Post by Admin on Apr 21, 2016 19:31:22 GMT
Aralu: (Ghemalish: sleeper) four mysterious beings whose crypts rest in the heart of the catacombs below Enoch. The majority consensus holds them to be the torpid bodies of Antediluvians.
Bahari: (Swahili: sea, ocean, singular: Ba’ham alias: Lilitu, Lilins) disciples of the Dark Mother Lilith. As their name infers, Bahari engulf everything in their path. Most members of the Tal’Mahe’Ra count themselves among the Lilins. In the past three centuries, the cult has become the bedrock that the Sect rests upon.
Blood Familiar: a magus enslaved to a vampire, either by spells or Discipline use.
chatterling: (alias: quli, Arabic: say) the mortal servants of the Hand, whose name grew out of an insult derived from their propensity to tremble when speaking to their masters. Chatterlings provide a ready supply of slave labor and nourishment for the vampires of the Sect. A small percentage are abducted during infancy, then trained from a young age to be ghouls or prospective childer.
Del’Roh: (Ghemalish: to serve) the title of the supreme governor of the Tal’Mahe’Ra. Anadja, the current Del’Roh, earned it by being the sole vampire capable of approaching the Basalt Throne since the rediscovery of Enoch in the lands of the dead. Her lack of need for rest, and evident immunity to the negative effects of the Underworld upon other Kindred, are attributed to mystical properties granted by the Throne.
dominion: a captain and field marshal of the Black Hand.
Eastern Hand: (alias: Right Hand) the half of the Sect who remained localized to Enoch, the Middle East, and India after the War of the Betrayers. In the Modern Nights, membership in the Eastern Hand denotes focus upon scholarly pursuits.
Elioud: (alias: Shadow Crusade) Hand members tasked to investigate, track and exterminate Asakku. Named for the grandchildren of the Nephilim in Abrahamic lore.
Enoch: (alias: The First City) a city purportedly built by Caine, the progenitor of all vampires. Thought destroyed, its dark reflection was discovered in the Underworld and subsequently requisitioned as the capitol of the Tal’Mahe’Ra. One unpopular theory posits that the city’s current purpose is to act as a prison for the Aralu, placing them as far away from the mortal world as possible.
False Hand: (alias: Lost Tribe) members of the Sabbat Black Hand unaffiliated with the Tal’Mahe’Ra. Their practices center on the teachings of the Weeping Master and his pupil Anosh.
Ghemalish: the original tongue spoken in Enoch and etymological root of the Indo-Dravidian, Egyptian, Sumerian, and Mixe-Zoque languages. Ghemalish is named for the tower of Ghemal in Enoch, where inscriptions of the language were first discovered. Enochian is a phonetic transliteration of Ghemalish leaked to the mortal world by an abandoned ghoul previously enthralled to a Noddist domitor that met Final Death.
Guarded Rubrics: an ancient library entrusted to the Tal’Mahe’Ra by the being called Inauhatan. The Rubrics is the most complete collection of vampiric history in existence.
Idran: (proto- Tibetan: sower of dust) the founding cult of the Tal’Mahe’Ra. These Himalayan necromancers broke off from the Chakravanti predecessors of the Euthanatos, and include Itarajana magi, Nagaraja vampires, and others who study the Path of the Bones.
Itarajana: (pre- Sanskrit: the others. Sanskrit: ordinary man) mortal magi, specifically heirs of the Idran sorcerers.
kamut: (ancient Egyptian: wheat) the basic unit of Black Hand operations, whose name implies a cultivated crop. Formed and led by dominions, kamuts are impermanent and vary in size. Dominions assemble partnerships of two to strike teams consisting of a dozen agents, based on mission parameters. After achieving their objectives, the kamut disbands. Columns are kamuts whose missions require ongoing or indefinite investment.
Kaymakli: (Armenian: Monastery of the All-Savior. Old Form: Enegup) an underground city carved into the mountains of Anatolia. For centuries, Kaymakli was a prison to the Cappadocians entombed within. Once freed, the Harbingers of Skulls offered the city between worlds, gateway to the Deadlands, as a gift to the Tal’Mahe’Ra upon joining the Sect.
Marijava: A revenant family that has served the Tal’Mahe’Ra as spies and assassins. Some believe that a cadet family of the Marijava also serve the Ravnos and Setites.
Molochim: descendants of the Baali Methuselah Moloch (called Adramelech by his flock), Molochim are among the most effective infernalist hunters in the Black Hand.
