"Who is Eden?"
"Someone they left to die, [...] How sharper than the serpent's tooth, et cetera."[1]
Blood of Eden (BOE) is a decentralized insurgency group created in response to the Resurrection, the rise of necromancy, and the growing Dominican Empire. Though their leadership and tactics have changed throughout the years, their mission remains the sameāthe end of necromancy and the Dominican Empire.
History[]
Origins of Blood of Eden[]
According to the Emperor, BOE has existed for nearly as long as the Empire. Preferring to operate as an organic decentralized group, their primary method of warfare was sending agents to planets the Cohort was attempting to "steward" and turning them against the Empire. It would be almost 5,000 years before the Empire directly came into contact with BOE forces.[1]
BOE Under Commander Wake[]
"They'd gotten a demagogue, a charismatic leader who wasn't content to work behind the scenes. Hotspots flared up, but we took them down ... cell by cell, bone by bone."[1]
Thirty-eight years after the Emperor made the Erebos his flagship, Awake Remembrance of The Valiant Dead Kia Hua Ko Te Pai Snap Back to Reality Oops There Goes Gravity, styled as "Commander Wake," became the leader of Blood of Eden. Powerfully militant and unafraid of attracting the attention of the Empire, she reshaped BOE into a genuine threat and carried out many successful missions.
Most importantly, Commander Wake and her Edenites learned of the existence and cause of Resurrection Beasts and, at the cost of half of their ships, managed to separate and kill one of the Beast's Heralds. Using the corpse of the Herald, BOE fashioned weaponsāknives, axes, bulletsāand armor that retained the properties of the Beast that are capable of driving a Lyctor insane. With these weapons, Commander Wake faces the Lyctors in battle numerous timesāshooting Augustine the First in the head (which he survived) and nearly killing Gideon the First.[2]
Under Commander Wake's leadership, BOE also partnered with Mercymorn the First (and by extension, Augustine) on the mission that would become known as Dios apate, major. Believing herself to be on a reconnaissance mission to assess the status of the Body in the Locked Tomb, Commander Wake and Mercymorn's well-laid plans fall apart as Commander Wake is hunted down and killed by Gideon. The Emperor believes that the death of Commander Wake ruined BOE's ability to be a formidable opponent of the Empire.
Recent Activity[]
Gideon the Ninth[]
The Emperor believes that Cytherea the First's attempts to lure him into the Dominican System by attacking the postulants at Canaan House was formulated in part with BOE, but due to her death this is unconfirmed.
Harrow the Ninth[]
Following the events at Canaan House, Blood of Eden successfully plot and take down three warships and 18,000 Cohort soldiers with orbital radiation missilesāmore damage than they have done to the Empire and the Cohort in any one attack for the last thousand years.[2] It is yet unknown who in the organization might have planned such an attack and for what purpose.
Additionally, BOE has recruited the talents of Camilla the Sixth and Crown Princess of Ida Coronabeth Tridentarius and the two are holding Cohort First Lieutenant Judith Deuteros captive, though for what reason is unknown.
Nona the Ninth[]
On New Rho, BOE carries out operations against necromancers, who are weakened by the Resurrection Beast Varun.
Organizational Structure[]
Wings[]
To maintain its decentralized structure, Blood of Eden is divided into Wings, each headed by a Wing Commander. To some extent, Blood of Eden is run through democracy: members vote on actions their Wing takes. However, the Wing Commander wields a huge amount of executive power, particularly in Wings that are operating in active war zones. In areas where multiple Wings are present, this may lead to a power struggle between Wing Commanders because though there is collaboration between Wings, they exist as separate entities and may pursue oppositional goals at times. To remedy this, Wings occasionally hold concurrent voting, in which members of multiple Wings vote on the same local issue.[3] Additionally, the Edenites abide by inter-wing rules, which prohibit violence between different wings.[4]
- Known Wings: Ctesiphon Wing (headed by We Suffer), Merv Wing (headed by Unjust Hope), Tartessus Wing, and Suva Wing.[5]
Cells[]
Each Wing is further divided into Cells, which are smaller units headed by a Cell Commander.
