Grey
Dialectical Hermeticist
Their shrines dot the countryside. Their temples are in hidden places. Their monastery has never been looked upon by the uninitiated. The Holy Order of Eotre is an ancient sect of warrior monks, paragons of martial excellence trained from childhood to fight the creatures of darkness. The Order is said to have been founded over 1000 years ago by a divine warrior named Eotre. Blessed by The Old Gods, Eotre was a man of impressive stature, beautiful in aspect and fearsome in battle. Artwork in the Eotran Monastery depicts him bathed in a golden light and bearing a fiery sword.
Training begins at age 8, sometimes younger, when a child from any background – often an orphan, or bastard – is taken to the Monastery. They are trained in meditation, martial arts, and the Lore of the Old Gods. At 11, they are assigned a mentor. At the age of 21 a Monk must fight and kill a Vampire in single combat, and are awarded with a Blessed Dagger, a symbol of their duty and heritage. These weapons are said to have been forged from the bones of the Old Gods, and are formed of a single piece of material which resembles ivory or highly polished bone, inlaid with jewels. Blessed Daggers never break, blunt, or chip, and cannot be carved with runes. Eotran Monks wander the countryside, observing a vow of poverty, and sworn to protect the weak. They are men and women of incredible willpower, wisdom, and self-control.
The Monastery itself is located on an island far off the east coast. Travel is effected by the Gates – within the Monastery are 12 stone archways, arranged in a circle. Each one is a magical portal to a corresponding Shrine on the mainland of northern Imeria, said to be gifts from the god Saganas. The existence of the Gates is a closely guarded secret.
Monks honour The Old Gods and accept the Book of Creation as their holy text. According to the Monks, the world was ruled justly by the Old Gods, until mortals dared to try and steal divinity for themselves. Whatever the specifics, it is said that these traitors become the first Vampires, and waged a war that tore apart the Empire. Disgusted, the Old Gods turned their back on mankind, and returned to The Beyond.
Monks see it as their duty to purge the taint of Vampirism in atonement for the sins of the past.
Viewing themselves as weapons of the gods, Monks abandon personal names in favour of titles, such as Sublime Expression of Righteous Fury, or Ascendant Blade of Dawn.
The Order is led, spirtually at least, by the Abbot. Below him are the Grandmasters of the Eotran Martial Arts. And below them are the ten or so full fledged Monks and their acolytes, and below them the recruits. Monks rarely survive long enough for their numbers to swell, and no Monk is more dangerous than an old Monk.
Martial Arts – Appropriate combination of Melee/Unarmed/Ranged/Evasion/Parry
Enlightenment – Lore, Awareness
Doctrine – Raises with other Perks
The Order possesses a number of magical Runes and Mantras they can use for powerful effects, along with a selection of Martial Arts styles which allow them to face monsters one-on-one.
Runes and Mantras function differently to other Perks – Each Bar in Enlightenment comes with a free Rune effect or Mantra, but you can also buy additional Runes and Mantras using experience. For example, the first Bar allows only one Rune, Second Bar grants a second Rune, and allows you to buy a third, Third Bar grants another free Rune, and allows you to buy two more for a total of three.
Lesser Runes – 5 XP each, each subsequent purchase costs 2XP more but increases effect
Lesser Runes of Accuracy - + 1 success to hit. Cannot be improved
Lesser Runes of Destruction - +4 Damage to Vampires, each purchase adds +2
Lesser Runes of Speed - + 1 to speed with weapon. Cannot be improved above +3
Tattoo Runes:
Lesser Runes of Warding + 5 Natural Armour, +1 per additional purchase
Runes of Speed: + 2 to Speed, cannot be improved
Mantras: 10 XP each
Mantra of Freedom – Domination Resistance, +2
Mantra of Clarity – Negates the bonuses received from Shadowmeld
Mantra of Protection – Minor resistance to vampiric powers, +1
Mantra of Purity – Minor resistance to Magic, +1
Doctrine
Failure to uphold these doctrines results in -1 reductions in all Eotran Runes and Mantras per violation. Additionally, any ability above 3rd Bar ceases to function following two or more violations. More obviously supernatural effects of Eotran Martial Arts fade entirely. This fall from grace is permanent, for the Gods do not forgive. Bars in Doctrine increase relative to Bars in Enlightenment, and grant + 1 to all Rune or Mantra effects.
1st Bar: Purity Through Austerity
The Monk must observe a vow of poverty.
