Peri (The War Masters)

"The ethical issue of whether relishing in the darkest moment of humanity is not a concern of the Peri who understand that conflict is a necessary part of existence. But, remember that there are even bounds to the ways of Peri. Torture and extreme cruelty have no place in the glory of battle, nor do wars without risk, for they evoke none of the adrenal-pleasure that proper warfare does. Modern times are quite disappointing to the Peri who once fought side-by-side with pike-wielding countrymen and shared trenches with the most desperate of men.  Make no mistakes---we feed on conflict."

Sanctuary Types

Underneath the Earth lies the Underworld, a land of subterranean passageways, deep shafts and immense caverns. This is the land of the Peri, where the immortals who sought its protection forged homes from the rock. Yet, underneath this world, there lies the Foundry, a fortress even deeper and hotter than the blackness of the Underworld. This is where the Peri found their beginnings, where the Deepwalkers forged from them from the mineral elements. Few Peri venture this far underground, for the Foundry is an ancient place built by the alien Abzulim and filled with unpleasant, eternal living traps.

The underworld is divided into seven tiers, each one deeper than the next. The deeper the tier, the more fortified strongholds a traveler will find. The Peri maintain their creche, the Hearth, on the Fifth Tier.

Stronghold and Influence

The Peri claim the Underworld as their home and make no claims to any regions within the Mortal world. Nevertheless, they do maintain a presence in most major cities around the world as they have increasingly learned that sustained ties with the humans is highly beneficial to their hopes of vanquishing the Sanguinary. In the past, they have worked silently with the mortals to aid them with their war craft and to this end help them develop metallurgy and battle tactics. These efforts have transformed the humans into formidable warriors with weapons on a scale that the immortals could never have dreamed of. Now, the Peri consider the mortals worthy allies in the coming times.

The current Peri strongholds in the Mortal world include Tokyo and New York City's subway systems where many entrances into the Underworld exist. These places are the focus of many Peri operations, using the cloak of random violence to conceal their actions. In addition, the quick-moving trains allow them to distance themselves from their deeds in short time. This network of mortal-crafted tunnels is highly respected by the Peri and similar operations have been organized in all major cities that are home to underground rapid transit systems, such as London, Paris, Boston, Osaka, Montreal and Los Angeles.

Otherwise, the Peri are loathe to maintain concentrations of power and individuals within the human world for fear of discovery by other prides of the Perpetual Society. As such, most major cities are home to no more than a handful or two of Peri who operate together but maintain separate lives. This reduces the chance of their discovery and allows them to operate with relative anonymity. Peri watch all technological firms with great interest and control as many as they can. They also watch these sites for incursions by cannibal drones.

Appearance

Himsati Form:

The true forms of the Peri can vary in appearance from either weapons (in the case of the original Peri), gargoyles (Mimir's children who were changed by the Drove Azhoth), android-like creatures (as those among the Bloodstones and the Palin) or more earthly elementals forms such as lava and crystal mixed with a humanoid appearance.

All Peri possess the artifice nature, which allows them to assume lesser versions of one of the nine exalted forms of the Kai-Ra. They may also assume a pure mineral form, appearing as a humanoid carved from the appropriate stone. And they may assume human shape and appear completely human. Anyone uplifted into their ranks has his himsati changed into a mineral, although it's animal attributes also remain.

System Note: Grotesque (Peri Gift for Gargoyles)
This himsati nature allows a gargoyle to meld himself with architecture so as to become part of it, composed of the same material and showing the same wear or erosion as his surroundings. Negated by a blue (perception) roll of 12 or more.

System/Cultural Note: Nine Forms of Artifice
All the Kai Rai were forged into what is known to the Peri as the Nine Exalted Forms: the staff, dagger, arrow, ,hammer, knife, ax, mace, sword, and polearm.  The artifice nature of each Peri will turn them into one of these nine forms. 

Terrene Form:

In human form, Peri of a certain kin will share features with the others of his kin. All members of Kin Bloodstone, for example, have black hair, black skin and black eyes with flecks of red in them. All the members of Kin Palin look as if they were children.

Common to all Peri is how they distinguish themselves within their own culture. The most important feature a Peri prizes is the color of his eyes. In whatever form they choose, A Peri's eyes reflects the color of his kin as a sign of loyalty. For more information on the kins, you can check out the abridged version of the Peri Sourcebook (see Other Information below for more details).

