Lantern

*The Glorious Lore, Eagle*

## HOURS

* The Colonel
* The Meniscate
* The Sun-in-Rags
* The Flowermaker

## PRECURSOR

 *'There is a light behind the world, a light above the Mansus, a light that penetrates both glass and skin. It is present here.'*
 *'A Consciousness of Radiance'*

****Lantern**** is one of the Principles of the invisible arts. It is the merciless aspect of the Glory and the gods-from-Light, associated with truth, light, and reason.

## Themes and Imagery

 *'It has been expressed like this: 'Each Hour has its colour, but colour exists only where there is light.'*
 *'A Watchman's Secret'*

The Glory, the Sun, and Light are the most prominent themes of **Lantern**, as symbols for knowledge and illumination. It is also associated with mirrors, dreams, sight, and language.

The Light of **Lantern** is often characterized as cold and harsh, capable of revealing truths and uncovering secrets or warding against dark powers, but also driving people mad or consuming their minds. Mercy is found only in shadow, and light has the power to both illuminate as well as blind.

## Ascension

 *'Little of this flesh remains. I will pass through the Tricuspid Gate and I will not return. The Watchman awaits me. In His footsteps, I will find the Glory's light. The understanding is too much for my soul to hold, and so my soul will open. I will not be immortal: I will be more than that.'*
 *'The Incursus'*

The standard method of ascension for **Lantern**, like many others, involves the gathering of seven Marks before performing a grand ritual under a specific Hours to pass the Tricuspid Gate and become a Long. In Cultist Simulator the Watchman oversees the path of Enlightenment and is assumed to be the primary patron for **Lantern**-Long since the Intercalate. Those who ascend further under him hope to become a part of the Pilgrimage, a prophesied event in which the Watchman will lead seven souls to rise higher. This event will likely serve as a prelude to the Second Dawn and the return of the Sun-in-Splendour.

Uniquely, Long who ascend under the Watchman, and perhaps other **Lantern** Hours, surrender their physical forms and now dwell in the Mansus. These **Lantern**-Long are considered by some to actually be minor Names.

## Subversion

 *'The Glory is a question, and Moth always answers Yes.'*
 *'The Light Above'*

In Cultist Simulator, **Lantern** subverts Moth, the aspect of chaos and passion. This reflects the Hour of the Moth’s yearning for the Glory, as well as the light of reason and higher thought overtaking base instinct.

**Lantern** itself is subverted by Forge, as the Forge of Days was responsible for dividing the Sun-in-Splendour in the Intercalate. Light dissipates to heat, and knowledge is taken to be used in practical applications.

## Hours

 *'The Meniscate, the Madrugad, the Flowermaker and the Forge of Days are the gods-from-Light. There is a fifth, but now we know it is not the Watchman. Yet the Watchman shares a secret doctrine with those five, and here is that doctrine...'*
 *'Illuminate Mysteries'*

* **The Watchman:** The Watchman is the Hour who illuminates, who navigates, who is not compassionate. One day the Pilgrimage will follow in his shadow, and so he lights the way for others to discover Enlightenment. He represents **Lantern** as merciless knowledge and blinding light.

* **The Sun-in-Rags:** One of the fragments of the Divided Sun, the Sun-in-Rags may be cold and distant, yet his Light burns still. Once he was the departing sunset, a beautiful light that marks the end of things, and now he embodies **Lantern** as the sunset at noon. He is most likely "the fifth" mentioned in the Illuminate Mysteries.

* **The Meniscate:** Once the night-self of the Sun-in-Splendour, the Meniscate presides over the House of the Moon, a strange reflection of the House of the Sun. She represents **Lantern** as an Hour of moonlight and reflections, of truth and revelation.

* **The Flowermaker:** The Flowermaker was born from the Forge’s sparks of delight, and should we find him, he shall satisfy our desires with his own sweet delights. He represents **Lantern** as the power who presides over dreams and intoxicating wonders.

* **The Colonel:** While an Hour of conflict and violence, the Colonel is also a power which knows Light. He was scarred and blinded by the traitor gods, and among the first of humanity to ascend. He presents **Lantern** in the tactics of war and knowledge through experience.

* **The Sun-in-Splendour:** The House of the Sun was once ruled by the Sun-in-Splendour, the greatest of the Hours and one of the original gods-from-Light. During his reign, the sun was no warmer, but it contained colors lost since the Intercalate. He presented **Lantern** as the magnificent noonday Sun, a manifestation of the Glory’s Light.

* **The Egg Unhatching (?):** Before the gods-from-Light, before humanity, another sun once shone upon the world; while no brighter than the Sun-in-Rags, its light was warmer and more merciful. The Egg Unhatching may not have embodied **Lantern** as we understand it today, but certainly he represented the power of the Glory in some form, the pale sun on the horizon.

