How do the Five Guilds interact with the rising of the Sothic eye and the permutations of Fate coming to the fore? The following section provides some possible answers.
SESHA-HEBSU
The Information Age has come. The power of the Word is undeniable during this period, with words traveling across the entire world within hours or even minutes, instead of centuries. The power of words has been unleashed on a scale that only the most imaginative of the Sesha-Hebsu could have dreamt of. Only the creation of the printing press has impacted the Sesha-Hebsu so profoundly, and this is the first Sothic Turn since that event.
Guild leaders across the world are struggling to adjust and adapt. There has been no time to prepare. Mummies who hoped to discuss mass printing with their peers in previous Descents now find their own notes to themselves hopelessly dated. Other Sesha-Hebsu are taking full advantage of the opportunity to scan ancient documents and publish secret lore. Imagine a single word infused with Sekhem duplicated a million times and sent around the world in mere moments. What could be achieved?
As awareness dawns among the members of the Sesha- Hebsu of the implications that the Internet age has for them, guild members have become torn between excitement and fear. Some are embracing the new technology while others prepare to defend against it, keeping their lore offline where it cannot be seen by the wrong eyes.
Conversations and chat rooms are allowing groups of guild members to come together outside the structure of the guild and engage in planned or impromptu conversations about words and relics. With the collected lore of an entire world at the fingertips of their cult members, many of the Sesha-Hebsu believe that it is possible for the first time to collect the knowledge and memory needed to unravel many of the secrets of the Rite of Return and their own existences in a single Descent, this Descent, this Sothic Turn.
The mysteries are unraveling, and the race against time has begun.
TEF-AABHI
The Tef-Aabhi recognize advances in engineering that have occurred, but unlike the Sesha-Hebsu, they don’t share quite the enthusiasm about the technological advances. All the geomantic architecture that they have tried to create continually has its flows altered by the speed of human construction. New skyscrapers alter the flow of Sekhem, along with monuments and rerouted streets. Neighborhoods keep changing, and historical sites become sites of new construction.
The Guilds
99
The dream of creating a new Irem seems closest to fruition in Washington, D.C., but if that should fail, many of the Tef-Aabhi aren’t certain in what direction they should turn their talents. Pollution has begun to ruin even the eternal pyramids of Egypt. Humanity’s insatiable expansion transforms the landscape faster than the Tef- Aabhi can react.
Some Tef-Aabhi have hope that they can take advantage of the opportunities of the modern world. A number have decided to divulge more secrets to their cultists to better exert their will upon an ever-changing world. With recording devices, their plans can be preserved and carried out while they are in the Duat. Other Tef-Aabhi openly wonder if they need to plan on a greater scale, possibly to prepare for travel into space. A few see hope in historical preservation societies and intend to cling to the wonders of the past.
Unfortunately, depression and frustration have gripped a number of guild members. After so many plans have been destroyed, after the work of dozens of Descents is changed in a decade by humans, why should they continue to try? It has been millennia since the Rite of Return, and what have they achieved? They have now lived long enough to realize that even the greatest of their works will crumble. What can be built that can last for eternity?
MESEN-NEBU
The world of the latest Sothic Turn is constantly changing, and the Alchemists are the masters of change. In the past, status in mortal society largely depended on bloodlines. This is the first Sothic Turn where prestige can be purchased, and that suits the Mesen-Nebu. They are able to use their collected resources to emerge as movers and shakers in the modern economy. With the changes technology is bringing to every aspect of human life, they find their adaptability a greater asset than ever.
While their fellow Arisen struggle to understand how ordinary humans increasingly have access to devices that can do things which would have been considered magic in the last century, much less the last Sothic Turn, the constant change only piques the interest of the Alchemists.
Mesen-Nebu cultists have arranged meetings for the Arisen to discuss how to move forward and take advantage of the current state of the world economy and plan for the future. Many of these meetings are more like corporate planning seminars than gatherings of ancient allies. However, while many guilds have seen their influence wane, the Mesen-Nebu, much like the Sesha-Hebsu, see themselves as ascendant. They are gaining more influence and power than ever before, which is impressive considering their pedigree.
