Introduction

When the Old Ones left the world, the Strega Tribe was the first of the remaining tribes to return to the surface of the Earth. The Strega were born of the Great Old One who embodies the will of our Lord and as such partook equally in the realms of the spirit and those of the flesh, just as the will is a part of both of these aspects of reality. Because of their dual existence, the Strega, in order to survive on Earth, had to evolve senses capable of incorporating data beyond the sensory spectrum of the five senses humans interpret reality by. With the enhanced senses came knowledge of the multifaceted nature of the world in which the tribe found itself. It is for this cause that the Strega developed the occult arts that marked them as the “witches of the undead”. The dual nature of this tribe resulted in many traits that are echoed throughout the makeup of the tribe and the families that compose it. The constant working of rituals and dealing with alien realms has left its mark on the tribe in that, in order to progress beyond the Awakened state, the Strega must arrange his Change along ritual lines; in that way, the Change of a Strega must be done by force of will. The great advantage of this tribe is the ability to make use of the energies that are normally unseen in order to manipulate reality itself. The Strega are the occultists of the undead, navigating the storm of the cosmos for the Upyreshi as a whole.

Psychology of the Strega Tribe

In terms of mentality, the Strega have very mathematical minds, as the Strega’s personal aspects are more defined than they are in the other tribes. To the Strega, the mind is a screen on which the other aspects of the self project data and the senses are the means to gather transpersonal data. For this reason, the Strega are very analytical, given to explore from the standpoint of understanding a thing and how it relates to oneself. The logic of the Strega will seem cold to any not of the Blood; this is because the data and the personal conclusions of the Strega are all that inform said logic. This mind as screen construct gives the Strega distance from any circumstance the Strega experiences, so to others the Strega will seem unfeeling or remote because the Strega’s logic, if expressed, is often free from overt emotional content. This psychological makeup has the advantage of allowing the Strega to assess a phenomenon absent of his own investments in said phenomenon. The disadvantage of this type of mentality is that the Strega will appear to those of the world as sociopathic and to conceal this will manufacture reactions more in keeping with what others expect, which results in what is called “tableau thinking”. In other words, when the Strega interacts and requires a visible feeling response, the Strega will display what it concludes is called for, not what is felt by the Strega itself. The need to observe without investment is because time and space flows around the Strega differently, in that his mind is aware of multiple streams of time and space all coexisting on many bands of existence. The mental realm of the Strega corresponds to the visible or mundane realm. It should be noted that the visible realm for the Strega includes both the realm of the living as well as that of the Dead.

Emotional Structure of the Strega Tribe

At first glance it may appear that the Strega possess no emotion such as man knows them because of the alien nature of their logic. This however is not the case; the desires or emotions of the Strega are primal in that they fuse into a rage that can be positive or negative in nature. For this reason, they are fiercely loyal to those they deem worthy of such investment and are prone to be violent in the extreme if they feel betrayed. Because of the separation of the aspects of self, the Strega often must will his logical and emotional processes to interact, which leads many of this tribe to avoid circumstances that require such effort, resulting in an extreme territorial imperative. Because of the primal nature of the emotions, the Strega is able to assume the emotional standpoint of another at will when the emotions are directed by the logic of the mind; this too is a byproduct of tableau thinking. The drawback of such a primitive makeup is an inability to appreciate the more defined emotions of others. This inability makes certain forms of communication difficult. This can also lead the Strega to define things in different ways in different aspects of self. For example, a Strega may define sexuality in one way mentally and another emotionally. Mental and emotional conclusions are weighed to compose a response that is taken as being true after being tested in the phenomenal world. Due to the seeming split in the Strega, the Strega may seem to be more than one person when he expresses himself from a purely logical or emotional aspect. The emotional aspect of the Strega corresponds with the dream realm of reality and is resonant with the realm of the Fae as well.

