Eternal Echoes

Lord/Lady of Echoes, The Eternals (collectively)

Lords of Summer p. 125-129
Wyrd	●●●
Preqs	Intelligence ●●● Eidetic Memory
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Many Lost fight their way out of Arcadia and struggle through the Hedge, only to discover themselves all but forgotten by their friends and loved ones. Whether a changeling has been replaced by a fetch, is believed long-dead, or simply has changed enough that his former family and companions can no longer recognize him, returning to claim a life and being treated as a stranger is a terrible plight to endure. Once they have begun to come to some sort of terms with their new existences, however, some of the Lost set out to do what they can to ensure that they, and those like them, do not have to face such a fate again. By dedicating themselves to serving as a living memory for those around them, the Eternal Echoes hope to keep themselves and other Lost from being forgotten.

Mien

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.

Privilege

All Echoes have access to the following abilities.

Perfected Memory

A member of the Eternal Echoes may spend a point of Willpower and a point of Glamour during any scene in order to store the scene in memory. The remainder of that scene is etched into the Echo's mind and can be recalled at will for the rest of the Echo's life with no degeneration of detail or muddling of memory. Supernatural effects which normally erase, change or steal a memory cannot affect scenes remembered with the Perfected Memory ability. As well, the Echo receives a +5 bonus to protect against all attempts of any sort to coerce her into revealing details of scenes which she has used Perfected Memory to remember. She does not have to use this bonus, and can share the details at will if she chooses, but the bonus is available at will to use on resisted attempts to wheedle, intimidate or bribe the information out of her.

Perfected Memory is limited to those things within the scene which the Echo personally witnesses (through any one or more of her senses). She cannot use this ability to recall things which happened outside of her sensory perceptions at the time, although supernatural enhancements to her perception at the time of the memorization allow her to access those perceptions at a later time as well. If, for example, an Echo activates the Contract of Fang and Talon Clause "Beast's Keen Senses" and takes on the eyesight of an eagle for a scene and then uses Perfected Memory to witness a vast crowded scene, she will be able to later recall every aspect of the earlier scene that was apparent to her at the time of memorizing it, even if she does not have the keen senses when she is remembering it later on.

An Echo may remember up to a 10 x Wyrd number of scenes using Perfected Memory at any given time. Thus with Wyrd ●● she may remember 20 scenes, and when she gains another dot of Wyrd, she may remember an additional 10, bringing the total number to 30. However, if an Echo has remembered her maximum number of scenes at any given time and wishes to remember another, she must purge one of her previously remembered scenes in order to make room for the new one. Purging a scene that has been committed to memory by use of Perfected Memory can be done one of two ways. An Echo can spend a point of Willpower to choose to instantly flush a memory from her mind, or she can use the Perfected Memory Transferal ability to give it to another willing Echo. Regardless of which method is used, the formerly Perfected Memory is gone from the Echo's mind entirely. She can no longer recall any aspect associated with that scene. It is as if she was never present during it. No amount of "filling in" by outside sources will allow her to remember being there.

Perfected Memory Transferal

Any scene which has been memorized by an Echo through the use of Perfected Memory can be transferred to another Echo, assuming the original Echo is willing to give it and the receiving Echo is willing to take on the burden. This transfer happens by way of a ritual, where the original Echo makes skin-to-skin contact with the receiving Echo and allows him to enter her mind, where she gifts him with the Perfected Memory. No harm may come to either side in this mental-sharing scenario, and either may end it at any time. The mind-environment and representation of the dream varies from individual to individual. An Antiquarian Echo may visualize his store of Perfected Memories as shelf after shelf of ancient leather bound tomes and may bequeath one of them (and its associated scene) to the other Echo. A Gristlegrinder, on the other hand, may inhabit a mind-cave lit only by sputtering torches, with her Perfected Memories represented by a spit of roasting meat of an indeterminable nature. She tears forth a gobbet of still-bloody meat and offers it to the intended recipient, who must consume the morsel to gain the Memory it symbolizes.

The original Echo must spend a point of Willpower to purge the memory at the same time the receiving Echo spends a point of Willpower and a point of Glamour to accept his new memory. When both have been spent, the Perfected Memory transfers from the original to the receiving Echo who now can recall the scene as if he had been present. The Perfected Memory includes not only what the original Echo witnessed, but her thought processes, emotions and reactions to the things she saw and encountered, which makes this a very personal exchange. Few Echoes are willing to use the Perfected Memory Transferal other than at the end of their lives; giving others access to their unfiltered innermost thoughts and reactions is simply too intimate a gift.

For 24 hours after an Echo has died, it is possible for her to still give her memories to other Echoes. If another Echo or Echoes make physical contact with her body, she can go through the process of giving her memories to them. No Willpower expenditure is necessary by the original now-dead Echo, although receiving Echoes must still spend the Willpower and Glamour to take on her gifted memories. No other communication between the dead Echo and the receiving ones is possible during this ritual. The scene takes place in silence, with the original Echo appearing as an emotionless automaton version of herself in the dream. Conjecture has been made as to whether it is truly the Echo herself who is giving the memories away or some automated function of the entitlement that is working to ensure that the committed memories are not lost with the Echo's death.

Joining

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.