In summary - there is longstanding evidence of the involvement of the di Gratiano Family in infernalist practices, possibly dating back to the fall of the Katari Empire. In recent years they have tended to only be peripherally involved in such things, typically acting as advisors and facilitators rather than as central figures in these cults. These recent cults have typically followed a path of gradual, spiralling corruption, and collapsed after a variable number of years, bringing about the ruin or death of those involved, at least in two cases due to deliberate sabotage by members of the di Gratiano family.
It is my assessment that the di Gratiano family have been deliberately cultivating and then destroying these cults for their own benefit. My preliminary analysis led be to believe that this was a strategy to disguise their own activities, and to pre-emptively eliminate other demonic cults in the area in order to maintain their own sphere of influence relatively undisturbed; however I am now of the opinion that the di Gratiano family - or, to be more precise, the entity currently posing as Anastasia di Gratiano - derives a direct benefit from the destruction of these cults, and that this may represent the fulfilling of some manner of infernal contract with the Nameless Gods.
I have not found any evidence to suggest that Anastasia di Gratiano poses a direct threat to the safety of the city of Cameri, of House Zaal, or of the Sovereignty as a whole; however, she has shown willingness to work with organisations which do present such a threat, and is in possession of a great deal of knowledge which render her inherently dangerous. It is impossible to say whether this has been for better or worse when all things are considered: her involvement may well make an organisation more dangerous, and more committed to plans that benefit the Hells; but likewise, her later sabotage of these same organisations would appear to significantly curtail their ability to achieve their goals. I also note that communion with the Daughters has revealed that Anastasia is not directly in the service of the Nameless Gods, and that it is not the will of the Daughters that she be destroyed.
I recommend that further surveillance is warranted, to better determine her nature and motives, though regret that the Gilded Tower is not in a position to carry out such surveillance in the longer term.
This document was authored by "
Levity of the Gilded Tower" in 1336 AK. Levity appears to be a pseudonym adopted by a skilled diviner and investigator, clearly of significant seniority. It appears to be a summary of intelligence gathered on the activities of the di Gratiano family, collected in response to a request made in 1335AK by
Agata Zaal, Duchess of Cameri and Matriarch of House Zaal. The request came in the midst of an investigation by the Gilded Tower into a group known as the
Society of the Sanguine Veil, a sinister cult that had some manner of connection to the di Gratiano family.
Summary of Contents
- The di Gratiano family have resided in Cameri since the time of the Katari Empire. They capitulated to the Alderni, and became a client house of House Zaal.
They were stripped of their nobility in 976AK following a scandal and allegations of demon worship, which were almost certainly true. They may have somehow been involved with the destruction of the “vampires of Nachtzahn” (the Dynasty of Varkos) in the 11th century, but the nature of any connection there is unclear.
- Since then, the family has had connections with a number of dubious ventures and morally-suspect groups. In recent years this has included an alliance with the “Crownless” gang, under the sway of the Rattenvanger Crime Family.
- Anastasia di Gratiano appears to have been something of an academic prodigy, and should be considered an expert in a number of fields including Blood Magic and demonology.
- She was in correspondence with an organisation called the “Carmine Pillar”, to whom she provided advice on several matters; she appears to have encouraged them to use methods which would corrupt them, and then deliberately undermined their efforts in order to ensure their failure. The Carmine Pillar that exists in 1344AK seems markedly different to the first organisation by that name, which appears to have died out in 1332, though there are more than a few similarities.
- Anastasia was thought to have died in 1331AK, but turned up alive two years later. Since then, she has rarely left the estate, though has continued to host social gatherings there.
- From 1334 to 1336, Anastasia di Gratiano was involved with a cult called the “Sanguine Veil”. Again, she appears to have encouraged them in their downward spiral, provided them with advice, and thoroughly sabotaged their efforts. The Sanguine Veil were almost entirely wiped out in 1336 following the Gilded Tower’s investigation.
Levity had belatedly concluded that Anastasia may not have been mortal, after she mentioned that she was harvesting souls as part of a “tithe”.
History of the di Gratiano Family
(see also:
di Gratiano Family)
- The di Gratiano family are extremely old, and can trace their genealogy back to the Katari Empire. The earliest reference is to the "Genearch of the Gratianoi" who held the "Dunasteria of Skatha Kamar" - the latter translating to "Citadel of the Vaults". A side note refers to Skatha Kamar as being the fortress now known as Castello Cameri, under which there are a series of dungeons and catacombs of Katari origin that have never been fully mapped, which form an undercity of sorts that is contiguous with various cellars and sewers which have been built since. It is unclear from context how deep these subterranean constructions may reach, and if they connect with Vash Ossai (which is not mentioned or hinted at in the report). The Dunasteria of Skatha Kamar is mentioned in another Katari source as “under the sway of Kyria Arachni”, which could be translated as “Mistress Spider” - a title attributed to the Lotus Queen.
- During the collapse of the Katari Empire, the Gratianoi turned against the Basilisk Queens and sided with the rebels. This is assessed as being an essentially pragmatic decision rather than an ideological one. The Gratianoi consolidated their power and effectively became the local rulers until the Alderni conquest. They capitulated to the Alderni forces, and one or two of them married into the newly formed House Zaal. The rest were elevated to the Low Nobility as House Gratiani-Zaal.
- House Gratiani-Zaal were stripped of their title and deeds in 976AK after a scandal in which they allegedly attempted to blackmail several of House Zaal's scions. It was rumoured at the time that the Gratiani were the ringleaders of an iniquitous sect of demon-worshippers; Levity assesses this as almost certainly the case, but that the details of the incident were suppressed by House Zaal in order to avoid the outcry that would have resulted should this have reached the ears of the other High Houses
- Even in the absence of noble rank, the Gratiani remained influential - and wealthy. Over the following decades they were able to reinvent themselves as a mercantile house, investing extensively in importing luxury goods from abroad. Though they were eventually somewhat sidelined by the growing power of the guilds, they retained a steady stream of income from ownership, or a controlling interest, in a number of businesses that were not guild-controlled.
