The Endless Nomad Cycle

The ruins of an old nomad fortress lie near the old town of Talas. Just outside is the terminus of a road from Arcadia that leads to a Faerie reflection of the Mythic Steppe. Throughout history, since before the time of Alexander, waves of Faerie nomads summoned by the great Jaxartes river spirit have descended upon the lands of Transoxiana in an eternal cycle of destruction that echoes in the memories and folktales of the people who dwell in the lands beyond the Oxus. Each successive wave carries a slightly different name but brings new terror — the recurring story they enact breaking upon the shores of civilization through eternity. The Mongols may merely represent the latest retelling of the ancient story — see "Gog and Magog" in the sidebar later for further ideas.

Even at its height, the Eastern Roman Empire reached only the fringes of the vast ocean of grassland that stretches the breadth of the continent of Asia, from the Sea of Azov and the great gulf of grass forming the Hungarian plain in the west to the Ordos, and extending to the limitless horizon in the east. Herodotus refers to the littoral of this grass lake as Scythia but speaks of its endless and timeless nature — no continuous landscape feature encountered by Hermetic magi is on the same scale.

Tashkent

The Turkish "City of Stone," once the greatest Arab town beyond the Jaxartes, was laid to waste by the vengeful Mongol hordes in 1219, although the Khwarazmshah had already sacked much of it in 1214. Like other towns in the area, it was a city of canals, famous for its vineyards. It formed a trade center between the latter-day Sogdians and their nomadic Turkic neighbors until the recent Mongol incursion. It is already beginning to be resettled and recover its trade position under Mongol lordship and marks the frontier between civilization and the barbarian wilderness.

Talas

In July 751 the Muslim armies led by Ziya ben Salih met a strange expeditionary force from beyond the eastern steppes. Although less significant than the Battle of Poitiers in 732 in the west, this confrontation marked the easternmost expansion of the Arab armies.

Many exotic artisans were captured

Characteristics: Cun –2, Per 0, Pre 0, Com –4, Str +2, Sta +4, Dex –2, Qik +3

Size: +1

Confidence Score: 0

Virtues and Flaws: Enduring Constitution, Long Winded, Improved Characteristic; Simple-Minded

Personality Traits: Brave +2 Reputations: Hardy 1 (local)

Combat:

Kick: Init +5, Attack 0, Defense +5, Damage +3

Soak: +4

Fatigue Levels: OK, 0/0, –1/–1, –3, –5,

Unconscious

Wound Penalties: –1 (1**–6), –3 (7–12), –5 (13–18), Incapacitated (18–**24), Dead (25+)

Abilities: Athletics 4 (long-distance running), Survival 3 (steppe)

Appearance: Slightly smaller than their European cousins, these hardy ponies range in coloration from light grey to dappled brown.

The majority of horses in the Eastern Provinces are the small but hardy ponies of the steppe's nomad tribes. They are notably different than larger breeds commonly used in Europe, Arabia, and southern Persia presented in the Book of Mundane Beasts and Lords of Men, Chapter 5: Leisure.

Steppe ponies are bred from the wild horses of the Steppe by the various nomad tribes that range across it. Exceptional Steppe ponies with the Minor Heroic Virtues Great Bearer and Sure Traveler (see Houses of Hermes: True Lineages, pages 105-107) are highly prized by the Steppe nomads. Like all light horses, a Steppe pony is a fast runner and gets a +3 to rolls involving running or jumping.

in this campaign. The technology of papermaking passed into the Islamic world from such captives, with the first paper mill being built in Samarkand shortly after. Nearly five centuries later, the last Khwarazmshah, Muhammad II, defeated the Faerie forces of the mysterious Kara-Khitai nomad dynasty in 1218 to consolidate

his rule over Transoxiana. The town was razed completely in 1219 by the Mongol

armies on their way to Otrar.

