VI

By Dana Habecker, Jess Heinig, James Stewart and Chris Tang

Contents 1
Credits Special Thanks
Authors: Dana Habecker, Jess Heinig, James Stewart John “Grabby” Chambers, for his innovative courtship
and Chris Tang techniques.
Additional Material: Kevin Andrew Murphy, Heather Tim “My Ex-Girlfriend…” Avers, for finding a good
Smith opener and sticking to it.
Development: Jess Heinig Conrad “You Want It, You Got It” Hubbard, for hook-
Editing: James Stewart ing me up with a big-ass monitor.
Art Direction: Aileen E. Miles Mike “Monkey Fingerprints” Tinney, for letting every-
Interior Art: Guy Davis, Fred Harper, Paul Phillips, one touch his Klaive.
Steve Prescott, Conan Venus Carl “Aren’t You Dead Yet?” Bowen, for his apt descrip-
Cover Art: Steve Stone tion of “the sneer.”
Front and Back Cover Design: Aileen E. Miles Darwyn “He’s a Nerd, Just Look” Siplin, for insulting
Layout and Typesetting: Aileen E. Miles the Destroyer Droid.
Diane “Patty” Zamojski and Becky “Selma” Jollensten,
for continuing to smoke in a world that tells them not to.

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2 Dead Magic
 Contents
Prologue: Things Best Left Buried 4
Introduction 8
Chapter One: The Lands of Nod — Sub-Saharan Africa 12
Chapter Two: The Cradle of Civilization — Mesopotamia 36
Chapter Three: Fire in the Jungle — Mesoamerica 60
Chapter Four: Pillars of Philosophy — Greece and Rome 82
Chapter Five: The Top of the World — The Arctic Circle 120

Contents 3
4 Dead Magic
 Prologue:
Things Best
Left Buried

Poring over the ancient manuals, Alistair felt a grim satisfaction. Ev-
erything was ready. With the simple linguistic regimens he’d practiced
as a Hermetic student, learning the Sanskrit had been simple enough.
Getting through the Greek was a little harder; the ancients didn’t incon-
venience themselves with spacing or punctuation. Moving from one
to language to the next proved extremely frustrating, and translating
it all into Enochian was equally taxing. Still, the work had progressed.
Slowly, he had separated the tiny snippets of value from the badly mis-
translated mire. Finally, he had pieced together just enough to begin dying.
With the Traditions scattered and the chances for any real advancement slim,
Alistair, like many other mages, had to find his own path to enlightenment. For some,
that meant braving the nightmarish storm that even now howled across the bar-
rier between worlds. For others, it meant turning their backs on old rivalries, instead
focusing upon simpler challenges like revitalizing their neighborhoods or bringing a
little mysticism and wonder to their families and friends.

Prologue: Thigs Best Left Buried 5

 But Alistair had a more practical goal: He didn’t want to die. Or, more precisely, he
didn’t want to die of old age. He’d pieced together several bits of history and lore, dug
around until he could copy or steal the information he needed and made a few more
excuses to himself that he was only doing what he had to do.
The Hermetic Order in which Alistair trained offered a great many spells —
formulae to control the very forces of the cosmos, rites to bind spirits and angels,
potions to ward off aging. Much to his dismay, though, Alistair had learned that
the formulae for the much-vaunted potions of longevity were not only costly and
difficult, but also, in his case, ineffective. No one was quite sure why — with his
reasonably potent magical skills, Alistair should’ve had no trouble staving off
natural aging for a good century — but the typical formulae simply didn’t work
for him. Several alternatives, all stemmed from Hermetic understanding, were
similarly flawed. Though Alistair might’ve found a mage from a different Tradi-
tion to perform the trick, he neither knew anyone else with that skill nor trusted
his mortality in the hands of another.
So he’d done the work himself, and now the years of research were over.
Alistair’s manor was empty, his allies long since gone and his sanctum left
inviolate. In his spare hours, he worked out the complex formulae and math-
ematical correspondences. None of his companions were aware of his project;
as his hair grayed and his face creased with age, he’d remained the dignified
senior magician, dutifully shouldering the burden of his maturity while the
others played their games.
Alistair had delved into hellish manuscripts detailing the Infernal creatures of
Babylon. He’d decrypted their astrological symbols using certain Greek interpreta-
tions. He’d taken his own knowledge of mystic properties and researched infusions of
blood, ash, soil, semen and gold, all in the pursuit of the proper balance of purification
and putrescence. He’d burned tiny symbols onto his skin so he could wear their power
as he set out careful patterns that led the eye down dangerous paths, into places where
corners bent and lines faded into constructs that left their finite ends open, where the
mind groped at objects that didn’t meet the demands of corporeality and consciousness
snapped in an attempt to accommodate symbols carrying far more weight than space
itself could hold. His own sanity had crumbled long ago. To his companions he was an
agreeable if distant scholar, but now he held only a burning desire spelled out in im-
printed blocks of curved impressions, layered over a shattered remnant of reason that
gibbered at the personality foisted upon it while it drained out into oblivion.
Striding to a silver cage in one corner of the artifact-cluttered room, Alistair
palmed the pin with his left hand and watched the bird within. It still slept,
soporifically unaware due to Alistair’s simple magics. A quick motion unlatched

6 Dead Magic
the cage. A moment later, Alistair shoved the screwlike pin into the bird’s neck,
piercing its throat. He regarded the bird absently as it slowly bled to death. Some-
where in his head, another frayed tether snapped; a mad gibbering bubbled up in
his mind, unbidden, as if echoing throughout the room.
Returning to the table, Alistair began a chant of single syllables — “La la... ah nee...
esh ka... la la...” The soothing chant contradicted the rising panic in his head as he
breathed smoothly, picking up the rest of the serrated needles in one hand. Though
he’d spread a numbing paste over his body, Alistair knew that his organs would soon
feel the sharp pains of the ritual. He let out a final breath and closed his eyes.
As his breath escaped, Alistair felt his power, his life, settling into the key
points of his body — the places where the needles channeled the trapped energy,
building loops that prevented it from fleeing. He placed the first needle against
one wrist and shoved, the serrations tearing his skin, muscle and veins, the fiery
sensation bringing the bilious gibbering to a sudden screech that Alistair could
not release lest he interrupt his dissonant chant.
The next needle bit into his thigh, ripping the muscle and causing him to col-
lapse sideways into the large oaken desk. Blood pooled around his feet, dripping
from the fresh wounds as he fumbled off his ritual robe. He jammed another
needle into his stomach, then another firmly into his pubic bone. He managed to
wrap a weakened finger around a simple bone flask, a tiny thing holding no more
than a sip of liquid. As he fell backwards, he sucked the liquid into his mouth,
committed now and unable to stop this mutilation of body and spirit. He jammed
the final needle into the crown of his head, and the virulent fluid in his mouth
trickled down to the pit of his butchered soul.
Shivering as his blood oozed over the cold stone floor, Alistair began the pro-
cess of dying. He would never reach the end.

Prologue: Thigs Best Left Buried 7

8 Dead Magic
 Introduction

Every culture has its magic, be it simple Tiny gestures become habits: a pinch of salt tossed over
charms and spells or elaborate mytholo- the shoulder. Items of power become decorations: wreaths
gies and rites. Though the march of time hung on doors. Private myth becomes public ritual.
destroys civilizations through decadence, Some secrets, however, are too revolting or dan-
decay, barbarism and war, the dreams gerous to make their way into broader society. Perhaps
of their people survive. From common entire cultures practiced dread rites that were reviled
legends to forbidden blasphemies, the by their enemies and for which they were wiped out…
mystical secrets of lost civilizations claw or, perhaps, later civilizations did not understand the
their way into the practices of those who power behind their predecessors’ bizarre ways. Regard-
study the arcane today. less, magics are buried and left to the decrepitude of
Some magic has become mundane. Little phrases time until they are unearthed again by those with the
make their way into everyday language: “gesundheit.” will and vision to risk depravity in exchange for power.

Introduction 9
 Be Warned
The buried secrets of long-dead cultures do undiluted power. Still, the many tribes that roamed the
not come easily or without price. Some of earliest lands of man honored peculiar traditions, from
these recovered magics demand sacrifices disfiguring jewelry to scarification to dances of bravado,
of virtue or life. A few are not so twisted, entrancement and disaster.
but hint at the hideous profanity practiced Chapter Two: The Cradle of Civilization —
alongside them. Mesopotamia looks at the first cities of recorded history.
Dead Magic is not for the faint of heart. Babylon, Sumeria and other giants stood as testaments
In this Black Dog book, mages explore the to man’s growing ability to conquer nature and to form
lost magical arts of ancient or secretive communities of thinking men. The sorcerer-priests of
cultures. In many cases, these arts were buried for a this age, however, also unleashed Infernal creatures
reason — they were too vile for any human to practice that preyed upon man but granted power to their ser-
sanely. Still, in the quest for enlightenment and personal vants. Though the cities are gone, their unwholesome
power, a few are willing to risk everything. influence lingers.
Each chapter of this book describes a cultural angle, Chapter Three: Fire in the Jungle — Mesoamerica
giving the history and legend of a small area or era of delves into Central and South America, where the great
civilization. Mages relate tales of their travels and studies civilizations of the Aztecs, Incas, Mayas and similar
while Storyteller aids offer new magics, Traits and plot cultures once flourished. Extinguished by the conquis-
ideas drawn from these diverse locales. tadors, these peoples built monuments that showed a
Chapter One: The Lands of Nod — Sub-Saharan keen understanding of mathematics and engineering,
Africa describes the plains and jungles of the southern yet they also played bloody games and worshipped gods
reaches of the Dark Continent. It is here that many that demanded constant warfare. Humans became little
believe mankind was born, and though the ways of early more than fodder for bloodthirsty deities… but there
people may have been primitive, their primal roots held is power in blood.

10 Dead Magic
 Chapter Four: Pillars of Philosophy — Greece customs for survival in a world where the nights can
and Rome explores the historical cultures of Europe, last for months.
the foundations of much modern philosophical thought.
From the legendary cursed heroes of Greek myth to the Other Places Far Away
powerful legions commanded by mad emperors, these Though Dead Magic takes a look at several cultures,
societies influenced the very course of thinking and social it cannot be comprehensive. Any one of the cultural
structure for ages to come. But along the way, Greece groups explored herein could be the subject of many
invented hubris and the doomed hero for European books. Storytellers should dig deeper into other resources
legend, while Rome went from an imperial power to a for further inspiration.
teetering ruin of debauched excesses. The absence of Asia’s early cultures may come
Chapter Five: The Top of the World — The as a surprise, but Asia itself is so large that its many
Arctic Circle joins the Inuit, a culture not quite extinct disparate groups could hardly be explored in a single
but ignored by the modern world. The old nomads of chapter. Asia’s historical demons are unearthed in
the frozen North were capable hunters and shamans, Dragons of the East.
with their own gods, their own creation myth and

The Usual Disclaimer

Dead Magic deals with mature themes and subject matter. By that, we mean that as a Black Dog book,
it has a frank appraisal of many historical cultures, including some of their unsavory, dangerous or horrific
practices. While in some cases these may have been stretched for the sake of the game — this is, after all,
the World of Darkness — these cultures have their roots in the history of the real world. This doesn’t mean
that their practices are safe or that anyone should try them.
If you’re queasy, easily offended or inclined to try dangerous stunts, then you’d better put this book away.
These pages contain secrets that even powerful mages can’t control… and you’re no mage.

Introduction 11
12 Dead Magic
 Chapter One:
The Lands of Nod —
Sub-Saharan
Africa

According to some, Africa’s the real Eden. Scientists suspect that

humanity got its start on the Dark Continent, and the place still has enough
mysteries hidden away that we might never know the truth of the matter.
Religious folks sometimes point to Africa as the Eden from the Bible, rolling
up nicely the bits of historical evidence and theological conjecture. It could
all be too much imagination or not enough information; it’s hard to say. What

Chapter One: The Lands of Nod — Sub-Saharan Africa 13

 I can say is that is that this place is old, and it has its share of ghosts.
Maybe civilization began between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, but that
doesn’t mean Africa is unimportant — it may well be that the people who
settled closer to the Middle East were nomads cast out of Eden, if you
believe the scriptures, or just migrated there due to population pressures.
African culture has survived a long time given that a lot of its early (or
even recent) history is totally oral. Unfortunately, that also makes it hard as
hell to follow up on things; the absence of hard records means that most of
what we have to go on comes from distorted handed-down stories and a few
fragmented artifacts. Of course, if history’s malleable, then maybe stories are
just as good as any written record. Better, perhaps, if we can choose what
we want to see as true.
Naturally, people expect me to focus on Egypt while in Africa. You know,
that sandy kingdom to the north — pyramids, mummies, that sort of thing.
But that’s a mistake. Egypt has been so heavily mined for mysticism and
meaning that it’s real work to separate the authentic from the crap. Better,
I think, to go to south, to what may well be the source of all humanity. Back to
beginnings, if you will.
An Outsider’s Perspective
All right, so I’m a white boy. I’m studying a culture outside my own. Why should
anyone care what I have to say? After all, they could always go to the source.
Still, my status as an outsider has advantages: I can look at this stuff in a
context outside its own culture, and I don’t take anything for granted so I
ask more questions. Take from this what you will.
Human Origins?
According to what scientists tell us — and you know how reliable they
are — proto-people (well, a proto-person, anyway) wandered around in the
area that’s now Ethiopia about two million years ago. To make a really long story
short, several different sorts of proto-folks eventually combined to form
the people that we know today (though we’ve all seen the sloped-brow types
in the LAPD). These first “humans” had the advantage of brainpower, which
meant that they used tools. They also apparently developed communica-
tion, in order to take advantage of the ability to learn. Gee, we’re so smart.
If you buy into the Technocratic party line, we started with rocks, got into
grunts, sidetracked for a few million years into superstition and are just
now getting out of the rut.
But I don’t necessarily buy that Technocratic conceit. In the Bible,
humans had already developed intelligence, communication and at least
some tools — we’re told that they were going to have to develop farming, at
least — when God booted them out of Eden. Of course, sources are con-
fused and references to other people besides Adam and company imply
that people already lived outside of Eden (who did Seth marry, anyway?), but

14 Dead Magic
that could just be because Adam and his brood were “God’s chosen cre-
ations” and not the sole human proprietors of the planet. Other creation
stories get similarly interesting; humans have variably been shat, spat, born,
carved and willed into existence, and most have a sort of “Go forth and
multiply” phase, but that’s all theology and this is supposed to be anthropology.
The upshot is that people may well have been dumped in what we now re-
gard as Africa after the mythic exit from paradise or what have you. (Where
those island-dwelling guys who claim that they’ve never lived anywhere else
come from, your guess is as good as mine.)
Now, for you mystically inclined folks, there’s another option, de-
pending upon your favorite flavor of conspiracy. Ancient astronauts,
spores from space, Lemurians or what-have-you have all been credited
at one time or another with the foundations of the human race. But
where’d they come from?
Well, assuming that they didn’t come from space or the Umbra, they
may well have come from lands that no longer exist. See, until the Tech-
nocracy set the world in stone, locations were much more fluid than they
are today. Once you could sail out into the ocean and have absolutely no
idea what you would hit — you still can in some rare places. It’s possible that
those legends about Atlantis hold some water and that men migrated
onto land from parts unknown.
So how does this all come together and deal with Africa? Well, science is
just one way of looking into the past; mystic divination and the like is an-
other. The specifics may contradict but all the threads lead back to Africa.
Whether you use a divination bowl or logical deduction, it all comes back here.
It’s impossible to say whether that means people just popped out here from
some place or evolved from tree-dwelling simians. All we know is that Africa
is the crux, not how or why.
Given that all sources point to Africa as the birthplace of humanity, it’s sur-
prising that it doesn’t get more study. I suppose it’s because people (mages, too)
tend to assume that African culture is somehow “inferior.” After all, African
nations didn’t conquer the world, discover America or harness mystic forc-
es to shape world-crossing rituals, so they must not be worth the time, right?
Bullshit. Mankind’s roots grow in African soil; this place is also the cen-
ter of magical thought, spiritual development, and the very impetus that raised
man above animal. It’s the place where humans first learned to do magic: the
magic of thinking. That’s power.
Indigenous Ingenuity
Humanity’s inventiveness was a survival trait. It discovered new tricks:
tools, fire, spirituality. Science tells us that humans came up with crude
bone, stone and wood tools to hunt and build shelters. Myth tells us that hu-
mans talked with spirits, dealt with the incarnations of intelligent animals,

Chapter One: The Lands of Nod — Sub-Saharan Africa 15

 worshipped gods and traveled a dangerous world far broader than anything
we know today.
Imagine living in that time: Once omnivorous scavengers, humans learn
to work together, call for the aid of spirits, harness fire and wood as allies and
communicate in groups. More importantly, they learn to question — to make
explanations for things, to experiment, to have a curiosity about what’s over the
next hill. Dangerous, compelling times; people believe what their senses tell
them because there’s no other way to deal with the world.
Perhaps the rise of intelligence was the first true Awakening. Perhaps
humanity rose from the ruins of some earlier civilization, lost to history and
the concealing, changeable mists of the past. We’ll never know. But we keep
asking the question, just like our predecessors.
Neolithic cave paintings show, among other things, pictures of humans us-
ing bows to attack bison, as well as each other. Pieces of stone tools show
chipping, scraping and chiseling edges. Obviously, science wants people to
believe that these were the only tools of ages past. Science can only offer
suppositions about these artifacts, while oral traditions keep alive tales of gods,
animal kings and heroes. Which is the greater truth?

Early African Inhabitants

The earliest inhabitants of southern Africa were the Khwai, a group that
includes most early human hunter-gatherers of the region. They predate
historical records — archeology and word of mouth are their legacies. Their
home, the area now called Namibia, is flat and featureless; they could hardly
have lived in a harsher environment. It’s mostly desert — indeed, the Namib
is the oldest desert in the world, and the famous Kalahari is here as well —
and some very old riverbeds and a few watering holes. Inland, it moves from
desert to the dry plains that people know from National Geographic. The early
hunter-gatherer culture probably lived by hunting antelope, and possibly large
lizards and manifold insects.
The southern reaches of Africa include everything from sand dunes
to carnivorous crickets (seriously). This harsh environment left little time
for philosophy, complex construction or intellectual discourse. Hunting was the
order of the day. By night, the Khwai probably gathered around campfires, told
tales and tried to give some meaning to their wanderings. It’s always been
human nature to attribute work to the day and mysticism to the night. The
Khwai slowly spread, becoming the Bushmen — who survive (barely) today.
Bushmen existed solely in loose families of nomadic hunting groups, with
little in the way of specialization. The idea of tribes didn’t come until much
later. Simple rock shelters shielded them from the worst of the elements.
The Bushmen’s one concession to anything outside of their hunting
culture, as far as can be told, was art: Painters left rock-face depictions of
wars, hunts and myths. Few of these paintings survive; most faded away
after a few centuries. Painters were an exception to the usual Bushman

16 Dead Magic
society — they traveled from group to group, telling stories, trading infor-
mation and leaving paintings on nearby rocks, both for information and
entertainment. Indeed, the painters may have been the earliest examples
of mages among human society; some tales credit them with the power to
bring their images to life or speak with the dead. Typically, a painter carried
gourds of colored paints and brushes made from bush stems and feathers,
as well as mixing materials and various raw ingredients to grind into new
paints. It seems that each painter had his own secret formula for paints,
too. As the sole nonhunting specialists in Khwai society, they occupied a
privileged place and only acceded to other experts of their trade, perhaps
inadvertently forming the earliest magical society as well.
Ten thousand years ago, the Bushmen developed agriculture and ani-
mal domestication. This led to settlements and to the development of
distinct cultural identities. Eventually, the Khoi-Khoi (more widely known as
“Hottentots”) displaced the Bushmen. Khoi-Khoi villages rose in the arid but
habitable locales near watering holes. That was pretty much the status quo
for several thousand years: Nomadic Bushmen wandered north into the
Congo and beyond, while settled groups existed in subsistence societies
in the blasted deserts. The Khoi-Khoi had diverged noticeably from their
ancient ancestors, and were taller and stronger than the Bushmen,

Chapter One: The Lands of Nod — Sub-Saharan Africa 17

 but still attributed a great deal of superstitious dread to the San (their de-
rogatory term for the Bushmen).
Then the Bantu arrived and brought with them the idea of tribal so-
cieties. These early social structures allowed the Bantu to organize their
groupings, and they managed to enslave or drive out the nomads. Other
communities soon emulated the Bantu and took up tribal structures. Most of
these remained local organizations, but a few kingdoms cropped up, especially
in western and central Africa; the Ife, Great Zimbabwe and others hailed
from this time, and it’s here that we start finding the real details and
remnants of African culture.
Early Legends
The Bushmen and Khoi-Khoi had their share of stories, of course. Though
many of their tales are simple, it seems that the Bushmen certainly had
experience with spirits and magic. Early creation stories among the Khwai
center around the natural universe and the animals that the Bushmen re-
vered. Their tales range from the story of the man whose armpits shine light
— who gets thrown into the heavens to become the sun — to the young girl
who vomits cinders that become the stars.
Ofmoreimmediateinteresttomages,ofcourse,aretalesofmagicandwitchcraft.In
suchstories,somemagiciansareconsideredevilandcruel,whileinotherstheprotago-
nist uses magic and charms without any repercussions.
A great many Bushman stories prominently feature Mantis, a character
who seems to bridge the boundary between human and animal. To the Bush-
men, Mantis is a clever fellow, a trickster and hero who steals fire, creates
the moon and changes shapes to play tricks. He’s seen not as a god but
as a sort of idealized Bushman, perhaps as one of the first of their kind.
Mantis is even credited with watching the creation of the Bushmen: Af-
ter riding a bee across the water-covered earth, Mantis lands on a great
flower (presumably land) and sleeps while the bee plants the seed of man-
kind. Mantis wakes to see the birth of the first Bushman.
The tales emphasize that Mantis is all too human, though; indeed, the leg-
ends may have their roots in the actions of a mage, a spirit or in some odd
being predating both; who’s to say that, in early days when men and spirits
mingled, there weren’t such creatures? Mantis’s extended family includes
many animals, so it’s possible that the Bushmen revered animal spirits, much
as some Dreamspeakers still do. The Bushmen I spoke with always knew at
least one tale involving Mantis.
Another notable “mage” in Bushman stories was Heiseb, an old magi-
cian. Heiseb apparently has a varied lot — he consorts with inhumans, lays
curses on the selfish and in one story even creates death: Heiseb’s son
feigns death from hunger until he’s buried, at which point he digs himself
out; Heiseb actually kills his own son to finish the job, and in the process
makes death a reality. How Heiseb knew about death before it existed is

18 Dead Magic
a fine mystery… perhaps the legend speaks of death metaphorically as
slumber, or perhaps death was somehow impermanent. Either way, it’s clear
that Heiseb possesses knowledge beyond the pale. However, what he does
isn’t as important as what he knows. Heiseb knows about death. He knows
about the hidden failings of people, and he knows how to discern motive
from appearance. Whether he’s a painter or just an oddity, the legends
don’t say — my guess is that Heiseb was, like all mages, an exception to the
normal rules.
Oh, and one last Khwai story: Legend has it that the Bushmen can
speak with baboons. This comes from the tale of Cagn, a Bushman whose
son was killed by baboons back when “baboons were like little men.” Cagn
uses magic to track down the baboons as they dance about the tree where
they’ve hung his son’s body. With a spell he forces them to continue dancing,
while he fetches several wooden pegs, which he promptly hammers into their
backs. After this odd ritual, the baboons run off to the mountains, becom-
ing nothing more than chattering animals. In the most curious part of the
story, Cagn raises his son Cogaz from the dead by magic; too bad there’s no
description of how he did so!

A curious tale, and one that leads to speculation: The name bears a resem-
blance to the “Caine” of vampire legend, as studied recently by our illustrious
House. It could well be that this story relates an early tale of that mythical
vampire progenitor and his creation of one of the first vampires — raising his
dead son by magic, or in this case, by turning the corpse into one of his kind.
— Karen Lumed bani Tyt alus

The Bushmen spoke of legendary beasts and animals, too. Gigantic,

horned serpents seem to be a favorite — progenitors of dragons, perhaps?
Some cave paintings even depict snakes crushing entire hartebeests. The
early Bushmen hunted snakes with reed nets. Such serpents were said to
have lived in swamps and river banks in the more humid and temperate ar-
eas of central Africa. According to tales, snakes thrashed wildly enough to
saturate the air with rainbows, thus giving them their name: kouteign koorou, or
“king of the water.” Things of this sort may still reside in the hidden tropical
areas, though I’ve not seen them.
Bushmen also attributed rain to bulls — not surprising, since cattle
herding became a staple once later cultures developed animal husbandry.
Cattle were used as a measure of wealth. With water as precious as it is in
the desert, the connection seems a natural one. Stories tell of giant bulls
that lived near springs and rivers, which had to be lassoed with a magical

Chapter One: The Lands of Nod — Sub-Saharan Africa 19

 leather thong created by a shaman. The hunters then led the bull across
lands where they wished rain to fall, and the shaman ritually butchered it so
that its corpse guaranteed a bountiful harvest. The similarities to Verbena
magic are readily apparent; even early men knew the value of sacrifice
(though Technocrats would doubtless point to the use of the bull’s corpse as
a fertilization technique and nothing more).
For a people so dependent upon water, though, the Bushmen certainly
showed an unusual fear of the rainbow. Aside from its appearance at the
thrashings of the Kouteign Koorou, the rainbow came as a harbinger of fire.
Stories tell that the rainbow was a manifestation of the spirit of rain, sent
as vengeance for the killing of the son of the spirits of rain and fire. To
the Bushmen, it’s an omen of doom. Those with black hearts are struck
dead by Rain, a spirit who wears the rainbow as her belt.
As a final peculiarity, the Bushmen tell stories of an afterlife and of
dead spirits, but not as separate from the world. Perhaps their culture
predates the sundering of the lands of the living and the dead. Some
Bushmen practiced ritual mutilation and deliberately cut off the first joint
of one of their own little fingers. Their stories tell that the afterlife is a
place called Too’ga, a fertile place along the Orange River. The dead aren’t
separated from the living — indeed, those who go through the finger-
cutting rite easily walk there, while those who don’t are forced to travel
on their heads, fighting various beasts along the way. Apparently, the dead
can come back; ghosts are said to ride on storm clouds, and the Bush-
men even sang to the ghosts to convince them to bring storms to water
their patch of desert. Since the wind was attributed to a winged man at
the edge of the world, the Bushmen placed the foibles of their world firmly
upon human shoulders — as if the randomness of nature stemmed from
human unpredictability.
The Khoi-Khoi, who succeeded the Bushmen, naturally adopted many
Bushman legends, but also told quite a few of their own. Indeed, they
credited the Bushmen with supernatural powers and feared the Kh-
wai. For their part, the Khoi-Khoi told less fanciful tales. Settled in their
agrarian society, the Khoi-Khoi valued stability and naturally gravitated
toward different myths.
The Khoi-Khoi start with a different creation myth than the Khwai; ac-
cording to their views, the world was formed by Tsui-Goab — “Wounded
Knee” — a powerful deity. (And people ascribe monotheism to later cultures.
They’re obviously not looking hard enough.) Tsui-Goab began life as U-tixo, a
potent shaman who could see the future and return from the dead. As U-
tixo, he battled Gaunab, an evil enemy chief, and eventually struck Gaunab
down but shattered his knee in the strug gle. Eventually, he passed on
to myth, becoming the god in Khoi-Khoi legends, while Gaunab became his
dark antithesis, the enemy of man and the sender of death. Tsui-Goab

20 Dead Magic
was even said to live in a beauteous heaven while Gaunab resided in a dark
pit — the parallels to later monotheistic religions are clear, though Tsui-Goab’s
rise from mortality to godhood seems a reversal of the Christian concept
of God incarnated.
With their settled lifestyle, the Hottentots don’t tell many tales of fantastic
creatures. Perhaps this was because they didn’t roam into the mystic places
where Bushmen went; maybe mythic beasts avoided their settlements.
Whatever the cause, the Khoi-Khoi stories of animals usually revolve around
more mundane creatures, though they often feature talking animals — a char-
acteristic that the Bushmen ascribe to animals before mankind’s use of
fire scared them away. The jackal figures prominently as a trickster whose
cleverness often gets the better of him; the rabbit shows up as a lazy crea-
ture and an ill omen. Again, it’s clear that the Khoi-Khoi had a mystic tie to the
animals around them. Perhaps some spoke with animals in a legendary time
or revered animal spirits as well as their god.
Among the Khoi-Khoi’s tales of legendary animals reside a few myths about
shapechangers. Interestingly, they’re almost invariably women. Whether these
are magicians or actual shapeshifters of a more mystical sort is unknown.
However, they’re rarely seen as antagonists. Still, the Hottentots of legend
clearly fear them: In one story, a woman changes into a lion at the behest of
a fellow traveler, who is so terrified (even though he prompted her to transform)
that he climbs into a tree and refuses to ever travel with her again.
Like the Khwai, the Khoi-Khoi counted water as an essential part of their
lifestyle. Though they don’t seem to ascribe human properties to rain and wind,
they note the power of animals to bring rain. The chameleon was said to be
able to call gray clouds, and children born in a rainstorm could supposedly
cause rain if sent to walk alone. Water itself supposedly had curative and
protective properties. A piece of wet clay or a daub of cold water was consid-
ered a ward against the spirits of the dead. Evil sorcerers were dunked in
cold water, which was thought to neutralize their power.
Once the Bantu arrived and brought with them the idea of tribes, su-
perstition and legend changed. The Hottentots adapted Bantu beliefs to
witchcraft: The Bantu brought tales of naglopers, or night walkers, who stalked
the people of the kraals (African villages) and wore only the bones of human
digits. Naglopers traveled only at night, accompanied by baboons and owls who
served as their familiars and omens of their passing. Naglopers were said to
dig up bodies after burial, using the extremities for attire and for various foul rit-
uals. Stealthy and cunning, the naglopers entered huts walking backwards
and drained the life of the inhabitants, leaving them weak and sometimes ill
the next day. Naglopers were also said to rape their victims, taking their car-
nal pleasures from sleeping humans who remained unconscious due to the
night walkers’ powers. Bantu witch doctors rubbed mystic concoctions into
cuts, which caused a painful burning when a nagloper neared. This allowed

Chapter One: The Lands of Nod — Sub-Saharan Africa 21

 sleepers a chance to awaken before being victimized. Since the legends
describe naglopers as having humanoid features and intelligence, naglopers
may well be some sort of vampire… though I can’t say for sure.
Great African Civilization
Though the typical picture of historical Africa is a bunch of scantily clad
Bushmen running around with bows and spears, the central African
plains and jungles were home to some startlingly sophisticated civiliza-
tions. The Ife civilization of Nigeria brought with it Yoruba legend, which
later influenced animistic traditions like Candomble, Ifa and Santeria. It
also developed bronze working, which was taught to the Benin. Great Zim-
babwe, a city that flourished from prehistoric times to the 1400s, boasted
thirty-foot-high walls, traded gold and copper with the rest of the world and
became the commercial center of a powerful state. Saying these were
“primitive savages” is pretty much dead wrong.
Really, once outside of the nomadic civilizations, African culture opens
up in startling directions. There are the Ashanti, known for their weaving;
the Dogon, who practice terraced farming in Mali and hosted oracles and
community healers; and the Masai, who are known for elaborate jewelry of
copper and iron as well as their skill at hunting. It’s hard to make general-
izations about such varied cultures.

22 Dead Magic
 Of course, the establishment of cities and trade opened the door to formal
magic. While nomadic societies could depend upon the occasional superstition,
settlements allowed for specialists — witch doctors. As a result, not only did the
great cities of central Africa develop bronze and iron tools, trade with Europe
and Asia (long before colonial times) and organized warfare, they opened the
doors to ritual magic, enchantment and their own forms of spirit talk.
Spirits played a major role in old Africa: Villages often used fierce masks
or carved heads to ward off evil spirits, while witch doctors offered ceremo-
nial sacrifices to the more benevolent entities. The roots of such spirit
dealings probably came from ancient Bushman traditions, but settled witch
doctors had other concerns. Spirits were consulted to foresee evil, restore
health and serve as patrons for natural places of prosperity (such as rivers).
Even today, it’s common to see a painted figure or a carefully constructed
shrine intended to scare away malevolent spirits or appease beneficent
ones. Tourists and “scientific education” cheapen the magic of such places,
but it’s still there if you know where to look.
In the cities that flourished in central Africa, common people took up
iconic practices. Soldiers carried charms, travelers wore amulets blessed by
priests and the Yoruba communed with their ancestors through masks and
figurines. In many cultures, men and women went through coming-of-age
ceremonies by joining secret societies — not unlike political parties mixed
with a good dash of mysticism, like the Traditions. Figurines served both as
icons of worship and as tools for divination.
Spiritual ties also factored strongly in healing. Practitioners of traditional
medicine often accredited malaise to evil spirits, which had to be fought to
restore health. To ward off the spirits, medicine men used animal sacri-
fices and trances, and also called upon the favor of good spirits with songs,
dances and rhythmic music, often gauging the emotional state of the vic-
tim to determine the appropriate treatment. In some cases the community
became involved as well: A shaman might bring forth associates of the victim
to find people who harbored grudges or evil thoughts that cast forth shadows of
sickness, or he might ask the community to sing together in order to call the
good spirits to speed the victim’s recovery.
One quick linguistic note: The term “medicine” is used interchangeably
with “magic” in many African languages. That’s probably because the concept
of “medicine,” the power that heals mysteriously without any visible effect,
was just the same as magic. So when Africans referred to magic in dis-
cussions with European settlers, the term “medicine” was used instead
— hence “medicine man” or w “ itch doctor.” A person who healed dealt with mys-
terious forces — forces that the Europeans called medicine, as far as the
native cultures could translate.
Since the settled Africans relied on spirits of specific locations,
they also developed ancestor worship. After all, the settled tribes re-

Chapter One: The Lands of Nod — Sub-Saharan Africa 23

 mained in places where they buried their dead and were thus susceptible
to hauntings and visitations from the departed. Families relied upon
carvings to remind them of the dead and to forge ties to the deceased
spirits; these statues provided a way for the dead could communicate
with the living. In some places, the statues also functioned as guardians,
defending the family against malign influences, either by deflecting
the wrath of the departed or by shielding against evil spirits that might
come looking for a tie to the living. Mourning periods were also common, but
served a twofold purpose — not only was mourning an outlet for grief, it
maintained the bond between the family and the deceased, sometimes
even by severing ties between the family and the community — a sort
of symbolic death of the family, as it were. Oh, and yes, they apparently
buried their dead and used grave markers. It seems that such practices
may well predate written history.
Africa Overtaken
It’s clear that there were tremendous civilizations in old Africa. Great
Zimbabwe itself served as a trade center, shipping out gold and copper as
well as local customs. During much of the Middle Ages, Great Zimbabwe not
only traded with Europe, but with Asia and parts of the Middle East — after all,
much of northern Africa was slowly absorbed by the spreading Muslim influ-
ence. Great Zimbabwe had a written language, even if it’s one that can’t be
translated today. It built walls over thirty feet high. Anyone who thinks that
Africa was overrun with savages during Europe’s Dark Ages obviously hasn’t
bothered to study what was really going on.
So what happened? Europe did. By the 1500s, the colonial spirit over-
took various European countries. Dutch traders may have been the most
prominent ones to hit Zimbabwe, but other groups like the Portuguese and
Spaniards were also looking for better routes to Asia, new lands to exploit and
ways to turn indigenous peoples into subjects of their empires. Though peace-
ful trade existed for centuries, exploration inevitably became exploitation. The
superior magic of guns, soldiers, missionaries and ships rolled over Africa
like a tide, and the Europeans wasted no time in carving the continent
into little provinces with enforced borders.
As an aside, just about everyone today has heard of “Shaka Zulu.” The
Zulus continued to live in tribal villages even up to the 1500s, maintaining
their hunter-warrior culture. Shaka was a youngster who pioneered new
ways for the Zulus to do things: In a time when most tribal warfare consisted
of two groups squaring off and throwing brittle javelins at their enemies’
shields, Shaka pioneered formation marching and the use of bronze and
iron spears in close combat. He was assassinated, like most strong leaders.
If Shaka had gotten started two centuries earlier, though, the whole exploration-
and-conquest phase of the world might have come from Africa. Put that in
your pipe and smoke it.

24 Dead Magic
 The Myth and the Modern
So, the average mage may very well ask, “What has any of this do to with
me?” The answer’s simple: As Africa’s the cradle of humankind, so to speak,
its culture probably spread with the earliest human migrations. More importantly,
the first things that mankind ever believed began here. When humanity lived
in harmony with the spirit world, it was here. When people figured out their
first tools, customs and taboos, it was here. The incredible amount of emo-
tional and magical weight that such tradition and history carries means that
there is real power in such beliefs. Even among tribes whose customs are
not so widely practiced today, there’s an undercurrent of hidden mysticism:
People always have their superstitions. Just as the modern man scoffs at
magic but still listens to ghost stories and reads Arthurian tales, the sheer
volume of lore that’s been forgotten in Africa far exceeds the collected
knowledge of many other cultures. Parts of the mind still want to believe.
The upshot? Even practices that were discarded long ago retain their
power. Modern witch doctors keep these practices alive in their traditions and
celebrations. To someone who knows how to tap into that power, these ways of-
fer new directions and new approaches to magic — or, perhaps, very old ones.
In the rush to get something “better” we often forget simpler, older ways, but
sometimes the simple way is best.
I’ve included some notes about my magical findings with this document.
However, everything’s still quite sketchy. To really understand Africa, you
need to get into its heart — go there, talk to people, see what it has to offer.

African Mysticism in Your Chronicle

It’s a little too easy for a Storyteller to a written language, that language still defies transla-
shoehorn African magic into the Dream- tion. Many of the oldest cultures had no writing at
speaker mold. That’s convenient, and it’s all, just painting and storytelling. That makes the
what the Traditions did in the context of research job even harder.
Mage’s history, but it’s inaccurate. As the Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s get
notes in this chapter show, African magic into how to use Africa in a modern Mage game.
may have influenced shamanistic styles,
but the sheer number of cultures involved Africa as a
guarantees diversity.
First things first: The cursory treatment given in
Modern Setting
this book won’t substitute for real research into Africa. Why would modern mages bother going to Africa?
There are too many cultures with too many disparate Any number of reasons, actually.
beliefs for all of their magic to make it in here, so you As this chapter has already shown, there are histori-
need to get some material that really lets you dig into cal roots in Africa — roots stretching all the way back
the one or two cultures you want to use. to humanity’s beginnings, if you believe in evolution
Second: There’s precious little in the way of and anthropology. Even if you have a different take
written history. Much of African culture is handed on things, there are still enough ancient cultures to
down through oral tales, traditional dances and ar- keep any mage busy researching the beginnings of
cheological finds. Even though Great Zimbabwe had human thought.

