IC: Broken Boughs.

[Telemont]

What happened yesterday will not soon be forgotten by the world.

At precisely 4:20pm GMT nearly every person in the world felt a sudden sensation that has been referred to as 'Butterflies in the Stomach' by most popular news stations. Even those people who were asleep were quite abruptly awoken for the experience, and the few people that claim not to have experienced it are heavily suspected of lying for various reasons of pride, sensationalism, and generally being cranky. This unusual phenomena has caused a bit of a stir and some people have cited various religious reasons for the feeling, but for the most part the people of the world have begun to go back to their daily lives. Little do they know that the countdown for their destruction has just begun...

It has been exactly twenty four hours since that fateful moment, and each of you has received an urgent summons to attend the Atlas Convention Center located within New York City. Perhaps to some irritation, you quickly discover that your life has mysteriously changed to suit the new deadline. Previous meetings have already been rescheduled, employers are surprised to see you at work on your 'vacation day', plane tickets have mysteriously appeared in your pockets, and there is no indication of any return flight.

OOC: Broken Boughs (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=8199555#post8199555).

[Telemont]

[Scene 1]

The Atlas Convention Center is named for the impressive sunken-relief that stretches nearly thirty feet along an inside wall that is clearly visible the moment you walk through one of the buildings three revolving doors. Seeming to be made of granite, the figure rests upon one knee and valiantly struggles to hold up the second floor of the convention center. In spite of this grand image, it may not be the first thing newcomers notice on this sunny spring day. There is a large sprawling trio of tables set up just inside the revolving doors that seems to have a wide variety of flyers offering information on the services and events happening today. A single man stands behind the middle table and eyes each and every newcomer with a somewhat disdainful expression. A small line of about six dark-haired Japanese men all wearing impeccable black armani business suits appear to have started a line in front of the table. Through the morning the heroes of this tale begin to arrive one by one or in pairs as suits fate.

[Ridai]

A tall young man, apparently in his early twenties and possessing a wiry frame, enters through one of the revolving doors, his steps fluid and light. Amber eyes take in the large relief and a smile forms on his face as he shakes his auburn-haired head, highlighting his approachable nature in stark contrast to his plain European features which otherwise are only accentuated by a short beard along his jawline.

Fate lays it on thick with the foreshadowing today. Jan removes his earbuds just as Gimme Shelter stops playing and looks through the rest of the hall. Might as well take a look at the sights while I'm here. He walks over to the tables, takes one of the brochures and scans it for anything noteworthy, especially considering the current situation. Meanwhile, the disdainful look is not lost on him, but Jan doesn't read much into it, since he is nowhere as dashing as those Japanese men with his jeans, black longsleeve shirt, dark-blue zip-up hoodie, dark-brown worn-looking sneakers and messenger bag.

He makes a mental note to keep an eye on those guys as he steps away from the tables, there's no way to tell what might happen here. But for now, back to the important stuff. Like the brochure!

Introductory post for a strange German scion, GO! Looking forward to see how this will develop. :smallbiggrin:

[Telemont]

Jan

As Jan approaches the six men in their power suits they seem to fall quiet for fear of being overheard. Like a small hive-mind they step away from the three tables and begin to ferociously mutter to themselves in rapid-fire give and take. A few suspicious eyes glance around them to try and ensure that nobody is close enough to hear what they are saying, though they are quite obviously having some kind of argument.

Just as Jan begins to step away from the table and inspect the brochure, the lone person manning the table speaks up. "You sir! Yes, you! The only person in this room with a beard and a bag! If you are here to attend one of the conventions then you absolutely must sign in. Now, are you with the Society of Creative Anachronism, or are you part of the... ahem... Anime Convention?"

Just like that, the man produces two nearly identical looking notepads with plenty of places to sign your name. A variety of names are already listed on the notepads, and they clearly indicate which convention they represent. A pen dangles from a small length of chain on each notepad, and the man's face is twisted into a somewhat sour look that betrays his distaste for both groups.

[Kirindal]

Sharply dressed in a buttoned dark navy blue suit, a Chinese man in his early 30s moves quickly through the revolving doors. His black eyes sharp and focused take a quick scan of the room before settling on the table and then the six Japanese men. A slight frown marred his otherwise expressionless and immaculately groomed face.

Why am I here? I should be back home at Hong Kong, who knows what Masahiro will do if he thinks I'm not watching his criminal ass 24/7. Huang San fought down the frown spreading across his face. The situation was not his liking, but he might as well see what the Fates had in store for him. After all, his Mother had been quite specific in her instruction to come to this place despite his misgivings. Whatever she wants, she gets.

