural order of things, and a blasphemy to the gods. Huracan is too abstract however, and the flayed lands are ruled by a pair of concepts, the twins Tepeu and Gukumatz. This pair go by many names but are best known as Tezcatlipoca and Quetzecoatl. The former is a manifestation of the darker urge, the shadow of the flayed lands and of the dead, while the later is a creature of higher goals, the eidolon of the flayed lands and the dead. These two entities, dual aspects of Ometeotl, shared rulership of the flayed lands in a fractious and troubled way, as is typical of brothers. When one was ascendant, the other was outcast or shamed, until their schemes and machinations turned the tables once again. However this practice came to an end with the conquests of the Americas by Europeans. The mortal Spaniards were the pawns of heretical Wraiths fleeing Stygia, and they were in turn the thralls of their own shadows who listened oh so very closely to the whispering of Tezcatlipoca. Believing that Montezuma was Quetzecoatl returning doomed the Aztec and set the seeds for the fall of the flayed lands. The destruction of the mortal worshippers destroyed the power base for the Mesoamerican dead and left the flayed lands open for conquest. The holdings of the dead were taken by the Heretics and they were in turn defeated by the better equipped and stronger forces of the Stygian Hierarchy, and the flayed lands became the Dark Kingdom of Obsidian. The flayed lands, or the Dark Kingdom of Obsidian as the stygian Wraiths call it, rests dead centre between the Dark Kingdom of Flint to the North and the Dark Kingdom of Gold to the south. This corner of the underworld is a bleak and dangerous place, where few ferrymen venture and even the Funeral Gods are a rare sight. A powerful Hierarchy Deathlord known as the Chicunauhmictlan (King of Mictlan) rules the Drak Kingdom of Obsidian now, sitting upon a stolen throne with a mask of office fashioned to look like an owl. This Wraith has taken the name Hunhua from local myth, along with the imagery of his mask. However the locals are not as ready to accept his as he believed they would be because in his ignorance he has chosen an alternative name for Ah Puch, the local manifestation of Apophis. The true lords of the flayed lands are Quetzecoatl and Tezcatlipoca, entities of immense power akin to Celestine’s perhaps. They are the avatars of the balance, of life and death, growth and destruction, fertility and sterility, expanse and retreat. At least that was the way before the conquest of the Spaniards in Southern America. The arrival of the Conquistadors was the catalyst for change and the once balanced forces are now broken and out of sync, with Quetzecoatl disgraced and unable to regain his position in the lands of the dead. Tezcatlipoca manipulated events in the skinlands to prevent Quetzecoatl’s return to power and in the process doomed himself. The Malfean (for that is what he now is) is a dedicated servant to, indeed a force for, oblivion. The modern shadow in the Flayed lands traces her origins to the time of the Hermetic Triumph. Before Ix Chel was cast into the Tempest, the shadow was merely a player in the age-old cosmic game, influencing a Wraith but never actively coercing him towards Oblivion. Balancing the creative aspect of each Wraith (as associated with and perhaps empowered by Quetzacoatl), the Shadow did what was necessary to rein in it’s other half’s excesses. However in the wake of Quetzacoatl’s exile, Tezcatlipoca assumed absolute domination in the great game, and the notion of balance became
obsolete. Individual Shadows found themselves in a position of power without the responsibility of helping to maintain equilibrium. No longer were tentative shoves toward destruction cancelled out by the constructive forces of Quetzacoatl. The universal balance was askew, and in the shadows favour. The burden of righting this balance now lies in the hands of each individual wraith. What was once a cosmic struggle through which all of creation was slowly changed for the better had become a personal battle, fought in each Wraiths soul. - Shadow Players Guide The Popol Vuh, written at a time contempory with the arrival of the Spanish, tells the story of the western Wraiths invasion of the flayed lands as well as some ancient memories of these first immortals. The Heretical wraiths are portrayed in the story by Vucub Caquix (Seven macaw) and his family: and Hun Came, Zipacna & Cabracan who are killed by the Hero twins Hunahpu & Xbalanque. The later Stygian Hierarchy (who had more of a hand in overthrowing the heretics) become confused with the original dread Lords of Xibalba, in truth bane Mummies of the Metnal creed. Though the Xibalba have not defeated the Western usurpers yet, the tales of the Popol Vuh claims otherwise and stands as a possible future or a source of inspiration. The reborn of the flayed lands have lived to see all this come to pass, but the first of them were born in a much different world. The Fifth Sun had only just begun when Hunahpu and Xbalanque, the hero twins, died. Their grandmother was a Mage and their father and uncle were powerful Wraiths in the lands of the dead. What transpired beyond the veil was not such a great surprise to either of them and they set about fulfilling the promise they had made to avenge the murder of their father One Hunahpu and their uncle Seven Hunahpu. They passed through the caverns of the underworld, the byways and passages that snaked through the Tempest. They defeated the perils of the the greatest and most terrifying caves; the Dark House, the razor house, the cold house, Jaguar House, Fire House, Bat House and then finally came to Xibalaba itself, where they defeated the Wraiths who ruled there by intelligence and trickery as well as by their astounding commands of magic. Most of which required them to face impossible odds in the ball court of the lords of Xibalba. With the terrors of Xibalba defeated, Tezcatlipoca was forced to run and hide and Quetzecoatl returned to rule the underworld. As a reward for these powerful twins he built the city of the Fifth Sun above the Caverns of Xibalba for their comfort and allowed them to rule over any dead who dwelled there. But Hunahpu and Xbalanque had one final act to accomplish. They returned to the ball court and retrieved the buried remains of their father, One Hunahpu, and attempted to rebuild him. Although his body was made whole again he was not the same, and was unable to function as he once did. The twins left their father there in the ball court, but before doing so told him that he would be prayed to by those who sought hope, and this eased his heart. Their greatest spell failed in its first attempt to return a Wraith to life because the body of that Wraith had been too long in the ground with no burial rites to preserve it. The pair themselves knew that their bodies had been properly prepared and housed in a cold dry tomb, and so they resurrected themselves with ease. They departed Xibalba and climbed back up to the surface of the Earth to live again as the first Mesoamerican Reborn. In time, the Spell they performed in the caverns of Xibalba would allow others to become immortal and more undying Indians crawled their way
back to the mundane realm. They took the name of their sacred city, the watery underworld of Xibalba where the spell of return is recorded in a series of puzzles and pictograms for all to see, if they have the will. Hunahpu & Xbalanque stand out for the Xibalba as the first immortals of the Americas, or at least the first to return from the flayed lands and live again. Holding a position much like that of Horus, they set the tone for much of Xibalba existence. Since the Popol Vuh was written sometime during the Spanish conquests, their myth has changed slightly to become not just the first reborn but also the enemies of the Western usurpers of the flayed Lands. Rarely seen in the modern world, the twins maintain a close alliance with the Wraiths of the flayed lands, forever seeking to undermine and topple the Stygians from their corner of the Tempest. Hunahpu and Xbalanque are the spiritual leaders of the Xibalba, the heart of the reborn and truly deserving of the title ‘the hero twins’. They are seen as a balanced pair, representing the duality at the heart of pre-Columbian Philosophy. The myths have grown to overshadow the facts now a nd it is hard to know exactly what is true of the pair and what is nonsense applied to them by their followers or the later works of the Quiche Indians. It has been noted however that in the upper world, Hunahpu takes the dominant role, whereas in the underworld it is Xbalanque who leads. The Age of the Fifth Sun When the flayed lands were in native hands they were run by fo ur Wraith houses; the House of the Werejaguar, the House of Ix Chel, the House of Xipe Totec, the house of Itzam Na and a fifth house made up of the reborn called the house of Xiuhtecuhtli. The Xiuhtecuhtli faction spent the majority of their time in their death cycles and concerned themselves more with the lands of the dead than the lands of the living. The House of the Werejaguar was made up of the original Olmec Dead, and the earliest Wraiths to gather together into a political unit. These are the dead who followed the first Wraith of the Americas Mixcoatl and who maintain his desire for the unification of all peoples. Today only those dedicated to unity are allowed into this House. The House of Ix Chel is made up from successful people or complete failures, they were the house that fought till the end against the heretic wraiths. Today this house is at the forefront of the war to retake the Underworld from the western usurpers. The House of Xipe Totec is made up from those who were either givers or takers in life, and is named for the flayed god of war and corn. If this house could ever get a grip on its internal conflicts it could have swiftly risen to dominate the Flayed lands. Even today it could capitalise on its resources and take control of the council of the New Sun. Finally the largest house, the house of Itzam Na, consists of everybody else. Strength of numbers does not equate with political strength in the Dark Kingdom of Obsidian. Each of the four Houses of the Dark Kingdom of Obsidian represent one of the four directions, The Red House of the Werejaguar for the East, Ix Chel is the white house of the North, Xipe Totec is the black house of the West and Itzam Na is the yellow house of the South. The central position, the green house, is traditionally considered to be the Xibalba house of Xiuhtecuhtli.
The Conquest The capitol of the flayed lands was a vast city called the fifth Sun that rose out of the Tempest above the caverns of Xibalba. An easy target for the invading Wraiths of the Stygian Empire, this city was sacked by the Wraiths who followed the conquistadors. First by Heretics following the destructive Christian Church, but even these usurpers were eventually defeated by the Stygian Hierarchy and the Flayed lands became the dark Kingdom of Obsidian. The invasion of South and central America by the living and the dead from Europe toppled the ancient governments and left the Flayed lands an occupied territory. Already weakened by the dwindling sacrifices and pathos from their living descendents the defenders of the Fifth Sun could mount no resistance and many were lost to Oblivion fighting a rear guard action as the Nobles of the Five Houses retreated below the tempest to the hidden realm of Xibalba. Once, while the Fifth sun still stood, the Mayan dead ruled Xibalba alone, preferring it to the grand city above the Sea of Shadows. The Maya had at times opened their stronghold to other tribes for short times, guided by the Immortals to forget past conflicts. Because these caves are impossible to find unless you are led there by the beliefs of your people, they became a stronghold in times of trouble. The road to it is said to be steep, thorny and very forbidding and the impregnable nature of Xibalba made it the ideal place to retreat when Tezcatlipoca and the forces of Oblivion were abroad, or when Maelstroms raged. When the Westerners invaded and brought their dead with them, it became the last bastion of the local ghosts. But they now opened their refuge to all those of the America’s, allowing the remains of the Five houses to seek shelter in their underworld dwelling. Here they built a new city, the new Sun, and the survivors who escaped the destruction of the Fifth sun started again with a society that echoes the one they had lost and here they have been ever since, scheming and planning for the day they take back their Dark Kingdom from the invaders. In fact, it is because of this generosity of the Mayan Immortals that t he Dynasty is now known as the Xibalba. Their true name records in full that they are the Immortals of Xibalba, reborn from countless tribes across the American continents who now call this cavernous realm home. Now that Stygia has fallen, the Xibalba and the Wraiths of the flayed lands are becoming bolder. They have even dared to hope that Tezcatlipoca can be overthrown and Quetzecoatl returned to the throne of the underworld. The Fifth Sun and the Former Hierarchy legions are beset on all sides by native dead in numbers they never before suspected could exist. Now it is the invaders who are cut off from their support and at each others throats for precious resources and the local dead are in the ascendant, led by the Xibalba themselves. XIBALBA Xibalba, also known as Uku Pacha ("the lower world") in the Incan language, actually resides beneath the Fifth sun, or more correctly in the modern age, beneath its ruins. It is the hidden domain of the Immortals and their Wraith subjects. Deep beneath the Flayed lands, somewhere in the tempest, this seemingly endless complex of caves and caverns is the shadow realm of the Mesoamerican reborn. The Deepest cave of all is truly massive and within its vaults resides the City of the New Sun. Here a
massive Cave larger than anything that could possibly exist in the mundane realm, houses the new capitol of the reborn. The shadow realm of Xibalba exists within a series of waterlogged caves deep below thre Sea of Shadows. Entrances are scattered throughout the underworld but the actual caverns themselves are not given away by any obvious land masses or physical signs,with the exception of those beneath the ruins of the Fifth Sun. Xibalba is a large labyrinth and a number of individual structures or locations within its vast expanse are described or mentioned in the Popol Vuh. Chief among these was the council place of the Lords, the five or six houses that served as the first tests of Xibalba, and the Xibalban ball court. Also mentioned are the homes of the Lords, gardens, and other structures indicating that Xibalba was at least a great city. Due to the beliefs of the Natives to Central and South America, Xibalba is rife with tests, trials and traps for anyone who came into the caverns. Even the Road to Xibalba was filled with obstacles: first a river filled with scorpions, a river filled with blood, and then a river filled with pus. The caves closest to the city were home to at least six deadly houses filled with trials for visitors. The first was Dark House, a house that was completely dark inside. The second was Rattling House or Cold House, full of bone-chilling cold and rattling hail. The third was Jaguar House, filled with hungry Wraiths Moliated to appear as jaguars. The fourth was Bat House, filled with dangerous shrieking batlike Plasmics, and the fifth was Razor House, filled with blades and razors that moved about of their own accord. In another part of the Popol Vuh, a sixth test, Hot House, filled with fires and heat, is identified. The purpose of these tests was to either kill or humiliate people placed into them if they could not outwit the test and many a Wraith was lost to a harrowing upon reaching them. Beyond these was a crossroads where travellers had to choose from between four roads that spoke in an attempt to confuse and beguile. Upon passing these obstacles one would come upon the City of the New Sun. THE NEW SUN The City of the New Sun resembles more than one Ancient American construct. A great stone complex built upon vast reed islands with several massive step pyramids in the centre. Temples and sports complexes seem to be the most frequent buildings, but there are also great enclosures of plasmic creatures that the dead have taken to farming in memory of their living days. Dead centre of the city is a faux pyramid, with its insides hollowed out to make way for a great meeting chamber. Here a surprisingly peaceful accord exists between tribes and peoples who once treated their neighbours with far less humanity. Philosophical minds have postulated that the violent sacrifices made in their honour have quenched the bloodlust of the Immortals and the dead of Xibalba. Décor and furniture from many civilizations and nations gives the hall an ugly patchwork look which none the less adds to the accord. This is not to say that the entire city is one giant love fest, because it is not. Violence often does break out between former members of different tribes, but the longer one stays in Xibalba, the less national identity seems to effect the wraiths. Sport was important among ancient Mesoamerican cultures, and the Lords of Xibalba
were no exception to the rule. Xibalba is home to a famous ball court in which the heroes of the Popol Vuh succumbed to the trickery of the Xibalbans in the form of a deadly, bladed ball, as well as the site in which the Maya Hero Twins outwitted the Xibalbans and brought about their downfall. This ball court now sees all manner of competition and conflict, some friendly, some as deadly as the original tricks played in the Mayan myths.
Relics Chapter 6: Oblivion Oblivion Dying Is an art, like everything else. I do it exceptionally well. I do it so it feels like hell. I do it so it feels real. I guess you could say I've a call. - Sylvia Plath , Lady Lazarus The Yin and Yang of Destruction How can Oblivion have active servants such as Bane Mummies and spectres? How can anything dedicated to Oblivion actually exist? The answer is that it cannot, because utter devotion to Oblivion would require immediate self-destruction. Thus there must be some other aspect to Oblivion that allows it to (and those wholly consumed by its concept) to ca rry on existing while serving its apparent thirst for total annihilation of all things. Wraith: the Oblivion 2nd edition (pp 284) discusses the link between the Wyrm and Oblivion and posits that they may be bound in a close balance, a sort of yin and yang of destruction. It points out that Oblivion is patient, passive destruction while the Wyrm is active destruction and corruption. It also suggests the possibility that as the Wyrm grew in power, Oblivion was forced to grow to match it and maintain their eternal equilibrium. This theory allows the sensible gamer to avoid the original paradox. What the Undying battle is not just oblivion, it is destruction in all of its forms. This is why Apophis (a servant of the Wyrm) is often considered to be identical with Oblivion, because in many ways it is. This is also why servants of passive Oblivion can retain active tactics and personalities. The Spectres, Malfeans, Nephwracks and all other servants of Oblivion are an aspect of this male Yang duality. Even the things that empower the Spectres, their dark passions, are things of the Wyrm while the pain and suffering all spectres hope to escape through their own destruction is a gift from Oblivion herself. The myriad servants of Oblivion are the sacrificial grooms to the bridal maw of Oblivion. The grooms of Oblivion give themselves to their bride, hoping to be claimed by it and thus released from the pain and torment they endure while they exist. Those who study the Spectres speak of the two seasons or moods of the shadow-eaten, the Kindled and the Barrow. The former are fiery and actively seek destruction both of themselves and all others while the later are icy, inactive and patiently await the inevitable triumph of entropy. Does this mean that the Garou and the U ndying are fighting the same foe? Hell yes, but that’s not to say that they know it. The Garou are an inbred and unfocused flame burning too bright to
consider any evidence put before them. They are reactionary (like the aspect of destruction they battle) and so very few Shapeshifters ever come to realise that the Immortals are their greatest allies. The Immortals however tend to have a view of the bigger picture granted by their long li ves and their much closer exposure to Oblivion in their death cycles. They take ages to act, develp overly complicated schemes. They are the Yin to the Garou’s yang in this particular battle. Players of Changeling: the Dreaming will have an understanding of how the Dreaming can have a will and the ability to take action without actually being aware. Oblivion can be said to be in a similar state of existence. Oblivion is instinct a nd purpose focussed on, well, on oblivion. The Hive-mind of the Labyrinth is an extension of Oblivions own will filtered through the individualities of the Wraith’s. The Eschaton - the war against Oblivion The Cabiri dynasty began to catalogue and centralise Immortal Society sometime in the third century BC, and by 200 BC the Athanatos Dynasties were using the same language and terminology – allowing them to debate the wider conflict with Oblivion and to recognise just how powerful the enemy is. It is fair to say that this realisation came as quite a shock to all involved – the Shemsu-Heru had previously been interested only in the battle with Set as the thrall of Apophis, the Tzadikim and Cabiri viewed the problem with a similar tunnel vision and even the Ishmaelites were only just beginning to comprehend the true reach of the enemy. When the Heteros dynasties were absorbed into Immortal society, the same shock was witnessed in each of them with perhaps only the Oboli having already begun to suspect the true size of the threat. The Eschaton is no less than a war for creation with many factions battling against each other with no real concept of the bigger picture. The enemy consists of countless forces serving the ultimate divinity of Oblivion, while those railed against it are either ignorant of their allies or too blinkered to accept them as friends. If the garou and their shapeshifter brethren opposed to the wyrm were to accept that the immortals, many wraiths and mages and even some few vampires battled the same foe, victory might not seem so impossible. Although the Immortals believe that they are uniquely positioned to see the bigger picture, even they are deluded to some degree. They do seem to grasp a greater portion of the issue than any other, but even they suffer the same internal schisms and divergent tactics that hamper the others on the side of existence. Although there have been limited alliances and cooperation between the Immortals and other supernaturals, its seems as though complete unity is simply impossible. The Silent Striders and the Egyptian Reborn have had a long and almost uniquely uninterrupted relationship, allowing them to share intelligence and resources in their battles but even these groups find it better to keep alliances short and simples. The brief frantic tactics of the garou and the long multifaceted schemes of the Immortals simply cannot mesh for any prolonged period. The Eschaton then, is something the Immortals talk about in the abstract. Often a leader will call upon his fellow Immortals to take action in the hope of a victory in the Eschaton as though such a thing were possible, but the armies in the war are mostly unaware that there is such a conflict. Because of their close relationships with Wraiths and because the dead face Oblivion first hand so often, Immortals and the restless dead can use the wo rd (or a thousand varieties of the phrase) and understand what the other is speaking about, but that is the extent.
A vampire may understand that the Elders, especially the Clan founders should they believe in them, are a terrible threat to their own existence – but few are willing to accept that this threat is simply part of the greater undoing. The same is true for Mages or the Fae, despite both groups having direct experiences of Oblivion in forms specific to their own natures. The Garou believe that the defeat of the wyrm is the defeat of all the worlds enemies and often become angered when others point out that they are battling a symptom rather than the cause. So, the war against Oblivion is doomed never to succeed with the current pieces on the board and that is why many among the Immortals are starting to understand that their role is not to win the war, simply to fight hard enough that they do not lose it. Others still believe that the balance of power can be changed in some way, with newly perfected Spells, by uniting the restless dead, by getting through to the Werewolves and the Mages finally … the theories are many and hard to prove. Whatever an Immortal believes is the way to wage the war, it is certain others disagree with him. He may gather a large group of like-minded individuals and he may begin to win converts, but in six thousand years no consensus has been reached so far. And with each passing moment, the void grows. The terrible truth is that, by tiny i ncrements, Oblivion is winning and unless something major changes, the end defeat is only a matter of time away. Living Grooms of Oblivion The dark Immortals, also known as the Bane Mummies, fulfil a unique role in the war, that of thwarting the Undying themselves. If the Malfeans have a nemesis it is the reborn and their myriad plots, because the very act or resurrection is the antithesis of Oblivion. If I must die, I will encounter darkness as a bride, And hug it in my arms. - William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure Servants of Oblivion
Those who flee temptation generally leave a forwarding address. - Lane Olinghouse Set, however, was part of the larger picture; the reborn of Egypt knew him to be but another pawn of Apophis, the Great Devourer – the demon who fought Ra daily, and sought to consume the sun, bringing about the world’s destruction. And Apophis’ servants were many; from the unwitting Setites, to mortal sorcerers who sold their immortal souls to Apophis in exchange for dark powers, to other inhuman creatures who reeked of corruption and maleficence. The Reborm ultimately learned of a peril of their own causing. It was well known that sometimes the Great Rite simply did not work – the eternal soul of the departed having passed on beyond the Rite’s reach. But the body had nonetheless been prepared for immortality by the Rite’s magics. On rare occasions, these bodies were joined by foul banes, the spirit-servants of Apophis, who reanimated the bodies, now made foul and disgusting by the process, and used them to serve Apophis’ dark ends. Finally, there were the true Children of Apophis, the seven mad Reborn who serve the Great Devourer – and they are among the greatest foes of the Shemsu-Heru.
