The Eternal Echoes

Requirements: Wyrd 2+, Intelligence 3+, Academics or Science 2+

Origin tales:


 * 1) A changeling once made a deal at the market and sold their memories one by one until they were all gone. Those memories were turned into tokens and were sold to other changelings, forming the first of the eternal memories.
 * 2) The first echo was a Spring Courtier turned Winter who grieved that all they had desired turned to ash under the weight of time and made bargain with the Hedge for a way to preserve them. Since the items were gone, the Hedge instead preserved the memories and soon she taught the way to others so they could remember and grieve properly.

Legends:


 * 1) The Winter Dragon was there when the Death Knell first sounded. He was there when the second death knell was realized. He Witnessed the Death Knell in the Hedge and recorded the Death Knell of his friends. He wrote these down so others would know of them. Yet he himself had seen none of these; other Echoes had brought them memories to be recorded and he wrote 4 books to record their tales before his final journey.
 * 2) The keepers came for it and the librarians burned it. All of it. What stands today is just a memory, or so humanity thinks. Alexandria lives on, across the hedge in the minds of countless others. All of its stories and blueprints and legacies live on, still scattered amongst the Echoes.

What We Do in the Shadows:

Throughout the centuries, many methods of recording important events in various cultures' histories have been used. From cave painting and illuminated books of hours to video documentaries and blogs, each means has advantages and disadvantages depending on the needs and intent of those using them. For people such as the Lost, whose entire culture is built around avoiding detection and recapture by their Keepers, there is inherent danger in recording any information which might fall into Gentry hands and thus be used to track down not just individual members of changeling society but entire freeholds.

Because of the dangers of recording any pertinent information about their population, word of mouth and oral tradition is generally held to be the safest way to document the lives, trials and triumphs of the Lost. Unfortunately, such stories inevitably change from telling to telling, either unintentionally due to misremembering or "creative license" on the part of the storyteller or due to intentional modifications designed to give a tale particular social or political meaning that it may not have originally had. To serve the need for an accurate history of the Lost, unlikely to fall into the Others' hands or to be corrupted by false remembrances or political machinations, The Eternal Echoes came into being. For centuries, this entitlement has dedicated itself to bearing witness to the major and minor triumphs and tribulations of Lost society, and ensuring that a true and accurate memory of events exists for future generations to learn from.

Mask & Mein:

The Eternals are constantly on the alert for those things and individuals which are either most deserving of being remembered or most in danger of being forgotten. As an Eternal witnesses and remembers more and more, their pupils grow larger, until eventually their eyes are entirely dark, showing no white or color at all. As well, their ears become more pronounced. In some, this may manifest as pointed humanoid ears. For others, their ears may take on feral attributes, perking and twitching at the slightest sound like those of an alert beast.

Perhaps the most disturbing attribute of The Eternal Echoes' mien, however, is not physical at all. An aura of attentiveness surrounds the Eternals. Those who are in the company of one of the Echoes frequently report that they constantly sense that they are being watched or eavesdropped upon. As well, the susurration of whispers just quiet enough to be unintelligible haunts the area where a Lord or Lady of Echoes is present.

Bequeathal:

Potential recruits for the Eternal Echoes often come to the entitlement's attention by listening. A changeling with a deep interest in the history and legends of the Lost tends to seek out people to tell her more, which may bring her into contact with either a Lord of Echoes or someone who provides a Lord with information.

Some even come to the Eternals' attention by following, watching and remembering without any assistance from the entitlement. When the Eternal Echoes begin to gather information on a recent bloody battle, and are told they should really talk to one of the participants who remembered it all and preserves the whole story, they know they've found a kindred soul.

'''Token: The Quartz Repository. [1-5]'''
 * This token looks like a simple quartz crystal attached to a simple piece of brown yarn. But when it's activated, the crystal becomes perfectly clear and hums at a very high frequency that only other Echoes can hear. This crystal is capable of storing and transferring 3 times its rating in memories from one crystal to another. While a memory is stored in the crystal it is considered to belong to the person who possesses it. This memory is impossible to remove from the crystal or the mind of whoever possesses it without their consent. Losing possession of the crystal or transferring the memory to another Echo means the original holder loses the memory, they are still aware they had it at one point.


 * 'Catch:' The information being stored is coming from another Echo


 * 'Drawback:' Using this token is mentally draining. Any scene in which this token is used will drain a willpower from its possessor. In case of transference, only the person losing the memory must pay for this drawback. (Conditional)

Blessings
 * [1] This blessing lets the changeling regain 1 Glamour whenever she regains Willpower through her Needle in direct pursuit of her role. She may spend the Glamour immediately on anything she likes or store it in her heraldry token for later use. The token can store up to her Wyrd in Glamour. If she can neither spend nor store it, it’s lost. All stored Glamour empties at the end of the story.
 * [1] Choose one of the following specialties: Academics (History), Medicine (Diagnose), Crafts (Repair), Occult (Hedge Ghosts), Science (Alchemy)  The chosen speciality also gains exceptional on three successes instead of five.
 * [1] Additional Thread.
 * [1] Perfected Recall: Gain the Eidetic Memory merit. If you already have the merit, increase the bonus to remember from +2 to +5.
 * [1] History Repeats: Who can learn better than someone who doesn’t forget? For a glamour, an Echo can turn their memories into something more than knowledge, they can turn it into skill. Once per hour, an Echo can use a relevant stored memory to add wyrd/2(Rounded down) as a bonus to a Mental roll.

Touchstone: A member of a mortal society whose position it is to preserve or obtain knowledge

Clarity Curse: Clarity attacks suffered while ignoring the pursuit of knowledge add damage dice equal to ranks invested in this Merit.

WP: When the Echo sacrifices the opportunity to gain knowledge to further a goal or aspiration.