Awakening the Mask of Apollo
Introduction: Centuries before the birth of Christ, the master artisan and mage Phidias crafted twelve avatars for the gods of Olympus. These avatars took the form of masks, the Masks of Dii Consentes, of which one is dedicated to Apollo. Apollo (Greek Apollon) was the son of Zeus and Leto, and twin brother of Artemis. Artemis assisted her mother in giving birth to Apollo on the island of Delos when Hera made Leto's labor difficult out of jealousy for having slept with her husband. It was said that he was born on the seventh day on the seventh month, hence the number seven and the day is sacred to Him.
Apollo was a god of sunlight, oracular prophesy and visions as well as divination, healing / medicine, archery, law, order, moderation, and of the Muses in the arts, sciences, music and writing. Apollo was also associated with purification and truth. It was said that a lie could never fall from His lips, and as a result all oaths were sworn to Him as proof that they would not be broken. Apollo had many names: Pythios, Delphinian, Loxias, Phoebus (Greek Phoibos), Far-Darter, Distant Deadly Archer, Lukeios (Wolfish), Iatros (Physician), and Daphnephoros (Bay-Bearer), just to name a few. One of Artemis' requests of Her father was to have as many names as her dear brother.
Like all the gods of Olympus, Apollo had several sacred animals: the crow, the raven, the dolphin, the lion, the hawk, and the swan were all his favorites. But, Apollo as a god did not originate in Greece. Rather, he was brought over from the invading Dorians. One of the original spellings for his name is Apellon, and is Dorian in origin. In the Etruscan religion, he was known as Aplu. It was the Romans who called him Apollo, as they dropped the Greek letter nu (Roman letter n) at the end of his name, and we mostly know him as Apollo today as a result, but the actual spelling of his name is Apollon: Alpha, Pi, Omicron, Lambda, Lambda, Omega, Nu.
The most famous oracle in history was known as the Delphic Oracle, and while Gaea had it before Him, under His occupation was when it gained renown. The Pythia was His priestess, and in the beginning it had to be a young woman who was a virgin, and she would prophesy for Apollo on the seventh day of the month. As time passed, the words of the Pythia grew to become more in demand, and she prophesied more frequently and even would have two Pythias under her to replace her if need be. The Pythia would sit on a tripod while she inhaled burning bay leaves -- bay laurel being sacred to the god -- and would utter oracles while in trance. The end of the Delphic Oracle typically marks the end of the Hellenic period of religion for the ancients as far as most scholars are concerned.
Description: The following ritual is a thaumaturgic adaptation of the more ancient hedge magic rite for awakening and questioning the avatar-mask of Apollo. In ancient Greece this ritual was called the Kalimera or morning ritual, but as vampires can rarely remain awake after dawn, it is usually cast in the latter half of the night which is symbolically closer to day. The Kalimera begins with the burning of bay laurel and barley, which serves as an indication of humbleness on the part of the truth seeker, rather than the burning of more expensive types of incense. Thereafter Apollo is greeted by several of his many names, especially those relevant towards the specific questions to be asked. A blood offering is then given to the Mask of Apollo, usually a sacrifice is offered up from among his sacred animals, but in a pinch, human blood will do. In the final two steps, the thaumaturge reminds Apollo of all the deeds he or she has performed in his honor and makes a request for information. If the sacred rite is performed correctly, the avatar's stone mask will transmute itself into flesh and converse with the caster on the topic of his choice. While the avatar must reply to specific questions, unless it has been tamed upon the sacred Altar of Gabii, it will often only answer the question it was asked in the most rudimentary fashion and is often given to vague references and poetic license.
System: The player makes a roll of: Intelligence + Occult = 4. The number of successes equals the number of questions answered or the degree to which the avatar-mask must answer just one question.
