Setite Sorcery
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Akhu (often called Setite Sorcery by outsiders) is the ancient magical tradition of the Followers of Set.
In Egypt's heyday, before its conversion to Christianity at the hands of the Roman Empire, magic was commonplace, practiced by mortal and vampire alike. Egyptians had several words for magic; the Setites used Heka (literally "magic") to refer to mortal magic, and Ahku ("spells") for their blood magic. By the Middle Ages the practice had been nearly been wiped out, however, and was incredibly rare until the 19th century when Champollion's translation of Egyptian hieroglyphs allowed for its rediscovery.
Practitioners of Akhu are known as Lector Priests, and they believe their magical power is drawn from Set himself. Their practices are near-identical to those of mortal Egyptian sorcerers, involving images, effigies, stories, names and words. Their most important tool, however, is the blasphemy-shrine, a ritual chamber in which the lector-priest defiles the bodies and belongings of the dead in an emulation of Set's blasphemous dismemberment of his murdered brother Osiris. This perversion of traditional Egyptian burial customs unleashes power which fuels the lector-priest's spells, allowing them to perform sorcery without the expenditure of Vitae. The magic need not be performed at the shrine, but it must be maintained for the magic to work.
The sacred book of Set's lore, The Book of Going Forth by Night, contains only a few key instructions for performing Akhu. Most importantly, it details how to construct a blasphemy-shrine, and some of the rituals that can be performed on the dead and their grave goods there. It also contains rituals for creating consecrated copies of itself, for brewing sacramental blood beer, and to "open the gate", or draw directly on the power of the dead to grant energy to the lector-priest, rather than power spells. All other knowledge of Akhu is drawn from the magical lore of Egypt, preserved by the Setites.
The knowledge required to make use of Akhu is vast: not only must a lector-priest understand the Egyptian lore of death, but also know the names of hundreds of gods, seek out the proper knowledge of the ancient Egyptian language, and must honor Set at least once a month in their properly constructed blasphemy-shrine.
- Paths of Setite Sorcery
- Divine Hand (BS 24-26)
- Duat (BS 26-27)
- Dry Nile (BM 116-117)
- The Immanence of Set (LS3 105-106)
- The Snake Inside (BM 116, BS 14)
- Ushabti (BS 27-28)
In addition to the unique paths here, Akhu Sorcery has versions of the following paths (as well as others): Alchemy, Conjuring (the Path of Ptah), Corruption (The False Heart), Curses (Sebau's Touch), Focused Mind (Path of Thoth), Mars (Valor of Sutek), Mastery of the Mortal Shell (Vengeance of Khnum), Spirit Manipulation (Path of Anubis), and Weather Control (Breath of Set). These paths are named after Egyptian gods, and do not use the Hermetic trappings employed by the Tremere and their ilk.
- Rituals of Setite Sorcery
- Level One
- Inscribe the Book of Set (BS 29)
- Milk of Set (BM 117)
- Seal the Gates of Blood
- Typhon's Brew (BS 29) (Blood Beer)
- Level Two
- Dreams of Duat (BM 29)
- Opening the Gate (BM 118)
- Opening the Mouth (BS 29)
- Level Three
- Linked Soul Elixir (BS 29-30)
- Prepare Canopic Jars (BM 118-119)
- Scorpion Sending (BS 30)
- Level Four
- Dismemberment of Osiris (BM 119)
- Severing Sand (BS 30)
- Summon Sebau (BS 30)
- Level Five
- Dismembering the God (BM 119)
- Portrait Link (LH 141)
- Warding Cippus (BS 30)
- Level Six
- Hybrid Mummy (BS 31)
- Level Seven
- A Surfeit of Serpents (LH 143-144)
