Carpe Blogiem: The Chronicles of Ceteri Primer – Setting History III

Ok. Here’s Part III. I’ll be talking about the ascendance of the succubi, the Blood Sin, the First Night War, the fall of the succubi, and the coming of the vampires.

Succubi (oh, my!)

When Lilith was forced to disband her army of followers much of her temporal power was lost as well. She’d carefully selected, trained in magic, and tightened her grip on her servants for thousands of years. Most of the fallen angels she seduced to her side went their own ways except for the six most loyal (Armers, Basasael, Bataryal, Danyal, and Rumyel). Using the Crucible she transmuted Michael’s curse (on all those cursed, not just the chosen few as she had hoped). It was Rumyel who discovered that sex with a mortal being allowed the changed curse to be transferred and thus the succubi were born. Using her remaining followers and her new “children” she carved out a secret kingdom in the lands of ancient Mesopotamia where humans were seen as food, playthings, or worse to her followers.

This would later be called “The Blood Sin” by occult scholars who viewed the transferal of this curse as one of the most damning things that could happen to a mortal. This would lead to the rise of the Forsaken (the offspring of these Fallen who would become succubi, vampires, and werewolves). The Fallen who thirsted for blood soon found that they could change mortals into creatures like themselves by exchanging blood (vampires), while those who craved flesh would change mortals with but a bite (varou or werewolves) – later on as the curse diluted this would be harder outside of a full moon). Additionally, the varou lasted the longest among the three Forsaken with their elders creating others almost 2000 years later (around the time of early Rome). For whatever reason, this resulted in werewolves being the only Forsaken who actually kept their immortal soul, though their cannibalistic tendencies tended to damn them to Hell. Thou Shalt Not Eat Thy Brother.

The vampires realized how quickly they could create others of their kind and the power that was passed down in doing so. They wanted what the succubi had and within a 100 years they had it.

The First Night War

Humans are scared of the dark for a reason and the first Night War has a lot to do with it. It lasted for centuries and left a mark on the human psyche and folk memory that persists to modern day. You got out into the dark, you probably stay there. Well, your corpse does anyways.

The First Night War was fought between the succubi and the vampires – mostly over humans since they are basically walking Happy Meals – and ended with the vampires shattering the succubi hold on civilization. It was brutal, nasty, and drawn out because despite their senthesate lenings, succubi make excellent warriors. Bloodlust is just another lust after all. The vampires were finally able to break the back of the demons by using the Sword of Tubal-Cain to kill her (or at least they thought they had – she’s a willy one that first wife of Adam). After Lilith was out of the picture her forces scattered as they sought to consolidate power and territory only to lose it to the vampires who proved to be surprisingly hierarchal (or not surprising, they are descended from angels after all who are organized into a hierarchy in Heaven). this allowed them to avoid infighting and pick off the stragglers one by one. Eventually they exterminated all Lilith’s Fallen but the seven lords of the succubi and a few stragglers. Then they went to work on humanity. Boy did they work on us. They are STILL working on us. Ever wonder if human beings are GMO compliant? Modern humans are nice and plump with sugary Diabetic blood just bursting right under their skin. Better make Drac’s a Blüd Lite. He’s on a diet.

The Ancient World

So at this point LOTS of things are happening and I’m just going to go down the list and give some of the ones I think are most interesting:

  • Raziel falls from Heaven somewhere in the year 600ish B.C. only to reascend later on (something that does, but rarely happens)
  • Romulus and Reamus found Rome, but Romulus kills his brother in exchange for eternal life from one of the Lords of Blood (the seven fallen angels who are the progenitors of the various vampire lines). Normally, this is impossible as one curse makes you immune to the other two. But Romulus switched sides forsaking his varou heritage. The Roman war machine becomes (eventually) the mortal military arm of the vampire nation.
  • All but Turel’s line of vampires is wiped out. Turel’s line are what most modern occult scholars refer to as “vampire” as the other lines are so vanishingly rare as to be extinct.
  • The Lords of the Moon (the progenitors of the varou) get annoyed with Rome and its puppetmasters and go on a recruiting spree in Germania that gives rise to the legendary Norse berserker.
  • Weyland the Smith creates the Nine Swords of Faerie
  • Weyland the Smith creates other things. Why? It’s Weyland. He creates mean-spirited artifacts that promise phenomenal cosmic powers . . . but offer only itty bitty living space.
  • Simon Magus creates Vallum seperating the lands of the dead more forcefully from the lands of the living after Lazarus rises
  • Jesus does his thing, Judas betrays him, Christ bears the cross, and he dies on it to save all of mankind from the Original Sin.

The Coming of Camelot

Merlin was among the most powerful sorcerers to have ever lived and what he did would change Ceteri forever. Part of the Conclave which held the Covenant sacred, Merlin learned words of power and secret knowledge until he had a vision about a king who would unite all the lands. This vision that lead him to Britannia. Here he met Uther Pendragon and offered him advice and assistance in his endeavor to unite all the disparate kingdoms. Merlin had hoped that Uther was the one in his vision, but grew disheartened as the warlord drank and whored. Eventually, Merlin gave up on him.

Years later, his visions came back – stronger than before – and led him to a lake. From it two women rose – Nimue and Vivian. The two Ladies of the Lake warned Merlin that the once and future king was coming soon and he must be prepared. Enchantresses (and some whispered faeries) who told Merlin of Weyland the Smith who forged two unbreakable swords of power. He gave one to them for keeping and gave the other to a warlord – Uther Pendragon to whom he’d pledged his service. Uthar grew mad with the power the sword gave him. It cut through armor, flesh, bone, and even stone as if it were the flimsiest of materials. While in Uthar’s service (who much preferred the more level-headed Aurelius Ambrosius), Merlin would steal Stonehenge from the sidhe, help Uthar sire Arthur with Igraine (then the wife of Uthar’s enemy Gorlis), and repulse the Saxons. His enemies assembled against him and led him into a trap and the walls closed in. Eventually, Uthar grew ill and died, but not before he gave the crown to his long-lost son, Arthur, via writ. Arthur had been fostered with Sir Ector of the Forest Sauvage over the last 15 years. The sword he was given (Galatine) by Merlin was ensorcelled and placed within a large boulder. Only someone who was worthy could draw it (which would prove to be Arthur years later).

Picking Over the Bones

Oy. That’s another one down and it just keeps raining down with letters and words and punctuation and things. Any comments? Questions? I want to hear them.

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