Legacy: Stone Scribes

# Stone Scribes

“You will be remembered.”

It is a commonly accepted truism, even amongst Sleepers, that names have power.  Mages can spend their entire lives working to separate the magical and mundane components of their identities, the sovereignty of such appellations can become indisputable fact.  For members of the Stone Scribes this knowledge becomes a focal point of their craft, and eventually, a path to mastery. Members of the legacy accept that each individual bears a Sympathetic Name that was given to them early in life and has since become intimately bound into their sense of identity; an identification number given to them by the Exarch overlords of the prison that is the Fallen World, but the Scribes also question if that is the only name an individual may have.  They believe that throughout each person’s life their influence on the course of history and even the nigh-imperceptible fluctuations of their soul, give rise to a different form of identification, a truer name that becomes fixed only upon that person’s death. The Stone Scribes refer to these resonance patterns as Final Names, and they have dedicated themselves to the task of recording and archiving as many of them as possible.

In their efforts to fulfill this task many Namers become caregivers of one sort or another, seeking employment in hospitals, nursing homes, or even on the field of battle.  Once ensconced in these liminal places Scribes can minister to the dying and in the case of some, preserve a fragment of them for all time. Traditionally these records were carved into stone tablets, a habit that led to the development of the Legacy’s name, but in the modern day many different mediums are accepted by Namers.  From hand bound manuscripts to freshly burnt CDs or thumb drives, all submissions have a place in the many Bibliotheca that the legacy maintains. While some of the more contemporary members consider it a pipe dream, the Scribes were founded with one clear objective in mind: to uncover ever more ancient Names, employing their arts to reach farther and farther back, until at the pinnacle of their work they can reconstruct the Final Names of those who fell with Atlantis itself.

## Origins

**Parentage:**  Moros, Mysterium

**Background:**  For the majority of Namers, death has had a profound influence upon their lives.  Some have Awakened because of it, others have had friends, lovers, or parents taken by it, but for all, its passage has been felt and mourned.  Those who choose to embrace the path of the Scribes are the ones who after experiencing such loss have decided to accept this unavoidable ending, and rather than rail against it, choose instead to capture some fragment of the departed, preserving a relic of the deceased.

**Appearance:**  As befitting the seriousness of the task they hold as their solemn duty, most Scribes dress in a somber, elegant fashion as a mark of their reverence for their work.  While the specifics vary according to the occupation of the individual, Namers as a whole are prone to choosing solid patterns and muted hues to avoid seeming frivolous or uncaring.

## Doctrine

**Prerequisites:** Time 2, Occult 2, and one of the following at 2 or higher: Empathy, Crafts, Academics, or Expression.

**Initiation:** Prospective Namers must study under another member in order to prove their understanding of the legacy’s history, and also to begin training in the subtle observations required to perceive and comprehend a Final Name.  Only when the student can perceive and describe (if not transcribe) their own Momentary Name are they deemed ready to be inducted into the deeper mysteries.

**Organization:**  The vast majority of Stone Scribes are members of the Mysterium, and as such are quite familiar with the hierarchical system employed by their parent order.  When multiple Namers reside within a Consilium they will often petition the local Athenaeum for space to be set aside as a Bibliotheca, a library of Final Names that each can contribute to and maintain.  Lone Scribes may curate a private collection of names, but are usually expected to provide a copy of their work to the nearest Consillium for safe-keeping. The bonds between mentor and apprentice within the legacy are considered especially important, and it is common practice for the pair to give each other a private appellation for use when they are working together.  While seniority within the legacy is the ultimate determining factor in who has the greatest say in decisions for a gathering of their number, those who have amassed the greatest collection of Names, or contributed one of especial age or significance are often granted additional respect.

## Magic

**Ruling Arcanum:** Time

**Yantras:** Employing a target’s Final Name when casting on them (+2), Including a Momentary Name as a Sympathetic component to symbolize a target (+1), Performing a full numerological assessment of a target before casting (+2), Studying the family tree of a target before casting (+1)

**Oblations:** Practicing gematria, meditating upon one’s own Momentary Name, copying Final Names into lasting media, extending a family history back another generation or discovering a new relative on a family tree.

