Mortanis
From Mizahar Lore
| The information provided here is not general knowledge. Most, if not all of the information presented here is known only to members of the Mortanis. - |
 "Your blood is on their hand." | |
| Leader | Bile, Champion of Krysus |
|---|---|
| Population | Unknown |
| Most common in | Mizahar Wide |
| Reputation | Assassins |
| Faction gods | Krysus |
| Stronghold | (Rumored) The Ruins of Y'tal |
The Mortanis is a highly secretive faction of men and women that worship Krysus, Goddess of Pain and Murder. The Mortanis are so secretive in their organization and operations that the average person doesn't even know they exist. Those that do know or at least suspect, often do not even know the name, Mortanis; they are aware only of the existence of an organized group of assassins. The fact that there are indeed a number of groups, mostly small in size, specializing in organized assassinations only serves to further hide the true existence of the Mortanis.
Indeed, the Mortanis is much more than a group of assassins out to make a few mizas off the contracted killings of others. It is a fanatical religious sect devoted entirely to Krysus. Each and every member of the Mortanis is marked with Vexation, Krysus' Gnosis and possess at least two marks with most having three. While most who are marked by Krysus, kill in order to relieve their own pain and prevent their own deaths, those of the Mortanis do so out of loyalty to their Goddess; their own pain secondary. The Mortanis see murder and pain as an art form and religious calling, thus they strive to be the best at what they do. This mindset has helped shape the Mortanis into elite killers without equal.
Contents |
History
The Mortanis did not exist before the Valterrian as Krysus also did not exist before then. Roughly a century after her birth into the divine, Krysus, a newborn to divinity, realized that in order to survive, she needed followers. She of course had influence over those who caused pain and committed murder yet seldom were instances of these acts more than random occurrences or at the least, performed by the mentally unstable. She needed a true following that would carry out her will with dedication and skill; a group that would revel in causing pain and murdering as much as she did. With this in mind, Krysus began her search for those individuals who excelled in what she wanted. At first, her search provided nothing more than savage, unstable examples of degraded morality. Such individuals displayed a drive to kill or torture yet lacked any real skill. So soon after the Valterrian, most mortals were too busy trying to survive and rebuild their shattered existences to really be capable of carrying out Krysus' will in a manner that suited her stubborn, finicky desires. Krysus, irritated with the inadequacies of mortals, began spreading her mark across the land. Any act of murder, intentionally caused pain and even strong thoughts of such things would bring about the mark of Krysus. Up until that point, Krysus had not marked a single mortal. Thus, an event now mostly lost in history, the Mortanis Plague, erupted across the land. People from all walks of life began to suffer from headaches that grew quickly into body wracking pain followed by death. Mistakenly attributed to the God, Vaht, the Mortanis Plague eventually ended; history recording its cessation as mysterious as its beginnings.
The Mortanis Plague ended when Krysus was able to pick out the best of those whom she marked. These few individuals discovered the flip side to the curse of Vexation. They began to understand how their own pain could be relieved and in doing so, grew addicted to that relief. They explored and discovered new ways of using their cursed gift and expanded their talents and skills. As time progressed, these individuals gained second marks from Krysus while developing an even greater grasp of the art of killing. Eventually, Krysus revealed herself to those who had taken her mark to such an extent and survived, 15 in all and directed them to the ruins of a temple that once belonged to the dead god whose remains Krysus was spawned from. The journey was wrought with extreme danger and of the original 15, only four remained. The ruins of Y'tal, was where the four survivors met and where Krysus appeared once more. She revealed to the four that as the Goddess of Murder, she was pleased with their skill and creativity in turning the curse into a weapon of pain and death. She made them an offer. If they would formally declare their undying devotion to her and carry out her wishes upon the mortal plane, she would not only provide them with the opportunity for wealth and power but also provide them with the secret to finding prolonged relief from the pain caused by her mark. With their agreement to the deal, the four pooled their combined knowledge and skill in the creation of what they called, the Mortanis.
The Mortanis was formed with the goal of spreading pain and murder across the land. The founders understood however that mindless, unfocused murder would bring too much unwanted attention to them. They needed to keep their roles in such things a secret. Their targets would be specific and the results of those murders would bring about more pain and death in the process. To the founders of the Mortanis, the murder of a single individual could cause pain to those who closest to that person. As they continued to shape the Mortanis, the founders also realized that by making a murder look like it was committed by someone else, they could steer focus away from the organization and thus remain hidden. In the years that followed the formation of the Mortanis, the founders brought others into the fold. They were always keeping watch for individuals who displayed great promise in the art of murder or who had a special talent in the ways of causing pain. The Mortanis grew yet their numbers were kept in check. The larger an organization is, the more noticeable it and its activities are to others. This brought on the need to work through others to attain a specific goal. The Mortanis allowed smaller unaffiliated groups as well as groups with only the loosest of ties to them to carry out assassinations or other tasks the Mortanis needed performed. The Mortanis name was never mentioned to these smaller groups and communication was only performed via specially crafted scrolls. The mark of the Mortanis, a bloody hand, was granted to these groups to use as a symbol of Krysus influence in an assassination so as to better hide the identity of the Mortanis itself. At the present time, the Mortanis remains unknown to the nearly all who exist in Mizahar. Their name means nothing to the average person and their association with assassinations and with Krysus is lost on all but those who directly function within the organization itself.
