#good witchkeeping | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

merelliahallewell · 3 years

Text

Questions and Answers: The Curse and the Fae

The Curse and the Fae - - The Old Oak - - The Threats - - What Remains

(this series of stories is adapted from a Discord rp Autumnhearth did so that I could give exposition without wasting everybody’s time typing for hours.)

"Try not to dawdle or waste his time," the inquisitor had pleaded with everybody as they spoke of the great forest spirit Gwain. "He may like us, but I imagine he has important... ah... unicorn things to be doing. Ask a question of him or request a boon. Or say nothing. Just remain respectful, that is all I ask. It is not every day one meets a lord of the forest." She shot a pointed look to Merry Rogers, the Waycrest recruit who’d asked only days before if one could eat and cook a nature spirit.

When Autumnhearth’s protectors convened in Crowsfield, Merellia led them towards the edge of town- towards the dark woods. They seemed less ominous today, though, as though the shadows were lessened. The birds sang more, the woodland creatures chittered and scurried here and there. Within a small glade, they saw him. Gwain was majestic as could be, a noble lord amongst horses with his unsullied coat and gleaming horn. The whole glade was alive with life, and none of it shied away as the party approached.

"We have come, mighty Gwain," the inquisitor said. "And I thank you for meeting us. You honor us with your presence." The inquisitor's words were unsteady- she had no idea how to approach a nature spirit, and had not bothered to ask Kyuu for advice before doing so. After a short delay, she sank into a bow, though did not seem to expect anybody else to. The unicorn did not seem to regard the gesture, but once Merellia had righted herself, he spoke.

A melodic male voice spoke into the minds of all present in the tongue they were most familiar with. Gwain's lips did not move at all, but they each shared the conversation, their minds somehow linked together by his presence. "The sun is high, mortals, and the day is good. I am glad that you endured the terrors of the Witchkeep and have grown your numbers. Even if many of the witches escaped, you have driven them into hiding and they no longer trouble the woods. I thank you for your efforts, for it has made it possible for me to strive against the crawling ones."

"The steward of this land informed me you have questions to ask of me. I am the oldest thing in these lands save for the Stag and Doe, and they do not pass this way as of late. They are more reticent in recent years, less willing to greet mortals. I will speak with you, though, and aid you as I am able. Our minds are linked at present, and the woods are safe. Let your questions rise to the top of your thoughts, and come sit with me. Take a moment to rest."

A stump was nearby, meant for the injured Merry to sit on. Gwain had chosen this place with the knowledge of his allies even if he had not met all of them. Meant for the others was soft grass, more than good for settling in at. The unicorn himself sat first, settling in amidst the soft grass of the glade. A few flowers sprang up around him in response, and he waited for the party to follow suit, not speaking again until they did.

Merellia spoke first. "Last time we spoke, you made mention of 'fanes.' Forest, Mountain, River. What are these fanes, exactly... and what are their ties to the guardians you told us were dead?”

"To the steward of these lands and the foe of the Drust, I offer you the answers you need. The Fanes. Mountain, Forest, River... they are the domains of this land. Long ago, they were warded by one- another friend of mine. She adopted three daughters from the Drust who once dwelled in these lands, powerful naturalists who cared for the wilds as she did. When she died, they split her power among themselves and each swore to watch over the wilds in her stead. I have spoken two of their names to the one who travels to the land of death, for they perished at the hand of a greedy man who sought revenge and immortality. This man - the Crow Lord - is the reason for Autumnhearth's despair. While I believe him long dead, he is the reason this land is ruined. What became of the third sister - that of the River - I do not know. She has not been seen in an age."

"Balance was kept by the three sisters before, but without them, the influence of the Things buried beneath this land has grown almost unhindered. Their places of power - the hearts of the fanes themselves - sit defiled. It is as I told you before, child. They are dens of evil. Restore the fanes to their former glory, and you restore the land. New guardians can be found. You know them already: the Mountain Temple. The Forest Shrine. Where the heart of the River fane's power sits, I do not know, but I know the witches seek it. If they reach it before you do, this land may fall into despair forever."

Merellia only nodded quietly in thanks for the answer. She had no further questions to ask. Guidance, for a second time, had been given. It was up to her to follow the wisdom of this ancient being. Valdyss, their newly-joined mage, spoke up next.

"I am departing for Ardenweald soon,” she said. “To learn more of the Night Fae's fight against the Drust. Is there someone or something there I should seek out that may aid our efforts here? Is there any word I should bring to the Night Fae that may aid them? This spreading threat from the Drust concerns me."

