ROUNDERHOUSE's Jade Proposal
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A ROUNDERHOUSE Joint

Recommended Reading Music

ACT I • ACT II • ACT III • ACT IV • ACT V

 
rating: +385+–x









ACT I

IGNOMINY















FILESERV NOTICE: The following document was inserted into this file at a later date, under containment protocol HERODOTUS. Refer to Special Containment Procedures for more information.

VERSE 1-4


As witnessed by Varsylmittabya, First Rajmata of the Scarlet Maharaja.

In the First Age, when the great Gods clashed in the sky and split the Heavens in their four-prong war, the Material Plane bore witness to the first, the greatest war of the Cosmos. Their dance was one of fury and hatred and destruction, and in the place of Stars they twirled and shook and gyrated, bringing down the wrath to the song of Creation itself. The Metal, the Flesh, the Scarlet and the Wretch wrestled in the maw of Eternity and moved like streams, with the force of floods, and broke.

And when it was over, when the divine Fluid had been spilt onto the wet Soil, the quarter came crashing down to the Material Plane, broken and torn, landing in the far corners and crevasses of the One land, there to lay for ages and ages passed before an eye was lain upon them. The Scarlet lay, and in the millenia life sprung up in the Material Plane, from lichen to fish to trees and then finally, Man arose in the far east, south, and west on the backs of their new gods.

But the Scarlet had already created life, unbeknownst to its brother and sisters. As the Gods slumbered in their ersatz tombs, the Scarlet reached out with the gift of life, striking a seed on the Astral Plane that sprouted, growing wildly and with abandon, unobserved and unlimited, existing only in the gaps and roots and vines of the Jungle. Uncountable cycles before Man took his first steps on Asia, the Spirits, the Daeva expanded from a single thought of a dreaming God to a people, a culture and a civilization on the unobserved Astral Plane, as they danced and hunted and killed and warred and mated around the great tree of life in worship to the Scarlet.

And the God, the Scarlet, pinned underneath the ever-growing weight of the jungle as the Men moved in and built their huts and their farms and killed and died, yet more victims of the brutal circle of life, reached up and dug its fingers in, plucking its eye from its socket and pushing it up just as the First Man sought refuge under a tree. The gem, swaddled in the same roots sprung from the mouth of the beast, sung out for a champion, for a warrior who would raise his sword in the name of the first, truest magic, and march forth under the banner of the first, truest of the four gods — to strike a bargain with the Daeva, Children of the Scarlet House, and become their chakravarti.
















3/001 LEVEL 3/001
CLASSIFIED
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Item #: SCP-001
Safe
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Mamjul, taken by MTF Gamma-6.

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LSAP Cadmus-Aram Deep-Brain Oneiric Parietal Stimulation Array.

SPECIAL CONTAINMENT PROCEDURES: SCP-001 is currently contained through Special Containment Protocol HERODOTUS, instituted on July 14th, 2003 by majority vote of the O5 Council. See Addendum 001.9 for full details.

DESCRIPTION: SCP-001 refers to the ruins of Mamjul, an ancient pre-First Occult War city-state located approximately 734km off the southern tip of the Indian subcontinent. Evidence suggests that Mamjul was constructed and located at or above sea level; how it came to rest at its current position 3.6 kilometers underwater is unknown.

SCP-001 was discovered by the Foundation on August 24th, 2002. At first, it was believed to be a mundane archaeological ruin, and its location was recorded to disseminate to the global archaeological community in the near future. However, closer inspection revealed that the city was remarkably preserved and structurally near-pristine, despite having spent well over three millennia underwater; carbon-dating placed the interior ruins to 2,400 BCE.

Further investigation by COYOTE divers unearthed the full extent of SCP-001. Initially thought to be the ruins of a small Bronze Age settlement, the full city is comprised of several hundred buildings, most buried under large amounts of silt and sand but structurally intact. In addition, divers found considerable evidence that Mamjul was the seat of a Bronze Age advanced human civilization that made extensive use of thaumaturgy and biomancy, known to the Foundation as the Daevic Covenant.

A report was submitted to OVCOM, and additional personnel were dispatched to confirm that SCP-001 is the location of the the Daevic city of Mamjul, as mentioned in the Aegean Tablets and corroborated by SCP-1867 and SCP-001-GOLD.

Section 001.1

HISTORICAL BRIEFING

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From Lord Blackwood's private collection.

Mundane History

Mamjul has some historical analogue in mundane history and culture, though not to the extent Amoni-Ram did. The most explicit example is that of Kumari Kandam, also known as Lemuria. Lemuria was a hypothetical 'sunken continent' first proposed by Philip Sclater in the 19th century as an explanation for the presence of lemur fossils in Madagascar and India but not in landmasses separating the two.1

Lemuria was quickly co-opted by a large movement of Tamil revivalists in 19th and 20th century India as a potential birthplace of human civilization; they altered the idea to fit with cultural legends of an ancient Bronze Age Tamil civilization south of modern Tamil Nadu, one that would eventually form the basis for Indian civilization before being suddenly and violently swallowed by the sea.

The Lemuria hypothesis was eventually rendered obsolete by plate tectonics theory, and no mundane historical or archaeological record exists to support the existence of the Kumari Kandam landmass or a Bronze Age Tamil civilization predating the Chera, Chola, and Pandya cultures.

Parahistory

Kumari Kandam has been the subject of considerable debate in the occult community, long after the Lemuria hypothesis was discarded by mundane science. Several expeditions, funded by various anomalous organizations, ventured into the Indian Ocean throughout the 20th century in an attempt to find any records of the sunken continent — of these, only one bore any results. PoI-0108, Viswamitra Thakkar (alias Captain Nemo), claimed to have discovered 'Atlantean ruins' in the region during a 1925 self-funded expedition, but his records were never released and disappeared along with him in 1939.

The six Aegean Tablets recovered from the Sea of Crete by the French Crown's estate Noir prior to the Revolution were the first discovered mentions of Bronze Age advanced human civilizations. The onset of the Napoleonic Wars and the concurrent Second Occult War led to the destruction of any French translations of the tablets, save for one Greek-to-French-to-English translation of the first tablet by SCP-1867, detailed in the SCP-001-GOLD file.

The relevant portion is attached:

Mamjul and Korar, two dark fortresses resting in the jungles of the subcontinent. The magicians and sorcerer-nawabs allied themselves against the horrors of the jungle, and crossed a pact with something ancient. The Covenant of the Daeva was born, using the first magic gifted to Man - the magic of life and death.

Foundation efforts at translating the remaining tablets, extracted from British custody in 1983, have been ongoing but extremely slow due to environmental damage and the relative lack of context to work from. Regardless, by 1999, the second and fourth tablets had been fully translated. The fourth described the Mekhanite Empire and Amoni-Ram in greater detail and is not attached in this document, while the second covered Mamjul, Korar, and the forerunner civilization of the Daevic Covenant:

ATTACHED DOCUMENT - FEBRUARY 1999


Root. Blood. Steel.

