The Library of Kings: Brotherhood of the Serpents Lore

Lineage of the Priesthood

Satet-Ka : Voice of Set

I was born of the High Priest Ptahkhum-Ra. As he was the head of the priesthood of Set in Luxor so too was I. My training was flawless, my lineage pure and my power unquestioned.

Until the vision of Set was revealed….

The smell of incense and myhr of the temple was palatable. The coils of smoke seemed to twist through endless valleys of blackness giving texture to the empty and black water. Within the entrails of the serpentine trail I saw small specks of matter…dust swirling about. Congealing…disintegrating…..reforming.

My eyes strained and wearied, but I was permitted to gaze ever closer. Upon these swirling particles I saw beings. Some were in disarray, others organized and united. They were numerous.

One small sphere arose from a dark mist and I was upon it. Surrounded by smoke and scream of the dead and the dying I saw a mighty city in the distance across an unending river. The people therein looked down on the plains upon which I stood…..down upon the chaos and death. They were smiling.

When the fighting had ceased I saw only carnage. The blood of the many trickled into the river below mixing with the red waters of dusk. The crocodiles were left to enjoy the fruits.

I called out to the men of the city but few would emerge. They seemed content. Fat with wine and lust. They cared not for the death about them. The few that came were mighty. They began to build a massive temple. Soon a great army began to form about the structure that now towered over the city in the distance. This army brought in slaves that made the temple even greater and riches that adorned its wall.

Slowly the mist began to gather around the temple and within those that constructed it. All others bowed before them.

Then the waters of the river began to flood. Dark red ….thick waters enveloped the world around me. I went to the Temple which resisted the rising waters. The city in the distance did not. All was washed aside save those that had sought refuge in the temple.

When I awoke from this vision my course was clear. Set has spoken. His will be done.

…………….

Methodically, carefully I began to gather the royal hoses of Stygia behind the banner of Set. I plead Set’s will before the Lady Zaraisata, Lord Bloodless, Dark Master Muzadi, Lady Vaslara, Lord Ankmahor, and other Royal house of Stygia. Every waking moment was dedicated to uniting the lost and fractured empire which until this point was content to practice their dark arts and ceremonies within their temples and keeps. They were secure in Sets embrace and ambivalent to the world around them. They had ignored the signs, allowed the barbarians to become untamed like weeds. Now brethren! Set’s chosen people from before the great flood are asked once again to tame this world which has been given them. To put the animals and barbarians to work for Set’s glory.

They were tasked to build great works of worship and dedication to the might of the Serpent God so that his spirit could dwell with us and bring power to his creations.

A mighty army was formed by bringing the might of loyal Stygians under the will of the House of the Jade Asp led by Lady Zaraisata. Led by the silent General Hassan these forces soon brought others to the cause. Cimmerian barbarians seeking glory and power….Aquilonian slaves to work the quarries and lumber yards beneath the whip.

The City of the Ancients, Sepermeru took form rising among the purple loti as a gateway to the deserts of Stygia. Rich with game, water and resources our people have grown mighty. Soon others will gather beneath the standard of Set and free themselves from the bonds of tradition that have led only to stagnation and seize upon the world with the fangs of supremacy bringing Civilization and divine governance to the world!

Unite my fellow Stygians under Set! Make any that oppose be laid asunder and made to fear his name.
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Balatha - The Traitor

As the seventh son of a seventh son it was natural that I would enter the Priesthood. Naturally I progressed quickly in my studies, and my training outpaced many of the other students (certainly all of the ones from the lesser races). Despite my numerous successes in clerical life (a fine temple with many beautiful slaves), something was missing. While I knew the words of Set, I was not listening to Set. Of course the Great Set let me savor these many successes before He stripped me bare. I was at one point even a mere slave on a ship! At the lowest point, Set came to me in a vision. He told me to prepare myself mentally, physically and spiritually to be His instrument. He told me the many comforts of my previous life are behind me - I would now sleep on the dirt with scorpions. However, if I forge myself into a living weapon of His Will, the time will come when my task will be made clear. I thought I was mad, until I felt his power once again flow through me. So for now, I train for the day I do Set's Will. Know that if you stand in my way, I will crush you, but if you are useful to me, we can work together in Set's Plan.

*Balatha has since forgotten her duties to Set and now seeks only money and power.*
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Nyarlatothep Priest of Khemi

Date of Birth: 35 years ago.
Place of Birth: Khemi in Stygia.
Father: Azathoth, a wealthy slave merchant.
Mother: Unknown.

