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The Ravening Ones
When the Kindred speak of Gehenna, of the end of the world and the dawning of the Age of Darkness, they speak of the rise of the Ravening Ones. Below is the transcript of a letter from the Kindred historian Cantus Maior to Louise. It describes the history and nature of these ancient horrors, and the DM's notes appended to some of the paragraphs describe how recent scenarios have changed things. Also recommended is the short story Monsters (qv), which may give some further insights into the Ravening Ones.
Quote My
dear Louise, I
was unsurprised to receive your request - your interest in the legends of our
race is well known and, as is so often the case, those who seek information come
in search of the Nosferatu. Below
is what I have been able to piece together over the years.
I hope it is enlightening, and at the same time I hope it is all false.
If not, then we who are the Damned had better change our epithet to the
Doomed. Please
thus consider my boon paid in full. In
the name of the Blood, Cantus
Maior
The Ravening Ones First
came Caine, the Dark Father. Following
his exile he wandered in the Land of Nod, and after many long years he created
three Childer to share his immortality: Enoch, Irad and Zillah, also known as
Mekhet, Lucien and Lisse, they were the Black Trinity, the Second Generation. They lived with Caine in the city named for his first Childe;
Enoch, also called the First City, whose location is now lost in the endless
mists of time. The
Black Trinity in turn each created others to share in their loneliness, thirteen
in all, and these 13 were the Third Generation.
They and their Sires and Grandsire ruled over mankind as gods and kings,
and the One was unhappy. He sent
the Flood to wash away the First City as punishment that its rulers had dared to
rank themselves with Him. Enoch was
destroyed and Caine, racked with sorrow, left its ruins and disappeared from
history. The
Second and Third Generations then built the Second City, whose name and site are
also lost to us. Here were the Fourth Generation, the Methuselahs, created.
They were the open rulers of the city, with their Sires and Sires’
Sires, collectively known as the Ancient Ones, their dark and hidden
puppetmasters. It
is now that the tale of the Ravening Ones begins.
Shaitan was supposedly the first of the Fourth Generation, a being whose
perfection of beauty was unsurpassed. It
is said that his Sire dared to strike him down for pride and arrogance, marking
his perfect face, and in his fury Shaitan sought revenge.
He gathered together each of the Third Generation’s most potent Childer,
13 ambitious Methuselahs who would be amenable to his plans, and with soft words
and pacts of blood he bent them to his will. The
thirteen plotted, but knew that even their vast and terrible power was as
nothing to the potence of their Sires and Grandsires.
Therefore Shaitan made a compact with the forces of darkness.
To the 13 plotters was given power equal to that of their Sires, and in
exchange they gave up their True Names and any hope of ever letting light back
into their blackened souls. Their
thirsts became stronger also, to the extent that only the blood of their fellows
could satisfy them. They brought about a great rebellion. The humans of the Second City, guided by the secret whispers of the thirteen, rose up against their undead masters. Under cover of the uprising the thirteen struck against their Sires and then attacked the Temple of Caine, wherein rested the Black Trinity. It is said that the battle that raged there made the stones cry out and the skies weep blood and fire. History
is unclear as to what happened. One
school of thought is that the 13 plotters, known as the Ravening Ones due to
their unholy hungers, destroyed their Sires and Grandsires both.
Another is that they slew their Sires but not the Black Trinity.
A third states that the Second Generation fell and the Third were the
true force behind the rebellion, attempting to supplant those who had created
them. In
any event, if any of the Ancient Ones survived they disappeared into myth and
legend, and the Second City
vanished from history. The Ravening
Ones and their fellow surviving members of the Fourth Generation dispersed
across the globe, creating Childer and ruling over the kine from the shadows.
Baba Yaga, the Iron Hag, travelled to far distant Rus, Black Selene to
Britannia, Great Set returned to the Egyptian sands and Mithras to Persia. They and their fellows became the stuff of myth themselves,
for they were creatures of such power that humans worshipped many of them as
gods. Shaitan
himself wandered for centuries, never settling, always seeking out the dark
secrets of the universe. At last he
found what he was looking for: the physical body of one of the Firstfallen, the
Children of Night. Shaitan knew
that if he could awaken its spirit then he could open the doorway for the
masters of Hell to manifest on Earth and bring with them an eternity of
darkness. Stories name the unholy sleeper Jephiroth, Lord of the Swarm. Over
the Child’s sleeping form, in Knossos on Crete, he built a great labyrinth.
It is said that he studied the living brains of 777 humans to understand
the twists and pathways that would be needed. Certain of the ever-changing
corridors in the maze spelt out ancient names of power, and as he and his
Childer and servitors walked the fly-choked labyrinth their echoing steps
brought the dark spirit ever closer to consciousness.