Once, men huddled for warmth and dryness under the broad leaves of the jungle titans. Once, fire was a weak dream, drowned under the weight of endless flood and rain. Once, the land was blanketed so densely with untamed forest that the spirits of the trees themselves walked past the coast and into the sea. Once, man was weak and frail, battered from the constant war to survive with the jungle.

Once, a man curled into the base of a tree, sheltering from a torrent. His fingers discovered a scarlet jewel, jammed between the knotted roots. It shone into his eyes, with depth like an ocean of blood. He pulled it from its nest, and put it to his ear. The Endless Scarlet sang to him. It offered a deal: should he lay down his own mind and soul in service to the spirits, they would gift him their boons. He would ascend to the realm of the gods - and in return, they would assure not just his people's survival, but their power. His children and his children's children would be sorcerers. The boons of the Daeva would be at their fingertips, and he would be a once and future king.

The Covenant was struck. The Daeva themselves descended from the realm of the spirits and the gods. They met the people, and bonded with them - every body contains two spirits, and the power to bend the forest to their will. The first magic was used to raise the city in the depths of the jungle. The people toiled for a year and one day, laying the massive stones and bracing the walls with vine and root, crafting the city that would be the seat of an empire. Mamjul was built under the watchful slumber of the Scarlet and its prophet.

And once the Daevic Cities were assured, and the Record was writ, the Covenant marched north under the banner of the Scarlet Maharaja.

The word daeva originally refers to supernatural entities and spirits, almost universally malevolent, within the canon of Zoroastrianism. Variations such as deva, div, etc appear throughout several different Asian religions and mythologies, suggesting the daeva mentioned in the Tablets are a common source. This is supported by the tablet's claims that the Daevic Covenant spread their culture and beliefs throughout Asia.

Section 001.2

INITIAL DISCOVERY

Following the Amoni-Ram Incident, locating Mamjul and Korar was elevated to Global Priority Level Alpha to gain a material advantage over GoI-004 ('The Church of the Broken God'). Various documents, murals, and scrolls recovered from Amoni-Ram indicated they were located somewhere on the Indian subcontinent; the loss of almost all personnel and original records from the Amoni-Ram Initiative made more specific details unobtainable. Search efforts were initially concentrated near established archaeological sites and in India's dense tropical forests, with no success.

▶OPEN ADDENDUM◀

Following the recall of KHAN to the FRS Lillihammer, a findings report was urgently transmitted to Site-07 and the Lillihammer was ordered to hold position until further notice, with no personnel allowed off the ship. A special session of the O5 Council was called on August 26th, 2002. Due to timing constraints, a handful of O5s were unable to attend the initial meeting with Researcher Pandora Galanis.

▶OPEN ADDENDUM◀

Two days later, on August 28th, O5 Edict #2050 was released, accounting for the creation of the Mamjul/Korar Initiative, albeit with several restrictions and assurances to prevent unforeseen incidents.

ATTACHED DOCUMENT — AUGUST 2002

COUNCIL VOTE SUMMARY:

YEA ABSTAIN NAY
O5-01
O5-02
O5-03
O5-04
O5-05
O5-06
O5-07
O5-08
O5-09
O5-10
X X X
O5-12
O5-13

ADDITIONAL VOTE
Administrator N/A

STATUS
APPROVED

The Mamjul/Korar Initiative has been hesitantly approved, and initial funding allocated. However, the project must stay under several caveats, under pain of immediate dissolution and disciplinary action for involved personnel:

  • Detachments from Mobile Task Forces Alpha-1 and Delta-1 are to be attached to the initiative to monitor progress, and report directly to the Council on any developments;
  • Project Lead Pandora Galanis is to be routinely tested by operators for memetic or cognitohazardous influence;
  • All personnel are to have Cognitohazard Resistance Values of at least 14.9;
  • Active anomalous objects are only to receive cursory examination on-site; extended research will be conducted at MKF-02 in the Maldives;
  • FMS Phantom has been diverted from its assignment in the Southern Ocean, and is en-route to provide support, supply, and personnel to the FRS Lillihammer. Upon arrival, the two vessels will dock with each other to form MKF-01. Further personnel will be flown in from MKF-02 after passing prerequisite CRV tests;

Project Lead Galanis has been informed of and agreed to these restrictions. They have and will continue to be communicated to all involved personnel, and Overwatch Command will take a significant position in administrative decisions for the Initiative.

Due to their heading the discovery of Mamjul as well as their prior experience with anomalous civilizations, Researcher Pandora Galanis was selected as the Project Lead for the Initiative, with the recommendation of O5-1.

▶OPEN ADDENDUM◀

The FMS Phantom arrived at the FRS Lillihammer's location on September 2nd and created a long-term connection between the two ships. Initiative personnel began to share documents and information while the respective commanders met.

▶OPEN ADDENDUM◀









ACT II

INSPIRATION















FILESERV NOTICE: The following document was inserted into this file at a later date, under containment protocol HERODOTUS. Refer to Special Containment Procedures for more information.

VERSE 56-60


As witnessed by Sodibiarat, Second Rajmata of the Scarlet Maharaja.

The Covenant was struck, and the King of the Scarlet House of the Daeva took his wife and his throne and slept and dreamt a dream of a grand, great city of stone and spire spanning vast farmlands and jungles, the seat of an empire that would truly please the Scarlet. At their emperor's behest and now able to take form on the Material Plane, the Daeva of the Scarlet rode down from the trees on their six-winged thousand-legged beasts of burden and joined in celebrations with the tribe of their new suzerain, in hymnal and orgiastic worship to the great red power.

Then the Daeva, with their many arms, grasped the stones and built a fortress to protect themselves, for now the Daeva and the Men were one in the eyes of the trees. They worked tirelessly and without cease for three nights and three days while Mamjul, city for Men, rose from the earth around the Great Tree of Life. Then they climed the trunk and branches of the tree, scaling it up to the heavens and back into the Astral Plane whereupon they again began to work, constructing another city of starstuff and soul-spirits given up to the cosmos after death. The leaves and fruits and flowers of the Great Tree formed the canopy for this Korar, city for Daeva, great beacon through the empty wandering wastes of the heavens, a perfect mirror of its sister below with the Scarlet Maharaja resting in his dream, sustaining the empire, in the grand temple of the Tree.

The magic of the Daeva was now Man's to commend, and the battlemages and sorcerer-nawabs marched out under their scarlet banner to conquer fertile lands and the godless cities in the name of their king, assisted by the spirits lengths tall and able to tear a man in two with only a strike. The red wave swept across Asia from the south, demolishing all in its path, consuming the spirit of the enemy, taking prisoner-slave and loot back back to Mamjul on the back of the great beasts of the Covenant. Cities would lay down arms and accept the Scarlet Maharaja as their chakravarti as his beasts and creatures brought down their walls and the magicians would lay waste to their palaces and temples.