Ordained Priest: 5 years ago after having a dream of Set calling me into his service. rose into the ranks very rapidly due to a great devotion to Set and a fierce desire for knowledge and power. Long time companion: Ptorimus the Necromancer also a Brother in our Guild.

House: Blood sworn to Jade Asp.

Terhali : Death's Beauty

Terhali was the handmaiden of the Ankharairo(Holy Watcher)Kulphesh's favored priestess of Set Niychisis.Terhali adored Niychisis and was always close at hand to tend to her needs or aid in any of her task.Niychisis often gifted Terhali with various finery such as silks,jewels,oils and perfumes to show her affection and reward her faithfull handmaiden.This attention from the aspiring priestess of the Ankharairo infuriated one who watched and seethed from the shadows.The shadow that watched and burned with jealousy was none other then Terhali's sister Tiyet.Her hatred for her sisters station of luxury continued to grow as Tiyet toiled to survive the hardships of the Jade Lotus Assasins House.The last strand of restraint was severed however,by the passion these sisters would share for a man.Musauf,the handsome and powerfull Necromancer had arived to aid Ankharairo Kulphesh in one of his endevours.One of Musauf's escorts was Tiyet.The two shared passion while together and Tiyet was completely enamored with him.

Upon his ariving and meeting Terhali the two felt a compelling attraction towards one another.Soon the two became inseperable,deeply in love.Musauf began to instruct Terhali in the arts of his practice.Terhali swore her devotion to Musauf but her duty to serve the priestess Niychisis had to come first.Musauf assured her that he would implore the Ankharairo to allow them to be together.Their happiness and Musauf's betrayel was more then Tiyet could bear!

Tiyet had her courtesian friend Liyeis,whom was a favorite of Kulphesh,let slip that Terhali was displeased that she was to be removed from the side of Niychisis and made a simple mistress to Musauf.Tiyet then hid inside Musauf's chamber and poisoned the wine with a mild intoxicating sedative and waited.After Terhali and her lover were in a dazed stupor together Tiyet came forward from the shadows and thrust her dagger through Musauf's heart.His lips let go a loud gasp and wail.Tiyet then moved to slay her sister but heard approching footsteps.Acting quickly she shoved the bloody dagger into her sisters hand and fled out the window.The guards bursting in seeing Terhali in her shocked,dazed state imediately beat her and dragged her before Kulphesh.After hearing the guards story and Liyeis whispering about Terhali's obvious displeasure,the Ankharairo enraged at the murder of his trusted ally ordered Terhali's death.Terhali,when she became able, proffesed her innocense to Niychisis who in turn pleaded with her master to spare her life.Kulphesh finaly agreed and instead condemed Terhali to slavery.Niychisis gave her beloved friend one last gift before she was to be taken and dragged to the slave galley awaiting in the harbour.A small stone.The oracle's tear.This stone would allow one to recall past life memories and powers at a time of need,so determined by the will of Set.The two tearfully said their goodbyes.As Terhali was dragged aboard the slaver Saddur's ship in shackles a figure stepped forward from the shadows and whispered into Terhali's ear "Farewell sister.I pray to Set that you suffer for years before your soul is finaly allowed to join Musauf in the hell I sent him to.And to think I planned to kill you both that night.So much better that you live to know that I have taken all that you held from me!" The wicked laughter that followed rang deeply in Terhali's ears.

Set it seems has different plans for Terhali however.Shipwrecked and ragged on the shores of Tortage she has managed to survive.Found by the voice of Set Satet-ka and given a place to serve again by the Noble Zaraisata,Terhali now serves the will of Set in the Brotherhood of the Serpent and strives to grow in power enough to return to Luxor and punish her cruel sister Tiyet.Only now she finds herself drawn more and more to the Tempest Satet-ka.Affection for him and jealousy of his attention to the Derketto priestess Ishnirvah now threatens to distract her focused vengence for the murder of her lover and dissgraced status at the hands of her sister.


"Even if a serpent is not venomous,it should pretend to be"
"Appear as innocent as the blooming flower,but be as deadly as the serpent beneath it"
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Amity Autumnchild, the Witch of Khemi.

Daughter of a Khemian noble and shipwright, Amity's father was slain when she was a young child, and she was forced out into the streets of Khemi on her own.