## **Attainments**

The Namers’ belief in the power of the Final Name is the guiding principle behind the Legacy’s attainments. Initiates of the Stone Scribes first learn the basic rituals that allow them to inspect then to scribe the Final Name of a person, preserving it for all time. Later, they learn to pull knowledge and connections from Final Names as well as developing the skills they will need to handle ghosts conjured through the Names they gather.  Finally, a Scribe masters the greatest attainment of his Legacy, putting to use the names he has recorded by temporarily making them his own, and when needed, calling their owners back.

### **First:  Name the Echo**

Prerequisites:  Time 1, Initiation

*Unveiling (Reach: Casting Time):*

The foundational power of the Stone Scribes permits them to perceive and transcribe the resonant signature that they refer to as a subjects Name.  Throughout an individual's life the minute ripples they generate within the stream of time with each choice, their interactions with others, and the subtle fluctuations of their soul combine to create an ever shifting pattern of resonance that Stone Scribes refer to as their Momentary Name.

This emergent truth can be read by those with the appropriate knowledge and by means of this attainment it can be translated into High Speech and inscribed onto physical media. While many Scribes prefer to enact this sacred duty with a great deal of ritual, it takes only an instant’s effort and the expenditure of a point of mana to unveil a living target’s Momentary Name so they may then copy it for storage.  The stored name remains accurate for a period of 24 hours after that initial revelation, but if the subject of the attainment should die during that time, their resonance becomes fixed and is then referred to as their Final Name, which persists indefinitely.

If the target left behind a ghost and one of its anchors can be found, study of that thing may be used to recover their Final Name. After studying a Name, be it Final or Momentary, a Scribe may consider the record a representational yantra with a medium sympathetic connection for the target for purpose of casting upon them.

*Optional Arcanum:  Death 1*

*Speak with the Dead (Reach: Casting Time):*

In order to better understand the names they gather, and to make best use of them, members of the Stone Scribes spend a great deal of time examining the energies and resonances of the dead. Their close study of this subject and their familiarity with how ghosts connect with the mortal coil permits them to perceive and analyze the spiritual condition of those around them. This functions as per the Speak with Dead spell, requiring an instant of concentration from the Scribe to reveal a target’s Anchors and commune with them should they so wish.  If some power has been employed to conceal a target’s spiritual signature, the Scribe automatically achieves successes equal to their Death dots to pierce the veil.

### **Second:  Memoriam**

Prerequisites: Time 2, Occult 3

*Constant Presence (Reach: Advanced Duration):*

In a return to the principles by which they first came to understand the nature of Names, all Scribes eventually become deeply familiar with their own ever-changing temporal signature.  By taking the time to meditate on that emergent pattern of resonance, the Namer may reinforce their sense of the flux of history around themselves and thus gird their own perceptions against outside influence.  Any attempt to change the course of history through time travel provokes a Clash of Wills on which the Scribe gains automatic successes equal to their Time dots.  Should they succeed they are treated as though they too were returning from a trip to the past, preventing any changes from overwriting them.

*Optional Arcanum: Death 2*

*Ghost Shield (Reach: Advanced Duration):*

Due to their frequent exposure to the dead, Stone Scribes often encounter ghosts during the day to day execution of their work even without summoning them.  This familiarity as well as their deep understanding of death and faith in the proper order of endings can be marshalled as a shield against those who linger.  After aligning themselves to the goals of their legacy each morning, any Death aligned numina, manifestation, or influence used against the Namer must achieve more successes on a Clash of Wills than the Scribe has Death dots in order to take effect.

### **Third:  Unearth the Stone**

Prerequisites: Time 3, One of Academics, Empathy, Crafts or Expression at 3

*Unveiling (Reach: Advanced Duration, Gain Condition II):*

Through a prolonged effort in integrating their ability to observe a target's history with their innate sense for temporo-thanatosic signatures, Namers eventually develop the ability to open themselves to minute details present within a subject's resonance in order to unveil clues as to their Final Name.  By studying the repository of a Momentary Name they possess and entering a prolonged meditative trance, the Namer exposes themselves to a deluge of information contained within the Name. These visions focus on interactions between the observed individual and those places, people, or objects that could potentially serve as their anchor should they pass on.  This flood of information reveals a number of potential Anchors up to the Scribe's Time dots and grants them the Informed (Potential Anchors) condition relating to the target.  This supernatural understanding lingers for up to one day or until used, and resolving it does not grant beats, as per the normal rules for magically granted conditions.