Chapter One: The Lands of Nod — Sub-Saharan Africa 25

 The scarcity of written records can work in a Sto- among those who so loved their work that they wanted
ryteller’s favor: You have much more wiggle room to to bring it with them even in death.
make up your own tales, histories and legends. There’s System: The mage must enchant a special coffin
no way to confirm or deny most of it, so the past is as that’s built specifically for this purpose. The coffin should
unformed as you make it. That means you can pull out somehow symbolize the job that the decedent wishes to
whatever plot thread you want, and it can be authentic take into the afterlife.
to your World of Darkness in spite of (or because of) the The player must defeat the local Gauntlet and roll
lack of corroboration in the “real world.” enough successes to affect all the items desired, though
For more information about the geography and each one could be enchanted separately if the mage is
politics of Africa, see A World of Darkness. You can not sure of his skill. When the coffins and trappings are
also find a more detailed history of Great Zimbabwe in buried with the corpse, they appear in the spirit world as
The Sorcerers Crusade Companion. well. Thus, a ghost could be outfitted with royal jewels,
weapons, or just the relics of a favored pastime. Even if
African Magic your chronicle’s mages rarely interact with ghosts, this
Students of African tradition find many ways to is an ideal way to satisfy the deceased and keep them
focus spirit magic, and also to tie in defenses against occupied, so that they don’t cause problems by haunt-
malignant forces. The rotes included here are just a ing the living.
small selection of what the modern Traditions could The Avatar Storm (if you use it) and the Sixth
do based upon African ideas. Maelstrom (if it happened in your chronicle) tend to
distort this Effect, and sometimes relics are destroyed
Coffin for a Fisher before they can manifest in the Shadowlands, though
(••• Spirit, •• Matter) that is solely at the Storyteller’s discretion.
Old Ghana tradition tells that a fisherman once
asked his son to make a special coffin that looked like Cold Water’s Blessing
a fish, so that when he died, the fisherman could con- (•• Matter, •• Prime)
tinue his fishing in the spirit world. The son honored As water gives life, it holds the power to protect.
the father’s wish, and the practice became common Evil magic can be dispersed by cold water, and villainous

26 Dead Magic
sorcerers rendered powerless. Even vicious naglopers lose Dogon Divination (•• Time, • Entropy)
their powers temporarily if dipped in water. Dogon and Yoruba priests use a ceremonial tray in
System: The mage must somehow hit the target conjunction with 16 kola nuts in order to divine the
with cold water — whether by tricking it into a river future. The priest holds the tray in his lap while he
or throwing a bucket of water at it. The mage channels quickly passes the nuts from hand to hand. As he passes
the water’s power to heal, promote life and wash away the nuts back and forth, some fall out and make marks
evils. The water soaks into the target and its power on the tray’s flour-dusted surface. Once he is finished,
becomes primal energy that washes off evil magic (that the priest reads the pattern left in the dust and uses it to
is, its Pattern is dissociated with Matter and turned into contrive a sacred poem. That poem offers insight into
cleansing energy with Prime). Successes scored on the the future or into the actions that a subject should take.
Effect are used to unweave whatever magic that the System: Like the more traditional forms of Time
subject might have, be it a malign enchantment or a Sight, this rote allows the caster to glimpse indirectly
special power. into the future. The mage does not actually see what
The Prime magic already invested allows the mage will happen; rather, he gets an idea of what patterns
to discriminate between magic with a friendly, positive are emerging and how actions now can help to avert
Resonance or an evil, malignant one, so the Effect does a bad fate later. Though the ritual always gives some
not inconvenience a sorcerer who has no ill intent. With result, the successes on the Effect give an idea of how
Time magic, the caster can cause this Effect to “wait” accurate and clear the advice is. With only one or two
on the target and then use successes to unweave a later successes, the mage may get a poem that seems cryptic
evil spell or Effect that the subject might try to cast — or only peripherally related to events at hand, while
Effect successes counter the supernatural powers of the with more successes, the reading inspires a poem that
subject. Thus, an evil sorcerer dunked in water several eerily parallels current events or shows an obvious and
times (with an extended use of this Effect) might find clear threat looming in the future. Interested Storytellers
his next few spells fizzling. might want to actually look up some Yoruba poetry to
find a passage appropriate to their chronicles.
Counter-Irritant (•• Life)
If the Storyteller feels a little overworked by hav-
In addition to mundane surgery, some healers in ing to fit a mystic African poem into his chronicle, she
Somalia used a counter-irritant, a heated nail or metal can simply advise the players as to a specific course of
rod. The rod was heated then applied to an injury. Obvi- action — if the characters follow through, then the
ously, such a practice cauterized the wound. Medicine Effect’s successes can be used to enhance a later use of
men believed that the scream of the patient also allowed an Ability, in the usual fashion of Magic Enhancing
the pain to escape from the body, and that the patient’s Abilities (see Mage Revised, p. 155). Such successes are
recovery subsequently quickened with less chance of not cumulative; one divination must be fulfilled before
infection. another can give insight into the future.
System: The mage applies a cauterizing instru-
ment to a wound. (Hopefully, the character has at least Find the Guilty (•• Mind)
rudimentary medical knowledge; cauterizing a wound In Gabon, death is often attributed to malign in-
improperly can lead to shock or even death.) The subject fluences or evil spells. The power of a person’s ill will
must be allowed to scream — with that scream comes toward someone else figures prominently in some other
out all of the pain from the injury. A full turn after the societies, too. Though it’s too late to do much after
Effect is completed, the subject no longer suffers penal- someone has died, a priest can still find the killer — or
ties from that particular wound for the duration of the at least someone who harbored resentment or hate to-
Effect. The caster can also choose to use some of the ward the victim. This can open the door to finding out
successes to speed the healing of the wound — each why and how someone was killed, or whether there are
success cuts mundane healing time into a fraction: hidden, malign feelings seething beneath the surface of
with two successes for healing speed, the subject heals an otherwise proprietary occasion. Should a dark secret
in half the normal time; with three successes, a third of come out in this fashion, the priest might well learn of
the normal time and so on. Since most people believe some impropriety on the part of the deceased. Such a
in the efficiency of cauterization and sterilization, this ritual is good for closure: Those who harbored hatred
Effect is usually coincidental. toward the deceased can let it out, while the priest can

Chapter One: The Lands of Nod — Sub-Saharan Africa 27

also uncover and resolve problems that the deceased Sense the Nagloper
may have left behind. (•• Life, •• Time, • Matter)
To find the guilty, the priest dons a ceremonial head- The malign influence of naglopers can cause illness,
dress, complete with ritual scars, paintings and hairs. fatigue and even death. Since the nagloper’s mystic pow-
The priest then dances among a group of villagers until ers enable it to keep its victims in slumber, Bantu witch
his feet cause him to stop. Since the headdress may not doctors devised a powder that, rubbed into a shallow
include holes for the eyes, the priest stops only when wound, would burn when a nagloper neared and thus
the magic prompts him to do so. The person in front of awaken the victim.
whom he stops is the one whose grudge or disaffection System: The magician makes a shallow cut
figures somehow in the deceased’s demise. in the living flesh of the subject, then rubs in his
Because this ritual relies upon dance, mask and magical powder while murmuring protective words.
other cultural icons, the caster must work with a group Time magic holds the Effect in place until a nagloper
that understands the ritual’s purpose. Among the Afri- approaches, its presence revealed by its unnatural
can tribes that used (and still use) this ritual, everyone connection of living and unliving (with Matter and
understands its purpose after a death; if it’s used among Life). At that point, the powder begins to burn and
people who did not understand it, the ritual carries no itch, awakening the subject or at least alerting him to
weight and thus does not function — though the caster the nagloper’s presence (with Life magic). Successes
could explain the nature of the ritual beforehand. can be diverted to duration (so that the powder keeps
Note that this ritual normally is used only with itching longer, possibly to wake up a deep sleeper)
men. Tradition holds that women must not look upon and to distance (so that a nagloper can be detected
the mask. before it gets within reach).
System: Though this spell does not actually call This formula sometimes alerts a subject to the
upon the spirit of the deceased, it lets the caster pull presence of vampires other than naglopers, if indeed
on the emotional strings of those around him. Since naglopers are a sort of vampire at all.…
everyone involved knows what’s happening, their
thoughts and memories regarding the deceased are Halt the Nagloper
fresh in their minds. Even if individuals try to bury (•• Life, •• Matter, •• Time)
such thoughts, the caster’s magic can sense and pull out The dread nagloper often sneaks into tents and
the general feeling; once the caster stops his dance in huts to feed upon the energies of the occupant, but it
front of a guilty survivor, he can proceed with normal can be halted by a proper enchantment. A false kerrie
or magical questioning to figure out why such feelings (club) placed in the doorway serves as a focal point for
were there. the spell; when the nagloper tries to cross the threshold
Roll the Effect as usual; the mage need only score (walking backwards to conceal its approach), it freezes
enough Mind successes to sense the mental impulses over the club, unable to move so long as no one speaks
of guilt or resentment harbored by one of the ritual’s within its hearing.
onlookers, and his magic draws his dance to that person. System: The Time magic hangs this Effect in place
This is often done as an extended Effect: While the on its focal point, the club placed in the doorway. Once
mage dances, he lets his mind wander out and sense the nagloper steps over the club, the Effect paralyzes it.
each person separately, rather than trying to grasp the So long as nobody speaks within its earshot, the nagloper
entire group at once. In game terms, the player rolls for cannot move for the Effect’s duration. An Effect cast with
the Effect separately against each onlooker, with the only a few successes lasts a few turns, and might merely
mage moving on with his dance until he finds a guilty inconvenience a nagloper; with multiple successes, the
party or fails to find anything. creature could be entirely paralyzed for some time. Tra-
Naturally, appropriate Mind techniques can ditionally, an individual inside is also protected by the
defend against this Effect. However, a guilty party rote Sense the Nagloper, and that individual wakes up
who wishes to shield his thoughts deliberately must and goes to fetch the head of the village, who decides
use the normal mental defense rules — for a Sleeper, what to do with the beast.
that means spending a point of Willpower to gain a This rote sometimes works on vampires as well,
resistance roll. though not reliably.

28 Dead Magic
Healing Figurine (••• Life) mage, actually defends against spirits that eavesdrop on
Figurines of animals or people, especially those as- secret societies or interfere with the rite. Masquerade
sociated with benevolent intent, can help in the healing to Adulthood also works as a change to the supplicant’s
process. A carved figure with a magical container at mind. The mage overseeing the rite performs this ritual
its center can hold healing energies; placed in a room, over the ceremonial mask and costume. Effect suc-
that figure’s energy helps to heal the occupant. Also, an cesses with Spirit can be used to make a ward against
individual can insert and remove a nail from the figure spirits. Once the mask is removed, the ward ends (if
so that its power flows over him. A mage can prepare it lasted through the whole rite at all, depending on
such a figurine and give it to a friend, or even make the Effect’s duration).
one that permanently gives off healing power so that Successes used to mute the supplicant’s Pattern ties
anyone near it benefits. (with Correspondence) reduce the intensity of anything
System: People in the area of a healing figurine connected to the supplicant’s childhood. The ritual turns
just naturally seem to recover quickly — they sleep boy into man; things that had an arcane connection
well, their wounds heal without difficulty and they to the child have little or no ties to the adult. Thus, a
fight off sickness. The mage “plants” his successes on favored toy that counted as a moderate arcane connec-
the Effect into the figurine; when it is in a room with tion could be reduced to having no special ties if the
injured people, or when someone thrusts a nail into it mage casting this Effect scored enough successes. This
then pulls the nail out, the figurine unleashes some of doesn’t stop the newly released adult from building new
its power. The successes stored allow the figurine to heal arcane connections with old things, of course.
people just like a simple Life Effect, though generally
Painting the War Dance
healing takes a full day of rest for each health level (it’s
neither instant nor wholly vulgar). If the figure runs out (•• Matter, with •• Mind or •• Time)
of successes, its power is exhausted. Bushman painters carry small gourds with their
With enough successes, a mage can permanently own special mixes of color and use brushes teased out
render a figurine a healing Artifact. Such a figurine from feathers or sticks to make the strikingly vivid
causes everyone in its vicinity to heal at the accelerated rock paintings for which they are famed. They are so
rate of one health level per day (excepting aggravated skilled that they need not hunt; instead, they travel
wounds). Such a creation is very potent and requires a from gathering to gathering, telling tales and making
great many successes. paintings in exchange for food and shelter. The most
skilled among the Bushmen painters, it is said, could
Masquerade to Adulthood evoke motion and a semblance of life from their pictures.
(••• Spirit or •• Correspondence) Simple figures danced, moved and performed the stories
Coming-of-age rituals are common to many cul- that the Bushman painted.
tures — from body piercings to midnight stories that System: With paints mixed by hand from various
pass on the knowledge of manhood to drunken revels natural sources, the magician draws and colors an image
with sports buddies, every culture has its own way of of a story. Then, the mage channels his own thoughts
acknowledging the transition from child to adult. In and images (with Mind magic) or past events and history
some African cultures, the transition is as symbolic as it (with Time magic) into the image, and the paintings
is physical: The supplicant dons a specially carved mask move and take on their own semblance of life. The
and perhaps even a costume or voluminous robe. The picture shows the scene that the mage paints, playing
outfit protects against eavesdropping or malign spirits out history or the tales of the painter’s choice for the
during the ceremony and also serves as a transition — duration scored on the Effect roll. Most painters use an
a child dons the mask, but it is an adult who removes extended Effect, spending a great deal of time on the
it. Since many cultures include secret societies, the painting. With Time magic, such paintings can show old
masked supplicant can listen to the words of the elders battles, hunts and scenes from life; with Mind magic,
and learn the secrets of his family or tribe then push the mage can create whimsical and fanciful tales. The
the dangerous knowledge to the back of his psyche as Matter magic allows the paints to move and spread
the mask removes accountability. across the rock after they are applied.
System: This rite serves as a part of a coming- Once this Effect ends, the figures stop moving and
of-age ritual but, when performed with the help of a become normal paintings.

Chapter One: The Lands of Nod — Sub-Saharan Africa 29

Reflecting Bane voice to take on a booming, dissonant quality. Not only
(••• Spirit or • Mind; optional ••• Life) is this distinctive to living listeners, but it reminds the
Though evil spirits and thoughts can cause harm to dead that they are remembered.
people, those malign influences can be reflected with a System: The mage must use a ritual trapping of some
proper mirror or a polished, reflective statue. Sometimes sort, often an actual voice disguising tube, in order to
the spirit sees its reflection and is frightened; in the case make his voice known to both the living and the dead.
of evil thoughts, the whispers of malice are reflected As a mundane reminder to the living, the speeches of
away from the target and dispersed into nothingness. the mage hopefully prevent Sleepers from digging into
Shamans often place a mirror or reflective statue next things that they shouldn’t — though in a place where
to a sick individual to protect him from the evil influ- this sort of thing is unknown, it may well draw curiosity
ences that caused the sickness. from onlookers.
System: A reflecting mirror or statue wards against To the dead, the voice of a mage when it comes
the evil influences of spirits or mental attacks, depend- through this device becomes resonant, commanding
ing upon how it’s enchanted. One designed to reflect and soothing. Knowing that they are remembered,
malignant thoughts uses Mind magic, of course, while ghosts continue their slumber without disturbing the
one built with Spirit magic defends against evil spirits. living. The mage’s Effect roll soothes ghostly passions,
Such an Effect has the usual shielding/warding defenses, causing them to sleep; if the mage manages to best the
though naturally mages most often employ this rote ghost’s Willpower in an extended roll, the ghost falls
for someone else’s benefit. The statue defends against into a torpor and does not bother the living for at least
ghosts or other supernatural powers that might harm eight hours, or until some object of significance to it
the subject. If Life is added, the figurine or mirror also is disturbed. (In Wraith terms, the mage can force a
speeds the subject’s healing. wraith into Slumber; the wraith Slumbers for a full
eight hours unless its Fetters are disturbed. An unwilling
Sing Down the Rain wraith can use Pathos to fight off the Effect with the
(••• Matter, •• Forces) power of its Passions, or spend Willpower to resist in
Chanting old prayers or hymns to the dead, the the same fashion that a living individual might resist
magician can coax ghosts into riding their clouds closer a Mind Effect.)
to a desired location. As the dead shepherd the clouds
along, the magician convinces them to send down some Warding Heads (••• Spirit)
life-giving rain. Shamans used this Effect to guarantee Carved heads are used in western Africa to ward
good crops; modern magicians might use the rain for off the influence of malefic spirits. Placed in shrines or
cover, to slow pursuit or just as a show of power. at the edges of villages, the heads can be designed to
System: The magician croons a short poem or frighten, and thus dissuade hostile spirits, or they can be
song that calls to the clouds and their ghostly riders. made pleasant so as to mollify. Sometimes the heads are
The magic nudges the clouds to a desired destination actual masks that are used in masquerade rituals; other
with Forces while causing them to give up some of times, they are simple figurines placed in tiny shelters
their moisture with Matter. The resulting saturation where they stand watch over the village.
varies with the mage’s successes: One or two successes System: The mage carves and paints a wooden
bring a brief sprinkling, while five or six successes send head, possibly as a hollow mask. The process of build-
down a reasonable quantity of rain over a small area. ing the head imbues it with the mage’s power, so that
An extended ritual that scores 10 or 20 successes could it acts as a ward against spirits. With enough time and
deluge an entire village. The difficulty might vary by effort, the mage could actually make it permanent; in
one or two points if it’s cloudless or particularly humid such a case, the head is treated as an Artifact and its
on a given day. ward works as long as the head remains intact and the
ward unpenetrated.
Soothe the Dead (••• Spirit)
In Nigeria, priests warn that the remains of the
Walk to Too’ga (••• Spirit)
dead must not be disturbed lest their ghosts return to This disturbing ritual is thought to protect the mage
haunt the living and cause catastrophes like poor crops after death on his journey to the afterlife. The magi-
and droughts. To warn the people and to avoid drawing cian cuts off his own small finger (taking two health
attention from malignant spirits, priests use a voice dis- levels of lethal damage) and focuses his power through
guiser — a long, decorated tube that causes the priest’s that sacrifice. Once the magician dies, be it of age or

30 Dead Magic
through mischance, his soul moves on to the afterlife Periapts, holding extra Quintessence; such staffs hold
unhindered by evil spirits or hazards. Obviously, since only four or five points of Quintessence.
the lands of the living and the dead are now separate,
this ritual does not help the mage in a physical walk to Divining Staff (6-pt. Artifact)
the Deadlands — rather, it defends his soul after death Just as a priest can seek out the guilty by searching
in the Underworld. for evil thoughts and ill wishes, a divining staff can
In earlier days, Walk to Too’ga allowed the subject pull toward such negative energies. A priest gathers
to walk easily to the afterlife along the Orange River, together the community and lets the staff guide his
but that land of the dead is no longer present in the hand. The staff, a long rod topped with two sharply
world of the living. Indeed, this ritual was once so simple curving, overlapping spires, points to the person re-
that anyone could perform it, but now it requires the sponsible for evil among the group. Even if the person
use of magic. does not know of his transgressions or believe himself
System: In game terms, a subject protected by the evil, the staff attunes itself to the harmful energies
Walk to Too’ga is unlikely to become a ghost — in- surrounding the subject.
stead, his spirit moves on to its final rest, unhindered A divining staff naturally seeks out the cause of
by material concerns. If some driving need forces the problems in a small community, much like the rote Find
spirit to remain as a wraith, the Walk to Too’ga protects the Guilty but without the concomitant limits. The staff
and shields that wraith: The ghost enters the afterlife points out who is most likely responsible for difficulties
shrouded from harm and near a hospitable place in the that the community faces. Such staffs are not perfect,
Tempest, probably somewhere in the Dark Kingdom though, and can be fooled by protective magic or may
of Ivory (see Wraith for information about the Under- create more problems by pointing out someone whose
world). In short, the spirit is unlikely to remain as a helpful actions inadvertently cause trouble — the staff
haunt, and even if magic is used to communicate with simply seeks the guilty, without remorse for extenuating
it, it arrives safely in a comfortable afterlife instead of circumstances.
the torturous hells that dot the Underworld. Dogon Divination Bowl
Artifacts of Africa (2-pt. Artifact)
The kola nuts and special trays used in ritual divina-
Magical tools blend seamlessly into African magical
tion are stored with the care one takes with holy objects.
practice. Masks, figurines and paints focus enchantment;
Carefully adorned bowls with carvings of animals served
is it the mage or the tool that holds power? Magi-
as containers for divination tools. A bowl that is blessed
cians understand that some items and practices hold
and used to store such tools increases their efficacy for
a potency all their own, which is merely drawn out by
divinations.
the cunning sorcerer. Still, a strong mage can give an
otherwise mundane object the gift of power. Both views Though the kola nuts and trays are simple focal tools,
have importance in the synthesis of African magic. An they deserve the respect due their magical station. When
item may hold the power given it, or release the power properly cared for and stored in a blessed divination
it naturally channels. bowl, such focal tools greatly improve the chance for a
helpful and accurate divination; tools that have resided
Bird Staff of Osanyin in a divination bowl for at least a week subsequently
(3-pt. Artifact; + 1 pt. as a Periapt) give a – 1 difficulty modifier to proper divinations (such
According to Yoruba legend, the god Osanyin as the Dogon Divination rote).
watches over medicine and herbal remedies. When his Healing Figurine (6-pt. Artifact)
elder priests die, their spirits become birds. To represent
A mage can temporarily enchant a healing figurine,
Osanyin’s secrets, the shamans carry iron staffs tipped
but powerful magicians can craft figurines that hold
with crude bird-shaped figurines all along the many curv-
and continue to draw healing energy. Such figures are
ing spires at one end. The staff helps to focus Osanyin’s
valued as heirlooms, placed in a corner of a room where
power so that the shaman can call upon knowledge of
they can watch over the wounded and constantly exude
his departed elders.
vigor and health.
Such a staff can channel the expertise of those
As an Artifact, a Healing Figurine doubles the
past lives; in effect, the holder has three extra dice of
rate of natural recovery for anyone resting in the room
the Dream Background. A few staffs also function like
that it guards.

Chapter One: The Lands of Nod — Sub-Saharan Africa 31

Medicine Bag (2-pt. Artifact) A treated Zulu Warshield is a rare trophy, and cer-
A proper medicine bag holds the tools of the sha- tainly draws attention if carried openly. Protected by
man’s trade. Not to be confused with the medicine magic and its rituals of construction, such a shield adds
pouches of the Americas, an African medicine bag holds an additional die to the soak pool of the person who
bones, shells, twisted roots, sticks and teeth all meant carries it. In addition, a shield of this size increases an
to help in calling upon the spirits for favorable healing. attacker’s difficulty to hit by 2.
Normally, such a pouch is considered a focus for Spirit
Traveler’s Charm (1-pt. Charm)
or Life magic, but a few are actually enchanted to coax
spirits to the shaman’s aid. Soldiers often carried good luck charms into
battle; cattle herders carried bone charms to ensure
A formally enchanted medicine bag grants one addi-
breeding and travelers sometimes asked priests to
tional die on all magical Effects that involve the Spirit or
bless an antelope horn charm for good travels. Such
Life Spheres for healing purposes. Conjunctional Effects
charms slowly wore out but could be rebuilt, added
that heal and protect gain this bonus, but anything else
to and blessed again.
is out — a mage cannot weave a conjunctional Effect
that heals a friend while baking an enemy and expect A good luck charm blessed by a priest or magician
the medicine bag to help. brings luck to the wearer — such a charm could pro-
vide a reroll on any one nonmagical task up to three
Voice Disguiser (2-pt. Artifact) times before its power is used up. After that, it must
A voice disguiser looks like a simple tube, adorned be blessed again.
with colored seeds and a painted face at one end.
A priest speaks through such a device to distort his Strange Creatures
voice and make it boom with authority. The Soothe of Africa
the Dead rote relies on such an object, but some Africa’s savannas and jungles are home to a few
magicians invest a voice disguiser with the power to legendary beasts mentioned in the campfire tales of the
grant such authority over the spirit world to anyone natives. As large swaths of Africa regularly go without
who speaks through it. The magical form of a voice any human contact for months at a time, and many of
disguiser allows the speaker to send his voice into the the jungles and swamps are uninhabited by anything
Underworld, where its vibrations soothe ghosts, just as but beasts, it is quite likely that the Bygones of Africa
if using Soothe the Dead — but an enchanted voice survive unhindered in the far corners of the wilderness.
disguiser can be used by anyone, not just a mage. So Indeed, hunters may well stumble across such creatures
long as the speaker recites praises to the dead or warns from time to time, caught completely off guard.
the living not to interfere with their rest, the sound
weaves its sleepy charms upon ghosts. Rain Bull
A voice disguiser typically has two dice to attempt Found only at the heads of streams and rivers, a rain
to put ghosts into slumber (difficulty 5). It functions bull appears to be nothing more than a fine specimen
as per the rote Soothe the Dead but works for anyone of his species. A mystically sensitive hunter can tell,
who uses it properly. though, that it carries with it a strong Resonance of the
water near which it lives. Legend has it that a rain bull
Zulu Warshield (2-pt. Artifact) brings a downpour if its horns are roped with a blessed
The Zulu warriors used long, oval shields with thong and it is guided across dry fields. Should it be
wooden reinforcements and hide coverings. Hide slaughtered and its remnants buried by a priest, sweet
came from cows herded by the Zulus, with each Zulu onions and other good crops are guaranteed to grow.
detachment choosing its own patterns from the hides. A hunter trying to rope a rain bull has to land a thong
After being dried in the sun, buried under manure and around or over one or both of its horns — generally,
pounded into thin, hard layers with rocks, the hides were a Dexterity + Athletics roll (difficulty 8) is appropri-
painted with colors based upon the experience of the ate. Then it’s a contest of strength to tug the bull into
warrior to carry it. It is said that Shaka believed that a place; the bull uses Willpower to resist in addition to its
shield dipped in water could even deflect musket balls. formidable strength, but once it’s out of Willpower, it
Though the Zulus fell to the British Army, they managed becomes docile. Once startled, a rain bull usually flees,
to overtake most of the tribes of their era and even held but if cornered might well gore its assailants (rain bulls
off Dutch explorers. Perhaps some of the shields really do, after all, have the same temperament as normal
could deflect bullets.…

32 Dead Magic
bulls). Rain bulls could be thought of as living reservoirs Attack: Once kouteign koorou gets its coils around a
of Resonance and Tass; they are not really a mystical victim, it uses its Strength in a resisted roll against the
creatures, and could be bred with normal cattle (which Strength of the victim; for each success, the victim
would have no special traits). The rain bull simply holds suffers one level of bashing damage. When the victim
the power of water, which is released by proper rituals. runs out of bashing health levels and falls unconscious,
Strength 5, Dexterity 2, Stamina 5 the snake continues crushing for lethal damage as it
Willpower: 5, Health Levels: OK, OK, OK, -1, -1, -1, collapses ribs and induces asphyxiation.
-3, -3, -5, Incapacitated Abilities: Alertness 4, Brawl 3 (grappling with coils
Attack: Gore for 8 dice; trample for 6 dice only), Dodge 3
Abilities: Alertness 3, Awareness 1, Brawl 3, Dodge 1 Quintessence: 10
Quintessence: 5 Resonance: (Entropic) Thrashing 3
Resonance: (Dynamic) Rainy 2 Nagloper
Kouteign Koorou The naglopers are strange humanoid sorcerers
The king of the water seems like a tremendous snake, that stalk humans during the night and feed upon the
possibly with stunted horns on its head. It occupies deep life forces of their victims. As a nagloper approaches
water in swamps, often in jungles far from dangerous a settlement, its magic puts the inhabitants to sleep.
hunters. Unlike mundane reptiles, kouteign koorou has The nagloper enters backwards so that its footprints
a malign — if simple and animalistic — intelligence, face the wrong way, and then it proceeds to drain life
and it delights in crushing animals or humans for the from children and sexually assault adults while its
sheer pleasure of killing. Such a beast is a true danger enchantments keep the people asleep. Victims wake
to travelers and wildlife alike, though its hide or flesh up exhausted, sometimes ill, and may even die if the
might be useful in magical experiments. nagloper’s attack was particularly ferocious. There are
various magical ways to deal with a nagloper, but most
Strength 4, Dexterity 4, Stamina 4
require preparation in advance. Since a nagloper is
Willpower: 5, Health Levels: OK, OK, -1, -1, -3, -3, intelligent and often adorns itself to look like a nor-
-5, Incapacitated mal person (albeit traveling at night), this warning

Chapter One: The Lands of Nod — Sub-Saharan Africa 33

usually only comes after it has assaulted at least one more than any other place, Africa retains sites of brutal,
household. Individuals with magical senses might be natural majesty and mystique.
able to track a nagloper after it leaves a habitation, Nodes are still fairly common in Africa, as well as
though, and catch it in the midst of necromantic rituals natural gates to Umbral Realms of wilderness and un-
as it uses pieces of corpses for hideous spells. Naglopers spoiled nature. As civilization encroaches, such spots
can also be identified by the fact that they are often become increasingly rare; strip-mining for precious
accompanied by baboons or owls, which serve them metals and gems, constant warfare between nations,
and act as ill omens. and bitter postcolonial tensions can make the Mirror
A nagloper can loosely conform to the rules for Worlds dangerous in Africa. The wilds are hazardous for
a young vampire in the Antagonists chapter of Mage their own reasons, but when travelers find places seldom
Revised (p. 280). Since a nagloper feeds on life force trod by men, their natural strength is the strength of
and necromantic energy, it must be affected with the untrammeled earth.
conjunctional Life and Matter magic if its Pattern is
to be physically altered. Naglopers might have with Quiver Tree Forest
them owls or talking baboons (see below) and can Southern Africa is largely arid, so a stand of three
cast various curses, sleeping enchantments and life- hundred aloe trees in one dry place is an unusual sight
stealing Effects. indeed. Spread across several acres in Namibia is a col-
lection of such bushes, firmly rooted in the rocky soil.
Talking Baboon As some of the plants are two or three hundred years
Even today, Bushmen claim to be able to speak, old, this “forest” is certainly a strange spectacle. It’s
haltingly, with some baboons. According to Bushman quite possible that the forest has been there for ages,
tales, the baboons themselves once spoke just like hu- and that the oldest trees there were simply young ones
mans — but perhaps the two races grew apart, or the in a larger forest long ago. Protected by law, the forest
baboons were cursed to remain animals. Biologists claim is a reminder of the flourishing life in the midst of the
that a baboon cannot speak human languages because African desert. The trees themselves grow up to twenty
its vocal structure is too primitive, but a human could feet in height, with smooth trunks and bright yellow
imitate baboon noises. However, there might well be flowers on their branches.
a few baboons out there who do still chatter away in Quiver Tree Forest takes its name from the substance
languages that men might understand. of the aloe plants: Native Bushmen and Khoi-khoi made
Talking baboons merely possess a basic intelli- quivers for their arrows from the tough but flexible ma-
gence, but they can be quite cunning and dangerous. terial. Though the tribes have since moved on to other
Since baboons often accompany naglopers, are places, the forest remains. Primitivists have to collect
known as tricksters and can use simple tools, they the bark surreptitiously since the government frowns
can be an interesting challenge to a group used to upon damaging local tourist attractions, but wood taken
more sophisticated opponents. Wise individuals from the trees carries a useful Resonance. The bark can
look around for other problems if a talking baboon be shaped into many forms of flexible containers; such
shows up — a nagloper may be near, and the baboon objects are resilient and easily take on properties that
probably has friends of its own, in addition to being a a mage might invest them with.
symbol of bad luck. A mage who watches carefully might catch a thin-
Strength 2, Dexterity 4, Stamina 3 ning of the Gauntlet here, too — it’s easier to step into
Willpower: 4, Health Levels: OK, -1, -1, -3, -3, -5, primitive Umbral Realms, places where memories reside
Incapacitated from the days when mankind hunted across the veldt
Attack: Punch for 2 dice, bite for 3 dice; may use crude with bows. In small clusters of the trees, a mage could
weapons even find a way through the Umbra’s Avatar Storm,
Abilities: Alertness 2, Athletics 4, Brawl 2, Dodge 4 stepping quietly into the spirit world while the rugged
trees shake off the worst effects of the wind.
Africa’s Mythic Places Giant’s Playground
Not only is Africa the birthplace of humanity, but Only a few miles from Quiver Tree Forest, the
spirituality began here as well. Even though the Gauntlet Giant’s Playground is a great field of dolerite boulders.
long ago sundered material from spiritual, many places in The angular rocks have the appearance of tremendous
Africa still touch the world that holds its heart. Perhaps building blocks once used by giants, as if worn by huge

34 Dead Magic
hands and left haphazardly strewn across the landscape. A wanderer might do best to simply let his mind go
Overlapping with crumbling edges, the boulders form a and stagger throughout the corridors without thought;
veritable maze, and indeed some people lose their way in somewhere in the middle, the rocks themselves contain
the winding corridors between the stones. Presumably memories of older times. Sensitive mages might pick up
volcanic in origin, the rocks bear a doleful weight, as if fleeting images of earth when the stones were young,
they were left behind after their playful owners moved when great things walked the land (or when fiery volca-
on to other things. noes spewed forth chunks of rock — the images depend
Pieces of stone from the Giant’s Playground could upon the mage’s personal view of the past). However,
hold a tiny bit of Tass, but a mage needs to get away anyone who becomes lost in the boulder maze needs to
from the well-traveled tourist areas on the outskirts find his way out — he might run into other things that
and become lost somewhere in the maze of boulders. got lost long ago.

Chapter One: The Lands of Nod — Sub-Saharan Africa 35

36 Dead Magic
 Chapter Two:
The Cradle of
Civilization —
Mesopotamia
Six in Sumerian: Dr. Winston Brown
Abroad in Babylonia
5 July 1999
Whoever first called Babylon a whore was right on the money. In Al Hillah, the crumbling
backwater that withers atop the ruins of Babylon, you can get whatever you want — someone’s
daughter maybe, or a big, sticky ball of hash, or the passport of a dead European journalist, if you
can wait until morning. The American embargo hasn’t been kind. Urchins and flies and poverty
and broken-down Volkswagens and the whole bit; defaced posters of Saddam Hussein on every wall.
I don’t want to sound like another Western capitalist asshole, because God knows that’s all this place
needs, but Al Hillah is a shithole by any standard.
The partially restored Hanging Gardens are gaudy and full of tourists. I’m still figuring that one out.
I’m staying in a hotel in what passes for the nice part of the city, which is to say the part farthest from down-
town. The place is called the Royale Grand Prix, built by some Trump clone when we were on the other side of
the Iran-Iraq conflict. The name sounds only slightly less ridiculous in translation. Still, it’s not a bad flophouse if
you’re a foreign correspondent who’s too timid to sleep in Baghdad. There’s a lot of press credentials floating around
— not bad cover for an 88-year-old white guy from Kansas, even though Americans are pretty scarce these days.
Unless they’re in F-16s, I mean.

Chapter Two: The Cradle of Civilization — Mesopotamia 37

 Grunes sent me here to track down some original version of the Sebel-el-Mafough Whash. Two
Batini named Rabbinath and Decimus adapted it for use in combating Nephandi. The original is
much older — older than Rabbinath and Decimus and older than the Latin of the earliest known edi-
tion. Surviving copies have been pretty scarce since the Inquisition. Even Dr. Benet can’t find one and the
Chantry in Boston isn’t returning my calls. Grunes thinks the original was written in Sumerian. He thinks,
and I get stuck with the dirty work.
Even after being here two nights, I can tell the old demons linger in this place. Still, the ancient city is
gone and there’s no good reason for the book or the tablets or whatever the hell they are to stick around. I’ll
find the Whash of course, because that’s the way it goes. I’ve got a good record with this sort of thing. I’ll find the
Whash, learn the old rituals, kill my grandmother and retire to Lawrence and await Ascension in the next life.
Did I mention that the water tastes funny here? Bedtime.
7 July 1999
The first days of the search have been fruitless. I’m not too worried; time’s always wasted at the beginning.
A jeweler and local politico named Assad promised to show me the ruins of Etemenanki. He took me out in
the desert and drove off with my backpack after we stopped so I could piss. I’m too old for this shit. A swami
madam in the market down the street from the Grand Prix said that my dead wife Elizabeth had beautiful hair
and had an important message for me. She offered to serve as a medium for three bucks. I told her my wife’s
name was Evelyn so she called me a Whore of Pepsi and spit on my hat.
My assistant Bryan’s doing the real work. He got a lead from an artifact smuggler/hedge magician up in
Baghdad. Bryan’s on to something, and I can trust him with certain things. He’s on his way to Mastery (he
won’t tell me which Art) and does okay in the musical chairs of the Order, but he’ll probably end up as an
Archmage or an Exemplar or some other equally pathetic dead end. Still, he’s a good kid to have around. Spry
and enthusiastic, like I used to be. Bryan insists he’s going to leave if I don’t tell him why I’m looking for the
Whash, but he doesn’t have the guts! I haven’t written him any recommendations yet, so… Note to self: Find out
where you packed the gun.
10 July 1999
Bryan returned last night. Baghdad was a bust. No real luck in Al Hillah, either. I met a vampire named
al-Moriyah who said he was around when Cyrus the Persian destroyed half the city to teach the Babylonians
a lesson. He couldn’t tell me anything about the Whash or the demons of old Babylon, though. He did, however,
point me in the direction of this Saudi bookworm here from the British Museum who might know a few things
about Sumerian collections and whatnot.
There was some unpleasantness and al-Moriyah had to be dealt with. When I get home, I’ll apologize to
Stan for my disparaging remarks about House Flambeau.
11 July 1999
The damn tablets are in the British Museum. Dr. Ghali, the archeologist recommended by al-Moriyah,
remembered six in Sumerian that were in particularly bad condition. The military here c“ ollects” stuff every few
months and they end up selling the relics to the BM. The historic types separate out the junk that just looks old
and ship the good stuff to London. Ghali knew just the tablets I wanted. I don’t think she really knows what
they are, but if you’re willing to be vulgar, a little Mind magic can stir the memory. The stupid things were
right here the whole time, but I arrived late and now I’m on the wrong continent. Bryan flew up with one of
Ghali’s interns to get them. He’ll be there by morning and secure them before Benet or some other overzealous
librarian catches up to me. I hope my kidneys last long enough for me to see Bryan return.

38 Dead Magic
 12 July 1999
Talked to Bryan today. He got the tablets and is on his way back to Iraq with ancient mysteries
in his arms.
He refused to fly back until I told him what I needed the Whash for. What do I tell him? I can’t say that
Grunes and I are looking for a way — any way — to wax Ingrid Brown, Nephandus, sell-soul and all-around
evil bitch. She’s also my paternal grandmother and probably the reason I Awakened in the first place. Life is
hideous sometimes. I remember her pulling quarters out of my ear and I couldn’t figure it out. Fucking magic.
Of course, when she came over for Thanksgiving turkey or sat in the front pew of the Lawrence Methodist
Church for my confirmation, none of us knew she was a hell-bent, broom-riding, inverted-Avatar whore of the
Infernal Void.
But a boy can always forgive his grandmother, unless she kills his wife.
15 July 1999
Bryan arrived with the tablets. They’re broken and a mean read. I can decipher most of one incantation
that I’ll try out tomorrow morning. Hope the stuff that’s missing isn’t too important.
18 July 1999
Spoke to Ea, stag of the Abzu, father of Marduk, today. Ea, the god of the subterranean freshwater ocean
before Creation. I summoned him with the incantation from the Whash, the same incantation Marduk used to
summon his father by reciting his titles. Ea appeared to me with the usual horned cap of divinity; streams of
water (subterranean fresh water, I assume) with little shiny fish flowed from the sleeves of his pleated robes.
I asked him to share with me the wisdom of Babylon’s past and he said to me, M “ y son, what is there that
you don’t know? What can I add? All that I know, you also know.” But with the obligatory Jedi stuff out
of the way, he told me about the Babylon of old, and how it was infested with demons, and how they came
from many underworlds, corrupting leaders and priests, making mischief in homes and spreading disease — all the
classic demon stuff that’s old hat now, except that it started in Babylon. The Babylonians invented it. But Ea
showed me many things — he showed me how to read the stars, and how to protect the dead.
I asked Ea if he could introduce me to Siduri, the barmaid-goddess. He declined. All in all, he was a pleas-
ant sort, definitely a god but not too self-important. I’ve met worse.
30 July 1999
Spent the last few days with Ea in the bar at the Grand Prix, mostly going over old rituals and history
and stuff. Ea told me how Babylon declined, and why Marduk left the city. I’ve transcribed some of the less
powerful rituals and mailed them off to everyone I owe a favor to. Grunes gets a few since he’s the one who
turned me on to the Babylonians in the first place. I’m sending this impotence ritual to Hendrik because I
know he’s been stalking the chat rooms so long that he probably couldn’t get it up with a real woman.
Babylon, Babylon, Babylon. The first demon summoners, and also the first to deal with the demons they called.
We who still fight the Babylonian sorcerers’ modern inheritors, the Nephandi, have much to learn from the old methods.
And the best part about it is that the spells used to summon demons are damn near useless to the Nephandi. Those dark
magics escaped the triple-walls of the city long before its decline and now every two-bit Satanist knows them.
Bryan never got to meet Ea. I sent him back to Boston early and told him to sit tight. He’ll have other chances to
meet gods. Ea and I are packing our bags and heading back to the States. I’m going to show him the sights. We’re start-
ing in New Orleans and working our way up through the middle of the country and then it’s off to California. When
we pass through Kansas, I’ve got two new tricks for Grandma Brown. If the first one doesn’t work, the second one will.
After that, Evelyn, I’ll see you soon.

Chapter Two: The Cradle of Civilization — Mesopotamia 39

 History: From Sumer to Babylon
When on high the heaven had not been named Saudi Arabia, and Iran, and is often considered the
Firm ground below had not been called by name, area where civilization was born.
There was nothing but primordial Apsu, their The ancient cities of Mesopotamia were unlike
father, anything the world had ever seen before. In Erech, in
And Mother Tiamat, who bore them all, Kish, in Ur and Eridu, humans prospered. For the first
Their waters commingling in a single body; time, people could apply their creativity to something
other than day-to-day survival. Art and literature
No reed hut had been matted, no marsh land
flourished. Scholars began studying the universe
had appeared,
around them, attempting to understand it, to change
When no gods whatsoever had been brought into being, it, to control it. The discoveries and innovations of
Uncalled by name, their destinies undetermined, the ancient Near Eastern peoples shaped the futures
Then it was that the gods were formed within them. of their nations, and served as the cornerstone for the
— The Babylonian creation epic, the Enuma Elish cultures that followed them.
Tiny bands of people, struggling to survive, dotted Sumer was the first known civilization in the world,
the face of the ancient world. Among the earliest of located in the southern part of Mesopotamia. Twelve
those cultures were the people living between the thousand years ago, nomadic hunter-gatherer tribes
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The land was fertile, wandered throughout the land, living off of what the
and the inhabitants learned to plant grains and tend earth had to offer. This mysterious group of people
crops. As time passed, their settlements grew and developed a common language unrelated to any other
prospered. This land is known as Mesopotamia, Greek known human tongue. Eventually they learned to grow
for “between the rivers.” It is an area that stretches food of their own and began to congregate in areas
over parts of the modern nations of Iraq, Kuwait, most favorable to farming. In time, they formed the

40 Dead Magic
 trayed as the paramour of Istar. This could be connected
Writing to the Eanna of Uruk, elaborately decorated temples
Writing is essential to civilization. Its devel- dedicated to Istar, which were built during this period.
opment is closely related to urbanization and the These buildings served municipal purposes as well as
formation of centralized government. As the an- their religious functions. At these temples, craftsmen
cient Near East is often considered the birthplace practiced their arts. The priests were often in charge of
of civilization, it isn’t surprising that the earliest storing surplus food and distributing it as needed.
forms of writing also appear in that area. The Jemdat Nasr period, from 3200 to 2900 B.C.,
Sumerians developed cuneiform, named for is best described as an extension and decline of the
Latin word for “wedge-shaped.” It draws its name Uruk period. The Great Flood supposedly took place
from the shape of the strokes, which are thick during this era. It is possible that the legends of the
at the start of the stroke and narrow at the end. flood may have been based on an extraordinarily
Several strokes combined form a symbol. A single devastating flood of the Tigris, the Euphrates or both
symbol could have a variety of purposes. Some into the already marshy land surrounding them. Un-
represented sounds or syllables. Others represented like the Nile, which flooded regularly and predictably
an entire word or idea. Still others had grammati- each year, the two rivers of the fertile crescent were
cal functions. temperamental.
During the second half of the fourth millen- The Early Dynastic period lasted from 2900 to 2370
nium B.C., several cultures began using tokens B.C. ; the capital shifted to Kish, one of the possible
imprinted into clay for business transactions. sites of the legendary Tower of Babel.
These tokens were mostly pictographic so they Some of the kings of this era evolved into mythic
had meaning in any language. In addition, some heroes later on, and some were even deified. One of
of these tokens were scratched with a reed stylus the earliest kings, Etana, secured the First Dynasty of
to indicate various features. As these scratches Kish and established rule over all Sumer. The tradi-
became more common, they developed into tional Istar fertility ritual may have its origins during
symbols rather than pictures. Etana’s reign, as the Babylonians later believed that
When people began building the first cities, he rode to the heavens on the back of a giant eagle
temples and palaces, new symbols appeared with and received the “plant of birth” from Istar so that he
greater frequency. Many lacked the token they were might produce an heir.
associated with earlier. Drawing curved lines and
intricate figures in wet clay was difficult, so the lines
gradually became straighter and the figures simpler. Bureaucracy
Thus evolved the first form of writing. The ancient Mesopotamian city-states were
constantly at war with one another, because
water was a scarce resource. Over time, the
first cities. Perhaps they descended from the nomadic victorious city-states grew larger by absorbing
Bushmen of Africa, who moved north into less arid conquered lands. These states needed a new
regions; for whatever reason, they developed cities form of government in order to manage larger
before their predecessors. areas and diverse groups of people. As a result,
Uruk, patronized by the gods An and Inanna, was the Sumerians developed what is thought to be
one of the area’s most prosperous cities, and the era the world’s first monarchy.
that is named for it starts in about 3800 B.C. when the In the Sumerian government, the political and
city was founded. It was located near the Euphrates religious systems were closely interwoven. The ensi
River about forty miles from Ur. The people of Uruk was a sort of priest-king. His duties included leading
built what is thought to be the first ziggurat and began the military, regulating trade and national finance,
using cylindrical clay seals that later developed into adjudicating civil disputes and leading or participat-
the earliest method of writing, cuneiform. Today, the ing in the most important religious functions. The
site is known as Warka. other members of the priesthood, who acted as the
Tammuz the shepherd supposedly came to power state’s bureaucrats, aided him in these tasks. These
during this period. After his reign as king, Tammuz people had the distinct honor of being the world’s
was worshipped as one of the pastoral gods and figures first pencil pushers.
prominently in Sumerian mythology, where he is por-

Chapter Two: The Cradle of Civilization — Mesopotamia 41

 The constant wars between the city-states weakened
Law the entire region. Eventually, the Kish and Uruk dynas-
Every successful culture has to have some ties faded and other city-states could not maintain a firm
form of social regulation and conflict resolution. hold over the empire. Sumer was perfect for conquest;
The Sumerians went a step further and solidified Sargon seized the opportunity.
this system into a code of law, notable for three Sargon united Sumer with the region of Akkad
distinct features: to the north. His realm extended all the way from the
Law is administered by a central authority Mediterranean Sea to the Indus River. He built the city
so that retribution does not escalate into a cycle of Agade, established an ostentatious court there, and
of perpetual revenge. Sumerian law is balanced erected a new temple in Nippur. Trade from the new
between personal revenge and bureaucratic judi- empire and lands beyond made Nippur the center of
cature. It is up to the accuser to drag (sometimes world culture during Sargon’s reign.
literally!) the defender to the court, but the court However, his dynasty lasted for less than 40 years
then determines the nature of the requital. Second, after his death. Rebellion consumed the empire, and
laws must be written. This allows the system to Uthegal of Uruk finally raised an army and deposed
become independent from both its creators and Sargon’s successor. Unfortunately for him, one of his
administrators. The law, not a person, determines lieutenants usurped his rule and established the third
justice. Finally, Sumerian law provides the first Ur dynasty shortly before 2100 B.C.; Ur-Nammu
known institution of lex talionis, which is a form intensified his control over the area by defeating the
of judgement in which the punishment fits the city-state of Lagash. He soon gained control over all
crime. Lex talionis reveals that revenge is the the Sumerian provinces.
fundamental basis for law: don’t get mad, get even, Ur-Nammu established the earliest known examples
as the saying goes. of recorded law and ordered the construction of the
Sumerian law is also noteworthy in that it phenomenal ziggurat of Ur, a structure that towered 60’
made allowances for distinctions between classes. high (about as tall as a five or six story building) and
A crime against a priest or member of the ruling stretched over 200’ wide. For the next century, Sumer
class was far more serious than one against a slave; prospered, but the society collapsed shortly after 2000
however, the penalty was more severe for members B.C. when the Amorites, a Semitic people from Syria
of the upper classes than for those from lower classes and Arabia, migrated into the area and gained control
who committed the same crime. of the region. A few city-states managed to keep their
Although few records of Sumerian law exist, independence for a while, but eventually they were
later cultures adopted many of their practices, absorbed into the rising empire of Babylon.
including their legal system. A Babylonian docu- Although the Sumerian empire eventually with-
ment, the Code of Hammurabi, reproduces the ered, the culture managed to persist much longer.
earlier statutes fairly accurately, proving that the The infiltration of the Amorites was gradual, and the
Sumerian laws recorded on the stele at Ur-Nammu small tribes that moved into populated areas often
had lasting importance in the region. adopted the practices of the local inhabitants. Over
time, the Amorites became familiar and even com-
Uruk was still powerful during this time. Meskiag- fortable with Sumerian ways. Although the original
gasher founded the Dynasty of Uruk, and he and the creators of Mesopotamian civilization were no longer
kings who followed him were known as the “sons in control, their culture survived and flourished under
of Shamash,” the sun god. A few generations later, their successors.
around 2600 B.C., the mythical hero Gilgamesh took The Amorites centralized Mesopotamian govern-
the throne of Uruk. Another prominent city, Ur, was ment. They chose for their capital the city of Babylon.
ruled by Mesannepadda. The rulers of Uruk, Kish, and In contrast to Sumer’s independent and relatively au-
Ur became involved in a three-way power struggle. tonomous city-states, the Babylonian empire consisted
Although Mesannepadda was eventually vic- of dozens of interconnected cities. In order to keep the
torious, taking the traditional title of King of Kish, civilization stable, power shifted from individual cities
Gilgamesh became a demigod, immortalized in the to the Babylonian monarch.
earliest epic poems. One of the results was a new set of laws invented by
the Babylonians — laws that dealt with crimes against

42 Dead Magic
the state. In addition, the state was given more power of crimes. With so much power in the government,
to deal with criminals. Punishments became drastically corrupt officials became more and more common as the
more severe — the death penalty applied to any number empire settled into a pattern of decadence.

