Post by The Puppeteers on Jul 1, 2016 23:21:18 GMT -5
No one truly recalls the founding of the Puppeteers. They have been around for so long and their leadership has changed so much that some have actually purposefully erased the true origins of the organization. It is confirmed that they have been around for much longer than the Candle Cult, but not as long as the leaders of the cult itself have been alive. The Candle Cult’s leaders may very well have witnessed the creation, expansion, and ultimately the negative changes that brought about the founding of the Puppeteers as we know them.
Origin lies in a legend. The legend is of three family members whose paths were shaped by their interaction with beasts. When these three were living, human and beast lived in quiet acknowledgement of one another if not harmoniously.
The old father of the family sought dominance. He achieved this by killing beasts and mounting their heads on the walls of his home. The humans revered him, but beasts lived in terror and hatred of him. He met his untimely end at the hands of a beast whose children he had foolishly slain thinking they were adults. He was torn apart, body left on the outskirts of town as a warning to the humans.
His eldest daughter sought solitude. She achieved this by leaving humanity behind to live in the wilds among the beasts. The beasts accepted her, but humans saw her as outcast and even thought of her as becoming a beast herself in all the time she spent away from humanity. She met her untimely end at the hands of humans who thought that when she returned to visit her family she was a beast with malicious intent. She was struck down, body left on the outskirts of the forests as a warning to the beasts.
The youngest child of the daughter’s brother saw the plight of their elders and mourned them, seeking only peace and understanding. They achieved this by marking the line between the woods and town where their siblings had been left to rot. It was on this line they led humans to meet and face beasts, neither crossing over. All simply spoke, acknowledged the differences and similarities of one another, and came to an accord. The world was theirs together. In order to find their places, they needed to work together.
It was the youngest child who made the first bond with a beast.
The Puppeteers did not receive their name until much later in history. Originally, anyone seen with the symbol on their clothing was granted safe passage whilst traveling in the wilderness where beasts preferred to roam. The symbol, which was to be the ancient letter for ‘A’ over a heart, was seen as a promise not to attack. Any beast who disregarded the symbol and attacked would be subject to domestication and enslavement if not death. Any human who wore the symbol and disregarded its meaning was to be put to death.
This quiet truce was disrupted when wars amongst humans broke out in the effort to expand and conquer. In European territories, the declarations of war led to the need for stronger soldiers who could endure the wear and tear of battle. Beasts and their homes suffered during human warfare, as it made hiding more dangerous for them. For the sake of avoiding conflict amongst their own systems and assuring they would not be misused or mistreated (as was told would happen to them by humans), the beasts agreed to bind themselves with humans in order to assure their own safety and provide soldiers with the strength to survive on the battlefield. This was where the truce between man and beast was lost and the Puppeteers as we know them were formed.
To achieve the ultimate combination of power between human and beast, there was to be a sacred trade. The human’s heart would belong to the first beast they mastered and the beast’s strength would belong to the human for as long as they chose to use it. Because a human without a heart lacked emotion save for the most powerful feeling they last felt, choosing a beast and creating a perfect bond was crucial. The human would rely on the beast to keep them, for all intents and purposes, as human as they once were when they had their heart. The beast would rely on the human to keep them well taken care of and safe from the clutches of those who wished to harm them. Together a well matched human and beast could determine the fate of their entire regiment in war, and could defend a village with ease. While the beast stayed hidden and out of sight while guarding the human’s heart, the human went forth and utilized the strength the beast provided. They could do so indefinitely, their bodies remaining ageless for as long as the bond was in place.
Philosophies and religions arose, and with them the belief that man had dominion over beasts. The organization spread to other continents through war and colonialization. With the hiding of beasts and the presentation of humans who only seem to have superhuman abilities, the Puppeteers functioned as a secret society that spread through families of high standing. Many families made it priority to have at least one child become a Puppeteer, marriages and adoptions aiding in the spread of power and position. Starting in Europe, soon these bound men and beasts were quietly appearing in the high societies of Africa, North America, South America, and Asia, with Australia becoming a Warden run stronghold for beasts, men, and deserters who joined but could not abide by the rules put in place during this time. It was then that the Puppeteers received their name, as the symbol long used had slowly lost its meaning and now appeared to be a set of marionette handles strapped to the heart. Much like the name implies, every member sought control and dominion in their own way while deferring back to the highest ranked members of the organization when the need calls for it. It was during this time the following rules were written out and heavily implemented on beasts:
· A beast, under any circumstance, should not strike or seek to harm a Puppeteer. Doing so will result in punishment befitting the crime.
