Wraiths are the spirits of men,
women and children who died with unfinished business. They hold onto their existence
by grasping at the straws of their lives, often physical manifestations of memories
called fetters. They live, as it were, in the Dead lands, a part of the umbral
spirit world where a strictly hierarchal society dictates the laws by which
all Wraiths exist. The Underworld made up of several distinct areas, the Far
Shores, the Tempest, Stygia and the Shadow lands, and other Dark Kingdoms populated
by the dead of other cultures. Waiting beyond these Realms, lays Oblivion, the
silent end or the snuffing of the candle's flame. When a Wraith falls into the
clutches of oblivion, she ceases to exist wholly, leaving nothing behind but
the memories of friends, lovers and enemies. While the Wraith exists, a haunting
chill might be generated from a photograph on her boyfriend's bathroom mirror,
but once swallowed by oblivion, only fond remembrance remains. Recently, the
underworld was shaken to the foundations by the explosions of three relic nukes.
Wraith society is in shambles. Almost all the leaders of the realms and guilds
have been swallowed by oblivion, leaving little but rubble. A few survivors
cling to the ruined cities and eek out an even drearier existence, searching
for one another. The mighty realms of the Shadow lands are no more.
Many wraiths were cast forcefully through the shroud, to continue impossible
and unknown lives in the skin lands.
Virtually every Stygian citizen belongs
to a Legion, or did before the bombs went off. legions are quasi-military organizations
complete with huge bureaucracies.
The Silent Legion
The victims of Despair.
The Legion of Paupers
The victims of Mystery
The Emerald Legion
The victims of Happenstance
The Grim Legion
The victims of Violence
The Iron Legion
The victims of Old Age
The Penitent Legion
The victims of Madness
The Skeletal Legion
The victims of Pestilence
The Legions of Fate
The victims of Fate
While the Guilds have been smashed by recent events, they will return in one form or another. The traditions of the Arcanoi will not easily be forgotten, and these organizations and ways may well come again to power.
The Harbingers
The practioners of Argos came together as a gathering of messengers in the distant
past. The Guild carried messages for the Stygin government and aided lost or
besieged wraiths.
The Pardoners
The Pardoners, masters of Castigate, are much needed. Their power over the shadow
is known throughout the dark lands. Many view this group as more a cult than
a Guild.
The Proctors
With the skill of embodiment, the Proctors' very natures lead them to betray
the code of Charon. With the enforcers of that law gone, they experience an
unfamiliar freedom.
The Oracles
Until recently, the Oracles, seers of fate, enjoyed excellent treatment. Now
they are viewed with suspicion. Many survivors wonder why the Oracles did not
intervene to stop the destruction of Stygia.
The Alchemists
The Alchemist's experiments into the energy and substance of ether led them
to be distrusted initially, but their ability to obtain relics and protect fetishes
soon improved their popularity. With conditions as they are today, these masters
of flux find themselves adrift.
The Artificers
These masters of the inanimate claimed to be the eldest of guilds. Now, they
find themselves as scattered and disorganized as the rest.
The Solicitors
These subtle and shadowed workers of intimation were hunted for their ability
to unravel even the deepest secrets. Now, they are free to practice their strange
powers with impunity.
The Chanteurs
These musicians were once held dear by the mightest of Stygia's citizens. Too
few have survived the recent troubles.
The Monitors
Monitors once enjoyed considerable power over the legions of lesser wraiths,
but there are no more legions to control. They gaze in their sleep upon the
ruins of once-proud Stygia.
The Mnemoi
Excellent spies and investigators, these masters of memory once served the judiciary.
All they seem to remember now is agony and destruction.
The Masquers
Manipulators of plasm, these wraiths enjoy much power. Their ability to mold
the very 'flesh' of the underworld is considered a valuable tool, both aesthetically
and combatively.
The Spooks
The Spooks are responsible for much of what mankind knows of ghosts. Their ability
to manipulate objects in the skinlands and informal organization may have served
them well in recent times.
The Haunters
Mad and misanthropic, these chaos-ridden wraiths may be more comfortable than
any others in the wasteland that is modern Stygia.
The Sandmen
Once a mighty group, the remnants of the Sandmen's Guild are at a loss. Without
a culture to enjoy their arts, they wander the wastes blindly.
The Puppeteers
Perhaps more practitioners of puppetry made their way through the shroud than
workers in other arts, but there is little to confirm this suspicion.
The Usurers
The Usurers, masters of Pathos and Corpus may perhaps have been the center of
Stygian society. They have lost more than most