CYANAHIM, the Keepers
the Keepers of Fate, or the Cyanahim, are coordinators, planners, and sometimes, assassins on behalf of the Church. Their mission is to eliminate any obstacle in the way of achieving the Holy Orders, the perfection of the Throne of God on Earth. Unlike the other Covenants, Keepers claim to be in regular and close contact with the Archangel Cyaniel, who takes a personal interest in assisting the order. They perceive Cyaniel’s will by interpreting portents and omens, but chiefly through astrological signs. They further assist the Archangel by curving the sacred seal of the Eye of Cyaniel upon hidden surfaces, which allows the Archangel an additional vantage from which to view the world and refine Their approach.
The Keepers are known to have conspiracies spanning across years and multitudes, carefully recording and acting on behalf of Cyaniel’s will once they have received a portent from Them. In times they act through manipulation of events, carefully conditioning circumstances until outcomes favor their cause. Their ability to anticipate the actions and decisions of others allows them to force their foes into positions where the danger they represent simply fails to manifest.
In other cases, Keepers act more directly, eliminating a threat through a surgical application of violence. When acting in accordance with the plan of Cyaniel on behalf of the holy future of the Throne, such acts of violence are morally clean, as they are not against the greater good of humanity, but in concert with it. If the Keepers do their job well – and they usually do – it never comes to such a thing; instead the mark of the Eye is all that remains of evidence that there was ever a threat to begin with, gone now from a carefully pruned path of fate.
Keepers are known to be very mysterious, spending long periods alone in stargazing or reflection, often from a very high tower or other vantage, and often speaking very little and revealing even less. When asked why, the Keepers are characteristically vague, but it is believed by some that as they act as the tool of fate, every action they take ripples out into the infinite, potentially changing the course of history. Those endowed with such a profound mission must take every care not to influence events in a way that puts it outside the control of their order.
THE Last Testament of Decimus
Covenant of Silence
A Member of the Cyanahim must never reveal a secret that they know.
The Cyanahim Covenant does not include private personal information about themselves, but does include anything about any other subject that is known by very few people, or learned illicitly. This also means they can never explain their own motives for a request or an action if doing so means they must reveal secret information.
Keepers may earn a Cyanahim Achievement whenever they drive out or defeat a conspiracy or threat to the goals of the Throne. Cyanahim Achievements may be spent as Priest Achievements, or to learn the Sacred Rites of Cyaniel.
Rank 1
Eye of Cyaniel
Draw an eye of blessing
The divine sees all and knows all. To see through His eyes is to be everywhere. His protection upon all his gaze falls upon.
Ritual: The Priest draws the Seal of Cyaniel. This eye watches over and protects those gathered. The Priest then marks those gathered with a mixture of chalk and water on the forehead, watching over those marked in their place in fate.
Props: Chalk, chalk-water or eye pencil
Effect: All anointed gain Hope equal to the Priest’s Rank for the day.
The Shrouded Eye
Gain subtlety in action.
A lifetime of misdeeds had given me skill, but at times I asked even Cyaniel to turn his gaze from me, not for shame, but in mercy, and at these times I drew strength knowing I still acted in accordance with his wishes.
Ritual: The Priest rests in meditation in a place with an unobstructed view of the night sky, whichever place is the most open or highest up. The Priest begs Cyaniel to look away for the task they must next do, and state this task. They conclude the ritual by covering their head, hiding themselves from his gaze.
Prop: A piece of hooded clothing.
Effect: The Priest gains an ability that they may use once this night in pursuit of their stated task, or immediately after completing it. So long as no one is looking directly at them within speaking distance, the Priest may use the Ignore gesture and immediately vanish from the area, as per the Escape ability.
A Priest using the Shrouded Eye does not appear in the Stargaze ritual or any other form of divination.
Cyaniel
Archangel of Fate, Unity, Prophecy, and Stars
Vindication
Avoid Wrath for killing specific person.
My hate for the man was real. It blinded me, burned me, consumed me. I begged for fate to bring him death, to punish him so that I need not violate another. Cyaniel answered me, put my hate inside my blade instead of my heart. Cyaniel made my hatred clean. I, like my blade, am but the tool of fate.
Ritual: The Priest inscribes upon the intended bladed weapon the real name of a person who will the be target of the ritual. Once inscribed, a deep cut on the palm of the dominant hand will tie the fates of the Priest and the target together.