She thus learned the arts of the Tempest in a twisted, untraditional fashion, going so far as to break into places of worship and crypts to learn the secrets of the craft. As such, she has always had a very tenuous and untrusting relationship with the Stygian priesthood.

She has little understanding or respect for order or hierarchy.

Amity treats her friends with aggressive devotion, but otherwise lusts for blood and the destruction of almost anyone who gets in her way. Amity, of true Stygian blood, seeks power and prestige. Beware those who might get in her way.

Amity comes to the brotherhood with trepidation -- not entirely liking the regimentation and the traditional holiness of Satet-Ka and some of the other leaders, but being drawn in by the power and charisma of Zaraisata, who she sees much similarity with.

Taming Amity will be no easy task.

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Ctan Voice of Silence

I am C'tan. I do not know where I originally hail from, but I know I am stygian and that my powers are drawn from Set's. The first thing I remember is being resurrected by a mysterious hermit and after that I was confronted by Satet-Ka. Ever since I met him I have served as the vessel for Set's power.

I stand as a stalwart priest of Stygia ready to cut down any that come against Set's people.

Lineage of the Warriors

Hasann - General of the House of Jade Asp

He was found as a young man, wandering the Isle of White Sands, by a kind, but powerful Tempest of Set, Satet-ka. Although young and weak this priest allowed the young one to join his group and that is where their adventures would begin.

Hasann learned much from the priest and grew strong very quickly. Unsure of his origins, they both noticed that he was adept at creeping through the shadows, unseen, and as his strength grew, could unlease the power of his blades with the quickness of one of the great serpents themselves. As time passed, he grew yet stronger as did the bond with his mentor, Satet-ka. Upon reaching maturity he pledged his life to Set, The Great Serpent, and to his brothers and sisters of The Brotherhood of Serpents.

Hasann returned to his homeland and in his travels came across an Oracle that spoke of a legend of a man that was to come. He was the son of Hathor, the Fire of Set’s Eye, goddess of femininity, transformations, and poisons and a Stygian warrior known as Thutmose. It is believed that this is where his ability to disappear into a shadow and his proficiency in poisons arose. The Oracle had foreseen this man leading a great army across the lands, uniting the kingdom under the rule of a great priest of Set. Perhaps the ones the Oracle spoke of were...... Hasann and Satet-ka........

Throughout his journies he trained methodically, wishing to increase his might beyond anything that could be called mere human. He prayed Set would make him mighty. He shed the blood of many in the name of The Great Serpent. Set answered his prayers and granted him great strength, with his deftly skilled blades and horrific poisons he was soon to be known as The Fang.

As Satet-ka called to all Stygians to unite under one banner, it was Hassan, the one he calls, The Silent One, chosen to lead it's great armies. Could it be the Oracle had seen true? wa it to be The Brotherhood of Serpents and its armies that would unite Stygia? Only the future will tell.............................
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Terralia - The Blade of Set

Born in a forgotten campsite along the river Styx, Terralia was raised in the harsh climes of the desert. Her father was a bodyguard to a caravan merchant and her mother was a cook who prepared not only the meals to feed the nomadic company but was well versed in creating common restoratives and potions for sale. Such a past offered the young girl knowledge in the art of dagger play and survival in the constant uncertainty of life in the shifting sands of Khopshef Province. She grew to be a skilled fighter as she defended the caravan from bandit attacks wit hthe other bodyguards. When Terralia became of age to marry, her father wanted her to settle for a more stable life in Khemi as the wife of a powerful merchant of the Souk. This was not meant to be as the headstrong girl decided on the day of her wedding to run to the harbor and hide among the cargo of a ship bound for the Barachan Isles. Knowing that her family would disown her for her insolence, she used her survival instincts to carve her way through the world as a blade for hire. It was until the one fateful day on her return to her beloved Khopshef Province that she met the enigmatic prophet of the sands known as Satet Ka. Mystified by his words and his obvious charisma, she chose to follow the priest and serve Set as a vessel of the Great Serpent's retribution.
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Tindajii : Serpents Shadow

I am a man of the shadows; an assassin. I am Tindajii.

Although I am a follower of Set, my Stygian blood does not boil when I meet a non-believer. I know Set to be our true master and that is good enough for me. Those who do not believe in Set will learn soon enough. I do my part to educate them through voice or dagger; but in the end it is Set's judgment that matters, not mine.