- Over time they began to style themselves as "di Gratiano", following a fashion emerging in the latter part of the 13th century in the northern provinces. As with a number of the more prosperous mercantile families of Aldernord, they conduct their affairs in a similar manner to the houses of the Low Nobility, their wealth and influence granting them a certain degree of deference despite their lack of the legal privileges (and associated obligations) of nobility.
- As of 1336, the di Gratiano family owned a number of taverns, inns, and what Levity euphemistically refers to as “houses of pleasure”, and though an alliance with a criminal gang referred to as the “Crownless”, had effective control of the trade in narcotics in the city.
On the Crownless, Levity comments:
A widespread criminal network who have a presence in a number of cities in the Sovereignty and the rebellious provinces. For all that they are vicious cutpurses and scofflaws, they do - for the most part - follow a code of honour of a sort, brutal though it may be. Whilst they have little affection for the monarchy, they have broadly aligned themselves against the Savuran rebels, and on this basis we have developed an ‘understanding’ with several of their gangs. Their leader in Cameri is the self-styled ‘Rat Queen’, Coletta Rattenvanger, of whom I am sure you are aware.
The Old Cult
- Levity assesses that the di Gratiano have been practicing infernalism for centuries; it is plausible that their cult may have been active, in some form or another, since the time of the Katari Empire.
- The di Gratiano cult is likely to have been a familial cult for the majority of its existence, with the only new inductees being those who married into the family. This would be fairly typical, and is a pattern that has been observed in some other post-Katari demon cults.
- This likely changed at some point prior to the scandal of 976AK. The author suggests that there may have been a renegotiation of a familial pact after the fall of the Katari Empire, but that it would likely be impossible to corroborate this.
- In 976AK, the family was accused of worshipping two demonic beings in the service of the Lotus Queen - "the Hamatarchs of Indulgence and Intoxication, both creatures of Desire though their portfolios do contain elements akin to Apathy", who the author names as Azianka and Vrajalakku, and describes thusly:
On
Azianka:
though not as directly malevolent as some, is spiritually and socially dangerous due to her tendency to cultivate obsessionality in her followers. Unlike many demons, she neither commands nor demands anything - her gifts are given freely, and are all the more insidious for it. She encourages the pursuit of luxury and extravagance above all else, which becomes a balm for all woes, diverting energies that could be driven towards a higher purpose into the endless pursuit of decadence. Such things are acts of worship to her, and also to be considered a great balm to the troubled spirit. Those who do not fall completely under her sway but master the gifts that she gives for their own ends could easily turn those powers she grants towards manipulation of others - as perhaps occurred in 976AK
On
Vrajalakku:
is, if anything, worse than Azianka. She is associated with a particular numbing narcotic distilled from a species of lotus-flower grown in the Bay of Xendriti, which is said to provide the greatest bliss known to the mortal mind. It is, by all accounts, ruinously addictive. Though the use of such things as a method of control or influencing others are of course grave, the spiritual component of her corruption must of course not be overlooked. Vrajalakku teaches that the waking world is an accursed place, in which suffering and death are inevitable and evil is ever-present, but that the embrace of her blessed, blissful oblivion can render one immune to the horrors of reality. Furthermore, she is said to be able to guide souls toward some manner of “enlightenment” whilst under the power of this and similar narcotics - the nature of which is almost certainly entrapment within the Hell of Aiskapekos. The fact that her teachings regarding the inevitability of suffering and evil are in part correct only makes her more insidiously dangerous - indeed both entities rather embody the old proverb that a half-measure of truth will fool more people than a double serving of lies.
- Many of the specifics of the scandal of 976 have been lost to time - for which it is quite clear that Levity blames House Zaal’s attempts to save face by covering the incident up. What appears to have occurred was a gambit by the Gratiani-Zaal family, as they were then called, to gain significant leverage against their feudal overlords by means of inviting some of the more impressionable scions of the High Nobility to their “revels”, enticing them to indulge in all manner of vices, and using this as an opportunity to gather blackmail material on the young nobles for later use. This had, by all accounts, been going on for some years prior to 976 before it was exposed.
- Levity speculated that it was likely that House Zaal was fully aware of the Gratiani’s power games, as “from time to time one hears the most salacious rumours that similar schemes have not been uncommon within the exalted halls of the High Houses themselves”, and that perhaps it was not so much the attempts at blackmail that caused House Zaal to strip the Gratiani of their position, as the Gratiani finally descending to a depth of corruption that was indefensible. Levity remarks that: “a possibility that comes to mind is that the Gratiani may have been conjuring demonic concubines from Aiskapekos, to seduce those of noble blood who were not fully cognizant of the very real danger that such unions would pose to the continued safety of House Zaal and of the Nullic Line more generally.”
Anastasia di Gratiano
(See also:
Anastasia di Gratiano)
- The most prominent member of the di Gratiano Family is Anastasia di Gratiano; despite a number of more senior relatives, she is universally acknowledged as the Genearch (head) of the family. On this subject, Levity remarks that “the Katari never considered primogeniture a good basis for inheritance, and it seems doubtful that the di Gratiano family would be interested in adopting it now. They have typically used an elective form of inheritance similar to that which was in place in the time of the Katari, in which the Genearch has the absolute right to appoint their own successor from within the family. The closest modern equivalent is the system of ‘tanistry’ practiced by the Corlish ”
- Daughter of Demetrio and Serafina di Gratiano, Anastasia was born into the di Gratiano family in 1304AK. She was raised by Demetrio, Serefina, and their husband Evaristo, and was educated by a series of tutors. Apparently considered to be a gifted student, she proceed to studied rhetoric at the University of Auditore in 1321, and gathered a reputation both as both a charismatic speaker and a skilled duellist.