As with all the guilds, there is a contingent that disagrees with the guild leadership. They believe that the power of money lures their fellow guild members into a false sense of security and even distracts them from what truly matters. The Mesen-Nebu are about change, but they need to remain focused on what actually matters. Money may not be able to buy their view of success, but it should be used to uncover any items or information that can help them, whether it be sponsoring archaeological digs or purchasing collections of rare artifacts.
MAA-KEP
Perhaps of all the guilds, the Maa-Kep remain unfazed by the power of technology and the burgeoning population of the planet. What they are acutely aware of is a greater need among the Arisen to use judgment. No longer can a mummy raise his hand, intone an ancient syllable and destroy an army without repercussions. The living have been growing in power, and they deserve a commensurate quantity of caution and wary regard.
It is an age where judgment and negotiation are needed, and a time where now, more than ever, the Maa-Kep must serve as ambassadors and emissaries between the other guilds and even the mortal world. But that ideal is far easier said than made reality.
For those who recall the Laborers’ secret purpose, to ensure the ideological purity of their own civilization, the modern age is a curious paradox. What does globalization mean for those who would preserve such a singular vision of ordered life? As one might imagine, the spread of GPS and 24-hour surveillance could affect the workings of the world’s first secret police in broad and unforeseen ways, altering the manner in which the Maa-Kep pursue the rigors of their purpose. With so many of their charges up and about at the same time, this Turn, now, will prove the greatest test of the internal fortitude of the Laborers guild in the entirety of its long existence.
SU-MENENT
How many Sothic Turns will there be? Five? Seven? And when the end comes, does the cycle simply begin again, like the barge of Re drifting ever westward?
The world pulls the Arisen away from their purposes, away from the Judges. Many mummies see the Sothic Turns as a release, a time of freedom to try to recapture their past, a time to serve their own personal needs. These actions disgust the Su-Menent.
Many of the Shepherds hear the call to preach to the other Arisen, reminding them of their duties to the Judges. Attempts are being made to codify service to the Judges and to pass this knowledge on to others. Fear has gripped many of the Su-Menent who worry that mummies have
forgotten what they must do. They see the wonders of the modern world distracting the Arisen even as the living in countries with more luxuries move away from religion.
Although many of the Su-Menent are united in reminding the Deathless whom they serve, others choose to walk the paths of heresy. They believe that the only way to strengthen their faith and battle the foes of the Judges is to understand their enemies, such as the Shuankhsen and the Deceived. This means that they must learn about them, even observe them and document their abilities. Such paths have led many to their destruction, but those who emerge with an understanding of their foes gain many admirers throughout the Guild.
For more information on all of these guilds, see
Guildhalls of the Deathless.
ANTAGONISTS
Although the setting’s primary antagonists are covered in Mummy: The Curse, this section focuses on the Fourth Sothic Turn and on the specific goals and strategies for each group.
THE DECEIVED
As with the other Arisen, the Deceived arise en masse during the Sothic Turn. More than ever before, this is the time for vengeance against their reviled foes. While the Arisen are torn among personal goals, working with their guilds, and planning for the next cycle, the Deceived have a frightening degree of unity of general purpose in this time.
They want to make the Arisen pay.
Some believe that the Deceived have given themselves over to forces of oblivion. Whether those forces are called demons or devils or dark gods, it doesn’t change the fact that the Deceived are rumored to have access to forces that the Arisen don’t fully understand, and that by all accounts, the Deceived and their fanatical cultists will stop at nothing to carry out the will of their masters.
This is correct. The Sothic Turn gives the Deceived a chance to unite and concentrate their might against a single city or meret. They also intend to use the alignment of the stars to perform their own rituals and curse their brethren or draw their masters into the world of the living. A few mummies, especially Sesha-Hebsu, think that the Sothic Turn may give the Deceived a Descent to reawaken and remember who they are. It may even be possible for a member of the Deceived to find redemption or achieve Apotheosis.
This is also correct. Some Deceived fight to be redeemed and to rediscover their lost humanity. Should some of them be brought back from the darkness, they would be a tremendous resource. The knowledge that they possess would not only help to defend against other Deceived, but
may offer a perspective that might reveal how a mummy could become the master of his own fate and no longer the pawn of the Judges.
For more information about the Deceived, please see
Book of the Deceived, but feel free to add your own touches.