· Another Puppeteer cannot order a beast to harm one of their fellow members. Doing so will result in the beast’s punishment and the Puppeteer’s reprimanding.
· A beast must live as long as its caretaker or Master sees fit to keep it. If a primary beast is to be put to the death, the heart of the Master will be passed to the beast of the Master’s choosing.
· “All beasts will knoweth these rules and obeyeth them and their own’rs. Their hearts shall beateth f’r the human which rules them and their teeth and claw shall teareth f’r them as well.”
And it was during this time this doctrine was enacted:
· “We have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and the creatures that crawl it. May our strings be ever reaching and never breaking.
· You are either a human or a beast.
· Beasts become puppets.
· Humans just joining are called Toys.
· Toys are to care for the beasts not taken as puppets. They will train until the strongest members determine which beast suits the Toy based on these observations:
o How the Toy fights
o How the Toy interacts with the beasts they care for
o How the Toy interacts with other Puppeteers
· When a beast and Toy are matched, the beast is branded by the Toy and a recitation is done thrice.
· “From my hand to your heart, and my heart in your hold. My strings are your limbs, your limbs are my extensions. Hoof, paw, wing, claw, we move as one. We breathe as one. I the Master, you the puppet.”
· After the recitation, a sponsor is chosen by the Toy (an elder Master) and will carve the heart from the Toy’s chest and pass it to the newly bound puppet to complete the ritual. This is the process for choosing primary beasts.
· Secondary beasts are taken only by Masters with enough strength and experience. The secondary beasts are branded and a shortened version of the binding recitation is said.
· Thus completes a binding.
· Toys become Masters by improving their skills alongside their puppets and perfecting the ability to shape shift parts of their bodies to take on the strengths of their beasts.
In some ways, these rules were always in place. The addition of total subservience of beast to “Master” tilted power in the humans’ favor and so grew the current relationship between Puppeteer and puppet.
The only other ranks one can have in the Puppeteers are Official Puppet Master, Grand Editor, and Harbinger. The Official Puppet Master leads their chapter and upholds tradition whilst communicating with other Official Puppet Masters when appropriate or necessary. Official Puppet Masters are typically known by their rank due to their ability to summon strings of fate to tie down any who oppose them. They cannot use these strings on Grand Editors or other Official Puppet Masters, but they can use them on any member of lower rank or beast (including those who are not officially members of the Puppeteers). The Grand Editor keeps record of all beasts and men who come under the supervision of the Official Puppet Master to whom they are assigned. The Harbinger is typically a beast or low ranking member of the chapter who is sent to probe areas for potential Toys, beasts, and sometimes annihilation.
There are additional recitations and rules that are applicable, such as the release of a puppet. A puppet may only be free of its Puppeteer when released thusly:
· “As the Master of <name of the beast(s)>, I release them.”
A puppet who is not freed by their Puppeteer before the Puppeteer dies may be assumed by an Official Puppet Master or Grand Editor thusly:
· “As the Official Puppet Master/Grand Editor of the <continent> chapter of the Puppeteers, I assume ownership of <name of the beast(s)>, former puppet of <name of the Puppeteer>.”
Puppets may also be passed over to another Puppeteer through the shaking of hands and an exchange such as the following:
· “I relinquish control of <name of the beast(s)> to <name of the Puppeteer>.”
· “I accept control of <name of the beast(s)>.”
Official Puppet Masters come equipped with the ability to use strings, but in much the same fashion of passing on a beast to another Master they may pass the ability of the strings on to the Grand Editor. They may do this as many times as they wish, the ability being interchangeable between these two ranks alone. The name of the beast is simply replaced with the words “the Puppet Master’s heartstrings.”