The Tower of Babel

And he cried mightily with a strong voice, the old city on the east bank. High triple-walls made
saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, of glazed blue bricks surrounded Babylon. Depictions
and is become the habitation of devils, and the of monsters and demons adorned this intimidating
hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every barrier. Travelers entered Babylon through towering
unclean and hateful bird. gates of bronze.
— Revelation 18:2, King James Version The Babylonian economy was primarily agri-
The name “Babylon” means “the gate cultural, but also supported a class of priests and
of God” but what walked through the gates nobles who maintained their power by controlling
was anything but holy. While the mysteri- the expansive irrigation system that watered the
ous East and the haunted forests of pagan Europe had otherwise arid land.
known demons since prehistory, the city of Babylon was The fundamental economic principle at work
a Casablanca for Infernal entities. Servants of Entropy, in Babylon is best exemplified by the city’s Hang-
star-bound creatures from the outer Void and denizens ing Gardens, later described by the Greeks as one
of the Pit nested within the walls of the first great the Seven Wonders of the World. As the story goes,
city. While truck with demons and the binding of foul Nebuchadnezzar had a bride from a distant land who
spirits is now standard practice for Nephandi and other wasn’t acclimated to the heat of the region. To make
sell-souls in the modern World of Darkness, Babylon her comfortable and remind her of her home country,
was the birthplace of the summoning arts. Long before Nebuchadnezzar built a cool, shady garden on the roof
anything like the “Nephandi” or the “Traditions” arose, of a vaulted terrace in the northwestern corner of the
Mesopotamian sorcerers sought opulence and power old city. To maintain this opulence, prodigious amounts
through favor from the Underworld. Before hell existed of water had to be pumped from the Euphrates to the
in the human imagination, Babylon vied to become upper terrace. Hydraulic pumps — and around-the-clock
hell on earth. shifts of slaves — did the job.
Some say little has changed since the time of The great city of Babylon worshipped an equally
this first great city. The modern metropolis is equally great patron: Marduk. His realms of influence changed
hellish — a busy, impossibly confusing place where over the course of his worship, but were primarily
the multitudes scurry to fulfill their obligations as matters of wisdom and urban life. Modern scholars
prisoners of complexity. Although cities are the locus among the Verbena and Hermetics conclude that
of culture and industry, cynics argue that they are also Marduk was probably some sort of higher Umbrood
dirty, crime-ridden, overcrowded blights. Urbanity lifts who refined the Pattern basic to all cities, the Pattern
citizens above the animal existence of the past or the that informs the Tellurian whenever large human
uninspiring alternative of subsistence agriculture but populations converge.
dehumanizes the people it seeks to elevate. New York, Marduk’s followers in old Babylon, and the few
London, Tokyo — Babylons all. In the end, a city is who keep his cult alive today, would vehemently
defined by its demons. disagree with the ghettoization of their god as a mere
spirit. Regardless, the worship of Marduk coincided
Through Gates of Bronze with the rise of Babylon to economic and cultural
To speak of “ancient Babylon” is something of prominence. But while Marduk’s presence defined the
a redundancy, since the city’s history begins with first great city and provided the pattern for the great
the arrival of its first settlers around 4000 B.C. and cities that followed, the priests of Etemenanki co-opted
ends when the city finally crumbles under Sassanian his ambitious design for Babylon and turned the city
neglect in the third century. Located 60 miles south into a haven for things Infernal.
of modern Baghdad at Al Hillah, Babylon stood for Babylon swarmed with demons. From the time of
centuries as Mesopotamia’s center of culture, religion Hammurabi until the city’s decline under Seleucia, the
and commerce. The city straddled the Euphrates, with conspiracy of Etemenanki invited malice and profanity

Chapter Two: The Cradle of Civilization — Mesopotamia 43

 Lexicon
The ancient tongues that the people of the Gallu: Demons that carry the spirits of the dead
fertile crescent used to describe and explain their off to the Underworld.
world have long since faded away. Some of the words Igigi: The great gods.
remain, though they offer only the slightest taste of Ki: The Earth.
the language. Lilitu: A scorpion-tailed she-wolf often thought
Abubu: A huge winged monster, used to repre- to represent Lilith.
sent the Flood. Marduk: Patron god of Babylon, a god of wisdom
An: The heavens. Also the name for the Su- and magic.
merian sky god. Me: The rules and traditions handed down by
Anki: The universe. the gods.
Anunnaku: 1. The primordial gods who ruled Melam: The blessing of the gods. Often conveys
before Creation, undifferentiated by names. 2.The a shining aura to the recipient and can be worn or
fifth section of the Enuma Anu Enlil that details removed like an article of clothing. Symbolized in
omina of particular use to Awakened astrologers. art as a crown or sigil.
Arallu: The abode of the dead in the Underworld, Mimma lemmu – All evil.
ruled by Ereshkigal. Mushussu: An enormous snakelike dragon, the
Bau: A term coined for the authors of the Anun- favored form of Tiamat.
naku section of the Enuma Anu Enlil. Omina: 1. A sign foretelling the future, especially
Bel: 1. A later name for Marduk. 2. The high one derived from observation of the heavens. 2. A
priest of the conspiracy of Etemenanki, responsible specific omen listed in the Enuma Anu Enlil.
for overseeing the temple of Marduk and administer- Ni: Not Monty Python’s herring-wielding knights
ing the Sacred Marriage. but a mantle of fear, the opposite of Melam. A creeping
Cella: The central shrine of a ziggurat. sensation of physical dread (adrenaline rush, sweats,
En: The high priest of a ziggurat. pounding heart) accompanies the vestment.
Enlil: Sumerian air god; eclipsed An, the sky Sacred Marriage: A ceremony of ritual prostitu-
god, late in Babylonian history. He rules the earth tion used to summon demons in the temple atop
from the air, while An oversees the heavens. Etemenanki.
Enki: Sumerian god of wisdom. Sibit Etemmu: Possession, usually by a ghost,
Ensi: Priest-king. resulting in seizures.
Enuma Anu Enlil: A sequence of tablets from Stele: A pillar, often decorated or inscribed.
Babylon containing instructions for predicting the Utu: Sumerian sun god, brother to Inanna; not
future based on celestial events. to be confused with Uttu.
Ereshkigal: Sumerian goddess of the Underworld. Uttu: Sumerian goddess of weaving, correspond-
Esagil: The temple of Marduk and his wife Sar- ing to Stasis in some modern cosmologies. Her sign
panitu, located in Babylon. also connotes “spider.”
Etemenanki: “The foundation of heaven and Ziggurat: A staged temple; from “zaqaru,” mean-
earth,” the name of the ziggurat located in Babylon. ing high or raised up.
Etemmu: Ghosts that sometimes return to seize Zisurru: “Flour which makes a boundary,” a
living persons. specially prepared powder used for warding circles.

inside the walls. In came the servants of Entropy, those

beings who serve the primordial spirit of destruction; Etemenanki
Infernal demons, apparently the servants of a hell that Near the Western wall of the old city stood a seven-
exists either deep in the Umbra or in some fracture in tiered ziggurat named “Etemenanki,” which means “the
space; and the Things-That-Should-Not-Be, the deni- foundation of heaven and earth.” The enormous struc-
zens of the outer darkness, the Void, those unexplainable, ture stood 91 meters high and its base was one hundred
gibbering creatures who long to enter this universe. All square meters (or about 273 feet high with a 300 square
three shared the splendid city. foot base). Etemenanki’s origins are lost to history, but

44 Dead Magic
some speculate that Hammurabi ordered its construction Etemenanki, guided by one Bel or another, be-
around 1830 B.C.; the ziggurat has probably been there came the first “Labyrinth” even before the word was
as long as Babylon itself, with rulers throughout the used. From the high perch overlooking the city, as-
city’s long life adding new tiers or expanding the base. trologers studied the signs and fulfilled their masters’
Some theologians equate Etemenanki with the Tower wishes. The conspirators used their Void-born magics
of Babel from the Old Testament; the story’s accounts to bring Babylon to prominence and ensure their
of strange tongues and ambitions to reach the stature lengthy rule. At the same time, the origins of many
of God seem to confirm the research of Dr. Winston modern Nephandic traditions began in the splendid
Brown, who unearthed numerous Babylonian rituals city. Etemenanki became something of a laboratory
for the Order of Hermes. for Qlippothic Entropy; mages took their first timid
A temple to Marduk stood on the highest tier of steps into the Deep Umbra and the Underworld. And
the Etemenanki. While ceremonies performed in his sometime around 1500 B.C., even before the last rock
honor certainly took place there for centuries, another of Stonehenge was set in place, the mages of the first
worship clandestinely shared the temple with the god Labyrinth created a gate.
of the city.
The Sacred Marriage
The Conspiracy of In the fifth century B.C., Herodotus traveled the
Mediterranean world. Of Babylon, he wrote that every
Etemenanki woman in the city must spend a night in the “Temple of
Before Creation, there were the Anunnaku. The Aphrodite” atop Etemenanki to await a conjugal visit
Pure Ones experimented with the Quintessence that from Marduk. The account was wildly inaccurate, of
would one day become the Tellurian. But some of the course. The truth Herodotus missed was worse.
old gods trapped themselves in the knots in the threads The priests of the conspiracy used a ritual called the
of the Tapestry. Within these knots, the Anunnaku “Sacred Marriage” to activate their Gate. They weakened
panicked and devoured the Patterns around them. From the Gauntlet — and the ancient Gauntlet was paper thin
this harvest, the gods absorbed a trickle of Quintessence compared to today’s — to corrupt Marduk’s temple from
to sustain them in their captivity. These trapped gods its holy purpose. The statues, usually gawking in awe
became the Void, and the stars were their prisons. of the gods, shut their eyes. An altar with legs carved
But even from the first times, humanity knew the like those of an animal revealed itself in the center of
names of the unnamed gods. Men whispered to the the cella. Conspirators brought their wives, daughters
heavens at night as they looked up at the stars and begged and female slaves up the stairs of the ziggurat. The
for power. Their prayers were answered. The things in “Inanna” awaited the Bel’s attentions. The intensity of
the Void used their starry snares to communicate with hours of chants and intercourse — Bel standing, Inanna
those who sought them, promising their strength in on the altar — gave the Void the strength to manifest
exchange for freedom. in Babylon. In Etemenanki, the foundation of heaven
High priests and slaves, retired public officials and and earth, the two realms came together to bridge the
second-born sons, Awakened mages and Sleepers looked waters between. Sometimes taking on Infernal forms,
to the skies for signs from the Void. In the nights under sometimes using the Inanna as the host, demons beset
Hammurabi, their number was small. By the time of the city.
Nebuchadnezzar, almost half of the officials and priests It was a glorious time to lose one’s soul. Things
in Babylon joined the dark society. Influential followers from the Void, and soon Malfeans and others demons
of the Void ensured that the En of Marduk, when he as well, had free reign over the city. They troubled the
wasn’t a part of the conspiracy himself, turned a blind sleep of children and whispered in the ears of kings.
eye to the nightly rituals that took place in Marduk’s And they rewarded those who invited them inside the
temple atop Etemenanki. Eventually, Marduk’s worship walls. Members of the conspiracy gained power over all
was relocated to Esagil so that the quiet heresies at the of Mesopotamia. Babylon became a center of art and
ziggurat could proceed uninterrupted. trade. Babylon became a great city. Although the first
The conspirators chose a priest from among their visitors were inconsequential, soon Lords of real power
ranks, called the Bel in mockery of Marduk. The selec- came down from Etemenanki. According to the Sume-
tion process changed through the centuries, but in the rian tablets that inspired the Sebel-el-Mafough Whash,
time of Nebuchadnezzar it was a contest to summon the one of the trapped Anunnaku walked through the gate
most powerful demon. to welcome Cyrus the Persian to Babylon.

Chapter Two: The Cradle of Civilization — Mesopotamia 45

 Marduk saw the mockery of his temple and the The drive to expel the servants of the Void mani-
corruption of his great city, and sought to reclaim what fested in all aspects of society. The Awakened among
had been stolen from him. His followers were quick to the physicians learned to cure demonic ailments. Stu-
oblige; the growing audacity of the demon summoners dents of space and Pattern learned how to strengthen
required more and more women of beauty and station the Gauntlet to make passage to earth more difficult.
for the Sacred Marriage. The conspirators could no Awakened artisans decorated the city walls with the
longer sustain their practices with members of their images of Umbral creatures to frighten the demons and
own families. They began to use the highest born keep them from inhabiting cities all along the Tigris
daughters and matriarchs of the city, and anyone else and Euphrates. Royal astrologers learned to read the
who might satisfy the Void. A tablet from Ninevah, same stars that guided the conspiracy and composed
now in the possession of the Celestial Chorus, records the Enuma Anu Enlil so that the generations to follow
the lament of Numusda, High Astrologer of Esagil, in could be prepared for the calamities to come. The Bau’s
which he complains that his daughter could not win observations of the flux of Quintessence and Pattern
the expected dowry because her body had become the warned them of the Void’s every ambition. Mages
home of Aadschluerghera, the “Drowner in the Abzu.” welcomed beneficent spirits to Babylon to combat the
If Numusda’s story is typical of what went on in Babylon, Infernal. The eventual victory of Marduk and his follow-
the conspiracy stepped on some powerful toes, and a ers was overshadowed by the decline of Babylon under
backlash was almost inevitable. the Greeks, but their triumph was no doubt pivotal to
the survival of the Tellurian.

46 Dead Magic
 The Enuma Anu Enlil
The King cried aloud to bring in the astrolo- the Hermetics to have been written during the time of
gers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. Sargon I, King of Agade (around 3800 B.C.). While
And the king spake, and said to the wise men scholarly Traditions such as the Order of Hermes have
of Babylon, Whoever shall read this writing, known about the tablets for decades, most were ignorant
and show me the interpretation thereof, shall of their use until Brown’s expedition to Al Hillah.
be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of Each omina consists of a protasis, an “if” clause
gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler that describes the celestial phenomena observed, and
in the kingdom. an apodosis, a “then” clause that describes what occurs
— Daniel 5:7, King James Version when the conditions of the protasis occur. Protasis:
The Babylonians are the magicians of history. From “When the moon darkens Jupiter,” then apodosis: “the
the paths of birds through the sky to earthquakes and king of kings, his hand will overpower his enemies.”
dreams, Babylon’s culture was one of omens and por- Most omina protases describe celestial events directly:
tents. But these Chaldean sorcerers were particularly “If the stars are visible at sunrise, rains and floods will
renowned for discerning omens foretold by the sky. persist.” Others, however, personify the heavens or
Even in antiquity, writers such as the Greeks Strabo and use metaphors relating to the gods: “If the old man’s
Aelian described the Babylonians as a people skilled chest is very dark, thieves will make a breach in the
with horoscopes and astronomy. palace.” Some Sleeper scholars point out that certain
This reputation was sometimes an unfavorable one protases call for apparently impossible events, like an
— when the prophet Isaiah condemned Babylon for its eclipse on the twentieth day of the month. If they
idolatry, he said, “Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, knew what Babylon was like when the Enuma was in
the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee wide use, of course, they’d have to refine their notions
from these things that shall come upon thee. Behold, of impossibility.
they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them.” In the Matters of diplomacy and war were central to Baby-
book of Daniel, Babylonian astrologers give birth to a lonian omina since potential invaders surrounded the
cliché when they cannot read the writing on the wall. nation on all sides. Babylon shared a border with Akkad
Modern knowledge of Babylonian celestial omen to the northwest, Subarti to the northeast, Aharru to the
watching comes from three types of unearthed clay southwest and Elam to the southeast. Often apodoses
tablets. The first is the series Enuma Anu Enlil, a col- made specific reference to relations with these nations.
lection of 70 tablets containing almost 70,000 specific For example, “If an eclipse is in Ululu until the midpoint,
omens (omina to the Babylonians). The second group the king of Akkad will establish hostility in his midst;
of tablets contains commentaries on the Enuma Anu country will mix with country in armed conflict.” While
Enlil written by later Babylonian scholars. Many of a handful of Awakened astrologers used the Enuma to
these commentaries were refinements and corrections divine the plots of hell, legions of high priests watched
as Babylonians came to realize that the sky doesn’t for signs of war.
behave consistently over hundreds of years. Third are Concern with conflict and politics was good for
astrologers’ reports on specific omina, usually sent by business. The most highly ranked astrologers held he-
messenger to government officials. Because Babylonians reditary office and wrote reports to the rulers of cities
used a system of lunar months, which last around 29.5 and nations. A prophet who foretold good things for
days, many surviving reports were addressed to the king, the king, or destruction for an enemy, avoided the “kill
informing him whether the coming month would have the messenger” syndrome.
29 or 30 days. Babylon’s ominous astronomy spread to the West
Most of these tablets are now housed in the British via the influential texts of antiquity. Most notable was
Museum. Of their collection of around 10,000, a thou- Ptolemy’s reliance on Babylonian records of celestial ob-
sand or so deal with astronomy. Many of the Enuma servations in writing his Almagest. Hermes Trismegistos
Anu Enlil fragments were found in Assurbanipal’s borrowed Babylon’s omens of thunder when he com-
library at Kuyunjik (later Ninevah) and were inscribed posed the Hermetic texts. No wonder certain members
in the seventh century B.C.; the actual omina are much of the Order, particularly Brown, were so interested in
older — a series named “The Day of Bel” is thought by the original omina.

Chapter Two: The Cradle of Civilization — Mesopotamia 47

 the same planets and stars for the same omens — gave
The Babylonian Horoscope the Babylonians a long record of celestial events to
Although Babylonian astronomy was influential study. Although the Enuma itself is not concerned
in its own right, Babylonian omina spread across the overmuch with precision, the commentaries and reports
Western world by way of the Greeks and Egyptians. it spawned show a sophistication that wouldn’t be seen
Particular aspects still survive in modern astrology. again until Hipparchus drew up his star catalogue. Some
Compare the Babylonian horoscope to the one astronomical eclipse reports list the month, date, time,
employed today: magnitude in fingers (ubanu), direction of the eclipse
Babylonian Horoscope Modern Horoscope shadow, and stars visible at zenith. Not too shabby for
The Hired Man Aries a bunch of mystics looking up in the sky, watching for
The Bull of Heaven Taurus portents of doom.
The Great Twins Gemini The Babylonian Revival
The Crab Cancer Since the war in Horizon, and largely from the
The Lion Leo recent efforts of the Hermetics, the study of the Enuma
The Barley Stalk Virgo Anu Enlil has resurfaced within the Traditions. This
The Balance Libra is not the first resurrection of these ancient omens.
The Scorpion Scorpio Their practice was lost to all but a few of the most
Pabilsag (a god) Sagittarius learned astrologers in the high courts of Babylonia.
The Goatfish Capricorn Later astrologers revived the omina to combat the
unrestrained demon infestation that reached its peak
The Giant Aquarius
under Nebuchadnezzar.
The Tails Pisces
Of the various white magics designed to combat
Who called this stuff dead magic, again? the Infernal presence in the city, astrological prog-
nostication proved the most effective. While the
But while much was transmitted to the West, there Enuma Anu Enlil had prophecies for many aspects of
was a fundamental difference between the Babylonians life, one sequence was particularly useful for keeping
and their Greek inheritors. The Aristotelian notion tabs on the demonic.
of ether — explained by Ptolemy to directly influence
the sublunar world — held the phenomena of the ce- Anunnaku,
lestial sphere to be the cause for earthly events, while
the Babylonians saw the celestial and the terrestrial as the Fifth Sequence
correlated. To the Babylonian mind, the sky and earth The Enuma Anu Enlil itself is divided into four
had a complimentary relationship, synchronized but parts: Sin, the lunar omina; Samas, solar omina; Adad,
not causal. They reflected one another, but the sky meteorological omina; and Istar, omina of stars and
did not determine mundane occurrences. Ironically, planets. While mages in Babylon used all four, a fifth
the omen-obsessed Babylonians saw the outcome of sequence Anunnaku, still largely unknown to mortal
forecasted events as somewhat uncertain. In Babylonia, scholars outside the Arcanum, contained prognostica-
there even existed rituals of namburbu that dispelled the tion methods specifically for the supernatural.
doom foretold by the stars. For the Greeks, the sky held The name of each section refers to the gods who
signs; for the Babylonians, warnings. controlled the phenomena. Samas was the god of the
Certain historians within the New World Order sun, and so on. The Anunnaku, however, were the first
are also interested in the Babylonian omina, not for gods, existing in the Tellurian long before Creation.
their magical methodologies but because of their con- The omina associated with them involve Patterns and
tributions to the history of science. The Enuma Anu Quintessence — perhaps Paradox as well — to discern
Enlil was undoubtedly critical to the development of portents from the building blocks of existence. The
mathematical astronomy. The need to discern omens Anunnaku dealt not only with the stars, but the Pat-
drove observation, and centuries of recording the posi- terns surrounding those stars.
tion of heavenly bodies and noting celestial occurrences Among the royal astrologers who kept the king
inevitably resulted in the recognition of patterns. Relying and local leaders informed on the prophecies of the
completely on naked-eye observations, the duration of sky, a small cell of mages who developed the original
the endeavor — as generations of astrologers watched omina of the Anunnaku. They applied the principles

48 Dead Magic
 The Omina from Anunnaku
Brothers:
A small group of translators within the Order of Hermes is quietly deciphering the Anunnaku, a series of
tablets from ancient Babylon. The Anunnaku supposedly contains 1000 portents and omens revealed in the
position of the stars and the Patterns between them. These Patterns influence everything from the strength
of Paradox backlashes to the formation of Tass around a node. My contact within the Boston Chantry, where
most of the translation is taking place, refused to release a copy but seemed eager to taunt me with these
particular o “ mina.” Please examine the phrasing of these selections and let me know what sort of astronomi-
cal observations are necessary to divine these omens. Let us hope that they have not already come to pass.
Hurry — we must not be blindsided again.
— Abe Guro, Paladin of the Nagoya Xiudaoyuan
• When Uttu’s webs draw the stars closer to the north, ravens will light in the house of Siduri and what was
meant to be renewed shall not.
• If the claws of the scorpion scintillate, the Euphrates will be fitful as it drains the Abzu.
• When the Bull of Heaven walks Ea’s road twice before Sin appears ready for the ceremony, the vitality of
our enemies will thin as the dead die again.
• On the day when the Ferry lingers and Jumping [Mercury?] hides behind Samas, the three faiths of the
city will return to claim their riches.
• If Sin is absent and Marduks’ wells run dry, the highest among us shall make war upon themselves.
• When the beard of the father looms over the temple, and the sorcerers of Subarti are blighted with Ni
[Paradox?], the oldest of the dead shall trouble the land of cedars.
• When red hunger [Mars?] opens its baneful eye, Bel will sink into the Anku.

of observation found elsewhere in the Enuma to certain Esagil. In his book, Brown refers to the authors of the
aspects of Creation that only the Awakened perceive: Anunnaku as the “Bau,” after the oracle of the goddess
threads of the Tellurian, Patterns, Quintessence, flows Bau located in Lagas.
of Prime, the thickness of the Gauntlet and so on. How could the Bau look at the Patterns of the
Beyond the Anunnaku, none of this sect’s records heavens and predict the future? The stars reflected how
survive, if they kept any at all. The one fact established the beings trapped inside them used their powers. If the
in Brown’s study is that one of the charter organizers of Bau could decipher Infernal communications between
this society was born in Lagas and moved to Babylon the Pure Ones and their followers on earth, it was easier
when his father was appointed to the priesthood of to counteract their plans.

Storytelling with Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia in general, and Babylon in History Be Damned
particular, figure prominently in the myth Don’t think you can pass next week’s Ancient Civi-
of magic — so why don’t mages know more lization test because you’ve read this chapter. While we
about it? For one thing, the old Tigris and try to be historically accurate, when there’s a conflict
Euphrates civilizations sit in what’s now between “accurate” and “interesting” we choose inter-
Iran and Iraq. Most of Western civilization esting. Also, given the antiquity of the subject matter,
pays attention to these places only when the scholarship on ancient Babylon is more a collection
they’re bombed. It seems that Babylon’s of competing theories than of consistent facts. This
grandeur passed away long ago. chapter concerns the Babylon of the World of Dark-
Nevertheless, Babylon’s heritage still affects modern ness — would it be the same if there were really mages
magic — from astrology to demonology. Like any of the and demons running around?
other dead cultures presented here, there is plenty of
room for exploration, discovery and danger.

Chapter Two: The Cradle of Civilization — Mesopotamia 49

 rotes is a matter of knowing someone who has already
learned them.
Hendrik—
Got a troubling email from gibil@etemenanki.
The Order of Hermes
Winston Brown was a Hermetic and fully disclosed
org this morning. It’s an invitation to fly out to his findings to certain members of the Order. Research
Santa Cruz to consult on some Babylonian and a favor or two leads inevitably to learning the old
rituals. It’s an incoherent, conspiracy-laden mess, rotes. The Chantries in Boston and Lawrence, Kansas
clearly written by a nut (or someone with a remain the centers of the Babylonian Revival.
BAD Quiet problem). The problem is that the Virtual Adepts
email throws around some terms that crackpots Henrik Kohlmaan, a Master of Correspondence
shouldn’t have any access to — terms like “Ksirafai” with various home bases in South America and Eu-
rope, has done the most among the Virtual Adepts
and “neutron star NGS-989Z/9N.” Where did
to adapt the old Babylonian Effects to the techno-
they learn them? Find out. I know what you logical paradigm. Magic circles and figurines have
VAs can do. Hopefully they’re just some lucky been replaced by firewalls and virulent emails. One
punks in way over their heads, and the problem of Kohlmaan’s interns administers a MUD with code
will fix itself. By the way, can a demon be bound for faithful (and intricate) virtual Babylonian rituals.
to a sector of the Digital Web? The resulting Tass keeps shredding his T1 lines, but
Henrik’s not complaining.
Yours Very Truly,
W. Brown Commonly Used Magics
The civilizations of the ancient Near East were famed
for their understanding of the will of their gods. Much
Babylon’s Children of their magic focuses on divination and necromancy,
and sometimes requires the caster to know the name of
The story of demonic Babylon is of incredible im- a spirit in order to invoke its power.
portance to the history of the Awakened, but that means
The Babylonian perspective on life was quite pes-
little to modern mages. While only a few Hermetics
simistic: humans were created for service and could
know that Winston Brown learned his secrets from Ea
expect nothing better than a life of suffering and toil
himself, the doctor has many friends and his findings have
which, at death, did not lead to some eternal reward
circulated among the Traditions. Mages who often find
but to oblivion. The only ones who could change this
themselves at odds with the Nephandi could benefit from
were the gods. Therefore, nearly all Babylonian magic
his research. For mages who seek this ancient wisdom,
included a petition to several gods for aid. If the caster
there are possibilities within all the Traditions, but some
offered the right sacrifice and performed the ritual at the
have certain advantages.
right time, the gods were pleased by the mortal’s service
The Celestial Chorus and granted her what she asked. Then again, more than
The Chorus is sitting on a gold mine of Babylonian one ritualist was engulfed in excruciating torment when
magic and they don’t even know it. Their libraries across her patrons decided that she was demanding rather than
the world and the Horizon hold commentaries on the begging and that she needed to learn a new lesson in
Enuma Anu Enlil, transcriptions of tablets inscribed by supplication.
Babylonian physicians and lists made by the En of Mar-
duk. Brown’s work would need a complete re-evaluation Animal Shift (•••• Life)
if the Chorus’s collection came to light. So far, no one’s Long ago, the ancient gods chose animals to rep-
done the research. resent them on earth. This ritual allowed a follower to
Hollow Ones assume the shape of an animal that was sacred to his
The magic of the Hollow Ones is nothing if not a chosen deity. The change was temporary, allowing the
collection of hand-me-downs. At first, only the members priest to exact revenge on his enemies or to spy on those
of cabals with Hermetics or Euthanatoi learned any of who claimed to support him. However, the shifters were
the rituals. But those few were quick to pass along what careful not to let others know of their ability, for they
they had learned. Among the Goths, finding the old were unable to use their magics while they wore the
form of an animal.

50 Dead Magic
 In a private ceremony, the priest lit a handful of song, companionship and other festivities. The highlight
incense and recited a prayer to the Anunnaku. He of the holiday was a ritual reenactment of the legendary
then requested the aid of his patron and burned a hair, battle between Tiamat and Marduk.
a scale, a feather or other small token from the animal Since Tiamat could not be killed, it was reasoned
he had chosen. that she was gathering forces and waiting in Arallu for
System: As with more common Verbena magics, a time when she could rise from the abyss and wreak
this rote enables a mage to shift into the form of an her vengeance on the world, returning the universe to
animal. However, it’s limited by the strictures of belief a bitter sea of chaotic nothingness. The only defense
placed on its effectiveness: The mage can only assume humans had against such a powerful entity was their
the form of an animal sacred to a Mesopotamian god, knowledge of her former defeat. The Babylonians
and she cannot use her magical powers while in that thought that if Tiamat’s chains were not strengthened
form. For these reasons, the rote is not a common one; by this ritual, her power would slowly eat away at his-
other shapeshifting powers tend to be more efficacious tory, until Marduk’s victory was undone and she could
for Adepts and Masters. However, it’s a good, quick finally break loose.
solution if the mage only needs an animal form for a This rote strengthens a Pattern’s placement in the
short time. consensus. By casting this rote and then re-enacting an
event in front of a group of Sleeper witnesses, a mage
Mershakushtu Qurdu (••• Entropy) may slowly alter their perceptions of reality and, over
Mesopotamians had an uncanny understanding of time, shift reality to accommodate small magical Effects.
the mutable nature of reality. They realized that history The more witnesses who believe the performance, the
was not set in stone; something could be uncreated more effective it is. Likewise, the more times the ritual
more easily than it was created. This was the reasoning is performed, the stronger the Pattern becomes.
behind the Mershakushtu Qurdu (Victorious Marduk) System: This rote is not intended as a panacea for
ritual. At the beginning of each year, the temple priests mages who are dependent on vulgar magic. Reality can
declared a period of renewal, complete with feasting, be changed, but not easily or quickly. A mage who uses

Chapter Two: The Cradle of Civilization — Mesopotamia 51

it might not see results in a single lifetime. However,
the rote has short-term as well as long-term uses. A Mythology
mage who works as a tour guide in a museum that has The pantheon of Mesopotamia is complicated,
a fascinating Civil War display can strengthen the to put it mildly. The Semitic migrations of the late
importance of a specific battle, garnering more tour- third millennium B.C. toppled the Sumerian empire.
ist money for the museum and the site of the battle. However, the victorious invaders abandoned most
A mage who drives an ancient Ford pickup but brags of their former religious practices and adopted the
about its durability and takes friends on camping trips Sumerian beliefs. By renaming some of the Sume-
to show them how well it holds up probably won’t have rian deities, replacing others and adding a number
his car break down for months — or years. Magic rolls of new gods, the conquerors wreaked havoc on the
involving the object of the casting gain one die for celestial genealogy.
every three successes the caster accumulates on this Sumerian religion was polytheistic, honoring
ritual. A botch removes successes but does not neces- powerful anthropomorphic gods who were usually
sarily negate the entire Effect. associated with natural forces and astronomical
bodies. In addition to resembling humans physi-
Stay the God’s Hand cally, the Sumerian gods resembled people in their
(• Entropy, • or ••• Life) personalities and actions. They suffered from hu-
The Mesopotamian gods were unpredictable in man frailties such as lust, greed, anger, hatred and
the best circumstances, and at their worst their capri- guilt, but they also enjoyed love, happiness and
ciousness could be deadly. The most common sign of understanding.
having fallen into disfavor was an illness. Often the The Sumerians believed that their lives were
victim had actually offended a temple official and was rooted firmly in this world. Although there was a
suffering from a curse as a result. Ailing individuals “Heaven” and an “Underworld,” these were actual
requested the aid of a temple physician to diagnose physical places inhabited by the gods. Human be-
which god was causing the sickness. The doctors re- ings did not accrue rewards or punishments in the
moved the curse, demanded payment, and divided the afterlife; the dead became ghosts who faded out of
money with the official who had invoked the curse in existence within a century.
the first place, leaving them both the richer and the To the Sumerians, humans had no special place
dupe grateful to be well. in the cosmos — indeed, humans were created as
Performed as a pair, these rotes allow a mage to servants of the gods. For this reason, one did not
discover the cause for a lingering malady and attempt make demands or petitions lightly. Rather, humans
to treat it accurately. The mage lights an offering of used rites to beg the gods for audience and favor.
incense and recites an appropriate invocation. Then she There was no way to compel obedience — the
puts one hand on the victim’s forehead and meditates gods granted favors on whims, or capriciously
for about half an hour, during which time she empties punished offenders.
her mind. Eventually, an idea starts to form, and as the
last embers of incense die out, the mage can identify
the cause of the suffering. To treat the illness, the mage cycle of life and death to a Euthanatos is perceived as
must request a favor from a higher power, in return for a discordant voice in the universal Song by a Chorister.
a small service. This “higher power” can be anything The difficulty depends on what the actual problem is;
or anyone — from a spirit to a policeman to the mage’s pneumonia or other “natural” causes are more easily
boss. If the favor is granted, the answer comes to the detected than vampiric possession, for example. The
mage in the form of a dream or vision. However, if normal difficulty of the treatment is 8, lower if the
the mage then fails to perform the promised service, mage agrees to perform some exceptional service for
she’s stricken with the same symptoms she removed her higher power. The cure should fit both the disease
from the victim. and the mage’s paradigm, and therefore offer a clue to
the root of the problem.
System: Either one of these rotes is useless if
performed alone. Without knowing the source of the Weeping for Tammuz (••• Entropy)
problem, it is impossible to cure it. Likewise, understand- Tammuz was a mortal shepherd, beloved by the
ing the problem doesn’t help if the mage does nothing goddess Istar. When he died, Istar went to the domain
about it. The caster’s understanding of it is limited of her sister Ereshkigal, goddess of the Underworld, and
by his paradigm; what might be an imbalance in the demanded that he be returned to the living. Ereshkigal

52 Dead Magic
agreed, but according to divine law, a soul could not or their homeland. When scouting locations for new
leave unless there was another to take its place. Istar Chantries, modern Hermetics sometimes use this ritual
was trapped, and the earth began to wither and die. to track the fates of cities. A vague reading might reveal
The gods declared that Tammuz must be taken back a general trend in the near future (“prosperity”) while an
to the Underworld so that Istar could leave and the especially thorough reading might foreshadow a specific
land would prosper. Upon her return, Istar worked out event (“a breach in the walls”).
a bargain with the gods: Tammuz would be returned System: The divination of Adad ties in to the
to her, though only for half the year. In addition, his spiritual aspect of a location, as well as its future fate.
sister Gestihanna would be taken to the land of the Successful divination tends to reveal emotive and eco-
dead in his place. nomic trends. A mage is unlikely to discover details
Every year at the beginning of the planting season, about a specific building, but might learn that the city
Sumerian cities held re-enactments of the return of is going into decline or that a celebration will bring an
Tammuz to the Underworld. Each city took its most influx of money.
beloved young man and buried him alive. The entire
population dressed in black for eight days, and the priests Divination Mechanics
and priestesses of Istar dressed in black for a month,
For each of the divination rituals in this section,
mourning the symbolic death of the god.
roll the mage’s Arete against the magic’s base difficulty
This rote works best for Choristers, Hermetics, as determined by the Spheres involved (long-term
Verbena and other mages whose paradigm stresses divination is usually coincidental, a “lucky guess”).
selflessness. By giving up something that is impor- For every additional evening spent observing the
tant to her, the mage may ensure good fortune in a sky, lower the difficulty by 1, down to a minimum
certain endeavor. difficulty of 6. The more successes rolled, the more
System: The mage doesn’t have to bury someone accurate and informative the reading. A botch in-
alive but can bury an object of great personal signifi- dicates a misinterpretation of celestial phenomena
cance instead. If the rote is cast successfully, the mage — in Babylon, such a mistake might end in an unjust
may add a number of automatic successes to a specified declaration of war or violent panic within the city
task in the future. The Storyteller chooses the number walls. Storytellers, feel free to make botches in your
of successes (generally one to five), depending on how chronicle equally catastrophic.
important the item was to the character. This sacrifice 1 success: You observe the wrong phenomena or
is permanent. the revealed omen is especially vague.
Enuma Anu Enlil — 2 successes: Perhaps your calculations were a little
sloppy. A few omina fit your observations, but you
Rituals and Rites probably overlooked some important detail.
The old stargazing rites of Mesopotamia can be used 3 successes: You observe several distinctive phenom-
almost unchanged, as long as a mage understands the ena, and the omina that meets those conditions is
proper observations. For any of the following Effects likely to unfold.
to be successful, the mage must have a copy of the ap- 4 successes: Your observations have clearly revealed
propriate section of the Enuma Anu Enlil, as well as a to you a particular omen. Your prediction almost
place to observe the heavens. Cities are too polluted certainly comes to pass, but not in the way you
with light to see the sky clearly. Barring some more expect.
powerful, vulgar magic, it’s necessary to get as far away 5+ successes: You’ve read all the signs with unmis-
from the lights of the city as possible. See the sidebar takable accuracy. Whatever you predict — in some
Divination Mechanics for more information. form — comes to pass.
Adad Finally, a mage doesn’t ask questions of the
(•• Entropy, •• Correspondence, • Spirit) Enuma like she might do with the I Ching or a Tarot
deck. She merely observes the motions of the heavens
The omina contained in the Adad relate to meteo-
and checks the omina of the appropriate Enuma
rological phenomena. The amount of rain, the direction
section. There’s lots of stuff going on upstairs; only
of the winds, the pattern of lightning or the sounds of
those astrologers who keep up with all the potentially
thunder all carry significance. The omens discerned
revealing motions can divine anything useful.
from this Effect usually involve the fates of a people

Chapter Two: The Cradle of Civilization — Mesopotamia 53

Istar momentous. Entire chronicles might turn on one such
(•••• Entropy, ••• Correspondence, ••• Spirit) reading. Additional nights of observation do not lower
The motions of the stars and the planets hold secrets this difficulty.
for those familiar with the omina of Istar, in particular Anunnaku
the fates of nations and their leaders. The futures of
(••• Entropy, ••• Prime, ••• Spirit)
kings, advisors, princes or presidents, governors and
mayors are all hidden in the sky. The omina in this The abundance of Paradox, Quintessence or Tass
Enuma sequence tend to be highly metaphorical, but along with the actual Patterns of the heavens reveal the
predict broad changes. fates of the Awakened in the broadest sense of the term:
mages, vampires, demons or anything else that haunts
System: Assuming that the mage can interpret the
the World of Darkness. The Bau of Babylon read the
metaphors of Istar (in which an Intelligence + Academics
Patterns of the stars nightly to learn the fates of the city’s
roll may be useful), he can divine the general fates of an
demon summoners. Although this sequence of the Enuma
entire nation and its ruler. This divination is very general
Anu Enlil is disseminating slowly, and mostly among
and is not specifically tied to events: The mage probably
the Hermetics, this Effect has proven critical in several
won’t learn that the ruler has cholera or that the nation
recent Tradition victories over the Nephandi. The will
will suffer an earthquake shattering its most prominent city,
of the Void reveals itself in the stars; a successful reading
but could get a general sense that malaise hovers about the
exposes the quality, if not the specifics, of Nephandic
ruler or that a terrible disaster will soon come to the land.
activity to come. Because the stars are different from
Samas (•• Correspondence, •• Forces) every viewpoint (a phenomenon known as “parallax”),
Samas, the sun, doesn’t actually move. But because an accomplished astrologer can determine the future of
the Earth revolves around it, the sun seems to travel local events involving the Nephandi.
across the sky. The ancients understood that the sun’s System: This divination is specifically useful in
path changed a little every day, a fact less known in our foreseeing the fates of supernatural beings. With a few
ignorant modern times. The variations are small, and successes, a mage might gather a sense of vague forebod-
the corresponding omens are vague but frequently come ing. Multiple successes could indicate an illuminating
to pass. The omens discerned from Samas don’t fall into insight into the warped plans of some potent malefic
any neat category; a mage might learn the fate of crops, entity: an ancient vampire, Earth-bound demon or a
the economy, the weather, diplomacy or anything else. Nephandus and its colleagues. As with all such divina-
System: The omina of Samas are the easiest to tions, the results are not wholly detailed or accurate, but
read; only the path of the sun and the stars and planets can provide a picture of things to come: Whether an
visible at sunrise or sunset are relevant. When using enemy plans to attack, retreat or hide; whether a specific
Samas, the mage lowers the usual divination difficulty: type of supernatural influence is involved; whether the
successes gained from Samas can subsequently be used to mage’s current actions will lead toward victory or defeat.
improve the accuracy of other divinations, by lowering This divination can also be used to observe the ebb and
the difficulty as much as 3. Extra days spent in observa- flow of Paradox, Quintessence, Entropy and so on, and
tion don’t lower the difficulty of this Effect. reveal the significance of such fluctuations.

