Page 112 - Hunter the Vigil - Mortal Remains
P. 112

THE FAITHFUl OF SHUlPAE


            objects in the modern era has also proven very effective. Once                  In Service
            a mummy is temporarily incapacitated, the Faithful’s next pri-
            ority is to return its body to the temple for a first new Feast.   Keepers:  Keepers  maintain the  temples  of the  Faithful,
            Eating a mummy’s flesh before the creature can regenerate and  and hold much of the political power within the conspiracy.
            wreak havoc is imperative.                         It is their sacred duty to watch over the “slumbering” gods at
                               Hunters                           times between Feasts, maintain the Feasting calendar, and de-
                                                                  cide who gets to participate in which Feasts. If this weren’t
                                                                   enough,  Keepers  sometimes  take part  in small  personal
               You were with a small group of orphans
            starving in the streets of Cairo a hundred years       libations in cases where the gods seem to be waking too
            ago or more. A wicked god tried to beat you for        quickly. The Faithful see Keepers as a secret weapon against
            getting in his way, and in desperation you bit         anyone who would destroy their temples, as no one would
            him while he struggled with you. In that moment,      expect the decrepit old men and women sweeping the floors
            you discovered a secret buried deep in his flesh.         to have such incredible age and power thanks to the
            Your friends seemed to sense it, too, and                     gods.
            you swarmed the god and ate him right                               Guides: Without new recruits, the Faith-
            down to the bone. Later, you tried to                            ful  would  die  out,  and  then no  one  would
            drink yourself into oblivion, worried                             worship the gods in the right way. Guides are
            that you were turning into a canni-                               the most charming of all the Faithful. They
            bal. Then, the Faithful sat you down                               linger among the mundane men and wom-
            and explained that you committed                                    en in the world, watching and waiting for
            an act of Devotion. Instead of feel-                                  the divine. They look for signs of gods
            ing horrified, you should                                                 walking, as well as evidence  of
            feel special, holy, blessed                                                 rare eccentric souls who would
            — and you did.                                                               make ideal candidates for the
               You were trapped                                                          Faithful.  These bright  souls
            inside  a tomb after                                                          are guided  to Feasts,  but
            the careless anthro-                                                           rarely have Feasts explained
            pologist who’d hired                                                           to them. It’s better that way,
            you  got greedy  and                                                          they think.
            left you to rot inside.                                                          Celebrants:  For the  de-
            As the  only survivor,                                                     voted, who partake most often,
            you did what you had to.                                                  who Feast heavily and are unafraid
            After you  ate  the scarabs                                               of risking  life and  limb  to bring
            and  snakes, you  eventu-                                                 the  gods to the  temple, is  the
            ally tested what a mummy’s                                                honor of being a Celebrant. Not
            dried  flesh would  taste like.                                          every Celebrant is particularly good
            That nourishment  gave  you                                              at what they do, but their sacrifices
            just enough  strength to  push                                           are written down in books  to be
            through the collapsed  tunnel.  The                                       honored for generations to come.
            Faithful of Shulpae were waiting out-                                     Those who take the greatest risks
            side to welcome you, and to collect the                                   get first plate at the Feast.
            god you had discovered.                                                                 Status
               You were always  afraid of your
            stepfather and  his friends;  they were                               Aside from invitation to the Feast, sta-
            strange,  and  their whispered  jokes al-                         tus in the Faithful of Shulpae grants access
            ways seemed  so ominous.  When mom                                to Anthropophagy, the means  by which
            got sick, you blamed him and vowed to                             members make themselves a part of a god.
            find  out  what he  and  his  friends  were                       Additionally, status grants members access
            really  up to. That’s when you  followed                          to the Temple, an important part of daily
            him to his secret temple. Inside, you saw                          life within the faith.
            a long table and your father feasting on                                 As an  initiate  to the Faithful,
            the prone body of a beautiful man with                              you  may learn  the Anthropophagy
            golden skin. Your mind came to two con-                               Endowment.
            clusions: that man was not a man, and
            you had never been so aroused as you                                            At three  dots, you  are
            were in that  moment. Soon  after-                                      granted  a  safe  place,  a temple to
            ward, you joined them.


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