- Levity notes that “we understand that Evaristo was the bearer of the di Gratiano line; it has been customary for those who have married into the family to adopt that name regardless of their gender or rank. As with many of the ‘old dynasties’ that trace their line back to the Katari Empire, they frequently practice plural marriage, and consider affiliation with a family to be vastly more important than bloodline descent; it would thus be technically correct, within their own terms, to refer to Anastasia as a full scion of the di Gratiano family, despite her lack of direct ancestry.”
- In 1327 she returned to Cameri following her mother’s death, and married Urseo Kriger, the captain of a Cameri mercenary company known as the "Hares”.
- After giving birth to two children in 1327 and 1328, she joined Urseo on campaign against the Savuran insurgency, fighting alongside him in battle.
- Urseo was killed in the Battle of the Karst in 1331, along with most of the Hares. Levity reported an eye-witness account, which claimed that Anastasia refused to abandon her mortally-wounded husband when the retreat was sounded, and that she was last seen “standing over Urseo’s body, holding her own against a dozen soldiers, screaming to the heavens in rage and defiance until at last they cut her down”. Levity reports that Anastasia’s father dropped dead of shock upon hearing the news of his daughter’s death; the custody of her children and of the Gratiano finances fell to Anastasia’s elder sibling, Vernanzi.
- Though Anastasia was presumed dead, her body was never recovered; nonetheless, it was a surprise to all when she turned up two years later at the gates of the Gratiano estate, not only very much alive but bringing with her an infant daughter that she had named Ursula.
- Levity initially concluded that her survival, though unexpected, was not entirely out of the question; however Levity’s postscript raises the possibility that there may be rather more to this story than there first appears.
- Following her return, Anastasia retook her place as the head of the family. Levity notes that during the period of surveillance, Anastasia was noted to leave the estate only on rare occasions, generally under the cover of darkness. Nonetheless, she was no recluse, having a steady stream of visitors and guests join her at the estate, and hosting lavish parties on festival days. Vernanzi served as a close confident, conducting much of her business for her outside of the estate.
Levity noted that Anastasia had three children, though wrote relatively little about them:
- Antonio, born 1327. Levity remarks that the timing of Antonio’s birth almost certainly implies that Urseo was not his biological father. He would be 17 years old in 1344.
- Vittoria, born 1328. She would be 16 years old in 1344.
- Ursula, born 1331 or 1332. She would be around 12 to 13 years old in 1344.
Divinatory Evidence on Anastasia di Gratiano
"A speculative attempt was made to divine lore relating to Anastasia di Gratiano; however this was unsuccessful. This is not an uncommon occurrence in such situations, and cannot definitively be attributed to interference or warding of any kind. A rite of communion with Damalith of the Dreaming Depths was later conducted with the intention of confirming the will of the Daughters as it related to Anastasia.”
Priestess: Is the one known as Anastasia di Gratiano of Cameri blessed in the eyes of the Daughters of Null?
Response: No
Priestess: Does she serve the Nameless Gods of the Four Hells?
Response: No
(Levity adds: “I should caution that this response does not necessarily mean that she is entirely unaffiliated with the Nameless Gods - one might consider that a political ally or a business partner is not the same thing as a servant.”)
Priestess: Is it the will of the Daughters of Null that she be destroyed?
Response: No
The Tower’s Investigations
Between 976AK and 1336AK, the di Gratiano family came to the attention of the Gilded Tower on three occasions:
1085AK - The Amuric Connection
“The Tower was asked to conduct surveillance on the Emissary of Ras Amur, Kallistea Volkenglass, and her daughter Amat, following the assassination of the High Archon of Ras Amur. There were concerns that the Emissary and her daughter would be targeted by the same assassins, and that this would not be in the Sovereignty’s interests were this to occur. The Amurim visited Cameri and met with the Gratiano family; Amat remained with them whilst her mother then returned to court in Ysberinge, and informed the Queen that she had been recalled to Ras Amur. The Tower warned the Emissary of the likelihood of a plot against her, and an offer of sanctuary was extended, but this warning was disregarded with tragic consequences. The Tower continued to watch Amat Volkenglass following her mother’s assassination, and I believe that she remained with the di Gratiano family for several years - unfortunately the archives containing the detailed reports from 1086-1090AK have since been lost, so I cannot corroborate this. I note that Amat Volkenglass was elected High Archon of Ras Amur in 1104AK, ruling until her death (presumably - one never knows with the Amurim) in 1178AK.”
1206AK - Violence in Vinzaglio
“The Tower was asked to investigate a series of murders in the port of Vinzaglio that were suspected of having a cultic element. This was established to relate to a territorial dispute between two local criminal syndicates, and ultimately to a reduction in supply of certain narcotics (particularly the substance known as ‘Vraja's Lotus’) imported from Vaalus following restrictions on its production imposed by the Kassinite Church. The di Gratiano family were not directly involved in the violence, but were noted to be among the main distributors - via a chain of intermediaries - of the substances in question. Further investigation was considered outside the remit of the Tower, and the matter was passed to local magistrates.”
1334AK - The Sanguine Veil
“Most recently, the Tower conducted divinations to establish if there were any individuals or factions within several cities in the Northern Provinces who were strongly fate-bound in a fashion that might affect the outcome of any further rebellion against the Sovereignty. There is certain context here that I am, alas, not permitted to disclose in a direct fashion - suffice to say that there is ongoing suspicion that outside forces may have influenced the events of the Triponzo insurgency , and that if you are reading between the lines as I suspect you are, you are likely correct. During this investigation, it was coincidentally found that several individuals, all later established to be members of a society called the Sanguine Veil, had their fates specifically and deliberately bound to the will of one Anastasia di Gratiano, but that divination directed at understanding her destiny and future actions proved entirely inconclusive. This ultimately led to a wider investigation of the di Gratiano family, which was already in progress when you contacted us with your request.”