"The great forest beyond... we believed it but a myth and story for the longest of times. But now the doors of death have been thrown wide and mortals walk beyond them. I do not know what may be found beyond them, for I have never passed there. I have never met these Night Fae- you speak in strange riddles to me, Mortal. I know only that the dark Drust seek to invade this great forest, and that cannot be allowed to happen. They taint every place they travel. If the denizens of this land require aid, I would arm them with what your leader has been gathering for the daughter of Ashamane: silver, fire, and wood." He hummed, doing his best to give a true answer to her second question.

"There are some spirits who may have passed into that place. In life, they were guardians of the land until they were slain. Two of them, there are, both Drust. True Drust, not what monsters they have become now. I do not know if you will find them if the Beyond is as vast as I imagine it to be, or if they are even there. They were friends of mine: Haldora of the Mountain and Eldrid of the Woods."

#Questions and Answers #RP Story #Tales From Autumnhearth #autumnhearth

5 notes · View notes

theonyxpath · 5 years

Link

Hi all! Meghan here, with our first preview from the upcoming Night Horrors: Nameless and Accursed for Mage: The Awakening. Please enjoy House Vedmak, one of the Houses of the Tremere Order of Reaper liches, from the inestimable Malcolm Sheppard.

House Vedmak

The Keepers of Vedet were a Slavic Legacy devoted to helping the virtuous dead rest, and protecting Sleepers from angry ghosts, spirits, and similar malefic beings. Wandering Vedma (women) and Vedmak (men and non-binary practitioners) made themselves quietly known to the communities throughout Eastern Europe and Central Asia. This earned them cautious respect, as common people supposed these “witchkeepers” drew power from the devil, but somehow managed to twist it to the service of good. Founded in the 8th century, the Keepers survived the Mongols and went on to train hundreds of members, reaching such popularity that by the 16th century, Legacy Masters considered asserting themselves as an independent Order.

These plans went awry when rumors arose that witchkeepers had fallen to Satan, killing and unleashing evil spirits upon Sleepers across the Keepers’ territory. Its reputation tarnished, the Legacy hunted for the source of the trouble, locating it in the Eastern Carpathian Mountains. Divination suggested a place of great, ancient evil, located in a tower fallen from the Time Before — one ruled by the Tremere. The Order had lured the witchkeepers to Chur, fortress of the Seventh Dragon, where it possessed an unmatched advantage. They would have wished to destroy the Legacy in any case, but the witchkeepers’ rising power and proximity inspired the Tremere to not only unify against them, but risk Chur in the attempt. The Tremere prevailed, though it was a hard-fought battle. Today, the Keepers of Vedet are gone, replaced with House Vedmak.

Due to its history, Vedmak is the largest Tremere House. Tremere use Vedmak lore to perform feats of reverse possession, chaining ghosts or spirits to the souls they command. Vedmak also use souls as arms and armor to fight Twilight-bound threats. Some Vedmak even act as witchkeepers of old, protecting communities, but only when local citizens promise the Vedmak their souls as payment.

Origins and Doctrine

Background: Vedmak are defined more by community than personal inclination. Many Vedmak grew up in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, close to rural communities. Neopagans, folklorists, and anthropologists among the Tremere are also drawn to the House.

Appearance: Members of House Vedmak usually dress to travel, in rugged and practical clothing, with a satchel or backpack always at hand. This is part of the House’s nomadic tradition. On the other hand, some modern members prefer casual suits, tablets, satellite phones, and first-class flights. Vedmak often worm Slavic pagan symbols into their clothing and jewelry.

Prerequisites: Space 2, Wits 3, Occult or Survival 2

Initiation: A successful initiate banishes a ghost or spirit from a place. He can use brute force or cleverness, but the task must be challenging, and he must destroy the being, enslave it, or decisively drive it away.

Organization: House Vedmak is led by the Svetovid, a quartet of princeps who identify themselves with the deities Svarog, Perun, Lada, and Mokosh. The Svetovid rarely grant personal audiences, preferring to communicate through bound ghosts and spirits. The branches of Perun and Lada use Spirit as a secondary Arcanum, while those under Svarog and Mokosh utilize Death. A Vedmak must choose whether to learn the Spirit- or Death-based optional effects for his Attainments; this remains the same for each Attainment.

Theory: Magic filters through the desires of capricious gods and the unquiet dead, but one may use trickery, bargaining, and force to steal their powers and make them serve one’s own desires. To understand this cosmos of hidden motives, one must cultivate exceptional sensitivity, to see the conspiracies of gods in the placement of a single stone or the fetters that keep a ghost bound to the world.