Huang San looked around for a sign on why he was called here. He idly started walking by the tables to see what sorts of flyers and brochures they had.

[Ishikar]

As Irend enters the convention center he makes a casual note of the large relief but is more interested in the scene before him with the suited men and the other two patrons. Seeing the first being accosted by one of the suits Irend takes care to pass as far as he can from them.

Taking out the note he was given along with his ticket to New York he begins to head toward the noted room, wanting mainly to finish his business here and try to get his life back onto his own terms.

[Dersess]

Max

Max slips in the door of the Convention center, only slightly taken aback by its size and the throngs of people inside. Without a word or sound, he slips over to one of the front tables and begins to leaf through some of the pamphlets in front of him. He slowly notices the Japanese gentlemen in the suits, and the one man accosting the guy with bag. Not exactly sure what he's doing in such a place, he picks up the pamphlet with the most colorful cover and begins to pretend to read it, keeping his eye out for anything out of the ordinary.

[Ridai]

"A great day to you, too, sir!" Jan answers in only slightly accented English (that weirdly enough sounds more like British than American English), adding a friendly grin. "Currently, I'm attending nothing, as I'm pretty much exploring the city and this place looked interesting." He turns to the huge relief for a short moment.

"Can you tell me a bit about all this? Both cons don't sound very interesting and I guess I wouldn't fit into the crowd of the first one, anyway." Jan motions towards the suits.

Does Jan understand anything the businessmen say, since he speaks Japanese (and has epic perception)?

[Telemont]

The man at the table seems genuinely flustered by the sudden rush of new people entering his place of employment, which is slightly odd considering that the convention center seems capable of hosting several thousand people at any given time. Ignoring Jan for just a moment, he waves his arms in a 'come over here' gesture to try and get the attention of everyone but the Japanese men.

"The line starts over here, gentlemen. You'll need to check in if you are attending one of the conventions!" to which he quickly returns to addressing Jan specifically. "I really don't know what their problem is. I think they were expecting some kind of red carpet greeting, but these kinds of conventions generally cannot afford such extravagant displays. In any case, the entire convention center is currently hosting only two events. So, unless you are with one of the two conventions, or you wish to speak to the manager about hosting your own event in the near future, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

Li and Max
There are a number of brochures littered about on the table, but every single one of them has a header to denote which of the conventions it belongs to. The first header is 'Society for Creative Anachronism' which has precisely six different types of brochure available. The second header is labeled 'Animania Festival New York' and has a wide variety of brochures, and cheap necklaces depicting cartoon people with overly large eyes. The third header is 'Children of the Gods' which has only one type of brochure though there are a fair number of them remaining.. A quick flip through the last brochure reveals that it has only one item on it's agenda, a meeting in room 211 which is clearly designated to be on the second floor, and a meeting time of only 20 minutes from now.

Irend
The note you have been left with is rather vague, offering nothing more than the location of this convention center, the specific room number of 211, and the time of meeting which is scheduled to begin in only 20 minutes. One of the six Japanese men huddled about each other in stern conversation seems to take a moment of his time to give you a judgmental look and finally a nod of what could only be considered mild respect, before returning to the heated debate he was engaged in. All of that happens just a moment before the single gentleman behind the table begins to shout at everyone in the room about where the line starts.

[Ridai]

"Ah, I see. Well, if that's the case, let's see here..." Jan scans the brochures until he sees the Children of the Gods. Given that there is no list, he assumes that it is deemed too insignificant or normal people can't recognize it for what it is. He takes one of those and one of the anime brochures, making it look like he picks up the first by accident while reaching for the latter and takes a quick look at the anime brochure. "Ooh, that seems pretty nice." He signs the anime list with a German pun (Oberst Derbe). "Thanks for your time, bye." And with that, Jan heads for Room 211.

[Telemont]

The desk clerk seems to accept the grabbing of multiple brochures as if it were completely expected, and it likely is. The clerk allows Jan to sign the convention list and then gives him a somewhat insincere looking smile that reeks of a man who would rather be doing anything else with his time than his current job. With the matter settled, the clerk immediately turns towards Irend since he seems the most likely to completely bypass the trio of tables and begins calling out quite loudly.

"Excuse me, sir! Yes, you with the note and the brownish hair! Sir, I simply insist that you must check in at the front desk before you continue on to either of the events happening on the second floor!" There is a faint tone of panic in his voice, as if he might have to abandon his post to hunt Irend down and that level of effort was unthinkable.