Props: Weapon, red marker or stage blood for cut
Effect: Cutting the hand causes the limb Pain which lasts until Rest. Once the knife is blessed, the Priest may cut their hand again at any time, taking the same effect. If the character indicated by the name on the blade (which must indeed be their real name) is currently in the local area, the Priest will know.
If the weapon is used to kill the target, and the named target was one of the following:
A character with the Devotions Hatred or Chaos: the Church, or Hatred or Chaos: the Throne, or one of it’s countries
A character who is Anathema
A character who is a witch
A character who actively harmed or killed an agent of the Church in the last year
then the Priest gains no Wrath for this action.
Only one person may be tied to a weapon at a time. If the weapon is used for any target other than the intended, the Ritual ceases to work and the Wrath is assigned as normal.
Witness Fate
Learn an individual’s place in fate.
My hands need guidance, for as a man I am weak. I cannot see as the archangels see, I can not know the nature of man. Show me their heart.
Ritual: The Priest holds both of the subject’s hands and whispers a prayer to Cyaniel for understanding and insight.
Props: None
Mechanic: The priest learns the Devotion of the individual upon whom they are performing the ritual
Rank 2
Fate of One
Gain insight into the flow of future success.
Ritual: Over the course of a scene, while sitting in the highest available place, the Priest studies the weather, clouds and stars and makes interpretations over future events, then goes to sleep holding a leonem.
Props: Leonem, sleeping
Effect: The Priest determines the fated time to perform certain actions. After consulting Staff about a future intended Trial, the Priest is given a specific time at which to undergo said Trial. If the Priest and all companions they intend to bring on the Trial with them are present and ready to begin at the preordained time, everyone gains Hope equal to the priest’s Rank for the duration of the Trial.
Conspire with Fate
Learn how to intervene to satisfy Fate.
Ritual: At night, the Priest performs a lonely walk around the outskirts of town, making one complete circuit, alone. The Priest prays to Cyaniel with an outcome in mind, studying the sounds, the wind, the bird sounds and the stars.
Props: None
Effect: The Priest asks for guidance from Cyaniel with a task they are seeking to accomplish. They explain to a Staff member the outcome they are trying to achieve, and any relevant information which they have about this task. The Staff member formulate their own plan, utilizing all of their top-down knowledge, and reveal to the player the single next step which they must take in order to affect this plan. The Priest receives no justification to how this step will help their cause, and the wisdom they receive may seem confusing or unclear, they must trust in the guidance of Cyaniel if they wish to affect their outcome. What the Priest discovers through this divine guidance, though not the act of seeking guidance itself, is considered a secret for the purposes of the Cyanahim Covenant.
After the step they were given has been completed (or failed), the Priest must wait a full day in order to confer with Cyaniel on that same topic.
If this ritual is used for the same topic sooner than a day after the previous event is completed, the answer divined is always to simply wait and see what develops. Performing this Ritual also constitutes Praying for the desired outcome for the purposes of the Prayer ability, and may generate Hope as per the Zeal Skill.
Stargaze
Judge current events by the stars.
Ritual: The Priest spends at least one hour in silent contemplation of the stars, studying the hidden truths concealed in their positions and movements. The rite must be performed from the highest available location, with a good view of the sky.
Props: 2-way radio (or phone) and an OOC spotter.
Effect: Success on the ritual indicates successful measurement and calculations of the stars, which reveals information that is quite specific to the Priest. The Priest can know that a certain person is leaving a building, that a certain treasure is being placed in a stone chest, or that a target is sleeping in the bed of another, so long as the sight is currently happening within view of an already placed Eye of Cyaniel, which may be viewed by a spotter.
Once the ritual is complete, the Priest may continue to “watch” an area so long as they continue to stargaze. The information gained is visual and generalized – the Priest does not learn the exact words of a conversation, only that a conversation is occurring, and between whom.
Rank 3
Align Fate
Delegate the work of Fate to your subordinates
Ritual: The Priest and their subordinate, who must be their Follower (per Morale), stand in shadow. The Priest draws the Eye of Cyaniel upon their palm, and pours holy water into a silver cup with that hand. The Priest then gives a single order to her Follower, which must be a task or part of a task received with Conspire with Fate. The Priest then hands the cup to her subordinate. The order may be as specific as the Priest wishes, but the subordinate may not ask any questions or express any concerns. They drink the holy water from the cup.
