Joshua - The Ravager

Walk away from here,
But remember the paths, for in time others will follow.
Keep these trails open and safe,
For those who will take them will be the inheritors of the future.
When they have left,
And silence returns to Vimary
So shall your task be done, and rest your reward
- From the dying words of Joshua.

Joshua was the boldest and most aggressive of the Fatimas, His rage and lust for revenge a counterpoint to Joan's strategy and skill. He died slaying the most mighty of the Z'bri; without His sacrifice there would be no Liberation.

He was a mighty construction of immense proportions, and wielded the eminences of Force and Vengeance.

The Tribe

Joshuans are a forgotten people; each summer their numbers fall and their memories of their Fatima dull. For this reason, they gather by His relics, and worship them as they worship Him. Where once a whole Fatima stood, now all they have are fragments.

The real Eighth Tribe live, eking out meagre existences in small communities in the Outlands. The Ravager's betrayal and death shocked the tribe to its core. They fought for the Liberation of all the tribes, and in their moment of triumph their Fatima was taken from them. Each react to Joshua's death differently; some lose themselves in violence and death, exacting their vengeance on the Z'bri or the Tribes, while others become reclusive, leading simple lives in the dark Outlands. Most Joshuans, however, honour Joshua by carrying the mantle of protector and avengers, but all possess a volatile personality.

Guilds and Cliques

  • Vanguard: The warrior-priests are descended of those once closest to Joshua. They tend to the temples and record all memories of Joshua, and when the Tribe is called to battle, the Vanguard take command.
  • Ravagers: Chosen by the Vanguard for their natural talents at war, the Ravagers are trained as shock troops and are the Joshuans' proudest fighters. Furies on the battlefield, they all subject themselves to solitary pain and torture, helping them to better channel their rage and anger. Marked by their masked uniforms, few live past their 20th summer.
  • Outrunners: They patrol the many roads and search for lost relics of Joshua. Gifted with the ability to fade into the wilderness, they are superb trackers and scouts.
  • Lamentors: These are Joshuans who live apart and alone. Some do so to meditate on their lost Fatima, while others venture into the wilderness to atone for some shame or dishonour. Death of old age is disgraceful to any Joshuan, so Lamentors search for deaths that will either redeem their honour or open them up to their Fatima.

Joshuan Synthesis

Bereft of a Fatima, each Joshuan has only one Eminence – Force or Vengeance. Synthesis is rarer amongst the Joshuans than it is with other Tribals, and the aspects of Rage and Magnum are rarer still.

Magnum (Joshuan Aspect): For each point of Spiritual Health you spend, you or someone you can touch may use any two additional Manoeuvres, even with uncrafted weapons (although it must still be of the right type, and an uncrafted weapon will take a Shatter immediately after you do so), within the next hour.

Rage (Joshuan Aspect): For each point of Spiritual Health you spend, you gain any one additional Manoeuvre and one additional Physical Health for the next combat, which must be within ten minutes or otherwise this Trance is wasted. The effect will last for five minutes after combat starts. Whenever you are struck with a Sundering effect (e.g. Holding, Inferno or Sunder), you must immediately call “Synthesis 1” against the Sunderer, causing them one point of damage to their Physical Health. You may reduce yourself to zero Spiritual Health in this way, in which case you will enter an uncontrollable killing frenzy until no one remains within line of sight that is either wielding a weapon or using supernatural powers. You do not need to track how many times you get hit in this state, but at the end you are reduced to zero Physical Health and suffer one Deep Wound per point of Spiritual Health you spent on the Aspect. While under this effect you have a dramatically shortened temper and an increased tendency to resort to violence.

Mary - The Forgiver

Silent and with purpose I came,
The conscience of the One Goddess to heal and forgive,
To touch with kindness and be ever more.
An end awaits us all and when it comes
Our light will shine no more, except in the hearts of those we leave behind
And in the legacy of the future.
- From the Omens of Mary.

Mary was the kindest and purest of the Fatimas, Her grace and love defining Her life and Her Tribe. She died for a sin even She could not forgive, though none now know what it was. From Her death, Agnes was born.