The following statistics represent an example of mundane versions of the Mongol forces invading Transoxiana and Eastern Persia, as seen through the eyes of their victims. These statistics first appeared in one form in Ancient Magic, pages 15–18. Differing characteristics and Ability specializations may be used, depending on their role in your saga. Alternate ideas on the nomad horde and the effect of aligning it to the various Supernatural Realms follow later.

The nomadic peoples of the Mythic Steppe share a belief in a common ancestor and overpower, Khan Tengri, "the

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

Size: 0 Age: 30

Virtues and Flaws: Puissant Ability (Ride), Puissant Ability (Bows), Warrior; Reckless; Disfigured (scars), Infamous

Personality Traits: Brave +3, Reckless +3, Loyal +3

Reputations: Murderous 4 (local)

Combat:

Dagger: Init +0, Attack +7, Defense +6, Damage +4

Composite Bow (mounted): Init +0, Attack +16, Defense +13, Damage +8

Composite Bow (on foot): Init –2, Attack +13, Defense +10, Damage +8

Saber (mounted): Init +4, Attack +14, Defense +12, Damage +7

Saber (on foot): Init +2, Attack +11, Defense +9, Damage +7

Spear (mounted): Init +4, Attack +11, Defense +10, Damage +6

Spear (on foot): Init +2, Attack +8, Defense +7, Damage +6

Soak: +4 (armor and Stamina)

Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, –1, –3, –5, Unconscious

Wound Penalties: –1 (1**–5), –3 (6–10), –5 (11–**15), Incapacitated (16-19), Dead (20+)

Abilities: Animal Handling 3 (horses), Area Lore: Mythic Steppe 3 (geography), Area Lore: Persia 2 (geography), Area Lore: Transoxanian 2 (geography), Athletics 3 (running), Awareness 2 (in combat), Bargain 2 (livestock), Bows 5+2 (composite), Brawl 3 (dagger), Craft Bows 3, Hunt 3 (tracking), Mongolian 5 (military communication), Ride 3+2 (battle), Single Weapon 5 (saber), Survival 3 (steppe)

Equipment: composite bow (Load +2), metal reinforced leather half-armor (Load +2), saber (Load +1), daggers, spear (Load +1)

Encumbrance: 2 (3)

Appearance: A fierce-looking eastern warrior on horseback, his upper body lightly covered by fur-lined leather armor, with an acorn-like metal helmet also fringed with fur. He carries a bow in a quiver on his saddle, a saber, and a short spear with a small hook at the base of the blade.

While there are younger soldiers in the Mongol army, this trooper represents the finest specimen that the characters are likely to encounter, the sort of character who would fight in the vanguard during a group engagement, or who might be found singly acting as a scout or guard.

Leading such troopers are experienced generals — usually regular warriors with exceptional talent rather than blood relatives of the Mongol royal family — or hereditary chieftains. The Mongolian generals are experts in strategy and tactics, and most of their successes may be attributed to their superior military intelligence and their ability to quickly assess the nature of the battlefield. Many of their enemies are fooled by a carefully staged organized retreat, their finest maneuver, wherein they seem to pull back and draw their opponents out behind them in a long pursuit to exhaust them, before suddenly turning around and attacking.

An orlock (Mongol general) can be created as an older Companion-level character based on the Mongol trooper template earlier, with the following changes as an example. Adjust the characteristics to Int 0, Per +1, Pre +2 (1), Com +1, Str 0, Sta +2, Dex +1, Qik 0 due to possession of the Improved Characteristics Virtue. An example orlock might have the following additional Virtues and Flaws: Affinity with Leadership, Clear Thinker, Improved Characteristics, Inspirational, Puissant Ability (Leadership), Self-Confident, Strong-Willed; Enemies (Mythic Middle East), Outsider, Vow (loyalty to Genghis Khan). They lack the Puissant Ability (Bows) Virtue and Reckless Flaw of their troops. Their Confidence score is increased to 2(5) and they have the following Personality Traits: Resolute +3, Ruthless +5, Cunning +4. The average age of an orlock is 40 and they have the following additional Abilities: Artes Liberales 1 (military communication), Craft Siege Equipment 3 (catapults or mangonels), Folk Ken 2 (nobles), Guile 3 (elaborate lies), Intrigue 3 (alliances), Leadership 6+2 (7)(battlefield), Persian 3 (negotiations). They lack the Bargain ability of the common trooper and have their Bows score reduced to only 5. Their Soak, Fatigue Levels, Wound Penalties, Equipment and Encumbrance remain unchanged but their combat statistics will need to be appropriately adjusted. Individual generals encountered may have slightly different Virtues, Flaws and Abilities.

