Path of the Shadow-World
Through this power, the Sielanic practitioner reaches across the border between life and death, using her own unliving body as a conduit with the world of the dead. In addition, at more advanced levels of this path, the sorcerer is able to touch the essence of Telyavel himself.
This path disappears with the demise of the Telyavelic bloodline, though it is rumored to have become subsumed as part of Dark Thaumaturgy and other Infernal Disciplines (see Dark Ages Companion for more information).
1) See the Dead
The vampire can view the ghosts of the dead that inhabit the area upon which she focuses her attention. In addition, she can determine the general attitude of these wraiths. Relatives of a person who has recently died often seek out the local shaman to ask whether the soul of the departed seems content or if it needs propitiating in some fashion.
System: The vampire must expend a blood point and concentrate on a specific area. The player then makes a Willpower roll. A single success allows the vampire to detect the presence of any wraiths (or Spectres) in the vicinity of her concentration. More successes allow her to determine details about the ghost's attitude.
2) Repel the Angry Dead
With this power, the vampire can banish hostile ghosts from a designated area, such as the home of a relative of the angry wraith. In some cases, the banishment is only temporary or is attendant on the performance of some action intended to appease the ghost.
System: The vampire must first locate the angry wraith (through the use of See the dead). His player then spends a blood point and rolls the character's Willpower. The number of successes obtained determines the number of hours the banished ghost remains away from the designated location (a house, a grave, etc.). The vampire can determine if certain actions need to be taken to ensure the permanent repulsion of the ghost through a second Willpower roll (difficulty 8); only a single success is necessary for the vampire to ask the ghost what must be done to satisfy it.
3) Command the Freshly Dead
The vampire can command any ghost that she can see to obey her. With this power, the practitioner may receive answers to questions within the ghost's realm of awareness or require the soul to deliver a message to someone else. Additional simple tasks fall within the parameters of this power, although the vampire cannot compel the ghost to do anything that requires a material form to accomplish.
System: The vampire must first use See the Dead to locate a desirable ghost. Then comes a contested Willpower roll against the wraith (most ghosts have 5 willpower). For each success the Cainite achieves over the successes scored by the wraith, the ghost answers one question or performs one action at the command of the sorcerer.
4) Army of Souls
The Sielanic practitioner uses this power to raise a spectral troop to act as defenders or to deliver warnings to her enemies. These ghosts appear as ethereal images of warriors long dead. Although the tattered images cannot materialize completely in the physical world, they can use their own powers to hurl objects or frighten away attackers.
System: This power costs two blood points and demands a Willpower roll (difficulty 7). The number of successes determines how many ghosts (mindless shells of the dead, called Drones) the Cainite can summon. The ghosts return to their rest at the end of the night upon which they were summoned.
5) Walk the Road of Shadows
This power enables the vampire to cross physically the barrier between the world of the living and the world of the dead and enter the Underworld (or Shadowlands) for a brief period of time. while she is in this dark and barren realm, she appears to its denizens as a particularly solid wraith. She can interact with wraiths freely while in their realm, although she has no control over how they will regard her. Any combat that ensues causes real damage to both the sorcerer and her wraithly foe. Sielanic practitioners who function as priests sometimes use this ability to transport mortals into the Underworld as part of a shamanic initiation ritual.
System: This power costs three blood points and two Willpower, and requires a Willpower roll (difficulty 8). A single success allows the Cainite to penetrate the Shroud and enter the Underworld. Three successes enable her to take another person along with her. The sorcerer may remain in the Underworld until dawn forces her to leave, until she flees, or she is driven out by its residents. This power does not allow travel into the deeper Underworld.
