Whatever became of the big groups and signature characters in Wraith, prior to the 6th Great Maelstrom, is whatever Storytellers and their players made of it. Except for small snippets in various other WOD Games, Wraith canon stopped with Ends of Empire, which gives Storytellers a great deal of leeway in deciding what happened to whom.

That said, we'd be seriously amiss if we didn't round up some of the surviving big hitters, and ask what they might be up to.

Characters:

Artemus Vanderwal: Survived the Outbreak and is working on restructuring the Spooks Guild "in his own image." What has become of this? Are they still maintaining the Cause, or have they abandoned it in favor of current expediency? Are they cooperating with the Haunters, or opposing them? And what is Vanderwal doing now that the Five Boroughs of New York has wound up as Spectre Central, along with the rest of the city...?

The Beggar Lord: Somehow, the grasping worm of a Deathlord survived, and made his way to Copenhagen to heal up. Has he sat back and started rebuilding an empire, one "favor" at a time? Or is he content to wallow in whatever bolthole he had there, and let the Storm pass by before making a move...?

Brother Tenacious: The new leader of the Pardoners turned his Guild into a grass-roots organization, taking the battle against Oblivion into the streets and shelters. However, he remains something of a reluctant leader, both due to the strength of his Shadow and his preference to be teaching new Pardoners. Is he ready to throw in the towel and hand the reins over to someone else? And if so, what shape will he be in when Oblivion comes to call...?

Diké: The Malfean most responsible for the outbreak of the 6th Great Maelstrom didn't get what She wanted: the mortal fool was supposed to detonate the bomb inside the Void, and not in the Labyrinth. Cheated of Her chance to ride ahead of Oblivion, Itself, as the Dark Angel, She settled for taking on Her arch-rival Lachesis' forces, instead. However, She hasn't been seen since, and while Her followers still have contact with Her, through the Hive-Mind, the commands She gives are infrequent and garbled. She could be anywhere, doing anything, and planning almost anything at all...

Dr. Shudder: The leader of the Mandelbrots Alliance of the Haunters was ordered to stay behind by Midian, and try to re-create the effect of the Outbreak, and completely tear down the Shroud. How far has he gotten in this? And has he had any "help" from down below...?

Hideo Masaka: The vile, "smiling tumor of a man" who was the in-house torture expert for the Orphic Circle was killed, right along with most of his group, on the night of the Outbreak. However, he came back as a Kuei-Jin, and has spent the time between then and now resuming his previous activities - torture. But where is he, and does he know something about what really happened behind the scenes of the blast...?

The Ladies of Fate: After the swamping of Stygia, and Her farewell to Erik, the Lady of Fate got into a boat with Her sisters and was rowed away, never to be seen again. That doesn't mean they're doing nothing, though. Is the Lady of Fate just waiting for time to run down so She can be reunited with Her son {Caine}, or is She helping to speed that time up? Is She the source of problems with Fatalism, or the cure?

Lord Nhudri: MIA, following the swamping of the Isle of Sorrows. His smithy was found destroyed, "as if by a giant hammer," and no one saw him after that - at least, no one who cared to talk about it. But some say he's gone back to the Labyrinth for reasons of his own. Is he really pondering "reparations" to the Underworld, or is this his way of letting Charon's servants know that his debt to the Emperor is fulfilled? And if so, where is he now...?

Marcus Stavatson: The leader of the Silent Legion's Warriors of Lethe was said to have become the equivalent of the Silent Lord, following the Outbreak. Has he founded his own Empire since then, or did he finally fall into despair at some point...?

Maxwell Carpenter: Following the Outbreak, Max went into the Skinlands in a new body, and had some real fun before being dealt with - harshly - by a group of Amenti. But he came back to smash what might have been his former Fetter's grave in rage, which means that he's most likely back in the Skinlands. And if so, where and what is he doing...?

Midian: Supposedly in the Skinlands, having been swept up in the Outbreak and deposited into a new body. But what has he been up to since then, and where has he been doing it? And is he still in contact with Dr. Shudder - co-ordinating Shroudbreaking chaos on both sides of the divide?

Minos: The leader of the Mnemoi, and developer of Mnemosynis, has been MIA since Charon Transcended. Some even say he left before that happened, having seen his arch-enemy, the Smiling Lord, executed for the treason that only Minos had knowledge of for so very, very long. Where he is these days is a question none dare ask - not even the masters of his Guild. But there have been some dark rumors coming from what's left of the River of the Dead...

Persephone: We know that she entered the Shroud at the exact moment the Maelstrom went off, leading to the first "ghost storm," where the dead were thrown through the Shroud into dead bodies, living people and inanimate objects. However, what's become of her since? Is she hiding in the Skinlands or Shadowlands, horrified at what she did? Or is she trapped, somewhere, and in need of rescue? And what would happen if she were pulled out...?

Rasputin: Currently in the Skinlands with most of the Puppeteers Guild. Given his appetites, it's probably best to not speculate too much on what - or who - he may be doing, except to say that it's probably someone very powerful. This could be used to explain the mess Russia's in, right now. It could be used to explain any number of messes - especially those involving messianic figures and their cults...

