Guild Lore
Sanguis Attexo - The Blood Weavers
An ancient and secret order, their origins and deeds shrouded in darkness and mystery, some say they exist only in the wild
imaginings of madmen. Some say they are the descendants of a god or even perhaps the ghosts of the legendary Kushite Cavalry.
There are only 2 written records where reference is made to these "Blood Weavers".
The first:
A report by a guard in Purple Lotus Swamp sent to Mesen, the Captain of the Guard at Khopshef province, regarding events that transpired late in the evening on the 16th day of that month.
"It is my duty to inform you that early this morning a woodcutter by the name of Neseptor was found by a patrol amongst the
mangled bodies of Stygian soldiers. He described a scene of gruesome significance.
I will recount the events as they were described to me.
'I was lost. I had slipped and fallen around midday, I must have hit my head and lost consciousness.
When I woke the evening mists had crept in, the light was all but gone. Only a soft glow illuminated my surroundings.
I started walking and did not know where I was going but at least I was moving. I had hoped that by some chance I might
be able to make out some familiar landmark, but in that light it was hopeless. Panic set in, it was not safe.
Strange sounds were all around me and yet I could see none who caused these sounds.
I started running, I did not know what else to do. I ran as fast I could, my throat was burning.
Suddenly I became aware that I had not had anything to drink since early that morning, I was trapped in this mist
with no water. I was covering more ground than I could see in one step, when suddenly my foot hit something, something hard,
rock or metal. A resounding crack of bone sent waves of pain through my body. My fall was softened by, what, I did not know.
I regained my composure and felt around trying to get my bearings. The air was thick with the stench of death and blood.
My vision cleared and I realised I was lying on a dead body, he was naked. I had tripped over his armour.
I knelt next to him breathing heavily, what I saw I can hardly describe, he was cut and mutilated beyond the extent
which battle would cause. No, these were patterns, carefully engraved upon his flesh.
It was a large circle formed by many smaller ones, woven and interlinked. I sat bewildered staring at this corpse,
this man of Stygian descent. I am Stygian.
It dawned on me suddenly, the rumors of a band of worshippers loyal to Bente.
Up to this point I had discounted these whisperings as the products of drug induced hallucinations caused by
the Black Lotus plant. They must be near, these wounds are fresh. The pain in my foot was intense,
I bit down hard to contain it and tried to stand and run but two strides later the pain became to much to bear and I collapsed.
There was a tree nearby so I crawled up to it and lay against it.
While trying to decide on what course of action I should take I heard voices, not voices, but soft whisperings.
I crawled slowly, very slowly, towards the unknown sound and the malice that surrounded it. The light had faded further, I could make out no shapes now, just blurry outlines that resembled trees and rocks. I crawled on, the rhythmic chanting was now distinct. Shapes alien to that of the natural swamp were beginning to form on the edge of my vision. I hid myself behind a bush and covered myself as best I could. I was to witness something rare and unseen. I could not count them but by the sound of their voices they must have numbered over fifty.
Five of these shapes moved slowly towards a man lying motionless on the floor. They knelt down around the body and carefully removed the armour and clothing. One of these, he must have been the senior amongst them, drew a dagger and began to work meticulously and slowly at the corpse.
He must have been engraving that pattern. While doing this, the others kept chanting. This ritual took time, it was done with precision.
The chanting continued for hours, throughout the night they moved slowly and ceremoniously amongst the trees kneeling down and
operating on each corpse. There were many corpses, more than I was willing to count. I lay still, they seemed not to notice me,
they were transfixed by their ceremony. Eventually the chanting subdued and the shapes vanished into the mist.
There was no movement around me but still I was too afraid to move. I lay their until your patrol discovered me."
A number of details that might interest you:
150 dead Stygian regular army spearmen.
9 dead officers.
Every soldier had had his armour removed and had the circular pattern carved into his body.
There were no dead bodies found other than those of our Stygian soldiers.
The soldiers killed were on their way to reinforce a fortress bordering Kush.
Please advise us on the course of action we should take to respond to this outrageous attack.
As far as we know this is the only eye witness account of the activities of this secret order.
The second is a fragment of a letter found on a body, said to be one of them:
South of Stygia is the land of Kush, a rolling grassy green land, unlike the dry deserts of Stygia,
one still say that is our home...........we know we are tied together by her blood.
Her blood was of 2 skeins, a mortal and a goddess, and woven as it was in her, so it is in us.
My son it is time for you to join me, to follow your destiny and learn the ways of our kind.
We will one day return to reclaim our homeland and to avenge our ancestors, but until then ................
and then these words....
I seek you Bente, my Goddess,
I honour you in blood with every life I take.
My life is dedicated to your art, your image
always in my dreams and guiding my sword.
My battles are my homage to your heart
A heart throbbing with the blood of a god and a mortal
woven eternally through your veins and mine.
Engraved on the statue of Bente in Kush are these words:
"I am a goddess.
A thousand years ago there descended upon me the curse of the greater gods, the gods of darkness beyond the borders of light.
The mortal in me died a violent death; the goddess in me could never die.
Here I have lain for so many centuries, to awaken each night at sunset and nurture a select army of Sons of Bente" (Howard - The 'Goddess in Meroe')
Could these "Blood Weavers" be the descendants of this army?.