- Known Ctesiphon Wing Cells: Saaftinge, Zoar, Birmingham, Troia, Maputo, Taree, Memphis, Taksa, Calakmul, Valencia, Opava, Dundee.[4]
Military Strategy[]
āBlood of Eden has perfected the defensive game, never moving forward, perpetually shifting to our back foot.ā[3]
In combat with House forces, Blood of Eden had two main objectives: to maximize long-term damage to House interests and resources and to minimize allied casualties. Because of the Empireās advanced space travel techniques, they have a huge capacity for ground reinforcements, rendering BoE outnumbered in nearly every conflict. To counteract this, BoE relies heavily on reconnaissance missions and guerilla warfare. Blood of Edenās most important tactical consideration is identifying a necromantic presence in House troops. Once identified, a necromancer will be immediately targeted by the Edenitesāto avoid the necromancer gaining intel and power from the deaths of other soldiers. In this, snipers become Blood of Edenās greatest asset, though their job holds an incredibly high risk factor of being necromantically targeted and killed.[5]
Strike Squads[]
āOn another occasion in a particularly foul and quixotic mood [Corona] told me that Blood of Eden commandos must each kill a wizard, as they put it, in order to graduate to special operation units. She said she thought I could be her first kill.ā[6]
Given the integral nature of BoE strike squads, it is essential for their members to be highly trained and dangerous. Their job largely involves eliminating necromancers and other high-ranking House combatants. This is most reliably achieved through long-range headshots, though BoE has also been known to use planted explosive devices or to deploy stealth missions.[5] Strike squads require a certain fearless and vitriolic attitude which is not present in every Edenite. For example, when Ctesiphon Wingers on New Rho refuse to enter a room with necromancers in it until after a flimsy barricade of boxes and barb wire has been built around them, Pash blacklists them from strike squads. She labels them āpsychological wrecksā and vows that if āthese guys ever apply for strike teams, pow, they can go whistle.ā[7]
Customs & Beliefs[]
Customs[]
Masks[]
āThere was a Blood of Eden person there, wearing a full balaclava and a hood to go over it. Nona wondered if they all kept hats and hoods and things in their back pockets just in case.ā[8]
Ranking officials and other Edenite soldiers routinely cover their faces to obscure their identity. As there is no standardization for this practice, the types of face coverings vary wildly. This includes, but is not limited to, gas masks, surgery masks, festival masks with teeth drawn on, balaclavas, air filtration masks, plain white masks, softshell masks, etc. Additionally, Edenites cover their eyes with things like goggles, welderās masks, mirrored visors, and night-vision goggles. Some soldiers also opt to use vocalisers in their masks to change their voice.[9] Some Edenites seem to view their masks as a protection on the same level as their physical weapons, but others give it less credence. For example, We Suffer perfunctorily covers her face with a basic mask, hood, and goggles, but confesses that she considers ācell disguisesā to be āuseful, but only to a point.ā[3] After a certain point, We Suffer and Our Lady of the Passion both opt to go unmasked in their dealings with Troia cell, despite Troiaās House affiliations.
Names[]
Each member of Blood of Eden is namedāor renamedāwith a three-part name. For example, Wakeās full name divided into its three parts is Awake Remembrance of These Valiant Dead/ Kia Hua Ko Te Pai/ Snap Back to Reality Whoops There Goes Gravity. Likewise, Crown's adopted Edenite name has three distinct parts: Crown Him with Many Crowns/ Thy Full Gallant Legions/ He Found It in Him to Forgive. Each part of the name perpetuates an oral tradition which passes down songs, poems, and otherwise extinct cultural references.[10] John Gaius, the Emperor, mocks this tradition by using a different esoteric reference when incorrectly introducing Wake as āCommander Wake Me Up Inside.ā[11]
Edenite names are cyclical and referential. They often reference predecessors who carried certain name-elements previously.[10]
For the sake of brevity and functionality, most Edenites are referred to by only a small part of their full name. Some retain a full phrase (e.g. Born in the Morning), some a few words (e.g. We Suffer, Unjust Hope), some a single word (e.g. Crown), and some only a diminutive version of one word [e.g. Wake (from Awake), Pash (from Passion)].