If all beasts are killed or released while in service of a Puppeteer, the heart will return to the Puppeteer and their personality will revert back to what it was before the loss of their heart. If all but one puppet is killed or released, the last remaining puppet assumes the responsibility of holding the heart as a primary beast. If a secondary beast fights a primary beast of the same Puppeteer and kills it, the secondary beast will become the primary beast.
Origin lies in a legend. The legend is of three family members whose paths were shaped by their interaction with beasts. When these three were living, human and beast lived in quiet acknowledgement of one another if not harmoniously.
The old father of the family sought dominance. He achieved this by killing beasts and mounting their heads on the walls of his home. The humans revered him, but beasts lived in terror and hatred of him. He met his untimely end at the hands of a beast whose children he had foolishly slain thinking they were adults. He was torn apart, body left on the outskirts of town as a warning to the humans.
His eldest daughter sought solitude. She achieved this by leaving humanity behind to live in the wilds among the beasts. The beasts accepted her, but humans saw her as outcast and even thought of her as becoming a beast herself in all the time she spent away from humanity. She met her untimely end at the hands of humans who thought that when she returned to visit her family she was a beast with malicious intent. She was struck down, body left on the outskirts of the forests as a warning to the beasts.
The youngest child of the daughter’s brother saw the plight of their elders and mourned them, seeking only peace and understanding. They achieved this by marking the line between the woods and town where their siblings had been left to rot. It was on this line they led humans to meet and face beasts, neither crossing over. All simply spoke, acknowledged the differences and similarities of one another, and came to an accord. The world was theirs together. In order to find their places, they needed to work together.
It was the youngest child who made the first bond with a beast.
The Puppeteers did not receive their name until much later in history. Originally, anyone seen with the symbol on their clothing was granted safe passage whilst traveling in the wilderness where beasts preferred to roam. The symbol, which was to be the ancient letter for ‘A’ over a heart, was seen as a promise not to attack. Any beast who disregarded the symbol and attacked would be subject to domestication and enslavement if not death. Any human who wore the symbol and disregarded its meaning was to be put to death.
This quiet truce was disrupted when wars amongst humans broke out in the effort to expand and conquer. In European territories, the declarations of war led to the need for stronger soldiers who could endure the wear and tear of battle. Beasts and their homes suffered during human warfare, as it made hiding more dangerous for them. For the sake of avoiding conflict amongst their own systems and assuring they would not be misused or mistreated (as was told would happen to them by humans), the beasts agreed to bind themselves with humans in order to assure their own safety and provide soldiers with the strength to survive on the battlefield. This was where the truce between man and beast was lost and the Puppeteers as we know them were formed.
To achieve the ultimate combination of power between human and beast, there was to be a sacred trade. The human’s heart would belong to the first beast they mastered and the beast’s strength would belong to the human for as long as they chose to use it. Because a human without a heart lacked emotion save for the most powerful feeling they last felt, choosing a beast and creating a perfect bond was crucial. The human would rely on the beast to keep them, for all intents and purposes, as human as they once were when they had their heart. The beast would rely on the human to keep them well taken care of and safe from the clutches of those who wished to harm them. Together a well matched human and beast could determine the fate of their entire regiment in war, and could defend a village with ease. While the beast stayed hidden and out of sight while guarding the human’s heart, the human went forth and utilized the strength the beast provided. They could do so indefinitely, their bodies remaining ageless for as long as the bond was in place.
Philosophies and religions arose, and with them the belief that man had dominion over beasts. The organization spread to other continents through war and colonialization. With the hiding of beasts and the presentation of humans who only seem to have superhuman abilities, the Puppeteers functioned as a secret society that spread through families of high standing. Many families made it priority to have at least one child become a Puppeteer, marriages and adoptions aiding in the spread of power and position. Starting in Europe, soon these bound men and beasts were quietly appearing in the high societies of Africa, North America, South America, and Asia, with Australia becoming a Warden run stronghold for beasts, men, and deserters who joined but could not abide by the rules put in place during this time. It was then that the Puppeteers received their name, as the symbol long used had slowly lost its meaning and now appeared to be a set of marionette handles strapped to the heart. Much like the name implies, every member sought control and dominion in their own way while deferring back to the highest ranked members of the organization when the need calls for it. It was during this time the following rules were written out and heavily implemented on beasts:
· A beast, under any circumstance, should not strike or seek to harm a Puppeteer. Doing so will result in punishment befitting the crime.