Effect: The individual must begin to carry out the task they are given. As soon as they question the order verbally, or express concern, the ritual ends. For the rest of the evening, or until the above conditions, the Follower may be in the Devoted condition.
Midnight Revelation
Know the location of a person or object during the next Chapter.
As I stood in the bathing pool beneath the palace garden, blade red in hand, I looked up past my hood to the sky above. My victim’s words had confused me, and I found myself out of leads and answers. As I stared at the moon reflected in the bloodied waters of the pool, I knew what I must do next.
Ritual: The Priest prays over a pool of holy water, at least as wide as a man. The priest watches the progression of the moon in the pool as it travels through the night sky. As the moon passes over the pool, the priest drops a folded note written in wet ink with the true name of the person or object to be located and a few drops of blood, not from the Priest. After a few moments, the Priest draws the note out of the pool with a silver rod and unfolds it. Smeared in the ink will be a representation of the night sky in the location where the subject will be upon the next full moon, including the placement of the moon.
Props: Note, silver rod.
Effect: The Priest’s knowledge of astrology gives them insight into the location, revealing a specific city or small region that the subject will be in.
Dance of Masks
The group stays hidden as one.
Even as the sky cloaked in starry black is still blue under its midnight shroud, so too are the righteous who cloak themselves in cape, cowl and mask.
Ritual: Each member participating in this ritual wears the same cape cowl and mask. The Eye of Cyaniel is marked on the inside of the mask.
Props: Cape, cowls and masks for each participant.
Effect: When the Priest enters Stealth, participants of this Ritual may enter Stealth at the same time and location. They may watch from that position, and at any time that they can still see the Priest, elect to immediately use the Ignore sign to directly to their immediate location, as if they had been following in Stealth all along.
Rank 4
Unify Fate
Forge a shared fate with your allies
My brethren had done as I asked, believing the prophecy of the Archangel and their place in fate. They had spread across the Throne and killed in the name of the Lord, had ended the threat of these mysterious men and their Order. But the threat had not truly ended – too many had escaped into the shadows, too many loose ends left untied. My time was almost over; in seven days, the Knights Fenris would have me. I swore my followers to the service of fate to continue the vigil in my stead.
Ritual: Seven conspirators, including the Priest, clasp their arms and hands together to form the Eye of Cyaniel. The Priest concisely states the goal of the conspiracy once, then each member repeats the goal one at a time. As each member speaks the goal, the Priest cuts the palm of that one’s hand with a silver knife and allows their blood to fall on a flat surface below. They repeat the goal themselves and cut their own hand last. The blood that falls trickles into the shape of the Eye of Cyaniel, and becomes extremely difficult to wash away.
Props: knife
Effect: All of the conspirators gain a new, additional Order or Chaos Devotion for the long-term goal that you set yourselves toward. The subjects of this ritual may enter the Devoted state when appropriate, and may earn Personal Achievements.
Collapse Fate
Destroy an Organization by killing its Leader
There is no sin of a master not shared by his servant. Each man bears the personal responsibility to act against evil with every measure of force than they can muster. When a man acts against evil, he acts in accordance with God and adds the power of the Lord to his act of righteousness. Nothing can stand against the might of the Lord. No man can put asunder what God’s fate has decreed.
Ritual: The Priest or one of his conspirators within the cabal created by Unify Fate, must kill the target and place the mark of Cyaniel on their forehead. The assassination must occur in such a way that the murder is dramatic and obvious to all, such killing a duke while he addresses his city or stringing a corrupt whaler upon his own harpoons. The murder must be discovered fairly immediately and dramatically for the effect to work and often the Cyanahim contrive perfect moment with much planning.
Props: None
Effect: The Organization the character was a part of goes into calamity and disarray. If the target was an Officer in an Organization, any Ally within their group leaves when they die. If the target was an Organization’s Leader, the entire Organization disbands, with all Agents leaving. Killing a military Commander causes any Forces they control to desert or return home.
Rank 5
Vengeance
Ensure loyalty through fear, or give a sinner one last chance.
Ritual: Tattoo the Eye of Cyaniel over the heart of a subject and whisper a prayer of binding to Cyaniel. At any time after that point, the Priest may write the name of the subject on a piece of paper and burn it, speaking the same prayer.
Props: Tattoo markings
Effect: Within one hour, the subject will die under mysterious circumstances. They may fall to their death in an unlucky accident, or may simply take their own life without much explanation.
