Itarajana

Itarajana

The Itarajana are a magical fellowship descended from the Idran who formed the original Tal'Mahe'Ra.

Paradigm

Itarajana sorcery has basically been unchanged since the foundation of the True Black Hand. Its Foundation is their Dharma: until Gehenna, it is their duty to guard Enoch. They bring the Good Death to those who have earned it. Death is a purifying force, and by achieving a balance of life and death within one's soul, one can achieve a kind of enlightenment. The Itarajana believe that, unless they are chosen for the Embrace, they will continue to reincarnate within the sect and do their duties until Gehenna finally comes.

The foci of the Itarajana are largely death-focused, and connected with their Indian origins: bones, shrouds, weapons, mantras, graveside rituals, drugs that induce deathlike states, yantras and mandalas, images of the gods, bloodletting, human sacrifice, and cannibalism.

The Pillars of the Itarajana are called Lokas or worlds. The four magical Pillars are Naraka Loka, the World of Torment; Preta Loka, the Underworld; Triyagyoni Loka, the Animal World, and Deva Loka, the Divine World. In addition to their Pillars, Itarajana recognize the Manusya Loka, the world of human existence, and the Asura Loka, the karmic state of supernatural beings such as vampires.

Due to the archaic paradigm, Itarajana lack certain powers that modern mages have, particularly those related to the Traditional Spheres of Matter and Time.

History

During the Himalayan Wars, a group of Idran traveled west in search of new powers that would help them overthrow the Akashayana and prove their worth to their fellow cultists. They encountered a mummy, Inauhaten, who was himself a powerful sorcerer and keeper of the Guarded Rubrics. In exchange for new mystic knowledge, these Idran agreed to help Inauhaten protect the Rubics and the ghostly version of Enoch from the Followers of Set. The Idran agreed, and gave themselves a new name: the Tal'Mahe'Ra.

The original Idran mostly transformed themselves into liches or Nagaraja, but continued to teach mortal apprentices according to their archaic paradigm. This younger Craft of mages call themselves the Itarajana, a Sanskrit euphemism for ghosts. Many of them are trained in Enoch, and those that survive with their sanity intact often become Blood Familiars to the sect's Kindred, which allows the vampire to channel Awakened magic. Even those Itarajana who aren't Blood Familiars are often ghouls, though they may go through periods of abstaining from blood in order to raise their Foundation.

Organization

All Itarajana are members of the Tal'Mahe'Ra. While many are ghouled, they are rarely Embraced, since the process destroys the Avatar. One of the most valuable services an experienced Itarajana can perform for the True Black Hand is a rite that opens a Nihilistic Gate between Enoch and the Skinlands, bypassing the Tempest. This rite requires Deva and Preta .

Notes

The Itarajana's "Archaic Sorcery" is patterned after the magic system in Dark Ages: Mage, with Pillars and a Foundation, to reflect its ancient origins.

References

• VTM: The Black Hand: A Guide to the Tal'Mahe'Ra