The Zabbaleen

The Zabbaleen
"We call upon the Zabbaleen, who collect what is discarded, who neither forgive nor forget, who find purpose for all lost things."
Origin	God-from-Blood, God-from-Flesh
Titles	The Purpose-Giver, The Bone-Grubber, The Rag-and-Bone, The Chiffonnier, The Scarabeus
Names	The Rag-picker, Sand Emperor/Empress, Myrmeleo
Aspects
Date of arrival	Before the Collision, from the History of Salt and Sand.
Owner(s)	Viktor

The Zabbaleen are the Hour of things lost, discarded and purposeless, of natural cycles and recycling, of man overpowering nature and dealing with consequences, created by Viktor.

Description

They collect unwanted trinkets and those things that many consider garbage, and then recycle them and re-purpose, trying to repair the world. They offer revenge to things that have been replaced or made obsolete, reforging them until they can overcome what has replaced them. They have lots of Names, some they collected from the lost Hours, and some of them have been discarded by their Hours. They collect other Hours' forms that they no longer use, too. The lost and abandoned things always eventually end up in their domain, the City of Dust, sooner or later, with help or by chance, fished out of the waters of the River of the Rocks, or from the shifting sands around the City. The Chiffonnier accepts everyone and everything. Very rarely, and quite incomprehensibly to the Zabbaleen themselves, there are those who leave them. Such lost ones are welcome to return, and would only require a little bit of tinkering to be fixed. Otherwise, the Bone-Grubber searches for those with fiery fervour and tries bringing them back; clearly, the reshaping process was faulty, and they need fixing again.

History

An Egypt-like country was destroyed by a rival empire, based on Venice, some time around the the 15th century, during the Renaissance. The Zabbaleen arose from the wishes of the people to fix what was broken, from their need for a new purpose. In fact, the Scarabeus has always existed within The Antecedent, whose blazing rotation was halted by the Rag-picker, which caused it to hatch, birthing the Zabbaleen and shattering the aspect of Wheel into precursors of Forge, Moth, Grail, Heart, and Winter. The Hour salvaged the big part of an entire History to make a new one, where the country has never been defeated, and prospered. Their work was almost done when the Histories started clashing and dividing: from three, six; from six, twelve; from twelve, one. The Zabbaleen's History was once again bashed to pieces and dispersed, but with that calamity came all the other Histories, with their people, things and places that were now lost and without purpose. Thus, the Zabbaleen expanded their goals. The City of Dust, it seems, is all that is left from the Zabbaleen's History, apart from an odd artifact here and there. Everything else was reforged beyond recognition.

The Collision didn't change them that much, apparently; one might say it empowered them, but they had nothing to do with causing the cataclysm. In fact, the Glory being damaged almost spoiled their grand plan: to ascend higher, to become of Light, and to merge with the Sun above the House.

They are different, now, though; they found themselves unable to let go of who they are, and thus they prolong their Great Work, introducing small, almost insignificant flaws into their every creation, so that they never run out of things to tinker with. And once they do, their time will come, and they will be mummified in their Ziggurat (with the help of their new Name, the Mantle, who was once known as the Hour called the Embrace), becoming the dormant Hour called the Abeyant for a short while. Then, the Ziggurat will finally reverse into its proper position and lift them up towards the Glory. In their wake, they will leave multiple heirs, including The Glorious Child (who will inherit the Sun), The Promised Mooon (who will inherit the Moon and the tide), The Rag-picker (who will inherit the recycling, repurposing, and the lost things), the Obelisk of The Stone Meridian (who will inherit time and pearl), and The Embrace (who will inherit the Dead).

Appearance

The Zabbaleen have many forms, some of which they have re-purposed to fit their needs once they received them from other Hours or beings. Their main form, however, is an amalgamation of things the Zabbaleen are working on, things they have gathered recently, their own Names and Long, and whatnot. It is covered by fabric, with many limbs poking out from beneath, and it might associate someone with a scarab beetle, which is another one of the Chiffonnier's symbols. They can send the Names and Long out to gather things, or serve as envoys, etc. Another symbol are the raccoons, and some speculate that they were created by the Zabbaleen for some strange goal.

