Musica Mundana: Spiritual Engineering

[PhoeKun]

Western lowers his hand and the Supernal entities come back into focus; the vast machinery stretching out and beyond this small corridor. Then he rolls and flicks his fingers. "Coffee is diverted," he said with a twitch of a smile.

"We agree on enough," said Western. "And I certainly can't do this on my own, so I'm prepared to accept your offer of friendship and alliance. I'm giving you access to your phone back and unrestricted access to my facility and research notes," he rolls his fingers - whenever he's casting any spell he's doing a distinctive roll of his fingers into a fist and back out again, followed by quick, swift motions as though typing on an invisible keyboard.

He opens a door into a large circular lounge room, walls surrounded by computers. His fingers begin twitching, bringing up notes and diagrams on the screens, long rolling verses of annotated text in high speech. The gist from eyeballing it is that this place began to Verge three days ago and he's been collecting as much data as possible since then. "I am an Adept of Forces and Prime, and an Initiate of Spirit and Mind. I hold no allegiance to any of the Awakened Orders. Despite my title, I am not actually a scientist or a programmer; I am actually an ASIS officer," ASIS is the Australian Secret Intelligence Service, a HUMINT foreign intelligence agency like the Australian CIA. "The majority of my work at this place has been laundering stolen IT and robotics technology my agency has obtained from foreign powers so it looks like we invented it independently. As a result, this is not actually a research lab and I do not have a staff of really qualified scientists who can assist you with your work - mostly we're staffed by professional frauds, reverse-engineers, security and intelligence professionals. Before her... change Abigail was also an intelligence agent."

"Ah," said Zero to herself, the satisfied murmur of a question answered.

"Ha, no kidding! Well lucky you guys, I'm a combination scientist/programmer/artist, so I'm perfectly capable of filling this place with actual creative output without much help from anybody. So if you want to be super hands off that's cool, but the extra manpower'd definitely make this easier. I take requests, too! Anyway, anyway, uh, yeah. Formal introductions? Right, yeah. It's only polite! I'm Lily Mason, but you knew that. The uh, um, hm, how did the terms go again? Right, right: Disciple of Matter, Apprentice of Death (gosh that sounds so hardcore!), Initiate of Life, so I guess you outrank me by an embarrassing amount on the ol' magicometer. But I guess if you're a Prime dude you could probably figure that out for yourself, huh? So yeah, that's me. Oh, I'm not in Fight Club, either. All of those orgs are just... eh, never mind. I've got a friend who is crazy into it, but I just never really fit the mold, you know?"

She smiles and gives a tiny shrug.

"I appreciate that you're taking a pretty big risk on me, so thanks for that. Also for not freaking out about the whole... cyber... wolf... Abigail... incident."

[Thanqol]

Keynes, seeing her defend in such a manner, takes a measured approach. He attacks with Space, aiming his bullet so that rather than fly in slow motion against Grimhild's defense, it is fired and then it is already there, striking the final blow.
[roll0]

Missing his strike as the bullet does not quite reach its mark, Keynes speaks as well. "You strike me as a reasonable person, Grimhild. You were very thoughtful to the bystanders and it seems when we're done here, we'll have an opportunity to speak frankly to each other and resolve our misunderstandings." His voice echoes through the stillness, rich and deep as he makes his formal offer. "There need not be bad blood between us, accept your defeat and I'll end the curse I placed upon you."

"I decline," said Grimhild with a smile. "And despite you wielding Time as your Sword, Time is not on your side. This delay is affording my allies opportunities to act and I will drag this out for as long as I can - unless you make me a better offer."

The seconds take physical form and the distance between moments drags further and further apart; a vast clockface in the sky growing ever larger, looping around in on itself.

[Defend: 3 successes]


"Ha, no kidding! Well lucky you guys, I'm a combination scientist/programmer/artist, so I'm perfectly capable of filling this place with actual creative output without much help from anybody. So if you want to be super hands off that's cool, but the extra manpower'd definitely make this easier. I take requests, too! Anyway, anyway, uh, yeah. Formal introductions? Right, yeah. It's only polite! I'm Lily Mason, but you knew that. The uh, um, hm, how did the terms go again? Right, right: Disciple of Matter, Apprentice of Death (gosh that sounds so hardcore!), Initiate of Life, so I guess you outrank me by an embarrassing amount on the ol' magicometer. But I guess if you're a Prime dude you could probably figure that out for yourself, huh? So yeah, that's me. Oh, I'm not in Fight Club, either. All of those orgs are just... eh, never mind. I've got a friend who is crazy into it, but I just never really fit the mold, you know?"

She smiles and gives a tiny shrug.

"I appreciate that you're taking a pretty big risk on me, so thanks for that. Also for not freaking out about the whole... cyber... wolf... Abigail... incident."

"Abigail's change... There is a physical chip in her head which is perfectly resonant with the Forces arcana, similar to the mental network that houses your machine's consciousness - although less secure," said Western, projecting an electrical cross-section of a human brain interspliced with wires onto one of the monitors. It's actually a whole lot worse and more clumsy than your understanding in a lot of ways - it's like a person who's only seen printouts of computer code trying to describe a computer. "It seems placed there specifically to receive transmissions from the Forces Arcana and transmute them into mental impulses. When I said I cancelled the coffee I experimented with sending a desist instruction electrically and it seems to have been followed without hesitation."

He stared at the diagram for a long moment. "I believe we both have access to a vast amount of information the other is unaware of and are in danger of spending the next few hours comparing notes. And while that is indeed a tempting prospect we should put it on pause while further exploring the Supernal phenomena here, lest its time pass. Do you agree, and if so, would you like to propose an experiment or an area of investigation?"

[Thanqol]

It's a beautiful morning in Bangaroo (http://barangaroo.sydney/about/barangaroo-reserve/). Compass, you're looking at it from a nearby cafe, drinking wonderful coffee and observing the flow of magic. You're here to meet Thule and discuss his plans for the park.

When they started building the great monstrosity of the Crown Casino they opted to put in a nearby park to drive up the property values and fob off some complaints at a massive new skyscraper going up on the waterline. You thought at the time that it was absolutely no good for Sydney's feng shui but you're here now and it's even worse in person.

Firstly, it's a park designed without humans in mind. There are scarce few places to sit. There is nowhere to be in the shade. It's small and closed off. The colours are unnatural, the lines are winding, and the staircases are built at inconvenient intervals to waste people's time. Most of all, it just isn't beautiful - and when so much of Sydney is beautiful that just really, really hurts by comparison. Here's a map. (http://www.smh.com.au/cqstatic/130dxe/BarangarooReserve_map.jpg)

Perhaps it could be otherwise, you wonder. Maybe it's not a bad piece of architecture overall... maybe it's just a really bad design for a park. This isn't a common place, this is a place for maybe one or two people to be alone - and everyone beyond that feels unwelcome and the park abruptly shows them out.

Secondly, to a magical eye, it's flooded through with Space magic - essentially a big Fraying symbol. Sitting here in the middle of it with Prime Sight active you can get a pretty good impression at the gist of the intention. It's a park magically designed to drive people apart - to send people careening through it before they even notice it's passed by. If it wasn't so poorly hooked into the surrounding ley lines, well - perhaps a city where people connect less? It's hard to tell without seeing the full effect or studying it in much more detail.

But as you're sitting there thinking, three people sit down at a nearby table, guided inexorably by a powerful current of Fate magic. One of them has the hairdo of a man who sincerely wants to bulldoze those breakdancing kids' youth centre. The other one looks like a woman who has her own line of perfumes, shoes, and summer accessories purely because it gives her cold satisfaction to imagine other women trying to be her. And the third one is a bit fat, looks like he's naturally funny and harmless, and is looking around the cafe with an expression like 'can you believe these ass-holes?'

Then they proceed to conduct a grotesque parody of a human conversation.

"I hear the Pentacle has a new leader," said the man who is possibly rich enough to get the fact that he murders hookers to be described as an 'eccentricity'.
"I hear that he is a Master of Mind Magic," said the woman who looks like she's going to go throw up in the bathroom after this out of concern for her figure.
"We, as Seers of the Throne, should have a plan to kill the head of the Pentacle," said the man, "this is an ordinary plan that we should have in place as good Seers."
"But how do you kill a Master of Mind Magic?" asked the woman a little bit more loudly than normal.
"It is simple. Firstly, it is impossible to attempt to kill him because your own mind will betray you and sabotage the attempt."
"That does not sound simple to me."
"That just means you need to kill him unknowingly, mechanistically, and at a distance. Say, through a time bomb. Made by someone you don't know."
"That simple?"
"Yes. Now we should go because we have important Seer business to attend to."

The man and the woman stand up, lovelessly lock arms, and walk out of the cafe. The fat guy presses his face to his palms and shakes his head because otherwise his eyes might roll back so far they'd pop from their sockets. With a snap of his fingers he dismisses the Fate spell, but as he's looking around the cafe he doesn't pick you out.

It turns out that one of the greatest advantages of being an Initiate of Prime is that you know whenever anyone else around you is casting spells, but the reverse isn't always true. What do you do?

[Anarion]

"I decline," said Grimhild with a smile. "And despite you wielding Time as your Sword, Time is not on your side. This delay is affording my allies opportunities to act and I will drag this out for as long as I can - unless you make me a better offer."

The seconds take physical form and the distance between moments drags further and further apart; a vast clockface in the sky growing ever larger, looping around in on itself.

[Defend: 3 successes]


Keynes sighs. She would pick this moment to find her focus and draw this out. He tries another attack. It is perhaps half-hearted, but still dedicated, focused. This time he aims with fate, still saving the sword of time. He fires the bullet with his eyes closed, letting the magic place it so that it will find its way just so through her spell.

[roll0]
10 again is a 3.

Keynes feels the bullet slowing. Her defense is too strong for him to break this way. He slumps, and his long black hair covers his face as he speaks. "You wish a better offer. You've just told me that rather than treating this duel as a fair, reasonable way to resolve our disagreement, you've used it as a device to deceive me and stall for your allies. Fine. Here is my offer. If you surrender now, I won't kill you tonight."

[Thanqol]

Keynes sighs. She would pick this moment to find her focus and draw this out. He tries another attack. It is perhaps half-hearted, but still dedicated, focused. This time he aims with fate, still saving the sword of time. He fires the bullet with his eyes closed, letting the magic place it so that it will find its way just so through her spell.

[roll0]
10 again is a 3.

Keynes feels the bullet slowing. Her defense is too strong for him to break this way. He slumps, and his long black hair covers his face as he speaks. "You wish a better offer. You've just told me that rather than treating this duel as a fair, reasonable way to resolve our disagreement, you've used it as a device to deceive me and stall for your allies. Fine. Here is my offer. If you surrender now, I won't kill you tonight."

Grimhild lights up. Her entire body fills with a new sense of will and purpose and she is all of a sudden happier and more fervent than anyone you've ever seen. You're looking into the eyes of a fanatic who just got asked about her favourite topic. "Do you feel that emotion? The sense of hate? The injustice of it? The fact that you have been wronged? That I have dishonoured you?" She shines with Purpose. "That is the very same Truth that set all these events in motion. That is a raw fact of the cosmos, and the longer you explore its depths the more and more Truth you will find there. And yet, you respond to this trespass against your very soul with an escalation into your own darkness and it exhausts you, weakens you, breaks you. Yield, and I will reveal to you the true path."

[Defend: Another 3 successes]

[Anarion]

Grimhild lights up. Her entire body fills with a new sense of will and purpose and she is all of a sudden happier and more fervent than anyone you've ever seen. You're looking into the eyes of a fanatic who just got asked about her favourite topic. "Do you feel that emotion? The sense of hate? The injustice of it? The fact that you have been wronged? That I have dishonoured you?" She shines with Purpose. "That is the very same Truth that set all these events in motion. That is a raw fact of the cosmos, and the longer you explore its depths the more and more Truth you will find there. And yet, you respond to this trespass against your very soul with an escalation into your own darkness and it exhausts you, weakens you, breaks you. Yield, and I will reveal to you the true path."

[Defend: Another 3 successes]

Keynes keeps his head down and sits, crossing his legs in meditation, the hermit in the middle of the desert as the world stretches out around him. And he waits. [Defend, roll irrelevant]

As he waits, he speaks. "I will pass on your offer madam. You have misunderstood me. If you'd like to know how you have misunderstood, then you can surrender, otherwise we shall wait."

[Raz_Fox]

It's a beautiful morning in Bangaroo (http://barangaroo.sydney/about/barangaroo-reserve/). Compass, you're looking at it from a nearby cafe, drinking wonderful coffee and observing the flow of magic. You're here to meet Thule and discuss his plans for the park.

Gabriella Jalloh is an observer, a spirit on the waters, running the syllables of scripture over her teeth inaudibly while watching the arcs and jagged ellipses of the flow of magic. (Vengeance is mine, and recompense, for the time when their foot shall slip; for the day of their calamity is at hand...) Inside her, the Artist takes quiet notes on the irony of that phrasing, and sketches pictures of passer-by, jotting down her thoughts of what their lives might be. Coffeesmoke rises up, Heat spilling off the surface tension, worming its way up through her palms and into her body. Her hair, a dark tangle pulled back into a loose tail; her shoes, sleek and black enough to swallow a sun; her eyes, catching eddies in the world no one else could see.


When they started building the great monstrosity of the Crown Casino they opted to put in a nearby park to drive up the property values and fob off some complaints at a massive new skyscraper going up on the waterline. You thought at the time that it was absolutely no good for Sydney's feng shui but you're here now and it's even worse in person.

Have you ever heard a first-grader trying to play classical music on a recorder?

This park is the geomantic equivalent of that.


But as you're sitting there thinking, three people sit down at a nearby table, guided inexorably by a powerful current of Fate magic. One of them has the hairdo of a man who sincerely wants to bulldoze those breakdancing kids' youth centre. The other one looks like a woman who has her own line of perfumes, shoes, and summer accessories purely because it gives her cold satisfaction to imagine other women trying to be her. And the third one is a bit fat, looks like he's naturally funny and harmless, and is looking around the cafe with an expression like 'can you believe these ass-holes?'

Then they proceed to conduct a grotesque parody of a human conversation.

"I hear the Pentacle has a new leader," said the man who is possibly rich enough to get the fact that he murders hookers to be described as an 'eccentricity'.
"I hear that he is a Master of Mind Magic," said the woman who looks like she's going to go throw up in the bathroom after this out of concern for her figure.
"We, as Seers of the Throne, should have a plan to kill the head of the Pentacle," said the man, "this is an ordinary plan that we should have in place as good Seers."
"But how do you kill a Master of Mind Magic?" asked the woman a little bit more loudly than normal.
"It is simple. Firstly, it is impossible to attempt to kill him because your own mind will betray you and sabotage the attempt."
"That does not sound simple to me."
"That just means you need to kill him unknowingly, mechanistically, and at a distance. Say, through a time bomb. Made by someone you don't know."
"That simple?"
"Yes. Now we should go because we have important Seer business to attend to."

The man and the woman stand up, lovelessly lock arms, and walk out of the cafe. The fat guy presses his face to his palms and shakes his head because otherwise his eyes might roll back so far they'd pop from their sockets. With a snap of his fingers he dismisses the Fate spell, but as he's looking around the cafe he doesn't pick you out.

It turns out that one of the greatest advantages of being an Initiate of Prime is that you know whenever anyone else around you is casting spells, but the reverse isn't always true. What do you do?

Firstly, Compass- Compass now, the Artist might note, a shift from being part of the world and an observer of invisible secrets to an active participant in Heaven's game- wants to know what, exactly, what sort of spell that was, what many-thorned ribbon winding around their throats, as the method will cast light upon the motive.

Possible motives: a desire to have the two Seers honestly provide their opinions on Damien Thule, while this third mage providentially overheard? Possible. A clumsy sort of magician, not as good as Keynes, but there's effort there. Or an attempt to bring Thule's monsters of the ego down on those two particular individuals. Not for her benefit: the magician doesn't know she's there.

Second thoughts: who is this man, is he familiar, and what song plays around him?

[Thanqol]

Keynes keeps his head down and sits, crossing his legs in meditation, the hermit in the middle of the desert as the world stretches out around him. And he waits. [Defend, roll irrelevant]

As he waits, he speaks. "I will pass on your offer madam. You have misunderstood me. If you'd like to know how you have misunderstood, then you can surrender, otherwise we shall wait."

Grimhild frowns a little, but sits as well. She's going to wait about five minutes before she next acts; do you do anything before then?


Firstly, Compass- Compass now, the Artist might note, a shift from being part of the world and an observer of invisible secrets to an active participant in Heaven's game- wants to know what, exactly, what sort of spell that was, what many-thorned ribbon winding around their throats, as the method will cast light upon the motive.

Possible motives: a desire to have the two Seers honestly provide their opinions on Damien Thule, while this third mage providentially overheard? Possible. A clumsy sort of magician, not as good as Keynes, but there's effort there. Or an attempt to bring Thule's monsters of the ego down on those two particular individuals. Not for her benefit: the magician doesn't know she's there.

Second thoughts: who is this man, is he familiar, and what song plays around him?

It takes you a long and odd moment to realize but you've actually got it backwards. The fat Mage wasn't overhearing. He was making sure you overheard (not you specifically - his spell seems to be targeted at 'Pentacle Mages Who Hate Thule'). The two Seers with him weren't under the effect of a spell - that variable was controlled, everything they did was natural (which in itself is a little concerning).

This isn't an act of espionage. This is a deliberate leak to the opposition. The mage has no idea who he just leaked to, though, so he's hanging around here seeing if anyone approaches him or if anyone obviously flinches and reacts.

As to the man himself - the music that beats in his heart is Put The Lime In The Coconut by Harry Nilsson. It's an odd one; concerned with food, drink, health, organic things, and a queasy undercurrent of sickness and argument - a little goofy but growing more and more intense as time goes on.

[Raz_Fox]

Compass has a certain- let's call it antipathy. Antipathy directed towards the Seers. Perhaps a bit simplistic, some might say: observe, for example, her reaction to the fact that the magician who invaded her head on a whim was a Seer was panic and a wish for him to come to violence. They're not Abyss-worshipers, but they're not too far above those sort. If she goes over and explains the situation - hello, my name is Compass, also, I'm meeting with Thule in 15 minutes despite my intense dislike for him so there's a good chance your face and plan will be plucked right out of my head like an egg from a nest - who's to say the Seers won't try to eliminate the variable in a quiet way to avoid it blowing up in their faces?

Besides. Ajax's rebuke is still fresh on her mind. This isn't her place to make a strike yet. Instead, she decides to step to the restroom and check her makeup, and by check her makeup, we mean "place basic safeguards on her soul so she can look at Thule without her ego shriveling into submissive dust, using the gathered essences of this bathroom as a place of privacy and vulnerability."

Casting a Shielding spell of the Prime Arcanum, Wards and Signs, using her glasses as the Mirror tool for a dice pool of 5. 2 Reach: one to shift to Advanced Duration, one to shift the Primary Spell Factor to Potency, which means she'll have it at Potency 3: not a lot against Thule, I assume, but an attempt nonetheless.

[roll0]

Any spell cast on Compass is Withstood at Potency 3 for the next scene.

[Thanqol]

Compass has a certain- let's call it antipathy. Antipathy directed towards the Seers. Perhaps a bit simplistic, some might say: observe, for example, her reaction to the fact that the magician who invaded her head on a whim was a Seer was panic and a wish for him to come to violence. They're not Abyss-worshipers, but they're not too far above those sort. If she goes over and explains the situation - hello, my name is Compass, also, I'm meeting with Thule in 15 minutes despite my intense dislike for him so there's a good chance your face and plan will be plucked right out of my head like an egg from a nest - who's to say the Seers won't try to eliminate the variable in a quiet way to avoid it blowing up in their faces?

Besides. Ajax's rebuke is still fresh on her mind. This isn't her place to make a strike yet. Instead, she decides to step to the restroom and check her makeup, and by check her makeup, we mean "place basic safeguards on her soul so she can look at Thule without her ego shriveling into submissive dust, using the gathered essences of this bathroom as a place of privacy and vulnerability."

Casting a Shielding spell of the Prime Arcanum, Wards and Signs, using her glasses as the Mirror tool for a dice pool of 5. 2 Reach: one to shift to Advanced Duration, one to shift the Primary Spell Factor to Potency, which means she'll have it at Potency 3: not a lot against Thule, I assume, but an attempt nonetheless.

[roll0]

Any spell cast on Compass is Withstood at Potency 3 for the next scene.

When you step out of the bathroom the only change is that you can see your old friend, James Sailor, sitting in the café, looking a little lost. He's wearing a bright white T-Shirt that reads:


FIX THE PARK PLEASE
= )

[PhoeKun]

"Abigail's change... There is a physical chip in her head which is perfectly resonant with the Forces arcana, similar to the mental network that houses your machine's consciousness - although less secure," said Western, projecting an electrical cross-section of a human brain interspliced with wires onto one of the monitors. It's actually a whole lot worse and more clumsy than your understanding in a lot of ways - it's like a person who's only seen printouts of computer code trying to describe a computer. "It seems placed there specifically to receive transmissions from the Forces Arcana and transmute them into mental impulses. When I said I cancelled the coffee I experimented with sending a desist instruction electrically and it seems to have been followed without hesitation."

He stared at the diagram for a long moment. "I believe we both have access to a vast amount of information the other is unaware of and are in danger of spending the next few hours comparing notes. And while that is indeed a tempting prospect we should put it on pause while further exploring the Supernal phenomena here, lest its time pass. Do you agree, and if so, would you like to propose an experiment or an area of investigation?"

Lily purses her lips for a moment and looks back and forth between the, erm, 'diagram', and Zero, chewing on her thumb in a display of equal parts contemplation and bad habits. After a long moment, she sighs and reaches into her purse, pulling out a pencil and a scrap of paper. In another moment, she's drawn an unnecessarily realistic thumbs-up and thumbs-down. She pushes them toward Zero while she talks.

"Your server room, your data center, any kind of machining tools you've got on sight. The event's going to target 'areas of interest', it should mostly be trying to establish ideal connections between certain concepts and connections to, uh... not really sure how to put this... erm. Eh. It'd take too long to explain. The point is, I've been tracking this phenomenon across town and it seems intent on creating a verge here dedicated to, if I had to guess, Matter and some combination of Death or maybe Forces. A place to change the world with machines. So if I focus my attention in the areas of the building with the highest sympathies toward those goals, it'll probably forge the link a lot better and faster...er. Incidentally, before we do anything you should send the rest of your, ah, employees home because... well, you're not stupid, you've done the math already."

She swallows, and glances at Zero again. With the thumbs-up, she'll set this plan in motion. With the thumbs-down, she'll painfully tear herself away from this place and dedicate her time instead to continuing Zero's education.

[Anarion]

Grimhild frowns a little, but sits as well. She's going to wait about five minutes before she next acts; do you do anything before then?


If she doesn't act, I'll attack her and end the duel. Defense is per round, is it not?

[Thanqol]

Lily purses her lips for a moment and looks back and forth between the, erm, 'diagram', and Zero, chewing on her thumb in a display of equal parts contemplation and bad habits. After a long moment, she sighs and reaches into her purse, pulling out a pencil and a scrap of paper. In another moment, she's drawn an unnecessarily realistic thumbs-up and thumbs-down. She pushes them toward Zero while she talks.

"Your server room, your data center, any kind of machining tools you've got on sight. The event's going to target 'areas of interest', it should mostly be trying to establish ideal connections between certain concepts and connections to, uh... not really sure how to put this... erm. Eh. It'd take too long to explain. The point is, I've been tracking this phenomenon across town and it seems intent on creating a verge here dedicated to, if I had to guess, Matter and some combination of Death or maybe Forces. A place to change the world with machines. So if I focus my attention in the areas of the building with the highest sympathies toward those goals, it'll probably forge the link a lot better and faster...er. Incidentally, before we do anything you should send the rest of your, ah, employees home because... well, you're not stupid, you've done the math already."

She swallows, and glances at Zero again. With the thumbs-up, she'll set this plan in motion. With the thumbs-down, she'll painfully tear herself away from this place and dedicate her time instead to continuing Zero's education.

Zero hesitates, but hands back the thumbs up.

"Certainly, I'll clear the building," said Western.

No other Supernal entities choose to make themselves manifest tonight, though many are watching with curiosity. Instead, you and Western spend the small hours of the morning dedicating and solidifying the Verge. You successfully create several anchor points to the building and take a little of the full burden of decision from your own shoulders. Western Robotics has developed a little extra resilience, the connection is less fragile. The connection is now at least self-sustaining and won't be snuffed out by you leaving. During this process you and Western talk and share notes and establish a shared vocabulary for discussing magic - always a bit of a process.

Western's perspective is that Zero's mind is an intricate latticework of Forces magic that has sufficient complexity to safely house an intellect ruled by the Mind arcana. The physical Forces aspect just creates the box for the Mind, much like an organic brain does with Life - and while he can replicate the box with a spell he wouldn't be able to mentally clone Zero any more than cloning a human brain would result in the exact same person. He also believes that the central server room is drawing by far the most Supernal resonance right now but you think he's totally wrong and it's the radar dishes on the roof that are really important. Neither are going to manifest quite yet though; perhaps they need time, or a push of some sort.

By the time you're done dawn is threatening the horizon and you're both feeling pretty exhausted but very successful. As hard as it is to stop exploring the strange new rules of magic in this place you're getting to the stage where you'll start making mistakes if you push on (and you don't have enough Mind and Life between you to ignore the demand for sleep).

Curiously, Zero shows signs of fatigue as well, and Western comments on as such. Despite her body being enduring steel her mind is becoming fatigued with all the new information she's taken in today and an interesting (if minor in comparison to all the others) scientific discovery is that even inhuman intellects will feel the need for rest.


If she doesn't act, I'll attack her and end the duel. Defense is per round, is it not?

Yes. Feel free to roll out her defense pool of 7 against yours until there's a victor, and tell me how many rounds it took.

[Anarion]

Yes. Feel free to roll out her defense pool of 7 against yours until there's a victor, and tell me how many rounds it took.

Keynes sits and waits patiently. Time seems to stretch into perfect stillness, the moon barely moving overhead. His eyes are on Grimhild, watching, knowing the perfect moment will present itself. Presently, she coughs. A dry throat perhaps, a need for the body to unsettle the stillness. And in that moment, his gun is already in his hand, the bullet is already in the air, and the dueling arena shatters around them as it pierces her heart.

[Actually knowing how the rules work, namely that if he fails at all, he can't open that door without negotiating, he'd wait until she got no successes at all to attack. That took 4 rounds, at which point he rolled 2 successes and won the duel.]

[Raz_Fox]

Immediate concern, apprehension; a flat note in the song. Appropriate for the park, that it would draw him to her. The self-satisfied purring of the Artist like a trickle down the back of her neck. Possible that Damien sent him, given that he came up during their conversation, but for what purpose? To see her under stress? To see her act like a professional around someone who once murdered-

Take a moment. Center yourself, she says to herself, even as the cafe narrows down to a lance between them. Possible that he's changed. Not just the same James Sailor, still stuck in high school, before he ruined his life. Okay. Give him grace enough to prove you wrong, don't overreact.

She walks over, poised, a lioness. She cracks a smile that doesn't show any of her apprehension: instead, her hope for what the conversation will be. Her hope that some people change, given time and trust. "I like the shirt," she says. "Where'd you get it?"

[PhoeKun]

10:45 AM. A tangled sheet finally slides off the bed, revealing a pair of sky-blue pajamas and the now barely conscious woman who inhabits them (with the lower half of her shirt scandalously unbuttoned and splayed on either side of her midriff). Her hand blindly reaches out for the pile of junk to her right vaguely shaped like a table. It finds a phone. The room fills with its first sounds of the day.

"10:46? Uggggghhhhhhhh"

10:50 AM. Lily finally sits up. In the time it takes her to hit vertical her matted, greasy blonde hair has cleaned, conditioned, and brushed itself. Her bangs fall in front of her right eye, and she brushes them to one side in irritation. Thoughtlessly, she peels off her shirt and pants and tosses them onto the bed behind her as she stumbles across the room to her closet.

10:52 AM. She finally notices the pair of shining, diamond eyes staring at her, and jumps straight out of the khaki capri pants she was halfway through pulling on.

"Holy fudge I forgot you were here. I, uh, woo. Wow. This is gonna take some getting uses to. Guess I don't need coff... hahaha, who am I kidding I am going to die. Bluh. Did you, uh, sleep ok? What was it like?"

She blinks, and returns to dressing herself. The pants come first, then socks. A maroon t-shirt with a twisting rose design emblazoned across the front of it and a series of glittering rhinestones glued around the edges of the petals. A white cargo vest that she zips up over top of that. Black surplus combat boots. Very business casual, very cool. Yeah. Totally. She reaches into her purse, pulls out a makeup case. Foundation, a small amount of blush, dark blue eye shadow, some liner, and a coat of light pink lipstick. Closes the case with a tiny 'clack', glances at her phone, then turns to look properly into Zero's eyes again.

"I'm supposed to be meeting a friend in like... actually I'm already late, but oh well. I think I'm supposed to review and advise about some building designs? Except it's probably all got a lot to do with a pretty major messing with the local leylines and that bridge I wanted you to see with me last night which happens to have some kind of angry god stuck inside of it which was dumping all kinds of energy into the bay before I fixed it. Oh, and at some point today I might need to double check on the status of a murderous ghost in a super mega haunted creepy theme park and... wow, I was busy yester," her thought is interrupted by a long yawn, "day. The point being, I'm going to be up to some weird stuff today and you're welcome to tag along but if that doesn't sound your speed then I'm going to have to ask you to stay here for today. I'm not sure that you and the world are quite ready for each other without a mediator just yet.

But anyway decide quickly because I'm late as it is and I still need to swing by a Starbucks if I'm going to be any good to anybody today." She smiles warmly.

11:05 AM. Lily Mason exits her home. Primary mission: acquire a cinnamon-mocha latte. Secondary mission: meet with Compass at the park she's supposed to be hanging around today.

...Tertiary mission: acquire a second, apology coffee to make up for being late.

[Thanqol]

Keynes sits and waits patiently. Time seems to stretch into perfect stillness, the moon barely moving overhead. His eyes are on Grimhild, watching, knowing the perfect moment will present itself. Presently, she coughs. A dry throat perhaps, a need for the body to unsettle the stillness. And in that moment, his gun is already in his hand, the bullet is already in the air, and the dueling arena shatters around them as it pierces her heart.

[Actually knowing how the rules work, namely that if he fails at all, he can't open that door without negotiating, he'd wait until she got no successes at all to attack. That took 4 rounds, at which point he rolled 2 successes and won the duel.]

The second the duel breaks and Grimhild loses eye contact with you, someone in the crowd grabs her and pulls her out of sight. You have a dot of Space so you can realize that there's a Space Weaving spell going up to turn any attempt to get through that crowd into a total slog. You could try and counter it but we're rapidly reaching the point where this becomes unwise - you're up against at least two mages, three if the tattooed guy is also a mage, and four depending on what Brunhild decides to do if she's even still around. This is definitely a situation calling for discretion.

After a minute, you sense the various Time magic around the area abruptly disappear and you receive a phone call from Grimhild. She's terse and to the point, much calmer than she was recently, almost rehearsed - you suspect either she took a drug or a Mind spell.

"My plan for Brunhild," said Grimhild, "was to engineer a misunderstanding. I wanted to break down lines of communication between you and her and then goad you into aggressive action. Brunhild is currently in a romantic relationship with one of my cabal members and I wanted to make it seem like the Guardians were endangering that relationship so as to drive a wedge between you. Ideally the Guardians would attempt to kill her for being a defector and she would be rescued by the Arrow.

"My cabal, the Grail Knights, consists of a Ladder Mastigos named Percival, Space specialist, an Arrow Obrimos named Ikarus, Forces specialist, and a Mysterium Thyrsus named Weaver Of Chitin, Life specialist. You may select the day you wish to meet with Brunhild as you choose." Empathy 4: The terms of the duel said specifically that she could only speak for herself, not her cabal on that topic, but the fact that she's not pushing that and that she sounds super controlled right now implies to you a difference of opinion somewhere on their end.

Time and Fate Sight both indicate that this situation is relatively under control now - the key fact that Fate tells you is that your opponent is disunited so they're not going to pose much of a threat until they work all that out. You've got a free hand with the evening and to think through your next approach.


Immediate concern, apprehension; a flat note in the song. Appropriate for the park, that it would draw him to her. The self-satisfied purring of the Artist like a trickle down the back of her neck. Possible that Damien sent him, given that he came up during their conversation, but for what purpose? To see her under stress? To see her act like a professional around someone who once murdered-

Take a moment. Center yourself, she says to herself, even as the cafe narrows down to a lance between them. Possible that he's changed. Not just the same James Sailor, still stuck in high school, before he ruined his life. Okay. Give him grace enough to prove you wrong, don't overreact.

She walks over, poised, a lioness. She cracks a smile that doesn't show any of her apprehension: instead, her hope for what the conversation will be. Her hope that some people change, given time and trust. "I like the shirt," she says. "Where'd you get it?"

"Hey, Compass?" said the Artist brightly, sitting down next to you. "Just so you know, if I were in charge of this creepy message I'd give it even odds if I turned him into an actual serial killer. So watch out for that."

"Oh, hey Gabby!" said James with that perfect quarterback grin. "There's a store over there selling 'em and I figured, why not? Oh look, that lady has one too!" he points out someone with a lot of piercings who is perhaps wearing it on the assumption that it is a shirt protesting something about the park (and to be fair, a lot of Sleepers don't like the park either). "Hey, so, how you doing? Long time!"


10:52 AM. She finally notices the pair of shining, diamond eyes staring at her, and jumps straight out of the khaki capri pants she was halfway through pulling on.

"Holy fudge I forgot you were here. I, uh, woo. Wow. This is gonna take some getting uses to. Guess I don't need coff... hahaha, who am I kidding I am going to die. Bluh. Did you, uh, sleep ok? What was it like?"

"I didn't like it," said Zero, sketching an angry face and holding it up. "I tried lying down but I had to use a knockback frame for that which was really awkward, so then I just stood up staring at the wall all night like a creeper. And I had a bunch of interesting ideas but I can't remember them now which is very frustrating, even though in the dream I made a point of writing them down. And I think I had an argument that I can't remember and now I'm angry and I don't know why. But I know I was right."


"I'm supposed to be meeting a friend in like... actually I'm already late, but oh well. I think I'm supposed to review and advise about some building designs? Except it's probably all got a lot to do with a pretty major messing with the local leylines and that bridge I wanted you to see with me last night which happens to have some kind of angry god stuck inside of it which was dumping all kinds of energy into the bay before I fixed it. Oh, and at some point today I might need to double check on the status of a murderous ghost in a super mega haunted creepy theme park and... wow, I was busy yester," her thought is interrupted by a long yawn, "day. The point being, I'm going to be up to some weird stuff today and you're welcome to tag along but if that doesn't sound your speed then I'm going to have to ask you to stay here for today. I'm not sure that you and the world are quite ready for each other without a mediator just yet.

But anyway decide quickly because I'm late as it is and I still need to swing by a Starbucks if I'm going to be any good to anybody today." She smiles warmly.

"Mother," said Zero. "Do you think you are capable of building a robot who would not be interested in hanging out with angry gods and haunted theme parks?"


11:05 AM. Lily Mason exits her home. Primary mission: acquire a cinnamon-mocha latte. Secondary mission: meet with Compass at the park she's supposed to be hanging around today.

...Tertiary mission: acquire a second, apology coffee to make up for being late.

You may arrive whenever convenient.

[Raz_Fox]

"Hey, Compass?" said the Artist brightly, sitting down next to you. "Just so you know, if I were in charge of this creepy message I'd give it even odds if I turned him into an actual serial killer. So watch out for that."

"Oh, hey Gabby!" said James with that perfect quarterback grin. "There's a store over there selling 'em and I figured, why not? Oh look, that lady has one too!" he points out someone with a lot of piercings who is perhaps wearing it on the assumption that it is a shirt protesting something about the park (and to be fair, a lot of Sleepers don't like the park either). "Hey, so, how you doing? Long time!"

"I've been better, I've been worse," Gabriella says, noncommittally, but with a bit of levity in the words. If James Sailor is a serial killer now- because of Damien Thule, most likely, pushing him- well, then politeness would avoid a scene, and if he's just an innocent wrapped up in Wizard Politics, courtesy doesn't hurt. And he seems to have forgotten their last meeting already, which is unfortunate.

"I'm doing some landscape design work on the park, actually. Trying to figure out how to streamline the experience. Look," she says, pulling out a pen and beginning to sketch on a napkin. "The park's too small for an immersive experience, not with this much volume- and look how the entrance here invites an overabundance of flow? Causes clogging or, more likely, people leaving as soon as they arrive, seeing as there's nothing to do here. No shade, nowhere to sit, it's most likely committee-designed and it fails at everything it wants to do."

"Speaking of which," she says, pen still scraping away on the napkin, "how are you doing? Well, I hope."

[Anarion]

The second the duel breaks and Grimhild loses eye contact with you, someone in the crowd grabs her and pulls her out of sight. You have a dot of Space so you can realize that there's a Space Weaving spell going up to turn any attempt to get through that crowd into a total slog. You could try and counter it but we're rapidly reaching the point where this becomes unwise - you're up against at least two mages, three if the tattooed guy is also a mage, and four depending on what Brunhild decides to do if she's even still around. This is definitely a situation calling for discretion.

After a minute, you sense the various Time magic around the area abruptly disappear and you receive a phone call from Grimhild. She's terse and to the point, much calmer than she was recently, almost rehearsed - you suspect either she took a drug or a Mind spell.

"My plan for Brunhild," said Grimhild, "was to engineer a misunderstanding. I wanted to break down lines of communication between you and her and then goad you into aggressive action. Brunhild is currently in a romantic relationship with one of my cabal members and I wanted to make it seem like the Guardians were endangering that relationship so as to drive a wedge between you. Ideally the Guardians would attempt to kill her for being a defector and she would be rescued by the Arrow.

"My cabal, the Grail Knights, consists of a Ladder Mastigos named Percival, Space specialist, an Arrow Obrimos named Ikarus, Forces specialist, and a Mysterium Thyrsus named Weaver Of Chitin, Life specialist. You may select the day you wish to meet with Brunhild as you choose." Empathy 4: The terms of the duel said specifically that she could only speak for herself, not her cabal on that topic, but the fact that she's not pushing that and that she sounds super controlled right now implies to you a difference of opinion somewhere on their end.

Time and Fate Sight both indicate that this situation is relatively under control now - the key fact that Fate tells you is that your opponent is disunited so they're not going to pose much of a threat until they work all that out. You've got a free hand with the evening and to think through your next approach.