The Scarlet Maharaja's bride, the Rajmata, would sit and rule in his stead, matriarch of the Covenant as he slept in the branches of the Great Tree. Long-lived and beautiful and awesome, the lineage of queens would defend the city against all threats. And the city swelled with treasures and fine linens and foodstuffs across the vast Daevic Covenant, and the poets and artists and dancers and people of thought filled its buildings with the culture of the Covenant. And when they died, their spirits would dance the dance of the cosmos, rising up the Tree into Korar to live the eternal song of the Daeva. And the Daeva would reside in their kingdom above, watching over the Men they loved so. And it was in this way that Mamjul became known as Mamjul, Jewel of the South, and Korar became the Great Tree-Kingdom of the Cosmos.
















Section 001.3

MAMJUL RESEARCH

The first of several dives into the ruins of the city to recover artifacts and any information or records still remaining took place on September 6th, 2002. The submersible aboard the Lillihammer was outfitted with grab arms, spotlights, and a holding bay before being deployed. The submersible, designated KALLA-1, was capable of both manned piloting by 2-3 crew members, or partial-unmanned piloting by CALYPSO.aic, one of the first Gen13 Artificial Intelligence Constructs produced at Site-7. For the first dive, partial-unmanned operation was utilized.

▶OPEN ADDENDUM◀

Following the arrival of KALLA-1 and the analysis of onboard data, anomalies were detected in the audio recorded by the submersible's underwater microphones. The audio tracks were isolated and amplified, revealing a low-frequency buzzing of unknown origin from T+02:02 to when KALLA-1 exited the ruins of Mamjul. Tests of the microphones revealed no malfunction.

Lt. Greaves and Operator Desai both submitted to Hartwell-Pugh evaluations following the conclusion of the dive mission and passed with adequate scores, indicating no present cognitohazardous influence.

The samples recovered from the dive were analyzed on-site in the clean labs aboard the Phantom before being transported to MKF-02 by helicopter for long-term study and, if necessary, containment. The large piece of the citadel structure lasered off by KALLA-1 confirmed that the substance comprising the structure is organic, similar in appearance to teak wood but heavily hardened and mineralized through a process resembling fossilization. The final product is a dark, knotted wood that is incredibly dense and hard, comparable to stone, while being entirely organically grown; the size and proportions of the 435m stump suggest that the full tree would have been nearly a kilometer high.

The jars recovered by KALLA-1 were, as suspected, sealed and made watertight through application of a thick, gum-like substance. Upon removal and opening of the jars, stone and clay tablets were discovered inside. However, the tablets were all completely featureless, lacking any kind of writing or marking. The significance of these tablets is as of yet unknown.

The digital images recorded of the various carvings on the citadel and throughout the city were disseminated for analysis among the research team. On September 12th, the research team had the first of several leadership meetings among the various research sectors.

▶OPEN ADDENDUM◀

Over the following weeks, the trained COYOTE divers of MTF Gamma-6 ("Deep Feeders"), Fireteam KHAN, performed 13 dives into Mamjul to explore the interior sections of the citadel, the city, and recover any artifacts or possibly relevant material. Dives were typically led by Operator Ajay Desai (Khan-1) and monitored by members of the Research Committee and a member of MTF Alpha-1.

▶OPEN ADDENDUM◀

Concurrently and following these dives, the samples recovered from Mamjul were analyzed on-site in the following weeks by the various subteams and personnel of the Research Committee, under the direction of Dr. Galanis. However, the limited array of samples and general lack of historical material to focus the historical and archaeological aspect of the investigation caused difficulty and a lack of actionable results.

▶OPEN ADDENDUM◀

A meeting between the project lead and O5-1 was scheduled for October 4th, using the Secure Leyspace Communicator, to update the Council on the Initiative's progress.

▶OPEN ADDENDUM◀

Section 001.4

OMICRON RHO

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FCS Haffkine in port.

SCP-1867 was securely transported to MKF-01 on the FCS Haffkine cargo vessel, along with a number of supplies, equipment, and a detachment of personnel from the Psychotronics Division at Site-19. The Haffkine docked with the Phantom and Lillihammer as part of MKF-01 on October 12th, and Psychotronics Division personnel quickly set up an ad-hoc lab and working center under the direction of Dr. Galanis and Senior Researcher Ada Crowley, with input from SCP-1867. Over the following month, almost every member of the Mamjul-Korar Initiative was subjected to a gauntlet of tests to determine their psychic potential. Those with the highest scores and sufficiently high Cognitohazard Resistance Values were inducted into a provisional Applied Task Force: Omicron Rho ("Dream Team").

By mid-November, of the eighty-seven members of the Mamjul-Korar Initiative, nine had been inducted into ATF Omicron Rho, including Lieutenant Lucian Greaves, Operator Ajay Desai, and Doctor Pandora Galanis. Foundation research into extrasensory perception had exploded since 1944 with the founding of the Psychotronics Division, and provided several advances (such as low telepathy, scrying, and limited divination) that were routinely used in various sectors of Foundation operations by 1971, though true astral projection remained out of reach. With the assistance of SCP-1867's expertise on the matter, Psychotronics Division personnel were able to train members of ATF Omicron Rho into being able to induce a fugue state that SCP-1867 affirmed would result in successful astral projection if performed under the influence of mnestic drugs.

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LSAP Cadmus-Aram Deep-Brain Oneiric Parietal Stimulation Array.

Additionally, O5-1 requisitioned the LSAP Cadmus-Aram Deep-Brain Oneiric Parietal Stimulation and Recording Array, a one-of-a-kind prototype mechanism constructed by Dr. Hadley Cadmus and Dr. Robert Aram, when the latter was still employed by the Foundation for the Paratechnology Department. The device consisted of two separate portions: a medical implant of several electrodes inserted into brain tissue, leading out to a wire through the nape of the neck, and a computerized system to which the wire would be connected. The implant would stimulate brain tissue to produce a heightened state of awareness during dreams, and the computer would record sensations and visuals to produce as text. The text would require additional human processing, but the final product was a largely-accurate transcription of what the subject says and does, including while dreaming.

The device, tested prior by the Psychotronics Division and confirmed safe, was implanted into Lieutenant Lucian Greaves to serve as an indisputable, impartial record of what was discovered for Council records, in compliance with O5 Edict #2050. Following the operation and his two-week recovery at Site-12, Greaves returned to MKF-01 in preparation for the first attempt at astrally projecting into Mamjul, performed on December 20th, 2002.

▶OPEN ADDENDUM◀









ACT III

INGENIOUS















FILESERV NOTICE: The following document was inserted into this file at a later date, under containment protocol HERODOTUS. Refer to Special Containment Procedures for more information.

VERSE 70-74


As witnessed by Saudivalatra, Third Rajmata of the Scarlet Maharaja.