- a World of darkness: Mummy 2nd edition pp 29 Apophis is a mask worn by the Wyrm, speculated by some Oblivionographers to be the aspect of the Wyrm known as the Groom of Oblivion (a title also used for the bane mummies). First identified by the peoples of Ancient Egypt it occupied the top position of a dread pantheon of lesser evils which stand against Ma’at and the whole of creation. In the World of Darkness every bogeyman and threat man imagines is based in a true entity haunting the outer darkness and the minions of that darkness are manifold. The Great Devourer has countless servants detailed in several of the White wolf supplements – the throngs of destructions troops known as the accursed. These beasts range from the bane mummies to the spectres and including the followers of Set, the black spiral dancers, the bureaucrats of the yellow springs, the shadow of every Wraith, the Banes and Wyrm spirits of the Umbra. This chapter gives greater detail on the bane mummies, and also touches on some of the other agencies wholly subservient to Apophis and its bride. Bane Mummies: the Grooms of Oblivion Life is a fatal complaint, and an eminently contagious one. - Oliver Wendell Holmes As well as the Ogdoad of Immortals there are also the dark and terrible servants of Oblivion who continue to exist while craving their own destruction and the end of all things. Each of the Dynasties knows of these creatures, and each has i ts own name for them and their own awful legends of their crimes. The Crochan Geni call these things the Druagr while the Shemsu-Heru and the original reborn refer to them as the bane mummy’s. When the Ishmaelites wandered the globe the thing they found most difficult to accept was the fact that the seven children of Apophis they knew as the bane mummies were only a small faction of the true number and that they had sibli ngs in every part of creation. They began to suspect that there must always be a balance that for every alteration to the original Spell of life, there must be a new distortion and a new breed of dark Immortal. One heretical Ishmaelite who has not been seen in centuries even claimed that the dark Immortals are the inevitable price paid each time the spell of life is cast, a balance the universe itself demands. Each one of the bane mummies is a perversion and a corruption of the true Immortals created by the great rite. Various Agents have managed to steal or obtain portions of the Spell and from it have tried to create Immortals of their own. Some did so in the willing service of Oblivion, others unknowingly, but in the end it was the desire of that force which seeks to create creatures of equal power to its greatest rivals. A sentient, reasoning entity might well consider it a contradiction, giving humans eternal life as a means to the utter eradication of all life. But Oblivion is no entity with a reasoning mind, it is in fact a reactive and primal aspect of creation (the Garou speak of a once balanced entity which went mad) a force that doesn’t understand human concepts such as paradox or contradiction in its single minded quest. The creation of the bane mummies was, as far as anybody has been able to speculate, a reaction to the existence of the true Immortals. Ever since Isis created the first Immortal, the things that dwell in the labyrinth have been attempting to copy the ritual. The various factions of Oblivion have several different and slightly diverse versions of the spell, each leading to a different abomination of Immortal existence. In death, in purpose, they are identical - but in Life, in how each near miss of Immortality acts and appears while in the living world, there are some very obvious di fferences. The moniker of Bane Mummy is perhaps the most appropriate for the Dark Immortals because
they are active and corrupt in the service of oblivion, more like the minions of the Wyrm than any of the denizens of the Labyrinth. Their souls and their flesh are warped and contaminated by the taint of the Wyrm, granting them a vast array of abilities and unique traits. AT DEATH: The Wraiths of the Bane Mummies fall immediately into the Tempest and soon claw their way back to the Labyrinth where they are attended by endless throngs of gibbering Spectres. Some are snatched up from here by their current masters and patrons for punishments or debriefing, but in the end not even the malfeans dare destroy one of these creatures. There are exceptions, depending on the current climate in the underworld and the ebb and flow of individual aspects, but for the most part the Bane Mummies make their way back to the labyrinth for a time where they commune with the pure essence of Oblivion. Time in the Underworld for a bane mummy is usually either one of punishment or rest, depending on their performance – for them the balance of existence i s either pain or unconsciousness. Here in the spirit realm they come closer to Oblivion in one form or another a nd much of what they do in the living realm is driven by these periods and the mixed effect of the carrot and the stick. The dark immortals strive to fulfil the wishes of their masters either to avoid the retribution or to receive the short periods of relief while they slumber. ORGANISATION: The Dark Immortals organisation is entirely situated within the Underworld and is as fractured as the true reborn. Only one thing prevents the children of Apophis being as arrogant as the Shemsu-Heru, and that is their general insanity and inability to realise that they were the first. In truth, the pecking order of the bane mummies is a temporary and often shifting thing and almost entirely dependent on the individual creature rather than his or her lineage. For some, their actions are directed by the labyrinth itself, others are insanely loyal to a p articular Malfean or an Urge Wyrm. Often they will be drawn to a particular personality for a time, attracted to a spectral crusade or drawn into the mad schemes of a child of Apophis. Of the remaining Bane Mummies, most are too eager to gain favour from the Wyrm, or from one of the many Malfeans in the Labyrinth for them to unite under the banner or cause of another. FACTIONS: ’Akeldamách The freebooters and rogue operatives of the Bane Mummies, Akeldamách are the jack of all trades within Oblivions network. They are adaptable and far more varied in ability and taint than other dark immortals allowing them to fulfil a variety of roles for their masters. The ‘Akeldamách: what 30 pieces of silver hath wrought
Quote "If I have damned myself, be sure that my descent wil l be gilt lined and the screams of my enemies conducted to my ears through halls of marble. When I am gone, all that was mine will go to the furnace with me." DESCRIPTION "He [Judas] indeed hath possessed a field of the reward of iniquity, and being hanged, burst asunder in the midst: and all his bowels gushed out. And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem: so that the same field was called in their tongue, Haceldama, that is to say, The field
of blood." -Acts 1:18-19 There are two legends from the Holy land about the Haceldama or the field of blood. One says that it is the field in which Judas Iscariot died (as described in the quote above), the other says that it is the field bought with the 30 pieces of silver. After betraying Jesus, so the story goes, Judas threw the 30 pieces of silver back at the Priests who paid him. They however didn’t wa nt blood money around them and so they bought with them a potter's field, to be a burying place for strangers. This field, Haceldama (field of blood), was s aid to be a cursed place for those buried there and its legend passed down through the mythology of the Underworld until it was attached to the shadow-eaten Immortals of the Oboli Dynasty. The Greek version of Haceldama, Akeldama, became the accepted name for these dark Immortals among obliviographers. And so the ‘Akeldamách are those reborn who find their way to immortality alone, and who fall to the service of Oblivion. A huge amount of the dark Immortals come from the Oboli dynasty because without a priesthood or a dedicated method of learning the paths, the Oboli take whatever deal they are offered. Thinking that Oblivion can give them true Immortality many Wraiths gladly sell their souls for the i ncomplete Ritual of rebirth, only to discover too late that have bought a pig in a poke! This willing, if somewhat narrow-minded, path to damnation has resulted in more than a few fully coherent Bane Mummies. Where as the majority of the other Bane dynasties are made up of monsters and lunatics, with only a handful of high functioning mentalities, the ‘Akeldamách are usually all to capable of understanding what they are and what they serve. One other thing that sets the ‘Akeldamách apart from the other Bane Mummies, apart from their general improved coherence, is their love for the p leasures of life. Their approach to their own destruction is that it is an inevitable conclusion, so one might as well enjoy the fall. The ‘Akeldamách are addicted to all manner of self destructive peccadilloes, preferring the sweet taste of oblivion to the bitter draught. They have the ache for oblivion which defines all Bane Mummies, but seemingly the urge is less u rgent or focused in a different direction. ORGANISATION Much like the garden variety Oboli, the ‘Akeldamách are a loosely affiliated band with little coherent structure. They serve various aspects of Oblivion; Apophis, the Urge Wyrms, the Malfeans and the other dwellers in the labyrinth. They often work for or alongside other Bane Mummies as hired guns or temporary allies. In fact they occupy a role in Bane Mummy society almost identical to the role held by the Oboli in Reborn society, based more on the individual or on small cliques than on any Dynasty wide habit. It is a commonly voiced rumour that there are thirty ‘Akeldamách, one for each of the pieces of silver the Jewish priests paid Judas. How true this is nobody can verify, but it seems likely that the ‘Akeldamách dynasty is the largest group among the Bane Mummies, possibly by a vast degree. Guessing at thirty or so isn’t such a huge leap of logic. Among the servants of Oblivion it is also commonly believed that the ‘Akeldamách are less than dedicated to the cause. Trusting them with the big picture is not in the Wyrm’s interest and the Hive mind certainly doesn’t want to open itself up to an unproven a lly. ‘Akeldamách suffer from a lack of support and while the servants of Oblivion are all too willing to employ them as specialists, they rarely return the favour. An unemployed ‘Akeldamách works alone and can only rarely count
on swarms of Spectres or Fomori if they get into trouble. COMMON POWERS: body expansion; cause insanity; horns; corrupted visions; darksight; deception; foot pads; hide of Apophis; mouth of Apophis; nightmare command; phoenix fire; poison tumours; tar baby; water breathing; whispers from beyond. COMMON TAINTS: Addiction (see Weakness); bane attractor; disintegration; high functioning; infections; inner volcano; rotting; teledementia; ugly as sin. WEAKNESS: The ‘Akeldamách have found surcease from the eternal agony of existence in the most common of mankind’s diversions and are all addicted to a variety of vices. One dangerous and self destructive pastime will rarely do for an ‘Akeldamách unless it is truly damaging, Russian roulette or the like. For the most, they partake of several addictions of varying levels. All ‘Akeldamách much take points worth of addiction for no reward at character creation. STEROTYPES Aptrgangr “Ditch dwellers and Fen lurkers, good cannon fodder if you can get them to leave their ancient grave sites.” The Children of Apophis “The closest of us to the great devourer, but also the pawns of Sutekh.” Metnal “Better to ally yourself with those who can find a dark humour in the deeds we must commit” Syvén “Such an enigma, they offer us the chance of escape and for that I loathe them truly.” Dark Tzadikim “???” The Reborn “They are free! Reason enough to wipe them from existence even if it were not required of us.” Oboli “TIf there is anything more pathetic than us, it is the Oboli begging fro scraps at the tables of the Reborn.” Aptrgangr Hailing from the lands of the Crochan Geni those bane mummies born of the black cauldron are true tomb haunters, shambling around their own grave and avoiding areas of habitation when they can. Usually monstrous in size and demeanour they keep to the rural areas and a re employed mostly for their might. Aptrgangr: Kira Crochan Geni – born of the black cauldron
QUOTE: Description In European mythology the Aptrgangr (lit. "after-goer," or "one who walks after death") was a type of Draugr or undead, a bane mummy’s who represent the dark reflection of the cauldron born. They are usually brutal and strong, less able to integrate into human society than the children of Apophis, those who stray too close often draw the wrath of humanity and its heroes. Some have even suggested that Grendel was a Aptrgangr and perhaps his mother the sorceress who reanimated him. The spell of life which creates the Crochan Geni is based upon ancient myths in which cauldrons
gave plenty but also returned the dead to life. Dagda and Ceridwen owned the most famous of these vessels, but even the Grail is based on legends of such tools. For the most part the Crochan Geni go into a lake or a bog rather than a metal cauldron (although it is not unheard of) but there is a darker rite which only uses true cauldrons to create dark Immortals. This is the Rite of the Black cauldron and it creates the Kira Crochan Geni, more commonly known as the Aptrgangr. Aptrgangr are Bane mummies created by the evil mages of the North peoples and the Angles, given eternal life by a terrible perversion of the great rite. From the moment he is chosen by the servants of Oblivion, often by priests in the cult of Crom Cruach, the Aptrgangr is subjected to a series of defilements. Eventually his body and soul are considered debased enough for the Spell to be cast and he is slain in a terrible sacrifice to the Worm God. His (or her) ritually prepared corpse is then bathed in a cauldron along with the remains of slain warriors and deflowered maidens. The body parts that bob around in the stew are said to give the Immortal-to-be strength and vigour, and are to ensure that his senses are filled with the stench of offal when he returns to life. Certain herbs and other magical artefacts are added to the recipe, often one or two of which will become a fetter for the Aptrgangr while his Wraith in the Labyrinth. Then the corpse is laid to rest. However for the spell to work it is essential that the preserved body is not buried properly, at least not properly according to the traditions of the Ancient Europeans who first performed the rite. What exactly constitutes an improper burial is up to the mage conducting the rite but being given a Christian ceremony or being buried at sea are among the most common. At the very least the sorcerer can ensure that the howe or barrow in w hich the body is placed gets disturbed by grave robbers soon after the burial, or that some other unfortunate event befalls the gravesite. Eventually the soul of the Aptrgangr is called back and reunited with its corpse again as a Bane Mummy. Re-animated by its shadow eaten soul, the Aptrgangr is reborn in a great spout of fire from his own grave, reshaped by the rite and driven by a willingness to serve Oblivion. Only the sorcerer that reanimated the Aptrgangr is free of its terrible wrath and the Immortal monster often forms an attachment with them. In return for a powerful and bloodthirsty servant who wil l remain loyal for the rest of his life, the sorcerer has added a new conscript to Oblivions army. The Aptrgangr cling to the site of their first interment and often return to them to rest. Stories exist of the dead living happily in their barrow mounds, and the nearby relative seeing lights and hearing activity from the howe itself through the night. Those buried a t sea often return at least to the coast and dwell in caves or hovels near the ocean into which they were cast. That is, for the Aptrgangr, the limit of his scope. They can quickly turn a lonely village or a mountain settlement into a haunted local, but they are ni gh impossible to move away from their grave. Even when the most extreme will is brought to bear on them and they a re encouraged to wander further, any relaxation of the demand and they will abandon all other concerns to make their way back home in as direct a manner as they are able. Organisation While these Bane Mummies are no less intelligent and capable than the Children of Apophis, they are less capable of operating in the midst of humanity. Almost all Aptrgangr have the taint of Mearcstapa (see powers and taints) and so keep to the rural and lonely haunted areas of the earth. That being the case, most Aptrgangr function alone while in their livin g cycle and retreat into the Labyrinth in their death cycle. When Oblivion’s generals want to task the Kira Crochan Geni wi th
a specific task they have to do so directly or by having their thralls wrangle the Bane mummy for them. Appearance Once he has returned from the grave, the Aptrgangr is said to be "hel-blar" ("black as death" or "blue as death") or "na-folr" ("corpse-pale). It has invariably increased in mass or muscle, even if that appearance is just due to torn skin and dehydration giving his body more definition. They often indulge in ghoulish behaviour, drinking blood, gnawing flesh and crushing the bones of their victims. Aptrgangr tend to go abroad at night, the time when their inhuman appearance is less obvious and they are less likely to run into humans or the sounds of human habitation. In the Poem Beowulf, Grendel is described in various ways as a nocturnal creature. As “deogol daedhata deorcum nihtum" (the hidden doer of hateful deeds in the dark night), the "scridthan sceadugenga" (the gliding shadow-goer), and as "Sceaduhelma gesceapu scridthan cwoman wan under wolcnum" (the shadow-cloaked shape comes gl iding, black under the clouds). Common Powers balefire flux, berserker, blood sniffing, claws, fangs or horns, corpse strength, darksight, foul form, Gaseous form, Grimmum grapum, hide of the wyrm / hide of Apophis, shadowplay, size, stench of the howe, under harne stan, water breathing Common taints balefire curse, bane attractor, barrow flame, inner volcano, mearcstapa, Special diet, the crusties WEAKNESS Weakness: The Aptrgangr truly hate to leave their graves and if they must do so, they do so at a disadvantage. Each 100 miles from the place where they were laid to rest (or the nearest accessible shore) the Aptrgangr’s dice pool is lowered b y one. Children of Apophis The Children of Apophis are the original Bane Mummies, the dark and twisted parodies of the Shemsu-Heru mummies, created by Set as rivals to the minions of Horus. These men and women returned from the Underworld with powers even greater than those o f the Shemsu-Heru that they might act as the servants of Apophis' will. The Children of Apophis First of the Twisted Quote “"I am life reversed, the herald of the undoing, the groom of Oblivion. Apophis birthed me to ignite worlds and to swallow suns. You will kneel before me and rejoice in your destruction!"” DESCRIPTION The Children of Apophis - the original Bane Mummies - are the dark and twisted parodies of the Shemsu-Heru mummies, eternal rivals to the minions of Horus. Physically twisted and grotesque the outward appearance of the children of Apophis can hardly match the inner monstrosity of
these creatures. The Vampire Sutekh created the Children of Apophis in an act that sealed his descent from the Heroic warrior king to the champion of darkness and corruption. With the aid of accursed spirits and the influence of Apophis he managed to patch the gaps in his knowledge and create a Spell at first similar to the great Rite! But the result was certainly more than he bargained for: while the Bane Mummies are truly immortal, their experiences in the Underworld have utterly transformed their psyches, and their souls belong to the Neverborn Apophis, the Great Devourer of Ra. These seven people - five men and two women - returned from the Underworld and renamed themselves after the incarnations of Apophis, with powers even greater than those of the Shemsu-Heru that they might act as the servants of Apophis' will. They are truly monstrous and almost entirely driven insane by their numberless encounters with fell entities and by the endless pain of their twisted visage. But their insanity does not leave them mindless, these creatures are devious in their methods especially when faced with the True Immortals who they feel are constantly mocking their misery and their mental capabilities. All of their cunning is, however, constantly undone by their temper which causes them to explode into a psychotic rage at the drop of a hat. In the eons which have followed their creation, the Children of Apophis have built for themselves a power structure within the Spirit realms and have explored their existence under the service of more than one master. Individual Children of Apophis grew dissatisfied with the Vampire Set in time and migrated towards other masters, serving the Wyrm and its Urge aspects, powerful Malfeans in the Underworld and even other corrupt entities. When they found these entities lacking in any respect they moved on again - always seeking a more powerful master who might grant them victory or destruction. Having such masters has increased the power and the capabilities of the Children of Apophis to the extent that they are individually the most powerful Immortals in creation. Only a foolish member of the reborn would go toe to toe with any of them and often a larger group of supernaturals have discovered too late that they are no match for such beasts. There is no greater proof of their capabilities then the lesser Children of Apophis, Bane mummies created not by Set but by these seven monsters themselves. Over the centuries they managed to decipher the spell that Set had used to create them, often pulling segments from the bloodied corpses of the dark Gods priests. Once they had combined al l the segments of that spell they begun to procreate, creating ten more of their ilk. Organisation It is illogical to speak about organisation among the Children of Apophis for they are incapable o f working together unless directed to do so by a more powerful entity. It seems that the same hatred they bare for true Immortals exists between the original seven also. Even Set quickly learned that it was better to employ each of them individually rather than risking them turning on one another. The Children of Apophis have greater success working with less powerful creatures such as spectres and bane spirits, Vampires or other corrupted supernaturals and this is partly why they sought to create their lesser brethren. Common Powers body expansion; cause insanity; horns; corrupted visions; darksight; deception; foot pads; hide of Apophis; mouth of Apophis; nightmare command; phoenix fire; poison tumours; tar baby; water breathing; whispers from beyond. Distinct Powers:
Bane Master The Children of Apophis are to the rest of the dark i mmortals what the Shemsu-Heru are to the reborn, a status enforced by their relationship with the Wyrm. They command a certain degree of respect from all the servants of Oblivion (and indeed of the Wyrm) and gain +2 dice in any roll involving interaction with them. In addition, all but the most highly sentient banes or Pla smids will naturally seek to please and obey the Seven Children of Apophis. Powers of the Undoing The Children of Apophis have lived, died and been reborn more times than any other creature and they have developed an understanding of the process. By infusing their khat with the energies of Malfeas and the tempest they have hardened themselves against the susceptibility to death suffered by others. The Children of Apophis heal all damage, with the exception of aggravated damage, in the same way as the Garou - replacing Rage with Sekhem. Common Taints Addiction (see Weakness); bane attractor; disintegration; high functioning; infections; inner volcano; rotting; teledementia; ugly as sin. Weakness Twisted visage All of the Children of Apophis were horribly reshaped by the magic which created them. They are not only forever reduced to a zero score in the Appearance trait, they also suffer -1 to any social roll except those to intimidate others. If that wasn't bad enough, the condition of their bodies causes them intense pain while they reside in their khat causing them to lash out at the slightest provocation. STEROTYPES 'Akeldamách "Just because you have fallen to serve our masters does not change what you once were, every one of you I throttle bears the face of Isis in my mind." Aptrgangr "If you cannot leave your tomb what use are you? You will listen to my commands and follow me to glory, NOW!" Metnal "Come here little stick man, I have something funny to show you ... something that will cause you to scream" Syvén "Betrayal wears such a seductive shape, and remains unpunished for thier crimes. I can see no reason to seek out the Dark Kingdom of Jade for its master." Udug "The interest shown to you by lesser spectres is nothing more than bestial empathy little hunter, don't confuse it with true worth on your part" The Reborn "Meat for my grinder, focus of my hate, recepticle for my blade and ... and .. [sounds of gutteral snarling followed by smashing and rending]." Shemsu-Heru "I am your the face in your mirror, hated tool of Isis. The face you could have worn if you were not weak and easily mastered." Ishmaelites "You have seen how weak and pitaible Horus is, your journey into my clutches will soon be complete." Cabiri "I have powers beyond your capability pathetic pederist, no books can ever reveal what I have discovered in the corrupted Labyrinths and hives of my masters."
Metnal The hate filled and hate fuelled Immortals of the America’s named for the lowest and most
horrible of the nine hells. By performing vile sacrifices, often with a twisted pageantry, they gain tainted Sekhem. At least one of them has access to dark arts that allow them to summon spectres into the bodies of these sacrifices, creating a second kind of reborn called the Flayed Ones. The Spawn of Metnal
Quote: “Perform the correct rituals and bloodlettings, sacrifice the appropriate victims to the Gods, you ensure that existence continues to flourish. What then, oh eternal fool, wou ld happen if the only people still conducting those rites were deliberately corrupting them?” DESCRIPTION For instance, a pre-flaying cadre of Mayan priests created two realms w ithin the Far Shores. Mitnal, the “lowest” of their nine underworlds (only two of which they have constructed), hosts terrible creatures that torture the supposedly impious and wicked ancient Wraith’s of the Mayan culture, while its paradise houses the h onoured souls of those who hanged themselves to death, warriors killed in battle, sacrificial victims, woman who died in childbirth and members of the priesthood. These souls escape suffering by sitting in the cool shade of the cosmic tree yaxche – little do they know that the tree itself is composed of the unwilling souls of the dead. - Wraith: the Oblivion - Buried Secrets page 42 The Wraith’s who govern Mitnal have been completely corrupted by a malfean they know as Ah Puch (called the Storm eater by the Werewolves). As part of their worship to this entity they have transformed the far shore into a place where spiritual and physical corruption coalesce to feed the creatures of Oblivion. Their practices were fed for centuries by the rituals of mortal healers who would intone healing prayers banishing diseases to Metnal, and sometimes they would sacrifice the worst criminals to this place of woe. Ah Puch’s grasp on this Far shore was cemented when a handful of priests who had been among the Awakened in life attempted to conduct the Spell of Life to create new Immortals in the underworld. They reached back towards the lands of the l iving and found a spirit bound into its mummified body as a punishment, a method intended to trap the criminal for all time so they could neither escape to trouble the world again or go on to interfere with the relationship between the people and the Spirit worlds. The festering energies of Metnal and the half remembered trappings of the Spell of Life reanimated the dead human and returned it to the world as a bane Mummy of the Xibalba. The guilt of this first mistake set the priests on a rapid descent into existence as shadow ridden and laid the path for Ah Puch to create several more monstrosities. One of Charon’s peers may well have reminded them what the road is apparently paved with! Such Reborn are known as the Metnal, copying the Xibalba practice of naming themselves after an Underworld region out of mockery. They share a joy of perverting old ways and ancient rights and they gain their Sekhem from sacrificing mortals in a manner that panders to the worst modern stereotypes of the ancient Mesoamerican cultures. To join the ranks of the Metnal an individual needs to b e seething with their own inner hatreds and vileness when they are imprisoned in their corpses by well meaning mortal mages. Every step f the process needs to be twisted for the rebirth to be successful, and that leads to a d istinctive type of Dark Immortal being created from Mitnal, one who hates w ith a passion. Such bane mummies burn with a hatred for all life, even the none life of the Wraiths, even for each other. The passion of the Wyrm for destruction and the hunger of Oblivion are perfectly balanced in these creatures, a success which only serves to infuriate the Metnal even more.
Since the victory of Tezcatlipoca in the flayed lands and the rise of Ah Puch, the Metnal have long hoped for the final end to all things. That they are still waiting for their release enflames their fury only more and they have begun to push ever harder for the end times. Many now e agerly await the final days of 2012 when the Aztec long count foretold the final chapter in earth’s history. They have allied (albeit with poor graces) with a fallen Xibalba named Mictlan who brings with him not only a mortal terrorist cell n amed the black Shadow, but also the ability to create unique risen dead called the Flayed ones. Since the time of the old west, Mictlan has been the leader in action, if not in name or recognition, of the Metnal. Despite their self destructive drives however, the Metnal possess an endless sense of humour. So long as you can find humour in the pain and suffering of others they are a riot to be around. The clever minds and vitriol for all others has formed the Metnal into first class practical jokers with a fondness for physical props. ORGANISATION There are thirteen known Metnal; Hun Came (One Death); Vucub Came (Seven Death); Cuchumaquic (House Corner) the one who draws blood from people, he who caused the shedding of blood of men; Xiquiripat the Blood Gatherer (Blood Moon or Blood Girl/Maiden); Ahalpuh the Pus Master; Ahalganá the Jaundice Master; Lord Chamiaholom the Skull Scepter; Chamiabac the Bone Scepter; Lord Ahalmez the Trash Master; Lord Ahaltocob the Stab Master; Xic of the Bloody Teeth and Patán of the Bloody Claws. These creatures despise one another as much as they despise the rest of creation but they do hunger for a final conclusion to existence and will work with anyone or anything they believe can achieve this. For the vast majority of their existence they followed Hun came and his brother Vucuc came with little question. Under their leadership the former war for the flayed lands was won, Tezcatlipoca defeated Quetzalcoatl. But the end they expected to follow soon after never came, belief in the leadership began to erode. The Metnal doubted everybody from Hun came all the wa y up to the Wyrm itself, and when a new player showed on the scene they began to wa tch him with interest. The Metnal have not yet abandoned Hun Came or Ah Puch, they are traditionalists at heart even if they hunger for the end. However Hun came knows that if he called a choice between his ways and Mictlans ways, he might well use. He longs for the end, but until then he has little desire to lose his throne. Ah Puch, as always, plays all sides for his own end. For descriptions of Hun Came and Xiquiripat, as well as the corrupted Xibalba Mictlan, his Flayed ones and the Cihuateteo; click here ---) APPEARANCE These Metnal are less Physical than most other bane mummies, indeed this is in no small part to do with the Xibalba preference for sturdy warriors and healthy women among their numbers. Most Metnal were criminals in life who survived on their wits and skill rather than on their muscle. Others were sickly individuals or even pure innocent children sacrificed for a specific purpose. Common Powers Animal control; chameleon colouration; darksight; ectoplasmic extrusions; extra limbs; Gaseous form; howls of horror; numbing; rat head; savage genitalia; sense the unnatural; tar baby; Under harne stan.
Common Traits Addiction; atrophy; bane attractor; physical wasting; special diet; True Psyche. Weakness: The Metnal hate all existence to a degree that even the other destruction hungry servants of Oblivion have taken notice. However the Metnal a re not creatures of blind rage or physical force, they are schemers and plotters who enjoy setting traps and fatal jokes. For these bane mummies the simple act of letting another creature live would be more than their willpower would allow if it were not for the constant competition to outdo the others in this way. Like some terrible cross between a James Bond villain and a mechanical genius, the Metnal are obsessed w ith overly complicated and intricate methods of execution, and only a Willpower roll (diff 8) will allow them to do things the simple (and boring) way. STEROTYPES ‘Akeldamech “TI do not trust those in whom the fire of nothingness burns so dimly.” Aptrgangr “Growling, ravaging, beasts that rampage in the night. No appreciation for the finer things. With a goad they can serve.” The Children of Apophis “We were the Gods of the Underworld, rivers of blood flowed in our name. They are merely one hue in the rainbow.” Syvén “The enemy of my enemy is not my friend, no pretty corn dolly, not at all.” Dark Tzadikim “???” The Reborn “No sport, no fun, they have robbed us. Tezcatlipoca will laugh with us as he feeds on them.” Xibalba “Heroes, how I loathe them. What point is a game if everybody plays by the rules” Syvén Outcast from wider bane mummy organisation the apparently all female Syvén rarely leave the middle kingdom and the dark kingdom o f Jade. The dark immortals have a reputation for being enslaved to their passion and Oblivion seems to have far less of a grasp upon them than their peers. The Daughters of Erlik Khan DESCRIPTION Born in Mongolia, Erlik Khan either took the name of the Ancient lord of death or he actually is the character upon whom that entity is based. Brave and fierce in equal measure, he carved out a place for himself in the Underworld and has refused to give it up even in the face of the Jade Emperors dictatorship. Many of the myths concerning him are contradictory; in them he seems to be both a lord of darkness and a judge of the dead, a terrible demon and a noble servant of Heaven. Certainly this powerful and enlightened leader of the Xianrén dynasty has been observed to display remarkably unique and interesting abilities in comparison to other reborn, and the line between the Erlik Khan the Ti ānxiān and Erlik Khan the God of Death isn’t easy to make out. Most of commonly known the stories about the lord of death are far from flattering about him, depicting him as an enemy of mankind. The Mythological God seems a very long way from the enlightened and wise character who guides the Xianrén.
