Croatoa

We've seen 'the word' used on a number of occasions, sometimes to spectacular effect. The post-hypnotic trigger word chosen by Agent Graves needed to be selected carefully, not a word that could crop up in conversation, in case seven deadly killing machines were to wake up, rather pissed off and needing answers. Croatoa has significance for the Minutemen and the Trust, although its use in the painting La Morte dil Cesare is strange.

Croatoa is not in any dictionary but originates from this: The Roanoke colony in North Virginia disappeared after having disputes with two Indian tribes. The colony's leader sailed to England for supplies, but because of the Spanish Armada he did not return for three years. Finally able to return in 1590, he found a few skeletons and the word 'Croatoa' carved onto a tree. Finding the word led many to believe that one of the tribes, the Croatan, had killed the colony. The significance of Roanoke to 100 Bullets was finally revealed in Prey For Reign, and takes a spin on the true story, with the seven original Minutemen murdering the colonists to cement the power of the Trust in America.

This tale has passed into American folklore, and has sired a few ghost stories, such as these.