Fantasy [Lore] Enigma United Library

[TheAmbiguousStoryteller]

The organization known as Enigma united has existed for nearly 900 years. In that time they have amassed some of the most dangerous and sought-out items in human history. This will serve as an index for anyone who might be interested in learning more about the lore and the mysteries behind Enigma United. Here you will find some historical context and references that can be used to help investigators. This thread can also be used for players who are interested and want to make a character but need a little more understanding of the world Enigma United operates within. We can start with a popular choice. Vampires. I will regularly update this lore page with all kinds of information.

Vampires
Not all vampires are evil creatures that thirst for human blood. In fact, scattered around the world, there are vampire communities that live with humans peacefully. There is a local blood bank where they can get their blood without alarming any of the other citizens. Though there are still those vampires that are bad. They live in the old ways, oftentimes they aren't what they appear. Jeffery Dahmer. He was a vampire. True story. Vampires have various magical abilities. Hypnosis, enhanced speed, enhanced strength, the strongest of vampires are known to have shapeshifting and telekinetic abilities though Enigma has never encountered such vampire.

The First Vampire
Only a vampire can create another vampire, so logic tells us that the history of vampires begins with a single vampire who created the others. Much like the chicken-and-the-egg argument, we had little insight into how the first vampire came about until recently.
The answer lies in the Scriptures of Delhi, specifically in the collection of writings known as "The Vampire Bible". Refer to the library for more information.
The first vampire started out as not a vampire at all, but as a human man named Ambrogio. He was an Italian-born adventurer whose fate brought him to Delphi, in Greece. You can read the full story here, but in a nutshell, a series of blessings and curses transformed this young man into history's first vampire.

The first vampire clan
Ambrogio later moved back to Italy, now as a full-fledged vampire. Legend traces him to the city of Florence (Firenze), where he creates the first Vampire Clan.
We don't know a whole lot about this clan, other than they were most likely willing volunteers - humans who wanted power and immortality and were willing to trade their souls for it. It was believed that the curse would continue for any vampire where their souls would remain in the Underworld (aka Hades aka Hell), where they could return to claim them, but then could never leave.
From what we know of the history of vampires, the clan grew in size and strength, until infighting created something of a "civil war" within the clan, and many vampires left to form their own clans.
What happened to Ambrogio and those who stayed with him is largely unknown, though many believe that he still resides somewhere in Florence.

Strengths
Immortality, Superhuman strength and speed, Levitation, Hypnosis, Enhanced Senses, Predatory tactics, Magic, Rapid Healing, are just some of the strengths and powers of vampires, not all vampires have the same abilities and not all vampires obtain these abilities in the same way.
Just as humans have certain inherent skills and abilities, so do vampires. However, these inherent skills and abilities are not necessarily the same ones that they had as human beings. The change from human to vampire results in something of a "new birth", and with that comes new abilities and ways of thinking.
Psychic powers such as mind-reading and seeing the future are among the more likely of these traits, as is the ability to see spirits and even communicate with the dead. This is most likely because vampires themselves exist somewhere between life and death. Like people who have had near-death experiences (or technically died and were resuscitated), there seems to be a stronger connection to the spirit world with those who have neared it themselves.
Artemis, taking pity on the poor young man, gave him the gift of immortality. He would carry his curses - his skin burning by sunlight or silver, but he would live forever in his current form. Not only that, but Artemis also gave him the speed and strength to become a hunter whose skills were second only to her own.

Weaknesses
Sunlight has some historical truth to it though it has some mythological ties to the vampires in how it became they would turn into as if in direct sunlight. This is an exert from the vampire bible in the Enigma United Library: The sun god, Apollo, who in a fit of rage cursed Ambrogio so that his skin would burn should it ever touch sunlight again. There have been reports of vampires being out in the daylight, this requires the vampire to have strong magical powers especially in the enchantment department. Or they should have a friend who is equally as skilled. The only way for vampires to walk into the sunlight is to have a magically enchanted piece of jewelry.

