Hierarchy Lore

Wraith: | Main Page | VSS | Characters | Hierarchy | Heretics | Renegades | Ferrymen | Lores | Brisbane Necropolis

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Sources:

• Wraith: The Oblivion (MET) - WtO
• Wraith: The Book of Legions - WtBoL

Hierarchy Lore x1

• You know the capital of the Hierarchy is Stygia
• You know the common names of the eight Deathlords
• You know the common deaths and which Legions they are assigned to
• You know the basic details concerning the eight primary Legions and can describe them in terms of what is written in WtO
• You know the common reasons a wraith is considered a Renegade and can describe them in terms of what it is in WtO
• You know the common reasons a wraith is considered a Heretic and can describe them in terms of what it is in WtO, you also know of the three primary Heresies - Fishers, The Host and Children of the Green.
• You know that weak wraiths are made into Thralls to prevent them feeding Oblivion.
• You know that Soulforging is a method of molding a wraith into an object such as an Obolus, furniture, clothing or implements or weapons.
• You know that most goods in the Shadowlands and Stygia are made of souls using Soulforging.
• You know that Soulforging is used as a final punishment for criminals
• You know that some goods made from souls have special properties imparted to them by their makers and these are called Artefacts.
• You know sometimes items that are buried or destroyed in the living world can cross over to the Shadowlands, these are referred to as Relics.
• You know that ranking Hierarchy officials wear masks, you can recognise masks of your Legion officials from your Necropolis
• You have heard of the Ferrymen
• You have heard about Charon, the missing Emperor
• You know of the Dictum Mortuum, that in simple terms it forbids contact with the living world

Hierarchy Lore x2

• You know the story of how the Lady of Fate chose Charon and placed a mighty task upon him to build Stygia
• You know Stygia was built around the time of the Roman Republic set upon the Isle of Sorrows
• You know that Stygia built the roads through the Tempest called Byways using soulforged bricks
• You know some of the nicknames for the Deathlords, though you also know they should not be used in public
• You know of the uncommon deaths and the disputed deaths and the Deathlords who dispute them
• You know the Fishers were the first organised Heretics and that they were once welcome in Stygia, until they betrayed Charon.
• You know there are Rivalries and loose alliances between the Primary Legions and you know which Legion(s) your Legion usually gets along with.
• You know the tale of how Charon gifted the Island of Eurydice to the Lady of Fate
• You know the system of Thralls, how Thralldom is only a temporary state for wraiths if they can prove they can withstand Oblivion.
• You know that Oboli do not feel pain any more though they occasionally moan it is considered a reflex action. You know that an Obolus that is split up to make change will try to rejoin its other parts to be whole.
• Soul steel is a metal forged from plasm, whether that is wraith, spectre or even the bodies of plasmic creatures.
• You know that there is a special ore used by Artificers they mix with soul steel to make Stygian Steel.
• You know that there are some Arcanoi that enable wraiths to create relics by destroying objects in the Skinlands.
• You know of the destruction of the Dark Kingdom of Obsidian caused by Spectres accompanying the explorers.
• You know of the huge toll in lives of the Great War. You know this was a period of social upheaval in Stygia as the dead came in vast numbers.
• You know That Charon created the Ferrymen and they all swore a solemn oath to protect wraiths against Oblivion.
• You know Barghests were once wraiths
• You know the exact terms of the Dictum Mortuum and the interpretation of your Legion

