The Velvet

The Velvet is a burrowing secret-keeper, who dwells in the Wood. She is one of the older Hours, and provides shelter and concealment to those she favors. Unlike the Moth, the Velvet answers “No” to the Glory, and prefers to remain in the darkness of the Wood, hiding the secrets she collects from the world[1][2][3]. Her aspects are Heart[2] and Moth[4] and her hour is 2 a.m. She is the only normal Hour whose enactments are unknown.

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Events

Kitling Ripe and the Moldywarp’s Grave: One story of the Velvet’s “awakening” involves the actions of a mute cat-like creature named Kitling Ripe, who stole from the sacrifices of the Ligeians to resurrect the Velvet.[5]

The Timurid Invasion: When the Great Hooded Princes faced an invasion of a Timurid Army, they sought aid from the Wood Hours. While most refused them, the Velvet provided the Princes with blackmail material on the other Hours, which they then used to convince the Moth, the Ring-Yew, and the Witch-and-Sister to help them.

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Servants

• Kitling Ripe: A silent, cat-thing who serves as one of the Velvet’s Names, and supposedly helped to resurrect the Velvet in the Wood.[5]
• The Nameless Name: A mysterious Name who hunts secrets for the Velvet in the Wake. They are only ever seen occasionally by the greyest of cats, who can lead mortals to Misty Nook, where they may seek to conceal themselves in the Nameless Name’s mists. They also have an acquaintance with the Ligeian known as Mme. Matutine.[7][8][9][10]

Relationships

• The Wheel: The Velvet seems to have some connection to the Wheel, as well as a connection to the “Blood of the Earth” and the Antaeans. [11][12] The Moth: A fellow Wood Hour, who answers “Yes” to the Glory in contrast to the Velvet’s “No”. The Moth is one of the Hours the Velvet helped the Great Hooded Princes blackmail.[6]
• The Ring-Yew: A fellow Wood Hour, who was among those the Velvet helped the Great Hooded Princes blackmail.[6]
• The Witch-and-Sister: Among the powers of the Wood Witch-and-Sister is implied to have some special connection to the Velvet, though it is unclear if she is a true Wood Hour herself. The Twins were among the Hours the Velvet helped the Great Hooded Princes blackmail.[6]
• The Crowned Growth: The Velvet is called by one occult writer one of the older Hours which protects the House from the Crowned Growth, which desires to infect and become.[13]

Other Notes

• The Velvet is one of several Hours that seems to have some connection with the House of the Moon, where the Wheel still turns.[12]
• The Velvet is involved in both paths of the Change ascension, where the player’s Sending in cat-shape travels to the Unnumbered Stones to learn “Steps: Surrendered” from Kitling Ripe.[15][16]
• In the Exile Legacy, the Velvet has a surprisingly large role, where the player can gain assistance from the Nameless Name to disappear from the world, in more ways than one…

Real World References

• The Velvet takes the place of the High Priestess in the Tarot of the Hours. The High Priestess can represent mystery, secrets, and wisdom. Her presence suggests a time to trust in your instincts and inner knowledge.
• The Velvet’s association with cats and stories such as that of Kitling Ripe may be a reference to grimalkin (also called a greymalkin), an old term for a cat which is often used in association with fae and witchcraft.
• The Velvet’s involvement in the Kinship Ending of Exile may suggest a connection to Gaea, the Earth Goddess who is the mother of Antaios. So long as he remained in contact with the earth, Antaios was invincible. The Velvet is an Hour heavily tied with nature and protection, though this comparison is very speculative.[12][14]
• One of inspirations for the Velvet can be Germanic Frau Holle/Hulda/Perchta, who “dwells at the bottom of a well, […] and first taught the craft of making linen from flax.”

Theories and Questions

• A common theory is that the Velvet was born from the death of the Wheel, whose blood fell upon the Wood and awakened her. Her status as both a Heart and Moth Hour would also lend credence to the theory that these aspects were once a single principle which the Wheel possessed. The Kinship Ending in Exile further supports this theory.[11][12]

In-Game Sources

1. Read De Horis, vol 1 2. Velvet Charm 3. Unceasing Mysteries 4. Moldywarp Admonitions 5. Read 'Kitling Ripe and the Moldywarp's Grave (and Other Stories)' 6. Study 'The Fire-Circle Tantra' 7. Pentiment 8. Follow (the cats) 9. Misty Nook 10. An Audience with Mme Matutine? 11. 'On the matter of the Origins of the Black-Flax' by Momo 12. Kinship 13. "Around 1890, in the Third History, the Crowned Growth could be perceived through the White Door" "...I thank the Sun for the Horned-Axe, the Black-Flax, and the other older Hours. Without them I wonder whether we might not all be the Growth." 14. Antaeus 15. The Name of the Velvet 16. The Name of the Black-Flax

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