Lyctor

Harrowhark and Gideon as Lyctor illustration by Corvophobia

The Emperor's Fists and Gestures

Holy Finger

Holy Thumb

> *"The Lyctors were not born immortal. They were given eternal life, which is not at all the same thing."*
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A **Lyctor** is a powerful necromancer who has ascended to immortality through the Eightfold Word (later called the "lyctoral megatheorem"). The Lyctoral Saints act as servant, guard, and disciple to The Emperor. Lyctors retain their necromantic abilities even in space.

## **History**

### Creation

> *"Yet those were lovely years, happy ones. And that was the time before Lyctors."*
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A myriad ago, the Emperor resurrected the First House and became the Necrolord Prime, the first necromancer of the Nine Houses System. Despite this miraculous feat, there was much work to do in order to create a functioning Empire.

Originally, ten people (five necromancers: Augustine, Mercymorn, Gideon, Cassiopeia, and Ulysses; and five humans: Alfred, Cristabel, Pyrrha, Nigella, and Titania) attended the Emperor as his disciples. Over the next hundred years, they would be joined by three more pairs (Cyrus and Valancy, Cytherea and Loveday, and Anastasia and Samael).

In the early days, the disciples worked with The Emperor to rebuild the Dominican System. They establised eight of the Nine Houses and their associated cultures and infrastructure. These Houses have crystallized into "types," taking after the Lyctor who founded them. The Ninth House was later founded by Anastasia, and purportedly against God's wishes.

> *"They desired to spend their lives in service of him, not the other way around."*
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However, these disciples were bound by the limits of the Emperor's power—unable to stray from him without straining his powers. To support them, the non-adept humans developed the concept of cavaliers, using their physical strength to protect and power their necromancers, but their necromancers still could not stray from the grace of God without surrendering their immortality.

The necromancers begun researching into the theorems of magic so that they might unlock the secrets to immortality. Together, they created a laboratory in the basement of Canaan House and discovered the pieces that when combined together became a "mega-theorem" and unlocked the secret to immortality and near-infinite power.

#### **The Original Eight**

These original sixteen disciples were the first to attempt Lyctorhood using the mega-theorem they refer to as "The Eightfold Word." Seven necromancers succeed, ascending to the immortal status of Saint.

##### **Gideon the First**

*"We compartmentalized from the Eightfold Word, just like you and your girl—though I'm an accident, and he took more from me than got taken from you. I was able to go underground, even from him."*

Gideon ascends to the position of Lyctor third. Though the precise details of Gideon's ascension are unknown, it's clear that Pyrrha Dve's soul was not fully consumed in the process. She retains some ability to control his body without his knowledge and enact independent thought and action, and upon Gideon's death takes control of his body.

##### **Ulysses the First**

**Cytherea the First**

*"I didn't want to do it either... I didn't want to do it at all... but I was dying. Loveday—she was my cavalier—she and I thought it could make me live. Instead I've just kept dying, all this time."*

Cytherea the First ascends to the position of Lyctor seventh, and the last successful ascension of the original group of Lyctors. Dying of the heptenary genetic blood cancer, her cavalier Loveday Heptane, sacrifices herself in hopes that Lyctorhood will heal Cytherea's condition and grant her new life.

##### **Anastasia the First**

*"I've only seen one person get it... fundamentally wrong... and I hope I never see what happened to Anastasia and Samael again."*

Anastasia and Cassiopeia, who had already ascended, worked together on the theory of perfect Lyctorhood—a theorem that would allow a necromancer and cavalier to ascend together and both survive the process. Under laboratory conditions, Anastasia allowed only The Emperor to witness her and Samael Novenary's attempt—an attempt which he claims went "fundamentally wrong."

According to Him, Anastasia "panicked" and He had had to step in and kill Samael in order to spare her life. When questioned by Augustine, The Emperor reveals that she was closer to perfect Lyctorhood than anyone else had ever come, but sticks to his claims that they had erred and that his actions were necessary to prevent both of their deaths. Anastasia's failure meant that she never fully ascended and is not regarded as a Saint.

### Legacy

The Lyctoral Saints had an important role to place as The Emperor worked to establish his Empire: each Lyctor was able to travel easily across the vastness of space and generate the thanergy required for Cohort necromancers to work their theorems. In their travels, they would spread the word of God and draw outer-lying planets into the Empire.

### Twilight

Despite their power, Lyctors are not invulnerable. As the war has raged on, many of the Saints have fallen both in the pursuit of knowledge and at the enemies hands. By the start of Gideon the Ninth, only Augustine, Mercymorn, Gideon, and Cytherea remain, a pitiful half of his original force. Simply put, the Empire is dying.

### Reinforcements

> *"The Emperor calls now for postulants to the position of Lyctor, heirs to the eight stalwarts who have served these ten thousand years: as many of them now lie waiting for the rivers to rise on the day they wake to their King, those lonely Guard remaining petition for their numbers to be renewed and their Lord above Lords to find eight new liegemen."*
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Nearly ten thousand years after his original Saints ascended, The Emperor's forces have been severely depleted in the battles against the Resurrection Beasts. Seeing the necessity of fortifying his divine power, He sends out a letter to the Heirs of the Eight inhabited Houses of the Nine Houses System and their cavalier primaries to make a pilgrimage to the First House. This call is answered by Judith Deuteros and Marta Dyas, Coronabeth and Ianthe Tridentarius and Naberius Tern, Isaac Tettares and Jeannemary Chatur, Abigail Pent and Magnus Quinn, Palamedes Sextus and Camilla Hect, Dulcinea Septimus and Protesilaus Ebdoma, Silas Octakiseron and Colum Asht, Harrowhark Nonagesimus and Gideon Nav, and the uninvited Cytherea the First.

