Page 50 - Hunter the Vigil - Mortal Remains

THE RESPOnSE

Because the compact can’t agree on what to do with a ditious and criminal disregard of the compact’s rules, under a
Changeling, the Long Night may subject a target to torturous mandate referred to as the “Alpdrück Errata.”
trials designed to prove just how human he is, just like the tests The reason for the Alpdrück Errata is simple: the True Fae
medieval witch hunters used during the Inquisition to rout out are ancient gods, and Arcadia is the Ultimate Source.
demonic forces. Changelings who perish in the process are be- Or, at least that’s what the heads of the Loyalists fear.
lieved to have retained their humanity — and their soul — and In their earliest searches, the Loyalists pored through folk-
are given proper posthumous respect. lore, myths, and legends, and found that every culture has told
Even among the Merciful, there is no possible way, however, their own tales of a race that walked amongst humanity, a race
that the more powerful Changelings can be redeemed. Once the who came before — the fae. Terrified that someone else might
Lost exhibits the full force of their supernatural powers, that dis- find this information and spark a vast genocide, Loyalists’ lead-
play is considered proof their souls are forfeit. As such, the fate ers simply forbade their members from researching the fae. The
of those Changelings is sealed, and the most merciful action the compact created false “truths” about the Lost, claiming they are
Long Night can take is to put them out of their misery so that a potentially infectious threat, and insist that all investigations
they cannot delve further onto the path of wickedness. on fae-related matters are to be handled by specialized teams,
From the Archives: From the earliest of times, we have known higher up in the organization. Teams that don’t exist.
that we were not alone on this earth. In the book of Genesis, God How has the compact managed to stop its oh-so-diligent
warns us of the Nephilim, supernatural beings that defiled the pure hunters from dealing with the fae? In truth, it hasn’t. Even with
and innocent among mankind, and spawned beings that looked like the Alpdrück Errata in place, it’s impossible to ensure that a
men but were stronger of body and more cunning of mind. Evil beings, loosely knit group of scholars scattered across the globe won’t
incapable of pure thought, of right action, of redemption. study the topic further. Still, just as the compact struggles to
In the time of the Great Flood, our Holy Father set out to banish make up for unforgivable wrongs committed decades ago by
these beings from the earth, drowning out their wicked influence on human- a splinter of their original research group, the current Loyalist
ity. In His mercy, He washed them from the face of the earth, exiling them leaders refuse to see the ineffectuality of their current path. In
from the lands of His children, where they could do no further harm. In- time, when the last of the current leadership trio has passed on,
stead of being grateful for His kindness, these Nephilim began to imagine the group’s prohibition against such studies will likely fade with
themselves as gods. Unfettered by His rule, they perverted the lands they’d them. Then, it will be up to a newer generation of Loyalists —
been cast into, making them into their own personal hells, wherein they those for whom the compact’s guilty ties with the founders of
might rule as profane kings unhampered by the ways of light and truth. the Nazi Party are second-hand — to decide how to progress in
Not content to reign in their own demon-realms, these Nephilim regards to their group’s historic quest for the Ultimate Source.
then came back into the world of God through devious means, and set From the Archives: I have obtained a copy of the text we’d
their traps amongst the mankind. They sought out those of weak will or discussed, and have handed it off to Johan for translation, his Old
uncertain spirit and corrupted these faithless in their own perverse image. Icelandic is better than mine. I am hoping that this contains the infor-
And many fell. In these end times, humanity is weak, and easily
tempted by promises of power, or knowledge which man was never mation we’ve been seeking, a confirmation of the references from the
last work Ms. Lawrence obtained for us.
meant to know. Countless have fallen. They are everywhere. In our As for the woman herself? She will not reveal her sources. As she
stores, our schools, our homes. has in the past, when I ask, she just smiles and shrugs. Further inquiry is
It is our holy duty to end the suffering of those who have fallen to
the Nephilim’s evil influence, and to protect His flocks from these foul equally demurred. I have tried bribery, flattery... The only thing that caught
creatures who would prey upon them. It is our covenant, to bring to a flicker of her interest, was when I hinted that I might be willing to trade
justice those who go against the light, and to serve as the shield against access to my own library, although you know that would never be allowed.
those who prey upon the weak in this battle between good and evil. In the end, she still refuses to connect me with her supplier, claim-
Let us pray. ing she’s just “found” the pieces she’s sold to us in that little hovel of
— From the sermons of Rev. Jackson Greene, Father of the Faithful a bookstore she runs. I’ve been through every inch of it — there’s no
way she’s hiding a cache of medieval texts between the Reader’s Digest
The Loyalists of Thule Condensed and the Encyclopedia Brittanicas.

The Loyalists of Thule’s official party line is that Change- My next step is blackmail. Everyone’s got secrets, and Ms. Law-
lings do not exist. Not as fae, at least. rence can be no different. I will find out what’s going on here. I just
The compact’s data refers to the Lost as a dangerous super- need a little more time.
natural race, of unknown and potentially contagious origins. I know that Hildebrand is calling for us to sever our ties with this
Compact Loyalists are never assigned to investigate situations contact, due to potential violation of the Alpdrück Errata. Just because
or topics related to the Hedge, Arcadia, hobgoblins, hedge- Ms. Lawrence is an expert in folklore related to verboten topics, that
beasts, or Changelings. Should such a matter come up on the does not mean we should avoid using such an obviously valuable re-
compact’s radar, all information and leads are to be passed up source. I will, of course, follow your orders in this matter, but I implore
the chain of command to Munich. you to give me just a few more weeks before remanding the situation to
Any cell that attempts to follow up on such leads will be Hildebrand’s attention.
severely reprimanded, and may potentially be censured, for se- — From a report by Malcolm Lehrer

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