Characteristics: Int +1 (1), Per –1 (1), Pre +2 (1), Com +1, Str –2 (1), Sta +2 (1), Dex –1 (1), Qik +1 (1)

Size: 0 Age: 55

Decrepitude: 1 (5) Confidence Score: 1 (3)

Virtues and Flaws: Wise One; Summoning (see Realms of Power: The Infernal); Ghostly Warder (homeland spirit); Puissant Ability (Ride), Warrior; Enemies (Mythic Middle East); Outsider; Disfigured (scars), Infamous, Vow (loyalty Genghis Khan)

Personality Traits: Resolute +3, Ruthless +5, Discerning +4

Reputations: Murderous 4 (local), Spirit-worshiper 3 (Infernal)

Combat:

Dagger: Init +1, Attack +4, Defense +4, Damage +1

Composite Bow (mounted): Init –1, Attack +12, Defense +10, Damage +5

Composite Bow (on foot): Init –3, Attack +9, Defense +7, Damage +5

Saber (mounted): Init +3, Attack +10, Defense +9, Damage +4

Saber (on foot): Init +1, Attack +7, Defense +6, Damage +4

Spear (mounted): Init +3, Attack +7, Defense +7, Damage +3

Spear (on foot): Init +1, Attack +4, Defense +4, Damage +3

Soak: +4 (armor and Stamina)

Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, –1, –3, –5, Unconscious

Wound Penalties: –1 (1–5), –3 (6–10), –5 (11–15), Incapacitated (16–19), Dead (20+)

Abilities: Animal Handling 3 (horses), Area Lore: Mythic Steppe 3 (geography), Area Lore: Persia 2 (geography), Area Lore: Transoxanian 2 (geography), , Athletics 3 (running), Awareness 3 (in combat), Bargain 3 (spirits), Bows 5 (composite), Craft Bows 2 (composite), Brawl 2 (dagger), Faerie Lore 2 (spirits), Guile 2 (elaborate lies), Hunt 2 (tracking), Infernal Lore 3 (spirits), Leadership 2 (battlefield), Magic Lore 3 (spirits), Mongolian 5 (negotiations), Penetration 4 (spirits), Persian 3 (negotiations), Ride 3+2 (in battle), Single Weapon 3 (saber), Survival (steppe) 3.

Arts: Summoning 22

Equipment: composite bow (Load +2), metal reinforced leather half-armor (Load +2), saber (Load +1), daggers, spear (Load +1)

Encumbrance: 3 (3)

Appearance: An easterner dressed in a collection of tattered cloth, feathers, and beads, carrying a ceremonial drum and stick. Closer inspection reveals his clothing is reversed.

A few of the Mongols in the army are tribal shamans of Great Tengri, the Mongol sky god. Versed in the power of the spirit world, they can summon spirits to aid them by scouting out the area, attacking supernatural enemies, and spying on their opponents. The rules on Solomonic Summoning in Chapter 3: The Order of Suleiman can be used as a guide, and more complex rules for summoning spirits in this way are found in Realms of Power: The Infernal, pages 114–115. For the sake of simplicity, you may assume that the shaman can easily summon an appropriate Faerie, Magical, or Infernal spirit of Might 30 or less and bargain with it to convince it to do his bidding. These spirits might agree to be bound to a weapon, creating a sort of enchanted device, or commanded to perform a task for the shaman. The shamans employ whatever sort of spirit is convenient to help them accomplish their objectives, even demons.