And as the Empire spread across the face of the continent in the name of the Scarlet House of the Daeva, it was soon that they came to know those that had arisen in the East and West in the thousand years of isolation. The blood-mad Nälka of Black Aditum, the great dark necropolis borne of Mamjul's own sin and rent from the body of the High Slave, took arms against the Daeva in their zealotry to extinguish the life from the Flesh. And the Mekhanites of Amoni-Ram, in their arrogance and disdain for the natural laws of the world, took arms agains the Daeva in their zealotry to make themselves more than human. And in the hopes of saving their people, the Covenant took the magic of the jungle against their aggressors and waged whole war, war in every aspect, war in every element.

Mamjul and Korar turned from peaceful metropoli to cities of war, and the Children of the Scarlet rushed out into the land, sorcerer-nawabs leading vast legions of Daeva and warriors and slave-soldiers into the cruelest faces of humanity. Of the north of the Daeva, once lay a dozen cities — now reduced to naught but ash and rubble over the course of the First War. The Zealots of Metal saw and learned the power of fire and lime, wielded freely against innocents, entire forests burned into cinders to deny the Daeva their home. Cities laid siege to, men bled, fuladh melted down into the very spears that would be driven through the bodies of the Mekhanites and into the wall of Mamjul, as a warning.

And of the Nälka was an even more violent confrontation, for their Lord Iun was a hateful beast, and his mindless forces ran amok, stretching wildly from the east and raising those who died in war back again, denying their souls their eternal rest in Korar. Their massacres were devoid of purpose, killing for the sake of killing, with no artistry to their butchery, no respect for the inborn soul, only a simpleminded desire for the purity of rent flesh, empty vessels. The cities of the Nälka were torn from the ground by the great vines of the sorcerer-nawabs, sundering walls, laying waste to all who dared to interrupt the dance of the soul.

And through all this, the three Cities lay unaware of the Wretch of the West, of its horde coming together, of the BLACKSTAR rising from the obscurity of a farming village to the head of the army of the damned. In our arrogance, we saw only each other — we dismissed the Fourth, who had been silently scheming for a thousand years, a vengeant eye watching the horizon, watching the rise of Amoni-Ram and Mamjul and Korar and Black Aditum, and casting a spectre of devastation upon the land as it made the slow, agonizing march to the great golden walls of the Gate of the West with only one thought in the mind of its prophet: death.
















Section 001.5

KORAR RESEARCH

▶OPEN ADDENDUM◀

The realization that the Daevic Covenant was not an extinct civilization caused a sudden shock to Mamjul-Korar Initiative personnel and leadership. Authorization was immediately sought from Overwatch Command to establish preliminary diplomatic relations with the Covenant, and granted on December 17th, 2002. In the three weeks following Projection #01, 16 return trips were made by MTF Omicron Rho personnel, which had been expanded from its original roster of nine to thirty-five. This was largely due to the Psychotronics Division successfully producing RL-023, an animatropic drug that considerably lessened the preparation and training needed for a successful astral projection while also allowing for perfect recall after awakening, for transcription. Prior to this, RL-023 had only existed theoretically in Dr. Hadley Cadmus' research notes.

MTF Omicron-Rho's Projections #02 through #17 included personnel from every Division of the Mamjul-Korar Initiative, and were focused on a number of immediate goals:

  • I) ascertain the anomalous capabilities of the extant Daevic Empire and their current nature of existence;
  • II) establish diplomatic relations, if possible;
  • III) arrive at a clearer understanding of the culture of the Daevic Covenant;
  • IV) build a unified timeline of the Empire's fall, and establish the identity of the entity/group/party known as the Abominate;

Rajmata Vaslirasirraj-Shirat, the current ruling monarch of the Daeva, proved exceptionally receptive to diplomatic efforts and accomodating to Foundation personnel in Korar. An extensive Culture Briefing was compiled by the Anthropology Division with the assistance of the Rajmata and multiple visits to Korar.

ATTACHED DOCUMENT

Culture Briefing Excerpt

Societal Structure

The Daevic Covenant society is extremely rigidly caste-based, with roles in society occupied by dozens of complex interrelated castes. Broadly, they can be grouped into four categories. As with many ancient cultures, slaves occupy the bottommost rung of society, and are afforded few rights or luxuries. The Daevic Empire made extensive use of slaves in almost every line of work that could not be done through their arboromancy, from construction to agriculture to bureaucracy; we estimate that the Empire contained three slaves for every free citizen. This system was brutally enforced through both anomalous and mundane control methods and violence. Testimonies from the Daeva indicate that the mass-killing of slaves was regarded as a kindness, as it freed their immortal souls to join the population in Korar.

Beyond the slaves, the castes were less rigidly separated. Freed laborers were afforded only a handful of rights above slaves. Merchants and artisans were in similar higher rungs of society, and soldier-nobles and sorcerers occupied the rung above them, being the landed aristrocrats. The topmost rung of society consisted of the matriarchs, or 'Scarlet brides', religious priestesses central to the Daevic religion (see § State Religion). These matriarchs dictated almost every matter of society by interpreting the will of their god. In a break from most ancient cultures, one of these brides, the Rajmata, was the sovereign monarch of the Empire, rather than a male member of the landed gentry; she was considered married to the Scarlet Maharaja while it slept in Korar, and the embodiment of its will in Mamjul and on Earth, empowered to make all theocratic, military, and societal decisions for the Covenant.

▶OPEN ADDENDUM◀

Section 001.6

ONEIRIC RESEARCH

Following this exchange with the Rajmata of the Daevic Empire, Doctor Pandora Galanis began sessions with her to accurately construct a historical record of the Empire concurrent with the fall of Amoni-Ram. The Rajmata offered both the religious framing of the Song of the Daeva as well as historical knowledge carried through oral tradition among the Daeva in the absence of a formal written record.

▶OPEN ADDENDUM◀

ATTACHED DOCUMENT

Culture Briefing Excerpt

State Religion

The Daevic Empire was a strict theocracy with a strong focus on animism. The Daeva were considered nature spirits and immutable evidence of the validity of the Daevic religion, but they were not the central objects of worship by citizens of the Empire. Instead, this role was occupied by an entity-concept known by many names — the Slumbering God, the Scarlet Maharaja, the Khan of the Scarlet House, or simply the Scarlet. The consistencies are self-evident; all representations of the god are strong in nature, primal instinct, natural order, violent survival of the fittest.

This entity, called the Scarlet here for simplicity's sake, was one of the gods cast down to the Earth when a war split the pantheon, landing in what is now the middle of the Indian Ocean but at the time was a lush jungle subcontinent. It became the king and sworn god of the nature spirits, and eventually connected these spirits with the fledgling tribal humans living on the subcontinent, by taking a human 'avatar' and forming the Daevic Covenant. This avatar is suggested to be an unspeakably powerful sorcerer, with abilities suggesting at least a Type-4 Class Blue entity — but is asleep, with their dreams forming the foundations for Korar's continued existence and the Empire's successful conquests. Put simply, the Scarlet is the cosmic representation of the concepts of brutal primality, and the Scarlet Maharaja is its prophet in human form.