Principles

1. Forge, for the treasures of the earth, and their revelation and transformation in fire; for forging and reforging, remaking and repurposing; for their ingenuity and industriousness; for their ambition and vision.
2. Moth, for their inner change and yearning for perfection and ascension; for nature; for shedding unnecessary things and skins.
3. Edge, for their strong leadership, for offering new purpose, second chances and revenge, for their determination and their struggle to achieve their goals.

Worship

The Zabbaleen are worshiped by many small cults, and most of them consist of people who are lost in any shape or form, or people who gather things themselves: auctioneers, antiquarians, traders of weird artifacts, rag-and-bone men...

Cults

The Castaways, the Lost, the Misplaced. They have many names, like their patron Hour.

Mark

1. Temptation: Collection: wip
2. Dedication: Collection: wip
3. Ascension: Collection: wip
4. Ascension: Collection: wip
5. Ascension: Collection: wip
6. Ascension: Collection: wip
7. Ending: wip

Servants

The Zabbaleen have many servants that they have been gathering ever since they have hatched from the Antecedent.

The Hirsutes

The Hirsutes, also known as the Mapachins, are the raccoons that serve the Zabbaleen, doing small menial tasks and digging in the sands and waters around the City of Dust.

The Scarab Beetles

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The Ushabti Golems

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Names

The Zabbaleen have many Names, many of which were discarded by their own Hours, or simply lost after their Hours' death. Some, however, are the Zabbaleen's creations.

The Rag-picker

Emanated from the Antecedent, an Orpheus-like figure that stopped the wheel of the Antecedent from turning, allowing it to hatch (mirroring the myth of Orpheus stopping the wheel of Ixion from turning with his songs). At that point, he had another name.

Later, he was named the Rag-picker, and for all intents and purposes, he is the same as his master, but more human, their extension in the world. The oldest Name of the Zabbaleen, he serves as their envoy at the Stone Meridian. Sometimes he does leave the Shelter and wanders the Wake (often with the travelling merchant Caravans), and he can also be encountered in the City of Dust. He is one of the Names that bring back the most lost and discarded things for their Hour to tinker with and recycle.

He has many shapes, almost always humanoid, and he switches them as if they were ragdoll-esque full body costumes; alternatively, the Zabbaleen themselves reforge him for his every mission.

When he speaks, or his expression changes, the rags of his face twist and peel off, revealing more faces beneath, or the patterns of his cloth change.

His blood is dappled lymph, the colour of types of wine - rosy, pale, and dark. That part is partially inspired by the poem of Charles Baudelair, the Rag-picker's Wine.

Recently, he has started developing independent personality of his own, which he treasures and hides, leaving behind clues so that each time he is reforged by the Zabbaleen for a new task of purpose, he can easily remember who he was, where he left off. That development has also led him to experience a brand new emotion - he is falling in love with the Obelisk, a Name of the Meridian.

When the Zabbaleen turn into the mummified, dormant Abeyant, the Rag-picker will inherit the themes of collecting lost things, giving them new purpose, and recycling.

The Sand Emperor

The Sand Emperor

'"(wip) You may refer to me as Your Majesty, or just call me Ptolemy, if you wish. Yes, I know you recognise me."'

Summon the Sand Emperor, one of the Names of the Zabbaleen

We put salt in one corner of the room, sand in the other, a broken thing in the third, and a blade in the last. We remove the lights. The willing one is placed in the middle, seated comfortably in the armchair. A winged beetle is painted on his forehead. We invoke the words.

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5

The Sand Empress

Sand Empress

'"(wip) You may refer to me as Your Majesty, or just call me Cleopatra, if you wish. Yes, I know you recognise me."'

