The House of the Lethe

The House of Lethe, later succeeded by the society known as the Ordo Limiae, and even later - by the Fraternity of Obliviates (or simply Obliviates) - those three names are often used interchangeably[1][2] - is an order of the immortals that hides itself from the world and the Hours. They are described as "tight-disciplined order of immortals who reject their past and future", "who would not pledge themselves to any Hour", "who used the arts of water to conceal themselves".[3] The sigil of the House of Lethe - and their successors - is a closed eye.[4][5]

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The House of Lethe

A pre-Roman organization, possibly existed during the blossoming of Mycenaean Greek civilization. The organization’s relation to the Ancient Greek myth of the River Lethe lends some credence to the idea that the House of Lethe was formed in the same era as Ancient Greece. Based somewhere in “the desert,” most likely referring to the Sahara,[6] with branches in Thebes, Aleppo, and Damascus. Initiates of this organization were required to write an entire book in a single night as part of their initiation. The Damascene branch differs in this practice, however, by allowing an aspirant to use up a whole day and night to write their book.[3]

It was founded by adepts who communed with the Centipede in the Wood. These adepts learned to be forgotten by the world when they drank from the “clear, cold streams”. The “clear, cold streams” mentioned by the Serenity of the Black Wood could be allegorical, as is the tome’s entirety. The body of water mentioned could be a secret stream or spring along the Nile, or the Painted River; The source being situated along the Nile seems likely for its location in the Sahara and close proximity to Thebes, Aleppo, and Damascus. Or, the Painted River, for its close association with the Vagabond and its obscurity from daylight society. [4]

They are known to have warred with the Hooded Princes.[7]

Known members

• Para, son of Aaron, wrote On Matthias and the Amethyst Imago: Loss as part of his induction into the organization’s Damascene branch.[3]
• Iyavogos wrote On Matthias and the Amethyst Imago: Transformation as part of his induction into the organization’s Aleppine branch.[3]
• Mek wrote On Matthias and the Amethyst Imago: Pursuit as part of his induction into the organization’s Theban branch.[3] He is also the author (or one of the authors) of the Book of Centipede.[8]
• Matthias was cast out from the House of the Lethe, and whose story is described in the On Matthias and the Amethyst Imago trilogy.[3]

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The Ordo Limiae

Evolution of the House of Lethe, and overlaps heavily with the traditions of its predecessor order. The order was based along the River Limia in Hispania Gallaecia. The Ordo Limiae likely came into existence and moved to Hispania at some point in between 132 BCE and 135 BCE, which was the period in which Romans began their first conquests into Gallaecia. The River Limia is also likely what members of the order drank from to become forgotten to the world, keeping with Lethean tradition.

Had a set of three oaths all members had to abide by: the Ivory Chain, the Silver Chain, and the Iron Chain:

The Ivory Chain forbids communion with the Hours, though it makes exceptions for the practicalities an adept of the invisible sciences will face. The Elegiast is one such notable exception, and it is to him that the souls of dead Obliviates go, not to the Hours at large.[9]

The Silver Chain forbids heterosexual intercourse out of fear of the Crime of the Sky being committed. Homosexuality, disfigurement, masks, and self-disciplines are recommended as appropriate methods to stave off temptation to break this oath. Punishment for breaking the Silver Chain is death, with a variety of lesser punishments allotted to heterosexual romance not involving intercouse.[10]

The Iron Chain forbids revealing oneself to the world, necessitating secrecy of the utmost degree. Especially severe breakages of this oath - ones where the transgressor would otherwise go unpunished - would prompt the Ordo to summon King Crucible to hunt the transgressor, but this was a last resort due to the fact that summoning a Name could draw the attention of the Hours.[11]

Known members

• One notable member was Hokobald of Poscind, a scion of royal blood and former member of the Ordo, notorious for his violation of the Silver Chain and supplication to the Red Grail and the Forge of Days. It is curious that he was not outright executed for his violation of the Silver Chain.[1]
• Another notable member is the nameless Gaulish adept known as “the Barrowchild” who wrote In Memory of Gods and condemned the Colonel, the Red Grail, the Forge of Days, and the Moth as murderers for having killed several of the Gods-From-Stone.[12]
• Kurenai, author of The Ivory Book, who fled to the Ordo Limiae from Japan.[9]
• Burzghash, author of The Silver Book, who abandoned the service of the Elegiast to join the Ordo. Travelled from a “city of messenger eagles”.[10]
• Melerai Yivni, author of The Iron Book, who joined the Ordo after leaving her home somewhere in the Nile Valley.[11]

