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PROCTORS

ARCANOI

A Proctor  can learn the following Arcanoi at initiate and common level.

EMBODY         FLUX       KEENING       

Any other Arcanoi a Proctor  learns is common level only.

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Embody is the art of physically manifesting in the mortal world. Such passage through the Shroud is among the most egregious violations of Charon’s law — at least, the letter of it. In practice, the ability to engage directly with the Quick is too useful to too many wraiths to stamp out entirely. Within the Hierarchy, all but the most hardline adherents to the Dictum Mortuum recognize the occasional need for this Arcanos and grudgingly tolerate the Proctors, though these wraiths may suffer onerous sanction and scrutiny. Beyond the empire’s reach, masters of Embody are in high demand, for what wraith doesn’t have occasional business on the far side of the Shroud? Practical applications aren’t the only reason to use Embody. Putting on new (albeit temporary) flesh carries a near-addictive sensory rush. Each manifestation renews the sensations that everyday wraithly existence dampens. For every wraith who pursues this Arcanos to reconnect with a lost love or to influence events among the living, another seeks tutelage for the selfish pursuit of mortal experience. Where Embody is regulated, such pleasure seeking assumes the cachet of forbidden vice, as much for its reputation as for its effects, and lessons in the art are integral to the local shadow (and sometimes Shadow) economy. Embody relies on sensory input from across the Shroud as an anchor to which the wraith draws her consciousness. Emotional significance is secondary to raw intensity for this purpose. The din of a demolition site, the bustle of a neon-lit club district, or the noise and smoke of a natural disaster each resonates in the Shadowlands in its own way. An Embodying wraith follows this resonance to its source to drag herself into the Skinlands. Teachers of Embody tend to conduct lessons in the most chaotic locations available.

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Guildmarks

The markings Embody leaves on Proctors reflect the foci the wraith use to materialize and the events she experiences in the Skinlands. A wraith who prefers to focus on visual input might have eyes that reflect the other side of the Shroud, while one who seeks out sources of heat may develop blisters or a heat shimmer on his fingers. If Corpus loss while manifested forces the wraith into a Harrowing, the injury that triggered the Harrowing often leaves a scar that even Moliate can’t erase. A savvy observer with medical or supernatural experience can tell the difference between ordinary scarring and that which Embody inflicts

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The Guild

Embody and the wraiths who would found the Proctors’ Guild arose together in Shroud’s earliest days. As the dead encountered growing difficulty with passage to the lands of the living, several groups approached the problem from different directions. The Proctors’ forerunners learned to subvert the Shroud through sensation, first extending their senses across the Shroud, then manifesting their own forms. Embody is a difficult Arcanos to master, relying as it does on maintaining intense focus in the most chaotic surroundings. Many wraiths preferred commissioning Embodied intercessors to learning the arts themselves, particularly for a task among the Quick that needed to be done immediately. Early Proctors saw this as a service model and seized the opportunity to establish a monopoly on Embody. While the Artificers have deeper history, the Proctors were the first Guild to take on the trappings of mortal trade associations and organize as a body of monopolistic service providers. Since its inception, the guild has struggled with the fundamental question of how best to use Embody. Business-minded Proctors argue for the traditional model of Skinlands services for hire, while idealists see a higher calling than pure commercialism. A strong minority of Proctors reject both service-oriented perspectives, studying Embody simply to feel fleshly pleasures again. Few Proctors are neutral. Once experienced, Embody itself is a polarizing force, and the drive to feel its sensations again engenders myriad justifications for continued use. Unsurprisingly, Stygian authorities saw Proctors as walking violations of Charon’s will. Unmonitored use of Embody was prohibited, though local authorities’ interpretation of acceptable practices varied widely. In more hardline Necropoli, the empire tried to establish a monopoly on the Arcanos, effectively subsuming the local Proctors into the Legions. Ironically, enforcing these policies fell to Legionnaires who also required proficiency in Embody to pursue offenders across the Shroud. Many of these wraiths developed Guild sympathies through their own Skinlands experiences, becoming de facto Proctors themselves. After centuries of insult and repression, the Proctors were at the forefront of the War of the Guilds, striking viciously at their opponents’ Fetters and mortal resources. Stygian retribution was harsh; few senior Proctors escaped the forges. In the following centuries, the guild became less centralized, adopting a resistance cell-like structure coordinated through mortal contacts, Skinlands dead drops, and other methods difficult to trace or interdict without Embody. As Stygian fervor has lessened in recent years, today’s Proctors have become slightly more open, but they still maintain a healthy distrust of anyone in a position of power who appears a little too understanding.

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Factions

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The Guild’s primary trade has always been in services performed across the Shroud. Simple manifestation is enough for a wraith to serve as another’s hands and voice. The Proctors distinguish themselves from lesser parties through their ability to provide specialists. The surest path to advancement within the Guild is to be able to apply a high-demand skill set to Skinlands objectives — whether that’s political manipulation, archaeological retrieval, or even removal of troublesome mortals. Within the guild, Proctors tend to associate with similarly-skilled wraiths. The most notable such groups are Agents, who meddle in mortal politics and business, and Secretaries (as in “keepers of secrets”), who provide the Guild’s intelligence tradecraft and sometimes can be convinced to use it on others’ behalf. A rare few (and often short-lived) Boojums make a trade of turning the tables on ghost hunters. Proctors who join the Guild simply for personal gratification are Tasters, which is either a mild insult or a badge of honor, depending on one’s bent. Factors coordinate the Guild’s commercial endeavors as well as its quietly maintained Hierarchy relationships, and provide most of the structure for the Proctors’ overall organization.