* **The Giribrago (?):** While this Hour does not appear directly in Cultist Simulator, his provisional name of "The Second Egg" indicates a possible connection to the Egg Unhatching and the Sun-in-Splendour, as suns, eyes, and eggs are all conjunct in the aspect of **Lantern**.

## Other Entities and Followers

 *'The virgins/maidens of the mirror favour orchids. The [behindlings?] favour the rhododendron. Cut flowers of either nature should not be placed before polished bronze.'*
 *'Read Poemander's 'On What is Contained by Silver''*

* **Teresa Galmier/The Baldomerian:** the author of the Locksmith’s Dream, who frequently spends time at the Lodge of the Sage-Knight. Her interest in the Pilgrimage, status as a **Lantern**-Long/Name, and lack of a shadow suggest she may be in the service of the Watchman. She is said to be something in the middle between a Name and Long.

* **Lars Westergren:** An explorer and murderer who recorded his expeditions to the Mansus and eventually became a **Lantern**-Long who abandoned his physical form. He is favoured by both the Colonel and the Meniscate, and can be encountered in the Apostle Entheate legacy as an enemy Long.

* **Everett Lapidoth:** An American fulgent and key character in *The Lady Afterwards.* He is the lover of fellow Long Audrey Leigh Howard, who became pregnant with twins that they believed died in childbirth. Upon discovering that one of the children survived, the two of them prepare to commit the Crime of the Sky.

* **Maids-in-the-Mirror:** The Dead who pass the test of the Ascent of Knives enter the service of the Sun-in-Rags through the Peacock Door. They are said to favor orchids, and in the Apostle Entheate Legacy assist in gathering Witnesses. Although primarily associated with Winter, Maids-in-the-Mirror are said to possess a "keen cruelty", and their birthplace, the Ascent of Knives, is notoriously agonizing to traverse.

* **Hints:** Once dead spirits drawn into the Mansus, Hints now act as subtle and vicious killers. They prefer to dwell behind mirrors and out of sight, as the gaze of a living mortal would destroy them.

* **The Church of the Unconquered Sun:** An organization influential in the Third and Fourth Histories that worshipped the Sun-in-Splendour and his Names. After the Intercalate they were severely weakened and collapsed.

* **Mireya:** A painter of occult subjects and a business contact of the Exile. She can be recruited as an ally from Granada, where she owns an art gallery.

* **Poemander:** Light-smith and **Lantern**-Long of Greek origin, Poemander is the author of books 'On What is Contained By Silver' and 'On Imperfections'. He was employed by Thirza Blake to add more mirrors in the Hall of Divisions in the Hush House. Poemander was known for his techniques of confining Mansus-Long to mirrors through 'scrining', although Poemander prefered to call this process 'steady-glint'.

## Other Notes

* **Lantern** is the foremost of the Apollonian aspects, as the Principle most closely linked to reason and the Glory.

* In the early demo of Cultist Simulator, Hours and Principles were one and the same. The Hour called **Lantern** appears to have been an early version of the Watchman.

* The Principle of **Lantern** most likely owes its name to the Watchman, who is holding a lantern in his hand in the Tarot of the Hours. However, the connection here is clearly less direct than in cases of the other Hour-named Principles - which may suggest him not being as powerful within **Lantern** as, say, the Forge of Days is within Forge.
	+ Oddly enough, the Mother of Ants also has a number of lanterns on her Tarot card.

## Sources

1. ↑ Slee, a believer
2. ↑ Watchman's Glass
3. ↑ The Watchman's Eye
4. ↑ The Vision of the Peacock
5. ↑ We call upon the Watchman, who navigates
6. ↑ We call upon the Sun-in-Rags, which burns still
7. ↑ The Gate Opens Outwards
8. ↑ An Unmerciful Mantra
9. ↑ The Incursus
10. ↑ The Marks of Light
11. ↑ The Lodge of the Sage Knight
12. ↑ Read 'The Time of Division'
13. ↑ Inquisitions for the Demiurge
14. ↑ The Light Above
15. ↑ Sunset at Noon
16. ↑ Read the Six Letters on Necessity
17. ↑ Read 'The Focus of Amber'
18. ↑ Summon the mysterious Name known as the Baldomerian
Ask Teresa about the Dream of the Key '...but as *Lantern-long*, I owe courtesy to your mentor...'
The Lodge of the Sage Knight
19. ↑ The Concursum Diaries, Our Enemy's Identity, #diarist\_unknown
20. ↑ Summon a servant of the Sun-in-Rags, Maid-in-the-Mirror, Send a Maid-in-the-Mirror to lure a Witness
Read Poemander's 'On What is Contained by Silver'
21. ↑ Mantra of Ascent
22. ↑ The Ascent of Knives (influenceedgee)
23. ↑ Summon a sharp-edged Lantern-thing, Hint
24. ↑ Sunset Passages
25. ↑ Mireya, the Visionary, Granada