Myths report that Erlik Khan has Seventy-Two Daughters and each Daughter has many Legions of Handmaiden 'Abassi' Succubi. The 'Syvén' Daughters of Erlik are usually described as Salacious, Perverse and Wantonly Sexually Promiscuous with Predatory intent. They are known to Shaman and necromancers of the eastern traditions, to Dreamspeaker and Euthanatos Mages and to spiritually aware people from Siberia to Tibet. But down through the years, these strange creatures have always been recognised as the daughters of Erlik Khan. The Syvén are described as wanton Succubi, indulging in sinister passions and perverse games with certain darkly aspected shaman and tantric mages. In return for their teachings they corrupt these Awakened individuals to their own philosophy, tempting them to abandon morality and to give themselves over to the yearnings of their demons. In the east, where the concept of the balanced forces of Yin and yang are so vital to understanding, the Syvén are seen as the dark reflections of the Xianrén. The truth of these daughters is somewhere buried amid the various myths and legends. The Syvén are Immortals created with a corrupted version of the spell of life and of all the bane mummies they seem the most human. They are certainly not on the side of the Undying, in fact they clearly serve one of Oblivions lieutenants, but they are rarely seen a part of Oblivions larger armies. Whatever aspect of oblivion the Syvén do serve, they are agents of Death, of discord and chaos certainly, but in no way are they the mindless twisted wretches seen among the Children of Apophis or the Aptrgangr. Their targets are just as likely to be Spectres as they are the reborn, and at times they have sought out the undying for their passions. While the Shemsu-Heru state that they are servants of Oblivion who must be attacked on sight, other Immortals who have awoken at night to a find a Syvén in their bed are not so sure. It is widely agreed upon that there are far fewer than 72 Syvén , otherwise they would outnumber the Xiānrén by at least two to one, if not three. They tend to act independently from each other, using their spirit companions when they require a force of numbers. Few stories report these bane Mummies working with each other or with other bane Mummies and as such is it impossible to gauge their numbers. Upon death they appear to return to their own unique and still undiscovered holding rather than to the labyrinth. There are no confirmed reports of a male Syvén and it would seem that they are all female. Such a fact has not gone unnoticed by the male dominated Dynasty and given how difficult it has been throughout most of history for Asian women to even get a peek at an Alchemical scroll, the inevitable gender judgements have hampered what female Xiānrén there are. More than one misogynistic Immortal has dared to claim that any woman who becomes Immortal will become a Syvén, usually while looking accusingly at any female Immortals nearby. ORGANISATION Though it remains unknown to the forces of Ma’at, or indeed to anyone outside of the Labyrinth, the Jade Emperor is not Qin Shihuang, he was replaced by a Malfean long ago. This creature was in fact the eldest of the Onceborn and it was because of its desires to rule the underworld that Stygia fell. Whomever the Syvén serve, their master is no ally of the Jade Emperor and his daughters are currently more concerned with toppling Yu Huang from the throne.
Whatever entity does commands the Syvén Bane Mummies it is clearly not part of Oblivions inner circle or one of the easy to identify urge Wyrms. It appears that they have no standing orders concerning the Immortals or their allies and while there have been attacks on reborn concerns, there are just as many reports of disinterest and even a few of unexpected aide. The Syvén often act alone or in small groups, and seemingly operate with full autonomy. While some simple practice disruptive tactics to weaken the holdings of the Jade Emperor, others travel the Yin Umbra much as ferrymen do, seeing tot hier own affairs. Appearance The Syvén seem either unaffected by the physical abnormalities common to other bane mummies, or else are inclined to cover them up. Their skin tend towards be grey and many adorn themselves with harsh decorations or self mutilations but they are otherwise human looking and devoid of mutations. Many of these creatures are, in truth, quiet attractive and keen on dressing to make the most of their female form. One thing all the Syvén share is a heightened sexuality and an appreciation for passion - perhaps as a side effect of their active Psyche. The Syvén deserve all the bad press they get from aesthetics, they and their spirit servants resemble the Succubi of western myth. They are primeval and passionate, living hedonistic lives while in the lands of the living and equally ecstatic deaths while in the Underworld. Some even say that the Syvén are slaves to their passions, and that this is the true meaning of their names (Syvén means slave or servant). It has been noted that these Immortal girls are a very long way from the demure and dutiful daughters one might expect from eastern mythology and that their sexual appetite will nearly always get them in trouble sooner or later. In fact, it is these desires which lead to so much doubt concerning the bane mummy’s devotion to Oblivion. The hunger for sexual gratification and stimuli is stronger in the Syvén than the drive to seek destruction. Common powers:- cause insanity, extra limbs, Hekau path, mind rape, nimbleness, savage genitalia, succubie’ veil, Summon Abassi, wall walking. The Abassi - The Syvén are served by unusual and unique handmaidens known as the Abassi Succubi, Helping (Servant) Spirits not so dissimilar to the Hindu-Yogin-Tantric female Faerie Sorceresses known as 'Dakini's'. The Syvén actually clothes what remains of her psyche in flesh (or Corpus) and strikes a bargain with it obey and serve her. It is the higher emotions and desires of this entity that makes the Syvén bane mummies so different from their peers. Whether one Abassi or a dozen serves her, they are all her Psyche given form. They are all the light emotions and desires of the Syvén, but bound by the Immortals own primeval nature to do her bidding. Common taints:- Addiction (vices and fetishes); breed prejudice, drone attractor, high functioning, plasmid attractor, physical wasting, true psyche. Weakness:- The Syvén have been corrupted by their Psyche and are no longer welcome by the Labyrinth, or the hive mind of the Spectres. They can call no aid from the various forces of the Wyrm or of Oblivion except for those loyal to their unknown master. For the most part the leaders of the labyrinth consider them Yu Huang’s
problem but should the larger majority of the Tempests children take an interest in the Syvén it is doubtful that they would last very long.
Udug The Udug are bestial hunters determined to counter the good deeds of the reborn. Their acts of barbarism and debauchery are so legendary that the Udug often attract followers from among the lesser spectres and banes. The Unrighteous Ones QUOTE: “I am the cry of the abused child, the whimper of the beaten animal, the ache in the victim’s heart and the howl of the predator given vent. I am the doom of the world, I a m despair and even the gods weep at my conduct!” DESCRIPTION Its unbearable isn’t it? The suffering of strangers. The agony of friends, there’s a secret song at the centre of the world, Joey, and its sound is like razors through flesh. Come, you can hear its faint echoes now. I’m here to turn up the volume. Here to press the stinking face of humanity in the dark blood of its secret heart. - Pinhead, Hellraiser III The Udug, also known by the Akkadian Utukku are a bestial and demonic bane mummy infamous for their haunting of deserted places and for their imaginative cruelty. As immortals they have the basic human cunning and tool use, but their thought processes tend towards instinctual near animal habits. The Udug take deliberate steps to d eny their humanity, indulging in spite so monstrous and barbaric that they hope even the Gods wil l take notice. In their eyes the greatest achievement would be to disgust the creators to the extent that they turned their back on existence. The Udug strive to achieve an absolute lack of worth in the eyes of the divine so that they might counter the benefit the Tzadikim believe they bring to creation. In fact they have become architects of the perverse whose debauchery and malice outshine that of the worst humanity has ever produced. They spend endless incarnations plumbing the depths of their own capabilities in the attempt to become the very worst creation has to offer. Unlike other grooms of oblivion, the Udug are not so eager to find destruction, they look to inflict it upon others first. Named after a type of demon or ghost, the first Utukku was the wraith of Enkidu in the myth of Gilgamesh who was raised up by the god Nergal. Eventually the word was applied to various entities, companions of the Anunnaki. They were in the service of the underworld, and were required to fetch home the fruit of the sacrifices and burnt offerings, which generally consisted of the blood, liver, and other "sweetmeats" of the sacrificed animal. It is unclear when the word was applied to this branch of the bane mummy affliction, and each of the Udug claims to be the first of the line. Many in fact clai m to be the only Udug, that they are Enkidu, or Satan, the Wyrm itself or a variety of other dark entities. Those who challenge their claims are brought low through the utter degradation of those they hold dear before being tortured to death and left on display for all to see. Despite being few in number these creatures have attracted an insane following from the accursed, putting the other bane mummy’s noses out of joint. The lower ranks of destructions army, the Spectres and the Bane spirits, often look to the legends of the Udug much as mundane humanity looks upon its celebrities and heroes. Perhaps the one thing all other bane mummies
share is their utter hatred for and jealousy over the Udug. The Udug are at once the most determined to eradicate their former humanity and the most high functioning of the Dark Immortals. They are explorers in the realm of corruption, artists in the furthest regions of experience and only a fool would label them as mindless monsters. Taking their central credo from all that is denied to mankind in the sacred books they study the knowledge of good and evil, seek out the forbidden fruits and the sacred cattle. Many take a special interest in the line in the Biblical book of Genesis which warns Adam and Eve that “Your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” The Udug believe that they are well on their way to becoming gods themselves, perhaps they will one day rise to rule over the Wyrms brood and the spectres of the Tempest. It is unknown what career they had in life but almost all of them become hunters of one type or another after undergoing the corrupted spell of life. Fugitives and vagabonds in the wastelands of the earth, just as the creator declared for all those who disobeyed him. While they en joy debasing the current morals of society, they prefer not to dwell among the masses. They are keen to retain the bestial aspect of their minds and to allow it to dominate their lifestyle and their modus operandi. ORGANISATION The Udug prefer to dwell amid plasmids and other simple spectres in the underworld and are known to retreat to their own realm of K urnugi (land of no return) somewhere deep in the uninhabited Tehom (tempest). Very little is known about this location or what the Udug do there and their time in their death cycles remains a mystery even to the other servants of Oblivion. The assumptions that have been made point to Kurnugi b eing a place where the Udug offer sacrifice to Oblivion, or perhaps to some great plasmid, and where their simplistic form of organisation takes shape. The bane mummies often return from the underworld with a purpose and spend a great deal of energy focussed upon their unknown schemes. WEAKNESS The Udug spurn much of civilized behaviour, never bathing, never cutting their hair or shaving. The only clothes that they wear are those they fin necessary to the lifestyle of a hunter, and as such many are naked except for weapons and trophies, or the tools of torture. It is not unusual to see an Udug smeared in blood and offal, caked in the mud and dust of the road with hair full of seeds and burrs. Common powers: - Animal control, blood sniffing, brain eating, claws, fangs or horns, howls of horror, nimbleness, sense the unnatural, venomous bite, void of silence, wall walking Common taints: - Ablutophobia, bane attractor, disintegration, infections, physical wasting, special diet Weakness: - The Udug can never assimilate with other cultures, other groups or even other packs. No degree of effort can succeed in making them l ook or smell like a normal human, no animal not being controlled by some means will remain in their company, no disguise will have the slightest effect upon them. Even supernatural attempts to disguise the bestial and uncivilized appearance, scent and behaviour of an Udug will fail. Bane Mummies Examples of corruption Hun Came (One Death)
First and foremost among the Metnal is Hun Came, also known as Cizin, a devoted servant of Ah Puch with a taste for torturing slaves in bizarre games and competitions. Despite several defeats at the hands of ther Xibalba, Hun Came remains the undisputed top dog of the Metnal due to the favour of his Onceborn master. During his time in the lands of the dead, Hun Came commands the respect usually due to a Nephwrack spectre and his various perversions are geared towards retaining this position of dominance. Known powers: berserker; extra speed; hide of Apophis (2 pts); size (2 pts); slither skin; slobber snot Known taints: Addiction (torture); Addiction (gambling); inner volcano; physical wasting; rotting; ugly as sin Xiquiripat (Blood Gatherer, Blood Moon or Blood Girl/Maiden) Made Immortal before she became a woman Xiquiripat (alternatively, Ixquic or Xquic), is the daughter of Cuchumaquic and according to legend, the mother of the Hero twins. However it is almost certain that she has never truly given birth, she simply had some philosophical link to their baptism into the ranks of the undying. Her overriding passion is to tatse the joys of love and motherhood denied her by the Spell of life. Driven by a lack of understanding how she came to be Immortal and how she is incapable of defying Tezcatlipoca, Xiquiripat is hungry for knowledge about herself and other immortals. Because she is able to pass easily for a normal human, Xiquiripat has even succeeded in fooling a few supernaturals, even a few Immortals, into taking her as a lover, feeding both her loneliness and her need for more information. While she i s desperate for male attention, Xiquiripat eventually grows dissatisfied with her lover ’s inability to make her pregnant and kills them, before devolving again into a monstrous baby eating plague on the neighbourhood. Known powers: brain eating; mind rape; nimbleness; savage genitalia. Known taints: Addiction (desperate to be a mother); bane attractor; special diet (babies). Ahalpuh (Pus Master) Called an immortal infection by the Xibalba, Ahalpuh long ago left the cult of Ah Puch for a new Malfean master. Some suspect that he has now begun to serve Mulhecturous because he has ben witnesses working among the AIDS clinics in Southern America. Known powers: balefire flux, infectious touch, poison tumours, toxic secretions. Hekau path: Amulets. Known taints: Atrophy; infections; physical wasting; worms. Mictlan - the Black Shadow (for the full bio of Mictlan, see Werewolf: the Wild West – Tails from the trails: Mexico pp 93 – 96 and also The Chaos Factor pp 62). There is one more Spawn of Metnal, a Mummy who goes by the name of Mictlan and who may once have been numbered among the Xibalba if it wasn’t for the spite in his own heart and his devotion to a Gangrel Vampire. When he was resurrected he was reborn corrupt and he created a huge cult to worship an aspect of Oblivion called the Storm eater. By presenting this malfean entity as the ancient rain and sacrifice God Xipe Totec, Mictlan has gathered quite a powerful cult of Oblivion. Ideas ,like national identity and a pseudo reclamation of the old ways has allowed him to shape this cult, the black shadow, into a supernatural terrorist cell. The true Metnal despise this upstart, and Mictlan returns their scorn, but the bane Mummies know that he is favoured by the Wyrm. Only Mictlan can create the Flayed ones and h e has done more in the service of Oblivion than the rest of them put together. As much as they hate him, the Metnal will aid Mictlan if he asks, if for no other reason than to share in his glory and to appear to be loyal servants.
Lesser Bane Mummies Those who serve the Grooms of Oblivion Lesser children of Apophis These ten new children are less powerful, less gifted than the seven created by Sutekh because the magic they experienced was not wiel ded by a Vampire God or his Awakened acolytes. Instead they were created by those seven and are lesser in almost every way, however even in that they are fortunate for they are all much more human than the original seven and can pass in human company all the easier. They have no specific powers or weaknesses as do proper Bane Mummies and they must be resurrected by one of thier creators in order to return to their Khat. The lesser children of Apophis bare the names Iubani, Khermuti, Unti, Karauememti, Khesef-hra, Sekhem-hra, Khak-ab, Nai, Uai and Beteshu. They view the e lders of the Dynasty as near Gods and are usually as loyal to them as they are to Apophis itself. In truth, certain children of Apophis have made a greater impression on certain of their lesser siblings than others and cliques have formed in the dynasty. The Flayed Ones The flayed ones are unique to South America and are especially active in Mexico. They are the Wraiths of the Dead who have been touched by the power of the Storm eater and then pla ced into the bodies of the recently sacrificed. Though they appear perfectly normal under most circumstances, they are undead in their own fashion. Unless they are actually attacking an enemy, they have no noticeable difference from any other human, save for their Wyrm-Taint. When they reveal themselves, however, their horrible state of decay make them very obvious. When no longer hiding themselves, the Flayed Ones still look largely human – save for the lack of any flesh over their skulls and the long strips of flesh that hang from their bodies like the bandages on a Hollywood mummy. Of course, these are no Hollywood creatures; the Flayed Ones’ fleshy wrappings constantly drip blood. The children of Xipe Totec are dedicated to destroying all interlopers and reclaiming the lands of Central and South America as their own. They work carefully to further the agenda of a corrupted Xibalba named Mictlan, often imitating the people w hose bodies they now posses and spreading the word of Mictlan as a Gospel or simply spying on their reborn enemies. The Flayed Ones dress in current clothing and appear to be alive from a distance, but they have no heartbeats and the blood that spills from their wounds is diseased and cold. That very same blood is another weapon for them, for when the Ichor from their flayed flesh falls into any open wound the infection that follows is capable of killing the most hardy foe, even Garou. Some of them use this to their advantage by painting any weapons they carry with their own blood before going into combat. These creatures are loyal servants of the Black Shadow, and they are only too eager to aid oblivion in its plans.
System The Rules of Oblivion Systems and rules for the Adversary
Building a better monster A World of Darkness: Mummy 2nd edition gave the rules (page 136) for the creation of Bane Mummies based on the rules from the Werewolf: the Apocalypse book 'Freak Legion'. It is an elegant system which needs only expanding to allow the Storyteller (or the player) to create one of the various Dark Immortals of this work. Sanity The vast majority of Bane Mummies are mad, driven insane but the horrors of their own existence. However Madness can take so many forms from the slavering bl ood thirsty monster to the cold, calculating and seemingly charming one. For some, this lack of sanity manifests much as it does among mortals, religious zealotry, an incapacity to empathise with others or a degree of confusion about which voices are real and which are created in their own fractured Psyche. Magic The Magic of the Bane Mummies is usually an instinctual expression of their inner torment, acting as a conduit through which Oblivion manifests. Thus they are granted powers at character creation, the gifts of their unknowable masters in the Labyrinth, and they find it nigh impossible to improve on or increase these powers. Most Bane Mummies (The Syven excepted) find Hekau to be problematic; the Spells require a higher degree of intellect and inner calm than they can manage. Those few who can wield a path of Immortal magic seem to be innately suited to do so and cannot learn paths other than this. For this reason, Bane Mummies are given the chance to develop a Hekau path when they are created (by the Storyteller or by particularly twisted players) and they can only buy Spells from this path and spent XP to increase their level in it. If you do choose to allow your players to create a Bane Mummy and they wish to spend experience points on new powers, allow them to transfer twenty five experience points into a single point to spend on power as though it were a Freebie point and make sure that they take a new taint (and do not gain any extra points from it) each time they cash them in . Powers and Taints Powers The servants of Oblivion have a variety of powers, which can be bought at character creation with freebies. They may gain extra freebie points by selecting taints but these points may only be used to purchase powers and do not transfer into the general freebie pool. Suitable powers from Freak legion: a P layers guide to Fomori & World of Darkness: Mummy 2nd edition. These point costs override those in either book. Animal control (2 pts); balefire flux (7 pts); berserker (3 pts); blood sniffing (2 pts); blood vomit (4 pts); body barbs (2-10 pts); body expansion (2 pts); brain eating (6 pts); cause insanity (2 pts per die); chameleon colouration (varies); claws, fangs or horns (3/5/7 pts); corrupted visions (2 pts); darksight (2 pts); deception (7 pts); Dispersion (4 pts); ectoplasmic extrusions (3 pts); exoskeleton (2 pts); extra limbs (3 pts per limb); extra speed (3/6 pts); foot pads (1 pt); Frog tongue (3 pts); Gaseous form (6 pts); hazardous breath (varies); hide of the wyrm / hide of Apophis (1-5 pts); howls of horror (3 pts); infectious touch (5 pts); invisibility (5 pts); malleate (6 pts); mind blast (5 pts); mind rape (6 pts); molecular weakening (4 pts); mouth of the Wyrm / mouth of Apophis (4 pts); nightmare command (3 pts); nimbleness (2 pts); numbing (3 pts); phoenix fire (5 pts); poison tumours (3 pts); rat head (4 pts); savage genitalia (2 pts); sense the unnatural (2 pts); shadowplay (4 pts); size (2/4/6 pts); skittersight (2 pts); slither skin (3 pts);
slobber snot (4 pts); stomach pumper (3 pts); tar baby (3 pts); toxic secretions (2 pts per die); venomous bite (3 pts); wall walking (4 pts); water breathing (2/5 pts); Not suitable / banned powers diseased blood (vampires only); enhancement; Eyes of the wyrm (see eyes of Oblivion below); Fungal touch (see grave spores below); Garou Gifts; hand from beyond; hells hide; homogeneity; immunity; immunity to Delirium; lashing tail; mega attribute; noxious breath; plasmic form; procreation; prolonged life; regeneration; roar of the wyrm (see roar of the tempest below); scent of the wyld (or weaver); sense Gaia; shambling; shapechange (see foul form below); spirit ties; succubi's veil (restricted to Syvén and Abassi only); umbral passage; voice of the Wyrm; webbing; wings. New Powers Corpse strength (2, 4 or 6 points) The Bane Mummy becomes superhumanly powerful, often demonstrated with extreme feats of strength. Bane Mummies have been observed literally crushing their victim to death or breaking their necks with their bare hands. System: The Bane Mummy gains the equivalent of Potence (see Vampire: the Masquerade). Each level bought (each 2 points spent) grants the Bane Mummy one point of automatic success in any Strength roll. Eyes of Oblivion (3 pts) The eyes of the Bane Mummy are weird and can actually dilate, revealing images of entropy and the Oblivion that waits for all things. System: An opponent who gazed into the Dark Immortal's eyes must make Willpower roll (difficulty 8) or be frozen in horror (for five turns minus Wits rating; minimum one turn). The Bane Mummy itself cannot attack its victim, but its friends can. (This power is based on eyes of the wyrm pp 32 freak legion). Foul form (4 pts) The Bane Mummy is able to shape shift, to a limited degree, calling upon the mythical links between certain forms and the netherworld. These new shapes are always a corrupted version of the natural animal or entity; mangy and misshapen or violently flayed and wounded. System: The Bane Mummy spends one point of Sekhem and rolls Stamina + Athletics (difficulty 6). This Spell itself is incredibly painful process that takes three rounds to complete. The Bane Mummy can shift back into his 'natural' form at wi ll, but it takes just as long. The Bane Mummy gains only one foul form each time he purchases this power and he does not gain additional powers not granted by the basic physical shape itself. Therefore a bane Mummy transforming into a Hawk would gain flight from the wings, if he transformed into a snake he could bite with his fangs but would need to purchase venomous bite to inflict poisons with that bite. Common shapes recorded by the Cabiri include diseased seals, rats, a great flayed bull, giant crocodiles, serpents, a grey horse with no ears or tail and a broken back, rabid canines, or a cat that would sit upon a sleeper's chest and grow steadily heavier until the victim suffocated, the Typhonian Beast, rotting children, trolls, vultures and even a Hippopotamus. Grave spores (4 pts) The Bane Mummy is infected with a variety of spores, fungus and bacteria from the grave or the tomb. The Supernatural effects of Oblivion have warped these natural inflictions into something far more virulent and infectious. System: the bane Mummy must touch a target to infect. The Victim must then make a Stamina roll (difficulty 7) or begin losing one point from all Physical Attributes, as well as Appearance, per day (as the spores slowly cover him …). The Infection may only be cured with supernatural means, but can be held in check with extreme forms of modern medicine. (This power is based upon fungal touch pp 33 freak legion).
