Scions of Mara

[Earl]

The Scions of Mara

I. Structure

While Scions are not a guild recognized by Imperial law, have no guild halls public or otherwise, and are not organized in increasing gradients of authority, it may be more convenient to think of the Scions as a guild.

Most Scions operate independently of each other, although many maintain channels of friendly communication with their fellows. Such communications are entirely voluntary; members are not bound to serve a master, furthering the research of another, but willingly share information in pursuit of common goals.

Scions have varying degrees of interest in spheres outside the practice of their craft, and as such they generally defer to those who display the greatest aptitude in a specific area. So while an outsider might consider those Scions who wield the largest measure of respect in public forums to be 'leaders', the fact remains that, while they may advocate causes that aid the aims of the Scions, no one person or group truly speaks for the Scions.

II. Rules

Although there is no enforcement arm within the ranks of the Scions, and these rules do not carry the weight of Imperial authority, Scions are still expected to adhere to them.

A: Members must show the utmost discretion in the matter of privacy. Sending personal letters via trusted messengers is acceptable. Having names or details printed in a news leaflet is not. Our practices are not public knowledge, and, for the safety of fellow Scions, this secrecy is to be maintained.

B: Members will have proper respect for the property and research of others. While members often share information in the pursuit of similar lines of research, any research not volunteered is the sole property of the researcher. Where ownership does not apply, items associated with a Scion's research are not to be removed by another Scion.

C: Members will respect Imperial law. Scions are not bandits or highway men, and are expected to conduct themselves in a manner befitting an upstanding citizen of the Empire. Where research enters grey areas of law, a Scion is to prevent conflict with authorities by exercising cautious discretion.

III. Membership

While the Mages Guild welcomes all who show an interest in magic and display a modicum of skill, the Scions of Mara must take a different tack. The enthusiasm of beginners must be sacrificed in favor of the seriousness that comes with independent practice and study; potential members are those who are already following avenues that Scions tread. Such guarantees candidates to have appropriate skill and understand the need for secrecy.

IV. Goals

The Scions of Mara have one goal, which is to conquer death. Our Goddess shows us that the true way to do this is not through death, as produces Lichs, but through love. In furtherance of this goal, two major paths are taken.

A: 'Reconstitution' is the term used by those seeking to restore a dead vessel to life. Those attempting reconstitution are not satisfied with the half-life of zombies or the non-corporeal nature of the various spirits; these Scions are not seeking to create mindless undead to perform menial tasks. The desired result of reconstitution is a companion with complete mental faculties and a full range of emotion, expression, and a wholly independent will inside of a functional, whole, preferably humanoid body.

B: 'Bearing' attempts to create life from death through intimate relations with those traditionally referred to as undead (it must be noted, if only for novices, that for our purposes vampires are not considered truly dead, rather they are merely afflicted with a rare disease). These Scions focus mainly on rituals for raising zombies in the hopes that the proper combination of factors will result in a zombie which can bear children, or one which can impregnate a living person.

There is minor disagreement within some circles as to whether a successful reconstitution ought to be counted as dead for the purposes of bearing. This argument is purely academic, as neither path has yielded a positive result thus far.





This is an idea I had kicking around for a while. The Scions are basically a group of necromantic necrophiliacs who swear loyalty to one of the Nine Divines instead of the King of Worms. I've written this 'charter' to increase the creepiness factor; making them sound civil and peaceful just adds to the wrongness of the whole thing.

I've got a couple associated things written up in a rougher form -- a Scion handbill protesting the ban on necromancy, and a Dunmer Scion necromancer documenting the state of decay of his zombie lovers and the relative success of various treatments to preserve them ("Her flesh has become a very enjoyable shade of blue, but I fear that by the time it shares a common tone with my own it will no longer have that suppleness.")

I wanted to write something that a player would read and go "No!... just... just no..."