Aprósopi

"The Faceless Warriors"

The **Aprósopi** (απρόσωπη), or better known as "The Faceless" is an umbrella-term for a culture of warriors that date their origins to 500s BC in Greece, accompanying Alexander The Great's Conquest as mercenaries and going deeper into India while the rest turned back west. The Faceless would then continue their warrior societies in India, blending Greek and Indian martial knowledge, and even magic to an extent. The Faceless would continue to explore the rest of the world by the time of the Middle Ages, syncretizing their beliefs with the war deities of the places they visited as mercenaries. Even in the modern era, their clans expanded across the world, serving as bounty hunters and mercenaries for those who can afford their prices. Others even venture into the Border Zone to explore and serve as mercenaries for the organizations that reside there, as well as hunting and fighting entities that exist there. Famous for their armor, especially their helmets that obscured their faces as part of their beliefs, the Aprósopi are perhaps the most famous culture of warriors in the world of magi, as they also serve mages from around the world, using magic as just another weapon for them. They are perhaps the only ones brave enough to face a Horror head on.

## History

The Aprósopi claim to have been the descendants of Ares, and the earliest recorded members of the Faceless being exiled Spartans who refused to bow down to a king that could not best them personally in combat. The Aprósopi would wander the Hellenic world as mercenaries, branching out into different clans, before uniting and serving Alexander The Great during his conquests. They took part on his expeditions as elite, heavily armored shock troops, earning quite the reputation as ferocious fighters who viewed weapons and the way of the warrior as a religion. They refused to take their helmets off in front of others, saying that an Aprósopi, like a weapon, does not need a face. They believed that they were living weapons. By 327 BCE, when Alexander the Great reached India, many of his men expressed that they should turn back, but the Aprósopi viewed them all as cowards, and split off from the army, breaking their contract with Alexander and delving deep into India, first as brigands, raiding villages for supplies and food, before proving their martial prowess to the rulers of the Indian sub-continent. Some of the Aprósopi broke off into different clans and served different lords as mercenaries, eventually adapting the language and culture of ancient Indians, specifically their warrior culture.

Eventually Aprósopi, or the Avaiyaktik, as they were called in Hindi, evolved their beliefs, no longer viewing themselves as strict descendants of Ares, but instead, followers of the Warrior's Creed, a belief that every war deity in every culture all stem from one single idea, the idea of a warrior. It did not matter the origin or the religion of a fighter, what mattered was their heart of a warrior. The Faceless adopted different weapons and fighting styles, different clans choosing specific martial arts that suited their locations and their enemies. Some chose to return back to Europe to spread their newly evolved creed, others stayed in India, while others went deeper into Asia.

By the time of the Medieval era, the Aprósopi's clans spread from Europe all the way to Japan, intermingling with the local cultures. While they adapted different aspects of the places they stayed in, the Creed remained consistent. They also made many enemies, from the Martyrdom who viewed them as pagan warriors, to the Akashics in Asia, who the Aprósopi mocked as pacifistic hypocrites, but also saw them as formidable enemies. Their battles with the Akashics resulted in the Faceless developing what would later be known as "Ilao-Kali", a fusion of magic and martial arts to combat the empowered weapons and martial arts of the Akashic Vajrapani. To this day they make up a majority of the freelance mercenaries employed by both magi and non-magi for their martial prowess and adaptability as warriors. Give a Faceless a gun and magic, and you'll make a good investment, as they say.

## Beliefs and Culture

Centered around small clans, the Aprósopi Culture base their beliefs on their "Warrior's Creed", it consisted of several tenets and in their beliefs was the definition of what it meant to be a true Aprósopi. It embraced loyalty, solidarity, helping fellow Aprósopi, regardless of clan and origin, and keeping one's promises. Death before dishonor is also a high tenet in the Creed. Retreat without proper tactical reason is generally frowned upon by Aprósopi and fighting to the death is the most honorable way for an Aprósopi to die. Cowards are punished greatly, and even exiled from their clan.

The Creed mandated Aprósopi to take care of any young they find, those who lost their homes and families as "foundlings" until they were reunited with their own people or came of age and became part of the Aprósopi. Saving these foundlings was considered the greatest honor an Aprósopi would gain while following their Creed. Aprósopi are trained from a young age the way of combat, and those with magical potential are also trained by a clan's Battlemagi, thought to treat magic as one of the many weapons the Aprósopi can master.