The Society of the Sanguine Veil
The Early Veil
- The Gilded Tower’s investigations into the fate-binding effect linked to Anastasia di Gratiano unearthed the existence of an esoteric society referred to as the “Society of the Sanguine Veil”, of which all those whose fates were bound to Anastasia were members. Over the course of two years of investigations, Levity’s agents were able to surveil the organisation extensively, though they were unsuccessful at infiltrating an agent into the Sanguine Veil.
- Levity's agents discovered that the Society of the Sanguine Veil had begun life in 1322 as an academic study group within the Collegium Transmutione of Lapis, that met covertly to study the nature and practice of Blood Magic, in defiance of the Collegium's bylaws against this.
- Following an internal schism in the late 1320’s, it became increasingly cultic, and focussed on the worship of the “quasi-fey entity Si’a’u”, understood to be one and the same as the Madduri deity Si.
- Levity described the practices of Si's cultists as "principally consisting of a form of blood magic distinct from the Katari tradition. The Madduri traditionally see the shedding of blood as a sacrifice to their gods in exchange for their intercession, rather than as a non-theistic method of connecting the material and spiritual worlds as the Katari understood it. It is often - and quite unfairly - characterised as an unsophisticated, even barbaric, practice by those whose understanding of the traditions of the Madduri is superficial at most."
Levity described Si'a'u and her agenda thusly:
"Due to the constraints of her Office, Si'a'u can be considered closely akin to the Seasonal Archfey, despite her own nature being somewhat more complex - but I digress. Her primary interest is, of course, her own survival and ability to influence the world, but she is known to have a more active agenda beyond this. It is important here to note the particular aspects of the season of spring which she embodies - the turn of Winter into Spring, life bursting forth from the dead earth, and the visceral joy and wonder of creation. One of her most significant teachings is that nothing worthwhile can be achieved without sacrifice, and that magic that is not 'paid for in blood or in silver' is stolen power. Death must come before rebirth.”
- The Sanguine Veil’s existence was uncovered by the Collegiate Guard of Lapizula in 1329, and those involved were censured and expelled from the Collegium. The majority of its members had relocated to Cameri, and had continued their experimentation, seemingly in the hope that success in their endeavours would lead to their vindication and readmission.
The Veil in Cameri
The Sanguine Veil appeared to have drifted away from the worship of Si'a'u by 1334; Levity’s agents noted that this seemed to have coincided with a growing interest in combining Katari blood magic with ecstatic visionary practices more similar to those practiced by the “Old Cult” of the di Gratiano family.
In 1335 Anastasia di Gratiano hosted several gatherings in her estate, with a number of members of the Sanguine Veil in attendance. Levity’s agents were able to infiltrate one of the gatherings and release a “scrybug” (which, from context, appears to be some kind of magically attuned insect that is used to act as a scrying target) into the house.
Levity’s agents noted that at one point in the festivities Anastasia and several of the individuals that had been noted as senior members of the Sanguine Veil retired to her chambers, Anastasia instructing her staff that they were not to be disturbed under any circumstances. Levity’s agents were nonetheless able to eavesdrop on part of the meeting, and established a number of pertinent facts:
- Anastasia was not a member of the Sanguine Veil, but was being consulted by them for her expertise in demonology.
- Anastasia was clearly extremely well-read on that matter, and on a number of other topics, including blood magic, the history of the Katari Empire, the religions of various lands, and the metaphysics of the celestial planes.
- Levity adds, somewhat obliquely: “She also displayed an alarming degree of knowledge of the true history of the Children of Fire and the nature of the Wake-Walkers Wake-Walkers, though she did at least show sufficient discretion that she would speak of those subjects only in the most veiled of terms. I do not for one moment believe that she could have gotten this information legitimately.”
- The Sanguine Veil were intending to pursue a course of action that they believed would grant one of their number the “Six Apotheotic Gifts”, and wished for Anastasia’s advice on certain technical matters. It was clear to Levity’s agents that Anastasia was sceptical of their ability to actually succeed in this, but that she was more than happy to advise them on how to do it, whilst repeatedly warning of the potential risks. On further consideration, the agent that had been observing the gathering concluded that Anastasia had in fact been subtly urging the Veil towards fully committing to their plan, whilst encouraging them to believe that they had come to their conclusions by themselves.
Levity does not describe the Veil’s proposed plan in very much detail, nor do they articulate precisely what the Six Apotheotic Gifts might be. What is clear is that numerous preparatory rites were required, followed by a final ritual which involved a number of mortal sacrifices, and the conjuration and binding of a being capable of witnessing and sanctifying certain oaths.
Levity later used the scrybug to eavesdrop on discussions between Anastasia di Gratiano and one Lisbeth Calderone, identified as a relatively junior member of the cult, in which Anastasia implied that she considered Lisbeth to be by far the most competent and worthy of the Veil, and offered her protection “from the inevitable trajectory that you have correctly identified as the fate of your associates, should they pursue this undertaking”, which Lisbeth accepted. The full context of the meeting was not clear at the time, but did alert the Gilded Tower to the events that would occur later that year. This was, unfortunately, the only time that the scrybug was successfully used, as on the following day it appeared to have died; Levity believed this was “more likely the result of the scrybug having an unfortunate encounter with a housecat than its presence having been noted by any of the human occupants of the house.”
Attempts were made to surveil Lisbeth Calderone following this meeting, but she was nowhere to be found, and subsequent attempts to locate her by divination were likewise unsuccessful. Levity speculated that Lisbeth may have been killed by the Sanguine Veil, or potentially by Anastasia di Gratiano.