2nd Bar: Respect Through Humility
The Monk must aid the innocent, the weak, and the helpless.
3rd Bar: Strength Through Purity
The Monk cannot wear armour.
4th Bar: Purpose Through Strength
The Monk must obey the orders of an ally more skilled than she.
5th Bar: Indomitability Through Purpose
The Monk cannot allow himself to be defeated.
The First Enlightenment – The Wrath of the Ancients
The First Enlightenment is an understanding and appreciation of the Principles that govern the world, an internalisation of those interconnections and influences on the spin and sway of all things.
From this comes the most simple, but most potent and ubiquitous of Eotran Martial Arts – The Wrath of the Ancients Style.
A balanced and efficient style, Wrath of the Ancients employs very specific weapons – the Blessed Dagger and Blessed Sword, forged from the bones of the murdered god and able to grievously wound Vampires. Only these weapons grant the power of this enlightenment, as they act as a channel for the gods' favour, their recognition of the wielder's comprehension.
The Enlightenment of Galathas – Storm of Fire
Creation and destruction are inseperable. In order to create anew and prevent stagnation, there must be a cleansing. The very motion of life is the twinned act of birth and death, the twirl and pulse of the cosmos burns away and burns to be. The cycle is silence, and song, and cacophony, and silence. As the impurity and the degredation increase, the ire of the Fire Dragon rises, and in furious anger all is laid waste. From the ashes, a meadow grows.
There is beauty and terror in the conflagration. One must understand the love of doom, and the love of ascendance. One must understand fury, the basalt-cool and earthcore heat. The ebb and flow, rise and fall.
Singularity of being through duality of action.
The Enlightenment of Adjukant – Vengeful Dragon Style
The highest Principle is Eternity. All things descend from the realisation of infinite scope and ultimate power. Defiance is the prerogative of the royal, the ruling, the noble, yet nobility is not a gift of birth but a realisation of potentiality. A ruling king sees his equal in no other, or he rules nothing. One must always be greater, and always defiant of that which would cast down one's works and ambitions. Yet subtlety is key, for a deliberate rebellion will break any like a wave against the shores of eternity. One must be at once of regal aspect and humble demeanour, that those with ambitions to rule you will strike in jealousy and disrespect – and as they do so, be punished for such temerity by the very fact of your being.
The Enlightenment of Virdina – Sword of Heaven Style
Ambition is a self-fulfilling prophecy, and you are the prophet of your glory, and of Virdina's Light. As Eotre himself fought, you fight – a beacon of hope and inspiration, a warrior without peer against whom darkness cannot stand. The struggle for enlightenment betters you, and may teach those around you to better themselves, but it is a goal one must attain alone. There are many stars in the sky, but only one sun.
The Enlightenment of The Bitter Wind – Mirthless Whistling Wind Style
Strength in suffering. There are many interpretation of that truth. Those who feel the greatest affinity for the Bitter Wind – whose name is never to be spoken lest her terrible attentions befall you – argue that strength is suffering. That hardship is like a whetstone, like a knife, carving away the weakness of the soul until only the immutable core remains pure and unbreakable. Only by suffering can one understand respite, only in the depths of despair can hope taste sweetest.
The Enlightenment of Rion – Harmony of Creation Style
All things are one. Rion sacrificed itself in forging the world, and in this way bound all things together. Everything acts in harmony, all things touch upon all else. Creation is a song with every step and drop and stone a note in the symphony. Adherents of Rion embrace this philosophy wholeheartedly, having a bent toward signs, omens, and connections. They take nothing for granted, dismiss no event as pure coicidence. Most, at least, wait for an occult signifier before attaching much to an event, but one or two exist in a constant state of paranoid observation, consulting the Deck of Names twice a day.
The Enlightenment of Kelijak – Iron Warrior Style
Kelijak is the constructor and integrator. His aspects include protection and endurance, and his adherents take these aspects to heart. Iron Warriors are by nature reserved, but courageous and principled. They will often put themselves at risk to protect others, but at the same time can seem almost callous in their requests of allies – they emphasize the importance of the whole in practical terms and often serve as a cool-headed voice reason who recognizes hierarchy and the roles of individuals as part of a larger whole.