The religion of the Daevic Empire was one of unwavering, zealous commitment to the Scarlet Maharaja, as their dreams allowed for the continuation of the Empire. The systematic manifestion of this were the Scarlet Brides, an imperial cult of handmaidens, attendants, and priestesses (though many were also male or androgynous) that were considered literally wedded to the Scarlet Maharaja. Their favored wife among the Brides was the Rajmata, the queen ruling in their stead until the Maharaja awoke from his dream when the Daeva had conquered the entirety of Asia for them.

Hymns, magic, and sacrifices formed the basis of Daevic worship. Hymns and associated dances occupied a central place in Daevic culture and complex dances were a way to honor their god, and use of the magic gifted to humans by the Scarlet was a holy act in and of itself, with sorcerers akin to religious preachers. Human sacrifice was a core part of Daevic worship — it is estimated that over the thousand years of the Empire's existence, well over forty million people were sacrificed, most with religious intent in specially-constructed pits and many being children.. This was not seen as a cruelty by the Empire, as killing a human member of the Empire was believed to allow them to reincarnate as a Daeva in Korar, a more fulfilling and eternal life — but the fact is that the Empire practiced a level of brutal human sacrifice and slavery on a scale completely unprecedented in ancient history.

Over the following weeks, Doctor Galanis continued to sit in private sessions with Rajmata Vaslirasirraj-Shirat. Through these, several assumptions that Nussbaum Model had made regarding the parahistorical element to the Bronze Age Collapse were challenged and clarified.

▶OPEN ADDENDUM◀

On February 28th, 2003, the following meeting was recorded by Alpha-1 Lieutenant Lucian Greaves in his stateroom and office aboard the FMS Phantom.

▶OPEN ADDENDUM◀

The following projection log transcript was adapted from Lieutenant Greaves' LSAP Cadmus-Aram Array on March 1st, 2003, as part of a multiple-week projection regimen with Doctor Galanis and Operator Ajay Desai.

▶OPEN ADDENDUM◀

ATTACHED DOCUMENT

Culture Briefing Excerpt

Thaumaturgy & Magic

Without active practitioners of the Daeva school of magic, it's difficult to make confident statements about its nature, especially in the framework of modern thaumaturgy which relies heavily on objective, metaphysical measurement. However, through Doctor Galanis' sessions with the Rajmata Vaslirasirraj-Shirat and 141 interviews conducted on Daeva by members of the Mamjul-Korar Initiative, much information has been assembled.

The first, and perhaps most important point, is that the magic the Daeva used was not simply herbomancy (the magic of manipulating plant life). More broadly, the Daeva practiced animancy, in line with their philosophies that everything in the world had a soul, the only difference being whether it was on the astral or the material plane. The Daeva are self-identified spirits of nature, which is why the vast majority of Daeva magic focuses on plants and wildlife, but this is a choice, not a limitation.

Several Daeva have attested to more esoteric uses of their magic than conjuring aggressive, hostile plant life and the encouragement of agriculture. Mamjul was once host to a university of kallya, scholars we would now liken to alchemists, chiefly concerned with encouraging the development of life to serve the Daeva. The most visible examples of this are the exotic many-legged beasts of burden observed in Korar and in Mamjul by Doctor Galanis — but this university also produced what we would now call bioweapons, highly-aggressive viral infections that could cause both anomalous and mundane damage on organic tissue. These infections would be loaded into glass vessels and catapulted into besieged cities.7

As with most forms of animancy, the 'magic' was in fact a contract of exchange between the spirit and the caster. Given the close bond that most spirits (the Daeva) and the casters (the humans they were bonded with) had, there was no incentive to outsmart and/or betray the caster as with djinns. Instead, the price was paid through the ritual blood sacrifice of a third-party — usually a slave or later, prisoner of war. Magic was used in nearly every aspect of Covenant society, from the management and control of slaves (pheromone-based hypnotics) to construction and expansion (accelerated tree growth into the desired structures) to war (physical bonding of Daeva to Covenant soldiers).

As the Daeva supplying the spiritual power clearly still exist, there are no physical barriers preventing adequately-trained thaumaturges from studying and using Daeva magic.

▶OPEN ADDENDUM◀









ACT IV

INFALLIBLE















FILESERV NOTICE: The following document was inserted into this file at a later date, under containment protocol HERODOTUS. Refer to Special Containment Procedures for more information.

VERSE 106-109


As witnessed by Rapplataray, Fifth Rajmata of the Scarlet Maharaja.

And once the Beast had laid waste to Amoni-Ram, torn the city asunder and set the armies loose to tear each other apart, it continued its dreadful march across the desert and into the jungles and forests of the Covenant. And in this it was victorious; for it had slaughtered the Grand Armies at Amoni-Ram, routing the men and spirits of the Daeva from the battlefield, sending them into a desperate retreat through the thickets and undergrowth, to Mamjul, to salvation.

And so it was that the armies of the Daeva were forced to abandon their peoples, their sacred charge and those of their children, as they formed a great mass, marching ceaselessly towards their stronghold, the ancestral home of the Daeva, where they could mount a defense. But as with all things, such decisions are rooted in sacrifices of blood, of honor, of duty. And the ultimate sacrifice was made a hundred times over. Loyal soldiers left to their devices against the chaos of the horde, knowing their deaths inevitable, taking solace in the fact that their deaths might preserve their afterlifes.

Because it was understood that were the BLACKSTAR to lead his armies across the isthmus and into Mamjul, he would lay siege to the city, and break it just as he had broken Amoni-Ram. The slaughter would be wholesale and complete, and not only of the material plane. For were the Three-Prong Army to bring down the walls of Mamjul, to seize the Tree, they would tear apart the roots seeking the original gift of the Scarlet, the source of the Maharaja's power. And should they take it from his sleeping corpse, he would crumble away to nothingness, robbed of his immortality. And as he crumbled, so too would the dream he dreamt, and Korar with it.
















Section 001.7

LATER RESEARCH

On April 11th, following several months of cooperative research from all teams of the Mamjul-Korar Initiative, the first revision of the Daevic Empire Cultural Briefing was finalized. The report covered nearly every aspect of cultural knowledge that the Daeva had been willing to share with Foundation personnel, and represented likely the first written record of the Daeva's existence in centuries, perhaps millennia. A meeting of the Anthropology Committee was called to discuss forward action.

▶OPEN ADDENDUM◀

Despite the finalization of the Culture Briefing, the primary goal of the Mamjul-Korar Initiative remained to construct an accurate timeline leading to the fall of the anomalous empires and identify the Abominate/Wretch. Dr. Galanis' sessions with the Rajmata had reached the Fall of Amoni-Ram in approximately 1200 BCE, which is where the historical model constructed by Dr. Hedvig Nussbaum ended. At this crucial precipice, the Council unanimously agreed to permit further sessions.

