Secret Histories

'In the Mansus, the Hours strive one against another. As the struggles are resolved, they iron out the impossible, exalt the possible, tie the fraying braids of what has been into one golden ribbon of future. Everything is resolved. History becomes the past. There are, however, exceptions.'

- An Unresolved Ambiguity

Secret Histories is one of the Principles of the invisible arts. Unlike the other Principles, the Secret Histories do not have a clear presence in the Mansus, and are instead focused on the Waking World(s) and its multiple pasts.

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Overview

''Secret histories are layered beneath the one we know, like the notes in rare wine.'

- A Watchman's Secret

In the broadest sense, the Secret Histories appear to function roughly as alternate timelines, which are debated and decided on by the Hours. Details regarding their nature and function is never made clear though, and the information about them often can seem vague or contradictory. Some knowledge about the Secret Histories include the following:

• There are currently five major Histories, with thousands of "demi-real" branches that exist.[1] It is implied by Echidna the Ligeian that there may be two missing Histories as well, though this claim is never explained or elaborated on.[2]
• There are events that have occurred "too recently" to have passed into the Histories,[3] and that there is a singular future that they all lead to. This leaves some ambiguity though as to whether the "present" is a part of a specific History, with some evidence for and against this idea.
• It is possible to interact with the various Histories in the present. Many texts in the Cultist Simulator describe locations or events from a specific History, which the player can then travel to for knowledge or items.
• There are also instances of "travel" between Histories, most notably by the Great Hooded Princes who fled their destruction in the Fifth History, and the player character in the Priest Legacy of Cultist Simulator.[4][5][6]
• It's hinted that the the Spider Door was employed for such travels.[7][8]
• While there are many points of discrepancy between each of the Histories, there are some notable locations that are largely consistent, with the same name in every History. In the Apostle Aestuant legacy, these locations are said to be where the Histories align, and as a result are "flaws" in the world's skin which might be exploited to significantly impact every History.[9]
• One is Caer Ys, a legendary city of Breton that was drowned. However, by the 1920s, it could be found near the British coast (albeit with some difficulty) as the village of Kerisham.[10]
• The other is Vienna, which adepts also call the White City. It was here that the devastation of the Worm Wars was most apparent, and where the Ligeian Kleidouchos often resides.[11]
• While the Hours do not take direction on how to construct the Histories, they may be advised by select individuals, such as the Librarians of Hush House and other great centers of knowledge.[12]
• A letter from the Librarian details this process, where the elements of proto-History, known as Material, may be curated and determined under special circumstances and with special tools to gain the attention of certain Hours who may value a worthy Librarian's opinion. However, such influence is limited, and cannot change the past.[12]

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The Five Histories

'Hersault identifies Blood, Silver, Design and the Worms as the central axes of each of the Histories, and claims that the so-called Second History is the true one.'

- Hersault's Introduction to the Histories

The Hours have woven the events of the past primarily into Five Histories. The occult scholar Hersault wrote that the axes these Histories are built around are Blood, Silver, Design, and Worms, though exactly what this means is unclear.[13]

While there are many overlapping events in the Secret Histories, some of the notable divergences in each History include the following:

The First History:

The First History is most notable as the History in which the Lionsmith was born as a subject of the Shadowless Empire who journeyed west to train under the Colonel. During Alexander the Great's conquest of Persia, King Darius revealed a secret to both the Lionsmith and Alexander at Issus. The former ascended to challenge his former teacher, while Alexander turned his armies back.[14][15]

The Shadowless Kings would extend their reign into the fifth century in this History, taking Byzantium under their wing after the Fall of Rome, and eventually embarking on an ill-fated invasion of India, where they came into conflict with the Great Hooded Princes. What happens to the Empire after this event is unknown, though one author claims that it persisted in some form.[16]

The Second History:

Details regarding the Second History are unknown, though Hersault states that it is the "true" History.[13] This may imply that if the events of Cultist Simulator do occur in a specific History, it is the Second, or that it is the History that most closely follows the real world.