A human hero attempted to defeat the Lord of the Labyrinth but was
tricked at the last, instead slaying only one of Shaitan’s monstrous ghoul
guardians. The rivers of Knossos
ran red with sacrificial blood as the rituals intensified. At
last, even his fellow vampires could take no more.
For the first and perhaps only time, an alliance of necessity was born
among the greatest Cainites of the time, creatures of ancient vintage and
terrible power. There came together
Lazarus of Judea, Cappadocius the great scholar, Karsh the Sorceror, Kuen Chao
from the Uttermost East, Haqim and Ur-Shulgi the War-Gods.
It was a gathering the like of which the world has not seen since, and
will never see again until Gehenna comes. They and their armies descended upon Knossos in storm and fire. The battles raged in the corridors of the Labyrinth for untold nights, but still Shaitan worked away in the centre, incanting and casting in an effort to awaken the unholy spirit. At last, realising that his defences were too strong even for them, Karsh and the others enacted a great ritual and awoke the sleeping doom that was the nearby island of Thera. The volcano erupted, burying Knossos in fire, ash and stone, and Shaitan disappeared in the conflagration. The
rest of the Ravening Ones followed him, slipping one by one into the
deathlike sleep of ages, supposedly not to reawaken until Gehenna.
However, it is said that the vast majority of our race are descended from
these Methuselahs, and the bonds of blood are strong indeed.
If they were to awaken all too many of our fellows would offer up their
bared throats at their ancestors’ slightest command. Many younger Kindred consider Caine, his Childer and the Ravening Ones to be nothing more than a story, an effort by their elders to keep them in line. It is possible that they will find out how wrong they are during the Final Nights. Below
is a brief history of what is known / suspected of each of the Ravening Ones.
(By the way, in the ancient tongue we
know as Enochian their name, both singular and plural, was the "Nictuku".
It is a rough translation of this word that gives us the title by which they are
currently known.) Louise, I hope the following is of some use to
you - ·
Shaitan,
the Lord of Evil See
above.
·
Yorak,
the Fleshcrafter Following the fall of the Second City Yorak moved north to his ancient home, what is now Eastern Europe. As part of his unholy gifts he had gained the power to manipulate flesh and bone with his will, the Discipline of Vicissitude. He created a place where humans and Kindred could be sacrificed to him, melded together into a vile tapestry called the Cathedral of Flesh. Within its walls of blood and viscera were thousands of beings, kept alive by Yorak’s blood even as their minds were subjected to his psychic rape over the long centuries. In order to survive those minds merged together in a crude gestalt, eternally worshipping Yorak even as he tortured it. ·
Great
Set, Snake-God of the Nile It
is said that in ancient times, before even the Pharoahs, the ruler of Egypt was
the god-king Osiris, with his wife Isis and son Horus.
Osiris’ brother was Great Set, an evil man jealous of the god-king, and
it was he who was gifted with the Embrace by a traveller from Enoch.
There then followed the bloody murder of Osiris, after which Set left to
attend the Second City. When he
returned he and Horus fought, never hand-to-hand but in plots and intrigues that
lasted over the centuries, but all was inconclusive.
It is said that Horus the Storm-God journeyed north, where he became
known as Thor, and that he had received from his mother Isis the Spell of Life
that made him eternal. It is said
that he struggles against the plots of Great Set still. ·
Mithras,
Master of Fire When the Second City fell the creature known as Mithras travelled to ancient Persia, where he was worshipped as a god of fire and light. The cult grew into a religion, and like so many such religions was adopted by the Romans. Mithras himself was allegedly one of the many potent Cainites who contested for control of Rome, though those with whom I have spoken who were there themselves were unwilling to confirm or deny it. It is said he left Rome on the night that Julius Caesar was declared Princeps of the Empire and returned to Persia. It is also said that Caesar was the only mortal to ever resist Mithras’ will. DM'S
NOTE - The Club recently unearthed a plan Mithras had set into motion over a
millennium ago. Unconsciously acting on the Nictuku's desires, the great
Nosferatu architect Zelios, also responsible for the construction of the Hotel
Gothique, had built a network of castles across Eastern Europe during the Dark
Ages. Only Mithras knew that these castles were built at the junctions of
ley lines, creating a gigantic web of geomantic power. At the centre of
this web came to be built the nuclear power station at Cernavoda on the Danube,
and Mithras planned to use the power of the web to absorb the 'invisible fire'
of the reactor core. The Club intervened and Mithras met True Death in the
cataclysm that followed. Unfortunately, the ensuing earthquake devastated
much of southern Romania, severely damaged most of Bucharest and killed over
sixty thousand people. ·
Azazel,
the Devourer At
the dawn of time the Earth was populated with dark, inhuman creatures, the spawn
of The Wyrm. The
Third Generation vampire known today as Malkav was allegedly driven mad when his
love was rejected by Zillah, the Dark Queen, wife of Caine.
