Weeping
The Weeping are possibly the strangest and most unsettling people in the world. Every Weeping once began life like any other person, whether Creidhe, Krieger, Human, or something else. One day they died, and a short time later they became Weeping. The Weeping begin anew with no memory of who they were or how they died, with tears of blood streaming from their eyes.
What are the Weeping
The Weeping are individuals who bear the mark of an extraordinary and unsettling supernatural phenomenon. Rarely, when a mortal dies in Tirneach their body returns fully and truly to life. They are not undead and they show no signs of Gwyllt corruption. However, they have their own strange characteristics; those who have returned begin to weep blood and do not stop. Perhaps more unsettling still is the fact that they bear no memory of their former life. Though they may have been dead for mere hours or even minutes, when they reawaken their closest friends and family are total strangers to them.
The Origins of the Weeping
How the Weeping came to be is the subject of debate across many spheres in Tirneach society. They have been known in Tirneach for at least as long as the Five Realms have been established, as it has been handed down that the First Réig decreed that the Weeping should be judged not by their origins but by their deeds, and that they should be allowed to swear the Five Oaths and become gallóglaigh.
None have speculated more widely or wildly about what makes the Weeping than the Weeping themselves. There are as many theories among the Weeping about their origins as there are Weeping, if not more. Some say that the Shaper has sent them back to fulfil a special purpose or that they were rejected by the Shaper upon death, others that the Weeping are born when a person dies with an enemy’s curse upon them. It is often the subject of fireside discussions, particularly when a new Weeping is introduced into a group.
Despite the way they come into being and the strange effect that they have on the rituals of the Shaper, the Weeping are neither undead nor Gwyllt, and in fact they have been proven to be as alive as anyone else by every Order of Cinnirí, particularly the Necromancers. They eat, they breathe, they sleep. They age, they change, they die. The root cause of what makes Weeping has never been discovered; people of all ages, all species, and all means of death have become Weeping over the ages. Those who have died of illness bear no traces of it as Weeping; those who died violently are healed when their eyes open again and begin to bleed. There is only one type of person known never to have returned as a Weeping: the gallóglaigh.
Perhaps because of the underlying power of the Five Oaths, swearing them and serving as a gallóglach is the only guarantee against a person becoming a Weeping after their death. Those who fear and distrust the Weeping say that everyone in Tirneach should simply swear the Five Oaths and have done with it, but the Réigs harshly condemn this attitude. The Five Oaths are not to be taken by those who are motivated by suspicion or hatred, but by those who pledge to strive valiantly and defend the Five Realms. Others point to the Weeping who have been known to arise in other lands far beyond Tirneach, and ask how these bigots intend to deal with them. Although there are many who view the Weeping as strange or mysterious, the Weeping are as much a part of life, and death, as everyone else.
Reactions to the Weeping
Hundreds of years ago, when the Weeping first appeared, most people took them to be dangerous enemies of the Shaper and their people. However, the first Réig granted them protection under a decree that became known as the Atosú Edict. The edict declared that the Weeping must not be judged on their appearance or their origins but on their actions and made all Weeping eligible to serve as Galloglaigh so that they may prove their worth. Over the centuries many who are suspicious of the Weeping have questioned the authenticity of the edict but its rulings have prevailed nonetheless.
While the Atosú Edict is usually enough to prevent Weeping from being destroyed on general principle, most people still find it hard to trust them. Apart from the unsettling appearance granted by their bloody eyes, they simply have too much in common with undead abominations and Gwyllt impostors for the average person to let their guard down around one. While friends and family might initially be excited at the return of their loved one, they are usually quickly let down by the reality. In addition to having no memory of their former life, the Weeping typically have different mannerisms and patterns of speech than they did before their return. It is common for them to have different tastes than they did before; turning their nose up at their favourite foods, taking on a completely different style of dress, or setting aside a long favoured type of weapon.
