Veiled Ones

The ones the world forgot, again and again.

The Veil is a force or order that hides magic from the mundane world. Like gravity, it pulls memories, thoughts, and evidence down into a murky fog of forgetfulness. The Veiled Ones are a rare few who never emerge again but are doomed to be forgotten by the world.

Being Forgotten

At least no one will remember to miss me when I'm gone.

When the Veil wraps around a person, they rot away from memories. Police reports go missing or are misfiled, strange events rationalized, witness accounts warped before the first word even leaves their mouth. But those who become Veiled get stuck in that loop. People can't seem to remember their face or name, accounts start going dead or suffer Bitrot, surveillance cameras never seem to get a good angle, and so on. The Veiled Ones are forgotten, step by step.

by Jorge Lopez

They become strangers to everyone they meet, from casual acquaintances to close friends, eventually even close family. Parents think they never had a child, or maybe they gave it up for adoption, or some other self-defensive mechanism where scar tissue scabs over wounded memories. Soon enough, the Veiled One is alone in the world.

It doesn't get better from there.

Early on, Veiled Ones are just forgettable. Memories of them can last weeks, even months, before fading away. As time passes, they slip further away from the world, with some Veiled Ones becoming so disconnected that just turning your back to them lets them slip from your mind. It is a process that takes years, and at the end of it, no trace of their existence remains in the Prime.

Magi and magical beings have no trouble remembering Veiled Ones, creating a tendency for them to make odd friendships.

Almost every Walker runs into the Veil at some point - there are too many humans around now, too many cameras, too much surveillance - but few become Veiled Ones. It isn't clear exactly how or why it happens, but most Magi believed some particularly egregious act of blatant magic invoked such a harsh response from the Veil as to permanently erase the one who committed it. It isn't a theory without its opponents or logical inconsistencies, but common enough for many magi to view Veiled Ones with suspicion. If they fucked up that bad once, they might do it again.

Fading Footsteps

Don't worry, I've forgotten how to feel alone.

Many Veiled Ones retreat from the world that has discarded them, and spend all of their time in the Shadow. Even then, the real world is not so easily forgotten, and every Veiled One must come to terms that no one in their past life remains. No matter how close they might've been to their parents, siblings, lovers, or mortal friends, such relationships are forever severed - every time they meet, they see only a stranger for the first time. Even so, a wizard has to eat, and the Veiled Ones have not been forgotten by hunger.

Some turn their curse into an occupation and become thieves, burglars, or assassins. There's still a risk in the moment - getting shot by the cops is still the same - but the Veiled Ones rarely have to deal with long-term consequences. Often enough, evidence disposes of itself. Not everyone has the stomach for work like that and instead serves magi in the Shadow.
Either way, Veiled Ones often find themselves unable to open bank accounts or interface with much of modern society as they keep slipping through the cracks. It doesn't take a lot of red tape to strangle their day-to-day life. Most have to rely on another Magi - a precarious situation even at the best of times.

by http://www.tribalartasia.com/

Veiled Ones tend to be a troubled lot. It isn't easy to be forgotten by the world, to have everyone you've ever loved not just forget you, but the fact that you ever even existed. How they respond depends on the Veiled one, with some quietly hovering around the edges of the life they once had and trying to do right by people they once knew. Others become bitter or despondent and drift across the world in search of something else, or abandon the world to live within realms of shadows and magic entirely. Those who find companionship among magi and monsters guard it fiercely, always worried that one day the hammer will drop, and they will be forgotten again.

by http://www.tribalartasia.com/

What Is The Veil?

What Is Bitrot?

by http://www.tribalartasia.com/

What Is The Shadow?

What Is The Prime?

At least one unfortunate Veiled One languishes in prison, as all paperwork about them have long since disappeared, and no one can remember to release them.