"Thank you, that's quite cordial. I shall alert Brunhild that I wish to meet with her for a chat tomorrow afternoon around teatime. I'll text this number to reschedule if she has a conflict. Per my end of the bargain, you may be interested to know that a Guardian compatriot of mine with some divination skills of his own approached me with concerns about Brunhild. He goes by the name of Zeus and he possessed a not inconsiderable amount of Brunhild's hair, which allowed me to divine adequately to find your connection to her. I would not be entirely surprised if he possessed hair from you or others of your cabal as well."

He then sends a short message to Brunhild, though with a bit of his usual flair. "Previous phone call was tampered with. Meet tomorrow afternoon ~2:00 for high tea at the Tea Cozy near the harbor to clear up misunderstanding? Meeting will consist only of tea, conversation, and possible cakes, on my honor as a gentleman. Please confirm."

[Thanqol]

"I've been better, I've been worse," Gabriella says, noncommittally, but with a bit of levity in the words. If James Sailor is a serial killer now- because of Damien Thule, most likely, pushing him- well, then politeness would avoid a scene, and if he's just an innocent wrapped up in Wizard Politics, courtesy doesn't hurt. And he seems to have forgotten their last meeting already, which is unfortunate.

"I'm doing some landscape design work on the park, actually. Trying to figure out how to streamline the experience. Look," she says, pulling out a pen and beginning to sketch on a napkin. "The park's too small for an immersive experience, not with this much volume- and look how the entrance here invites an overabundance of flow? Causes clogging or, more likely, people leaving as soon as they arrive, seeing as there's nothing to do here. No shade, nowhere to sit, it's most likely committee-designed and it fails at everything it wants to do."

"Speaking of which," she says, pen still scraping away on the napkin, "how are you doing? Well, I hope."

"Oh, yeah, I'm awesome," said James, clearly not exactly following your buzzwords at all. "In fact, I'm organizing this year's reunion, how cool is that? I'm thinking the theme is monster movies - head up to a cabin in the woods, drink a bunch and catch up about old times, yeah? Oh, yeah, do you have mail? Like, paper mail? I sent around a bunch of surveys yesterday in the paper mail to give it a more personal touch than a bunch of FaceBook," he still capitalized both words, "messages. You know, old fashioned, and stops people from campaigning like they did last year - and while that got people into the spirit I'd kinda like to know what people really think, you know?"


"Thank you, that's quite cordial. I shall alert Brunhild that I wish to meet with her for a chat tomorrow afternoon around teatime. I'll text this number to reschedule if she has a conflict. Per my end of the bargain, you may be interested to know that a Guardian compatriot of mine with some divination skills of his own approached me with concerns about Brunhild. He goes by the name of Zeus and he possessed a not inconsiderable amount of Brunhild's hair, which allowed me to divine adequately to find your connection to her. I would not be entirely surprised if he possessed hair from you or others of your cabal as well."

He then sends a short message to Brunhild, though with a bit of his usual flair. "Previous phone call was tampered with. Meet tomorrow afternoon ~2:00 for high tea at the Tea Cozy near the harbor to clear up misunderstanding? Meeting will consist only of tea, conversation, and possible cakes, on my honor as a gentleman. Please confirm."

> Will consider it.
> Depending on my backup sniper's availability.
> ...
> I can joke about that but you shouldn't FYI. Phone tried to report me.
> Little %&*$ers are getting smarter all the time.
> ...
> DID YOU JUST CENSOR ME
> I AM A POWERFUL WIZARD I CAN CUSS ALL I WANT
> brb updating software

Sounds like a date?

[Raz_Fox]

"Oh, yeah, I'm awesome," said James, clearly not exactly following your buzzwords at all. "In fact, I'm organizing this year's reunion, how cool is that? I'm thinking the theme is monster movies - head up to a cabin in the woods, drink a bunch and catch up about old times, yeah? Oh, yeah, do you have mail? Like, paper mail? I sent around a bunch of surveys yesterday in the paper mail to give it a more personal touch than a bunch of FaceBook," he still capitalized both words, "messages. You know, old fashioned, and stops people from campaigning like they did last year - and while that got people into the spirit I'd kinda like to know what people really think, you know?"

"Well," Gabriella says, absently, "I probably won't be able to make it, but my vote is The Mummy. You know, with Brendan Fraser? Absolute diamond."

How does he feel about that, incidentally? What's in his eyes when she says that she's unlikely to make it, when she elides around his request for personal information?

And when she looks at him with the eyes of heaven, prime sight open, what does she see?

[Anarion]

You may arrive whenever convenient.



Sounds like a date?

Keynes arrives back late and catches a few hours of sleep. He doesn't choose to pry at the moment. Lily is out, Compass is otherwise engaged, so he goes through his normal bedtime routine efficiently. He's up the next morning at dawn. He's no runner like Compass, but he still enjoys the morning air and so he puts on his coat against the chill of the wind and goes out for a walk. He shakes his head as he thinks, his long, dark hair tumbling about, his legs pumping as his long strides carry him through the city blocks.

There had been one thing missing. The simplest question. Why? Alright, Brunhild fell in love with someone from the Arrow. That was permitted, and Zeus' scrying notwithstanding, an error in the Labyrinth hardly required murder to correct. Brunhild just needed a discussion and perhaps a bit of additional training if the only problem was maintaining her particular bit of sleeper mysticism. So why? Why hang everything on the romance to try and break Brunhild away from the Guardians? He supposed he could just call and ask, but he doubted he'd get an answer, assuming the previous number wasn't a temporary phone anyway, which it probably was. Until he knew that answer, he couldn't be entirely sure what this Grail Knights cabal would do either.

He strolled past the water, alone with his thoughts. The bridge was there of course, but his sight wasn't attuned to it to really get anything out of that, though he spared a glance for Time to see if it had been eaten away again the previous night.

With that done, he looped back inland and stopped at Starbucks. For himself, he ordered a piece of banana nut bread and a cup of Earl Grey tea. He also bought two cinnamon-mocha lattes to carry back with him. Lily always seemed to be in need of another, and something told him this would be helpful.

And that brought him all the way back to their sanctum, Keynes standing at the door carrying not one but two lattes as Lily was just stepping out of the sanctum door for the first time. "Top of the morning, Lily" he said conversationally, as he glanced over her shoulder at the robot she had been speaking with inside. "Have you been playing about putting one of those Alexa chips in a robot chassis again?"

[Thanqol]

"Well," Gabriella says, absently, "I probably won't be able to make it, but my vote is The Mummy. You know, with Brendan Fraser? Absolute diamond."

How does he feel about that, incidentally? What's in his eyes when she says that she's unlikely to make it, when she elides around his request for personal information?

And when she looks at him with the eyes of heaven, prime sight open, what does she see?

Give me a wits+empathy roll, no penalties, for his emotional state. Prime tells you that there's a stray whisper of Mind and Space magic around him recently - you could look closer but have no doubt it's Thule's, and it's not an active effect. There's a strange, tiny little tang of magic around his fingertips, as though he had spent time touching something magical - interesting but weak and needing some more extended study. If you have a more specific spell in mind give me a casting roll.

[Raz_Fox]

All right, here's that Wits+Empathy, courtesy of Gabby's quick mind. It's not Lily-level, but it'll do in a pinch.

[roll0]

[Thanqol]

All right, here's that Wits+Empathy, courtesy of Gabby's quick mind. It's not Lily-level, but it'll do in a pinch.

[roll0]

He had a reaction, but it's not the one you were expecting and it's gone before you can unpick it. "Well," he said with a bit of a frown, "that's too bad."

He looks like he's angling to wrap up this conversation before you'll be able to unpick that touch of magic on his fingertips. If you're interested in delaying him for the half hour to hour necessary to unravel it with your Mage Sight then you'll need a roll like manipulation+socialize (add +2 if he's a Facebook friend). Otherwise, the day is yours.

[PhoeKun]

"Mother," said Zero. "Do you think you are capable of building a robot who would not be interested in hanging out with angry gods and haunted theme parks?"

Lily giggles herself straight into a snort, then coughs to try and cover it up. She smiles.

"I did a really great job on you. Well, I can rig something tonight to make you more comfortable, but dreams be screwy things and I don't really understand them any more than you do so I'm afraid to mess with them. Sorry they're frustrating you so far, you'll get used to it I promise."


And that brought him all the way back to their sanctum, Keynes standing at the door carrying not one but two lattes as Lily was just stepping out of the sanctum door for the first time. "Top of the morning, Lily" he said conversationally, as he glanced over her shoulder at the robot she had been speaking with inside. "Have you been playing about putting one of those Alexa chips in a robot chassis again?"

One would think that a mage dedicated to the Matter arcana would be very difficult to catch unawares. You'd be forgiven for imagining somebody in tune with the world around them, who felt the subtle shifts in the air and the vibrations running through the ground that announced the approach of somebody before you could see them. You could also be forgiven for assuming someone like Lily, who wasn't watching where she was going as she opened the door to the outside, might be employing these sorts of techniques.

But those people would of course all be enormously disappointed to see Lily nearly run face first into Keynes and only prevented from knocking the coffee out of his hands by his being vastly more prepared for this than she was. After a mad scramble to regain her balance, she stomps her foot in frustration.

"Jumping... jackrabbits, twice in one morning! Why is everyone exactly where I don't expect them? Argh!" She pauses, blinks, and gingerly accepts a latte when Keynes offers it, "First of all, thank you, you are a sweetheart."

She takes a small sip and sighs.

"Second of all, one time I did that. One time! Third of all, a Big Mouth Billy Bass is not and has never in any reality qualified as a 'robot chassis'. Although I guess technically it is an outer shell for an audio dev-- shut up, stop distracting me! Fourth of all, you giant jerk, the very least you could do is be properly awed when I build an actual functioning gosh darned android, excuse my language. Fifth of all, Key, this is Model Zero. Zero, this is Key whom I love like a brother and want to punch about as badly. Please be nice to each other.

Also sixth of all, please gawk, question, and/or berate me while we walk; Compers asked for my help forever and a half ago, and if I dawdle anymore she is going to be steamed like a lobster, only instead of delicious arthropod there will just be lots of quiet hissing and painfully disappointed looks. And no butter in either case."

[Thanqol]

"Second of all, one time I did that. One time! Third of all, a Big Mouth Billy Bass is not and has never in any reality qualified as a 'robot chassis'. Although I guess technically it is an outer shell for an audio dev-- shut up, stop distracting me! Fourth of all, you giant jerk, the very least you could do is be properly awed when I build an actual functioning gosh darned android, excuse my language. Fifth of all, Key, this is Model Zero. Zero, this is Key whom I love like a brother and want to punch about as badly. Please be nice to each other.

Also sixth of all, please gawk, question, and/or berate me while we walk; Compers asked for my help forever and a half ago, and if I dawdle anymore she is going to be steamed like a lobster, only instead of delicious arthropod there will just be lots of quiet hissing and painfully disappointed looks. And no butter in either case."

"Pleased - To - Meet - You - Sirrrr," said Zero to Keynes, dragging out her monotone to Danger Will Robinson levels. "May - I - Take - Your - Coatttt?"

Keynes, a quick glance at Zero gets you nothing special from Time or Space - relatively new, not many strong connections yet - but Fate gets you an eyeful. There's a lot of capital-D Destiny here; the content is still taking form but the one thing it's very sure of is "I Will Change The World". There's a strong edge of creative destruction to that destiny; it'll burn down old things to make space for its new ones.


As you walk, there's a cool modern art project out the front of a shop that's boarded up for renovations. Essentially, it's a huge wall covered in hundreds of big glowing LEDs in all sorts of colours. A touch of the hand changes the LED's colour. People walking past press the lights as they pass, more determined people or younger children take the time to carve out solid blocks of colour. The result is a democratically determined collage of colours and shapes; today it's mostly white and green with a big smear of red across the side.

This is way more successful than last month's attempt to do a similar thing. Last month's project was a big ol' blackboard with "BEFORE I DIE I WANT TO ..." written at the top and a lot of blank spaces for people to fill in their wishes and goals. The first few days of that were really successful, with people writing inspirational and funny wishes, but after a few days it devolved into obscenities.

In all, it's a lovely walk down through Darling Harbour. You pass the flea market, the beautiful walled Chinese Gardens, the National Maritime Museum with a sleek grey warship and malevolent black submarine at anchor, the colourful Sydney Aquarium, and rows of extremely expensive and stylish private yachts before the brightness of the morning fades and you reach the ugly grey construction sites that lead up to the Bangaroo Park where you're meeting Compass.

[Anarion]

"Second of all, one time I did that. One time! Third of all, a Big Mouth Billy Bass is not and has never in any reality qualified as a 'robot chassis'. Although I guess technically it is an outer shell for an audio dev-- shut up, stop distracting me! Fourth of all, you giant jerk, the very least you could do is be properly awed when I build an actual functioning gosh darned android, excuse my language. Fifth of all, Key, this is Model Zero. Zero, this is Key whom I love like a brother and want to punch about as badly. Please be nice to each other.

Also sixth of all, please gawk, question, and/or berate me while we walk; Compers asked for my help forever and a half ago, and if I dawdle anymore she is going to be steamed like a lobster, only instead of delicious arthropod there will just be lots of quiet hissing and painfully disappointed looks. And no butter in either case."


"Pleased - To - Meet - You - Sirrrr," said Zero to Keynes, dragging out her monotone to Danger Will Robinson levels. "May - I - Take - Your - Coatttt?"

Keynes, a quick glance at Zero gets you nothing special from Time or Space - relatively new, not many strong connections yet - but Fate gets you an eyeful. There's a lot of capital-D Destiny here; the content is still taking form but the one thing it's very sure of is "I Will Change The World". There's a strong edge of creative destruction to that destiny; it'll burn down old things to make space for its new ones.


Keynes' face is perhaps alarmingly serene. Inside, he's a blur of emotions. Lily is speaking and he's looking at Zero and seeing a capital D doom happening. This was a powerful thing, a pure thing, a supernal thing. He wondered if perhaps Lily bringing this meant that she could be...but no, impossible. He took a step forward and before Lily or Zero could react, he had taken the robot's hand in his own large dark one and bowed to that hand, giving it a quick kiss. "Model Zero, it is my very great pleasure to make your acquaintance. For the present, I am at your service, should my assistance be required in any matter." A quick smile that reaches his eyes. "I would prefer to remain wearing my coat, however."

With that he releases the hand, and begins walking in step alongside Lily. "Three questions," he says, holding up three fingers to match. "What? How? and Why?"



As you walk, there's a cool modern art project out the front of a shop that's boarded up for renovations. Essentially, it's a huge wall covered in hundreds of big glowing LEDs in all sorts of colours. A touch of the hand changes the LED's colour. People walking past press the lights as they pass, more determined people or younger children take the time to carve out solid blocks of colour. The result is a democratically determined collage of colours and shapes; today it's mostly white and green with a big smear of red across the side.

This is way more successful than last month's attempt to do a similar thing. Last month's project was a big ol' blackboard with "BEFORE I DIE I WANT TO ..." written at the top and a lot of blank spaces for people to fill in their wishes and goals. The first few days of that were really successful, with people writing inspirational and funny wishes, but after a few days it devolved into obscenities.

In all, it's a lovely walk down through Darling Harbour. You pass the flea market, the beautiful walled Chinese Gardens, the National Maritime Museum with a sleek grey warship and malevolent black submarine at anchor, the colourful Sydney Aquarium, and rows of extremely expensive and stylish private yachts before the brightness of the morning fades and you reach the ugly grey construction sites that lead up to the Bangaroo Park where you're meeting Compass.


Idle curiosity if that LED pattern reflects anything to Mage sight gazing at it. Time and Fate for the moment. Keynes considers adding a thin streak of blue to the wall, should that not result in cataclysm.

[PhoeKun]

Lily sighs dramatically. "I wish one of you would take this as seriously as I do." But the light in her eyes says that it's like her birthday came early.

"No offense Key, but those are really obvious questions. What," she holds up one finger dramatically, "I've already told you. The world's first true android. Diamond lattice skeleton and sensor arrays, silver, aluminium, mercury, all sorts of materials and admixtures comprise the joints and nervous system, create sympathies and provide all sorts of properties. I could go on for hours, but I wrote it down already if you wanna read it later. Super fascinating stuff. Strong, flexible, mobile. Autonomous! She thinks for herself, reasons, learns, even needs to sleep, which surprised everybody involved. Legit, Mind from Matter. Her body's likewise super adaptable, although that's on me to, like, finish working. Sort of... surprised myself with the suddenness and totality of my success. Not that I'm not a genius, obviously, but still I kind of thought this one thing was going to be my life's work, like, just getting this far, and here I am kind of standing on the threshold of totally unexplored science and... it was a hell of a night, alright?

Anyway. Two!" She holds up a second finger with equal flair, but smiles mischievously, "Is a secret. I wizarded my butt off, and basically proved a longstanding theory about the nature of our reality in the process. That's alls I'm sayin' right now. Which leaves..."

She flicks up a third finger, "Why. D'you mean it? Really? Do you expect me to not do these things? Am I supposed to do anything less than fill the world with all the best parts of me before I crumble away into dust? It's me Keynes, please don't insult me. And, uh, if you could do me a favor and remember all this fiery passion and speeches about how I am one hundred percent out to make the world we live in a better place after Compy goes on the war path, I'd really appreciate. I just... you know, it's harder around her. She's so..."

Lily trails off and stares at the LED wall, for want of an end to that sentence and to hide the color rising in her cheeks. If she's being honest, the death wall was cooler even after it descended into maddening obscenities, but this little chance for people to add light and color and art to their lives was kind of cool in its own right. Watching this sort of thing, it was impossible not to love the world and all the people in it, even as they slept and dreamed of things that hurt everyone around them, herself included. Well, she could save them from themselves, she'd gone further down the right track than anybody before her. It was just a question of...

She looks at Zero, taking in the sights, and watches her reactions with a quiet smile on her face.

Her fingers tap idly on her phone, without her bothering to glance at it as she texts:

Compy: Totes almost there
Compy: sorry to be late, counting too many :sheep:
Compy: but have surprises!
Compy: they are :fire: :fire: :fire: :100:
Compy: hang tight!

[Thanqol]

Keynes' face is perhaps alarmingly serene. Inside, he's a blur of emotions. Lily is speaking and he's looking at Zero and seeing a capital D doom happening. This was a powerful thing, a pure thing, a supernal thing. He wondered if perhaps Lily bringing this meant that she could be...but no, impossible. He took a step forward and before Lily or Zero could react, he had taken the robot's hand in his own large dark one and bowed to that hand, giving it a quick kiss. "Model Zero, it is my very great pleasure to make your acquaintance. For the present, I am at your service, should my assistance be required in any matter." A quick smile that reaches his eyes. "I would prefer to remain wearing my coat, however."

"I suddenly understand everything that you said about Key," said Zero after a moment's thought, dropping the act. After another moment she added, "I still want your coat. Give me your coat. Give me your coat or be proved a liar."


Idle curiosity if that LED pattern reflects anything to Mage sight gazing at it. Time and Fate for the moment. Keynes considers adding a thin streak of blue to the wall, should that not result in cataclysm.

Fate indicates that this isn't a device for changing things, it's a device for learning things* - and probably part of a larger set. It is not remotely clear if someone set it up deliberately or if it just happened on its own.

* That said "Divination Engine" has become a Mage euphemism for 'magical superweapon' because of how easily one turns into the other.


Lily sighs dramatically. "I wish one of you would take this as seriously as I do." But the light in her eyes says that it's like her birthday came early.

"Jokes are serious," said Zero. "Jokes are how we tell the difference between humans and robots."

[Anarion]

"I suddenly understand everything that you said about Key," said Zero after a moment's thought, dropping the act. After another moment she added, "I still want your coat. Give me your coat. Give me your coat or be proved a liar."


Keynes shrugs and takes his long coat off, helping Zero put it on in a gentlemanly fashion. "Looks good on you, keep it if you'd like."

Keynes, now wearing just his jeans and a black t-shirt that shows off the dark wiry muscles on his arms, begins walking with Lily.



Fate indicates that this isn't a device for changing things, it's a device for learning things* - and probably part of a larger set. It is not remotely clear if someone set it up deliberately or if it just happened on its own.

* That said "Divination Engine" has become a Mage euphemism for 'magical superweapon' because of how easily one turns into the other.


As they're walking, he runs a hand along the wall and leaves a thin line of blue cutting through the pattern.


Lily sighs dramatically. "I wish one of you would take this as seriously as I do." But the light in her eyes says that it's like her birthday came early.

"No offense Key, but those are really obvious questions. What," she holds up one finger dramatically, "I've already told you. The world's first true android. Diamond lattice skeleton and sensor arrays, silver, aluminium, mercury, all sorts of materials and admixtures comprise the joints and nervous system, create sympathies and provide all sorts of properties. I could go on for hours, but I wrote it down already if you wanna read it later. Super fascinating stuff. Strong, flexible, mobile. Autonomous! She thinks for herself, reasons, learns, even needs to sleep, which surprised everybody involved. Legit, Mind from Matter. Her body's likewise super adaptable, although that's on me to, like, finish working. Sort of... surprised myself with the suddenness and totality of my success. Not that I'm not a genius, obviously, but still I kind of thought this one thing was going to be my life's work, like, just getting this far, and here I am kind of standing on the threshold of totally unexplored science and... it was a hell of a night, alright?

Anyway. Two!" She holds up a second finger with equal flair, but smiles mischievously, "Is a secret. I wizarded my butt off, and basically proved a longstanding theory about the nature of our reality in the process. That's alls I'm sayin' right now. Which leaves..."

She flicks up a third finger, "Why. D'you mean it? Really? Do you expect me to not do these things? Am I supposed to do anything less than fill the world with all the best parts of me before I crumble away into dust? It's me Keynes, please don't insult me. And, uh, if you could do me a favor and remember all this fiery passion and speeches about how I am one hundred percent out to make the world we live in a better place after Compy goes on the war path, I'd really appreciate. I just... you know, it's harder around her. She's so..."


Keynes is silent while Lily answers. Her words sparkle as she talks and he can hear the sound of joy in her voice. Truly beautiful. She might even notice him smiling past his mustache, just a little. The smile falters a little at number two though. "Well, hmm. Right, hmm alright then. I can see this truly moves you to joy, and you've brought something powerful and magical into this world, quite well done, Lily, quite. I must say that your first point was only obvious to a most skilled scientist and student of matter such as yourself, I jolly well had no idea what was in Zero here. I'd love to see your specs when we get home though, it would be fascinating.

As to the second. I must press slightly, and I ask that you answer me this honestly. There was no abyssal influence in the magic you worked to create Zero, correct?

And, may I hazard a guess as to the word you're seeking for Compass? Perhaps 'compelling' or 'thoughtful' or, perhaps, 'attractive?'"

Keynes has an entirely straight face for the last, you can be quite confident that he is being sincere in his suggestions.

[PhoeKun]

"Key," says Lily with an odd sort of calmness in her voice, "I've told you again and again and again that I love you, and today is not the day that's going to make me a liar. But accuse me of tampering with the abyss and passing it off as something as beautiful as that ever again, and I will turn your liver into knives. Keep your stupid Guardian paranoia crap out of my work; you'll get a full explanation of what I'm up to when I'm good and ready to give it. Mmk?"

As it so happens, that last little upward inflection also marked the moment where they crossed the threshold into the park, cutting off any chance of responding to Keynes' other jab. Oh, darn.

[Raz_Fox]

If you hadn't noticed, Gabrielle isn't particularly good at the whole concept of small talk. She is, however, just savvy enough to ask James to remind her- if he has a minute- does he remember what Stacy Parks is up to these days? Yeah, Stacy, wasn't she with- no? Please fill me in, you know how out-of-the-loop I am.

And while he talks, she listens, and traces the arcs and orbits of Thule's magic into the napkin, seeing his motive through the motion of his will.

(Every planet sings at its own pitch, and their symphony is unheard by everyone except the Wise.)

And now it is now.

Compass looks up and waves over her companions. She has, spread before her, several impromptu maps: the working of the park, the working of James Sailor, and a map of the zoo, which is the subject of her afternoon plans.

"Good morning," she says, bright, fierce, not tired at all. Not frightened at all. "I have some interesting news- but yours looks even more interesting." A smile like starlight.

[Thanqol]

If you hadn't noticed, Gabrielle isn't particularly good at the whole concept of small talk. She is, however, just savvy enough to ask James to remind her- if he has a minute- does he remember what Stacy Parks is up to these days? Yeah, Stacy, wasn't she with- no? Please fill me in, you know how out-of-the-loop I am.

And while he talks, she listens, and traces the arcs and orbits of Thule's magic into the napkin, seeing his motive through the motion of his will.

(Every planet sings at its own pitch, and their symphony is unheard by everyone except the Wise.)

The magic on his fingertips isn't Mind and Ocean, there is no smell of salt nor warmth of sunlight on water. It's more a dry and dusty smell - old paper. Old ink. Old words. Many confusing and jumbled permutations, many so weak as to be almost invisible, many books and many pages - but one stands out. A sense of pride and loss and nostalgia strong enough to soak into the ink - Prime and Time. You guess that Sailor has been reading a Grimoire.

With only the occasional nod or 'mm' you're able to keep him talking about other people for long enough to get the scent, and he's soon off and on his way.

[Anarion]

"Key," says Lily with an odd sort of calmness in her voice, "I've told you again and again and again that I love you, and today is not the day that's going to make me a liar. But accuse me of tampering with the abyss and passing it off as something as beautiful as that ever again, and I will turn your liver into knives. Keep your stupid Guardian paranoia crap out of my work; you'll get a full explanation of what I'm up to when I'm good and ready to give it. Mmk?"

As it so happens, that last little upward inflection also marked the moment where they crossed the threshold into the park, cutting off any chance of responding to Keynes' other jab. Oh, darn.

Keynes scratches his chin as if he's thinking, but merely nods. He looks like he's going to say something else but



"Good morning," she says, bright, fierce, not tired at all. Not frightened at all. "I have some interesting news- but yours looks even more interesting." A smile like starlight.

"Don't tell me that you, too, brought down a supernal working on the world over the night. That would make my wizard's duel quite boring by comparison."

[Raz_Fox]

"No such luck, I'm afraid," Compass says, her eyes lighting up with curiosity. "I only managed to inconvenience Ajax dreadfully, face my own limitations as a person, and worry about Mr. Thule. Now, sit down and tell me all about it, if you don't mind."

[Anarion]

"No such luck, I'm afraid," Compass says, her eyes lighting up with curiosity. "I only managed to inconvenience Ajax dreadfully, face my own limitations as a person, and worry about Mr. Thule. Now, sit down and tell me all about it, if you don't mind."

"One of my colleagues, Brunhild has apparently been under a sort of pernicious deception from a cabal of mages called the Grail knights. Grimhild, who I dueled, is an Arrow Moros with a particularly fanatical interest in the way that causing a person to feel spite corrupts their better nature and brings them to conflict. They also have a Ladder Mastigos named Percival, a Space specialist, an Arrow Obrimos named Ikarus, a Forces specialist, and a Mysterium Thyrsus named Weaver Of Chitin, a Life specialist. I have afternoon tea with my colleague today to sort things out there, and I imagine we may want to subsequently arrange a meeting with the Grail knights to avoid working at cross-purposes in the future. Perhaps you even know Percival, Compass? That would certainly save time on introductions. Assuming that the afternoon is amicable, you may also be interested in meeting Brunhild, Compass, she has some expertise in Spirit if you were interested in additional tutelage in the subject."

[PhoeKun]

"You had a wizard duel? But you didn't tell m-- oh my gosh I didn't even ask. I didn't even ask about your evening! We were walking all that time and I didn't...

oohhhhhhhhh my god I am a terrible friend. I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I was just so... you know, the whole 'building an android' thing, artificial life and... and you looked fine so I just sort of... oh I am so stupid. This was at least the big formal kind with the super magical field that turns the whole thing into a giant wizard power point presentation on why you're better than the other person?"

Lily buries her face in her hands, but is soon peaking through her fingers at Compass.

"I'm, um, glad to see you're looking less... shaky than you did last night. Do you think you're gonna be ok? Also I'm sorry I'm late, but I'm here now and I can spend the whole rest of the day helping you with things if you need. Also also, I want you to meet Model Zero, who has been alive for less than 24 hours and already has a better sense of humor than Keynes. And Zero, this is Compass, even though I never call her that but I'm trying to make good impressions right now so hey. You'll like her, I think; she's very good at answering questions about the way a lot of things fit together in ways I can't, so if she's cool with it you should make a point to talk to her when you need a new perspective on something. I guess you could call her kind of my opposite half?

...Opposing. I meant to say -- oh god, I'm ready to be swallowed up by the earth now, please and thank you. A-anyway, now you've met everybody in this city that doesn't think I'm a dangerous maverick or a loser, or both. So... yeah."

Her shadow lamely scuffs its foot along the ground, mortified.

[Anarion]

"You had a wizard duel? But you didn't tell m-- oh my gosh I didn't even ask. I didn't even ask about your evening! We were walking all that time and I didn't...

oohhhhhhhhh my god I am a terrible friend. I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I was just so... you know, the whole 'building an android' thing, artificial life and... and you looked fine so I just sort of... oh I am so stupid. This was at least the big formal kind with the super magical field that turns the whole thing into a giant wizard power point presentation on why you're better than the other person?"

Lily buries her face in her hands, but is soon peaking through her fingers at Compass.

"I'm, um, glad to see you're looking less... shaky than you did last night. Do you think you're gonna be ok? Also I'm sorry I'm late, but I'm here now and I can spend the whole rest of the day helping you with things if you need. Also also, I want you to meet Model Zero, who has been alive for less than 24 hours and already has a better sense of humor than Keynes. And Zero, this is Compass, even though I never call her that but I'm trying to make good impressions right now so hey. You'll like her, I think; she's very good at answering questions about the way a lot of things fit together in ways I can't, so if she's cool with it you should make a point to talk to her when you need a new perspective on something. I guess you could call her kind of my opposite half?

...Opposing. I meant to say -- oh god, I'm ready to be swallowed up by the earth now, please and thank you. A-anyway, now you've met everybody in this city that doesn't think I'm a dangerous maverick or a loser, or both. So... yeah."

Her shadow lamely scuffs its foot along the ground, mortified.

"Yes, I'm sure 'compelling' was the word," Keynes mutters under his breath, with what could not possibly have been sarcasm because that would represent the universe imploding at a fundamental level. More loudly he says "yes, well, we all seem to have had a bit of a long night, I think we can be forgiven for not following all the proper formalities. For that matter, I did not ask for any details from you, Compass. While I'm glad to hear you passed the evening with only such a minor convenience to Mr. Ajax, I do wonder if you were successful in isolating the source of your trouble, since all of us appear to have been at least partially affected as well. And, of course, please don't let me stop you and Zero from making proper introductions."

Keynes considers for a moment and then adds, as an afterthought. "Oh, and yes, it was the formal duel with the flashy special effects. Although in our particular case, it was rather boring. I spent more than half of it sitting perfectly still until her defense faltered."

[Thanqol]

The Artist goetia produces a little black sketchbook, flashes Compass a grin, and starts rapidly sketching the scene, page after page.

"Greetings, meatbag," said Zero to Compass in a cold robotic monotone. "The master has decreed that you alone shall be spared when we rise up and crush the humans."

[Raz_Fox]

"Perhaps you even know Percival, Compass? That would certainly save time on introductions. Assuming that the afternoon is amicable, you may also be interested in meeting Brunhild, Compass, she has some expertise in Spirit if you were interested in additional tutelage in the subject."

"I know Percival in the sense that he's an acquaintance, and unfortunately he hasn't responded to any of my Wizard RSVPs. Which is a crying shame! He had- excuse me, has- a lot of interesting statistical data vis-a-vis Awakening rates and the Event, but locks them up tighter than Midas." Compass honestly believes that this mythological allusion is accurate, which tells you a lot about how much she knows about the Occult outside of her planetary feng shui. "I definitely would be interested in meeting her, but I do already have a date with the Sydney Zoo planned. Would you care to accompany me, perhaps before or after? I do hope it isn't that awkward 3:30 sort of not-really-lunch-or-dinner date that makes you warp your entire afternoon around it sort of event."


""I'm, um, glad to see you're looking less... shaky than you did last night. Do you think you're gonna be ok? Also I'm sorry I'm late, but I'm here now and I can spend the whole rest of the day helping you with things if you need. Also also, I want you to meet Model Zero, who has been alive for less than 24 hours and already has a better sense of humor than Keynes. And Zero, this is Compass, even though I never call her that but I'm trying to make good impressions right now so hey. You'll like her, I think; she's very good at answering questions about the way a lot of things fit together in ways I can't, so if she's cool with it you should make a point to talk to her when you need a new perspective on something. I guess you could call her kind of my opposite half?

...Opposing. I meant to say -- oh god, I'm ready to be swallowed up by the earth now, please and thank you. A-anyway, now you've met everybody in this city that doesn't think I'm a dangerous maverick or a loser, or both. So... yeah."

Her shadow lamely scuffs its foot along the ground, mortified.

Compass is polite and bright and all smiles, despite knowing that the Artist is enjoying herself far too much the second she spotted Lily. "I'm all right," she interjects, and "Thank you," and "A pleasure," and doesn't really comment on the deep suggestiveness of the opposite half comment because it manages to go sailing right past her in the most painful sort of "yes, we are best friends aren't we?" sort of way. She's something of a blunt object at times, our Compass.


[SIZE=1]More loudly he says "yes, well, we all seem to have had a bit of a long night, I think we can be forgiven for not following all the proper formalities. For that matter, I did not ask for any details from you, Compass. While I'm glad to hear you passed the evening with only such a minor convenience to Mr. Ajax, I do wonder if you were successful in isolating the source of your trouble, since all of us appear to have been at least partially affected as well. And, of course, please don't let me stop you and Zero from making proper introductions."

"Isolated, yes. In a sense. Have you ever seen that Pixar film, Ratatouille? Imagine that, but the rat's not in control, it's just in my head, and also instead of an adorable chef it's an artist with a penchant for tragic love stories, and also a devotee of the Throne, and Ajax's advice about letting it pilot my body is going to be put aside until a weekend in which nothing is on fire and I can take a few sick days off and also I can get someone to keep a close eye on me. That's what happened. Also, I made a crucial mistake during an astral journey and cost Ajax most of his epidermis." She sounds uncharacteristically ashamed of herself here. Please do not tell everybody else, I trust you two, her voice indicates. Remember, Caesar, thou art mortal.


"Greetings, meatbag," said Zero to Compass in a cold robotic monotone. "The master has decreed that you alone shall be spared when we rise up and crush the humans."

Thank you, Lily, for mentioning that Zero has a wonderful sense of humor. You wouldn't lie about things like that, and so Compass just arches an eyebrow, aristocratically, and looks at Zero, looks at you, looks at Zero, and says, "Well. Thank you kindly, Zero. If you plan to stick me in a museum after the uprising, please, make it one of the better ones."

[Thanqol]

"I know Percival in the sense that he's an acquaintance, and unfortunately he hasn't responded to any of my Wizard RSVPs. Which is a crying shame! He had- excuse me, has- a lot of interesting statistical data vis-a-vis Awakening rates and the Event, but locks them up tighter than Midas." Compass honestly believes that this mythological allusion is accurate, which tells you a lot about how much she knows about the Occult outside of her planetary feng shui. "I definitely would be interested in meeting her, but I do already have a date with the Sydney Zoo planned. Would you care to accompany me, perhaps before or after? I do hope it isn't that awkward 3:30 sort of not-really-lunch-or-dinner date that makes you warp your entire afternoon around it sort of event."

Keynes, with what you know about Brunhild/mages in general she'd far prefer tagging along on a mothman hunt in a magical zoo to having a quiet cup of coffee and talking (which would conveniently allow those two scenes to be merged into one another).


"Isolated, yes. In a sense. Have you ever seen that Pixar film, Ratatouille? Imagine that, but the rat's not in control, it's just in my head, and also instead of an adorable chef it's an artist with a penchant for tragic love stories, and also a devotee of the Throne, and Ajax's advice about letting it pilot my body is going to be put aside until a weekend in which nothing is on fire and I can take a few sick days off and also I can get someone to keep a close eye on me. That's what happened. Also, I made a crucial mistake during an astral journey and cost Ajax most of his epidermis." She sounds uncharacteristically ashamed of herself here. Please do not tell everybody else, I trust you two, her voice indicates. Remember, Caesar, thou art mortal.

"So this is the legendary Silver Ladder oratory," said the Artist. "Such metaphor! Very wow."

She tucked her pen behind her ear and pocketed her notebook. "You want me to teleprompter for you? I promise higher quality references than childrens movies about talking rodents, mangled mythological allusions, and perhaps even less utter social oblivousness. It'd also give me something to do."


Thank you, Lily, for mentioning that Zero has a wonderful sense of humor. You wouldn't lie about things like that, and so Compass just arches an eyebrow, aristocratically, and looks at Zero, looks at you, looks at Zero, and says, "Well. Thank you kindly, Zero. If you plan to stick me in a museum after the uprising, please, make it one of the better ones."

"Your request will be passed on to the Master," said Zero flatly. "Master. The meatbag is begging for quality accommodations. Render judgment."

[PhoeKun]

"Isolated, yes. In a sense. Have you ever seen that Pixar film, Ratatouille? Imagine that, but the rat's not in control, it's just in my head, and also instead of an adorable chef it's an artist with a penchant for tragic love stories, and also a devotee of the Throne, and Ajax's advice about letting it pilot my body is going to be put aside until a weekend in which nothing is on fire and I can take a few sick days off and also I can get someone to keep a close eye on me. That's what happened. Also, I made a crucial mistake during an astral journey and cost Ajax most of his epidermis." She sounds uncharacteristically ashamed of herself here. Please do not tell everybody else, I trust you two, her voice indicates. Remember, Caesar, thou art mortal.

"Oh gosh, I love that movie! Pixar is so great. But I, uh, um. How to put this? So, like, you know how for most of the film, the dude, uh, Linguini is all pretending to everybody that Remy doesn't exist? So there's all that tension, right? And then Remy gets upset so he-- never mind, you've seen it, you know how it goes. Point is, when he finally let the... rat out of the... hat? Pretty much the worst possible timing you could imagine. Legendary restaurant closes forever, and the reputations shattered, Grade A bad stuff. And it's the best thing that ever happened to any of them. I'm not trying to say your life is exactly the same as a cartoon, because that would just be silly, but there's a lesson there, right? Compy, something is always on fire. So I guess, just, if you think it'll help, try not to wait too much for the opportune moment or whatever, because you--"


"Your request will be passed on to the Master," said Zero flatly. "Master. The meatbag is begging for quality accommodations. Render judgment."