She was a shining mirrored creation, known to her followers as The Magnificent One, and wielded the eminences of Purity and Recognition.

The Tribe

Mary's children regard Her death as both a beginning and an end. Slightly more stoic in nature than the Joshuans, the Marians believe that as long as they honour Mary She will continue to live in their hearts. At the same time, beneath this facade, the Marians are filled with doubt. Most are able to hide it, to bury it deep inside, but they all wonder at some point if Mary still remembers them. They are born into other Tribes and do not learn of their true heritage until much later.

Guilds and Cliques

  • Martyrs: Favoured of Mary, they were present when She left them. They communed with Her in Her final hours and gained insight into the Magnificent One and Her Omens. Those who did not join the Agnites carry the sombre duty of keeping Mary's Tribe alive and together. Only seven still live, and none have yet been born to carry on their duties.
  • Wreathed: Those who follow the Martyrs have accepted the truth with open hearts and minds, embracing the explanation for their former feelings of distance and isolation. They continue to live among the Tribes and the Fallen, often taking on the duties of teacher and mentor. They keep in constant, if concealed, contact with the Keepers, Fallen and Joshuans, forming a network of allies stretching across Vimary and beyond.
  • Black Marians: The truth of a Marian's legacy can send some into a deep depression, from which some do not recover. The Black Marians cannot live with the pain of knowing their Fatima is no more, and so many of them now serve among the Joanites and they take the sins of their brothers and sisters-in-arms upon their shoulders, hoping that their sacrifice will one day bring Mary back. They absolve the guity of their crimes by flagellatingn themselves; they are also the guardian watchers of the Fallen and other dispossed, and protectors of Mary's temples.
  • Silent Ones: While not technically Marians, the Silent Ones are people with important roles in the Omens of Mary. Some are brought into the mysteries like normal Marians, others join after being absolved of their sins.

Marian Synthesis

When they awake to their true heritage, Marians go through a spiritual rebirth similar to that which the Fallen endure. Before their initiation. Marians have both Eminences from the tribe they were raised among. When initiated, a Marian loses one of these Eminences and replaces it with one of the two Marian Eminences - Purity and Recognition. Synthesis is common amongst the Martyrs and advanced Wreathed.

Purity: There is a natural order of things, which is good and right. Many, with arguably good intent, despise this Eminence. It has the power to set things back to their natural state, breaking the effects of other powers, and therefore opposes all other Eminences. It cares not whether the source was Joanite Devotion or Z’bri Taint, as it will dismiss both as unnatural.

PurityProtection: You may spend one Spiritual Health immediately upon encountering an Atmosphere or other roleplaying effect, and instead respond with a conspicuous display of purity, kindess and forgiveness.
Apply: You may apply the Protection of Purity to one other touched person for the next hour.
Synthesis: For each point of Spiritual Health you spend, you can remove one Spiritual Critical Wound (Sympathy, Distortion or Separation), ongoing Synthesis effect, ongoing Sundering effect or Taint from a person you touch. More powerful Taints may cost additional Spiritual Health. This cannot remove Atmospheres, Bindings, Callings, Chainings or Curses.

Blessing (Marian Aspect): By spending one point of Spiritual Health, you may remove one standard Atmosphere, minor Curse or Binding from a person, thing or area. By spending two points of Spiritual Health, you may remove one Amplified (stage 1) Atmosphere, significant Curse, or Calling from a person, thing or area. And by spending three points of Spiritual Health, you may remove one major Curse, Amplified (stage 2) Atmosphere or Chaining from a person, thing or area. Any person targeted by Blessing also experiences a roleplaying effect that makes them feel as though they have been forgiven for all their sins.

Clairvoyance (Marian Aspect): By looking into a mirror and having some form of link with the target (lock of hair, long-owned possession, earth from a location), you may ask a Guide one question about what you see when looking at it per Spiritual Health you spend. Broader, more open questions will get vaguer, less useful answers.

lost_tribes.txt · Last modified: 2016/04/12 07:23 by joe
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