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[larue]

THE UNDERTOW

a handful of dust

PREMISE

WE BEGIN AT THE END.

Every ghost story is, at its core, a tragedy: Someone died with something unfinished, and now they linger on, in the world but ignored by it, trying with the often-limited tools at their disposal to make the living understand them.

Sometimes, when that doesn’t work, they lash out in frustration, just so that people notice something is going on, but no matter how frightening the apparition, how violent the manifestation, there’s still a human being at the core of it.

Sin-Eaters understand this. They live in two worlds: the world of the living and the world of the dead. As they struggle to understand their own identity and the cultural heritage of Sin-Eaters who came before, they act as intercessors and speakers for the dead.

They help ghosts finish their unfinished business and laying tormented souls to rest. They come into a haunting and see not the monster making the walls bleed and lashing out at the living, but the frightened father who just wants his child back.

NAVIGATION

THE WORLD THE BOUND THE COLD BELOW CAST & KREWE CASE FILES JOSH LARUE

CREDIT | Geist: The Sin-Eaters is a tabletop rulebook from the World of Darkness system. I do not own it, I just enjoy playing in the world. Copy from the rulebook utilized for this is mostly for my reference and the reference of fellow players.

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[larue]

TELL TOLD ME I WAS ONLY BURDEN-BOUND

The dead are all around us. They walk beside us on the streets, reach out to us with invisible hands, shout their needs with voices we don’t hear. We turn away from the very thought of them, mumbling platitudes like “he’s in a better place” or “she’s at peace now.” He’s not. She isn’t. He’s here, among us, trying desperately to make sure his children are looked after. She’s trapped in an endless labyrinth of gray stone, slowly leeching away into nothingness while the man who stole her life’s research goes unpunished. And so, when a grinning stranger with pale eyes and a broken-winged angel on his shoulder blows into town, they turn to him for help. The dead are speaking. It’s time to listen.

The Road Back "Death is a door. If you step out, who says you can't walk back in?" — overheard at ᴛʜᴇ ᴇxɪᴛ People think they know what that world looks like, or what they’ll look like in that world. They do what they believe they must to guarantee a place in that world for themselves, and try to teach others to do the same. Some don’t expect a world after this one, and find other ways to occupy their time. People leave one another alone about it, or they don’t. But no matter what people believe, it's rare that they imagine cheating mortality the way their ancestors did. If they believe in anything other than the finality of death, they believe that it comes to us the same way death does, in a crawling marquee. They don’t outsmart or defeat death. They meet it as it comes, and prepare for whatever they believe comes next. In this universe, reality falls somewhere in the middle. There are ways to claim immortality without dying first—but the Bound don’t concern themselves with those. Death is inevitable. But it's not a freefall into the dark. It’s not the passive reception of an eternal gift. For the Bound, like Josh, death comes with a choice.

The Endless Carnival For as long as Sin-Eaters have recorded their own history, their societies have followed the same pattern. Arise in the wake of a massive uptick in deaths, then fade as the tragedy that birthed them does. Some lasted mere decades, others a century or more. Most of these societies were geographically isolated, though that had more to do with fewer travel opportunities for ancient peoples than anything mystical. Sin-Eater society got its first taste of globalism with the age of colonialism, when Europeans brought disease and slaughter to the rest of the planet, but it wasn’t until World War I and the influenza epidemic that followed it that the Bound really began to see themselves as a worldwide phenomenon. Easy transoceanic communication and travel allowed for Sin-Eaters from New Orleans to New Zealand to exchange ideas and share practices—and just when that wave of Bound might have started to die off, World War II kicked off and started the whole cycle again. Since World War II, Mourner krewes have noticed a curious thing: That old limit on the Bargain no longer seems to apply. Optimists say that the sheer weight of human population has reached the point that even the normal daily mortality rate across the globe creates enough death resonance to fulfill the Bargain. Pessimists say the Underworld is gaining power and will soon swallow the world of the living just like it swallows the dead. And the cynics just point to the near-constant brushfire wars, police brutality, and hate crimes the world over with a “what did you expect?” shrug.

ᴛʜᴇ ᴇxɪᴛ "Thing is, you always expect the bartender to be where he is, 24/7. Things get interesting when the bartender flips the mat over, tells everyone it's closing time, and goes out back for a smoke." — overheard at ᴛʜᴇ ᴇxɪᴛ If you number among the restless dead, welcome to the in-between before the Hereafter. Since you're still finding your legs, here's a tip for you: If you have nowhere else to go, there's always The Exit. Manned by Jack's Lantern (or his people when he's not around), the bistro-by-day, occasional-club-by-night keeps the lights on and it's doors open for all types. There's always a seat; and someone who's ready to listen with your first drink on the house. The Dead are welcome to stay as long as they'd like, and for the Living, well; they invested in enough couches for sleeping. Hopefully when you're done, you walk out with a little less baggage to take with you as you pass on. ᴛʜᴇ ᴇxɪᴛ started out as a simple concept: everyone needs a bartender—yes, even the dead. While the venture began out of a practical need (a steady cash flow, a top floor to kick back and rest), Josh knew it was only a matter of time before word got around. People talk; ghosts are no different.

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