Mortualia
Further revealing the Romanization of the quasi-Egyptian funerary necromancy practiced by Libitinarii, this Discipline of Torpor and sleep was given a Latin name. As formalized British academics, the early occult Morticians who would later become the Libitinarii categorized these mystic powers with Latin descriptions and titles. As vampires, they gave their elaborately ritualized death magic a musical name, in reference to the Requiem. Literally, mortualium are funeral dirges.
The mystic powers of Mortualia are uniquely beneficial to the Damned; they have little or know affect on mortals, or even on Kindred other than the subject. The practice of Mortualia resembles an amalgam of ancient funerary customs ritualized and supernaturally empowered by the Libitinarius who performs them. For Kindred outside of the bloodline, it’s difficult to discern just how many of the rituals customarily associated with Mortualia are actually essential to its use. When a Libitinarius brushes a scarab amulet with human sweat, is she activating the actual mystic power of the Discipline, or is she merely respecting some ancient tradition? Are the Egyptian words the Libitinarius recites as he lays another Kindred to sleep actually an ancient spell, or is it something the Morticians invented? That no two Libitinarii perform any Mortualia ritual in exactly the same way only further confuses outsiders.
The truth is a mix of answers, and a vital secret of the Libinitarius line. Although the blood of the Libitinarii has some innate link to the powers of Mortualia, vampires of this line have discovered that the change in the blood necessary to learn the power is not as extreme as that which was necessary to create it. That is, Kindred outside of the Libitinarius bloodline can learn the powers of Mortualia without willing their blood into line with the Morticians. Were this to be commonly known, the Morticians could lose the unique position they have among The Ordo Dracul. For some Libinitarii, the notion that the Discipline’s mystic power would be separated from its cultural traditions is just as unsettling. Kindred of the Libitinarius line are therefore forbidden by their elders from teaching it to those “without the blood.” Still, it is only a matter of time a Mortician does, and draws down the wrath of his vampiric family.
In game terms, a non-Libitinarius vampire can learn Mortualia as an out-of-Clan Discipline, provided she is able to find and convince a teacher to share the bloodline’s mystic rites.
The powers of Mortualia often refer to the rules for Torpor. To review those rules, see Vampire: The Requiem, p. 175.
The mystic powers of Mortualia are uniquely beneficial to the Damned; they have little or know affect on mortals, or even on Kindred other than the subject. The practice of Mortualia resembles an amalgam of ancient funerary customs ritualized and supernaturally empowered by the Libitinarius who performs them. For Kindred outside of the bloodline, it’s difficult to discern just how many of the rituals customarily associated with Mortualia are actually essential to its use. When a Libitinarius brushes a scarab amulet with human sweat, is she activating the actual mystic power of the Discipline, or is she merely respecting some ancient tradition? Are the Egyptian words the Libitinarius recites as he lays another Kindred to sleep actually an ancient spell, or is it something the Morticians invented? That no two Libitinarii perform any Mortualia ritual in exactly the same way only further confuses outsiders.
The truth is a mix of answers, and a vital secret of the Libinitarius line. Although the blood of the Libitinarii has some innate link to the powers of Mortualia, vampires of this line have discovered that the change in the blood necessary to learn the power is not as extreme as that which was necessary to create it. That is, Kindred outside of the Libitinarius bloodline can learn the powers of Mortualia without willing their blood into line with the Morticians. Were this to be commonly known, the Morticians could lose the unique position they have among The Ordo Dracul. For some Libinitarii, the notion that the Discipline’s mystic power would be separated from its cultural traditions is just as unsettling. Kindred of the Libitinarius line are therefore forbidden by their elders from teaching it to those “without the blood.” Still, it is only a matter of time a Mortician does, and draws down the wrath of his vampiric family.
In game terms, a non-Libitinarius vampire can learn Mortualia as an out-of-Clan Discipline, provided she is able to find and convince a teacher to share the bloodline’s mystic rites.
The powers of Mortualia often refer to the rules for Torpor. To review those rules, see Vampire: The Requiem, p. 175.
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