Forge

Forge
The Lore that Burns, Boar
'Fire', I once read, 'is the winter that warms and the spring that consumes.' [The principle of the Forge transforms and destroys.]
SUBVERTS
SUBVERTED BY
HOURS
The Lionsmith The Meniscate The Madrugad The Forge of Days
PRECURSOR
The Flint

'Break a thing, and you have fragments. Break those fragments, and you have dust. Break the dust, and then break what remains. Here is fire.'
'Formula Fissive'

Forge is one of the Principles of the invisible arts, named after the Forge of Days herself. It is the fire that destroys and transforms, an aspect of invention, industry, and power.

Themes and Imagery

'In five continents, smiths have whispered the same words to the iron. Murderers have been known to whisper these words, too. And adepts, of course. These words are spoken in ritual to inspire an unmerciful Change.'
'A Smith's Secret'

The uses and powers of Forge are best represented through its most obvious symbol, fire. Fire is powerful, dangerous, and destructive, yet it also can be used as a tool in the right hands, to create and reshape. Forge also has association with nobility, wealth, and other expressions of power. Murderers and rebels are also known to make use of the destructive change of this aspect.

The Principle of Forge has many practical applications: crafting and repairing items, applying skill and knowledge to complicated tasks, and strengthening both the mind and body in harsh circumstances. Still, one must always be careful when calling upon the power of Forge, or risk being consumed.

Another key element of Forge is the practice of alchemy. A number of alchemical processes and items are directly linked to the aspect and specific Hours.

Ascension

'I have been in the flame so many times. The plates of my flesh grate one against another. I conjure now the heat of the Forge, which will sear from me what I was. I will die as I pass the Tricuspid Gate, but death is not the end. I will be immortal: a Long, favoured of the Forge.'
'The Conflagration of the Heart'

The Forge of Days herself is the primary sponsor to those who seek to become Forge-Long, also known as candescents, and attain great power. This process—like many other ascensions—requires one to attain seven Marks and invoke a significant intensity of the aspect before their patron Hour, granting them the right to pass the Tricuspid Gate and become immortal. To rise even further, one must perform a Great Work and bring about destructive change on a massive scale, as seen in the Apostle Aestuant Legacy.

Subversion

'There are arts in Forge which may split even the sun.'
'Sunset at Noon'

In Cultist Simulator, Forge subverts Lantern, as the Forge of Days was responsible for dividing the Sun-in-Splendour in the Intercalate. Light dissipates to heat, and knowledge is taken to be used in practical applications.

Forge itself is subverted by Edge. As the Lionsmith learned when shattering his sword before the Colonel, all things can be overcome with sufficient force. The transformation of the Forge first requires destruction, and Edge is a power which may facilitate that destruction.

Hours

'The Forge of Days, the Meniscate and the Madrugad are gods-from-Light. Mercury, silver and gold are the seeds of the Work, and here is their secret doctrine...'
'Mysteries of Making'

• The Forge of Days: She is the embodiment of the aspect itself, the great smith who reshaped the Mansus itself and divided the Sun-in-Splendour. The Forge of Days is the fire that shapes and remakes, the Hour of destruction and transformation, who ends all nights and brings the dawn.

• The Madrugad: The Solar Hour of a chilly winter dawn, the Madrugad is also an Hour of Forge, tied to alchemy and the Cindered Tally. She is an Hour of focus and balance, whose golden light marks the beginning of the day’s work.

• The Meniscate: The night-self of the Sun, the Meniscate is an Hour of mirrors, reflections, and silver moonlight, and another part of the process of alchemy and the Great Work.

• The Lionsmith: From the Forge of Days herself the Lionsmith learned the power of Forge, and shattered his own sword to escape the Colonel’s dominion. Through this rebirth he has found strength, and now makes monsters to grow stronger still. He embodies Forge as a force of rebellious change, a tool to grow stronger, a weapon to be reforged.