Nergali: (alias: infernalists) Nergali are Baali offspring of the Methuselah Nergal and other vampires in allegiance with demonic entities.
qadi: (Arabic: judge, plural: qadis) an interpreter of law who, with other qadis, adjudicates the policies of the Sect. When capitalized, the Qadi refers to the entire group as a whole.
rawi: (Arabic: reciter, plural: ruwat) a scholar of the Tal’Mahe’Ra who, with other ruwat, protect and study of the Guarded Rubrics. When capitalized, the Rawi refers to the entire group as a whole.
seraph: the generals of the Tal’Mahe’Ra who answer only to the Del’Roh. Named for the highest division of Christian angels, they oversee entire continents, enemy Sects, and regions of particular interest to the True Black Hand.
shakar: (Sanskrit: beneficent or bringer of bliss, plural: shakari) the professional assassins, guardians, and hunters of the Black Hand.
Tabula Adversa: (Latin: slate of the adverse) an index of vampires marked for destruction by the Tal’Mahe’Ra.
Tal’Mahe’Ra: (Ghemalish: Hand-Without-Sun. alias: True Black Hand, Latin: manus nigrum) a Sect of vampires that originated as a death cult. Now, the Tal’Mahe’Ra is a global organization of interconnected factions unified by common purpose: reverence for the Antediluvians, the ushering in of Gehenna, the elimination of Asakku and infernalists, and the stewardship of humankind and vampires alike. Tyndarids: an epithet for the founders of the True Brujah, named for the Greek twins Castor and Pollux. Both are said to be hermaphrodites and sun worshipers who allow pinholes of light to etch scarification patterns upon their bodies as they rest during the day.
Underworld: (aliases: Shadowlands, Deadlands) the spirit plane of the dead on the edge of nothingness, com-posed of ghostly echoes from the material world.
wazir: (Arabic: minister, plural: wuzara) the seraphim, yamasattva, and the Del’Roh. The wuzara determine the Sect’s direction and monitor the development of its long-term goals. When capitalized, the Wazir refers to the entire group as a whole.
Western Hand: (alias: Left Hand) the portion of the Sect who made Europe their home when the Tal’Mahe’Ra was divided. The Western Hand fosters members whose specialization revolves around worldly pursuits.
Yamasattva: (Sanskrit compound of death and purity) an immortal magus whose soul is bound to their animated dead body through powerful magic. Three yamasattva from the Idran serve on the Wazir, devoted guardians of Enoch who predate the foundation of the Sect. Younger vampires sometimes refer to these sorcerers as “liches”.
Bahari: (Swahili: sea, ocean, singular: Ba’ham alias: Lilitu, Lilins) disciples of the Dark Mother Lilith. As their name infers, Bahari engulf everything in their path. Most members of the Tal’Mahe’Ra count themselves among the Lilins. In the past three centuries, the cult has become the bedrock that the Sect rests upon.
Blood Familiar: a magus enslaved to a vampire, either by spells or Discipline use.
chatterling: (alias: quli, Arabic: say) the mortal servants of the Hand, whose name grew out of an insult derived from their propensity to tremble when speaking to their masters. Chatterlings provide a ready supply of slave labor and nourishment for the vampires of the Sect. A small percentage are abducted during infancy, then trained from a young age to be ghouls or prospective childer.
Del’Roh: (Ghemalish: to serve) the title of the supreme governor of the Tal’Mahe’Ra. Anadja, the current Del’Roh, earned it by being the sole vampire capable of approaching the Basalt Throne since the rediscovery of Enoch in the lands of the dead. Her lack of need for rest, and evident immunity to the negative effects of the Underworld upon other Kindred, are attributed to mystical properties granted by the Throne.
dominion: a captain and field marshal of the Black Hand.
Eastern Hand: (alias: Right Hand) the half of the Sect who remained localized to Enoch, the Middle East, and India after the War of the Betrayers. In the Modern Nights, membership in the Eastern Hand denotes focus upon scholarly pursuits.
Elioud: (alias: Shadow Crusade) Hand members tasked to investigate, track and exterminate Asakku. Named for the grandchildren of the Nephilim in Abrahamic lore.
Enoch: (alias: The First City) a city purportedly built by Caine, the progenitor of all vampires. Thought destroyed, its dark reflection was discovered in the Underworld and subsequently requisitioned as the capitol of the Tal’Mahe’Ra. One unpopular theory posits that the city’s current purpose is to act as a prison for the Aralu, placing them as far away from the mortal world as possible.
False Hand: (alias: Lost Tribe) members of the Sabbat Black Hand unaffiliated with the Tal’Mahe’Ra. Their practices center on the teachings of the Weeping Master and his pupil Anosh.