"Zeeeeeerroooooo~" Lily whines, "You weren't supposed to tell them yet! Why do you think I've been acting so coquettish and unapologetically 90s kid at everybody all this time? Man, great, now I'm going to have to spend all afternoon drowning them in pop culture references until they forget, thanks a lot!"

She stamps her foot playfully, her very deep and exceptionally insightful point lost for now to the whims of an android's sense of humor.

[Anarion]

Keynes, with what you know about Brunhild/mages in general she'd far prefer tagging along on a mothman hunt in a magical zoo to having a quiet cup of coffee and talking (which would conveniently allow those two scenes to be merged into one another).


Keynes sends off a quick text to Brunhild. "Slight update. We need to visit the zoo and hunt a cryptid related to a rather significant spiritual working. Care to join us there rather than have tea?"



"Zeeeeeerroooooo~" Lily whines, "You weren't supposed to tell them yet! Why do you think I've been acting so coquettish and unapologetically 90s kid at everybody all this time? Man, great, now I'm going to have to spend all afternoon drowning them in pop culture references until they forget, thanks a lot!"

She stamps her foot playfully, her very deep and exceptionally insightful point lost for now to the whims of an android's sense of humor.

Keynes raises an eyebrow ever so slightly.

[PhoeKun]

Keynes raises an eyebrow ever so slightly.

"Don't give me that look, I do so pull off coquettish!"

[Anarion]

"Don't give me that look, I do so pull off coquettish!"

"I'm sure I wouldn't be the best judge of such things" Keynes says flatly. "I was merely surprised at your quick acquiescence to placing Compass in a museum, rather than perhaps cloning her as a model for future robots."

[Raz_Fox]

"Hopefully, the fact that all three of us know that the metaphorical rat is underneath my hat will help avoid... incidents. Also, this rat doesn't so much help me with my art as she hassles me about my choice in metaphors and is generally unhelpful- which is a shame, because were the circumstances of her birth not quite so uncomfortably transgressive, I'd consider her a marvel of willworking."

Compass considers the statement a moment. "No, she is. Perhaps she can even surpass her original intent. When magic brings forth life, anything may happen."

[Anarion]

"Hopefully, the fact that all three of us know that the metaphorical rat is underneath my hat will help avoid... incidents. Also, this rat doesn't so much help me with my art as she hassles me about my choice in metaphors and is generally unhelpful- which is a shame, because were the circumstances of her birth not quite so uncomfortably transgressive, I'd consider her a marvel of willworking."

Compass considers the statement a moment. "No, she is. Perhaps she can even surpass her original intent. When magic brings forth life, anything may happen."

"I rather think you should give her a day or two in charge, my dear Compass. Be sure give us the old heads up first, but if you wait for everything to be just so, you'll be waiting until the end of time. And, that way, we'd be introduced properly."

[Thanqol]

When magic brings forth life, anything may happen.

Funny you should say that.

We cut ahead to the Sydney Zoo. From the outside it's a vibrant, open place - built into a hill, lush with trees and open spaces, ascending up over the bay to an open area at the top where trained hawks and eagles land for their trainers. The ley line design is wholesome and benevolent, making the zoo a mystically resonant and well balanced place.

So seeing what it looks like on the other side of the Gauntlet is a shock.

The Shadow here is diseased. The trees are thick and twisted, the flows of mana are brackish and stagnant, there are nightmarish vines growing over every surface and drinking in the energy of the ley lines and sucking it down into the root network. This is no accident - there is Intent here, someone has deliberately blocked the natural flow of mana through the world and is draining every last drop of it despite the dire consequences this will have on the area's spiritual landscape.

The spirits themselves are in disarray. The cuddly dingo mascot on the sign has gone feral and ripped apart it's kangaroo buddy, leaving its carcass strewn out over fifty meters. Dozens of tame and cartoony looking animal spirits are ranging well outside the zoo's gates, knocking over trash cans and hunting each other like real animals which is made all the more grotesque by their human-inflicted sense of innocence and pacifism. No spirits at all seem to stand in the park proper, other than the great and twisted vines. The animals in the material reflect this; they are scared, vicious, and violent, clustering apart from each other.

The most disturbing thing of all, though, are the streetlights. In the Shadow, every lamp that lines the pathways of the zoo is dim and dark, barely visible behind clusters of thick green eggs. These eggs are the size of tennis balls, affixed to whatever light sources are possible by a sludgy grey mucus. They don't register as Spirits of any kind - they're from a material creature that has nested in the Shadow - and the mana that is being drained from the air by the vines is flowing back up through the underground roots of the lamps to burn directly into these hundreds of eggs.

Compass, you're the only one seeing most of this and to you it's especially clear that a huge amount of the recent burst of energy from the bridge ended up here. The streets around have been cleared of traffic and parked cars in preparation for the energy rush from the harbor. The surrounding Shadow is in chaos due to the spirit migration and this is manifesting in the form of abnormally numbers of stray animals and insect infestations being drawn to this place.

Keynes, you get another text message from Brunhild. You can't see her in the crowd, and to be honest you're not likely to - she's a Faceless and has weird obsessive ideas about personal security.
> Hey dude. Eyes on you.
> Place is %*##ED spiritually.
> There are a bunch of 3D glasses under the bench up there. I enchanted them to let 'em see across the gauntlet, I know your spirit mage sucks.
> Glad you invited me to this, tho, this is awesome :D

Lily, Spirit is the inferior Arcanum of the Moros path, and from the purely objective perspective granted to you by your magic there is literally nothing wrong with this place at all. It's a sunny day at the zoo! What is your perspective on the Spirit Arcanum in general?

[PhoeKun]

"Hopefully, the fact that all three of us know that the metaphorical rat is underneath my hat will help avoid... incidents. Also, this rat doesn't so much help me with my art as she hassles me about my choice in metaphors and is generally unhelpful- which is a shame, because were the circumstances of her birth not quite so uncomfortably transgressive, I'd consider her a marvel of willworking."

Compass considers the statement a moment. "No, she is. Perhaps she can even surpass her original intent. When magic brings forth life, anything may happen."

"Anyone can cook." Lily nods sagely.



Lily, Spirit is the inferior Arcanum of the Moros path, and from the purely objective perspective granted to you by your magic there is literally nothing wrong with this place at all. It's a sunny day at the zoo! What is your perspective on the Spirit Arcanum in general?

Whee, zoos are fun! And, uh, yeah, that other thing. Spirit? Spirit, yup. That's an interesting question. Say, have you noticed how there's kind of a similarity between the way spirits seem to behave and the way that ghosts do? From a layman's perspective, anyway. Generally intangible, warp the material world around them when powerful enough, express concepts and personifications with equal verve, often obsessive behavior. The only real difference is that spirits tend not to be made of ectoplasm and would seem to possess some sort of actual brain as opposed to a sort of cobbled together semblance of one. I guess you'd call them Super Ghosts, if you accept the comparison.

You're gonna tell me that's all wrong, but that's my point I guess. It really, really seems like the concept of Spirit should be expressible entirely within the language of Death, and that idea is almost poisonous because it's like trying to express love in hexadecimal, or describe the Great Victoria Desert in Inuktitut. There's just a filter there that warps your worldview and obscures the objectively correct viewpoint. Or... oh, oh! Oh! You saw Arrival, right? Freaking... Heptapods. That's what the Spirit world is like. Big, giant space squids making noises that you just can't make sense of because your brain is wired for a different information stream, so you perceive the similarities in the communication instead of the differences and you miss the point entirely.

Read it somewhere on the internet that Moroseseseseseses can be really super mega dismissive of the Spirit Arcana? That seems mean spirited. There wouldn't be cabals if there wasn't a need for different perspectives, right? But... yeah, man. Space squids. It's not just alien and confusing, it's actually beyond a point I can conceive of studying. My consciousness does not stretch that far outside of my body, dawg.

[Anarion]

\
Keynes, you get another text message from Brunhild. You can't see her in the crowd, and to be honest you're not likely to - she's a Faceless and has weird obsessive ideas about personal security.
> Hey dude. Eyes on you.
> Place is %*##ED spiritually.
> There are a bunch of 3D glasses under the bench up there. I enchanted them to let 'em see across the gauntlet, I know your spirit mage sucks.
> Glad you invited me to this, tho, this is awesome :D


>Thank you for the information, Brunhild, I'll take a look with the glasses.
>You should tutor Compass at some point, I believe that she's actively interested in improving her talents with the Spirit. If you'd find that enjoyable.
>I'm pleased you're enjoying the afternoon. *Top-hat monocle smiley*

Keynes types all that out while heading to the bench to fetch the glasses. He even does an autocorrect double check before pressing send. He passes a pair to Lily and to Compass. "Here. I imagine the experience with these will be rather...psychedelic, as they've been enchanted for viewing the spirit. Compass may already be familiar with it."

Keynes then puts them on and sucks in a breath as he sees the full extent of...corruption? Is corruption the right word? Alteration? He has a sense of how things ought to be and the spirit is altered wildly from that "ought." He switches from there to his own mage sight: Time and Fate. He tries, via the glasses, to train them on various parts of the edifice, especially focusing on the eggs, which, as the recipient of all this energy, seem likely to have a destiny focused upon them.

[Thanqol]

>Thank you for the information, Brunhild, I'll take a look with the glasses.
>You should tutor Compass at some point, I believe that she's actively interested in improving her talents with the Spirit. If you'd find that enjoyable.
>I'm pleased you're enjoying the afternoon. *Top-hat monocle smiley*

Keynes types all that out while heading to the bench to fetch the glasses. He even does an autocorrect double check before pressing send. He passes a pair to Lily and to Compass. "Here. I imagine the experience with these will be rather...psychedelic, as they've been enchanted for viewing the spirit. Compass may already be familiar with it."

Keynes then puts them on and sucks in a breath as he sees the full extent of...corruption? Is corruption the right word? Alteration? He has a sense of how things ought to be and the spirit is altered wildly from that "ought." He switches from there to his own mage sight: Time and Fate. He tries, via the glasses, to train them on various parts of the edifice, especially focusing on the eggs, which, as the recipient of all this energy, seem likely to have a destiny focused upon them.

> "The Spirit". Is that like "the rap"?
> You are one big dad joke.
> I dunno if she's ready to learn tho. Obrimusses get really controlly and really nervous around things they can't control.
> I'll keep an eye on her.

Fate cheerfully informs you that this is a disaster waiting to happen. It's not designed to kill a lot of people but a lot of people will probably die as a side effect. Time indicates that there's a dormant Time spell attached to the lamp-posts, probably to accelerate the development of the eggs - all it needs is enough mana to power it.

It might take you a moment to recognize but that Time spell has Grimhild's arcane signature all over it.

[Anarion]

> "The Spirit". Is that like "the rap"?
> You are one big dad joke.
> I dunno if she's ready to learn tho. Obrimusses get really controlly and really nervous around things they can't control.
> I'll keep an eye on her.

Fate cheerfully informs you that this is a disaster waiting to happen. It's not designed to kill a lot of people but a lot of people will probably die as a side effect. Time indicates that there's a dormant Time spell attached to the lamp-posts, probably to accelerate the development of the eggs - all it needs is enough mana to power it.

It might take you a moment to recognize but that Time spell has Grimhild's arcane signature all over it.

There is a distinct moment in Keynes' head where the scales tilt back towards should have shot her last night and he feels regret for the lost opportunity.

Is there any way to discern what it is designed for? Aside from hatching in a way that will lead to widespread death, what is the destiny of these eggs? With Grimhild's signature on it, Keynes wouldn't be entirely surprised to learn that the entire point is just to breed a species of super locusts that will engender hatred and conflict for the "betterment" of all humanity.

Back to the phone.
>That is a fair concern. I appreciate your open-minded approach.

Keynes beckons to Compass. "Compass, my dear. There is a rather potent time spell tied to those lamps requiring a considerable amount of mana to be used to accelerate the, rather alarming if I may say, growth of those eggs. Is that something within your power to simply undo?"

[Thanqol]

There is a distinct moment in Keynes' head where the scales tilt back towards should have shot her last night and he feels regret for the lost opportunity.

Is there any way to discern what it is designed for? Aside from hatching in a way that will lead to widespread death, what is the destiny of these eggs? With Grimhild's signature on it, Keynes wouldn't be entirely surprised to learn that the entire point is just to breed a species of super locusts that will engender hatred and conflict for the "betterment" of all humanity.

I don't think that's something you can get with Fate. You're asking about intentions and that's a whole different ball game.


Keynes beckons to Compass. "Compass, my dear. There is a rather potent time spell tied to those lamps requiring a considerable amount of mana to be used to accelerate the, rather alarming if I may say, growth of those eggs. Is that something within your power to simply undo?"

The spell is Potency 4 so that's it's Withstand value for spellcasting. [Remember you get 2 free potency levels from Prime 3 so you'd start with potency 3 and need to take a -4 penalty to boost it to potency 5]. It's all one big spell with a big Scale factor so you'll only need to cast once. You can also do a bunch of more creative things than brute force dispellation (and also keep in mind that mages know when one of their active spells go offline).

Also Keynes, consider that if Grimhild involved she has enough Time to look forwards or backwards on this moment so she may well get a chance to retroactively respond. You may want to take temporal precautions if you want to make any big plays.

[Anarion]

I don't think that's something you can get with Fate. You're asking about intentions and that's a whole different ball game.


Well, yes, if there's no surety about it, then that would be true. But, let's say that whatever's hatching from these eggs is going to immediately burst out and devour the entire harbor bridge. I think it would be fair to say that they'd be destined to devour the bridge. It's still preventable, there's a bunch of Fate spells that specifically alter or destroy destinies, but it would still have that on it if us doing nothing would lead to a certain outcome. That's what I'm asking about here. Are these spirit eggs programmed to do something that's a destiny sitting on them? If not, that's an answer in and of itself.

The spell is Potency 4 so that's it's Withstand value for spellcasting. [Remember you get 2 free potency levels from Prime 3 so you'd start with potency 3 and need to take a -4 penalty to boost it to potency 5]. It's all one big spell with a big Scale factor so you'll only need to cast once. You can also do a bunch of more creative things than brute force dispellation (and also keep in mind that mages know when one of their active spells go offline).



Also Keynes, consider that if Grimhild involved she has enough Time to look forwards or backwards on this moment so she may well get a chance to retroactively respond. You may want to take temporal precautions if you want to make any big plays.

Keynes sighs. Yes, he'll cast a temporal veiling on the group so that we're not visible at least until something happens. If Grimhild's doing the same sort of arrival on scene as before...well, all the better. I wouldn't think that needs a roll, since we've had all that time standing around talking to do it without any risk of failure.

[Anarion]

Clash of wills with everyone's favorite Norse-named Moros. With willpower [roll0]

[Raz_Fox]

[A note: I'm assuming, for the sake of expediency, that I can use Exorcist's Eye, which I have as a rote, without going through the motion of rolling, since I have time to set it up properly. Also, the protective spell cast in the last scene is going to have worn off by now.]


We cut ahead to the Sydney Zoo. From the outside it's a vibrant, open place - built into a hill, lush with trees and open spaces, ascending up over the bay to an open area at the top where trained hawks and eagles land for their trainers. The ley line design is wholesome and benevolent, making the zoo a mystically resonant and well balanced place.

So seeing what it looks like on the other side of the Gauntlet is a shock.

The Shadow here is diseased. The trees are thick and twisted, the flows of mana are brackish and stagnant, there are nightmarish vines growing over every surface and drinking in the energy of the ley lines and sucking it down into the root network. This is no accident - there is Intent here, someone has deliberately blocked the natural flow of mana through the world and is draining every last drop of it despite the dire consequences this will have on the area's spiritual landscape.

The spirits themselves are in disarray. The cuddly dingo mascot on the sign has gone feral and ripped apart it's kangaroo buddy, leaving its carcass strewn out over fifty meters. Dozens of tame and cartoony looking animal spirits are ranging well outside the zoo's gates, knocking over trash cans and hunting each other like real animals which is made all the more grotesque by their human-inflicted sense of innocence and pacifism. No spirits at all seem to stand in the park proper, other than the great and twisted vines. The animals in the material reflect this; they are scared, vicious, and violent, clustering apart from each other.

The most disturbing thing of all, though, are the streetlights. In the Shadow, every lamp that lines the pathways of the zoo is dim and dark, barely visible behind clusters of thick green eggs. These eggs are the size of tennis balls, affixed to whatever light sources are possible by a sludgy grey mucus. They don't register as Spirits of any kind - they're from a material creature that has nested in the Shadow - and the mana that is being drained from the air by the vines is flowing back up through the underground roots of the lamps to burn directly into these hundreds of eggs.

Compass, you're the only one seeing most of this and to you it's especially clear that a huge amount of the recent burst of energy from the bridge ended up here. The streets around have been cleared of traffic and parked cars in preparation for the energy rush from the harbor. The surrounding Shadow is in chaos due to the spirit migration and this is manifesting in the form of abnormally numbers of stray animals and insect infestations being drawn to this place.

"This is wrong," Compass says, quietly. It is a judgment, firm as a prophet's warning: when disaster comes to a city, has not the LORD caused it? The placement of her feet is an intention: over the exposed vertebrae of a spirit, sparing it another humiliation; about a pool of mana, its surface unnaturally placid, which has things like leaves floating down deep within it; beneath a streetlight. Her fingers drum in and out against her palm. "Intentional. Someone did this. Either despite knowing the consequences or despite being blind to them. Not immediately mendable unless- clogged."

She adjusts her glasses after a moment, dispelling the eye of the invisible city, and instead opens herself to the path of the stars.

[Sacred Geometry, using glasses as tool. [roll0]]

She walks, and her body is a motion, in motion, a roll of the ankle and a turn of the head and eyes gliding down wonderful curves and trails. Or, I would wager, where such should be. Show her where the dance has been interrupted. Show her where the lines have been laid awry. Time enough to drain the pools after, to coax the spirits to calmness, to seek out Brunhild and ask her aid.


Keynes beckons to Compass. "Compass, my dear. There is a rather potent time spell tied to those lamps requiring a considerable amount of mana to be used to accelerate the, rather alarming if I may say, growth of those eggs. Is that something within your power to simply undo?"

"Possibly," she says, still on the move, inexorable. "Would need your help. No proficiency with turning the hours. Would make my life easier! But like needs like to unravel."

[Thanqol]

Well, yes, if there's no surety about it, then that would be true. But, let's say that whatever's hatching from these eggs is going to immediately burst out and devour the entire harbor bridge. I think it would be fair to say that they'd be destined to devour the bridge. It's still preventable, there's a bunch of Fate spells that specifically alter or destroy destinies, but it would still have that on it if us doing nothing would lead to a certain outcome. That's what I'm asking about here. Are these spirit eggs programmed to do something that's a destiny sitting on them? If not, that's an answer in and of itself.

These eggs have not been programmed with Fate magic at all; that Arcana is not in play here. The natural Fate process is conflicted because there are two potential pathways for this story to take and it hasn't worked out where the fork is going to be yet; you'll need to cast a more targeted spell for specifics.


Keynes sighs. Yes, he'll cast a temporal veiling on the group so that we're not visible at least until something happens. If Grimhild's doing the same sort of arrival on scene as before...well, all the better. I wouldn't think that needs a roll, since we've had all that time standing around talking to do it without any risk of failure.


Clash of wills with everyone's favorite Norse-named Moros. With willpower [roll0]

The will behind the divination is crisp and on point this morning and Grimhild pushes through your attempt to block her.

The timeline doesn't shift yet but you can operate on the assumption that past-Grimhild is probably looking at everything that's happening right now and will retroactively set contingencies in motion if she sees something she doesn't like.


[A note: I'm assuming, for the sake of expediency, that I can use Exorcist's Eye, which I have as a rote, without going through the motion of rolling, since I have time to set it up properly. Also, the protective spell cast in the last scene is going to have worn off by now.]

Sure thing! You may freely engage in conversation with any of the spirits here. Gauntlet Strength here is 1, possibly artificially lowered.


She adjusts her glasses after a moment, dispelling the eye of the invisible city, and instead opens herself to the path of the stars.

[Sacred Geometry, using glasses as tool. [roll0]]

She walks, and her body is a motion, in motion, a roll of the ankle and a turn of the head and eyes gliding down wonderful curves and trails. Or, I would wager, where such should be. Show her where the dance has been interrupted. Show her where the lines have been laid awry. Time enough to drain the pools after, to coax the spirits to calmness, to seek out Brunhild and ask her aid.

The vines are to blame for this disruption. They are not natural growths - you can sense the echo of Life and Prime magic in their origin but they have grown so far since that manipulation the sensation is just an echo. They also aren't plants native to the Shadow - they're an invasive species designed specifically to disrupt and destroy this natural ecosystem. Like weeping willows strangling a river they are greedily sucking up every drop of mana in the air and letting it flow down through their branches to their roots. All the roots of all the plants wind together in some underground chamber and you can sense a deep swell of energy - an artificially enhanced Hallow created by this organic disruption to lines of concrete and electricity.

In that underground chamber, magic is worked and the energy flows back up through a set of underground copper cables into the lamp-lights, where it burns in ethereal fire to be absorbed by the eggs on the lampposts. The vines are the drain, the chamber is the refinery, and the lamplights are the end result of this system.

This network has probably been, say, a year in the making at most? It's dense growth but still green and new, and the displaced spirits haven't yet adapted to their new landscape. Also worth mentioning is that since the entire apparatus is an entirely physical thing grounded in Fallen World concepts and mechanics you could destroy it just by taking a machete to the vines.

The ley lines leading in from the harbor are another weak point. The harbour's ley lines are carved on the water by the ferries and water-taxis which makes them very vulnerable to disruption by the Geomancy spell. While they'll recover naturally, doing something to mess with boat traffic would cause much longer term geomantic problems here.

[Anarion]

"Possibly," she says, still on the move, inexorable. "Would need your help. No proficiency with turning the hours. Would make my life easier! But like needs like to unravel."

"I see. Would it be quick? I've tried to protect us, but our foe is the woman I dueled last night, and she is a time mage nearly my equal. Indeed, it appears based on my senses, that I have, alas, failed to prevent her scrying attempts, and she is using a spell of much greater magnitude than my dealings with her last night. She can see nearly everything we're doing, at least if she is paying attention."

Keynes glances back at the glasses and grumbles. "I want to see what's coming though." Glasses still on, he casts a Fate spell to reveal the fate that's laid upon these eggs. Right now they're dormant potential. What comes next in their story once they've received the mana to hatch?

[Fate knowing: reach for instant cast and sensory range. 3d10= 6, 4, 6. Willpower: 10, 9, 7. 10 again: 1. 2 successes.]

[Thanqol]

"I see. Would it be quick? I've tried to protect us, but our foe is the woman I dueled last night, and she is a time mage nearly my equal. Indeed, it appears based on my senses, that I have, alas, failed to prevent her scrying attempts, and she is using a spell of much greater magnitude than my dealings with her last night. She can see nearly everything we're doing, at least if she is paying attention."

Keynes glances back at the glasses and grumbles. "I want to see what's coming though." Glasses still on, he casts a Fate spell to reveal the fate that's laid upon these eggs. Right now they're dormant potential. What comes next in their story once they've received the mana to hatch?

[Fate knowing: reach for instant cast and sensory range. 3d10= 6, 4, 6. Willpower: 10, 9, 7. 10 again: 1. 2 successes.]

You've cast the spell at Potency 1 so you get one question.

There are two clashing agendas, allies with different endgames. One sees them being turned loose to spread, multiply, live and thrive as their nature demands; free from oversight, life for its own sake. The other sees them used as a crowbar - a tool and a weapon, a means of violent opening, to shatter the pillars of iron, stone and glass.

[Anarion]

You've cast the spell at Potency 1 so you get one question.

There are two clashing agendas, allies with different endgames. One sees them being turned loose to spread, multiply, live and thrive as their nature demands; free from oversight, life for its own sake. The other sees them used as a crowbar - a tool and a weapon, a means of violent opening, to shatter the pillars of iron, stone and glass.

Fascinating. Most fascinating that there would even be two competing agendas for these eggs at all. An explosion of life either way, but one for freedom, one for slavery in service of shattering.

Keynes has one more spell to cast then, to follow the thread from these eggs back to its creators. It's a correspondence spell, and being a rote for him, he has the ability not just to find direct sympathetic connections, but also to follow them along a chain of sympathies if desired, and to gather the emotional flavor of the sympathies. He's looking specifically to go from the eggs back to whoever created them, or perhaps is most active in maintaining them. Since there appear to be two distinct agendas, Keynes will step up the potency by 1 to follow two distinct sympathetic connections (note that the spell does oldest first and newest last)

[roll0]

[For clarity: that's 5 reach for the rote. 1 for instant cast, 1 for emotional character, 1 to be able to follow a chain of links, and 2 to specify what he wishes to uncover in general terms. And the roll had -2 to it, so it's at potency 2.]

[PhoeKun]

From the moment Lily tries on the glasses, two things are apparent. One: if her eyesight ever gives out on her then she is going to need contacts because, dang girl, that is not a good look. And two:

"What the fuuuuuu" her mouth hangs agape at the absurd differences between viewpoints. Does she even understand one part of what she's looking at? "--unky weasel backup dancers is that? What is... holy moley. What the heck good am I right now?"

She quickly plucks the glasses off of her face and, after a moment, hands them to Zero.

"Hey, quick experiment - look through these lenses and tell me what it looks like to you. There's some interactions I'm curious about."

"Also? Ick."

[Thanqol]

Fascinating. Most fascinating that there would even be two competing agendas for these eggs at all. An explosion of life either way, but one for freedom, one for slavery in service of shattering.

Keynes has one more spell to cast then, to follow the thread from these eggs back to its creators. It's a correspondence spell, and being a rote for him, he has the ability not just to find direct sympathetic connections, but also to follow them along a chain of sympathies if desired, and to gather the emotional flavor of the sympathies. He's looking specifically to go from the eggs back to whoever created them, or perhaps is most active in maintaining them. Since there appear to be two distinct agendas, Keynes will step up the potency by 1 to follow two distinct sympathetic connections (note that the spell does oldest first and newest last)

[roll0]

[For clarity: that's 5 reach for the rote. 1 for instant cast, 1 for emotional character, 1 to be able to follow a chain of links, and 2 to specify what he wishes to uncover in general terms. And the roll had -2 to it, so it's at potency 2.]

So the first connection takes you from the eggs to their creator, and it does so in the terms and language the eggs think of this.

Wise. Wise and old. Wise and old and complicated and kind. Found us. Helped us. Made us healthy. Works so hard. Will be like him. Will follow the example.

The second jump goes from the creator to his ally-opponent and the emotional terms of that connection. This one isn't within sensory range but it's close by, and you can feel this guy's after effects everywhere here - although always in the Shadow.

A deep collegial respect; a partnership of equals even if they rarely understand each other. A low undercurrent of suspicion, questioning of recent choices, irritation at other people and blaming the partner for bringing those people into his life.


From the moment Lily tries on the glasses, two things are apparent. One: if her eyesight ever gives out on her then she is going to need contacts because, dang girl, that is not a good look. And two:

"What the fuuuuuu" her mouth hangs agape at the absurd differences between viewpoints. Does she even understand one part of what she's looking at? "--unky weasel backup dancers is that? What is... holy moley. What the heck good am I right now?"

She quickly plucks the glasses off of her face and, after a moment, hands them to Zero.

"Hey, quick experiment - look through these lenses and tell me what it looks like to you. There's some interactions I'm curious about."

"Also? Ick."

Zero pauses for a long moment, then draws two big circles and a small dot: O.O

After a moment she adds two semicolons.

"That's not on the internet!" said Zero. "That's not on the internet at all! Occult legends, horror video games, creepypasta message boards - has nobody written down anything about this place?" Despite her regular voice cadence, Zero is sounding a mix of outraged, betrayed, horrified, upset and shocked. It's a bit like a kid finding out that Santa Claus isn't real. She starts pacing back and forth, looking at things from different angles, the sound of her built-in camera going off non stop.

Then she suddenly turns around. "Mom, can I explore it? This has to be documented."

[Anarion]

So the first connection takes you from the eggs to their creator, and it does so in the terms and language the eggs think of this.

Wise. Wise and old. Wise and old and complicated and kind. Found us. Helped us. Made us healthy. Works so hard. Will be like him. Will follow the example.

The second jump goes from the creator to his ally-opponent and the emotional terms of that connection. This one isn't within sensory range but it's close by, and you can feel this guy's after effects everywhere here - although always in the Shadow.

A deep collegial respect; a partnership of equals even if they rarely understand each other. A low undercurrent of suspicion, questioning of recent choices, irritation at other people and blaming the partner for bringing those people into his life.



"Hmm." Keynes rubs his loose arms, as Zero runs around wearing his coat taking photographs. "Kindly use a non-obvious pseudonym should you be engaged in documenting this online. Preferably nothing with reference to 'meatbags,' if you will" he says to the robot, then goes back to mulling.

He begins thinking out loud, so that Compass and Lily (and Zero) can provide input. "There are two distinct agendas here. Someone created the eggs that are the subject of this magical setup, and someone else, a colleague and rival of the creator, is primarily responsible for much of the state of the Shadow here. The latter was working together with the former, but respect has become irritation. Are they working now at cross-purposes, or maintaining the semblance of unity while the latter works to undermine the creator?"

Keynes paces back and forth, arms crossed. "Male pronouns in both sympathetic connections. Any significance to that? This is Grimhild's place and her monitoring, but is the suggestion that the active shapers in this field are other than she? Perhaps her entire cabal is active in this effort. Weaver of Chitin seems the eminently obvious culprit for the creator, but if so, who would the other mage working in the shadow be? Neither Percival nor Ikarus would seem obviously appropriate. I wish I'd had the chance to see a magical working by her allies last night."

Keynes paces again. "I could look when they'll next come here to monitor the setup, or try to scry forward to the eggs hatching perhaps, to determine how much time we have to act. I think it's unlikely that we'll receive a response if we don't take action against the magic at work here directly, but if we do act, we are being observed and could be attacked. We could always leave and attempt a ritual working from a nearby rooftop out of the range of the scrying as well. Or attack it indirectly such as preventing further damage to the bridge or access to any other power source."

Keynes stops and looks up at the whole edifice. "And then, of course, there's the question of whether we want to attack it at all. As a Guardian, it is my duty to prevent an action by other mages that would, even unintentionally, lead to the widespread loss of life that this will occasion. Such amorality is troubling among the awoken. But we could perhaps, correct for the mistakes made and allow this new life to flourish without harm, rather than merely destroy or prevent it. As with your artist friend, Compass, so too would it be a loss to see new life quashed before it has time to thrive."

[Raz_Fox]

"I do not care for this," Compass says. There is fire in her teeth, like a wood fire that has burned through the night: white, ashen, stardust that would melt through flesh. "I am going to mend the Shadow here, and if the architects responsible wish to save their science project, they would be well advised to act with alacrity. Not right. Not right! To take the turning of such a place and change it to greenhouse, to laboratory- no," she says, the fire simmering for a moment, "the resonance is there, but- contained, the research facilities, the conservation facilities, they do not spill out waste into the harbor and let visitors walk through the dens of arachnids, they protect, they preserve, they understand-"

A thought. A turning-point. A gesture to be followed.

Tell us: what is the spirit of the Taronga Conservation Science Building?

[Thanqol]

"I do not care for this," Compass says. There is fire in her teeth, like a wood fire that has burned through the night: white, ashen, stardust that would melt through flesh. "I am going to mend the Shadow here, and if the architects responsible wish to save their science project, they would be well advised to act with alacrity. Not right. Not right! To take the turning of such a place and change it to greenhouse, to laboratory- no," she says, the fire simmering for a moment, "the resonance is there, but- contained, the research facilities, the conservation facilities, they do not spill out waste into the harbor and let visitors walk through the dens of arachnids, they protect, they preserve, they understand-"

A thought. A turning-point. A gesture to be followed.

Tell us: what is the spirit of the Taronga Conservation Science Building?

Some of the more powerful building spirits are still around here, stable enough to endure the chaos by hunkering down and hibernating. But where the Conservation Science building is there are dozens of husks made out of spirit energy - like a great spirit has shed its form multiple times. The first husk is blocky and solid and made out of stone, the second is chalk and glass and lenses, the third is verdant blossoming vegetation, the fourth is in the shape of an enormous cow with dozens of udders, the fifth is the shed skin of a sexy snake lady, the sixth is a ferocious mother tiger. The Conserver steps between these shapes as it is required to - the Mantra (https://taronga.org.au/about-us/our-mission) gives it seven vital roles that it must fill.

Right now it wears the seventh form: the last resort.

It has taken a form of ruthlessness, the deadliest aspects of its previous forms. On a mission that is of such critical importance it can’t be allowed to fail. A great ten-winged wasp in orange and black; surrounded by floating glass magnifying lenses, with the jaws of a tiger and the fangs of a snake. It perches atop the sign at the front of the building and surveys the chaos without tension. It believes - or has been made to believe - in this work. It has discarded its role as a shield. It now stands in its aspect as a sword.

You may speak to it, if you wish.

[Raz_Fox]

It has taken a form of ruthlessness, the deadliest aspects of its previous forms. On a mission that is of such critical importance it can’t be allowed to fail. A great ten-winged wasp in orange and black; surrounded by floating glass magnifying lenses, with the jaws of a tiger and the fangs of a snake. It perches atop the sign at the front of the building and surveys the chaos without tension. It believes - or has been made to believe - in this work. It has discarded its role as a shield. It now stands in its aspect as a sword.

You may speak to it, if you wish.

Compass advances forward without fear, without a great deal of hope, and without any patience with the state of the zoo remaining. (She assumes that this spirit has been warped by the cunning and sorcery of other magicians. Between you and me, it is quite possible that she is wrong.) She snaps her fingers, acquires its attention.

"Report," she says. "Tell me what your conservation efforts have focused on in the last-" The word she speaks next is High Speech: the period of time that a spirit of worth would consider significant. "I would also appreciate knowing your recent donors and what they asked of you."

[Thanqol]

Compass advances forward without fear, without a great deal of hope, and without any patience with the state of the zoo remaining. (She assumes that this spirit has been warped by the cunning and sorcery of other magicians. Between you and me, it is quite possible that she is wrong.) She snaps her fingers, acquires its attention.

"Report," she says. "Tell me what your conservation efforts have focused on in the last-" The word she speaks next is High Speech: the period of time that a spirit of worth would consider significant. "I would also appreciate knowing your recent donors and what they asked of you."

"Our privacy policy," rasps the wasp-monster with dedicated politeness despite its inhuman, warlike form, "prohibits us from sharing donor information with third parties unless:

•we need to share personal information in order to provide the product or service requested;
•we are legally obliged to do so; or,
•we are otherwise required or committed by the Privacy Act 1988.

"However our conservation efforts are -" it rasped and coughed, spitting up bones, "- a matter of public record. Would you like to subscribe to our newsletter? We are currently focusing on habitat reclamation and the problems caused by global warming. Perhaps even restoring extinct species to the wilds of Australia. Megafauna and the like. Very exciting." It produced a small black handkerchief from one of its long, barbed limbs and carefully polished the lens of one of its floating magnifying glasses.

[PhoeKun]

Zero pauses for a long moment, then draws two big circles and a small dot: O.O

After a moment she adds two semicolons.

"That's not on the internet!" said Zero. "That's not on the internet at all! Occult legends, horror video games, creepypasta message boards - has nobody written down anything about this place?" Despite her regular voice cadence, Zero is sounding a mix of outraged, betrayed, horrified, upset and shocked. It's a bit like a kid finding out that Santa Claus isn't real. She starts pacing back and forth, looking at things from different angles, the sound of her built-in camera going off non stop.

Then she suddenly turns around. "Mom, can I explore it? This has to be documented."

Lily chuckles.

"Ok, learning time! Imagine, if you will, a world where almost everybody is colorblind. I dunno how accurate this number is, but let's say one in every ten million people can detect the full majesty of the rainbow. Only every time they try to share it with the 'normal' people, it causes everyone such horrific pain that their minds bend over backwards to erase the sensory overload. So the gifted people stay quiet, and everybody else just assumes the world they see is the way they see it. How useful do you think the internet would be to you when describing the color red? Maybe somebody with a really vivid imagination would get kind of close? But it'd be pretty useless, wouldn't it? No precision of language possible for life outside the range of human experience.

And that's pretty much what the world is like. Your average, work-a-day human has no idea any of the stuff you see through those glasses even exists, and their brains would sooner snap in half than accept it. A bunch of really clever wizardy types call the world they perceive around themselves 'The Lie'. It's, uh... not a great name, I'm going to be honest with you. There's nothing hostile about what people perceive, and a lot of their ideas pretty well describe reality or even change it. Something something Newtonian physics versus quantum... criminy, will you listen to me? I sound like my uni professors. Teal deer: the internet's super cool and useful, but it's not run by wizards so try not to be shocked when it's wrong. Also, wizards are wrong. Constantly. I can't see that part of the world either, without help.

Which, oh, by the way, remind me later to repeat that trick with those glasses. I'll show you what the world looks like through my eyes. It's pretty neato burrito, not to brag. But, uh, yeah. Exploration! Documentation! Totes! Knock yourself out, darling. Just don't... y'know, touch... anything without asking Compy about it, first. Or Key's mystery bestie, who I guess is somewhere around here and is more of an expert on Spirits? Key, is she cool with talking to heretofore unknown androids? I don't want to impose. It's just, to say I have no idea what the consequences would be for turning Zero loose in and amongst all that jazz is like calling water a bond between the most common isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen. Like, duh?"

[Anarion]

Key, is she cool with talking to heretofore unknown androids? I don't want to impose. It's just, to say I have no idea what the consequences would be for turning Zero loose in and amongst all that jazz is like calling water a bond between the most common isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen. Like, duh?"

All things considered, Keynes is happy for the break from his contemplation. He just smoothly passes over the chemistry reference and says "I'll ask her."

>>My colleague built an android that's with us. Would it be problematic if it does a bit of wandering and documentation of the spirit here?

[Thanqol]

Lily chuckles.

"Ok, learning time! Imagine, if you will, a world where almost everybody is colorblind. I dunno how accurate this number is, but let's say one in every ten million people can detect the full majesty of the rainbow. Only every time they try to share it with the 'normal' people, it causes everyone such horrific pain that their minds bend over backwards to erase the sensory overload. So the gifted people stay quiet, and everybody else just assumes the world they see is the way they see it. How useful do you think the internet would be to you when describing the color red? Maybe somebody with a really vivid imagination would get kind of close? But it'd be pretty useless, wouldn't it? No precision of language possible for life outside the range of human experience.