All shamans have a personal familiar spirit, similar to the qareen noted in Chapter 4: The Jinn. This is usually an ancestor spirit associated with their homeland that follows them and aids them. For examples of these sorts of beings and the powers they have at their command, see The Mysteries: Revised Edition or Realms of Power: Magic or use the jinn as a guide to creating various elemental spirits.

Note that these hedge wizards differ somewhat from the original shamans presented in Ancient Magic, page 18.

Great Sky." Like the original spirit of the Hercynian Forest (see Guardians of the Forest, Chapter 3: The Forest, pages 30–40) in the far west, the Great Tengri of the Steppe is a powerful supernatural entity that draws its power from the Magic realm. To Hermetic understanding, this primal spirit is similar to a Kosmokrator of the Steppe and the Sky, an Elder Daimon that governs the vast grass sea of the Mythic Steppe.

Lesser Steppe Spirits

Magic Might: 30-45 (Auram, Terram, or rarely Aquam or Herbam).

All are considered genii loci of their particular steppe.

Typical Powers: Creator of Winds or Earth, Guide, Manifestation, Presence, Ruler of Winds or Earth. All Steppe Spirits possess the Ways of the Steppe Virtue and some have the ability to Grant Major Supernatural Virtues to their chosen messengers.

At its settled fringes, where the Great Steppe has begun to fray under the advance of settled communities, the Great Tengri has engendered lesser spirits at the cost of some of its own power. These lesser spirits are considered genii loci of a particular region, stretches of grassland that can range in size from a small valley, to the size of a large European kingdom. Three possible fates await such lesser fragment spirits.

Survival: The genius locus of the local steppe is strong enough to hold its own against the encroachment of the mundanes and the Dominion. These spirits give rise to magical steppes, such as the southeast plains of Russia around the Sea of Azov, the Dzungarian depression, and the distant eastern plains of Mongolia. Between such peripheries, the Great Steppe spirit rules unchecked, only slightly diminished in power. Beyond these buffers, only lesser nature spirits and faeries are found.

Dissolution: The genius locus of the

steppe is too small to maintain its control over the steppe, or else it borders on more powerful areas that sap its strength until nothing remains. These spirits leave behind a mundane steppe. Examples include Pannonia, where the effects of the nearby Dominion of the Byzantine Empire have forced the lesser steppe spirits to flee into the deeper steppe. Likewise, the Hungarian plain, hemmed in by the arc of the Carpathians, where the formerly nomadic Magyars have settled, has also been sapped of its remaining strength, becoming an isolated promontory of Divine pasture.

Replacement: The genius locus has dwindled and been replaced by another supernatural being. This most commonly gives rise to a Faerie steppe at the edges of

Dark Angels of Punishment

The possibility of an Infernal Mongol horde may appeal to some troupes. Perhaps the nomad leader and his generals are the mortal incarnations of powerful Angels of Punishment, demons of the Order of Avengers of Evil posing as Divine retribution (Realms of Power: The Infernal, pages 39–40). The accompanying shamans may be Infernally-aligned human summoners or even fully-fledged diabolists, but the majority of the horde may still be composed of mundane nomads. Instead of an Angel of Punishment, Genghis Khan may be a startling incarnation of the new Zahhak, possessed by the ancient demonic foe of Persia, Azi Dahak (see Chapter 8: Mythic Persia).

For more high-fantasy Sagas with a strong Infernal theme, the horde may contain true demons of destruction and other Infernal creatures. This latter option is recommended only for high-powered troupes who are willing to explore a heavily Infernal-themed Saga.

Spawn of Gog and Magog

Another alternative is that the Mongol horde has ridden out of Arcadia, the latest incarnation of a recurring story that manifests the fears of nomad brutality and avarice held by the agrarian settlers along the steppe frontier since ancient times. From the biblical hordes of Gog and Magog, then Goths, then the Huns and the Avars, the recent Magyars, and now the Mongols, such cyclic dark Faerie incursions are repeated throughout the history of the region.