Grimmum grapum (4 pts) The hands of the Bane Mummy twist into large claws, often known as hand spurs or grimmum grapum (grim claws), that look like the blades of shears and can tear flesh from bones. Wooden doors, bronze shields or thick fur are as tissue paper to such claws, they are truly devastating weapons. System: The claws are a permanent alteration to the Bane Mummy, making precise work difficult and lowering it's dexterity by 2 when it involves delicate manipulation. Ho wever in combat they do aggravated +2 damage and add an extra dice when figuring feats of strength for the sake of destroying the target. Hekau path (6 pts) The Bane Mummy has sufficient grasp of his existence to master one of the Paths of Immortal magic. Perhaps learned from the whispering of the Tempest or from Apophis itself, this gift often denotes a specially favoured servant of the Unmaker. Only one Hekau path is granted with this power, and that power will usually be extremely suitable to the Bane Mummy's myth and archetypal grasp of entropy. Despite being created with a similar form of magic, the corrupted spells rarely grant full control over the soul's Sekhem and Hekau, the ultimate achievement of Sekhem, is a rare ability among the Dark Immortals. System: Buying this power grants the Immortal a single dot in one Hekau (which may be raised with freebie points or experience points as normal). To determine how many Spells the Bane Mummy begins with the Storyteller (or player, god forbid) must multiply it's Sekhem score by the sum of it's Hekau path ratings. They may then select spe lls whose difficulty number adds up to no more than this number. Remember that a character, even a Bane Mummy, can only learn Spells up to the level he has in the Hekau path. Living bandages (3 pts) The Bane Mummy can animate up to four improvised tentacles or arms from his bandages, shroud wrappings or even from his hair or tattered flesh. These limbs can be used to independently reach out and grasp objects, hit things or enveloping targets and smother them. Their reach is five yards. System: the Bane Mummy spends one Sekhem and rolls Stamina + Occult or Thanatology (difficulty 6) to create the tentacles. He then adds 3 dots to his strength for lifting. To attack with the tentacles in combat, he rolls Dexterity + Brawl (difficulty 8); the tentacles inflict Strength +2 damage. (based on the power ectoplasmic extrusions pp 32 freak legion). Open Nihil (2 points) With an expenditure of two Sekhem the Sahu of a Bane Mummy in the Shadowlands may opens a Nihil wherever it chooses, providing an escape route or calling forth Spectres from the Tempest to aid it. This Power is available to all bane Mummies but no Spectres will answer the call of the Syvén.Roar of the Tempest (4 pts) The Bane Mummy is able to strike terror and despondency into the hearts of all near it by issuing a guttural scream. The air that passes over its larynx i s not air from it's lungs but the very winds of the Tempest, and in it can be heard the cries of the shadow eaten and the howl of Oblivion. System: The Mummy spends one Sekhem point and roll's Charisma + Intimidation (difficulty 6). All who hear this frightful sound must make a resisted Willpower roll (difficulty 6) or run as fast and as far as they can to get away from the Immortal. Any creature which is likely to suffer from frenzy such as Kindred and Garou must roll to resist such a state as well. Sand form (6 pts) The Bane Mummy has a spiritual affinity with the Deserts, the physical domain of death and entropy. It can reduce it's body into a collection of automotive sand that can move about of its own free will. This sand can move at walking speed, and can squeeze through any space large enough for a grain of sand to pass through. While in the sand form the Immortal cannot be harmed by Kinetic attacks, but fire, electricity and radiation will still affect him. Liquid will slow him rather drastically, and because it's mind and soul are still intact, most magical effects that target
them are unaffected. For some Bane Mummies this power grants not a form of sand but some other appropriate substance such as ash or blood. System: The Bane Mummy must spend a point of Sekhem to become sand and another to become solid again. Shamir worms (4 pts) The Shamir comes from Tzadikim myth and it was originally used to make deserts habitable but Solomon stole the Shamir and ended the beautification of the earth. Apparently the demon Asmodai perverted this magical beast for the Wyrm and taught its use to the servants of Oblivion. Barriers behind which a target hides are soon overcome and very little can seal the Bane Mummy's khat away for long. System: The putrid body of those with this power contains a manifest bane which can eat through any material with its acidic mouthparts. The Worm is extruded from the Immortals very flesh and begins to chew through any substance rapidly. Strong materials such as stone or metal slow its progress down to a speed of around a foot every ten minutes. Stench of the Howe (2 pts) The Bane mummy, especially Aptrgangr, can produce a foul and horrible stench; enough to set everybody else's stomach to retching. The smell is cloying and sweetly acrid, and once it is in the nostrils it is difficult to get out. System: Anybody forced to inhale the odour will be at -1 dice for three turns. With limited air supply or an enclosed space, anyone who needs to breath will be at -1 dice for the remainder of the scene or until they can take steps to ventilate and cleanse their surroundings and their noses. Summon Abassi (2 pts) - Syvén only The Syvén have a unique power which allows them to summon companions from within themselves with a short ritual (half an h our). They summon these Abassi by giving in to the urges of her Psyche and by sacrificing some of her Corpus (1 point per Abassi). This power is unique to the Syvén and none of them has ever been able to teach it to another Immortal or Wraith. Although all Syvén have this power it can be bought again (and again) multiple times up to a maximum of its Manipulation Trait. Each time the power is bought it grants an additional Abassi that will appear when summoned. Each Abassi will have the same health levels, attributes and abilities as its creator but none of her powers or possessions. They are usually feminine in form, though whether they be human or beast is peculiar to each Syvén. The Abassi can be summoned in both the Skinlands and the Underworld, and they match their mistress in nature. While in her death cycle, the Syvén summons Wraith Abassi and when the Syvén is in her Living cycle, the Abassi is a living fleshy companion. They never fight but will rarely allow themselves to be killed while their mistress escapes. That being said they are summoned to serve other purpose mostly, messengers and attendants, bed mates or assitants. If killed (or destroyed) the Abassi is reabsorbed and can be summoned again by conducting the ritual of summoning. Suspended animation (3 points) This power allows a Bane Mummy to stall the cycle of death and rebirth if it is entombed with the correct ritual while still alive. The ritual involves the sacrifice of a Banes spirit and it causes all life functions to cease, placing the Bane Mummy in a deathly nightmare rabaged sleep. In this way the target can wait for long ages until their 'tomb' is disturbed and they awa ken without the need for the usual resurrection process. While in this sleep the Bane Mummy remains intact and its Ba does not escape to the underworld, its K a does not haunt the khat or guard it from intruders. Void of Silence (3 Pts) Constant experience with oblivion and the depths of the Labyrinth teaches the Bane Mummy the art of stealth. In fact, the Bane Mummy with this power is deathly and supernaturally silent, its footsteps make no noise, its breathing is unheard, nor is there ever a tell-tale heartbeat. It gains an automatic success in any stealth based roll and can never botch such a roll. Any attempt to
detect it based entirely on sound wil l fail no matter the successes. Whispers from beyond (3 pts) This power allows the Bane Mummy to retain it's connection to the Hive mind of the spectres even while in the Skinlands. The Bane Mummy can call its shadow-eaten brethren to aid it, either by possessing mortals or using other Arcanoi to thwart the living. System: The Bane Mummy rolls Manipulation + Leadership (Difficulty 6). Each success calls forth a Shade spectre (Wraith: the Oblivion page 271) or a Tindelhound (Wraith: the Oblivion page 276) from the Tempest. Taints Taints are the side effects of being subject to corrupted magic, along with countless journeys to the labyrinth or the Wyrm's realm. The Bane Mummies are torn between the two aspects of destruction and their spiritual and physical forms pay the price. Each point gained from a taint adds to the Bane Mummies Freebie points pool for buying Powers. Points gained from taints can only be spent on powers. Suitable taints from Freak legion: a Players guide to Fomori & World of Darkness: Mummy 2nd edition. These point costs override those in either book. Addiction (varies); atrophy (varies); balefire curse (7 pts); bane attractor (3 pts); breed prejudice (1-5 pts); the crusties (3 pts); disintegration (6 pts); infections (4 pts); inner volcano (5 p ts); physical wasting (varies); rotting (6 pts); special diet (varies); teledementia (4 pts); ugly as sin (1 pt), worms (3 pts). Not suitable / banned taints brainwashed; derangement; doomed; the fading; mental de-evolution; mutoid cancer; second head; severe allergy; walking bomb. New Taints Barrow flame (3 points) the lairs of the Aptrgangr and a few others among the Bane Mummy's are often revealed by the presence of supernatural fire and flames. In ages past people reported seeing strange glows from the burial places where the Druagr dwelt, or even where a Druagr was passing. In fact the body of the Bane Mummy produces corpse gas which can ignite, it even seems to burn behind his eyes - "him of eagum stod ligge gelicost leoht un faeger" (from his eyes came an ugly light, most like a flame). These flames provide no help or hindrance to the Bane Mummy except perhaps to help him see in the dark, but they do make it almost impossible to hide (-3 to Stealth) himself or his home. Drone attractor (7 pts) See bane attractor (pp 42 freak legion), which it reproduces in every way except that it a ttracts minor creatures (drones) from the Underworld rather than Banes. High Functioning (2 Points) The unfortunate bane mummy still retains their sanity and thus exists without the blessing of the broken mind enjoyed by the majority of the Dark Immortals. To serve Oblivion knowingly is truly and literally soul destroying, few Spectres can be said to be fully aware of their state. Every moment is truly awful for such Immortals. These few unfortunates must find other releases for the pain and self loathing they bare, often a collection of addictions, ticks and peccadill oes. Those who do not hunger for their own destruction become true predators and sadists. Mearcstapa (3 pts - 5 points for Aptrgangr) The Bane Mummy is not all there mentally, and is not at all comfortable around the trappings of humanity. They seem to fear large civilizations such as cities, preferring to haunt the edges of
such places. Theirs is a place of boundaries. The sounds of human celebration seem to actively cause the Bane Mummy discomfort and send them into a rage, often growing a murderous frenzy if it carries on for any length of time. Ceremonies and prayers are even worse, but any reverberations of society can lite the touch paper. Some believe that the Bane Mummies are not as fully alive as the traditional Immortals, and that they hunger for the things of life. That they are jealous of the living and the pleasures they are capable of enjoying. They hunger for the things of life, and this hunger is expressed by their savagery. Common among the Bane Mummies linked to the Crochan Geni Dynasty those with the Mearcstapa (rover of the borders) taint are tied to the borders, the places whi ch correspond to the Spirit world and the lands of the dead, the regions where sacrifices a re made. Phobia (varies 1 - 3 Points) Much as the Bane Mummies are monsters surrounded by terrible truths and mind bending Gods, they were once humans just like the Reborn. Thier minds are often twisted and broken in ways too surreal to apply rules to. However some of their issues draw closer to those mental problems we can and do understand, the phobias developed as a result of eternal li fe. Phobias can work very well as low point Taints but do not over do it, even the most debilitating Phobia shares the mental landscape of the Bane Mummy with centuries of torture and slaughter. Use common sense (and these guide lines) when deciding the impact of a Phobia and attribute points value accordingly. For example; paraskavedekatraphobia, the fear of Friday the 13th, has very little impact on the character and isn't worth any points at all. Alliumphobia, fear of garlic, is easily avoided and so shouldn't be considered a taint either. Whereas Triskaidekaphobia, the fear of the number thirteen, does impact on the Bane Mummies life and is worth a few points (1 or 2 depending on severity). Ideophobia (1 point) - The morbid fear of thought, new or different ideas. Ideophobics never drift from tradition, from the old ways. This can lead the Bane Mummy to ignore better ways of achieving its goals or of becoming stressed and fearful around new ideas. Somniphobia (1 point) - Is the fear of sleepin g. Somniphobics are scared that once they fall asleep they will never wake up again (that Oblivion will claim you, that Apophis will swallow you). Those bane Mummies who suffer from this Phobia tend to be at -1 to all dice pools. Highly manic and driven to finish the current project quickly. Peladophobia (1 point) - The fear of bald people might seem a minor issue today, but imagine being one of the Children of Apophis in ancient Khem. Shaved heads were a common trend, and worn by all those spell flinging priests. Today as humans live longer, the percentage of the population who make you feel uneasy or afraid is just as high as it was back then. Ablutophobia (2 points) - Ablutophobes are afraid to bathe, wash or clean. They come to view their filth as a blessing of the Wyrm and will do nothing to offend Apophis. For creatures caked in blood, grave dirt and the detritus of creeping through sewers this phobia makes stealth an issue, The attendant flies and maggots get in the way of experimentation or carefully crafted mayhem, while no matter of cosmetic alteration can help the bane Mummy go abroad in human society. Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia (2 points) - The fear of long words. This phobia takes on a whole new dimension for creatures who understand the power of true names, and any long or complicated word becomes an attempt to use Nomenclature against them. All rationality flees when the sufferer hears what his twisted mind believes to be a true name and he instantly rolls for frenzy. Nomatophobia (2 points) - The fear of names. Another Phobia driven by the fear of Ren-Hekau or Nomenclature, this leaves the Bane Mummy unwilling to use any true name for fear it w ill open him up to a magical attack from the hated reborn. His speech patterns become distinct and odd as he is forced to find alternative ways to describe almost everything. Automatonophobia (2 points) - Fear of Ushabti. The Bane Mummy is deathly afraid of automatons and it is so afraid that even being in their presence is enough to reduce their dice pool by 1. Any roll made against an E ffigy suffers a -2 to its dice pool. Apeirophobia (3 pts) - The fear of infinity. For the Immortal Bane Mummies in the thrall of oblivion, the prospect of infinity is terrifying. They exist in a state of pain, hatred for others and
self-loathing, and existence they would rather see ended at the earliest opportunity. Bane Mummies who suffer from Apeirophobia spend an inordinate amount of time seeking an end to their eternal existence, whether that be a way to reverse the spell cast upon them alone or rushing Oblivions plans to end creation itself. Aphenphosmophobia (3 poits) - The fear of touching or being touched. Bane Mummies who are also aphenphosmophobes like to have a lot of personal space. Simple physical contact can send them into a Frenzy, either attacking or fleeing the source of contact. Most need to immediately clean, or even cauterise, the area touched as soon as they are able. Usually not until after they have rent the offender limb from limb however. Phagophobia (3 points) - Phagophobia comes with two debilitating fears, first the Bane Mummy is afraid of eating and digesting something, leading to health issues and a permanent wound on the health track while in the Living cycle. Worse still is the cause of the fear, being afraid of being swallowed by Apophis the devourer. Of being sucked into the belly of some giant beast in the Tempest or one of those Hippopotami. In fact the Bane Mummy is at a -1 whenever confronted by or contemplating something with a maw larger than itself. Plasmic attractor (3 pts) See bane attractor (pp 42 freak legion), which it reproduces in every way except that it a ttracts minor creatures (Plasmids) from the Tempest rather than Banes. Prydian's curse (3/4 pts) The black rites which create the Bane Mummies can be flawed in so many ways and they often leads to the creation of terrifying monstrosities. However some of the flaws are far more mundane. Bane Mummies with Prydian's curse are completely mute as in the story of Prydian, retaining all of their mental capabilities and social attributes along with all its abilities except those that require it to use its voice. The higher level of the taint is a mental hang-up that comes with Prydian's curse and leave's the Immortal obsessed with the silence the Hive mind hungers for. While noise does not cause them discomfort, they will go out of their way to achieve it. The Bane Mummy is careful and patient, taking great pains not to make noise or cause disturbances. Stealth and the absence of noise taints all of their actions and their tactics, they would rather abandon a scheme than be responsible for too much noise. True Psyche (4/7 pts) The Bane Mummies higher nature is every bit as powerful as the shadow of a normal wraith and he is subject to similar rules. His Psyche can even take control if he gains enough Pathos while they are in the underworld. For 7 points, the Psyche may even take control while the bane Mummy is in the skinlands. MERITS AND FLAWS Several Merits and flaws in the Freak Legion book are highly suitable, such as : Hidden power (pp 22); pathetic aura (pp 22); stigmata of the Wyrm (pp 22). However some are highly unsuitable Merits, such as: Banespeak (pp 22); unpossessed (pp 23); true faith (pp 23); Deformity (pp 2 3); scary presence (pp 23). New Flaws The Dark Virtues Bane Mummies are driven by twisted desires, dark u rges and inhuman morals. The Virtues of the Bane Mummies are direct contrasts to those of the reborn. Where the reborn feel Joy, the bane Mummy's feel hatred, Integrity is replaced by Corruption and Memory by Loss. Hatred is the driving passion of the Bane Mummies, the result of a sole merged with a Wyrm spirit, their hatred of life, especially eternal life, is an active force. Bane Mummy's with a h igh Hatred rating seethe with rage and spend their time planning spiteful revenge on the Reborn, on
the Veil of Isis and on anyone who seeks to resist the natural order of Oblivion. Balancing their hatred is their corruption, the passive fragility of entropy which pulls them closer and closer to destruction as time drags on. Those with a high rating in corruption are rotten to the core, unable to understand the higher emotions. They take delight in bringing others low, of stripping away hope and decency, their nature is often patient rather than driven by rage they are driven by cold certainty. Finally the opposite of Memory is Loss, the loss of the memory, loss of the self, the nirvana of oblivion. Those Dark Immortals with a high Loss trait are little more than the physical tools of Oblivion with no free will or memory of their first lives. Those with a lower score in the trait retain much of themselves and do oblivions bidding for other reasons. If there are any paths of Enlightenment amongst the Bane Mummies they appear to be the dark reflections of the Reborn paths, with the hierarchy of sins reversed. Oblivionographers also posit that there are paths devoted to the various entities in the pantheon of destruction; Apophis, Tezcatlipoca, Beast-of-war, Eater-of-souls, the defiler Wyrm, Adikia, Izfet and to certain aspects of the Bane Mummy nature such as: Dolos (Trickery), Sanistirio (Torment), Apate (Deception), Pseudologoi (lies). Chapter 7: Storytelling Living forever Cross Dynasty stories Storytelling Eternity Inter Dynasty & Historical Stories Cross Dynasty Stories There are no facts, only interpretations. - Friedrich Nietzsch The history of the Immortals has been long and fractious, with unity being a relatively modern concept (in a society which considers 1,500 years or so a short time). While a player group made up of Immortals from more than one Dynasty is easy to countenance in the modern era, the same may not be true for a chapter set in the ancient world (prior to 200 BC). The Storyteller may have to do a little work to allow the group to operate in some historical periods, but even at the worst times some contact was possible. For the sake of dealing with cross dynasty interaction it is simplest to split the history of the Immortals into Four eras. The First era stretches from the creation of Horus sometime in the 4th Millennium BC up until the estimated creation of the first Immortal outside of the domain of the Veil of Isis circa 2100 BC. There was no in teraction during this time simply because there were no other Dynasties. From then until the 2nd Century BC is the intermediate era which came to a slow end as the Cabiri and other emissaries begin to succeed in their efforts to unite Immortal culture. This era covers the time before the Eanead council, its rise among the Het and its earliest steps to establish peace and equality. The next era covers the time between the rise of the Eanead in 433 AD to the modern day. The second Era, before the open unity of the Eanead council, interaction between the Athanatos Immortals took place among the Het. Like minded individual s met and shared ideas, philosophy and friendship despite the party line o f the Shemsu-Heru concerning Ishmaelites, Tzadikim and Cabiri. In time the Heteros Dynasties were discovered and brought into the Het and such interaction was the worst kept secret in the cul ture of the Reborn. The Wat Hor still proscribed contact with outsiders but only the most fervent followers of the code held fast to that rule. Horus
eventually realised that maintaining this rule wou ld destroy the moral of his companions and relented, reworking the Wat Hor ever so slightly. In the lands of the living the fraternity of the Het evolved into the Eanead and with the guidance of the Cabiri the Dynasties began to cooperate more openly. But even before these breakthroughs became commonly accepted the Immortals met one another in the Duat and forged al liances and friendships. A lone Heteros Immortal might journey to the lands of the Athanatos to continue a relationship begun in the Underworld. Remember also that this was the Mythic age and global travel was not only possible, for the supernaturals it was relatively common. The Awakened and the shape shifters shrank the size of the world with trips through the Umbra. Enlightened souls could visit distant realms, anywhere he could dream of he could reach. The Ishmaelites were the catalysts for much inter Dynasty communication in the living lands, but the Cabiri travelled too, specifically seeking others such as themselves. Immortals from both Dynasties undertook quests of discovery for their own reasons and when they found others they, for the most part, approached them with manners and respect. Not that the Shemsu-Heru were not the only Dyna sty with aversion to outsiders. The Xianren and the Xibalba both accepted alliances slowly, considering the other Immortals as barbarians who may well have stolen the Spell of Life from them (or from their Gods). The rare Crochan Geni may well take other Immortals as servants of Oblivion and react accordingly. The rise of the Chayot among the Tzadikim led to the rise i n the belief that all other Immortals were the creation o f the adversary. The Xibalba were accustomed to the shifting balance between Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl and had good reason to be cautious of other supernaturals while the Oboli had their own reasons to distrust just about everybody. During the third era total unity was a goal towards which everybody worked to varying degrees but which remained fragile and easily lost. It was a time of discovery and intrigue, sometimes of political friction and sometimes of open conflict. Hardliners fought against giving power to foreigners and progress was slow, but it did end with a workable society and a rising feeling of hope for the reborn. Each Dynasty accepted emissaries from the others and sent out those of its own. Personal alliances came into vogue and for most the defence and maintenance of one's friendships became a vital battle in the war against the enemy. The fourth era is, obviously, the easiest in which to mix and match Dynasty among groups of players. But even so there is never total unanimity in the World of Darkness. Different factions and the followers of the different paths remain cautious in their acceptance of others, the Tzadikim faith makes harmony difficult as does the need to work with white men for the Xibalba. Historical settings To avoid situations in which you might make mistakes may be the biggest mistake of all. - Peter McWilliams Without a shadow of a doubt the greatest aspect of the Mummy game is the ability to p lay in that foreign country; the past. Examining how life across the span of time changes the Immortals and their views is at the heart of the game as hope and ennui ebb and flow along with the battle for creation. The beauty of Immortal Amnesia even means that a Mummy campaign can sidestep the requirements of linear time and skip merrily from present to past to present again without anybody asking why a character was more powerful and knowledgeable in 450 BC than in 2012 AD. A Storyteller can add a revelation about a past incarnation in the characters life at any time and then have the troupe play through that time to foreshadow or enhance the current story. A new player or character joins the group? Assume they know each other and then i nsert the first
meeting at some later time. In the same manner a bone of contention can be added to even the most established group. A chapter set in an age of slavery can quickly drive a wedge between two friends, or a multitude of other historically sensitive eras. I couldn't (and indeed wouldn't) attempt to detail every possibility of setting between 4,000 BC and today (or even tomorrow) but I hope some of these ideas can help inspire your own chapters in the river of time. One suggestion is to learn which Historical eras interest your players and try to include at least one chapter in that setting. The Mythic Age One oft-forgotten aspect of the World of Darkness is the flexible reality from which it emerged, the so called 'Mythic Age'. The time during which Isis created Horus and during which Set and Osiris battled, magic was as natural as the wind. The dead could visit their living relatives and the otherworld of the spirits really was j ust over the next hill. Impossible things happened every d ay and two mutually exclusive realities could run shoulders without too much distress. The Umbra's had not yet been severed from the physical world by human belief and magic was still powerful enough to rewrite a humans nature so that he could survive the death of his body time and again. The Mythic age is a great concept, until you want to tell stories i n prehistoric times. Actually roleplaying in that time of endless paradox and possibility can present the Storyteller with a few issues. It can also present her with some great fantasy potential. How about Immortals with Sabre toothed pets (or even sabre toothed Long tailed cats), the sharing of Pyramid designs between the Immortals of Khem and Peru, Dragons in the Nile and the Amazon. What was the Bygone creature that Set based his mask upon? What was life like when Caine ruled Enoch openly? The Classical Age Who was Homer? Where did he learn to story of Achilles and Odysseus? Did the original story contain mention of the Servants of Oblivion or of the Veil of Isis? Did the Reborn know that Hele n was a Toreador vampire, or that (according to Chicago by Night) she was active in modern day America? How do the other Dynasties feel about the rise of the Greeks and the rise of the Cabiri? How do they feel if they then have to retreat to a Duat where the same culture has begun to shape the Dark Kingdom of Iron or to return to see a new Empire has risen in Italy with just as much Cabiri influence behind the scenes? The Age of the Crusader An era which saw an increase in Bane Mummy activity as well as political conflict between the Dynasties was the age of the Crusades. The Tzadikim almost tore itself apart while the Oboli began to cement its place in Immortal society. The Het Aletheia delighted in the surface adherence to chivalry and righteousness to begin wi th but in the end reality set in and they found this new age one of despair. For the Shemsu-Heru this brought, at the very least, an opportunity to spy upon their old homeland and to take the battle back to the Setite heartland for a century or two. The Age of Enlightenment For the Immortals every bit as much as for the Mages the renaissance was a glorious time. Alchemy was practiced openly by the greatest minds and Egypt was enjoying yet another rebirth. However the tendrils of Oblivion gripped so many hearts as poverty and war struck at every society. The Tzadikim haunted the Ottoman armies as did their own Vampires and other less savoury entities. The Secrets of Immortality came close to being discovered more than once as hedge wizards and devil worshippers sought to extend their lives at any cost. The Rise of the Third Reich Despite the evil at its heart needing no supernatural input, the events which led up to the Second World War remained a potent era for adventure and soul searching. The Fascists regimes of
Europe may have been the result of Humanities own twisted psyche, but Oblivion fed heartily from the results. The Final Solution was and remains to this day Oblivions greatest feast, its servants enjoyed a period of increased activity and energy throughout this era. There were Immortals on both sides of the wire, inside and outside the Ghettoes and involved in many of the occult and political groups at the edges. Story Ideas The Bane Mummies quest The Children of Apophis created others in their own image sometime in the first Millennium AD. Learning how to do so took them many centuries and consisted of various schemes and betrayals. It was perhaps the only time during whi ch these seven hateful creatures were able to put aside their differences for short periods and work in conjunction (if not together). They sought clues on both sides of the veil and gathered scraps of the spell used by Sutekh to create them from all manner of secret places. Before they succeeded there were several failed rituals with exacting but not quite perfect requirements. This quest by the Bane Mummies could form the basis for a long running globetrotting campaign taking place in many eras. From the earliest hints that the Bane Mummies were no longer looking to Sutekh for leadership up until the first lesser Bane Mummy was created. It might include trips to the Spirit Umbra to spy on the Children of Apophis making deals with the banes to resurrect their creations; dangerous missions into the Labyrinth or lost tombs in the desert. Should the Characters thwart the Children of Apophis at any stage they can congratulate themselves that they have stopped the terrible event coming to pass before discovering that they have merely stalled the inevitable. The Veil is torn The Veil of Isis has, over its many years of existence, fallen to human weakness more than once. As well as the simple fallibility of its membership the Veil has weathered constant attacks from the Followers of Set, from the Mage traditions as well as the Technocratic conventions. Just as the priesthood of Isis have saved many Immortals over the eons, so at times have the Immortals needed to step in to save the Veil itself. Should the worst come to the worst and the Immortals die before saving the veil they must struggle to fini sh the mission from the Duat or watch wh ile their allies are slaughtered just across the veil from them. Such a story cements the relationship between the reborn and their mortal allies and can be reworked for any of the mortal cults and priesthoods tied to the Undying. The premature burial The opening fiction introduces Annabel of the Ishmaelites and a mysterious character called Reynolds. Clearly an enemy who can match the Immortals lifespan and with apparent access to servants of Apophis he might become a thorn for the characters to face should they meet Annabel. The Fiction also touches upon a grand conclave of the Dynasties on the East Coast of America in the mid 19th century during which the Immortals finally grasped their unified destiny. That meeting took a great deal of time and effort to arrange and was beset on all sides by the enemy while it took place. The player Characters can be inserted into this event for all manner of shenanigans. The Fox Perhaps Reynolds is not working for the enemy, perhaps he was taking drastic action to save Annabel. Maybe this isn't the first time he has taken such drastic steps to save an Immortal from them self and one of the Characters ran across him in medieval France when he went by the name of Reynard, or even before that when he was Re-Nesert (Flame of Ra). How did he manipulate that Black Spiral dancer to remove Annabel from the board? Why did he do so? How do they view such drastic, yet effective, actions? Do the ends justify the means in this case, when the prize is the soul of an Immortal?