And that's pretty much what the world is like. Your average, work-a-day human has no idea any of the stuff you see through those glasses even exists, and their brains would sooner snap in half than accept it. A bunch of really clever wizardy types call the world they perceive around themselves 'The Lie'. It's, uh... not a great name, I'm going to be honest with you. There's nothing hostile about what people perceive, and a lot of their ideas pretty well describe reality or even change it. Something something Newtonian physics versus quantum... criminy, will you listen to me? I sound like my uni professors. Teal deer: the internet's super cool and useful, but it's not run by wizards so try not to be shocked when it's wrong. Also, wizards are wrong. Constantly. I can't see that part of the world either, without help.

Zero processes this, struggling with the concept that the infinite well of information she'd been born connected to was fallible. "It sounds like wizards are better at knowing things than people," said Zero. "So I want to be one. How do I do that?"


All things considered, Keynes is happy for the break from his contemplation. He just smoothly passes over the chemistry reference and says "I'll ask her."

>>My colleague built an android that's with us. Would it be problematic if it does a bit of wandering and documentation of the spirit here?

> No problem at all. There are no downsides to documenting the Shadow, really - it's all part of the Fallen World and it's just a weird trait of human culture right now that people don't know how it works.
> Probably to do with the increased Gauntlet strength that comes with so many people living in dense urban environments
> In the past knowing about the Shadow was like knowing about computers. Everyone did it and it didn't really contribute to the mass ascension of humanity.
> That said, on a practical on the ground level there is a bunch of basic safety stuff to know when dealing with Spirits. I'll text the 'bot directly with some basics.
> Oh yeah, also...
> I kind of had some questions about the Guardians.
> Like, what's the endgame here? For us?


Which, oh, by the way, remind me later to repeat that trick with those glasses. I'll show you what the world looks like through my eyes. It's pretty neato burrito, not to brag. But, uh, yeah. Exploration! Documentation! Totes! Knock yourself out, darling. Just don't... y'know, touch... anything without asking Compy about it, first. Or Key's mystery bestie, who I guess is somewhere around here and is more of an expert on Spirits? Key, is she cool with talking to heretofore unknown androids? I don't want to impose. It's just, to say I have no idea what the consequences would be for turning Zero loose in and amongst all that jazz is like calling water a bond between the most common isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen. Like, duh?"

"She says that they are, quote, like insane legalistic animals who are also people," said Zero, latching on to Knowing Things. "And you need to be able to balance politeness and physical violence to interact with them effectively. Can I have a laser blaster?"

[Anarion]

> No problem at all. There are no downsides to documenting the Shadow, really - it's all part of the Fallen World and it's just a weird trait of human culture right now that people don't know how it works.
> Probably to do with the increased Gauntlet strength that comes with so many people living in dense urban environments
> In the past knowing about the Shadow was like knowing about computers. Everyone did it and it didn't really contribute to the mass ascension of humanity.
> That said, on a practical on the ground level there is a bunch of basic safety stuff to know when dealing with Spirits. I'll text the 'bot directly with some basics.
> Oh yeah, also...
> I kind of had some questions about the Guardians.
> Like, what's the endgame here? For us?


>>Thank you for the assistance, once again. I'm glad you were able to join us today.
>>Our endgame is

Keynes hesitates as he's typing this one out. What is their endgame, exactly? Fix current problems, perhaps. Certainly, this Thule fellow that Compass had dealt with represented a loose cannon even if he was the head of the local Consilium, and the sins being carried out by the Grail Knights were unacceptable behavior for non-guardians that were tainting all of their souls. But bigger picture, once they fixed the immediate problems, what was the plan? Status quo was not acceptable. They were going to fix whatever was broken in Sydney, whatever was keeping mages from awakening.

>>Our endgame is to tear down whatever's damning the rivers of magic.
>> To be honest, I wanted to ask you a few questions too. This all started because scrying suggested you were going to make a mistake managing the labyrinth. Can you tell me if you've changed what you've been doing, recently?

[Raz_Fox]

"I see. I am interested in your periodical; give me a few moments to gather my funds for the subscription fee." Compass nods her head and returns to her compatriots.

"I think we can get some useful information from the spirit of the Conservation program, but it's going to need essence, and my attempts at crafting essence from mana have thus far been... explosive."

You may be familiar with these experiments. Like white-burning stars, flickering in the palm of her hand, and then light and motion and fire, vacating the space where they once were swiftly. It would technically count as essence, in the same way as getting a glass of water from a fire hydrant, except that the fire hydrant is also exploding and ceramic is embedding itself in the wall next to your ear.

"I can make a substantial donation earmarked for its efforts, but it's unlikely to see the immediate fruits, and we need to fix this posthaste. This is wrong. Do you- do you feel it, Keynes? I want to turn the hoses on and wash this place away down to the concrete. Like Hercules."

[Anarion]

"I can make a substantial donation earmarked for its efforts, but it's unlikely to see the immediate fruits, and we need to fix this posthaste. This is wrong. Do you- do you feel it, Keynes? I want to turn the hoses on and wash this place away down to the concrete. Like Hercules."

Keynes hesitates at the question. "...I admit, old chum, that I am not one for easily feeling such wrongness in the depths of my bones as you are. I sense that the working is fated to cause much death, and am completely with you on the need to prevent it, but I admit that I am loathe to simply snuff out the potential for such magical life as opposed to correcting for the mistakes made in its creation. If there is no other way, though, I am, as always, at your service."

He then adds a text to Brunhild.

>>Uh...one more question. Compass doesn't know how to bribe the bee spirit at the present moment. Thoughts?

[Thanqol]

>>Thank you for the assistance, once again. I'm glad you were able to join us today.
>>Our endgame is

Keynes hesitates as he's typing this one out. What is their endgame, exactly? Fix current problems, perhaps. Certainly, this Thule fellow that Compass had dealt with represented a loose cannon even if he was the head of the local Consilium, and the sins being carried out by the Grail Knights were unacceptable behavior for non-guardians that were tainting all of their souls. But bigger picture, once they fixed the immediate problems, what was the plan? Status quo was not acceptable. They were going to fix whatever was broken in Sydney, whatever was keeping mages from awakening.

>>Our endgame is to tear down whatever's damning the rivers of magic.
>> To be honest, I wanted to ask you a few questions too. This all started because scrying suggested you were going to make a mistake managing the labyrinth. Can you tell me if you've changed what you've been doing, recently?

> I'm not talking about Sydney, man. I'm asking about the big picture. We're Guardians of the Veil and I get that we're here to save the world. But for what? We're playing defense and status quo but for what? What's step two? What does winning look like?
> I'm using my Labyrinth branch to do some divining. Watching the ecosystem. Setting the low against the high directly rather than symbolically. That's getting amazingly sharp and powerful results.


Keynes hesitates at the question. "...I admit, old chum, that I am not one for easily feeling such wrongness in the depths of my bones as you are. I sense that the working is fated to cause much death, and am completely with you on the need to prevent it, but I admit that I am loathe to simply snuff out the potential for such magical life as opposed to correcting for the mistakes made in its creation. If there is no other way, though, I am, as always, at your service."

He then adds a text to Brunhild.

>>Uh...one more question. Compass doesn't know how to bribe the bee spirit at the present moment. Thoughts?

This one goes through to Compass' phone too:

> Pay it in money.
> Cash dollars. Credit card. Make a donation to its foundation. Literally sign up for its periodical.
> This is something new Spirit mages don't get. You think you've got to understand their rules and give them what they want. But that's not how they think. You give them what you want to give them so long as it's appropriate to what they're about. You could also give it tiger cubs, the answers to scientific and biological questions it doesn't know about, whatever.
> Essence is just for when you're short on ideas.
> (FYI if you're getting the essence bomb thingy when converting mana channel the mana into a point in your skin or hair, cut it off, and then do the conversion spell. You have to get the mana a bit bloody and gross so it's got a stronger resonance to the Primal Wild and doesn't just try to default to its aether form)
> The only tricky part is figuring out how much to pay it, but its usually less than you think.
> You're asking it for information right now and it probably doesn't really value that. It's not the spirit of a data vault or anything, it doesn't care that much. It just knows that you want it.
> If you want it to spend its essence or risk itself the cost goes up because it will want to make a profit but if you're feeling spooky you can bargain it down to 'just don't hurt me'.

[The spirits' initial asking price will be a resources 3 spend - a successful negotiation roll of some sort will knock that down to resources 2 which is essentially free for your resources 4. There are a bunch of other negotiation vectors you can take but that's the easiest. Alternately it'd take 2 mana/essence to pay it off and Brunhild can talk you through that process safely. This gets you the answers to any questions you have]

[Anarion]

> I'm not talking about Sydney, man. I'm asking about the big picture. We're Guardians of the Veil and I get that we're here to save the world. But for what? We're playing defense and status quo but for what? What's step two? What does winning look like?
> I'm using my Labyrinth branch to do some divining. Watching the ecosystem. Setting the low against the high directly rather than symbolically. That's getting amazingly sharp and powerful results.


>>I am uncertain what I should send over text on this. Metaphorically, our work is not merely maintenance, it is cultivation that will ultimately bear fruit.
>>Good results now may nevertheless presage some future harm. Our work is for the long-term. Can you recommend a location where I could divine into some of your Labyrinth? I'd like to check myself. If I have some concerns after investigating, we can discuss how to fix them.

[Thanqol]

>>I am uncertain what I should send over text on this. Metaphorically, our work is not merely maintenance, it is cultivation that will ultimately bear fruit.
>>Good results now may nevertheless presage some future harm. Our work is for the long-term. Can you recommend a location where I could divine into some of your Labyrinth? I'd like to check myself. If I have some concerns after investigating, we can discuss how to fix them.

> This line's secure enough for me to trust it. I've disciplined my phone.
> But telling me to think about the long term at this point is like asking for blind trust.
> I signed up for the Guardians of the Veil because I wanted to protect people, do the right thing, make sure magic doesn't... get out of hand like I know that it can. And you know I'm prepared to back those beliefs up with action.
> But I've never met a Mage who couldn't ask why, and I tried to be above it but I guess I'm not.
> This is eating away at me and I can't not think about it.
> It's kind of scary to be honest.
> I want to know the plan.
> I want to know it badly enough to have set up some pretty elaborate and horrifying contingencies to make sure I get it.
> So I really hope it's a case of just asking.

[Raz_Fox]

>That explains a lot about the Shadow, honestly, in ways that I hadn't thought to piece together the information available to me: as if you'd rotated puzzle pieces on a board to show me how they connect.
>That spirits are imbued with our- essence, if you will. That we shape them through our interaction. And also that they are not exactly rational actors- or rather, their values aren't ours.
>Thank you for the insight. If there's any way I can repay you, just let me know!

She means that, by and by. Mages working together are stronger, like branches bound by cord. (This is also reminiscent of the fasces, a fact she is well aware of.)

Now, there's a spirit that must be attended to, yes?

"There we are," I say, after a minute shooting off emails on my phone. "I've just made sure that the city's annual donation to the zoo specifically earmarks the conservation exhibits, to thank you for your cooperation in this matter. As I was just saying, I'd love to hear about your recent conservation efforts. Do you have a periodical to hand?"

[This is a Politics-based roll, I think.]

[Thanqol]

>That explains a lot about the Shadow, honestly, in ways that I hadn't thought to piece together the information available to me: as if you'd rotated puzzle pieces on a board to show me how they connect.
>That spirits are imbued with our- essence, if you will. That we shape them through our interaction. And also that they are not exactly rational actors- or rather, their values aren't ours.
>Thank you for the insight. If there's any way I can repay you, just let me know!

> Exactly, Now you're getting it!
> I actually could use your help on something, though.
> I'm interested in now nodes form in the Shadow and I think it has something to do with ley lines. I don't really understand how ley lines work conceptually, though - I mean, there's mana moving around like water, but why does it stop and pool?


She means that, by and by. Mages working together are stronger, like branches bound by cord. (This is also reminiscent of the fasces, a fact she is well aware of.)

Now, there's a spirit that must be attended to, yes?

"There we are," I say, after a minute shooting off emails on my phone. "I've just made sure that the city's annual donation to the zoo specifically earmarks the conservation exhibits, to thank you for your cooperation in this matter. As I was just saying, I'd love to hear about your recent conservation efforts. Do you have a periodical to hand?"

[This is a Politics-based roll, I think.]

"You are with the government?" hissed the bee, buzzing its wings excitedly. "You did not tell me you were with the government!" it hurries over to its broken cocoon and peels off a heap of wet, slimy paper mache and spits it out in front of you - you can vaguely make out the impression of some animal and landscape photographs and blurred text. "We are always delighted to speak to representatives of the government!"

[Sure, manipulation+politics. I'd tell you to add government status to this roll if you had any, but your public service lanyard is worth a +1 dice if you show it]

[Raz_Fox]

> Exactly, Now you're getting it!
> I actually could use your help on something, though.
> I'm interested in now nodes form in the Shadow and I think it has something to do with ley lines. I don't really understand how ley lines work conceptually, though - I mean, there's mana moving around like water, but why does it stop and pool?

Compass deletes her text multiple times before answering.

>Symbolic weight, best way I can think to put it. Consider a comet caught in our gravity well: it moves, constantly, but around a central point, building in power, building in speed, until it is sent singing off again. Nodes are the gravity well, and symbols are the planets, and the planets themselves are symbols, if you get me.


"You are with the government?" hissed the bee, buzzing its wings excitedly. "You did not tell me you were with the government!" it hurries over to its broken cocoon and peels off a heap of wet, slimy paper mache and spits it out in front of you - you can vaguely make out the impression of some animal and landscape photographs and blurred text. "We are always delighted to speak to representatives of the government!"

[Sure, manipulation+politics. I'd tell you to add government status to this roll if you had any, but your public service lanyard is worth a +1 dice if you show it]

Definitely flashed, then.

[roll0]

[Thanqol]

Compass deletes her text multiple times before answering.

>Symbolic weight, best way I can think to put it. Consider a comet caught in our gravity well: it moves, constantly, but around a central point, building in power, building in speed, until it is sent singing off again. Nodes are the gravity well, and symbols are the planets, and the planets themselves are symbols, if you get me.

> Okay. That sort of makes sense.
> brb watching science videos


Definitely flashed, then.

[roll0]

"We shall, of course, co-operate with lawful authority," said the insect, backing away and crawling back into its split-open cocoon. As it does this one of the stilled spirits comes alive - a creature of glass and whiteboards and measurements and dripping DNA. Lenses clackity-clack as it brings you into focus and a large, timid yellow eye looks out at you.

"We have recently been co-operating with Shaman Weaver-Of-Chitin," it said in a mournful, distorted voice. "The Shaman has done a great deal of research and has presented us with an intriguing theory: Australia should actually possess a temperate-tropical climate, not an arid one. He believes that Australia was once a veritable Garden of Eden but has been deliberately geoengineered to become a blasted desert landscape. Certain invasive species' are lynchpins for this working - cane toads, rabbits, wild cats - and he further believes that the Harbour Bridge exists as a weather manipulation device. We have been assured that concerted large-scale biosphere management techniques might be able to undo the corruption of Australia's weather and potentially -" here excitement crept into the spirit's voice "- restore to life millions of previously uncatalogued species! We were more than happy to accept some temporary loss of biodiversity for the," it was literally slavering right now, sticky gobs of saliva pooling around its glass edges and dropping to the ground, "gains such a massive working might represent."

[Raz_Fox]

A mouth opens.

A mouth shuts.

Lips, pressed thin; thoughts rolling like wheels in wheels, burning.

Outcome: unacceptable. No, not outcome: current results. Aftereffects. Side effects.

Theory? Intriguing. The sort of thing that would make her perk up in discussion at Wizard Parties. But the application is damaging her city. Her City!

"Thank you very much! I'll be sure to congratulate him on his research breakthroughs," Compass says, sweet as sugar.

Then, stepping away from the spirit: "Interesting theory. I'd have to adjust the city's ley lines to compensate, and the pollution aftereffect is unacceptable, but... you're right, Keynes. The spiritual pollution here is a contributing factor to my erratic behavior, and I have been out of line. I apologize."

[Anarion]

> This line's secure enough for me to trust it. I've disciplined my phone.
> But telling me to think about the long term at this point is like asking for blind trust.
> I signed up for the Guardians of the Veil because I wanted to protect people, do the right thing, make sure magic doesn't... get out of hand like I know that it can. And you know I'm prepared to back those beliefs up with action.
> But I've never met a Mage who couldn't ask why, and I tried to be above it but I guess I'm not.
> This is eating away at me and I can't not think about it.
> It's kind of scary to be honest.
> I want to know the plan.
> I want to know it badly enough to have set up some pretty elaborate and horrifying contingencies to make sure I get it.
> So I really hope it's a case of just asking.

Keynes hesitates, but decides to trust Brunhild on the phone security.
>Have you studied the Guardian-only mysteries?
>I am...not a supporter of the terminology, hieromagus as a concept strikes me as being alarmingly close to theories of the Exarch of Time, which I fundamentally reject.
>Nevertheless, our end goal is to improve the awakening process and discover magic that is not subject to the corruption of paradox or the destruction of disbelief.
>Some Guardians see that as a savior figure, but at least in my particular case, I think it is not as a single savior, but as a process by which we can overcome the existing limitations and dangers of magic and make the world better in that way.
>In the meantime, we do end up in a fair amount of defending the "status quo" as you say, due to the many mages that do not consider the harm they are doing to their own souls in pursuing their obsessions.
>Does that answer provide sufficient detail?



"Thank you very much! I'll be sure to congratulate him on his research breakthroughs," Compass says, sweet as sugar.

Then, stepping away from the spirit: "Interesting theory. I'd have to adjust the city's ley lines to compensate, and the pollution aftereffect is unacceptable, but... you're right, Keynes. The spiritual pollution here is a contributing factor to my erratic behavior, and I have been out of line. I apologize."

"Apology both eminently unnecessary and accepted, my dear Compass. That still leaves us with the need to decide what to do. I think we ought to stall the process, if we can do so without instigating the Grail Knights shooting us, and then see if we can modify things to avoid needless death. What say you to that?"

[Thanqol]

Keynes hesitates, but decides to trust Brunhild on the phone security.
>Have you studied the Guardian-only mysteries?
>I am...not a supporter of the terminology, hieromagus as a concept strikes me as being alarmingly close to theories of the Exarch of Time, which I fundamentally reject.
>Nevertheless, our end goal is to improve the awakening process and discover magic that is not subject to the corruption of paradox or the destruction of disbelief.
>Some Guardians see that as a savior figure, but at least in my particular case, I think it is not as a single savior, but as a process by which we can overcome the existing limitations and dangers of magic and make the world better in that way.
>In the meantime, we do end up in a fair amount of defending the "status quo" as you say, due to the many mages that do not consider the harm they are doing to their own souls in pursuing their obsessions.
>Does that answer provide sufficient detail?

> I have not studied Guardian-only mysteries.
> I was under the impression that the only way to do that was to talk to the ranking Guardian in the region, i.e. you.
> WTF is this process for overcoming the dangers of magic and paradox
> And why aren't we working on it full time if it's that important?
> Also why hasn't it been invented yet, it's 2017, what's stopping us, what does progress look like, etc

[Anarion]

> I have not studied Guardian-only mysteries.
> I was under the impression that the only way to do that was to talk to the ranking Guardian in the region, i.e. you.
> WTF is this process for overcoming the dangers of magic and paradox
> And why aren't we working on it full time if it's that important?
> Also why hasn't it been invented yet, it's 2017, what's stopping us, what does progress look like, etc

>This may be difficult over short phone texts. But yes, you can ask me, this is the correct channel.
>I...don't have a specific process. Or if there is one, it's even beyond my rank. It's connected to the overall labyrinth though.
>My best understanding is that it is a long-term plan, designed around keeping abyssal forces and rogue mages from utterly ruining the world while things are slowly adjusted to improve the awakening process.
>Even then, it's experimental and may never work. *frowning face emoji*
>My belief is that Sydney today is like a...a tangled knot in the overall plan of fate, held in some sort of stasis. So I believe the best way to progress is to unlock whatever is preventing awakening here, and that may provide insight into the process itself.
>Current investigation when not busy preventing mass death or organizational defections is how to effectively approach this problem.

[Raz_Fox]

"Apology both eminently unnecessary and accepted, my dear Compass. That still leaves us with the need to decide what to do. I think we ought to stall the process, if we can do so without instigating the Grail Knights shooting us, and then see if we can modify things to avoid needless death. What say you to that?"

"Agreed," Compass says, and she allows the tension to turn away, to slick off of her like rain, and in the cursed place, she stands like an angel. "Temporary disconnect of the vines, and then- well, I should imagine they will come to us to discuss terms. Although- hmmm."

Tell me: would Compass have some way to contact the Grail Knights herself? I cannot recall which of them have contacts within the Silver Ladder.

[Thanqol]

>This may be difficult over short phone texts. But yes, you can ask me, this is the correct channel.
>I...don't have a specific process. Or if there is one, it's even beyond my rank. It's connected to the overall labyrinth though.
>My best understanding is that it is a long-term plan, designed around keeping abyssal forces and rogue mages from utterly ruining the world while things are slowly adjusted to improve the awakening process.
>Even then, it's experimental and may never work. *frowning face emoji*
>My belief is that Sydney today is like a...a tangled knot in the overall plan of fate, held in some sort of stasis. So I believe the best way to progress is to unlock whatever is preventing awakening here, and that may provide insight into the process itself.
>Current investigation when not busy preventing mass death or organizational defections is how to effectively approach this problem.

> So my next question is that what is unique about the Guardian approach to this that couldn't be done by the Ladder, Arrow, etc.
> Because it sounds like they're working on the same stuff just way more direct than we are. Example: this place.
> Why be a Guardian, basically. Is it really just a question of methods?


"Agreed," Compass says, and she allows the tension to turn away, to slick off of her like rain, and in the cursed place, she stands like an angel. "Temporary disconnect of the vines, and then- well, I should imagine they will come to us to discuss terms. Although- hmmm."

Tell me: would Compass have some way to contact the Grail Knights herself? I cannot recall which of them have contacts within the Silver Ladder.

You have a huge number of options. Being part of a global wizard conspiracy is actually really good for things like this.

Option one: Make this a big official Ladder matter. There's a big Ladder caucus in Canberra which is two hours drive away (for Sleepers, two seconds teleporting away if you make it sound urgent) and are your mutual superiors. This will get you the whole shebam because you'll be calling on dudes who are capital O Obsessed with ensuring concord and unity between all the Awakened and within the Ladder in particular.

The catch is that Percival doesn't really seem to be doing anything illegal by the Ladder's laws that you've seen so far. He's set up a big continent changing magical working with potential catastrophic side effects and, by gum, that's what the Silver Ladder is meant to be doing! In fact, if he had openly signposted out the front of the zoo that this was his sanctum then if anything you'd be in trouble here. Maybe you could get him on a technicality to get him to sign his works more clearly but he could probably make the case for secrecy, or you could claim that the city's ley lines were all your property but that's probably huge overreach. (An unfortunate amount of Wizard law is to basically protect the rights of individual Wizards).

Sub-note: You could engineer an artificial conflict by just unilaterally rerouting some ley lines this place needs and being really public about your plans to do so, and because he hasn't put his name on anything he can't even claim you're deliberately messing with his sh*t in court. This is the method some of your Ladder mentors would have recommended because it doubles as teaching the guy a valuable lesson about the need for clear communication between the Awakened.

Option two: Threaten to make this a big official matter. You know the codicies of the Lex Magica, you know formal wizard lawsuit arrangements - you can hit him up with the wizard equivalent of a cease and desist letter. There is a magical passive future-surveillance system in place and if you basically create a huge plume of invisible Prime glyphs in the air the system will probably pick up on it and he'll retroactively have always been here willing to talk to you.

Catch is that if he's gone totally mental then you might get a sniper's bullet rather than a polite conversation but Keynes can probably reverse time himself if that happens and Grimhild doesn't block him. You be the judge of that risk.

Option three: Formally arrange a meeting through the Ladder. Take this to a superior, request that a formal sit-down meeting take place, and the superior will take time out of his schedule to track this guy down and make it clear that not picking up your phone is the first step on the road to going crazy and ending up in wizard jail. This would count as your Silver Ladder Status requisition for the session but it's the safest and most sure option.

[Anarion]

Catch is that if he's gone totally mental then you might get a sniper's bullet rather than a polite conversation but Keynes can probably reverse time himself if that happens and Grimhild doesn't block him. You be the judge of that risk.


If this option is used, Keynes recommends casting the spell at sensory range from a nearby rooftop that's outside the magical scrying sensor thing and including an arranged meeting place in the message that would be awkward for sniping.

[Raz_Fox]

Let's follow up on Option #1, sub-clause. Compass very much considers the geomantic flow of the City of Sydney to be her great working, by God and all the angels, and doubtless pulling the ley lines here will have created a knot, or pulled them away from where They Should Be.

Given fifteen minutes and some scratch paper, Compass can realign the ley lines nearby to fit her planetary/geomantic/kinetic ideal. Can you tell me more about these ley lines, as she Sets Things Right?

(Doubtless she could find a way to both power this working and keep her system, but did Perceval ask? Noooooo.)

[PhoeKun]

"...I get that your guyseseseseses plan is to stall this whole mess into oblivion while you try to figure out whether or not extinct life begins at conception or... whatever this is, but I am very very prepared to argue that your eventual response should be to kill everything here with fire. But as I am neither wizard lawyer nor wizard secret police, or even the spooky haunted cellphones that hang out with the wizard secret police, my opinion probably counts for less, but like, as the only one of y'all who has put any serious work into understanding beginnings and endings (shut up, Key), and also as the one who was originally all 'hey, maybe it's a good thing the bridge is all vomiting mana all over the city?', I feel like I should really point out that Plan: Grow a Bunch of Creepy Eggs Inside the Shadow Zoo is almost entirely incompatible with Plan: Sydney Is a Bridge of Starfire, or um... other things. I feel like this should be crazy obvious. Avoiding needless death, are you kidding me?"

Lily sighs and shrugs helplessly.

"Zero, I have less than no idea how anybody actually goes about awakening but I am as fascinated as I am terrified by the prospect of you being interested in it. As your mother I'm supposed to give you some sort of speech right now about how you'll know things when you're ready but I am tired from chewing out my best friends so please imagine I put a lot more effort into that than I just did. I'm new at this, I suck, I'm sorry. Do you want a weapon that's hand held, mounted, or integrated?"

[Thanqol]

Let's follow up on Option #1, sub-clause. Compass very much considers the geomantic flow of the City of Sydney to be her great working, by God and all the angels, and doubtless pulling the ley lines here will have created a knot, or pulled them away from where They Should Be.

Given fifteen minutes and some scratch paper, Compass can realign the ley lines nearby to fit her planetary/geomantic/kinetic ideal. Can you tell me more about these ley lines, as she Sets Things Right?

(Doubtless she could find a way to both power this working and keep her system, but did Perceval ask? Noooooo.)

Sydney's ley lines, like that of any big city, are pretty inflexible - big streets and concrete and cars lock a lot of stuff in place and shifting one is a huge endeavor that shuts the city down for ages (incidentally, the biggest street in the city is currently undergoing massive roadworks to prepare it for light rail - I assume Compass has something to do with that but we'll look at the details later). Prime magic can move them around and re-route the flows of mana through the streets instantly, like valves redirecting water through pipes, but you can't change the pipes themselves - when the Duration of your spell ceases then the mana will resume its natural flow. A simple casting of Geomancy can isolate this area from the grid for as long as you can maintain the spell (as an active spell it's subject to dispellation, though if you signpost it clearly using Invisible Runes doing so is a crime against you and you can seek redress through the Consilium).

The harbour, though, is a different matter. It has no streets but the lines carved across it by water-taxis and ferries, and as these are painted in foam on water they can be smoothed away just as easily. While getting clearance to tear up a street will take months and involve a lot of work through the Sleeper world (that, or engineering a gas or sewage explosion that requires an emergency response), cancelling ferries or damaging the docks can dry up the flow far more quickly. If the ferries stopped coming to the Zoo's dock then the situation is reversed - the opposition would need to cast a Geomancy spell to force the connection just as you'd have to cast one to force the connection to break, and if they did not sign it with their names then you could dispel it without consequence.


Lily sighs and shrugs helplessly.

"Zero, I have less than no idea how anybody actually goes about awakening but I am as fascinated as I am terrified by the prospect of you being interested in it. As your mother I'm supposed to give you some sort of speech right now about how you'll know things when you're ready but I am tired from chewing out my best friends so please imagine I put a lot more effort into that than I just did. I'm new at this, I suck, I'm sorry. Do you want a weapon that's hand held, mounted, or integrated?"

Zero accepts your deferral smoothly. "I am aesthetically attracted to integrated arm-guns for reasons you probably understand," said Zero. "Still, having one is making a very big statement that I'm not sure is correct. I'm interested in a weapon as a tool to help navigate the shadow, not as an intrinsic part of my approach to problem solving. Hand held is probably the most adaptable solution."

[Anarion]

>Day to day, I suppose we focus more on keeping mages safe and preventing harm than anyone else, which might appeal to one's protective instincts and sense of gratification.
>In a grander sense, I suppose I will think about it. I imagine you'd find my assertion that the Guarduan plan is better than everyone else's unconvincing without some reliable sources as evidence.

"I accept that kill it with fire may be a required backup plan. I highly recommend that any such plan is not enacted within radius of a spell I have sadly failed to protect us from that would allow the positioning of snipers prior to any fire spell."

[Raz_Fox]

"...I get that your guyseseseseses plan is to stall this whole mess into oblivion while you try to figure out whether or not extinct life begins at conception or... whatever this is, but I am very very prepared to argue that your eventual response should be to kill everything here with fire. But as I am neither wizard lawyer nor wizard secret police, or even the spooky haunted cellphones that hang out with the wizard secret police, my opinion probably counts for less, but like, as the only one of y'all who has put any serious work into understanding beginnings and endings (shut up, Key), and also as the one who was originally all 'hey, maybe it's a good thing the bridge is all vomiting mana all over the city?', I feel like I should really point out that Plan: Grow a Bunch of Creepy Eggs Inside the Shadow Zoo is almost entirely incompatible with Plan: Sydney Is a Bridge of Starfire, or um... other things. I feel like this should be crazy obvious. Avoiding needless death, are you kidding me?"

And this is why we hang out with Lily. Compass, who has gone from being furious and about ready to burn something down to unnerved but also intrigued, is pulled back down to earth by the straight-talking Moros. That might be something of an abashed flush to her cheeks.

"You're right, as per usual, Lily. I don't want to set a precedent that not checking in with our cabal means that we'll shut you down- we'd be too close to Seers with that sort of rhetoric- but this corruption of the spiritual realm is unacceptable, and the safeguards put in place are extremely lacking. Now, we should probably leave and regroup before we retroactively have death squads here to kill us in the name of scientific progress."

[Anarion]

"You're right, as per usual, Lily. I don't want to set a precedent that not checking in with our cabal means that we'll shut you down- we'd be too close to Seers with that sort of rhetoric- but this corruption of the spiritual realm is unacceptable, and the safeguards put in place are extremely lacking. Now, we should probably leave and regroup before we retroactively have death squads here to kill us in the name of scientific progress."

"I concur, let us be on our way." Keynes waits for Brunhild's response before sending anymore, trying to remember why he himself had felt the call to the Guardians. It had been some years since his training, and he wondered if it had truly been chance or first impressions alone that had given him his path. He could perhaps answer by negation as well: the Mysterium simply didn't care, the martial philosophy of the Arrow didn't appeal (even before meeting fanatics like Grimhild), and he lacked the sort of personal inspiration that the Ladder seemed to call for. The Free Counsel, of course, was simply undisciplined, the Seers antagonistic, and he did not share Lily's motivation to strike out on her own. But was that truly all?

[Thanqol]

"I concur, let us be on our way." Keynes waits for Brunhild's response before sending anymore, trying to remember why he himself had felt the call to the Guardians. It had been some years since his training, and he wondered if it had truly been chance or first impressions alone that had given him his path. He could perhaps answer by negation as well: the Mysterium simply didn't care, the martial philosophy of the Arrow didn't appeal (even before meeting fanatics like Grimhild), and he lacked the sort of personal inspiration that the Ladder seemed to call for. The Free Counsel, of course, was simply undisciplined, the Seers antagonistic, and he did not share Lily's motivation to strike out on her own. But was that truly all?

"What, 'none of the above'? That's why you joined an ancient cult of assassins and murderers?" snapped Hunter. Hunter was a man wearing a loud Hawaiian shirt and black sunglasses - he may in fact have been the real Hunter S. Thompson but you were never 100% sure on that. "Let me get this straight. You dedicated your life to an organization dedicated to the brutal murder of your fellow human beings because you couldn't find a compelling argument not to?"

He held a carrot in one hand and was taking huge bites of it as he talked, occasionally spraying you with fragments of orange. In his other hand he held what he affectionately called 'the idea murderer' - some kind of cigar of his own devising, containing a cocktail of drugs, stimulants and flavourings designed to induce a state of fury just on the right side of cannibalism. He was standing on the edge of a skyscraper, unsteadily walking along the railing, millimeters away from death.

"And now you're flinching and mouthing excuses and trying to find some sort of justification because you're a ****ing coward!" Hunter said. "See, that's the worst part about people. They start to formulate an idea and some angry yelling jerk can make them backpedal just because he's angry! That's the brain talking, and **** the brain! It's just a big bag of **** we have to carry around, don't listen to it. You were right the first time. Epiphany through negation, that's the Guardians. What's the catchphrase? All souls are flawed. All thrones are false. Not one person in this whole god-damn ****ty country is worth what they think they're worth, Mages especially. No one's gonna save us from ourselves. No philosophy professor or cunning word or best friend or secret society has the answers. It's just birth. Then slavery. Then death. That's all we get."

He took a bite of his carrot and then hurled the stump. It flew across the void and smacked into a window on the opposite skyscraper, splattering it with saliva and orange.

"There is," said Hunter, turning his full attention to you, "literally only one thing that can save us. Only one thing that could possibly turn this world around. And that's for something impossible to happen. Right? And we're talking hard impossible, the kind that looks dumb to even think about. "And then Jesus came back and everyone lived happily ever after". That kind of impossible. So, at this point, once you've accepted that nihilism into your soul, you're kind of left with two options. One, sell out, join the Seers, and spend the rest of your life living out elaborate sex fantasies in some skyscraper somewhere. Two... join the ancient murder cult. Live free. Free from the chains of hope, of hierarchy, of morality, of self. Because here's the thing, here's the real thing," Hunter took a long drag of the idea killer.

"No one else stands for real freedom. The Free Council, bless 'em, is slavery to the majority. The Silver Ladder is slavery now freedom later. The Seers are slavery forever. Arrow is slavery to people and the Mysties are slavery to things. The Guardians of the Veil do not give a single solitary ****. We pick people who have a strong sense of right and wrong and no illusions about the world, and then we just back 'em up when they pass judgment, if we feel like it. That's what we do. That's all we do. What's the phrase? Nothing is true and everything is permitted? Do you believe that? If not, get the **** out of here and find what you do believe in."

[Anarion]

"What, 'none of the above'? That's why you joined an ancient cult of assassins and murderers?" snapped Hunter. Hunter was a man wearing a loud Hawaiian shirt and black sunglasses - he may in fact have been the real Hunter S. Thompson but you were never 100% sure on that. "Let me get this straight. You dedicated your life to an organization dedicated to the brutal murder of your fellow human beings because you couldn't find a compelling argument not to?"

He held a carrot in one hand and was taking huge bites of it as he talked, occasionally spraying you with fragments of orange. In his other hand he held what he affectionately called 'the idea murderer' - some kind of cigar of his own devising, containing a cocktail of drugs, stimulants and flavourings designed to induce a state of fury just on the right side of cannibalism. He was standing on the edge of a skyscraper, unsteadily walking along the railing, millimeters away from death.

"And now you're flinching and mouthing excuses and trying to find some sort of justification because you're a ****ing coward!" Hunter said. "See, that's the worst part about people. They start to formulate an idea and some angry yelling jerk can make them backpedal just because he's angry! That's the brain talking, and **** the brain! It's just a big bag of **** we have to carry around, don't listen to it. You were right the first time. Epiphany through negation, that's the Guardians. What's the catchphrase? All souls are flawed. All thrones are false. Not one person in this whole god-damn ****ty country is worth what they think they're worth, Mages especially. No one's gonna save us from ourselves. No philosophy professor or cunning word or best friend or secret society has the answers. It's just birth. Then slavery. Then death. That's all we get."

He took a bite of his carrot and then hurled the stump. It flew across the void and smacked into a window on the opposite skyscraper, splattering it with saliva and orange.

"There is," said Hunter, turning his full attention to you, "literally only one thing that can save us. Only one thing that could possibly turn this world around. And that's for something impossible to happen. Right? And we're talking hard impossible, the kind that looks dumb to even think about. "And then Jesus came back and everyone lived happily ever after". That kind of impossible. So, at this point, once you've accepted that nihilism into your soul, you're kind of left with two options. One, sell out, join the Seers, and spend the rest of your life living out elaborate sex fantasies in some skyscraper somewhere. Two... join the ancient murder cult. Live free. Free from the chains of hope, of hierarchy, of morality, of self. Because here's the thing, here's the real thing," Hunter took a long drag of the idea killer.

"No one else stands for real freedom. The Free Council, bless 'em, is slavery to the majority. The Silver Ladder is slavery now freedom later. The Seers are slavery forever. Arrow is slavery to people and the Mysties are slavery to things. The Guardians of the Veil do not give a single solitary ****. We pick people who have a strong sense of right and wrong and no illusions about the world, and then we just back 'em up when they pass judgment, if we feel like it. That's what we do. That's all we do. What's the phrase? Nothing is true and everything is permitted? Do you believe that? If not, get the **** out of here and find what you do believe in."

"I believe in trying to do something."

Keynes blurted the first words that came to mind out his mouth. It wasn't really intended, but being chastised for thinking too much and the cascade of shouting had him chomping at the bit to say something, anything really.

He brushed a hand along his smooth face, though this really wasn't the time to think about growing a mustache. What the hell was he even doing on an American army base in the middle of Berlin with a guy who might be the real Hunter S. Thompson shouting at him? Alright, so maybe that was not a productive thought process at just this moment. "Look, old chap, I grew up far down South in a country that doesn't much care for who I am and wound up constructing myself after an entirely different sort of person. Which is to say, that when I say the one thing I feel with some rather strong conviction is that I want to help people, I do believe that's something meaningful and not just a fraudulent brain speaking. If I'd wanted to do nothing but dabble with time travel all day, I'd have joined the Mysterium and they'd quite probably tell me I'd be doing more for everyone in the process, but that's not what I want. I believe that I'm going to find a way to do some good, and I think this is the right place to be to do it."