Silver has a unique place in vampire mythology as the single, solid, naturally occurring substance that can injure a vampire. The ultraviolet rays of sunlight can harm a vampire, as can fire but these are all substances that have to be "created" in order to be used. We can create machines that emit ultraviolet rays, and we can start fires, but all of these require planning or specific chemical reactions in order to exist. Silver is a naturally occurring mineral that, in and of itself, can be dangerous to vampires Though the most effective ways of killing a vampire are iron or wooden stake through the heart Silver will burn and slow the vampire’s healing but not directly kill it unless in really high amounts. Silver bullets will only hurt and probably make the vampire angry. Another Exert from the Vampire bible: The next curse came via Apollo's sister Artemis, the goddess of the moon and hunting, who made it so that Ambrogio's skin would burn if he touched silver.

How to Kill a Vampire
By far the easiest way to kill a vampire is via direct sunlight. Even before the first vampire became the first vampire, he was cursed to forever have to hide from the sun. Any skin of a vampire that comes in contact with direct sunlight will be severely burned.
There is a certain vampire book series popular with today's youth that insists that vampires can, in fact, be in direct sunlight. Rather than burn, their skin supposedly sparkles. While I don't want to burst anyone's dreamy fantasies, this is simply not true. Vampires burn in sunlight. Always have, always will.
Getting a vampire in direct sunlight for about 10 seconds will kill any vampire Unless they have some sort of magic item that protects them from sunlight but those vampires and generally very old and very powerful with arcane and occult magics. Actually getting one into direct sunlight is not so easy. If you can somehow trick or trap a vampire in a place where they will eventually be exposed to direct sunlight, you're golden. The problem with this plan is that vampires are very fast, very strong, and generally very smart. They aren't going to simply let you stick them in a place where they don't want to be and stay there.

Still a classic method, the wooden stake from an oak tree remains one of the best tools to use for vampire killing. Really, all a wooden stake is a piece of wood with one edge sharp enough to pierce human flesh. Or inhuman flesh in this case. A vampire can heal from most injuries, but a wooden stake made from oak through the heart is not one of them. Though they heal quickly, their skin and bones are just as fragile as any humans, so the key to killing them is to make it so they can't heal.

If you're going to use fire to kill a vampire, you're going to need to have a big fire and have the vampire stuck in it for a long time. Probably, say, an hour to be safe, though about a half-hour will usually do the trick. This is because the vampire heals as it burns. The hotter the fire, the faster it burns, but you're still basically trying to beat the speed of the vampire's healing process. Should the vampire be mostly burnt but then escape the fire, it can still survive.

Spoiler: Amgrogio's Portrait 1812

 

[TheAmbiguousStoryteller]

Ghosts, Demons and Angels

For as long as human beings have been self-aware, it seems they have also been aware of ghosts. The concept of ghosts and ghost stories dates far back into human history and has captivated and mystified generations’ human race.
A rustle in the bushes, the sound of something creaking, and the anxiety entwined in our instinct to survive - makes us see or feel things that may not be there. But also, in addition to this, the human belief that something beyond death could exist.

What is a ghost?
What we understand as a ghost today has its roots in the myths and beliefs of ancient cultures. Ghosts were and sometimes still are believed to be the spirit of a person after the body has died.
Because of these beliefs, funeral rituals initially took place and were practised as a passage of rights to the next world, a way to say goodbye and prevent the spirit from remaining on Earth and ‘haunting’ the living.
Further to this, ghosts’ existence is believed because of the human experience of feeling haunted or being in the presence of a spirit. This can range from hearing, seeing or other unexplainable spooky happenings. For example, an inanimate object that moves freely of its own accord is often cited as being caused by a ghost.
Not all ghosts that cause harm to the living are evil; some spirits are unaware of being dead and lash out at the residence without realizing they are dead. These ghosts are referred to as wraiths. They can be challenging to deal with in some instances. Some spirits act as memories replaying events repeatedly; they are harmless aside from a good scare. Other ghosts are intelligent and want to cause harm to the living; these ghosts are often referred to as Phantoms. Phantoms are the most complex spirits to deal with as they understand that as spirits, they have the choice to cross over. It is significantly more complicated to deal with phantoms than any other form of a spectre. Phantoms and wraiths are both classified as poltergeists. They can inflict harm and even kill the living. Phantoms depending on who they were in life, may even have some magical capabilities. There is no way to kill a ghost, though there are methods of trapping them. Or forcing them to move on. The more intelligent the spirit, the harder this will be. Ghosts cannot cross a solid line of salt and because of the magnetic properties of iron. Ghosts who are powerful enough to form physical apparitions will have their forms scattered. It takes time for the spirit to produce that energy though it will only make them angry. Ghosts do not have to be visible to harm people. They can throw inanimate objects of various sizes depending on their power, and if they generate enough energy, they can even physically harm the living from beyond the grave. Some phantoms can even take control of the living and force their will upon the person being possessed. But this is quite difficult for a ghost and usually only lasts between 1 minute to an hour.