Appendix Appendix I: A cast of Immortals Amen Khal (a World of darkness: Mummy 1st edition pp68) Hetch-Abehu - North American Vizier (a World of darkness: Mummy 2nd edition pp137-138) Queen Hetephras (a World of darkness: Mummy 1st edition pp69) Horus the Avenger (a World of Darkness: Mummy 1st edition pp69 - a World of Darkness: Mummy 2nd edition pp120) Horus was not the first man to be made Immortal. But he was in the top five and he rose to greater prominence than those who came before him. The leader of the S hemsu-Heru, writer of the wat-Hor and the preeminent for of the Vampire Sutekh. Ishmael As the first to turn his back on Horus Ishmael gave his name to all who followed in his wake, yet very little is written about him in the annuls of the white wolf. Fated by Isis and many prophets to be the herald of something great Kharis (a World of darkness: Mummy 2nd edition pp5-7) Kharis is an Ishmaelite whose letter appears in the opening pages of the 2nd edition book. In this letter he claims to be a brother of Ankh-es-en-Amun (Daughter of Nefertiti, half brother and wife to Tutankhamen) and hints that they had a love affair for which he was ‘cursed’ with Immortality. This is quite likely a nod (in much the same vein as the letter from Dracula in the 2nd edition Vampire: the Masquerade core book) towards the characters in the Universal films The Mummy's Hand (1940), The Mummy's Tomb (1942), The Mummy's Ghost (1944), and The Mummy's Curse (also 1944), sequels to the 1932 film the Mummy (in which the Immortal creature is named Imhotep), and to the Hammer film the Mummy (1959). However the Priestess Kharis loved and lost in these films is named as Ananka, third daughter of Amenophis. Khonseru aka: Bacchus the beggar (a World of darkness: Mummy 1st edition pp76) Mestha (a World of darkness: Mummy 1st edition pp58) Neith (a World of darkness: Mummy 2nd edition pp121) Sahura (a World of darkness: Mummy 1st edition pp70) Serentu (a World of darkness: Mummy 1st edition) Tchatcha-em-Önkh (a World of darkness: Mummy 1st edition)
Tchatcha-em-Önkh is a great Immortal sorcerer skill ed in the paths of Hekau who has tutored many Immortals (including Sahura) and who is recognised as a master of Magick. Tjehenu the boy mummy (a World of darkness: Mummy 2nd edition pp120) Appendix II Templates Character Templates Byzantine Illuminator (Cabiri) Quote: "Strange, is it not, that the reliquary taken from the Church of St Michael by your bondsmen was mistakenly left off of this inventory. Or that it was not returned to the church after the repairs were completed. Equally curious is this confirmation docket for the hire of a ship in the same month. While I have no doubt that you remain innocent in this misdemeanour your grace, it behoves me to remain here until I can find some clue as to that ships destination." Prelude: You never rose very high on the cursus honorum, from a Legion's Quaestor in Egypt to an Aedile in charge of the maintenance of a public records office. It was in that job that the Mage found you while he was searching for a certain proscribed text. You refused his monetary bribe but agreed when he offered you wisdom and knowledge, attracting his interest. Over the following years, as you returned to a dull life of overseeing your family's estates in the east, the Mage returned to you from time to time and your responses to his inquiries blossomed into a friendship. You became an Acolyte, giving him access to a small villa and redirected funds. His circle came to rely upon your skills at misdirection and record keeping, and they eventually put their library into your hands. You spent a decade translating papyrus and scrolls from Egyptian into Latin and Greek, finally feeling that your expensive education has proven i ts worth. Despite your access to tomes of magic and a selection of Awakened comrades you showed absolutely no aptitude for the Arts and could not even manage the basics of hedge magic. The Mages began, with your permission, to experiment upon you. Testing what spells did to you and if it was different than expected. You were given wonders to handle to see if they behaved differently when in your hands, but the results were uninteresting. Your health began to deteriorate and in the end only your friend continued to pay you any attention. When you retreated to what you would believe would be your death bed he came to you with one last experiment. As your life ebbed away the Mages brought out a scroll named the secret writings of Cabirus and remade you as an Immortal. They had prepared you with as much as they knew of the Underworld and a request to find the fate of their former master. Your skill with records and language allowed you to discover the Mage's Wraith in a position of power within the Dark Kingdom of Iron, information which you turned over to them once you were reborn in return for the location of the nearest Het. Concept:
Having finally found a method of magic you can use, you have become a master of Nomenclature. You match that with your ability to ferret out lost texts and hidden meanings among mundane paperwork - travelling the world for mention of the Supernatural world. Although one day, many years from now, you might become a forger or even a private Investigator, you currently work among the monks in Constantinople as an illuminator. You spend your time copying sacred pages onto velum by candlelight for the Church. Roleplaying hints: You are a trouble shooter for the Immortals, as well as an investigator. You spend as much of your time seeking information as you do editing it for mortal eyes. A thousand years have improved your skills to no end and you often follow up leads alone if you cannot interest other Immortals in your latest clue. For you hours spent amid books are far from boring because they lead you into far more exciting adventures in the end. Equipment: Rolls of papyrus easily hidden inside the sleeves of your robes, Scribe Ushabti, a vial of Holy water. Bane Hunter (Crochan Geni) Quote: "Stay behind us, keep quiet and keep down. If anybody gets bitten use that ointment on the wound immediately. If they get past us, use the gun liked I showed you. It has nine bullets - that's eight for them and the last one for you, OK?" Prelude: Memories of your first life are difficult to hold onto n ow, you brought shame on your family then and it still hurts to think about it. They caught you with your lover, a shepherd boy, and there was no making amends. Your actions explained the blight that had been killing the cattle and the correct course was clear. Truth be told the days before they sacrificed you were among the b est of your life, you ate well and slept in a warm hut on clean straw. The beer and honeyed corn of your last meal left yo u feeling calm and at peace and death itself released you from the turmoil of your unnatural desires. As the water enveloped your exsanguinated body you hoped the Summerlands would be less confusing. That hope was as much a lie as any other and your time in the Underworld was a terrible trauma. If what you were had been confusing in life, it was worse now the physical flesh had been left behind. You have no idea how long you wrestled with the questions, how could your natural feelings be a crime? Where your desires really the cause of the dead cattle? Was it the devil who made you feel the way you did about other men? Eventually you came to understand that you had a nswered these questions as best you could that any further insights could not be found a lone. You battled your way out of the tempest and by way of treacherous byways, to Eliudnir. Here you learned that the living lands had moved on many centuries and that your way of life had been forgotten. There were many Spirits of men killed in what they described as the war to end all wars and they told you what had happened to your land and your people.
When you were reborn, suddenly reawakening in a stagnant pool much reduced from the pristine lake of your first life, the sounds of war were close by. But these horrors were as nothing compared to the things you saw in your visions, the things you killed in the tempest. You stole a uniform, some boots and a strange spear with a shoulder strap and entered the trenches of the enemy. Concept: You are a rolling stone, moving from danger zone to danger zone, following rumours of Banes mummies, Spectres or black spiral dancers. When times are good you might get a few nights kip on someone's sofa, but if not you a re comfortable in the back of your van. In the handful of incarnations since your time as a soldier in WWI you have rejoiced in the changing views of your sexuality and have fully forgiven your tribe for their ignorance. Now you hunt the agents of Oblivion and utterly destroy them. Roleplaying hints: There is no man with a full set of teeth who ever called you stupid, but you kind of smarts shine brightest in stressful situations. When the shit hits the fan you transform from the archetypal quiet man into an energised commander, directing others as you lead from the front. When the violence ends, you feel no need to speak anymore than is essential and allow others to employ their skills. For you life is about the hunt, the battle, the kill and the celebration - the rest is just time passing. You make few mortal connections, your enemies would use them against you, and so your only real relationships are with other Immortals, a few Werewolves, the restless dead. Equipment: Bane detector Amulet, sports bag full of guns and blades, utilitarian clothes and an outfit for clubbing in. Community Voodun (Ishmaelite) Quote: "Horus spent millennia battling the children of Sutekh in Khem, but I have found them to be just as numerous here!" Prelude: You were a typical Yagba youth, if a little precocious and slow to obey. At least you were until the Nagloper (See Vampire: the Masquerade - Kindred of the Ebony Kingdom) arrived and enslaved your people. The creature destroyed a neighbouring village on the first night, just to show you that it could. Your betrothed had lived in that village and perhaps this is why the Gods cursed you. While the Nagloper set others to its vile tasks, all part of some cruel game your elders came to realise, it had a special task for the Shaman. He was forced to live in a filthy hut and to brew magic for the Nagloper. Love potions to make proud men fall in love with a goat, poisons for a neighbour's well, these things amused the monster endlessly. But when the Shaman's magic failed the monster took its revenge on the old man's flesh, twisting it into a cruel mockery of life. In a few years the once respected and loved Shaman had become reviled, women screamed to see him hobble past, most people shunned him. You were not most People and you were far too rebellious to react in a way the monster had decreed. Though you feared the Shaman's twisted visage you struggled not to show it. You would carry his water from the well and prevented young boys from teasing him. The Monster had enslaved your village, corrupted the servant of the Gods, it would not command your heart!
So your village survived, as the centre of the Nagloper's web. Villages you once traded with as friends came to despise your people. You grew up in squalor and hatred, but you refused to be crushed by it. Every day you battled to maintain the happy smile of your youth and to share it with others, you refused to give in to the darkness which was changing everyone around you. This was your little victory, your inner rebellion. And so, when the Immortal came, having been told of your evil village far and wide, you already expected him. The Shaman had wept when he told you of his deliverance. He had no choice but to attack the Immortal, but like the warriors - he di ed with a smile of blessed relief on his face. When the Monster was dead and the village burned to ash, the Immortal found you hiding with the village children. He told you to follow him and eventually he took you to a great city where the children were given work and food. You were taken to a secret temple in a cave and made Immortal yourself. Concept: Here in downtown Miami Voodoo, Santeria and Candomble bring comfort and peace to the people, and where religion cannot help them, you often can. Your shop sells trinkets to the tourists and ingredients to the faithful in equal measure. There are also other, unadvertised, items you keep for the practitioners of Hekau and Sorcery. In such a central position in the community you hear about Spectre ridden grandmothers as often as Setite Cults. Immortals know you and your wares, and they often seek intel and rmour from your lips. Roleplaying hints: You are no warrior, but you fight just as bravely. You are no Shaman, but people come to you for magic. You are no Chief, but your shop is home to the local Het Iakkhos. Your struggle against Oblivion is one of resistance and opposition to its agents. You thwart the darkness with your friendship, your availability and your advice, by setting warriors against the vampires and by uniting true lovers. Equipment: Too many charms to list, a hip flask, your shop and your chickens.
Fixer (Oboli) Quote: "How about you reconnoitre the nest, you two make friends with the contact and I'll see about renting us a property out in the suburb? Make me a list of what you'll all need and I'll see to it in the morning!" Prelude: Born to privilege and entitlement you had everything a girl of your age could wish for - but it wasn't enough. The comfort of your husband's riches fulfilled you no more than had those of your family. Your husband encouraged you to become involved in his charity work, believing that the things he saw in you while courting were signs of a shared philosophy. He was half right. You did desire to make the world a better place a nd you did believe that such things were the duty of the rich and powerful. But you were neither rich nor powerful, not on your own merit. You liked what money brought you, but you wanted it to be your money! The satisfaction of opulence or charity felt hollow when it was other people's money you threw away. If the Queen could be independently rich, why shouldn't you? So it was that not all of your Husbands money went to the charitable institutions he believed. You
played the stock market (via a proxy) and invested in shipping. Successfully as it transpired for the most part - and when it wasn't, well daddy hadn't even opened that stamp album in years and you couldn't even see that painting w ithout a ladder. You swam with the sharks of Victorian London's banking community and eventually came into contact with an occultists dripping in wealth. His flippant remarks about the unsuitability of women for investment got to you and a rivalry began. The more you beat him, the more enamoured he became. The knowledge that he followed you ho me and watched you from afar might have concerned you had you been aware. Unfortunately for you, your husband did find out and when mixed with his recent discovery of your creative book keeping he leapt to the obvious conclusion. Though it took you several years to discover, he had your business rival murdered. This was a rather drastic mistake. When he returned from the dead a decade later, your rival arranged for a much more subtle end to your (now distant and unfaithful) husband and i nitiated you into his inner circle. Sharing with you the preparations needed to become Immortal after you died. A few years later tragedy (in the form of Tuberculosis) struck and you became one of the Oboli. Concept: Your role in Immortal society is still unclear, you have yet to find your place. That being said you have no small amount of cash and the skills to make more. For now you offer yourself up as support for any who need it, bank rolling missions and putting your wiles to use obtaining equipment. Roleplaying hints: You are an Oboli of the modern age, inducted into an Eanead of united Dynasty's by your mentor. A youngster in the world of Immortals, sharing the stage with men and women born thousands of years before you. You have a shrewd mind hidden behind a fashionable wardrobe; your opponents rarely ever grasp the threat until it is too late. Shaped by traumatic experiences in the Duat and reliant upon skills developed a century before you are buoyed up confidence and self determination. That being said, if acting like a ditz gets the job done ... Equipment: Laptop with fingerprint reader access, American Express Gold card, Gucci handbag filled with cash, designer outfits and a Porsche. Monitor (Shemsu-Heru) Quote: "Look, I just spent two hours on a redeye and another hour in your backwater ai rport, can you just get me a drink and the bare bones of the situation. Thank you! Now let us do this by the book shall we? My name is ...." Prelude: In your first life you worked for your father, who in turn worked for a man who worked for the Pharaoh. This man was tasked with gathering Pharaoh's subjects b etween the planting season and the harvesting season to work on the great buildings. He employed your father, and many other men, to assess how many men each vil lage could spare. If villages were struggling to finish planting or harvesting, it was your father's job to transport men from elsewhere to help. It was quite a responsibility and you had shared the work since you were a girl.
You had learned at your father's side and he gave thanks at the temple every year for your qu ick thinking. As you grew into a young woman it became obvious that you should marry and attend to a husband's needs, but you wanted to leave your father even less than he wa nted to let you go. The life of a farmers wife could never compare to the challenges of this life. In time it became easier for you to cut your hair and dress as a boy, to use a male version of your name. You took to living on the river; mixing with the cosmopolitan people of the Pharaoh's court and seeing the length and Breadth of Khem's great domain. Your beauty, in the end, was your downfall. Simple farmer's might have fallen for your ruse (or perhaps respected your father enough to pretend) but the people of the Cities d id not. Your existence became gossip and then intrigue and finally you father was commanded to bring you to court by Pharaoh, urged by the Cult of Isis. What began as a reprimand and a reminder of a daughters place was turned around b y your demure wit and perspicacity. Impressed by you the pharaoh offered your father the role of his former employer if you would take a more respectable role within the Cult of Isis. Just as the priesthood had envisioned, you joined their number and within time we re inducted into the 42 companions of Horus as Isis had predicted centuries before. Concept: You work for the North American Vizier, Hetch-Abehu and your position carries some status. Despite being recently reborn this position is a direct result of your activities in previous lives and you know you can rely on that status to a limited degree. For now you are an agent in waiting, sent to observe and report on locations throughout North America and Canada when trouble arises. Should a region require a more hands on permanent monitor, you are next on the list to be sent there. Roleplaying hints: You were capable and adaptable in previous lives and are certain you retain enough memories to be so now. This is the kind of role you live for, unpredictable and challenging with the opportunity to share the wisdom of the Wat Hor with other Immortals. There is no chaos that cannot be brought to order by the way of Ma'at a nd through the guidance of great Horus. Equipment: Concealed weapons permit, bank accounts (various), ID's (various), suitcase (with false bottom), Swiss army knife, Cargo pants with pockets (various). Light of all lights (Tzadikim) Quote: "Of course it seems impossible right now, that is the logical mind God gave to man that he might discern the world. But you are no man, and you have seen more than this world. You have been granted more than your mortal man and that will allow you to overcome." Prelude: Before you were born a dove settled on your mother's belly. The Rabbi would not agree that this was a sign from God but most people believed that it was. When you were five a man came from Warsaw and spoke to your parents about your 'special qualities' and when he left they wept tears of joy at your bedside.
You grew up in Lodz, poor but happy, and then married a respectable young man before moving into his parent's house three doors down. You bore three children, although only two of them survived their first year you raised them as you had been raised. You began to take in the neighbours children and for a few coins or a loaf of bread, you would watch over them while their parents worked. Life was perfect. Until late 1939 and the founding of the Jewish residential quarter, at which point you and your family became slaves along with almost everyone you had ever known. Suddenly your little kindergarten had many (forced) helpers and a lot more chil dren. Life became somewhat more challenging, but you never let the children see you cry. Neither did you see them go without food or warm clothes. A year or so passed and the man from Warsaw returned. He was smuggled into the ghetto with medical supplies and a Russian speaking doctor. They did what they could for the sickliest and then the man asked your husband if he would allow you to be smuggled out with him when he left. Reluctantly your husband agreed, wishing to see you safe. You, on the other hand, refused. In the time between then and his next visit, your husband was shot by the German police force. The man made the same offer to rescue you, but settled for helping your daughter escape instead. The next time he seemed far more insistent but eventually ag reed to help your son escape instead. Less than a week later he returned, this time with several men in tow. They all but kidnapped you and dragged you into the cellar of your synagogue. There they explained that you were Tzadik Nistar and that with little time to quell your surprise they said that God had decreed your death this night, but that he also offered resurrection at their hands. With the sounds of doors being kicked in outside you were given the Great Rite and ushered into the Tzadikim dynasty. Concept: You are a mother figure, offering support and discipline to everyone in equal measure. Even with so few incarnations under your belt the reborn recognise your potential. Immortals far older than you ask your opinions on their paths and seek your insights into their ebbing humanity. There have been times when you found yourself part of an important mission against the adversary there to lead away the innocent or to help inspire the troops. Roleplaying hints: Nothing can diminish your love, your integrity or your determination. Or to be more accurate, nothing at all will ever cause that persona to slip. You draw the strength to bare eternity through this role, by supporting the warriors and the spell flingers, by guiding the Dynasty a nd its allies. When life becomes too much you secretly spy on your great grandchildren's social networking pages. Equipment: Copy of the Torah, the Bible and a book by Dr Suess. A Walther PPK, first aid kit and a bag with sewing samplers inside.
Serene Adventurer (Xianren) Quote: "I believe that we could avoid detection better if we approach by boat. This inle t here is
unpopulated and difficult to sail, making it of little interest to the Vampires. If you let me join you I can get us to the city in line with your schedule." Prelude: When you lived Borneo was part of the Majapahit kingdom and you made a reasonable living trading on the seas between your home, Java and Sumatra and then later onwards to China and India. It was in those travels that you developed a love for collecting and trading magical items, especially books. From those books and the people you traded them with, you learned of the path to Immortality. While your rivals bought larger houses, decked themselves in gold or helped support the local courtesans, you chased the Elixir of eternal life. The years turned into decades and wh ile you managed to gain a mastery of Alchemy and retain a healthy body, immortality eluded you. Finally you gave up your life on the seas, leaving your business in the hands of trusted agents, and travelled to inland China. You studied with masters and priests, developing a better understanding of your goal until at last you settled in a mountain monastery to begin your final preparations. Death took a long time to embrace you at the back of the cave, but one day the monks came to check on you and the bell failed to ring. You had passed into the Yin lands and the great Rite had succeeded. That first time in the Dark Kingdom of Jade was almost the last and you came close to destruction (or worse) at the hands of the Jade Emperors forces. Frustratingly enough it was not the years of quiet meditation and serenity which kept you from oblivion but the wits you honed as a trader and a sailor. The Sea of Shadows became your home and by the time you ascended the mountain of Penglai on the islands of Horai, you already knew the Tempest's danger pretty well. The peace you found on the sacred Islands felt like a final reward, but your time there was cut short by an emissary from Erlik Khan. Your skills, she explained, had been noticed and appreciated by her master and he asked that you put them to use in his service. The Dark Kingdom of Jade was dangerous for all spirit folk and someone with your abili ties could make existence that little bit easier for the Jade Emperors victims. She offered riches and power, but it was in your heart to follow her simply out of a desire for adventure and duty. You became a part of the underground railway of Erlik Khan, rising to a position of eminence in the underworld. Your name became one spoken on the sea o f shadows with respect and the Jade Emperor himself put a small bounty on your head. That bounty and the many years away from the living lands began to have their toll and so you began to plan your rebirth. Placing your organisation in the hands of trusted wraith lie utenants you returned to your desiccated corpse now stored in the Monastery and set force into the much changed world of the living . Concept: You are an adventurer lost in time, eager to take up your old pursuits but aware that you need time to ground yourself. Your skills are well known and after some readjustment you will be able to offer them to the Immortals of this age. For now you are looking for a task in which you can serve, or a role in which you can excel, perhaps a mentor or a master to point you in the right direction. Roleplaying hints: You are an anachronism trying to adapt. The world i nto which you have been reborn is alien to you and a little frightening. But overcoming frightening vistas is, at heart, what you live for. You look to other Immortals for the clues you need to survive, secretly thrilled by every new discovery and every close brush with Oblivion. Equipment: a guide to [insert city of residence], telescope, kit bag, compass and a prayer wheel.
Benign Kidnapper (Xibalba) Quote: "Your Wife has transferred the two million dollars to our account. In a few minutes it wil l be transferred through various shell accounts to Doctors without borders. You may wish to know, before I return you to Metnal, that her tears seemed almost genuine!" Prelude: Six centuries ago you led raids against neighbouring villages, descending from the highlands and bringing the captured slaves back to your people, the Chanka. In the days before the Inca came to dominate your homeland you were renowned as a taker of men, you captured many warriors to sacrifice to the Gods. You took some delight in the torture of these men, your delighted in their downfall. But things changed in your lands, the Inca power spread and your people began to lose battles against them. Eventually the Chanka made peace with them. They surrendered and as far as you were concerned that wasn't right at all. You wanted to fight on, to kill the Inca. Instead the Chief of your people made you the keeper of his daughter, sent you to Cusco to protect her when she became a hostage of the enemy. She learned Inca methods, Inca culture, and you learned to hate the Inca. When she returned to your village to marry a man the Inca chose, you returned with her. Her husband was a weak chief and in truth she led her people. She helped those still in rebellion against the Inca and she employed you as her weapon against informers and spies. You discovered new ways of making war and became a thorn in the Inca side until they told your people it was you of the Princess. As you strode defiantly up the hill to turn yourself over a wizened old priest accosted you. He offered you a different fate from the one you faced and you agreed. When the Chanka handed over your bloodied body, the Inca were satisfied and they let them keep the corpse. Meanwhile you were walking the halls of Xibalba and learning of your new destiny from long dead men and women. Concept: You're rebirth came at a time when your h omeland was dominated by others, a familiar state of affairs. You put your skills and your Hekau to good use capturing the pawns of the adversary (and the occasional mundane invader). The Wyrmspawn who came with the Spaniards, and later with other white men, you take them in the night. Kidnapping them and then demanding exorbitant payments for their return you are able to disguise assassinations of Pentex lackeys and Spectre ridden monsters as standard crimes. Sometimes you let the innocents go ho me, just to keep your contacts in the police force happy. Roleplaying hints: The path you walk is not that of the saintly, it is one of necessity. The morality of what you are prepared to do to the servants of Oblivion rarely troubles you, in this endless war your destiny is to be a killer and killers cannot afford a weak stomach. You find balance and solace elsewhere; you are a heroic thug, turning your might to the needs of the weak. Natives of the Americas know they can turn to you when the cartels and the monsters threaten them. Equipment:
A jeep, a burn phone, an AK47 and a machete. Appendix III Long Tailed Cats *** The Long Tailed Cats *** The Long tailed cats first appeared in the 1st edition vampire: the masquerade book ‘a World of Darkness’ where they were described by the word Hengeyoki. S ince that time they have not appeared again in the World of Darkness and the word has been re-cycled for the traditional lycanthropic shape shifters of the Werewolf: the Apocalypse setting. Their extended lives, I think, make them interesting creatures to resurrect (pun intended) for the Immortals of the WoD: Mummy project and indeed for their own rite. The Long tailed Cat: Description The Way: Rules and Systems Shinjutsu : the Art of the kami (Cat Hekau) "The cat is cryptic, and close to strange things which men cannot see." -H.P. Lovecraft The Long Tailed Cat is a strange and long lived creature which shares the twilight world of the Immortals. Born as mortal domestic cats, they somehow outlive their siblings and become more intelligent, eventually gaining the ability to take human shape. Once they have mastered a single human shape it isn’t long before they have mastered the ability to take a variety of human forms of any age, gender or size. With the human form comes complex language and the a bility to use a form of magic akin to Hekau (Shinjutsu), and the possibility of being affected by the Spell of Life. Long lives often lead to a desire for eternal life and the Long Tailed Cats seek out Immortals in the hope of joining their ranks. At the very least they will admit a grudging respect for the reborn if only because they are one of the few entities who can debate eternity without the risk of the blood lust. Although first recognised and observed on the islands of Japan, the Long Tailed Cat is a worldwide phenomenon. In fact they may well have begun in Ancient Egypt along with the reborn where cats were first domesticated and, in the temple of the Goddess Bast, began to live longer lives. Immortals who study these strange creatures do so for the insights they grant in to the Spell of life and the desires of Isis. Some claim that Isis simply adored her pet cats while others believe there is much more to it than that. The Long Tailed Cats are drawn to the Immortals for many reason, mostly because of what the cat gets out of the relationship. The Immortals know how to survive as eternal beings, they have access to secrets and pleasures the Cats covet. However cat’s learn to love and appreciate those who care for them and many fall into familiar patterns - with the Immortal as pet keeper and the Long tailed cat as pet. Domestic cats (Mau in ancient Egypt) hold a special place in the supernatural world above and beyond any other non-human animal. Humans admire the cat for its grace, its predatory nature and its aloofness, among many other traits. We imagine them to be secretive intelligences and to maintain superior cultures of which we know nothing. As well as being svelte companions and mysterious associates, the cat represents mankind’s ability to attract and co-exist alongside the fiercest aspects of nature. Unli ke dogs and horses, the
cat was never tamed, it was appeased. It reminds us that we are not always the apex of life, not always the most attractive thing in the room. In the New Kingdom the devotion and worship of cats outstripped that of any other animal by orders of magnitude. Cats were also strongly associated with the dead, and a cat belonging to a recently deceased person was viewed with much suspicion, sometimes locked away to keep it from becoming a kasha, a kind of demon that descended from the sky to steal corpses, and which often had a cat-like form. Feline reverence is not peculiar to Ancient Egyptian civilization and the Long Tailed cats are numerous in the Middle Kingdom. Chinese mythology maintains that the emperor Shih Huang Ti once found his cat sleeping on the sleeve of his robe; instead of waking it, he cut the sleeve off so as not to disturb the animal. If such a man, later destined to become the despotic ruler of the Asian afterlife, held cats in such high regard when he felt so little of it for his fellow humans, we must admit to the cats powers of seduction The same tale is also told about Muslim prophet Muhammad in a story meant to teach caring and mercifulness to all animals, not only cats. Written records reveal that Siamese cats, in their country of origin, were venerated as guardians of the temples. When a person of high rank died, it was usual to select one of these cats to receive the dead person's soul. The cat was then removed from the royal household and sent to one of the temples to spend the rest of its days living a ceremonial life of great luxury, with monks and priests as its servants. These cats were reputed to eat the finest foods from gold plate and to recline on cushions made of the most opulent materials, which had been provided by the departed one's relatives in an attempt to receive good fortune and blessings. Once they became temple cats, they were supposed to have special powers and could intercede for the soul of the dead person. This reverence can also be found in ancient Indian texts, where records of cats involved w ith human society can be found in great epics such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata, circa 500BC. As the Hindu and Parsee religions respected all forms of life and were especially sympathetic towards cats, all good Hindus were expected to take care of at least one cat during their lives. But it is Japan that the culture of the supernaturally gifted cat received the most notice and from their language that the most often used name for such creatures, the Bake-neko, was taken. In Japan, a Bake-neko (ghost cat) is a cat that gains paranormal powers after certain circumstances, living long beyond the lifespan of its mundane kin and eventually gains the ability to transform into a human shape . In Japanese folklore, any cat that lives over thirteen years old, reaches one kan (eight pounds) in weight or is allowed to keep a long tail was thought to become a Bake-neko. A cat might also become a Bakeneko in order to aid a human to whom it owed a favour. There are also stories about cats taking the forms of women and girls to become wives (much like foxes did in their own myths), or daughters to childless couples, once again trying to help their human companions make ends meet. REN The title ‘long tailed cats’ is not one used by the creatures themselves, it is what the Xienren first called them and the name has stuck. The Long tailed cats themselves seem to have little desire for a collective name, Most in Egypt prefer the name Ta-Miat while those in the east use Bakeneko, but there are many collective Ren for the cats. Some call themselves the sons (or daughters) of the Sphinx, the offspring of Mafdet, Cait-Sith, or nekomusume, (literally; Catdaughter), some accept Baleneko while others refuse to acknowledge that they are not entirely unique.