Cytherea, angry with The Emperor, kills Dulcinea and her cavalier in order to assume their place among the postulants at Canaan House. She plots to destroy the Houses of the Nine Planets to draw The Emperor back into his home territory and kill him. Taking advantage of the vagueness of task, Cytherea carefully removes key artifacts from her original life in Canaan House to muddle the truth of Lyctorhood. As the necromancers discover the Facility and begin making headway into the theorems that make Lyctorhood possible, Cytherea kills those whose necromancy or research poses a threat to her ruse. The postulants develop the idea of a monster haunting Canaan House, which Cytherea encourages and feeds. Eventually, amongst the bloodshed, Judith Deuteros takes action to call The Emperor's shuttle for help.

Ianthe Tridentarius and Harrowhark Nonagesimus ascend to Lyctorhood and defeat Cytherea in battle, at which point they are welcomed to The Emperor's side as his newest Saints.

### Lies

The existence of Gideon Nav, with Alecto's golden eyes and John's DNA, provides proof that a 'perfect' Lyctorhood - one where both cavalier and necromancer survive - has always been possible.

John Gaius was able to swap souls with Alecto, rising to Lyctorhood without killing Alecto herself. This fact was hidden from the John's disciples as he believed it would be "easier." As a perfect Lyctoral pair, neither John nor Alecto can be killed without the other dying.

## **The Lyctoral Theorem**

The original eight established a set of ten theorems that, when combined, would create the mega-theorem that allowed a necromancer to ascend. Aside from the awe of the mega-theorem, each piece revolutionized what were thought to be the bounds of necromancy in and of themselves. The eight created a series of laboratories in the basement of Canaan House that test and prove each piece of theorem. It is these testing chambers that the new scions are expected to use to reverse engineer the process.

The terrible truth that the new penitents discover is that the steps must be performed on their own cavalier: killing their sworn sword and consuming their soul to become immortal.

### The Mega-Theorem

* Preservation

* Analysis

* Transference
	+ Discovered by Second House team Gideon and Pyrrha Dve, the transference section of the Lyctoral theorem is outlined in labs #1-2 of the basement Facility, Transference/Winnowing. This section of the theorem outlines "the utilisation of a living soul."

* Fixation

* Incorporation

* Consummation

* Reconstruction

* Power
	+ Believed discovered by Eighth House team Mercymorn and Cristabel, this theorem was modeled in Laboratory Eight's Diversion Procedural Chamber. This section of the theorem outlines "avulsion": the forceful taking of power from another soul.

## **Abilities**

### Strengths

Lyctors are able to use the soul of their cavalier as a renewable source of thanergy, giving them a great advantage over other necromancers. They do not run out of thanergy and can use Theorems in the depths of space and on thalergenic planets. Lyctors are more powerful than other necromancers and are very hard to kill.

When a Lyctor's spirit enters the River, their body is still able to defend itself and use necromancy. In this state, the skills taken from a Lyctor's cavalier are used reflexively. The bodies do not need light to see, are numb to pain, and are immune to the terror brought on by Resurrection Beasts.

While Lyctors can sense the life-force of nearby creatures, they cannot sense other Lyctors.

### Weaknesses

Though Lyctors are able to heal substantial damage done to their bodies, they are not unkillable. Beheading is fatal to Lyctors, and they cannot regrow severed limbs. Their bodies will remain in whatever state they were in at the time of their Ascension. For example, Cytherea the First was not able to cure her cancer by becoming a Lyctor.

If a Lyctor dies while their spirit is in the River, their body is vulnerable to possession and can become a very dangerous revenant.

Each Lyctor is affected differently by the death of their cavalier. Even after nearly ten thousand years, Augustine, Mercymorn and Gideon the First mourn their cavaliers bitterly. Augustine and Mercymorn resolve to kill John after discovering that their cavaliers' deaths were unnecessary.

Resurrection Beasts are able to sense Lyctors wherever they go and pursue them ceaselessly. Something about the act of taking another's soul into one's own body incites Resurrection Beasts to find and destroy the host. A Lyctor cannot land on a planet without risking a Resurrection Beast's attention; none of the Lyctors have returned to their home planets since this was discovered. Cytherea's plot to kill John hinges on this fact.

## **Known Lyctors**

### The Original Eight

The Emperor's Saints, these Lyctors first ascended a myriad ago. Though some have been killed in battle, the rest remain at the Emperor's side.

* Augustine the First
* Mercymorn the First
* Gideon the First
* Cassiopeia the First
* Cyrus the First
* Ulysses the First
* Cytherea the First
* Anastasia the First (Incomplete)

### New Lyctors

Answering his call, these Lyctor's made the pilgrimage to Canaan House, survived, and ascended to the position of Lyctor in order to supplement up the Emperor's waning strength.

* Ianthe the First
* Harrowhark the First (Incomplete)

## **References**

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Harrow the Ninth," Act I, Ch. 8
2. ↑ "Harrow the Ninth," Act V, Ch. 52
3. ↑ "Gideon the Ninth," Act IV, Ch. 35
4. ↑ "Harrow the Ninth," Act II, Ch. 20
5. ↑ "Gideon the Ninth," Act I, Ch. 3
6. ↑ "Harrow the Ninth," Act III, Ch 51.