Demons
What is a demon?
demons can be divided into two classes: Guardians and Wanderers. Guardians are tied to a specific place; their demonic activity is topographically defined, and their function can be benevolent towards those who have the secret knowledge to face them. Demons protecting the underworld may prevent human souls from entering paradise. Only by knowing the suitable charms is the deceased able to enter heaven. Here, the guardian demons’ aggressive nature is motivated by protecting their abodes and not by their evil essence. Accordingly, demons guarded sacred places or the gates to the netherworld. These demons are servants of the 12 or act as protectors from those who were foolish enough to wander into their domain.
The wanderers are associated with possession, mental illness, death and plagues. Many of them serve as executioners for the significant deities when ordered to punish humans on earth or in the netherworld. Wanderers can also be agents of chaos, arising from the world beyond creation to bring about misfortune and suffering without any divine instructions, led only by evil motivations. The wanderers’ influences can be warded off and kept at the human world’s borders by using magic, but they can never be destroyed. Wanderers’ subcategories are nightmare demons, which were believed to cause nightmares by entering a human body. In short, Demons are not as we perceive them. They do not have human emotions and do not have the same interest. In history, people have had different beliefs about demons. It is said that before man existed when titans walked the earth. There was a great rebellion in the angels that created the original 12 demons. These 12 demons have collected human souls creating more demons. But all demons we know today came from the original 12 and the 12 were once angels.

Other types of demons
Djinn or Genies are commonly accepted as a type of demon; they are known for being malevolent but not in a more mischievous way. They grant wishes to people who either find or trap them. But those foolish enough to make a deal with a Djinn for a desire and not knowing how to make things work in their favour are often deceived and lead to their deaths by the Djinn. Demons like ghosts do not have physical bodies of their own. But unlike ghosts, demons have never had a physical body and cannot produce an image of their physical appearance. In contrast to spirits demons can take possession of a living body quite easily. Even live as the person they are possessing. Demons are considered a form of a parasitic relationship. If the host dies, the demon is forced out of the body. Demons are affected the same way ghosts are when Iron is used on them. When a person is possessed by a demon iron will burn their skin.

Angels
Traditionally when people think of angels they think of celestial beings that are good in nature. That is only a half-truth. Angels are not benevolent beings like people think. Rather they are keepers of knowledge. They do not have emotion and only intervene in human conflicts when needed. There was a time when angels were superior beings. Then there was a great rebellion that created the 12 fallen. The fallen are 12 angels that taught humans forbidden knowledge and ultimately gave them the power to wield magic. Though it came at a price. Humans began to kill each other for the knowledge that the fallen had given them. The angels who remained ascended cast the 12 from the realm forcing them into the realm of chaos. The dark forces of chaos had altered the angels and turned them into what people call demons. These original 12 demons blamed humans for being sent to the chaos realm. Because it was the angels that created these demons they feel a responsibility to keep humanity safe from these demons. Thus it was decided that 3 angels would take human avatars and keep the 12 from escaping the realm of chaos. These 3 angels were known as the messengers. Like demons, they have had many names throughout human history but they always have referenced in trinity. Sadly like Enigma United, There are organizations and groups that wish to free the 12 demons. It is Enigma United’s mission with the trinity to stop these organizations from opening the gates to the realm of chaos. Angels like demons have never had a physical body so while they can interact with the human world in order to exist within the physical world they have to possess humans. Though it is different from a demon possessing a human, angels possessing humans do not harm the human under their possession. Angels are affected the same way that ghosts are when forms of iron are used against them. Though a person under the possession of an angel is invulnerable as the angel can heal them almost instantly. But a person with the expertise could banish an angel to the chaos realms.​