Perhaps my pacifism about race and beliefs is due to the absurd truth of my past that haunts me every day. My story begins on the banks of the river Styx, near Luxur, where my mother and father gave birth to me. My mother, Lahitha, was a Stygian mage and alchemist. My father was a common man, a trader throughout Stygia, but very secretive. He would travel to Khemi, Kheshatta, the Purple Lotus Swamp, and sometimes far to the north to sell the potions and writings of my mother. I spent most of my childhood learning about alchemy from my mother while my father was off traveling and trading.

When I entered early adulthood my father became increasingly more interested in my training as a Stygian warrior. He would often attend my training sessions and offer private advice to my mentor. After several years of watching my progress he approached me with an offer. While in Khemi he met a man who would pay handsomely for the death of another. My father handed me two daggers and a note. The note was inscribed with a place and time, along with the description of a hooded figure wearing a long flowing green robe and holding a white staff. I was warned of the great magic this person possessed and to make their death as quickly and quietly as possible.

I tried not to dwell on the deed I was about to commit. This person's identity and crimes had nothing to do with me, and for the better, so I thought.

I stalked the cloaked figure for only a short time before realizing I was at the destination and the time was nigh. Quietly I drew my daggers and quickly lunged from the shadows. With only the slightest of hesitation I slid one blade across their throat and the other plunged deep into their left kidney. And just at that moment I heard the voice of a familiar man coming from the nearby shadows screaming. "LAHITHA!! NOOO".

I was completely numb and in shock as my mother's life slipped from this world. As she fell, she turned to recognize me with a look of horror. I glanced up to the familiar voice to find my mentor, well dressed, standing there holding a single flower. He rushed towards me and the corpse of my mother, drawing his sword. The next few minutes were a blur, but I remember escaping and praying he did not recognize me in the darkness.

When I returned to my father to tell him what had happened and beg for forgiveness I found only a note and a gold coin. Written on the note was this:

"Carry this anger with you, son, for I regret ever having loved that *****, Lahitha. She loved your mentor far more than she loved me - and she deserved to be killed by her own son. The only good thing that came from our union was the birth of an assassin skilled enough to kill such a powerful mage"


Putting down the note, I carefully squeezed as much of my mother's blood from my clothes as I could, and leeched it into a flask; for I have a surprise for my father when I meet him again. After I have blessed him with the same death as my mother I will add his blood to the flask. And when Satet-Ka is powerful enough I will have him and a necromancer weave a spell for the afterlife that will bind their souls together, allowing my mother to take her revenge out on him and torture him every day for eternity.
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Inoxia - Bride of Set

My father was a merchant, kept his own ship on the river. I always loved the river. I would go with him at times, sometimes we all would. It was a such a time that the pirates claimed him. We were only a day from port carrying wine and oil mostly. I was only ten summers old then. Both my mother and I were onboard that night. She tried to fight them back with my father. Some nights I can still hear her screams and sobs on the wind, by dawn she too was quiet and the pirates numbered me among their plunder. I spent the next six summers a slave and toy of these vandals. But I watched and I learned and always the fire burned behind my eyes. Then one night one of their officers was foolish and drunk enough to bring his blades when he came to use me. He hadn't the time to even be shocked when I drove his own blade into his lecherous eye. I took what I could and swam trying to forget myself in killing and lotus for the next three summers. When the fog parted I was in Tortage and no better then the pirate scum I had been lost to. It had been nearly a year of training and sobering when the unspeaking Satet-Ka found me outside a tavern in Tarantia. I have reclaimed life, faith, and dignity. Though I still love the river...

Lineage of the Warriors (cont.)

Records of the Barbarian Forces

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Gath-kulan - The Warlord (missing)

The third son of a Cimmerian stoneworker,Gath-kulan was named for an ancestor of legendary skill.The young man grew strong under harsh conditions and his determination to become one of the greatest warriors in the world led him down many different paths.

Foresaking traditional training as inferior he quested to find a means to achieve his ambition.He learned many dark rituals from forbiden tomes and blood rites calling power from entities best left forgotton in his travels.Gath-Kulan believes that only those with the courage to do the forbiden,to take any risk,make any sacrifice necessary will acheive lasting greatness.

He has now found others that not only share his ambition but allow his power to flourish without petty morality in The Brotherhood of the Serpent.Here his strength and power can grow unhindered.

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Origins of Guts

I am but a puppet in a play that is life. The only difference is that unlike others I can actually see the strings. For I was never supposed to be born. My mother was a slave in a mercenary band. She died while giving me birth. My father (one of the mercenaries) never treated me like his son but rather as his slave. This band was always on a move, always fighting. And so I grew, learning fast (for my life depended on it). The first day that I could hold a sword I was recruited into the band. I should've died but death seem to elude me time and time again.