Hierarchy Lore x3

• You know of the Special Orders of your Legion
• You know the legends of Charon becoming the first Ferryman at the charge of of the Lady of Fate and of his solitary journeys through the Tempest and his coming upon the River Styx and the Isle of Sorrows.
• You know of the attempted coup by the Guilds during the renaissance period of the Quick and Charon's Breaking of the Guilds
• You know when Stygia was being built it was styled off the Roman Republic. That entire buildings crossed the shroud when they were destroyed and were integrated into Stygia.
• You know that in the early decades there were wild horses that roamed the banks of the Styx and they were captured and trained to serve the Knights known as Equites
• You know the stories of Nuhdri and the First Descent of Charon to free the legendary smith
• You know of and how to use Artefacts of the Hierarchy such as Stygian Armour, Weapons and the Manacles known as Nhudri's Embrace
• You know of the Veinous Stair and that Death Iron is mined there. You also know that it is a direct path into the Labyrinth and that it is guarded night and day.
• You know Death Iron is the material that is combined by skilled Artificers with Soul Plasm and worked into Stygian Steel.
• You know the Great Library of Stygia contains, among other things, the Great Library of Alexandria as well as countless lesser libraries destroyed during the conquest of empires in the Skinlands.
• You know that Spectres Skinrode many of the explorers to the new world, as well as many Hertic Wraiths, and together they destroyed the Dark Kingdom of Obsidian - the Underworld of the New World.
• You know of the dark Kingdoms of Jade (Asia), Clay (Australia), Ivory (Africa), Les Invisibles (Caribbean), City of Delights (India) and The Sea which Knows No Sun (Polynesia). You have heard rumours that the Dark Kingdom of Obsidian might not have been completely destroyed.
• You know that the Smiling Lord attempted a coup during World War I of the Quick, the vast numbers of those killed by Violence swelled his ranks and he made a bid for the Seat of Emperor. The leadership of many legions were sent to the forges or Oblivion as Necropolis after Necropolis fell to coups orchestrated by the Smiling Lord.
• You know that a balancing force emerged when the Spanish 'flu killed 1% of the world's population in 1918-19. The Skeletal Lord's Legions swelled with the dead and he stood in opposition to the Smiling Lord's ambition.
• You have either visited your own Deathlord's Seat or know a great deal about it, as described in WtBoL.
• You know of the Hierarchy-only Arts that are available for any Arcanos you know, even if you only have a Basic Art.
• You know how Barghests are created and that it is usually the fate of uncontrollably violent wraiths
• You know the various interpretations of the Dictum Mortuum employed by the eight Legions

Hierarchy Lore x4

• You know the legends of Charon's 's origin amongst the dead of Mycenae
• You know of some of the landmarks of Stygia
• You know part of the charge laid upon him by the Lady of fate was to guide all wraiths towards Transcendence
• You know the story of Charon's End, how he went out and faced the Malfean Gorool in the Bay of Tears
• You know the Lady of Fate has not been seen since Charon's disappearance
• You know that Stygia was expanded during the Great War to the islands about the Isle of Sorrows to account for the vast numbers of the Dead. It was during this time the Legions pushed out from the centre of Stygia and fashioned their own strongholds on the outskirts of the Isle of Sorrows.
• You know the inner power plays amongst the Guilds during the attempted Guild Coup of the Renaissance
• You have heard detailed tales, you may even have visited, the Veinous Stair
• You have heard rumours that a portion of the Dark Kingdom of Obsidian may yet endure
• You have heard tales of many smaller Dark Kingdoms in the Dark Kingdom of Clay; that it is not one homogenous island in the Tempest
• You know the inner politics of the Smiling Lord's coup attempt during the Great War
• You know of the Soulbook of the Legions – the Imprimatur, and its reputed valuable lore
• You know that Loyalty Blades have an unusual effect upon the behaviour of their bearers
• You know of the uncommon Special Orders and have heard rumours of some secret orders
• You know the details of all the Seats of the Deathlords and may have visited one or two.
• You know from first-hand accounts, or you have visited yourself, the inner workings and layout of the Onyx Tower
• You have heard tales of wraiths, talented in Keening, kidnapped and made into Barghests

Hierarchy Lore x5

• You have either read extensively or actually walked the streets of Stygia
• You know, by first-hand tales or research in the Great Library, of the Fishers agreement with Charon
• You know various versions of the Fishers' Betrayal of their agreement with Charon
• You know of Charon's formation of the Ferrymen and have seen a version of the Oath they took
• You know of the The Shining Ones journey to the Far Shores
• You know several versions of the tales of the Betrayal of the Shining Ones and their abuse of the faithful
• You have read several versions of the decay of the Far Shores
• You know the declaring of the Fishers as Heretics and the Betrayal of the Shining Ones was also when the Hierarchy began to abandon pursuit of Transcendence
• You have read several versions of hypothesised methods for Transcendence, all are contradictory
• You know what Loyalty Blades do, even if you own one yourself
• You have seen evidence that a portion of the Dark Kingdom of Obsidian survived the Flaying
• You know the awful secret of the Imprimatur
• You know the legends of the varying behaviour of several Deathlords and the suppositions this leads to
• You suspect strongly that the patterns of Arcanos use and unbroken facility with certain Arts makes it likely the Guilds are far from broken as most wraiths believe.
• You have heard or read a couple of rumours regarding a Citadel of Vampires within the Tempest.
• You have heard or read several observations concerning the true nature of Gorool and his relationship to Charon
• You know of some Secret Special orders and their assigned roles in the Legions
• You have heard some of the whispers concerning the Lady of Fate and her Ladies of Fate and what they resemble in structure and behaviour.

Wraith: | Main Page | VSS | Characters | Hierarchy | Heretics | Renegades | Ferrymen | Lores | Brisbane Necropolis

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