Communications with Si'a'u
“Based on our preliminary assessment of the nature of the Society of the Sanguine Veil, the following questions were put to the entity Si'a'u, known as Lady of the Bloody Veil, Soul of Spring, Polemarch of the Necessary Sacrifice. Three oracular cycles were carried out in the space of one day in late 1335AK, conducted by a diviner of the Gilded Tower* who had some experience of working with the entity in question.”
1. Seer: “Are you aware of the ‘Society of the Sanguine Veil’, currently active in the city of Cameri?”
Response: Yes
2. Seer: “What is the nature of your relationship with the Society of the Sanguine Veil?”
Response: Exasperation
3. Seer: “What is the nature of the Society of the Sanguine Veil?”
Response: Wayward
4. Seer: “Should I understand this to mean that they were among your acolytes, but were led astray?”
Response: Yes
5. Seer: “In what way have they diverged from your will?”
Response: Descent
6. Seer: “When we last spoke, you described the nature of the divergence of the Society of the Sanguine Veil from your will as “descent”. Should I understand this to indicate that they have aligned themselves with the powers of the Four Hells?”
Response: Yes
7. Seer: “Have they aligned themselves with any specific entity in the Four Hells?”
Response: Uncertain
8. Seer: “Have they aligned themselves with the Savuran revolutionaries?”
Response: Irrelevant
(Levity adds: “This answer does not rule out that they were indeed involved with the insurgents - Si’a’u has never to my knowledge shown the slightest interest in mortal politics, and likely considers the civil war entirely beneath her notice”)
9. Seer: “Are you aware that one of their number seeks to achieve apotheosis?”
Response: Presently
(Levity adds: “The seer reported that this almost certainly implied that Si’a’u was aware of the fact at that moment, but had not been prior to this”)
10. Seer: “Would you support them in this matter, or seek to prevent it from occurring?”
Response: Indifference
(Levity adds: “Si’a’u has about as much interest in deific politics as she does in mortal politics, it seems. As we paused to take stock prior to the third casting of the ritual, consideration was briefly given to asking Si’a’u her assessment of the effects that the ascent of one of her former cultists would have; however we concluded that Si’a’u would not care sufficiently to make the effort in formulating a useful response”)
11. Seer: “What do you understand of the connection between the Society of the Sanguine Veil and Anastasia di Gratiano?”
Response: Obscured
12. Seer: “What do you understand to be the nature of Anastasia di Gratiano?”
Response: Obscured
13. Levity wites: "Alas, I must redact this question and its answer; it related to the precise nature of the obscuring effect, and was asked in order to rule out one source of divinatory countermeasures which are associated with a particular class of entity. The response was in the negative."
14. Seer: “In that case, what would you speculate is the source of the obscuring effect?”
Response: Nameless
15. Seer: “By ‘nameless’, do you refer to the ruling powers of the Four Hells?”
Response: Misapprehension
(Levity remarks: “This is not a negative; indeed, it is likely to be an affirmative of sorts. The for of the answer likely represents a point of philosophical contention on the relationship between the Nameless Gods and the Four Hells, which Si’a’u has expressed on previous occasions - namely that describing the Nameless Gods as the ‘rulers’ of the Hells tends to imply certain assumptions based on mortal concepts of rulership and governance that are not strictly accurate. Alas, we were unable to confirm this, as a fourth casting resulted in the seer suffering a severe psychic shock (a known risk of the Rite of Contact, and, disregarding certain morally unconscionable methods, one that is impossible to fully mitigate) that required several days of rest and recuperation.” )
* - it seems likely that this may have been Gudrun Athelswicht-Zaal.
Other Divinatory Evidence
“Divination by lore-seeking was also attempted on the subject of the Sanguine Veil, but was unsuccessful. As previously mentioned, this is not an unusual occurrence, especially when concerning organisations that are currently extant but obscure, and which do not have much in the way of a “legend” as such.”
After several failures to produce reliable divinatory evidence on the Sanguine Veil, an experimental ritual which Levity referred to as “Retracing the River” was attempted. This ritual, apparently a work of high magic, is not greatly elaborated upon, but seems to have employed a rudimentary form of chronomancy to discover similar patterns of events that occurred in the past, in the form of a dreamscape vision:
“The seer* reported that they dreamed the river turned to blood as they entered, and that the doorways of time opened before her as she presented the icon of the five-pointed star. Passing through the door, they glimpsed a great pillar stretching from earth to the heavens, on which crawled a great many shimmering beetles; and near it, a number of great cats with markings like the tygers of the northern jungles, which tore each other apart and devoured those who fell. Next she felt the river swell with floodwater around her, and a great number of lotus-flowers floated past on the rushing water, each with a single, tiny figure bound in chains upon them. Then came a procession of monks, all blinded save for the first, whose lips were crudely stitched together; the silent one stood aside and averted her eyes as the monks walked obliviously into the river, which swelled into a roaring foam and dragged the silent one down with them. The rushing river tore the seer away from their standing point, and they were dragged under the blood-dimmed waters; when at last they surfaced, they found themselves on the shore of a great lake of blood, in the centre of which was an island that was linked by a causeway. On the island was a tower, which erupted into flame and was consumed; and as it fell, a figure began to walk across the causeway towards the seer, who was consumed by a rising and irresistible sense of dread. It was at this point that those watching the seer’s body noticed that they were suffering an attack of convulsions, which only ceased when the seer bit their tongue with enough force to draw a significant amount of blood and awaken them from the trance. The seer reported that they had attempted to end the trance as the approaching figure had drawn nearer, but that the usual methods of doing so had not been effective, and it was only by pure force of will that they had regained a measure of control over their physical body before the figure reached them. Each element of the vision was accompanied by a sense of the time to which it related, and with further analysis and comparison to archives, we were able to identify five other cults which we now believe to have been connected to the di Gratiano family: The Carmine Pillar, the Order of the Tyger, the Order of the Everflowing River, the Followers of Tranquility, and the Crimson Causeway”
* - again, this is likely to have been Gudrun Athelswicht-Zaal.
