Altered Lore

The Perjurers

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The Perjurers

Overview

The Perjurers are an ancient conspiracy of body-hopping parasites who possess human hosts across centuries to destabilize Asgartha and prevent its outward expansion. Members serially inhabit different bodies, abandoning hosts when strategically necessary and assuming new identities. Through Irises, they appear as parasites beneath host skin: translucent venomous slugs, multicolored leeches, and invasive crustaceans.

Nature and Capabilities

Perjurers are parasitic entities who possess human hosts across centuries. Each member inhabits a series of bodies sequentially. Sylas previously inhabited a body called “Qaasin” (pre-356 AC) and currently inhabits “Sylas.” Saskia Averina, called “Eugenist,” previously inhabited Parisa, Eugénie, Rojin, and Hayley (all dead), and currently inhabits “Saskia Averina.”

Each Perjurer has preferences for host types. Sylas prefers hosts with natural permeability to The Aether, while Saskia Averina selects hosts with alluring appearances.

When Sylas stated “We’re all parasites. Have you forgotten?”, Saskia Averina replied asking whether he meant “humanity in general, or us in particular.” Saskia also compared their infiltration strategy to a “tick on dog.”

Known Members

Active Members

Sylas (Qorgan codename: The Anathema) operates as a Yzmir Battlemage within The Kadigir. He previously inhabited a body called “Qaasin” (pre-356 AC) before staging that identity’s death in 356 AC. He created the Kraken as a puppet for conspiracy operations. He maintains a workshop with thaumaturgical tools, forbidden relics, and bound tomes, wearing an enamel mask concealing glowing eyes.

Saskia Averina (Qorgan codename: The Eugenist) operates as a Muna Naturalist. Her parasitic manifestations include a brightly colored snail that drains life from plants. The Qorgan twice believed they had eliminated the Eugenist.

Kelsang (Qorgan codename: The Censor) operates within Ordis. By October 393 AC, Kelsang had transmigrated and chosen a new host.

Shiramun operates as Guildmaster of The Fulcrum, an Axiom Guild. His current host has white hair and beard, with a mechanical Graft arm and leg.

Somayeh Bahman (Qorgan codename: The Demagogue) infiltrates the Lyra faction as memorialist of the Ventauri Clan. She was elected fourteenth Basilissa of Asgartha in October 393 AC and had spent years training a replacement to watch over the Lyra Clans.

A “prodigal child” of unknown identity and location was mentioned by Saskia as separate from other members. Additional Perjurers are described as “numerous enough to oversee things here in Asgartha,” though their identities remain unknown.

Qorgan-Assigned Codenames

The Qorgan, through Wanjiru’s 150-year investigation, assigned codenames to suspected Perjurer operatives based on their methods and operational spheres:

  • The Anathema: Operates among Yzmir (where Sylas is active)
  • The Censor: Operates within Ordis (where Kelsang is active)
  • The Demagogue: Somayeh Bahman (confirmed; Wanjiru’s designation, per Somayeh’s own account)
  • The Eugenist: Saskia Averina (confirmed)
  • The Iconoclast: Amahle Kalu (confirmed)
  • The Sicarius: Linked to unsolved murders and assassinations

Suha noted uncertainty about whether some codenames refer to the same person or if additional Perjurers exist beyond those identified.

Former Member

Amahle Kalu (Qorgan codename: The Iconoclast) betrayed The Perjurers. After his betrayal, Sylas was tasked with destabilizing the Asgarthan regime for nearly a century.

Goals and Methods

The Perjurers work to destabilize the Asgarthan regime and prevent outward expansion. After Amahle Kalu’s betrayal, Sylas spent nearly a century undermining Asgartha’s stability. By 392 AC, the conspiracy planned to infiltrate the Rediscovery Endeavor, and Sylas claimed to be setting a trap that would “snap shut” with all attention turned outward.

Their operational methods include creating puppets (the Kraken), maintaining cover identities across multiple factions, staging deaths to assume new identities, and operating independently for extended periods without inter-member communication.

Historical Activities

The Kraken Operations

Sylas created the Kraken as a puppet serving multiple purposes: allowing Saskia Averina to carry out experiments unhindered, contributing to destabilization efforts, and maintaining fear that kept Asgarthans from venturing outward. An “incident with the Strix” occurred where Sylas failed to deliver something promised to Saskia, though he later atoned. By 392 AC, the Kraken had “outlived its purpose.”

Post-Betrayal Mission (~292-392 AC)

After Amahle Kalu’s betrayal, the conspiracy restructured. Sylas was tasked with destabilizing the Asgarthan regime over nearly a century of operations. Saskia Averina questioned whether recent attempts lacked vigor, but Sylas assured patience, claiming the trap was set.

392 AC - Coordination

By 392 AC, Perjurers had not communicated in decades. Saskia Averina visited Sylas’s workshop to coordinate infiltration of the Expeditionary Corps, division of targets and responsibilities, and confirmation that Kelsang would remain at The Monolith. Saskia concluded the conversation by declaring “the day of reckoning is upon us.”

Wanjiru’s Investigation (243-393 AC)

Wanjiru, Oneiros founder of The Qorgan, conducted a secret investigation into The Perjurers for approximately 150 years, working with a tight circle of trusted individuals rather than exposing the conspiracy publicly.

By May 393 AC, the investigation concluded that the organization had been active since Kalu’s Revolt, orchestrating periodic unrest to stall Asgartha’s expansion. Wanjiru identified operational signatures—consistent patterns left behind when examining Perjurer operations across decades—across all six Factions: secrets stolen from Yzmir, information vanishing from Ordis records, failed Bravos expeditions with suspicious patterns, and Saskia Averina confirmed as a Muna operative.

Wanjiru theorized the Kraken was not a Leviathan but an Eidolon summoning, arguing the victory had been “a little too easy” for a genuine Leviathan.

In May 393 AC, immediately after Kuraokami’s liberation at Cais Adarra, Wanjiru approached Afanas Korovinovich with an alliance offer, revealing that The Qorgan had identified the Chrysanthemum Cloaked Warlock as a Perjurer agent and offering Afanas a role as “bloodhound, judge, and executioner” against the warlock.

393 AC Developments

October 393 AC - Political Victory

Somayeh Bahman was elected Basilissa of Asgartha, placing a Perjurer in the Republic’s highest office.

October 393 AC - Post-Investiture Coordination

Following her investiture on October 22, Somayeh Bahman met privately with Shiramun at The Asterion. Shiramun reported that Kelsang had transmigrated to a new host and that the Perjurers had received additional directives. Shiramun declared that members had spent too long working in isolation and that the time had come for “The Dominion” to reveal itself to the world.

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