Metaphysical Will of the Strega Tribe

The will is the link between the spirit of the individual and the cosmos. For this reason, it is the investment of the will in a given description of the universe and singular world that creates the reality the Strega inhabits. Due to the constant dual awareness of the Strega of his world and the maelstrom of cosmic reality, it is vital that the will of the Strega be strong enough to hold the Strega in one time and space. The emphasis on will in the nature of the Strega makes the will of the Strega far more potent in the mundane world than that of man. This is true of all nonhumans to some degree but this is paramountly expressed in the Upyreshi by the Strega Tribe. This results in the Strega being able to affect reality more as a spirit would and a sense of the unnatural around the Strega. It is this need for a strong will that causes the Strega to Hunger for the will energy in others and to take said energy via the Strega’s chosen carrier. The Strega’s intimacy with the energy of the will allows him great control of his own energy in this area and in others as well but, like all abilities, this must be honed in order to be effective for the Strega. The Strega’s command of its will is the root of the “vampire’s” ability to fly in the legends of humanity. This is also the source of the undead’s power to corrupt or subvert the will of its prey as a part of its feeding on them. It is the heightened will of the Strega that gives them an air of royalty or authority. The will aspect of the Strega is resonant with the occult or shadow spectrum of reality in which all nonhumans participate.

Physical Traits of the Strega Tribe

The physical traits of the Strega Tribe and of all tribes of the Upyreshi are twofold in nature, the first being of the traits visible in the humanoid body and the other being particular to the Beast that is the inner nature of the Strega. In general, the physical traits of the Strega point to the primitive nature of the bloodline. Long reptilian fingers, aquiline noses, and protruding forehead are often seen traits. The body temp of the Strega will depend on the activity of the will of the Strega and the aspect of reality that the will is affecting. If the will is active in the mundane realm, the Strega will have warmth to his body; if in the occult realms, the Strega will be cooler to the touch. The senses of the Strega will often work in tandem. For example, if a Strega smells an oncoming animal, his ears will scan for the movement of the animal and his skin will seek its vibration on the earth as well as its bioelectrical output or aura. In the same manner, if in the dark the Strega may see the movement of something, its sense of touch would pick up the auric output of the subject and add that data to the visual input, resulting in a type of night vision. A major trait of the Strega is that its senses are all channeled through its sense of the bioelectrical. In a similar manner, the strength and speed of the Strega depends more on where in the body the energy of the Strega is focused than on such things as muscle mass. Physically speaking, Strega tend to be thin and lightweight with long limbs as would be useful in climbing rocks. Strega tend to move with a very controlled manner as if they are moved from outside themselves. Like all Upyreshi, Strega tend to heal quickly; however, unlike the other tribes, the Strega must consciously will itself to heal. The inner Beast of a Strega will express the traits of the animals the Strega has linked with the aspects of himself, but these will often come across with reptilian or draconic flavor, pointing to the primal nature of the tribe. In symbolic terms, this would result in a wolf-like head covered in scale instead of fur. The physical aspect of the Strega corresponds to the realm of reality known as the Spirit Walk.

Spiritual Nature of the Strega Tribe

As the occultists of the race, the Strega walk a fine line between science and faith. They are scientific in that the spiritual is treated as real in the same way the theory of evolution is taken as real by human scientists, though it is needful to say that the Strega has more in common with the scientist that believes in what is called intelligent design. It is the approach of the Strega to the spiritual that is scientific: by doing certain specific things specific results must follow. The faith aspect is that for the science of the Strega’s occultism to be true, one must invest or believe in the spiritual paradigm of the Upyreshi. The Strega will admit that all is possible because of the infinite nature of reality, but will take as being true only those things the Strega has tested through experience. Because of their closeness to the spirit world, the Strega often seem anarchistic because, like the spirits, the Strega perceives past and present as coexisting, flowing into a storm of possible futures. The spiritual aspect of the Strega corresponds to the home realm of the Upyreshi, the underworld.