Historical Cults
Levity arranged for divination into the lore surrounding the other cults identified as connected to the Sanguine Veil. Due to the significant costs and other limitations of this method, repeated divination on the same subject was not considered a high priority; following the fall of the Veil in mid-1336, it was assumed that this information would largely be of historic interest only and thus further leads were not followed-up.
The Carmine Pillar, 1325AK to 1331AK
“The alchemist’s dream - a path to immortality, painted in blood, in cinnabar, in cochineal. A high price they paid for the recipe, a higher one for the ingredients; but it was a dream, and nothing more. They choked on the elixirs that they had thought would give them life eternal - and learned too late that there are so many varieties of ‘life’ that are without end.”
- Levity investigated the Carmine Pillar extensively, in order to explore any parallels to the Sanguine Veil that might guide the ongoing investigation; their agents were able to identify two deceased individuals who had been members of the organisation known as the Carmine Pillar - Koenraad Apotheker and Jacomina Marteri-Zaal. They were also able to acquire Jacomina’s diary and alchemical notebooks from her relatives, who had no idea that she had been involved with the Carmine Pillar. These books - now in possession of the Gilded Tower - contained a large amount of information on the Pillar and their methods.
- The Carmine Pillar appear to have been a group of nine alchemists, magicians, and scholars of natural philosophy, who sought to achieve immortality through alchemical means. They experimented extensively with blood magic, much of which they appear to have learned from a certain "AdG", with whom they corresponded, and had offered a great deal of advice on the subject, though no letters from AdG were discovered in Jacomina's personal effects.
- Based on certain remarks in Jacomina’s diary - including that AdG was with child in 1327, and that she had just returned from Auditore to Cameri - Levity concluded that AdG was plausibly Anastasia di Gratiano.
- Levity’s description of the diaries paints a picture of a gradually growing obsession with the pursuit of immortality and eternal youth, via alchemical means, blood magic, or darker routes altogether.
Levity’s agents were able to gain access to “the material which was, in a technical sense, the corpse of Jacomina Materi-Zaal”, and communicate with the remnant of her spirit, providing the following necromantic intelligence:
1. Seer: “What is the Carmine Pillar?”
Response: “The Pillar is the path, the origin and the destination. Life is its foundation, and Life is supported by it. The Pillar reaches from the centre of the world to the highest of heavens. To understand the Pillar is to understand the universe.”
2. Seer: “What was the aim of your alchemical experiments?”
Response: “Life without end.”
3. Levity writes: "I must, alas, redact the third question and its answer. It is to do with the precise mechanism by which the alchemical process would function. Lady Materi-Zaal was surprisingly detailed in her answer, which allowed us to fully reconstruct the process with the aid of her alchemical notebooks. I have consulted Lord-Archmagos Alessandro Farreris-Bheuren of the Collegium Transmutione of Lapis on this matter; his expert opinion was that it was not possible to determine the precise result of the process other than that it would transmute the body and soul of the alchemist into a different order of being, likely demonic in nature, and that in any case there were a number of major methodological errors in the process which would have rendered it inevitably fatal in any case. This tallies with the diary’s report of the fate of the other members of the Carmine Pillar. The Lord-Archmagos also confirmed our supposition that the process contained both sophisticated blood magic of a type practiced by the magi of the Katari Empire, and demonic elements which would represented an inherent source of spiritual corruption."
4. Seer: “Tell us the names of the other members of the Society of the Carmine Pillar”
Response: “Placida. Ladislao. Lapo. Arnoud. Ysbrand. Koenraad. Rodrigo. Eloisa.”
5. Seer: “Who is the person referred to as ‘A-D-G’ in your diaries?”
Response: “Traitor! Liar! Blasphemer! May the hells swallow her! Blasphemer! Liar! Traitor!” (this continues for some minutes, with little variation; no name or useful identifying features were forthcoming)
Further investigation confirmed the identities of all nine members of the Carmine Pillar:
- Jacomina Materi-Zaal, scion of the minor house, resident of Cameri. Died in laboratory accident “that reduced her body to a malevolent protoplasmic substance”, 1331.
- Placida Riddacci, Countess of Aramatteo. Died of apoplexy, 1331. Levity notes that an attempt to raise her from the dead was unsuccessful, assumedly on account of her advanced age.
- Ser Ladislao Muris-Ysern, war-mage and knight. Died in battle, 1330; there were some suspicions that they were poisoned by a rival, as they collapsed and died seconds after consuming a potion which they appeared to believe would have healed some injuries they had sustained in combat.
- Lapo Birraio, brewer in Bregzana. Found dead in 1331, “in a state of such extreme decomposition that it could not be ascertained how he died, despite his assistant having seen him alive a mere two hours previous”.
- Arnoud Cantiniere, alchemist in Cameri. Died in a laboratory accident, 1332. Levity notes the circumstances were almost identical to the fatal accident that Jacomina Materi-Zaal suffered, though “the precise substance that Cantiniere reduced himself to was both extremely aggressive and highly combustible, ultimately resulting in the complete destruction of his laboratory and several neighbouring houses; it is perhaps by Kriophona's mercy that the only life lost was his own”.
- Ysbrand Slangenmelk, journeyman of the Guild of Apothecaries and Physicians of Sabartia. Executed for the murder of four of his patients, 1331.
- Koenraad Apothekar, master of the Guild of Apothecaries and Physicians of Cameri. Died 1331, “having consumed a preparation that he had told a colleague would grant him eternal life, but which instead caused him to rapidly wither until he became little more than a shrivelled husk”.