The Enlightenment of Jura – Fang & Talon Style
Nature is red in tooth and claw, and Jura's enlightenment teaches no differently. All things strive to be – not to some ideal, not to improve, but to survive and express their personal legend. Fang & Talon practitioners are intense, idiosyncratic people who embrace their appetites with gusto and do not shy away from violence. This style allows some variations- some Fang & Talon stylists are more cunning and prefer ambush tactics, while others fight in a bestial fury like an enraged bear. Adherents of Jura are some of the rarest Monks, and among the least likely to directly assist people when the opportunity to help them better themselves presents itself.
The Enlightenment of Saganas – Falling Star Style
Saganas is called Planeshaper and Stagemaster, the architect of the firmament. Saganas' enlightenment is about timing and position. Understanding the interrelationships of things in a less spiritual and holistic manner than Rion. Position, movement, angles and distances, the restrictions and advantages of the environment.
The Enlightenment of Mytherion
All Things End. The ominous words spoken at the birth of the Void-Dragon inform this philosophy as much as his Principle. Like a dark mirror of his peers, Mytherion’s wisdom is to destroy so that they are given meaning, impetus, closure. Galathas’s cycle requires a period of quiescence. Jura requires the opposition of Death. Even Adjukant requires the reminder that his works may be cast down, even if he is eternal. True adherents of this Enlightenment were lost during the Night War, and so none remains to teach it.
The Enlightenment of Hune
Hune is order and judgement. Hune is definition and control. Yet Hune is also chaos and disorder. Hune is the paradox of stability and function in a world ruled by chance and uncertainty. Hune’s Enlightenment fell out of favour for this reason - it is difficult for the mortal mind to comprehend, as it demands they remain nothing until they choose to become something, a kind of emptiness that can be filled at any instant with absolute precision. It is akin to being both enraged and overjoyed, and yet neither, until one state or the other has been judged as ideal and thus adopted fully.
The Enlightenment of Querene
Querene is the origin of thought, and speaks of knowledge as the truest power. It speaks of the body as an extension of the mind, a tool to be used and ideally, discarded. One must externalize their thoughts, and forge their mind into a weapon. Their will and mind must act as one and independently, no longer constrained by the flesh.
The Enlightenment of Koranas
This is perhaps the most internalized philosophy of the Eotran religion. It is about attaining a wholeness of self; a perfect understanding of oneself in every aspect. It requires dramatic actions; to go into battle, or greet a lover, speaking with friends. Afterwards, the adherent will spend hours in contemplation, analyzing their every action, seeking to understand why they struck a blow, or why they kissed then, or why they spoke that word. Similarly to Hune’s enlightenment, this philosophy ultimately is about the correct action.
Training begins at age 8, sometimes younger, when a child from any background – often an orphan, or bastard – is taken to the Monastery. They are trained in meditation, martial arts, and the Lore of the Old Gods. At 11, they are assigned a mentor. At the age of 21 a Monk must fight and kill a Vampire in single combat, and are awarded with a Blessed Dagger, a symbol of their duty and heritage. These weapons are said to have been forged from the bones of the Old Gods, and are formed of a single piece of material which resembles ivory or highly polished bone, inlaid with jewels. Blessed Daggers never break, blunt, or chip, and cannot be carved with runes. Eotran Monks wander the countryside, observing a vow of poverty, and sworn to protect the weak. They are men and women of incredible willpower, wisdom, and self-control.
The Monastery itself is located on an island far off the east coast. Travel is effected by the Gates – within the Monastery are 12 stone archways, arranged in a circle. Each one is a magical portal to a corresponding Shrine on the mainland of northern Imeria, said to be gifts from the god Saganas. The existence of the Gates is a closely guarded secret.
Monks honour The Old Gods and accept the Book of Creation as their holy text. According to the Monks, the world was ruled justly by the Old Gods, until mortals dared to try and steal divinity for themselves. Whatever the specifics, it is said that these traitors become the first Vampires, and waged a war that tore apart the Empire. Disgusted, the Old Gods turned their back on mankind, and returned to The Beyond.
Monks see it as their duty to purge the taint of Vampirism in atonement for the sins of the past.
Viewing themselves as weapons of the gods, Monks abandon personal names in favour of titles, such as Sublime Expression of Righteous Fury, or Ascendant Blade of Dawn.
The Order is led, spirtually at least, by the Abbot. Below him are the Grandmasters of the Eotran Martial Arts. And below them are the ten or so full fledged Monks and their acolytes, and below them the recruits. Monks rarely survive long enough for their numbers to swell, and no Monk is more dangerous than an old Monk.
