House Criamon

Order of Hermes

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House Criamon was one of twelve founding Houses of the Order of Hermes and is now a House within House Ex Miscellanea.

Paradigm

Members of House Criamon are generally regarded as esotericists who dedicate themselves to mad pursuits that often lead them into "Twilight" (the Order-intern description of Quiet). They practice their art through similar methods to the Cult of Ecstasy, placing a great deal on chanting, dancing and conscious-altering substances, as well as the pain from ceremonial tattoos that often adorn their faces.

House Criamon's members specialize in the Spheres of Time, Spirit and Mind, using them as a way to solve the "Enigma", a highly obscure mystery within the House that is treated similar to a koan. Members are also adept at prophecy, but rarely speak clear, preferring riddles and obscurities to clear answers.

History

Motto: Mundus internus mundus externus. (Latin: "The world within is the world without")

House Criamon was one of twelve founding Houses that wre acknowledged during the Pax Hermetica of 767. In the following years, House Criamon mainly distinguished themselves through political neutrality, rarely associating with other magi. During the Massassa War, this brought them under the suspicion of the enraged other magi, who accused House Criamon of not having foreseen the treachery of House Tremere, and more than a few died by the hands of hot-blooded Flambeau wizards.

House Criamon allied with Baldric LaSalle, having foreseen the rise of the Order of Reason and the possibility of the death of magic. In the years following the Grand Convocation, House Criamon's membership dwindled to the point that they were subsumed into House Ex Miscellanea in the 18th century.

The numbers of Criamon wizards, never high to begin with, was drastically reduced during the Week of Nightmares. Numerous members fell into Quiet, babbling about a Cannibal King rising in the East. Those few that survived, however, have redoubled their efforts in the Ascension War, seemingly with new discoveries over the nature of reality. Many claim that a "time of renewal" would be at hand.

Organization

Members of House Criamon are part of the informal structure of House Ex Miscellanea. Like many things about them, their internal hierarchy is a riddle.