Gender Ratio:

Male: About 60% Female: About 40%

History:

The Peri were first created by the Kai-Ra, nine mystical living weapons crafted by nine dread Abzulim warlords, the Deepwalkers. The Kai-Ra, designed to kill the elementals (Primals) harrassing the Abzulim empire, soon turned on their masters and vowed never to harm another elemental (creatures they aspired to become). Most of the history of the Peri occured underground where they constantly struggled with the evil Drove Azhoth, vampiric blades who struck from their hidden city of Alavastis.

The first of the Kai-Ra, the immortal later called Solitaire, left the other nine to seek enlightnement, finding a teacher in the deep underworld known as the Silver Seeress. She would eventually achieve eidos, but rather than leaving our plane of reality, she remained, poigniantly aware that the Sanguinary's victory on this world would herald the end of the universe itself. Before she left the other Kai-Ra, she bore twin sons whose himsatis were purest gold, Sindre and Ivalde. These brothers would lead the Peri for a long time, until the plots of other immortals turned them against one another and all but destroyed the Peri from within.

To ensure a fortress strong enough to shelter their people, and driven to create a wonder the world had never seen, the twins constructed the Walk, a vast city-bridge which encircled much of the earth, spanning the quiet depths of the underworld. As the Walk neared completion, they discovered one of the largest shards of the Sanguinary, a blue radiant stone they called the Blue Emerald. This treasure, possessing enough power to operate the many clever technogies constructed within the Walk, became its control center.

Factions of the Peri did no trust the fact that a shard of the Sanguinary lay in their midst, no matter that it was of huge benefit in keeping the Walk's many regions functioning smoothly and serving as a computer-like organic processor to store their collected tales. Despire please from the Blue Emeralds devout companions, the Cerulean Order that the Blue Emerald opposed the Sanguinary, a decision was made to cut the shard into smaller, controllable stones. The Cerulean Order could not allow this, and absconded into the deeps of the Underworld with the Emerald. The Walk, dependant on the shard for its power, went dark and would remain forever a monument of Peri artisanship and paranoia. It would also leave the Peri open to attacks by the Azhoth, their Drove enemies. After many violent struggles, the Droves broke into the Walk and stole a number of the Kai-Ra who slept in the vault. Only two--Excalibur and Mimir remained behind, and only because both had been hidden elsewere by the Ladies of the Lake whose mantle, Avalon, was the home of one of the last of the living Sunedrion trees, a beautiful autumn apple tree bearing radiant fruit.  The Azhoth also carried off a number of Peri to their city of Alavastis, a foul breeding pit where they would forever transform their prisoners.

Mimir awoke from his deep trance and discovered how his children, the Peri, had suffered at the hands of the Droves. Enraged, he drank deeply of the lake surrounding Avalon, whose water was pure and touched with the light of the sunedrion tree. Empowered, he tracked down the city of Alavastis and destroyed it. Drained of his efforts, Galatine sank once more into his ennui and  was carried back to the Peri by the prisoners of Alavastis, Peri who became known as the Gargoyles for the grotesque way the Azhoth had twisted their himsatis. Forever after, the Gargoyles would revere Mimir.

The twins established other fortresses as more and more Peri left the dark treacherous corridors of the Walk.  Eventually exploration of the upper world led to contact with the Court of Storms. Within this Court the Peri befriended the Morrigan. One of the Morrigan, Loki, became an ambassador between the people under the earth and the people who lived in the sky. Eventually, in tribute to this friendship, the Peri helped the Morrigan construct Asgard, a mightly floating city and the place that would one day become the center of their power. Loki was, alas, ever an opportunist. He sowed dissention within the Peri, challenging both Sindre and Ivalde to a contest to see which was a better craftsman. The contest became bitter, ultimately leading to civil war when Loki judged Sindre's works superior to Ivalde's, his brother. The civil war waged so long that resentment between the twins outgrew all other concerns. When at least Sindre's forces were victorious, he banished his brother and his supporters to the upperworld, there to become slaves to Loki's people. In their despair, the Ivaldi embraced the Sanguinary and became Droves, eventually escaping back into the underworld to revitalize the ranks of the Azhoth.