Martial Arts – Appropriate combination of Melee/Unarmed/Ranged/Evasion/Parry
Enlightenment – Lore, Awareness
Doctrine – Raises with other Perks
The Order possesses a number of magical Runes and Mantras they can use for powerful effects, along with a selection of Martial Arts styles which allow them to face monsters one-on-one.
Runes and Mantras function differently to other Perks – Each Bar in Enlightenment comes with a free Rune effect or Mantra, but you can also buy additional Runes and Mantras using experience. For example, the first Bar allows only one Rune, Second Bar grants a second Rune, and allows you to buy a third, Third Bar grants another free Rune, and allows you to buy two more for a total of three.
Lesser Runes – 5 XP each, each subsequent purchase costs 2XP more but increases effect
Lesser Runes of Accuracy - + 1 success to hit. Cannot be improved
Lesser Runes of Destruction - +4 Damage to Vampires, each purchase adds +2
Lesser Runes of Speed - + 1 to speed with weapon. Cannot be improved above +3
Tattoo Runes:
Lesser Runes of Warding + 5 Natural Armour, +1 per additional purchase
Runes of Speed: + 2 to Speed, cannot be improved
Mantras: 10 XP each
Mantra of Freedom – Domination Resistance, +2
Mantra of Clarity – Negates the bonuses received from Shadowmeld
Mantra of Protection – Minor resistance to vampiric powers, +1
Mantra of Purity – Minor resistance to Magic, +1
Doctrine
Failure to uphold these doctrines results in -1 reductions in all Eotran Runes and Mantras per violation. Additionally, any ability above 3rd Bar ceases to function following two or more violations. More obviously supernatural effects of Eotran Martial Arts fade entirely. This fall from grace is permanent, for the Gods do not forgive. Bars in Doctrine increase relative to Bars in Enlightenment, and grant + 1 to all Rune or Mantra effects.
1st Bar: Purity Through Austerity
The Monk must observe a vow of poverty.
2nd Bar: Respect Through Humility
The Monk must aid the innocent, the weak, and the helpless.
3rd Bar: Strength Through Purity
The Monk cannot wear armour.
4th Bar: Purpose Through Strength
The Monk must obey the orders of an ally more skilled than she.
5th Bar: Indomitability Through Purpose
The Monk cannot allow himself to be defeated.
The First Enlightenment – The Wrath of the Ancients
The First Enlightenment is an understanding and appreciation of the Principles that govern the world, an internalisation of those interconnections and influences on the spin and sway of all things.
From this comes the most simple, but most potent and ubiquitous of Eotran Martial Arts – The Wrath of the Ancients Style.
A balanced and efficient style, Wrath of the Ancients employs very specific weapons – the Blessed Dagger and Blessed Sword, forged from the bones of the murdered god and able to grievously wound Vampires. Only these weapons grant the power of this enlightenment, as they act as a channel for the gods' favour, their recognition of the wielder's comprehension.
The Enlightenment of Galathas – Storm of Fire
Creation and destruction are inseperable. In order to create anew and prevent stagnation, there must be a cleansing. The very motion of life is the twinned act of birth and death, the twirl and pulse of the cosmos burns away and burns to be. The cycle is silence, and song, and cacophony, and silence. As the impurity and the degredation increase, the ire of the Fire Dragon rises, and in furious anger all is laid waste. From the ashes, a meadow grows.
There is beauty and terror in the conflagration. One must understand the love of doom, and the love of ascendance. One must understand fury, the basalt-cool and earthcore heat. The ebb and flow, rise and fall.
Singularity of being through duality of action.
The Enlightenment of Adjukant – Vengeful Dragon Style
The highest Principle is Eternity. All things descend from the realisation of infinite scope and ultimate power. Defiance is the prerogative of the royal, the ruling, the noble, yet nobility is not a gift of birth but a realisation of potentiality. A ruling king sees his equal in no other, or he rules nothing. One must always be greater, and always defiant of that which would cast down one's works and ambitions. Yet subtlety is key, for a deliberate rebellion will break any like a wave against the shores of eternity. One must be at once of regal aspect and humble demeanour, that those with ambitions to rule you will strike in jealousy and disrespect – and as they do so, be punished for such temerity by the very fact of your being.
