Black Rites

Black Rites (AKA "Black Rites of Luveh-Keraph", "Scroll of Bubastis") appears to have been created by Z.N. Dillon for the RPG scenario/sourcebook Masks of Nyarlathotep Companion.

Description

The Black Rites in the Scroll of Bubastis was written between 1783 BC and 1674 BC by the Thirteenth-Dynasty Egyptian high priest Luveh-Keraph, worshipper of Bast.

Scrolls of Bubastis

• Author: Luveh-Keraph, between 1783 BCE and 1674 BCE
• Language: Hieratic
• Number of known copies (if rare): (unknown, but rare, with the only copies normally held individually at secret temples dedicated to Bast)
• Last known location of surviving copies (if rare): (one copy was reportedly discovered in 1920s Cairo, where it was stored in an old shoe-box beneath Janwillem Van Heuvelen's bed)

Physical Description: ten fragile Thirteenth-Dynasty papyrus scrolls penned in ink hieratic script

General Content: A body of work called the Scrolls of Bubastis which includes the "Black Rites", said to be guarded and protected by the priests of Bast for use by their secret cult. The scrolls generally detail the the mysteries of the Bast Cult and some allied and rival Egyptian cults are detailed from the point of view of Bast cultists, but the 10th Scroll is dedicated to "Black Rites", a work pertaining to the forbidden cult of Nyarlathotep (see Nephren-Ka, Nitokris, and Khephren for specifics).

Black Rites, Ancient Greek Translation

• Author: Luveh-Keraph
• Language: Greek, unknown translator (possibly Love-Keraph himself), between 1780 BCE and 1633 BCE
• Number of known copies (if rare): (unknown, but rare; at least one copy lost when the Library of Alexandria burned)
• Last known location of surviving copies (if rare): (at least one copy extant in the Dark Ages, and possibly in the Dreamlands)

Appearance: scrolls containing a rare ancient Greek translation, probably from the hieratic originals, translated by the Cult of Bubastis.

General Content: Probably much the same as the original Egyptian version.

Black Rites, Modern Greek Translation

• Author: Luveh-Keraph
• Language: Greek, unknown translator
• Number of known copies (if rare): (unknown, but rare)
• Last known location of surviving copies (if rare): (a copy is reportedly held at the British Museum)

Appearance: Unknown, but probably an informal, handwritten transcription into modern(?) Greek, probably from the hieratic originals, it might have come from an earlier, unknown Ancient Greek translation obtained from the Cult of Bubastis, or possibly from a copy glimpsed in the Dreamlands.

General Content: Assumed to be the full 10th Scroll's Nyarlathotep content, imperfectly translated into Greek, with errors likely.

Black Rites, Dutch Translation

• Author: Luveh-Keraph
• Language: Dutch, translated by Janwilliem Vanheuvelen in 1890s
• Number of known copies (if rare): (unknown, but rare)
• Last known location of surviving copies (if rare): (unknown)

Appearance: Hastily handwritten transcription in Dutch with idiosyncratic notes and comments, in uncompleted preparation for a more formal translation.

General Content: Assumed to be the full 10th Scroll's Nyarlathotep content, roughly translated into Dutch, with errors likely.

Keeper Notes

We must remain vigilant. The Black Pharaoh’s ways are subtle and insidious. He hides beneath the light of Ra’s sun while crawling in the darkness, lingering in the shadows. He has once before corrupted the rites of our blessed goddess. He opens the way for the insatiable Black Sphinx. We must be wary of his temptations.
- Luveh-Keraph, The Rites of Bubastis, 10th Scroll

Mythos Content

• Sanity Loss: low
• Mythos Knowledge: some in the 10th scroll, focused mainly on Nyarlathotep and its cult; the other scrolls contain minimal Mythos lore, mostly focused on Bast and other Egyptian Elder Gods.
• Occult Knowledge: low and specialized: most of the first 9 scrolls are dedicated to the Bast Cult mysteries, with some additional information on other Egyptian Gods.
• Spells: Contact Bast, Bind Cat, Call the Black Sphinx, Contact Nyarlathotep (Black Pharaoh form), Contact Ghoul, et.al.

References

• resource: Prospero Publishing, "Black Rites"
• scenario: Masks of Nyarlathotep
• sourcebook: Masks of Nyarlathotep Companion

Notes and Trivia

• The name of the high priest "Luveh-Keraph" is a play on a more famous name - if you didn't catch it, try saying the name out loud.