Mythos

Augusta, Maine was a sleepy city with a low crime rate that was dealt with at a leisurely pace by the municipal police department. That is until one winter, when a spate of vicious crimes hit Augusta leaving a bloody trail of destruction in their wake. Murders, beatings, rapes and numerous muggings were perpetrated by what appeared to be a small gang of deviants. More crimes were committed in the first three weeks of the spree than had been recorded in the previous three years. Worse still, the gang proved to be incredibly elusive despite the best efforts of Lieutenant Jim Dugan. With a string of commendations to his name from his time in Chicago, Jim was expected to break the gang within a week. Three months later, the stress was really beginning to show on Jim and his team.

Salvaged by the crew of HMS Nautilus from an Enlightened vessel adrift in the Mediterranean, Drum was discovered in a shipping container marked as 'Aberrant Technology' - likely to be examined and disassembled. This large Automata was apparently built for mechanised labour but Erasmus Darwin made the contraption his own personal project, tinkering for hours on end. He envisaged the machine being used by the Nautilus to operate in the deepest parts of the oceans where no human can travel safely, let alone explore or recover wreckage. After several weeks, Darwin managed to coax the temperamental machine back to full operational capacity albeit with more than a handful of glitches. His barrel-like carapace earned him the nickname of 'Drum' and it was clear that he exhibited a sense of self-awareness that Erasmus and the other engineers had never seen in any Automata before. Fascinated as to the nature of this 'personality', Captain Nimue offered the Automata the opportunity to join her crew. Surprised at being treated like a human, Drum paused momentarily before enthusiastically choosing to stay and make the Nautilus his home.

Associate members of the Covenant of the Enlightened do not enjoy the respect or prestige that Covenant Peers do, but they are often the ones who do most of the leg work. In order to be officially recognised as an associate of a Peer, an individual will have to put in hours of thankless research and errand running for their sponsoring Peer. Of course like all who are drawn to the Enlightened, being in possession of a keen mind and a drive to push the boundaries of human understanding is a prerequisite. But associates often lack the opportunity or financial means to secure an actual Peerage in the Covenant.<p>Girauld Eres was one such associate, a Parisian naturalist who had developed into a minor celebrity as he toured Paris society with his collection of primates. Girauld's real passion lay in animal physiology and his personal menagerie was home to some impressive specimens. Showing a talent for specimen capture, he was approached by Warwick Hudson and earned a sponsorship into the Covenant as an associate following his collaboration on the spectral containment technology with Hudson and Katherine Holst.</p>

The future may not be read with impunity. The threads of destiny for a person are wrapped through the days of their lives, known only to the omniscient beings known to their followers as the Fates. The secrets of the Fates are hidden from the eyes of mere mortals and only those with the gift of Mythos may begin to lift that veil. For the Odani people, as servants to the Fates, the gift of foresight is passed down through the female line. From Mother to Daughter, the ability to see that what will be has allowed the Travellers to remain healthy, wealthy and wise. Of course, it has the added benefit of staying one step ahead of any authorities that wish to limit their nomadic lifestyle. The Odani camp moves from the outskirts of neighbouring towns across America, never staying more than a few days at any location. On arrival, the extended families of the Odani set up their stalls with attractions and shows to entice locals to part with a few dollars in the name of entertainment. The highlight of the Odani Traveller?s arrival is the dazzling performances beneath their canvas tent. Colourful, exotic and always greeting visitors with a toothy smile, the demeanour of the Odani is designed to beguile the public. In the Shadow War, the knowledge of the Fates combined with skilful misdirection is one of the Odani?s strengths which, they hope, will enable them to survive the ruin of humanity. To this end, it is often the case that a handful of local people will go missing shortly after the wagons of the Odani leave town. Usually, such disappearances go unreported and unremarked. Those that vanish are often from the fringes of society or have led a difficult life up to that point. The gift of the Odani means that the fate of their victims are already known to the travellers from the moment they meet them. Each of the disappeared would inadvertently or directly contribute to some great calamity in the Odani?s future. But destiny is a fickle creature and for each life taken and each doom averted, a new ill omen seems to materialise cursing the Odani to redouble their efforts in the face of this oncoming storm. If there is one thing the Odani are learning over the generations, it is that you cannot cheat the Fates.

Knowledge is power, so the adage goes. To the adepts of the Priory, this is a literal truth as they have been curating their knowledge of Mythos for generations. It is the power by which humanity will be saved from the predations of the Old Ones. Over the millennia, shamans, soothsayers, skalds and scholars held the keys to the power of Mythos but were unaware of its greater purpose. Those fortunate few used it sparingly and merely glimpsed behind the curtain to barely retain their sanity. As humanity became increasingly arrogant in their own manifest destiny, this precious lore of Mythos was discarded in favour of technology, and the illusion of safety created by our increasingly modern world. So the Priory have been charged by their mysterious coordinator Madame Adrestia to remember the old dangers that still lurk in the shadows and to fight it at every turn.

Born under the Raj in Delhi, Rani Nimue had a turbulent childhood. Her English-born father worked for the diplomatic service and moved across the country to wherever Her Majesty required him, his wife and only child dutifully following. At the height of the Indian Mutiny, Rani’s mother was killed and her father was faced with the difficult task of raising his daughter alone. Seeing to it that she was educated by a succession of governesses and tutors, her father proudly saw her grow into a beautiful and fiercely intelligent woman. Rani secretly harboured a wanderlust and restlessness that, added to the stifling restrictions of Victorian society brewed within her until she was fit to either explode or run away and leave it all behind. Eventually her love for the swaggering Outlaw Broad Arrow Jack, after a chance encounter in the Port of Bombay, twisted her father’s pride to shame when, at the age of sixteen, she ran away with the pirate and was not heard from again for nearly a decade.