▶OPEN ADDENDUM◀

On May 3rd, the first group of researchers from the Thaumaturgy Division arrived at MKF-01 via helicopter. Due to their unique requirements, the Thaumaturgy Team was quartered aboard the Haffkine with the Psychotronics Division personnel. A meeting of the Research Committee was held shortly thereafter to determine the level of involvement and direction the Team would have. As the Psychotronics Division personnel had successfully mastered the process of inducing projections, SCP-1867 was transported back to Site-19 via the same helicopter as it departed MKF-01.

▶OPEN ADDENDUM◀

Lieutenant Greaves and Doctor Galanis entered into another astral projection with the Rajmata on May 23rd, with the goal of determining how exactly the Blackstar was able to take Mamjul and exterminate the Daevic Covenant.

▶OPEN ADDENDUM◀

In the middle of the astral projection, a sudden and unprecedented equipment failure occurred in the Psychotronics Lab aboard the Haffkine. The projection lost connection, and several pieces of equipment were heavily damaged. Doctor Galanis awoke unharmed, but for unknown reasons, Lieutenant Greaves remained unconscious and in the fugue state; an hour later, he slipped into a coma.

The immediate assessment by Psychotronics Division personnel and medical personnel aboard the Phantom was that the LSAP Array embedded in Lt. Greaves' brain resulted in some kind of adverse reaction to the psychic backlash, or was in fact the cause thereof. Before any decision could be reached on moving him to the infirmary, or extracting the Array from his brain, the Array reactivated despite no longer being attached to any discernable power source. The transcript printer it was attached to begin printing a large amount of nonsense text with no clear meaning or purpose, and extremely faint delta waves were detected from Lt. Greaves in an EKG.

Per Dr. Galanis' orders, the Haffkine was temporarily quarantined. Reentry into Korar was not possible until replacement components for the damaged equipment were rush-ordered from the nearby MKF-02 and delivered via helicopter to the ships. Due to the time-sensitive nature of the project, typical Foundation practices to obscure logistical transportation were ignored. The components were installed on May 25th, and, two days after contact was lost, Dr. Galanis reentered the astral projection with the directive of assessing Lt. Greaves' status and, if possible, recovering him.

▶OPEN ADDENDUM◀

Section 001.8

INCIDENT HIEROPHANT

2 hours and 44 minutes into Dr. Galanis' projection, the various sonar equipment placed in Mamjul's ruins by the Diving Team also began reporting localized underwater disturbances.

At the same time, several covert monitoring buoys that had been spread in concentric circles around the location of SCP-001 began pinging the bridge of the Phantom reporting multiple unknown objects detected in the vicinity.

ATTACHED TRANSCRIPT - MAY 2003

«RADIO CHATTER — PHANTOM BRIDGE TO OVERWATCH COMMAND»

PHANTOM: Overwatch Command, this is FMS Phantom, do you copy?

OVCOM: We have your signal locked. Please confirm identity.

PHANTOM: Phantom One, authcode ziggurat-gamma-7-8-9-1-1.

OVCOM: Identity confirmed. Sitrep?

PHANTOM: Several monitoring sites, both in SCP-001 and at our red radius, have sounded at the same time.

OVCOM: Radar report?

PHANTOM: A regular systems check resulted in a delay on the radar read. We're just about to receive it.

[Pause.]

PHANTOM: Fuck me running.

OVCOM: Phantom?

PHANTOM: Surface radar reports multiple unidentified flying objects moving southeast at high velocity, inbound to MKF-01. Repeat, direct course with MKF-01. Attempting to get speed now…. objects are moving in excess of 450 kilometers per hour, and are approximately 100km away from our current position. ETA 13 minutes.

OVCOM: Copy. Activate Protocol Westchester, and patch me in to Captain Hickman. Stay in communication while Protocol is executed.

«CAMERA LOGS — MKF-01»

ETA: 12:21

[Various researchers and personnel occupy the mess hall of the Phantom, eating meals and engaging in casual chatter. They are suddenly interrupted by alarms sounding throughout the ship, and klaxon lights flashing red. Security personnel, both assigned ship security and MTF Alpha-1 troops, spread out in the large room and firmly escort researchers and personnel to their assigned quarters.]

[Throughout the rest of the vessels, similar experiences unfold — security officers seal bulkheads behind researchers packed into their labs and sleeping quarters. The research staff stare at each other worriedly, as the alarms continue to sound.]

[In the Psychotronics Lab, several MTF Alpha-1 personnel move in, sealing the door behind them, and take up defensive positions around the bodies of Dr. Galanis and Lt. Greaves.]

ETA: 08:45

[The remaining security personnel quickly move through the facility, grabbing weaponry from armories. Crates are pulled from storage rooms and opened, and security personnel hand out rifles. After receiving weapons, a number of personnel make their way to the top deck while others go lower.]

ETA: 06:09

[Across the topdeck, sailors, security personnel, and Alpha-1 operatives move to battle stations. Chain gun emplacements and cannons arranged across the top of the Phantom are quickly activated and loaded, sweeping across the sky in a northwestern direction. A number of large hatches pop open, filling the topdeck with smoke as a dozen small missiles rocket away, turning into the distance.]

ETA: 03:01

[In the lower decks, gunners crowd around the firing computers. The large automated cannons on the top deck activate, raising their barrels upward and firing another volley of missiles into the distance. They curve and fix their heading to follow their targets.]

ETA: 02:15

[A number of explosions are visible in the distant air. Dots become visible on the horizon exiting the smoke clouds and rapidly increasing in size and proximity. They are moving extremely quickly, but separate out as they near into at least 30-40 different figures. A number of them fall into the water, damaged by the missiles; approximately two-thirds of them are still in the air.. The sun is high overhead, but even at the distance, the light gleams off their bronze forms. The automated chain guns begin firing at them indiscriminately.]

ETA: 00:24

[Foundation personnel begin firing small arms. The chain guns fire and reload themselves constantly, switching between targets. The swarm of figures swoops overhead, each one now clearly a highly-augmented humanoid with large, bronze wings. A female with the largest wingspan on an intricate set of white-and-gold wings hovers at a distance, then rockets around the ships, far outpacing the guns following her. The rest of the bronze-armored troops charge forward.]

PHANTOM: OVCOM, come in OVCOM. FMS Phantom is under attack, repeat, we are under attack.

OVCOM: Copy. We've emergency scrambled naval support from MKF-02, but it may take some time to reach you. Can you identify your attackers?

[Static-ridden explosions.]

OVCOM: Phantom, come in Phantom.

PHANTOM: [Out-of-breath] This is Phantom One Actual, Captain Hickman. It's the Mekhanites.

[A number fly low and grab hold of security personnel, lifting them into the air and dropping them into the sea or onto the metal deck, where their bones shatter on impact. Chain guns swing around and lay suppressing fire onto the cloud of Mekhanites.]

