The Amenti are the new Egyptian immortals meant to succeed the original Egyptian Mummies. In the aftermath of the Sixth Great Maelstrom, what they called the Dja-ahk, the Dark Kingdom of Amenti was destroyed, and the original Spell of Life began to lose its effectiveness upon the Undyings' bodies. So upon his reawakening, Osiris created a new Spell of Life that he granted his followers, which would merge two souls into one.
Thus, unlike their predecessors, the Amenti are composed of two once mortal spirits, an ancient Tem-Akh and a recently deceased Nehem-Sen. The tem-ank seeks out a nehem-sen who has recently died or is near death to create a pact with one another that binds their souls as one. Creating a unique form of possession unlike most others in the World of Darkness, this resurects the nehem-sen host body and grants them the memories of their tem-ank life.
History[]
In the aftermath of the spirit storm, the old Spell of Life has lost its potency. It now bestows not so much as a twitch in a warm corpse. Osiris, active and interested in the affairs of the living for the first time in generations, has delivered a new Spell of Life to priests and priestesses of unwavering integrity and honor. Osiris’ centuries beyond the Shroud may have given him greater insight into the bond between spirit and flesh. This new spell is without flaw, and it is far more powerful than its predecessor. The newest spell of resurrection imbues the dead with a life force that flows as strong as the great river Nile.
Part of the spell’s strength comes from the new manner in which the Reborn (as mummies are also called) are created. Those resurrected in the wake of the Dja-akh are the product of a union of one of the storm-shattered souls from Amenti and the flawed soul of a mortal who has died recently. Only the strongest shards of the souls of the ancient Egyptian dead were able to survive the maelstrom’s savage winds. At Osiris’ behest, the remnants of these ancient spirits — including many old mummies whose souls were fractured by the howling soul tide of the Dja-akh — are spreading across the world seeking those whose weaknesses needs their strength. They solicit a bond with individuals whom they can complete and complement.
From the perspective of those in the underworld, a person who is soon to meet with death evinces a mark or sign shortly before his end in the physical world. Spirits call these prophetic markings “death marks.” When one of the Amenti spirits finds a compatible individual bearing the spiritual death marks, the tattered entity waits nearby in the tumultuous ghost world. At the moment of death, the Amenti spirit fragment reveals itself to the newly deceased and offers to restore him to life. Should he agree, the shard of the Egyptian soul animates the individual’s dying form with just enough life energy to make a desperate pilgrimage. The spirit’s goal is the Web of Faith, a network of holy sites scattered across northern Africa to the Middle East, and infused with the life force of Osiris himself — a life force that is vital to the resurrection ceremony.
In the Lands of Faith, the priests and priestesses of Isis and Osiris wait for the joined spirits, and their sacred magic calls to the returning dead. Once the animated corpse is taken in at one of the secret sites, the beloved of Isis and Osiris perform the divine ritual of resurrection.
While the exact practice of the ritual of rebirth varies from cult to cult, the key elements remain consistent. The body is soaked in natron (a salt mixture common to the Egyptian embalming process) and wrapped in protective bandages that have been inscribed with spells. As long as the ritual is performed within the Web of Faith, the deceased is flooded with a surge of life force. The power of Osiris flows into the corpse, burning away the weak portions of its soul. The fragment of the ancient Egyptian soul replaces the flawed or impure portion of the modern soul, and it is called a tem-akh, or “completing spirit.” The new soul joins seamlessly with old; the hybrid then faces the Judges of Ma’at. After receiving this arcane spiritual body’s judgment, the newly empowered soul merges once more with the body.
The resurrected individual — referred to formally as an Amenti in honor of the lost city of the dead — may undergo small changes as the body adjusts to its new, more powerful life force, although these alterations tend to be subtle ones. The most significant changes that the Spell of Life brings are clear. The recipient has come back to life, and the weakest portion of his soul has been replaced with the powerful tem-akh.
The Resurrection[]
Before death and subsequent rebirth, a person who experienced the resurrection invariably led a stunted and largely hollow life due to some weakness or flaw in his character. Being made whole by the tem-akh grants the individual an entirely new way to experience life. Some describe it as finding a conscience that they never had. Some compare it to finding a new best friend that they will never lose. Some describe it as awakening a great hunger for justice that cannot be denied. None go unchanged.
In the new mummy, the child of the modern age and the abandoned child of a lost time come together. Two lives fuse. Each portion grants strength where the other was weak. Millennia worth of wisdom combine with the enlightened attitudes of a new world. The fading essence of the tem-akh merges with the frenetic energy of the modern mind, and the resultant soul brings a unique perspective into being. The self-styled Undying refer to this existence as the Third Life.
Upon returning to life, the Amenti is more alive than ever before. His senses are more refined, and sensation is more intense. Lights seem more colorful and brighter. Sex is more fulfilling. Food is more flavorful. As every tactile sense is heightened, life becomes indescribably more sensuous. Although the mummy still spends periods of inactivity within the dead realms, the joys that life has to offer remind him constantly to strive to return. The world that the Modeler has created is too beautiful not to savor, and the spark of thedivine wakes an incomparable appreciation for living.
With a deep awareness of the preciousness of life comes a heavy feeling of responsibility. Most of the Resurrected realize that they have been called back to life to help retake the world from the corrupting forces of Set’s master, Apophis. Some seek to improve the societies that have adopted them in the Lands of Faith. Others return to their previous lives in hopes of healing the damage that they caused through their thoughtlessness or selfishness. Those who understand the principles of Ma’at best are inspired endlessly to change the world for the better and drive out the minions of darkness.
References[]
- MTR: Mummy: The Resurrection Rulebook, p. 7-9, 14-15, 24, 35, 38-48, 57
- MTR: Mummy Players Guide, p. 41-69, 195-197
- MTR/cMET: Laws of the Resurrection, p. 17-19, 25-26, 42, 44, 48-61