On the Merits of Unnaturalness (3 page)

 

CYATHOMANCER.
Little is known about this Type of Soothsaying, except that it requires the use of Cups. Most likely the Cup is used to hold a Liquid for a Scrying Pool, making it a Type of Hydromancy, aided by the Numen of the Cup. It may also be relevant that there is a Suit of Cups in the Minor Arcana (see
CARTOMANCER
), which illustrate many Uses for Cups in Divination.

 

MACHAROMANCER
,
archaically
KNIFE-GRINDER
. Similar to the
AXINOMANCER
, but the Numen is a Knife, Sword, or similar long Blade, no doubt because such Tools are often used to cause premature Death. The Macharomancer may place the Blade in the centre of a Circle or on a Board of some Description, whereupon it is spun to indicate a particular Direction that should be taken, or the Answer to a Question. Alternatively, it may be hurled, as the Axe is in
AXINOMANCY
. Useful in that the Macharomancer often displays great Skill with a Blade; less useful, and rather unpleasant, in that Macharomancy often comes with a Touch of Sadism in tow.

THE
 

A
s common as the Soothsayer, the Augur uses the Signs of the Natural World for Communion with the Dead. As with Soothsaying, there is a great Emphasis on Divination and Foresight. I have taken the word
AUGURY
from the ancient Rite of determining the Future through studying Birds, a kind of Clairvoyance that, fortunately for my Sanity, appears to have died out. Augury is by far the easiest Type of Unnaturalness for amaurotic Charlatans to imitate, as the Signs they use are often obvious even to the simplest Amaurotic. If a Bird is migrating South, for Example, it signifies only that the Birds are migrating South, and consequently that the Season is Winter. It does not take a true Clairvoyant to make sense of this Observation. Augury is a low Gift, making more Use of the Body than the Spirit and typically requiring an organic Numen. Although this is the second Order listed in this Pamphlet, I consider it to be on the same base Level of Clairvoyance as
SOOTHSAYING
.

Attempts by some Augurs to use human Entrails as Numa has resulted, in recent Years, in Spates of extreme Depravity among our Populace. When the Perpetrators of these heinous Acts are apprehended by Scion, I do not mourn, for they are the select Few that thoroughly deserve to be executed. Once again, I have divided this broad Category into two Orders: the
COMMON AUGURS
and the
VILE AUGURS
.

 

 

COMMON AUGURS

 

BOTANOMANCER.
A Term for a broad Type of Augury that involves the Use of
Plants. There is no Attempt to read the Future. Instead, various Plants are burned or ingested to induce a Trance through which the Botanomancer may enter their Dreamscape or commune with Spirits. Several Types exist in historical Record:
ANTHOMANCY
, with Flowers (practitioners were once known as
FLOWER-CASTERS
);
DAPHNOMANCY
, with Bay or Laurel Trees;
DENDROMANCY
, with Oak and Mistletoe, and
SYCOMANCY
, with Fig or Sycamore Leaves. I note that the Genus of
Aster
may be used by all Clairvoyants, with four Colours of the Flower, specifically white, pink, blue and purple, having a different Effect on the User's Dreamscape. This Plant seems unique in that all Clairvoyants may become intoxicated by its Smoke.

 

CAPNOMANCER.
11
The study of Smoke for Clairvoyance
.
First recorded in the late Sixteenth Century. Practitioners straddle the Border between
CAPNOMANCY
and
BOTANOMANCY
(
see Above
). If the Smoke originates from a Stick of Incense or other scented Source, the Practice may be more specifically called
LIBANOMANCY.
The Capnomancer may claim to connect with the Æther through the Tendrils of Smoke, or to see the movement of Spirits, or to deduce an Event from its Appearance and Density. Some claim to have a heightened sixth Sense when Fog or Mist is present. In
LIBANOMANCY
, the Focus is on creating a state of Trance, as with
BOTANOMANCY
, while
CAPNOMANCY
is more strongly associated with the Smoke itself.