WILCOX: Get down, get the fuck down! They're dive-bombing!

FRANKLIN: Nine o'clock, fire!

[One of the huge guns swivels on its base, following the largest cluster of Mekhanites through the air, before firing. The shell collides with one of the armored figures before exploding on impact, dispersing the cluster and sending them sailing through the air. As the smoke clears, the figure it impacts sails through the air and slams into the deck of the Haffkine.]

FRANKLIN: Scratch one!

[The deck of the ship shakes slightly, the waters around the Phantom growing rough and frothing. For a moment, the cloud of Mekhanites hangs back.]

MCNAMARA: What the fuck is that?!

BENOIT: Get away from the hull!

[With an explosion of spray and foam, two dozen large bronze-armored figures rocket out of the water, slamming their swords into the sides of the ship. They began to crawl up the hull. Security personnel move to the gunwale, leaning their weapons over the sides and firing straight down. One or two Mekhanites' skulls shatter under the hail of gunfire and fall back into the sea, blood spreading into the water. The bullets harmlessly bounce off most of them as they continue to inch their way up the sides of the ship.]

RODRIQUEZ: Shit is not working, switch to AP!

[The security personnel on the sides cover each other while they swap out to armor-piercing rounds. At the same time, the aerial contingent of Mekhanites turn and make another pass over the decks of the ships, this time pulling out fuladh spears and driving them through the chests of security personnel.]

PHANTOM: OVCOM, there's a terrestrial group of them. Attempting to board and take the vessel. Requesting air support.

[Several of the flying Mekhanites land on the deck of the Haffkine, engaging personnel directly with close-quarters polearms and swords. Personnel turn the chain guns on them, hammering them with rounds from close proximity. Their advance is halted, but the bullets fail to pierce their fuladh armor.

[On the Phantom, the situation worsens as the boarding party begin to reach the top deck and pull themselves over. They are distinctly humanoid, but tall, and heavily augmented with Mekhanite prosthetics and implants. What little of their skin is visible under the armor bulges with subdermal cables and wiring. They are armed with what appear to be primitive long rifles, which they turn on the security personnel and begin firing.]

PATEL: Bridge, put up the barricades!

PHANTOM: Roger.

[Several sections of the deck of the Phantom rise up and out, forming makeshift cover. Security personnel dash behind them, leaning out to fire their rifles. The large-caliber rounds from the Mekhanite weapons slam into the barricades at high velocity, a few tearing completely through personnel, who collapse onto the ground, bleeding out.]

OVCOM: Additional reinforcements have been scrambled. An Indian Navy patrol group has been requisitioned, and is en route to your location. Fixed-wing aircraft have already been launched and are en-route.

PHANTOM: But—

OVCOM: We can amnesticize them after. Under no circumstances can the Mekhanites be allowed to take MKF-01. You need to survive until the support arrives.

[With the close-quarters combat occuring on both decks, the remaining aerial Mekhanites can no longer effectively dive-bomb, and slam into the decks of the ships, drawing their weapons and making another advance. Under heavy machine-gun fire, a handful drop to the ground, but most continue advancing.]

ALLARD: We're getting fucking massacred out here!

POLRYS: Bridge, we need reinforcements now!

[Through one of the doors, a group of hooded and armored personnel exit, shoulderpads emblazoned with the sigil of the Thaumaturgy Division. They form a small phalanx, one drawing a sigil in the air that expands into a moving, translucent barrier. They press forward onto the deck where the firefight is occuring — the barrier trembles under the assault, but holds.]

LIAN: Are those the fucking wizards!?

CARRICK: Cover us! We're going to try to disable them!

OKONKWO: Move starboard, keep the lane clear for them!

[The thaumaturges move forward, coming into within a few meters of the Mekhanites. CARRICK holds the barrier while the others brace themselves against the ground and whisper. A few moments later, green, expanding vines creep out through the cracks in the deck and wrap around the ankles of one of the Mekhanites, causing him to crash into the ground. An Alpha-1 operative leans around the cover and empties a magazine into his unprotected nape.]

VERNE: Shit, that worked! Keep going!

CARRICK: It's too energy-intensive, we can only get one at a time! We just don't have the power!

[The phalanx is temporarily pushed back by one of the Mekhanites charging them. On the Haffkine, Alpha-1 personnel also flood out of the doors to the bridge and lay down suppressing fire from their weaponry. These weapons cause slightly more visible damage, but still fail to stop the advance towards the bridge.]

PHANTOM: All personnel, hold the line. Reinforcements are on their way.

JEFFREY: They're not going to get here in time! We can't stop them!

▶OPEN ADDENDUM◀









ACT V

IN THE COURT OF THE SCARLET KING















FILESERV NOTICE: The following document was inserted into this file at a later date, under containment protocol HERODOTUS. Refer to Special Containment Procedures for more information.

VERSE 145-147


As witnessed by Vaslirasirraj-Shirat, Seventh Rajmata of the Scarlet Maharaja.

And after the waves crested over the spires and palaces of Mamjul, and brought the city low, and slew in one fell wave the Covenant, then for a time, Mamjul rested, alone and rent, at the bottom of the sea. And there it lay, as the BLACKSTAR marched onwards, through the center of Asia, against the forces of the Nälka, and took the world into a great silence.

And there it continued to lie, unaware of the events beyond the waters, until the ruins of the once-great were happened upon by an old enemy, one who had forgotten its own past. And such were the Daeva immortalized in the pages of the document, defiant of their prison of nonexistence. And in this way, the Song of the Daeva began to write itself once more.
















Section 001.9

SECOND COVENANT

ATTACHED TRANSCRIPT - MAY 2003

OVCOM: Satellite 15 of the Atreus Array is approaching your location, Phantom. ETA six minutes.

PHANTOM: I don't know if we have that much time.

[A large amount of the security personnel have been killed, and their corpses litter the deck. The Mekhanites are nearly at the bridge, only held back by the few remaining personnel and Alpha-1 operatives, who huddle behind the barricades.]

PHANTOM: Something's happening. We're getting — what the hell?

[The deck of the ship rumbles again. This time, the force is coming from below.]

OVCOM: Sitrep, Phantom.

PHANTOM: Subaquatic monitoring equipment is giving abnormal readings, I don't—

[The ship shudders. For a moment, the Mekhanites pause their advance. In the center of the three ships, a circle of red light begins to form in the water, perhaps 10m across. It steadily increases in brightness and intensity.]

PHANTOM: What is that?

[A single figure, wreathed in fire, breaks through the surface of the sea, immediately boiling the water around it to vapor that sprays outward. It rises into the air, a blur of red shooting up to twice the height of the Phantom and moving until it is hovering over the deck.]

PHANTOM: Visual contact. A red-skinned nude figure, flying above the ship.

OVCOM: Mekhanite?