Ghemalish: the original tongue spoken in Enoch and etymological root of the Indo-Dravidian, Egyptian, Sumerian, and Mixe-Zoque languages. Ghemalish is named for the tower of Ghemal in Enoch, where inscriptions of the language were first discovered. Enochian is a phonetic transliteration of Ghemalish leaked to the mortal world by an abandoned ghoul previously enthralled to a Noddist domitor that met Final Death.
Guarded Rubrics: an ancient library entrusted to the Tal’Mahe’Ra by the being called Inauhatan. The Rubrics is the most complete collection of vampiric history in existence.
Idran: (proto- Tibetan: sower of dust) the founding cult of the Tal’Mahe’Ra. These Himalayan necromancers broke off from the Chakravanti predecessors of the Euthanatos, and include Itarajana magi, Nagaraja vampires, and others who study the Path of the Bones.
Itarajana: (pre- Sanskrit: the others. Sanskrit: ordinary man) mortal magi, specifically heirs of the Idran sorcerers.
kamut: (ancient Egyptian: wheat) the basic unit of Black Hand operations, whose name implies a cultivated crop. Formed and led by dominions, kamuts are impermanent and vary in size. Dominions assemble partnerships of two to strike teams consisting of a dozen agents, based on mission parameters. After achieving their objectives, the kamut disbands. Columns are kamuts whose missions require ongoing or indefinite investment.
Kaymakli: (Armenian: Monastery of the All-Savior. Old Form: Enegup) an underground city carved into the mountains of Anatolia. For centuries, Kaymakli was a prison to the Cappadocians entombed within. Once freed, the Harbingers of Skulls offered the city between worlds, gateway to the Deadlands, as a gift to the Tal’Mahe’Ra upon joining the Sect.
Marijava: A revenant family that has served the Tal’Mahe’Ra as spies and assassins. Some believe that a cadet family of the Marijava also serve the Ravnos and Setites.
Molochim: descendants of the Baali Methuselah Moloch (called Adramelech by his flock), Molochim are among the most effective infernalist hunters in the Black Hand.
Nergali: (alias: infernalists) Nergali are Baali offspring of the Methuselah Nergal and other vampires in allegiance with demonic entities.
qadi: (Arabic: judge, plural: qadis) an interpreter of law who, with other qadis, adjudicates the policies of the Sect. When capitalized, the Qadi refers to the entire group as a whole.
rawi: (Arabic: reciter, plural: ruwat) a scholar of the Tal’Mahe’Ra who, with other ruwat, protect and study of the Guarded Rubrics. When capitalized, the Rawi refers to the entire group as a whole.
seraph: the generals of the Tal’Mahe’Ra who answer only to the Del’Roh. Named for the highest division of Christian angels, they oversee entire continents, enemy Sects, and regions of particular interest to the True Black Hand.
shakar: (Sanskrit: beneficent or bringer of bliss, plural: shakari) the professional assassins, guardians, and hunters of the Black Hand.
Tabula Adversa: (Latin: slate of the adverse) an index of vampires marked for destruction by the Tal’Mahe’Ra.
Tal’Mahe’Ra: (Ghemalish: Hand-Without-Sun. alias: True Black Hand, Latin: manus nigrum) a Sect of vampires that originated as a death cult. Now, the Tal’Mahe’Ra is a global organization of interconnected factions unified by common purpose: reverence for the Antediluvians, the ushering in of Gehenna, the elimination of Asakku and infernalists, and the stewardship of humankind and vampires alike. Tyndarids: an epithet for the founders of the True Brujah, named for the Greek twins Castor and Pollux. Both are said to be hermaphrodites and sun worshipers who allow pinholes of light to etch scarification patterns upon their bodies as they rest during the day.
Underworld: (aliases: Shadowlands, Deadlands) the spirit plane of the dead on the edge of nothingness, com-posed of ghostly echoes from the material world.
wazir: (Arabic: minister, plural: wuzara) the seraphim, yamasattva, and the Del’Roh. The wuzara determine the Sect’s direction and monitor the development of its long-term goals. When capitalized, the Wazir refers to the entire group as a whole.
Western Hand: (alias: Left Hand) the portion of the Sect who made Europe their home when the Tal’Mahe’Ra was divided. The Western Hand fosters members whose specialization revolves around worldly pursuits.
Yamasattva: (Sanskrit compound of death and purity) an immortal magus whose soul is bound to their animated dead body through powerful magic. Three yamasattva from the Idran serve on the Wazir, devoted guardians of Enoch who predate the foundation of the Sect. Younger vampires sometimes refer to these sorcerers as “liches”.