This was a strong mercenary band but we finally met our match and lost. Many were killed (including my father), and the few that survived were sold as slaves to pirates.


We sailed for many months pillaging ships and ports. I enjoyed this time as it was closest thing I had to a freedom.


But seems like fate followed me even into the sea. We ran into a typhoon of titanic proportions.

Even our most experienced comrades never saw such a sight. We battled the weather for days. As we were closing in on some island the mother nature seemed to finally got the better of us and our ship was crushed.

I woke up on a beach next to a lifeless body of my friend. I was at a loss. Was I suppose to thank the fate for my life or curse it for making me live long enough to witness all of these horrors?


But if there was one thing that life taught me it was how to survive. For weeks I fought animals, wild picts, and other demons that inhabited this cursed island. And although my senses were sharpened I could not have survived for long. I began to see my physical and mental limitations. I haven't slept for days and I was probably going to die of hunger and exhaustion.


But a tribe of picts captured me in my slumber. They knew me (for I was fighting their foes for weeks) and recognized my skill (even though I was an outsider). I joined their tribe, partly out of curiosity and party because they saved my life. I was taught their language, culture, their fighting, their magic. I quickly rose to the top and became one of the few chosen bat handlers.


Years passed but I could never think of myself as one of the picts. I finally collected enough courage to ask one of the elder shamans to let me go my own way. I was let go (I was never really a prisoner but I just felt like the time to leave has finally come).

I quickly found my way to a nearby island and a city of Tortage. Disguised as one of the pirates I was able to sneak into a ship to Cimmeria (for that is where I was born).

After all these years I finally came back to my homeland. Here in the mountains I quickly formed my own band of warriors. Here I was, trying to learn everything I could about this land, about my people.

Now after all these years of fighting for my life I was completely free. I still watch my own back, never staying long at one place, always on a move, never making strong connections (for it hurts most when one loses his comrades). Now I step into a new world. World that is full of mysteries, dangers, and rewards.

 

 

 

Records of the Slaves

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Slave Vile- Written by the Scribe Hemathep

My name is Vile. I do not know who my real parents were, but just what
they where. My dad was a aquilion that was studing the ways of a Herald
of Xotli, when he was doing a spell to beocme a Xotli it messed up and
he became one forever. My mother was a Stygian. When I was born I was
put in a basket and put on river water. I was found by a Preist of
Mitra and was rased as a aquilion. I learned the ways of a Preist of
Mitra. When the Preist that rose me told me that I was half aquilion
half stygian and that he was not my real father, I was just amazed.
Then Conan's men came in and killed him. After that I found myself on a
beach. Then I went to Aquilioan and I found my self in stygia. Looking
for hope and then Satet-ka Came.

Though I be a slave now I know my Stygian blood will grant me freedom in the end.

 

 

Lineage of the Priests (cont 2)

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Mandisa The Seven Soul Priest

Author's note: This manuscript was written by Mandisa herself, so the members of the Brotherhood may know some details of her past, and to give them an opportunity to inquire further, if they so wish.

If you wish to find out the details of Mandisa's childhood and youth, you may get the information in many places. Whether that information will be full or accurate depends, of course, on who you inquire. A mere year ago, Mandisa was known to every merchant, commoner and beggar of Khemi as the daughter of the high priest, Tacitus, and the rightful air to his riches and title. Tacitus was highly placed among the priests of Khemi, and he and his daughter received due respect from everyone, feared not merely for their family's political power, but also the gifts the Great Serpent has bestowed upon them for near-blind devotion. As is often with any who holds a title in Stygia, numerous stories and rumors that sounded more like tales than possibilities went from lips to lips of the common folk. With Tacitus family, however, the stories tended to be of a darker character.
The priest was believed to possess powers such that no other Chosen Servant of Set in the city could wield. The rumor went that he could use souls to create souls, which would embody the abilities and talents of all those used. The favourite tale to tell in the inns of Khemi was that of how Tacitus became to be a father. His daughters childhood was shrouded in mysteries which gave food to the most ridiculous of tales.

...

