The Ebon Noose

The cabal that masters the Boston Consilium’s destiny, the Ebon Noose has a long and illustrious pedigree that stretches back centuries. Long associated with powerful willworkers and perilous, left-handed magics, the Noose is an object of wonder, awe and not a little bit of fear. This tradition carries on into modern times, personified by such dangerous mages as the Nemean, Hierarch of the Consilium and Anacaona de Xaragua (see Mage: The Awakening, pp. 388-389 and pp. 382-383 for details on these willworkers).

The Noose is treacherous and mysterious, one of the two partners in the Secret Concord and, to all appearances, the dominant party in that arrangement. Terrible signs and omens follow in the wake of the cabal’s works, and many sinister acts of magic in local history seem to bear the seal of past members of the Noose. Such terrible Artifacts and enchantments often resurface after decades, even centuries, of being lost to time and obscurity. Those who offend the Noose do so at their own risk, for over the years most of those offenders have vanished and become the urban legends of Boston’s Awakened community.

Of course, the Noose and its fellow Silver Ladder cabal, the White Putnams, constitute only two-thirds of the dread Secret Concord. No one outside of those two cabals knows precisely who (or what) the third signatory was. In fact, it is widely speculated that the Nemean is the only living willworker of the cabal to know the Concord’s most terrible secret.

Sanctum: The Covenant

Sanctum Size ••; Hallow •••••

The sanctum of the Ebon Noose, the structure known as the Covenant has stood, in one form or another, for well over three centuries. Located in Salem, its current incarnation is a small stone-fronted home in the quiet, well-wooded lanes of Salem’s upper-middle-class residential neighborhood. The Covenant stands on the site once occupied by a structure that was little more than a barn, the location chosen by the first members of the Noose to set foot on American soil. The house is quiet and rarely sees use by more than one or two of the willworkers of the cabal at a time, though someone stops by at least once a day to harvest the Hallow’s Mana.

The Hallow (a 5-point shared Hallow) is located deep within the old well around the back of the house, now overgrown with vines. A rope and bucket is used to draw up a milky white water that smells vaguely of earth and old blood. Each bucketful of water is rich with tass, and may be drawn up at any hour, up to five times a day. The library of the Ebon Noose is located on the second floor of the house, all of it contained in a single room that is, floor to ceiling, packed with shelves. In it can be found exhaustive information on the following subjects: History of the Ebon Noose, New England Legends, Paganism and Spirits.