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The Mendicant Without

4,229 bytes added, 05:07, 28 August 2018
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Mark
=== Appearance ===
The Mendicant could almost be mistaken for human at first glance, before its anomalous conjunction of limbs, flesh and bone becomes apparent. It shuffles along the outskirts of the Mansus, dressed in ragged clothing, a pitiable thing stripped of much of its former glory. Yet should one speak to it, the improper angles and dissembling shapes resolve into a being of incommensurate beauty, one which lingers in the mind as an impression but never a memory.
 
Beings of higher power or greater perception are able to see through this facade, however, to reveal the unnatural being underneath. They see it instead as an emaciated, wan thing, of failing solidity, one which barely seems able to cling to this reality. It possesses only the most cursory of humanoid outlines, not unlike a rough pencil sketch, and lacks any defined features on its smooth, dark brown skin. Only a vague depression hints at the location of its eyes, and even then only when one knows how to look.
=== Principles ===
=== Cult ===
'''The Appetent Fellowship''', home to the '''Suppliants''': , is the most prominent cult of the Mendicant Without and lies within [[the Fourth History]]. When one tires of the ordinary pleasures life has to offer, one joins the Fellowship. There can like-minded people be found, people who similarly hunger for deeper sustenance and find solace in each other's presence.
=== Mark ===
Those who embrace their insatiable appetites will find themselves branded with the '''Marks of Rapacity''', which fill the body and empty the soul.
 
# '''Temptation: Rapacity''': There is a greater satisfaction to be found.
# '''Dedication: Rapacity''': I have dedicated myself to the search for absolute contentedness. I must satiate my deeper hungers, whatever the cost.
# '''Ascension: Rapacity''': The Mendicant Without has altered my appetite. Food will no longer fill me, yet I must not starve. I know this to be the Third Mark.
# '''Ascension: Rapacity''': The Fourth Mark has removed my need for sleep. There is an unnatural vitality to my movements. A haze has entered my mind and will not leave.
# '''Ascension: Rapacity''': The company of others has lost its savor, though few can now resist the allure of the Fifth Mark that lies upon me. Every day brings a new fling, each more passionate and intense than the last. I would stop, but the choice is no longer mine.
# '''Ascension: Rapacity''': My body craves ever greater thrills, but my mind is still. My desires have become necessities, as essential and dull as breathing air. The Sixth Mark coils around my mind like a wreath, or a collar.
# '''The Ruination of Substance''': There is only hunger now. Though I engage in greater debauchery with each passing day, I feel no pleasure, and yet I cannot stop. Only the Mendicant's touch is real now, a hand resting gently on my shoulder as I dream. I will never be Crowned, but neither will I ever leave this world.
=== Servants ===
The Mendicant permits no Name and recognizes no servants officially. Despite this, several of its worshipers have risen to some degree of prominence. Those who embrace the Mendicant's ways will find themselves elevated to the rank of the Diffuse - immortal beings of tremendous vitality whose appetites anchor the soul to the body. Unlike the Long, the Diffuse can never enter the Mansus, as they are no longer able to dream above the Wood's treetops; in exchange, though none they gain a much more personal link with their Hour of worship, allowing them a level of privilege not ordinarily enjoyed by most Long. As such, a few have gone beyond gained some particular prominence among the Diffuse. ==== The Germane, who Embraced ====The Mendicant Without appoints no representative in [[the Temple Nil]], and cares little for the rank affairs of [[the First City]], yet its chair is not vacant. Ever the last to arrive and the first to stand, the Diffuse who styles himself the Germane never misses a meeting. Possessed of mirth, energy and passion unbounded, he acquires opinions and discards positions as suits his mood. There is more to him, of course, but, as he'll tell you, he's not here to talk about himself. ==== Cora, who Refused ====Cora fights against what she has become every day. Her ascetic lifestyle is devoted to higher pursuits, and she denies herself all pleasures of the flesh. She never sleeps, for she fears losing control in her dreams. She is most commonly found meditating at the city's only temple to the Mendicant, of which she is the sole attendant. Her concentration must not break. ==== Vivian, who Surrendered ====Some ways from the city's walls, where faith's light fails and the niveous peaks rise, the spectral figure of Vivian can occasionally be spotted as she pads softly through the snow. There is very little left of Longher now, but what remains can still speak. It would be better if it couldn't.
== Locations ==
Near the edges of the Mansus, particularly its Gates. As a result of its reduced status, it is one of the more accessible Hours, often delighting in conversing with mortals, who rarely remember its words.
Thanks to help from [[The Bright-Delver|the Bright-Delver]] and the [[The Architeuthian|the Architeuthian]], the Mendicant has managed to regain access to [[the Aquarium]], where it spends hours talking and even swimming with the Delver in its tank, learning ever more about the world, the Hours and the Glory.
=== The Histories ===
Few locations are of particular significance to the Mendicant, as its cults have rarely been sufficiently organized or long-lasted to erect permanent worship sites. Despite this, there are a few sites that bear retain some link to it:
* '''The Hollow by the Street:''' an artificial cave in the midst of a major city of the Fourth History, dug out over the course of generations by forgotten occultists. It possesses many entrances, but few exits.
*
 