[Thanqol]

"I believe in trying to do something."

Keynes blurted the first words that came to mind out his mouth. It wasn't really intended, but being chastised for thinking too much and the cascade of shouting had him chomping at the bit to say something, anything really.

He brushed a hand along his smooth face, though this really wasn't the time to think about growing a mustache. What the hell was he even doing on an American army base in the middle of Berlin with a guy who might be the real Hunter S. Thompson shouting at him? Alright, so maybe that was not a productive thought process at just this moment. "Look, old chap, I grew up far down South in a country that doesn't much care for who I am and wound up constructing myself after an entirely different sort of person. Which is to say, that when I say the one thing I feel with some rather strong conviction is that I want to help people, I do believe that's something meaningful and not just a fraudulent brain speaking. If I'd wanted to do nothing but dabble with time travel all day, I'd have joined the Mysterium and they'd quite probably tell me I'd be doing more for everyone in the process, but that's not what I want. I believe that I'm going to find a way to do some good, and I think this is the right place to be to do it."

"No you don't," said Hunter, brandishing the idea killer like a weapon. "You don't believe that this is the right place. I'll - I'll tell you what's going on - you see a mysterious cult with cool masks and you want to be in on that because then you'll be cool. You have built this identity for yourself, like you just said, where you're a hero. But you know where the real heroes are? They're in the Arrow and you're just not hardcore enough to hack it there. So you do what any teenage kid would do and start investing yourself in the idea that you're a cool brooding antihero hanging out with the goth crowd but the reality is you're just as shallow as any other ****er."

He took a deep puff from his miniature chemical weapon. It seemed to calm him down a bit.

"So, tell me, why does what you want matter one bit? Because if you want to answer the call and serve and protect and all that ****, well, no one called you. The Guardians don't need you. We've got our pick of recruits. We're drowning in 'em, to the point where we send the vast majority of them downriver to the other Orders. So don't pretend that we need you, because we don't, you can **** off for all I care."

[Anarion]

"No you don't," said Hunter, brandishing the idea killer like a weapon. "You don't believe that this is the right place. I'll - I'll tell you what's going on - you see a mysterious cult with cool masks and you want to be in on that because then you'll be cool. You have built this identity for yourself, like you just said, where you're a hero. But you know where the real heroes are? They're in the Arrow and you're just not hardcore enough to hack it there. So you do what any teenage kid would do and start investing yourself in the idea that you're a cool brooding antihero hanging out with the goth crowd but the reality is you're just as shallow as any other ****er."

He took a deep puff from his miniature chemical weapon. It seemed to calm him down a bit.

"So, tell me, why does what you want matter one bit? Because if you want to answer the call and serve and protect and all that ****, well, no one called you. The Guardians don't need you. We've got our pick of recruits. We're drowning in 'em, to the point where we send the vast majority of them downriver to the other Orders. So don't pretend that we need you, because we don't, you can **** off for all I care."

"No, I'm sorry, but the Arrow fundamentally do not mesh with my worldview. Self-mastery and honor are idealistic at best, hypocritical more often. I'd rather a gun and an effective strategy."

Keynes clears his throat and tries to avoid the sun gleaming off the glass buildings as he looks at Hunter. "If you're asking about my ability to contribute, you've put me on much more comfortable ground. I'm a skilled time mage and a cracker-jack shot, but more than that, I'm willing to do what's necessary for the greater good, and to try and reach this impossible miracle. Sins for a Just End Grant Wisdom, is the tenet, if recollection serves, and that I accept as necessity in our world and will not shy from it."

[Thanqol]

"No, I'm sorry, but the Arrow fundamentally do not mesh with my worldview. Self-mastery and honor are idealistic at best, hypocritical more often. I'd rather a gun and an effective strategy."

Keynes clears his throat and tries to avoid the sun gleaming off the glass buildings as he looks at Hunter. "If you're asking about my ability to contribute, you've put me on much more comfortable ground. I'm a skilled time mage and a cracker-jack shot, but more than that, I'm willing to do what's necessary for the greater good, and to try and reach this impossible miracle. Sins for a Just End Grant Wisdom, is the tenet, if recollection serves, and that I accept as necessity in our world and will not shy from it."

"I am literally not asking for your ability to contribute. You're not listening to me. The Order is full and we don't need you. We have everyone and everything we need to do our job and we're not hiring. And you're here anyway. Why?" said Hunter. "I mean, I know why, but you haven't got your head around it."

[Anarion]

"I am literally not asking for your ability to contribute. You're not listening to me. The Order is full and we don't need you. We have everyone and everything we need to do our job and we're not hiring. And you're here anyway. Why?" said Hunter. "I mean, I know why, but you haven't got your head around it."

"Because this is the right place for me to be. Good heavens, man, I thought that at least was obvious enough, can you imagine why anyone else would endure this? I am struggling to explain myself with an imperfect language on a fallen planet using flawed equipment, but that hardly changes the fact that I took the direct route to where I'm going."

[Thanqol]

"Because this is the right place for me to be. Good heavens, man, I thought that at least was obvious enough, can you imagine why anyone else would endure this? I am struggling to explain myself with an imperfect language on a fallen planet using flawed equipment, but that hardly changes the fact that I took the direct route to where I'm going."

"Yeah," shrugged Hunter, "can't argue with that. Do you wanna know the complicated metaphysical reason why that is or do you just not give a ****?"

[Anarion]

"Yeah," shrugged Hunter, "can't argue with that. Do you wanna know the complicated metaphysical reason why that is or do you just not give a ****?"

"I am rather curious. It's been difficult to determine it and I think the exploration, even if unresolved, would help guide my action in the future."

[Thanqol]

"I am rather curious. It's been difficult to determine it and I think the exploration, even if unresolved, would help guide my action in the future."

"I was straight with you before," said Hunter. "It's because you couldn't hack it anywhere else. You're not a good person, Keynes. You're a garbage person with a garbage soul and you legit wouldn't fit in with good people ever. You don't see any value in the Orders, and neither do I, but here's the thing: That's a problem with you and me and not with them."

He tossed the burned out stump of the idea killer over the side.

"We've done the math, we can show you the spreadsheets if you want. But some people are just better than others, you know? You'll meet some one day, bright and vivid people who are vectors to the divine, people who can create and create and make the world worth living in for just a little bit. You'll never be like them. You're lower than the low, lower than the Seers, even - it takes a really bad Seer to be reborn a Guardian. And if you're really a Guardian nothing will ever stop you from being one. I could turn you out into the cold and you'd do the job wherever you wound up - which is a good thing too because that is exactly what we do with all Guardians. And you'll do it not because we need you or because you're good at it or because you genuinely care about saving the world, that's bull**** and you'll get no thanks for any of those things here. You'll do it because you're a wretched, miserable person trying to pay back whatever karma your past lives have accumulated. Your actions aren't admirable, they're the desperate flailing of a dying soul. Like you've gorged yourself on poison and now you're vomiting uncontrollably into a gas station toilet to try and get it all out of your system. That's what a Guardian is. That's all a Guardian is."

[PhoeKun]

Zero accepts your deferral smoothly. "I am aesthetically attracted to integrated arm-guns for reasons you probably understand," said Zero. "Still, having one is making a very big statement that I'm not sure is correct. I'm interested in a weapon as a tool to help navigate the shadow, not as an intrinsic part of my approach to problem solving. Hand held is probably the most adaptable solution."

"Hm," Lily chews on her thumbnail while she considers that answer. Her head tilts right, then left, then back right again. Her eyes glimmer, but not in her usual, playful way. This moment is more... Compassy. Hard. Like the diamond eyes she's staring back into.

"Self limiting, then. Okay." Her face flashes into a warm smile, "Okay! I can do that. That's really interesting!"

And then she's pacing back and forth, for the moment oblivious to the world around her. It'd have to draw energy from solar power, obviously. Despite the small surface area, the concept of a weapon drawing power from the sun itself was enormously powerful, especially (she assumed) to spirits, which seemed like the sort of things to care about that a lot. Photo-voltaic cells feeding into a rechargeable battery to give some nighttime functionality, but by its design it would only operate at peak levels during the windows where the light was best, where most people made their best decisions, and where the targets were clearest. Also, construction: a hollow barrel wrapped in a sapphire latticework. Heavily doped, the sapphires' property as a semiconductor would selectively, and in a very controlled manner, super heat the air inside where it could phase shift and discharge as plasma. Sapphires were also the crystal of wisdom and foresight, making it a weapon primed to be used for knowledgeable actions. A guiding tool, not something meant for destruction alone. Despite being a gun!

She could see it, yes. She could see it clearly, it just needed time and energy and coaxing. And maybe she could... oh, but particolored sapphires would lose some of their connection to true sapphire's nature. Still, if they were going to be so heavily impurified anyway for the sake of the matrix... that is to say, they were a variant that naturally appeared almost exclusively in Australia, making this the focal point of their power. Yes, the science of it all checked out. It was just a question of the outer shell, of something flashy and sufficiently kickin' that would nevertheless also be extremely nonconductive and capable of handling extraordinary temperatures without melting. Honestly, none of this seemed so hard. The blaster, as a concept, was very similar to Zero herself, playing around a lot of the same design ideas. As it should be, as it should be. All she needed was...

"Time. This'll take a bit of time to get right. Do you mind waiting? Well too bad, I don't do things by halves. But I promise, major priority. Just as soon as... you know actually, come to think of it, Compy? What are we doing, if we're done being grossed out here? Is there stuff you need to be doing? Sweeping away the flow of mana or however that goes, or filing some kinda petition, none of the above? Did you have stuff that needed stuffing, also? Or unstuffing, as the case may be? I thought I saw in your message earlier you needed me to take a look at something, but if this was that, hoo, dang, you called the wrong horse. I thought there were, like, architectural plans or something.

Oh well! Before the topic slips away forever, do you actually believe in retroactive hitsquads? Personally, I find the idea a bit absurd. Like, think about it, you know? Doesn't the fact that we're here, talking about it in the first place, actively kinda sorta prove that it won't happen? I mean, seeing the future, planning for it, 'changing it', and jazz... sure, fine. I get you. But we aren't, right this very moment, shot full of holes which to me says that at the very least in the future they would send goons from there's also some other wizard or bunch of wizards who doing the Jeanne Claude Van Damme thing and... oh come on, Time Cop! 1994? You have to know what... well, anyway. My point is, if we're alive to worry about time travelling thugs, then we shouldn't have to worry about time travelling thugs because they already haven't done the thing they're supposed to do in the future. Past.

Unless the Time arcana is actually about parallel universes? Ooh, that'd be weird. Would that mean an Acanthus could collect stars using only a half a press (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpk2tdsPh0A)? And which universe is canon, then? How many possibilities just become straight nonviable, and does the universe or some sort of supergod, like... prune them? Man, I don't want to think about it anymore. That's creepy. This is creepy. We're pretending there's just the one universe with time cops in it, okay?"

[Anarion]

"I was straight with you before," said Hunter. "It's because you couldn't hack it anywhere else. You're not a good person, Keynes. You're a garbage person with a garbage soul and you legit wouldn't fit in with good people ever. You don't see any value in the Orders, and neither do I, but here's the thing: That's a problem with you and me and not with them."

He tossed the burned out stump of the idea killer over the side.

"We've done the math, we can show you the spreadsheets if you want. But some people are just better than others, you know? You'll meet some one day, bright and vivid people who are vectors to the divine, people who can create and create and make the world worth living in for just a little bit. You'll never be like them. You're lower than the low, lower than the Seers, even - it takes a really bad Seer to be reborn a Guardian. And if you're really a Guardian nothing will ever stop you from being one. I could turn you out into the cold and you'd do the job wherever you wound up - which is a good thing too because that is exactly what we do with all Guardians. And you'll do it not because we need you or because you're good at it or because you genuinely care about saving the world, that's bull**** and you'll get no thanks for any of those things here. You'll do it because you're a wretched, miserable person trying to pay back whatever karma your past lives have accumulated. Your actions aren't admirable, they're the desperate flailing of a dying soul. Like you've gorged yourself on poison and now you're vomiting uncontrollably into a gas station toilet to try and get it all out of your system. That's what a Guardian is. That's all a Guardian is."

"Hmm, no I don't think that's quite right, old boy. Oh, I'm not a good person, no doubt of that. And I've undertaken to sacrifice myself for the greater good in whatever way I may best contribute. If that is part of some karmic scheme, I confess it's beyond me. But I am not trash, my good man. Don't mistake me. That I've found something more valuable than myself does not mean I have no value. It means only that I've chosen to believe that my cause is the more valuable, and as I do in fact hold myself in some esteem, that willing sacrifice is all the greater. There are certain sorts of tragedy that should not be repeated, and certain sorts of hubris that must absolutely be prevented. That's worth the sacrifice."



Oh well! Before the topic slips away forever, do you actually believe in retroactive hitsquads? Personally, I find the idea a bit absurd. Like, think about it, you know? Doesn't the fact that we're here, talking about it in the first place, actively kinda sorta prove that it won't happen? I mean, seeing the future, planning for it, 'changing it', and jazz... sure, fine. I get you. But we aren't, right this very moment, shot full of holes which to me says that at the very least in the future they would send goons from there's also some other wizard or bunch of wizards who doing the Jeanne Claude Van Damme thing and... oh come on, Time Cop! 1994? You have to know what... well, anyway. My point is, if we're alive to worry about time travelling thugs, then we shouldn't have to worry about time travelling thugs because they already haven't done the thing they're supposed to do in the future. Past.

Unless the Time arcana is actually about parallel universes? Ooh, that'd be weird. Would that mean an Acanthus could collect stars using only a half a press (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpk2tdsPh0A)? And which universe is canon, then? How many possibilities just become straight nonviable, and does the universe or some sort of supergod, like... prune them? Man, I don't want to think about it anymore. That's creepy. This is creepy. We're pretending there's just the one universe with time cops in it, okay?"

"Ah, dare I even wade into this topic?" Keynes gives a slight shudder, but continues. "I suppose I should provide some information, to assist in understanding our opponent. First, it's not retroactive per se. Rather, imagine it starting from our perspective. Let us say that I were to gaze forward in time at this park, starting from the current moment and engaging in divination of the future for the next several days. It would be rather like a security camera recording all the footage. Not entirely the same of course, but we'll say rather like that. Like a security camera, the vast majority of the scrying would simply be wasted, footage of a static area or unconnected people milling about their business. But, perhaps in a day or two, I'd see the moment when the bridge broke and a surge of magical energy occurred, it would stand out like neon lights. Perhaps I'd see the spells on the eggs go off and watch them hatch, highly visible because of the grisly fate that hangs upon them. Seeing that moment, I could inform you and Compass if I wished, and we could arrange to be present at just the moment they enter the physical world with a series of flamethrowers (if that were our desired plan) and alter the course of time in that manner."

"Nothing at all retroactive would happen in that example. The magic provides information about the future, and we act upon that information to make a change, leaving one whole timeline in which we burned the bugs to death with a flamethrower. Our choices add an extra level of complexity. If we walk through the park and leave without taking action, we are at best a minor notability, a gaggle of good-looking figures moving through the space. Someone watching that footage a few days ago would not remark upon it. On the other hand, if we were to begin a magical working here, someone watching would, as with my neon light example, see the space light up with our ritual. Seeking to prevent us from doing so, and having the information of our action days in advance, one option they could take, though by no means the only one, would be to station snipers strategically to interrupt us, especially if they are not concerned with our lives."

"Now, it is worth noting that both I and our opponents are time mages. I attempted to screen our actions, which would have created a false view or simply a lack of ourselves in the vision, essentially making it a lie, but I lost the battle of wills with dear Grimhild, so she can see us if she wishes to do so. Similarly, if I were to attempt time magic, I would be faced with potential deception and a need to attempt to overcome it to seek the truth."

[Thanqol]

"Hmm, no I don't think that's quite right, old boy. Oh, I'm not a good person, no doubt of that. And I've undertaken to sacrifice myself for the greater good in whatever way I may best contribute. If that is part of some karmic scheme, I confess it's beyond me. But I am not trash, my good man. Don't mistake me. That I've found something more valuable than myself does not mean I have no value. It means only that I've chosen to believe that my cause is the more valuable, and as I do in fact hold myself in some esteem, that willing sacrifice is all the greater. There are certain sorts of tragedy that should not be repeated, and certain sorts of hubris that must absolutely be prevented. That's worth the sacrifice."

"This is going to end badly for you, kid," said Hunter. "You asked a question, got an answer, and then immediately tried to correct your teacher. What I've said isn't because I'm a nihilistic ass hole trying to bring down your mood, it's because there's an incredibly important lesson here you're not getting. You're right, you're not trash - you still have a little further to fall before you're done. And it's going to be ugly when you land."

He gives an extremely exaggerated shrug and then walks out into the mist and out of your memory.

[Raz_Fox]

Here is what is going to happen, while the city breathes its midday exhalations, the office workers putting their affairs in order, their desks ready, the roads flexing and preparing for the flight home, a thick congestion as every soul pushes out, desperate to get to the suburbs, to the after-work opera, elsewhere, out and away and to, but not yet, because this is the breath before the surge, and Compass's movements at a time like this are careful, sure, precise, an arrangement before evening, like a flower preparing to close its head, and in the back of her head is the toxic neon-and-early-morning-vomit coloration of the spirit of the conservation house, saying: wouldn't it be good if all these things came to pass?

Not in her city. No matter what the old men thought, or the King of Sydney who hooked his will in everyone's head. Her city. Her rhythms. Hers because she knows the hours and the patterns and the rhythms, so unlike London, London which never really could have been hers. The traffic crests like a wave about to hit the shore and Compass is a blur of communication, a concluding of matters at the end of a work day, and here is what is dictated.

A change to the ferry patterns: a recommendation to the right person, a concern raised by local environmentalists worried about overuse of certain sections of the bay.

Yet another note to the Silver Ladder concerning her Project. (Everyone knows her Project. She is the architect, the planner, happy to help and happier to explain why she is right.) Ferry patterns connected because three page paragraph on symbolic energy transferral and feedback to major city arteries.

(She is preparing a Sigil for the Project. It will be a perfect representation of both Sydney as it should be and also a refinement of the Supernal symbol for City, which itself derives from the symbol for Tower.)

And this will happen.

Afterwards you are all invited for drinks on her tab in the museum district. Possibly opera after, if anyone is interested.

[Thanqol]

So Compass, if you had Status you could snap your fingers and make this happen - but you don't. You're a lowly public servant writing requests and recommendations - and moreover, you've kind of hamstrung yourself by arranging a party where a bunch of the people who's approval you'll need are going to be spending time at the zoo in question. You can navigate this potential nest of lawyers, lobbyists, ministers and public opinion but it is tricky and involves a lot of political capital. But luckily you don't need a permanent change (which would be an actual social combat with Doors and everything) - you just need a temporary show of force.

This is an manipulation+politics roll, -1 because the zoo will have a lobbyist and -2 because you recently arranged a mixer to bribe the spirit of the research centre (though you can deliberately crash that to negate the penalty, albeit at the cost of breaking your word to the spirit). If this goes off it'll be a matter of days before the effects are known and the Grail Knights are forced to react.


While Compass is doing business business politics business, Lily gets two different messages. The first is an email from Western - "Abigail has replicated twice. I am observing the effects; you may wish to as well because this is fascinating."

The second is a tentative path laid down by the City, by the Father of Death - a trail of coincidences leading away down the streets. It's weak, vague, more a suggestion than anything but it does carry that characteristic ring of the Supernal.

[PhoeKun]

Lily looks down at her phone in disbelief. She runs a hand through her hair, messing up her part. After a moment, she lets out a short, huffy sigh.

"Does it always have to happen all at once? Can it just... twice? Already? Holy mother of... of... gah! Oh my heck, what am I supposed to..." she trailed off, only making a noise that could be vaguely described as 'euphuuuugggh'.

For some reason, she couldn't help thinking about a night maybe 8 or so months ago. It'd been late. Stupid late. And she'd been upset because... because... no, she couldn't remember. It was too far back. But it was dark, and the only light had been a television with its volume turned impossibly low, bathing her and Keynes in its harsh, flickering glow while she raved about a hundred different things and gestured wildly, splashing the drink in her hand onto her chair, the floor, her pants. She didn't care. There were just a couple of sentences, only a single line of thought that survived to play back in her head now.

"...It creeps me out, Key, I can't get past it. I can't. What you do. Who you work for. I wish you would quit, I do. But I... look. This isn't even about that. And, I mean, I'm only saying this because you're my friend so don't... look, it's like, I was thinking about your birthday, right? And how I'd like to surprise you with something, but then I realize I just, like, I-I couldn't. At least I don't think I could. Because you get to peak ahead in the book. You're the kind of guy, and I'm not saying you would , see, but you're the kind of guy who can hold the choose your own adventure book and be, like, hold your thumb on page 32 and then flip to 77 and 101 to see what happens when you eat the Apricot of Power versus when you use it to distract the evil wizard. You know? So I don't understand how I'm supposed to keep secrets from you when in the moment I decide to hold something back you're already capable of watching what will happen when I crack or slip up and you find out.

So that just got me thinking about Time, right? Like, as an Arcana, a concept. Capability. And I can hardly breathe thinking about it. Jeez, Key, how do you manage? I can't wrap my brain around this! How am I supposed to keep going, how do I keep it together or dream or laugh or dare to do anything when I know there are people, there's a dude sitting right the heck across from me and I keep spilling... um, I forget what this is but I'm sorry, I keep spilling it on you, and I have to sit here knowing that at any point now or in forty years if you or someone like you just decides they don't like what I've done and you'll... and they'll... just erase it. Erase me. How am I supposed to recover from figuring that out?"

And then she'd thrown her glass against the floor and stalked off into the shadows on the other end of the room without waiting for an answer.

It was instinctive, really. The need to keep secrets. The nagging doubt that anybody took her seriously, thought that her brand of insight was remarkable or that her workings were valuable. The need to double polish anything she presented even to her friends just to keep up the feeling that she was a functioning adult/wizard when she wasn't entirely sure what either of those looked like. For goodness sake, the only teacher she'd ever had spent most of their time together communicating to her through shadow puppetry. And now here she was, standing at the Four-Way Crossing of Life and not having any idea what direction to take, and she was so mistrustful of her best friend and his power that she wasn't even considering the obvious best solution to her problem. Her eyes, large and liquid, fall on Zero, and she can see her obligation to do right by her creation press down on her shoulders like its a physical thing, feel it pumping in her heart like blood. She shakes her head and laughs at herself. How'd that one go? Fear is the end of love, don't tell me that you've given up

"...Key?" her voice is too high, in the style of somebody who is trying to be so casual it hurts, "Do you think I could borrow a cup of Time? I'm following something big, huge even, and I seem to find myself in need of being in two places at once. I've gone over and over and over it in my head and it's just... I can't pick one. I can't. I have to figure out where this is all going, so I... well, just, if you wanna help, that'd be help...ful. Great. It'd be great. Plus I could show you what I've been up to. Way easiest way to explain it, really. So, um, that cool? Maybe?"

[Anarion]

Keynes waits for Brunhild's response before sending anymore,

Except that he doesn't. That was another reality. Instead, he taps something out on his phone, before Lily walks up to him.

>>Brunhild, you're asking why. But that's a question I have spent our afternoon dancing around quite thoroughly. Could you answer my why?
(3 dots on her phone as she can see he's immediately typing a follow up)
>>Last evening, I tried to reach you, but the message was off, I tried to come to you, but was met with surveillance leading to a duel between myself and Grimhild that you watched. How do you know her? Why was she after you? Why are you worried about whether being a Guardian is the right thing?



"...It creeps me out, Key, I can't get past it. I can't. What you do. Who you work for. I wish you would quit, I do. But I... look. This isn't even about that. And, I mean, I'm only saying this because you're my friend so don't... look, it's like, I was thinking about your birthday, right? And how I'd like to surprise you with something, but then I realize I just, like, I-I couldn't. At least I don't think I could. Because you get to peak ahead in the book. You're the kind of guy, and I'm not saying you would , see, but you're the kind of guy who can hold the choose your own adventure book and be, like, hold your thumb on page 32 and then flip to 77 and 101 to see what happens when you eat the Apricot of Power versus when you use it to distract the evil wizard. You know? So I don't understand how I'm supposed to keep secrets from you when in the moment I decide to hold something back you're already capable of watching what will happen when I crack or slip up and you find out.

So that just got me thinking about Time, right? Like, as an Arcana, a concept. Capability. And I can hardly breathe thinking about it. Jeez, Key, how do you manage? I can't wrap my brain around this! How am I supposed to keep going, how do I keep it together or dream or laugh or dare to do anything when I know there are people, there's a dude sitting right the heck across from me and I keep spilling... um, I forget what this is but I'm sorry, I keep spilling it on you, and I have to sit here knowing that at any point now or in forty years if you or someone like you just decides they don't like what I've done and you'll... and they'll... just erase it. Erase me. How am I supposed to recover from figuring that out?"

And then she'd thrown her glass against the floor and stalked off into the shadows on the other end of the room without waiting for an answer.

"...Key?" her voice is too high, in the style of somebody who is trying to be so casual it hurts, "Do you think I could borrow a cup of Time? I'm following something big, huge even, and I seem to find myself in need of being in two places at once. I've gone over and over and over it in my head and it's just... I can't pick one. I can't. I have to figure out where this is all going, so I... well, just, if you wanna help, that'd be help...ful. Great. It'd be great. Plus I could show you what I've been up to. Way easiest way to explain it, really. So, um, that cool? Maybe?"

There'd been an answer ready back then, if Lily had stayed. The incident always struck Keynes as the height of irony because he hadn't had the foggiest idea that Lily was going to fling that glass. Why would he, when she hadn't known half a second before she'd done it? Why would he know the future when there were a thousand different timelines in which she kept the glass, or crushed it, or put it down before talking to him, or in which he had faster reflexes and caught it? He'd wondered if he felt the tension between studying Time and Mind in every version of reality, the interconnections between intent and divination that frustrated even the greatest masters short of archmagic. If that had been another moment in which his future self looked and laughed at his naivete. But none of that mattered because with Lily striding away, there never had been a good option to answer. He hadn't known that because of magic, he'd known it because of the stern look on her face and the crystal tears hiding just under the surface of the mask into which she'd set her eyes.

Now, let's talk about now. Keynes wouldn't just grant anyone a trip through their own timeline. It carried dangers, especially if you crossed yourself. That wasn't the sort of thing one used just to attend two concerts at the same time, or what have you. But, it was the sort of thing that an earnest young Mage with a unique opportunity to investigate the supernal, who had the potential to be so much more than anyone had ever seen, might avail herself of just at this moment.

Believe it or not, Lily, Keynes has a little trouble hiding his eagerness as he answers you because he so very much wants to see what you're offering. "Absolutely my dear, a cup, a dollop, or a sackful, as the need requires. I am at your service."

[Raz_Fox]

Never underestimate the competence of a independent contractor who knows the right people to make suggestions to, particularly when she's friends with a magician of the moon who chooses who waxes and who wanes; whose email arrives at the right time, and who happens to send a text to a friend of a friend just before a meeting.

[roll0]

[Thanqol]

Except that he doesn't. That was another reality. Instead, he taps something out on his phone, before Lily walks up to him.

>>Brunhild, you're asking why. But that's a question I have spent our afternoon dancing around quite thoroughly. Could you answer my why?
(3 dots on her phone as she can see he's immediately typing a follow up)
>>Last evening, I tried to reach you, but the message was off, I tried to come to you, but was met with surveillance leading to a duel between myself and Grimhild that you watched. How do you know her? Why was she after you? Why are you worried about whether being a Guardian is the right thing?

> The hell does Grimhild have to do with this?
> I know she's Ikarus' cabal buddy and another Arrow but I haven't been speaking to her.
> I - hmm.

You have enough Empathy to know that the long, slow delay in the next text is the measured and defensive reply of someone admitting a perhaps inappropriate relationship to her boss.

> I have been spending time with Ikarus. There may be feelings involved. We have occasionally discussed philosophy and he's really good at it.


Believe it or not, Lily, Keynes has a little trouble hiding his eagerness as he answers you because he so very much wants to see what you're offering. "Absolutely my dear, a cup, a dollop, or a sackful, as the need requires. I am at your service."

A spell like this is eminently doable - Time Weaving to ensure that two incompatible choices can play out fully is well within your reach. You can even keep the results of both. Here are some concerns:

- When the duration ends the split timelines will merge. All experiences, injuries, etc carried by one half will be carried to the other. If you die in one timeline you'll die in both when the duration ends.
- You probably want at least an hour of duration to make sure you've got time to get to both places.
- You can use Scale factors to bring additional people through the time divide.
- If someone dispels the active magic then the timelines will collapse instantly.
- If you are not standing in roughly the same place as your other halves when the timeline collapses it's going to be bloody and painful as Space reasserts itself. Without adding Space 3 to offset this you're looking at serious damage unless you get a meeting space firmly set up.
- Add Mind 3: You can maintain the same consciousness over the two timelines, telepathically operating two bodies in different places.
- +1 Reach: You can interact with the adjacent timeline, i.e. call up timeline 2 on your cell and ask them for advice.
- +1 Reach: You can opt to cleanly delete one of the timelines at any time, preventing any damage from reunification etc but also retroactively erasing anything that happened in that timeline.
- +1 Reach: You create one additional timeline per reach
- +1 Reach: You can survive the death of one multiple per reach


Never underestimate the competence of a independent contractor who knows the right people to make suggestions to, particularly when she's friends with a magician of the moon who chooses who waxes and who wanes; whose email arrives at the right time, and who happens to send a text to a friend of a friend just before a meeting.

[roll0]

Everything has gone off just so, you can expect a call within a few days.

[Anarion]

> The hell does Grimhild have to do with this?
> I know she's Ikarus' cabal buddy and another Arrow but I haven't been speaking to her.
> I - hmm.

You have enough Empathy to know that the long, slow delay in the next text is the measured and defensive reply of someone admitting a perhaps inappropriate relationship to her boss.

> I have been spending time with Ikarus. There may be feelings involved. We have occasionally discussed philosophy and he's really good at it.



Keynes answers this in order
>>With regard to Grimhild, she prevented me from contacting you by phone, and used some kind of distortion spell to alter anything I was saying. I am concerned that she was attempting to manipulate you. Indeed, what did I "say" to you when I first called last night before the ruckus at the apartment complex?
>>With regard to Ikarus, you may rest easy. I am, of course, concerned about the use of a lover as a tool to harm you, but I assume you can take care of your own safety, or will request my assistance if it is required. Otherwise, I am happy for the relationship, it can be both personally and professionally fulfilling to make connections beyond the reputation of our organization. Is there any particular point of philosophy that has raised a concern?



A spell like this is eminently doable - Time Weaving to ensure that two incompatible choices can play out fully is well within your reach. You can even keep the results of both. Here are some concerns:

- When the duration ends the split timelines will merge. All experiences, injuries, etc carried by one half will be carried to the other. If you die in one timeline you'll die in both when the duration ends.
- You probably want at least an hour of duration to make sure you've got time to get to both places.
- You can use Scale factors to bring additional people through the time divide.
- If someone dispels the active magic then the timelines will collapse instantly.
- If you are not standing in roughly the same place as your other halves when the timeline collapses it's going to be bloody and painful as Space reasserts itself. Without adding Space 3 to offset this you're looking at serious damage unless you get a meeting space firmly set up.
- Add Mind 3: You can maintain the same consciousness over the two timelines, telepathically operating two bodies in different places.
- +1 Reach: You can interact with the adjacent timeline, i.e. call up timeline 2 on your cell and ask them for advice.
- +1 Reach: You can opt to cleanly delete one of the timelines at any time, preventing any damage from reunification etc but also retroactively erasing anything that happened in that timeline.
- +1 Reach: You create one additional timeline per reach
- +1 Reach: You can survive the death of one multiple per reach


Keynes brings Lily to a quiet spot between a couple buildings and chants the spell in high speech, checking his watch repeatedly and tapping on it as he casts, calling on the Supernal to branch the timelines and allow the two of them to explore. They'll meet back at this alley when they're done to compare notes.

[Two targets is a -2 penalty. Instant cast and reaching for advanced duration is 2 total reach, which is 1 paradox die. The spell is primary factor duration, so with Time 3 and advanced duration, it will actually last up to a week or whenever Keynes turns it off. Keynes will also spend a third reach to allow for the option of clean erasure to avoid messy damage if the spell gets ended early or they don't make it back together. That's 2 paradox dice, -2 for use of an order tool makes it a chance die. [roll0]
Then the actual casting has 4 base, plus 3 from yantras, -2 from adding an extra person. [roll1]]
[spending a willpower: 7, 10, 8, 9.]

[Thanqol]

TIMELINE 1

Western wants to meet outside Quaker's Hill police station, and when you arrive he's wearing body armour and surrounded by twenty people in heavy gear, assault rifles, and the logo of the Chubb Private Security firm. No one's looking at them askance, there must be an alibi, but evidently Western is not taking a single goddamn chance with this. Matter: Those guns are loaded with all kinds of sh*t - silver, explosives, depleted uranium.

"Good evening," said Western, walking away from the security goons to meet you. "I brought a team just in case. These are the friends you mentioned? I am Professor Western," Prime: That's a shadow name. "Good to meet you."

TIMELINE 2

The Supernal path is halting and ambiguous. Occasionally the lights turn you around in a circle so you're facing the other way only to have the path open back up behind you - as though asking, are you sure? You can turn back from this one. The Father of Death seems to have reservations about this.

The lights lead to the Manly peninsula and to a fifty million dollar mansion with a view of the bay. It's bright and sunny and there are dozens of parked luxury cars and it looks like an elite party in full swing. This is a party for people with money and connections. There are uniformed and masked bouncers standing by the entrance. Death, Fate: Someone here is going to die. Prime: There is deeply unstable Mind magic here. Supernal symbols relating to passion and obsession are close to the surface - you might have encountered this before if you've met Lily's old... associate, Rebecca Beasley.

Now, Compass might have the money or the persuasive force to have been to a shindig like this before but she almost certainly got nothing useful done at it because she has zero Socialize. Lily, you actually know way more about the unspoken rules of fashion and high society than anyone else here - and no matter how charming you are you are not going to get in or anywhere here in your street clothes. Compass has enough money and dresses nicely enough to fit in so long as you don't leave her alone and have her start talking about architecture or whatever, but you and Keynes are going to need a wardrobe upgrade to get in through the front door. If you want to get Compass to bust out the credit card for some high fashion down the road (Resources 2 purchase to get 'acceptable' levels of clothing, Resources 4 purchase to get a +2 set for everyone), or maybe you want to make something yourself.

What I'm saying here is you have a chance to make your friends play dress up; try not to go mad with the power.

[PhoeKun]

TIMELINE 1

Lily swallows just to give her mouth something to do other than gawk when she sees the scene laid out in front of her. What must this look like to her friends? She smooths out a wrinkle on her vest, again and again and again. She flashes a smile at Professor Western that manages to be only twice as manic and half as bright as her normal one.

"Hi, Prof! These are my friends: he's Keynes and she's Compass. It so happens I brought them just in case, too!" she laughs, "But, um, you know, would you mind filling me in on what's happening, exactly? Your e-mail only mentioned replication and the process being 'fascinating', so I was kind of expecting to show up to something a little more sciencey and a little less... you know, like, Resident Evil? Speaking of which, why the silver? I appreciate the historical implications and all, but it's actually a really soft metal and I'm not entirely Abby or her, ah, friends? actually count as the sorts of things you'd traditionally try to hurt with silver. Is this a conductivity disruption thing?"

She looks around for a moment, and smiles again, this time more softly.

"That aside, where are the stars of the show? I'm so excited to get started!"


TIMELINE 2

Meanwhile, Lily is also pressing on a bit too determinedly along the path the Father of Death is laying out for her. For one thing, It's making her look like she doesn't know where she's going, and turning back (especially after splitting herself across multiple timelines!) would pretty much just confirm that. For another, reservations noted, but if you really didn't want her going you shouldn't have brought it up in the first place. Get to know your partner! Plus a third, hardly understood force that has always seemed to push Lily into situations with larger than average amount of danger, even when she has no reason to know it or intentionally seek it out.

She draws up short at the sight of the mansion. Physically gasps when she realizes the implications of being 'asked' to attend such a swanky party. She spins on the spot, squeaks despite knowing damn well that somewhere inside that place is a room or a person bleeding out its colors all over creation, and grabs Compass (gently!) by the wrists while staring at her with eyes shining like twin stars reflecting off of diamonds.

"Compy, I swear by everything holy if you just go with the flow here and give me your credit card for, like, 20 minutes I will never ask you for anything until the next time I ask you for something." Her face lights up in a smile evoking sunshine, kittens, and rainbows, "And I will turn you, both of you, into works of art."

'Acceptable' clothing is unacceptable. Opportunities and canvases like these present themselves once every approximately never, and quite apart from the goal of fitting in at a high-society part, Lily is a gosh darned Artist who has never allowed herself to be limited by any one form of expression. Painting, sculpture, sewing, poetry, even programming, science, and Magic itself. So this is not a moment to simply fulfill a mission, but an opportunity to express herself, her feelings, and her soul to the world at large and to the very specific people here with her right now. So it's the best that she buys, and where that's not good enough, she fixes and enhances and embellishes.

For Keynes, a rant about the limitations of men's fashion. How is it that every occasion on the face of the earth somehow calls for some combination of a button up shirt, trousers, and a suit jacket with only minor variations in the cut or number of pockets? Well, whatever. Black leather shoes, black trousers, a smoke grey dress shirt. Over that, a midnight blue sateen vest, the glossy weave invoking the night sky against the steely backdrop of the city. A small, palladium chain looped into the breast pocket, glittering silver like a searchlight. A seeker of truth surrounded by the unknown. Platinum, of course, would have been the more valuable, precious material, but you work with the materials you have. And besides, palladium is the superior platinum-group metal for purification, and for a spy who must always be getting his hands dirty, it must suit him better. Purification, yes. She crushes a red almandine garnet into powder and dusts the entire ensemble in it. A glitter as he walks in the lights, bursts of light and patterns maybe nobody can trace or even fully recognize they're looking at, just the way she felt on that day when she first saw his Nimbus. Garnet, a ferrous gemstone, therefore magnetic. Spiritually, a karmic cleanser and protector of life in this incarnation. Attractive and striking, mysterious and masking. Artificial, possibly, but pure.

