Modelled after the horsemen that will announce the Apocalypse, the Five Horsemen are a common symbol for the thresholds and of death itself in its manifold aspects within Sin-Eater society. The concept of five horsemen originate within a vision of Averil Drake.
They are revered as patrons of those who died in their respective domain. Their symbols are sometimes used as means of identification among the Sin-Eaters.
Corresponding Threshold[]
- The White Horseman, who rules over those who died through illness and is the patron of the Stricken. His symbol is the arrow.
- The Red Horseman, who rules over those who died through violence and is the patron of the Torn. His symbol is the sword.
- The Black Horseman, who rules over those who died through neglect and loneliness and is the patron of the Silent. His symbol are the scales.
- The Pale Horseman, who rules over those who died through the forces and beasts of nature and is the patron of the Prey. His symbol is the scythe or the sickle.
- The Grey Horseman , who rules over those who died through misfortune and chance and is the patron of the Forgotten. His symbol is the dice (usually showing snake-eyes) and the gun.
Outside Geist: The Sin-Eaters[]
The Testament of Longinus mentions the Five Horsemen as harbingers of the apocalypse in Eschaton 3:14-3:23, as revealed by the angel Amoniel to Longinus. In his vision, the Horsemen arrive in the blackened ruin of a city where the last remnants of humanity have been hunted and devoured by vampires represented as black locusts. Their names are given as Pestilence (white), Conflict (red), Famine (black), Chance (grey) and Death (pale), accompained by a owl made of smoke to deliver judgement upon the Damned.
References[]
- GTS: Geist: The Sin-Eaters Rulebook
, p.26 - VTR: The Testament of Longinus
, p.55