'Well, I shall tell you, seeing all the ale.. But keep it coming!' The drunkard hiccuped as he took a large sip. The inn was full of late arrivals from the docks and usual mob of beggars and wenches looking to attract wealthy customers. Four outlanders, an adventurer from Shem by the looks of him, and his cronies, occupied one of the tables drinking their ale, when they were approached by one of the beggars. First set on sending him away with kicks, they eventually changed their mind, for the man turned out to be quite skilled with his tongue when there was a possibility of profit. Five minutes have not passed, he has talked them into trading the best stories of Khemi for a mere cask of ale each.
After haggling a bit, they agreed on one cask for the start and a story of the child-eating priest.
'It begins like this..' The beggar took the precious cask in both palms and caressed it with his gaze: not often was he lucky enough to be sitting at a table like any respected citizen, with some ale to drink, instead of whiping the floor of the inn with his robes. 'The old Tacitus changes wives as gloves.. Wants a child, you see. But Set must have cursed him, or something. With each wife, as soon as their belly reaches near ripeness, well, something happens.' He looked significantly at the listeners. 'When you think she's giving birth, next day - no wife, no child.' He waited a bit to make sure the effect was good. 'So the rumor went he ate children. Ha!' He expressed his disbelief by smacking the table with his palm. 'Then, at last the rumor has it his last wife, Amelia, Keshatta-born, is avaiting a child in a few days. She made several appearances.. And finally the news got out she went into labour. Then, when the time was right - the wife is there, but the child they say is sick - must not go out of the house, for the sun is harmful to it's health.' He looked significantly at each of the vagabonds in turn. 'Weeell? What would you make of it?'
'He ate the child? Probably took a good chunk out of his wife, but she didn't taste well enough, the wench.' Roared one in response, the others laughed approvingly.
'Well, that was something like what the stupid falk thought.. Wasn't me, mind you.' The beggar nodded to himself wisely. 'I'm quite sharp in such matters, you know. I was here all my life, and my father, and my grandfather, and..'
'Here, take the cask!' The chief roared, passing the beggar another cask and quite succeeding in directing him onto the right path.
'Yes! So.. As I knew - he did not eat them. Something much more ominous was taking place.. Cannibal stories are for the thick-skulled worshiping Picts, or those snow-God loving Cimmerians, Set piss on their icy caves to wash them down into the dung-holes they belong to..' The beggar burped and wiped his beard with ale-soaked sleeve. 'Here are the facts, fellows, and you will see as plainly as I what the truth of the matter was: All was quiet, and total mystery.. Set himself knew not.. Until seven years have passed. Seven years, when Tacitus goes off onto a journey around all of Stygia! To teach the way of Set and gather new pupils.. Only when he returns, there are not only pupils he brings with him, but children.. 26 poor Stygian souls all chained up as slaves. I say!' Beggar's eyes grew wide with fear, and he bent his head closer to his ale-mates: 'The old hag, Nadisha, she went over there to throw them food, all too skinny, and was reporting back that the children were.. well disappearing! Each night she came, some were missing..'
'And then?'
'What then?! Nothing, Set spit on ya! THey all disappeared, of course, and in their place this Nafretiri. The hell's creation, I say. Her mind forged, no doubt, from the tormented souls of his unborn children and her body from those he captured and murdered in Set knows only what dark rituals.' He put his cask down and stared pensively into the wall, his eyes assuming a doggy and sad expression. 'Nadisha said the children were priest born.. Foul act..' For a moment he looked a bit tearful. The expression of sadness was promptly replaced, however, with that of anger. 'And she is his daughter, as he claims, and is being trained in all the proper arts, and when the Set wishes it to be so, will become the mistress of all the holy ones of this blessed city.'
'Arr, that's a stinky story' Roared the adventurer. 'I don't believe a single bit of it. Do another, for you owe us, you begging sun of a *****.' He laughed heartily, his head a bit misty already from all the ale.
'True! Set is my witness all true!' The beggar sensed kicking and floor-mopping looming in the distance.
'I can't believe we spent two casks on this rabble.. Garshan is right, you have to come up with something better than this, if you don't want us to make you work for your ale!'
The beggar fidgeted. 'Fine, fine, whatever the fine gentlemen desire.. Well how about the Mistress of Hyenas then..'
...

Evidently, the mystery of how Tacitus got to be the father of Mandisa remains hidden from all. The priest covered his tracks skillfully. As for the events that followed, it was generally known that Tacitus had a daughter he is training daily to succeed him in his position. The details of doings of the priests are generally not released to the public, but something of course can escape on the tongues of less faithful. However, what follows is known only to the members of the priesthood who were involved, directly or not, in the events.