· Another Puppeteer cannot order a beast to harm one of their fellow members. Doing so will result in the beast’s punishment and the Puppeteer’s reprimanding.
· A beast must live as long as its caretaker or Master sees fit to keep it. If a primary beast is to be put to the death, the heart of the Master will be passed to the beast of the Master’s choosing.
· “All beasts will knoweth these rules and obeyeth them and their own’rs. Their hearts shall beateth f’r the human which rules them and their teeth and claw shall teareth f’r them as well.”
And it was during this time this doctrine was enacted:
· “We have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and the creatures that crawl it. May our strings be ever reaching and never breaking.
· You are either a human or a beast.
· Beasts become puppets.
· Humans just joining are called Toys.
· Toys are to care for the beasts not taken as puppets. They will train until the strongest members determine which beast suits the Toy based on these observations:
o How the Toy fights
o How the Toy interacts with the beasts they care for
o How the Toy interacts with other Puppeteers
· When a beast and Toy are matched, the beast is branded by the Toy and a recitation is done thrice.
· “From my hand to your heart, and my heart in your hold. My strings are your limbs, your limbs are my extensions. Hoof, paw, wing, claw, we move as one. We breathe as one. I the Master, you the puppet.”
· After the recitation, a sponsor is chosen by the Toy (an elder Master) and will carve the heart from the Toy’s chest and pass it to the newly bound puppet to complete the ritual. This is the process for choosing primary beasts.
· Secondary beasts are taken only by Masters with enough strength and experience. The secondary beasts are branded and a shortened version of the binding recitation is said.
· Thus completes a binding.
· Toys become Masters by improving their skills alongside their puppets and perfecting the ability to shape shift parts of their bodies to take on the strengths of their beasts.
In some ways, these rules were always in place. The addition of total subservience of beast to “Master” tilted power in the humans’ favor and so grew the current relationship between Puppeteer and puppet.
The only other ranks one can have in the Puppeteers are Official Puppet Master, Grand Editor, and Harbinger. The Official Puppet Master leads their chapter and upholds tradition whilst communicating with other Official Puppet Masters when appropriate or necessary. Official Puppet Masters are typically known by their rank due to their ability to summon strings of fate to tie down any who oppose them. They cannot use these strings on Grand Editors or other Official Puppet Masters, but they can use them on any member of lower rank or beast (including those who are not officially members of the Puppeteers). The Grand Editor keeps record of all beasts and men who come under the supervision of the Official Puppet Master to whom they are assigned. The Harbinger is typically a beast or low ranking member of the chapter who is sent to probe areas for potential Toys, beasts, and sometimes annihilation.
There are additional recitations and rules that are applicable, such as the release of a puppet. A puppet may only be free of its Puppeteer when released thusly:
· “As the Master of <name of the beast(s)>, I release them.”
A puppet who is not freed by their Puppeteer before the Puppeteer dies may be assumed by an Official Puppet Master or Grand Editor thusly:
· “As the Official Puppet Master/Grand Editor of the <continent> chapter of the Puppeteers, I assume ownership of <name of the beast(s)>, former puppet of <name of the Puppeteer>.”
Puppets may also be passed over to another Puppeteer through the shaking of hands and an exchange such as the following:
· “I relinquish control of <name of the beast(s)> to <name of the Puppeteer>.”
· “I accept control of <name of the beast(s)>.”
Official Puppet Masters come equipped with the ability to use strings, but in much the same fashion of passing on a beast to another Master they may pass the ability of the strings on to the Grand Editor. They may do this as many times as they wish, the ability being interchangeable between these two ranks alone. The name of the beast is simply replaced with the words “the Puppet Master’s heartstrings.”
If all beasts are killed or released while in service of a Puppeteer, the heart will return to the Puppeteer and their personality will revert back to what it was before the loss of their heart. If all but one puppet is killed or released, the last remaining puppet assumes the responsibility of holding the heart as a primary beast. If a secondary beast fights a primary beast of the same Puppeteer and kills it, the secondary beast will become the primary beast.