Cult of Shalim

Cult of Shalim
Singular	Shalimite
Plural	Shalimites
Type	Blood Cult
Founder	Apolleon the Traveler
Guild	Fukuoka

“	Do you dream? Do you dare to dream? In this place, our dreams may take form, but the ravages of time and endless march of reality render them to nothing. I can show you a way to end the suffering of hope. The pain of dreams.	”
	— Apolleon the Traveler, founder of the Cult of Shalim

The Cult of Shalim is a recent cult that preaches entropy and the end of everything. Most, if not all, of their followers are Lasombra. During the Gehenna War, the Apostate cultist Veronica Ortega revealed she found several cult members destroyed by Shalim himself, who called for her servitude.

Overview

The hopes and dreams of all Kindred hang by a silver thread. Their very belief structures have been fundamentally shaken by their changing. To the scientist, it seems that every angle they discounted in their studies as sorcery and magic has been shown to exist, and all they have worked for has been for naught. To the religious, they are now agents of evil, immortal and outside of God’s plan. Kindred survive by hanging on to their core values and hopes, the dreams that make them who they are and convince them to drive on to the next night without falling into despair and, eventually, the death-like sleep of torpor.

The Cult of Shalim preys on this fact in the most unusual way. Its agents pride themselves on uncovering the great loves of a person’s life, the small joys and bonds that make their reality bearable. They then call those things into question, expose their temporary nature, and sever them, leaving the target of their predations with no choice but to accept the central doctrine of their faith: that reality is suffering .

In some ways, the Cult of Shalim resembles the Ministry in their methods. The difference is that the Ministers and their Church of Set wish to replace the void with faith, whereas the Cult of Shalim cares only for the void.

The adherents of this faith do not seek a blissful, endless orgy of experience where all of the bad is eliminated. Their creed is far less utopian and difficult to swallow for all but the most foolish. Shalim’s followers believe that the elimination of the suffering of existence can only come at the cost of its joys. It is a fact of existence that happiness will turn to sadness, pleasure to pain, and any utopia will crumble with corruption and heresy.

This black priesthood preaches how a perfect world cannot exist while the world itself exists.

This madness is what comes from staring too long into the Abyss, as many Lasombra mystics have done over the centuries. Looking for truths in the emptiness that seems to consume their very souls, many of those who have studied the secrets of Oblivion have spoken of a presence in the emptiness—a formless consciousness that seems to observe them and whisper back. When a Methuselah proposes that this is the very creator, not just of the clan but of the universe itself, it is difficult for the egotistic and morbid minds of the watchers of the Abyss to refuse its seemingly simple truth.

The first priests of Shalim have been recruited, and their numbers are slowly swelling in cities around the world. As the tendrils of their faith grow, they reach out to other clans, targeting the disenfranchised and the desperate—those who appear to have lost everything in life or unlife. They call to them and speak of the succor of emptiness and the bliss of the end.

Binding them with a baptism ceremony, they ask the questions the cult’s founder first asked of them:

“Abrenuntias re? Et omnibus operibus eius? Et omnibus pompis eius?”

With their every tie to reality broken and their mind shattered from loss upon loss, what can they do but answer:

“Abrenuntio.”

Description

Shalim is the name of the Canaanite god of dusk and night. This name was passed down to the city of Jerusalem and possibly to King Solomon. To the Lasombra in the modern nights, it has a different meaning altogether.

Shalim is a name spoken of in hushed tones by those who have returned from the Gehenna Crusade unharmed. Some celebrate it quietly; others speak it with fear. It is a name that has driven the awakened members of the clan to seek sanctuary in the arms of their once enemies, the Camarilla. It is their beginning and, some fear, their end.

In truth, adherents to this mad religion seek nothing less than total annihilation—not of a clan or sect, not of a nation, but of the entirety of reality itself. The twisted philosophy of the group comes from the belief that all pain, suffering, hate, and injustice exist only in "reality." Heaven, Nirvana, Jannah, Shamayim—all afterlives promise a place where there are no more tears, no more pain, no more sadness. Only in the absence of existence can this be achieved. In the absence of self, all are one, all are equal. In the absence of reality, we return to Shalim.

For this reason, the cult’s members often speak the phrase “Shalim is” to the initiated, since they believe that nothingness is the ultimate reality and the end of all things, embodied in their dark master. To them, nothingness is indestructible, has always existed, and will always exist. Thus, Shalim is the only true infinite, the only true immortal. Shalim is beyond existence. Shalim, simply, is.