Wherever the natural feline has been domesticated there are Long tailed cats, but the three largest occurrences of the phenomenon p henomenon are in Japan (the Bakeneko), Egypt (the Ta-miat) Ta-miat) and Northern Europe (the Cait-Sith). Each of these societies long beli eved itself to be unique and almost all of them consider themselves the first cats to have ‘evolved’ into shapeshifters. While it is possible to generalize about the species, it is perhaps necessary to discuss the three most established cultures. The Bake-neko The Bakeneko of Japan are of course the most numerous Long tailed cats in the world and have been studied more fully by Mages and Immortals. So much so that their language and habits have become synonymous with the creatures as a whole in the annuls of the occult. Distant and proud, the Bakeneko hunger for the benefits of human life while holding humans themselves in small regard. They construct elaborate courts, deal with vampires, demons and true Shapeshifters with little fear and refuse to acknowledge the possibility that any other creature might be more wondrous or supernatural than themselves. The Ta-miat My hand has come upon you, the avenger is this which has come upon you, (even) Mafdet, preeminent in the Mansion of Life; she strikes you on your face, she scratches you on your eyes, so that you fall into your faeces and crawl into your urine. Fall! Lie down! Crawl away, for your mother Nut sees you! Utterance 297, R. O. Faulkner, The ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts Also known as the Kittens of Mafdet, the Ta-miat Ta-miat are the long tailed tailed cats most closely allied with the Immortals of Egypt. In Egyptian "tA-miAt", meant "The Cat (feminine)" and its use indicates a preference for human company among the Ta-miat that the Bakeneko eschew. In early Egyptian mythology the activities of the Ta-miat were often masked within the stories of Mafdett (also spelled Maftet), a Cheetah headed Goddess whose name means (she who) runs swiftly. Present in the Egyptian pantheon from as early as the First Dynasty, Dynasty, Mafdet was the deification of legal justice, or rather, of execution. Thus she was also associated with the protection of the Tombs Tombs and other sacred places, and with protection against venomous animals, which were seen as transgressors against Ma'at. This Goddess shares certain physical symbols and d epictions as the Sphinx. In art, Mafdet was shown as a feline, a woman with a feline head, or a feline with the head of a woman, sometimes with braided hair which ended in the tails of scorpions. At times she was shown with a headdress of snakes. In New Kingdom tomb scenes she was shown as executioner of evil creatures in the afterlife. She also was depicted as a feline running up the side of an executioner's staff. It was said that Mafdet ripped out the hearts of wrong-doers, delivering them to the pharaoh's feet, in a similar manner as domestic cats who present people with rodents or birds that they have killed or maimed. Bedecked in Egyptian jewellery and heavy kohl, bathed in asses milk and fanned by Nubian hunks, the average Kitten could be living in the height of the Egyptian empire e mpire and enjoying almost as much power as any Queen. Though less dedicated to selfless acts, they remain allied to the veil of Isis and often to the varied Dynasties that look to them for support. Even those who are not so closely aligned with the Immortals tend to display the trappings of reborn culture and pseudo-
Egyptian trappings for their chosen pawns and patrons. These cats claim that their founder was Isis own favoured companion, and this they say is why they are satisfied to pose as the i ndulged cohort of great men and women. Whether they be the familiars of Witches or the tomb Guardian of an Immortal, the lap cat of a Shemsu-Heru or the battle companion of an Ishmaelite, they have adapted to the b eta role of the sidekick or companion (never say parasite and make sure there is a clear route to the door before you say pet) in ways that other Long Tailed Cats often take offense at. In ancient times these cats haunted the edges of S hemsu-Heru culture and through the worship of Mafdet (later Bast) they were even admitted at times into the Veil of Isis. When that Cult followed the Ishmaelites out from Egypt the Kittens went with them, always riding the coat tails of the reborn. The long tailed cats of Khem maintained a much closer association with the Immortals than did their eastern cousins, and often suffered as much from that relationship as they benefitted from it. The oddity of the Long Tailed Tailed cats may be less well wel l known in the middle east precisely because they were often dragged into the war against Oblivion and suffered the consequences. Those who did survive may well have learned the art of obfuscation that kept them out of local legends. While the cult of Mafdet was eventually replaced by that of Bast, another cat-goddess, Mafdet’s imagery continued in association with the pharaohs including personal items and the bed upon which their mummies were placed. That Mafdet and her children were the companions and allies of the Immortals can be inferred quite plainly. Cait-Sith Apart from Vampires Vampires and Mummy’s Mummy’s there are other creatures creatures who live forever, forever, the Fae. While the manner in which they cheat entropy has changed in the past six centuries, it isn’ t that different from the way the reborn do it. Long tailed cats in the West came to understand the True Fae and made alliances and compacts with them much the same as others did with the reborn or with the Vampires Vampires and Gaki. The dreamy rush of a Fairy court feeds the lusts of the Cats and their peculiar understanding of eternity comforted them. Some lost themselves to the Dreaming, becoming permanent fixtures in the freeholds and glens of the Fae. Others played the game of the Nightmare kin, kidnapping humans, seducing Dreamers, or simply providing new and unusual play things for Unseelie pageants. These Cait-Sith, as the Fae called the Long Tailed Tailed Cats, passed into fairy lore not as a separate or unique creature, but simply as another type of Fairy beast. Such a masquerade helped almost all long tailed cats stay out of the grimoires and legers of Western occultists. Even when the Fae abandoned their old haunts and became the changelings, it didn’t take very long for the Cait-Sith to find them again and rekindle old alliances. However the new fairy’s had forgotten some of the ways of the Mythic age and they too came to believe that these strange feline creatures were a lost fairy kith or a b reed of Chimera. CAT SOCIETY _ Cats were put into the the world to disprove the dogma dogma that all things were created created to serve man. _ - Paul Gray Many Cats pretend to be domesticated by human (or near human) beings, so they can more easily obtain luxuries. However once away from their ‘keepers’ the cats engage in a complicated courtly culture which tries to meet each night in which the moon is visible. Court life is full of splendid singing and dancing, often accompanied by wild orgies. Sometimes human pet mice a re brought to these festivities so that their masters can be amused by their reactions.
The Courts differ by location, the Cait-Sith like Celtic pageantry while the Ta-Miat Ta-Miat tend towards ecstatic soirees in coffee houses and bordellos. But they share a few distinctly traits such as dangerously wicked verbal sparring that often erupt into duels, open sexuality and unabashed conduct, opulent splendour and feasts with the promise of cruel forms of after dinner entertainment. No matter how much of the human world the Cats try to emulate, they are still cats when it comes down to it. The Long tailed cats will tell you that each city has a King or Queen which rules over the court. In large cities populated by many of their kind this is true, however in many more locations this is more of an affectation than a true title. All Cats are noble creatures (at least in their own eyes) and so the leader of any patch is a King o r Queen, whether they have a court and servants or not. However these nobles do supply some form of organisation to a species rarely inclined to complex social institutions. Long Tailed Tailed cats are prone to certain pack like behaviour to much the same degree as a house cat. They crave and seek out companionship, within their gatherings they recognise alpha’s and wish to please p lease them. They compete with others of their kind for the attention of those Alpha types and in unguarded moments they gain a lot of comfort from being in the company of others of their kind. Asian cats often claim their king king or queen is a manifestation manifestation of the Moon kami kami Tsuki-Yumi. Tsuki-Yumi. Many set up Shinto temples dedicated to this Kami. With equal deference, cats from other lands claim their royalty are avatars of the Sphinx or of Sekhmet, of old nick. Some claim to be the descendents of Dick Whittington’s wise cat (or even that same cat himself). Long Tailed Cats are just as skilled at deluding themselves with grand claims as they are of fooling everyone else - but but that does not infer that all of these claims are false. All Cats are creatures of grace, elegance and beauty, beauty, but some cats are are superior to others. The leaders of Cat society are pure white from nose to tail. In the lexicon of the Bakeneko young cats are described as being black and elder cats as being white, but if this was ever 100% true it is no longer so. The Leaders of cat society, it is true, are entirely white, but felines of any colour can become Immortal. Beneath the kings and queens are the elders, those who have managed to survive much lo nger than any natural cat, or human, and who have learned enough tricks or gathered enough pawns to wield some degree of power over the rest of the Long tailed cats. The skill ed magic users and the cat priests (oh yes there are many of those) usually come from this strata of Cat society. Then there are those charismatic cats who have come to be admired by some of their companions - the popular and the beautiful, the clever and the influential. Cat culture, what there is of it, is a meritocracy built as much on boasting and lies as it is upon proven ability or shallow characteristics. Sometimes Wits or good looks can elevate a black cat to the ranks of the White furred elite. This pecking order seems to be common wherever Long Tailed Tailed cats gather, but it does not describe every facet of their culture. At times geographical peculiarities sometimes evolve into traditions and camps, as do shared interests and philosophies. ROLE-PLAYING ROLE-PLAYING HINTS While the common cat is a survivor equally happy in town or country, country, the Bakeneko are almost exclusively an urban phenomenon. Few hard wo rking felines ever find their way to Immortality, Immortality, the path requires a certain degree of easy living that can be found by alley cats and lap cats but not by Mousers and farm cats. Bakeneko are urban creatures who like to indulge in the attention (and luxuries) of humanity, usually because they have observed such opulence from close
proximity. proximity. Only a few _ go rural _ _ seeing it as a way to get in touch as the true cat nature or as an aesthetic discipline, but even they began as sophisticated urbanites on the laps of the rich or feeding from the well stocked scraps of the restaurant district. Its seems that Humanities feelings towards cats have gone a long way towards shaping the personality of the Bakeneko. They are as aloof as they seem to us, they are graceful and sensual. An enjoyment of sex and gratification appears to be universal among all Bakeneko, and one has yet to be found with a completely altruistic nature. They suffer none of the usual banes other supernaturals are prone to, despite occultists forever attempting to lump them in with Vampires or Goblins of one type or another. Though they prefer the moonlight to the sun, they suffer no vulnerability to i t. They suffer no more or less from True faith than a mundane cat and are free to enter holy ground. That being said, most will not feed in such places and their survival skills skil ls teach them to respect the power of the sacred spaces. Gaki and Keui-Jin often employ Bakeneko to remove barriers preventing them entering temples and few mages put up sigils to bar cats when warding against Vampires, ghouls, Dhampyrs and the like. Bakeneko are arrogant and flaky, unshakable in the knowledge that they are better than everybody else. They sneer at rules and concepts of fair play. Before Before taking on a challenge or fight they make sure they can win. They ignore defeat or humiliation and thus rob the victor of his spoils. Their word is worthless not because b ecause they are naturally dishonest, but simply because they are prone to distraction. It is best not to pay them before a service is completed, and beyond foolish to rely completely that will complete any contract they undertake. The manipulation of others is a sport to the Bakeneko, but the art of the barbed quip is by far the most admired skill. CAT CLIQUES See also magical societies in the Shinjtsu section here. Zocho, the kittens of Tsuki-Yumi The Zocho are Bakeneko who believe themselves to be the servants of the Kami Tsukiyumi, the Guardian of Yomi, God of the Endless Moon. Their central organisation is focused upon Shinto temples dedicated to this Kami which secretly serve the long tailed cats. The average Bakeneko court in Japanese cities is balanced between the King or Queen and the cat priests of the Zocho. As the guardian of the Realm Realm of Spirits, it is Tsukiyumi's task to govern over the brightest and most purest souls of the dead, the reborn who battle against Izanami the destroyer. Like their God, the Zocho take pride in their duty as the Guardians of Yomi, Yomi, or more importantly as guardians of those souls who return from Yomi (no doubt because they lived just lives of honesty and purity, lacking in complete Sin.) Thus it is that the Zocho have set themselves the task of serving and protecting the Xianrén, often becoming their companions and associates i n times of need. Perhaps the only Bakeneko clique to fully embrace the world of the dead (Soku-no-Kumi) and how intrinsically tied to it the True Immortals really are. The Zocho attempt to mount a unified front against Oblivion (Izanami) and entreat all other Bakeneko to join them. They see the Immortals as living Kami of that which He of the Endless Moon embodies; hope, emotional strength, honour, love, vibrancy and strong will. Tsukiyumi was blessed with his own Soldiers: Hiruko, Benten and Kaminari. His Soldiers represent the supernatural races Hiruko (Vampires), (Vampires), Benten (Hengeyokai) and Kaminari (Mages). The Zocho seek to become the forsth soldier in this great army through eternal diligeance and
acts of astounding style and grace. It is said that all those who haunt the shadows are Tsukiyumi’s children and through him the Zocho hope to find some greater purpose for all their kind. The Sphinxes More formally known as the sons (or daughters) of the Sphinx, these are the Ta-Miat who appear to have risen above their selfish nature and the comfortable cushions to walk the path of Ma’at. Far more militant and aggressive then others of their kin , they stand side by side with the most stalwart warriors of the Osirian league in the battle against Apophis. Insisting that they are the descendents of the Sphinx they are prone to revel in their role as predators and combatant, and it is not unusual for them to find favour within the Cult of Isis. Rumours circulate concerning the Osiris Ta-Miat, Long tailed cats who have successfully been given the great rite. Sphinx Bakeneko have studied warfare at the feet of the Shemsu-Heru, accompanied Ishmaelites into Setite havens and even willingly accepted the roles the Immortals prefer to avoid. When the battle between the forces of Ma’at and Izfet gets messy, the Sphinxes have been known to become spies and assassins, perhaps even torturers, for those who cannot shoulder the guilt themselves. The Sphinxes hold fiercely to a belief that the Sphinx on the Giza plateau is neither a lion nor a pharaoh, but that he was the first of their ki nd. A cat who could become human. The word 'sphinx' is Greek, and comes from the Egyptian word 'shespankh' meaning living statue and the Bakeneko hold that this monument is the l argest Ushabti in the world. Its Arabic name is Abu el Hol, or Father of Terror and the Bakeneko revel in this aspect of the Demi-God. The part of them that frightened mice, that enjoys torturing their prey, that part comes from the Sphinx. The Way: Rules and Systems "We do not die because we have to die; we die because one day, and not so long ago, our consciousness was forced to deem it necessary. " - Antonin Artaud Rules / Systems Long Tailed Cats live as cats for a number of years - in general consider each year a cat lives to be the equal of a Human living for five years. A two year old cat is somewhere in the region of a ten year old child. The next two years they are kind of teenagers. Well looked after and lucky cats live to twenty years, the same as the rare human who lives to 100 or more. But for the long tailed cats this process halts at some point, typically a round age 4 to 8 depending on lifestyle and intelligence. They cease to age (or at lea st cease to age as quickly as their mundane siblings) and begin the journey towards full sentience and the human shape. They do not age once they achieve the ability to shape change and thus they will not die of old age but they are otherwise mortal. Basic shape changing is a unique ability that manifests at the moment a mundane feline evolves, it takes energy (Chi/Sekhem), which the cat must replace by feeding on the life energy of others or by absorbing it from dragon nests or magical items. A cat without Sekhem cannot becoem human. The first transformation results in the Cat’s ‘true’ human form, which will reflect the gender of the original cat and often ethnic tendencies associated with the breeds location. Thus a Siamese She cat will usually transform into an oriental woman while an Egyptian short hair Tom will usually become a Middle Eastern male. Sometimes the humans a cat lives with will effect this transformation to varying degrees, and a Saimese cat in Ireland might become a hearty Celtic lass instead of the Oriental maid. It's not an exact science. An unconscious cat or one in great pain will usually revert back to its feline form, and Death
always returns it to its cat form. Those few long tailed cats who do become wraiths are able to change the shape of their corpus in exactly the same manner as they do their mortal flesh. They consider themselevs to be both forms and thus their memory of themselevs encompasses both shapes. No matter it’s current shape, once the cat has awoken to its supernatural nature it will always retain the higher mental capacity and self-awareness it displays in human form. The long tailed cat’s are somewhere between the two species in terms of intellect and understanding, they are smarter than a natural cat but the pull of their instincts will forever prevent them from joining the intelligentsia or even attending college (no intelligence dots above the third). However in cat form they cannot speak as a human and one in human form can emulate the vocalizations of a feline no better than any other human. Equally regardless of form, all Long Tailed Cats have heightened senses above and beyond mundane cats. Like the vampires power of Auspex, the Bakeneko’s sense of sight, hearing and smell are sharpened to double that expected for their form. While their sense of taste and touch extend no further than normal, they likewise become far more acute; a cat could taste liquor in their victims blood or last nights dinner on his breath as well as feel the give in a boarded floor concealing a hollow space below. While these advanced senses are usually employed instinctively, they can be tuned up or down. There are times when enhanced senses come with a heavy cost, such as when bright lights or loud noises become a hazard, even painfully so. Distraction or damage from any sudden stimulus suffered while these powers are not dulled la sts for twice as long and are twice as harsh. Shape changing is a special power it requires both a Willpower roll and a wits roll each time the cat takes a human form along with the expenditure of a point of Sekhem. If the cat wishes to retain the shape for more than a single scene she must spend a further point of Sekhem a nd make the roll again for each additional scene she wishes to maintain her human shape. No roll or Sekhem expenditure is required for the cat to transform from a human back i nto a cat. A Willpower failure indicates the animals surface control has lapsed, creating minor discrepancies an observant person may notice. A Wits failure indicates the animal has fallen into non-human behaviour. A Botch on either roll means that the Bakeneko simply cannot transform this time or for the remainder of the Scene. They often have Shinjutsu rituals and hedge magic to protect them from harm, but when all that is stripped away they have the same foibles and weaknesses as a mundane cat. In Human form they use the Human template, with an average seven health levels, ten blood points and all the benefits of the opposable thumb. In cat form they drop to the mundane cat template with five health levels and a blood pool of one. Their Willpower and path rating remains the same in either form, as do all Mental and Social Attributes. Abilities do not alter by shape, but there are many that can only be used in one shape or another. Typical Cat Strength 1, Dexterity 3, Stamina 3 Health levels OK, -1, -2, -5, Incapacitated Attack: Claw or bite for one die Sekhem The Long Tailed cats are supernatural creatures and are thus able to manipulate the magical energies of the World of Darkness. Whether they refer to this energy as Chi, blood, Mana or Sekhem, it allows them to work minor miracles of hedge magic known as Shinjutsu.
Upon becoming a Long tailed cat, the character gains a Sekhem pool of ten dots. These can be spent to empower Shinjutsu spells as well as to take on their human form (see above). The Chi/blood pool of a human replenishes a cat, they feed on others life energy and steal the Sekhem inherent in other living creatures. Although this is nearly always done during sexual intercourse, it can be done while engaged in any close union. Some engage in quasi-religious rituals to gain the necessary intimacy to feed. There are those who marry humans and who feed from their spouses as they sleep together in the marriage bed, while a few skilled white furred cats hold meditation classes during which they siphon a little from each of their students. Cats are prone to feed slowly however, and to play with their food. They are limited to how much Sekhem they can imbibe and can only gain one point per half hour. Additionally long tailed cats can feed on the Sekhem of others by ingesting their blood, gaining a point of Sekhem for each blood point they imbibe. The blood drinkers rarely kill humans to do so, preferring more intimate and less dangerous forms of vampirism, but they can feed on animals, even each other, and a slain mouse is often worth a point of Sekhem. In addition, there are several restrictions on who cats can feed upon. Because they are sensual sexual creatures, they cannot feed on people who are not sexually active. Nor can they feed o n the dead or near dead such as vampires, gaki, reborn, Risen or Wraiths. Finally, long tailed cats regenerate a number of lost Sekhem points every time the moon rises at night. Roll a ten sided dice once each night to discover how much Sekhem is regenerated. The Sekhem regenerated this way will never take the cat above his maximum Sekhem. Long Tailed cats and the rest of the world "There is something about the presence of a cat...that seems to take the bite out of being alone.” – Louis Camuti The curious set of events that leads to the emergence of the Long Tailed Cats is a worldwide phenomenon. Though it remains unnoticed by all, it seems that the higher the regard for domestic cat in a certain culture and place, the higher the numbers of cats who awaken to this new existence. There are none in the Arctic or Antartic obviously, while South America and Southern Africa seemed to have very few long tailed cats until modern times. It is fair to say that the largest populations are the Bakeneko in Eastern Asia, followed by the Ta-miat in Northern Africa (centred in Egypt). There are roughly a third as many Cat-Sith in Europe. All three groups have members in North America with Long tailed cat culture following thier human pets, while the Middle East and India such creatures are present but uncommon. The vast majority of the supernatural world remains ignorant of the Long Tailed Cats, and many of those who know of them are prone to dismiss them as minor players or pawns. Howe ver the Long tailed cats are naturally curious, and especially so of the other supernatural entities with which they share the shadows. Immortal or long lived creatures interest them more than those without such insights, but they are quick to make good use of any snippet of i nformation they can aquire. Immortals Cabiri "Hermits and dusty old Wizards often like a cat or two to keep them company, and if you’re smart you can use that as a powerful tool." Crochan Geni "If you wish to know of the Cauldron born, find a Cait-Sith. Those two gangs h aunt the same
borderlands and I’ve never met either one of them." Ishmaelites "Probably the closest of the Immortals to our own personality, these free thinkers have been a good source of information and income. " Oboli "Most Asian cats refer to these guys as ‘banks’ or ‘patrons’ because they like to hire help and reward companions. They are, however, the least likely Immortal to horde the secrets of eternal life." Shemsu-Heru "Once, the stories claim, we were the beloved partners to the first Immortals, but in the modern age such a sweeping statement is rarely true. Those loyal to Isis or Bast are you best bet." Tzadikim "I hear they used to sacrifice us to demons, but these days it’s better to be a cat than a goat in such circles. They are more likely to trust you than to trust each other." Xianrén "Careful where you tread with the Alchemists and Wizards of the east, they know more about long tailed cats than we do. " Xibalba "I heard, from a Mexican hairless, that the American Immortals can be a dour sort and quick to anger. Do with that rumour as you will." The Others Vampires "The problem with your average Vampire is that the urge to share eternity with a purring and sensual kitty is eventually overpowered by the urge to drink kitty’s blood and see what a Vampire Kitty looks like. Deal with them certainly, let them buy you things even, but never go home with one and never let it know where you live." Keui-Jin "The Asian vampires are just as troublesome as the other sort. Usually. Careful observation however will let you learn the sedate ones that you can do business with. Never let your guard down, but don’t forget how well they reward those who can provide certain services." Shape shifters "Apparently some of them, like us, were born to Cat mothers and learned to take on human form. However there is a lot to more to us than just that and we are not the same at all. The only real shape shifters with whom we share any similarities are the Ceilican but the lands they frequent are sparsely populated by our kind except i n old Blighty." Mages "There is no denying the wonderful toys and trinkets of a warlock, and they can provide a great deal of comfort in their lonely towers. But as always, remember the old adage – a naked Witch is a great lay, but catgut is still cheaper than twine." The dead "Forget all those fairy stories and myths, if there are cats who guard cemeteries and the gates to the underworld, none of them ever learned to talk. I’ve seen dead people walking around, but they have no wealth to give you, and their laps are very cold. Ignore their pleas unless they get somebody alive to pay you for it." The Fae "There are some cats called the Cait-Sith wh o managed to get in good with these spirit-folk. They were regulars at the splendid courts and most of them seem a little fey themselves. Not sure I can see what they got out of the deal though - except for some bad trips, but then I never liked tobacco either." Demons "We have few universal tales, but the ones about Demons tend to do the rounds. Don’t bloody trust them at all. More importantly, never hook up with a Demon’s pawn, they like to do nasty things to kitty!"
