Born from death and fire, the Pretanic Order tore its way into existence through the ashes of the Order of the Oriental Fellowship.
History[]
The original order had collected and cultivated ancient lore, including the Pretanic Keys — a set of names sacred to the Wyrm. A series of visions brought a pack of Black Spiral Dancers to the order. They believed that the Pretanic Keys were a necessary part of a ritual that would bring favor to a new Black Spiral Dancer, raising him up to be a legendary leader.
Once they retrieved the keys, the Dancers opened a portal linking the physical realm to Malfeas. One man, Wayland Webley, driven mad with hatred for the Wyrm, launched himself through the rift as the surrounding building burned.
Webley returned from Malfeas, given the title of the Laird of Demborough through the Wyrm’s power.
Hailed as a spiritual guide by the Pretanic Order, the Laird safeguarded the Pretanic Keys as he sought new acolytes. In 1915, he moved to the United States. There he created a monastery, Phelegma Abbey, in the mountains of upstate New York. The Laird worked fervently on deciphering the Keys, creating rites that mirrored the twisted rituals of the Black Spiral Dancers. The fellowship of the Pretanic Order grew slowly, attracting the desperate, the depraved, and those looking to be free from human laws and morality.
The presence of the Abbey corrupted the mountains of the area. The local Garou quickly caught scent of this new enemy and moved to destroy the threat. Banes and fomori met them, fighting with fevered zeal to protect the Abbey. Realizing that they could not destroy the abbey in a grand battle, the werewolves settled in for a campaign of guerilla warfare that lasted into the early 1940s. A campaign by a pack of Glass Walkers in New York City linked the Abbey with Nazi Germany. Webley soon found federal and state officials breaking down the door of his abode. Werewolves took the fight to the Umbra, and the Laird found his resources stretched too thin to fight back. After the raid, federal officials burned the Abbey, ridding the mountains of its filth.
Webley’s body was never found. As he came to the realization that the abbey would fall, he called on his Great Father for help. In a hasty ritual, he gathered his remaining prisoners, doused them in sacred oil, and burned them alive. The screams of the dying unlocked a pathway to Malfeas. The Laird led his closest followers through the portal, and by the time the abbey fell, they were "safe" in the arms of the Wyrm.
Modern-Day Order[]
Wayland Webley still lives. With a lifespan elongated by the Wyrm, he dwells in Williston, North Dakota. Once a tall and slender man, the Laird now walks hunched from a spinal deformity. He keeps his head shaved, displaying a long scar along his scalp, the symbol of his enlightenment.
With piercing gray eyes, he watches over the rebuilt Pretanic Order, recruiting acolytes and basking in his studies. He only respects those who discover new rituals through their study of the Pretanic Keys and the body of work he has compiled.
The Pretanic Order worships their Holy Father above all. The way of the Wyrm is the way of freedom, and in that freedom, the Wyrm will rebalance the world. Acolytes join for a variety of reasons, but all become fanatics through their initiation, a rite that mirrors the Labyrinth of the Black Spiral Dancers. Each member would readily give her life to prevent the fall of the Order. The Order gathers sacrifices, using them to fuel grotesque rituals that summon foul Wyrm-beasts. The Laird of Demborough has been working fervently on more powerful rites, seeking one powerful enough to release the Wyrm.
The Order doesn’t fight werewolves. Members instead summon Banes, create Fomori, and deal with Black Spiral Dancers for protection. Anytime it looks as though the Garou might manage to overcome the area, or discover the cult, the Laird moves to another location steeped in the Wyrm’s taint. He knows well the Apocalypse is at hand; he will not have his efforts delayed.
The Pretanic Order’s work masks Webley’s underlying motive. He would unify the forces of the Wyrm. If the heads of the Hydra work together, the Wyrm will win the coming war. The Laird’s time is short, but visions of the Wyrm ravaging its enemies keep his candles burning deep into the night.
References[]
- WTA: Chronicle of the Black Labyrinth, p. 67-85
- WTA: Book of the Wyrm Second Edition, p. 144, 146
- WTA: W20 Book of the Wyrm, p. 81-82