• The Flint (?): Before humanity rose up, the arts of shaping and remaking belonged to the Flint, one of the gods-from-stone, and ancient being of earth and flame. Its place in the House was taken by the Forge of Days, who eclipsed and shattered it in the Lithomachy.

Other Entities and Followers

'Their 'Endeavour' was no less noble - a furious arcane conflagration which would refine them into something more than human. But such transformations are rare, and they often ended, less nobly, in ashes.'
'Read 'The Irreproachable Traditions of the Society of the Noble Endeavour''

• King Crucible: A Name-emanation of the Forge of Days, who in the Wake takes a form similar to that of a living flame. The Ordo Limiae, who were required to hide themselves from the world, would summon King Crucible as a last resort to punish those who broke this oath, though they did so with caution since it could draw the Forge’s attention.

• Eskhara-Meligounis: The Lady of Veils, a strange Name who might have once served the Twins, as it's unclear if they are two or one. Eskhara is associated with burns, and Meligounis with healing, and one or both are patrons and guardians to the Invisible Serapeum and Alexandria as a whole. She can be summoned in The Lady Afterwards.

• Francis Welland: A Forge-Long with allegiance to the Lionsmith and the Forge of Days, a veteran of numerous wars and a member of the Society of the Noble Endeavour. He can be encountered in the Apostle Aestuant Legacy as an enemy Long, and also appears as a character in The Lady Afterwards.

• Audrey Leigh Howard: A British candescent and key character in The Lady Afterwards. She fell in love with fellow Long Everett Lapidot and became pregnant with twins that they believed died in childbirth. Upon discovering that one of the children survived, the two of them prepare to commit the Crime of the Sky.

• Hokobald of Pocsind: A disgraced ex-member of the House of Lethe, an alchemist, and presumably an alukite. Reputedly, the illegitimate son of a forgotten king.

• Orsolina: A muscular woman who was originally a skaptodon in the Lionsmith’s service. Her love of seafood caused her to lose her former shape, though she retains some her old strength even now. Orsolina can be recruited from Venice as an ally in the Exile Legacy.

• Sovereigns of the Leashed Flame: A score or more of English Long who in one History brokered peace with the Forge of Days and gave their nation an incredible amount of power. The royals of England became known as the Sovereigns of the Leashed Flame, and the group’s conquest of Europe was opposed by the Sisterhood of the Knot and the Church of the Unconquered Sun during the War of the Roads. Eventually their relationship with the Forge deteriorated, and the greatest among them were consumed.

• Society of the Noble Endeavour: An organization which drew inspiration from the Leashed Flame and sought to “refine” themselves into higher beings through arcane conflagration. Most became ash, but those who succeeded in their ascension were all among the Know, spoke a great secret of the Forge, and were very rich. A number of their members, both mortal and immortal, appear in the Lady Afterwards.

• Skaptodons: A type of monster with feline characteristics made by the Lionsmith, who have a long lifespan and are hard to kill. The teeth and claws of fallen skaptodons are shaped into weapons by servants of the Lionsmith, and the Tragulari and Histids of the Colonel tip their darts with skaptodon teeth. A skaptodon that eats things not found in the earth will degenerate into a human-like form.

• Labhites: The youngest of the Lionsmith's servants, known for their potency and beauty. Where skaptodons must eat things from the earth, labhites can only consume things from the sky, or else they lose their power. One corrupted by Echidna’s milks can be encountered in the Exile Legacy in the form of a human.

• The Merry Feaster: One of the Lionsmith’s less dignified works, a monster lurking in the sewers of Aachen and consuming drunks and soldiers. Lalla Chaima asks for the player’s assistance in hunting the beast in the Exile Legacy.

Other Notes

• Forge is considered one of the Apollonian Principles, meaning it is focused on reason and the upper echelons of the House, alongside Lantern, Edge, and Winter.
  • Despite this, the Forge Ascension in Cultist Simulator requires Passion to pursue.

• Forge is evidently named after the Forge of Days, implying she is the chiefest Hour of that Principle. It is hinted that long ago it was named after the Flint.

Sources