For Compass, a champagne colored strapless gown, the pale color contrasted against the darkness of her skin. A study in contrasts, the silken fabric will light her up like a candle. Tightly clinging to her chest and torso, cutting the angles of her figure like a gemstone named Gabriella. A gold colored ribbon around the waist giving way to the flowing, flared skirt that ends just above the ankles to show off a pair of delicate, closed-toe high heel sandals. The top to show her poise, the bottom to turn her rigidity into constant, flowing motion. A pair of elbow length gloves creates refinement and distance. A pearl choker to be the moon to her sun. First of the gemstones, beloved by the Zodiac. And she weaves a filigree of the ancient alloy electrum all along the length of the skirt in blooming flower petals and swirling, looping stems. Beautiful, and also highly conductive. The natural energy Compass puts out without even thinking about it would charge the dress, making it pulse and sway with every little shift she makes, turning her entire body into a source of constant, eye popping motion.

Finally, there is Lily. Last, and mostly spent, the least like her friends. But no more hiding behind punk chic aesthetics, for her there is a jade green qipao with its high collar and short sleeves ending barely past her shoulders. Unusually form fitting and flirty for someone normally seen wearing 2 jackets and a vest, who is so shy about her body. Between the high cut of the fabric near her hips, the dress ending just above her knees, and her obligation to swap out her heavy boots for a tiny pair of pointed flats (covered in deep black velvet), she's also showing off more leg than she has to anybody who hasn't caught her in the shower. The fabric is embroidered with gold thread depicting the feathers (but not the body or head) of a phoenix. Around her neck is a gold necklace holding a brilliant blue sapphire with flecks of almost sea foam green (so it was parti colour after all). Incongruous? Maybe. But she'd thought about it for like 30 seconds and realized that a gemstone with a personal connection to herself would make an even better conduit for Zero's gun than a 'raw' one would.

She worries, frets, and fusses over the three of them obsessively, alternately switching between muttering a stream-of-consciousness rant and singing under her breath. At last, she finishes with a dramatic wipe of her forehead, though she isn't sweating.

"Oh my gosh," she gasps, "They are going to love you."

[Thanqol]

TIMELINE 1

"Of course, the facts," said Professor Western. "Last night, Abigail met up at a bar with an old contact of hers, Murray, on the police force. She seduced him, got him alone, and then bit him which transmitted her condition to him. Murray then contacted his partner on the force, called him out, and then the two of them attacked him and transmitted the condition to him as well. All three of them are here at the station now and I'm sensing a fourth connection which indicates they may have converted a fourth."

Someone hands him a laptop, which he opens and uses a touch of Forces to project a map of the station on screen with four glowing green dots.

"The process itself is fascinating to watch, both in the actual transition and the implications - but I think your Arcana will get a lot more out of it than I will. There does not seem to be a Mind component so the new converts don't seem to fully grasp what is happening and the social dynamics here are becoming deeply unstable. While infiltration and usurpation of law enforcement seems like a natural progression for the - situation in question -" he hesitates a little here, not knowing how much you've told your allies "- I am aware of the possibility of breakout contagion, especially with the Life Arcana present. As to the silver I am just covering every base I can think of."

He hands across the laptop, hard and clunky filled with all his observational data so far. It's all through a pretty narrow lens - Western is good at what he does but he's not a generalist. "I think it's important to learn as much as possible now because I can easily see a future where every cop in Sydney is one of these in six months."

TIMELINE 2

With style like that there isn't a velvet rope that could keep you out. Trends may be set.


This party is a Pandemonic Verge. What this means in a practical sense is that Space is operating according to Supernal principles. Distance and location doesn't apply in a conventional sense - you can't be in the kitchen, or in the bathroom, or wherever. There are in fact only four 'places' you can be:

- With Rebecca
- Watching Rebecca
- Thinking about Rebecca
- With someone who is thinking about Rebecca

It is impossible for two people who are not thinking about Rebecca to meet and talk alone; the patterns of the party will interrupt the conversation and split the group. You may shift between these four states freely but haphazardly. Only Keynes understands enough of Space to be able to smoothly navigate this web and understand these rules on a conceptual level.

Rebecca for her part is almost whoever or whatever you need her to be; she's in sync with the concepts of obsession and will change to fit your idea of that. She has her own personality, agenda and deliberate will but these are almost impossible to perceive. A successful resolve+composure roll is necessary to perceive her a human rather than a reflection of your own desires, and this will reset if you leave her immediate presence.



Compass, you see that the fat Seer of the Throne you saw earlier today is here. He doesn't seem more than passingly magically aware right now - people become Seers to have access to parties like this so he's just enjoying himself and not really looking out for other Mages (also he evidently doesn't know your face or identity). He does have active Fate Shielding and Veiling spells and flits between the Thinking About and Watching layers.

Keynes, that Fate you sensed earlier of someone being doomed to die - that's still here and you can make it with a Knowing spell, but if you cast Fate magic here then the Seer will make you. You can sense a lot of punch behind his spells - Seers tend to be pound for pound much stronger mages than Pentacle guys because they get their arcane secrets on silver platters from above. You don't know what other Arcana he has and is looking for but he's definitely in tune with Fate.

Lily, you see the person the Father of Death is leading you towards in the With Someone layer - the light above her head flickers in stattico code. At a glance she strikes you as a trophy wife - and she's playing the part. She's the airheaded platinum blonde hostess who's laughing and smoothly moving between all the groups, touching shoulders, kissing friends, totally in sync with the party and with everyone's names on her lips.

Her hands drip with black blood - she has killed before. About a dozen other people here have as well (which is high for a party this size, rich people are creepy. The Seer has also killed just in case you care), but she's got the strongest death vibe around her. She's also the only person here to dress as tastefully as you - other people have spent more money but you can see that she's put a great amount of personal care into her clothing. She's wearing a glittering white dress, sharp black gloves, and a sleek black scarf trailing white roses.

[Anarion]

TIMELINE 1

"Of course, the facts," said Professor Western. "Last night, Abigail met up at a bar with an old contact of hers, Murray, on the police force. She seduced him, got him alone, and then bit him which transmitted her condition to him. Murray then contacted his partner on the force, called him out, and then the two of them attacked him and transmitted the condition to him as well. All three of them are here at the station now and I'm sensing a fourth connection which indicates they may have converted a fourth."

Someone hands him a laptop, which he opens and uses a touch of Forces to project a map of the station on screen with four glowing green dots.

"The process itself is fascinating to watch, both in the actual transition and the implications - but I think your Arcana will get a lot more out of it than I will. There does not seem to be a Mind component so the new converts don't seem to fully grasp what is happening and the social dynamics here are becoming deeply unstable. While infiltration and usurpation of law enforcement seems like a natural progression for the - situation in question -" he hesitates a little here, not knowing how much you've told your allies "- I am aware of the possibility of breakout contagion, especially with the Life Arcana present. As to the silver I am just covering every base I can think of."

He hands across the laptop, hard and clunky filled with all his observational data so far. It's all through a pretty narrow lens - Western is good at what he does but he's not a generalist. "I think it's important to learn as much as possible now because I can easily see a future where every cop in Sydney is one of these in six months."


Keynes clears his throat. "These creatures are, ah, not a magical phenomena per se then? You appear to be describing some sort of lycanthropy, but it's spread is not subject to disbelief when viewed by sleepers?"

Lily, I don't recall you mentioning this to Keynes at all. He gives you a slight sideways look, saying with his eyes that he's surprised he doesn't already know something about this.



TIMELINE 2

With style like that there isn't a velvet rope that could keep you out. Trends may be set.


This party is a Pandemonic Verge. What this means in a practical sense is that Space is operating according to Supernal principles. Distance and location doesn't apply in a conventional sense - you can't be in the kitchen, or in the bathroom, or wherever. There are in fact only four 'places' you can be:

- With Rebecca
- Watching Rebecca
- Thinking about Rebecca
- With someone who is thinking about Rebecca

It is impossible for two people who are not thinking about Rebecca to meet and talk alone; the patterns of the party will interrupt the conversation and split the group. You may shift between these four states freely but haphazardly. Only Keynes understands enough of Space to be able to smoothly navigate this web and understand these rules on a conceptual level.


Keynes straightens his new vest as they enter, admiring red glistening in the light. He realizes the nature of the party quickly, and whispers to Lily and Compass "this party centers magically on Rebecca. Consider whether you are with her, admiring her, or at a distance considering her or with others doing the same. If you want to find someone, consider their relation to Rebecca and try to bring yourself to the same place."

That would do as far as explaining the concept, they'd be able to figure it out from there.



Rebecca for her part is almost whoever or whatever you need her to be; she's in sync with the concepts of obsession and will change to fit your idea of that. She has her own personality, agenda and deliberate will but these are almost impossible to perceive. A successful resolve+composure roll is necessary to perceive her a human rather than a reflection of your own desires, and this will reset if you leave her immediate presence.

Keynes, that Fate you sensed earlier of someone being doomed to die - that's still here and you can make it with a Knowing spell, but if you cast Fate magic here then the Seer will make you. You can sense a lot of punch behind his spells - Seers tend to be pound for pound much stronger mages than Pentacle guys because they get their arcane secrets on silver platters from above. You don't know what other Arcana he has and is looking for but he's definitely in tune with Fate.


The Seer is too risky initially. The obvious thing to do would be to try and get him out of the room, but there's a lot going on. Keynes will drift first to have a conversation with Rebecca. It's natural for him to greet the most important person in the party, and he moves through that layer of space easily, making out who it is he's actually greeting as best he can.

Resolve+composure
[roll0]

[Raz_Fox]

Now, Compass might have the money or the persuasive force to have been to a shindig like this before but she almost certainly got nothing useful done at it because she has zero Socialize.

Now I'm just going to stop you right there, because just because Ms. Jalloh has two settings at a party (namely: Evangelist and Witness) and has some difficulty saying things are anything other than the way they are, because she has the motion of the universe and the truth of reality burning inside her and that doesn't mix too well with small talk and her hand is too intense, her eyes too bright, and she hammers her way to what she wants with direct questions and requests- well, that doesn't mean she can't do anything useful at a party.

As long as you understand the Truth of usefulness, that is. And the Truth of what proper feng shui would actually do for this room. And the Truth of what astrology can actually tell us about our destinies. And the Truth of what needs to be done in the City. Because Gabriella Jalloh speaks Truth.

Just because people don't like that and it doesn't make for easy mixing doesn't mean she can't do anything useful.


TIMELINE II"Compy, I swear by everything holy if you just go with the flow here and give me your credit card for, like, 20 minutes I will never ask you for anything until the next time I ask you for something." Her face lights up in a smile evoking sunshine, kittens, and rainbows, "And I will turn you, both of you, into works of art."

'Acceptable' clothing is unacceptable. Opportunities and canvases like these present themselves once every approximately never, and quite apart from the goal of fitting in at a high-society part, Lily is a gosh darned Artist who has never allowed herself to be limited by any one form of expression. Painting, sculpture, sewing, poetry, even programming, science, and Magic itself. So this is not a moment to simply fulfill a mission, but an opportunity to express herself, her feelings, and her soul to the world at large and to the very specific people here with her right now. So it's the best that she buys, and where that's not good enough, she fixes and enhances and embellishes.

For Compass, a champagne colored strapless gown, the pale color contrasted against the darkness of her skin. A study in contrasts, the silken fabric will light her up like a candle. Tightly clinging to her chest and torso, cutting the angles of her figure like a gemstone named Gabriella. A gold colored ribbon around the waist giving way to the flowing, flared skirt that ends just above the ankles to show off a pair of delicate, closed-toe high heel sandals. The top to show her poise, the bottom to turn her rigidity into constant, flowing motion. A pair of elbow length gloves creates refinement and distance. A pearl choker to be the moon to her sun. First of the gemstones, beloved by the Zodiac. And she weaves a filigree of the ancient alloy electrum all along the length of the skirt in blooming flower petals and swirling, looping stems. Beautiful, and also highly conductive. The natural energy Compass puts out without even thinking about it would charge the dress, making it pulse and sway with every little shift she makes, turning her entire body into a source of constant, eye popping motion.

She worries, frets, and fusses over the three of them obsessively, alternately switching between muttering a stream-of-consciousness rant and singing under her breath. At last, she finishes with a dramatic wipe of her forehead, though she isn't sweating.

"Oh my gosh," she gasps, "They are going to love you."

The credit card of Ms. Jalloh is, of course, the credit card of Lily Mason. The card trades hands with the ease of an old married couple, without hesitation, without calculation. Perhaps there should have been; but Lily and Compass are cabal mates, and there is a sacred trust within the cabal that many modern magicians would do well to respect. The Triune Goddess is a powerful symbol in the Supernal realms for a reason, and so too the sacred brotherhood, and the legion of angels.

You cannot ask for a better model than Gabriella; for all that she enjoys motion, potential energy is energy just the same as kinetic energy, and she plays the role of Axis Mundi, the world tree with its roots dug into the earth and its branches reaching towards heaven, with Lily our Ratatoskr bounding from limb to limb, carrying news from the inseam to the wrist, bringing songs from the heel to the back of the neck, always bringing her motion back into the core that is our Compass, our touchstone, our foundation. The energy builds with every raise of the arm, every tilt of the chin, every measurement and every molding of the fabric about her form.

And the energy remains, built to high heavenly pitch, when the dress is complete.

Gabriella looks at herself in the mirror, and observes: the contrast, the cream against her skin, the gloves that draw the eye upwards towards her gleaming pearl adornment, the Truth of what the dress is and what it means to the creator and what it is meant to be to the recipient, an ode not sung in meter but rather in square yards of champagne-sleek fabric. And, oh, when she turns! And, oh, when she spins!

And her smile is electric-flashing lightning illuminating the room: you may douse the lights, oh craft-goddess, for your handiwork and the woman that holds the worlds in her grasp will be all we shall need to see and be seen by.

"Will it be sufficient for me to praise your superlative handiwork," Compass asks, finally, the words strong and confident spilling out from that core of potential, "Or will your ego require that I speak my praise in tongues of fire?" And there is a wryness in her voice, as she smiles, radiant, at Lily. "Though Heaven does have trouble with subjective taste, which makes it difficult to talk about the virtues of masterpieces in anything other than such terms: the master used such and such a style, this work was designed to elicit such and such a response, in the world to come all dresses will be such as this, and so on. Difficult to navigate statements such as I appreciate the thought you put into this and you are one of the best artists I have ever seen, as true as these statements are."


TIMELINE 1

"Of course, the facts," said Professor Western. "Last night, Abigail met up at a bar with an old contact of hers, Murray, on the police force. She seduced him, got him alone, and then bit him which transmitted her condition to him. Murray then contacted his partner on the force, called him out, and then the two of them attacked him and transmitted the condition to him as well. All three of them are here at the station now and I'm sensing a fourth connection which indicates they may have converted a fourth."

Someone hands him a laptop, which he opens and uses a touch of Forces to project a map of the station on screen with four glowing green dots.

"The process itself is fascinating to watch, both in the actual transition and the implications - but I think your Arcana will get a lot more out of it than I will. There does not seem to be a Mind component so the new converts don't seem to fully grasp what is happening and the social dynamics here are becoming deeply unstable. While infiltration and usurpation of law enforcement seems like a natural progression for the - situation in question -" he hesitates a little here, not knowing how much you've told your allies "- I am aware of the possibility of breakout contagion, especially with the Life Arcana present. As to the silver I am just covering every base I can think of."

He hands across the laptop, hard and clunky filled with all his observational data so far. It's all through a pretty narrow lens - Western is good at what he does but he's not a generalist. "I think it's important to learn as much as possible now because I can easily see a future where every cop in Sydney is one of these in six months."

Tell me about Quaker's Hill, would you? The flow of the city's beating ley-lines around the station, the spirits of the station, and whether Compass would reasonably have been here before.

"Werewolves?" Compass raises an eyebrow, concerned. "This city is riddled with interesting and ethically dubious Life experiments as of late." She does not take charge, not yet; she looks to Lily, rather, as a gauge of how decisively she should be acting to curtail possible werewolf infestations. Though the prospect doesn't exactly excite her, it must be admitted.


TIMELINE 2

This party is a Pandemonic Verge. What this means in a practical sense is that Space is operating according to Supernal principles. Distance and location doesn't apply in a conventional sense - you can't be in the kitchen, or in the bathroom, or wherever. There are in fact only four 'places' you can be:

- With Rebecca
- Watching Rebecca
- Thinking about Rebecca
- With someone who is thinking about Rebecca

It is impossible for two people who are not thinking about Rebecca to meet and talk alone; the patterns of the party will interrupt the conversation and split the group. You may shift between these four states freely but haphazardly. Only Keynes understands enough of Space to be able to smoothly navigate this web and understand these rules on a conceptual level.

Rebecca for her part is almost whoever or whatever you need her to be; she's in sync with the concepts of obsession and will change to fit your idea of that. She has her own personality, agenda and deliberate will but these are almost impossible to perceive. A successful resolve+composure roll is necessary to perceive her a human rather than a reflection of your own desires, and this will reset if you leave her immediate presence.

Let's roll those bones and see if Compass sees Rebecca or if she sees a woman who has been dead for three years.
[roll0]

For the moment, Compass is going to hang back, gathering potential energy for a spear-thrust into the heart of the party, and become the Witness. Tell me, what does she witness, and what rolls need to be made to gather further information than can be gleaned casually?

[Thanqol]

TIMELINE 1


Keynes clears his throat. "These creatures are, ah, not a magical phenomena per se then? You appear to be describing some sort of lycanthropy, but it's spread is not subject to disbelief when viewed by sleepers?"

"Correct," says Western. Keynes, you do spy stuff and you were trained by the Guardians, but are you a spy? Did you ever work for a Sleeper intelligence agency? Do you know how traditional tradecraft works or is it all through an Awakened lens? Give me your answer along with an empathy roll at -4.


Tell me about Quaker's Hill, would you? The flow of the city's beating ley-lines around the station, the spirits of the station, and whether Compass would reasonably have been here before.

"Werewolves?" Compass raises an eyebrow, concerned. "This city is riddled with interesting and ethically dubious Life experiments as of late." She does not take charge, not yet; she looks to Lily, rather, as a gauge of how decisively she should be acting to curtail possible werewolf infestations. Though the prospect doesn't exactly excite her, it must be admitted.

Quaker's Hill is a place of rebellion. In the earliest days of the colony it was a key battleground in the bloody Castle Hill convict rebellion (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Hill_convict_rebellion) - the only major convict mutiny in Australia's history. You can still sense that vibration of deep, potential violence everywhere here. The spirits of this place all have a profound patience and conviction in their eyes, even as all their wrists are chained - and those chains run together, tangling and tangling, into a massive steel serpent of a hundred-hundred chains that runs into the police station.

This station, and the rattling metal chain-snake that reflects it in the spirit world, is a place of tyranny and slavery. It is the lynchpin of the old city's ley line grid, emanating and establishing the resonance of passivity, submission and control. This is a huge working, almost certainly Awakened and its effects on the city are profound. Rebellions, strikes and marches against power all have to wade through the stifling metaphysical weight of the Quaker Hill station.

It is also a place of royalty and ghosts. The Castle Hill rebels are buried in the great nearby cemetery, including the only man elected King of Australia. These silent and deathless warriors wait patiently in their graves for someone to lift the great weight of Quakers Hill from their chests so they might hoist the black flag once more.


TIMELINE 2


Now I'm just going to stop you right there, because just because Ms. Jalloh has two settings at a party (namely: Evangelist and Witness) and has some difficulty saying things are anything other than the way they are, because she has the motion of the universe and the truth of reality burning inside her and that doesn't mix too well with small talk and her hand is too intense, her eyes too bright, and she hammers her way to what she wants with direct questions and requests- well, that doesn't mean she can't do anything useful at a party.

As long as you understand the Truth of usefulness, that is. And the Truth of what proper feng shui would actually do for this room. And the Truth of what astrology can actually tell us about our destinies. And the Truth of what needs to be done in the City. Because Gabriella Jalloh speaks Truth.

Just because people don't like that and it doesn't make for easy mixing doesn't mean she can't do anything useful.

Certainly correct - if there's a wall you can break it and if someone is Wrong you can set them right. But such clear targets rarely present themselves in settings like this. The unspoken social rule is to give the impression that everyone here is having a good time and this is not about business, even if they are seriously discussing business. It's a gossamer lie of beauty, music and drink and people become uncomfortable if confronted with the raw reality of what's happening.

It's like being an Angel in Hell, or a tiger in the house of mirrors.



The Seer is too risky initially. The obvious thing to do would be to try and get him out of the room, but there's a lot going on. Keynes will drift first to have a conversation with Rebecca. It's natural for him to greet the most important person in the party, and he moves through that layer of space easily, making out who it is he's actually greeting as best he can.

Resolve+composure
[roll0]


Let's roll those bones and see if Compass sees Rebecca or if she sees a woman who has been dead for three years.
[roll0]

For the moment, Compass is going to hang back, gathering potential energy for a spear-thrust into the heart of the party, and become the Witness. Tell me, what does she witness, and what rolls need to be made to gather further information than can be gleaned casually?

Rebecca is a girl with thunder in her eyes. She is Asian and has delicate elfin features, with the poise and build of an acrobat. What she's wearing doesn't matter - physical things become almost irrelevant this deep in a Pandemonic verge. Your clothes remain clearly in focus because they have an emotional and sympathetic connection to Lily, and your magical tools likewise remain relevant because of the importance you place upon them, but everything else is just an indistinct blur or a deliberate statement.

She's currently deep in a conversation with someone else. If you want to elide into it without disrupting it, and thereby learn what she's talking about, you'll need a successful manipulation+socialize roll, otherwise you'll come in at the wrong note. Either way you will be able to get her full attention when approaching.

Compass, Primesight lets you almost see the patterns of her thoughts - when something attracts her attention there is a vast crashing tidal wave of energy through her mind that shift and changes with each turn in the conversation. When she's thinking blue lighting expands around her scalp, when she's talking a crushing wave of yellow power pushes past objections with almost physical force, when she's using her body language needles of pink fire impale her victims along the spine and hands and pull them about like puppets.

This is akin to Awakened spellcasting in the effects but not in the intention. Her soul has not attained gnosis and she is still a Sleeper. Things happen as she wills them to but she is not conscious of her will; imagos fire randomly with no understanding or control. This has enough in common with Awakened magic, however, to be mastered and shielded against with the Prime Arcanum. Because the level of conscious control is so weak any 'spell' cast by Rebecca can be countered or manipulated with a simple success. And just hypothetically, it wouldn't be much of a stretch for a Mage of Compass' skill to hijack those spells for her own use.

[Anarion]

TIMELINE 1



"Correct," says Western. Keynes, you do spy stuff and you were trained by the Guardians, but are you a spy? Did you ever work for a Sleeper intelligence agency? Do you know how traditional tradecraft works or is it all through an Awakened lens? Give me your answer along with an empathy roll at -4.


Yes, some sleeper tradecraft. Keynes wasn't intending to be a professional exactly, but he found himself at one point at the convergence of British intelligence and the CIA when he was in Germany due to certain of his acquaintances being more important than he at first suspected. It was a situation where you either stayed very, very locked up, or you agreed to aid Queen and Country.

[Just empathy, no stat to go with it? Not like, Empathy+Composure or something? Here's just empathy at -4. It's a chance die. [roll0]



Rebecca is a girl with thunder in her eyes. She is Asian and has delicate elfin features, with the poise and build of an acrobat. What she's wearing doesn't matter - physical things become almost irrelevant this deep in a Pandemonic verge. Your clothes remain clearly in focus because they have an emotional and sympathetic connection to Lily, and your magical tools likewise remain relevant because of the importance you place upon them, but everything else is just an indistinct blur or a deliberate statement.

She's currently deep in a conversation with someone else. If you want to elide into it without disrupting it, and thereby learn what she's talking about, you'll need a successful manipulation+socialize roll, otherwise you'll come in at the wrong note. Either way you will be able to get her full attention when approaching.


Yeah, uh, Keynes isn't even going to try that one. He's not a socializer, that's Lily's bag, and he's not much for manipulating people either when it comes down to social situations. He knows better than to even try it, and he's not interested in trying to twist fate here, what with the Seer present. So he will wait, and when the conversation is over, then he will slide up (metaphorically) and speak to her. And speak to her in this case, will simply be to attract her attention, say hello, and allow her to choose the topic that most catches her fancy at the moment.

[PhoeKun]

TIMELINE 1


"Werewolves?" Compass raises an eyebrow, concerned. "This city is riddled with interesting and ethically dubious Life experiments as of late." She does not take charge, not yet; she looks to Lily, rather, as a gauge of how decisively she should be acting to curtail possible werewolf infestations. Though the prospect doesn't exactly excite her, it must be admitted.

Keynes clears his throat. "These creatures are, ah, not a magical phenomena per se then? You appear to be describing some sort of lycanthropy, but it's spread is not subject to disbelief when viewed by sleepers?"

Lily, I don't recall you mentioning this to Keynes at all. He gives you a slight sideways look, saying with his eyes that he's surprised he doesn't already know something about this.

"Oh gosh darn it the both of you. They're not actually werewolves, they're self replicating cyborgs with a vaguely canine aesthetic. And if your next question is going to be something ridiculous like 'what's the difference?' you can save it because obviously they have brain computers." Blank stares all around. Lily sighs. "... it means I can write a program to push them toward more socially acceptable behavior patterns. Which I'm sure it won't come to because this is a perfectly reasonable situation and nobody has to get upset about it or send anybody else to wizard jail over it, okay? OK."



He hands across the laptop, hard and clunky filled with all his observational data so far. It's all through a pretty narrow lens - Western is good at what he does but he's not a generalist. "I think it's important to learn as much as possible now because I can easily see a future where every cop in Sydney is one of these in six months."

"Yes, I agree. The more we learn now, the better it is for, uh, basically everything from this point until the end of time, pretty much?" she pours over the data and represses another sigh. It's not that it's bad information, it's just so frustratingly brief, always coming to a halt before it can reach any of the most crucial points or observations. She'd have to set up cameras all over the place from now on just to make sure she could put her eyes to anything else that came out. For the moment she has to content herself with this laptop and the hope that it has some video of one of more of these, for lack of a better word, 'turnings'.

Whether she finds it or not, she claps her hands together with a too-cheerful-by-half "Well then!" What a mistake to have done any of this. She shouldn't have asked. Shouldn't have gone to all this trouble or brought anyone with her. Just slinked over here all quiet like and done her thing, gotten things all properly professional and presentable before showing her work to her friends. Aw, jeez and dang this is embarrassing.

"So yeah, uh, I think the next move is probably pinging Abby to poke her nose out here for a little bit. We should use our words if we can, gain some insights into the whole 'living with a machine society' thing while it's still mostly theoretical."

You had to go on the Mega Man binge, didn't you Lily? You couldn't feed the extremely suggestive Supernal entities stuff from Ghost in the Shell, noooo, you had to pick the story with the endless, unceasing robot wars because they get laser blasters. Dummy.


TIMELINE 2

"Will it be sufficient for me to praise your superlative handiwork," Compass asks, finally, the words strong and confident spilling out from that core of potential, "Or will your ego require that I speak my praise in tongues of fire?" And there is a wryness in her voice, as she smiles, radiant, at Lily. "Though Heaven does have trouble with subjective taste, which makes it difficult to talk about the virtues of masterpieces in anything other than such terms: the master used such and such a style, this work was designed to elicit such and such a response, in the world to come all dresses will be such as this, and so on. Difficult to navigate statements such as I appreciate the thought you put into this and you are one of the best artists I have ever seen, as true as these statements are."

Lily suddenly becomes intensely interested in her shoes.

"I got to see you. See your face when you saw yourself. Never needed you to say a word," she looks up again, and the deep blush in her cheeks does nothing to diminish the goofy smile on her face, "But don't stop on my account!"



Lily, you see the person the Father of Death is leading you towards in the With Someone layer - the light above her head flickers in stattico code. At a glance she strikes you as a trophy wife - and she's playing the part. She's the airheaded platinum blonde hostess who's laughing and smoothly moving between all the groups, touching shoulders, kissing friends, totally in sync with the party and with everyone's names on her lips.

Her hands drip with black blood - she has killed before. About a dozen other people here have as well (which is high for a party this size, rich people are creepy. The Seer has also killed just in case you care), but she's got the strongest death vibe around her. She's also the only person here to dress as tastefully as you - other people have spent more money but you can see that she's put a great amount of personal care into her clothing. She's wearing a glittering white dress, sharp black gloves, and a sleek black scarf trailing white roses.

Hoo boy. Lifestyles of the rich and famous, am I right? There was a time when Lily first met Rebecca that she thought she represented the ugly side of the super wealthy. But, the thinking went, that was surely because the poor girl had been on the verge of Awakening for months. At this point though... well, thank goodness Compass was only well-to-do, and not part of this scene. Like, sure, when you get right down to it there's at least a dozen acceptableish reasons to take a life. Literally all of Lily's friends and acquaintances are marked with the black stained hands of murder, but the general hope over time is that you'd see that dry out, just a stain from an old part of your life that never leaves you. Or if not that, for them to carry a bunch of other marks that indicate exceptional circumstances. But here, at a party? Surrounded by all of this grandeur? To be drip-drip-dripping all over the place, in a building already marked for death? Yeah, you're darn right rich people are creepy.

Actually come to think of it, that was the one thing that gave Lily hope about Becca: at least, the last time she'd seen her, she hadn't killed someone. Like, there had been that time they were together and everybody in the room suddenly turned into zombies, or the time they went bar hopping and wound up in every bar in Sydney at the same time and Lily wound up with alcohol poisoning so bad she couldn't even manage her own Rote to cleanse herself, or all of the yelling and fighting and thrown things and ugly, ugly faces and... okay, fine. But it'd be so easy for her to have killed by now, but that never seemed to be what she wanted. It was something to be optimistic about, that at least if she could just push the silly girl over the edge and pull her up to this level, that it'd represent a net improvement on things. Probably she'd wind up a Seer or branded "left handed", whatever that meant, but there were way worse things to be, you know?

Funny, though, how easy it was to think about Becca, even though she hadn't been expecting her here (why not?). Even though there was someone else Lily had specifically come in to find. Becca was just... everywhere. It was overwhelming, probably moreso for Lily than anyone else in here, with her reliance on Matter and her worldview's near total impotence in this zone. She couldn't even tell what most people were wearing, which was... weird and wrong. Was it because Becca didn't care? Or because nobody cared? She clung as hard as she could to the only real thing she could find anywhere, which was that other woman's dress.

"Hello, hi! I'm so sorry to interrupt, but I saw your dress from across the room and I just fell in love. The contrast is just lovely, and the way your scarf accents your whole theme? Just, divine. Completely makes the ensemble, for me. Just, oh wow, if I could be half so pretty I think my heart would just burst. Can I ask who made it?"

[Thanqol]

TIMELINE 1


Yes, some sleeper tradecraft. Keynes wasn't intending to be a professional exactly, but he found himself at one point at the convergence of British intelligence and the CIA when he was in Germany due to certain of his acquaintances being more important than he at first suspected. It was a situation where you either stayed very, very locked up, or you agreed to aid Queen and Country.

Something's triggering your spy instincts here. Every time Western talks you find yourself tensing a little and the thought you keep coming back to is this is an enemy agent who has made you. You can see the same stealth-aggressive body language in him too - the way he's standing, the way he's watching your hands, the way he always has cover in between you and him adds up to a sense that he instinctively expects you to draw at any second.

Intellectually he's clearly trying to brush past it and remain professional but whatever his old combat reflexes are, something about you in particular is setting them off. You really don't want to make any sudden movements around this guy.


"Yes, I agree. The more we learn now, the better it is for, uh, basically everything from this point until the end of time, pretty much?" she pours over the data and represses another sigh. It's not that it's bad information, it's just so frustratingly brief, always coming to a halt before it can reach any of the most crucial points or observations. She'd have to set up cameras all over the place from now on just to make sure she could put her eyes to anything else that came out. For the moment she has to content herself with this laptop and the hope that it has some video of one of more of these, for lack of a better word, 'turnings'.

What kind of Forces mage would he be if he didn't have video? It's really limited by the fact that it's a recording, though, all the really interesting stuff would be happening internally and you can't use your mage sights through the video.

It starts with seduction and a sexual proposition, but in classic horror movie tradition it turns bad once the two are alone. It turns quickly from kissing to biting to outright mauling - and Abigail can put out a lot of gross bodily harm for her size. Science: After watching a few of those (if you have the stomach for it) you'd notice that Abigail is always causing the exact same injury patterns. You suspect that the organs that she is damaging are the ones that will be replaced with cybernetic parts when the 'virus' takes hold'

It looks like a hell of a rush, too - you're not sure if the victim is begging for mercy or for more. Eventually Abigail calms down, comes down, catches her breath, freaks out and leaves in a hurry. About fifteen minutes of stillness later the wounds are healed and the victim has come too looking shocked, a little drunken, and not totally in control of their strength. One of them accidentally pulls a door out of the frame.


"So yeah, uh, I think the next move is probably pinging Abby to poke her nose out here for a little bit. We should use our words if we can, gain some insights into the whole 'living with a machine society' thing while it's still mostly theoretical."

You had to go on the Mega Man binge, didn't you Lily? You couldn't feed the extremely suggestive Supernal entities stuff from Ghost in the Shell, noooo, you had to pick the story with the endless, unceasing robot wars because they get laser blasters. Dummy.

"Using our words would be ideal," agrees Western. "The afflicted are likely confused and driven by unfamiliar instincts. They have no vocabulary for these changes. Do you think it's best to try and shape their development, or gather information so we are prepared for when they shape ours?"




TIMELINE 2


Probably she'd wind up a Seer or branded "left handed", whatever that meant, but there were way worse things to be, you know?

I dunno, if you figure out a way to Awaken someone then there's not much the Pentacle won't forgive. Awakening is the great dragon for the Silver Ladder especially and they will go to bat for someone who's even trying to make it happen.

Also to be honest this whole Pandemonium Verge thing isn't unusual for how dramatic an Awakening can be. The only difference, really, is that it's being drawn out for way longer than it should be. It's not even an especially bad one either (see House of Leaves for the documentation of a baaaaaaad Mastigos Awakening)


"Hello, hi! I'm so sorry to interrupt, but I saw your dress from across the room and I just fell in love. The contrast is just lovely, and the way your scarf accents your whole theme? Just, divine. Completely makes the ensemble, for me. Just, oh wow, if I could be half so pretty I think my heart would just burst. Can I ask who made it?"

"Oh my goodness, you are so sweet!" said the hostess - she's got a bit of a country twang to her voice. "I'll let you in on a secret, but only because I want the name of your dressmaker in exchange: I made it myself. I started teaching myself a while ago, I mean, got to fill all these days somehow!"

Matter/Science: You couldn't make it out behind the gloves at first, but this close it's unmistakable: she has nitroglycerin on her fingertips. And now that you're looking around for weird chemical compositions you're pretty sure that's Benzylbutylbarbiturate in those drinks that are being handed around - which is an illegal and unique designer sedative. You can't even get that sh*t anymore, it was last seen being confiscated by police circa Y2K - I mean, theoretically if you set up an entire chemistry lab you could distill it, the formulae has been published scientifically, or if you're a Matter mage you could put it together.

Hypothetically if you wanted to invent an antidote (and it would be invention, this stuff isn't widespread enough for people to have really researched it in any detail) that'd be an Intelligence+Science roll, with a -3 penalty if you wanted the antidote to be made out of common household drugs and chemicals.


Yeah, uh, Keynes isn't even going to try that one. He's not a socializer, that's Lily's bag, and he's not much for manipulating people either when it comes down to social situations. He knows better than to even try it, and he's not interested in trying to twist fate here, what with the Seer present. So he will wait, and when the conversation is over, then he will slide up (metaphorically) and speak to her. And speak to her in this case, will simply be to attract her attention, say hello, and allow her to choose the topic that most catches her fancy at the moment.

"You," said Rebecca, and she speaks in demands - this is not a conversation, this is an audition to see if you are worthy of a conversation. "Tell me the strangest thing that has ever happened to you. In full detail, leave nothing out."

[Psychic Domination: You must answer her unless Compass counters the spell.]

[Anarion]

"Oh gosh darn it the both of you. They're not actually werewolves, they're self replicating cyborgs with a vaguely canine aesthetic. And if your next question is going to be something ridiculous like 'what's the difference?' you can save it because obviously they have brain computers." Blank stares all around. Lily sighs. "... it means I can write a program to push them toward more socially acceptable behavior patterns. Which I'm sure it won't come to because this is a perfectly reasonable situation and nobody has to get upset about it or send anybody else to wizard jail over it, okay? OK."




Something's triggering your spy instincts here. Every time Western talks you find yourself tensing a little and the thought you keep coming back to is this is an enemy agent who has made you. You can see the same stealth-aggressive body language in him too - the way he's standing, the way he's watching your hands, the way he always has cover in between you and him adds up to a sense that he instinctively expects you to draw at any second.

Intellectually he's clearly trying to brush past it and remain professional but whatever his old combat reflexes are, something about you in particular is setting them off. You really don't want to make any sudden movements around this guy.

"Using our words would be ideal," agrees Western. "The afflicted are likely confused and driven by unfamiliar instincts. They have no vocabulary for these changes. Do you think it's best to try and shape their development, or gather information so we are prepared for when they shape ours?"


The obvious thing to do would be to jump to the conclusion that Western is a Seer. If you were playing 20 questions and your prompt was enemy agent of the Guardians, Seer is precisely what you'd mark. Keynes doesn't quite want to jump there yet. Or rather, he's jumped there, but there's no good to be had from making accusations here, especially with a well-armed assault team (although if they're all sleepers with dangerous equipment, they're most likely to be a liability for everyone. Lily is, however grudgingly Keynes might admit it, free to associate with whatever non-abyssal entities she pleases.

Keynes puts on his wide charming smile, although he moves slowly, no grandiose gestures around Western. "No, no, perish the thought. Nobody is going to any sort of wizard jail here. There's been a quite monumental working, one that is a unique and lasting change to the world and by Jove we are only beginning to see the full extent of its nature. It is our duty to determine what's happening and ensure that we approach the situation with proper thoughtfulness and good sense."

He makes a very slight bow. "If you request my services, I should have minimal difficulty tracking where the young lady went both before and after her little escapade depicted here, though I would do best starting from the location shown on-screen."



"You," said Rebecca, and she speaks in demands - this is not a conversation, this is an audition to see if you are worthy of a conversation. "Tell me the strangest thing that has ever happened to you. In full detail, leave nothing out."

[Psychic Domination: You must answer her unless Compass counters the spell.]

I don't want to answer this if Compass counters it. Keynes will tell a different story depending on whether he can lie here.