Samuel Haight: Is still an ashtray, though he may have had a slight "cameo" in the Mage Ascension novel by bonking one of the characters on the head as he flew past...

The Skeletal Lord: The delusional - and very powerful - Deathlord is said to have fallen while defending his city. He apparently escaped his Harrowing and now wanders the Labyrinth, "seeking either escape or revenge." How far has he come in either of those goals? Has he gotten out, and if so, where is he? Or did he fall to his Shadow at long last...?

Slander: Most or all eight of the Masquer's best Anonymae assassin{s} survived the Outbreak, and it would seem insane for them to not continue working together. But where are they now, and what are they doing? And if any of them fell, and came back as Dopplegangers, would anyone be able to tell...?

The Smiling Lord: Unmasked for the worthless traitor he was, the Deathlord was "destroyed" at the end of Ends of Empire. However, many of his loyal subjects refused to believe he's gone, and have turned to Doomslaying in order to try and find him. That anyone would be so crazed as to venture into the Labyrinth at such a time speaks volumes, but what if he did escape a well-deserved Destruction Harrowing? And what if he was lost to his Shadow, at long last...?

Sock Girl: She may or may not be aware that the 6th Great Maelstorm has happened, in her own innocent way. Have the remaining Chanteurs finally recognized her as the most powerful user of Keening left in the Shadowlands? Or has she stayed well outside their number - and beaneath their notice - while collecting things no one else wants?

Spartacus: As soon as the Outbreak was over, he wound up back in the Skinlands, and we're told he's been raising hell ever since. But what kind of hell, and where? Is he still disdainful of most other "Renegades," or has he buried that hatchet with the change of circumstances? And might he be a unifying leader in this time of trouble...?

Yu Huang: The Jade Emperor was devoured by a Malfean long ago, and has existed as something of a half-breed entity ever since: not quite Wraith, but not quite Malfean, either. This presents a number of intriguing options in an End Times Chronicle: though his fighting force was broken in the raid on London, and what remained was recalled to face rebellion at home, and incursions on the borders, he has had time to marshal his forces once more. The question is... what will he do with them...?

Groups:

The Benandanti: Still doing what they do best, but their glory days are behind them. They are fractured from within, and shrinking as the old ways are forgotten and no new members are made to replace those who die, or are killed. Do they have a further part to play in things, or are they doomed to irrelevance in the last moments...?

The Ferrymen: They're still out there, ferrying souls where they need to go. They owe the Shadowlands an immense debt for having been instigators of its current predicament, and this fact weighs heavily upon them. But are they going to simply wait this Storm out, and hope for a better tomorrow? Or are they going to take steps, such as getting the Midnight Express going again...?

The Guilds: No longer proscribed organizations, they can throw their secrecy aside and work out in the open. Some have fallen, like the Chanteurs, and some have been redeemed, like the Mnemoi. But can all the Guilds work together in this new age, or are they doomed to fall to fighting once again? And will they be able to present a united front in the face of the Darkness...?

The Heretics: Their greatest enemy - Charon - Transcended before witnesses, proving them right at long last. And with the end of the Hierarchy, the prohibition against preaching Transcendence is mostly gone as well. Have they taken advantage of this moment to increase their numbers, and bring salvation to those Wraiths who remain? Or is the prejudice against them - thanks to the Fishers' ancient excesses - still holding them back...?

The Hierarchy: As a worldwide organization of Wraiths, the Hierarchy no longer exists: its government was shattered at the same time the Isle of Sorrows was overrun by the Outbreak, and the only one who could have unified it again - Charon, returned from the living - Transcended in the calm before the greater Storm. Can it be roused once more to fight the coming Darkness, or will everyone be hanged separately...?

The Lost Legion: Has apparently wound up in The Abyss, following the Outbreak. Are they ever going to get out of there? And if so, how? And did they learn anything interesting while they were down there...?

The Martyr Knights: A long time ago, one of the Martyr Knights had a really bad idea about warehousing captured Spectres in their headquarters. This idea led to their near-decimation when the Outbreak struck the Isle of Sorrows, but - much like their fellows in the Order of The Thorn - the survivors managed to right themselves, and commit their strength against the Maelstrom. They still maintain watch for Spectral infiltration within the Necropoli, which has become a major concern of late. But are they getting anywhere with their surveillance? Or are the agents of the Labyrinth merely toying with them...?

The Orphic Circle: Almost completely broken, due to something terrible that happened on the night of the Outbreak. Those who survived the cataclysm at their headquarters run and hide for fear of their existances. Can any of them be persuaded to tell the truth of what happened, provided they can bring themselves to remember? And what secrets yet remain at Taenarus...?

The Renegades: Their moment of possible triumph came and went with the Outbreak, but they were too weak and caught up in paltry infighting to take advantage of it. Who amongst them has survived, and what shape are they in? And has anyone assumed the mantle of the fabled Renegade Lord...?

The Unlidded Eye: Swallowed up in the Outbreak, or so it would seem. However, one should never count someone as gone until their bodies are accounted for. And what secrets of theirs might still be floating about in the Tempest, or buried under rubble on the Isle of Sorrows...?