Magic

Yantras: Eating a meal ritualistically (+1); drawing the traditional symbols of Slavic witchcraft (+1, +2 if in blood); invoking deities in the four cardinal directions (+1); indulging in one’s fixation (see House weakness) for longer than necessary or seeking out an opportunity to do so (+1, +2 if this involves significant effort or leads to injury)

Oblations: Traveling to a wild place on foot; holding a ritual banquet for multiple people; carving a four-headed representation of the Svetovid: four gods in one

Weakness: The House’s emphasis on sensitivity to the natural and supernatural worlds sometimes manifests as a fixation that emulates the folkloric weaknesses of certain supernatural beings. Each witchkeeper chooses one such fixation. Suggestions include counting plant grains (rice, barley, etc.), being transfixed by the appearance of running water, shedding the blood of animals, staring at one’s reflection in a mirror, and concealing or destroying symbols of religions and magical practices other than one’s own.

The fixation confers the Addicted Condition (Mage, p. 314). If resolved, the character acquires a new fixation, which confers a new Addicted Condition. If he goes a scene without indulging the fixation when the opportunity arises, he suffers the Deprived Condition also.

Attainments

All House Vedmak Attainments require the use of a soul. This soul can either be attached to the character, or held in a soul jar or hollowstone.

Apprentice Attainment: Eyes of the Invisible

Prerequisites: Initiation The Vedmak sends a soul to quietly inhabit a subject, and experiences what the subject does. This emulates a sympathetic Space spell for which Potency is the primary factor, which requires a sympathetic connection and Yantra as usual. It lasts up to one scene, adds 1 to Potency, costs a point of Mana, and requires a scene of ritual preparation. It affects supernatural beings, including those in Twilight, if the character can perceive them. He experiences all the target’s physical senses, but not their thoughts. As a side effect, he suffers any wound penalties and sensation-dependent Conditions or Tilts the subject experiences.

Optional: Death 2 or Spirit 2 If the subject is a ghost (Death) or a spirit (Spirit), the witchkeeper can also perform an elementary act of possession while experiencing its senses, willing it to perform tasks. This emulates the Spirit 2 spell “Command Spirit” (Mage, p. 181), but the character shares the spirit’s senses for the duration, and may suffer sensation-based ill effects. If the creature has supernatural senses, the Storyteller decides which ones translate into sensations the Tremere can comprehend and which are unavailable, although mages are intimately familiar with unusual senses and the Vedmak already possesses the appropriate Arcanum by necessity, so the Storyteller is encouraged to be generous.

Disciple Attainment: Distant Presence

Prerequisites: Space 3 The Vedmak possesses a soul and sends it forth as an extension of himself. This emulates a Space 3 spell with Duration as its primary factor; this phantom body appears anywhere within the mage’s sensory range. It requires a scene of ritual preparation, using its fixed Reach for advanced Duration. The manifestation is solid, and has a combination of the witchkeeper’s physical features and those of the soul’s original owner. The character is fully present in both the manifestation and his real body, and must choose which one to act with at any given time (or on each turn, in action scenes). Injuries and other afflictions, such as Conditions, affecting one body affect the other also; he maintains one collective total for Health, Willpower, Mana, and other traits, at their usual ratings. The Vedmak may eliminate the Distant Presence as an instant action, leaving the harnessed soul floating free wherever he sent it.

Optional: Death 3 or Spirit 3 The Death 3 variant lets the witchkeeper manifest the phantom body in Twilight and gain access to places only ghosts may visit. With the Spirit variant, the manifestation may enter the Shadow as if crossing through an Iris.

Adept Attainment: Bind Within

Prerequisites: Space 5 The Vedmak can physically imprison subjects within a soul under his command. This emulates the Space 5 spell “Pocket Dimension” (Mage, p. 178) with +2 Potency and advanced Duration, requiring a scene of ritual preparation to acclimate the soul to its new purpose. The willworker must use other Space magic to transport a subject into the Pocket Dimension, which has Connected sympathy to the soul to which it is linked. Vedmak do not place themselves within their own attached souls, since this produces a paradox: a Tremere inside a soul, inside a Tremere, inside a soul…. The Storyteller is free to invent a strange consequence for characters who do it anyway.

Optional: Death 2 or Spirit 2 With one of the optional Arcana, the Attainment gains the appropriate type of Twilight, as the spell’s usual effect with these conjunctional Arcana.

#Onyx Path Publishing

8 notes · View notes