Keeping promises are expected, and breaking oaths are frowned upon. The reason why the Aprósopi of old broke off from Alexander the Great was because the conqueror broke the promise that the Aprósopi will fight until they conquer the end of the world. It is said that making an enemy of the Aprósopi will result in a grudges that pass down across generations, but befriending one would result in one of the greatest ally one could ask for.

True to their name of "Faceless", the original "orthodox" Aprósopi forbid their members to show their faces to anyone, even to fellow clan members. The belief goes that as the Aprósopi are living weapons, they do not need to show their faces, as a sword or a spear does not need a face to do its job. Because of this Aprósopi helmets cover their entire heads. Some Aprósopi diverge from this part of their Creed, from clans stating that faces must only be hidden during combat, or not hidden altogether due to the impracticality of this tenet, reasoning that their name of "Faceless" come from the fact they show no emotion during combat, only determination for battle. Aprósopi orthodoxy considers this as heresy, and typically treat these branches as no longer Aprósopi, while the "disgraced" clans disregard the absolutist clans as stuck in the past.

The Faceless since time immemorial has prized a secret metal known as Aíma Tu Ári or the Wargod's Blood, said to be the crystalized blood of Ares turned into ore that can be found across the world. One of the reasons why many Aprósopi spread across the world were to find sources of the ore and secure it for themselves, as they consider it a sacred material meant to be used for their armor. Smelting and smithing with the ore requires specific techniques secret to the Aprósopi. Aíma Tu Ári armor is extremely durable, capable of tanking even modern-day explosives, let alone bullets, and highly resistant to hostile magic that basic offensive spells are weakened to the point where they barely harm the wearer. Advanced spells and rituals still go through, however.

The Aprósopi treat "Weapons" as their religion. And while they certainly don't worship their guns or swords, they treat them as sacred tools of their craft, the very items that allow them to practice their warrior-way. As per deities, they originally worshipped Ares, but as they adapted different cultures, such as the Indian war deities like Indra, Durga, and Kali, the Aprósopi developed a syncretism of all the war deities they would encounter, believing them to be different interpretations of this primordial idea of a warrior. As such, they respect the deities of other religions, although find religions with pacifistic beliefs or gods as weak.

The methods of smelting and smithing needed for Aíma Tu Ári being tied to the legend of Hephaestus gifting Aprósopi the Wargod's Blood has resulted in Hephaestus to become one of the only gods that was never replaced by a different smithing god by Aprósopi who syncretized their wargod worship with the gods of regions they ended up assimilating into. Ironic that the man that was cuckolded by the original wargod worshipped by the Faceless remains the constant deity revered by the Aprósopi, especially by their mage-smiths.

## Known clans and organizations

The Aprósopi do not have a centralized organization, and are made of different clans across the world, both in the Physical and Mortal Plane. They are lead by the Clan Leader, counseled by the elders of the clan, with special positions such as their Smith and Head Battlemage holding important roles in the clan. Each Clan can also vary in ranking or names for their positions.

#### **Clan Sarangay**

A Faceless Clan that ended up in Balete territory, named after the bull-humanoid entities from Filipino mythology that are known to slip between the 3 Realms with ease. Members include:

* Yangu Surunog

#### **Clan Tejido de Sangre**

Faceless Clan that originally was contracted by the Spanish Colonial government in the 17th century to combat Balete Raiders. The clan is famous for creating armor that looks and weighs as regular clothing, hence their name of "Bloodweave", weaving the blood of the wargod into cloth instead of regular armor. The Clan joined the Snake Tong after seeing the organization as a better suited for warriors such as themselves compared to the fallen Spanish Government, as well as the fact that the the Martyrdom assigned in the Philippines viewed them as heretics and were only cooperating with them due to common enemies. Their Bloodweave creations resulted in the Tong adopting the 2-piece Suit as a uniform thanks to their skills in turning armor into fancy clothing. Members are almost always Snakes as well.

* Lydia Toxotai
* Iona Toxotai
* Ghaden Mehikan