The Third History:

The Third History is one of two Histories in which the Church of the Unconquered Sun rose to particular prominence. However, their order did not survive the Intercalate.[17]

The Third History is significant as the one in which the Worms overran Vienna and the rest of Europe during the Second Worm War.[3][18] Arun Peel also describes the Great Writhing in 1776 Paris, with some Long taking refuge with King Louis XIV in Versailles, where an extravagant masque was held for a month while the French army guarded the court.[19]

The Temple of the Seven-Coils, found in the Lone and Level Sands, was originally in the Third History, though now it exists in all of them.[18]

The Fourth History:

The Fourth History was the second History where the Church of the Unconquered Sun ascended and fell.[17] Further details about it are unknown.

The Fifth History:

The Fifth History is the one which the Great Hooded Princes fled, escaping to another where they survived, and doubling their numbers from fifty-four to one hundred and eight.[4]

This is also the singular History in which the player in the Priest Legacy takes a new form akin to the Hooded Princes, while in the rest of the Histories they are opened to become a door for their congregation to enter the Mansus.[6]

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The Hours and Others

''The Vagabond is the one Hour who can never enter the Mansus, but she goes everywhere else... and, if you believe her boasts, she's the only one who knows all the Histories. Sometimes, she lets someone record her travels.....'

- Vagabond's Map

• The Vagabond: The only Hour known to possess Secret Histories as an aspect, the Vagabond has explored all nine continents, places forbidden to other Hours, Nowhere, the Wood, and even the Mansus despite her disbarment from it.[20] A wandering Hour of journeys and stories, she claims to be the only being to know all the Histories.[21]
• Teresa Galmier/The Baldomerian: A Lantern-Long/Name who can often be found at the Lodge of the Sage Knight. Teresa was originally an occult writer and maintains a fascination with secrets. She is the only spirit in Cultist Simulator that can be summoned with Secret Histories as an aspect.[22]
• The Great Hooded Princes: A group of Knock-Long who passed through the Spider's Door, also known as the Serpent Gate, sacred to the Mother of Ants.[7] They are also called naga, and are some form of “serpent-folk”.[5] A group of them were able to travel across the Histories to escape their demise there, and went on to conquer the Land of the River, India. Sulochana Amavasya is the daughter of one of the Princes.

Other Notes

• There is some debate if Secret Histories should be considered a true Principle like the others, an ambiguity that the writer has acknowledged is intentional. Some sources seem to exclude it, while other acknowledge it. It is also uncertain if it fits neatly into the Apollonian/Dionysian dichotomy that exists for the rest of the Principles, though it is used in Cultist Simulator to upgrade Reason like the Apollonian aspects.[23]
• The Secret Histories cult being named the Society of St. Hydra, as well as other hints about the Histories such as Echidna's comments regarding "suckling serpents" and the escape of the Great Hooded Princes suggest a connection between the Principle and Seven-Coils.
• It may be that the Histories represent alternate interpretations of events and their outcomes, with the implication that the "truth" can be subjective depending on who is in control of the narrative.
• The upcoming game set in the Secret Histories universe, Book of Hours, is implied to be at least partly focused on influencing the Histories and how the Hours weave them.[12] This will hopefully shed some light on the nature of the Secret Histories.

In-Game Sources

1. Society of St. Hydra 2. A Good Reason 3. The Worm Museum (fragmentsecrethistoriesf) 4. Read 'The Twin-Serpent Tantra' 5. Read 'On the Matter and the Deeds of Serpents' 6. The Arms of the Mother 7. Read 'The Encircling Tantra' 8. On the Road to Pearl 9. The Flaw in the World 10. Thine Eyes Have Seen, Kerisham 11. Vienna, Key-Hunter's Garret 12. 'The Sweet Bones', Brancrug, June 28th, 1929 13. Study Hersault's 'Introduction to Histories' 14. Read 'As The Sun His Course' 15. Read 'The Book of Thrones' 16. Read 'A True and Accurate History of the Shadowless Kings' 17. Sunset Passages 18. Temple of Seven Coils 19. On the Smoky Satisfaction... [Great Writhing, Versailles, 1776:] 20. Read 'Where Has She Gone?' 21. Vagabond's Map 22. Summon the mysterious Name known as the Baldomerian 23. Exercise the Mind: A Deeper Concentration

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