Samsara, the Penitent Lotus

Basic Info

Name: Samsara
Title: The Penitent Lotus
Age: Unknown. Suspected to be as old, or older than Creation itself.
Type: Unknown
Concept: Elite Fiend
Motivation: Prepare and Enlighten The Grass Spiders so that their potential will be as boundless as their imagination.
Political Affiliation: The Hallowed Order of the Grass Spiders
Likes: Metaphysics, Essence Weaving, Geomancy, Astronomy, Darkness, Calibration, Eerie Silence, Fog.
Dislikes: Bad Plans, Poorly Thought Out Decisions, Bright Sunlight, Uneducated People.

Background

Samsara, The Penitent Lotus is the least publicly visible of The Three Elite Fiends, and the most or least enigmatic of the trio (depending on who you ask). When members of The Grass Spiders discuss Samsara they are more likely to talk about what is known than what isn't. Hashing through everything The Made Members don't know would is simply too time consuming. What is known is that Samsara is easily the least visible of The Three Fiends, both within the Order and outside of it. Of the Three she commissions the fewest number of missions from clients, and spends little time grooming the Membership of The Order. She is seemingly the only female within the Fiends, or at the very least, referring to her in that manner does not elicit a negative response. And her Metaphysical expertise is unrivaled within The Order, including the other Fiends. Beyond that it is mostly speculation.

Of all of the Three Fiends, Samsara is regarded as seeming the most distant from humanity. Though her physical form doesn't vary as wildly as that of Nazareth, her frame of mind is routinely different from a being who has ever truly contemplated mortality. It is not to say that she is necessarily colder, or harsher than the other Fiends, though that is often the case; but more that her thought process is that of a truly ageless being. Naturally that has led to some wild speculation over the centuries to her true identity. There is no prevailing theory, however there are several lines of thought that wax and wane in popularity.

Among the younger members and associates it is popular to speculate that she is an ancient Sidereal Exalt under a powerful disguise or resplendent destiny, so powerful perhaps that she does not even know it herself. However, more senior members with a greater understanding of Yu-Shan are quite sure that is not the case. Taking it a step further leads one to the possibility that The Maiden of Endings herself may be guiding the most influential assassins guild in Creation. There is some logic in that, and it's surprisingly difficult to discredit outright, still it's hard to imagine one of the Celestial Incarna spending time on a small group of Terrestrial Exalts. Still, some make the connection to Heaven and theorize that she is perhaps Five Days Darkness, The Unconquered Suns shadow, in a different form. An ageless God of that level is not beyond the realm of possibility, and her dislike of the Sun though not necessarily Celestial Exalts, lends credence to the theory. It is unclear what Five Days Darkness would gain from such an arrangement.

The more educated occultists of The Order have focused on Samsara's inherently darker nature, leading to some even more radical theories. Some as simple as Samsara being an ancient ghost from the earliest days of the Underworld who clings to life by associating with death. Some say she was once a First Age Exalt who was slain, but refused to enter the Cycle of Lethe, instead she became the Neverborn's first attempt at creating a Deathlord. A failed experiment with no place to return to, a deep connection with death, who could neither enter the cycle of reincarnation or find peace in The Void. Some still believe that she is the remnant of the Third Circle Demon who was slain to cast down The Dragon's Shadow into the Malfean known today as The Ebon Dragon. Forever connected to that dark power, however forbidden to return its kindred demonic souls. Still it seems more likely that none of current theories are correct and The Order as a whole mostly doesn't worry about it.

Samsara's prowess is rarely seen, as is the case with most of the Fiends, though her essence shaping ability is well known throughout The Order. She is an accomplished Terrestrial Circle Sorcerer and Shadowlands Circle Necromancer and typically avoids any physical confrontation by having an array of summoned beings or creatures fight for her. She doesn't often directly teach members of The Order, instead opting to arrange situations and missions that create opportunities for members to learn for themselves. When a member does search out her council she is typically found monitoring The Dragon Lines that flow through the manse, a practice she claims unenlightened essences cannot appreciate.