In this scenario, Genghis Khan may be the latest role played by a dark Faerie Monarch, with his generals and officials represented by the other powerful court faeries (see Realms of Power: Faerie, pages 80–83). The rank and file of the Mongol horde may contain variants of lesser Faerie Knights, Faerie-touched humans, and mundane human nomads. In a high-fantasy saga, the horse archers of the horde may be led by Faerie centaurs, or contain whole troops of such faeries rather than the mundane Mongol Trooper detailed earlier. The shamans and tributary magicians accompanying the horde would be represented by Faerie Wizards skilled in the Artes Fabulosa, or perhaps true Faeries with powers that can equal, and in some cases exceed, Hermetic magic.

Prester John, I Presume?

A more positive take on the Faerie horde may involve the nomads as the soldiers of Prester John, the Christian King of the East, born out of the legends of the Crusades. The exact source of the legend is unclear, but may relate to corrupted rumors of Sultan Sanjar's defeat in 1141 by the forces of the Qara Khitai at the Qatwan steppes near Samarkand. This far eastern confederation of nomad tribes contained several Nestorian Christian elements under the rule of a mysterious nomad dynasty. Regardless of the legend's origins, the story is popular throughout Mythic Europe, perhaps even popular enough to have drawn a troupe of powerful Faeries

settlement and pastoralists. The power of the original spirit is subsumed by a Faerie incarnation that feeds off the folktales told by the descendents of nomads. The towns along the Jaxartes border a Faerie steppe.

The exact nature of Genghis Khan and his Mongol hordes is best left to individual troupes to determine, based on the needs of their saga and the resources available. The simplest approach is to treat the Mongols as mundane barbarians under a brilliantly talented mundane general and let history unfold as usual. Details for mundane Mongol troops are given earlier. Further details of the nomad horde's activities in the Mythic Middle East in the immediate canonical future are given in Chapter 2 of Ancient Magic, pages 15–18. The bibliography in the Appendix provides further reading and resources available on the web that may aid sagas with a strong Mongol

The Ride of the Shaman

Led by visions of an unending sea of grass beneath the clearest of blue skies, one of the characters wanders out into the steppe alone. After surviving a harrowing night of severe exposure on the Steppe, the character successfully achieves communion with the Steppe spirit and is ordained a shaman of the Great Tengri.

The Ordeal inflicts an effect similar to a premature gain in enough Aging Points (in any Characteristic) to achieve the next level in Decrepitude, automatically forcing a Crisis (see ArM5, pages 169–170), and the gain of enough Warping Points to raise his Warping score by 2.

In return, the character gains the equivalent of the Nightwalker Virtue, and the ability to enter ekstasis and generate a spirit body referred to as a phantasticum in return for the Pagan Flaw — the great spirit, while tolerant, demands its messengers respect its divinity (see Hedge Magic Revised Edition, pages 103–119, for examples of Nightwalker traditions capable of spirit traveling).

The Founder's Final Work

Aloof, distant, and uncaring, the Great Tengri would seem to present no current threat to the western based Order. Unlike the fractured remnants of the Hercynian Forest Spirit, Mercurian rituals have not weakened this primal magical force, and it is yet untouched by the settlement of the mundane and the miracles of the Dominion. Its lands are largely untamed, except at its fringes where the lesser steppe touches on urbanized cultures. Quiet and alien, it remains as powerful as ever, a vast reservoir of magical power waiting to be studied and unlocked by a Hermetic magus dedicated to completing the final work of Hercynius filius Bonisagus, the integration of Merinita's original nature magic into Hermetic theory.

styling themselves as the legions of the lost Christian monarch. Although posing as Divine agents, such creatures may best be presented as Faeries playing a pious role. They feed off the Vitality released by the powerful emotions created by the effect of their arrival on the Islamic Caliphate, and the consequences the news of its devastation has on the embattled Crusaders and the rest of Christian Europe.