In his madness he Embraced one of these monsters, adding the power of the
Blood to its own preternatural strength. It
is said that Shaitan bound Azazel to his will with the Blood Bond, and used the
Devourer as his own personal attack dog. It
supposedly slew Malkav in the great rebellion, wandered the earth in a killing
rage for centuries and was driven into torpor only by the potent magics of the
Binder of Djinn, the Great King Solomon himself. · Yozikiri, Princess of the East In
the Far East, legends speak of ancient powers that roamed the spheres leaving a
trail of havoc and destruction in their wake.
They call these horrors the Yama Kings, and Yozikiri was once their High
Priestess, their voice in the Middle Kingdom.
Our own legends call her consort to Shaitan, she who played Maiden to his
Priest in black, infernal rituals. Following
the fall of the Second City she returned to her native lands and wove strands of
intrigue throughout the East before torpor overcame her. It is said that over 70% of all the Eastern Kindred are
descended from this queen of evil, which bodes very ill for them if she should
ever awaken. · Larana, the Deceiver There
are those who say the Kindred are the undisputed masters of intrigue, and this
is not without justification. However,
if only half the tales I have heard are true then even the most cunning
Methuselah should perhaps acknowledge Larana as her better.
The Deceiver’s true identity is long forgotten, buried beneath the web
of false identities she wore over the centuries.
She has allegedly been worshipped in Egypt, controlled nations in Africa
and wandered the steppes of Russia as a roving holy man.
But I am certain that the truth of the matter will never be known. Even
if she awakens in the Endtimes there is little doubt she will be draped in
borrowed robes. ·
Samael,
the Hidden One Another master of intrigue, it is said that Samael was once twin brother to the mighty Methuselah Cappadocius. Stories relate of how their bitter rivalry turned into a violent hatred following the fall of the Second City. For centuries the two of them worked against each other, using pawns from single individuals to entire nations, each manipulating the destinies of thousands in order to strike at the other. Only once since the great rebellion have the two met face to face, shortly after the eruption of Thera when Cappadocius traced his brother to the sands of Babylonia. It is said that the battle that raged between the two caused the sky to tremble and the Euphrates river to run backwards for an entire year. Both were driven into torpor, and when one awakens the other is sure to follow. DM'S NOTE - Samael was one of the first of the Nictuku to awaken, and travelled to India where he had been known as Ravana, King of the Rakshasa. His depredations soon depopulated the entire subcontinent of its undead, save for his minions, and it was then that Cappadocius awakened. The Club, investigating the reports of mass slaughters and ravening demons, managed to get between these two contesting gods. Using the Club as decoys Cappadocius was able to lure Samael into the open. Summoning a hurricane as both weapon and defence, he met his Nictuku brother in single combat on the floodplains of Bangladesh. The combat lasted for an entire day, the sun blocked out by the vast storm and both vampires wielding their vast powers without concern for who else might get hurt. At last Samael was able to rip out his brother's heart and send Cappadocius into the True Death. However, the Ravener was so weakened by the fight that Louise was able to stake him with a toppled tree. The collateral damage caused by the hurricane, however, was immense. Over half a million Bangladeshis were killed by the storm and ensuing floods, millions more were made homeless and the property damage was incalculable. ·
Louhi,
Bringer of Darkness A sorceress from the frozen wastes of the north, the legend of Louhi is known even among our kind as a tale of insane obsession. She decided millennia ago that it was the curse of the sun’s rays that more then any other weakness limits our race. Thus, for untold centuries she worked to black out the sun and engulf the world in darkness eternal. This is why so many of the kine legends from that part of the world speak of the apocalypse following the disappearance of that shining orb. Louhi supposedly joined with Shaitan so that she could use that new-found power to work towards her goal. The legends tell that when she awakens her dream will be fulfilled, and the night of Gehenna will be a night that never ends. ·
Baal-Dagon,
the Corrupter Worshipped
by the ancient peoples of Canaan and Assyria, it was the practices this creature
learned from Shaitan that led to those nations’ reputations for cruelty and
barbarity. Under the command of
Baal-Dagon and his minions the kine were lost in centuries of bloody sacrifice,
carnality and degradation. It was
the coming of the Hebrews that led to his downfall, for as worship of their God
supplanted him he was forced to seek other regions to control.