PHANTOM: No. No, it doesn't appear to be. It's not wearing any armor — or anything, actually, and I don't see any augments. It's glowing, though. A corona of red light. The Mekhanites stopped — they're just staring at it.

[The figure reaches one hand out of the corona of light, waving it across the dozens of Mekhanites on the deck of the Phantom. The vines left abandoned by the Thaumuturgy Division suddenly engorge with thorns and violently outstretch, far more aggressive than they were. They wrap around the torsos of a slew of the Mekhanites, pulling them to the ground, burrowing through their eye sockets and mouths into their bodies, tearing them apart from the inside, leaving pools of viscera and blood-soaked augments.]

[The remaining Mekhanites turn their weapons on the floating figure, barraging it with spears, rifles, and conventional firearms. Several of the flying units take to the air, making a run at it. It lazily waves another hand. They stop in midair, clutching at their implants. The bare skin where their augments are attached turns yellow, then green, then black, rotting in real time. It oozes with pus and disintegrates, the dead tissue tearing away from the living, their implants going with it, and their limbless torsos fall screaming into the sea.]

[It turns its attention to the handful of remaining hostiles. They are preparing a retreat, about to leap over the edge of the ship and back into the sea. Some even make it, but they do not survive the fall — their bodies split apart, vines and roots forming from inside them and tearing through their skin and flesh as they force an exit. Many are simply bisected, their bloody halves falling into the sea and sinking, turning the water red with blood as it pools around the ships. The battle is over; in the course of 40 seconds, the figure has eviscerated over a hundred Mekhanites.]

PHANTOM: It just… killed them.

OVCOM: Sitrep, please.

PHANTOM: It massacred them. The Mekhanites are all dead. No further friendly casualties. It just brutalized them.

OVCOM: Treat as hostile, Phantom.

[The figure begins to descend from its hovering position. It becomes clear that it is essentially a disembodied nervous system wrapped in a translucent red layer. As it descends, it begins to take firm shape — bones grow, muscles knit themselves into place, though the figure never grows skin. Standing well over 3m tall and with large horns on its head, its skin is inscribed with symbols and markings that pulse to an inaudible rhythm. As it reaches the deck of the Phantom, MTF Alpha-1 operatives fan out from behind cover, supported by security personnel. They surround the figure in a circle, guns drawn and all pointed directly at its head. It does not react.]

PHANTOM: Wait.

OVCOM: What?

[The figure looks up, raising a hand in greeting.]

WILCOX: …Lieutenant Greaves?

The figure, temporarily designated SCP-001-KING, surrendered to security forces and was detained in a secure holding cell aboard the Phantom. Interrogations were a failure; it insisted on speaking first to Doctor Pandora Galanis. Dr. Galanis was brought into the secure cell four hours after they awakened from their astral projection and were debriefed.

▶OPEN ADDENDUM◀

Three days later, on June 3rd, O5 Edict #2130 was released. Doctor Galanis was not invited to the deliberation session or to testify.

ATTACHED DOCUMENT — JUNE 2003

COUNCIL VOTE SUMMARY:

YEA ABSTAIN NAY
O5-01
O5-02
O5-03
O5-04
O5-05
O5-06
O5-07
O5-08
O5-09
O5-10
X X X
O5-12
O5-13

ADDITIONAL VOTE
Administrator N/A

STATUS
APPROVED

The Foundation is to establish formal diplomatic channels with the Daevic Empire, and occupy the role of the human element in a future Daevic Covenant, when it is established. The exactitudes of the Covenant will be worked out in a manner to benefit both parties and ensure mutual security. The Mamjul-Korar Initiative's role is to be transformed into a diplomatic one, with academic study of the Daeva allowing a better understanding of their culture and society as they pertain to the Foundation. SCP-001-KING, formerly Lieutenant Lucian Greaves of Mobile Task Force Alpha-1, currently Scarlet Maharaja of the Daevic Empire, is to serve as a channel for the thaumaturgic powers of the Daeva, allowing them to be utilized by trained Foundation thaumaturges.

The Daevic Empire is to support the Foundation in any future confrontations against hostile anomalous empires.

This vote is taken and this measure is enacted in the absence of the Administrator, who historically has handled diplomatic commitments of the Foundation.

▶OPEN ADDENDUM◀

Per O5 Edict #2130 and with a majority vote of the Overseer Council, the Daevic Empire has been designated GoI-019 and classified as an ally of the Foundation.

Additionally, the Foundation and the Daevic Empire entered into a formal Covenant; a mutually-beneficial anomalous agreement binding both sides to each other. This Covenant is contingent on several factors, and may be broken off if either party feels it has been wronged or betrayed.

  • The Daevic Empire will surrender knowledge on thaumaturgy that is capable of being utilized against hostile threats.
  • The Daevic Empire will remain in the astral plane, and make no attempts to forcibly breach through to the material plane.
  • The Daevic Empire will not intentionally expose their existence, the Foundation's, or the anomalous to non-Veil societies.

In return:

  • The Foundation will act as the human arm of the Covenant, affecting the material plane in the stead of GoI-019.
  • A small number of personnel will be permitted to become temporary hosts of Daeva, thereby significantly escalating their thaumaturgic ability.

Additionally, as the Daevic Empire has been ontologically scrubbed from baseline reality by the Blackstar, the Foundation will take a leading role in restoring them. While they will not be given physical form, interviews with Daeva and the Rajmata indicate that the presence of a physical, written record of the Daeva's history will significantly stabilize Korar and begin restoring the vast historical records in Mamjul and across the Indian subcontinent that were obliterated by the Blackstar's damnatio memoriae.

As their presence in baseline reality retroactively increases, so will the thaumaturgic power they can supply to the Foundation. This effect will apply retroactively — as the document is extended and completed, more ancient artifacts and ruins of the Daeva will be unearthed.

This anomalous effect has been classified as SCP-140, and applied to the current most complete record of the history of the Daeva: this document. Under containment protocol HERODOTUS, SCP-001-JADE has been separated into 5 "acts", each covering, in parallel, a broad period of the Daeva's history from the Song of the Daeva, and the events leading to their rediscovery, and the file has been designated the primary vector of SCP-140. It is recommended for perusal in its redacted forms by all cleared Foundation personnel; as more personnel go through this document, the more the Foundation's thaumaturgic capacity increases.

As the Mamjul-Korar Initiative shifts into its new goals of training thaumaturges in Daeva magic, global Foundation priorities are to be shifted towards the investigation and approval of Thaumiel-class anomalies, particularly those effective in combat applications. Project OLYMPIA has been expedited.

Global Threat Level has once again been elevated to Keneq-5. Project FORERUNNER TRIAD is to dedicate all possible resources to identifying, locating, and securing the final remaining city: the Nälka city of Black Adytum.

Section 001.10

CONCLUSION

WARNING

The following sections of document SCP-001-JADE are restricted to Clearance Level 5/001-JADE. Please enter valid security credentials to continue.

DOES THE BLACK MOON HOWL?
rating: +385+–x

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