Sin (•• Entropy, •• Spirit, • Prime or Namburbu (•••• Entropy, ••• Prime,
•••• Entropy, •••• Spirit, •••• Prime) ••• Spirit, •• Correspondence, •• Life)
All the complexity of the heavens pales next to What the sky has foretold must come to pass, but
that of the moon. Its phases, color, brightness and path the ritual of Namburbu can make the results of predicted
through the sky are all significant. Eclipses are particu- events less severe. This Effect is not a divination at all,
larly meaningful. The omens told by the moon are as but rather a defense against grim portents.
broad as those of Samas but tend to be straightforward. The ritual involves five steps. First, those involved
The more powerful version of this Effect allows the mage must seclude themselves from the rest of the world,
to see truly great changes or calamities. either literally in a hut or symbolically within a circle.
System: The divination difficulty for a reading of The participants shave and wash themselves while
an eclipse is high — increase the magical difficulty by tamarisk incense purifies the area. After the mage in
2 or 3, just because the Effect is presumed to be tax- charge of the ritual sacrifices a goat, he rings a copper
ing — but even a few successes could reveal something bell to draw divine attention. Finally, the participants

54 Dead Magic
 offer food and incense to the gods as they beseech the
Storytelling Prophesies heavens to prevent the omen from coming true.
Many of the Effects derived from old Baby- System: The mage casting the ritual rolls the Effect
lonian magic involve divination. Nothing too normally, but can be assisted by other mages. For every
definite arises from these prognostications. “If the five successes, the realization of an omen diminishes in
moon eclipses the sun while Jupiter crosses Mars, some way. A riot might instead be a few scattered violent
the assassin’s poison will ruin the feast.” — the crimes. The murder of the king might be an extended
conditions are pretty clear, but the outcome is not. illness instead. Most omina are so vague that the actual
Literal interpretations are rarely accurate. effects of this ritual are hard to determine. This ritual
But this is good for the Storyteller. Really. may only be used once for any given omina. Storytellers
When a mage uses some sort of divination, must take care that this ritual doesn’t become a substitute
use the vagueness of the appropriate omina to for other preventative action.
your advantage. Effectively deployed predictions
can foreshadow upcoming events or set a mood Babylon and Hermes
without locking the Storyteller into a definite Dr. Winston Brown unearthed the following rotes
outcome. Roleplaying games are unpredictable, during his sojourn to Al Hillah. Since the Order of
and stories resolve themselves in unforeseen ways. Hermes deals in old formulas and ancient arcana,
A properly read omen always comes to pass, if they can cast these Effects in their original forms.
only in a subtle way. Certain members of the Verbena can use these rotes
With that advice in mind, here’s a few ways if they are familiar with the foci. Other Traditions
to incorporate vague prophecies into your games: need more extreme adaptations to translate these
• A chronicle begins with a reading of the stars. Effects to their paradigms.
Through the chronicle, the characters discover
Zisurru (•• Correspondence, •• Spirit)
what the omen means and then deal with events
as they come to pass. The prototypical ward against demons. By spreading
flour in a circle and lining the circumference with the
• The characters are completely stuck for ideas
statues of protective deities, the mage creates a boundary
on how to solve some problem, so they perform a
that cannot be crossed by Umbral spirits. Anyone within
divination. The Storyteller uses the opportunity
the circle who is afflicted by an Infernal ailment gains
to drop a useful clue in the players’ laps.
a temporary reprieve until the circle’s effects dissipate.
• A particularly fatalistic prediction can
System: When creating the circle, the player rolls
precede a major confrontation, and the players
for the Effect as normal; the Correspondence compo-
wet their pants as they march their characters off
nent allows it to cover a large space all at once. Any
to death.
Umbral spirit who wishes to enter the area must roll its
• There’s plenty of stuff going on in the World Willpower against a difficulty of 5 + the number of suc-
of Darkness, but not enough time to keep the cesses the mage scored on the zisurru’s creation roll. The
characters involved in everything. Use prophecies circle temporarily ameliorates the effect of a demonic
to keep the characters informed of events in the curse or illness; the symptoms are suppressed unless the
metaplots that run through all the game lines (a rating of the power that caused the ailment exceeds the
new red star? What the hell?). mage’s successes on the circle creation roll. The Effect
Some final advice: Vary the effectiveness fades at sunrise, and the area must be rededicated if it
of divinations. If they’re always useful, all the is to offer any protection.
characters will do is scry until they figure out
what’s going on. If they’re worthless or just used Surpu (••• Life, •• Spirit)
to establish a brooding sense of mystery, the play- Babylonian sorcerers had purification rituals for
ers stop using them because they never seem to every type of ailment. But if the cause of some sickness
move the story along. or curse could not be determined, healers used a catch-
For more information on omens and stargazing, all ritual called Surpu, or “the burning.” Developed to
check out Rage Across the Heavens. Yeah, it’s remove the curses of demons that healers initially knew
a Werewolf book, but it’s an excellent resource. little about, this ritual treats the symptoms when the
disease cannot be named.

Chapter Two: The Cradle of Civilization — Mesopotamia 55

 The ritual begins with an exhaustive listing of all
possible sins, enumerating any potential cause for the
Adaptations of
subject’s affliction. Then some item is slowly dismantled Babylon’s Magic
and cast piece by piece into a fire. Usually, this means Most of the Effects below were never used in Babylon.
peeling an onion or stripping dates from a branch. The Rather, these are the Tradition’s modern adaptations
flames symbolically purify the patient. of the ancient ways. As the Storyteller decides, some
System: While this ritual does not actually cure of these rituals and rotes might require modification to
diseases or remove curses, the symptoms subside for conform to a mage’s paradigm.
a number of days equal to the mage’s duration on the
Effect roll. The severity of the symptoms determines Ansu Ishten
the amount of Effect successes that must be generated (••• Entropy, ••• Matter; optional ••• Life)
to suppress the symptoms. After the ritual expires, the This traditional warding incantation draws its
symptoms return with full intensity. The ritual takes name from the first phrase uttered by the caster: “Ansu
most of one evening to cast successfully. Ishten,” meaning God is All. The rote designates a spe-
The Life magic used in Surpu alleviates symptoms. cific object or person who will be kept safe from various
The Spirit component counters curses and demons that sorts of harm. It is useless against magical attacks, but
may afflict the victim — or, at least, allows the mage to provides a nominal measure of protection from various
soothe pain caused by malevolent forces. accidents, attacks, diseases or other unfortunate events.

56 Dead Magic
 can execute algorithms meant for Crays. Software can
Common Foci function regardless of operating system. Usually vulgar,
For players and Storytellers who don’t have time although one Virtual Adept supposedly funds his research
to wade through the history of Babylonian magic, entirely with this Effect.
here’s a list of foci and common ingredients that System: The Audience of Inanna rote enhances
were used in many spells. all manner of computability — the Effect simply
Most of the foci required by revived Babylonian requires that Inanna be invoked into the system
rituals seem mundane, including fire in a stove or (often with special desktop wallpaper, a figurine on
brazier, onions, date branches, reed mats, goat’s hair, the tower case and some convoluted lists of charms
red-dyed wool, flour, tamarisk branches, reeds, salt, and incantations stored in high memory). Success
cedar, juniper, fragrant resins, incense, sea water, speeds the processor, boosts its connectivity and
figurines of gods and amulets worn around the neck improves its performance standards; generally, each
or hung on the wall. Effect success increases the computer’s performance
by a factor for the duration — one success helps a 286
The caster invokes a protective deity with a brief to limp along, but with ten successes on an extended
preliminary chant, then recites the types of harm that Effect, that same 286 could become the equivalent
will not affect the object of the rote, in a rather Seussian of a Pentium for a day or more.
fashion (“It won’t be crushed beneath a train, it won’t Berate the Demon
be left out in the rain, it won’t be dropped in boiling
fat, it won’t be eaten by a cat”). While the sing-song
(••• Spirit, ••• Matter)
rhyming technique is useless for most paradigms, a pat- In Babylon, everything was thought to be the po-
tern must be established for the incantation to work. tential home of a demon, including materials used in
A Virtual Adept might use a repeating string of code, ritual magic. Some Babylonian mages prepared their
while a Hermetic might place the object within a runic foci by yelling at the demons inside. The mage declared
circle and walk around it, adding a measure of protec- himself a representative of the gods and informed his
tion each time he reaches a certain point on the circle. tools that they had better obey him. Vague threats
seemed to work best.
System: The player wishing to use this rote must
detail every form of misfortune from which the object While this Effect is not yet in wide circulation,
of the spell will be protected. Storytellers, by all means, many Traditions are developing permutations to suit
exercise creativity! In the above example, the object their paradigms. Sons of Ether seem particularly fond
might be dropped in boiling acid rather than fat — a of berating their equipment, but so far it has only been
fate that is within the confines of the ward, yet still un- effective on tools the berater created himself.
pleasant. Each success on the roll adds 1 to the difficulty System: If the Effect is successful, the difficulty of
of an attack in that medium. Since the ward does not the next extended ritual involving the berated foci is
provide absolute protection, the Effect is coincidental. lowered by 1. Consider this a specific form of Magic
As always, the Effect only lasts as long as the duration Affecting Abilities (Mage Revised, p. 155). The Effect
garnered by the mage’s successes; this rite is not a way improves the spirit/material tie of the focus in question.
to gain permanent immunities. The Entropy component Some speculate that egotistical willworkers have the
defends against mischance while the Matter magic most success with this rote.
specifies the exact types of harm that leave the object The mage need not reach into the actual Gauntlet
unscathed. Life magic can optionally fortify a living to perform this Effect, so it does not suffer from problems
subject against such injury. like the Avatar Storm.

Audience of Inanna Kispu (••• Entropy, ••• Correspondence)

(•• Correspondence, •• Matter, • Time) Originally a ritual to secure a soul easy passage to
Say goodbye to obsolescence. Originally an Effect the land of the dead, modern Euthanatoi have adapted
to prevent impotence by placing a figure of Inanna on Kispu for a more specific purpose. By sacrificing a large
the head of the bed, the Virtual Adepts have adapted animal and reciting the names of the gods of the dead,
this ancient ritual into an Effect that allows older the ritual protects a recently deceased person from
computer hardware to exceed the limitations imposed becoming a wraith, and her existence proceeds to
by cutting-edge software. With this Effect, a 286 can whatever awaits afterward. The Hollow Ones call this
run Windows 98 at peak performance or a Pentium III an “Enfant Abortion.”

Chapter Two: The Cradle of Civilization — Mesopotamia 57

 System: The corpse need not be present, but the virtuous wizard. Aladlammu might also trade magical
subject of the ritual must have died less than 24 hours knowledge with a curious and nonthreatening mage.
before the ritual is begun. The mage must acquire more Though such a creature hardly makes for a consistent
successes in an extended ritual than twice the subject’s mentor, it could offer a few jewels of advice.
Willpower. The subject goes peacefully into the great It is possible that the demonic traffic of Babylon
beyond, with no lingering traces or attachments. If the drove the Aladlammu away; perhaps in some far
subject already became a wraith, he can still be dispersed reaches of the Mesopotamian deserts, a few still guard
into nothingness with this rite, but the ritual fails if the the knowledge of virtuous magic, awaiting for a mage
wraith has gained awareness of its new state already (that untainted by the Infernal practices that flourished in
is, if the wraith’s Caul has been removed). the first cities.
Strength 6, Dexterity 4, Stamina 6
The Monsters of Willpower: 9, Health Levels: OK, OK, OK, -1, -1, -1,
Mesopotamia -3, -3, -3, -5, Incapacitated
Mesopotamian literature describes a host of mon- Attack: Trample for 6 dice
strous entities, from winged guardians to demonic spirits. Abilities: Alertness 5, Athletics 3, Awareness 5, Brawl 3,
Of course, in the World of Darkness, such creatures were Cosmology 6, Dodge 3, Enigmas 6, Linguistics 5
(are?) all too real. Quintessence: 10
Resonance: (Static) Protective 3
Aladlammu
A winged bull with a human head, the Aladlammu Anzu
is a benevolent guardian creature. It is sometimes de- A huge lion-headed bird, the Anzu appears in one
picted on old pottery; tales relate that the Aladlammu of the tales of Gilgamesh. Nesting in the huluppa tree,
was intelligent and wise. Aladlammu are often associ- the Anzu apparently lived with both a great serpent and
ated with the guardianship of sacred knowledge, not Lilith herself. Gilgamesh shattered the huluppa tree
with simple treasures. Such a creature might defend old and scattered its inhabitants to the mountains, but the
magical texts and could even work in the company of a Anzu is clearly mentioned as having offspring — other

58 Dead Magic
Anzu may survive in some distant mountain or Umbral Enki as a prisoner. A modern mage might experience
Realm. It is said that a tree still grows in Uruk com- that tale again himself, if the Anzu takes an interest
memorating the Anzu, so perhaps the huluppa tree, in his tomes and steals them, requiring a quest to
twisted and gnarled by Gilgamesh’s attacks upon it, still regain the stolen knowledge.
stands somewhere. Strength 3, Dexterity 5, Stamina 3
In another myth, the Anzu steals the tablets of Willpower: 5, Health Levels: OK, OK, -1, -1, -3, -3,
destiny from Enki, the god of wisdom, but is captured -5,Incapacitated
and punished. By stealing the tablets, the Anzu gains Attack: Bite for 6 dice
control over fate, enabling it to curse its attackers Abilities: Alertness 3, Athletics 5 (Flight), Brawl 3,
and even slay gods. Ninurta brings the Anzu back to Dodge 2

Chapter Two: The Cradle of Civilization — Mesopotamia 59

60 Dead Magic
 Chapter Three:
Fire in the
Jungle —
Mesoamerica

Fair Warning
So, you want to know about the secrets of the south, eh? — the jungles where the Aztecs built their
empire on steaming hearts and the Mayas consorted with strange beings from the sky. You wanna know
about those pyramids that people say connect with Egypt and send signals across the world. You wanna
hear about how the mystics use the sacred leaves to get visions of the future. You wanna figure out how
to turn into a jaguar and how to make obsidian so it cuts through steel.
Well, you must be one sick fucker, because those people had some messed-up shit. I mean, theolo-
gians may say that there’s no such thing as true maltheism — why would any dumb shit worship a god
that actively hates him? — but some of these folks came damn close. You’r e digging into things best left unknown. That
is, of course, unless you think a few lives and your sanity are a fair price.
What, you don’t believe me? I’ve been there. You wouldn’t be asking if you didn’t think I knew this shit. I’m not just
trying to scare you, either. This is some grade-A soul-wrecking crap. I did not get these six-inch scars on my forearms
— yeah, the ones that magic won’t remove — by studying nice, happy, jungle-dance magic. You gotta get your hands
deep in blood before you figure this stuff out.

Chapter Three: Fire in the Jungle — Mesoamerica 61

 Doomsayaz
I can tell you don’t really believe me. You know these people did some crazy things but you’re thinking “ They can’t really
be that bad, right?” Let me give you a couple of eye openers. The Incas believe their civilization was started because the gods
were impressed with a woman who trapped her brother in a cave for eternity — that sort of cleverness definitely deserved the
reward of civilization. A pair of gods created the Aztec world by tearing a monster in half. The Mayan gods created human-
ity to worship them, then wiped out the test batch entirely when they didn’t work out quite right. Now this may be all myth and
legend, but remember, a people’s myths are the foundation of their culture. These were not gods who liked humans, by any stretch.
So, the result is that you get some pretty nasty people. Hey, if the gods say “You know, people suck,” then there’s not
much incentive for the people to do things like not kill each other. Hell, lots of these gods gloried in human carnage, so people
went out of their way to be nasty. There are still theories as to why some of these civilizations simply disappeared; some say
disease, or tectonic upheaval, or giant stone spaceships. Me, I say they were just plain mean.
Of course, the Aztecs are the ones usually credited with bloody-handed murder, and justly so, but they’re not the only cul-
prits. Mayan and Mixtec murals also show people not only getting sacrificed, but eviscerated, splayed apart and rent asunder.
This wasn’t done for entertainment like the debauched gladiatorial games of Rome. It was done because these cultures believed
that they had a divine duty to inflict pain in order to survive.
Gods aside, there’s power in that belief. Life is a potent thing, and its exhaustion is equally potent — more so, the more
terrible its demise.
Am I scaring you yet? No? Then you might just be far gone enough to try some of this stuff yourself.
Strange Mysteries
Aside from the Aztecs, who everyone thinks of when they think of pre-Colombian Central and South America, there were
several other civilizations: the Incas, for one, and the Olmecs, Mayas, what have you. Not all of them were totally brutal, but
they were all strange.
The Mayas are the folks on the top of the fucked-up mystery list. As with the other nasty cultures of the area, they survived
for the better part of a thousand years and totally dominated the area of southern Mexico and Guatemala. While Europe was still
farting around in the Dark Ages, the Mayas were clear-cutting their forests for arable land, paving roads, experimenting with pottery
and building huge temples, and basically giving European development the finger. The Mayas had an incredibly accurate calendar,
mathematics and astronomy. Sure, they sacrificed people, they stuck babies’ heads in between planks to flatten them (this for the nobles,
who thought it was a cool look) and they mutilated their own genitalia. Ya gotta take the bad with the good, I guess.
Oh yeah. The Mayan calendar is predicated on cycles; right now we’re supposed to be in the fifth cycle. They say that the world
is wrecked and made anew each cycle. The sixth cycle supposedly starts December 23, 2012. If you’re into that sort of thing.…
The Mayas are a mysterious bunch because of their sudden decline. Just before the turn of the first millennium, they aban-
doned their southern cities and other civilizations absorbed their northern outposts, until Cortez and friends wrecked them all in the
sixteenth century. Maybe the Mayas saw Cortez coming; no one has a clue.
Anyhow, the Mayas had tons of rituals dealing with astronomy and solar confluences. They equated the rising and falling
of the sun with death. They had no real belief in a particularly pleasant afterlife, though their kings supposedly were reborn as
gods (with that whole rising sun motif). To the Mayas, the sun actually traveled through the Underworld each night, and it was up
to them to make sure that the gods had enough power to fight off evil deities and ensure the sun would rise again the next day.

62 Dead Magic
Ritual mutilation and human sacrifices provided some of that power, so the Mayas thought that their fucked-up crusade was saving
the universe. Maybe they were right in there little corner of the universe. Who knows?
A Little Lower
To the south of the Mayas and their vanishing act you find the Incas, who hung out in Peru. You know, the An-
des? Legend has it that they built their cities on places of power over these giant mazes in the Andes, where strange
dwarf men lived. I can see that’s perked up your interest a little.
Like the Mayas, the Incas developed some heavy-duty accounting, engineering, and agriculture. They were also sticklers
for religious ritual. But unlike the other folks, they didn’t have a written language. All right, the Mayas didn’t have one
like ours, either; they used carved sigils to communicate certain concepts in weird ways. Sue me. They did, however, have a
really odd system of knot language: They used colored knots tied into cords to denote certain mnemonic elements. They also
managed to build a phenomenal road system, which was good because they had an empire of six million or more subjects and
definitely needed paved roads, considering that they never developed wheeled transport and used llamas (llamas!) for everything.
The use of labor for tax purposes facilitated the construction; people gave time and service instead of money.
So what’s so special about these folks? They didn’t even conduct bloody sacrifices. The Incas did, however, continue a
tradition that had been handed down from tribes in Argentina: mummification. They stuck bodies into caves maybe fifteen or
twenty feet underground, wrapped in leaves and preserved by salty soil and the cold. These were the Inca’s answer to angry
deities — the mummies in the Andes were sacrifices to the gods. Not only that, but the sacrifices even included children.
The Incas wined and dined a prospective young soul, doped her up with grain alcohol and walled her into a tomb. Pleasant
people, eh? Not only that, but they believed that the mummy became a goddess of sorts, able to prophesy and answer ques-
tions to those who paid homage at the tomb. Perhaps their ritual really did provide some sort of link like that.
Blood for the Blood God!
So now we come back to the Aztecs. For a group that started out as a band of refugees, they sure rose to
prominence. After getting kicked through much of the continent, they dropped in on a swampy little area and decided
to build a town in the middle of a lake. With the development of specialized agriculture to take advantage of the
terracing and the marshy climate, they increased their population greatly. Like the other civilizations of the area,
they developed mathematics and engineering to a great degree, all the way up to floating structures and those staged
pyramids for which Mesoamerican architecture is so famed.
The Aztecs really got going because of their gods, though. As the c“ hosen of Huitzilopochtli,” they needed human hearts for
just about everything. Hearts made the world go r‘ ound, literally. They sacrificed to Tezcatlipoca, the S“ moking Mirror,” their evil
jaguar god their warriors emulated for strength. They sacrificed to their patron Huitzilopochtli. The Aztecs also sacrificed to the
sun god, the rain god, the monster that made up the Earth and just about anything else in their litany of deities.
The unending parade of sacrifices required fresh meat for the grinder. Aztec expansion probably happened solely out
of their need for more people to kill.
Having built a city out of a swamp, the Aztecs made significant strides in agriculture and tool manufacture
compared to their neighbors. It wasn’t long until the Aztecs started conquering the lands around them. Huge bridges and
roads connected their city to the mountains around it, while the subjugated populaces fed the furnaces of their hungry
gods. They kept this nastiness up until the Spaniards showed up and ransacked them.

Chapter Three: Fire in the Jungle — Mesoamerica 63

 The Spaniards called them pagans as an excuse to kill them. Rather hypocritical, since the conquistadors kidnapped the
Incan emperor from under a flag of truce, ransomed him for gold, then strangled him and marched on the capital anyway.
There were probably vampires in there somewhere. I don’t know about you, but anywhere that huge oceans of blood
show up, I tend to think of vampires.
Anyhow, the Aztecs were fierce warriors and athletes. Depictions show them using obsidian-tipped war clubs and
heavy fur-and-feather cloaks. Slightly more apocryphal stories tell of them turning into jaguars and eagles, too. Not an
easy feat, but one that I might be able to show you.
The Price
So yeah, these were some messed-up people by our standards. By any standard, I guess, given how many people
they killed! And that’s why I’m warning you about all of this.
You see, if you want to know what makes them tick, you are going to have to do what they do. Are you ready to be a killer?
I’m already a killer. I’ve killed quite a lot of people. I’ve sacrificed all manner of scientists and civilians and
soldiers and kids in the name of my god, who is called Kicking the Asses of Technocratic Sympathizers. Even my
friends say I’m crazy. I say I’m committed. And yes, I have held a beating human heart in my hands.
So, do you want to start with the human sacrifice, or with shoving a needle through your dick? Your call, really. After all,
you’re the one who wants to know this stuff.

64 Dead Magic
 The Exact Date of the End of the World,
or An Introduction to the Mayan Conception of Time
Storyteller’s note: We’ve included this explanation of the Mayan calendar for several reasons: First, it shows
that the Mayas were more than bloodthirsty nuts who spent their days sacrificing people to appease the gods. Second,
this calendar underpinned the Mayan understanding of time; if you don’t get this, you’re not gonna get the Mayan
paradigm. Third, the Mayas precisely calculated when the world is scheduled to end — information we hope will be
useful to players and Storytellers alike.

Chapter Three: Fire in the Jungle — Mesoamerica 65

66 Dead Magic
Chapter Three: Fire in the Jungle — Mesoamerica 67
68 Dead Magic
Chapter Three: Fire in the Jungle — Mesoamerica 69
70 Dead Magic
Chapter Three: Fire in the Jungle — Mesoamerica 71
72 Dead Magic
Storytelling
Mesoamerica
South America is a wonderful setting
for World of Darkness games, but it’s
too often overlooked. Let’s face it: Your
typical North American player isn’t used
to thinking of things outside the US of A
and Europe as being remotely “civilized.”
South America’s got civilization
too; it just took longer for conquistadors
to spread across it, probably because the
huge jungles were less conducive to travel and set-
tling than, say, the great plains of North America.
Plus, Spain wound up on the downside of colonialism
and wasn’t able or willing to support the effort. So
modern civilization emerged more slowly in South
America. Nevertheless, the continent has more than
its share of “neat stuff.”
South America is a great setting for a chronicle
that’s a little foreign without relying on the staple of Asia
or not-too-alien Europe. Major cities like Rio still have
modern amenities, so your techno-fetishist characters
can have their electrical outlets. On the flip side, even
with the huge deforestation of the Amazon, there are
great swaths of jungle and wild lands in South America.
There are pyramids, tombs, mummies, magicians, lost
civilizations and Technocratic planning, shapeshifter
threats, unaligned vampires and political upheavals.
In short, you can run just about any sort of story you
damn well please in South America.
Ancient Astronauts?
The famous Nazca lines in Peru supposedly feature
symbols of beings that resemble sketches of aliens from
various abduction victims. Are they really beings from
another planet? Mages might classify them as Umbral
entities, but they could be some sort of other intel-
ligence. And what did they want with the Incas? The
Technocracy obviously tries to debunk such theories,
but a Dreamspeaker in South America insists that
the Union has a secret base where they’re holding
the Gray-Mayan hybrid race.
Bloody Hell
The Aztecs killed a lot of people. A lot.
The victims are very mad. Those who
left souls behind, that is. Rampaging
spirits on the loose in Mexico can
start causing a ruckus, especially
when they’re using weapons

Chapter Three: Fire in the Jungle — Mesoamerica 73

from the twelfth century. Worse still, what if some requiring twenty or more successes for even a marginal
dead Aztec ghosts are coming back to possess people result; a mage who scores fewer successes might succeed
or otherwise begin their sacrifices anew? in getting some unpleasant burbling and maybe a single
stream of lava from a volcano, but no spectacular erup-
Holy Shit! It’s gold! tion. Don’t botch.
The Incas apparently believed that gold and silver
were literally the feces of the gods. The Spaniards melted Heart for Huitzilopochtli
down most of the Inca’s ceremonial statuary during their (••••• Life, ••••• Spirit, ••••• Prime)
conquest of the area, but high-altitude explorers have The Aztec practice of human sacrifice is well known.
discovered many old Incan sites that have remained Scholars of the occult theorize that they used such rites
untouched for years. Since these sites have treasure and to feed bloody, demanding gods, perhaps even vampire
perhaps old magical artifacts, mages and Technocrats priests. What is conclusively known to mages today is
alike might be interested — mages to get the gold to that the power of human suffering can be channeled
pay their bills and grab some new trinkets, Technocrats through rites of human sacrifice — but the price in
to keep them from doing so. terrible Resonance is high indeed.
The Aztecs considered themselves the chosen people
Bloody Enchantment of Huitzilopochtli, and to him and their other hungry
Make no mistake: Much of Central American magic is gods they sacrificed a regular train of human hearts. The
not for the faint of heart. Although the Mexican cultures Aztec creation myths even state that the monster from
had some shamanistic practices, the Aztecs and their which the world was formed demanded human hearts
subjects enforced a brutally hellish regime upon their in exchange for the growth of crops.
subjects. Bloody gods demanded bloody rites. Mayan, A hideous and terrible rite, this power requires the
Incan and Toltec practices are shrouded in mystery; their mage to cut open the chest of a victim and tear out his
rituals connect powers that even Hermetic mages of the heart. The blood of the victim is drained into a fire,
day would have found daunting. All in all, a strong magic spattered across the altar or sometimes even swallowed
demanding an equally strong mage. by the demented magician. As the mage pulls the heart
from the struggling, screaming victim, he tears out the
Cuicuilco’s Demise
subject’s life force and devours it for magical power.
(••••• Forces, •••• Matter) Aztec magicians probably offered up that power to their
Cuicuilco was a great city in the Mexican central gods, but greedy and psychotic mages of the modern era
highlands, until its destruction in A.D. 150 by an erupt- might well try to capture such power for themselves.
ing volcano. Teotihuacan went on to become the most System: The mage must literally kill her victim
powerful remaining city of the region. Some mages and tear out his heart. Nothing less suffices for this rite.
speculate that Cuicuilco’s demise was planned in a fiery The subject must die, typically on the wrong end of a
disaster to end its potential threat, while others attribute ceremonial knife. Once the subject expires, the Effect
its end to the act of angry gods or unfortunate tectonics. captures the victim’s life essence and spirit, then shatters
Whatever the case, some sort of ritual has been handed them into power for the mage. The mage starts casting
down that points to magical influence. this Effect as she plunges the knife into the victim’s
The mage must sacrifice a human victim, as might flesh and finishes it as she tears out the heart; each
be expected for magic of the Mesoamerican sort, in success scored on the Effect channels three points of
order to awaken the power of the volcano (fire gods and Quintessence directly into the mage or into any entity
what-have-you, after all). In some versions, the victim or receptacle prepared and waiting (the Quintessence
might actually be thrown into the volcano; in others, can be split up, if desired). If the Effect generates five
the subject is merely slaughtered near the volcano’s base. or more successes, the victim’s very Avatar is sundered
Either way, the ritual is dangerous, since it is unlikely — Gilgul — in the process. Quintessence generated
that the mage will get out in time. by this Effect typically has the Entropic Resonance of
System: Effect successes generate tremendous tec- Death, though in some very special cases of sacrifices to
tonic forces and pressurization of material in the heart fertility or agricultural gods it might have the Entropic
of a chosen volcano. With enough successes on such a Resonance of Renewal.
ritual, the mage could theoretically cause a volcano to Every time a mage uses this Effect, he gains a point of
erupt, perhaps destroying an area just as Cuicuilco was Entropic Resonance. Aztec priests were terrifying figures
destroyed. Such an Effect is a phenomenal feat, easily with distorted, sunken countenances and a maniacal

74 Dead Magic
 obsession with gathering victims for their gods. Any
mage who delves into this rite risks following their path.
Furthermore, using magic of this sort is certain to bring
down the ire of any other mage who discovers it: The
Aztec empire had many enemies among its neighbors,
because the constant demand for bodies sent the Aztecs
to war with so many surrounding cultures.
A botch on this rite is hideous indeed: Some ancient
power decides that the mage’s sacrifice is insufficient or
incorrectly performed. The exact effect is, as always, left
up to the Storyteller, but a horrendous and lingering
death is not a bad start.
Blood for the Gods
(••• Spirit, •• Life, • Prime)
The Aztec priests had dozens of sacrifices addressed
to specific gods. In the sacrifice to Huehueteotl, for
example, captives were drugged, thrown into a pit of
fire and dragged out of the blaze with hooks. Then their
hearts — still beating — were pulled out and thrown
back into the fire. The Aztec gods rewarded such sac-
rifices with power. A few modern paradigms, usually
bleak and demonic, address this ritual to different gods.
System: Successes on the Effect roll determine the
duration of the gifts granted by the gods. The specific
gift depends on the deity to whom the ritual is ad-
dressed. Spirit magic attracts divine notice, while Life
incorporates the god’s boon into the mage’s Pattern. A
modicum of Prime is required so that the Pattern can
assimilate the powerful influx; one mage who performed
this rote without the requisite Prime acquired a disturb-
ing Resonance noticeable even to Sleepers a few days
before he spontaneously exploded in a bloody spray.
This Effect increases one Attribute or Talent by 2,
or grants some minor special characteristic, and earns
the mage a frightening Entropic Resonance. The Sto-
ryteller determines both, based on the nature of the
deity who received the sacrifice. A botch means the
god was not pleased.
Note that this rite is not quite the same as the rote
Heart for Huitzilopochtli and is marginally easier to
cast; the intervention of the gods doubtless smoothes
matters. However, it does not grant the mage the same
level of raw power. Rather, it gifts the mage with some
benefit from the gods — perhaps making him phenom-
enally quick for the duration if the sacrifice goes to
Tezcatlipoca, who often appears as a jaguar, or giving
him a fearsome visage and the ability to breathe water,
if sacrificed to Tlaloc the rain god.

Chapter Three: Fire in the Jungle — Mesoamerica 75

 — not the priest — performs this rote on the corpse.)
Things That Keep You Up at Night Each day after, the cannibal loses a dot on one of his
There’s no denying it: The Aztecs did some Physical Attributes and regains one on his Socials, until
pretty horrible, fucked-up shit. They perpetually they all return to their original ratings.
waged war just to acquire more bodies for their The rote has two dangers. First, ritual sacrifice and
altars. They sacrificed thousands (prisoners and cannibalism risk a strong Entropic Resonance. Second, a
citizens alike) to their bloodthirsty gods. They cannibal can become addicted to the powerful delicacy.
worshipped entities that devoured the very life Each time a character eats meat prepared with this rote,
of their empire. roll the character’s Willpower (difficulty 5, but quickly
What compels a civilization to do such a rises if he cannibalizes such corpses regularly). If the roll
thing? The survival of the universe, for starters. fails, the character’s got a corpse habit; lower his Physical
The sacrifice of human blood and hearts gave the Attributes by 1 if he doesn’t indulge at least once a week.
Aztec gods the strength they needed to maintain A month of cannibalism-free living and plenty of spent
Creation. The sun itself needed blood if it was to Willpower cures the addiction, if not the Resonance.
rise again the next day. Of course, the Effect is usually built to last at least
These dismal beliefs spread throughout the a day. A shorter version can be cast if the mage simply
region as the Aztec empire expanded. And if the can’t score enough successes, but the amelioration of
consensus of belief forms reality… social decay doesn’t speed up.
What if the Aztecs were right, and the sun really
would not have risen without all those warm and The Ball Game (•• Life)
bloody hearts? What if the sacrifices of the Aztecs Sometimes a sacrifice just has to go off without a hitch;
were the only thing keeping their world from end- that’s when you start pulling hearts out of athletes. The
ing? Given this grave “reality,” the ritual sacrifice of Aztecs and Mayas made their slaves play a soccer-like
thousands must have seemed like cheap insurance game with a huge rubber ball; both teams were ultimately
by comparison. sacrificed, but the winners were pampered first. Perhaps
the game amused the gods, or just worked up the com-
petitive juices, but the players made worthy sacrifices.
Our Enemies are Delicious In modern nights, several groups have adapted this
(••• Life, ••• Spirit) ritual to their paradigm. The Caballeros Aguila, a Tijuana
The Aztecs had something like the neighborhood street gang, holds victims at gunpoint and forces them
backyard Barbecue, but the meat was particularly rare. to play football in an alley before they sacrifice them to
The Aztecs conquered new people constantly not only for Tezcatlipoca, the Aztec god of war and death.
sacrifices, but because they were an empire of cannibals System: If the successes rolled on this extended
and their delicacy was captured warriors. After the priests ritual exceed the difficulty of the subsequent sacrifice,
sacrificed hundreds of prisoners, the corpses were returned lower the difficulty of that sacrifice by 1 if it involves a
to the warriors who had captured them. The corpse was participant in the game. The sacrifice is rolled separately.
then served at a banquet thrown by the warrior and at- A botch raises the difficulty of the sacrifice, or means
tended by his friends, neighbors and relatives. that the gods didn’t enjoy the game.…
Aztec cookouts demanded the proper decorum.
Exotic foods garnished the dead, and the warrior’s Visionary Bloodletting
friends were expected to compliment the host on the (•• Spirit, • Mind)
quality of the meal. Sometimes when you lose lots of blood, you start to
If an Awakened priest performed the sacrifice, how- see things. The Aztecs and Mayas did, anyway. They used
ever, the flesh imbued the cannibal with strength. Entire lancelets to pierce spiritually significant body parts like ears,
armies cannibalized their prisoners to give the warriors genitalia and tongues. Sometimes they ran knotted string
that bit of the departed soul that lingered. The priests through the punctures to really get the blood flowing. The
only used this rote before critical battles, to prevent dizzy hallucinations that such bloodlettings inspired were
addiction among the ranks. thought to be important messages from the gods.
System: If a person eats a corpse prepared by this System: The nature of the vision varies with the
rote, raise all of his Physical Attributes by 1 but lower number of successes rolled on the Effect. With one
his Social Attributes by 1 as well. The corpse must be success, the mage might see a momentary and incom-
eaten the day it’s prepared. (In some paradigms, the cook prehensible image. With four or more successes, a

76 Dead Magic
Mesoamerican god (or one from a different pantheon energy, as with the Heart’s Blood rote. However, the
depending on the mage’s paradigm) appears to the mage, addition of the Life magic gives the mage an opportunity
offering cryptic advice or revealing its message through to minimize the worst effects of the damage; although
a particularly vivid hallucination. Typically, the sacrifice it can’t prevent the injury, at least the mage needn’t
of blood causes the spirit to be favorably disposed toward suffer overmuch from the pain of the rite. Mayan priests
the mage, so it usually gives useful advice. probably indulged in some hallucinogens or narcotics
While the mage’s vision may present useful in- along with the ritual — or, at least, that’s what Tech-
formation, sincere worshippers use the rote simply to nocratic historians posit.
commune with the divine. Spirit magic contacts the
gods (or accessible Umbrood, if the mage’s paradigm Waiting to Exhale (••• Entropy,
excludes deities), while Mind draws upon the deepest •• Spirit; optional •+ Correspondence)
symbols and associations within the caster’s brain to This rote is like the Cup of Itz, but a group of
translate the spirit’s message into a meaningful hal- women — usually relatives or close friends — contrib-
lucination. The mage regains one or two Willpower utes blood to the ritual. The smoke from the bloody
points at the end of a successful casting, more if the paper wafts up to the gods, who in return protect the
Effect was particularly successful or the hallucination women’s homes, neighborhoods or even cities from
particularly enlightening. (Storytellers can, of course, unfortunate accidents. With modern adaptations of
give significant information through such visions, though this ritual, this rote reduces the likelihood of anything
a Storyteller should not be compelled to try to predict from fires and heart attacks to skateboarding injuries
the exact future of a chronicle.) and burned TV dinners.
While experiencing the hallucination, the mage System: Spirit magic ensures that the offering
is unaware of his surroundings and may be vulnerable. reaches the gods, while Entropy allows changes
Although the mage may be awakened from his vision, of fortune. Each success on the Effect extends the
the Effect is ruined if something snaps the mage from duration of this rote or raises the difficulty of any
the reverie. Typically, the blood loss and piercing inflicts harmful coincidental Entropic Effect in the area by
two levels of lethal damage; since the mage is deliber- 1. If Correspondence is used, successes can also con-
ately injuring himself, this damage cannot be soaked, tribute to the range of the Effect beyond the place
even magically. where the ritual was performed. The ritual takes one
Barring certain uses of Life magic, a mage can only night to cast. Use the Acting in Concert rules (Mage
use this rote every other week or so. Copious amounts Revised, p. 154) if more than one mage contributes
of blood lost on a regular basis make a man lightheaded, blood to the ritual.
to say the least. Obsidian Steel (•••• Matter)
In some paradigms, Visionary Bloodletting leads A razor-sharp and knappable rock, obsidian was the
to a Seeking. staple material for Mesoamerican tools and weapons.
Cup of Itz (•• Life, • Prime) Though crafting the obsidian pieces into shape required
One Mayan fresco shows a priest sacrificing his careful work, a well-sculpted piece could serve as a short
own blood that he might hold the power of the gods. knife, a scraping tool or a tooth on a piercing weapon.
A large decorated bowl with a paper in it is used to Even modern science recognizes obsidian’s incredibly
catch the blood, and the paper is then burned; smoke fine edges, useable even for surgery.
from the paper travels through a hole above the altar As a weapon, then, obsidian was deadly. The only
into the sky with the gods. In return, the gods grant the drawback was its fragility; pieces larger than an arrow-
supplicant a bit of their divine energy, which similarly head shattered when striking with any force and broke
comes down from the sky and into the priest. The rite against stone or metal. A powerful priest, however,
is clearly similar to other forms of sacrifice used by some could make obsidian durable. By bathing the finished
Tradition mages (see Heart’s Blood, Mage Revised, weapon in blood, hardening it in fire and sharpening it
p. 182), but this version is a bit more fearsome — the against stone, the mage can give the obsidian strength
typical Mayan form of the ritual required the mage to to pierce nearly any armor.
pierce his genitalia with a long needle and squeeze out Obsidian Steel seems like a simple Matter trans-
the blood for the enchantment. mutation, giving obsidian the durability of hard stone
System: Successes generated on this Effect allow or metal. Pieces treated in this fashion do not crack or
the mage to bleed out his own life and turn it into Prime shatter, and their edges can penetrate even hide, wood

Chapter Three: Fire in the Jungle — Mesoamerica 77

or, in some cases, metal. The rote’s Effects is often co- Of course, few warriors had the magical skills to actu-
incidental: If a lucky piece of obsidian doesn’t shatter ally transform themselves, but their priests knew rituals to
when it hits something, who can tell? enchant jaguar skin cloaks and armor so that the warrior
System: Successes scored for Obsidian Steel cause could transform when he wore them. Warriors met with the
the treated pieces — generally, nothing over the size of priests periodically to renew their cloaks, undertake secret
an arrowhead unless the magic is vulgar — to become tasks and maintain the power of their jaguar skins. Kills in
more resilient. Pieces could be placed in a club so that battle also maintained the magic of the cloaks.
it can pierce and slash armored opponents with ease. It System: A jaguar cloak or skin enchanted with this
can also be used to make piecemeal armor. Of course, rote is attuned to a specific wearer. Through Life magic,
the mage must score enough successes to make the Ef- the skin recognizes only its owner and grants him the
fect last long enough to be useful. A permanent Pattern power to assume the form of the jaguar. A strong-willed
change (with Prime added) could make an Artifact; it’s and fierce warrior can even control the transformation,
rumored that there are still a few rare clubs out there briefly gaining claws or a nasty bite without fully turning
so enchanted. into a beast. When the wearer transforms, the Matter
magic causes the cloak to become part of the wearer — in
Jaguar Cloak effect, it becomes his skin, and turns back into a cloak
(••••• Life, ••• Matter, ••• Prime, •• Spirit) when the wearer reverts to his normal form.
Fierce warriors showed their off their battle skills A mage enchanting a jaguar cloak must score enough
with grisly trophies. Some dressed in the skins of jag- successes for the item to have a worthwhile duration and
uars and other dangerous animals. Just as the Norse empower the cloak to affect its owner. The wearer risks
berserkers wore bear skins and gained the bear’s ferocity, the normal problems of transformation: His mind may
Mesoamerican warriors drew upon the jaguar’s speed and become feral if he remains too long in the shape of a
hunting prowess. A few could even transform themselves jaguar. Thus, the secret warrior societies that used such
into jaguars and run through the jungles at great speed cloaks often accepted only the most strong-willed and
or slay their opponents with claws. brutal warriors — those with the presence of mind to

