[LadyUdiya]

The Hand of Set
A Roleplay Guild for Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures


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Udiya's tunic clung to her body, the thick steelsilk drenched with sweat and blood. The swamp air of Kush was, as always, dank and uncomfortable. The smell of smoke and death lingered on her skin and in her hair. It won't soon wash away, she thought to herself.

Her hazel eyes were fixed upon the distant horizon, looking to the smoldering remains of Gardak as if it were not a reality, but merely a vision... a warning from The Father God, Set.

"Setep em Set, Udiya. I have failed you," came a voice resonating with anguish and anger. She turned to Khemiir, her face devoid of emotion. He dropped to one knee, his eyes falling to the ground. Jadi, her dark eyes seemingly sad, stepped up behind him, her hands falling affectionately upon Khemiir's shoulders. She looked to Udiya for a moment, a silent plea, then lowered her head, her finger tracing Khemiir's collar bone.

Udiya turned away from them, knowing what was on the fore-front of their minds. She would not have Khemiir executed, though. It was as much her own failure as his, and she needed men like him, women like Jadi—strong, devout and loyal.

She felt Pantherea's soft, familiar hands at her hips and her sweet sigh upon her neck. Udiya closed her eyes, drawing each breath slowly. She listened to the agonized cries of the injured and dying, those few who had managed to flee Gardak with little else but their lives. Udiya felt the faint tingling sensation of healing magic, and heard the voice of the priestess Akanthia rise up from the camp below.

"Set's Splendor has swallowed too many rats, plagued with the disease of false devotion! The serpent is weakest when it feeds, and now it wretches! The vision, the great fire of Nkosi has been a cooling ember, moon after moon. The storm of swords and the sea of fire is His will! It has been forseen! The faith of His will, the dreams of the prophetess will be the tinder, and the devout the bellows! The death-walker, the demon-binder will be the foundation of the new Luxor! The seed of the void, womb of the serpent will be it's crowned peak! The Father whispers this to his children, bidding them to remember that the serpent does not hide when it is threatened, it coils, rises and waits for its moment to strike!"

Udiya's lids fluttered open, her eyes suddenly wild, her teeth clenched. The sights and sounds around her seemed to fall away; the void within her roared.

An eerie silence fell upon the camp below, and then a gruff voice came from behind her, its tone seeded with uncertainty. "Setep em Set? We are all that's left."

Udiya turned, her eyes fixing with the bloodied paleskinned warrior, a loyal stonesnake. His head was bandaged and his arm bound in a sling. He was likely no older than sixteen summers, and flinched as he met her wild eyes. He lowered his gaze, speaking more softly now. "What are we to do, Setep?"

Her gaze drifted from him, then to Jadi and Khemiir. She disengaged from Pantherea and turned to look out over the camp. The remaining forces had pulled back into a small valley, obscured by the jutting rock face beneath her feet. There were a couple hundred soldiers and warmages at most, many of them maimed or injured. She knew there were a little over a hundred more stationed in Xu'Set, but they were the city watch, mostly. Many of them were young and softened by the luxuries of Xu'Set; they would be unseasoned in siege warfare. It would take time.

"Setep..." the young stonesnake repeated as if she had not heard him. "What will become of us?"

"We will rebuild," she said willfully, her eyes locking with his then drifting back to the others, pacing slowly before them. "It is said the prophetess Nkosi had only a caravan of supplies and a dozen disciples when she parted ways with the priesthood of Khemi. From that she built the great city of Xu'Set, and soon after the most devout of Setites came to look upon it and pledge their sweat and blood to her vision of The Father God's will." She drew her sword, raising it in the air, he voice loud, throaty and resolved. "So as it was done, it will be done again!" she shouted, thrusting her sword in the air. "We have strayed too far from our traditions. We have filled our city with those who understand nothing of loyalty, devotion or faith! No longer will any but the most devoted pass through the gates of Xu'Set but to wear the collar of The Hand!"

Udiya thrust her sword into the ground. There were shouts and cheers of encouragement from the camp below. Khemiir stood, nodding to Jadi before thrusting his arms into the air, flexing them in the gesture of Set's will to be done. Pantherea moved to embrace her. Udiya met her with a fierce kiss, then drew away, her expression one of unyielding determination. "We should return to Xu'Set. We've much work to do."