- Rodrigo Ongelblusten, alchemist in Cameri. Died of a constriction of the lungs in 1332, thought to have been brought on by inhaling toxic fumes in the course of his work.
- Eloisa Arteno-Riddacci, magician of the Collegium Coniuratio. Found dead in her quarters in 1331, apparently as the result of a botched summoning ritual. The Collegium ascertained that she had been attempting to conjure a demonic entity, but that the containing wards had failed, resulting in it escaping and killing her.
The Order of the Tyger, active 1271AK to 1286AK
“When for fifteen years they had feasted on each and every bird and beast, there was a hunger yet unsatisfied that gnawed deep in their bellies. They hungered for the flesh that was forbidden, and in secret sharpened their knives - and at their final feast, they who were bound to no cause greater than their own desires, finally served humanity.”
- Levity was able to gather some information on this organisation, which appears to have begun life in 1271AK as an artistic salon which occasionally gathered in the di Gratiano estate.
- They became known for hosting exceptionally sumptuous banquets, which were a cause of a significant amount of tension between the low-nobility who attended the salons and the common folk of Cameri due to a series of food shortages following several particularly poor harvest seasons particularly poor harvest seasons in the late 1270’s.
- The last “official” gathering seems to have been held in 1280AK, after which the di Gratiano family distanced themselves from the group; but Levity concluded that some of the more prominent members continued to meet, hosting ever-more decadent parties attended by a dwindling core of increasingly jaded and disillusioned nobles.
- This seems to have come to a bloody end in 1286, when violence erupted at the estates of the (no-longer extant) minor house of Capalupo-Riddacci during a banquet. It is unclear precisely what occurred that night, though militia records indicate that the hosts appeared to have murdered - and partially eaten - several of their guests, before turning on each other.
The Order of the Everflowing River, active 1195AK to 1207AK
“They floated on the lotus-leaf into the realms of bliss, even as the meadows turned to dust and the rivers to poison. As the harvests failed, they sold their possessions that they might not fall beneath the waters of reality and drown. Only when the river reached the sea did they learn of the undertow - and by then, it was far, far too late.”
- Levity was able to tie this divination to a group known as the Order of the Everflowing River, who were active at the turn of the 13th century.
- They were a society of mystics who sought to delve into the deepest secrets of creation through the use of meditative techniques and hallucinogenic narcotics. They primarily worshipped the Lotus Queen in her aspect as the Speaker of Truths Unbearable, which Levity describes as “representing the obsessive drive to know the answer to some inscrutable question, which consumes one’s entire mind and causes one to sacrifice everything else in search of the truth”.
- Correlation with the Tower’s 1206 investigation into narcotics-related murders in Vinzaglio revealed that the Order of the Everflowing River were purchasing Vraja's Lotus from the di Gratiano family.
- The di Gratiano family appear to have divested themselves from the trade in Vraja’s Lotus around 1207AK, which Levity believed was likely due to the increasing difficulty of acquiring the substance in the wake of the Blight and the Kassinite crackdown on its production. By this point, Levity speculated it likely that the entire membership of the Everflowing River would have been addicted to the substance.
- Levity was unable to determine the final fate of the Everflowing River, but speculated that “they found themselves reduced to the horrid reality of their abject poverty, their lives ruined, their hopes and dreams shattered, and all for a lie. If one were able to forfeit one’s soul to Aiskapekos whilst alive, I feel that this would be the very definition of such a thing.”
The Followers of Tranquillity, active 1114AK to 1134AK
“The wise one sought the source. She walked the true path in silence for twenty years, not uttering a single word, that her revelation not be misinterpreted. The foolish ones, seeing her serenity, confused the seeker with that which was sought. The wise one saw her followers led astray, and though she wept for them, she would not break her silence to warn them. Thus fell they all, her golden soul damned among the rusted iron of her followers”
Levity was not able to find any strong evidence corroborating this divination, though speculates that this may have related to an itinerant tiefling mystic by the name of
Tranquility who lived at around this time. They were not able to ascertain the nature of any link to the Gratiano family.
The Crimson Causeway, active 1076AK to 1083AK
“Blood falls from the fangs of the wolf to the waters below. The grateful ones drink their fill, that they might replace their lost honour with stolen power. They call to the pit for a blessing; and the pit answers. A gamble is made; on the wager of a soul the bones tumble, and they find themselves victorious. Yet in their victory, they forget the gambler’s creed, and cannot resist the fatal offer of one more turn of the cards.”
Levity was unable to conclusively determine what these events referred to, but speculated thusly:
“This seems obscure; the reference to the fangs of the wolf bleeding into the waters below may refer to the downfall of the vampires of Nachtzahn which occurred in 1076, but the connection to the Gratiano family is unclear. One possibility is that the Gratiano family may have been involved in their downfall, and subsequently made an attempt to duplicate their success. This is implied to have ended poorly for them, but there is little else I can confidently say on the matter - all attempts to clarify have produced answers that are somehow even more frustratingly vague. I wonder if this is where they got their blood magic from, and if they subsequently pushed their luck with the Hells a little too far (which is to say, at all). As much as I would like to investigate the matter further, it strikes me that any such corroborating evidence is likely to be found in Viraky and the Deep Haunt, and that sending a scouting party there would be hazardous and difficult to justify at this juncture.”
The Veil Falls
- Levity continued to surveil the Sanguine Veil from 1335 to 1336. They conferred with religious authorities about the potential effect of the emergence of a new deity in this manner might have, and concluded that “there were sufficient metaphysical risks that our continued involvement was warranted; following discussion with your First Blade, Ser Ingrid Absthoven-Zaal, a royal Writ of Interdiction was sought and accordingly granted”. In this context, a Writ of Interdiction would grant the Gilded Tower the authority to requisition whatever was needed to safeguard the Sovereignty in this matter. Levity was temporarily appointed “Regent of the Knife” and entrusted with authority over the agents of the Queensknife for the duration of the investigation, “on account of Princess Beatrix, the technical successor to that Office, being presently neither of age nor suitable temperament”.