Mandisa was an apt pupil of her father's. Agreeing with him in his view that Stygia should once again unite and rise against the infidels of the north, she worked diligently on forging new alliances and aiding her father in obtaining ever more power. It is not mystery, however, that power in Stygia is sought for by many. In a plot the aim of which was to implicate Tacitus in a treachery that he did not commit, it came to the choice between giving in or letting the blackmailers ruin the soul of his daughter - the one he has been so tirelessly forging for years. Mandisa begged her father not to choose her life above his, for then it would be not just her end, but his also, and so all they had worked on would perish.
The method chosen was to brand her with the mark of Acheron. The names of those involved and the details are for another story to tell. The deed was done, and the daughter of a father struck with grief for his loss found herself,whether by a whim of fate or the will of the gods, on a desolate beach of the Barachan islands.
The memory of her past has returned to Mandisa, and so will the knowledge of the Tempest's arts, eventually. When she could finally escape the confides of Tortage, she rushed off to her homeland, to resume the path she has chosen long ago - serve Set in all ways and to see Stygia risen above all other kingdoms of this world. She took several precautions, one of which was changing her name to Mandisa, the one used throughout this manuscript, so as to not befall into the hands of her family's enemies. For careful she must be until her powers are fully restored and she can be sure she is fully aware of everything that has happened and is happening in the circles of the Set's Clergy, in Khemi and beyond.
When she reached her homeland, Set has arranged it for her to meet the Great Satetka on one of the roads of Khopshef Province. Inspired by his ideas and goals, she asked if she could join the Brotherhood, to help build a Stygia she has always dreamed of.

To any who asks, but who has not earned her trust, Mandisa tells a short and uneventful story of her life as a daugher of a priest in a far-off town near the border of Stygia and Keshan, which is true, since so was her life until she was seven. What follows, however, is intended to deceive.
Upon reaching her twenty first birthday, she had a vision she believed was sent her by the Great Serpent himself: that she must go to the Barachans to seek an ancient and powerful artefact of Acheron. While on her journey, she was enslaved, and not believed to be a daughter of a priest, sold to a slaver by the name Sakumbe. The consequent escape from Tortage and the encounter of Satet-Ka is already known to the reader.

 

 

Lineage of the Priests (cont 3)

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Amuneht, the Goddess of Mystery, Wife of Set

Born as a ******* girl in Bubshur, as an orphan as her mother died in childbirth, the priests of Set saw nothing of importance of this child, they threw her out onto the styx to let the Great Serpent determine her faith.

Set saw her as an importance.

She made her way along the sticks in a floating basket until she was found by a slave ship, a women on board took her in for days, and cared for the child and named her Chione (Daughter of the Nile), until she was discovered, and the mother was thrown overboard for hiding the child. The slaver sold the child, along with many other slaves to traders in Khemi. The child was raised by an innkeeper's wife until she was 8 years of age, and the innkeeper's wife died. After her death the innkeeper went insane, and low on money. He used the child as a ***** for those who have a taste for younger flesh. She served another 7 years as a tool to men, learning many "techniques", until she escaped and had her first view of sunlight she could remember. She was captured and inslaved by yet another slave captain, whose ship on a trip to Scarlet Tortage was sunk by pirates.
She awoke on a beach, coughing salt water at her age of 15, young and beautiful as she always were, save from the whip marks and her back, now infected. She stood up, and found other slaves on the shore, all rotting dead as if they have been there for days themselves, and her asleep the entire time. She came towards the tropical forest, attracted by her first hearing of the birds and other wildlife, where she met a poacher, and was rendered unconscious by him. She woke up, her rags gone and the man staring at her.
She managed to seduce him and slit his throat with his own blade as the fun just began. Her first kill. She felt empowered, and continued to slaughter the rest of the poachers as she made her way into the forest.
Picts, found her in that forest, and hid from her as if scared. She noticed them, but made no move as she was fearing them as well. She made her way to a small Acheronian ruin, where she found a primitive stone chest with the words "Amuneht, Anat". Common curiosity lead her to open the chest, which at would point she was bitten by a Snake in the breast, and fell to the ground.
She woke up, long after, feeling different. She felt power of death and life coursing through her veins, and the two words could not escape her mind, "Amuneht, Anat". This nameless beauty chose the words for her name, not knowing her forgotten name of Chione. She saw the picts, bowing to her new found might, and she felt sympathy for them, not knowing their brutish nature. And she thought of them, felt anger at her breast wound, but mistakingly thought of the Picts at the same time. The sky then shot down bolts of lighting down upon them incinerating them to ashes and dust. She cried at the mistake she made, and the sky's rained, as if crying because she cried.
She made her way through the ruins and the forest, crying at her mistake, but eventually getting over it when the next tribe of Picts tried to kill her.
She comes to a gate, attempts to open it and does, a feat she never could of done with her frail body, which she found healthy after the Snake's bite. She made her way to Tortage, and met a man named Laranga, who quickly took her to the tavern. There she met Tina and Alyssa, both of which where attracted to her beauty. They became friends, and when asked her name she simply replied "Amuneht Anat".
She lived there for about 2 months until deciding to see her homeland, and the Stygian Sands. There she met a friendly Set Priest and went to the library with him, to discover her name's meaning. Being illiterate, the priest translated "And the Serpent God's writings claim that thy name be Amuneht Anat. The Goddess Of Mystery, Wife of Set. Ha! Obviously a joke you bring me, no? Now, I have given you a favor, time to repay..."

