the Order of Hermes

The Basilica of Ten Thousand Columns was looted by Trianoma and Tremere, its magical lore and devices carried triumphantly back to the West. It is possible, therefore, that Hyperborean relics or Apollonian hymns could be found in other parts of Mythic Europe, particularly at covenants associated with the Founders. Hidden upon or within the relics could be clues as to the whereabouts of the basilica, the true names of spirits, or information about the road to Hyperborea itself. Alternatively, it is also possible that these powerful relics may have been used, and destroyed, during the Schism War.

The Restless Dead

Murdered by the Founders, many of the Hyperborean priests remain as spectral remnants of their former selves, unwilling to travel to the afterlife and desert their sacred duty. The most potent of the ghosts, the senior priests of Apollo, still carry out their priestly tasks, praying, tending to the buildings and grounds as best they can, and guarding the secrets of the basilica from those who would steal them. (Note that these ghosts differ from those presented in The Broken Covenant of Calebais, Revised Edition, page 35, in that their lives of dealing with the dead have prepared them more for an afterlife of ghostly haunting.)

Spirit Guardians

The Hyperborean priests of the basilica were protected by several underworld spirits, particularly those connected with Apollo's sister,

The nekuomanteioi ("oracles of the dead") are ghosts that can recite prophecies and oracles. Wizards who summon or control these ghosts are known as psuchagôgoi ("prophets of the soul"). Many of the murdered Apollonian priests still remain, and some may be much more powerful than the ghost below (with Might scores as high as 40); they are likely to be hostile towards, or at least wary of, Hermetic magi.

Magic Might: 15 (Mentem)

Characteristics: Int +2, Per +1, Pre 0, Com +2, Str 0, Sta 0, Dex 0, Qik 0

Size: 0 (non-physical) Age: n/a (35–40)

Decrepitude: n/a

Confidence Score: 1 (3)

Virtues and Flaws: Ceremony, Hyperborean Descent (Minor), Hyperborean Hymnist x3, Premonitions, Second Sight

Personality Traits: Honest +3, Self-

serving –1

Combat:

Fist: Init +1, Atk +2, Dfn +2, Dam +0* * When manifested only

Soak: +0 (plus Hymn Ability scores

where relevant) Fatigue Levels: n/a Wound Penalties: n/a

Abilities: Ancient Greek 5 (songs), Area Lore Balkans 3 (Hyperborean relics), Artes Liberales 4 (astronomy), Athletics 2 (running), Awareness 3 (spirits), Bargain 3 (spirits), Brawl 1 (fist), Ceremony 4 (Hymn Psyrinpheu), Folk Ken 3, Hymn Pentiterouni 3, Hymn Psyrinpheu 2, Hymn Eloure 2, Hyperborean 5 (hymns), Magic Lore 6 (spirits), Premonitions 7 (good fortune), Second Sight 4 (ghosts), Sing 4 (prayer), Teaching 4 (Hyperborean hymns)

Powers:*

Courage of the Python Slayer, 4 points, Init +0, Mentem: As per the Psyrinpheu Power.

False Dream of Aktióphis, 4 points, Init +0, Mentem: As per the Eloure power.

Manifest, 1 point, Init +0, Mentem: The nekuomanteioi may manifest as a physical being, either in a human or crow form, as if it were using Radiant Mantle of the Night Wanderer.

Oracle of the Dead, 10 points, Init +0, Imaginem: The nekuomanteioi may see into the past or future if it possesses an Arcane Connection to the person or location it is examining. The information it receives is indistinct and transmitted in a confusing manner, filled with strange symbols. Its visions of the future are not what will happen, but what may happen, and are typically even more vague.

Possession, 3 points, Init +0, Mentem: The nekuomanteioi may attempt to control the living by possessing a person's spirit. Spending 3 Might points allows the ghost to possess a person (or animal) for at least a few minutes (Diameter Duration), and gain control over his body, assuming the ghost penetrates any Magic Resistance the person may have. The possessed person may attempt to resist the possession by making a Stamina + Concentration roll against an Ease Factor of 9. If this roll fails, then the nekuomanteioi is able to possess the person for a full day, after which the person may resist again. This roll may be repeated every day. The ghost may be exorcised as normal, through Perdo or Rego Mentem spells, or through other Supernatural Powers such as the Adjuration Divine Power (Realms of Power: The Divine, page 49). While possessing a person, the ghost may use any Powers or magic the host has (except Divine Powers).

Slaying of Niobe's Children, 6 points, Init +0, Corpus/Ignem: As per the Psyrinpheu power.

* Many of the Powers once possessed by the nekuomanteioi through his Hyperborean hymns are no longer available in death.

Vis: 3 pawns Mentem.