Hsien (???) "There are some among the fallen Gods that can take a Cat-like form, but they are said to be counted as commoners by their peers and so should never be confused with us." Mortals "By far the most numerous biped you wil l ever interact with, mortals are mostly easy to manipulate and weak willed. They were also the first to recognise the majesty and beauty of the cat, which speaks to their potential greatly and explains why we keep them around!" Kasha-Neko 火火 – Bane cats Long tailed catso are selfish and capricious creatures, easy to corrupt with the promise of pleasures and rewards. However there is very little that the forces of Oblivion can offer them openly, except for the promise of True Immortality that it grants to Bane Mummies. That being said, the long tailed cats who learn of the Spell of Life almost always desire it to be cast upon them, in order that their long lives can become truly eternal. Because of their weaknesses, and the simple desire all sentient creature shave for more, the Long Tailed Cats are as prone to the fall as any other. Tales of the Kasha or Kasha-Neko, a type of demon with feline form, are well known in the East, engendered by those who witness fallen Bakeneko. These creatures would come from the sky and steal the bodies of the dead, corrupting sacred places and spreading disease. In Egypt it was often feared that a pet cat belonging to someone who had recently died would turn into such a creature - a myth perhaps born from the amount of Tamiat corrupted by Oblivion while their Immortal companion was in their Death Cycle. It is not unusual for long tailed cats to expect the reborn they share themselves with to take them with them into Immortality, and when they do not the cat becomes enraged. This is the time that the forces of Oblivion come whispering with the promises of eternal life in return for a few favours. The Wyrm is also interested in long tailed cats, both for their ability to hide in plain site and for the fact that they are so easy to manipulate. It is entirely likely that there are and have been a number of Fomori and bane infested Kasha-Neko over the years. Kasha can use Shinjutsu and they can also be gifted with the standard powers found in the Fomori book or in the Bane Mummy Appendix.
Shinjutsu : the Art of the kami (Cat Hekau) “I have noticed that what cats most appreciate in a human being is not the ability to produce food, which they take for granted - but his or her entertainment value.” – Geoffrey Household There are many stories about the supernatural abilities of the bake-neko: flying (celestial), killing people, and even resurrecting the dead (necromancy). They learn a unique form of magic called Shinjutsu, often referred to as Shinjutsu Hekau or the seventh path. Shinjutsu has several unique spells but also includes all the spells in the Hekau paths of Alchemy and Amulets. Bakeneko cannot learn Nomenclature (Ren Hekau) but Shinjutsu includes very specific spells that open up the paths of Celestial, Necromancy and Effigy (Ushabti). Learning one path forever bars the Bakeneko form the other two and choosing one path effects the Cats place in Bakeneko society. MAGICAL SOCIETIES
Neko-mata – forked cat - Necromancers The Neko-mata or forked tailed cats are the Necromancers and S piritualists of the Bakeneko. They master a Spell called the Leash of the Neko-mata (see Shinjutsu below) and forever ties herself to the path of Necromancy Hekau. The Spell causes the cat’s long tail to fork into two tails, almost always forcing them to avoid going abroad in cat form where they can be spotted. In the east, this is seen as a sign of Witchcraft and can severely shorten the cat’s lifetime. However a neko-mata is a title that commands respect from even the most self centered bake-neko and the path of Necromancy instantly raises the cat to a position of power among the True Immortals. The Neko-mata can fulfil many of the tasks required of a n Immortal while he is in his Death cycle, and the cat can gain much in return. Those of this group are by far the most likely long tailed cats to have dealings with the reborn, and through them the rest of cat-kind discovered the benefits of such alliances. Neko-musume (celestial) The Neko-mesume are perhaps the most spiritual and soft-hearted of all the Bake-neko. Legends that tell of cats becoming human to aid humans, to marry them or to become the daughters of childless couples are almost always speaking of the Neko-mesume. To become one of these, the cat simply learns the Shinjutsu Spell ‘Leash of the Neko-mesume’ (see Shinjutsu below) and forever ties herself to the path of Celestial Hekau. While Celestial Hekau grants one insights into the seasons of nature and the vagaries of time, it also opens the practitioners eyes to the concept of karma. The title Neko-mesume meaning cat-girl or Cat daughters indicates that the Path of Celestial magic is considered the sole purview of females in Asian Bakeneko culture. Discovering males of this specialization among western cats is a cause for humour for the eastern cats. Maneki-Neko (Effigy) Alternative Systems NB: If you do not have Mummy: the Resurrection and the Mummy players guide, or simply do not want to tie the Bake-neko so closely to the Mummies, you could of course use the Vampire Disciplines as the original White Wolf book suggested. A pile of Vampire books at the table rather than a pair of Mummy books makes li ttle difference and you should choose based on your own taste and resources. A third option, and one more fitting for the style of the Bake-neko, might be to use the rules for Sorcerers, perhaps with Shinjutsu as its own unique path. The lower degree of ability that comes with hedge magic and Numina seems to match the theme and mood of the long tail ed cats far better in my opinion. I would have gone this way myself except that this option comes with one major drawback in that a central concept of the original long tailed cats needs to be dropped. The revised rules for Sorcerers require nothing to po wer their magic and makes the concept of Bake-neko acquiring energy (blood, Chi, Sekhem) somewhat less understandable. To say the original concept required them to feed on the blood / sexual energy of others simply to stay alive reduces them to just another breed of vampire and I find that detracts too much from their individuality. You must deal with this as best fits your requirements. Appendix IV Rénxiān “The animal behaviours amid a man and woman are identical to how the cosmos itself came into creation. However, if they appoint in the absolute joys of bender and administer the attempt of yin and yang to their animal activity, their health, vigour, and joy of adulation will buck them the fruits of constancy and immortality.” (Hsi 2002:99–100)
There have been many failed attempts to find immortality, and several near misses, one of the most numerous are the Rénxiān (Human Immortal). First recorded in China, the Rénxiān are shallow echoes of the Undying in several ways. Created not by Mages but by hedge magicians and sorcerers, Rénxiān have a degree of extended life, they continue to hunger and thirst and require oxygen like a normal human, but do not suffer from aging or sickness. The process from mortal Sorcerer to Rénxiān involves several paths of Hedge magic and other mundane skills, specific Sorcer paths are given in parenthesis. The first step to become a Rénxiān involves faking your own death and tricking the appointed reaper by some means, becoming one of the Shījiě xiān (Escaped-bymeans-of-a-stimulated-corpse-simulacrum Immortal). Usually this is done by substituting a bewitched object (Enchantment) or by slipping a type of magical death certificate into somebody else’s coffin (Enchantment). If the ruse is successful the Rénxiān has their name and "allotted life span" deleted from the ledgers kept by the director of allotted life spans; Sīm ìng.
The next step is to extend the Sorcerers lifespan. For each misdeed a person commits, the Director of allotted life spans subtracts days and sometimes years from their allotted life span. Hedge Magicians usually has a servant of the director alter the records for them (Summoning, binding a warding) either through manipulation or bribery. Once this is done the sorcerer can expect to live out the entirety of their allotted lifespan (whether it be 30, 80, 400, etc) and avoid the agents of death. Mortals who choose this route must either avoid notice by cutting off all ties with the past and living a quiet life or by employing some magical smoke screen such as the Ling bao tai xuan yin sheng zhi fu – the ‘Numinous Treasure Talisman of the Grand Mystery for Living in Hiding’. Otherwise the various minor and major officials of heaven may well take notice and perhaps even detect the counterfeit documents. Thus, by this convoluted way, many minor magicians are able to enjoy long and pastoral lives. The legends of hermits and tranquil masters are often clues to a hedge wizard who has fulfilled such a ruse. However a long life is not an eternal life and for further escape from death the body still has to be transformed into an i mmortal one, hence the phrase used to describe such men and women; Xiānsǐ hòutuō -“The ‘death’ is apparent, [but] the sloughing off of the body’s mortality remains to be done.” These Rénxiān have hidden from the powers that be and freed themselves from natural entropy but they now need to concentrate on extending their natural lifespan beyond the figure recorded in the ledgers. Though they lack any ability to resurrect and are just as susceptible to accidental or violent death as any mortal, they have a stronger resistance to toxins and disease. Their aging slows to a near stop so long as they continue to preserve their extended lifespans the vistas of the spirit worlds open to them (Alchemy Enchantment Healing Mana Manipulation Shadow casting Summoning, binding a warding). However, this is not a true form of immortality. Not yet. The Rénxiān are usually enlightened sorcerers and hedge magicians before they become immortal and the methods with which they might extend their lives are many. However the most common method is involves the control of their Chi and the tapping of natural energies (Alchemy, Enchantment, Healing, Mana Manipulation, Shadow casting, Summoning, binding and warding). Humans have an equal balance of yin and yang energies, so they have the potential of becoming either a ghost or
immortal. Tapping into these energies increases the life span and vigour of the body, and staves off the natural tendency of a human to die. By combining the teachings of Taoism and Tantra, the first Rénxiān discovered that sexual activity was the intermingling of fire [yang/male] and water [yin/female], that water and fire can kill people but can also regenerate and extend life. These false Immortals postulated the theory that the more females a man copulates with, the greater benefit he will derive from the act. An enlightened individual who copulates with many partners of the opposite sex can extend their life for quite some time. Through the application of Hedge magic, a Sorcerer can increase the energy by copulating with partners of the ultimate energies. Thus the male Sorcerer copulates with Wraiths and Vampires while his rare female counterpart copulates with Umbral spirits, demons and the males of the Beast courts. Avoiding the notice of Heaven rarely lasts forever and sooner or later the jig is up. For many discovery simply means a bad mark in the karmic ledger and the sudden and immediate reintroduction of the allotted lifespan. Those who have lived beyond that time die immediately, those who have not may well start again from step one. However sometimes these rediscovered Rénxiān are recognised for their tenacity and ingenuity, they are employed by heaven to act as celestial peace keepers. They can walk openly through the realms and employ their powers without regard. Those in such positions have no need to hide from retribution since they are empowered by heaven to perform their duties. Such entities may well interact with True Immortals and might even make a suitable character type if the Storyteller is willing. Heavenly Rénxiān are given magic talismans which prolong their lives (but not indefinitely) without the need of other magics. These talismans allow Heaven to track the Rénxiān at all times and empower them with minor abilities needed for their duties. There are three levels of heavenly Rénxiān: Dìshàng zhǔzhě The standard role for a Rénxiān is the D ìshàng zhǔzhě or ‘agent above the earth’, tasked with controlling minor Demons and ghosts and of cleaning up the discord such entities leaves behind. Their magic talismans allow them to heal the sick and exorcize unwelcome and evil spirits from the earth. Compared to the majority of supernatural beings in the world of darkness the D ìshàng zhǔzhě are outclassed and outnumbered, their capabilities limited. Though they can bind and dispel weaker entities, they are rarely ordered to face the enemy directly. More often than not these agents are set to watch and report on extra terrestrial entities and not to confront them unless absolutely necessary. Apart from the abilities of the talisman, the only supernatural powers a D ìshàng zhǔzhě can call upon are those of Hedge magic. Though he is not barred from improving this repertoire, his duties leave little time to do so. A player may only spend one third of his experience points on hedge magic and numina. Upon the death of his body a D ìshàng zhǔzhě may become a Dìxià zhǔ (see above), so that he may
continue to serve Heaven in the underworld. Talisman: Their magic talisman allows the Dìshàng zhǔzhě to tap into the Dragon paths easier and raises their Mana background (Sorcerer pp 53) by 3, even if that raises the
background above the natural limit. If the D ìshàng zhǔzhě looses the talisman, he loses all dots in the background, even those he had before. Secondly it allows them to heal the sick (Healing,) without the terrible cost to themselves. The D ìshàng zhǔzhě no longer need spend Willpower to power the healing because she can instead consumes a point a Mana. Finally, the talisman also effectively doubles the dice pool for Exorcism rolls (see below). Zhìdì jūn Competent and accomplished Rénxiān are sometimes promoted to Zh ìdì jūn or ‘Lords who control the earth’, the highest level of the Heavenly Rénxiān. With the new rank comes greater autonomy and more heavenly investments in order that they may fulfil the heavenly decree ordering them to "disperse all subordinate junior demons, whether high or low, that have cause afflictions and injury. Annihilate them all." The Zhìdì jūn are at the sharp end of the war against Oblivion, their talismans grants them the ability to see the Spirits when they possess a mortal and to sense the taint of oblivion’s servants. They seek out the interference of such entities and take whatever steps necessary to counter it, sometimes commanding D ìshàng zhǔzhě and Dìxià zhǔ. They may not be able to stand up against a bane Mummy or a Vampire buy there are
thralls of Oblivion to battle at every level; Risen, Spectre ridden mortals, human cultists, Ghouls and other Sorcerers. When they are faced with insurmountable odds they ha ve hopefully gathered contacts among the other defenders of creation and can join the forces of the Awakened or the Reborn. Apart from the abilities of the talisman, the only supernatural powers a Zhìdì j ūn can call upon are those of Hedge magic. Though he is not barred from improving this repertoire, his duties leave little time to do so. A player may only spend one third of his experience points on hedge magic and numina. Upon the death of his body a Zh ìdì jūn may become a Dìxià zhǔ (see above), so that he may continue to serve Heaven in the underworld.
Talisman: Their magic talisman allows the Zhìdì jūn to tap into the Dragon paths easier and raises their Mana background (Sorcerer pp 53) by 5, even if that raises the background above the natural limit. If the Zh ìdì jūn looses the talisman, he loses all dots in the background, even those he had before. Secondly it allows them to heal the sick (Healing,) without the terrible cost to themselves. The Zh ìdì jūn no longer need spend Willpower to power the healing because she can instead consumes a point a Mana. As with the D ìshàng zhǔzhě the talisman also effectively trebles the dice pool for Exorcism rolls (see below). Finally the Zh ìdì jūn talisman vibrates when it is near the taint of Oblivion and if gripped tightly it even allows the Zh ìdì jūn to see a spirit entity that resides within a mortal or an object. Dìxià zhǔ
The Dìxià zhǔ or ‘agents beneath the earth’ are in charge of observing the Chinese underworld and of acting to thwart Oblivion when and where they can. Their Earthly body (khat) is confiscated by the Heavenly bureaucracy and the Rénxi ān becomes a wraith. Their talisman (see below) takes the form of a relic which can help disguise them as part of the Jade Emperors kingdom and protect them from the most potent agents of the Jade Emperor. Acting as spies and partisans in the dark kingdom of jade, these agents are expected to put their skills to use battling the twin terrors of Oblivion and the Jade Emperor while reporting to lesser ministers of the Heavenly bureaucracy. Those who serve heaven faithfully (usually for a minimum of 280 years) are sometimes rewarded with a promotion to Dìshàng zhǔzhě (see above) and a single resurrection to their earthly
body similar to that of the true Immortals. Many Dìxià zhǔ have first served as Dìshàng zhǔzh ě and their death allows them to continue to serve in the Underworld where their previously gathered allies and patrons among the reborn, the dead and the lesser heavenly bureaucracy might yet be called upon for aid. Talisman: the Talisman has certain transmorphic capabilities which allow it to take on the basic shape and form of an official seal. The D ìxià zhǔ may present it as part of a n
attempt to impersonate a lower official of the Jade Empire and expect it to be recognised as such. The rest of the impersonation is, however, up to the Dìxià zhǔ in question. They also grant two automatic successes to any arcanoi used against one of the Imperial Guardsmen, including a boost to Argos scores when it is used to figure the success of any use of the Arcanoi ‘Chains of the Emperor’ (see Dark Kingdom of Jade pp 134). The talisman counts as a level 3 unregistered relic (see Dark Kingdom of Jade pp 123) and to be discovered with it might well bring destruction or worse. Dìshàng zhǔzhě / Zhìdì jūn / Dìxià zhǔ / Dìshàng zhǔzh ě / Dìxià zhǔ The Rénxiān may seem able to exist in much the same way as a true Immortal if they can continue to switch between the post of D ìshàng zhǔzhě when they are alive and Dìxià zhǔ when they are dead. In fact, some can and do, and it is a possibility for all Rénxi ān so long as they continue to meet with heavens favour. Each and every change from one role to the other requires a deliberate intervention by heaven, something which is only visited upon truly spectacular men and women. At the very least such an individual would need to be on a path of morality that the heavenly bureaucracy favours, and they would need to have at least 8 dots in that path at the time the new post was awarded. Their previous performance in their current role would need to have been of great benefit to the heavenly bureaucracy (and only in the most recent post, any previous acts of merit will be considered rewarded and checked off when they were awarded the current post). Even should he continue to attract the notice of heaven and to be considered worthy of the role, a Rénxiān is no Immortal. He has no access to Hekau, his support network (the heavenly bureaucracy) is distant and disinclined to take action on his behalf, and as an organisation their numbers are all but zero. What a Rénxiān does have is the standard abilities of a mortal (D ìshàng zhǔzhě / Zhìdì jūn ) or a wraith (D ìxià zhǔ). Any Arcanoi learned as a Dìxià zhǔ is retained by the living Rénxiān and will be accessible again when he dies, even if he is not again given the post of Dìxià zhǔ. In the same manner, a Dìxià zhǔ who is returned to l ife as a Dìshàng zhǔzh ě finds that he retains his previous levels of Hedge magic from his previous time in a fleshy body. Despite many myths and hopes among the Zh ìdì jūn, this is the highest level a Rénxiān can achieve and they will never become a True Immortal. The heavenly Rénxiān serve in these roles in return for an extended existence but also because many believe in the possibility that they will be given the Spell of life as a reward, but they have negated that possibility by becoming Rénxiān in the first place.
Appendix V Ultra Mortalitas Before being embraced by the Toreador Clan (see: the Beast within) Oscar Wilde
wrote the story of Dorian Gray, a character that remains young and handsome while his portrait ages. Dorian slowly becomes corrupt, but his crimes and his true age show only in the face of the painting, which grows progressively more monstrous and withered. To those who know, the book appears to be the perfect description of a false Immortal and it has caused many reborn to ponder the possibility that the writer knew more of the supernatural world than he let on. Dorian Gray, as he appears in the book, is a perfect Ultra Mortalitas. The Ultra Mortalitas (beyond Mortality) are a breed of false Immortal who have obtained long life (complete with the outward appearance of eternal youth) through a bargain with a powerful entity such as a Spirit, God or Demon. The gift (Investment) allows the recipient to separate his mortality from his physical flesh and to tie it to another object instead. The Object must be composed of physical matter and must be created especially for the purpose (no placing your mortality in a family heirloom), or at least within 7 days of the transfer being made. Besides those requirements the object can be of any design or size. In the (apparent) fiction Dorian Grey’s mortality was invested in his portrait, other Ultra Mortalitas place them in great works of architecture or nondescript goblets secreted away beneath the steps of a great cathedral. In the middles east he might place his mortality in a jade egg which he sneaks into the nest of a great eagle atop mountain eyrie, hoping the fierce beast will prevent anyone finding it. Destruction of the object results in the instant death of the Ultra Mortalitas and a guaranteed passage across the shroud to the dark Umbra where he becomes a Wraith. The destroyed Object becomes a relic too. Should somebody somehow manage to kill the Ultra Mortalitas by some supernatural means, the object is destroyed in exactly the same manner, with the same afterlife for both. The Object takes on the negative aspects of being mortal, it ages while the Ultra Mortalitas does not and while his humanity drops (and it always does), so the receptacle is disfigured - growing progressively more hideous and withered. The architecture gains a haunted atmosphere, the goblet tarnishes the Jade egg’s sheen reflects a twisted visage ... Some fortunate souls have multiple cases of the Investment which allows them to divide their mortality between several objects. When one of these objects is destroyed they die but can gather the Sekhem to return to their body in exactly the same way as a True Immortal. So Long as they still have an Object in the skinlands with a portion of their Mortality within it, they resurrect in an identical manner to the reborn. Long Tailed cats with nine Ultra Mortalitas Investments are the core of cat myth, and the Shemsu-Heru have long been plagued by the Asekh-sen, Ultra Mortalitas who have spread their Mortality between four canopic jars.
The Veil of Isis A New Craft for Mage: the Ascension & WoD: Sorcerer
"I am all that has been, and is, and shall be, and my veil no mortal has yet
uncovered" - Isis Introduction The Reborn have been here since the first times, the Zep Tepi. The Shemshu-Heru following their fanatical leader Horus in his personal war against Set while others that he calls traitors have widened their War to all of Apep's children. The Silent Striders have born their exile with millennia of stoic fortitude and there are no greater Vampire killers than these Were-Jackals in all of Gaia's armies. The Bubastis survive barely with a questionable loyalty, blackmailed into treachery by Set's imprisonment of their few remaining Feline Kinfolk. The most powerful Tradition of Mages are a poor reflection of the great Cult of Thoth. The Hem Ka Sobk lurk in the graveyards and back streets of the Middle east and the Mokole still breed with the sacred Crocodiles of the Nile. The land of Khem is all too entrenched in the World of Darkness and its intersecting Jyhads. Even the ignorance of the mortals cannot help but feel the draw of this great Kingdom, from Hollywood to Harvard Ancient Egypt puts food on a thousand thousand tables. Coincidence? Maybe, or maybe this web of sacred and profane mystery has secrets masters all of its own. A conciliation of faithful servants and manipulated dupes governed by one who has watched mankind drag itself back from the muddy swamps of the post deluge world and claw itself to its current self destructive heights. An organisation hidden by a veil of secrecy and obfuscation and devoted to a single purpose above and beyond the petty ego of any Antediluvian or Tribe Elder. "As for the robes, those of Isis are variegrated in their colours; for her power is concerned with matter which becomes everything and receives everything, light and darkness, day and night, fire and water, life and death, beginning and end." - Proverbs 8 Isis, Queen of Khem, Mage of unsurpassed skill and Goddess at the centre of the Web of faith knows the answer to this suspicion all to well, for she is the answer to this and all questions. The Veil of Isis has been torn, frayed and patched up countless times but it has never broken. While Empires rose and fell, religions mutated and floundered, Dark ages came and went, the veil of Isis has endured to preserve the glories of Khem. Its goals are myriad and at times unguessable, but at its core is the furtherance of mankind and the defeat of the forces of Izfet wielded by Apophis in all its guises. An organisation that includes priests, thieves, warriors, merchants, spies and more than a few wandering supernaturals follows the dictates of a Goddess in an endless battle against Evil. The prize is the survival of mankind itself. HISTORY In Zep Tepi, the time when Enoch stood and Caine still ruled his childer openly, Khem was ruled by a Family called the Neteru. Osiris and Set were brothers originally intended to inherit half the Empire each. Both of them were married to their sisters, Osiris to Isis and Set to Nephthys. Nephthys was originally entitled the Mistress of heaven and the Underworld, but her elder sister Isis later ascended to the title of Queen of Heaven and the pair of sisters became a feminine duality. In the eyes of the faithful Isis was the embodiment of life and Nephthys the avatar of what lay beyond death, the passive forces that allowed Osiris to be resurrected.
