Episode 40: Clan Harbingers of Skulls

[@chihuahuaman917]

"The tragedy of the Cappadocians were that their own antediluvian betrayed them for his selfish goal. I don't what is worse, being abandoned by the other kindred clans while being hunted down by usurpers or being betrayed by your own antediluvian and slowly succumbing to your own hatred and beast." - Glykeria, Salubri Elder

[@Iwuznothere]

Sargon, a powerful Mage, Seer and Priest who knew he would lose much during his Embrace, tried to write all of his secrets, including a ritual to become a God and possibly even foretelling his own self inflicted destruction down in notes that would become known as the artifacts The Sargon Codex and Fragments. The Embrace took more than his Avatar from him, in life Sargon made many enemies in the wraiths and spirits he abused in his prophesies and machinations, and in his brief time in the Underworld before he rose as a vampire, they robbed him of part of his soul trying to keep him from leaving - forever shattering the kindred in flawed embrace. Marked with a decaying corpse like body and a Jhor level obsession with Death, he was a slave to an unconscious hunger to restore himself. In his broken state, the Ante took the name Cappadocius and sired a clan to plumb the secrets of Death and of God. Like their flawed father, Lazarus, Augustus Giovanni, Ambrogino Giovanni and anyone who learns of a ritual known as The Anointing from Fragments such as the Anexhexeton swiftly gain a mad desire for Apotheosis. And like their father, spectacularly fail and lead themselves to their own Final Death, time and time again. No Kindred, not even Caine himself, embodies the concept of a self-fulfilling doomed prophesy as much as Cappadocius.

[@davidberkowitz7411]

Time to do a lore deep dive on this clan. I have been missing out on it.

[@chickenusgoddus464]

"Pasta eating fiend" fucking gold

[@Welther47]

The spaghetti monster god

[@oe4744]

Ok, the storyteller is very, very old. All the things he witnessed. Love the side-story tailoring these videos.

[@LoreByNightVtM]

The Narrator is very old indeed and has many friends in many places. He has heard of many things, but has seen much more...

[@oe4744]

Malkavs network whispered to me it agrees.

[@OldJerzyDevil]

@@oe4744 Yeah, the ghost of Helen Keller told me the same thing. Well not in so many words.. 🖤

[@Uzurr69]

That organ music track in your episodes is absolutely fantastic.

[@LoreByNightVtM]

Thanks! It is called Cainite Congregation, composed for the podcast by Jack Le Breton!

[@Uzurr69]

@@LoreByNightVtM thank you!!!

[@zackpeacekiller243]

Never late for a new release. Rejoice!

[@LoreByNightVtM]

Praise the Moon \o/

[@DanteWallker]

At last! Thank you for the great summary, it's extremely useful

[@LoreByNightVtM]

I do my best! 😊

[@TheCourtsOfLove]

The Haringer's are so interesting but I still always get more questions than answers, for example if a Harinber has died (Whether they were a Risen or a normal Harbinger Kindred) if they have met final die again or first time can they return like they possibly did before? And also what about the Cappadocians that were slain by the Giovanni, especially when v5 gives us Lazerene Blessing, the ceremony to bring a individual back from the shadowlands if they have a fetter.

[@naughtseeingeye7767]

The Gangrel Noddist, Beckett broke the seal keeping the city of Kaymakli closed. You should do an audiobook of the Fall Of Atlanta books

[@AlexBermann]

Our antedeluvian, Cappadocius is an intriguing figure - and I do believe that most of what we presumably know of him is a lie. Let us first start with his name: Cappadocius. One only needs to take a look at this name to see that it is a Latin name - or possibly title. What Noddists do know about his is that he was embraced in the first city, which was destroyed in the deluge. This would make him considerably older than the language of his name. This would mean that he made sure that nobody knows him by name. If we look at the basics of Egyptian and Sumerian magic, and by extention what the Hermetic Order is doing, there is magical power in names. Cappadocius interest in death also reminds in a tradition of the awakened, the Thanatoics. I would argue that Cappadocius was a follower of that school of magic and that he sought out immortality just like Tremere did millenia after him. Another interesting part of this is that both Saulot and Cappadocius are considered by some to be Ashur - the founder of the Baali. Both Cappadocius and Saulot have been diablerized and might have a hand in the actions of the ones who diablerized them. I do not know what the machinations of them are - but I suspect that the Harbingers play a big part in Cappadocius plan. To understand that plan, one has to look further back to his inspiration: the fall of Eden. The tree of knowledge was placed in Eden so that Adam an Eve would sin by eating from it. When God kept Cain alive, he preserved the first murderer. The Harbingers are similar: they are sinners that have been deliberately alive. Their torment tempered them like swords. Following this line of thought, them being forced to commit diablery on each other may just as well serve the same purpose. We simply believe the elder when they tell us that diablery is pure evil because you eat the victims soul - a propaganda not unlike what was thrown to the Salubri. When Cappadocius, one who told his clan to follow the path of God, planned to diablerize God, does this not seem odd? Sure, we can just say that he was a mad, evil necromancer, but what if his studies about the Wheel of Souls tells us something about diablery that completely changed everything - including what a person actually is. The serpents tell us that reality itself is a prison that keeps us from our divine nature - and I propose that this is what Cappadocius wants to escape from and that he sought to open the gates of revelation for some of his clan.

[@Iwuznothere]

It will always be strange that the Harbingers of Skulls, vampires who at one time were so driven by a thirst for revenge against their own kind that abandoned them and any that helped the Giovanni destroy them - would later spare the Giovanni too young to take part or Giovanni that assisted them in the destruction of any involved in their genocide. Some within the Hecata still take pride in what they have done under the Banner of the Sword of Caine, happily donning their War Mask in regaling past glory. And for those specific kindred to show Mercy on enemies such as the Giovanni in their most weakest hour, let alone any kindred ever, however tempered by logic or Elder manipulation they were at the time, is near unheard of. Even The Capuchin turned Alexia Theusa into ash in frenzied rage when she tried to use the Sargon Codex for her own desires. And yet, a new Anziani Council leads Hecata with The Capuchin sitting in what was Uncle Augustus's chair, while they are surrounded by Elder Giovanni that were at one time Augustus's most trusted advisors as the 1444 Chamber. Revenge is a funny thing.

[@LordReginaldMeowmont]

Could you do videos on the different disciplines? I'm especially curious about the magic traditions like Abyss Mysticism.

[@LoreByNightVtM]

I have one planned for Blood Sorcery that will go live in about 7 weeks from now and thought about doing more in the future.

[@unatco1148]

Spooky Scary Skeletons

[@Crow15891]

I legit can’t wait till you get to the lamia

[@LoreByNightVtM]

Sooooon

[@MaciekJaTylkoZartowalem]

What about ahrimames?

[@LoreByNightVtM]

Sooooooon

[@mikkovaittinen3835]

What will you do next?

[@LoreByNightVtM]

Follow the Lore By Night social media pages for regular updates!

[@anyoneatall3488]

What do you prefer owod or cod

[@LoreByNightVtM]

I am only familiar with World of Darkness, so I can say whether it is better or worse than Chronicles of Darkness

[@ryttu3k]

Hey now nothing wrong with eating pasta :(

[@LoreByNightVtM]

There is not. I love pasta. The Narrator on the other hand...?

[@Welther47]

We has such an amazing imagination, and that's why Im so surprised that people seriously believes religions and superstitions - I guess, the difference is presentation.