Appearance: The nekuomanteioi appears as a middle-aged man, dressed in elaborate clothes that resemble a mix of ancient Greek and Celtic dress, or as a large black crow. Unless using its Manifest Power, the nekuomanteioi appears translucent and indistinct, and during the day it is completely invisible. The nekuomanteioi may use its Premonition Ability and other Supernatural Abilities as it wishes.

In the presence of a nekuomanteioi (who may be summoned through Incantation of Summoning the Dead), a necromancer may use the ghost as an Arcane Connection for Intellego spells (in particular, Intellego Imaginem) in order to look into the past or future. This increases the magnitude of the spell by 4 if looking into the past, or 5 if looking into the hazy and indistinct future. Either option also makes the spell a Ritual. Casting spells in this manner is very dangerous, and inflicts upon the magus a number of Warping Points equal to the total magnitude of the spell (which may cause Twilight). If a nekuomanteioi were captured or otherwise persuaded to assist, a Hermetic researcher (with the storyguide's blessing) could use it as a source for a Hermetic Breakthrough.

Aktióphis's Displeasure is one of the four earthly manifestations of the Goddess of the Heavenly Vault. Aktióphis herself is the bride of Tem, and is sister to Helios and Selene. Her Displeasure is a groan from the deepest depth of the nighttime void, manifesting as a sepulchral menace that can be physically felt, and seen as a writhing morass of solid, dark grief. Aktióphis is a highly sensitive goddess and takes great offense at even the smallest slights. Her Displeasure is her most powerful semi-autonomous manifestation, and the most active. (Note: References to Aktióphis below refer only to her Displeasure — Aktióphis herself is much more powerful.)

Magic Might: 10 (Corpus)

Characteristics: Int +3, Per +3, Pre +2, Com +0, Str +2, Sta +2, Dex +0, Qik +1

Size: +0

Confidence Score: 3 (9)

Virtues and Flaws: Greater Immunity (animal attacks, and weapons made of plant matter or lead); Piercing Gaze,

Personality Traits: Merciless +3, Adamant +2

Combat:

Coil: Init +1, Attack +10, Defense +0, Damage +9*

* When manifested only

Soak: +8

Fatigue Levels: n/a

Wound Penalties: –1 (1–5), –3 (6– 10), –5 (11–15), Incapacitated (16–20)*

* When manifested only

Abilities: Area Lore Spirit World 8 (Hyperborean spirits), Bargain 6 (pacts), Etiquette 6 (celestial courts), Guile 5 (misleading promises), Magic Lore 10 (spirits), Penetration 4 (ill-fortune), Teaching 5 (secrets)

Powers:

Augur of the Illuminated Revelation, 5 points, Init +1, Vim: Aktióphis is privy to certain truths, and from her starry throne resplendent in the heavenly firmament, her gaze is wide and all-encompassing. Aktióphis can give the true answer to any question to a character standing beside her, but she demands that a price be paid: the supplicant must swallow a hot coal from a fire at moonrise (see ArM5, page 181). Aktióphis must be summoned in order to use this power.

Drawing the Undeserved Breath, 4 points, Init +1, Corpus: This is the most potent of Aktióphis's rebukes, for it makes the target unable to breathe for two hours. Should he survive being unable to draw breath for that amount of time (such as by having air magically moved into his lungs), he forever remains unmolested by Aktióphis. To date, no mortal has survived.

Banish the Nighttime Respite, 2 points, Init +1, Mentem: This Power denies its target the gift of sleep. The target is unable to sleep for one week, and suffers extreme effects of fatigue, and the other concomitant effects of sleep deprivation.

Gather the Dark Clouds, 3 points, Init +1, Corpus: By removing her good will, Aktióphis makes it known to the other denizens of the spirit world that the target is spiritually unprotected. Spirits of sickness, illness, bad luck, and other misfortune are drawn to the target like moths to a flame. Within seven hours of this power being exercised, a terrible illness or disease strikes the target. Spirits of disease may add +3 to their Penetration if attempting to enervate or sicken the target. If the target has explicit protection from another powerful entity (for example, characters with True Faith), this Power fails automatically.

Loosen the False Dream, 2 points, Init +1, Mentem: Aktióphis coerces and empowers a dream spirit to travel to the sleeping target and implant a false dream (chosen by the character who bargained with her, or by Aktióphis herself) in his mind. If the target is awake when the spirit arrives, it hovers nearby, unseen, until the target falls asleep. The spirit uses Aktióphis's Penetration.

Vis: 1 pawn of Perdo vis, 1 pawn of Corpus vis.

Appearance: Aktióphis herself normally appears as a shining and beautiful woman, illuminated by a sparkling internal radiance, arrayed in the formal dress of a Ptolemaic princess. On her feet are fiery sandals, and about her head is a garland of bright hissing snakes that spit white fire. Her voice is the roar of a bull, her eyes shoot darts like lightning and her hands hold three baskets woven from the hair of adulterers.