*Optional Arcanum: Death 3, Crafts 2*

*Decay (Reach: Structure Damage, Casting Time):*

While many Scribes consider the actual process of setting the Final Names they uncover into stone to be a sacred duty, time does not always allow for such luxuries.  To accelerate this task, Namers with sufficient mastery of the Death arcanum can employ their power to erode objects as a craftsman might a chisel. This deals direct damage to the target’s structure equal to the Scribe’s Death dots.  They may choose to degrade the object entirely, or merely to damage the surface in a targeted fashion, carving away material to leave any mark they can imagine. Precise use of this power requires touch, but when attempting to decay a target entirely the Scribe may project the effect in the form of an aimed attack.

### **Fourth:  Requiem**

Prerequisites:  Time 4, Occult 4

*Knowing (Reach: Advanced Duration, Advanced Scale, Remote Range II):*

While it is the duty of every Scribe to record the Names of any who should die in their presence, there are simply too few of them to be present at each and every death.  As time passes many great individuals are forgotten and go unrecorded due to this simple fact, and it was an attempt to remedy this failing that produced this attainment. By studying the timelines of the loved ones or possessions of their desired subject, a Scribe may catch glimpses of their Name, and through careful interpolation reconstruct the Name of even the long dead.  The Namer must first locate a number of the subject's potential anchors; these may be the Names of people who the subject knew, objects they treasured, or fragments of locations of significance to them.  The number of connections required is equal to the subject's Integrity at time of death minus the Namer’s Time dots.  After assembling the necessary links the Scribe must spend a point of mana while ritually casting the numbers to dissect the resonance of all involved.  At the end of this process they can piece together the target’s Name and record it for posterity.

*Optional Arcanum: Death 4*

Command Ghost (Reach: Advanced Duration, Casting Time, Sensory Range):

All Scribes pursue the exalted art of naming, seeking to enshrine the fallen through the resonant patterns they incise and preserve.  While those exalted techniques are the guiding star of their legacy, there are older truths to their methods.  By defining a thing one claims mastery over it and though truer names are needed to command the living, the ephemeral echoes of the dead can be bound far more simply.  By naming a ghost through its living appellation, a pronouncement of its Final Name, or simply the declaration of a fitting title, the Namer may force it into service.  The Scribe may give the creature a number of commands equal to their Death dots minus one less than the target's Rank.  The Ghost must obey these orders until all are complete or a week has passed; however, ghostly beings of Rank 6 and above cannot be bound through this power.  If the given commands conflict with the ghost's well-being, this provokes a Clash of Wills upon which the Namer achieves automatic successes equal to their Death dots.

### **Fifth:  Seal the Breath**

Prerequisites: Time 5, One of Academics, Empathy, Crafts or Expression at 4

*Temporal Summoning (Reach: Advanced Duration, Sensory Range, Temporal Sympathy):*

In a demonstration of their true mastery of onomancy, a Stone Scribe may employ a Final Name as a guide when reaching against the flow of time.  By spending one point of mana and invoking the Name's original bearer while standing within sight of the spot where one of their potential anchors was at the time of their death, the Scribe may conjure that liminal energy into the present.  At the completion of the ritual the object targeted manifests before the Namer with all it's connections reforged and remains whole for a period of one week before dissolving back into the timeline. Should a ghost linked to that anchor exist, it finds itself bound to the conjured anchor once more and must obey all normal restrictions surrounding such.

*Optional Arcanum: Death 5*

*Ghost Summons (Reach: Advanced Duration, Advanced Scale, Open Condition, Underworld Summons):*

With mastery of the Stone Scribe’s arts comes access to one of the most sought after abilities of the legacy:  The power to summon and commune with ghosts who have long since departed the mortal coil. While standing in the vicinity of an Iris to the Underworld, the Scribe may perform a ritual invoking the shade of a Final Name in their possession whose Rank is no greater than their Death dots.  This rite places the Open condition on the entire area surrounding the Iris and causes the ghost being called to manifest within it. Once enacted the effects of the ritual linger for up to 24 hours, or until the Namer dismisses the entity.