The Hand of Set

History

The Hand of Set was formed in June of 2006, well before the May 2008 launch of Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. The great Prophetess, Nkosi, blessed with visions from The Father God's true will, and disgusted with the self-serving priesthood of Khemi, lead a handful of disciples to found Xu'Set (“Set's Splendor“). With the construction of the Necropolis, Xu'Set's temple, Nkosi established the one and only TRUE sect of Set worship. In November of 2006, Nkosi (the player) mysteriously disappeared. Some whispered that she had been killed, others said that she had fled her friends and family to escape some darker aspect of her life. Despite her disappearance, her spirit lives on in the citizenship of Xu'Set.

While The Hand of Set has previously been a PvP/Raid/RP guild that has not required all its members to roleplay, leadership has decided to now devote themselves to its rich lore, requiring that all members be roleplayers.


Lore

The Hand of Set (also called The Hand or HoS) is a Stygian-based roleplay guild for Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. The lore is based on the premise of a cult following the dark serpent God, Set, and believes that it has received a mission from The Father God Himself via the prophet Nkosi: to spread his true teachings throughout all of Hyboria. The three commands issued by Father Set to Nkosi were Prepare, Sacrifice and Dominion. These three charges form the core of the cult's dogma, related to both the physical and spiritual world.

The cult acts in accordance with the authority of The Setep em Set (“Chosen of Set”), a leader selected through divine means by the priesthood. The Setep em Set is viewed as a secular figurehead, but also a divine vessel of Set's will. The Setep em Set guides the citizens of Xu'Set in all endeavors towards the fulfillment of the charge set upon the prophetess Nkosi.

[LadyUdiya]

The Hand of Set F.A.Q.

Q: What are the requirements for becoming a member of The Hand of Set?

A: First and foremost, you must be a roleplayer. You are not required to have extensive experience roleplaying, and our membership is more than willing to work with new roleplayers to make them more comfortable. However, applicants should be aware that the majority of our collective gaming time WILL be devoted to roleplay. In addition to this, you must be at least 18 years of age, able and willing to use Ventrillo and have a character that is consistent with our lore. If you meet these requirements and are interested in joining The Hand of Set, you are encouraged to fill out an application

Q: Do I have to be Stygian?

A: No. While, from its inception, The Hand of Set was meant to be a Stygian-only guild, the mechanics of the game turned out to be such that it was impossible to be active in end-game content without non-Stygian tanks and healers. Over the course of the past year since the release of AoC, The Hand of Set has developed some engaging lore in order to open up the guild to all races and all classes. Rather than scrap the lore and enforce a race restriction, leadership has decided to embrace it, allowing for a very diverse roleplaying membership. Furthermore, the charge set upon Nkosi implies that Set worship be spread throughout all of Hyboria. As this is our primary roleplay focus, we will continue to allow all races and all classes.

Q: Will The Hand of Set not be participating in PvP or PvE at all?

A: We will, however, not be actively focusing on end-game PvP or raiding. Our PvP will predominately consist of lore-based PvP (as it should be on an RP-PvP server) in FFA zones and during inter-guild RP-PvP events. Our PvE will consist primarily of RP-PvE in instances and the opened world for special RP events, as well as assisting low-level members in leveling up. Members will not be discouraged from participating in OOC sieges and raids if they wish to do so. We simply will not be focusing on end-game content as a guild.

Q: How is The Hand of Set an “evil” guild?

A: The best way to explain The Hand of Set's alignment is “lawful evil.” Or, as leadership says, “We're evil but we're not uncivilized.” That being said, in roleplay The Hand of Set will engage in activities involving dark magic, demonology, manipulation, deception, murder, torture, sexual deviancy and slavery, and carry out these activities towards their own selfish ends. Xu'Set still has order and its citizens are expected to follow its laws as well as the greater laws of Stygian society or be willing to suffer the consequences. OOC, we are a guild that respects the community. We will not grief, spawncamp or harass other players and doing so is a violation of our code of conduct.

[LadyUdiya]

Dwell not upon thy weariness, thy strength shall be according to the measure of thy desire.

[Lovelyn]

Nice work making the most of our adversities.

*Sings praise to the Father God*

[VenaRavenhair]

Yummy!

[Zorik]

Good luck with your new direction and focus.

[Rykoth]

Time to get some snake slaying done.

[lamiastrix]

Originally Posted by Rykoth Time to get some snake slaying done.

You can try....

[Lovelyn]

Good morning snakes

[Gryphonwolf]

*Standing on the hill over looking Xu'Set, She smiles at her sister, the Panther of the Hand of Set.*

I stand with you sister, with you and all of the Hand.