The Conduits

The conduits are rare examples of supernatural abilities that transcend the deaths of their originators and move on to new hosts, like a parasite or a symbiont. They differ from mental abilities where the user's consciousness moves on to a new body or becomes disembodied after death, as with the conduits no true personality is carried over. However, in some examples of particularly willful individuals, there are exceptions. Together, the conduits represent a spectrum of life-force manipulating powers that have been explored since early in the setting's story.

Known to All

The general populace is unaware of the conduits or the significance of the term.

Known to Some

Among those who have been told of the conduits the basic understanding is that they are powerful abilities that move intentionally from host to host. The most well-known conduit has been dubbed "the black conduit" and was most well-known for being in the possession of Kazimir Volken. Less well-known is the "white conduit" once held by Abigail Caliban and Francois Allegre. Both abilities manipulate the life-force of people, with the black conduit known for killing people and turning them to dust and ashes to restore its user, while the white conduit draws on the life of its user to heal others. But exceptions to the use of the power are rumored. (General knowledge among members ex-factions Ferrymen, Phoenix, and Endgame. General knowledge among members of current factions Raytech, SESA, and Wolfhound. Otherwise on a character-by-character basis as told in-scene.)

Known to Few

  • The term "conduit" came from a long-dead wielder of the black conduit namded Madeline Rouen, an 18th century apothecary and natural philosopher who once wielded that ability. (Select individuals who were told directly in a scene.)
  • Rouen, and other previous possessors of the black conduit, remain as psychic echoes of themselves somehow contained within the ability. Certain wielders of the black conduit have experienced visions of a cemetery filled with monuments to past bearers, while others have even spoken to these phantoms. Their nature and how this came to be is unknown. (Select individuals who were told directly in a scene)
  • When Deckard briefly possessed the white conduit he experienced the only known vision of a previous bearer of the white conduit, suggesting that both abilities may maintain fragments of the consciousness of past bearers. (Select individuals who were told directly in a scene)
  • An attempt was made to destroy the black and white conduits in their then-current hosts, but somehow they were intercepted by an Evolved with the ability to take powers from the dead. She in turn unintentionally passed on both conduits to Nathalie LeRoux when the young girl lay dying. (Select individuals who were told directly in a scene)
  • Even among the most knowledgeable individuals, the origins of the conduits are a mystery.
The Conduits

Related Storylines:
(Book 1, Volume 2) On a Pale Horse
(Book 1, Volume 4) Endgame
(Book 1, Volume 8) In This Twilight
(Book 2, Volume 2) The Dragon

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