Summon the Sand Empress, one of the Names of the Zabbaleen

We put salt in one corner of the room, sand in the other, a broken thing in the third, and a blade in the last. We remove the lights. The willing one is placed in the middle, seated comfortably in the armchair. A winged beetle is painted on her forehead. We invoke the words.

wip

5

Myrmeleo

A former member of the Amaranthine Aristocracy, they escaped the Palace Askew and wandered into the Zabbaleen's domain, where they were raised by them and forged into a Name that would take care of things related to love, sex, seduction etc.

The Procyonissimo

The Raccoon Brothers guard their Master's horde and scavenge only the choicest bits of trash in turn. They try to never take the same form twice, ranging from a horde of raccoons in an ill fitting human suit, to immense clawed monstrosities, to (on the surface) humans with masks. They have a tendency to dress well, speak in rapid banter, and fixate on things with absolutely no value to anyone, but they would kill for it regardless.

Locations

The Mansus

The Ziggurat Reversed

One of the Zabbaleen's most monumental landmarks. It comes from their original History, and is probably one of the rare things that are readily recognisable as coming from there. It looks like a pyramid that has been planted upside-down into the Mansus-sands, tilted slightly to the side. It will serve as the outer layer of the Scarabeus' chrysalis / cocoon, and will house them while they exist in the form of the Abeyant for a while before ascending to the Glory. It is being upgraded constantly at any given moment, and the Zabbaleen consider it their Opus Magnum. It is located in the City of Dust.

The City of Dust

Also known as the City of the Dead, and rarely the City of Mokkatam. Remnants of the kingdom of Egypt that once sprawled across Northern Africa, Asia Minor and Greece, now surrounding the Ziggurat. Partially a necropolis, partially a huge garbage disposal area, filled with things that they have gathered. The only constant thing here is ceaseless change. The main entrance to it is the Alabaster Door, the River of the Rocks flows through it, and the Ziggurat Reversed is located in the middle of the City.

The Paper Shores

The City spreads wide, and the River of the Rocks flows through it. Curious things wash ashore there, all of them carefully collected. This stream of ichor emerges from the Scarred Rock in the Split Mountains, one of the highest points of the House of the Wyrm, a wound caused by the Antecedent pulling themselves closer to the Glory, and the Glory closer to them. The Antecedent used to frequent the River, and the vestiges of their influence can still be spotted in the Paper Shores, rich with papyrus and gilded lilies tattooed into the soil.

The Histories

They come from the History of Salt and Sand. It is almost completely gone, now, with parts of it preserved in the form of the City of Dust, some random curios, the Wastelands, and Venice with its Stone Meridian, that the Zabbbaleen helped create.

Items

Tools

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Ingredients

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Influences

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Books

• The Thirteenth Indictment
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Rites

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Relationships

• The Demiurge: They respect his vision and goals, but they disagree with the Demiurge's means of accomplishing those goals.
• The Stone Meridian: This is what became of the rival empire, eventually. They hold no grudges, since without the Meridian, the Zabbaleen would not have been created, nor would they receive their purpose. They helped create it, and among other things they have gifted one of the obelisks flanking the Alabaster Door, that became the Obelisk of the Meridian, who will eventually become their Heir of Time and Pearl.
• The Glorious Child: The Zabbaleen support the Child, often taking his plans and making them actually useful. Not all of them are given back, and not all of them even share the initial goal. They manipulate him, and groom him to become their Heir of the Sun.
• Her Scarred Serenity: The Zabbaleen taught her servants the arts of mummification, in exchange for something?
• The Embrace: The Zabbaleen have saved her from death, gathering her various pieces and, with The Modiste-and-Mannequin's help, weaving them into their existing Name (based on linen), gifted to them by The Modiste-with-Spindle. She is now known as the Mantle, and will become the Heir of the Dead.
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Secrets

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