78 Dead Magic
retain their intellect and with enough animal cunning Troupes might devise their own, perhaps making Paradox
that they already seem like a jaguar (thus having a good backlashes more severe on a certain night or increas-
Resonance to work with the spell). ing the rate at which Quintessence can be drawn from
The jaguar cloak renews its power through its wear- Nodes. Just keep the bonuses low and be sure that the
er’s deeds in combat. As the wearer slays his enemies, the prevailing cosmic tendency fits the story.
enchantment channels the anguish of departing spirits The patterns discerned by the reading only apply to
into magical energy (with Prime and Spirit magic). Effects cast by mages who believe in the cycles of the Long
The spirit energy floods into the warrior in a wash of Count (ultimately, the caster perceives the tendency, but
ecstasy that feeds the cloak. Each person killed by the that doesn’t make it real to others). At the Storyteller’s
wearer in heated battle adds another day to the cloak’s discretion, this rote might also give the character insight
enchantment. Eventually, the warrior becomes blood into the state of reality given the current Long Count. A
hungry and seeks out battle both to further the cloak’s botch means that the mage has misconstrued the pattern;
power and to sate his own increasingly animalistic ap- let the lying about difficulty numbers begin.
petites — some warriors even gorge themselves on the
organs of their foes, as if the mere rush of souls is not Schedule of Heaven (••• Spirit, • Time)
enough to satiate them. The divine patterns of the Mayan Long Count
Few dare to use these cloaks in this day and age, governed not just the earth, but the many Mayan spirit
but rumor has it that, in the Amazon, there are men worlds as well. During certain periods of time, minutes to
who run as jaguars. millennia, the planes of existence came closer together.
Modern Dreamspeakers who still observe the Mayan
Quahuitl (•• Correspondence) ways read the Long Count to determine the best times
When the Spaniards first encountered the Aztecs, to step sideways into the Umbra.
the precision of Tenochtitlan far outstripped that of any System: A student just learning the intricacies of
Spanish city. Spanish land measurement varied from the Long Count might know enough to locate one or
province to province, while the Aztecs had developed two times a certain Near Umbral Realm is most acces-
a rigorous understanding of land measurement. sible; a Master, however, can discern more propitious
System: Anyone could use a quahuitl — a cord cut times even for Realms in the Deep Umbra. Successes on
to a specific length — for measuring distance. However, this rote lower the difficulty of crossing the Gauntlet.
a mage can empower a quahuitl with specific proper- Successes can also increase the usefulness of the read-
ties — sort of like the Aztec version of zoning. An area ing, revealing the best times and Realms to the mage.
cordoned off with lengths of quahuitl, probably over The Storyteller can also decide how accessible certain
several turns as the mage sets and resets the length of Realms are depending on the needs of the story or the
cord, can be warded against improper intrusion or exit. date of her chronicle’s Long Count.
Functionally similar to the Ward Effect in Mage Revised A botch could mean missed opportunities or useless
(p. 159), this rote demonstrates how a mage might do frustration. On the first night in two hundred years that
a common Effect under a specific paradigm. it’s been easy to travel to the Deep Umbra, for example,
the mage believes it impossible.
Patterns of the Long Count Note that the Schedule of Heaven doesn’t necessar-
(• Prime, • Spirit) ily sidestep other travel problems like artificial Gauntlet
As the sidebar The Exact Date of the End of the strengthening or the Avatar Storm; it does, however,
World (p. 65) explains, the Mayas thought that the help the mage in sensing useful Junctures, times when the
earth and the spirit realms were governed by cyclical Umbra gains strength within a certain area. This can also
patterns of time. Depending on the god who carried a be useful in determining when a close correspondence
particular span of time, certain occurrences were more between spirit and material worlds might result in a surplus
likely. And the Awakened who could perceive Patterns of Quintessence that can be harvested by someone with
saw tendencies in the passage of time and the motions the appropriate knowledge of Prime.
of the spirit realms.
System: The mage reads the Long Count, also Trinkets and Items
perceiving the Patterns that exist among the dates of Codex Mendoza (Special)
the calendar. For the duration of the Effect, lower the When the Spaniards razed the Aztec empire, they
difficulty of Effects involving one Sphere by 1. This is carried off many artifacts and treasures from Tenochtit-
just one pattern that can be found in the Long Count. lan. Of course, Aztec society disgusted the Spaniards and

Chapter Three: Fire in the Jungle — Mesoamerica 79

many murals and books detailing religion and history few are prepared for their sheer height, and travelers
were burned. The Codex Mendoza survived this purge. unaccustomed to physical exertion in high elevations
Several copies have been made, so one could conceiv- are asking for trouble, especially if they’re running from
ably crop up nearly anywhere. hostile spirits or creatures.
The Codex Mendoza describes the Aztec’s history Legend has it that the Incas built their cities and
from the perspective of the culture itself. A reader needs civilizations upon the ruins of older, subterranean
to be able to decipher its logographic language — the cities. Explorers of the Incan ruins might discover a
Aztec language that evolved from Mixtec pictograms. Technocratic conspiracy to cover up such ruins. Some
Aside from containing tributary records and results of stories even claim that the tunnels connect across the
various wars, the full Codex Mendoza’s pictograms earth with hidden lairs under Egypt, China and places
elaborate on some religious and magical practices, on the other side of the planet. If such stories are true,
including the rite that mages know as Heart for a mage who discovered a means to travel quickly from
Huitzilopochtli. Naturally, any mage aware of this site to site could gain access to a tremendous web of
fact is eager to make sure that copies of the book powerful Nodes.
stay out of the hands of any enemies, especially the Beyond the Incan ruins, mages find the Andes a
Nephandi, but it appears that the Nephandi have had repository of untouched mountain wilderness. Of course,
a heads-up on the rite for some time. Now it’s just a large tracts have been mined, forested and overrun (es-
matter of containment. pecially in the World of Darkness), but there are still
uncounted acres of free space that hide all manner of
Huaca (2-pt. Artifact) strange flora and fauna. Mages with a bent toward Life
The huacas are sacred carvings, often of small men magic could find uses for the creatures or plants of the
or scenes from tales. It’s said that huacas carry the power Andes, some of which aren’t found anywhere else on
of the objects they depict. Since huacas often show earth — or outside of the Umbra.
magical events or the dwarfish beings reputed to live
under the Andes, such talismans can actually be useful Cholula
in forging arcane connections. This means that a mage The Olmec-Xicallanca dynasty built a pyramid at
could use a huaca to draw a connection to one of the Cholula, the largest pyramid built in the Americas. If the
dwarfs, possibly to weave a protection enchantment, or rumors are true, the South American pyramids are, like
that the mage might be able to garner insight into the their cousins in Egypt, sites of enormous power. Rumor
location of a historical mystic event, like the landings has it that a mage of sufficient Prime skill could not only
of the so-called “ancient astronauts.” awaken the Node at such a site, but channel and direct
its energy to any other pyramid on the planet. If so, no
Mystic Places mage has done so in millennia.
Peru, Mexico, Brazil; the Amazon, the Andes,
the Temple of the Sun: There’s no shortage of sites to Jaina
draw mages to South America. Mages recognize the The strong death ties of many Central American
placement of ancient temples and pyramids in places cultures mean that it’s no surprise that they, too, built
that once held power (and in some cases still do). necropoli. In this case, though, they dedicated an entire
Many such sites have become tourist attractions, but island to the function. Jaina became an island necropolis
a few retain links to their past. And, of course, some off the west coast of the Petén Lowlands. The angry
are so grand that people lose sight of the magic amid spirits of those who died and were buried without ever
the majesty. knowing the bloodcurdling sacrifices of the temples
might still dwell here. It’s almost certain that old tools
The Andes and magical items might be left behind here, and one
Though the Andes are too large to be considered Dreamspeaker swears that a natural gate to the Under-
a single Node, they hold enough mysteries to draw world exists, though ghosts of Mayan warriors are said
mages in search of the hidden places reputed to lie in to guard the gate.
their peaks. Formidable in height, the Andes present
several problems for prospective travelers — though San Lorenzo
trips can be had through the Andes, most mages know A thousand years before Christ, the Olmecs built
that the good stuff is off the beaten path. Furthermore, one of the first prominent cities in South America. The

80 Dead Magic
site now known as San Lorenzo persisted for several and sacrificial charnel pits. Stone drains served as an
hundred years as a tribute to the brutality and butchery aqueduct system, while tremendous carved heads and
that later spread across the continent. murals adorned the city. The people indulged in the
San Lorenzo shows evidence of having been a pastimes of their culture — human sacrifice, cannibal-
place of religious ceremony and culture. It has the first ism, religious hallucinations. What Resonance might
historical indications of ball courts, temple records such a place have today?

Chapter Three: Fire in the Jungle — Mesoamerica 81

82 Dead Magic
 Chapter Four:
Pillars of
Philosophy —
Greece and Rome
A Beginning
Here are the documents I have accumulated for my report on secret
societies within Greece and Rome and their effect on the modern Tra-
ditions of the Council of Nine. The variety of interviews, documents and
personal journal entries tell the story. I have not revised my journal in the
hopes of maintaining the authenticity of my original notes.
Submitted in Good Faith,
Simon Pain
Celestial Chorus
Greek Society
I arrived in Greece today. I did not come as Odysseus came to Greece
after months of travel and hardship, but on a plane with pretty stewardesses
and complimentary meals.
I’m in Athens, a city trying to be the capital of both a European city and
a Middle Eastern one. I am out of my element here. The major religion is
Greek Orthodox, a sect of Christianity not given much attention in America,

Chapter Four: Pillars of Philosophy — Greece and Rome 83

 much less considered a viable sect by most Protestants. The Chorus has
more voices than we allow ourselves to hear, I guess.
Well, first things first. I need to start on that list of people to contact for
interviews. I’ll add my notes to my journal as I get them.
The Pervasive Greek Influence
From the journal of Matthew Argivian, translated from Greek, dated 1872:
When most people look back on Greece, they don’t bother to think where
their culture comes from. Many historians say that the Greek influence on
Western culture comes from the Crusades. On their way to reclaim the Holy
Land — in the name of God, of course — the crusaders stopped to rape and
pillage the city of Byzantium. When they returned from their occupation of the
city, they brought with them Greek culture. From this classical influence came
the Renaissance which led to et cetera ad nauseum.
Czarist Russia considered itself to be the extension of the Byzantine
Empire in the modern age — a conceit only slightly more accurate than the
notion of the “Holy Roman Empire.”
But the Greek tradition was alive and well long before this hand-me-down
history. Where do you think Merlin learned his tricks from? It’s no coinci-
dence that alchemy practiced by the ancient scholars of the Middle Ages
was handed down to them in a direct line from Pythagoras and was in turn
handed to him by his predecessors.
Never any respect for the past.
The Golden Age
Dr. Deterious, Paradigma, Vol. 83, No. 2
An old Greek legend states that two races existed before mankind. The
first was a race of men made of gold, who lived in the appropriately titled
golden age. Then came the silver age, not quite so beautiful, when men were
made of silver. Now is the iron age when men are made of iron, a brutal age of
strife and warfare. Sometimes I think about the Technocracy and their push
for mankind’s blood and bones to be replaced by plastic and steel. Is this the
promise of a better and more beautiful world or just another degradation, a
fourth age more brutal and harsh than the last?
Shiny Happy People
Personal account by Eva Silvers, The Green Ones cabal:
We were deep within the spirit world far beyond any reflection of Earth
and very near to the Horizon. That’s when the beastie started chasing us.
It resembled a corrupted Entropic spirit but had multiple heads. It seemed
to be almost made of heads and necks but we were too busy trying to get
away to actually get a good look. That’s when we saw him. Meghann was the
only one to get a good look at him, and she never describes him looking the

84 Dead Magic
same way (of course, her eyes got burned out of her head, the poor girl). I
shielded my eyes from the being’s intense light, and then it was gone. For
as deep in the spirit world as we were, this was not an odd occurrence,
but just before the light left us I heard a voice in my head saying “Be well,
you are protected here.…”
Sister Whitewood, Verbena:
The silver race? I can tell you what became of them. They are all
around us. They are everywhere, but they stick to the forests. The sil-
ver race has gone by many names — moon beasts, shapeshifters. They
remember the old gods like Gaia and Luna as no one else does. They
preserve that which is still good in the world. They are the true preservers
and defenders of mankind in all their natural glory. Mundane folks cannot
handle the awesome sight of them and are cowed by the ultimate beauty of
their natural form, but our kind has the rare and extraordinary gift to see
these beings as they truly are. We must not squander this gift for they
are our only allies in these dark times.
Dr. Brown, Order of Hermes:
You’ve gotta be kidding me. People made of silver became werethings?
Yeah, right.
My guess? If there was a golden or silver race before man, it existed as
some sort of proto-construct thing, an awareness tied to matter before liv-
ing flesh could hold on to a spirit. Or something.
Besides, if my body were made of gold, I’d probably sell it for a beer and two
tickets to a Mexican donkey show. Doubtless, the silver and golden ones have
fallen to similar temptations; we shall never see their kind again.
The Peloponnesian War
Transcript from an interview with Father Eucebio Stavrides Ph.D.,
May 11, 1995:
Father Stavrides: How long do you believe the Ascension War has been
going on?
Simon Pain: According to Tradition history, the Council of Nine and the
Technocracy formed in the late Renaissance. That’s when
the Ascension War began.
FS: Typical answer. Do you really believe that, young man?
SP: Believe what?
FS: Do you believe that that is how the Ascension War started?
SP: Well, there were conflicts prior to that but there weren’t exactly clear
sides as to who was who, since there were no official factions.
FS: And when do you think the first battles began?
SP: I’m not exactly sure, though it seems the fall of the Mythic Age roughly
coincided with the Crusades. At least that’s what my research shows.

Chapter Four: Pillars of Philosophy — Greece and Rome 85

 FS: <sigh> Well, you have a lot to learn, my boy. First of all, do you know about
the Peloponnesian War?
SP: I know the historical documentation of it.
FS: Do you think mages were involved?
SP: Well, not really. I never thought about it.
FS: Exactly.
SP: Are you saying that the traditional account of how the Ascension War
began is false?
FS: The crux of it is this: The war wasn’t about land or economics or
political factions or even religion, it was about magic. Sparta was a
nation of science and organization; they worshipped order and
militarism. Athens was a nation of ideas and gods where they
worshipped innovation and individual achievement. Now replace “Sparta”
with “Technocracy” and A “ thens” with “Traditions” and there you have
the Ascension War in a nutshell. Perhaps the tradition of fighting each
other in an organized fashion wasn’t centered around us individually,
but that’s what it was really about.
SP: That doesn’t exactly fit with the way things turned out in the end.
Sparta won the Peloponnesian War and the Mythic Age continued.
Macedonia conquered the Greeks. Then the Romans conquered
everybody.
FS: And how exactly did Macedonia conquer Greece?
SP: Well under the leadership of Alexander the G —
FS: Exactly, Alexander the Great. Who do you think was Alexander’s tutor?
SP: It was Aristotle, I believe.
FS: Right again, boy. Ever read any of Aristotle’s philosophy? His
observations of society and taxonomy of organisms are nothing less
than the inspiration for generations upon generations of scientists.
SP: I see, but how —
FS: Do you know why Socrates was killed?
SP: Excuse me?
FS: You know of Socrates, right? Great thinker, coined the term
“philosophy” — why was he killed?
SP: I’m not sure.
FS: Because he had no piety for the gods of the state. He was a heretic,
and that was punishable by death. Plato, his student, advocated absolute
truths and higher forms that were immutable. Alexander, through
Aristotle’s instruction, inherited their philosophies and tried to bring
Greeks, Macedonians, Egyptians, and Persians under the rule of one
authority and more importantly, one culture. Sound like the
Technocracy to you yet?
SP: How does Rome fit into all of this?

86 Dead Magic
FS: Ah, but don’t you see? That’s what the whole of Rome was about in the
first place. We, the spiritualists and idealists, had lost the
Peloponnesian War and were wary of centering our efforts around a
nation. Nations, after all, tend to worry more about themselves than the
philosophical basis for what they do. Look at Rome; it was a Technocracy.
The aqueduct, the auditorium, the roads — these things didn’t just come
from the gods — that would be too mystical. It was science.
SP: But there were cults of mysticism and religion in Roman culture.
FS: And that is how they were ultimately undermined, you see. Religion was
present in Rome but it was never anything more than functional and
utilitarian, like everything else in the empire. It held the society
together as a common culture. Christianity changed all that. Christianity
came from the Jews, one of the conquered peoples of Rome.
Christianity instilled a sense of mysticism and wonder that had been
lost for so long, and the Mythic Age returned. Now what could be a new
Christianity to return wonder to our world, hmm?
The Oracle — Mage, or More?
Transcribed from a conversation with Jon Kouten:
“So what faction does the Oracle belong to? Sounds like a Hermetic stunt
to me.”
“No one controls the Oracle or her protectors,” replied Jon.
“So she’s like a Craft mage, right?”
Jon sighed at this and shook his head. “Young Initiate, you have much to
learn,” he intoned in a semi-serious voice. “Craft, Tradition, Convention —
what do these words mean? You are placing the group before the individual.
Each and every Awakened being is special. There was a time when none
of these labels existed and each mage was a force unto himself. That is es-
sentially still the case. Some just like to pretend otherwise because one’s
network of friends and colleagues has become more formalized.”
A Question
Transcribed from my encounter with the Oracle:
“I have come to ask the Oracle a question.”
“Everyone comes to ask the Oracle a question. Why should we grant your
request?”
This shocked me. The idea that I wouldn’t be simply charged for the show
and handed a fortune cookie for my trouble was not what I expected. I was
unprepared to defend my query.
“What are you doing here, Simon Pain?” said a female voice from behind
the monk.
“My lady, he brings no question to take from you an answer nor any sacri-
fice to give to you,” the monk replied.

Chapter Four: Pillars of Philosophy — Greece and Rome 87

 “What do you mean?” I asked while I tried to get a better look past
the monk. Standing in the stained stone arch of the doorway stood a
woman completely wrapped in a soft, white fabric. Even her face was com-
pletely obscured.
“Ever the inquisitive one. Did you come here to debunk us as practitio-
ners of your Art? Perhaps you came to convert us to your religion.”
“I came to visit the Oracle.”
“Well, here I am, what do you want of me?” the woman asked, with more
than a trace of annoyance.
“Just to speak to you, I suppose.”
“Know yourself, Simon.”
“What do you mean?” I’d expected cryptic words, but not this brushoff.
“No one ever needs to visit me. All the answers anyone ever needs
are within themselves if they but look within. Why are you here? Why are you
traveling, staying in cheap hotels and asking questions to which you already
know the answers? Where do you belong, Simon? It’s not here.”
I felt incredulous — could she really be saying these things? It all
sounded too nonsensical — too pat. Defeated, confused, but with a new
direction in mind, I turned around and walked away.
Orpheus’ Journey
I vaguely remember the story of Orpheus’ descent into the Underworld.
He used music to charm Cerberus, to charm even the gods into letting him
violate the natural order. He descended through a cave into Hades and re-
turned with his dead paramour — almost, but he blew it at the end.
Parts of Greece feel almost like passages between our land and Hades.
The well-photographed tourist areas are just traps for money and cameras,
but off the beaten roads there are little-known ruins. It’s in places like
those that ghosts still linger. Sometimes you can’t tell if the wind is satyr’s
music or if a dark doorway actually leads down to Tartarus. The more I look
around, the more I get the feeling that everything I want to know is al-
ready here; it’s not a matter of dig ging up dead magic but of listening to
living words. Perhaps the Greek magic has indeed returned from the Un-
derworld, but when I turn around to look, it’s like Orpheus turning as he exits
Hades. What am I missing?
Closer…
Everyone knows the Greek myths; I don’t need to retell the Iliad in my
journal. What people don’t know is how true they mightv
’ e been.
Africa’s passed its myths into mystery, but Greece keeps its stories
alive. The Greeks have living myths: The more I get away from civilization,
the more I feel like I’m going back in time. Some things seem clearer when

88 Dead Magic
 you’re out on a quay in the sea, or meandering through dusty remnants of a
ruin at dusk.
I’ve felt it. A small breeze picked up while I explored a bit of a nearly col-
lapsed tunnel (possibly a storeroom or a buried building). Something on the
ground glittered as the sun set. A piece of bronze — a simple arc, perhaps
part of a bracelet or a vase. As I stooped to pick it up I heard voices from afar,
as if from the other side of a wall. I saw blinding scintillations as I stood.
Something had come close. I’d almost touched the myth.
Myth Revealed
Myth is just the fantastic put into a form that the consciousness
accepts. We weave fanciful tales then say that they’re just whimsical expla-
nations for things that weren’t real, but they’re as real as we let them be.
In remote places, away from most of humanity, there’s a boundary. You feel
it as you cross, when the material world gives way to the mythical. Maps do
not show these lands, but they are fleeting remnants of the myths you
find if you walk the right paths.
I’ve found a place here that crosses the borders — an arch, which is a
gateway to the myth. The creatures and magic of the past still wait in the
hidden corners. I’m beginning to understand. Pythagoras needed to de-
fine geometry so that he could delineate these things, put up boundaries
and see where they came from and where they went. Playwrights needed
no such constructs: They let these things run loose in the imagination.
I don’t think that the myths can cross back easily into our world any
more. No centaurs galloping across the plains. I’ve learned something about
the weave of myth and man, though. I think I have a new song, one to touch
the divine with the spark of imagination.

Roots of the Olive Tree

There seems to be an eternal fascination roads lead to Rome,” and “When in Rome…,” but few
with the ancient cultures of Greece and people even know the date of Rome’s fall. This chapter
Rome. From the Renaissance until rela- discusses how modern society remembers these ancient
tively recently, a college-educated man was cultures, specifically how mages remember Greece’s
expected to have read the Iliad and the magical traditions.
Odyssey, analyzed Plato and Aristotle, and Oh, technically, “Hellenic” is probably a better
been able to recite — if not understand — a term for ancient Greek society, but that’s nit-picking.
smattering of Latin. Even in these ignorant
times, words like “cyclops” or movies like Themes of Greece and Rome
Spartacus saturate our culture with the legacy of Greece Greece and Rome gave us intense concepts like
and Rome. hubris and epic tragedy. They gave us heroes doomed
So what really happened? to failure for their mortal flaws, gods whose whimsy
We seem to hear more about Greek gods than we do extinguished civilizations. Secrets, the world can deal
about Greek culture itself. Rome we know as a center with. It’s okay to kill an entire family and bury them in
of civilization, and we hear phrases about its glory: “All your backyard, just don’t bring it up at the Johnson’s

Chapter Four: Pillars of Philosophy — Greece and Rome 89

barbecue party. Truth is difficult to deal with when one completely suited for war. Boys were trained from
we don’t like it, especially when it concerns a past manhood to be military men, to subsist on a minimal
we want to call our own. amount of food or to steal what they needed.
There’s also the theme of opening up oneself to One Spartan story, often retold, tells of a young boy
one’s true nature. What was reviled soon becomes a part in military training. Boys of that age were not given food
of the self. Whether that new identity is something we so they had to steal everything they ate. If they were
want to have or others are willing to accept is another discovered, it was taken from them. This early lesson
matter. The Greeks and Romans gave us the hero — the taught the boys to steal food like a soldier — quietly
man who strove to overcome his nature, who traveled and with whatever guile could be mustered. One boy
through adversity while he simultaneously made an sneaked into the forest and caught a fox. As he returned
inner journey to open himself to wisdom. Even as he to the barracks, a guard stopped him and asked him about
tragically falls, the hero fulfills his true, inner nature. where he had been. The boy began calmly talking with
the guard, keeping the fox firmly under his arm, where
A Little Greek History… the fox had gotten free and began clawing at the boy’s
In a world of vast empires, the Greeks were orga- flesh. Finally, the boy fell over dead from the wounds
nized into self-governing city states. This was largely and the fox ran out from under his shirt. Heralded as
due to the mountainous terrain of the area, which a hero and a true Spartan, the boy’s tale was retold for
forced people into somewhat isolated clusters. Primary most of Spartan history.
among theses cities were two well-known names: Spartans had little time for crafts, much less for
Athens and Sparta. growing food. This was left to the Helots, the en-
Spartans were considered masters of warfare. Af- slaved Messenians. One well-known chronicler said
ter the Messenian War, Sparta annexed its neighbor of Spartan cuisine that “after tasting Spartan food [he]
Messenia for arable land but was in return nearly over- understood why Spartans were so willing to die.” Even
run, as the Messenians far outnumbered the Spartans. in modern languages, “Spartan” remains synonymous
Sparta survived by turning the Messenians into slave with austerity. Sparta valued strength, discipline and
labor while their own society dramatically evolved into war, but little else.

90 Dead Magic
 Few visitors were allowed inside the city. This was Greece’s favor — it prevented cultural stagnation and
probably for the best — Spartan values and culture so the Greek philosophies spread to influence thinking
strongly clashed with outsiders’ standards that most across the Mediterranean and beyond, bringing about
visitors doubtless came away with a rather terrified an era of Hellenistic greatness. Alexander died before
picture of the city. he could spread his empire into Asia, but in his wake
Athens, on the other hand, is sometimes heralded his three most trusted generals divided his empire into
as “the birthplace of democracy.” In truth, this is a thirds. These fragments declined slowly until another
romanticized vision. In its youth, the city was just as military power could unify them once more; the old
monarchic as any other, with wealthy landowners con- colony of Rome returned to conquer her forebears.
trolling the elected council. In a quirk of history, falling
agriculture prices forced Athens to select a dictator
to reform the city. Within a few generations, Sparta, The Olympics
suspicious of Athens’ increasingly imperialistic policy, Summary Report
attacked and managed to oust the dictatorship. Though As I head off to attend the 2000 Olympics in
Sparta nominally won, Athens’ government changed Sydney, I am writing this summary report of the docu-
again, this time to something like a democracy. Of ments and interviews with contacts in Atlanta during
course, only male, land-owning Greeks who were born in the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. Clearly, there
Athens could vote. Still, for its time in history, Athens was a great deal of activity in Purgatory (or the Dark
was remarkably egalitarian. Leaders were not elected to Umbra, as the Council of Nine calls it); however, I
office by vote, but each Athenian citizen was expected have yet to see any clearly mystical activity associated
to take his turn randomly in a station of public office. with it. There was a well-documented convergence of
This was facilitated by the Agora, an open area where ghosts in the area. My previous theories at the time
people shopped and debated. Imagine a cross between stated that such a convergence always happens near
a mall, a grocery store and a nonstop political debate large gatherings of people, as spirits tend to gravitate to
between candidates. As Sparta’s militocracy declined, areas of high emotion (as the games stimulate in some).
Athens’ democracy rose. My recommendation in a field report at the time stated
Given that the city-states of Greece formed one that such a gathering could happen in all major cities
of the most potent alliances of their era, conflict with worldwide during the festivities at the end of the millen-
external forces was inevitable. Athens and Sparta came nium. However, given the activity and occurrences in
together along with their allies to repel the Persian the Dark Umbra that took place in 1999 and continued
invasions by Darius I and his son Xerxes I. After the to the present, I highly recommend a study of the events
war, Athens formed an alliance with the surrounding in question to determine if there was some causal effect
city-states called the Delian League, in order to tax between the two.
them and support the huge navy of Athens. Sparta The Olympic games represented a religious
in turn formed an alliance called the Peloponnesian festival that united all the Greek city-states as
League to support its army and keep away the Delians. one. Every four years, all the wars of Greece were
Ultimately, this friction led to what is now known as suspended while the greatest athletes (or at least
the Peloponnesian War. At least that is what the his- the greatest male athletes) went to the city of
tory books tell us.… Olympus. Games and competitions were held in
The Peloponnesian War severely weakened the honor of the gods and to celebrate the human
Greek states, exhausting their resources on civic in- body, a immensely holy thing to the Greek soul.
fighting. Already tired from their constant feuding, the So important were the Olympic Games that the
city-states were pickings for an outside conqueror. The Greek calendar marked its first year as the first year
entire peninsula was conquered by a small country called that the Olympic Games were held.
Macedonia, by one of Aristotle’s students — a curious Under the reign of Emperor Constantine, the
man called “Alexander the Great.” Alexander conquered Olympic Games were cancelled for being “pagan and
all of Greece, Anatolia (present day Turkey), Egypt idolatrous” in the eyes of the new Roman Church.
and Persia. Under his rule, Greek culture exchanged Still, the Games remained firmly established as a
with surrounding areas, spreading the ideas of Greek sign of unity and competition, and as a peaceful
philosophers and architects and allowing a wealth of means of bringing together warring groups.
new ideas into the fold. This trade actually worked in

Chapter Four: Pillars of Philosophy — Greece and Rome 91

The Rise and Fall of Rome schemes set precedents for themselves. Rhetoric fell
to the wayside as violence became the favored tool in
For fifteen hundred years Rome represented the settling political disputes: political officers assassinat-
pinnacle of European civilization. The gradual decay ing one another on the personal level, or engaging in
of the Greek states led inevitably to isolated pockets of military feuds on the national level.
culture. With armies exhausted by the constant warfare,
By the arrival of Julius, the Roman hegemony was
the cities had limited room for expansion, trade or pro-
well into a state of legislative shock. Infighting paralyzed
tection of territories. Stagnation resulted.
the legislative process and made it impossible for the
In Rome, representative government continued nation to deal with problems of debt, infrastructure
by tradition. Instead of adhering to a formal body of and private use of military power. Julius, a charismatic
laws, the Roman governors ruled by weight of histori- figure by all accounts, managed to wave off the custom-
cal precedent. The senate passed its laws based upon ary behaviors and expectations of the day. Acting in
previous similar judgments. Debate and argument a high-handed fashion and with supreme confidence,
about precedent determined the acceptability of a legal he set what precedents he desired and used his con-
position. Naturally, this meant that skilled debaters, siderable political savvy to bring the senate into line.
ones who could make a weak precedent seem strong, From 49 to 44 B.C., Julius effectively dictated policy
prospered politically. to Rome — though he refused monarchy, he accepted
Just as Rome held on to the old representative the accolades and cooperation of the legislature and
governmental traditions established earlier in Athens, cemented his place.
though, it also held dear the militocratic principles of Naturally, success breeds enemies. Julius’ heavy-
the aggressive Greek city-states. Military prowess led to handed treatment of the Roman public and his dismissal
political favor; successful generals could rely on their of customary procedure earned him no great admirers
campaigns as badges of honor to gain popular approval. among other ambitious politicians. In 44 B.C., Julius
Furthermore, land ownership guaranteed privilege and was struck down by angry members of the senate and
wealth. With an argumentative collection of politicians, their co-conspirators. The liberators, though, found that
the only way to increase holdings outside of business Rome’s people hailed Julius’ showmanship; the assassins
was, naturally, to expand the Roman hegemony through were forced to disperse, with public sentiment turned
conquest — so many statesmen founded their wealth against them.
and power through military actions in their youth. This
Julius’ reign led to the establishment of the empire,
incentive led to the constant expansion of Roman ter-
though. From a failing popular government, Rome
ritory, by intimately tying personal political gains with
converted to a dictatorial regime. A spate of warfare
Roman interests.
between Mark Antony and Octavian, the successor to
The Empire of the Western World Julius, ended when Julius managed to secure the popu-
Rome was probably founded after native tribesmen lar support of the senate. Commanding an army with
drove out the Etruscans. However, Rome came into its legislative sanction, Octavian routed Antony, whose
own during its imperial period: The Roman senatorial army had been declared a public threat, to the eastern
reliance on legal precedent without recourse to records territories. In a move of political genius, Octavian took
paved the way for a charismatic leader to influence the the moniker Caesar, after the fashion of his adoptive
senatorial process. That leader arose in the form of mentor Julius, and thus established a direct connection
Julius Caesar. to his charismatic predecessor. Octavian’ army was
The Roman representative government had suf- kept busy with civil war — the Roman republic had
fered through a slow decline through much of the splintered under the disparate demands of pro-Caesar
second century B.C.; generals used Roman military factions; the senate only served to legitimize actions of
detachments to further their political arguments. Often, conquest and terror after the fact. Without the broad
a senator’s backing in legal matters could be attributed political support of his opponents, Octavian had to
to his legions stationed near the city of Rome — the act decisively and use his one advantage: his appeal
threat of violence to back up authority. The senate itself to the military men that he’d led on campaigns earlier
kept no legislative authority, but the elected officials during Julius’ reign.
who required senatorial backing pressed hard upon Octavian settled disputes to cement his control
the walls of tradition. In a system run by precedent, of western Rome, then switched sides to gain popular
those who could get away with new and dangerous support. While he was merely a military commander
he had to rely on his battlefield successes to garner ac-

92 Dead Magic
 later, he caught up with them, absorbed their defecting
Roman Oratory (and Killin’) army and annexed Egypt.
Understanding the Roman political machine Octavian successfully stabilized the Roman hegemo-
takes a little work. It helps to look at what the ny and defeated all competing claims; he re-established
upper-class citizens of Rome actually did. To them, the ties between the eastern and western republic and
manual labor was slave work; intellectualization was managed to annex Egypt as well. No wonder he was
work for philosophers. The true citizen concerned accepted as a hero and as the only remaining influence
himself with the advancement of Rome, and with in Roman politics. In 27 B.C., he cleverly offered to
his personal holdings. settle to private life, leaving the senate with the messy
In Rome, personal holdings often came down job of cleaning up a republic desperately in need of
through families. How could a young upstart gain strong leadership, a republic with grain shortages and
some land? Take it by force, of course. The youth debt, with rioting and no clear direction. Naturally,
could lead a small military force on expeditions the senate offered him more perks as an incentive to
to expand the empire — one of the reasons for stay — and over the course of several decrees, includ-
Rome’s impressive conquests. Then he made ing the destruction of all ancient Roman legal records,
the conquered peoples into Roman subjects and he named himself “Augustus” and became the de facto
taxed the province. The veterans of the war were ruler of all Rome.
forged into a potent fighting group by their shared Octavian — Augustus — Caesar — set the model
experience, and they profited from the war effort. for Rome as an empire. For fifteen hundred years, a suc-
Many settled down and established homes in the cession of despotic heads of state set precedent and law.
new province, with strong loyalty to the leader The emperors of Rome were a mixed lot — some
who brought them prosperity. effective, some despotic, some crazed. None can doubt
Once settled in with some land and money, a that their assertiveness created perhaps one of the most
rising star could get involved in politics. Leadership widespread and potent nations the world has ever seen.
often became a matter of politicians contesting with The Roman legions, already formidable, were able to
their private armies — Mark Antony’s war against turn their attentions outward, to the annexation of new
Octavian merely brought such conflicts to a head. territories instead of internal political disputes. Broad
Since a young citizen couldn’t be expected to grow edicts made it possible to concretely address problems
up doing slave labor, he didn’t study craftsmanship, like grain shortages, revolts, debt and infrastructure.
mathematics or the like. Result: the many years of Rome grew in stature corresponding to its decisive
scholarship and instruction went into dramaturgy leaders. Unfortunately, not all of its leaders were as
and linguistics. The Romans took the rigid Latin skilled as Augustus.
language and made it into a remarkably flexible
creature, bending it to their whims; many became The Madmen of Rome
phenomenal public speakers, simply due to their Certainly, Augustus’ work in cementing the em-
long and grueling studies of language. Roman pire brought new order, but it opened the door to new
politicians thus had excellent skill to motivate and problems. Augustus turned the empire on its head; later
manipulate the populace. imperial developments accelerated Rome’s decline with
the terrible policies of insane emperors. Since his suc-
cesses were phenomenal, especially considering his lack
claim. As head of state, though, he could gain popularity of political ties, Augustus’ victories raised some eyebrows
through the support of Roman tradition, especially among mystic communities — did he, perhaps, have some
given Antony’s continued affair with Cleopatra (and outside help? A mentor, perhaps, who aided him subtly
subsequent acceptance of non-Roman customs and in the formation of the empire, but later cursed it to a
superstitions). Hailed as a hero, Octavian carefully horrific decline? Most mages are sure that Augustus was
cleaved to Roman traditional standards so that his final simply a great leader, but certainly some dark infection
move against Antony had the support of military, public followed the transformation of Rome from republic to
and body politic. empire. Whatever power may have resided there could
In 31 B.C., Octavian and Antony clashed in Greece. still wait to strike a devil’s bargain with a would-be fol-
Octavian’ navy, under the command of Agrippa, block- lower of Augustus’ successes.
aded and sank Antony’s ships. Antony and Cleopatra The weaknesses of Augustus’ imperial scheme
were routed to Egypt, where Octavian followed; a year showed up only a few generations after his reign. The

Chapter Four: Pillars of Philosophy — Greece and Rome 93

first of Rome’s madmen-emperors was Gaius, better Augustus. Agrippina strengthened her ties to the throne
known as Caligula. Following the suspicious emperor by marriage to the previous emperor, Claudius. Through
Tiberius in A.D. 37, Caligula inherited a canny sensi- her influence, Nero was married to Claudius’ daughter
bility from Augustus but also had a noteworthy temper and recognized as a legitimate heir. In A.D. 57, Claudius
and a hidden streak of malice. He played the part of died — presumably due to Nero’s intervention — and
gentle son until his ascension; it took years for his Nero became emperor. Nero became the centerpiece of
depredations to come to the fore. Caligula may have a web of conflicting influence. Though he briefly had
been truly mad, or perhaps influenced by some outside the support of the Praetorian Guard, he was pulled in
force or internal design. multiple directions by his wife, his mother and other
Caligula’s sadistic exploits are legendary: He forced influential figures. He started his decline with the as-
the suicide or execution of various advisors, he forced sassination of his own mother, followed by the exile of
wealthy citizens to will their possessions to the state his wife and closest advisors.
and then murdered them, he reveled in displays of Able to move unhindered, Nero survived a pair
profound torture, lasting for days at a time, he had of tremendous fires that swept through Rome — but
spectators dragged into arenas to battle tigers. Legis- most startlingly, some evidence suggests that he may
lation from Caligula made it a capital crime to look have ordered the fires himself. Indeed, some think Nero
down upon him, or to fail to bequeath possessions to ordered his guards to fuel the fire, or that he engaged in
the emperor in one’s will. He eventually deified himself: his own dramatic ambitions during the blaze.
By his order, a temple was built to him. He compared He certainly capitalized on the destruction to cre-
himself to the pantheon of Roman gods and goddesses ate a new Rome according to his design. As a result,
and had those who doubted his power slowly flayed as Nero’s popularity waned; the people of Rome blamed
a reminder of his authority. him for the destruction, so he used Christianity as a
Caligula is also remembered for his debauchery. scapegoat. Persecution of the Christians diverted at-
It’s said that he engaged in sex with whatever women tention, but Nero’s eccentricities had already damned
struck his fancy; he lived with and used his sister him; his followers realized, after watching his matricide
Drusilla, then murdered her to tear their child from
her, convinced that the infant would be a god. He Roman Warfare
publicly called for various women, even wives of his Warfare in ancient Rome began with the
senators, used them and discarded them. He discussed Greek tactic of the phalanx. The phalanx was a
their practices and failings in graphic detail. Men, battle unit of professional soldiers called Hoplites
too, suffered his notice; he engaged in liaisons with by the Greeks. A proper phalanx consisted of each
popular actors of the time, even with his sister’s soldier shielding the man to his left and attacking
husband. But his sensuality could turn at a moment’s with his right hand. This was actually superior to
notice — after having his way, he might well have defending oneself with one’s own shield, if the unit
his plaything executed. Even those who survived his was properly trained.
attentions were left with stern warnings: Any neck The Romans used this technique but took it
could fall under the axe at his whim. the next logical step. In the Roman Army, there
Caligula, like many despots, finally fell to assas- were sometimes almost as many engineers as there
sins. Conspirators ambushed him as he left a theater, were soldiers. These engineers customized siege
stabbed him and his current wife to death, and crushed weapons to destroy specific cities or topple certain
his child’s head. Even after his reign, though, his defenses. This gave the Romans the advantage that
nightmare lived on. The Roman populace refused to they did not have to rely on the same weapons of
believe the reports of his death. His arbitrary policies warfare from place to place. Instead, the Romans
could not be easily reversed. The Roman treasury had could use the trained phalanx to shield their siege
been exhausted, public figures executed and humili- weapons, then bring out machinery tailored to the
ated, and the empire left a wreck scant decades after battle. Roman legions also trained with Spartan
Augustus had consolidated it. dedication since military service opened the door
Second after Caligula in infamy is Nero, the emperor to citizenship and a political career. As the empire’s
whom legend credits with watching Rome burn. Nero successes expanded its territory, more and more
rose to the political stage primarily through the machi- soldiers were demanded to defend its borders.
nations of his mother, Agrippina, a direct descendant of

94 Dead Magic
and then his martyring of Christians, that Nero, in the
fashion of many emperors, always found a means to
slay anyone who blocked his designs.
One conspiracy was uncovered before it could come
to fruition, but Nero’s rage this time was uncontrollable:
He killed his lover, Poppaea; he murdered most of his
family as threats to his rule and managed to alienate the
populace and the influential Praetorian Guard with his
eccentricities and murderous habits. Nero was finally
forced to flee Rome after his reign of terror turned the
senate against him, and he committed suicide even as
the centurions hunted him down.
Following Nero, a succession of emperors struggled
with the damaged Roman state, but Domitian, in A.D.
81, surpassed Caligula in cruelty. While Caligula whiled
away his time with carnal pleasures, Domitian suffered
no immorality and saw himself as the ultimate arbiter of
justice and conduct. From the bizarre habit of catching
flies, impaling them and tearing off their wings, Domitian
grew into a true terror — he routinely had Jews executed,
he hosted dinner parties with black accoutrements to
terrify the attendees and he even had the vestal virgins
of Roman temples slaughtered.
While Caligula was brutal, Domitian was sadistic.
Domitian devised new methods of torture. He set his
soon-to-be victims at ease with social pleasantries then
had them executed. His use of the arena, unlike Caligula’s,
seemed geared more toward mass slaughter than any sort
of rarefied entertainment of cruelties. He introduced the
burning of genitals as a method of torture. Even with his
clear condemnation of sexuality, though, he used his
authority to wed such women as took his eye, and had
their husbands killed to legitimize his practices. By the
later years of his reign, Domitian became consumed with
paranoia — his obsessive drive to dole out “justice” saw
conspirators everywhere; he routinely executed advi-
sors and appointees, accusing them of amassing power
to dethrone him. His appointments eventually turned
against him and proconsuls who feared a short life span
in his cabinet assassinated him.
Elagabalus, emperor from A.D. 218 to 222, prob-
ably personified wanton carnality more than any other
emperor, even beating Caligula to the punch. A mere
teen, Elagabalus nevertheless took multiple paramours
and wives, going through slaves, vestal virgins, courtesans
and more. He built a phallocentric cult, worshipping the
sun god El-Gabal in a temple with giant penis statues
as decoration and a black meteorite as the centerpiece.
He even had public baths placed in the palace so that
he could find suitably endowed lovers, and dressed
himself in the fashion of a prostitute and waited outside
his chambers, soliciting visitors and palace staff alike.

