The Vagabond

ASPECTS
GENERAL INFORMATION
ARCANA	The Star
ORIGIN	Flesh
PRONOUNS	She/Her
"The Mask of the Centipede recalled her birth-place, Miah" Read 'The Book of Masks'
OTHER TITLES
- The Laughingthrush - The Centipede - The Pilgrim - The Sight-Thief
WF Catalogue Entry

'We call upon the Vagabond, who tells her tale to the willing and the unwilling; who cannot be stayed; who cannot be exhausted'

The Vagabond is a rogue Hour, barred from entering the Mansus for a future act. She wanders everywhere else though, even Nowhere, and claims knowledge of all the Histories. It is said that she will be the first of the Pilgrims to ascend even higher in the shadow of the Watchman, perhaps to herald the Second Dawn and the return of the Sun-in-Splendour, which she knew. Her aspects are Moth and Secret Histories and her hour is 5 p.m.

Events

• The Curse of Miah: The Vagabond was once a mortal from the city of Miah, punished for sneaking into the temple precinct. As an Hour, she placed a curse upon her homeland, which sank into the desert. Even today that curse still clings to the ruins.

• The Painted River: The Vagabond was responsible for painting the River in the Mansus, through which the Twins entered upon drowning themselves.

• House of Lethe: Later known as the Ordo Limiae, and later still as the Fraternity of the Obliviates, the House of Lethe were a group of Long who hid themselves from the world and stayed out of the affairs of the Hours. One story of their founding describes a group of travellers gathered in a wood by the Centipede and abandoned. Beset by monsters, they survive by drinking from streams which cause them to go unnoticed, a technique that is still used by the Long of Port Noon to be forgotten by the world.

• The Roost: The Vagabond is among the Hours who take the shape of a bird to meet at a secret location called the Roost. There, they share rumours and gossip with one another, though they look unkindly upon mortals who overhear them. The location of the Roost changes upon discovery, but was originally in Miah, and later hidden in the mountains north of Gordion. She uses the form of a laughingthrush, but also has a connection to eagles.

• War of the Roads (1450-1580): At some point an alliance was made with the Vagabond, likely on the side of the Sisterhood and the Church due to her friendship with the Sun-in-Splendour.

• The Pilgrimage: The Vagabond is the first of the Seven who will ascend further as part of the Pilgrimage, likely to bring about the Second Dawn.

Servants

• The Baldomerian/Teresa Galmier (?): The author of The Locksmith’s Dream, now a Lantern-Long/minor Name who frequently spends time at the Lodge of the Sage-Knight. (Somewhat speculative, but her interest in the Pilgrimage and connection to the Secret Histories suggests she may be in the service of the Vagabond, or perhaps the Watchman.)

• Dr. Ibn Al-Adim/The Aleppine: Notably lacked the Mortal aspect in Cultist Simulator, and was confirmed to be a Long and a servant of the Vagabond in Book of Hours.

Relationships

• The Sun-in-Splendour: The Vagabond is said to have had a great friendship with the Sun-in-Splendour, the greatest of the Hours. Despite that, she seems to have played a part on his death and division.

• The Elegiast, the Beachcomber, and the Twins: The aviform Hours the Vagabond meets with at the Roost to gossip and share rumours.

• The Moth: Before cursing Miah, the Vagabond planted a garden of dappled roses in the city, where the Moth would come at night. At 1930s, the Vagabond with the Moth and an unknown third Hour started their preparations to fight against Calyptra , possibly in order to execute the Pilgrimage.

• The Velvet, The Mare-in-the-Tree, and The Madrugad: In the later 1930s the Vagabond made an alliance with two other Hours to oppose Calyptra, possibly as a preparation for the Pilgrimage.

• Klêidouchos: Every year Klêidouchos meets the Vagabond in Vienna, to exchange the names of lesser keys for the stories of the Vagabond's travels.

• Glaterfleoge-kind: In the late 1930s the Vagabond called upon an ancient alliance to bring the Glaeterfleoge-kind to Miah, requesting that they tend her garden of dappled roses so that they may be used as weapons against Calyptra.

Real-World References

• The Vagabond takes the place of the Star in the Tarot of the Hours. The Star can represent hope, creativity, and serenity. It implies a time of stability and spiritual connection, a positive omen for healing the wounds of the past and looking towards a brighter future.
• The name of the Vagabond’s homeland, Miah, may come from a Neo-Aramaic word “mia”, meaning “water”, which is used in the names of several locations in the middle east, both in ancient times and today. It would be quite an ironic origin, considering Miah’s curse to “drink only dust” and sink into the desert.

Other Notes

• The Vagabond is the only Hour that never enters the Mansus.
• The Rite of the Map’s Edge is performed in the Vagabond’s honor, and was given to the House of Lethe by her.
• The Vagabond has a role in both paths of the Change ascension, when the player’s Sending takes the form of an eagle and travels to Miah to learn the lesson “Sight, Surrendered”.
• Along with the Beach-Crow and the Sister-and-Witch, the Vagabond is one of the Hours stated to "know Numa better than most", though no Hour holds dominion over Numa. Notably, these Hours are all part of the Roost.

Theories and Questions

• The exact reason that the Vagabond has been expelled from the House of the Sun is never given. It may have something to do with her future role in the Pilgrimage and the Second Dawn.
• The Vagabond is the only Hour known to have Secret Histories as a principle, though there is still speculation on whether Secret Histories is a principle in the same way as the others.