Loresheet

• Dark Whispers: You have heard rumors of the cult from those returning from the Gehenna Crusade. Once per story, gain two additional dice to either Insight or Investigation when looking into the myths of the cult or identifying if someone is a member.
• Cult Initiate: As an initiate into the cult’s mysteries, you are aware of the significance of the Semitic phrase "Shin-Lamedh-Mem” as the identifier of other members. Speaking this phrase to an initiated member grants two additional dice on any Persuasion roll to gain their assistance. Speaking it to the uninitiated may result in confusion and potentially expose you to a savvy Lasombra as a member of the doomsday cult.
• Power of Faith: The cult’s reach extends deepest into religious communities. You know that heaven—a place where suffering, sadness, and misery do not exist—can only be found in the bliss of nothingness. While in a church, temple, or other sacred space, your zeal allows you to ignore the negative effects of Impairment.
• Crush the Dreams of Life: Shalim’s teachings say the ambitions of the flesh must be cast off to achieve perfection. When you succeed on an Insight roll against a character, the Storyteller reveals their foremost ambition in addition to the information sought by the roll. You may now reroll any dice in a failed Persuasion roll per scene against them as you turn their desires to your advantage. Additionally, you may roll Manipulation + Persuasion against a difficulty of the target’s Composure + Insight. If successful: The target suffers 1 Aggravated Willpower damage, plunging them into despair and inaction for the remainder of the story. A total failure exposes your ruse and turns the target against you.
• Shalim Is: You are a true servant of Shalim, and your faith in the coming end knows no bounds. You are certain the Abyss has chosen you to enact its purpose. Gain Herd (••) for your followers and Influence (•••) in a religious community of your choice through the cult’s contacts. You automatically pass any Composure-based roll to hide your position as a member of the cult. You gain the Dark Secret Flaw (•) when taking this loresheet.

Culture

The Beckoning provides great opportunities for Kindred who would previously have been perpetually held down by their immortal overlords. However, the opportunities come at a cost: something has summoned all those elders away, and whatever it is has Kindred guessing all over the world and asking questions of their long-held beliefs. Like any good conspiracy theory, the provision of plausible answers to those questions can turn into certainty in the minds of those most hungry to understand.

Kindred scholars have long spoken of the great and powerful founders of the clans, the Antediluvians. In the modern nights, it seems logical for Kindred to believe these ancient masters have summoned their closest childer to their sides—much in the way some of their own sires may call to them through the Blood. Most who claim to be messengers of these entities are quickly struck down by the local authorities as threats to the Masquerade or as agents of the apocalypse. Only the quick-witted and sufficiently powerful remain elusive.

One such Kindred is the ancient Lasombra known as Apolleon the Traveler. The cult says Apolleon travels the world in the form of a great black mass.

Sliding along the floor of the seabed, he constantly communes with what he believes is his sire—the voice in the dark. This semi-torpid state guides him around the Earth as he reaches out into the minds of Kindred of his bloodline he feels nearby, seeking those with the predisposition he needs: those who have suffered great loss and who are asking the existential questions of what it all means.

Nothing.

Nothing is the answer he provides; there is no meaning save that which you assign to the act itself. He comforts them with the knowledge that all Lasombra have, deep inside themselves: that they are part of a great destiny, and that destiny lies in Oblivion. Not only will they end their own suffering, but that of the entire world.

This lofty goal can only be achieved through Shalim, of course.

Apolleon preaches that Shalim is the first Kindred and the master of the emptiness that existed before the universe itself. He speaks of primordial deities, such as Erebus, from ancient cultures, and links them back to Shalim, their “true” identity.

Shalim is the Kindred from whom the first Lasombra arose, the progenitor of all bloodlines and guardian of the purest of those who retain his link to the primordial dark. Once Shalim wakes and hears the calling of his children, he will destroy the cancer perverting his perfect blackness and return the world to the state of nothingness.

In a stroke, war, suffering, disease, and unhappiness of all kinds will be expunged. All consciousness will become one with Shalim.

All will return to God.

All will be God.

Several Lasombra have now knelt before him in one of his guises.

They have pledged the remainder of their time in existence to ensuring its eradication, promising to be the scalpel that will cut reality away and reveal the peace of emptiness to a grateful world.

Shalimite Convictions

The Cult of Shalim practices a regular dance with self-destruction. Nihilistic cults are, as the word implies, prone to implosion. Such behavior leaves a mark on one’s soul, especially if a Shalimite is drawn to destroy others in an effort to prove the pointlessness of existence.

The following Convictions are common among them, if only to stave off the inevitability of Oblivion long enough to spread their word:

• Never allow yourself to celebrate life. Life’s purpose is to end, and you can help hasten it. What you must never, ever do is make the mistake of seeking joy through life’s existence.
• Never lose your temper with failure. Whether faced with your own failure or that of a new convert, anger is a wasteful emotion. Failure is best addressed through passivity or correction.
• Always work to impede those who would control chaos. You are not a Setite, so allow misrule to unravel naturally or remove its obstructions without attempting to channel it.
• Only allow Embraces that further the destruction of society. There is no gain in Embracing someone as a reward, nor in permitting others to do so. The Embrace is Oblivion channeled into an unliving vessel.
• Do not succumb to the allure of prosperity. The less you own, the closer you are to nothingness. Absence is utter freedom, and material objects tie you to life.
• Never maintain or protect more than a single mortal of importance. While the need to cling to the kine is recognized as an anchor in a tempestuous ocean, more than one is an extravagance.

