Apotheosis ("Mentaar" among those who prefer older languages) is the lofty goal that will allow a Mummy to transcend the curse of the Rite of Return and free it from the Judges' yoke.
The equivalent for the Deceived is the Ascent.
Overview[]
To most Arisen, Apotheosis is a myth, a rumor spread by enemies of the Judges to inflict doubt on their servants. In the nights around the fourth Sothic Turn, one has emerged who claims that he has reached Apotheosis. They call him the Heretic. Needless to say, the guilds at large respond to any open discussion of this “enlightened” mummy with a combination of blithe dismissals, stern rebukes, and in certain regions, veiled threats.
The Heretic has published a pamphlet, titled "Dreams of Avarice", that details his own rise to Apotheosis. He draws upon the Iremite myth of the "Ladder of Sutek". Sutek raises Azar upon his two fingers up to reach the sky, in the same manner, Apotheosis is the "Ax of Sutek", that cuts away obliviousness and allows the Mummy to know itself.
Apotheosis rests on two "staffs" (the two fingers), which are Memory and Will. Through Memory, the Arisen knows himself, learns of his old sins in service to the Nameless Empire and understands what he is and who he has become. Through Will, the Arisen can defy pain and loss in order to pursue his goal in spite of the hardships and powerlessness it inflicts, against the wills of the Shan'iatu, the Judges and Ammut. The Heretic records that the final confrontation is a last death-cycle, clad only in the Sekhem inherent to oneself, and confronting the Judges in the City of Black Spines within Duat. Against accusations from the Judges against past sins and against one's one Judge to whom the Mummy made his Decree once, the Mummy has to rest solely on its Will, claiming the mantle of Sutek Himself to put him beyond the judgement of its former masters.
What follows is an ascent to A'aru on the Ladder of Sutek, its rungs being the many Descents the Mummy has experienced. After reaching A'aru and beholding the Scroll of Ages, the Mummy returns to the world of the living, free at last, its place in A'aru secure.
Benefits[]
A mummy that has reached Apotheosis reclaims his True Name and with it its Memory from the Judges of Duat and his stay within that realm. The Rite of Return is transformed, allowing for the experience of true life. Yet the Arisen does not become a powerless mortal. Instead, he can create his own Relics and, thanks to the reclamation of his True Name, effectively becomes invisible to the occult forces of the world.
The drawback is that the Arisen is permanently locked at a Sekhem rating of 1, barring it from higher-leveled Utterances or Affinities. The Arisen's memory becomes his power source instead, using it for the purpose of joining a chorus or fuel his Attributes with Pillars.
The number of death-cycles an apotheotic Mummy can experience is limited the more it experiences, and Memory loss can immediately send a Mummy back to Duat. Once there, the Arisen will one day not return, likely instead traveling to A'aru.
References[]
- MTC: Mummy: The Curse Rulebook, p. 172-175
- MTC: Dreams of Avarice, p. 5, 51, 58-61