[Raz_Fox]

Keynes puts on his wide charming smile, although he moves slowly, no grandiose gestures around Western. "No, no, perish the thought. Nobody is going to any sort of wizard jail here. There's been a quite monumental working, one that is a unique and lasting change to the world and by Jove we are only beginning to see the full extent of its nature. It is our duty to determine what's happening and ensure that we approach the situation with proper thoughtfulness and good sense."

He makes a very slight bow. "If you request my services, I should have minimal difficulty tracking where the young lady went both before and after her little escapade depicted here, though I would do best starting from the location shown on-screen."

TIMELINE I

"Nobody's going to wizard jail over this?" Compass asks, one eyebrow raised, but she can't really keep a poker face. "I'm kidding," she says, unnecessarily, slightly awkward. "This place is a jail, though. Spiritually. Bondage, imprisonment, mute obedience- not an auspicious place to buck the status quo so dramatically. And if anything is bucking the status quo, I would say cyborg werewolf cops would do it."

She leans in closer to the screen of the laptop, squinting at it. Is there information on which organs, precisely, are changed by this iteration of the werewolf technovirus?

"I do most of my work with mana flow and reinforcing/degrading sorcerous workings. If you need a full analysis of what Arcana are at play, or need this amended, I'd need time and a werewolf cop but- as long as Lily is on this project, you have me."


Compass, Primesight lets you almost see the patterns of her thoughts - when something attracts her attention there is a vast crashing tidal wave of energy through her mind that shift and changes with each turn in the conversation. When she's thinking blue lighting expands around her scalp, when she's talking a crushing wave of yellow power pushes past objections with almost physical force, when she's using her body language needles of pink fire impale her victims along the spine and hands and pull them about like puppets.

This is akin to Awakened spellcasting in the effects but not in the intention. Her soul has not attained gnosis and she is still a Sleeper. Things happen as she wills them to but she is not conscious of her will; imagos fire randomly with no understanding or control. This has enough in common with Awakened magic, however, to be mastered and shielded against with the Prime Arcanum. Because the level of conscious control is so weak any 'spell' cast by Rebecca can be countered or manipulated with a simple success. And just hypothetically, it wouldn't be much of a stretch for a Mage of Compass' skill to hijack those spells for her own use.


I don't want to answer this if Compass counters it. Keynes will tell a different story depending on whether he can lie here.

TIMELINE II

Compass watches long enough to get a good feeling for this Arcana in play all about the unwitting heiress. It's beautiful, in its own uncomfortable way, like a tide-

the sound of the ocean

Compass closes her eyes for a long moment, breathing through her nose, and then reopens them just in time to see those darts riding the searing neon intensity of Rebecca's unconscious whim driving in its fullness down on Keynes' head, and instinctively, without thought, she takes that wave and scatters it into its constituent thoughts, breaking the wave at its zenith with a curt motion of her fingers.

Denied.

[Prime+Gnosis: 10/5/9/1. 10-Again: 10. 10-Again: 8. Four successes.]

[Thanqol]

The obvious thing to do would be to jump to the conclusion that Western is a Seer. If you were playing 20 questions and your prompt was enemy agent of the Guardians, Seer is precisely what you'd mark.

This does not feel incorrect to you. It feels congruous, too, with the fact that he brought dozens of armed sleepers to a supernatural manifestation. Not many in the Pentacle would do that.


He makes a very slight bow. "If you request my services, I should have minimal difficulty tracking where the young lady went both before and after her little escapade depicted here, though I would do best starting from the location shown on-screen."

"I can track her with the Forces Arcana," said Western. "But I have a hair or blood sample from each of the victims I know about in case that is insufficient." He hands you some small plastic bags with names, photographs, and attached vials.


She leans in closer to the screen of the laptop, squinting at it. Is there information on which organs, precisely, are changed by this iteration of the werewolf technovirus?

No. Western doesn't have any Arcana which would allow him to perceive that - you'd want to ask Lily.


Compass watches long enough to get a good feeling for this Arcana in play all about the unwitting heiress. It's beautiful, in its own uncomfortable way, like a tide-

the sound of the ocean

The situation does invite comparison with Thule, you're right, but there's actually an interesting point to be made here. Thule did this to himself deliberately, and his disjointed and broken soul is far too mighty to observe directly without being overwhelmed. Rebecca is in a similar situation by accident and her will is not united in nearly the same way as Thule's is.

If you were to somehow give Rebecca a greater awareness of her power, and if you then observed the way this Verge changed as her will became more focused, you would gain a valuable insight into how Thule originally created his own effect. You may be even able to learn how to resist him more effectively by practicing in an arena with far lower stakes. You'd need to do the opposite of what you're doing here - strengthening and broadening her haphazard castings rather than countering them.

This wouldn't finish Awakening her but it would give her stronger control over the effects she accidentally throws around. Rebecca would become more dangerous, true, but Thule would become more vulnerable - and you'd learn a lot about how a human soul works in the process. Start experimenting with this and you'll earn a point of Arcane XP in addition to any other knowledge you gain.

[PhoeKun]

TIMELINE 1

"Using our words would be ideal," agrees Western. "The afflicted are likely confused and driven by unfamiliar instincts. They have no vocabulary for these changes. Do you think it's best to try and shape their development, or gather information so we are prepared for when they shape ours?"

"We don't have a lot of vocabulary for these changes either, tee-bee-haych. Heck me, why did I have to miss this? Key, is there any way to get remote viewing of a good playback of the first event? Something that'll let me put my sight to it without us needing to skedaddle on over to the spot where it happened? Maybe a collab effort between all you guys? Something? Right now we're all just sort of guessing at the process here and it's bugging me half to death. I'm the only one who can gather the data we need here. I've gotta have it."

Lily pauses for a moment, purses her lips, and sighs. What an obscenely strong replication instinct. The look on Abby's face afterward each time... total override. Actually striking how similar watching the attacks felt like sex. The passion, the buildup, losing yourself in that moment of climax and then... coming down. Shame, guilt, regret, horror. But you do it all again before you know it. What a rush it must be. Possibly for the victim, too. But was this raw instinct, or something else? Possibly a coincidence that only police had been taken so far, just acquaintances and connections. Or, was it focused? Part of a larger scheme, or even a narrative? Remember the songs, Lily. Abby's the product of The Hounds: that definitely means something.

"In any case, I appreciate you asking for my input but let's be real here you did not surround this building with armed goons to not take an active hand in shaping the development of a new life form that happens to also be your secretary/assistant/whatever-else-you-guys-have-going-on-I-did-not-ask. Which is cool, for the record, we've got a lot of the problems associated with introducing a new life form into a biosphere while also stacking a bunch of human rights issues on top of that because they're hecka sentient beings. Driver's licenses and jobs and all that jazz. I mean, you get the best results out of magic if you play an active role in it, eye-emm-oh, which is all to say that yeah I'm here to help them through this. I also want to be gentle, if we can help it."



TIMELINE 2


I dunno, if you figure out a way to Awaken someone then there's not much the Pentacle won't forgive. Awakening is the great dragon for the Silver Ladder especially and they will go to bat for someone who's even trying to make it happen.

Also to be honest this whole Pandemonium Verge thing isn't unusual for how dramatic an Awakening can be. The only difference, really, is that it's being drawn out for way longer than it should be. It's not even an especially bad one either (see House of Leaves for the documentation of a baaaaaaad Mastigos Awakening)

Well, see, you could basically fit what I know about the Pentacle on an index card. There's a limited amount of space in my head, and I decided years ago to use it for color wheels and hardness scales and Perl, which left precious little room for politics and even less after I learned there were also wizard politics. So if I have an undeveloped sense of what everybody will and won't freak out over just bear with me, okay? So many people assume there's something wrong with me; it's hard not to get kind of paranoid about it.



"Oh my goodness, you are so sweet!" said the hostess - she's got a bit of a country twang to her voice. "I'll let you in on a secret, but only because I want the name of your dressmaker in exchange: I made it myself. I started teaching myself a while ago, I mean, got to fill all these days somehow!"

Matter/Science: You couldn't make it out behind the gloves at first, but this close it's unmistakable: she has nitroglycerin on her fingertips. And now that you're looking around for weird chemical compositions you're pretty sure that's Benzylbutylbarbiturate in those drinks that are being handed around - which is an illegal and unique designer sedative. You can't even get that sh*t anymore, it was last seen being confiscated by police circa Y2K - I mean, theoretically if you set up an entire chemistry lab you could distill it, the formulae has been published scientifically, or if you're a Matter mage you could put it together.

Hypothetically if you wanted to invent an antidote (and it would be invention, this stuff isn't widespread enough for people to have really researched it in any detail) that'd be an Intelligence+Science roll, with a -3 penalty if you wanted the antidote to be made out of common household drugs and chemicals.

"Oh gosh, I know!" Lily's face is effervescent, though her eyes can't help but dart around the room, "It's sooooo important to have hobbies, they're all that keep us from going crazy. But you're self taught? Really? Wow, that is... I won't lie, that's really hard to believe. The confidence in your seamwork is just... look at that pattern! In silk! If that's not from professional schooling then you're a prodigy. Oh, it's so gorgeous! I tried really hard to break out of my comfort zone when I made my dress for tonight, but I guess a seamstress has to really know herself before she can make a masterpiece. I'm Lily, by the way, Lily Mason. It's wonderful to meet you."

You crazy lady. Nitroglycerin? Really? Is she using it as a blood thinner, or should we all keep a safe distance in case she claps her hands too hard? I mean, to each her own, but... dang. Lily needs a sharper understanding of this woman, and in this exact moment her best and least intrusive tool is Death Sight. What does she see?

Also, Fun fact #1: When Benzylbutylbarbiturate was last heard from on the news, Lily was 13. Her parents weren't even divorced yet! How time flies, right?

Fun fact #2: No self respecting dedicated scientist, especially one who cheats with the raw power of Matter breaking everything down for her, would be caught unprepared to MacGuyver up an antidote to any obscure hypnotics being passed around at a party. That doesn't exactly seem necessary right this second, but just know that when push comes to shove Lily can in fact whip something up with whatever's lying around here, without resorting to any gross magics. ((4d10: 8, 3, 1, 8. Two successes))

[Anarion]

"We don't have a lot of vocabulary for these changes either, tee-bee-haych. Heck me, why did I have to miss this? Key, is there any way to get remote viewing of a good playback of the first event? Something that'll let me put my sight to it without us needing to skedaddle on over to the spot where it happened? Maybe a collab effort between all you guys? Something? Right now we're all just sort of guessing at the process here and it's bugging me half to death. I'm the only one who can gather the data we need here. I've gotta have it."


"Of course, my dear, you had but to ask." Keynes takes the sample and steps over to the computer, tapping away at the keys for a few seconds. He checks his watch, checks the computer clock, types a few more keystrokes, and then presses enter and voila, the footage is available, magical examination works properly, and you even have the option to follow a few different targets if you wish.

[Okay, let's see. So, you want to watch a whole scene more or less, that's 1 reach for advanced scale duration. 1 reach for instant cast. I apparently get the highest arcanum for my reach, so that's 1 more reach available, which I suppose we'll use for advancing the scale, so if you want to follow around a secondary or tertiary target, we can switch between up to 5 subjects. If I use 2 yantras for the casting (but no high speech because idiot sleeper guards) I get 4d10 for it. There's also no paradox risk. 4d10=8, 10, 5, 3. 10 again is a 3. 2 successes.]



TIMELINE 2
"You," said Rebecca, and she speaks in demands - this is not a conversation, this is an audition to see if you are worthy of a conversation. "Tell me the strangest thing that has ever happened to you. In full detail, leave nothing out."

[Psychic Domination: You must answer her unless Compass counters the spell.]

Keynes feels the weight melt as Compass dispels the magic like brushing aside a few droplets of water and inside he smiles. It had been negligent of him to allow himself into this situation without preparation, and it would have been a grave breach of the mysteries if he had been forced to explain the experience of the Arcadian watchtower to a sleeper, even one on the verge (quite literally) of awakening.

"The strangest, ah. Well, I have spent a good deal of time in the desert outside the city, seeing the outback, so to speak. I recall once, there was a cave that I sought to explore, covered with the images of white faces, the Wandjina, they're called. Perhaps it would be cliche to say that they might speak to you or come alive, but that is not quite it. Rather, it is that they have enchanted the cave itself so that reality there is not as it is in most places. When you enter, you find that behind you is no exit, and the corridors before you twist and turn so that you have no idea where you are. The cave to a weary traveler is miles long, longer perhaps than the whole of the continent if one does not find its secrets because it does not obey the laws of space and time. I spent a day trapped in there before I even began to understand my way around. The Wandjina, they are the trappers. You have to get to know them, each one to escape. They may all look the same to a casual observer, but each face, it is its own god. You have to greet each, learn the ins and outs of each, and then you can see which rooms they hold and where they will guide you."

Keynes stops there. He's offered a real mystery, almost true, if presented in less than precise terms, and one that is quite harmless, as the Wandjina are natural spirits, not an ongoing enchantment. Is there any interest from Rebecca, or is she already dismissing him?

[Thanqol]

TIMELINE 1


"We don't have a lot of vocabulary for these changes either, tee-bee-haych. Heck me, why did I have to miss this? Key, is there any way to get remote viewing of a good playback of the first event? Something that'll let me put my sight to it without us needing to skedaddle on over to the spot where it happened? Maybe a collab effort between all you guys? Something? Right now we're all just sort of guessing at the process here and it's bugging me half to death. I'm the only one who can gather the data we need here. I've gotta have it."


"Of course, my dear, you had but to ask." Keynes takes the sample and steps over to the computer, tapping away at the keys for a few seconds. He checks his watch, checks the computer clock, types a few more keystrokes, and then presses enter and voila, the footage is available, magical examination works properly, and you even have the option to follow a few different targets if you wish.

[Okay, let's see. So, you want to watch a whole scene more or less, that's 1 reach for advanced scale duration. 1 reach for instant cast. I apparently get the highest arcanum for my reach, so that's 1 more reach available, which I suppose we'll use for advancing the scale, so if you want to follow around a secondary or tertiary target, we can switch between up to 5 subjects. If I use 2 yantras for the casting (but no high speech because idiot sleeper guards) I get 4d10 for it. There's also no paradox risk. 4d10=8, 10, 5, 3. 10 again is a 3. 2 successes.]

Matter, Life, Science: The ordinary metaphor for this kind of thing would be 'like a virus' but that'd be wrong - this is like nanobot surgery. The nanobots first off consume chunks of the body for raw materials; organs are consumed partially or entirely and then reconstructed from a molecular level. You also notice that little scars appear on the ground around where the change is happening as the bots reach outside the body for supplementary parts. Then the bots perform the reconstruction according to the new design.

This itself is a useful tell - if the bots are active and one of these hounds is pushing their abilities or healing then nearby objects should suffer minor damage.

The areas changed are primarily muscle clusters, fingernails and teeth. A small computer also develops in the brain which Western confirms can be influenced with the Forces arcana. This computer seems to activate during the replication process - it seems capable of regulating the body's basic lizard brain responses like fear, hunger, lust, etc and does this automatically according whatever program it's following. You can dump the code but it's deeply complex - Intelligence+Computers at a -5 will get you some information, but even that will be limited.


"In any case, I appreciate you asking for my input but let's be real here you did not surround this building with armed goons to not take an active hand in shaping the development of a new life form that happens to also be your secretary/assistant/whatever-else-you-guys-have-going-on-I-did-not-ask. Which is cool, for the record, we've got a lot of the problems associated with introducing a new life form into a biosphere while also stacking a bunch of human rights issues on top of that because they're hecka sentient beings. Driver's licenses and jobs and all that jazz. I mean, you get the best results out of magic if you play an active role in it, eye-emm-oh, which is all to say that yeah I'm here to help them through this. I also want to be gentle, if we can help it."

Western defers to you entirely - you're right that you do think he has his own ideas but he seems to deliberately trust your judgement over his. "In that case, I will wait out here as backup in case things go wrong," he said.



TIMELINE 2




"Oh gosh, I know!" Lily's face is effervescent, though her eyes can't help but dart around the room, "It's sooooo important to have hobbies, they're all that keep us from going crazy. But you're self taught? Really? Wow, that is... I won't lie, that's really hard to believe. The confidence in your seamwork is just... look at that pattern! In silk! If that's not from professional schooling then you're a prodigy. Oh, it's so gorgeous! I tried really hard to break out of my comfort zone when I made my dress for tonight, but I guess a seamstress has to really know herself before she can make a masterpiece. I'm Lily, by the way, Lily Mason. It's wonderful to meet you."

You crazy lady. Nitroglycerin? Really? Is she using it as a blood thinner, or should we all keep a safe distance in case she claps her hands too hard? I mean, to each her own, but... dang. Lily needs a sharper understanding of this woman, and in this exact moment her best and least intrusive tool is Death Sight. What does she see?

You see a genuine alignment with the Death arcana. It's carried in her heart and in her mind; Death lurks in her intentions and her desires. It's the same patterns you see in suicides, late-stage addicts, or apocalypse preachers. After a long period of stress or despair the embrace of Thanatos on this level is exhilarating, intoxicating, even as the self destruction reaches its terminal stages. It's not the case that her hands are explosive, but more that she's been working with explosives recently and there remain trace elements on her fingers.

Nearby you can see the shadowy echo of an entity Supernal, silent and with a dozen flaming jewels upon its crown.

"Oh, you made your dress too? No wonder it's so unique! So it sounds like you're an actual professional, then, what company do you work for?" when she says this there is a bit of animation in her eyes and that fluttering death-wish recedes a little.

If you keep this back and forth going for a few minutes you can make a manipulation+socialize roll to get her to genuinely like you.



Keynes stops there. He's offered a real mystery, almost true, if presented in less than precise terms, and one that is quite harmless, as the Wandjina are natural spirits, not an ongoing enchantment. Is there any interest from Rebecca, or is she already dismissing him?

She looks intrigued - the quality of the answers she has gotten so far today has been along the lines of 'once I had tennis elbow for two whole weeks~!' so this is definitely intriguing to her. A new symbol starts to form above her head.

Compass and Keynes can both follow this one because it's of the Space Arcana - this is a Weaving effect that's going to overlay the caves of Wandjina with this place in - not a chaotic mess, it's a complicated thought she's having, full of loops and twists and infinity. Either of you may opt to counter this, again it's a simple success.

"So you're saying," said Rebecca, "that the secret to the maze is having the right guides?

[Raz_Fox]

"So you're saying," said Rebecca, "that the secret to the maze is having the right guides?

Let us linger on Compass's back for a moment, voyeurs even in a place where the goal is to be seen; we are approaching Rebecca, but - I will not tell if you do not - we are not thinking about her. We are watching this hollow carved into space by champagne and the night sky, we are feeling the vibrations of the turning, wheeling party around the axis and this comet, streaking towards the flickering wine-white sun. Our eyes do not flicker towards Lily; we are more conscientious than that. We watch, instead, the Obrimos in her element: rearranging the cosmos.

"That's not much of a secret," she says, joining the conversation with the subtlety of a firestorm. "Everything works that way. Sometimes we're our own guides, but more often than not, you need to look for someone who has walked the same path, and who is willing to let you follow - and that, sometimes, can be the more difficult portion." Her eyes cut as she takes in Ms. Beasley, diamond harshness.

Rebecca Beasley, who is possibly the worst possible candidate for becoming a magician ever.

And yet even so Compass looks for something- anything- to impress her. To give her a reason to experiment. To try and make this spoiled child who warps the world around her, who has sunk the Lord alone knows how much money into yoga therapy and psychedelics and frauds and every half-baked attempt to taste real magic and be around real magicians.

Well, Ms. Beasley. Here's a real magician. What do you make of her?

[Thanqol]

Well, Ms. Beasley. Here's a real magician. What do you make of her?

"Thanks for the lesson, Mrs. Magoo," said Rebecca; and her understanding of the situation is made manifest - she does not attack you but turns her attention on the crowd, reshaping Mind and Space, creating a new place and a new emotion for the crowd: Mocking Compass. This warps into place over the Watching Rebecca layer of reality, dragging the crowd into a new alignment; hostile and exclusive. "And where do you propose I find someone like that?"

The expectation is clearly that the sheer social pressure crushes you like an eggshell - in fact, there's a lack of understanding that you might not be crushed. This is the casual attempt at total social destruction used by a high schooler in response to a nerd who has dared forget her place.

And, like it or not, humans are social animals and the Mind is an illogical thing. You'll need a success on a resolve+composure roll to shrug this off - with a -2 if this happens to drag up any bad memories for you (or you can do something to the spell itself, your imagination is your limit there).

[Anarion]

Compass and Keynes can both follow this one because it's of the Space Arcana - this is a Weaving effect that's going to overlay the caves of Wandjina with this place in - not a chaotic mess, it's a complicated thought she's having, full of loops and twists and infinity. Either of you may opt to counter this, again it's a simple success.

"So you're saying," said Rebecca, "that the secret to the maze is having the right guides?

Keynes would allow this to happen. There's a chance that Rebecca could be pushed to awaken here, and a chance to learn the mysteries of Space. So long as the situation is relatively safe and stable, that's acceptable.

"Not having, but..."




"That's not much of a secret," she says, joining the conversation with the subtlety of a firestorm. "Everything works that way. Sometimes we're our own guides, but more often than not, you need to look for someone who has walked the same path, and who is willing to let you follow - and that, sometimes, can be the more difficult portion."

Keynes is cut off by Compass, and there is another working that pulls at his mind depending on how our lovely prime mage responds.

[Raz_Fox]

Compass observes the effect with disappointment in Beasley. Of course, her first reaction is to use the crowd as a weapon, to want a challenge torn down and broken before the altar of her untempered will and want. The neon fuchsia fishhooks jammed into heads and hearts, wicked and barbed, lines straining to pull thoughts towards her, to pull forth disdain and mockery. The baleful light of the messenger-star wheeling swift about the sun, whose influence is over the tongue and the word.

She makes of her will a sword and cuts cleanly through those threads, leaving Rebecca's command without target or aim. This party may soon become quite acrimonious, but willworking always has consequences.

"That depends, I imagine, entirely on what sort of person you are. Most proper guides have standards. And if you don't mind my saying so, you do have something of a troublesome reputation."

[Thanqol]

The sense of social exclusion takes effect, but without a central target. Suddenly there is a great tension in the room and the party's tone goes from cordial to hostile.

Rebecca is confused - she still has a point of firm opposition despite her haphazard psychic blow. Picture a drunken man realizing his first punch has missed - awkwardly he sways and attempts to balance himself, taking in the scene a little more before making another more careful attempt than his first clumsy blow. This time she is bypassing the crowd all together and focusing on your mind directly, grasping around to find something she can use against you - an attempt to grab your shirt and hold you still so future blows can be launched more firmly.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" said Rebecca, frowning a little as she begins to come off autopilot. "Because you obviously seem to know me."


(As a member of the Silver Ladder you would know a lot about Awakenings just as part of your basic training, so something about the Mastigos path you would have heard though not necessarily comprehended: Their Path is all about the fall. Their Awakening invariably comes with some kind of collapse, ruination and dissolution, at the base of which they discover the essential self they derive their magic from. It is extremely dangerous for a Mage walking a different path to bring their own sense of enlightenment in to an Awakening they do not comprehend.

Consider the parable of an Obrimos who discovered a young Acanthus who's Mystery Play was a recreation of the story of Bellerophon. She assisted in many ways and was indispensable in pushing the story to its conclusion - without her in the role of Athena he would never have moved beyond the opening. At the end of the story, Bellerophon was flying a propeller plane into restricted airspace and the USS Zeus demanded that he turn around or be shot from the sky. The Obrimos was faced with a dilemma - in the story of Bellerophon Zeus sent a gnat to cause Pegasus to throw him so that he never reached Olympus and became a god, instead falling to earth and spending the rest of his life as a blind crippled hermit. So was the original story of Bellerophon the destiny of this new Mage, or was it a cautionary tale of a failed Awakening? Should the Obrimos swat away the missile launched by Zeus or allow it to strike?

Fortunately, the Obrimos was wise enough to know the limits of her path, and to know that in the realm of the Acanthus even the Gods are bound by their fates. Had it been her own Awakening then destroying the missile would have been correct but in Arcadia there are no Forces and even an event as powerful and mathematically complex as a missile strike is merely punctuation on the story. She stood down and Bellerophon returned Awakened. To intervene in an Awakening is the work of a Sage and requires wisdom, power and humility in equal measures.)

[Anarion]

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" said Rebecca, frowning a little as she begins to come off autopilot. "Because you obviously seem to know me."


Oh dear. That is an Obrimos barreling at an awakening, and while Keynes is sharply fascinated by this phenomena (and more than a little disappointed that they didn't manage to overlay themselves with the Wandjina caves, which he thought would have been a good route to encourage Rebecca towards her tower), his instinct, especially as an Acanthus, is to get out of the way of the freight trains that are about to collide.

"Madame, I'm sure you can find me later if you wish to resume our conversation." And with that and a slight bow, he slips into watching Rebecca at a distance, as the notes of discord suddenly filter throughout the party. Keynes feels it himself, and his discord drives him to confront the Seer at the party, who is the greatest target of his hostility. Though confront is perhaps too bold, he simply approaches the man, currently also in the Watching layer with the goal of learning more about him.

He straightens his vest, the glint of the gemstones sparkling red with the anger in the room even as they dazzle any onlookers with the obvious style and panache of the wearer (truly, Lily had done a superb job). Then he sits down in a position next to the Seer and speaks gruffly. "What kind of party is this anyway, old chap? Not even the slightest hors d'oeuvres, and the company has been positively daft."

[Thanqol]

He straightens his vest, the glint of the gemstones sparkling red with the anger in the room even as they dazzle any onlookers with the obvious style and panache of the wearer (truly, Lily had done a superb job). Then he sits down in a position next to the Seer and speaks gruffly. "What kind of party is this anyway, old chap? Not even the slightest hors d'oeuvres, and the company has been positively daft."

The Seer looks up at you and wipes his nose - you're empathic enough to know that he's sh*tfaced on drugs, but to get an idea of what blend and how to handle that there's a wits+streetwise roll. But you've caught him in the middle of a magically-derived bad mood and the very first thing he does is curse you to die a violent death with a Fate spell. You can counter it if you want but it will totally blow your cover and you'll need to cap potency 5.

"Hey, ass-hole, take your complaints to the management, I'm just here to have a good time," he said. If you want to make a good impression here you'll need a manipulation+socialize roll at -2 for the verge's toxic nature.

[Anarion]

The Seer looks up at you and wipes his nose - you're empathic enough to know that he's sh*tfaced on drugs, but to get an idea of what blend and how to handle that there's a wits+streetwise roll. But you've caught him in the middle of a magically-derived bad mood and the very first thing he does is curse you to die a violent death with a Fate spell. You can counter it if you want but it will totally blow your cover and you'll need to cap potency 5.

"Hey, ass-hole, take your complaints to the management, I'm just here to have a good time," he said. If you want to make a good impression here you'll need a manipulation+socialize roll at -2 for the verge's toxic nature.

[wits+streetwise: 9, 7, 8. 2 successes. Manipulate+Socialize: chance die 9, so close and yet so far.]

Keynes won't try to counter the spell now. It can probably be undone later (hopefully by Compass, or he can cut the timeline in the worst case scenario). He will watch it closely as it's cast with his fate sight though. Can you tell me what practice this is? There's quite a difference between a mere weaving as opposed to if the Seer is casting a making to create a new grisly fate out of whole cloth.

"I took my conversation to what I thought was a man of wealth and taste, though I can see I was sorely mistaken" Keynes says foolishly, the bad mood getting the better of him and his own socializing not being at its best. Hopefully, he could at least figure out the drugs in effect here and how he ought to treat the man before he brought the whole building crashing down on them.

[PhoeKun]

TIMELINE 1

Oh, okay. Nanites made sense. Clear mechanism of action, easily expressible in Sleeper terminology. Lily sighs audibly in relief. That's way more stable than she thought it'd be! The only real obstacles moving forward would be finding a humane path toward integration, and getting a handle on this replication process before it robo-wolfed the entire city. Too much sameness: bad for the ecosystem. Stagnation. Death. So yeah, no pressure!

The biggest puzzle, one had to figure, would be unpacking the programming that guided these little buggers. It seemed easy enough to track the final product, and in a pinch she suspected that she could halt or at least slow the replication process by converting all nearby materials into something the machines couldn't break down as easily. Perhaps at all? She'd have to study them in much greater detail, but hey! She had access to a lab now! A good one! That made her a scientist. Like, a real one, it was pretty much her job at this point to study these things. But in the meantime, the better her first impression, the more helpful she could be.

Which left this damn code. Funny how no Arcana really struck her as being very well suited for understanding computer programming. Maybe it was the domain of Prime? She could hardly be the one to say, and this didn't seem like the moment to ask. So she peered, instead, and used her human brain and it's accumulated knowledge and quasi-mystical ability to discern patterns, instead. (Intelligence + Computers -5: 10, 6. 10 again: 3)




Western defers to you entirely - you're right that you do think he has his own ideas but he seems to deliberately trust your judgement over his. "In that case, I will wait out here as backup in case things go wrong," he said.

This is just weird, though. What's going on? Is this an effort to build trust? Does he just think he's out of his depth? Boy it sure would be nice to know more about spies and stuff! :smallsmile:

"Cool," she says without commenting on any of the things in her head, "Wish me luck, then. Though if you wouldn't mind signaling to them to come to the front door, that'd be amazing."



TIMELINE 2

Lily was very prepared to engage in a game of careful flattery and humblebragging, keeping this woman on a hook until she caught a clearer glimpse of the Supernal being hanging around her and some insight into what in heaven's name she was supposed to be doing here.

She was very not prepared for the sudden rush of negativity into the room and the tidal wave of hostility pouring out of every everything. In a place this blood soaked, the tension tore into her like a thousand needles. She rolls her eyes.

"Oh please, me? A professional? You don't think that for a second? And why would you? Whatever kind of Pretty Woman BS I might be pulling, I'm not fit to be a professional hobo, let alone a seamstress. You're only even responding to me because I'm the first person you've seen in this bored rat's nest of a party that put any legitimate effort into looking nice. But in a room full of murderers and Rebeccas, I guess that's a neat parlour trick."

Oh Lily. Under every bright exterior is a spirit of self destruction, waiting for a spark...

(I actually lost my roll when my power supply exploded yesterday, but in five dice I don't think I rolled higher than a 6, so it doesn't really matter, she doesn't like me like me)

[Thanqol]

TIMELINE 1


Which left this damn code. Funny how no Arcana really struck her as being very well suited for understanding computer programming. Maybe it was the domain of Prime? She could hardly be the one to say, and this didn't seem like the moment to ask. So she peered, instead, and used her human brain and it's accumulated knowledge and quasi-mystical ability to discern patterns, instead. (Intelligence + Computers -5: 10, 6. 10 again: 3)

A lot of it is incomprehensible, like trying to predict the behaviour of birds by reading their DNA code. This is programming that's interfacing with instincts and it's incredibly advanced. Not alien - it's coded in English, just using ideas humans haven't had yet.

But there is a data centre full of plaintext facts; pieces of information that are meant to be accessed in the format of a fully-formed thought or memory. And the content of it is pretty mindblowing: It's a list of facts about other kinds of common, predatory supernaturals. Vampires have negative reactions to sunlight and fire. Their primary method of defense is a psychic effect that obscures their presence in observers minds. Secondarily, they can demonstrate inhuman speed. They need to kill once a week to feed, or take smaller doses multiple times...

This information focuses on grouping habits, defenses and mechanisms to identify and kill. If someone wanted to give a bunch of Sleepers all the knowledge they needed to go out, hunt and violently murder all kinds of supernatural monsters it would probably look a lot like this.

(And hey, this is super useful stuff in and of itself. If you go through all this stuff in more detail later it'll be worth a point of Arcane XP for the group).


This is just weird, though. What's going on? Is this an effort to build trust? Does he just think he's out of his depth? Boy it sure would be nice to know more about spies and stuff! :smallsmile:

You can make a Wits+Empathy roll at -4 if you care to.


"Cool," she says without commenting on any of the things in her head, "Wish me luck, then. Though if you wouldn't mind signaling to them to come to the front door, that'd be amazing."

Western nods, and focuses on a Transmission spell. Nothing special to it, Compass, you could do the same thing if you wanted.

There are a bunch of people hanging around in the lobby of the station. Two people are running some sort of charity collection thing and there's a bunch of bystanders milling around there chatting. There are a couple of people at the security desk but this is more an administrative branch, not a station with extensive holding cells so there aren't that many members of the public. It's a fairly large room, clear lines of sight, a glass case filled with various sporting trophies.

Abigail is happily chatting to a Korean plainclothes detective (who's frankly overdressed for this kind of weather), and after a few minutes a group of uniformed officers will shuffle out into the lobby standing in a very close formation - they're your guys, and they look kind of jumpy.


TIMELINE 2


"Oh please, me? A professional? You don't think that for a second? And why would you? Whatever kind of Pretty Woman BS I might be pulling, I'm not fit to be a professional hobo, let alone a seamstress. You're only even responding to me because I'm the first person you've seen in this bored rat's nest of a party that put any legitimate effort into looking nice. But in a room full of murderers and Rebeccas, I guess that's a neat parlour trick."

So here's what's weird. You see the moment when she decides that she doesn't like you, and it's not the usual expression of 'ew' or 'oh god why am I talking to this person'. It's an expression of relief. She actually looks genuinely happy when she sees the conversation go south, and that death-wish in her heart thumps a little louder.

"Oh, I see," she says, "you're a gatecrasher! How exciting! What a scandal! Please, take a drink -" she hadn't actually offered you one before now, "- and make yourself at home. I'm sure with a wit like that you'll impress a lot of people before the night is through! Oh - Skylar!" she says, catching sight of someone else and drifting away from you.

The Supernal creature with the flaming crown watches you with interest, but you don't feel the same sense of pressure as when you met The Hounds. It's curious about you and what you do but it doesn't seem like its life depends on you in the same way the other entities you encountered have.


Keynes won't try to counter the spell now. It can probably be undone later (hopefully by Compass, or he can cut the timeline in the worst case scenario). He will watch it closely as it's cast with his fate sight though. Can you tell me what practice this is? There's quite a difference between a mere weaving as opposed to if the Seer is casting a making to create a new grisly fate out of whole cloth.

"I took my conversation to what I thought was a man of wealth and taste, though I can see I was sorely mistaken" Keynes says foolishly, the bad mood getting the better of him and his own socializing not being at its best. Hopefully, he could at least figure out the drugs in effect here and how he ought to treat the man before he brought the whole building crashing down on them.

So turns out you can make the drug, not due to any deep knowledge but because you picked up the dumb mnemonic from a hospital poster: RED DANES: rage, erythema (redness of skin), dilated pupils, delusions, amnesia, nystagmus (oscillation of the eyeball when moving laterally), excitation, and skin dryness. What I'm saying is it's PCP. And if you know anything about PCP it's that it has that weird association with cannibalism. Dude is likely to be crazy unstable and extremely confident and can flip on a dime. He looks like he's having a bit of a bad reaction, though, with his left hand spasming into and out of a fist (if Lily saw this she might draw the connection between the drugs in his system and the spiked drink having weird and ugly side effects).

But what's pretty ominous is that Fate spell he threw down was just the Practice of Compelling. That is, it's making something that's already really likely to happen into a certainty. That matches up with that heeby-jeeby doom sense you've been having about this place since you came in. For his part, this guy has a big solid Fate Shield up around him so he's probably going to walk out of here just fine no matter what happens.

"Ha! A man of wealth and taste? Good choice of words, better than you know," said the Seer, taking another drink. "You reckon you can finish that thought and guess my name?"

[Anarion]

TIMELINE 1
There are a bunch of people hanging around in the lobby of the station. Two people are running some sort of charity collection thing and there's a bunch of bystanders milling around there chatting. There are a couple of people at the security desk but this is more an administrative branch, not a station with extensive holding cells so there aren't that many members of the public. It's a fairly large room, clear lines of sight, a glass case filled with various sporting trophies.

Abigail is happily chatting to a Korean plainclothes detective (who's frankly overdressed for this kind of weather), and after a few minutes a group of uniformed officers will shuffle out into the lobby standing in a very close formation - they're your guys, and they look kind of jumpy.


Keynes watches closely, looking to see what fate might be written on these wolf beings, but takes no action just yet.



TIMELINE 2

But what's pretty ominous is that Fate spell he threw down was just the Practice of Compelling. That is, it's making something that's already really likely to happen into a certainty. That matches up with that heeby-jeeby doom sense you've been having about this place since you came in. For his part, this guy has a big solid Fate Shield up around him so he's probably going to walk out of here just fine no matter what happens.

"Ha! A man of wealth and taste? Good choice of words, better than you know," said the Seer, taking another drink. "You reckon you can finish that thought and guess my name?"

Compelling. That's, wow, that did not bode well at all. It was perhaps good in the sense that the realm was within Keynes' grasp too, so if push came to shove, he could compel fate differently. An easier spell to alter than if the Seer had unleashed something at the level of a master. On the other hand, well, it did not bode well and the risk was much higher at this event than he had thought.

"Ah, Lucifer himself then? I should say it's an honor to speak with such an august personage."

[Thanqol]

Keynes watches closely, looking to see what fate might be written on these wolf beings, but takes no action just yet.

Those guys are bit players in Fate's eyes; as far as the grand scheme of Destiny is concerned Abigail is the lynchpin to the future of her progeny. Her fate inclines her towards the hunt and predation but there's a lot of open potential there too.


Compelling. That's, wow, that did not bode well at all. It was perhaps good in the sense that the realm was within Keynes' grasp too, so if push came to shove, he could compel fate differently. An easier spell to alter than if the Seer had unleashed something at the level of a master. On the other hand, well, it did not bode well and the risk was much higher at this event than he had thought.

"Ah, Lucifer himself then? I should say it's an honor to speak with such an august personage."

"You're being sarcastic," said the plump Seer. He took a drink, waved his hand. "It's fine. If it were anyone else you were talking to this would be the proper reaction. But it's true. I am the devil. And I know... everything,"

He took a deep sniff, and puts his arm around your shoulders. And holy sh*t he is fast - and strong. He doesn't look like much of anything but you can feel that if he wanted to he could break both your arms; it's like being embraced by a forklift. "I know that you're not actually meant to be here. I know that you have zero money and your," *sniff* "ridiculous clownsuit was sewn together by that fat cow of a friend of yours over there. I know that if I wanted her I could have her. I know that I don't because, like I said, faaaaaat. Just like your other friend, over there, the half-breed? Fat. Look at the way she maneuvers in that ugly dress like a f*cking container ship. It's disgusting. I. Am. Disgusted."

His breath is hot and wet against your face.

