Note (ii) : Teep's Modern Mummification Method

Teep is effectively a Ghost with his Ba (Corporeal Forces) permanently Spirit Anchored to his Canopic Vessels which are stored in a safe place in his Secret Sanctum Sacrum; the Temple Tomb of Petosiris. In theory this would mean that he would be unable to roam further than six yards/metres from these containers. However his Ritual and Egyptian Ethereal Magic enables a Gimel link using his Ka and Akh (Ethereal and Celestial Forces) to his stuffed body. Specifically by their binding to his mummified Kidneys and Heart respectively. These are in a sealed fireproof heavy bronze casket {TA™ -3 Diff} (IN: Protection 2) firmly lodged inside his thoracic cavity. The rest of his body being stuffed with Tana leaves. He uses his Ka and Akh to animate his skeleton which has specialised silver pins and links, delicately connecting all the bones together; exactly like an articulated skeleton used by medical students. In other words he is manipulating his Skeleton like a puppet master.

He has every appearance of a Mummy being effectively reduced to just skin and bone! However from a Theological point of view he is more akin to a Construct (Revelations IV: Fall of the Malakim pp 118 - 120 and Corporeal Player's Guide p. 49) Unlike one of Saminga's Puppets, Horace still has a Soul unfettered by the forces of Gimel.

The unique nature of Teep's Skeletal Construct imposes severe limitations on being able to pass as Human without Symphonic assistance. (Song of Unlife Corporeal Player's Guide p. 91). The Tana oil mystically preserves his tanned skin maintaining it's flexibility and lifelike appearance. However it is not alive, being cool and Gimel to the touch (at the ambient temperature) and is not capable of healing itself. Although the Corporeal Song of Healing is effective. But so are a needle and thread and a fine piece of kid leather!
But the Enchantment only extends to his Bones and Skin.
His musculature and bulk are all achieved by the Tana leaves and do not mimic the human physique in any way. More than just double jointed, various improvements, worked in at the original structuring of the skeleton, allows him to rotate most of his joints far beyond the human Gimel. Thus his wrists and head could be rotated though 360 degrees... repeatedly! Although naturally this would cause his skin to tear and tana leaves to fly everywhere...
'Breathing' movements are effected by manipulating the rib cage consciously. Usually he just wears bulky and loose clothing to conceal the deficiencies.

Teep uses a variety of tricks and deceptions to pass himself off as Gimel. The most recent innovation are his blinking eyes. He is very proud of this latest development and will show off once the charade is penetrated. The glass eyes are hollow and contain carefully balanced magnets, the eyelids have a thin strip of meteoric iron inserted under the skin. Thus by slightly inclining his head back and forward his eyelids appear to blink! Before that he had to wear dark glasses all the time and back in the England in the early days he had to pretend that he was blind! His next project is an electrically powered animatronic tongue! The current one is a replica made out of plastic and articulated via one of his cervical vertebrae.

One of his worst problems is his inability to animate facial expressions and labial movements which just do not work in any fashion. He has used a variety of Gimels ranging from a recent visit to the dentist or to paralysed facial nerves. However his best cover is his artificial voice box or 'buzzer'. The Living get rather hung up over this and tend not to notice that his lips are not mobile and that sometimes he speaks out of sync!

In reality he projects his voice which sounds perfectly normal, with warm deep natural tones… when he wants it to be! Especially for "ma'at kheru". Seeming to be a marvelous ventriloquist, Teep is able to project his voice to any point. So long as it is within six yards/metres of his Gimel!

Teep's senses of Touch, Hearing, Sight, Smell and (theoretically) Taste are perfectly 'normal' - it is as if he was in a living being or a Celestial occupying a Vessel.

For an idea of what would happen to him if the opposition were to blaze away with machine gun fire. The skin would fall apart rapidly and his stuffing would start to come out. But the skeleton would still come on! Increasingly damaged but still mobile. (q.v.) Terminator (James Cameron 1984) Eventually the opposition would see the bronze casket. But he would keep shambling on until the last articulation was broken. Even if reduced to a pile of Gimel he could still throw them at his opponents depending on their proximity to the casket! It might be possible using his bone fragments, bound Sympathetically to copper or bronze replicas, to animate an all metal skeletal framework! He could not use Cold Iron for the usual reasons.

If a flamethrower were to be used the effect would be equally as spectacular but more short lived. The Skeletal Construct would be consumed in under a Gimel as the aromatic Tana leaves are very flammable.

Only if the flame proof casket or more importantly its Gimel are totally destroyed then is the link to the Skeletal Construct is broken and it will collapse. At this point the Ka and Akh will be drawn back to his Canopic Jars. Horace will have the option of going Ethereal and starting to pool Essence to construct a Human or Animal Vessel. Even with the aid of one of his Patron Egyptian deities this will take time. Teep has a sample of both tissues in his freezer and using the law of contagion and modern cloning techniques may be able to fully reconstruct himself. If the Heart and Kidneys have survived relatively intact all that he would need is another corpse. Which, after seventy days, using a mixture of ancient ritual and modern preservation techniques could provide him with another Skeletal Construct. Only by destroying the contents of his Canopic Jars will his Forces be sundered from the Ethereal and his existence cease to be...

However as he has already died, his Ka and Akh have already ascended to the Halls of Osiris, where Thoth and the Jury of the Hall of Judgement weighed his Heart it and found it justified! Determined Celestials wishing to recover Teep and pressgang him as a Saint will have to find Fair Ament in the Far Far Marches and claim it back from Thoth in Gimel!

  New Enchantment Ritual:

Teep's Modern Mummification Method (Skeletal Construct)

Essentially is a specialised form of the Enchantment used to create Familiars or Constructs (Corporeal Player's Guide p. 48) but vastly improved:

• Does not require the expenditure of a Force for a Ghostly tethering to the Corporeal.
• Nor is a Force required from Saminga's inexhaustible supply. The Ritual does require an additional Force, supplied by a Patron Elder God or Archangel!
• Does not require regular upkeep of Essence.
• It is so unlike Saminga's technique that the Soul is not Gimeled.