Goals

The end goal of the cult is clear, though the method of achieving it is not. Different priests preach different ideas on how to bring about the coming end. Some say the cult need only be ready to embrace it, while others focus on eradicating those who would prevent it.

In general terms, the cult targets anyone who seeks to gain knowledge of their activities with the intention of shutting them down. Usually, they prefer to discredit such individuals rather than kill them immediately.

Of course, the cult thinks nothing of killing if necessary. To them, the reality of a person is simply another part of what must ultimately be destroyed. Kindred in their service twist their Humanity, replacing it with a horrific version of the cult’s credo.

Fundamentally, though methods vary, the goal remains united.

The cult seeks to awaken Shalim from his dreaming and bring about the end of reality, uniting everyone in their great heaven and bringing them back into Oblivion, from whence they came.

Rites and Rituals

New cultists, once stripped of their hope, are brought into the service of Shalim through a ritual akin to baptism. The priest coats the supplicant in shadow, placing their hands on the shoulders of the new member to comfort them and hold them steady in the endless, unfeeling darkness.

They ask the convert if they renounce reality itself, and all its various trappings.

By the time this rite is performed, the supplicant’s mind is usually broken. However, even those with slight doubts about the presence of Shalim are faced with the dark truth as they feel his presence in that cloud. Some emerge claiming to have heard an indistinct voice, or even to have received visions and instructions from the master of the cult.

Organization

The Flowering of the Abyss as a a relatively new cult, the Shalimites maintain a somewhat covert presence in many cities throughout the world. Apolleon’s priests have been mainly recruited from coastal Mediterranean cities, where his trek takes him, but they have subsequently branched out to various areas of the world.

The most well-known of his followers is Michalis Basaras, a Lasombra in the city of Chicago. However, cells of Shalimites can be found in the United Kingdom, Brazil, South Africa, and even Egypt, where they silently exploit the schism within the Ministry and seek to twist their zeal to Shalim’s purposes.

The rank of priest is the highest a cultist can aspire to; however, rank is generally not a concern for those joining this cult. Once one has embraced the purity and perfection of emptiness, such trappings are mere words in their mind. However, the priests are those who speak directly with Apolleon and, through him, to Shalim itself.

The cultists consider themselves equal, since they are all part of the same problem. They often meet in what appear to be nothing more than self-help groups or religious discussion classes, discussing their problems and their hopes for the future. This is a guise they use to lure those seeking help to their side and to gain their trust.

Priests of Shalim are always Lasombra who have been touched by Apolleon. His predations vary from subject to subject:

Some kneel having only heard the word and accepted it, such as Rabbi Basaras.

Others must be more directly convinced, such as Gamal Hajjar of Cairo, whose every happy memory was annihilated by the Methuselah over several months.

Each one of them is only released by Apolleon when he considers their faith in the coming end to be incorruptible.

Gematria

Very little of this young faith has been formally codified; indeed, their practices and approaches seem to vary from cell to cell. Only through their correspondence do the priests share their stories of success and failure, refining their methods.

They write using a coded cipher that involves translating their writings into numbers using the system of gematria. For that reason, all coded letters are written in Hebrew, and priests are required to learn it by rote to ensure their messages can be understood.

These letters are often disguised as missives sent to their distant sires or friends. It is not entirely strange for such correspondence to be encrypted, to preserve not only any secrets inside but also the Masquerade, should the letters be intercepted.

The cult’s symbol is of a hollow person, often portrayed as a simple human figure with a hole cut out from the center. While this may seem a quite morbid symbol the cultist would tell you that it is the hollow they revere above all. Take away the human shape around it and the sadness of the symbol is gone.

It is rare for cultists to identify themselves by such outward signs. Instead, they speak the phrase “Shin-lamed-mem” to identify themselves to each other. This simple greeting is unusual enough for cultists to recognize it without being suspicious to outsiders, since it is the root of the traditional Hebrew greeting, “shalom,” and of their cult’s eternal master.

Cult priests carry with them small books, normally bound in black leather, containing lists of dates, places and names. These indicate sightings of Apolleon by their brotherhood and list the names of targets of his predations for induction into the priesthood.

Enemies

The cult has no known apostates, or at least any who may have tried to leave the cult haven’t been willing or able to speak of their experience. But there are many critics: failed conversions; investigators and Kindred who tend toward cynicism, etc...

Many Princes are aware of the cult’s presence but see them as little more than an esoteric distraction for the Kindred of their city.

Malkavians, however, often feel nervous in the presence of Shalimites; they recognize madness when they see it, regardless of the veneer of civility it is hidden behind.

Members

• Apolleon the Traveler, Founder
• Rabbi Michalis Basaras
• Veronica Ortega, Apostate

Gallery

Shalim, the object of the Cult's worship

References

• VTM: Chicago by Night 5th Edition, p. 273
• VTM: Cults of the Blood Gods, p. 86-90