Artemis, and the underworld goddess Hekate. Similarly, many of the spirits allied to the Hyperboreans are connected to Apollo by marriage.

Three powerful spirits still haunt the basilica, linked as they were to the vale through mighty bargains forged in centuries past: Aktióphis's Displeasure, Triple-formed Méné Marzouné, and Queen Brimo. At the storyguide's discretion, these spirits may be considered chthonic, and mistaken for creatures of

Méné Marzouné is the triplenamed, horn-faced goddess of eternity, source of the Primal Aphrodite, and dread lamp-bearer from the depths. From her toneless throat come unworldly cries drawn from the shining chasm of Tartarus, from her mouth spits the burning water of Lethe.

Magic Might: 40 (Vim)

Characteristics: Int +2, Per +3, Pre +1, Com +0, Str +3, Sta +3, Dex +0, Qik +2

Size: +1

Confidence Score: 3 (12)

Virtues and Flaws: Greater Immunity (damage from animals, fire, light, and heat)

Personality Traits: Hostile +2, Volatile +3, Cheerful –3

Combat:

Fist: Init +7, Attack +9, Defense +6, Damage +5*

Dart: Init +5 Attack +10, Defense +1, Damage +10*

Toneless Scream: Init +9, Attack +10, Defense +0, Damage +10**

Horn Charge: Init +10, Attack +11, Defense +6, Damage +15*

Four-named Fire: Init +5, Attack +6, Defense +0, Damage +15**

* When manifested only

** See Power description

Soak: +12

Fatigue Levels: n/a

Wound Penalties: –1 (1–6), –3 (7– 12), –5 (13–18), Incapacitated (19–24)*

* When manifested only

Abilities: Area Lore Spirit World 8 (Hyperborean spirits), Bargain 6 (pacts), Brawl 7 (horn charge), Magic Lore 10 (Spirits), Penetration 5 (void)

Powers:

Burning Heat of the Soul, 4 points, Init +2, Vim: Méné Marzouné may ignite a soul's yearning for an ecstatic reunification with its lost spiritual self. While under the effect of this Power, the target seeks to extinguish his worldly desire by having sex with his spiritual double; most people do not know who this is, and so may spend years searching. This is not an overpowering carnal desire, but a deeply spiritual longing; asking the advice of oracles or saints may help the target find his soul mate. This Power cannot affect anyone with True Faith, or the True Love Virtue or Flaw.

Four-named Fire of the Burning River, 1 point, Init +5, Ignem: The fiery waters of the Lethe issue from Méné Marzouné's mouth in great burning gouts, igniting whatever they touch. When wounded by this Power, the target thenceforth suffers from the effects of Pains of Perpetual Worry (although the Duration is Year instead of Month).

Toneless Scream of the Black-clad Abyss, 3 points, Init +9, Mentem: If the target is damaged by Méné Marzouné's Toneless Scream, he suffers from the effects of Weight of a Thousand Hells (although the Duration is Year instead of Month).

Vis: 2 pawns of Mentem vis in eyes, 2 pawns of Perdo vis in each horn, 2 pawns of Corpus vis in tongue

Appearance: Méné Marzouné appears in a constantly changing guise of hideous proportions, always a combination of all her three forms. Her most majestic form is that of a great three-headed black bull, with lightning-flecked eyes. Her human form appears to be a black-clad maiden carrying a basket woven from snakes. Her face cannot be seen, for under her hood is an unending void as dark and deep as night. Her final form is a hybrid, with a distorted human form transfigured with the head of a mare, the skin of a vulture, the eyes of a goat, the calves of a lion, and the ankles of a wolf.

the Infernal realm by Virtues such as Sense Holiness and Unholiness (see Realms of Power: The Infernal, page 123).

All of the spirits here can spend 1 Magic Might point to manifest in physical form (and return to spiritual form at will). In this material form, the spirit can be wounded and even incapacitated, although if "killed," it simply returns to its spiritual form. Unless manifested, the spirit cannot physically attack or be attacked.

Other, lesser elementals and airy spirits also flit through the ruins and among the rosebushes and groves.

The Basilica of Ten Thousand Columns need not be located in the Balkans. There are several other sites where the basilica could be located.

Delos

The center of Apollo's cult, Delos is an island in the Aegean Sea with a great number of Apollonian ruins. Many of the tales of Hyperborea originate from Delos, and there are a number of cultic sites dedicated to

Queen Brimo (also known as Daeria, Brimo means "mighty" or "furious"), adopted daughter of Hekate, is a lesser monarch of Hades and attendant of Demeter. She was honored at Eleusis every September where the hierophant and priestess of Demeter would represent Brimo's birthing of the Sacred Child, Brimos the Mighty (a personification of agricultural wealth). The child would be conceived through a mystic union, where the hierophant symbolized the holy Dionysus Iacchos and the priestess symbolized Brimo.