[Kirindal]

Huang San flipped through the brochure eventually reaching the item in question. He checked his watch before double-checking the brochure to see if he needed to sign in or perform any other bureaucratic ritual before attending. The World truly moved in mysterious ways sometimes.

[Telemont]

Huang San
Based on what the frantic man behind the table is shouting about, there appers to be some kind of required check in. A quick glance reveals two different notepads with numerous names scratched upon each of them. The most recent name appears to be Oberst Derbe, which is signed beneath the notepad titled 'Animania Festival New York' with the ink still slightly damp. The man behind the table tosses you a quick glance and an even quicker and somewhat insincere smile before turning his attention back to the only person who appears to be trying to slip by without signing the registry. There is no indication of any notepad bearing the title 'Children of the Gods'.

Jan
There is probably a fire escape somewhere in this building that offers a set of stairs to climb, but the only obvious way up to the second floor lies through a quartet of elevators that rest against the left wall side by side with eachother. A quick punch of the button causes the yellow tinted metal to glide apart smoothly and reveal a cozy looking faux wood interior with rather plush velvet floors. The panel on the inside of the elevator indicates a fairly small number floors, B, 1, 2, and then the symbol of a star as the fourth and final option. A decidedly female voice chimes in, "Welcome to the Atlas Convention Center" but offers no further encouragement or information.

[Ridai]

Jan shrugs, pushes the star button and leans against the side while he is waiting.

[Telemont]

Jan
The doors slide shut, and the somewhat pleasant sound of music begins to play from one of the two speakers located near the top of the elevator. After only a moment, the music dies down and the doors slide open again to reveal the third and highest floor of the Atlas Convention Center. The ceiling takes the shape of an impressively large dome with a thin white canvas across the entire length. A large mechanical contraption rests in the very center of the room, bristling with all manner of devices used to project colored lights up onto the previously mentioned ceiling. A single podium juts out of the opposite wall with a powered-down computer terminal that is likely used to give the machine instructions. Dozens of rows of seats circle the mechanical contraption, all carefully positioned to give an excellent view of the ceiling when the light show is on display. Unfortunately, no such light show is currently taking place and the entire room appears to be vacant.

[Ridai]

I should ask an employee when the next show will happen. Jan starts to imagine how it might look like for a moment. With the secret of the star button out of the way, he presses the 2 and quietly hums Jumpin' Jack Flash. Once there, he heads to Room 211.

[Kirindal]

Huang San stared at the notepads for a few moment before choosing one of the notepads at random and jotting his name down. Having signed the registry Huang San held on the flyer and made his way to the room. He double-checked to make sure that his firearm was still firmly held by his shoulder holster while on the elevator. One hand on his badge, when the elevator stopped he walked towards his destination.

[Ishikar]

Turning a dismissive look over to the shouting man Irend just moves ahead taking the stairs to the second floor and moving towards the noted room.

Children of the gods eh? Let's see what all of this is about and hope they don't push too much on us.

[Telemont]

Jan, Huang San, and Irend
The trip to room 211 is a short one, but the second floor of the convention center is literally teeming with several hundred people in various costumes both modern and medieval. Just the hallway reveals a throng of people with faux weapons that would break your wrists to actually use in combat, armor that appears stylish but more often leaves vital areas undefended, and hair styles that absolutely defy physics. The majority of the people here are somewhat unpleasing to the eye, but a few certainly stand out as particularly handsome or beautiful. One thing is certain about all this fanfare; even the most outrageous looking Scion could slip through this crowd without drawing unnecessary notice.

The room that bares the number 211 is not opulent, or even regal, but it is absolutely functional. There are slightly more than sixty comfortable chairs placed about the room in no particular pattern, and more than forty of them are already full of the strangest collection of people you have likely seen in a long while. Some are dressed in completely practical clothing, while others are dressed as if they just finished taking a wilderness hike, two are dressed in sharp power suits, one wears a slinky black dress, and no less than seven display dangerous looking weapons and armor. Numerous ethnicity can be picked out amongst the crowd, with the only notable absence being a complete lack of Japanese.