The Vengeance of God

A final interpretation of the Mongols is as a Divine host of punishment, although this is the most difficult to realize within the historical framework. Reconciling the massacres of the Transoxanian towns may be problematic, but even within the Dominion, the manipulations of demons and the Infernal attempt to divert the righteous into temptation and sin. The Crusades of the Levant provide a precedent for the paradox of holy war. Of all the scenarios this may be the most challenging to Hermetic magi, as the power of the Divine is the only force that can trump the otherwise unassailable in-game position of the Order of Hermes as the most powerful magic in Mythic Europe. In a Divine horde saga, the Mongol shamans may be holy companions following a monotheistic vision of the Great Tengri. Their holy powers are duly feared by the sahirs and hedge magicians of the Mythic Middle East.

The Lost Line of The Aquila

The fate of the second apprentice of Hercynius is unknown. His name is conjecture, although most tales refer to him simply as The Aquila. Traveling eastwards in search of untouched wilderness, he was last seen entering the littoral steppes north of the Crimea in the late 11th century.

On the third day of the 1228 Tribunal, a strange apparition appears in the Durenmar council chamber. The spirit materializes next to the startled Praeco. Witnesses describe seeing a translucent man carrying a legionary standard, a large eagle, or a blurred summation of both forms. Philipus Niger's first attack appears to have little effect on the supposed spirit. The apparition merely looks around at the gathering, says nothing, and then quickly fades away. The covenant's Aegis appears intact. The elderly Archivist, Xavier of Mercere, claims to recognize the apparition, which he says resembles the long-lost magus.

Is the apparition The Aquila or merely a shamanic descendant spirit traveling by phantasticum? Is there now a Nightwalker tradition strong enough to challenge the Order of Hermes, somewhere out in the Mythic Steppe? Could the lineage of Hercynius have survived? Out of Hermetic contact for nearly two centuries, would the magic of The Aquila's descendants even be recognizable as Hermetic? Where would their allegiances lie — to the Order that abandoned them or to the encroaching nomads of the great grass sea? What ramifications for the Order would ensue if the secret of Parma Magica has been handed down and shared with the hedge magicians of the encroaching hordes?

story element.

More Mythic variants based loosely in historical fact include casting the Mongol leader and even his more famous generals as powerful Blood of Heroes Mythic Companions, as detailed in Houses of Hermes: True Lineages, pages 103–104*.* In this option, the Mongol leaders are scions of Ares (Mars) or perhaps Attila, the most famous nomad raider of the near past.

Alternatively, Genghis Khan himself may be invested as a Spirit Votary of the Great Tengri spirit of the Mythic Steppe, having bargained with the sky spirit on the slopes of the sacred Mongolian mountain of Burkhan Khaldun (see earlier for details on this Kosmokrator*-*level Magic Spirit). This version of Genghis Khan may be able to call upon elemental Magic powers staggering enough to require the fractured Order of Hermes to unite against his campaign or risk annihilation. Rules for Spirit Votaries are detailed in Realms of Power: Magic, pages 88–89.

Magus-level Shamans?

Troupes with access to Hedge Magic Revised Edition may wish to consider using magus-level shamans in their sagas, either as worthy non-Hermetic adversaries or perhaps even as potential recruits to the Order via House Criamon or Ex-Miscellanea. In either of the historically rooted scenarios detailed earlier, a powerful shaman might best be represented as Gifted Companion or Mythic Companion variants of Nightwalkers, able to travel by phantasticum (spirit-body), similar to the Magyar Taltos. Such Magic-aligned nomad magicians may have access to the Goetic Art of Summoning, the Major Virtue Mythic Herbalism and perhaps some minor powers (Flight, Healing, Premonitions, Skinchanger) commonly attributed to the Folk Witches found in other parts of Mythic Europe (see Hedge Magic Revised Edition, pages 33–54, for details of Folk Witches, and pages 103–119, for examples of Nightwalker traditions capable of spirit traveling).