Sindre, heavy with guilt for committing his brother to such a fate, entered an unwavering trance, lost to his people. It was not until the arrival of a beautiful stranger, Ganieda, that he would be brought out of his lassitude. She beguiled him and as reward for lightening his heart, she was given access to the forges of the Peri, including the Foundry, built and abandoned by the Abzulim at the beginning of the world. In the Foundry, using Abzulim arts she divined from the alien place, Ganieda created a charm that caused the Peri to fall under her power. The Peri females she made pregnant with this device, creating a new race completely loyal to whoever wore the charm---namely herself. Sindre, at last coming to his senses, fled the halls.

More and more corrupted by the Sanguinary, Ganieda sought the elusive Cerulean Order and the Blue Emerald in their care. Her campaigns against the Order killed many, but the Emerald's location remained ever elusive. In retribution to their losses, a group from the Cerulean Order invaded Ganieda's fortress and stole the treasure that Sindre and Ivalde had forged in their contest. In time they joined forces with the Ladies of the Lake who, on the isle of Avalon, were protected from Ganieda and her minions.

This alliance sought a means to break the spell of Ganieda's charm and to free the people. This means laid in the hands of a mortal king name Arthur who possessed the purity of the Bright Blood and was a descendant of the bloodline of Christ himself. Through the quest for the Grail, Arthur succeeded in freeing the Peri and restoring a land blighted by Ganieda's evil. It would take them over a thousand years to restore their people with new blood from the Children's Crusades. Still depleted, they have been extending their influence slowly in the modern era, waiting for the end time when the Sanguinary's rise will call them to arms.

Role-playing the Peri Character

Peri wear necklaces, specifically collar-like necklaces known as torques. Torques came into fashion when the Peri Sindre forged the Torques of Almandia during the competition with his twin brother, magical collars which prevent their wearers from being beheaded. From that time, counterfeits of the Torques of Almandia grew in popularity and eventually became a traditional accessory of any Peri.

Peri always carry weapons. A Peri’s martial accessory often mirror’s his own true himsati and thus, his personality. Firearms are used to temporarily disable an opponent, but Peri realize that only hand-to-hand weapons allow them to truly settle a conflict. No Peri is without at least two knives on his person. Every Peri owns a suit of some sort of armor, from traditional ring-mail or plate-mail to more exotic, body-sculpted types. When acting as mortals, Peri will sometimes use kevlar jackets to guard against firearms.

The Peri use their own ancient technology in answer to the growing technology of humanity. A character will always have gadgets of some form or another, many of which are alien to any human who finds it.

Cultural Note: Peri Eyes
All Peri’s eyes emanate a definite luster, similar to that of jewels. Although most individuals ignorant of immortals will consider their eyes strangely colored, most attribute this to the use of tinted contact lenses or a rare recessive gene. When any Peri is slain, his eyes harden into the mineral form of his true shape. Peri with gem himsatis will leave behind two gems where eyes existed. Gold Peri will leave two gold orbs. These remains resemble the Peri’s original eyes only in their shape. Otherwise, they seem to be pure mineral specimens. Remarkably, these eyes continue to see. Anyone who possesses a pair of Peri eyes (it must be a complete pair) can use them to see elsewhere. To use Peri eyes, a character places one eyes where he wants to see and keeps one eye with him. By closing his own eyes and holding the Peri eye to his forehead, the character can "see" the surroundings of the other eye, no matter where it is as long as the other eye is not being touched by a living thing. If this happens, there is only darkness. The sight of the eye can also be blocked by mystical means. This sight works either way, as long as niether side is touching an eye from the pair.

Since Peri appear often as children, and because most of their agents are also children, they created the game of marbles---small orbs of glass used as projectiles to knock other marbles out of a circle. To successfully knock a marble from the circle with your own entitles you to claim ownership of it. The Peri have used this game to insinuate Peri eyes into the hands of children the world over, observing them for possible recruitment. Overall, the eyes of slain Peri are a premier spy tool . When not used as marbles, they are often inlaid in other items and distributed throughout the art world as espionage devices. The eyes of those who have fallen are also often placed in key places of the Underworld, so that the Peri can observe as much as they can in their vast, mysterious underworld.