A large wooden stage dominates the far side of the room, where four people wait very patiently and one person paces about with severely contrasting impatience. The impatient man demands the most attention, with his perfectly tanned skin and wavy blonde locks of hair he seems to catch the breath of many of the ladies within the room. He stalks back and forth across the stage visibly agitated. A quieter man sits at a table upon the stage with three others. His eyes seem to perpetually rest upon the doorway as if he were delivering penetrating scrutiny upon each and every person that passes through, and every other detail about him seems to be difficult to recollect the moment you take your eyes off him.

The remaining three are all women of distinctly different ages, almost pronounced enough that the oldest could be the grandmother of the youngest. The three of them seem engaged in a quiet conversation, and they pay no particular heed to the fact that they are upon a stage.

The impatient man finally pauses to take a count of the room, and seems satisfied with the number that are currently present. He raises both hands in a gesture that likely requests silence, and the rest of the crowd is perhaps a little to happy to oblige. "Ladies and Gentlemen, now that we have the lion's share of the crowd gathered, I must ask you to all find your seats so we may begin."

[Kirindal]

Huang San sighed and shook his head in sadness. It was terrible what passed for security here in the Center. How did they let Scions into the place blatantly wielding their items of power? It wasn't like it would be that hard for a professional to tell the difference between the fakes being used by the others in the convention center and the ones the Scions had. Perhaps that would explain it, Americans desperate to save a dollar probably hired a bunch of sad little puppies for security.

He wondered if security would have noticed if he flaunted his piece around back in the lobby. Huang San looked around the room seeing if he could identify any of the particularly famous or notorious ones amongst the crowd. When the man called the room to attention he settled down in the closest seat he could find.

[Ishikar]

Walking past a group of 3 of the weapon carriers Irend seems completely nonplussed by their obvious weaponry, somewhat to their surprise from someone who appears to carry half the muscle and no visible means of defending against their god-forged relics. He takes the last empty seat on an aisle and takes a position of grudging attention. They'd dragged him out here for something, he'd listen since doing otherwise would probably just keep him even longer.

[Ridai]

Jan has never seen so many Scions at once. This must be as serious as he suspected, especially if those three women on the stage turn out to be the Norns, Moirae or another mythology's equivalent of The Three. The absence of apparent Amatsukami Scions is worrying, though. If there has been a falling out of some sort, then it happened with the worst timing possible. The comparatively minor issues present in the room are probably none at all with this concentration of Scions (and higher beings?) as well as Fate's hand in this matter.

Jan quickly scans the room to see if Mira is here, too, and seats himself near her in that case (it has been two months by now), otherwise he just takes an empty seat towards the front.

[Telemont]

The blonde haired man upon the stage flashes the assembled crowd something of a wistful smile, before making a gesture towards the lights that seem to cause them to dim noticeably in spite of the fact that they are not designed to do that. A slight yellow radiance seems to play along his exceptionally tanned skin as if he were holding back the light of the sun itself. The three women upon the stage grow quiet with respect towards the speaker, whose voice has a nearly musical quality.

"It is no secret that two days ago a phenomena swept across the world that was supernatural in nature. I regret to inform all of you that no man or woman has been spared its touch that we are aware of. From that very moment not one single child has been conceived by a human being by any known method of mortal science or divine miracle. It should come as no surprise to you that such a situation would eventually represent the extinction of the human race in its entirety, but the problems we face are much more immediate."

"As the days pass, mortals will begin to take notice that nobody is conceiving any children. For the first few weeks nobody will notice and there will likely be no consequences. If we wait more than a month then medical professionals are certain to begin talking amongst themselves thus spreading rumors that will unsettle the populace. Two months out we will begin to see worldwide testing to prove that it is true, and there is nothing that myself or any of my peers will be able to do to delay this. Not long after that, the people of this world will fall prey to their own fears to the point where riots will form and crime rates will soar. I don't think I need to explain how grim things will look a year from now."

"I must now make a terrible admission. You are gathered here because none of us upon this stage, nor any of those we call equals, have been able to locate the source. The wisest among us seem to be unable to see what is causing this twisted state of affairs. We have consulted amongst each other and many of us have pledged the support of our children in the name of this cause. I sincerely hope that each of you will see this as a matter of the utmost importance and not simply an obligation that is being put upon you."

"Because of the risk involved, each of you will be assigned to a group that compliments your talents. I cannot stress enough the importance of working together on this matter. You will be both our eyes and our ears in this world where we are blind and deaf. Your efforts and your discoveries will be all that stands between a world in ruin or newborn children and their smiling families. I am proud to see so many of you answer the summons, and it warms my heart to know that we have a very real chance of overcoming this challenge. I am counting on YOU."