The Enlightenment of Virdina – Sword of Heaven Style
Ambition is a self-fulfilling prophecy, and you are the prophet of your glory, and of Virdina's Light. As Eotre himself fought, you fight – a beacon of hope and inspiration, a warrior without peer against whom darkness cannot stand. The struggle for enlightenment betters you, and may teach those around you to better themselves, but it is a goal one must attain alone. There are many stars in the sky, but only one sun.
The Enlightenment of The Bitter Wind – Mirthless Whistling Wind Style
Strength in suffering. There are many interpretation of that truth. Those who feel the greatest affinity for the Bitter Wind – whose name is never to be spoken lest her terrible attentions befall you – argue that strength is suffering. That hardship is like a whetstone, like a knife, carving away the weakness of the soul until only the immutable core remains pure and unbreakable. Only by suffering can one understand respite, only in the depths of despair can hope taste sweetest.
The Enlightenment of Rion – Harmony of Creation Style
All things are one. Rion sacrificed itself in forging the world, and in this way bound all things together. Everything acts in harmony, all things touch upon all else. Creation is a song with every step and drop and stone a note in the symphony. Adherents of Rion embrace this philosophy wholeheartedly, having a bent toward signs, omens, and connections. They take nothing for granted, dismiss no event as pure coicidence. Most, at least, wait for an occult signifier before attaching much to an event, but one or two exist in a constant state of paranoid observation, consulting the Deck of Names twice a day.
The Enlightenment of Kelijak – Iron Warrior Style
Kelijak is the constructor and integrator. His aspects include protection and endurance, and his adherents take these aspects to heart. Iron Warriors are by nature reserved, but courageous and principled. They will often put themselves at risk to protect others, but at the same time can seem almost callous in their requests of allies – they emphasize the importance of the whole in practical terms and often serve as a cool-headed voice reason who recognizes hierarchy and the roles of individuals as part of a larger whole.
The Enlightenment of Jura – Fang & Talon Style
Nature is red in tooth and claw, and Jura's enlightenment teaches no differently. All things strive to be – not to some ideal, not to improve, but to survive and express their personal legend. Fang & Talon practitioners are intense, idiosyncratic people who embrace their appetites with gusto and do not shy away from violence. This style allows some variations- some Fang & Talon stylists are more cunning and prefer ambush tactics, while others fight in a bestial fury like an enraged bear. Adherents of Jura are some of the rarest Monks, and among the least likely to directly assist people when the opportunity to help them better themselves presents itself.
The Enlightenment of Saganas – Falling Star Style
Saganas is called Planeshaper and Stagemaster, the architect of the firmament. Saganas' enlightenment is about timing and position. Understanding the interrelationships of things in a less spiritual and holistic manner than Rion. Position, movement, angles and distances, the restrictions and advantages of the environment.
The Enlightenment of Mytherion
All Things End. The ominous words spoken at the birth of the Void-Dragon inform this philosophy as much as his Principle. Like a dark mirror of his peers, Mytherion’s wisdom is to destroy so that they are given meaning, impetus, closure. Galathas’s cycle requires a period of quiescence. Jura requires the opposition of Death. Even Adjukant requires the reminder that his works may be cast down, even if he is eternal. True adherents of this Enlightenment were lost during the Night War, and so none remains to teach it.
The Enlightenment of Hune
Hune is order and judgement. Hune is definition and control. Yet Hune is also chaos and disorder. Hune is the paradox of stability and function in a world ruled by chance and uncertainty. Hune’s Enlightenment fell out of favour for this reason - it is difficult for the mortal mind to comprehend, as it demands they remain nothing until they choose to become something, a kind of emptiness that can be filled at any instant with absolute precision. It is akin to being both enraged and overjoyed, and yet neither, until one state or the other has been judged as ideal and thus adopted fully.
The Enlightenment of Querene
Querene is the origin of thought, and speaks of knowledge as the truest power. It speaks of the body as an extension of the mind, a tool to be used and ideally, discarded. One must externalize their thoughts, and forge their mind into a weapon. Their will and mind must act as one and independently, no longer constrained by the flesh.
The Enlightenment of Koranas
This is perhaps the most internalized philosophy of the Eotran religion. It is about attaining a wholeness of self; a perfect understanding of oneself in every aspect. It requires dramatic actions; to go into battle, or greet a lover, speaking with friends. Afterwards, the adherent will spend hours in contemplation, analyzing their every action, seeking to understand why they struck a blow, or why they kissed then, or why they spoke that word. Similarly to Hune’s enlightenment, this philosophy ultimately is about the correct action.