The Obliviates

Descendant organization of the House of Lethe and the Ordo Limiae, coming into existence during the Renaissance. The Obliviates are mainly quartered at Port Noon, where they drink from a spring that causes the world to forget them. They do not bother with the affairs of the outside world, nor the quarrels of the Hours who govern it. The Obliviates most likely fled from Spain to Port Noon in the 1450s, when the War of the Roads began and endangered most of the European continent.[13] The Hebe Stanton is known to take routes to Port Noon, where the Obliviates roost.[14]

A few of the Obliviates, however, remained in the Capital. Some of those who chose to stay frequent the establishments called the Old Wheel, the Seven Stars, and Saturn’s Grapes.[15]

Known members

• The most notable member of the Obliviates is Julian Coseley, a 17th century practitioner of the invisible sciences and an immortal; specifically, Coseley is a Winter-Long. He stands opposed to the creation of new Names, and like the rest of the Obliviates, seems to loathe the current power-politics of the Mansus.[16]
• He is something of a friend to Christopher Illopoly; the two seem to be on terms of polite correspondence, at the very least.[14]
• He was a teacher to the occult historian Claude Hersault, and the two later had a falling out over Mansus-politics, Hersault himself scornfully referring to his teacher as a “worm of worms”.[17]
• Another notable member is Lagun, whose body can be found beside a pocketwatch bearing the closed-eye insignia of the Obliviates. A sum of 1920s Algerian currency can also be found in his tomb, so it is likely he frequented that country before committing himself to final rest.[5]
• An individual going by the alias “C.R.O.D.” is speculated to have been a member of the Obliviates. If so, he was a member thoroughly disillusioned by the society’s disregard for Lethean tradition, going so far as to write Those Indignities Perpetrated By the Deceitful Fraternity of Obliviates to voice his most acute critiques. He claims that by the 16th century, the Obliviates had long passed the peak of their power.[2]

Other Notes

• Ferninshun of Oreol, author of The Voyages of Ferninshun of Oreol, appears to have retired to Port Noon at the end of his travels across the Mansus and the Wake. It seems, however, that this happened much earlier than society of the Obliviates was founded, and retiring to the Noon island became "common" among the immortals.[18]
• Curiously, when one explores the Wreck of the Christabel, a closed eye can be found scratched beneath the desk of the ship’s captain, which gives ground for the ship having been associated with the House of Lethe, the Ordo Limiae, or the Obliviate.[19]
• It's speculated that the House of Lethe and its offsprings are somewhat "loyal" to the dead gods-from-Stone. It is suggested by their general defiance of the current Mansus order, by the Barrowchild, member of the Ordo Limiae, clearly being more sympathetic toward the dead from-Stones than to their killers, and by the naming of the Obliviates establishments in the Capital.

In-Game Sources

1. My Deeds, My Powers, My Achievements..., Read 'My Deeds, My Powers, My Achievements and the Injustices Perpetrated Against Me' 2. Those Indignities Perpetrated By the Deceitful Fraternity of Obliviates, Read 'Those Indignities Perpetrated By the Deceitful Fraternity of Obliviates' 3. On Matthias and the Amethyst Imago: Pursuit, On Matthias and the Amethyst Imago: Transformation, On Matthias and the Amethyst Imago: Loss 4. The Serenity of the Black Wood, Read 'The Serenity of the Black Wood' 5. Lagun's End 6. The Red Church, fragmentsecrethistoriesf section 7. Read 'On the Matter and the Deeds of Serpents' 8. The Book of the Centipede, Locate tombs and sorrows in the Lone and Level Sands 9. The Ivory Book, Read 'The Ivory Book' 10. The Silver Book, Read 'The Silver Book' 11. The Iron Book, Read 'The Iron Book' 12. In Memory of Gods 13. The Long, Port Noon, All the Way from Gallaecia 14. On the Smoky Satisfaction..., enigma lore doc 15. A Night Out in Memory of the Obliviates 16. The Six Letters on Necessity, J.C., Our Enemy's Identity, #julian_unknown section 17. Study Hersault's 'Introduction to Histories' 18. The Voyages of Ferninshun of Oreol, Read 'The Voyages of Ferninshun of Oreol' 19. A Closed Eye

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