- Consideration was given to arresting or assassinating the known members of the Sanguine Veil; however it was concluded that the attempting this would likely cause the group, who appeared to have eventually become aware that they were being surveilled and were thus becoming more cautious, to go to ground.
- In early 1336, the Queensknife agents (one of whom was Nera Arrighetti-Sarren) were able to steal a number of documents from the Sanguine Veil, copy them, and replace them undetected. These documents, with a certain amount of divinatory effort, allowed the Gilded Tower to reconstruct the ritual text.
On this, Levity writes:
“Based on a first examination, the rituals appeared plausibly efficacious; however on a closer read, there were a number of glaring errors. In this manner it is similar to what was found in our analysis of the Carmine Pillar documents. The majority of these errors appeared to be simple mistakes, albeit some which could have lead to serious problems - the rendering of AZY-’aNK’a (Divine Eye-Soul) as AZY’aNgKA (Divine Goat), and ‘aBY-ShA-Y’aD (Beyond the Hand of the Sun) as 'aHY-Sh’a-Y’aD (Painful Servant of the Hand) in one portion of the rubric being particularly unfortunate, but plausible mistakes in verbal transcription. It was when we found the rendering of ‘aKTU-YOKVK YOKSh’aN’aZY VA LSh’aZY (‘I command you to serve and be served by the Godhead’) as ‘aKTU-YOKVK YOKShYM’aBTzAY VA L’aShTzY (literally: ‘I command you to taste filth with both tongues’. An informal modern gloss would be rather more explicitly scatological in nature; it would absolutely be interpreted as an insult) at the worst possible moment - during the all-critical point in which the summoned sanctificer of oaths would have to be placated - that we realised that the formulae that Anastasia had provided the Sanguine Veil represented a deliberate, and extremely thorough, attempt to sabotage the ritual.”
- By mid 1336, Levity’s agents believed that they had identified the majority of Sanguine Veil cultists in Cameri. It was decided that the time to strike against them had come, as whilst they no longer considered there to be any significant risk of the cultists achieving apotheosis, there were concerns that any attempt to conduct the final ritual might lead to significant collateral damage, and that the sacrifices that they intended to use to power the ritual would likely not be willing. With the assistance of the city watch and a detachment from the Collegiate Guard of Lapis, dawn raids were conducted at the homes of the identified cultists. Around a dozen members of the Sanguine Veil were arrested in the space of a single morning, with a similar number being killed whilst attempting to escape. This represented a little under half the known membership of the Sanguine Veil, and was considered to have been an extremely successful operation; Levity reports that there were only two casualties among the arresting force: “a breaching-mage from the Collegiate Guard who triggered a flame trap embedded in a door (successfully revived), and a dwarven watch-sergeant who collapsed from the stress of the exertion, having run a mile and a half in pursuit of an escaping cultist before subduing them (revivification not attempted, per wishes of the deceased’s family).”
- Over the next three days, a further two-dozen cultists were apprehended or killed. Under interrogation, one of the cultists gave up the location of the Veil’s headquarters, which was subsequently stormed by Levity’s agents with support from the Collegiate Guard. Levity reports that “our agents arrived in time to find the remaining members of the Sanguine Veil desperately attempting to complete the ritual. In the process of our attempt to apprehend the cultists, they succeeded in summoning the fiend that they intended to have sanctify their oaths - which seconds later flew into a rage, broke free of the wards binding it, and slew several of the cultists before immolating the lead ritualist and vanishing back to the hell from which it was called.”
- At the time that the report was written, a month after the attack on the Sanguine Veil’s headquarters, only three members of the Sanguine Veil were unaccounted for. Concluding that the cult was no longer a threat, Levity closed the investigation, handing it to the city watch for further action if needed. Levity notes that at this point, Anastasia had not left the estate for several months, and there was no reason to believe that she had been in direct contact with the Sanguine Veil since the turn of the year.
Levity's Dream
“There is one more thing that I must relate: two nights ago, during the writing of this report I paused to rest my eyes for a few minutes and must have fallen asleep. Immediately, I was drawn into a dreamscape that I recognised as having a magical quality about it, with such rapidity and force that it was clear that the one who cast it had targeted me specifically and was waiting beyond the wall of sleep for me to doze off.
In the dreamscape, I found myself sitting in a room bedecked in fine cloth hangings, the air heavy with incense and smoke. I was seated before a low table, on which was arrayed the finest feast that my eyes have ever seen, and across me was seated Anastasia di Gratiano. She greeted me and told me that she intended me no harm, but wished to establish what my interest in her family was.
We danced around the point for some time - she heavily implied that she knew exactly who and what I was, though did not state so outright - and sensing that this conversation was going nowhere, I eventually ‘let slip’ that I was investigating the Sanguine Veil to see what her reaction was. Curiously, she grinned and told me that she did not foresee the Sanguine Veil being a problem for anyone much longer - and that she apologised for any inconvenience that the ‘ignorant mortals’ had caused me. She stated that she did not see any reason why we should come into conflict, and that in any case that the Veil would be sufficient to pay her ‘tithe’ for a half-century or more, and that there were ‘easy pickings aplenty’ should I need any. Two things struck me at this point - that ‘Anastasia’ was not even remotely mortal; and that she considered me, if not kin to her, then at least an equal to be respected.
As the dream faded, she left me with a warning - that regardless of this, were I to come after her family she would track me down and destroy me ‘in this life, and as many others as it takes for you to learn the lesson’.
Intriguing and concerning in equal measure, all told.”
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