Midnight
Caste
In the resplendent darkness of the
midnight hour, when the Unconquered Sun lies dead until his morning
resurrection, there is only the glory of the night and the quiet echoes within
the shadows. And so do the Midnight Caste evangelize
the glory of death and give voice to the echoing whispers of the Abyss,
spreading the gospel of the Malfeans and revealing
their wisdom and power — the unfettered power of death itself — to all who will
listen.
In the Underworld, the Midnight Castes
serve as the high priests of the Deathlords. They
preach the power and the glory of death and inspire both the living and the
dead to follow the will of the Deathlords and,
through them, the Malfeans. Servants of the Deathlords often look to members of the Midnight Caste for
spiritual leadership, seeking the wisdom and the dark blessings of their dead
gods. Faith sustains the Children of Silence through all hardship, even the
anguish of never knowing the glory of true death. So great is the faith of the
Midnight Castes that they have taken upon themselves the burden of eternal life
so that they may further teach of the power and glory of Oblivion.
When sent among the lands of the living,
the Midnight Caste works to reveal the glory of death to those who have yet to
feel its embrace. Some seek spectacular demonstrations of death’s ultimate
might, murdering entire cities and turning entire regions into blighted
wastelands. Others are more subtle, establishing hidden death cults so that
they may instruct mortals in the worship of the Deathlords
and the Malfeans. These cults grow like carefully
nurtured cancer in the living world, offering a source of spies, assassins and
even Essence to those Abyssals whose dark work takes
them outside of the Underworld.
Abyssals of the Midnight Caste are chosen from among
those who truly believe in the inevitable triumph of death and who desire to
spread this understanding to others by any means necessary. Every member of the
Midnight Caste hears the whispers of the Malfeans
upon their Exaltation. The dark and forbidden secrets granted to the newborn
Children of Silence place within them a cold resolve, acting as an impenetrable
icy core of faith at the center of their being.
Within a Circle, members of the Midnight
Caste become a bulwark of faith and confidence for their compatriots. Their
tireless devotion to the will of the Deathlords and
the Malfeans enables the Children of Silence to
withstand tests that would break the wills of the less zealous, and their dark
charisma allows them to inspire others to new heights of loyalty and fanaticism.
Anima Banner: Midnight Caste Abyssals
bear a large, black circular Caste Mark branded upon their brow. During large
expenditures of Peripheral Essence, this circle will bleed along the edges.
Their animas are a black so deep that it seem like
nothing less than a hole in the Tapestry.
Anima Effects: The Midnight Caste is empowered with the
unholy might of the Deathlords’ dark gods. With but a
touch, these Exalted can cause the bodies of the fallen to rise as zombies. A
character spends 5 motes of Essence and touches a body, and it awakens and
rises by the end of the scene. Such zombies are of permanent duration and are
always extras.
An Abyssal may also strike down mortals
with an icy glance. As her action for a turn, the Exalted may channel 5 motes
of Essence through her anima and indicate a normal mortal within 10 yards. She
then does her Essence as dice of unsoakable
aggravated damage against the target. This power has no effect on Fair Folk,
Exalted or other magical beings.
Caste Abilities: Members of the Midnight Caste hold a
unique understanding of death that enables them to survive that which would
destroy the less-enlightened, as well as to spread their faith to others. They
have a natural affinity for the Abilities of Endurance, Performance, Presence,
Resistance and Survival.
Associations: The season of summer, the colors yellow
and cobalt, the southern direction, the ghost-element of jade and the half moon
Sobriquets: They Who Speak Blasphemous Truths, Echoes
of the Abyss, Children of Silence, Resplendent Darkness
Concepts: Death-cult leader, physician, Deathlord’s strong right hand, voice of the Malfeans, deranged hermit, dark herald, spiritual advisor
Come to me
and drink the
blood of
my robes. It is
the
chalice of Oblivion
and sweet
milk to the
parched
lips of those
who
suffer. Drink, oh
sufferer,
and know peace.