Some call them freaks, some call them oracles, some call them warlocks. Whatever you call them, they call themselves Guides, and although most among the Tribes would prefer to forget them, many still come to them, asking for favours or predictions. Some say they are insane. They say everyone is insane and the world is a nightmare. Certainly, the Guides seem to know a very great deal about a wide range of stuff (usually strange nonsense), and despite living outside the Tribes, they know an awful lot about the Fatimas.
The Guides claim they are touched by the invisible currents that flow through life. They claim to feel the flow of dream and Synthesis in their bones. They say they sought out the Fallen because Synthesis swells among the Eighth Tribe too. They claim to know the holy strangers, the Nomads, who stopped the Z'bri and birthed the Fatimas. The Guides claim the Nomads' actions were just a short-term fix, and that their actions threaten to strangle humanity; that dreams trickle through the world when they should cascade.
Guides claim a lot of things.
Others claim the Guides are bogeymen, crazy people who would steal your soul if you so much as looked at them funny. Certain Herites claim the Guides are spies of the Seven Sisters, but can't explain why the Tribes hate the Guides so. Tribals, especially Agnites, claim that the Guides murdered Mary the Forgiver in an attempt to overthrow the Fatimas.
People claim a lot of things about the Guides.
Guides wander among the Fallen, teaching them about the River of Dream, being alternately helpful and obnoxious. The best-known among the Fallen are Den-Hades and Halos, who live on the island of Hom and offer support to the Eighth Tribe there. However, when Lilith's call to Crusade went out, two other Guides answered. Hathen and Kaleb haunt the Duskfall Forest, dispensing “advice” and abuse to Fallen and Tribals alike.
OC note
As described here, Guides fulfil the functions that referees perform in most other games. However, they are present IC and you can roleplay with them however you like. They are inclined to be rude and unhelpful, and given their claims to follow the will of Fate or Destiny, they generally don't get involved in other people's problems. Of course, they could just be using that as an excuse to be assholes.
The key thing to remember is that their primary function is to be there in their OC capacity, to dish out wound cards and answer ref-type questions (especially in and around Synthesis). The reason they're present IC as NPCs is to avoid the use of high-visibility clothing, but also make them more fun to play than the silent-type of IC-present ref (e.g. Drowned Dead at Odyssey). While logically you could attempt to kill or magically coerce the Guides (they are pretty annoying, after all), we'd really prefer you to keep in mind Bellisario's Maxim and Wheaton's Law - it's absolutely a dick move to try to kill or do away with the Guides, especially as they are mostly an IC hat on an OC function. Please feel free to rationalise this however you like to make it make sense for your character, but one approach might be fear of some sort of GIANT HIDEOUS CURSE or other retribution from cantankerous mystics with unknown powers. Likewise, if you want an IC explanation of why you're talking to a Guide after using Synthesis to get some particular information, they might be helping you interpret a vision or giving you pointers on your technique - or you might prefer to come up with your own, or not be that bothered about doing so. Crucially, you can trust that Guides won't tell anyone else what you were asking them about, won't betray your confidences, and won't take any kind of plot-relevant action. They're not protagonists, antagonists or wise old mentors for your PCs - they're a bit of local colour and possibly tied into wider events, but never in a way that takes away from PC agency. They won't fight your battles for you, but neither will they try to hold you back - and if their roleplaying feels like it's doing either of those, it's absolutely not a member of the Design Team trying to steer you from a position of authority. It's a grumpy weirdo telling you some stuff you should consider ignoring.
There will be a Guide on duty in the main playing area at all times throughout the event. Ellie plays Hathen, and Joe plays Kaleb; they won't be playing any other NPCs throughout the weekend unless something goes terribly awry, so if you see them IC then they will be present as their Guide. Guides are prone to talking to themselves and the sky, so please ignore any radio conversations you see them having as the rantings of some sort of deviant.
Photo by Tom Garnett