"I forget how to move When my mouth is this dry And my eyes are bursting hearts In a bloodstained sky"
The Destyned
� � � � � The Land chose I and I chose you. �It reached up and opened it's tera ferma maw and chewed me with it's stony teeth. �Inside its stomach, I waited, curled like a new born babe as it whispered its epics into my dirt filled ears and pushed it's life into my lifeless body. �It nurtured and held me. �I spent two days within Her bosom and when it the time for my departure came, it nudged me from the comfort I had found in peace. �I clawed at her belly and flesh and found myself on solid ground as if all had been some prophetic reverie. �As for you, you are mine now. �My chylde. �We are fated. �Together, with our first drink, we purge our branded bodies of goodness. �We are not evil for what we are, we are evil for what we do, and we are doomed.
� � � � �Our Gehenna is not solitary, there are others who share our power and our weaknesses. �There is the clan Inverno--"Fangs of ice, Breath of Frost, Eternal Inverno" and there will be others. �Together, we are trapped within ourselves, these gilded cages, but beware, my chylde--Eventually caged animals always turn on one another".
� � � � �The dark realm of Destyn is our domain--the realm of mortal beauty. We are Her citizens, rulers, angels, and demons. We are her progeny.�Many will seek our power and few will receive. �Many will challenge, many will fall, but some will prevail. �They are not so far behind us, be wary.
The Tabt
� � � �Our name was given to us for a reason. �We are the Lost Clan. �For centuries we may disappear, swallowed by the gritty passage of time. �We are the sort of people others tend to forget. �They see us, but they do not, and when we are gone, we fade from their memories. �We are a myth, a legend, that is all too real to be ignored, however.
Our Work
� � �We are the seekers and amass and horde knowledge. �It is a passion, an undeniable urge or desire as sure as the hunger that gnaws at our bones nightly. �There is not a question that we do not know an answer too. �If one should arise, the solution is discovered as soon as possible no matter the cost of this knowledge. �Our libraries and resources are a rare jewel people come from miles and over oceans to access for within our halls rest the past, the present, and a well guarded feature. �We, as Tabt, know the secrets of the worlds, the meanings of life, Alles. In every tongue, Dans cada lenguaje .
Our Home
� � � � We all live together. �We are a family. �A community. �A commune. our estate is our Elysium. �Lost behind a verdant menagerie lies our ancient abode. �From the outside it appears small, but everything does compared to the garden that surrounds it. �Libraries make up the majority of the interior. �Even the barroom, which, in its time, hosted many a quaint and cheery gathering has been swallowed by histories and manuscripts. �Rooms are provided for each of our brothers and sisters and one will be provided for you as well. �There is never more than six of us, including myself and including yourself. �We are small and close knit and select. �Too much knowledge is power and power is corrupt.
Our Blood
� � � � �The only substance we are made of is thick and black like tar. �The Tabt blood is rare and unique in its qualities. �Once you have been infected with it, you will never be free of it no matter how many times you are drained, filled, or transferred it will always be there--a horrible taint. �A gruesome reminder.
Our Curse
� � � � �Our blood is unpure. �Somewhere in between the Embrace and our first feeding, It takes Its affect upon us. �Not a single one of us escapes this price for power, this pain of punishment. �Do not fear It when It takes Its grip on you. �A deformity laces us all whether it be deafness, blindness, a loss of speech or something more uncommon such as gained or lost age, an intolerance for certain substances. �One way or another, It brands us so everyone, including ourselves, remember what we are.
� � � � � �There are a rare few, however, who manage to overcome their curse. �The mind and body of the most adept and open among us can cope with our problem and overcome it, finding a way to do again what our curse prohibits. �Understand that none of us can escape It but the falt can be bridged. �If we are blind, we will always be blind but we may learn to see through our other senses combined.
Special Abilities
� � � � � We are not immortal. �A sliver of something living still remains within us all and any, even the smallest child, can exploit it. �Our flesh is special in the manner that with silver, and that metal alone, can it be cut. �Most of us, because of our demeanor as Tabt, develop phobias that, if believed to an extent, become truth. �Most Tabt are blessed (or cursed) with some sort of Calrivoyance skill whether it be physic abilities, Hindsight, prophecy, or any number of other things. �No two Tabt share the same skill, though some may appear closely related there is always something different about each.
Our Demeanor
� � � � �We are neither fighters nor lovers. �Attachments are seldom, if ever made with the world outside our estates. �Our energies reside within our work it is what we thrive for. �Although some may fight, and some may love our most driving force are the the old and unwritten pages within our hollowed halls. �Because of the Eternity Book we are often paranoid and foremost, suspicious. �Visitors to our manor, when allowed entrance, are always watched or followed by one or another or all. � We do not involve ourselves with public or political matters unless they involve ourselves or our quest for knowledge. �We are a rather calm, stoic people by nature though this is not always certain and correct.
� � � �
The Eternity Book
� � � � � We, as Tabt, own a special sort of Tome. �Out of our entire collection, it is what we prize most. �It is what we all would die to protect. �It is known as the Eternity Book and between its dusty covers and on it's gold leaf pages is a wealth of information so vast that no single person or beast--Destyned or mortal has ever been able to read it all. �It is a resource few dare to even open. �The stories it tells are the stories we have lived, stories we live now, and stories we will live. �All of us are found within its pages. �It tells of our births, our successes, or failures, and our deaths. It does not only weave the tales of mortals but of races and lands, kingdoms and dynasties, philosophies and myths. �Everything and anything can be found within its pages and it is our duty to disperse and hold this knowledge accordingly. �The book and this land have chosen us to be its protectors.
� � � � � The Eternity Book is alive, sentient, and delicate and so it is choosy and cautious. �Only one of Tabt blood can open this special volume. �No magic, force, or prayer can make the pages turn--can even lift the cover but still, it must be protected and watched.
� � � � � It is because of this books knowledge that we have able been to survive this long. �It tells us when to disappear so that we escape dangers and massacres. �When we have withdrawn ourselves from the eyes of all others it is often said that we have been "Lost in the pages of Eternity's Book". �That is why we musn't be afraid. �We must still live and move with caution and we must consult and care for the tome regularly. �If we do so, our existence is certain until even our chapter must end.
On A Certain Lady At Court
I know the thing that's most uncommon
(Envy be silent, and attend!)
I know a reasonable woman,
Handsome and witty, yet a friend.
Not warped by passion, awed by rumor,
Not grave through pride, or gay through folly,
An equal mixture of good humor
And sensible soft melancholy.
"Has she no faults, then (Envy says), sir?"
Yes, she has one, I must aver:
When all the world conspires to praise her,
The woman's deaf, and does not hear.
Alexander Pope, 1732