Membership
One does not seek membership from the Mortanis as none know of its existence. When a potential candidate for membership is revealed, a member of the Mortanis will at some point contact them. The candidate is almost always already marked by Krysus and bares her gift of pain. It is Krysus who communicates with the Mortanis the identity of a candidate. Only those who have the skills and who have pleased Krysus enough in their actions can hope to attain the blessing of being chosen for the Mortanis. A candidate must possess the following:
3 Gnosis Marks from Krysus
At least one of the following skills at Master Level (76+): A Weapon Skill, Poison or Torture
At least one of the following skills at Expert Level (51+): Stealth, Impersonation, Subterfuge or Seduction
At least two of the following skills at Competent Level (26+): Blind Fighting, Escape Artist, Forgery, Cryptography, Intelligence, Unarmed Combat
Maintaining Membership
If one is Mortanis, they must obey the will of their superiors as well as that of Krysus. Failure to do so or acting against either the organization or Krysus will result in unmatched pain followed by brutal death. Perhaps the greatest transgression would be to reveal the existence of the Mortanis to anyone outside of the organization. The penalty for this is becoming the personal plaything of Krysus; never allowed to die, never allowed to move on to another life.
Hierarchy
The Mortanis is relatively small thus an extensive hierarchy is not needed. There are only two three within the organization and only two that are attainable.
Her Hand (Founder) - Of the four founders of the Mortanis, two still remain. Clythe the Nuit and the Vexling, Bile born from the body of Bilentis one of the four founders, who somehow retains fragments of memory from its host. Bile is the current Champion of Krysus. It is important to note that both Clythe and Bile suffer none of the negative effects of Krysus' marks.
Her Blood (Elder Member) – There are only ever four of Her Blood in existence. These Mortanis are the leaders of the organization and are responsible for sending orders to the lesser members. Two of Her Blood answer to Clythe and two to Bile. Each pair divides Mizahar in half by drawing a line down the center of the Suvan Sea. Clythe has the west half, Bile the east. Mortanis (Member) – Members of the Mortanis are known simply as, Mortanis. The number of members is unknown to any but Clythe and Bile but is rumored to be no more than a couple dozen.
Activity
The Mortanis, unknown to all non-Mortanis and even unknown to many members, is headquartered in The Ruins of Y'tal, which duals as the tomb of the long dead god from which Krysus was born. It is also rumored to be the earthly domain of Krysus, Herself. The Mortanis as a whole, are active throughout Mizahar and claim at least one member in nearly every major city. A Mortanis has dominion over the city they operate in as far as committing murder or causing pain in order to stave off the effects of Krysus mark. They usually choose common folk, least important and least missed for this. Targets of official assassinations come from one of Her Blood although a Mortanis has freedom to choose official targets as well if the death of said targets is enough to cause great pain or future murders. For example, if a Mortanis assassinates a local shop owner and frames a competitor for the deed in a way that causes a bloody feud, no matter how short-lived it may be, between families or friends, this constitutes a well-thought out and executed assassination. A successful Mortanis performs such assassinations in order to prolong the pain of others and maximize the number of murders caused by a single act. Messages and orders sent from any rank of Mortanis to another are done so via a specially crafted scroll delivered by any manner of transmission. The scroll is only able to be safely opened by one baring the mark of Krysus. If someone without her mark attempts to open the scrollcase, they are instantly afflicted with an negative third gnosis mark from Krysus. The ability to enchant a scroll in this manner is gifted to the Mortanis upon being accepted into the organization. It is enacted by a drop of their own blood touching the seal on the scroll itself.
While many Mortanis are skilled in the art of murder, some are more adept at causing prolonged pain. These individuals are rare yet highly valued by Krysus as they are able to channel the pain of others in a way that helps satiate Krysus hunger like no other. With every murder committed by the Mortanis, Krysus’ desire for such a thing is tickled for a moment yet never truly satisfied. Torture however can provide a longer lasting meal. While all Mortanis are equally appreciated by their mother, torturers find a special place in her aching heart. These torturers often employ outside groups including slavers, to capture potential victims and send them to the torturer.
The Mortanis also engages in contract killing as a means of funding their operations. Those who seek an assassin to murder another are never aware that they are employing a Mortanis. Through their intelligence network of mercenaries, thieves and spies, the Mortanis gains the knowledge of a desired contract and will approach the potential customer with an offer. Assassinations are not cheap and the more prominent the target, the more influential, the more dangerous, the higher the cost will be. A Mortanis can expect between 200-1,500 from the average contract but will never ask for less than 200. This is where the Mortanis’ skills involving things other than killing come into play. Finding out about who and what the target is, what they do, where they go, it’s all essential for getting the most mizas from a contract with the least amount of risk to the Mortanis themselves.
Those seeking the services of an assassin usually put the word out with the more undesirable aspects of society in order to get the word out. They best be prepared to pay however as failing to uphold their end of the contract can mean a long, painful death or worse, being negatively marked by Krysus.
Benefits
Being a member of the Mortanis brings with it a few benefits.
First, a Mortanis is taught how to craft a special potion from the blood of a victim. By collecting a vial's worth of blood from a victim killed with maximized pain, they may call upon Krysus' blessing to enchant the blood so that when imbibed, they may avoid the effects of their mark for an extra day. However, the crafting of this potion MUST involve a victim suffering unimaginable pain before death and death must be the end result before the blood is collected. Simply killing a person and taking their blood will not do. The potion may be crafted once a week as that is as far as Krysus mercy will go.
Second, a Mortanis has access to any of the lesser organizations, gangs or other groups that may unknowingly serve the Mortanis in the city that the member operates in. This may include the ability to acquire slaves, mizas or information from said groups without anyone knowing that a Mortanis is in operation in said city.
IF the Mortanis knows of the headquraters in Y'tal, they may travel there and commune directly with Krysus, for better or for worse.