11
Depending on what has been burned, the
Pyromancer
,
Spodomancer
and
Capnomancer
may be better placed in the next Category of
AUGURY
, particularly if the Fire is built to consume a flesh Sacrifice.

 

PYROMANCER.
One of the oldest Types of Clairvoyance, noted by
Hartlieb
. Sadly, the Art appears to have been lost. I postulate that, based on other Forms of Augury, the Flame of a Fire would be observed to predict the Future.
A clean and bright Flame may bode well, suggesting a lack of malevolent Spirits, but if the Fire was difficult to kindle, it suggested some Misfortune in the Offing. I have met no Practitioners of Pyromancy except for a number of
CAPNOMANCERS
, whose Centre of Attention is the Smoke, rather than the Flame. I put forward that the modern Pyromancer would use Fire to indicate the Presence of Spirits. To combine Fire and Spirits, especially Poltergeists, would be a dangerous but satisfying Art.

 

HALOMANCER.
A Type of Augury that uses Salt, usually unprocessed Halite. There is no record of this Practice being used before the late Nineteenth Century. It has been rumoured among superstitious Amaurotics that Salt repels both malignant Spirits and Unnaturals, but I have proven through repeated and hazardous Experimentation that a Line of Salt will not repel a Poltergeist, and it will certainly not repel a respectable Clairvoyant. Halomancy, therefore, appears useless.

 

RHABDOMANCER.
I have already mentioned this Gift as a Type of
CLEROMANCY
, but it fascinates me to such an Extent that I feel compelled to give it its own Section in its proper Category of Augury. The Practice is also known as
DOWSING
. I have accompanied several Rhabdomancers on their Excursions to find Treasure, only to find Nothing but a frozen Pool and an impending Sense of Doom. A remarkable Link I have made is between the Rhabdomancer and the
CRYOMANCER
(one of the aforementioned
SEERS
). The icy Pools found by the Former are the same Pools through which the Latter see their ‘Shadow World'. Until such Time that this strange Phenomenon is investigated, however, I consider most Rhabdomancers to have little genuine Talent. Their Lots, after all, are at the Mercy of the Elements as well as the Spirit World.

 

SPODOMANCER.
Another ancient Art that involves the use of Ash, or other Vestiges left over from the Passage of Fire (see
PYROMANCER
). Spodomancers I have come across on my Travels have been able to touch one Finger to a Heap of Ashes and accurately determine how the Fire occurred. There are many Spodomancers in our great Citadel, and also
LIBANOMANCERS
, who examine both the Smoke and the Ashes of Incense (see
CAPNOMANCER
).

 

TASSEOGRAPHER,
or
TASSEOMANCER.
Features in such Serials as
‘TEA WITH A TASSER'
, which will no doubt be familiar to those Clairvoyants that buy their Literature from Grub Street. A Tasseographer reads the Dregs left over after a Cup of Tea or Coffee is consumed, claiming that Spirits have arranged the Residue. I have more Respect for Spirits than to believe they would ever spend their second Life drifting around in used Teacups. I have Nothing further to observe but that this is an excellent Talent for Busking, given that the People of this Citadel are undoubtedly foolish enough to partake in it.

 

THERIOMANCER.
These Clairvoyants observe the Behaviour of Animals, which apparently gives them Insight into the Workings of the Æther. There are too many Types of
THERIOMANCY
recorded in History to note down, but of particular Prominence among the Animals mentioned are Birds, Cats, and Mice (called
MYOMANCY
12
). I do not believe this Art to be authentic, and have never met a Person who claims to use it, except in Jest. It is believed that Animals do have Dreamscapes, but they do not possess clairvoyant Insight. Consequently, it is foolish to suggest that they could offer such Insight to any Clairvoyant. If the Animal happens to be dead, see
EXTISPICIST
.