As he made his sexual advance, Amuneht made no hesitation to castrate and incinerate him with her electric powers, and finalizing her pure hatred of men, finding them as tools themselves.
And so she lives on, as an apparent Tempest/Priest, and an evident God and wife of Set. Though she saw himself as nothing, a freak and outcast knowing no others had this same power, though gaining it in a different way, she wasn't so unusual as she though. She considers herself a slave with potential, nothing more and nothing less. Just a slave. She was no longer a tool, but the craftsman.
__________________________________________________ __________________________
Darketh the Traitor-

Once I was weak. A scholar and scribe, who spent his life buried in ancient tomes and relics of the past. My blood was noble, but it had been many generations since my family had held any real power. I studied my books and revered Father Set, thinking that there was little of importance outside of my quiet little world.
Then came the day that I was uprooted from my sanctuary of dusty books and forgotten knowledge. A local noble, who had always had a keen interest in the secrets of the past, had uncovered the possible location of an ancient library. A small expedition was dispatched to investigate, and I was given the task of locating any tomes of particular value.
At first I was loath to leave, but even I welcomed the chance to see the world beyond the walls of the city. The food was bad, the days long, and the guards and slaves were rougher company than I was used to, but I soon came to love the open desert. My faith also grew. It was one thing to mutter prayers in front of a statue, but it was quite another to see the power of Set at work in the world. One could not see a raging sandstorm or the hunting of the great snakes without being in awe of the god who had ruled these lands since before men could even walk upright. Then the Shemites came.
A band of raiders from Shem attacked us as we watered for the night by an oasis. There was no warning, and the mounted archers cut down our few guards before they could mount any real defence. I saw men I had lived beside for weeks fall to the arrows and blades of the Shemites. I was shot in the leg and tried to drag myself away from the murderous raiders. I was eventually spotted, half crawling and half staggering deeper into the sands. The Shemites began to taunt and jeer. Firing arrows at me and almost tampling me with their mounts. Never enough to kill me, just enough to injure and drive me deeper into the desert. They took bets on how long I would last before thirst or would finally killed me.
As I crawled, I prayed to mighty Set through cracked and bloody lips. Not for safty, not for deliverance, but for vengence. For the power to send these dogs screaming into the hells before the last of life left my broken body. And great Set answered by prayers...
Half mad with thirst and pain, I fell into the ruined shell of what was once the very library we had sought. The building was shattered, and the elements had destroyed the scolls and volumes that had once filled the place. All but one. A single book survived. Bound in skin and marked with the sign of Set, it was unmarked by the passage of time. I dragged myself to the book's resting place, opened it's cover... and my world changed.
The Shemites, bored with their game, stalked into the ruins after me. What they found though, was not a half-dead scholar, but a death of fire and pain. And not a quick death... no not quick at all...
I disappeared into the wastes, wandering the sands and sending to Set's embrace any infidel who dared to profane Stygia's sacred sands. I sought signs of Set's will, and listened to the demons that stand unseen all around us.
Then, in Khopshef province, my path crossed with that of the priest Satet-Ka. We spoke, the first time I had spoken in many weeks, and I finally saw my place in Set's design. I would lend my ever-growing power and vast knowledge to my new master's cause!
The demons all around us continue to whisper to me, telling me secrets that no man should know, but those secrets now serve the Brotherhood of Serpents...

((cast out for treachory))

 

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