Stories that can only be attributed to his vileness can be seen all
across the ancient histories of the Middle East and Mediterranean nations.
It is said that he and Yorak once competed to see which of the two was
the more utterly evil; the tales of what that unholy contest involved are enough
to turn the stomachs of even the undead. ·
Black
Selene, the Cruel Lady There
are few stories of this ancient’s activities before the fall of the Second
City, but there is evidence that she was a killer even by our predatory
standards. She was the first
vampire to ever drink from one of her own race, consuming many of her Childer
long before her thirsts allowed her to drink only vampiric Vitae.
Afterwards she travelled all across the globe seeking worshippers among
the kine. This same evidence
demonstrates her proclivities: she was known as Ereshkigal to the Sumerians,
Mictlantecuhtli to the Aztecs and Kali to the ancient peoples of the Indus.
In all cases the goddess of death. I
have unearthed scrolls that suggest she later travelled to northern Europe,
specifically Britannia. As to why I
am not sure, but an account by Tomerc of York suggests she came in search of one
of the Ancient Ones who had escaped the great rebellion.
Why she thought this antediluvian horror would be on that island is a
mystery that only she, and perhaps the Ancient One in question, could answer. ·
Tiamat,
Queen of Pain The
greatest torturer ever known among Kindred or kine, it is said that Tiamat could
cause the very stones of the earth to plead and weep and spill their secrets.
Like most of her fellow Methuselahs she was considered a god by the
ancient peoples, and those who sought to enter her service were instructed in
methods of inflicting pain that would make even the most bestial vampire think
twice before using them. One of the
few stories we know of Lucien, the Prince of Shadows, tells of how she once
unknowingly captured him when he was in one of his many guises, and then
attempted to torture he who may well have been her Grandsire.
As one might expect his revenge was swift and merciless, and the ensuing
agonies she herself underwent are supposedly what drove her to join the plots of
Shaitan. ·
Baba
Yaga, the Iron Hag The
greatest sorceress of prehistory, the ‘Little Grandmother’ of Russia was
once a beautiful woman who was Embraced by the Third Generation vampire known as
Absimiliard (or to the anarchs, heavens preserve us, as ‘Uncle Fester’).
However, it is said that one of her Sire’s magics went horribly wrong
and cursed both him and all his Childer with the horrific appearances that we of
his bloodline wear to this day. Thus
were the Nosferatu born. On
that terrible night Baba Yaga turned from a beautiful woman to an
eight-foot-tall monstrosity with hair and claws of iron, and although her powers
survived the transformation her sanity did not.
She was easily persuaded to join with Shaitan, and her powers, supposedly
greater even than those of her Sire, were a great boon to the Lord of Evil’s
machinations. Following the fall of
the Second City, when she herself consumed Absimiliard in black fire, she
returned to her native lands. To
this day legends of the Nosferatu Methuselah’s power and cruelty survive among
the kine. At last she was driven
into torpor by the bogatyrs, the
sorceror-knights of Old Russia, and all our kind hoped that it would be the last
the world would ever hear of her. However,
the sudden establishment of the Shadow Curtain, the sorcerous barrier that
prevents any of us finding out what has become of the Kindred of Russia, has
shown us that our hopes may have been terribly premature.
If it is her dread hand behind this vast magic, and even half the tales
of Baba Yaga are true, there can be no hope for our Russian fellows.
Not that they would be such a great loss, but even they would be
preferable to the Iron Hag. Louise, Just
as a footnote to the information detailed above, I add these few points for
free. I am the most famous
historian and loremaster of the Kindred – I have spent most of my unlife collecting
information on the history, legends and most noted members of our race.
I am old, and potent indeed, but I have seen a creature of the Fifth Generation, who remembers the
end of Assyria and the dawn of Rome, display powers that even
to me seem godlike. And she told me
that the very thought of the Ravening Ones made her afraid for her very
existence. If what you say is true,
and these unholy beings are finally shaking off the dust of millennia, you
should know that even in their weakened state they are terrifyingly powerful.
Long ago they fell only before the powers of the greatest magi and
wizards of antiquity, powers that have not been seen for centuries.
Once they are strong again, having consumed most of our kind in the
process, nothing on our modern earth will be able to stop them.
Gehenna can be but a heartbeat away. Beware. Cantus
Maior. Unquote
At the last count, twelve of the Nictuku have awoken from their millennia-long torpor. The only one still believed to sleep is Shaitan himself, and it is said that his rising will signal the first night of Gehenna.
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