Hierophant

Somewhere on the outskirts of Hong Kong, December 8th, 1941 

''"Verdammt! Enoch hurry!" Veredelte shouted over the din of machine gun fire and the whine of artillery shells pounding the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong. "The bloody Japanese will be here any moment!" ''

''A jade statuette of a dragon perched imperiously upon a plain stand of kodo wood atop a tall dias. Enoch assessed this item, the object of their mission dispassionately, as one might regard the breakfast menu at a favored cafe. He stood perfectly still, holding out his hands around the priceless statue which began to glow in a dim, cool green aura. He reached back to stroke his perfectly groomed beard thoughtfully as another nearby barrage shook the building. ''

''"My dear Veredelte, if I do not bypass the wards on this dias carefully, the Japanese will be the least of our worries," he intoned in his deep, calm baritone. ''

''"Enoch! You realize those bloody guns will eventually home in on this building, considering it's the last one standing on the block!" cried Veredelte as she gesticulated wildly towards the Japanese lines. ''

''"Shh!" Enoch cried suddenly, shooting her an annoyed look. Before Veredelte could begin to protest he began a low chant. A strange electric current began to fill the air as the atmosphere took on the faint, metallic tang of ozone. The hanzi on the dias began to glow brighter and brighter as Enoch chanted, until one after another, they all fizzled out and went dim, emitting an acrid puff of smoke. ''

''"Ah, very good then," Enoch said as he picked up the statuette and the stand from the dias. "The lads back in London will be glad to have this home safe and sound, I'm sure. I trust you have your motorcycle ready outside? We need to hurry down to the harbor quickly. A submarine will be waiting for us there..." ''

''Enoch tossed aside the statuette carelessly and tucked the kodo wood stand into a knapsack. Veredelte gasped in disbelief as the statuette shattered into a pile of green fragments. She sputtered a protest. ''

''"I thought we came here to retrieve that verdammt statuette!" ''

''"Pfeh, the statuette was a cheap forgery. The stand, on the other hand, imparts whatever is placed upon it with an impenetrable aura of absolute veracity. Now, let's get a move on, shall we? I'd hate to be late for tea with Commander McClellan," he said as Veredelte threw up her hands, following him helplessly while muttering various curses in Latin. "There will be plenty of time on our journey home to ponder what Himmler and his cronies have up their sleeves." ''

= From Medieval Monk to Modern Magus =

"In the beginning..."
The third son of a minor English baronet, the man who would become Enoch the Red was born in a small hamlet just outside of what would eventually become Oxford sometime in the early 12th century. He showed an aptitude for intellectual pursuits from a very young age and it did not take him long to understand that his chances for survival past his 12th birthday hinged on removing himself from the political battles between his elder siblings. To this end, he convinced his tutors to petition his father, a distant and paranoid man, to sponsor him to become a monk of the Order of St. Benedict in exchange for relinquishing any claim whatsoever to the barony.

Having secured himself a life of study and contemplation at Melrose Abbey in Glasgow, Enoch left home at the age of 14 to begin his service to the Church. His happiness as a cenobite, however, was short-lived. While he excelled at the work of translation and illumination, he found the religious dogma and austerity imposed by the abbot to be stifling. After a prolonged exposure to the works of the ancient pagan philosophers, Enoch began to form the distinct opinion that a great deal of Christian dogma was absolute hogwash.

Much to the abbot's dismay, Enoch would often excuse himself from morning or evening prayers in order to replicate the experiments and observations of the ancients, or to pour over a forbidden book of Ancient Greek or Roman philosophy. After a clandestine alchemical experiment left a fellow monk blind, Enoch was cast into irons and threatened with excommunication. An inquisition was held about the matter and Enoch was found guilty of heresy and witchcraft, crimes which carried a punishment of death by burning.

Savagely beaten and tortured, Enoch refused to confess and repent for his beliefs and deeds, Enoch would have surely met his fate atop a pyre if it had not been for the intervention of a itenerant Benedictine friar.

Adventures in Service to the Order


Fortune smiled upon Enoch that day as the monk who intervened on his behalf was none other than Bernard of Clairvaux, recently returned from the Holy Land after helping to establish the Knights Templar under the patronage of King Baldwin II of Jerusalem. Having gained the fledgling order Papal recognition at the Council of Troyes, ostensibly to protect pilgrims and wrest control of the Holy Land from the Muslims, the Templars had set to the work of excavating ancient Hebrew and Roman ruins in search of priceless mystical treasures.

Recognizing the young man's intellectual potential and certain that he would be loyal and learn the necessary skills of discretion, Bernard knew he had found the perfect protégé to mentor in the Hermetic mysteries and philosophies of the ancient world. For his part, Enoch was quite happy to be allowed to continue his studies under more understanding masters and to escape with his skin intact.

Over the coming years, Enoch would travel frequently to the Holy Land as part of the Crusades. Though he prized his time mastering magic and alchemy, as well as translating the lost works of Greek and Persian philosophy, the insanity of war and the loss of life to religious zealotry and greed began to weigh on his conscience. He began to slowly withdraw from active, political life among the Knights Templar, focusing more intensely on his studies. Cloistering himself in a remote monastery nestled high in the Italian alps, he began the initial experiments that would lead to his most amazing discovery: Lapis Philosophorum.

=Personnel file =

Views and opinions
=Love letters, correspondence and advice...=

A Maiden Pure
Through the centuries, the only constant in Enoch's life besides his books has been the Templar operative known as Veredelte. Veredelte usually shows up on his doorstep when the metaphysical excrement is about to hit the oscillating unit, and as such, their relationship is complicated. At varying points in their lives they have been friends, lovers, rivals, enemies, allies and just about everything in between.

After the conclusion of the Second World War, they drifted apart as they have through the centuries only to be united again at the turn of the 21st century. The misadventures of the US military in the Middle East, the collapse of global economies and ecosystems, as well as a general awakening of anima in the world portended a dark and forboding future. Rising to the challenge once more with his age-old companion, Enoch has returned once more to the Secret World to help defend the world against the Filth once again. Whether or not their efforts can help stave off the coming apocalypse remains to be seen.

From the files of Richard Sonnac
Since none of the more modern databases had any information on the man calling himself Enoch Rudd, I was forced to take a trip down into the old, paper archives before I could locate any information on this long lost operative. The stories of his exploits would be truly impressive even if only half of them were true. There can be no doubt that his command of magic is astounding and is only outdone by his vast understanding of occult lore, but one must wonder about his loyalty. He certainly possesses secrets that only he, or perhaps his friend Veredelte, know. I am particularly curious about the circumstances surrounding his unnaturally long lifespan.

That said, all accounts of his deeds illustrate his acumen, courage and most importantly, loyalty to our cause. At this time there is no need to bring him in for questioning or enhanced interrogation. We will assign him "rookie" agents for "routine training" and to keep a close watch on his activities.

Observations from the field
((Feel free to post your IC reflections about Enoch or any rumors you might have heard here. Thank you. - The Mgmt. ))