Queen Brimo was the daughter of Perseus and Medea, and lost her virginity when she was raped by Hermes on the banks of Boibeis Lake in Thessaly. The result of the rape was Eleusos, the patron goddess of the town of Eleusis and home of the Eleusinian Mysteries. Brimo was invoked by both her parents before her birth to honor Hekate, her sacred mother. Queen Brimo is likely to be hostile to followers of Hermes, such as Hermetic wizards.

Magic Might: 25 (Corpus)

Characteristics: Int +2, Per +3, Pre +4, Com +1, Str +2, Sta +2, Dex

+1, Qik +0

Size: +0

Confidence Score: 4 (14) Virtues and Flaws: None

Personality Traits: Furious +4,

Tormented +2

Combat:

Fist: Init +0, Attack +3, Defense +3, Damage +2*

Bow: Init –1, Attack +10, Defense +0, Damage +8*

* When manifested only

Soak: +4

Fatigue Levels: n/a

Wound Penalties: –1 (1–5), –3 (2– 10), –5 (11–15), Incapacitated (16–20)*

* When manifested only

Abilities: Area Lore Spirit World 8 (Hyperborean spirits), Brawl 3 (fists), Bows 7 (hunting), Etiquette 6 (the Underworld), Magic Lore 10 (spirits)

Powers:

Harvest of the Golden Heart, 10 points, Init +5, Herbam: Queen Brimo can intervene with either Persephone or Demeter to grant a small community a bountiful harvest that season, or stave off a famine.

Rejuvenation of Nyx, 3 points, Init +1, Corpus: This Power grants the target a +18 to his Recovery rolls, which lasts until her wounds are all healed.

The Company of the Miserable Man, 1 point, Init +0, Mentem: For someone (typically a woman) who sacrifices a black dog in her honor, Queen Brimo uses this Power, which creates a bittersweet longing for each other in the hearts of both supplicant and the Power's target. For every moment they are not together, both suffer a pain in their breasts and deep despondence, until they are reunited. This Power ends after the couple have eaten a meal and had sex with each other three times, or until either of them hears the sound of a bull-roarer (a kind of toy). The affection becomes permanent after nine months if the Power's effect has not ended, and at the troupe's discretion, may grant the True Love Virtue or Flaw.

The Stygian Firebrand, 1 point, Init +4, Ignem: When threatened or filled with wrath, Queen Brimo's scream can ignite the air with baleful liquid fire, inflicting +25 damage to all those in her path (equivalent to Range Voice and Target Group).

Vis: 5 pawns of Perdo vis in hair.

Appearance: Brimo appears as a naked, tormented teenaged girl with muddied feet, garlanded by 50 fearsome snakes and accompanied by a pack of terrible underworld hounds. Her other two forms are of a beautiful queen in saffron veils with a bleeding womb, and of a maiden huntress whose hands have been torn by bears. The ground trembles beneath her feet, while thousands of twinkling torch lights sparkle around her. She is often accompanied by Hekuba, the queen of Troy, who was transformed into a terrifying bitch-hound.

the Hyperborean maidens Arge and Opis, and Hyperoche and Laodice. In the 13th century, Delos is under the rule of the Venetians (following the collapse of the Byzantine Empire) and its inhabitants are devout Orthodox Christians. Delos could be the location of hidden Hyperborean hymns or relics, especially in the tombs of the Hyperborean maidens.

Tribunal of Novgorod

With Hyperborea to the extreme north of the Tribunal of Novgorod, it is still possible that the basilica could be further north than the Balkans. This option may be suited to troupes who set their saga in Novgorod; travel to the basilica may even take the characters into the lands of the barbarian Scythians.

Phoebus's Garden

At the eastern edge of the world, on the great Ocean Stream, lies the garden of Apollo Phoebus, and within, Apollo's palace, from which he emerged each morning from the Gate of the Sun in his chariot to issue light to the world. At this eastern gate, at the junction of the Earth and Heaven, is Homer's Ivory Gate, the gate of false dreams.

Where is this garden? The ancient authorities Virgil, Sophocles, and Stesichorus are firm in drawing a distinction between Phoebus's Garden and the Hesperides. Just as the Hesperides are considered the mystic Western Pole, so too could Phoebus's Garden be the mystical Eastern Pole. It is known as the "region of the bright day," and is also where Helios, or Sol (the sun), starts his journey across the sky every day. The extreme East is a place of mystery and myth, with many fantastic legends told in European romances, including many monsters, strange peoples, and bizarre customs.

The British Isles

It is possible that the Hyperboreans were really ancient British Celts, which could allow for Hyperborean temples in such places as Ireland or Wales. Alternatively, since the druids were deeply connected to sun cults, an ancient druidic temple may have been inhabited by Hyperborean descendants before the creation of the Order of Hermes.