12
I would be most intrigued to know what the humble Mouse could possibly have to say about Anything, except for which sort of Cheese it most enjoys. However, as Animals cannot, and have never spoken, we must assume that
Theriomancy
was a Joke played by the leaders of the Ancients upon their gullible Subjects. No doubt they made up some silly Excuse to go to War, then blamed it all upon the local Woodpecker. Most convenient.

 

 

VILE AUGURS

A Note from your Narrator. The Vile Augurs are an ancient People, hailing from the first Days of Civilisation. They connect with the Æther by Means of their own Bodies, that of the Querent, or that of an unwilling Victim. Due to many of their Claims to use bodily Filth in their Work, they are the Pariahs of our clairvoyant Society. A large Community of Vile Augurs is known to thrive near Jacob's Island, the great Slum of II Cohort. It is my strong Advice to the Reader to avoid this Section of the Citadel, in case he or she should fall victim to their base Practices.

I believe, and always shall, that all Clairvoyants of this Persuasion should be confined permanently in this District to avoid them doing Harm to others. Vile Augury was the cruel Vice of the Ancients, a primitive and clumsy Means of contacting the Dead, and should properly have died out by this Era. Alas that it has not. It is not a Gift, but an Affliction, one that often leads to cruel and murderous Tendencies.

 

ANTHROPOMANCER,
commonly known as the
SPLANCHOMANCER
. These depraved Persons make use of the Entrails or Blood of dying Humans for Divination. I have met no Persons living in the Citadel that use this nightmarish Ability, but I have heard an odd little Rhyme, whispered in Dwellings close to Jacob's Island, describing a subterranean Butcher, known as the Deflowerer, that stalks the Sewers beneath that District. The name, it seems, is a Reference to the Destruction of Beauty that this Butcher wreaks upon his Victims. Many Mudlarks who frequent that Stretch of the River are familiar with this gruesome Ditty. The Lyrics are as follows:

Sleep fearfully, ye Voyants, the Deflowerer has come
He's creeping through the Sewers and wading through the Scum
And when you take the wrong Path, his Knife will leave you dead
He'll drag your Body to the Depths and paint your Doorstep red

There are additional Verses, but I have no wish to frighten the Reader any further. All Evidence suggests that this Type of Clairvoyant does indeed exist. Perhaps it was the Vice of
Jack the Ripper
, that dread Monster, in Life?

 

CHIROMANCER,
13
commonly known as the
PALMIST
or
PALM READER
. Another well-documented Gift, known to Amaurotics, recorded as a Practice as early as the Fifteenth Century. Chiromancers may read the Lines of the Hand to make Sense of the Querent's Dreamscape, or to determine some Aspect of their Future. A Gift most useful for illicit Busking, as it involves no forbidden Objects that may be discovered by Vigiles. This Gift may also Manifest as
DACTYLOMANCY
, in which the Focus is on the Fingers, or
PODOMANCY
, the study of the Feet. I have great Sympathy for any Clairvoyant whose sole Purpose in Life is to examine Feet, Feet being, perhaps, the least attractive of all human Body Parts.

13
I extend my heartfelt Apologies to the
Chiromancers
for their Inclusion in the Section of
VILE AUGURY
, alongside such Villains as
Splanchomancers
. However, the Rules I have laid down in this Pamphlet define
VILE AUGURY
as any Clairvoyance that makes use of the Body, which yours undoubtedly does.

 

EXTISPICIST.
Of a similar Ilk to the
ANTHROPOMANCER
, and should be equally loathed by the clairvoyant Population. One of the oldest and cruellest known Types of Clairvoyance, the Extispicist uses the Entrails of an unfortunate Animal to understand the Future. If the Animal was the Victim of ritual Sacrifice, the term
HARUSPEX
is applied to the Practitioner. Another particularly despicable Type of Augur. I am mortified to report that Extispicists do exist in Jacob's Island and beyond, often masquerading as Butchers or Assistants at Abattoirs to disguise their foul Habits. Any stray Pet that wanders into their Midst is likely to be slaughtered on Sight, and its Spirit toyed with through repeated Contact with its Entrails.