In life Queen Isis was a Mage, a true daughter of Lilith with a instinctive grasp of the mechanics of Life and the methods needed to preserve Ma’at for the people she ruled over. She surrounded herself with a secret group of loyal servants through whom she could extend protection to those of her subjects worst affected by the machinations of Osiris and Set. In later eons, those in the know spoke of the Osirian league a loose alliance of supernatural creatures who came together in order to thwart Set and his master, Apophis. However Isis was the real reason for these alliances. Her followers employed a mixture of feminine wiles and delicate tactics in the war for creation, supporting and even outshining the male members of the league. These women never claimed a name for themselves but were called alternatively the Veil, Web or Net of Isis. This name came from the Pepium, a veil or tunic that was a symbol for both her and the warrior Goddess Neith. Legend held that the Pepium is the covering with which humanity was clothed in flesh and mortal form. The people of Khem also spoke of the Peplos, the celestial veil of the Gods, a protective skin that awakened fear in all who saw it. By the time of the Greeks, who called the veil Aegis, it had become a protective support and Athena shaped it into a shield to give to Perseus. Even Thoth, Isis pupil, was forced to concede her greatness. His greatest temple was called 'The House of the Net'. Isis created the spell of Life, probably the most potent magic ever devised by a human mind, and at first she only shared it with her sister. However eventually she taught her priesthood how to create Immortals, along with a few other spells known only to the Cult. The head priestess and her assistant, representing Isis and Nephthys, were the only ones invested with the entirety of the spell, and even they could not carry it out alone. The Spell’s secret ingredient was the manipulation of the underworlds unique energies, whether through the sphere of Entropy or the aide of those dwelt beyond the shroud themselves. Isis and her priestesses alone had the skill and devotion capable of taming these forces, of persuading the shades of the dead, of transforming a mortal man or woman into one of the undying. The Veil of Isis were the only Mages, besides Isis herself, to enact the spell of life for almost two thousand years, but the Cult were always a separate body from the Reborn themselves. The Immortals not only owed their existence to the cult, they also relied heavily on them for comfort and support. If the Shemsu-Heru were the only thing that stood between Mankind and the corruption of Set that they believed themselves to be, they owed their very existence to the veil of Isis. Horus needed to be reminded of this often as he was not the most grateful of children, but many of the Undying held the veil of Isis in high respect. Founded by a powerful queen, their holdings and resources increased through insightful manipulation of families and alliances, the Veil of Isis was able to furnish the Immortals with all the comforts of the Noble caste. They recorded secret details of the victories and discoveries, acted as bankers for their possessions and aided those who needed finances in the battle against Apophis. They also ministered to the Immortals, helping them recover lost memories and passing messages among the companions of Horus. The mental cost of loosing mortal companions, of observing their families pass into Oblivion while they remained eternally unchanged was hard for many of the reborn to bare. The Veil of Isis learned psychological methods to comfort their charges, to provide for them on every level. As more and more Mummy's began to turn their back upon Horus and his single
minded lust for revenge, it was the Veil of Isis that gave them new direction and challenge. These turncoats were smitten with a variety of derogatory names from the Shemsu-Heru such as Ishmaelites and Dogs of Apep, but to the Priesthood of Isis they were beloved children and treasures to be adored. The Veil of Isis was only too happy to absorb these disenfranchised immortals into their ranks and as the Ishmaelites spread into the world, cells of Isis’ cult followed them. To the east the wandering Immortals and their Mage allies spread the Spell of Life to the fertile Crescent and then across the Globe to Asia. At the same time others followed Ishmael into Africa, while others reached the Northern tips of Europe and then travelled beyond to the America’s. At some point in this journey the Cult of Isis realised that it was no longer the sole arbiter of the Spell, but they fought no battles to reclaim it. For many within the Cult, this had been Isis plan all along, simply the next step in her great plan. The priesthood offered their continued support to the Ishmaelites and anyone they brought with them was offered the same services. After Alexander the Great’s campaign, Egypt was ruled by a foreign dynasty and their customs were vastly different to the ways of Khem. The wives of Greece were downtrodden and powerless for the most part and the cult had little influence on the Hellenic kingdoms. The Ptolemy's, who ruled Egypt after Alexander the Great, adopted many local custom's and the inherent misogyny of most Greek states was weaker here. The Cult of Isis did what it could to counter the Followers of Set and the influx of other Supernatural powers but they knew the empire was past its zenith and they began to look beyond the Deserts of Egypt. The Cult of Isis flowed, like the life giving Nile, out of conquered Egypt and into the classical world. The worship of Isis flowed into the worship of the virgin Mary and by the 4th century AD it’s control over Marianism was unshakable. The Images of Isis suckling Horus morphed into the Madonna and Child of the Roman church and the concept remained as fertile as ever. The heyday of the Shemsu-Heru was over, but non-Egyptian immortals were still being created. By avoiding any overt grabs for power and/or direct challenges to the Vampires of the Roman Empire the Veil of Isis survived the dangers of the Jyhad with panache. During the 18th and early 19th century Egypt became a mortal fetish. All forms of Egyptian mysticism and philosophy was in vogue. Characters such as Madam Blavatsky and various members of the Golden Dawn crept around the edges of the Order of Hermes, and occult practitioners seemed to be crawling out of the woodwork. The Cult of Isis found itself able to gather not only new acolytes but also several wealthy backers. The idle rich were only too happy to provide money and property in return for the secrets of ancient Egypt and the Priesthood has been able to support itself ever since. The Veil of Isis now includes temples and country estates in several countries including a vast retreat in the Essex countryside of England and a Art Deco style Temple in Chicago. From back street Café's in the Khan El-Khalili Suq to the necropolis of the city of the dead in Cairo, from the Head shops of LA with their faux canopic jars and mass produced Scarab jewellery, from the Market stalls of Camden in London to the New Age temples devoted to Isis and Osiris in cities across the globe, the Net catches all who remember when Gods stalked the Earth. This is the Veil of Isis in the final nights! ISIS That Isis was a Mage in life is clear, we are told that the perfecting of the Spell of Life
was her magnum opus as one of the awakened. We also have reliable testimony that Isis taught Thoth and other Hermetic mages of repute. She was strong enough to hold even the Great sun god Ra hostage and to force him to succumb to her wishes, able to battle the dark spirits of the underworld and to hold her own in an empire ruled and fought over by Vampires of the 3rd generation. In the Mythic age, Isis was still an entity who stood head and shoulders above the rest. Isis (and those later Goddesses she used to mask her presence) was seen as a protective garment, passive and yet supportive and unyielding, for this was her nature. Her influence then was named the veil of isis or the Net of isis, with deference to this aspect. However, her fate remains shrouded in mystery. She clearly lived for an exceptionally long time, for she ruled beside her husband for all his unnatural reign, and she was clearly still a power in Khem long after Osiris met his final Death. For those schooled in the abilities of True magic, extended lifespans are not unusual but her eventual fate is still up for debate. There are Vampires who insist she is one of the undead, the last remaining member of the Osirian clan besides Khetamon, and there are even a few heretical Undying who claim that she eventually allowed her cult to perform the Spell of life upon her. No Immortal or Wraith has ever met Isis in the lands of the dead and no Necromatic ritual has ever divined her fate. Throughout History some strong and charismatic woman has stepped out of the shadows to lead the Veil of Isis and the priests and Priestesses of the cult have later insisted that this was Isis herself. The Followers of Set have similar myths that speak of a beautiful and powerful woman who thwarted their greatest schemes and derided their beliefs about Sutekh as misguided. Whether or not Isis truly does still walk the world of flesh today, her influence throughout history has been astounding. Since her earliest days she was a force to be reckoned with. While the men of the Neteru set the powers of pharaoh against Warlord, Isis made alliances. The Cult of Thoth controlled the Scribes and the Chief Ministers while Sutekh and Osiris, and later Horus, battled to control the Pharaoh’s. But Isis controlled the Harem's and thus the Queens, and through them, the empire. Peace through marriage spread her net wider, as princesses left the harem to live an existence in allied or conquered kingdoms. By the time a man became Pharaoh and attracted the attention of Osiris, Horus or Set, he had already been a Prince for years and his earliest influences were female. By controlling the hareem Isis controlled change, the agency of the future. Isis understood that women have a grasp on power that is rarely documented by historians or even noticed by the average man. Her friendship with the wives, Queens, concubines and daughters of the other great leaders made her a powerful force for diplomacy and negotiation beside the Nile. First she employed the skills herself and then she taught them to her allies. She can achieve great compromises in her marriage bed, cleverly breaching delicate subjects in the post coital moments. Those moments when her husband is as weak as all men become in that instant. These favours and concessions she can barter for other conciliations and in small ways she makes life and Unlife a little easier for the people of her community. Across Khem the pillow talk and words of seduction in the harems and lotus dens was a tool of Isis, it was her web, a veil of night.
Culture Despite having many traditions that date back to the earliest civilizations of mankind, the Craft believes in avoiding anachronistic anachronistic behaviour. behaviour. They minister to the society in which they find themselves. Often required to work alongside ancient creatures like the reborn as well as sleepers, the schizophrenic nature of the Veils existence can be harsh on its membership. Language and spirituality that was taught to them by Isis and her peers is constantly re-examined in light of the advancing years, the state of the world and the never ending battle against Izfet and Apophis. Typical Typical members members affect an interest interest in the styles styles and fashions fashions of Ancient Egypt, as much because of the relics the temples revere as the morality and tales of the reborn. Many rituals, titles, prayers and lessons are conducted in the language of Ancient Egypt. The customs of mummification, of sexually equality and of occult beliefs that were popular in the period of Isis lifetime are still practiced by her followers. Craft members will shave when in mourning, for each other, for pets or even just to make the passage from the mundane life into that of an awakened. Whenever possible the craft conducts its own funerary rites and they decorate themselves with amulets and perfumes the people of the first Nile cultures would recognise. recognise. Beliefs The Veil Veil of Isis in in the 21st century century believes believes that Isis was was both an awakened awakened human and a Goddess, that her husband was both a vampire and the God of the afterlife. afterlife. The core faith faith upon which the craft is built has changed changed very little little in the past past seven thousand years. Their close relationship with the Immortal reborn serves to reinforce the basic pantheon of the Egyptian paradigm, giving them a unique insight into traditions long forgotten or misunderstood by the modern world. But ancient beliefs that do not adapt are quickly proved untenable, and the craft holds change as inevitable and essential. The Gods have changed their faces and their names, their enemies are equally adaptable. That Mary and Jesus are simply Isis and Horus in disguise allows the veil to whether time and the slipping of its own Gods from fashionable worship. The Veil Veil believe believe with utter conviction that nothing nothing truly meaningful meaningful can happen in in a single human lifetime, that it may take the passage of a million years for Isis desires to be made manifest. Patience, foresight foresight and refinement refinement are the tactics of the veil. As the balance to the fiery passion of the Garou, the rock steady relentlessness relentlessness of the Reborn, the burning hunger of the Vampires – the Mages of the Veil practice a quiet subtlety, like the slow and inexorable flow of water. At the heart of the Crafts philosophy is an understanding of the universal duality; the red of the desert and the green of the Nile flood plains. That Death is only the beginning of a much greater life cycle and that this world is a speck of dust in comparison to the other realms accessible to the wise. Mages of the Veil of Isis stand on the precipice, handmaidens to a nature as yet unknown to the man in the street. The struggle to put creation creation back on its axis, axis, to return return balance to the world, remains their goal even if they prefer to take the role as assistants to the soldier at the forefront forefront of the battle. Magickal Style Unsurprisingly Unsurprisingly their rotes are similar to the Hekau of the Undying; Advise sought through fortune telling (Celestial) is incredibly important to the Veil of Isis, no major
action is taken without first consulting the stars, the flight of sacred Ibis or the flow of menstrual blood over holy symbols. The Magic of ancient Egypt eventually split between the Hermetic cult of Thoth and the synergetic and sympathetic style of the Veil of Isis, but for both philosophies the creation of powerful Foci (Effigy, Amulets and Alchemy) allowed the magic to take on a small degree of permanence. The veil of Isis is renown for its production of Talismans and objects with magically enhanced sigils, even the lowliest acolytes have small amulets and items of protection that match the Heart Scarabs and symbols of office found on Mummys. The second skill skill for which the Veil Veil of Isis is renowned renowned is the Spell Spell of Life and its derivatives (Necromancy) and the skills required for the preservation and protection of corpses. Both the Undying and the Undead benefit from the Cults manipulation of Matter and entropy in the upkeep of their lifeless bodies. Those undying allied to the Priesthood are able to reanimate their Khat much easier and need spend less Sekhem to reform and repair them. The Veils understanding of the Egyptian practice of Ren Hekau (Nomenclature) runs parallel to what they consider True Magick. Both the use of Quintessence, depicted in art as rays extending from the Eye or disk of Re and the manipulation of the Spheres, which they identify with different members of the Ennead (see Cult of Thoth for a detailed explanation of the Egyptian view on Magical practices). These latter spheres of magick were the specialisation of the Cult of Thoth, but much of the the Priesthood Priesthood of Isis were were considered considered to have have more than than a passing skill in the magick of Hieroglyph and symbology. Spheres The Mages of the Veil of Isis are are closest closest to the Verbena Verbena model, specialising specialising in the Life Sphere and revelling in the carnal aspects of existence. existence. They respect the skills of the midwife and the mother, and as such have held a role in the Middle east that echoes that of the Western Western witches. The Spheres of Prime and Spirit hold a specifically religious significance significance to the t he Priestly Mages, and the control over Time, Matter and Correspondence is a gift from Isis herself. Only those who walk in Ma'at can practice mind magic, or so they believe and Entropy is only manipulated by those whose devotion to Ma'at is strong enough to deal with its opposing force. Entropy is viewed as the paradigm of Izfet, even in the aspects that are recognisably benign, and Mages who cannot grasp the importance of the duality are proscribed from seeking seeking any abilities with the Sphere. THE SPELL OF LIFE LIFE This is simply simply an idea about what what the Spell of life might involve. involve. I wrote wrote it for a scene scene in a Game I never ran and only include it here for the sake of completeness. Take what you like and ignore the rest. The words are based on text from the 'Tale of Sinuhe'.- Spike. The process process varied from from age to age in Egypt, but the key elements elements remain remain consistent as is usual for sympathetic magic. It always involved removing the internal internal organs (which were replaced, replaced, after treatment), treating the body with resin, natron and various other unguents, and wrapping it in linen bandages that have been inscribed with spells. The Magic's involved were long and protracted, requiring long periods of preparation for the materials beforehand and over 70 days to perform the rite correctly after the first Death of the body. The minimum requirement of practitioners is three; the supplicant (the Undying), the head priestess (representing (representing Isis) and her assistant (representing (representing Nephthys). The supplicant petitions the two Goddess, often swearing oaths as to how he will serve them as Isis and Nephthys and as representatives of the Veiled Priesthood.
The supplicant: May the king of Egypt be gracious to me, that I may live on his grace. May I greet the Mistress of the Land who is in his palace, and hear the behests of her children. Then may my limbs grow young again; for old age has descended; weakness has overtaken overtaken me, my eyes are heavy and my arms faint; my legs fail to follow, my heart weary; I am near to death! May they conduct me to the Cities of Eternity, may I follow the Lady to the Limit, Then may she tell tell me that all is well with with her children; children; may she traverse eternity over me! In the earliest days of the Veil of Isis, when the Goddess herself still performed all the rites, any imperfections in the supplicant's mortal body were corrected at this point (through Magic and the powers of Vampire Vampire blood) so that he approached immortality in perfect health. The supplicant is then ritually slain by Nephthys and the second part (the Post Mortem section) of the Ritual is begun. The cord that ties the Soul together, the thread usually severed by death, is made impervious to all outside forces. While the Body might become dormant through lack of its spiritual components, this state is a temporary one. The Fragments Fragments of the Soul that travel beyond the physical realm are still bound to the corpse and will eventually return, thus reanimating the whole collective. This binding together together of the soul prevents prevents the portion that that usually ascends ascends to Heaven from making that journey, it also circumvents the troubles encountered when parts of the soul need to cross the gauntlet between the Shadowlands and the skinlands. Parts of the Ritual conducted on earth echo across the gauntlet and allow the Supplicants Wraith to battle the forces of Apophis he meets their. their. This is a very dangerous time for all involved because the powerful spell appears to act as a clarion call to the Baneful spirits attached to Apep. Isis (the head priestess): Come thou to me quickly since I desire to see thy face after not having seen thy face ... my heart is hot at thy wrongful seperation; I yearn for thy love towards me Come! be not alone! be not far off! While the First priestess takes the role of Isis the grieving wife, wailing and gnashing her teeth, her sisters actions are vastly contradictory. Nephthys role is far more salacious. She dances and sings, tempting the soul back to the body with sweet smelling fruits, wine libations and her own naked form, which she rubs across the corpse, covering it with erotic kisses and whispering carnal promises into its ears. Yet again the importance of the spiritual is not allowed to overshadow the physical so that Ma'at is kept in Balance. Nephthys (the second Priestess): Draw nigh, so please you, to us We miss life through Lack of Thee Should the Wraith survive its terrifying journey and manage to gather the requisite power and self awareness to return and if the Priestesses have completed the ritual perfectly, then the Undying may arise. Ba, Ka, Ren, Ab, Sekhem, Khu, Khaibit, Sahu and Akh are rejoined and a Mummy is created.
Organization I gave and ordained laws for men, which no man is able to change I am she that is called Goddess by women I made with my brother Osiris Osiris an end to the eating of men I revealed mysteries unto men I am Queen of rivers and winds and sea No one is held in honour without my knowing it I am the Queen of War I am Queen of the Thunderbolt I am in the rays of the Moon I set free those in Bonds I overcome fate - Isis Each Chantry (Temple) of the Veil, called the House of Life, maintains a simply Hierarchy. A head Priestess representing Isis herself is aided by a secondary acolyte, the Nephthys, and for many Temples these two form the entire household. Larger Chantry's are arranged below these two, with roles set aside for the High priests; the Fortune tellers, tellers, Scholars and teachers, who wear Ibis headed masks in important ceremony. Below them are the The Anubis masked funerary staff (often Acolytes who are medical students or working paramedics in the sleeping world), the members of the Cult responsible for Healing others and for preserving the Khat of the Undying. Next in line are the Horus masked guards and general laity who are expected to carry out the menial tasks such as food preparation and cleaning duties. Outsiders and guests will never see the deepest rituals and would never observe the cultists in their full ceremonial garb, with masks and gold ornaments. The largest Temples carry carry out countless other duties, from the feeding feeding and dressing dressing of statues to the careful study of internet and media sources for signs of the agents of Izfet. Areas are set aside in which the unoccupied Khat of the Undying can be stored while they sojourn in the shadow lands and it is not unusual for these areas to be opened up to house Vampiric Vampiric allies or to hide those fleeing from mortal or supernatural establishment. Most Temples have managed to obtain permission to store the bodies of the deceased as practitioners of a 'pagan' religion. A shared body of knowledge allows the Veil to carry out their duties in the modern world without running afoul of the authorities. Initiation Acolytes She, wild web, wondrous robe Mantles the guilty globe And men are meant to share Her life as life does air The Acolytes of the veil were were expected expected to give give of themselves themselves in service service to life itself itself.. In the earliest days, under the guidance of the Mage herself that usually meant a period spent as a sacred temple prostitute for the young. Older women, those who social position made temple service difficult and various other exceptions often gave their time to be midwives, wet nurses or ministering to the elderly or the infirm. While there has always been a hardcore element within the craft which seeks to hold
as close to these traditions as possible, the majority membership no longer become prostitutes. Historically there have been several ways of fulfilling these expectations while staying within the moral boundaries of the age. Allowing oneself to be given in marriage to a powerful man in order to gain patronage or influence for the sisterhood has remained popular since Rome conquered Egypt, and today the Harem conspiracy has transformed enough to pimp out trophy wives in the name of the Goddess of life. This aspect, although controversial, is however only a minor part of the acolytes life. For the most part they serve in the same functions that the rest of the Craft does. They see to the needs of the Shemsu-Heru (Immortals), they study the Spheres of True magic, especially Life and Prime. In the modern age the Craft works tirelessly to rediscover the secrets of Thoth and Isis, including attempts to piece together the fragments of the original Spell of life and even to improve on it. Health care and midwifery remain core tasks of the priesthood, both the mundane and the awakened as they advance from the acolyte stage. When they can, the craft members infiltrate themselves in their communities, as fund raisers for hospitals or as doctors in training. At the heart of the veil’s teaching is the belief that those gifted with an Awakened soul should use their abilities in the profane world rather than cloister themselves away from it. THE THREADS IN THE NET Ascension for the Veil of Isis magi is no different to the goals of the mundane Priesthood, a matter of achieving Maat and the defeat of Apophis the devourer and the other agents of Izfet. Maat itself is a personal matter, a doctrine not of following an outside Dogma but of being true to ones own expectations. When Judgement is decreed the Heart of the individual is weighed against the feather of Maat and no religious text or guru will be able to effect the outcome. To the Priesthood, existence is out of balance due to the proliferation of the agents of darkness. If Vampires stalk the night, Demons roam free and the forces of Evil prey upon mankind there needs to be an equal amount of benign entities to ensure that the world exists in harmony. They are taught that they must work unflinchingly to promote the ethics of Maat because the world lacks balance, but that good and evil are both essential. The Priesthood are taught that for every success they gain, the scales are tipped and the enemy is made aware of their victory. Each time Maat is strengthened by an individual, she must expect the darkness to rewrite the balance. For the Mages this is most often seen as the cause of Paradox but for all members of the Cult it grants an explanation for life's miseries large or small. This philosophy lends the Priesthood a stoic outlook upon life and death that might seem cold to outsiders. Death and misfortune are accepted without passion because all know that the price of their faith is balance. The story of Set and Osiris is used to teach how the world was intended to work, portraying both Gods as half of the scales. Those who mistake Osiris as a wonderful patriarch are reminded of his crimes and failings while educated upon the glory of Set's battles to protect Ra from Apophis. Characters like Horus are also used to illustrate the difficult path the Veil must tread. Isis gave her son Immortality to preserve Maat, so he might ascend his fathers throne without the hindrances of the Vampiric beast, but he was obsessed with his revenge and could not see the larger picture. To Isis and her devotees, Horus is a failure. The Veil must work hard to avoid
hubris and distraction while maintaining a personal code of honour.
The Cult of Thoth Description The Cult of Thoth will survive among the Greeks as the Cult of Mercury and eventually become the powerful order of Hermes. Its manifest destiny begins very early in Prehistory as a small priesthood of learned men who follow the Arch Mage Thoth Tehuti, the Ibis Magi. The Cult of Thoth were knowledgeable wielders of Language, they understood the power of names and words and built eternal truths with the mathematics of the Universe. Even those whom Ra had not awakened to the true glory of the stars could affect Hedge Magic with their words and the True magi could shape mountains into massive edifice in honour of Pharaoh and the Gods. The Hermetic Mages of today have continued to practice a w atered down and bastardised version of the original craft of Khem's sorcerers with their sigi ls and rotes but it is paltry in comparison to the magic of the Mythic Age. And what of Thoth himself? The mysterious student of Isis has been credited with various parents, Ra, Osiris and Isis, Isis and Anubis, Osiris and Nephthys, Anubis and Nephthys. Whoever gave birth to him, it was Isis who shared his thirst for knowledge a nd together they helped Khem become a kingdom of magical prowess. Her Mother wit and his detailed and exacting formula helped create the advanced glories of Khem and each of them attracted a huge and loyal following. Practices of the Cult In Zep Tepi, the first times, only members of the Cult could be scribes and thus even the recording of Names and taxes was the domain of these wise priests. This monopoly based in the 'House of Life' stood for millennia its secrets survived the great deluge and is perhaps the only link between Egypt's two Golden era. Even into the Dynastic period it was the acolytes of Thoth who were responsible for the keeping of history, the design and placement of Tombs and monuments, and the creation of the art and hieroglyphs on them. Exacting ritual and ceremonies that took several months to complete were vital to the spiritual well being of the Egyptian kingdoms and the Cult of Thoth were i ndispensable because of their ability to conduct this offices. This monopoly stood for millennia until Sutekh decimated the priesthood. While menial tasks such as the appeasement of the Gods and the spirits was left to a lesser class of priests, the Cult of Thoth were second only to the Royalty. It was they who presided over the Kings ascension, passing on the secrets of state and ensuring that the Old king passed on his knowledge to his heir. The vast body of Law and the exacting need for correctly performed ritual lay in the hands of the Priesthood, and the most intelligent children were considered the property of the Cult almost without question. From the scribes and ministers, to great Mages like Imhotep himself, the Cult of Thoth was inseparable from the day-to-day existence of the Egyptian state. They controlled the House of Life, the central repository of sacred and profane knowledge, of the Astronomers and the fortunetellers. Pharaoh would consult the Cult of Thoth when seeking advice from the celestial bodies and from the Gods. Weighty questions about existence, the skills required to traverse the afterlife, the study of the Occult and the mapping of the Heavens all took up a great deal of time and energy and the Priesthood could reasonably expect to be housed, fed and protected by the rest of Egyptian society. Foremost in the philosophy of the Cult was the ongoing quest to define the interconnectedness of all things, the threads that held the Un iverse together. Sigils, patterns and Mathematics were all used to add intricate layers to each project and the result was an amalgam of knowledges and Lores not easily discernable by the untrained eye. The inclusion of Pi in the construction of the
Pyramids, the positioning of the shafts within those structures and the placement of each and every monument and tomb, all these served to communicate a variety of d ifferent messages on different levels. To ask, "what is the Sphinx?" is foolish; by seeking a single defining answer the modern mind has already shut itself off from the possibility of finding the answer. The Great Pyramid is at once a Tomb for a vain King, a mathematical model of the earth, a fixed point in space and time, a Doorway to the afterlife and tourist attraction. No land, no concept in life, has such a simple yet unmistakable icon than that shape, and yet there is nothing simple in its nature. The End for Enoch and Khem " [Thoth] … succeeded in understanding the mysteries of the Heavens [and to have] revealed them by inscribing them in sacred books (places?) which he then hid on Earth, intending that they should be searched for by future generations, but found onl y by the worthy." Thoth and his priests saw the coming of a cataclysm in the celestial signs. Further investigation revealed the unlikelihood that Khem, or any of the great civilizations ruled by Enoch, would survive the coming disaster intact. The priesthood who held lea rning and knowledge as so vital were faced with the total obliteration of everything they had mastered, every secret revealed and every philosophy explored in the face o f the unyielding chaos of capricious nature. The Cult withdrew from the secular li fe of Khem to concentrate on forestalling or circumventing their own destruction. The mastery of mathematics and masonry became their only hope and the Cult set about designing landmarks and structures that would withstand the misfortune and somehow communicate the secrets of the universe to later generations. It is still unclear as to whether or not they succeeded. Certainly some great thinkers have discerned the hidden secrets of the pyramids along with the crackpots and Conspiracy theorists, but the world isn't ready to listen. Remnants of the knowledge entrusted to the world by the Cult of Thoth survived when the later Pharaohs of Egypt placed their tombs and temples over the ruins of ancient Khem. Concepts such as Pi are represented in the construction of the Pyramids, and their alignment to the cardinal points and the exact adherence to right angles is unmatched even by modern abilities. The alignment of the Queens shaft with the pole star and the use of the Lion (remodelled into the Sphinx) is meant to fix a point in prehistory for the height of the kingdom of Khem of 14,000 years ago, long before accepted archaeology believes Egyptian society flourished. Only now with modern investigation techniques have we discovered hidden vaults and apertures on the Giza plain, perhaps one of these really will hold the secrets recorded by none other than Thoth himself. Thoth Tehuti, the Ibis magi never saw the completion of his work, in the final decades of Zep Tepi he made a terrible sacrifice in an attempt to preserve all he had uncovered about the hidden nature of creation. In concert with Isis, Thoth sought to record his knowledge upon a book even more enduring than rock and stone. For the Magi knew that the soul of man was capable of surviving beyond any catastrophe, even the complete annihilation of the planet Earth itself. Isis had been working fervently on magic's to restore her dead husband to life, or at least Unlife. This Spell, the Spell of life was a powerful reweaving of the laws of nature and if successful would allow a human to survive the trials and tribulations in the Duat and to return to its body. In a secret chamber deep beneath the dark sand of Khem, Isis and Nephthys prepared to create the first of the Reborn. Two lifelong friends had agreed to undergo the untested Spell of Life for their Queen and Thoth was not about to pass up this chance for an immortal student. As Anpw, the first of the men was being given the Ritual, Thoth was secretly altering the nature of h is companion. By taken his own Avatar, the source of his power, Thoth made a book out of a boy. He etched the mysteries of the heavens, the secrets of his craft, upon the very soul of this boy and then sent him to be made immortal by the Spell of Life. If only that ritual had been completed our modern world would be a vastly altered place. Spheres