== Items ==
 
=== Tools ===
 
=== Ingredients ===
 
=== Books ===
 
=== Rites ===
== Relationships ==
* [[The Anaconda]]: After the Mendicant disobeyed the Great Serpent's decree, breaking the truce within the Fourth History, the Anaconda was the Hour which exiled the Mendicant from the Fansus. Only the Delver's interference prevented the Anaconda from slaying the Mendicant on the spot; if the Delver was to be harmed by the Mendicant, that safety would surely be nullified.
* [[The Aged Bones]]: The Mendicant Without has been witnessed wandering by the Aged Bones' stained glass windows, where they occasionally hold a brief conversation. Sometimes the Aged Bones passes on secrets that she allows the Mendicant to spread among its followers.* [[The Caladrius]]: '''FNORD'''* [[The Architeuthian]]: As one of the few Hours who has allowed him access into the Mansus (specifically, [[the Aquarium]], the Architeuthian is greatly appreciated by the Mendicant, whose gratefulness blinds it to the debt it is accumulating in so doing.* [[The Watcher in the Window]]: '''FNORD'''* [[The Elder Sister]]: The Witch-of-the-Woods sees in the Mendicant the same intriguing qualities that give her a fondness for humans. She would love to invite it into her Court, and never allow it to leave. The Mendicant, though it fears it, has also started to see its hatred of the Mansus as a useful tool.
* [[The Apple-of-the-Eye]]: Once permitted to the topmost parts of the House, now loathed and exiled for an unknown slight. Never again will the Apple permit him.
* [[The Silver Owl]]: '''FNORD'''
* [[The Snow-Stained]]: The Bully's Stick has no strong feelings about the Mendicant one way or another, but as in all things, it finds the separation of walls dissatisfying. It has attempted in the past to create a hole through which the Mendicant could pass, and will likely do so again in the future.
* [[The Fanged Bramble]]: The Mendicant fears this Hour greatly, as it is the primary reason why it never dares enter the Wood.
* [[The Bright-Delver]]: The Delver interceded on the Mendicant's behalf to prevent its death by Anaconda, and is doing her best to teach it how to be a proper Hour.
* [[The Insidious]]: The Insidious is on good terms with the Mendicant, having formed a secret alliance with it for mutual protection against some of the older, more established Hours.
* [[The Snow-Stained]]: The Bully's Stick has no strong feelings about the Mendicant one way or another, but as in all things, it finds the separation of walls dissatisfying. It has attempted in the past to create a hole through which the Mendicant could pass, and will likely do so again in the future.
* [[The Fanged Bramble]]: The Mendicant fears this Hour greatly, as it is the primary reason why it never dares enter the Wood.
* [[The Aged Bones]]: The Mendicant Without has been witnessed wandering by the Aged Bones' stained glass windows, where they occasionally hold a brief conversation. Sometimes the Aged Bones passes on secrets that she allows the Mendicant to spread among its followers.
== See Also ==
[[Category:Gods-From-Nowhere]]
[[Category:Moth]]
[[Category:Grail]][[Category:Fansus I]]

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