Following their return, a moment known as their Atosú, a Weeping may find they have skills and aptitudes that are completely foreign to their former life. Some Weeping even demonstrate traits and abilities not usually possible for a member of their species. This alienness from the person they were before makes it extremely difficult for a Weeping to remain settled in the place they are told was once their home. Many are ultimately driven out by their former community while others find it easiest to quietly slip away before things can get nasty.
Many have sought an explanation for the Weeping condition over the years, though many more are perfectly content to rely upon superstition and slander. As yet, there is no universally agreed upon or verifiable explanation for what causes the strange phenomenon.
The Weeping and Ritual Magic
Perhaps the element of the Weeping condition most commonly cited as evidence of their evil nature is the effect they have on rituals. Non-Weeping who attempt to include a Weeping in their ritual circles report that it is more difficult to gather the energy needed to complete the ritual, as though the Weeping is a dead weight that must be carried by the others rather than a contributing participant. Rituals may fail repeatedly with a Weeping in the circle only to be completed successfully as soon as they are swapped out for someone who does not bear the mark. It is also known amongst ritualists that performing certain rituals upon the Weeping can produce unpredictable and unpleasant results.
Curiously, when several Weeping gather to perform a ritual with no non-Weeping present they are capable of working much more powerful effects than would normally be expected. Many insidious things are whispered about what sinister power they must be in communion with to achieve this
Playing a Weeping
If you are playing one of the Weeping, your life is one that stands out as extraordinary and is perhaps only understood by other Weeping. From the moment you woke up, the moment that Weeping generally call Atosú, you might have been regarded variously as a loved one returning miraculously from beyond the grave, as a criminal escaping just punishment, or simply as a stranger completely disconnected from the people around them.
The Weeping are found all over the Five Realms, often in roles where their personal history or lack thereof is not a hindrance. They are particularly common in Bruid where folk are most likely to judge someone on what they do in the present moment. Many join the gallóglaigh, where they can make their own story, and where by ancient decree they are always welcome.
If you decide for your character to be a Weeping you should be prepared for the people of Tirneach, both PCs and NPCs to react uncomfortably towards you. They may simply be put on edge by your appearance, they might be distrustful or even outright aggressive towards you. There are definite downsides to playing a Weeping but we hope they offer a rewarding option to players drawn to supernatural mysteries and the role of the outcast.
In terms of gameplay, players will pick a species at character creation, which is the species of the person their character once was. The Weeping are not a species so there is no Species Feat associated with being a Weeping. Instead, Weeping are allowed to choose a Species Feat and Realm Feat which best fit their character as they are now and is not strictly based on the person their character once was. It should be noted this is a player choice rather than a character choice, to the Weeping the special ability of this Species Feat feels as innate to them as any other character’s Species Feat would. A Weeping character can have the normal Species Feat of the species they have chosen, or they can choose something completely different.
There is also a mechanical downside to being a Weeping: they seem to have a different energy to other mortals, perhaps because of their unusual way of coming into being. Even skilled ritualist leaders who are not Weeping find that it is more difficult to harness the energy of a ritual involving Weeping, while on the other hand if a ritual circle consists only of Weeping the energies seem to converge more successfully. This translates into a -1 to ritual score for each Weeping in a ritual circle where the ritual is led by a non-Weeping, but if a ritual circle is led by a Weeping and consists only of Weeping then it results in a +1 to the ritual score for each Weeping in the circle. Weeping are also unable to take Way of the Ritualist feats with the Quiescent keyword, which at this time includes the Quicken the Inevitable Solace and Make Peace Before War rituals. In addition, all Weeping are able to preternaturally sense nearby Weeping, and can cast the spell Detect Weeping for 0 Vigour.
Weeping Facebook Group
Players of Weeping characters can join the Weeping Facebook group to collaborate with their fellow Weeping players on things like culture, backgrounds, etc.
Costuming Requirements
To play one of the Weeping, you must phys rep crying blood from your eyes constantly. How you portray this is up to you though a suggested method of representing this would be to use black eyeshadow or face paint around the eyelids for dried and caked blood, with streaks of red face paint or stage/fake blood running down the face. You will need to apply this phys-rep in addition to the phys-rep requirements of your species.