Chapter Four: Pillars of Philosophy — Greece and Rome 95

He even frequented brothels, not as a patron, but as a form of immortality. Rome’s heroes, too, confronted a
a prostitute! Elagabalus indulged in cross-dressing, wealth of creatures much like their Greek counterparts,
makeup, pedophilia and animal sacrifice until the army, and the ordered structure of Roman civilization fostered
sickened by his indulgences, revolted and had him and a new breed of mages.
his followers killed. Much of Roman legend was influenced by Greek
myth, of course. Later, Rome’s culture was shaped by the
The Inevitable Decline rise of Christianity. Still, some records remain of heroes
Naturally, Rome fell. The increasing instability and their exploits. The Latin language, inflexible as it
brought on by dictators of dubious quality only contributed may have been, was used for most common records, and
to its decline. Historians argue over the many possible even later Christian influence couldn’t entirely wipe out
causes; some point to the increasing use of foreign mer- the stories that came out of the empire.
cenaries and the invasion of barbarian forces. Others cite
Roman economic decline, social decay or even lead in the The Cult of Mercury
water. As internal contests for the imperial seat intensi- Perhaps of the greatest influence on modern mages
fied, Roman economics failed to support the increasingly was the Cult of Mercury. Practicing a combination of
far-flung army. Infrastructure — roads, communication, Greco-Roman philosophy and older Egyptian magic,
transport — simply couldn’t support an empire the size the Cult took Roman religion to build its icons but also
of Rome; by the time that reports of a military failure used elements from Pythagorean cults, Egyptian spiritu-
on a border reached the capital, six months had already alism and even a little pagan influence. The result: an
passed. Eventually, civil war weakened the army to the inclusive, widespread, hierarchical mystic organization
point that barbarians could invade the empire. When the — the predecessor to the medieval Order of Hermes.
army failed to evict them, they slowly overtook Roman Of course, the foundations of the modern Order of
holdings. Every province lost translated into fewer taxes Hermes wouldn’t come for several hundred years, but the
and resources for Rome. Cult of Mercury established many of its practices. For start-
Rome’s economic decline probably set in around ers, some members of the Cult acted publicly in matters
A.D. 100. The Roman empire had become accustomed of state. The empire’s legions were supplemented by the
to an unfavorable balance of trade with outside nations. Cult’s magical support, often covertly. The Cult’s public
Constant import of luxuries to support the upper classes organization mirrored the structure of the Roman military.
led to the devaluation of Roman currency. Increasing Mages accompanied legions and drew energy from the bonds
tax burdens upon the middle classes led not only to between veterans. Rome’s expansion let the Cult co-opt
unrest but to the compression of various social classes in outside magical groups and exert political influence. The
a stratified society. As the central empire’s expenditures Cult diversified its magic and its membership.
increased, it put pressure on provinces to support its Obviously, the Cult of Mercury didn’t use the same
taxation. In turn, the central army was dispersed. Roman principles as the Order of Hermes. The techniques, forms
units introduced foreign mercenaries and conscripts, and Spheres that the Order used hadn’t yet been theo-
and spread to many different areas. rized. Still, the Cult pioneered important developments
The combination of economic and military de- like the idea of actually sharing magical knowledge in a
cline, prompted by a central bureaucracy that couldn’t unified theory. Better still, the Roman focus on language
handle the demands of such a widespread empire, led meant that the Cult’s mages had a broad base of studies
to a slow but steady decline over 300 years. Rome itself and the means to descriptively trade formulae. There’s a
finally collapsed in A.D. 410, and the last emperor was reason that the Order of Hermes used Latin for so long!
dethroned in A.D. 476. German kingdoms become the The Cult’s magical practices clearly didn’t make it
new authority in the region. into the history books, but that doesn’t mean that they
weren’t influential. Cult mages learned from, countered
Roman Legend
and absorbed ideas from the pagans of the British Isles, the
The multifaceted history of Rome makes for complex Christian mystics that later formed the Celestial Chorus,
reading, but it only whets the appetites of political mages. shapeshifters in Germany and necromancers from Egypt.
Students of the arcane look into Rome’s mythic sources Although the Cult remained suspiciously introverted, its
for inspiration as well. As a pagan state, Rome (before mages sought whatever advantage they could. Usually that
its conversion to Christianity) followed a diverse array of meant knowing the enemy. Actual translation and use of
gods; Roman emperors later deified themselves and their other mages’ practices was rare, but did happen.
wives in an attempt to gain popular support or perhaps

96 Dead Magic
 The Cult excelled in formulaic styles. Since its mages Some other Traditions didn’t maintain such fond ties
relied on preplanned ritual, linguistic legerdemain and to Greece. The Cult of Ecstasy remembers a contested
cooperative effort — especially in secretive cabals or at Greece. Most American Ecstatics are unaware of this
the heads of legions — they developed techniques that history, but it is fairly universal lore among the Ecstatics
relied on extensive ritual. Spontaneous magic was rare, of Europe. The Bacchanae, as they were called in those
only used by the few magicians who used pagan principles. days, devoted themselves to Bacchus — a god of wine
The decline of Rome paralleled the decline of the and revelry but also prophecy. However, Greek revelry
Cult of Mercury. The Cult espoused a loyalty to the state watered down the Cult’s ideals of experience. Bacchus’
religion but felt a higher calling to magic itself. (The no- cultists slowly became indulgent, frenzied mobs instead
tion of personal advancement through magical mastery of priests who achieved ecstatic communion, and the
counted, too.) As the empire’s economy declined, the rites of the Bacchanae deteriorated from tools of magic
mages gathered substantially less money and political into simple indulgences. The Cult takes this as a lesson
power; it was only natural to split up, hoard wealth and — their early Indian roots corrupted by Greek culture,
closet away secret knowledge. The Cult almost certainly they discovered that embracing too much experience
kept various spells and Artifacts hidden away in places can be just as limiting as not enough.
throughout Rome’s old empire, all left by mages looking Under Roman rule, many Ecstatics shifted their
out for their own welfare. reverence to the Titan Chronos, the master of time.
To this day some of the Cult’s magic remains poorly The philosophical basis moved away from hedonism
understood, primarily the Effects that involved many and became more epicurean. This is not to say that the
people. Of course, modern willworkers can call upon more traditional Bacchanae did not survive as a group,
the belief of large groups of followers to assist the cast- just that they became obscure.…
ing of huge Effects, but the Cult’s techniques allowed The Technocracy also lays claim to Greece as a
them to power the spells through the very life force of spiritual center. Iteration X recalls Greece as one of its
the participants. Some mages have delved into these homelands: This was an age when innovation combined
Effects with limited success. with heroism. The Union naturally claims Daedalus as a
founding father and reveres his works in Sacred Geom-
Traditions in the etry as well as his legendary flight. Indeed, his very name
Mediterranean became synonymous with the Order of Reason during
the Renaissance, as it looked to that hero as a model of
As Greece’s influence spread across Europe and parts ingenuity and also a warning against pride.
of Asia, its ways of thinking influenced the development
The Progenitors honor the legacy of Hippocrates,
of mysticism in many cultures — and, thus, became
the father of medicine whose oath is still taken to this
strong roots for many Traditions.
day by modern doctors. Some Progenitors eschew the
By far the most concerned with the Greek mythos, Hippocratic Oath because certain versions — perhaps
though, is the Order of Hermes. Hermetic apprentices written with the Awakened in mind — forbid the
routinely study the Greek pantheon and the role of creation of new life. According to Progenitor records,
each of the gods within Olympus. the Hermetics deal Hippocrates intended certain parts of the oath for less-
with Celestines that often appear as some sort of Greek enlightened healers who could not understand the
manifestation. The Iliad, the Odyssey, Medea and other subtle art of creation. Still, Hippocrates pioneered the
pieces of classical literature are part of the required read- understanding the human body in Western thinking,
ing in the training of a Hermetic sorcerer. As a whole, and the very concept of the physician whose elevated
the Order of Hermes remembers classical Greece as a role demanded rigorous ethics — another model to
sort of golden age of magic where their culture flourished which Technocrats aspire.
unchallenged.
Indeed, the idea of Hermes as a messenger stems from
Greek myth and passed through the Dark Ages when
Pythagoras: Rationalist,
the Order flourished. Greek tradition was especially Revolutionary
emphasized by the Hermetic Solificati; the Solificati Any educated person could understand the math-
claim a spiritual heritage from the ancient alchemists ematics or theology of the Greeks, but it took Pythagoras
and with the Greek natural philosophers. It’s no mistake to put the two together. Pythagoras combined Greek
to say that Hermetic thought bears great debts to Greek mathematics — including the input of numerology
philosophers and their ideals. from various cultures, the use of advanced engineering

Chapter Four: Pillars of Philosophy — Greece and Rome 97

in building ships and temples, and even the progress of into form when limits were set upon it. The distillation of
musical scales and astrology — with the legendary tradi- Quintessence into a set Pattern, perhaps?
tion that emphasized gods, heroes and the supernatural. Cults that arose around Pythagoras eventually split
Pythagoras expounded, refined and in some cases created into two groups: those who studied his mathematics and
ways to comprehend math as a universal language, to derived new theories from them, and those who took
understand mystic principles and to delve into the soul his theories on the nature of reality and used them in
through the very concepts of infinity and singularity. the Arts. Clearly, his mathematical students influenced
In doing so, he built yet another new way to see, and later scientific development; the mystery cults suppos-
ultimately manipulate, the Tellurian. edly died out, but in the World of Darkness, such groups
Pythagoras refined the works of previous pre-Socratic rarely disappear completely.
scholars who sought to classify the material world. By delv-
ing into the world’s forms, these scholars hoped to uncover Pythagorean Cults in Your Chronicle
universal principles — the principles of motion, perhaps, The combination of mathematicians and cosmic mysti-
or the beginning and ending of all formative processes. cism in Pythagorean cults is too good to miss! Pythagoras
Pythagoras, though, combined his insight into abstract somehow managed to reconcile his disparate beliefs in a
classification with mystical explanations for creation. calculable geometric theory within an infinite universe, but
His formidable mind conceived specific laws about such the later division of the Technocracy and the Traditions
universal processes, and he pursued his studies according shows that the two systems of thought diverged severely.
to his definition of the highest principles of humanity: On one side, right triangles and radians; on the other,
philosophy, literally the love of wisdom. metaphysical creation and dynamic rebirth.
Ultimately, Pythagoras founded his own school and Followers of Mage: The Sorcerers Crusade can
gave lectures about his discoveries. But with the trap- recognize Pythagorean elements among the Craft-
pings of mysticism, Pythagorean schools became more masons, the Order of Reason Covention that relies
like cults: Student-acolytes attributed almost divine im- on Sacred Geometry to create lasting structures and
port to Pythagoras’ pronouncements. Since Pythagoras potent wards. And Pythagorean mysticism certainly
himself did not write down most of his teachings, the survives in the World of Darkness to the modern day.
only surviving records come from secondhand reports; While Pythagoras himself didn’t write much down, he
any number of unusual, secretive practices could have had many students. The study of math went on to be
been hidden among the otherwise precisely scientific socially acceptable, while the study of mysticism was
disciplines. Indeed, Pythagoras himself posited three ridiculed. Just the sort of thing that a Tradition mage
levels to humanity: lovers of material gain, lovers of can identify with.
honor and lovers of wisdom; the philosophers, himself Modern Pythagorean cults aren’t just confined to
included, occupied the highest strata of humanity, which Greece, though their numbers are centered there. Any
in turn stressed greater responsibility to his followers, philosopher-mage might well have some Pythagorean
who shared his love of wisdom. leanings, with beliefs in an infinite universe divisible
In concrete terms, Pythagoras provided mathemati- into limited, measurable parts. The cults are strongest in
cal proofs to geometric problems. His understanding southern Italy, where Pythagoras himself and his later
of geometric figures led naturally to principles like the followers built their geometric sanctuaries. Protected
correspondences of right triangles or the computation by potent warding shapes, the cults continue their ex-
of Pi. His equations shaped mathematics and engineer- ploration of Greek philosophical concepts undisturbed.
ing, or, in terms of the Spheres, reinforced elements of Pythagorean mages can explain elaborate math-
Mind and Correspondence. His followers wrote these ematical structures that lead to intricate descriptions
thoughts down and provided the foundations for many of space and matter. Such training quickly develops a
modern mathematical proofs. mage’s understanding of Correspondence. Pythagorean
As a mystic, though, Pythagoras’ role is sketchy — mystics believe that geometry simply indicates the in-
partly because esoterica is by nature secretive, and partly herent properties of symbols; a properly written symbol
because rational historians discount his mysticism while carries its own power — a notion that seeped into the
emphasizing his scientific work. There’s no denying, though, Order of Hermes long after Pythagoras’ death. To learn
that Pythagoras had a strong interest in the fantastic. He Pythagorean mysticism, though, which is handed down
deliberately set out to unify metaphysics with mathemat- through oral repetition, a mage has to join the cult,
ics. Indeed, his theory of creation stated that everything possibly by making some profound connection between
sprang from a unified, unlimited principle, which only came mathematics and magic.

98 Dead Magic
 A cult of Pythagorean mages may not be an active Plato was quite well traveled. He visited Egypt and
antagonist in a game, but it could certainly operate behind Sicily before returning to Athens to found his Academy.
the scenes. Imagine robed gentlemen huddled in a cave Whether or not Plato was Awakened, his concepts shaped
somewhere deep beneath a modern Greek office building, fundamentals used by the Traditions — the concept of
surrounded by geometric symbols, in a chamber lit with forms and ideas expresses itself in Patterns, pure constructs
torches burning with logos, or primal fire. Their intuitive of Quintessence that lend shape to material objects.
understanding of space allows them to reach out and Then came Aristotle. As a student of Plato, he ex-
ward areas at great distances, to touch others with their celled in rhetoric and political theory. He taught at Plato’s
magic and to combine their efforts. Lined in a strange Academy and then went on to travel Asia Minor, after
sequence of poses with geometric correspondence, they which he founded the Lyceum and taught biology and
can provide puzzling imagery for the players. botany as a contrast to Plato’s mathematical and logical
What are their goals? Pythagorean cultists tend sciences. He wrote physics, logic and metaphysics texts
to take Pythagoras’ teachings at face value and pass and apparently dabbled with secret societies — a perfect
them down through repetition in order to achieve a candidate for magedom if ever there was one.
deep intellectual and subconscious understanding of So how do these three luminaries fit into your game?
geometric powers. Individual cultists, however, could Most Western philosophical thought, including magical
be motivated by anything. Heck, you could even throw thought, can be traced to their writings. Mentors still
a few into a game and give them no real motive, just teach using the Socratic method; mages still debate the
make them do strange things and watch the players nature of virtue, a famous inquiry of Socrates’. Plato’s
panic. Instant story hook. definition of the world as material and ideal set the form
for Patterns and the High Umbra: Though perhaps such
Socrates, Plato, Aristotle constructs existed beforehand, Plato’s work definitively
The most prominent philosophers of Greece were locked them down into the forms that mages recognize
Socrates, Plato and Aristotle — at least as far as modern today. Aristotle studied broadly and established many of
thinkers are concerned. Though other philosopher- the branches of science and philosophy that now exist,
scientists did exist, these are the three names that in effect naming and categorizing entire disciplines of
everyone remembers, and with good reason. thought. Any Tradition would gladly claim these thinkers
Socrates began life as a soldier and craftsman. Pos- as founders or “spiritual ancestors.”
sibly disillusioned by the Peloponnesian War, he took Unfortunately, many of their notes have been lost.
to wandering the marketplaces, accosting random mer- Plato’s works cannot be conclusively verified as authen-
chants and passersby, asking them for simple directions tic, Socrates apparently did not record his questioning
and then segueing into questions about morality and and Aristotle’s original publications are gone, referenced
thought. Though some tales paint him as an eccentric only through surviving lecture notes and scribbled ideas.
and obnoxious man, he was clearly a critical thinker. The lost knowledge of any of these philosophers would
Questions occupied his time; instead of lecturing pe- be a true treasure for any mage.
dantically, he let people make their own conclusions,
simply by questioning assumptions. Of course, question-
ing natural law and theology lead to questioning the
Greek Myth and Legend
Perhaps more than any other culture, the ancient
status quo and the religion of the day. Charged with
Greeks kept alive a tremendous body of tales, fables and
corrupting the youth, Socrates was sentenced to death.
myths. With their highly literate civilization and their
Plato was Socrates’ student. Having watched his theatrical traditions, the Greeks kept alive more stories
mentor’s death, he left Athens to avoid the hostile at- than nearly any oral culture. These tales influenced Rome
titude of the culture. Only from Plato’s writings do we get and remain well known in modern society.
a glimpse at Socrates’ philosophy. Socrates questioned
Arguably the best known remnants of Greek myth
morality and concepts of goodness and beauty, but Plato
are Homer’s Iliad, the tale of the Trojan War, and the
worked in slightly more pragmatic terms. He wrote The
Odyssey, the story of Odysseus’ ill-fated journey home
Republic, which posited a hierarchical government of
from that same war. Bits of stories and theater round
laborers, warriors and philosophers. He developed the
out the tales of the gods, as well as other volumes such
concept of forms, or creations of pure thought that existed
as the stories of Jason and the Argonauts, the tales of
without material flaws. He also wrote dialectics, wherein
Oedipus, and of course Hercules and his 12 labors. The
he critically examined Greece’s cultural assumptions
curious seeker of mythology should sit down and read
through Socrates’ methods of questioning.
translations of these works.

Chapter Four: Pillars of Philosophy — Greece and Rome 99

 Who’s Who
Oh, those terms and names. The Greeks had a great Ares (Mars): God of war, storms and battle fury. Ares
many gods and heroes, and the Romans borrowed heav- is a cunning tactician, but he glories in bloody combat.
ily from their overcrowded pantheon. Without further Not someone whose attention you want to attract. He
ado, the five-minute Greco-Roman hit list. shows up personally during the Trojan War and is actu-
Achilles: A raging warrior who fights against Troy ally knocked down by one of the heroes there!
in the Iliad. Achilles is dipped in a magical spring at Athena (Minerva): Goddess of war and wisdom,
his birth, so his skin is rendered impervious to harm, mental acuity and skill at handicrafts. She sprang fully
except for the tendon of his foot where he’s held while grown from the brow of Zeus (gods can do that sort of
dunked. This is his undoing, as an arrow strikes him thing). Athena acts as a sort of aloof patroness to many
in this weak point and leads to his death during the heroes; she gifts Theseus with a reflective shield that
fight against Troy. helps him slay the Gorgon Medusa. She watches over
Aphrodite (Venus): Goddess of love, romance and Jason’s Argonauts, and she inspires Odysseus with the
beauty. A rather fickle deity, as befits her portfolio. idea for the Trojan Horse. She serves as a goddess to
Wed to Hephaestus. Aphrodite can be traced to the Athens (no coincidence in the names) and is credited
deity Astarte, who in turn may come from Istar, all with creating the olive tree, which gave Athens much
the way from Sumeria. of its economic power since olives were a lucrative
Apollo: A vain and beauteous sun god, patron Athenian export. She also shows up to wreak some
of poetry and diviner of the future, Apollo has many havoc on the field of battle during the Trojan War.
roles. Apollo favors music and prophecy but later shares Demeter: Mother of Persephone and goddess of
those joys with Hermes. He is also seen as the patron of growing things. Demeter was responsible for healthy
herdsmen, and stories tell of him watching over cattle, crops. When her daughter Persephone was spirited
as improbable a task as that may sound for a deity. away by Hades, her grief brings about winter.

100 Dead Magic

 Dionysus (Bacchus): God of revelry and intoxica- immune to wounds and fire so that he can slay a
tion. Dionysus is a two-sided deity — he represents dragon. Later, when she catches him fooling around,
bliss and euphoria, and inebriated rage or lust. Often she gives his mistress a poisoned robe as a gift, kill-
accompanied by maenads and satyrs. ing her; then she burns down the palace, kills all of
Hades (Pluto): Ruler of the Underworld. Hades their children and shacks up with Aegeus, another
kept watch over a grim and joyless kingdom, but Mediterranean king. Now that’s a divorce.
stole away Persephone to bring some joy to his bleak Odysseus (Ulysses): The hero of the Odyssey.
existence. Hades guards the souls of the dead in his Odysseus is drafted into the war against Troy, and
realm (also called Hades) and its pits of torture for the there accomplishes many great feats, but he becomes
wicked (Tartarus). lost on his way home — “lost” being a major under-
Hephaestus: Blacksmith to the gods. Hephaestus statement. He spends several years traveling around
is credited with the creation of great weapons and the Mediterranean in a ship, fighting many fantastic
armor, including in some legends Zeus’ thunderbolts. creatures and braving the perils of the ocean, before
Clubfooted and lame, he is wed to Aphrodite, the he finally comes back — just in time to find his home
goddess of beauty, in a joining of craft and practicality full of suitors trying to cart off his wife and estate.
with femininity and love. An asswhipping of legendary proportions proceeds
Hera: Wife of Zeus; plagued him and his offspring from there.
due to his infidelities against her. Orpheus: A blessed musician and another member
Herakles (Hercules): Demigod son of Zeus and the of the half-divine. Orpheus has the true gift of music;
mortal Alkmene. Possessed of phenomenal strength he can sway the feelings of even Hades. He travels
and a bit of a temper, Hercules performed 12 great with the Argonauts and his music sees them safely
labors, including slaying various beasts and recover- past the sirens — with the sailors concentrating on
ing numerous items of power. As with all the Greek his unearthly tones, the siren song bears no power.
heroes, he eventually dies because of some rather Later, he gets domestic with a nymph, but in typical
awful mistakes but later becomes a god. fashion she gets killed. Orpheus, in a monumental
Hermes (Mercury): The messenger god, Hermes quest, passes into the realm of Hades and plays his
is something of a prankster. He steals various artifacts music to stir the heart of the Underworld. He is al-
from other gods but his cheeky humor causes them lowed to bring his bride back to the land of the living
to overlook his indulgences. As a god of prophecy, so long as he doesn’t look back before reaching the
he became a figure of signs and symbols, which in surface — you can guess what happens. Despondent,
part explains his importance to the Order of Hermes. he spends seven months in mourning before he’s torn
apart by some random maenads. His head and harp
Jason: Leader of the Argonauts. Jason is guided by
wash up on the shore of an island a little later, but
an oracle to claim his rightful throne, but Jason’s usurper
their story is pretty much over at that point.
has been warned of his coming and sends him on an
impossible task — the quest for the Golden Fleece. Jason Persephone: Daughter of Demeter; Persephone
gathers a host of heroes, including Hercules, Theseus, is carried off to Hades by the deity of the same
Orpheus and others, and sets sail in the Argo. After name. After eating of a pomegranate, she is bound
many harrowing adventures (and the loss of several to remain in Hades for part of each year; myth tells
crewmembers) Jason returns with the fleece, kills the that her mother Demeter weeps for her during this
usurper, marries the princess that he met along the time and refuses to bring growth, thus resulting in
way, then undercuts himself when he takes a mistress. autumn and winter.
Did we mention that his wife is Medea, one of the Poseidon (Neptune): God of the sea, in coun-
nastiest bitches ever? Bodies start dropping left and terpart to Zeus’ dominion over the air and Hades’
right until Jason goes into exile to avoid causing more control of the Underworld. Poseidon is a chancy
problems. He returns to the beach where he left the fellow who has offspring by many giants — these
Argo — and the bow of the ship breaks off and kills children become various monsters like the Kraken.
him. That whole Greek tragedy thing again.… He also holds a grudge: His curse sets Odysseus to
Medea: Wife of Jason and daughter of Aeetes, wandering the seas for years when Odysseus blinds
the king who held the Golden Fleece. Medea is a one of his sons, the cyclops Polyphemus. Poseidon
powerful sorceress; with her magic she makes Jason does occasionally crop up sympathetically gifting

Chapter Four: Pillars of Philosophy — Greece and Rome 101

 Naturally, Greco-Roman heroes and gods aren’t likely
water to a young damsel in need, but more often to show up in a game. That doesn’t mean their influence
he causes floods or droughts. Sailors do their best is unfelt. Remember, Avatars often carry memories from
not to draw his ire. Poseidon also tends to invent former lives. A mage could well find that he’s a reincarna-
some rather cruel vendettas, as shown by the in- tion of some Greek hero — an appropriate reason to have
cident of the Minotaur (see that creature’s entry the Legendary Attribute Merit. Or perhaps he is distinctly
later this chapter). tied to some deity (see the Primal Marks Flaw). Perhaps
Theseus: Another foolish hero; Theseus ran afoul he simply has old memories of the travails of some
of Medea early in his career (not a good start) but was luminary. Maybe he’s actually an Avatar Companion to
recognized by her consort Aegeus, his true father (seems some other reincarnated hero or the chronicler of the
that a lot of these Greek heroes were orphaned). After hero’s great adventures.
a long trip slaying several robbers who had bizarre Also, a mage could run into an Incarna that claims
habits like throwing people off of cliffs or tying them to be a god, or has aspects of a god, or just pretends to
to beds and stretching or chopping them up, Theseus be a god. For that matter, whatever happened to the
makes it to Athens, only to be scorned for wearing Golden Fleece, or to the Helm of Invisibility, or to Aegis?
an Ionian robe and having long hair. Apparently the These tremendously powerful Artifacts could still be
Athenians didn’t like hippies. He kills several giants out there, waiting for someone to stumble across them.
to prove his strength then sets sail to Crete to chal- Then again, if a mage finds one, she might suddenly find
lenge the Minotaur. With the help of the daughter herself the target of everybody else who wants them.
of Minos, Crete’s king, Theseus slays the beast and Greek and Roman theater gave us great notions of
finds his way out of the maze. tragedy and heroic journeys. Though the descriptions here
Despite this victory, Theseus forgets to put up are by necessity simplified, they suffice to explain the sorts
a white sail on the voyage back to Attica; since the of epics that involved these heroes. Any such classical
black sail was the arranged signal for his failure, his adventure is a worthy model for a Mage story. Naturally,
father Aegeus leaps from the cliffs, thinking that a mage probably won’t be questing for the Golden Fleece,
Theseus is dead. Worse still, Theseus abandons the but any adventurer worth his salt (another Roman phrase,
daughter of Minos, feeling that it is improper for there) appreciates the obstacles in the quest for an item
him to come back and marry the daughter of the of power. It’s in Greek theater that Orpheus descends
king who exacted horrid tribute from his people. into the Underworld to bring his lost love back to life,
Damn it all! He winds up becoming King of Attica that Daedalus ingeniously escapes captivity in a maze of
anyhow and gets in a few good years before some his own design, that Oedipus kills his father and weds his
tumult with Athens puts him on the run again and mother, that Paris steals away Helen and from which the
winds up getting him killed while seeking sanctuary. very term “hubris” springs. Any Greek play/story/myth
Somewhere in there he finds time to hang out with can serve as an inspiration for a Mage story.
Jason and the Argonauts on that whole Golden
Fleece thing. Busy man. The Daedalean League
Zeus (Jupiter): Sky god and nominal ruler Most mages don’t know where the Daedaleans came
of the gods. Zeus is portrayed as an incurable from — if they’ve heard of them at all. The Sons of Ether
philanderer, and his many peccadilloes result say the Daedaleans are just another school of thought
in constant strife with his wife Hera (and also, in the big Trad itself. Ask the Technocracy, and well…
incidentally, in the births of many heroes). He good luck getting an answer. Most Masters are hesitant to
hurls lightning at those who anger him. explain the history of the Technocracy. They spill a lot
of claptrap about how ancient and mystical their secret
orders and cabals are but they never tell you how the mess
Why Should I Care
of the modern scientific world got started.
About Dead Gods, Anyway?
Here’s the straight talk on that: Nobody remembers.
Sure, the Greek and Roman heroes and gods are The war has been going on longer than recorded hu-
gone. They’ve passed into history along with the cultures man history. Babylonian tablets relate it, so does the
that spawned them. The Traditions, however, point Bible, even stuff as far removed as Cherokee legends
out that mages tend to be collectors of obscure history. mention this war. You can see the Tradition mages and
Mages don’t just know about the mysticism of the past, the Technocrats duking it out in some form as far back
they deal with it every day. as you want to go.

102 Dead Magic

 Then someone caught on. Most of the records
At first glance it seems that the Daedalean ver- disappeared.
sion of their history is a corruption of the “facts” in When the Electrodyne Engineers threatened to
Mage: the Sorcerers Crusade. It is entirely possible join the Traditions, the Daedalean League as a whole
that some Initiate stumbled upon documents the pushed for independence. After the Convention left
Ksirafai were trying to hide shortly before they and became a Tradition, the Daedaleans came out
managed to get to all of them. On the other hand, of the closet, so to speak, to reveal the truth to their
there is the possibility that this is the real truth. brethren. Alas, without the precious evidence they
Why do the Craftmasons call themselves Daeda- once had, their argument largely fell on deaf ears and
leans anyway? the small cabal could only grow through mentoring
as many Initiates as possible.
So where did the Daedalean League come from?
Well, a long time ago someone had a fucked-up idea: On Wings of Wax
“Hey, we don’t have to kill each other just because we In its infancy, the Technocracy referred to its members
disagree. With magic and science we can have the best as Daedaleans; a few oddball Sons of Ether, clinging as
of both worlds,” or something like that. The man with they did to old terminology and practices, adopted the
that fucked-up idea was Daedalus. He fled Greece and all term as their own long after the Technocracy gave it
its petty conflicts. He went to Rome to change society up. Even for Sons of Ether, the Daedalean magic style is
so that technology and magic had equal importance. strange. Most Daedalean Etherites do not see their belief
To Daedalus, people — not gods — were the center of system as consisting of theories the way many Traditions
the universe. do; instead, they recognize “natural selves.” Most of this
That’s where the Daedaleans really come from: philosophy is deeply rooted in the philosophy of Aristotle;
They’re the legacy of a society that tried to bring peace some comes from the creations of Daedalus, and some
to everyone, to respect everyone’s beliefs. It seems like a from discoveries popularized by various members of the
far-fetched “world peace through conquest and magic” League. This mixture forms a less physical and more
scheme, but that’s why the rest of the Traditions call experimental approach to magic and science.
them mad scientists. But there’s still the question: Who were the old
After the founding of the Electrodyne Engineers, Daedaleans? Does anyone remember, and if so, how
one of its newest recruits started making forays into the would they react if they discovered people who call
history of the Convention and the Technocracy as a themselves Daedaleans, many of them within the Tradi-
whole. What he found unsettled him. Contrary to what tions? This could be an interesting hook for characters
he had been taught about the Technocracy — that it was who want to learn the truth or Storytellers who wish
a modern organization dedicated to the betterment of to obscure it further.
humankind — he found records of their existence that The Daedalean League isn’t necessarily confined
went back all the way to the Middle Ages, and still he to Greece, of course. Any Etherite could find solace in
could not find a beginning. He secretly founded a cabal Aristotelian and Platonic works, and make the leap to
of Enlightened Scientists to unearth this shadow history. a philosophy of logical but nonexperimental science.

Daedalus Awakens
“What are we? That’s easy, soulless one. We are the next genera-
tion of heroes and legends. In an age gone by, the children of the gods
walked among men and slew the monsters that plagued us. They all
bore names like Alexander and Herakles. Now it is our turn; only when
our forebears revealed themselves to us in all their hidden glory could
we see the majesty which is our destiny. Beware, spawn of the dark gods,
Niketes is coming!”
I attended a ceremony today held by the Daedaleans. They seem to
put some stock in ritual divination. I contemplated pointing out to them that

Chapter Four: Pillars of Philosophy — Greece and Rome 103

 this was perhaps not the most scientific way to go about things but I decid-
ed that they probably would not get the joke.
We stood around in white robes before an altar where a dead calf had been
placed. The high priest went before the altar as the group chanted in Latin;
it was rather like attending a Catholic Mass. Then he plunged a dag ger into
the belly of the calf and ripped open its flesh. A wet stench suffused in the
air. If you’ve ever been to a place where they kill lots of animals you never for-
get the smell of death and stagnant blood and suddenly it seems like you’re
submerged in the stench and you just might drown in it. I haven’t been able to
eat beef for days.
They spread out the entrails and examined them closely.
It took a day to make a decision based upon the divination. The mages came
to a conclusion and said that I should not continue with my journey to the for-
mer site of Carthage. According to the ritual done yesterday there is some
sort of dark fate that awaits me there. Not death, but something malignant.

Roman Magic Mood

Magic was just as organized and ritualistic as anything Exotic and erotic. Greece is unlike any other
Roman, but very little of it was prominent in the culture country in Europe. It has been the center of two dif-
beyond divination. Romans were particularly concerned ferent empires and the home of most of the recognized
with fate. They divined the future by examining the ancient scholars. It has a cultural tradition distinct from
entrails of a sacrificed animal (usually a bull or a cow) every nation around it. In Greece, homosexuality is
— a practice known as “haruspication.” a matter of course and is not mentioned even though
it is widely practiced. In Rome there is the Vatican
Not all Romans were so dutiful in observing these sacred
City, the spiritual home of the Catholic Church in
divination rites. Before one battle in the Punic Wars, all
all its opulence and majesty alongside the ruins of
of the sailors refused to engage in the battle because the
the Coliseum. And in the land where humanity’s
divination ceremony had failed. The chickens wouldn’t
loftiest thoughts were immortalized, three strippers
eat — bad luck. The flagship of each fleet carried a dozen
have seats in the Greek Parliament. For some reason,
or so chickens deemed holy by the priesthood. These
neither country can escape its own sexuality. Ancient
fowl were ridiculously well cared for and lived in golden
philosophers posited universal truths based solely on
cages where they ate only the finest of grains, but for some
thought without experience or experimentation while
reason the chickens refused to eat that day. The frustrated
the debauched upper classes threw their orgies.
captain of the ship cried out “If they won’t eat then they
can drink!” and threw the chickens overboard. Needless Of course, mages don’t have to travel to Greece
to say, the Romans lost the battle. and Rome just to get laid. The Greco-Roman mood
can come across through architecture, through visitors
Storytelling with who have delved into those places and even through
old memories, books or flashes of past lives. The Craft
Greece and Rome of the Sisters of Hippolyta, in particular, have explored
It can be hard for a Storyteller to separate Greek and their Greek roots; the Order of Hermes also claims
Roman elements — they blend from so many common much that is Roman, including magical styles and use
traits that it’s easy to mix them up. That’s fine! Modern of Latin for many major texts. The hooks are already
people may have only a vague handle on Greco-Roman there, so you can integrate Greco-Roman culture as
myth, and the same is true for many modern mages. Since much or as little as you like.
similar elements influenced the roots of both cultures,
focus on the symbolism of those elements, in the real core The Search for Gold
of what they represented. That shines through equally This chronicle centers around the search for a
well in the myths of both cultures. mysterious race of people who populated the Earth

104 Dead Magic

 the Technocracy is hot to get its collective hands on.
The Purple Empire Could the Technocracy be trying to debunk some
Stretching back to the ancient days of the ear- mystic power associated with the Artifact? And who
liest Western civilizations, the Phoenician Empire are these “sisters” who pursue it as well?
predates both the Roman and Greek Empires. With
roots in modern day Lebanon, the Phoenicians devel- Have a Cow
oped seafaring, trading, and colonizing. The Greeks Many cows have been disappearing from the lo-
had to colonize less arable lands like Italy because cal barnyards. Tabloids blame everything from UFOs
northern Africa and the Iberian Peninsula had been to the second coming of Elvis, but it turns out that
claimed by the Phoenicians, whose influence spread an ally of cabal has been performing old-fashioned
throughout the Mediterranean. divination, Roman style. She asks the cabal to help
Ultimately the Phoenicians ran into conflict her avoid any unwanted press. Since the last thing
with the Romans over land and other disputes. mages want is exposure, the characters must tie up
This led to the Punic Wars. “Punic” was a Latin the loose ends of their friend’s haruspication (please
word meaning purple, the color associated with excuse the sickening pun). After all, if the woman
the Phoenicians. came to the characters, then anything that can be
traced to her can be traced them.
during the so-called golden age. In a Traditions game,
it’s a quest to bring the golden and silver ones back
Spells from Greece and Rome
to our world to help humanity, to seek some piece of The Greek and Roman philosophers gladly mixed
wisdom or knowledge that only they possess, or even theology and pure thought with mundane observation.
just to find out whether they exist. As a Technocracy As a result, they believed in the power of the mind to
game it could center around trying to squash belief comprehend the mysteries of the universe. They often
in the legend or destroy those who propagate it. This posited that all constructs stemmed from ideals that
should involve a certain amount of investigation and only the mind could clearly and perfectly understand.
field work in Greece itself as well as the Umbra. Thus, there was power in the mind’s ability to learn
new forms and to examine the connections between
Seek and Destroy universal ideals. Though many philosophers frowned
This Technocracy chronicle revolves around a upon physical experimentation, their pioneering work
strike team of Technocrats whose job is to report and in mathematics and mental forms led to rigorous intel-
destroy reality deviants in the islands of the Mediter- lectual development and to theories that could be applied
ranean. This allows characters a certain amount of to the physical world — after all, if the physical world
free movement and independent operation compared was just an imperfect reflection of the mental world,
to other cells, but also means that backup is less likely then the mind could exert power over physical forms
to appear (if at all). On the flip side, the characters and understand them completely.
could be from the Traditions, probably Verbena, and Later Roman magicians focused their power around
try to preserve the existence of the monsters on the Rome’s greatness, building magic by taking tiny bits
islands by concealing their location, relocating them, of power from the huge structures and armies of the
or other methods — supernatural resource destruction day. While a more limited mage had to work with the
and ecoterrorism, perhaps. The Technocracy wants to energy available from a specific power source, a Roman
sterilize and control the area and stamp out “foolish magician could rely on the synchronicity of Rome’s
myths,” while the Traditions hope to bring a rebirth immense spread. The interlocking designs and clear
of the cultural and mystic values of Greece and Rome. cultural affixation allowed a sort of linkage, a Cor-
A clash is inevitable, but the Technocracy may not respondence affiliation, that a mage could use — and
have the backing for an extended fight, while the through that, the mage could draw potent energies by
Traditions can try to summon slumbering allies like stealing just a little bit of magic from a multitude of
the monsters of yore. interconnected sources.
The Sigil of Silver Epiphany of the Muse
This chronicle begins when the players’ charac- (•• Mind, with ••• Spirit, • Prime or • Entropy)
ters stumble upon an ancient Artifact (possibly an The nine Muses, daughters of Zeus, are said to
amulet or a vase or even a tool of some sort) which inspire new ideas in the minds of men. This rote is

Chapter Four: Pillars of Philosophy — Greece and Rome 105

a formalized prayer to call upon their inspiration for The underlying trick hasn’t been figured out, but the
some insight or new thought. The mage sacrifices to rote apparently works. When the Romans put together
the Muses something of value — distinctive cuisine, a legion of soldiers, they formed a tightly knit group of
expensive jewelry, a magical Artifact. The Muses, in warriors who fought, loved and died together. That close-
turn, gift the mage with their insight. ness made their Patterns so tied to one another that the
System: The Storyteller can use this rote as an legion magicians — who likewise worked in groups —
excuse to give the players some information that they’re could draw from the whole of the legion for their Effects.
not getting from their current situation’s clues. This Somehow, the Mercuric magicians discovered a way to
should not replace roleplaying, obviously, and even if bleed off just a little energy from everyone in the legion
successfully cast does not have to be answered in the and convert it into Quintessence — something that
way that the players necessarily desire. A Muse of poetry should be impossible, since Quintessence freed from a
could hear the prayer and inspire the character to some Pattern normally goes straight back into the universal
great work of rhyme to bemoan his current situation of pool. Sure, experienced mages could “skim off the top,”
being locked in a room, but give him no insight as to but these Roman mages drew upon great stores of energy
how to escape his confines. Muses are fickle things and and used them to fuel their battlefield magics.
most often give artistic inspiration; cryptic clues are System: This rote only works on a set of “bonded”
not guaranteed, but they are possible. The Mind Ef- Life Patterns; they must be human, and there must be
fect opens the mage’s perceptions while the secondary at least twenty. For the purposes of this rote, “bonded”
Sphere looks for Patterns or literally calls to the Muses: Patterns are those that have gone through significant
Prime or Entropy seeks out ebbs in the currents of magic shared adversity and triumph. The Roman legions prob-
and probability around the mage while Spirit actually ably got their strong mystic ties from their discipline,
summons a Muse. martial experience and homosexual bonds. For every
twenty Patterns involved, the mage can eke out a single
Legion’s Life (••• Prime, •• Life) point of Quintessence without causing any actual injury.
Somehow, the Cult of Mercury managed to pull off Successes scored on the Effect determine the maximum
an Effect that the modern Traditions consider impossible. amount of Quintessence a mage can harness. For a really

106 Dead Magic

large army, several mages must work together. Such a Mind of the Ant Hill (•••• Mind)
draw can only be done once per day, as Life Patterns Based upon the tactics of the Roman phalanx,
must have time to stabilize their Quintessential flow. this rote allows for subliminal group tactics. Naturally,
the New World Order developed similar group tactics,
Maze of the Minotaur
but their roots can be traced ultimately to organized
(••• Mind; optional •••• Correspondence) combat as established by Rome and its predecessors.
Through Sacred Geometry, early craftsmen formed System: For every success on the Effect roll, the
mazes that confounded an individual’s sense of direction. group has a die that any member can call upon in
Daedalus in particular built for King Minos a tremendous combat. This die, once used (successfully or not) is
and nigh-inescapable maze, in which dwelt the Minotaur. exhausted from the pool that the group can call upon.
Through the confusing magics of the maze, Daedalus War machines can be used as foci to lower the dif-
insured that anyone wandering within became utterly ficulty, and if cast as an extended rite over the course
lost until discovered and devoured by the Minotaur. of time preparing for the battle, the group may have
System: A craftsman can lay an enchantment into a huge pool to draw upon. A group waiting during the
a maze or complex during its construction; indeed, the casting of this rote may only prepare for the upcoming
Order of Reason used such techniques in some of its battle or engage in combat — the rote must be used
early fortresses and the New World Order almost cer- immediately beforehand. Note that Correspondence
tainly uses a variant for its offices. Cast over an area, may be necessary to spread the coordination over an
the enchantment befuddles the sense of direction. extremely large gathering.
Objects are arranged just so to confuse the traveler, and
the area proper is prepared during construction so that Phlogiston Phlux (•• Matter)
interlopers become disoriented (“You are in a maze of The ancients believed that fire was the release of
twisty little passages, all alike”). Laying the Effect over phlogiston from burning substances. As a substance
an area requires the use of Mind to place a mental “fuzz” burned, it released its phlogiston, which served as a
in the locale. The Storyteller might also require Cor- viscous tie; when the phlogiston had all been released,
respondence if the mage is trying to ward areas that he nothing remained but ash. Thus, fire was a tangible
hasn’t personally visited, but since a maze of this sort elemental form and not a force of nature, nor was it a
is typically enchanted by the mage as he builds it, Cor- release of energy any more than the other elements of
respondence isn’t a strict requirement. (A mage could air, earth and water.
theoretically use Correspondence to distort space, but Phlogiston Phlux allows the practitioner to
that’s a much different proposition from distorting a increase or decrease the amount of phlogiston in an
subject’s sense of space.) object, thus causing it to burn longer or shorter de-
Focusing this Effect on an individual causes the pending on the mage’s desire. It also allows the mage
victim to doubt his path, and can even make the sub- to add phlogiston to an element, thus making fireproof
ject question a map or set of explicit steps. This is not objects burn like paper. The mage can also take away
amnesia but a subconscious loss of sense of direction phlogiston, so that brittle wood does not even catch
and memory: “Did we take a left or right the first time fire from a burning coal. Of course, modern science
we came through here?” Such an Effect relies solely “proves” that phlogiston is not real and that fire stems
on playing with the victim’s perceptions and thus only from other sources — isn’t magic great?
requires Mind 2 (plus the appropriate Correspondence System: Depending on the severity of the Effect,
if the mage is using the Effect from a distance). the rote could be coincidental or vulgar. A torch
Individuals may find their way out of the maze by burning for an extended period can be coincidental
accumulating more successes on a Wits + Enigmas roll while causing a house to remain unscathed despite
than magical Effect successes scored by the mage who direct application of a flamethrower is certainly vulgar.
laid the trap. Since most mazes are constructed over Successes garnered on this Effect alter a subject’s soak
years, this could take some time. dice against fire — the mage can give or remove fire
Manipulating an area to become confusing could susceptibility. Since this is a Matter Effect, it doesn’t
be anything from moving a potted plant in front of the work on living things. A mage could try to make a ver-
door to entirely rearranging the furniture and repainting sion that adds phlogiston to living things, of course…
the walls bright orange. Most often, this Effect can be but thus far nobody has (successfully, anyway).
considered coincidental — anyone can lose her way.

