Week of Nightmares

The Week of Nightmares or Week of Nightmare (most likely Monday, June 28 to Sunday, July 4, 1999) is the name given by vampires to the week in which Zapathasura, Antediluvian of the Ravnos clan, awakened. This is generally seen as the beginning of the Final Nights, the time of signs and portents leading to Gehenna.

Zapathasura

When Zapathasura awoke in the Ravnos homeland of India, it devoured all its nearby childer in moments, and sent psychic ripples across the world and spirit realms. Psychics, madmen and anyone even vaguely touched by the supernatural felt on edge or suffered visions and nightmares. The nightmares usually featured the Demon-King Ravana (representing Zapathasura).

Zapathasura rampaged across India to Bangladesh for two days, calling its childer to it, but on the third day was attacked by three of the eldest Kuei-jin Bodhisattvas. All this supernatural activity did not go unnoticed by the forces of the Technocracy, who used orbital mirrors to focus the power of the sun on the Antediluvian, but the Boddhisatvas and their allies had called a supernatural storm to shield them from sunlight while they battled Zapathasura. The Technocracy then employed magical "neutron bombs", killing all of Zapathasura's combatants - including those who were controlling the storm. As the clouds parted, Zapathasura had been weakened enough by the bombs and battle that the focused sunlight destroyed it.

The awakening of the Antediluvian had a profound effect on all its childer. While the battle raged, Ravnos vampires' power over the Chimerstry Discipline grew stronger, though harder to control. But at the instant Zapathasura died, every Ravnos on Earth felt an uncontrollable bloodlust, compelled to destroy or diablerize other members of their clan. This madness lasted for four days, and only a small number of Ravnos still survive.

Other Events

Other apocalyptic events also occurred during the Week of Nightmare, though not all of them are directly related to Zapathasura's awakening.

• A Red Star visible only to supernatural creatures appeared in the sky. It is known as Anthelios, or "the eye of the Wyrm", to the Garou, who see it as a sign of the Apocalypse. Kindred come to call it Wormwood, and see it as another sign of Gehenna. The Kithain know it as the Eye of Balor, and mages dub it Telos. Those with advanced supernatural senses (Auspex at at least level 2, for example) see it as brighter than Venus, surrounded with a halo like a comet. All who are able to see it know instinctively that it is evil.

• A pup, the fabled Perfect Metis, was born on the last day of the Week of Nightmares to two Metis Garou.

• It has been suggested that the Technocracy's bombs, capable of disrupting the spirit worlds, contributed to the instability of the Tempest, and therefore the Sixth Great Maelstrom later that year.

• The Denizens, Adhene, were released from their confines in the dreaming and returned to the Autumn world.

• In the Apocalypse sourcebook for WTA, the Last Battleground scenario suggests that following the Week of Nightmares, there is no longer any Umbra where the "spirit nukes" went off, suggesting the level of devastation from the weapons was catastrophic.

• It is also suggested that the Technocracy's bombs were directly responsible for opening the cracks in the Abyssal prison crafted to hold Fallen Angels, and thus began the events detailed in Demon: The Fallen.

Terminology

Although the first reference to this event (in Template:B) consistently calls it the "Week of Nightmare", all subsequent references name it as the "Week of Nightmares".