Peri who fall in love with one another radiate light whenever within sight of their loved one. This radiation continues even if the loved one is slain and is considered proof of good character. The measure of a Peri’s worth to his people is the number of eyes that shine in his presence.

Peri Perks

Legacies: Peri gain the first rank of the following legacies at no cost: The Bonding, Gamut, Momentum

Serenades: Peri gain the first rank of any three of the following serenades at no cost. All other serenades on this list are at a complexity rank of 4 for Peri characters. Anthropomorphis, Chaos, Cradle, Dim, Ember, Embrace, Endue, Filament, Gestalt, Khemia, Luminare, Quake, Syndrome.

Peri Secret Serenades: Bane and Intaglio. See Serenades, the First Book of Powers, pages 118-119.

Carnals

Un-Fear

All Peri are immune to the fear hostile due to the fact that they are descended from the Primals effectively.

Stone Lore

The Peri have the ability to use certain stones and minerals to unlock magical powers.  See the Peri Abridged Sourcebook for more information.

Mineral Skin

Peri's have the ability to change the composition of the mineral of their skin depending on their power level.  See the Abridged Sourcebook for more information.

Peri Bane

Virtue

All Peri must follow a code of conduct based on which of the Nine Exhalted Forms their artifice is.  To go against the virtue of their weapon type brings penalties according to the Narrator's discretion.  See the Abridged Peri Sourcebook for more information.

Attitudes Towards other Nations

We hope to get this from Precedence soon . . .

Convictions

Sanguinary: A worthy opponent, we will win a glorious battle when we destroy it for good.

Silence: It makes little difference tous.  We use no serenades against others, fo we are ourselves weapons.

Habitat: The upper world is a loud and corrupted place.  We take solace in the underworld where the quiet goes on forever.

Dominions: If not for the plague there, we would not balk at returning to take back our homeland from whatever manner of creature has survived there.

Crucible: We believe it to be oblivion.  And if it wasn't, why search for spiritual contentment when it's always been within you?

Morpheum: Those in the Morpheum need good weapons to do their work, and that's they we are available.

Stratagem: We follow the stratagem to atone for the crimes of our past.  When our visage becomes absolute, the debt will be repaid.

Profane: The others overestimate the malice of some of these immortal breeds.  Only the droves are worthy of our unremmiting hatred.   We would help the profane if we did not believe that they needed adversity to survive the coming times.

Ingenue: An interesting experiment. . . whoever did it.  We merely want to find our own among them and to make friends among those who don't remember what pompous jerks they used to be.

Conundrum: We hate the conundrum and will find a way to destroy every one that exists!  This is our most profound mission.  Stone understands stone, and we see the evil that saturates these bewitching fragments.

Sinning: Only those mortals who have harmed their fellow man are worthy of having their lives drained away.  This is no moral judgement.  If we must rid ourselves of oppressors, then we might as well get some use out of them first.

Himsati: Even though the Sanguinary can influence this part of us, we are unwilling to bury ourselves completely in the contours of human lies.

Humanity: Overall, they aren't too bad.   However they should learn to listen to their children.  In seeking to build their lives, they forget to look at all the available materials.

OTHER INFORMATION

QUESTION -- What does Artifice allow me to turn into?
ANSWER -- When you create your character, pick ONE of hte Nine Exhalted Forms and that is what artifice turns you into.  As a polearm, you could be any type of polearm, but only ONE type.  You have a SINGLE weapon form, not multiple ones.   However, bringing out various himsati natures can alter the appearance of your Artifice Form.

THE ABRIDGED PERI SOURCEBOOK - (231 KB HTML page, so please be patient!)
The Peri Book had just been finished being written when the decision to jump ahead in time was made.  Unfortunately, some of that book would conflict with 2nd Edition materials, so the book was posted at Ran Ackels personal website.  This book is about 45 pages of material, so if you took the Dracul book and removed the artwork, they are about the same size.  It isn't too abridged.  Here you will find more information than you thought possible.  We will attempt to fill in the few gaps left that the book doesn't cover that the other web pages do, as soon as Precedence gets them to us.

QUESTION -- Which Pride is the controlling interest of the Disney Corporation?
ANSWER -- Hypothetically, the Peri. They recruit heavily from children & are very active in children's education/entertainment.