Chapter Four: Pillars of Philosophy — Greece and Rome 107

Stoicism (• Mind, • Matter) and across the Umbra is a difficult task. Casting this rote
The Greek philosopher Zeno believed that human is vulgar (difficulty 10), and the Storyteller is the final
beings should remain calm and free from passions so that arbiter of how many successes are necessary to successfully
they could accept the unavoidable events of fate and nature call the golden ones. A mage should never be certain of
rather than struggle needlessly against them. Greek mages his ability to call on these saviors for intervention. Note
such as the Pomegranate Deme looked upon this evolu- also that a mage must know about the golden ones to be
tion of thought with interest. Using his refined senses to able to call them; learning this rote requires extensive
interpret and emulate the indifference of an observed stone, study into Greek legend and culture (best represented by
the mage escapes all sense of pain, grief, joy or pleasure. an extended Intelligence + Academics or Investigation
In effect, the mage invites the stone into his mind, and roll and a great deal of roleplaying).
becomes like a rock: implacable, unfeeling.
Spontaneous Generation
System: With a single success, the mage has locked
(•• Prime, with ••• Matter or Life)
his mind away from the world and can observe it dis-
passionately. If he chooses to remain stationary and In olden days, philosophers believed that animals
achieves more than one success, his mind becomes as a and most matter could spontaneously generate out of
stone. Torture becomes useless and thoughts fade away nothing. Maggots came from meat and horses sprang
to nothing. Alternately, with at least three successes, from the mist of waterfalls. This rote duplicates such
the mage can act in a deliberate fashion. His thoughts spontaneous generation. The mage can’t pull a gun or a
are cold and without empathy, but allow an eerily calm sword out of thin air, but he or she can turn one thing
continuance of motion. Some Pomegranate Deme use into something that it is not, even something radically
this detachment to perform necessary killing unpolluted different. The mage simply reaches into an appropriate
by personal feelings. Reading emotions from the mage source and the object or creature spontaneously generates.
becomes impossible, as he has none. Of course, this Spontaneous generation happens only from certain
freedom from lesser drives is not without cost; the mage sources — one can spontaneously generate maggots
cannot expend Willpower points for the duration of the from meat, mud or corpses, but not from glass or plastic.
Stoicism Effect. All difficulties to Dodge and social rolls Horses may spring from waterfalls or great blazes of fire,
are penalized by three while the rote is in use. but not out of wooden doorways or earthen mounds. The
player should research a few theories of spontaneous
Protection of the Golden Race generation. A modern mage must certainly alter this
(••••• Spirit, •• Prime) rote; a Virtual Adept might pull a computer chip out
By several accounts, the people of the golden age are of a pile of circuit boards, while an Akashic could grab
still out there protecting humanity from monsters and a spear from a thicket of reeds.
unnatural things in the night. The caster calls upon the System: The number of successes determines the
closest member of the golden race to protect them from accuracy and the quantity of material generated (three
an opponent. A blinding flash of golden light appears, successes might mean a newborn foal comes out of the
wounding if not killing the attacker. mist of a waterfall while ten or more might generate
System: This rote can only be used upon supernatu- four grown stallions leaping forth at full charge). A
ral entities and is always considered extremely vulgar. mage must alter this rote to make it suitable for modern
What actually happens to the creature is left to the materials like plastics and alloys, of course.
Storyteller; the caster literally unleashes the guardian
Wings of Icarus (•••• Forces)
power of the golden race.
This rote mimics the legendary flight of Daedalus’
Note that this rite does not actually empower the
doomed son Icarus. The mage straps on a pair of delicate
mage — rather, it summons the golden ones themselves.
feathered wings held together by wax — a noticeable
The reactions of the golden ones are unpredictable;
prop indeed. This Effect uses the natural potency of the
as protectors of humanity, though, they are likely to
wind to lift the user into the air.
incinerate most supernatural predators — so long as
the summoning mage is not also a threat! After all, a System: At least three successes are necessary for
mage’s powers can be just as dangerous to humanity as this rote to work. Otherwise, the winds in the surround-
any vampire’s unnatural hungers. ing area simply aren’t strong enough to provide lift.
Assuming that the mage manages to catch (or create)
Summoning the golden ones is a difficult undertaking.
a convenient wind, she can fly clumsily for the Effect’s
The ancients have long since left the Realms in which
duration. It’s probably a good idea for the mage to spend
most mages operate. Calling them through the Gauntlet

108 Dead Magic

some preparation time strengthening the wings, checking Only fragmentary information about the original spell
for a good wind and so on (that is, using an extended survived. Hermetic researchers had to piece together the
ritual). Strong winds modify the Effect: A brisk breeze necessary components and improvise their own finishing
might lower the difficulty by 1, a strong tailwind by 2. touches. Each version of the spell was unique, a means for
Of course, in modern times, this Effect is vulgar. the individual mage to preserve his Pattern.
Don’t botch. Icarus botched. Naturally, the means to cheat death are not easy. The
frightful requirements of the rite put off most students, even
Beyond Death in an academic capacity. But there are always a crazed few
Orpheus traveled Hades to recover his bride; Achil- for whom the lure of immortality is too tempting.
les shrugged off mortal weapons; Hercules cheated death
to become a god. These heroes were simply a few in the Lichedom (•••• Entropy, •••• Life,
long line of men and women who defied their own mor- •••• Matter, •••• Spirit, ••• Prime, • Mind)
tality. Stories date as far back as the Epic of Gilgamesh Nature ensures that living patterns eventually de-
and the Egyptian rites of mummification. grade and die. Age consumes the body, rot overtakes the
Egypt’s obsession with death led to magic designed flesh and the soul moves on or fades away. And perhaps
to deal directly with the Underworld. Fascinated by the humanity’s greatest curse is the knowledge of its own
prospects of the afterlife and rebirth, the Egyptians created mortality. Among mages, who have some inkling of
a Spell of Life to bring life to mortals after their time, a spell the spiritual fates that wait beyond life, such terrors can
that caused them to be forever alive but dying. become obsessions. Those determined to hang around
Greece and Rome’s interaction with Egypt — after their mortal days seek cryptic formulae designed to
through Carthage, Mark Antony and later the Crusades skirt nature, restore youth, halt decrepitude and cheat
— meant that Egypt’s magics inevitably seeped into death itself. Some mages end up inviting death, but on
Greek culture. The influence was slight — only the rare their own terms; they use the rite of lichedom.
necromancer or demented Infernalist bartered directly While the Order of Hermes commonly used potions
with the powers of death; Greek mystics focused more and rituals to prolong life (and other Traditions created
on transcendental matters. However, this philosophical similar Effects within their own paradigms), only within
training gave the Greeks the ability to comprehend new the Order did the dread of mortality and the drive to master
directions for Egyptian magic, and to describe them in magic become so great that a mage risked life and soul for
efficient terms. a spell to ward off the reaper. The formula for lichedom,
The result? Though Egypt birthed many rites dealing though buried by time and suppressed as heresy, promised
with the dead, the Greeks and the Romans preserved a way out. Still, the offer of perpetual existence remains
them. Modern mages still call the Egyptian gods by their a tantalizing shadow to those mages whose fear of death,
Greek names. Egyptian symbolism filtered through the desire to finish some great deed, or drive to Master their
Roman Cult of Mercury before arriving in the Order Art pushes them beyond rational measures.
of Hermes. The Spell of Life was transformed into a Ironically, the formula for lichedom is marginally
means to cheat death. easier to cast than most comparable immortality spells.
The original Egyptian Spell of Life created mummies, Indeed, a mage need not even be a Master to use this
beings who died but returned to the sunlit lands in their magic. The temptations of the dark road, perhaps.
own bodies. By the time fragmentary records from the While some mages cheat mortality with age-defying
Greek Secret Writings of Cabirus filtered into the Roman spells, lichedom relies on a means to welcome it. The
Cult of Mercury, though, the cult’s priorities had changed. mage surrounds himself with the trappings of his magic
The mages who became the Order of Hermes wanted and ego. Through the strength of his dedication, he severs
to avoid death, not to experience it again and again. his Avatar from the changing, living world about him.
With the incredible precision they developed through At the end of the rite, he kills himself and invokes the
their studies of language, the Roman mages altered the final step, which causes his Pattern to linger perpetually
formula. This altered form inverted the Spell of Life; on the cusp of life and death. No longer truly alive, yet
instead of dying and returning, the mage hovered forever not wholly dead, the mage lives the half-existence of
on the cusp of death. Buried after the fall of Rome, the a liche. Already straddling the threshold of death, the
spell only resurfaced later in the Middle Ages, when liche need no longer fear its ultimate demise.
wizards of the Order of Hermes sought alternate means The Order’s records of lichedom are far from
to prolong their lives so that they had time to master complete, and many Hermetics consider lichedom
the intricacies of their magics. an abominable state. Thus, the rite is rarely copied or

Chapter Four: Pillars of Philosophy — Greece and Rome 109

archived; some mages even destroy any records that they and poisonous materials). With the weapons previously
find regarding lichedom. Chroniclers and theorists of created, the mage kills himself and removes the seat of
the Order might keep fragmentary ruminations on the his life — this may mean severing his arteries, piercing his
process, but it is certain that no whole and complete chakra points, or even stabbing his own heart. The fluid
copy exists except, perhaps, among the tomes of a liche of the potion sustains him and halts the death of his body.
who still exists today. At this point, if the mage’s rite is successful, he becomes
Because Order records are so fragmentary, the rite of an undead corpse and hovers on the boundary between
lichedom is poorly understood, and the steps are often life and death. The rite cements his Avatar and soul to
personalized by the few mages who pursue it. The mage his corpselike frame, while his Pattern becomes mutated
starts by building a special edged or piercing weapon (or into something between Life and Matter. If he fails…
weapons) with which he kills himself. This weapon is Clearly, the rite of lichedom is so dangerous that it
made first because it accompanies the mage through the suits only the rare mage who’s desperate enough to try
remainder of the rite. The traditional Hermetic paradigm it. Worse still, there is no concrete way for the mage
prescribes that the item be made of silver, though other to know whether his formula is successful or correct
materials might also function. except to kill himself in the attempt. No two liches
Once the weapon is complete, the mage must re- have ever used the same formula. It’s possible that
claim every piece of his Avatar and sever all external some steps might be omitted, while it’s almost certain
ties to it. This means that the mage must capture and that most liches have undertaken unnecessarily terrible
destroy every Talisman he has empowered and every steps simply because there is no way to know what the
sympathetic link that he has tied to his soul. He must formula requires. For someone willing to undertake this
even murder his own familiar, if he has one. A mage hideous transformation, nearly any abominable sacrifice
with a fragmentary Avatar must track down and reclaim seems reasonable. Mages who lack the skill to use some
the lost pieces; one with a phylactery must somehow of the required magics might well seek out alternate
manage to keep it on his person for the duration of the steps to make the rite easier. It’s said that crazed wizards
rite. Brands and damaged pieces of an Avatar do not hoping to become liches have slaughtered their entire
hinder this portion of the rite, but if some piece of the families, undertaken personal mutilations and sucked
whole Avatar has somehow been split from the mage, out the very souls of other mages in order to fuel their
it must be recovered. transformations.
Once the mage has severed ties to his magical self, Once a mage has paid the terrible price and taken
he must purge his Pattern of any external magic. Only his the steps that cannot be undone, he becomes one of the
own willpower can keep him alive beyond the shadow of undead. His body no longer heals or grows, and indeed may
death. The mage must isolate himself, with no magic but suffer the ravages of time, but it never dies unless slain by
his own nearby — no magical items, no spells placed by magic. If the rite is not performed properly, the mage simply
others, no intruding supernatural forces. Surrounded by dies; if it is only partially successful, the mage may survive
his magic, he allows it to suffuse his Pattern. Some mages a short time, but decompose and die within a few days or
supplement this step by ingesting potions, often laced weeks. A successful liche can, barring excessive Paradox
with their own flesh and blood, thereby internalizing and or magical injury, expect to “live” forever.
concentrating the magical energies that they carry. Other System: Despite its terrible costs, lichedom is
mages focus on meditation, sensory deprivation or other fairly straightforward. The mage in question needs to
mental techniques to hone their personal energies. For do some heavy research — many rolls of Intelligence
a year and a day the mage must wait in solitude, with no + Occult or Investigation, many visits to libraries and
other magical spells or beings disturbing his concentra- mentors, and so on. Such research is best roleplayed.
tion, as he steeps himself solely in his own magical will. A mage who openly looks into such materials risks the
Most mages at this step are so obsessed with their magical censure of his peers and the possibility of seized records,
development that they spend the time to further refine madness-inducing tomes and righteous hunters who
their techniques. hope to stamp out even the study of such abominations.
Cloistered away and empowered by his own spirit, the The research process is part of the rite. The mage
mage finally takes the last plummet down the precipice of makes his Arete rolls based upon his research and ex-
mortality — he must quaff a specialized potion, which re- ecution of the proper steps. If the mage has done only
quires components harvested from Bygones and materials sketchy research (one or two successes), he may only
renowned for their longevity and power (dragon’s blood, get to roll one or two dice. Similarly, if he executes the
demonic ichor, mercury, grave dust and other foul, rare steps shoddily or imperfectly, he may suffer a difficulty

110 Dead Magic

penalty, while extreme attention to detail may give a laboratory and bestow an Entropic Resonance on area.
bonus as described under Abilities Affecting Magic The remnants of the mage’s corpse may well become
(Mage Revised, p. 155). Quintessence-laden chunks of Tass (though a mage
The final casting of the rite occurs as the mage pre- would have to eat the pieces to gain the Quintessence)
pares the potion for the infusion of lichedom. Successes or become inhabited by something else out there.
accumulate to generate the duration and degree of suc- Once a mage becomes a liche, his body stops being a
cess. To finish the rite, the mage must invest one point pure Life Pattern and becomes something else. Sustained
of Quintessence for each health level that he has and by his formidable will and magical prowess, the mage puts
must score enough successes to perform a phenomenal off death by keeping it in a sort of holding pattern between
Effect (10 or more successes). The rite is naturally vulgar, Life and Matter. This has several consequences:
so the base difficulty is 9. A permanent duration is, of • Once dead, the mage’s body becomes cadaverous,
course, desirable, but if the mage doesn’t score enough gaunt and slightly bluish, like one would expect of a corpse.
successes, the spell may not let him exist long as one of This raises all Appearance-related difficulties by 2.
the undead. The mage generates successes as he makes • The liche does not heal naturally. Only magic can
the elixir, drinks it and kills himself. Naturally, wound heal his wounds. Each health level healed requires the
penalties apply to the task of finishing off the potion while expenditure of a point of Quintessence, so the liche is
the mage stabs or slashes himself to death, so the mage essentially a thaumivore.
is advised to also use a rite to resist pain. • A liche cannot die from lethal damage, only ag-
The final task can be done as an extended ritual, gravated wounds — Pattern damage — can destroy him
to the usual limits of casting time based on the mage’s permanently. Since the liche’s body is dead, he takes only
Arete and Willpower. Note that the mage can only half damage (rounded down after soak) from bashing at-
cast the rite himself. This rite cannot be performed for tacks, and gets a full soak roll (difficulty 6) against lethal
someone else. Since the mage must surround himself damage. Lethal or bashing damage may incapacitate a
with only the trappings of his own magic, the rite also liche and cause his body to become nonfunctional for a
cannot be cast with the aid of any Talismans. The mage time, but eventually the liche overcomes the hindrance.
must finish the spell using his own knowledge. Remember, wound penalties do not affect magical cast-
With the mage’s inward concentration of personal ing difficulties, so the liche can easily use Mind or Spirit
magic and awareness, and the use of Mind and Spirit magic to send his astral form to gather Quintessence and
magic, he manages to shackle his Avatar, soul and con- return to heal the body.
sciousness to his body so that they remain even as he • The liche’s body may continue to decay. Many
dies. The Life, Matter and Entropy Spheres halt his body liches use some Entropy magic to sustain them, but over
along the path to death and transform his Pattern into time they become unconcerned with such trivialities.
something on the cusp between. Without special preservative magic, the liche’s body rots
Various omissions or mistakes are possible, and they at the speed of natural healing: After a day the liche
can have many detrimental effects on the process. With- loses his Bruised health level; 3 days later the Hurt level
out Mind magic, the mage’s consciousness departs as he rots away and so on. This rotting is visible and causes
dies; his body becomes a shell without volition. Without the mage to lose Appearance (one dot per health level)
Spirit, his Avatar flees and he becomes a self-willed but as he decays, until the rotting is healed.
powerless walking corpse, with no magical capabilities • Liches are sterile, of course. No amount of magic can
(and no ability to learn other supernatural powers, since fix that problem. A liche might simulate sexuality, like a
he is not truly a vampire or one of the Risen). Without vampire, but ultimately is a half-dead thing with other ways
sufficient Entropy, the body’s death processes do not to spend eternity. A liche can eat and drink, and its body
come under control in the transformation to Matter, metabolizes food, but it no longer requires sustenance.
and the mage becomes hideously decrepit (losing one • Since a liche is dependent solely upon his own
point from each Physical Attribute, his Bruised health magic to sustain him, the rite burns out connections
level and all Appearance). with any external magical processes. The liche cannot
If a mage fails to complete the rite successfully, he have True Faith, Fae Blood or similar Merits. Any such
simply dies, and the potion has no effect except perhaps existing ties are destroyed. A liche can’t become a ghoul,
to make the corpse twitch, choke and burn spasmodi- vampire or other supernatural creature.
cally. If the mage botches the ritual, he manages to kill • Upon completing the rite, a liche gains one dot
himself, shred his Avatar (permanently destroying it, of both Static and Entropic Resonance. Furthermore,
perhaps) and generate sufficient Paradox to level his the liche’s Resonance is disconcerting not merely to

Chapter Four: Pillars of Philosophy — Greece and Rome 111

mortals, but also to supernatural creatures. Vampires, destruction and solitude are so severe that they disrupt
changelings, even spirits and the like all recognize the just about any group. Most every cabal has someone
liche as some sort of unnatural abomination. The smart with a moral objection to the rite of lichedom. And
ones flee. Even other mages are affected, and have a that’s discounting the fact that a mage crazed enough
tendency to hunt down and destroy liches. to attempt the rite is probably so maladjusted that he
• As a static creature, the liche can never gain ad- can’t handle the company of other mages (or Sleepers)
ditional Arete — ever. He can continue to improve his anyhow. Besides, if a mage was so hell bent on immortal-
Spheres but his enlightenment is frozen along with his ity that he became a liche, what else might he consider
body and soul. Ascension has been traded for the chance “reasonable” in pursuit of his own goals?
to exist beyond mortal limits in the quest for magical This is not to say that liches don’t belong in Mage
power. A liche can suffer Gilgul; many do, shortly before chronicles. They make excellent antagonists — most
they are permanently slain. Still, the liche has eternity mages don’t have as much torque as they do, plus
in which to study, improve and expand his knowledge the typical Disciple doesn’t know how to fight one.
of the Spheres, and he’s damnably hard to kill, too. That means legwork to dig up facts and find people
• Liches cannot have familiars. (You killed yours knowledgeable on the subject. Since liches could be
as part of the rite, remember?) This is true even if the considered a political hot topic among the Traditions,
liche never had one in life. The liche’s unliving Pattern one liche could have an entire cabal of Disciples run-
cannot properly bind familiars. ning around ducking their heads to avoid censure
• The liche rite cannot be undone with simple while trying to get the information necessary to take
countermagic. Most liches also add other protections out an undead enemy — especially if that enemy is
to prevent unweaving. Should the rite be undone, the so well hidden that the rest of the Traditions can’t be
liche finishes the process of dying and becomes a corpse. bothered to deal with it.
Thus, reversing the rite also requires some way to raise The liche formula is a neat aside for players’ mages
the dead — good luck with that one. to get their hands on as well. If a mage stumbles across a
• A liche can place its Avatar in a phylactery (see bit of the formula, what does he do? Destroy it? Hoard it?
the Phylactery Flaw in Mage Revised, p. 300). This is a Share it with his (horrified) friends and companions? Use
necessity if the liche does not have sufficient Spirit to it? Players’ mages are a fractious lot; there’s gotta be someone
hold on to his Avatar and soul during the rite itself; the crazy enough to pay for or use such information. For that
liche can bind the phylactery with Spirit 3. matter, just knowing the rite earns the character some
• Liches have a tendency toward insanity. Nobody enemies — holier-than-thou Traditionalists, paranoid
goes through the rite without gaining at least one De- liches who don’t want the formula known (and possibly
rangement. Over time, most liches become increasingly undone), vampires who consider liches competition.…
eccentric, until they find themselves completely unable A liche might also be a patron to a cabal — one that
to relate to the “normal” world. doesn’t know or care about the liche’s state. The liche’s
• The process of lichedom so greatly changes the magical resources are immense, and given time it can
individual’s Pattern that his True Name is distorted. The probably become a true Master (at least). A would-be
subject’s old True Name no longer applies. The rite warps liche could send mages out to destroy the Talismans that
its name; someone familiar with the old name and the it created and lost earlier in life. A repentant liche might
liche formula might be able to puzzle out the corrupted send people to find the magical knowledge to restore
name (Intelligence + Occult, difficulty 9). There is a True its mortality (good luck). With long-term planning, a
Name for “liche” but each liche also has an individual liche could develop the extreme views common to elder
True Name that is necessary to affect the individual with vampires, Archmasters and the like; Disciples and lesser
True Name bindings, banishments and so on. mages become pawns in such games.
• Liches are, of course, Paradoxical, and the rite Liches are by no means common. It’s probable that
gives the caster permanent Paradox. The exact amount there are no more than three or four in the modern Tel-
is up to the Storyteller. Certainly in a low-fantasy game, lurian, with only a single one even bothering to remain
a liche suffers from a great deal of Paradox. on Earth. Like any potent creature, a liche is best used
as a plot device. Even the hint of a liche or its formula
Liche Characters can be enough to drive a story.
A liche is not the sort of character to run around And, of course, this is the World of Darkness. Those
with a group of players’ mages. The dedication required who cheat death with the curse of undeath rarely meet
to finish the rite is immense, and the requirements of pleasant ends.

112 Dead Magic

Bygones of Greece and Rome Human cultists still revere Bacchus through rites
of fertility and debauchery. These people merely revel
The Minotaur, harpies, Furies, Gorgons, gods, ghosts in the god’s gifts of wine and wantonness. However,
— there’s no limit to the critters that populate Greek and from time to time the deity’s power touches a few of
Roman myth. Such Bygones may not interfere with the his revelers and infects them with his own maddened,
material world much, but unlike the Bygones of other frenzied passions. In olden days, Bacchus joined his
cultures, these things may well be recognized. People revelers personally; in the modern age, the faraway
today may not believe in the Minotaur, but they’ve heard spirit of the god is likely only to touch those rare
the legends. This, in turn, means that the Bygones of mortals who embody unbridled passion in the furthest
Greece and Rome are, perhaps, closer to Earth than any wilds or in places that rest close to the Umbra. Human
other Bygone creatures — they, at least, are remembered. followers touched in this fashion become something
The Bacchanae else — the Bacchanae. It is these berserk, cannibal-
The worship of Bacchus wasn’t all drinking and istic beasts that embody pure lust and desire, and
screwing. The cult of Bacchus, called the Bacchanae, these creatures are the dangerously inhuman “cult”
worshipped the god in the most sacred of ceremonies that might perhaps attack an unfortunate traveler to
with a sacrifice of one of Bacchus’ most favored animals satiate their brutal passions.
— a lion, a sheep, or a human being. Bacchanae cultists seem much like normal people,
The followers of Bacchus — advocates of a more but their intimacy with their god drives them insane.
intuitive philosophy of spirituality and action — were Bacchus transcends ecstatic revelry to become the power
often at odds with the more logical and conceptual of madness; Bacchanae are charged with this energy
Gnostics, who vied for control of ancient Greece’s as they copulate with and devour their victims and
mystic societies. This struggle continued from the time one another. The threat of the Bacchanae stems from
of ancient Greece until the rise of Christianity. Paul the their utter madness, their pack formations and their
Apostle fused the classical Greek philosophy of Gnosti- insensibility to reason or pain. Some Bacchanae might
cism with Christianity (then a small but fanatical sect of be accompanied by wild faerie creatures that are lost in
the Jews) to form a religion acceptable to both Greeks the storm of carnality and cannibalism.
and Romans. Somewhere along the way, the intuition Strength 3, Dexterity 3, Stamina 3
of Bacchus was lost and the cults suffered persecution Willpower: 9, Health Levels: OK, OK, OK, OK, OK,
or conversion. However, not all the infidels were ac- OK, Incapacitated
counted for and it is possible that cults of the mad god Attack: Bite for 3 dice
still exist not only in Greece but anywhere that Greek Abilities: Alertness 3, Athletics 4, Brawl 4
immigrants or Greek thought has spread.

Blood on the Grass

When I was a kid I watched Fantasia, mostly to see Mickey Mouse run
around in a sorcerer’s outfit. There was that one piece, though — I don’t
even remember what it was called — about the worship of Bacchus. There
were all these centaurs and fawns and they ran around drinking wine,
crushing grapes and going off into the woods to fuck. In the middle of this
was a jolly fat man drunk out his mind trying to ride a mule around this party
and failing miserably. When I was kid I thought that the fat guy was Santa
Claus and he was having some sort of party because Christmas was over.
Well, I saw a real party of the followers of Bacchus last night, and, no matter
how drunk Santa was, I do not think he would have approved.
The locals told me the legend about a Bacchus cult living in the woods
near their village. They warned me that the Bacchanae, as they are
called, kill anyone who invades their woods at night. Of course, I had to see
if this was true.

Chapter Four: Pillars of Philosophy — Greece and Rome 113

 I wandered into the woods quietly at first and swept as much territory as
possible. Nothing. I thought that perhaps I should make more noise to attract
some attention. That’s when I heard a scream. I rushed in the direction of
the sound. I had half expected to see some sort of drunken orgy, and I was
only mildly disappointed. T wo youths from the town lay entwined on the ground
in a rather desperate act of copulation. This is fairly unsurprising; kids often
use the thrill of being in a haunted spot to heighten the thrill of doing some-
thing they’re not supposed to do.
Having no business in that particular grove I debated whether to interrupt
them when I felt impending danger. This instinct has never failed me in the
field so I readied my defenses and reinforced my prayer to be hidden from
the eyes of man.
What I saw next nearly made me drop my defenses in shock. I saw some-
thing I could barely believe: a throng of men and women whose bodies were
crisscrossed with scars from running through bramble unclothed. Their
bodies were so mutilated that it was difficult to tell how old they were, but there
could be not have been any children among them. At first they snickered
to themselves as they slowly surrounded the couple, who remained oblivious to
their imminent peril.
I felt the crackling, that little buzz of static electricity that I always feel
when dealing with other mages. That meant that I probably wasn’t going to be
able to stand up to this group no matter how I confronted them. I ran back to
the town to get help but something froze me in place where I was.
The Bacchanae fell upon the couple with a motion both brutal and sexual. The
Bacchanae tore chunks of their flesh in fierce bites. The Bacchanae’s lurid
shrieks and hoots seemed even worse than the screams of the dying couple. I
closed my eyes but it was worse to listen to the chorus of slurping mouths ac-
companied by the characteristic sound of tearing wet linen that flesh makes
when rent. As I ran, the image of jolly Bacchus from Fantasia riding a wave of
wine came to my mind, but now Bacchus rode a wave of blood instead.

The Golden Ones cultures were “paradigms” from which the silver age
Within the context of Mage, the golden race could usurped the golden age and iron usurped silver. Some
refer to several different groups. The Order of Hermes further postulate, although always unofficially, that the
tends to interpret these legends as a previous race of Technocracy’s defeat of the Traditions promises an age
people who achieved Ascension as a culture. The distinc- more brutal and dark than the last.
tion between gold and silver possibly indicates different This all leads to the question: Where is the golden
paradigms. Alchemically speaking, gold is the metal of race now, if they were supposed to look after the affairs of
purity and energy so some sort of purity of mind and humanity? Some believe that the Oracles (of the Umbra,
body might have been involved. This also implies the not Delphi) are the new guardians. Others believe that
possibility of achieving Ascension as a race. the golden ones have somehow become lost or locked
Some in the Order have a darker interpretation, away. There is even a rumor of a cabal that entered the
and it has become more popular since the end of the Deep Umbra in a quest to find these beings. Judging by
Ascension War: There was no Ascension involved in the current state of humanity, though, it seems unlikely
the passing of the golden and silver ages. These previous that these golden protectors have returned.

114 Dead Magic

 Members of the golden and silver races could show
up in the spirit world as idealized beings, entities of light Bloody Bastards
or pure metal. Surely they command formidable magical Some of the monsters in this section also
powers. Why they ever left Earth is a mystery for a troupe appear in The Bygone Bestiary or in other source
to examine… a golden or silver one could also speak to a books. The descriptions here are not revisions but
mage in an attempt to offer advice, perhaps fulfilling its alternatives. There could be different species run-
role as a guardian. Doubtless, their culture was a magical ning around. the monsters could have changed.
one, so a mage could learn much from such an entity. Besides, this is a Black Dog book where we can
Treat a golden or silver one as a spirit. Since it show how these creatures really are. Why these
has transcended human understanding, only an Adept differences exist, or if they exist at all, is up to
or Master who used some real trickery has a chance the Storyteller.
to injure or trap it. A good plot thread might center
around a wounded golden one and its need for mortal
Polyphemus, son of the god Poseidon and another
intermediaries to stop some baleful plan on Earth, or
cyclops; how many more of these creatures might have
to fetch it the means to heal itself and stop something
lived remains a mystery. Certainly the old ones are lost
that no human mage could fight.
in the mists of time, but there may well be uncharted
Centaurs isles in the Mediterranean Sea where a lost sailor could
A savage race, the centaurs follow the pattern of stumble across one of these formidable entities.
half-beast, half-man creatures common to Greek myth. A cyclops grows to be about four stories tall. How-
Centaurs are attributed to Ixion, a cunning king who ever, the most remarkable feature of the cyclops is
murdered Eioneus while stealing away his victim’s the presence of only one eye in the center of its head.
daughter for his wife. He was cursed with insanity, cured Though the cyclops has limited depth perception, it is
by Zeus then subsequently indulged his lust for Hera, tremendously strong.
Zeus’ wife. The centaurs sprang from this union. Polyphemus, at least, had a taste for the flesh of
With the body of a horse and the torso, arms and men… the cyclopes are often painted as dull witted and
head of a man, a centaur can be majestic, but is more quick tempered, but nevertheless dangerous. It’s unlikely
likely terrifying. Perhaps the centaur myth simply came that cyclopes form communities, but no one knows for
from the first encounters of early cultures with men sure. Still , a mage who encounters even one certainly
mounted on horses — wouldn’t the Technocracy like has a tale to tell for the rest of her days.
everyone to believe that? Centaurs were said to be ar- Strength 7+, Dexterity 2, Stamina 6+
rogant and short tempered in the extreme. A few rare Willpower: 3, Health Levels: OK, OK, -1, -1, -1, -1,
exceptions did exist, but most centaurs were creatures -2, -2, -2, -2, -5, Incapacitated
of the wilderness who avoided humanity. Attack: Strike for brawling damage; some cyclopes may
Strength 4, Dexterity 2, Stamina 4 use huge clubs or spears, inflicting Strength + 5 damage.
Willpower: 5, Health Levels: OK, OK, -1, -1, -1, -2, Abilities: Alertness 1, Athletics 3, Brawl 4, Dodge 2,
-2, -2, -5, Incapacitated Melee 4, Survival 3
Attack: Kick for 6 dice
Abilities: Alertness 2, Athletics 4, Dodge 2, Melee 3,
Erinyes
Survival 4 Little could inspire more dread in a man than a
glimpse of one of the Erinyes — the Furies sent to pun-
Cyclopes ish those who had not gained absolution from the gods
Somewhere in the Aegean Sea there is an island where or whose crimes were so heinous that they demanded
those cursed by the gods now roam. Once they were the retribution. A trio of sisters, the Erinyes were born of
blacksmiths of Olympus, but now they are nothing more powers that came before even the Greek gods and thus
than barbarians huddled around fires. The curse of the gods had power that even the gods could not deny. Cloaked
prevents them from ever leaving the island and all but the in black, winged, serpent-haired like the Gorgons and
most unwary travelers from ever finding them. carrying instruments of torture, the Erinyes pursued
Created by Uranos, the first three cyclopes were men even to the gates of death to exact punishment.
named Brontes, Steropes and Arges, and they wielded The Erinyes are cunning, unstoppable and deadly; they
the powers of thunder, lightning and light, respec- can communicate but grimly set about their cosmic task
tively. Later, in the Odyssey, Odysseus meets and fights without negotiation. Since their tasks have drawn them

Chapter Four: Pillars of Philosophy — Greece and Rome 115

to many corners of the cosmos, they surely know great, only petrified men who looked upon them; lovers in the
hidden secrets, but a Fury never divulges such knowl- dark may have avoided their stony glare.
edge. A mage might learn much by watching how one Strength 2, Dexterity 3, Stamina 2
of the Erinyes stalks and dispatches a victim, but using Willpower: 5, Health Levels: OK, -1, -1, -2, -2, -5,
one of these spirits of vengeance in such a fashion is Incapacitated
surely not healthy. Attack: The Gorgon’s gaze petrifies an onlooker. Roll
The Furies are appropriate as Paradox manifestations the onlooker’s Perception + Alertness (difficulty 6);
or spirits who trouble mages in the Umbra; however, they a successful roll (or botch) indicates that the target is
do not act frivolously. Most often, they come to avenge turned to stone! (Use a Life/Matter Effect to undo the
murder, and may well kill their victim in the process. Only petrification, or you’ve got a new lawn statue.) At close
the advice of the gods can allay the Furies, but even gods range, a Gorgon’s snake-hair can bite for two dice of lethal
cannot stop them. Fate help a mage who attracts their damage, and it is also highly poisonous (causing one level
baneful attention — because Heaven surely won’t. of lethal damage per turn for the next ten turns or so).
Strength 5, Dexterity 5, Stamina 5 Abilities: Alertness 5, Athletics 4, Brawl 2, Dodge 3,
Willpower: 10, Health Levels: OK, -1, -1, -2, -2, -5, Intimidation 3, Melee 3, Stealth 3, Survival 4, Occult 1
Incapacitated
Attack: The Erinyes lash out with torches, daggers, Harpies
scourges and serpents for 5 dice of lethal damage. Even Half bird, half woman, these creatures were sent by Zeus
if disarmed, the Furies can always produce another to punish those who had dishonored him and to eat and
weapon from the black folds of her cloak. befoul the victim’s food so that he would starve to death.
Abilities: Alertness 6, Athletics 5, Awareness 6, Brawl 5, Initial myths paint them as a trio of sisters (common in
Cosmology 5, Dodge 6, Enigmas 5, Intimidation 5, Greek myth) born to a giant and a nymph, but later tales
Melee 6, Occult 5 indicate that there may have been more. Jason and the
Notes: Even if incapacitated, a Fury is not defeated. Argonauts freed Phineas from starvation by the harpies, but
They cannot be killed conventionally. The Erinyes can- the harpies themselves may have survived the encounter.
not be reduced below Incapacitated and automatically Since the harpies are relegated to myth in the modern
heals two levels of all kinds of damage every turn. Thus, world, a mage is most likely to encounter them in the
a Fury who is brought low simply rises again the next Umbra after offending the Greek gods. Harpies might
turn, all the more determined to punish her victim. even manifest during certain Paradox backlashes. Typi-
The Erinyes have an automatic five dice of coun- cally, the harpies do not attack; rather, they simply steal
termagic. So determined is their pursuit of vengeance or ruin their victim’s food before he can eat more than
that no magic can dissuade them from their task; only a scrap, so that the victim starves to death. Freed from
the death of the victim, or proper penance, can stay the shackles of their mythical role, though, harpies might
their hands. well attack unwary intruders in their domains.
Note that the harpies described in The Bygone
Gorgons Bestiary are actually a little closer to the Erinyes in
In legend there were three Gorgons, sisters with the temperament, but if you can keep your players guessing,
power to turn men to stone — Stheino, Eurayle and Me- so much the better.…
dusa. Half-sisters to the sirens, the Gorgons supposedly Strength 3, Dexterity 4, Stamina 4
gained their hideous appearance and petrifying powers Willpower: 5, Health Levels: OK, -1, -1, -2, -2, -5,
due to Medusa’s impertinence in approaching the gods Incapacitated
with lust in her mind (stories conflict: She may have been Attack: Claw for 5 dice
a lover to Poseidon or a priestess who defiled the temple Abilities: Alertness 2, Athletics 4, Brawl 3, Dodge 4
of Aphrodite). Regardless of origin, the Gorgons had hair
of snakes and hideous countenances. Medusa was slain by Minotaurs
the hero Perseus, but her sisters’ fates remain unknown. A singular creature of legend, the Minotaur was
The Gorgons lived in a cave, sequestered from hu- another result of hubris. King Minos of Crete prayed for
manity. None know where this cave might be today. A a worthy sacrifice to honor the gods, but when Poseidon
mage might stumble across one of the Gorgons in the sent a white bull from the sea foam, Minos set the bull
Umbra, or in some far corner of Greece. It’s possible that to grazing with his herd as a trophy instead of properly
the Gorgons had offspring; after all, their countenances sacrificing it. Enraged at this presumption, the gods set

116 Dead Magic

the bull loose, and inflicted Minos’ wife with an over- Sirens
powering lust for the creature. Divine sway ensured that Half-sisters of the Gorgons, the sirens were nymphs
the rutting resulted in an unnatural child: a man with cursed by Demeter when they failed to protect Perse-
a bull’s head. Horrified and enraged, Minos ordered the phone (Demeter’s daughter) from the attentions of
construction of a great maze, where he imprisoned the Hades. Thereafter, the sirens had the upper bodies of
bastard monstrosity. From his subject kingdoms Minos women but the lower torsos of animals — first birds,
demanded a tribute of men and women and hurled them later fish (as the stories changed with time, or Demeter
into the maze. The sacrifices wandered haplessly through altered her curse).
Daedalus’ Labyrinth until the Minotaur caught and ate Haunting the waters near Sicily and Italy, the sirens
them. The Minotaur was finally slain by the hero Theseus. used their songs to compel sailors to run aground on
Minos demanded sacrifices of young men and women nearby islands. The unfortunates drowned in the waters
for the Minotaur and for several years sent them into the or were devoured by the sisters of the sirens upon the
maze… perhaps the men sated its hunger while the women islands. Orpheus managed to pass the sirens by using his
sated other appetites. Generations of brutal, flesh-eating own music to keep his sailors focused, while Odysseus
minotaurs could well have survived in some Umbral maze. heard their song but gave his men strict orders not to
Strength 5, Dexterity 3, Stamina 5 let him loose from the ship’s mast where he was tied.
Willpower: 3, Health Levels: OK, OK, -1, -1, -1, -2, (Odysseus’ sailors stopped their ears with wax to drown
-2, -2, -5, Incapacitated out the music; sailing in dangerous water without being
Attack: Gore for 8 dice; bite for 5 dice; a minotaur can able to hear orders was quite a feat.) Once a mortal had
also use weapons. heard their song and passed by alive, the power of the
Abilities: Alertness 5, Brawl 4, Melee 3, Survival 3 sirens’ music was broken — or was it? The sirens threw
themselves into the deep seas, perhaps to resurface later
Satyrs and continue their hypnotic song.
Satyrs are a strange phenomenon in the modern Strength 2, Dexterity 3, Stamina 3
world. Most believe that satyrs faded away with the Charisma 4, Manipulation 4, Appearance 4
disappearance of the Mythic Age; others believe that Willpower: 6, Health Levels: OK, -1, -1, -2, -2, -5,
they all died in a war against some great enemy. Most Incapacitated
Tradition mages agree that the satyrs were hunted to Attack: The siren’s song causes insanity — use the
extinction by the Technocracy. However, of all the siren’s Manipulation + Performance in a resisted roll
creatures that reportedly died during the Mythic Age, against a subject’s Willpower. An overcome victim
there are few accounts of the re-emergence of griffins tries desperately to reach the sirens, but they lead him
or dragons, but there have been occasional sightings of underwater or into the grip of other monsters. If a siren
those with satyr blood, or possibly satyrs themselves. were somehow captured, she could conceivably fight
Satyrs consorted with Dionysus, poured his wine and ineffectively as an untrained human.
played musical instruments (syrinx, flute and cymbals). Abilities: Alertness 3, Awareness 3, Expression 4,
Mages lost in the forest might stumble across a small band Performance 5
of satyrs, which could also mean that maenads are nearby.
Of course, if you use Changeling: The Dreaming,
satyrs survived by becoming part of human dreams.
Places of Epiphany
Mystic places dot Greece and Rome, all significant
Whichever version you use, satyrs are likely to be in- to human culture in some way. Unlike the primeval
terested in dragging mages into their carnal pleasures lands of Africa and South America, Greece and Rome’s
and comfortable laziness. Satyrs might hold useful in- locales of power have been tamed by human hands, but
formation or Artifacts that mages need, though. When their magic remains strong.
threatened, satyrs tend to run, and most can scamper
Ironically, the vast wealth of Greek and Roman lit-
quite quickly; it’s better to bribe or humor them instead.
erature has diluted the strength of these places. Tourists
Strength 3, Dexterity 4, Stamina 4 come to see old ruins; They soak up the tourist-bureau
Willpower: 3, Health Levels: OK, -1, -1, -2, -2, -5, cultural interpretations while they relegate the old stories
Incapacitated to myth and legend. This disbelief, in turn, weakens the
Attack: Kick for brawling damage power of these places.
Abilities: Alertness 3, Athletics 4, Dodge 3, Expression 4,
Performance 4

Chapter Four: Pillars of Philosophy — Greece and Rome 117

 The Oracle at Delphi so many other things, the Oracle at Delphi was banned
The Oracle at Delphi was perhaps Greece’s most and supposedly lost forever.
valuable treasure. Kings came to see if they should go to Today, the Oracle is no longer used for prophecy.
war, priests came to learn the will of their gods, and the Now it is just another landmark for tourists to add to
occasional hapless farmers who just wanted to find out the list of things they’ve seen.
what was going on made their obligatory appearances. But few things can be lost forever. About one
All of them came to Delphi. hundred years ago, the Order of Hermes informed the
The Oracle was always consulted before coronations, Council of Nine that it had discovered a group that
before going to war, before every major decision made by claimed to be the same order of monks that had always
the government. This was a fairly universal practice across attended the Oracle. Over the years they had provided
all of ancient Greece and part of the cultural tradition their services to a select group of Greeks whom they
that united the Greeks. The basic process was simple: An deemed worthy. In order to continue their operations,
inquirer traveled to Delphi to give tribute to the monks, they now kidnap the virgins they use in their ceremo-
who then investigated the traveler’s question. A young nies. Some suspected that the Order of Hermes knew
virgin was then subjected to sulphurous fumes, and she all along that this group existed, but kept the secret to
babbled in a matter only comprehensible to the monks themselves. Members and associates of the Council of
attending the girl. With the coming of Christianity, like Nine decried the practice as inhumane, but new problems

Make Your Own Myth

Of course, you may be one of those sorts who looks at day, albeit hidden from normal sight. To mages, though,
this possible angle for the Oracle at Delphi and murmurs, such events are clear as day. Maybe the Oracle really has
“That’s absolutely stupid.” Perhaps you’ve looked into the some greater power channeled through a sort of priesthood,
myths and when you look at the rotes, you think, “Damn, though the priesthood might not resemble anything out
that’s really demeaning to what should be a fantastic and of old Greek myth anymore; Avatars might resemble the
marvelous power.” creatures of myth, or perhaps the players’ mages embark
You’re absolutely right. on a journey that’s metaphorically similar to the Odyssey.
In the context of your own Mage game, you want to • Abandon the old themes and use strange convolu-
capture a specific atmosphere, flavor and mood. No two tions unfettered by the way that people normally connect
games are alike, and though Mage books can assume certain ideas. You can just use legends and myths as a thin veneer.
standards, they can’t address specifically what people are You wave your hands and let the players think that they see
going to like or dislike. So come up with your own mythol- something familiar, but behind the curtain lurks something
ogy and decide how you want things to work in your World different. Perhaps the players stumble across a conspiracy
of Darkness, as appropriate to your game. that looks like it’s the remnants of the Oracle at Delphi,
Maybe you think the Oracle at Delphi should be in- but when they really investigate, there’s something totally
violate, a manifestation of some unknown principle that different at work — the Oracle cult is actually some other
channels its will through hidden followers and exists even in supernatural agency, or the prophecies come from a giant
the modern world, sequestered away from gawking tourists computer or some equally freakish implausibility. This
or overzealous mages. Or maybe the Technocracy did its sets up the players’ expectations then knocks them down,
job all too well, and the Oracle now exists only in legend, confounding (and hopefully entertaining) the group.
lacking even imitators. You need a good handle on your Remember, a myth is just a starting place. It can be as
game’s thematic elements, so that you can fit in legends metaphorical or as literal as you want. Take an element and
where you want them. Here are a few ideas on how you nail in your favored (or hated) little corner of the Mage
can make your own myths: game — perhaps the Order of Hermes didn’t infiltrate the
• If you’re running a rollicking, high-adventure Mage Oracle, but the Dreamspeakers did. Or the Void Engineers
chronicle, then secret conspiracies and horrid monsters — who knows what they’d do with it? Is the facade of the
are your normal fare. Give your players puzzles with secret myth genuine, or is it just another mask? Maybe your Oracle
masters, hidden cults and mooks! Mooks! Mooks! began as a diviner and soothsayer, but now her cryptic
• Of course, Mage chronicles can also be heavily pronouncements mean something else — insight into the
cerebral and symbolic. If you go for such scope, you want soul of the visitor, or just random babbling that people still
myth and legend to remain unscathed — the power of their foolishly try to interpret.
archetypes is strong enough that they persist in the modern Make the myth your own. It’s your game.