Salute[]
The Blood of Eden salute is performed by tapping oneās chest three times with an open palm. It is a sign of respect and is often used in greeting or parting.[8]
Beliefs[]
Superstitions and Misconceptions[]
āAunty [Wake] always told me it was ninety percent superstition and ten percent for the fun of it.ā[12]
Given The Nine Housesā aggressive and exclusionary war-mongering, many people on occupied planets and Edenites have developed misconceptions about House citizens and their necromantic powers. Blood of Eden leadership has attempted to combat false beliefs to varying degrees of success, claiming that it is the result of pro-House propaganda. For the most part, superstitions run rampant. The following is a list of these misconceptions and superstitions and various charactersā attempts to debunk them.
- Necromancers will arrive on the battlefield carried by skeletal servitors and wearing extravagant black robes. In fact, necromancers will not be distinguishable from their Cohort comrades.[5]
- Necromancers are immortal and invulnerable. In fact, necromancers feel pain and can be killed. They are susceptible to wounds, and any blow that would kill a normal human will also prove fatal to a necromancer.[5]
- Necromancers can resurrect themselves and others from death. In fact, necromancers cannot bring anyone back to life, though they can animate human corpses and use them as puppets.[5]
- Necromancers possess supernatural healing powers. This is true, though their abilities may be limited by their own injuries.[5]
- Necromancers can regenerate entire limbs. This is a widespread rumor, but it appears untrue. No BOE operative has ever had a confirmed eyewitness account of limb regeneration.[5]
- Necromancers can kill an enemy with a death rayāan instantly fatal beam of dark energy shot from the necromancerās fingers. This popular anecdote is completely fictional, and has never been confirmed in any of the numerous BOE engagements with the Nine Houses.[5]
- Necromancers possess unlimited energy. To the contrary, BOE has confirmed reports of uninjured necromancers leaving combat due to some form of exhaustion.[5]
- Necromancers gain energy from proximity to violent death. This appears to be true, and House strategy seems to rely on this. It is common for the Cohort to attempt to expeditiously inflict ground casualties to heighten their necromancersā powers.[5]
- Necromancers possess a death sense which grants them precise information about the death of any person in their proximity. This is true, and highly dangerous. In addition to providing intel, the death sense can create a link between the necromancer and the operative who made the kill, giving the necromancer a conduit to immediately kill or disable them.[5]
- Necromantic powers can appear out of nowhere. This falsehood is perpetuated by the death sense, as necromancers can kill from up to three thousands meters away using this method.[5]
- Firearms should not be used against necromancers. This is not true, though firearms should be used with caution. Firearms are equally as susceptible as any other weapon to the death sense.[5]
- Necromancy is a gestural magic, and can be neutralized by handcuffing and blindfolding a necromancer. This is largely untrue, though handcuffs can have some minute limiting effects.[13]
- Necromancers keep harems of live and dead people to have sex with. This is false. Coronabeth Tridentarius and Judith Deuteros speculate that this misconception originated from a niche piece of pornography.[13]
Known Members and Allies[]
Current Operatives[]
Former Members[]
Allied Non-Members[]
- Augustine the First
- Mercymorn the First
- Cytherea the First (Allegedly)
Trivia[]
- When asked about the origins of the name "Eden," the Emperor quotes Shakespeare's King Lear Act I Sc. 4. The full line is: "How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child.āAway, away."[1]
- Blood of Eden Wing and Cell names are derived primarily from cities on pre-Resurrection Earth, and often refer to ancient cities specifically. See Ctesiphon and Merv.
References[]
- ā 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Harrow the Ninth," Act II, Ch. 14
- ā 2.0 2.1 "Harrow the Ninth," Act III, Ch. 30
- ā 3.0 3.1 3.2 Nona the Ninth Day 5, Ch. 20
- ā 4.0 4.1 Nona the Ninth Day 5, Ch. 27
- ā 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 Harrow the Ninth, Appendix 2: Blood of Eden Memorandum For Record
- ā As Yet Unsent Untitled Entry (2)
- ā Nona the Ninth Day 5, Ch. 22
- ā 8.0 8.1 Nona the Ninth Day 3, Ch. 13
- ā Nona the Ninth Day 3, Ch. 12
- ā 10.0 10.1 Harrow the Ninth Appendix 1: Glossary
- ā Harrow the Ninth Act V, Ch. 50
- ā Nona the Ninth Day Four, Ch. 18
- ā 13.0 13.1 As Yet Unsent