Perhaps it is a trick of the light, but each of you swear that the blonde haired man looked directly at you and nobody else when he uttered that last word. With his speech delivered, the blonde haired man lakes a long moment to consider the crowd and give his words time to sink in before he utters one last line...

"So, any questions?"

[Ridai]

Crap really has hit the fan. Jan skips disbelief, questions how this is possible etc. and speaks up. "Are there any leads and when do we start? I don't exactly want Children of Men to happen for real." Everything else doesn't seem relevant to him right now. They all know the task at hand, now they have to set things right.

[Telemont]

Jan
The golden figure atop the stage does not skip a beat as he responds to your question. His voice has the same melodic quality you noticed earlier, that of a trained singer. "There are nearly two dozen leads, and each group will be assigned two or three of these leads based on the talents you can bring to bear. We expect some of these leads will prove to have no connection to the phenomena, which is another reason why you will be provided with multiple leads. You are free to investigate them in any order you wish."

[Kirindal]

Huang San stared at the man for a moment. There were inconsistencies in his statements that needed to be addressed. He stood up and spoke in British-accented English,

"If the situation is as dire as you suggest, why call us all here to the Center? Would you not have been better served appealing to our parents' Pantheons yesterday at the earliest to act independently?"

[Telemont]

Huang San
The blonde haired man gestures to the crowd as if to indicate it as a whole. "An excellent question. Surely you did not think this room was the sum total of all the resources we could bring to bear upon such an important project? Many of our peers chose to act immediately and begin gathering information, and we owe some of our leads to their hard work. Some of our peers are also recalcitrant to contribute towards a group effort, feeling that individuals would cover group far faster than any ground of people. Those of you in this room represent patrons who saw the value in cooperative effort."

[Ishikar]

Irend

Speaking up from his seated position Irend addresses the assembly.

So we're to go out and find whatever it is that has rendered mankind barren over even your greatest efforts and then run back to you like some well trained hound? While it's true that one of the greatest scions in my family may well have born such a title I believe that some might find that offensive.

He stands and stretches as he works out a kink in his back as he continues.

Of course to site the movie example brought forth or even the older book "A Handmaid's Tale" I'm not too keen on the slow decay of society into tribalistic xenophobia and paranoia so I think we should go ahead and get started. Is there a particular meeting spot for us to collect our assignments or do we wait here patiently for our names to be called like school children? The last carries a mildly strained tone as Irend tries to temper some of the scything humor into his earlier acerbic tone.

Who whould have thought that was what happened. A planet-wide ouch my sperm moment... except without the humor the Futurama added to it.

[Telemont]

Irend
The blonde haired man listens to what Irend has to say, but it comes as no surprise that his features twist into something a little less friendly and a bit more menacing. You might imagine that the man would like nothing more than to lash out in petty retribution for such an offhanded insult, but after a moment his features return to their normal demeanor. For better or for worse he does not address the first of Irend's questions.

"Assignments have been prepared and you will find a desk in the back of this room that carries all the information you might need. Since we had no way of knowing how many of you would accept responsibility for this task, you may find names listed as part of your group that belong to people who are not currently here. It saddens me to say that politics has not failed to show it's face even in times as dark as these. If there are no more questions then we should get started, as our last questioner so wisely requested."

[Ridai]

Proof that the gods aren't the only ones who bicker needlessly. Jan gets up from his seat. "No time like the present. I assume the Amatsukami and their scions are mostly working on their own?" He walks over to mentioned desk while he asks this and starts to look for his name and tasks. Time waits for nobody.

[Kirindal]

Huang San nodded at the man's answer, fair enough for now. Although he was going to have ask his Mother why the Bureaucracy didn't decide to handle this independently. He wasn't entirely comfortable working with Scions not from the Bureaucracy. When the man was finished, Huang San headed to the table to see what his assignment would be.

I hope the others in the group are up to the task...

[Ishikar]

Taking a moment to wonder if his comments were really as wise as he'd thought Irend begins to head towards the table. The absurdness of the whole situation really bugged him, to be drawn under uncertain pretenses into a drama with the entire human race at risk was well and beyond his comfort zone. He enjoyed being recognized for his talents but succeed or fail only he and his opponents ever stood to suffer the consequences. Here his failure would have significantly more impact while his success stood to throw him into a world where such pressures were even more common.


Finding his information packet Irend begins to page through it making note of who he'll work with and the basic overview of what needs to be done.
Well, let's see what we have here then we'll look more into the order in which it'd be best to do them.