Page 29 - Hunter the Vigil - Mortal Remains

CHAPTER ONE: PIECES OF FLESH

Conspiracies and tears into the nearest target. These creatures, known as
“Pandorans” in some circles, are largely uncontrollable. Rumor
Conspiracies have access to resources that compacts don’t. has it they even attack and attempt to consume their Created
Whereas a second-tier hunter cell probably has to resort to masters. (Traits for these Created may be drawn from the erinyes
chopping up silverware to load into shotgun shells, Task Force: found on p. 182 of Hunter: The Vigil.)
VALKYRIE operatives get boxes of silver-loaded rounds. Local None of this is especially common; a cell of Aegis hunt-
hunters argue over whether a priest of a given denomination can ers that crosses paths with a Promethean isn’t likely to try and
really perform an exorcism, while the Ascending Ones just need to kill it for its relics — even if they correctly identify the monster
know what the demon likes to eat so they choose the right poison. is one of the Created. It’s more likely the hunters will be ag-
And yet, for all that, most conspiracies tend to have the gressive because of Disquiet. A few minutes of observation or
same problems with Prometheans that the varying compacts conversation, and the hunters will likely assume that this super-
do: inevitability. A strong-willed hunter can resist Disquiet…for natural being either knows some mages or may be one itself.
a while. The Wasteland’s creep is manageable…temporarily. A By the time the hunters move in for the kill, they’re acting on
Promethean can be burned to nothing — but it might require the assumption that this monster is somehow connected to the
more than one fire to finish the job. most powerful spellcasters in the area.
Each of the sections below include a short excerpt from
the journal of one of the Prometheans detailed at the end of New Relic: Orpheus’ Eye ( )
this chapter, as well as some notes on how that conspiracy inter- In Greek myth, Orpheus was the child of Calliope, the muse
acts with the Created. Instead of the archive section, however, of epic poetry. Legend has it that the muse’s songs could melt the
we present an Endowment for each, which can be used against heart of the God of the Underworld, tame Cerberus, and make
Prometheans or like creatures. stones weep. Orpheus’ tale is a tragic one, though; he lost the love
of his life in a moment of doubt, and was eventually torn to pieces
Aegis Kai Doru by the Maenads. Some Prometheans believe they are Orpheus’ de-
The skinchangers came to dance with me. Three of them, two scendants, claiming that his dismemberment was the first step in
females and a male, wearing the form of great wolves. They followed his rebirth as one of the Created. If this is the case, Orpheus must
the Furies to me, and there I stood, covered in the blood of the bystand- have wandered the world in his reawakened state with a single eye
ers, the dance completed — but who was I to refuse Furies-made-flesh? — because the Aegis Kai Doru possess the other one.
We danced together, the spirits whirling and howling. Suddenly, I felt Orpheus’ Eye appears to be made of glass, but it grows warm
fresh blood on my face. The werewolf that had been running next to me was to the touch very quickly. Held in the palm of the hand, it allows
gone. Rather, half her head was. I never heard the shot. Her companions the bearer to see spirits and ghosts. The Eye also twitches when-
scattered, and I stood dumbly looking up into the night. The next round ever a song is playing, and responds to soft, haunting melodies or
struck me in the chest, and as I sank into blackness, I heard the Furies mournful compositions performed by string instruments.
laugh. They weren’t laughing at me, though. They were laughing at the Benefit: Anyone can activate the Eye’s power by holding it
hunters, wasting time shooting me when the wolves were flanking them. and then concentrating for a moment. As long as the user is touch-
— from the journal of Orestes Vrettos ing it and maintains her concentration, she can see into Twilight.
She cannot physically interact with Twilight entities, however.
The Aegis Kai Doru typically hunts mages and werewolves.
They have their reasons, but it’s more or less irrelevant from the Ascending Ones
Created’s perspective. Hunters being hunters, though, some- I really could have loved Hamza. I think he might have been sane,
times the Aegis Kai Doru takes on other targets. And some- which for me is like finding a unicorn. We met one night in a park. I
times, as in the incident Vrettos relates, they make mistakes.
don’t know why he was there. I assumed for the same reason I was — it
This conspiracy has no problem making use of or hoarding was a cruising park. But we met, and we walked, and we got to talking.
magic items made for, by, or out of other supernatural beings. He was Muslim, and he never exactly tried to convert me, but he made
The Heart of Stone (p. 181 of Hunter: The Vigil) clearly il- a big point of telling me that his faith recognized things like angels and
lustrates that the Aegis Kai Doru has had contact with the Cre- demons, but they could find peace in Allah, if they wanted to submit.
ated. What, then, would compel this conspiracy to hunt them?
He used that word a few times — “submit.” And he said it with
It’s not common knowledge, but the strange energy that enough gravitas that I didn’t giggle, which is a big deal.
animates the Created — called Azoth — can imbue items as well I was really, really hoping he’d kiss me goodnight.
as the Prometheans themselves. These so-called “Azothic Ob-
jects” don’t normally display the overt effects that other Relics — from the journal of Walter Wilde
do. For the most part, they’re simply tools that are more du- The Ascending Ones protect humanity from monsters —
rable and useful than other mundane objects. However, the Ae- not just from their predations, but from knowing about them.
gis Kai Doru’s records also reveal that such objects change into They imbibe poison to keep them safe, and break the law to
monsters and attack people when a Promethean commands it. serve the greater good. They are paradoxical in many ways, one
A bit of scrap metal or a chunk of wood comes to life, grows of which is that they are more likely to protect a Promethean
legs and takes on a face complete with a mouthful of fangs, than to attempt to kill it.

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