A Treatise on the Origins of Nocturne
Hello everyone, and welcome to Nefarious Knowledge, the “fluff” column. As always, feel free to use this in your own games, modified as you see fit. Or just read through and, err…savor the flavor? That’s not trademarked, is it? Either way, we’d love to hear what you think, so be sure to drop us a line (my e-mail is ariggs@necromancers-online.com, but I only write about 1/3 of our Nefarious Knowledge articles) and tell us! Anyway, without further ado, the following paper on the origins of the demi-goddess Nocturne was acquired at great personal risk from the Vaults of Knowledge in Kyldor (the city), a compound belonging to the Order of the All-Knowing Mind.
For His Grace Patronar Leopold Arszek,
The following is an examination of select passages of The Histories of Kumis in order to prove that the being known as Nocturne gained her quasi-deity status from the Tome of Onkus, acquired from the Mezeyman dynasty shortly before their fall.
Though her followers make the claim that she is a demi-goddess and divine in origin, as well as ludicrously claiming that she was the first vampire, my research indicates, I believe, to the contrary. In the Histories of Kumis, which, as you are no doubt aware, describe the downfall of the Mezeyman dynasty in what is now known as Megiros, the author makes an allusion to the “armies of night” which had apparently invaded the kingdom some time before. Information about these armies is scarce, and no other remaining document makes any mention of these armies. The portion of the text which deals with the “armies of night” is included below:
“It was even worse than the Black Year, when the armies of night pierced all the way to the heart of the Alhit, and we were forced to give them 1/4th of our shepherds’ flocks as sacrifice, and even then could not drive them out without offering up Onkus’ Heart”
At first glance this could reference anything from barbarians to the mythical demons. But ancient Alhit is a tricky language, and after close examination of the original passage, I am confident that it should instead read as follows:
“It was even worse than the Black Year, when the armies of Nocturne pierced all the way to the heart of the Alhit, and we were forced to give them 1/4th of our young boys as sheep for a blood sacrifice, and even then could not drive them out without offering up Onkus’ Heart”
The difference between “Nocturne” and “night” in translation is a difficult one, and if the part about offering up sheep had been correct I would have no reason to believe that the author meant Nocturne instead of night. As it is, however, the original translator neglected to note the lack of an “ai” prefix which would indicate possession, and instead took the expedient route of assuming that the sheep were actual sheep, and therefore must belong to the young boys, who would of course be shepherds. A more literal translation, however, provides the alternate reading that the boys, themselves, were the sheep in question, and that the term was used to demonstrate the disregard the armies of Nocturne had for them, taking them no doubt as a source of blood.
If the army did belong to Nocturne, then, and she refused to leave without taking Onkus’ Heart, we must assume that this heart is something of import. Onkus, as you no doubt are aware, was an ancient mage of great power which, according to legend, was one of the mythical dragons. Whether he was, or was not, in fact one of those creatures which do not, in this era, walk the land, is not important. What is important is that it is well established that the Tome of Onkus, a book of dark and sacrilegious arcane lore, is supposed to have been in the hands of the Mezeyman dynasty during this era, and was supposedly a major source of their power.
As the Histories of Kumis were written at the time of the downfall of the dynasty, and the author seems to have been alive for the invasion of Nocturne’s armies, it would stand to certain reason that by the time of this second crisis, the Alhit had lost possession of the Tome. What’s more, as Nocturne would, herself, have been a vampire at this time, it stands to reason that she (and her armies) would be more resistant to the secrets of that dread tome than more mundane armies might be.
It is my belief that Nocturne invaded the Alhit lands in order to acquire the tome, and that the blood sacrifice was merely to provide for her horde. Obviously it was not her ultimate goal, for as the text states, she refused to leave until she had acquired the Tome. Why it would be referred to as Onkus’ Heart appears troubling on the surface but is, in fact, quite simple: in ancient Alhit, the heart was the source of one’s mind and, therefore, the place where on would store their knowledge. Further, I believe that it was information she found in this Tome which allowed her to ascend to the state of quasi-deity she currently exists in.
With the Tome’s resurfacing in recent years, I can only assume that it has been altered to leave out this “profane transformation” ritual, lest the world would be overrun with budding demi-gods of dark bent.
Though it is true that references to Nocturne exist prior to this event, note that this does not necessarily mean that it was not in this way which she ascended. To the contrary, no prior reference to Nocturne indicates that she is a deity or pseudo-deity of any kind, though that is not to say that they do not treat her with great reverence. Indeed, some scholars have made extensive arguments that Nocturne is simply a title which is passed on from one vampire lord to another, a sort of “Vampire King” if you will. This theory bears out nicely in all texts prior to the Histories of Kumis, and in fact there are not one but two different texts which refer to Nocturne as “he” in this period.
That Nocturne remains simply a title to this day is a clear case of denial, considering all of the actions attributed to her and the consistency of character and personality conveyed in texts from the last several hundred years. For example, consider the profane ritual used to transform oneself into the vile undead known as the revenant. To refresh your grace’s memory on this unsavory topic, one can become a revenant by means of performing a simple ritual and offering oneself as a blood sacrifice to Nocturne. Unpleasant as the subject may be, there are numerous reports in our libraries which indicate that it is, indeed, factual and not mere myth or rumor. Though I have not tested the theory myself, for obvious reasons, there is no reason to believe that someone who loses a similar amount of blood from self-inflicted wounds without the ritual of supplication to Nocturne would ever rise as a foul undead of any sort. Therefore it must be Nocturne who powers this profane transformation, something which, to my knowledge, is beyond the faculties of any mortal.
With proper knowledge of the way in which this vampire lord managed to ascend to semi-divine status, it is my belief that we may be able to undo the transformation and return her to the mortal realm, where she may be deposed, brought before the judgment of His Holiness First Lord Dosimir Kylian, and destroyed. To this end, I request a grant of seven thousand gold to pursue a study of the Tome of Onkus, hopefully being able to acquire a copy for the Order, and with luck discovering what Nocturne may have done with the no doubt missing passage which explains how she became what she is today. It is, furthermore, my personal hope that we may be able to use this knowledge to the benefit of Kyldor in ways besides the destruction of the vile Nocturne, possibly including bringing about the end of other evil quasi-deities or perhaps even raising the holiest among us to that status, such as the First Lord, that his wisdom and judgment may guide us until the time of the Return, or you, Patronar, that your vast knowledge may be preserved for all time.
Your Humble Scribe,
Eustace Telera