118 Dead Magic

 surfaced every day in Queen Victoria’s Technocracy,
so the Council somehow swept the issue under the rug
indefinitely — until recently, only those mages who
asked the right questions to the right people even found
out about the Oracle.
The truth is somewhat more sinister. The original
monks of Delphi were either driven off or killed by the
Christian emperors of the Roman empire. In the 19th
century a cabal of Hermetic mages of House Fortunae
discovered writings they believed to be records of the
monks of Delphi. They decided to recreate the order
themselves and informed their superiors within the
Order of Hermes. What the Hermetic officials were not
told by the cabal, now called the Cabal of Delphi, was
the exact process by which the magic was performed.
Everyone sees the open part of the ceremony and
few question what happens behind closed doors when
no one is visiting. Supposedly, the sulphurous fumes
of the spring are infused with a rare vein of energy
(or Quintessence for those who insist on using such
formalized terms). This energy inspires the Oracle’s
predictions, which then can be interpreted by the monks
according to the ancient guidelines of the language of
the gods. The mystical quality of the Oracle’s cave is
self-evident to Awakened visitors who realize that they
are entering a Node.
In reality, the monks involved pool their Arete
and Quintessence, using the Oracle as a conduit. The
Oracle screams because of the painful mystical ener-
gies flowing through her. As she screams, the monks
come to an intuitive understanding of the prediction
and then meet afterward for an “interpretation” only
to maintain the facade of what they are actually do-
ing. Virgins are required for this ceremony so that the
monks may come to a physical union with them in
order to establish a stronger mental link. The monks
sometimes rape the kidnapped virgins to enhance their
connection to the Oracle.
The current monks are actually the descendants of
the original Cabal of Delphi. They claim to recruit new
monks at birth and train them for life to be keepers of
the Oracle. Actually, new monks are born to Oracles
then raised by the group they are meant to succeed. The
presence of a pregnant Oracle would have undermined
the claim of the Oracle’s virginity, which led the group
to keep multiple Oracles around so that one could always
be able to perform the ceremonial duties.

Chapter Four: Pillars of Philosophy — Greece and Rome 119

120 Dead Magic
 Chapter Five:
The Top of
the World —
The Arctic Circle

The Winter Year

I’ve visited Greece and Africa in search of old knowledge. I’ve dug up
things that time has systematically stamped out. It’s rough, sometimes,
knowing that my predecessors and even some of my contempo-
raries would be pleased simply to eradicate all of the knowledge I’ve
tried to gather.
In the case of the Arctic, they’ve done the job well.
I suppose it’s because colonialism never really came to the
Arctic reaches. Exploration of the polar lands happened only as
an adjunct to things like the search for the fabled Northwest Passage or
the drive to reach the North Pole. European ideas conquered the Ameri-
cas long before they spread to the frost. So, by the time that Western
civilization made it to the Arctic, it’d gotten very, very good at wiping out
anything that didn’t fit its worldview. Western explorers had already dealt
with shamans among the American natives; the church and state knew
how to eliminate them.

Chapter Five: The Top of the World — The Arctic Circle 121
 That makes it tough. Like African lore, much of Arctic cultural history
comes down from word of mouth. Unlike Africa, though, this isn’t history from
ten thousand years ago passed through varied stories. It’s history that was
fresh just a few decades ago, yet it’s been so thoroughly modernized and
crushed that it might as well have been millennia.
The Innu themselves say that they’ve been in areas of Canada and
Newfoundland for well on to seven thousand years, and some archeologi-
cal evidence backs this up. When American, French and English explorers
first met up with them, they lived in the bush, hunted, trapped and used
stone axes and bows. Governments came in, established borders and ex-
ploited the Innu for trade. Early settlement companies traded food for furs
and made tremendous profits from the Innu’s labors. Just like the other
native peoples of the Americas, the Innu’s centuries of life meant nothing
to the newcomers looking for wealth.
This may sound preachy, like one of those look-how-we-abused-the-na-
tives speeches, but the fact is that the Innu and Inuit lifestyles were run
over by colonization. The Arctic peoples got railroaded into modern educa-
tional systems, which required towns and schools, which in turn meant a
settled lifestyle. For a people who centered their livelihood and even their
spirituality around hunting, this was devastating. In just a couple of genera-
tions many of their practices were wiped out.
A Talk with the Old Man
One can’t just walk out into the bush and expect to run into Innu hunt-
ers. Some do still go out there but it gets rarer with each generation.
Besides, there’s a lot of territory in the tundra; though I probably could’ve
prayed for a little guidance then set off in the right general direction, it
was simpler just to head to one of the government-built towns like the old
hunting grounds at Davis Inlet.
I’ve found and spoken to a few old-timers. These days, even the old
ones can only relate tales that they remember handed down from their
fathers and grandfathers. One old man in particular had much to say.
With bitterness, the old man told me many things. He told me that his
people cannot hunt anymore, because too many places have been taken
over by governments. Jets fly overhead for military practice, factories pol-
lute the landscape and geologists swarm about the mountains in search
of uranium, oil and gems. Many of the animals are gone. Even if the people
wanted to return to their lives as hunters, they could not. The old ways have
been made impossible.
The old man tells me that the shamans do not practice nowadays.
When the Jesuits came, they instructed people to gather together. The
missionaries broke the hunters of their old ways and relocated them to
government settlements to “save the savages.” Church organizations shut

122 Dead Magic

down practices like the shaking tent, the way that Innu commune with
the spirits. They relegated monsters to superstition, so people may not be
stalked anymore by cannibal spirits or water spirits, but now they can’t talk
to animal masters or helper spirits either. Missionaries replaced bows with
rifles and canoes with biplanes, so that hunters could depopulate entire
ranges for no reason; without respect, the animal spirits withered.
The Innu trace much magic to hunting; a hunter who treats animals
with respect is favored by the animals and has good hunts. Now, they can-
not hunt. The natives buy their food from supermarkets. Where people would
still hunt, the animals are gone, having been scattered, killed or forced into
other habitats. The hunter’s craft has become only a legend.
Spirits also wander the ice, and many are not friendly. The Innu
say that they have spirit helpers, mishtapeu, who intercede and trans-
late for humans on behalf of spirits incomprehensible to mortals. Inuit
speak of torngak, disembodied helper spirits that sometimes manifest
and heed the wishes of shamans. Scientists tell people that these
are not real, that there are no spirits and that the myths of creation
are nothing more than tales. Christianity tells them that their animal
masters are demons and that the shaking tent is black magic. Only
those who go far into the bush and pay heed to the old ways can safely
commune with the spirits. As fewer and fewer people remember these
ways, more spirits abandon humanity.
I can’t find answers in the heated, prefabricated walls of the govern-
ment communities. I have to go out into the bush, in the waste where the
cold is everything.
Into the Bush
It’s hard to write — ink freezes just like water and numbed fingers are
not very dexterous. Channeling just a little heat into the area is difficult,
and perhaps the best magic is just to build a fire. Living things are warm.
This land is hostile to warmth.
I’ve brought some supplies but I have a sinking feeling that they’re not go-
ing to be enough. I need to get into the right mindset, to see this place with
the same wonder I saw Greece with before I’ll see the land of the spirits.
That means that I have to let the land in. I have to learn to survive with
what she offers.
My parka is made from caribou hide; I suppose that I can keep
it. The snowshoes, too, are handmade. I have a knife and several
pages of trap pictures, and I suppose I can make a spear… I don’t
know about a bow. But what if I starve to death here while I wait to see
something that may be long gone?
I’m beginning to think that survival is magic.

Chapter Five: The Top of the World — The Arctic Circle 123
 Tshishtashkamuku?
The Innu say that there’s a small land bridge to Tshishtashkamuku,
the world of spirits. They place it roughly somewhere to the southwest,
but it’s obvious that direction is a subjective concept out here. My com-
pass froze and cracked; I hadn’t thought to get one designed for this
sort of weather. I think I can find the general way back but I feel lost
in this vastness.…
It’s said that a great whirlpool swallows those who try to cross the sea to
reach Tshishtashkamuku. I don’t have a canoe, and I’m glad I don’t, or I might be
tempted to try. What little water is out here is deceptively calm. I’m told that
the water can hide ice floes and grinding rocks, even when it looks quiet.
That’s what sunk the Titanic, after all.
I have a sense that the world is endless, yet it’s only a small piece of
something greater. It’s the same sort of sense that one has when looking
to the spirit world. But out here it’s all around you: You find secluded places,
maybe with a little shelter from the wind, and then you look out across the
white-brown plains forever.
There are ways to Tshishtashkamuku, I’m sure of it. But I’m not sure I want
to find a land more hostile than this.
Blood
My own food has run out and I have relied on my notes to learn to hunt
and cook. I’m clumsy, but a little prayer and guidance helps. Tiny bits of foli-
age and wood can be dried and coaxed into a small fire. Birds sometimes
flock near water, and there are fish in the deeper lakes. I’m not used to
it — I feel repulsed but hunger makes me continue. I’ve come to terms with
this place. In eating the animals here, I am inviting the land in. I think the
spirits may respect my effort, but they remain aloof. They may decide that I
am insignificant and leave me to starve even as they nod and say “That
was a respectable man.”
Danger
It is said that the missionaries banished them, but I fought for my life today
against something that the old man swore was gone. I thought I saw another
person today and I approached. He wore a skin parka like mine and he was
hunched as he held it tight against the cold. When I approached, I saw that
he was large, well over six feet tall, but his short strides and hunched posture
concealed his size. I felt oddly queasy after having been without human
company for so long, but perhaps that was some other instinct. When he fi-
nally looked up at me I thought that he was grinning or snarling — but he had
no lips. I am no shaman; I had no shaking tent in which to hide. I shoved my
spear into him. He bled like a human though he did not smell like one.
I left my spear in the body. It will be harder to hunt until I can make a new
one, but I know that to eat of his flesh is to invite atshen in.

124 Dead Magic

Cold, Cold, Cold, Cold, Cold
Snow has covered everything. It is so white that I can hardly see. Even
the paper looks bright in my hands. The sun lives in every flake of snow.
The sun is cold, not hot.
My symbols make little sense. I must head back. Writing takes time, it is
not survival. It is dangerous here. Things watch me scribbling and know
that my symbols are chains to put them into categories and trap them in
descriptions. I have my prayers to hang on to, but I waste my body’s warmth
with their utterance. This place is too dangerous for man. I must get back.
I hear the rattling in the trees now. There is no shaking tent left
but sometimes Caribou Master and the animal masters talk to one another.
Sometimes they talk about this white-skinned man who has come so close to
their world. I can’t understand the words but I know that I do not have the
shaman’s protection. The shaking tent is not around me, protecting me,
insulating me from their world and them from ours.
If I lose my senses I will die. I must go back.

Chapter Five: The Top of the World — The Arctic Circle 125
 Many Cultures, Similar Roots
The Arctic Circle is home to many differ- Late colonialism hit the Arctic cultures hard. As
ent cultures: Inuit, Innu, Yupiak, Inupiat the French, English and Germans expanded into the
and others. Despite their separation, they northern Americas, and as Russia slowly overtook the
share common traits. After all, when liv- northernmost reaches of Siberia, the inhabitants ran
ing in perpetually frozen lands with only afoul of the technologically advanced Europeans and
simple tools, survival is the first priority, their colonial ideas. Moravian priests converted much
and there are only so many ways to survive. of the Inuit while Jesuits stamped out the shamanism
Since mere existence is difficult at best in of the Innu. Stone axes and knives, while fine for
the Arctic wastes, the various peoples de- hunting seals, were no match for the rifles and metal
veloped similar methods. With seven thousand years to weapons brought by the Europeans; though warfare
do so, they naturally arrived at the most efficient means was uncommon, the native people often traded for
of living with their scant resources. these superior tools, in the process losing their old
Arctic societies tended to be nomadic hunter- skills at hunting. Settlements became the norm, with
gatherer cultures. Though the Eskimos and company food transported in from more fertile regions. And
spent their lives in igloos, they relied on stone axes, like native peoples across the Americas, they suffered
spears and knives for hunting. Seals, polar bears, condescension, confiscation of land and the diseases
caribou and fish made up a diet supplemented by brought by European travelers. By the time the West
the occasional migratory bird and a few wild ber- had finished colonizing the North, the Arctic tribes
ries. Some groups had slightly different diets — a had lost seven thousand years of history.
few cults didn’t eat berries, while religion forbade
some Innu from eating seal, but in general there Arctic Mythology
wasn’t much choice. Packing fat in ice preserved it The myths of the survival-oriented people of the
for later consumption, and hides remained good for Arctic Circle are often simple. Their tales are plain,
a while. Communities survived simply on the basis with little embellishment or detail. Of course, modern
of their hunting and trapping skills and the vagaries historians often lump all such tales into one group. The
of animal migrations. tellers have a different approach — they classify stories
As for travel… when you can’t herd animals or according to their origins. Innu divide tipatshimuna from
grow crops, there’s little reason for settlements, other atanukana, with the former being actual history and the
than to care for the sick and elderly. Many Arctic latter being myths and legends. Scientists might call
communities moved from place to place as needed them all fiction, since the tipatshimuna include stories
to follow caribou herds, whale migrations or the like. of spirits and magic. Mages know better.
No horses, no camels, just snowshoes and sleds, with Like nearly every human culture, the Arctic natives
kayaks for the water. have varied creation stores. To them, it is natural that
The Arctic communities didn’t have time for men and animals should participate in creation, that
luxuries or the population for warfare. A carefully story and myth should be more than a literal account.
stitched caribou skin parka passed for finery, while If there’s truth, it’s a truth that is not obscured by any
the occasional stint of cannibalism made for the most strict adherence to logic or necessity. They are simply
extreme incidents of human conflict. With such values, tales to answer questions. When a curious mind looks
these cultures didn’t have use for things like money or for answers, each tale offers a truth, though not neces-
property. They had simple foods, simple tools, simple sarily an objective one.
goals and varied tales for the cold, cold nights. This In the Inuit tale of creation, Tulugaak (a beak-
isn’t to say that they were terribly primitive; the har- headed man) accidentally creates the world as a child;
poons used by the Inuit showed remarkable technical as land rises up from the ocean, Tulugaak stabs it into
innovation, the igloos used for emergencies were place. Though only Tulugaak and his father and mother
incredible works of engineering with unconventional inhabit the first bit of land, the world spreads from there
materials and the kayaks were both simple and sturdy. as mankind propagates. From there Tulugaak, bored,
These people subsisted on exactly what they needed, pierces an animal bladder with his beak one day while
but were by no means uncivilized. his father is out; light pours out and his father, upon

126 Dead Magic

returning, is forced to bring the bag outside so that it hunting rites; and charm magic, by which a hunter
doesn’t fill their hut with light. Even so, the sun and protects himself through the use of special charms,
moon don’t come until later: A girl kisses a sooty-faced bags and jewels.
boy at a dance, only to later discover that it’s her brother. Kamantushit perform spirit magic, often through
Out of embarrassment, she grabs a torch and flees, while the office of the shaking tent. Once the shaking tent
he chases after her. They run so fast that they fly into was a common sight in the bush. A conical teepeelike
the sky and become the sun and moon, always chasing construction, the shaking tent provided a place for the
one another, with the soot on the boy’s face concealing shaman to speak with the spirits by isolating himself
the moon’s features. The moon’s phases come from the from the rest of the world. The kamantushit went into
boy’s absent-mindedness as he forgets to eat and grows the tent and called for the intervention of the animal
thinner and thinner, finally disappearing for days while masters. However, the spirits are strange and dangerous,
he eats at last. so the kamantushit must rely upon the assistance of a
Inuit and Innu myths may seem simplistic, but they mishtapeu helper spirit to translate. Using the shak-
explain their world to the satisfaction of a people who ing tent is a dangerous practice: If the spirit becomes
had no need or desire to delve into science, philoso- displeased with the shaman or escapes the tent, it can
phy and religion. They are matter-of-fact answers for wreak havoc across the material world. Thus, the sha-
a harsh world. man must be cautious with the spirit and not overreach
his capabilities by calling on beings too powerful for
The Power of him to handle.
the Animal Masters Normal hunters also use magic, but not through the
intervention of spells and spirits. Rather, the animal
Magic, to the Innu and their contemporaries,
masters are said to oversee their charges, and a hunter
seems divided into three sorts: spirit magic, where a
who treats them with respect can garner the favor of
shaman talks to the mishtapeu and the animal masters;
the masters. Hunters therefore use many special routines
hunting magic, by which a hunter gains good prey (or
in their trapping. The hunter must be humble when
is cursed with bad luck) for his observance of simple

Chapter Five: The Top of the World — The Arctic Circle 127
 Lexicon
Most of the specialized words in this chapter come from Inuit and Innu lore, but there are a few terms
here and there from other cultures. A certain amount of cross-pollination happened among Arctic groups,
so many of the cultural icons bear similar roots.
Anikunapeu: Toadman, the spirit of Toad.
Anningan: The Inuit boy who became the moon. The dirty, pocked facade of the moon is attributed to
his having soot on his face.
Ashkui: A large area of open water like a lake or the ocean, important for fishing and hunting birds.
Inua: The spirits present in all things.
Kamantushit: An Innu shaman.
Kakushapatak: A Innu shaman who uses a shaking tent to communicate with various spirits.
Kuekuatsheu: Wolverine, said in some Innu myths to be the creator of the world.
Malina: The Inuit girl who became the sun.
Makusham: A feast of many Innu families.
Manitushiun: Magic.
Matshishkapeu: Fart Man — the Innu spirit of flatulence.
Mishtapeu: Giant spirit entities that live in a separate realm but sometimes commune with humans. Some
are good, some are evil.
Mupimanu: A drum dance held at a makusham.
Nimushum: Grandfather.
Nukum: Grandmother.
Nutshamet: The countryside. The tundra and hunting lands.
Papakashtshihku: Master of caribou, thought to be one of the most powerful animal masters.
Tupilak: Inuit term for spirits like the mishtapeu of Innu tales; also a term for a figurine used to deliver
the anger of the caster with the help of the spirit inhabiting the object.
Tulugaak: Inuit name for Raven, a beak-faced man who figures prominently in myth.
Tshishtashkamuku: A hostile world where the mishtapeu reside, along with giant animals and monsters.
Uanaikan: A wooden deadfall trap for hunting.

speaking to the animals and thankful for the flesh. bags or furs for good luck. Inuit fishermen attach a small
He must check traps often to ensure that an animal’s charm bag of skins to their canoes to divert the attention
sacrifice was not in vain. Those who hunt merely for of hostile spirits, while the forbidding tupilak figurines
pleasure, not for survival, or who allow scavengers to threaten sickness and death for their creator’s targets.
eat from the traps where animals give up their lives for Figurines and furs could be used to create animals or
men, show disrespect and thus gain the disfavor of the borrow their shapes.
animal masters. The hunter’s success depends as much Note that these magics were not restricted to sha-
upon observance of ritual as it does upon his skill. mans. Anyone could invoke these powers, inherent as
Many Inuit and related cultures also use charms they were to natural things.
of various sorts: fishermen, hunters and gatherers carry

128 Dead Magic

 Storytelling in the Arctic Circle
The nutshamet seems like a dead land: icy, to accommodate this new world. Once that happens, the
barren, with only a few hardy hunters and mage is seeing reality through a different lens, which in
scattered grasses braving the cold. However, turn opens the door to new magic.
that very separation from the familiar Of course, it can be simpler just to toss in a little
civilized world works in a mage’s favor. magic in an ongoing chronicle. The Dreamspeakers in
The Gauntlet is often surprisingly weak particular have an understanding of and appreciation
out in the frozen bush where one can’t see for the Arctic mysteries. Most of the surviving rituals
houses or cars. Sites where spirits dwell and rely on hunting or spirit magic, but a clever and in-
animals run abound with the energy of life, novative mage can find ways to adapt them to modern
more so than the dead shells of war zones or city ruins. life. After all, if a figurine protects you from malign
Obviously, the first concern in Arctic climes is influence, then does it matter if you carry it or put it
survival. Few people remember the ways to hunt for on your apartment’s windowsill? If eating a certain
game, to make warm clothes from furs, to trap martens food brings luck, then what stops you from having it
and foxes, to dig sheltered huts that keep in warmth for for dinner if you can get it at a specialty supermarket
the long nights. Increasing modernization has suppressed or through the mail?
these practices, as nations prospect for oil or minerals, Storytellers might try any of the following story
lease out land for military exercises and exterminate hooks:
native animals.
Mages who show up in the Arctic probably have Atshen Reborn?
good means for survival on hand, with their cars, syn- According to legend, the atshen cannibals disap-
thetic clothes, and magic. However, those who want to peared after the arrival of the Jesuits among the Innu.
contact the old spirits, awaken lost magic or hunt for Where did they go? Perhaps they’ve migrated to other
places of power need to go into the bush. That means climes. Maybe the atshen have discovered that they like
leaving many trappings behind and facing the Arctic warmer lands with more plentiful food. What if a cult
winter with only wits, simple tools and a little bit of deliberately hopes to bring back atshen in an attempt
judicious magic. to direct them against their enemies — or even turns
Storytellers who want to play up the barrenness captives into atshen by forcing them to eat of human
of the Arctic should emphasize the harsh cold, the flesh? The players’ mages need to scramble to do the re-
lack of amenities and the sudden hostility of nature. search necessary to find out what atshen are, how to stop
This means more than just cold toilet seats: Mages them, and perhaps even how to change someone back.
risk freezing or starving to death, going insane from Shaking Tent Revival
snow blindness or monotony (especially those mod-
The shaking tent has not been seen for some time
ern types like Virtual Adepts). Even simple Forces
in Innu lands. However, many elders have discussed
Effects have trouble overcoming this much inertia.
the possibility of holding a shaking tent once more,
A mage needs more than one success to keep herself
especially as more and more disaffected natives look
comfortably warm!
for a return to their old culture. However, under the
For Storytellers more interested in the sublime, consensus of the modern world, the shaking tent has
mages can get around the dangers of the Arctic with a power only if a mage oversees communion with the
little effort. Being largely barren areas that people don’t spirits. The elders may know the ways, but they need
inhabit or systematically explore, large swaths of the someone with power, someone who is known to the
Arctic are connected to the Umbra. Indeed, the Innu spirit world. They approach one of the characters for
speak of walking straight across a land bridge into the aid in talking with the spirits. The elders want to know
spirit world. Of course, they don’t recommend it — the how they can return to the old ways and throw off the
things there sometimes kill humans — but it’s at least yoke of modern governments that have carved up their
theoretically possible. Once a mage is dropped into the homelands. The characters may get dragged into politics
middle of a snowy waste with nothing but scattered scrub or even into the Arctic Umbra.
and the occasional bird or fox, her mindset must change

Chapter Five: The Top of the World — The Arctic Circle 129
 Tupilak Unbound
A rival mage has unleashed a tupilak on the
players’ characters or on one of their allies or family
members. This works especially well if it hits a mortal
relative or friend who doesn’t have Arete and thus
can’t defend herself as easily. The power of the tupilak
is slowly killing the victim, and the mages must find
out how to stop it. To do that, they need to know how
it works. Then, they have to discover who sent it, lest
another one follow.

Frozen Magic
Like other forms of iconic magic, the spells of Innu,
Inuit and similar peoples often blur the lines between
object and caster. Though kamantushit commune
directly with spirits and perform blessings, there are
many minor charms that can be enacted by hunters or
that come by eating lucky foods and adhering to certain
practices. Thus, there is a wide practice of rituals that
has slowly died out as Technocrats “educate” people
into disbelieving their efficacy, but a few talented
mages can still perform such magics. The same holds
true for objects of power: Though not as common as
they once were, dedicated mages can still create such
things, and some objects have power all their own
which did not come from man. The animistic roots
of this tradition honor the spirits of all things — the
Inua, as the Inuit call them. Thus, objects, people, the
land itself all have power, in addition to the potent
spirits that live outside them.
Atitsiak (•••• Life, ••• Spirit)
Before Christianity replaced many Inuit practices,
children were commonly named after the most recently
deceased person in the community. The child was
thought to inherit characteristics from that namesake,
or atitsiak.
System: The atitsiak ritual lets an individual take
on the characteristics of one of the deceased. Cast on
young children, the ritual may cause the child to grow
up with better abilities or talents like those of its name-
sake. Scoring several successes on this rite might ensure
that the child develops the positive characteristics of
the decedent.
Also, a mage can briefly adopt the name of a dead
person by means of this ritual. This version is a recent
Tradition adaptation. The mage’s successes allow him
to channel into himself the physical characteristics
of a deceased person whose name he knows. The Life
magic augments natural capabilities while the Spirit
magic draws on the spiritual remnants of the deceased
for power and a Pattern.

130 Dead Magic

 Note that the name borrowed from a deceased wounds. A feast of marrow, or mukashuan, soothes both
person by means of this ritual must come from someone injury and depression.
truly dead — a name cannot be borrowed from a ghost System: Successes on this Effect heal the subject.
or vampire. Like many other coincidental healing Effects, this speeds
Of course, the atitsiak ritual doesn’t allow a mage the rate of the subject’s healing instead of miraculously
to easily borrow a subject’s phenomenal prowess with curing all wounds and symptoms at once. With the
just a simple success or two. A good rule of thumb is aid of Spirit, a helper spirit can be induced to help, or
that each dot gained requires one success on the Effect. Caribou Master himself may intervene — this vulgar
Additional successes are allocated to duration. An Effect form of the rote heals instantly.
of this sort can’t be made permanent, but it can be useful
as a tendency — that is, if a child is given the atitsiak Qayaq’s Fish (••• Life, ••• Matter)
of someone very strong, then the child may also grow The hero Qayaq is a staple of many Inuit legends.
up to become strong. This is a good justification for a In one legend, Qayaq seeks to cross the sea so that he
character to improve with experience points. can be reunited with his family. A friendly spirit creates
a magical giant fish out of wood, which Qayaq rides
Confusing Apishtiss across the waves.
(•• Forces or •• Mind) System: The mage carves an animal out of pieces
Innu hunters often favored the flesh of the brant, of wood and puts them together. Through the enchant-
a migratory goose, which they called apishtiss. Unfor- ment, the animal comes to life and becomes real, at
tunately, the brant no longer fly over the Innu homes, least for a small time. Successes on the Effect determine
but people still tell of the magic. Entire villages of Innu how long it lasts and how large an animal the mage can
once shouted as the geese passed overhead, and thereby create. Obviously, this Effect is highly vulgar.
confused the birds and caused them to fall from the sky.
Hunters gathered them up for later feasting. Often, a Sedna’s Blessing
good harvest of apishtiss was call for a makusham, or (•• Correspondence, •• Mind)
large feast, and many groups met to share the goose’s Once a vain mortal woman, Sedna was given in
flavorful meat. marriage to a lone hunter because her family could
Confusing Apishtiss allows a shaman to tremen- not afford to feed her. Much to her dismay, her new
dously magnify his shouts at a target, thus disorienting the husband turned out to be Tulugaak in disguise; Sedna
enemy. The mage jumps up and down, hollers and slaps shouted for her father to rescue her but in the process
his hands together to make as much noise as possible. fell into the icy sea. The Inuit attribute seals and
System: Successes on this Effect disorient an enemy, whales to her creation and say that she lies at the
causing him to suffer from distractions, raising all his bottom of the ocean.
difficulties for the duration of the Effect by up to 3. If Inuit shamans dive into the sea to comb Sedna’s
the mage scores more successes than the target’s Will- hair — to wade through the brambles and kelp of the
power, then the subject is actually stunned and unable ocean — in order to soothe her vanity and give her
to act for a full turn. company. In return, Sedna sends her creations to the
supplicant. Then the shaman and his friends can hunt
Mukashuan seals and whales for survival, with her blessing.
(••• Life; optional ••• Spirit) Modern mages have naturally found many uses for
According to legend, Caribou Master was once a this simple summoning: A few tweaks can let it call
human, but he lived so long with the caribou that he other sorts of animals, and most mages capable of this
became like one of them. He ruled over them and al- spell can also soothe the creatures and perhaps rely upon
lowed people to hunt caribou without fear of reprisals them as allies, not simply as food.
from the spirit world. The caribou were important not System: With enough successes, the Corre-
only to food and clothing, but to medicine as well. spondence of this Effect allows the mage to send his
Caribou Master made sure that there were herds for calming impulses over a wide area,. Mind magic calls
the people to hunt, and that they used the caribou’s to the animals — seals and whales, in Inuit magic, but
many parts. Caribou marrow is seen by the Innu as possibly others for a modern magician who alters the
having healing power. Combined with the intervention Effect. Successes are used primarily to expand the af-
of Caribou Master or a shaman’s helper, the marrow fected area, since the caster usually only needs to call
can halt the onset of death or disease and heal grave one or two animals.

Chapter Five: The Top of the World — The Arctic Circle 131
Shaking Tent (••• Spirit) caribou fat. The subject of the magic must actually eat
The dangerous communion ritual of the Innu, the goose. This rote is a form of hunting magic, in which
Shaking Tent is a spectacular display of spirit commu- the subject draws favor by properly respecting the value
nication. The shaman enters the cylindrical tent and of the goose. Done correctly, this Effect helps in later
calls to the spirits through his mishtapeu. Because the hunting: The rote allows the mage to gain bonuses to
spirits live in tshishtashkamuku, it is not always safe Survival and Athletics rolls, as per Magic Enhancing
for them to come here; indeed, giants and spirits in Abilities (Mage Revised, p. 155), and is almost guaran-
that land are said to have slain and driven out humans teed a successful hunt when stalking game. The hunter
from those places. The animal spirits often come and seems to know where to go to find the animals, and
communicate by knocking, rattling and making other easily tracks and traps them. Modern mages have modi-
such sounds, which the mishtapeu interprets for the fied the rote a little — the key is to draw on the favor
shaman. In return, the shaman sings to the spirits, and of the hunted subject in some fashion. Animal spirits
the mishtapeu interprets the song for the spirit. People of various kinds can be appeased through the song and
outside the tent can sometimes hear the wailing and dance accompanying a proper feast, where the animal
rattling, but they never understand it. is given appropriate station. Hunting people is a little
Spirits called by Shaking Tent negotiate with the tougher, and might require cannibalism.…
shaman, who may try to garner information from them or Sing to the Whales (•• Mind)
persuade them to help in some task. There is always the
Through ululating songs, some Inuit fishermen
risk that a spirit will exert its power to punish the shaman
sang to the whales to draw them near. Arctic peoples
or decide to play a little trick on the hapless mortal. For
used the whales for blubber, meat, oil and other sundry
some potent spirits, a little trick may mean dragging the
necessities. Through various ascetic practices, the fisher-
shaman off to tshishtashkamuku, flaying his skin off or
men lent power to the shaman’s torngak (another type
telling him secrets that leave him a gibbering fool.
of helper spirit), which in turn gave him the power to
Once in the tent, a shaman opens himself to com- draw the whales closer.
munion with the spirits by drumming and singing. Instead
System: The caster of this ritual must observe one
of letting the spirit possess him, he calls the spirit into
sort of taboo for at least a week, as must anyone who
the tent itself. Often, the spirit does not waste its power
assists in the casting — to the Inuit fisher cults, com-
to materialize, but simply makes its presence known by
mon taboos were no use of fire, no sewing or no eating
manipulating objects and rattling the tent. The shaman
berries. Modern mages might make similarly harsh
speaks with a lesser helpful spirit to intercede. The longer
taboos, such as abstaining from the use of electricity.
the shaman drums and sings, the more powerful a spirit
With ululating chants, perhaps something resembling
he can summon; but this also increases the risk that a
whale songs, the mage draws them closer; similar ani-
dangerous spirit will decide to play with him.
mal noises might draw forth other creatures as well.
It is dangerous in the extreme to open the tent dur- The successes generated give the animals an impulse
ing the ritual, as the spirit may escape to wreak havoc to approach the caster.
across the living lands.
System: Successes generated for this ritual are used Tulugaak’s Harpoon
as for Call Spirit, as described in Mage Revised (p. 187). (••• Forces, ••• Matter, •• Prime)
However, instead of directly calling a greater spirit, the One Inuit legend tells of how the waters of a great
shaman calls a mishtapeu and asks it to intercede on flood threatened to cover everything. Though many
his behalf. people tried to stop the flood, none could succeed.
Tulugaak, unsure of his skills, nevertheless hurled his
Shishipat’s Favor (• Life)
harpoon at a mound of soil, which exploded outward
At a makusham, after successful hunt, an elder to push away the water.
brought a container of stored caribou fat and rubbed
System: The mage hurls an object — traditionally
it into the meat of the shishipat. Hunters ate as much
a harpoon — at a target, which strikes with great force
of the fat-covered boiled waterfowl as they could, and
and causes the object to explode outward. The magic
the hunter who ate the most had good luck hunting in
causes the fragments to multiply and scatter over a wide
the following season.
area. The successes on this Effect can be used both to
System: A mage calls upon Shishipat’s Favor create the force with which the object explodes and to
through the old tradition: A feast of boiled goose with multiply its size as it covers the area.

132 Dead Magic

Ice Stalkers
Arctic tales are not always terribly descriptive about
hostile creatures, which ironically makes them all the
more terrifying. Inuit and Innu tales mention monsters
and spirits that can break through sheet ice, flow through
rock, hurl debris at people and their tents, or even stalk
humans as prey. Even the normal creatures of the Arctic
are dangerous to the unwary: Seals pack a lot of weight
and polar bears have been known to deliberately hunt
humans. This is not a place to be caught without a
weapon and knowledge of the terrain.
Anikunapeu
One Innu legend relates how Toadman hibernated
in the muddy banks of a river, but awakened to grab a
passing village girl as a wife. A misshapen toad-man
hybrid, he was not actively hostile, but he certainly
knew what he wanted. A villager who struck at Aniku-
napeu’s arm was startled to see that the wounds healed
so quickly that the blows had no effect. Toadman finally
took his new wife down into the mud below the river,
but the Innu had a practice of taking multiple wives and
Anikunapeu might well have done the same. What if
he had children?
Strength 3, Dexterity 2, Stamina 4
Willpower: 7, Health Levels: OK, -1, -1, -2, -2, -5,
Incapacitated
Attack: Anikunapeu grapples opponents if pressed, but
is more likely to retreat into the mud.
Abilities: Alertness 3, Awareness 3, Brawl 3, Dodge
2, Survival 3
Notes: Anikunapeu automatically regenerates one
health level per turn.
Atshen
Cannibals sometimes stalked the tundra, and since
they were as cunning as any other person, they could be
quite dangerous. Those who indulged in cannibalism
were said to be tainted by the eating of human flesh.
Those who indulged in too much cannibalism became
atshen: giant, hungry monsters who could feed only on
human flesh. atshen were larger than other people, fierce
and strong. An atshen also had no lips and a patch of hair
over the heart. In theory, an atshen could masquerade
as a large human with a hooded parka, but in general
they were not believed to be cunning enough — sha-
mans sometimes tricked atshen into running in circles
or falling into traps.
The atshen disappeared after the coming of Chris-
tian missionaries, but then, the Inuit and Innu people
abandoned the wilderness and settled into government

Chapter Five: The Top of the World — The Arctic Circle 133
housing. Today, atshen could very well remain in some Kajutaijuk
far corners of the tundra. A small nomadic group once left an encampment
Strength 4, Dexterity 3, Stamina 4 behind. When the people of that camp moved to a new
Willpower: 4, Health Levels: OK, -1, -1, -2, -2, -5, one, they inadvertently unearthed a potent demon while
Incapacitated searching for food.
Attack: Atshen can brawl as normal, or bite for Strength Kajutaijuk is a female spirit taking the form of a
+ 1 damage if it grabs an opponent. giant head with two legs with three-toed feet. Pictured
Abilities: Alertness 2, Athletics 3, Brawl 4, with breasts on her face and genitalia on her chin, this
Dodge 3, Survival 4 spirit is, like so many creatures of the spirit world, hostile
to humanity. How she managed to get a physical form
Matshishkapeu in the material world nobody knows, but she crushes
The “Fart Man” of Innu myth, Matshishkapeu is people, destroys homes and devours food supplies out
the most powerful of spirits, which he proved after a of malice as much as animal rage. Kajutaijuk does not
legendary argument with Caribou Master. The great speak but sometimes makes eerie noises. Her footsteps
spirit didn’t want to give him any food, so Matshishkapeu echo across the tundra.
cursed him with constipation. Since the caribou were Strength 6, Dexterity 3, Stamina 6
essential to Innu survival, any spirit that could wreak Willpower: 4, Health Levels: OK, OK, -1, -1, -1, -2,
such havoc on Caribou Master had to be potent! -2, -2, -5, -5, Incapacitated
Matshishkapeu figures in various bits of humor, of Attack: Trample for 8 dice; bite for 6 dice. Kajutaijuk
course. When you survive mostly on greasy meat and sometimes swallows unlucky opponents whole.
stored fat, flatulence becomes a way of life.… Abilities: Alertness 2, Brawl 3
Rage 5, Gnosis 7, Willpower 7, Power special
Charms: Matshishkapeu, like many of the master Wentshukumishiteu
spirits, cannot materialize but can otherwise perform a Water spirits are a constant danger to Arctic hunt-
great many tricks at the Storyteller’s discretion. Instead ers. The sea is choppy, icy and risky enough on its own.
of assigning him a static list of Charms and Power, it’s But hunters who aren’t careful also risk the wrath of
best to assume that he can perform all manner of tricks. invisible spirits that live on the other side of the barrier
These days, he generally can’t do much to people on between air and water. These spirits have been said to
the material side of the Gauntlet other than cause gas, toss rocks, capsize boats and scare away fish.
but his tricky nature means that he knows much and Rage 8, Gnosis 5, Willpower 5, Power 20
might help a shaman convince another spirit to assist Charms: Airt Sense, Materialize, Tracking
in some task.
Mishtapeu Snow Charms
The mishtapeu are helpful spirits that exist in i‘noGo Tied (1-pt. Charm)
tshishtashkamuku, the spirit world. They intercede A “house of the sprits” works much like a medicine
to help shamans and sometimes to answer questions, pouch. It’s a simple charm: a bit of seal fur encased in
and also to translate between the animal masters and blubber. Like other charms of this sort, the i`noGo
humans. Mishtapeu come in a variety of shapes, often Tied brings luck to the holder, but gets rather worn
larger than humans. They eat the blood-rich organs of with time.
prey and nothing else. Much like a Traveler’s Charm (p. 32), the i‘noGo
Mishtapeu can be benevolent or hostile. Some- Tied offers the holder’s player the chance to reroll any
times they fight against one another — a shaman three dice rolls for tasks other than magic.
protected by one has a potent defense against hostile
or mischievous spirits. Tupilak (4-pt. Artifact)
Rage 4-7, Gnosis 4-7, Willpower 4-7, Power 10-30 When a magician desires to kill someone, the tupilak
Charms: A given mishtapeu could have any number serves as a focus for that emotion — and may, indeed,
of powers. Most often, they can translate for other spirits, carry out the murder. A tupilak typically looks like a
walk through tshishtashkamuku, divine the future and small carved figurine with a monstrous face and stunted
sometimes inflict disease or death on the living. The limbs sculpted against the body. Tourists consider them
Storyteller should assign powers as needed. simply grotesque little statues, but a mage can activate

134 Dead Magic

the tupilak. If the magician is powerful enough, the
tupilak seeks out and kills the victim.
Places of Power
Since the Inuit were nomadic, they only rarely at-
Activating a tupilak requires an Arete roll (difficulty
tributed power to specific locations. Legends of important
8). The magician sings to the tupilak then places it in
places, then, stand out all the more.
water. The statue animates and seeks out the mage’s
target. Once it arrives, the subject has one chance to The Northern Lights
resist — if the target is also a magician he may be able Not so much a place as a phenomenon, the aurora
to turn the tupilak back against its sender. An active borealis is well known to most. What’s not so well known
tupilak goes to the victim and causes spiritual malaise. is its significance in Inuit mythology. To the Inuit, the
The subject takes one level of aggravated damage per aurora’s lights come, naturally, from the spirits — some
day for eight days. However, if the subject can beat the say from spirits playing a game with a skull, perhaps
sender’s successes with an Arete roll of his own, he can even a human skull. Whistling is said to bring the lights
send the tupilak back to infect the original sender, and closer while clapping causes them to recede. Of course,
the first sender cannot turn it away. Subjects without if the lights truly are the haven of skull-tossing spirits,
Arete get one Willpower roll (difficulty 8) to cancel the who would want them to come closer? Perhaps someone
tupilak’s damage; each success soaks one level of damage. who has need of such fierce spirits.
Once a tupilak reaches its victim, it becomes quies- As much as science tries to explain the northern
cent. It need not attack or follow the target — it simply lights as magnetic storms or atmospheric diffusion, they
delivers the message, so to speak. do sometimes appear at unexpected places and times. A

Chapter Five: The Top of the World — The Arctic Circle 135
mage who sees dancing lights on the tundra is advised Tshishtashkamuku
to be careful of any sound he makes, lest he attract The spirit world of Innu legend has natural ties to
unwanted attention. the Umbra. A wanderer who travels into the furthest
reaches of the tundra and becomes lost risks stepping
Marble Island
into tshishtashkamuku. In the tundra, this reflection
Stories say that Marble Island began as ice but magi- is hostile to human life. Great spirits wander through
cally turned into marble over many years. Though otherwise here, and they recognize that humans do not belong.
indistinct, the island became the final resting place for They are likely to devour or wantonly kill people, and
southern whalers who shipwrecked and died there. As tshishtashkamuku does not have much to recommend it
they were not part of the frozen lands, the whalers’ spirits to tourists. Then again, a mage looking for a given spirit,
remained to haunt the island. It is said that any who come perhaps trying to find out what may have happened to a
to the island must not step on to it walking, so instead missing animal master, may have no choice but to risk
people crawl onto it to avoid offending the ghosts. Those this endless and barren spirit reflection.
who don’t might well find themselves the recipients of
some unfortunate spiritual attention.

136 Dead Magic

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