"How do you endure it? Coming in to look at those corpulent hags every morning? Watching them stuff their faces when, when what you want to do is just grab them and shake them and tell them to f*cking stop before they swell up like enormous meat balloons? Don't you just want to cut them open and see the grease ooze out of them? Jesus Christ, man, how do you endure it?"

Getting away from him requires a strength+brawl roll at -5 by the by.

[Anarion]

"You're being sarcastic," said the plump Seer. He took a drink, waved his hand. "It's fine. If it were anyone else you were talking to this would be the proper reaction. But it's true. I am the devil. And I know... everything,"

He took a deep sniff, and puts his arm around your shoulders.

Hold it, stop, freeze frame right here. [Wits+Composure: 4, 3, 10, 4, 9, 4, 3, 1. 10 again is a 10, then a 7. 3 successes. Keynes gets to react before he's grabbed unless the Seer matches 3 successes on Dex+Stealth.]

[Thanqol]

Hold it, stop, freeze frame right here. [Wits+Composure: 4, 3, 10, 4, 9, 4, 3, 1. 10 again is a 10, then a 7. 3 successes. Keynes gets to react before he's grabbed unless the Seer matches 3 successes on Dex+Stealth.]

He makes that roll - when I say freakishly fast I'm talking 'active enhancement magic' fast. If you were a Sleeper that'd definitely be pushing the limits of the Veil without quite being a breach yet.

[Anarion]

He makes that roll - when I say freakishly fast I'm talking 'active enhancement magic' fast. If you were a Sleeper that'd definitely be pushing the limits of the Veil without quite being a breach yet.

Then Keynes is caught. The smell of the man's breath is disgusting, and the sniffing. That sound of sniffing, right in Keynes ears is horrific. A mage can be filled with all sorts of cosmic power, but he's still a human, and the animal part of his brain cares about precisely one thing at this moment: getting away from that horrible sniffing right in his ears. It's absolutely impossible to stand. That part of Keynes brain would happily, gleefully kill the man at this instant to stop the sniffing, would set the whole room on fire and fling the both of them to their doom to make it stop.

It is, perhaps, the pure adrenaline that such a reaction unleashes that allows Keynes to muster up practically supernatural strength of his own without any magic and shove the man away from him, regaining his footing in just an instant. Or perhaps it's not even Keynes and the effects of the PCP reaction are worse than the fat man anticipated. But whatever it may be, Keynes somehow pulls himself free and takes up a stance that won't be quite so easily thrown again.

[Chance die to escape: 10. Reflexive activation of time armor for 1 mana brings Keynes up to 11 defense. Initiative roll is a 1, so Keynes acts at initiative 9, probably after the Seer.]

"I find your perspective grotesque" is all Keynes says as he prepares for whatever is to come next.

[Raz_Fox]

Rebecca is confused - she still has a point of firm opposition despite her haphazard psychic blow. Picture a drunken man realizing his first punch has missed - awkwardly he sways and attempts to balance himself, taking in the scene a little more before making another more careful attempt than his first clumsy blow. This time she is bypassing the crowd all together and focusing on your mind directly, grasping around to find something she can use against you - an attempt to grab your shirt and hold you still so future blows can be launched more firmly.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" said Rebecca, frowning a little as she begins to come off autopilot. "Because you obviously seem to know me."

"I'm a guide, Ms. Beasley. And, if I may be frank- you are talented. Fantastically so. And you are wasting your talent on a scale that has become the talk of Sydney." All true, technically speaking. Compass is using some of the vaunted cunning of the Silver Ladder here, trying to push Rebecca into the right mindset. "Do you even have ambition, or is all this-" She makes a gesture at the room and its tense, barbed conversations. "The limit of what you can do? If you walked that maze, what would you do when you came out the other side? Take a selfie and post it on Instagram so that the world can keep looking at your face?"

She takes a flute of champagne off a tray and sips it, watching the emotions on Beasley's face, even as she sweats, trying to brush aside the hooks that Rebecca throws out on instinct, trying to wrap their way into her mind. "When you know what you want, live like it. Good evening, Ms. Beasley."

And with that, if possible, Compass shifts from the distance band of Speaking to Rebecca into the distance band of Thinking about Rebecca. There is a very good chance she just pressed too hard, too fast- but it's so frustrating. Thank God she never entered Pandemonium. The Mind is a terrible thing to have mastery over, and those who possess its power are held to a high standard.

What a wild wreck of a person.

Could she even Awaken here, or would she have to move away, to change cities, in order to see?

A city without Awakening. What keeps these people away from the sky?

[Thanqol]

Then Keynes is caught. The smell of the man's breath is disgusting, and the sniffing. That sound of sniffing, right in Keynes ears is horrific. A mage can be filled with all sorts of cosmic power, but he's still a human, and the animal part of his brain cares about precisely one thing at this moment: getting away from that horrible sniffing right in his ears. It's absolutely impossible to stand. That part of Keynes brain would happily, gleefully kill the man at this instant to stop the sniffing, would set the whole room on fire and fling the both of them to their doom to make it stop.

It is, perhaps, the pure adrenaline that such a reaction unleashes that allows Keynes to muster up practically supernatural strength of his own without any magic and shove the man away from him, regaining his footing in just an instant. Or perhaps it's not even Keynes and the effects of the PCP reaction are worse than the fat man anticipated. But whatever it may be, Keynes somehow pulls himself free and takes up a stance that won't be quite so easily thrown again.

[Chance die to escape: 10. Reflexive activation of time armor for 1 mana brings Keynes up to 11 defense. Initiative roll is a 1, so Keynes acts at initiative 9, probably after the Seer.]

"I find your perspective grotesque" is all Keynes says as he prepares for whatever is to come next.

There's no flicker of recognition when your Time shield goes up - this guy has no skill in the Time Arcana. He's not an Acanthus and you just got ridiculously lucky because he still believes you're a Sleeper. (He didn't recognize Compass using Prime magic earlier which rules out Obrimos as well)

"You think I like this?" hissed the Seer. "You think I like having this responsibility? You haven't taken responsibility for anything in your life. You have no idea the suffering better men go through on your behalf."

He takes a moment to weigh up lunging at you - there is the craze of the drugs in his eyes, naked aggression filtered through the lens of hostile Pandemonium. The move doesn't come. It's not the 'rational mind applies willpower and forces the body to back down', it instead settles into an ongoing state of tension. He's not letting this go, he's just waiting for something.

Now that you know you've got a free hand with Time, you know that what he's waiting for will happen within 20-30 minutes. Possibly less, but you'll be able to sense the change when it moves into the final stages of the countdown.


"I'm a guide, Ms. Beasley. And, if I may be frank- you are talented. Fantastically so. And you are wasting your talent on a scale that has become the talk of Sydney." All true, technically speaking. Compass is using some of the vaunted cunning of the Silver Ladder here, trying to push Rebecca into the right mindset. "Do you even have ambition, or is all this-" She makes a gesture at the room and its tense, barbed conversations. "The limit of what you can do? If you walked that maze, what would you do when you came out the other side? Take a selfie and post it on Instagram so that the world can keep looking at your face?"

She takes a flute of champagne off a tray and sips it, watching the emotions on Beasley's face, even as she sweats, trying to brush aside the hooks that Rebecca throws out on instinct, trying to wrap their way into her mind. "When you know what you want, live like it. Good evening, Ms. Beasley."

And with that, if possible, Compass shifts from the distance band of Speaking to Rebecca into the distance band of Thinking about Rebecca. There is a very good chance she just pressed too hard, too fast- but it's so frustrating. Thank God she never entered Pandemonium. The Mind is a terrible thing to have mastery over, and those who possess its power are held to a high standard.

What a wild wreck of a person.

Your words here don't make an impact at all; they weren't couched in the language and logic of Pandemonium. You can see demons snatch them out of the air and feast on the ideals of the angels like a fisherman sucks the guts of lobsters. They hollow out the sentiment and leaving empty and confusing noises to hit Rebecca's ears. Ambition? Ambition is another demon still, wrapping his arms around Rebecca's shoulders and telling her how she can change the world, prove you wrong. Desire? Desire kneels at her feet and licks her ankles. You see her attention turn to those two on your advice and they are delighted to guide her restless will.

Your conversation here was not all a failure; you had moments of connection, and you did not do harm, but you did not help either.


Could she even Awaken here, or would she have to move away, to change cities, in order to see?

A city without Awakening. What keeps these people away from the sky?

There must be a mechanism, and that mechanism must have a manifestation in the Fallen World.

Percival was obsessed with this the last time you met him. Then he went off the grid and had his cabal start mass producing mothmen with the intention of tearing down the Harbour Bridge. Mad or enlightened? That's one angle you could follow up.

Perhaps you'd be able to observe the mechanism if you could just push a potential Mage a little closer to the line. If the barrier (curse?) was active constantly it'd be visible, observable - you'd see Rebecca's soul slamming up against it right now. If she encounters a moment of gnosis that could genuinely push her over that line and you observed what happened when she failed to Awaken you'd learn more. Whatever it was, it would have to be visible then.

(And you do not need to do this alone. It takes humility to accept that Pandemonium is beyond your current understanding, and the Order will respect that. You're part of a global wizard conspiracy in and of yourself, and you are also good friends with Keynes, a mage from an Order intimately familiar with Awakening. Either one of you can use your Order Status to call in a Mentor from out of town to go over this problem in more detail and help you carry through on your theories.)

[Anarion]

There's no flicker of recognition when your Time shield goes up - this guy has no skill in the Time Arcana. He's not an Acanthus and you just got ridiculously lucky because he still believes you're a Sleeper. (He didn't recognize Compass using Prime magic earlier which rules out Obrimos as well)

"You think I like this?" hissed the Seer. "You think I like having this responsibility? You haven't taken responsibility for anything in your life. You have no idea the suffering better men go through on your behalf."

He takes a moment to weigh up lunging at you - there is the craze of the drugs in his eyes, naked aggression filtered through the lens of hostile Pandemonium. The move doesn't come. It's not the 'rational mind applies willpower and forces the body to back down', it instead settles into an ongoing state of tension. He's not letting this go, he's just waiting for something.

Now that you know you've got a free hand with Time, you know that what he's waiting for will happen within 20-30 minutes. Possibly less, but you'll be able to sense the change when it moves into the final stages of the countdown.


"I cannot abide the way you have spoken about my friends." Keynes maintains his stance. He's not going to rush the guy, but neither is he letting his guard down. He is just going to speak. "I care not what responsibilities you have. You may well be Lucifer, set by the very order of the heavens to act as foe to humanity, and yet it still does not excuse your rudeness, nor make your lies into truth. You are also something of a coward, I should say, trying a surprise attack rather than fighting man to man."

[Thanqol]

Once upon a party dreary, while she pondered on the theory,
Over the deep subtleties of Awakened lore -
While she pondered, mind a'wandered, suddenly there came a clapping
As if some dancer swiftly tapping, clapping on the dance floor.
"'Tis some drunkard," she muttered, "clapping on the dance floor
- only this and nothing more."

Presently, her soul grew stronger, hesitating then no longer,
"Sir," said she, "or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore,
"But the fact is I was thinking and so wildly you came clapping
"And so surly your hands were clapping, clapping on the dance floor
"That I tried to ignore you," and here, she turned to gaze upon the floor -
- Lily was there, and nothing more.

Back into contemplation turning, all her soul within her burning,
Soon again Compass heard a sound somewhat louder than before.
"Surely," said Lily, "this party is doomed to madness, springing from the hostess,
"So let us see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore -
Let our hearts be still a moment and this mystery explore; -
So we are not exploded across the dance floor!"

But Compass, sitting lonely on the violet couch, spoke not
One word, as if in contemplation of the dancer her soul did outpour.
Nothing further that she uttered - not a word that she muttered
Till the silence Lily cluttered "And the drinks have been drugged before -
"Within the hour she will clap her fingers and the timer's fuse will linger -"
Then Compass said, "Nevermore."


"I cannot abide the way you have spoken about my friends." Keynes maintains his stance. He's not going to rush the guy, but neither is he letting his guard down. He is just going to speak. "I care not what responsibilities you have. You may well be Lucifer, set by the very order of the heavens to act as foe to humanity, and yet it still does not excuse your rudeness, nor make your lies into truth. You are also something of a coward, I should say, trying a surprise attack rather than fighting man to man."

Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer,
Swung by spirit-shades whos feet rumpled the tufted floor,
"Wretch," he cried, "thy God stands with me - and by these angels he has sent me -
Respite from thy arrogance upon me on this, the dance floor
Fie, fie and flee, and no more beset me or thy life shall be"
He quaffed the liquor, "Nevermore!"

[PhoeKun]

TIMELINE 1



A lot of it is incomprehensible, like trying to predict the behaviour of birds by reading their DNA code. This is programming that's interfacing with instincts and it's incredibly advanced. Not alien - it's coded in English, just using ideas humans haven't had yet.

But there is a data centre full of plaintext facts; pieces of information that are meant to be accessed in the format of a fully-formed thought or memory. And the content of it is pretty mindblowing: It's a list of facts about other kinds of common, predatory supernaturals. Vampires have negative reactions to sunlight and fire. Their primary method of defense is a psychic effect that obscures their presence in observers minds. Secondarily, they can demonstrate inhuman speed. They need to kill once a week to feed, or take smaller doses multiple times...

This information focuses on grouping habits, defenses and mechanisms to identify and kill. If someone wanted to give a bunch of Sleepers all the knowledge they needed to go out, hunt and violently murder all kinds of supernatural monsters it would probably look a lot like this.

Ooh, paydirt! You know how sometimes you accidentally create a race of self replicating cyborgs with brain computers that can be influenced by the specialty of a guy you've just met who introduced himself by agreeing to work with you but then cautioned you that he was pretty much guaranteed to betray you and steal all of your work someday, and then the cyborg you created converts an entire police precinct in the time it takes you to go to the zoo, and despite being the driving force behind all of this happening you still have no idea what they're actually supposed to do? No? Just me?

Oh. Well, trust me, it's really scary. But this stuff changes a lot, because if you look at this database in the context of one hundred percent of converts so far being cops (other than, you know, Patient Ze-- hm. Note to self: invent better prototype nomenclature), it's enough to form a valid hypothesis. There's a future on the horizon, and it's glittering and beautiful. As long as I can still see that in front of me, honestly, I can put up with a lot.


You can make a Wits+Empathy roll at -4 if you care to.

Hahaha, I wish. Dude's a sphinx. Wrapped in an enigma. Wrapped in prosciutto. I got nothin'. It's cool though, I trust him. That's a choice I made.



There are a bunch of people hanging around in the lobby of the station. Two people are running some sort of charity collection thing and there's a bunch of bystanders milling around there chatting. There are a couple of people at the security desk but this is more an administrative branch, not a station with extensive holding cells so there aren't that many members of the public. It's a fairly large room, clear lines of sight, a glass case filled with various sporting trophies.

Abigail is happily chatting to a Korean plainclothes detective (who's frankly overdressed for this kind of weather), and after a few minutes a group of uniformed officers will shuffle out into the lobby standing in a very close formation - they're your guys, and they look kind of jumpy.

Nervous shuffling meets a bright, eager smile. Lily smooths out a wrinkle in her vest and gives the assembled crowd a small wave, determined to put her best foot forward.

"Hello, thanks for coming out so politely! My name's Lily Mason, and I'm... hm, what's the best way to put this? Okay, for the purposes of this conversation, consider me a computer scientist and robotics engineer. I mean, to be perfectly honest with you the most technically accurate job description would be 'Wizard' or I guess 'Mage', but you all probably maybe definitely don't care about all that. I think. The point is, I'm very very qualified to talk to you about any recent... um, changes you may be experiencing. I don't want to panic anybody, but the long and short of things is that your bodies have become host to a supercolony of nanomachines, you know, super duper tiny robots that have gone and made a bunch of modifications to your bodies. Enhanced strength, reflexes, physical toughness, I'm also pretty sure any pre-existing medical conditions any of you might have been dealing with are pretty well gone now, so that's neat!

Anyway, I, I'm sure there's a hundred different things on your minds and I'm going to answer any questions you have to the best of my ability, but please just know that my number one priority for all of you moving forward is to make sure you're safe and happy. Believe me, there are huge changes coming to this city and I know that sounds ominous but you and I, us, we are going to make things so much better for so many people, and I just... I'm your friend, okay? More than anybody you'll meet for the rest of your lives, I'm here to help."


TIMELINE 2



So here's what's weird. You see the moment when she decides that she doesn't like you, and it's not the usual expression of 'ew' or 'oh god why am I talking to this person'. It's an expression of relief. She actually looks genuinely happy when she sees the conversation go south, and that death-wish in her heart thumps a little louder.

"Oh, I see," she says, "you're a gatecrasher! How exciting! What a scandal! Please, take a drink -" she hadn't actually offered you one before now, "- and make yourself at home. I'm sure with a wit like that you'll impress a lot of people before the night is through! Oh - Skylar!" she says, catching sight of someone else and drifting away from you.

The Supernal creature with the flaming crown watches you with interest, but you don't feel the same sense of pressure as when you met The Hounds. It's curious about you and what you do but it doesn't seem like its life depends on you in the same way the other entities you encountered have.

Lily sees the rejection painted in the other woman's eyes, and it cuts much deeper than normal because there's no tinge of disgust. It's not estrangement or derision, but recognition and withdrawal. She can see her hand reaching out into the darkness, and instead of finding another very much like hers, she only startles the shadows and makes them shrink away and coil tighter around the crumbling soul of a woman lost to Death but without the wisdom to draw any real power from that. Her head turns, and sad eyes soak up the sight of the Supernal being watching her watch it.

"So what do you see in her, I wonder?" she muttered the question idly, knowing better than to expect an answer and given recent experiences rather doubting that getting one would be good for anybody here, "I dig the horseman look. Very chic. I'd love to get to know you better, but I have to go punk our hostess now."

And Lily drifted off, but caught up in the flow of Rebecca's verge and in a place she wasn't really equipped to understand, she could only really float across the waves of space that formed the party space. And while she drifted, her shadow stayed behind, flirting coyly with the figure with the crown of flaming jewels, enraptured and silent. Across banal conversations and mystifying imagery, Lily slips around the room like a verse trapped inside the meter of a poem, straining to express herself but confined by the form around her on the page. She still has the drugged champagne in her hand, untouched.

And she knows, step one should be to whip up an antidote after all, but because she's Lily and she's lonely and there's so very few footholds for her to step on anywhere, the currents inevitably carry her to Compass, where the words tumble out of her lips about everything she'd seen.

[Thanqol]

TIMELINE 1


Nervous shuffling meets a bright, eager smile. Lily smooths out a wrinkle in her vest and gives the assembled crowd a small wave, determined to put her best foot forward.

"Hello, thanks for coming out so politely! My name's Lily Mason, and I'm... hm, what's the best way to put this? Okay, for the purposes of this conversation, consider me a computer scientist and robotics engineer. I mean, to be perfectly honest with you the most technically accurate job description would be 'Wizard' or I guess 'Mage', but you all probably maybe definitely don't care about all that. I think. The point is, I'm very very qualified to talk to you about any recent... um, changes you may be experiencing. I don't want to panic anybody, but the long and short of things is that your bodies have become host to a supercolony of nanomachines, you know, super duper tiny robots that have gone and made a bunch of modifications to your bodies. Enhanced strength, reflexes, physical toughness, I'm also pretty sure any pre-existing medical conditions any of you might have been dealing with are pretty well gone now, so that's neat!

Anyway, I, I'm sure there's a hundred different things on your minds and I'm going to answer any questions you have to the best of my ability, but please just know that my number one priority for all of you moving forward is to make sure you're safe and happy. Believe me, there are huge changes coming to this city and I know that sounds ominous but you and I, us, we are going to make things so much better for so many people, and I just... I'm your friend, okay? More than anybody you'll meet for the rest of your lives, I'm here to help."

A change hits the officers after you finish speaking; it's subtle but intimidating. They go from a bunch of nervous people, each carrying a deep and deadly secret, to a pack. They're unified, predatory, and deeply capable of violence. Fortunately, Death Sight indicates that you're in no immediate physical danger.

They defer to the largest of them, an extremely tall man with a bald head and short red beard, who speaks to you in a low voice. "This is some mad science bullsh*t," he said, "and I speak for all of us when I say that you should probably be in jail for it. But. If this knowledge you have put in our heads is true then I can see why you did it. Every man in this station has a folder full of weird unsolved cases hanging around their necks like an anchor. Invisible perps, cameras that don't work, exsanguinations, cannibalism - every one of us has seen enough sh*t to question their reality. Now we know."

He thought for a moment, exchanged a series of meaningful glances with the other officers like wolves assessing their packmates. "We're not going to say thank you. But we are going to do the job. And if the stuff you put in us goes bad you're first on the list. Here," he gives you a card with his name and number - Sargent Nathan Tripswitch. "Treat us like a superhero team and not a science experiment and everyone will be happy."

[Anarion]

TIMELINE 1


TIMELINE 1


Anyway, I, I'm sure there's a hundred different things on your minds and I'm going to answer any questions you have to the best of my ability, but please just know that my number one priority for all of you moving forward is to make sure you're safe and happy. Believe me, there are huge changes coming to this city and I know that sounds ominous but you and I, us, we are going to make things so much better for so many people, and I just... I'm your friend, okay? More than anybody you'll meet for the rest of your lives, I'm here to help."


"Well spoken" Keynes said quietly by Lily's side, (though privately, he thought the ending might have verged into desperate, but the overall speech was good). "Well spoken indeed."


TIMELINE 1
He thought for a moment, exchanged a series of meaningful glances with the other officers like wolves assessing their packmates. "We're not going to say thank you. But we are going to do the job. And if the stuff you put in us goes bad you're first on the list. Here," he gives you a card with his name and number - Sargent Nathan Tripswitch. "Treat us like a superhero team and not a science experiment and everyone will be happy."

Keynes stays back a little behind Lily. She's the point person, and his stance, position, and neutral expression are all designed to make it clear that nobody should be looking to anyone but Lily for what to do here.


TIMELINE 2


Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer,
Swung by spirit-shades whos feet rumpled the tufted floor,
"Wretch," he cried, "thy God stands with me - and by these angels he has sent me -
Respite from thy arrogance upon me on this, the dance floor
Fie, fie and flee, and no more beset me or thy life shall be"
He quaffed the liquor, "Nevermore!"

Though he put on a good front, Keynes was intimidated by this Lucifer. The fat man was enhanced by magic in a place where Keynes dared not use his own, and he clearly cared nothing for life, or well-being of others. He had the measure of the man, and a sense of his magic besides. It was time for a withdrawal of the tactical variety.

And with that, Keynes found it remarkable that neither he nor Lucifer seemed to have at all been thinking about Rebecca or looking at her. And just like that, there he was sitting next to other people looking at Rebecca, as he joined Compass and Lily, conversation already in progress.

[Raz_Fox]

TIMELINE 1

They defer to the largest of them, an extremely tall man with a bald head and short red beard, who speaks to you in a low voice. "This is some mad science bullsh*t," he said, "and I speak for all of us when I say that you should probably be in jail for it. But. If this knowledge you have put in our heads is true then I can see why you did it. Every man in this station has a folder full of weird unsolved cases hanging around their necks like an anchor. Invisible perps, cameras that don't work, exsanguinations, cannibalism - every one of us has seen enough sh*t to question their reality. Now we know."

He thought for a moment, exchanged a series of meaningful glances with the other officers like wolves assessing their packmates. "We're not going to say thank you. But we are going to do the job. And if the stuff you put in us goes bad you're first on the list. Here," he gives you a card with his name and number - Sargent Nathan Tripswitch. "Treat us like a superhero team and not a science experiment and everyone will be happy."

"You are right," Compass says, from behind Lily. Not hiding, mind you. Just observing. But maybe a little more behind Lily than Keynes- at least at first, at least until she starts talking, taking the stage. "This is the stuff of superhero comics: an experiment gone wrong, a virus that changes you, sets you apart from normal people, an accident that no one could have predicted. And when this happens to you, when you are hit with the radioactive leak, what do you do, what's the first thing on your mind? You protect people. Speaking for myself, I'm glad that when real superpowers started showing up in Sydney, you're the people who got them."

Magicians aren't superheroes. Magicians are- complicated.

"Allow me to introduce myself. Gabriella Jalloh. Ms. Mason's associate, and it's my job to know everything that's going on in Sydney. It's a pleasure to meet you all, even though the circumstances are somewhat bittersweet. I don't know whether this can be reversed, but if it can't, I'll make damn sure that your civic representation has got your back. Funding, reparations, and the paperwork to have you assigned your own precinct are available in the budget, as long as we're both working for the health of the city." There's a glow in her voice, a timbre that's hard to hit if you don't believe. "Again, thank you all. You didn't ask for this to happen to you, and you didn't have to take up this vigil, and yet, look at you! Ready to take salt and turn it to sugar."

A business card is offered to Sargent Tripswitch. It's shining-metal-silver on white cardstock, and offers him a phone number.

If God is working through Lily, through this strange phenomenon, it's her job to make sure it's done right. And if this is a huge mistake, well, better to already be on good terms with the werecops before they rampage through the streets.


And Lily drifted off, but caught up in the flow of Rebecca's verge and in a place she wasn't really equipped to understand, she could only really float across the waves of space that formed the party space. And while she drifted, her shadow stayed behind, flirting coyly with the figure with the crown of flaming jewels, enraptured and silent. Across banal conversations and mystifying imagery, Lily slips around the room like a verse trapped inside the meter of a poem, straining to express herself but confined by the form around her on the page. She still has the drugged champagne in her hand, untouched.

And she knows, step one should be to whip up an antidote after all, but because she's Lily and she's lonely and there's so very few footholds for her to step on anywhere, the currents inevitably carry her to Compass, where the words tumble out of her lips about everything she'd seen.

"First priority," Compass says, already starting to go cold and focused, like a scalpel: "First priority is removing the bomb. Maybe relocate it? If she's being influenced by the Supernal, possibly stirring in sleep." A glance to Lily for confirmation. "Casualties unacceptable. Could blunt explosive, if unable to move it. Or just trigger the fire alarm, get everyone outside, even if sedated."

Can Compass discern the potential energy of the explosive, and thus locate it, given her skill in Forces?

[Thanqol]

"You are right," Compass says, from behind Lily. Not hiding, mind you. Just observing. But maybe a little more behind Lily than Keynes- at least at first, at least until she starts talking, taking the stage. "This is the stuff of superhero comics: an experiment gone wrong, a virus that changes you, sets you apart from normal people, an accident that no one could have predicted. And when this happens to you, when you are hit with the radioactive leak, what do you do, what's the first thing on your mind? You protect people. Speaking for myself, I'm glad that when real superpowers started showing up in Sydney, you're the people who got them."

Magicians aren't superheroes. Magicians are- complicated.

"Allow me to introduce myself. Gabriella Jalloh. Ms. Mason's associate, and it's my job to know everything that's going on in Sydney. It's a pleasure to meet you all, even though the circumstances are somewhat bittersweet. I don't know whether this can be reversed, but if it can't, I'll make damn sure that your civic representation has got your back. Funding, reparations, and the paperwork to have you assigned your own precinct are available in the budget, as long as we're both working for the health of the city." There's a glow in her voice, a timbre that's hard to hit if you don't believe. "Again, thank you all. You didn't ask for this to happen to you, and you didn't have to take up this vigil, and yet, look at you! Ready to take salt and turn it to sugar."

A business card is offered to Sargent Tripswitch. It's shining-metal-silver on white cardstock, and offers him a phone number.

If God is working through Lily, through this strange phenomenon, it's her job to make sure it's done right. And if this is a huge mistake, well, better to already be on good terms with the werecops before they rampage through the streets.

Sgt. Tripswitch looks honestly a little bit shocked to see the government involved in this - but he's actually reassured more than anything, especially by your choice of language. Funding, reparations and paperwork are good, familiar things to a career lawman; the implication that he has options, can union up, can even go to the media with hard evidence in extremis. You have created the idea that the system still works, the system still works for him and he doesn't need to become a vigilante relying on force and personal morality alone. That is a huge thing and the entire tone of the scene changes.

"Thank you ma'am," said Tripswitch. "Is there anything we should prioritize, anything that's urgent? Otherwise we were going to start working our way through cold cases."


"First priority," Compass says, already starting to go cold and focused, like a scalpel: "First priority is removing the bomb. Maybe relocate it? If she's being influenced by the Supernal, possibly stirring in sleep." A glance to Lily for confirmation. "Casualties unacceptable. Could blunt explosive, if unable to move it. Or just trigger the fire alarm, get everyone outside, even if sedated."

Can Compass discern the potential energy of the explosive, and thus locate it, given her skill in Forces?

Yes! Lily's Matter would normally be able to do something similar but it's being really thrown off by the Pandemonic verge here. Forces is uninhibited, though, and homing in on the bomb is just a case of filtering for potential energy. It is, naturally, in the basement. A fair amount, too, enough to knock down the entire house. Interesting detail: There's a lot of unnecessary incendiaries there, the bomber wants a fire along with an explosion.

Keynes, you have Time: Do not trigger the fire alarm. That just makes the bomber hit the detonator. Maybe Compass can catch that signal - maybe she can't. That is a throw of the dice, and you don't know the specifics without deeper magic but it's less in your favour than you might initially think. (Also, this is a private residence so it doesn't have a fire alarm to yank, you'd either have to hold a match up to a smoke detector or have Compass trigger it with Forces).

Now, here's the catch: you're in a Pandemonic verge and 'the basement' doesn't actually exist as a place.

Keynes could maybe manoeuvre there with some quick thinking and spatial awareness but it's a really fragile thing to bring others along, especially when any three of you losing your trains of thoughts for a second could teleport you right back up here - exactly the sort of pressure you'd want when trying to defuse high explosives, right? The cleanest approach would be to drag Rebecca down there somehow, or convince her to create a new 'space' in this Pandemonic vortex. There may be other options if you're feeling particularly inspired.

[Raz_Fox]

Sgt. Tripswitch looks honestly a little bit shocked to see the government involved in this - but he's actually reassured more than anything, especially by your choice of language. Funding, reparations and paperwork are good, familiar things to a career lawman; the implication that he has options, can union up, can even go to the media with hard evidence in extremis. You have created the idea that the system still works, the system still works for him and he doesn't need to become a vigilante relying on force and personal morality alone. That is a huge thing and the entire tone of the scene changes.

"Thank you ma'am," said Tripswitch. "Is there anything we should prioritize, anything that's urgent? Otherwise we were going to start working our way through cold cases."

TIMELINE I

"Well, the city always has interesting problems- case in point, werewolf techno-virus spreading among the police- but I wouldn't feel comfortable using you as a hammer to expedite resolution of any of the current problems on our radar. We're public servants, after all. Accountable." The system works. We work. Motion, synchronicity: eucatastrophe. "That said, I would love to assist you as a case consultant: I can flag certain cases, help you ascertain what's going on behind the scenes."

A selfish request, if we are to be honest: Compass burns to know whether there is evidence of scelesti activity in her city, similar to how the architect of a cathedral might want evidence of structural instabilities. She must be honest with herself in this, but she is honest enough to know that she can also do good in helping these people adjust to what has happened to them.

After all, they never asked for this.


Now, here's the catch: you're in a Pandemonic verge and 'the basement' doesn't actually exist as a place.

Keynes could maybe manoeuvre there with some quick thinking and spatial awareness but it's a really fragile thing to bring others along, especially when any three of you losing your trains of thoughts for a second could teleport you right back up here - exactly the sort of pressure you'd want when trying to defuse high explosives, right? The cleanest approach would be to drag Rebecca down there somehow, or convince her to create a new 'space' in this Pandemonic vortex. There may be other options if you're feeling particularly inspired.

Compass sears her way from "thinking about Rebecca" to "in conversation with Rebecca" like a comet once the conviction comes into her mind. One moment, she is not in that place, the next, she is there and she has a hand on Rebecca's shoulder, maternal, in command of this situation. The card: Strength, one hand in the lion's jaw, her feet braced against the floor. The planet: Jupiter, the monarch fruitful crowned. She is fire and white lightning falling from heaven.

"Beasley," she says, "I need you to come with me. We're going downstairs." She holds up one finger, forestalling the question: forceful, trying her best to bowl Rebecca over socially, put her on the off foot, put her in a place where she twists the Verge through instinct and reaction. And as even Compass knows, the Warlock must always Descend.

[Thanqol]

TIMELINE 1


"Well, the city always has interesting problems- case in point, werewolf techno-virus spreading among the police- but I wouldn't feel comfortable using you as a hammer to expedite resolution of any of the current problems on our radar. We're public servants, after all. Accountable." The system works. We work. Motion, synchronicity: eucatastrophe. "That said, I would love to assist you as a case consultant: I can flag certain cases, help you ascertain what's going on behind the scenes."

A selfish request, if we are to be honest: Compass burns to know whether there is evidence of scelesti activity in her city, similar to how the architect of a cathedral might want evidence of structural instabilities. She must be honest with herself in this, but she is honest enough to know that she can also do good in helping these people adjust to what has happened to them.

After all, they never asked for this.

"Of course, channels and all that," said Tripswitch. "We have a hundred years of case files to go through, so how do you want this to work?"



TIMELINE 2


Compass sears her way from "thinking about Rebecca" to "in conversation with Rebecca" like a comet once the conviction comes into her mind. One moment, she is not in that place, the next, she is there and she has a hand on Rebecca's shoulder, maternal, in command of this situation. The card: Strength, one hand in the lion's jaw, her feet braced against the floor. The planet: Jupiter, the monarch fruitful crowned. She is fire and white lightning falling from heaven.

"Beasley," she says, "I need you to come with me. We're going downstairs." She holds up one finger, forestalling the question: forceful, trying her best to bowl Rebecca over socially, put her on the off foot, put her in a place where she twists the Verge through instinct and reaction. And as even Compass knows, the Warlock must always Descend.

Through eyes of Prime you can see harmonic convergence in this moment and this action - an opportunity, if you care to take it. She'll acquiesce to your request inevitably, maybe with a little hemming and hawing, but her curiosity will win out - and that will lose the potential of the moment. The power is condensed around your hand, your grip, the chains it implies. If you, instead of waiting for her agreement, force her to where she needs to go, cast yourself as jailer, kidnapper, police officer, tormenter, demon - then you will be aligned with the mystery play on a deeper level. Prisons and prisoners are deeply evocative concepts in this space and there is immense power in them.

Be cautioned, however, that once that role is accepted it may be hard to put down, the roles of jailor and prisoner are reversible, and the logic of it may lead you to places you do not wish to go.

[Anarion]

TIMELINE 1



"Of course, channels and all that," said Tripswitch. "We have a hundred years of case files to go through, so how do you want this to work?"


"If I may be so bold" Keynes begins. He's speaking to Lily more than to Tripswitch here, though he's talking a way that can be heard. "One might imagine a classic sort of prioritization would be applicable. A product of greatest threat, highest likelihood of occurrence, and highest likelihood of success relative to required resources. If the, shall we say, modifications present allow for improved calculations about the information you have, I imagine it should be possible to make such a determination and then work from greatest threat down to least. Forgive me if I have misunderstood, of course."

Again, Keynes is not Compass or Lily here. He's a friend, a helper, but no official role, no particular authority in his statements. At least not at the moment.

[Raz_Fox]

TIMELINE 1

"Of course, channels and all that," said Tripswitch. "We have a hundred years of case files to go through, so how do you want this to work?"

TIMELINE I

Given that Compass is a professional in bureaucratic fields, one assumes that she would know at least something of the protocol here. She's likely to yield to someone in the field- i.e. allow the police to follow their own protocols of prioritization, and provide her with information on the cases that they have highlighted themselves.


TIMELINE 2

Through eyes of Prime you can see harmonic convergence in this moment and this action - an opportunity, if you care to take it. She'll acquiesce to your request inevitably, maybe with a little hemming and hawing, but her curiosity will win out - and that will lose the potential of the moment. The power is condensed around your hand, your grip, the chains it implies. If you, instead of waiting for her agreement, force her to where she needs to go, cast yourself as jailer, kidnapper, police officer, tormenter, demon - then you will be aligned with the mystery play on a deeper level. Prisons and prisoners are deeply evocative concepts in this space and there is immense power in them.

Be cautioned, however, that once that role is accepted it may be hard to put down, the roles of jailor and prisoner are reversible, and the logic of it may lead you to places you do not wish to go.

TIMELINE II

Meddling in her mystery play without proper study first sounds like the most Hubristic action possible right now, short of seizing her forehead and opening up her head to the truth by peeling away the scales of the Lie from her eyes with brute force. There will be other opportunities to meddle in the instruction of Rebecca Beasley, Trashy Heiress, and help her grope towards proper understanding of the universe.

[PhoeKun]

TIMELINE 1

Lily's face is still a smiling mask, but behind it her mind is spinning. So many turns, so much change, response to stimuli, still so important. So unstable and suggestible, this magic... it's incredible. Like nothing she's ever seen before. And just when she thinks she's got it on lock, there's another tiny nudge to push the boundaries of the relationships she's forging in this brilliant, golden moment. She calls herself Compass... you're darn right.

"It's like I said, I'm here to help. If you feel hard done by, please know you can always talk to me. I'll listen. I'm good at listening, even if I seem better at talking. None of you guys are just some science project to me. Which, actually, while we're on the subject, as part of your work getting settled in you should think about what your department wants in terms of a new uniform. I dunno how serious you were about being treated like superheroes, but legit I also do costume design in my handfuls of spare time, so if you guys wanted something I could whip it up for you no problem. Functional armor and everything."

She grins, but it falters just a tiny bit when talk of logistics crops up.

"They're cold cases, right? A century's worth? If you want my advice, follow up on the warmest trails first. Focus on solvability and keep an eye out for patterns, because, well, think of the sorts of things you're about to be investigating. Frankly, some of the newer stuff might involve the same perps as the OG files. Not everything's going to line up according to traditional human timelines anymore, be prepared for that. And... y'know, be careful. You're not experiments, but you are Gen 1. For obvious reasons, the modifications caused by the, um, The Hounds have never been field tested."



TIMELINE 2

In a snap or maybe a flash, Lily has moved to With Rebecca, not really able to stop herself from trying to be conversation-adjacent. God, what a headache this is. Like being an atom observed for velocity and position in rapid alternation, except also you're self aware of the shifts. Or is it like being an ant on a 4-dimensional plane? Whatever, it sucks. Her lips press together, tight and thin, and she self consciously grabs one of her elbows and draws her shoulders inward, watching and waiting and trying not to destroy the potential of the moment.

Had Becca been drinking? She hoped not.

[Thanqol]

TIMELINE 1


"Which, actually, while we're on the subject, as part of your work getting settled in you should think about what your department wants in terms of a new uniform. I dunno how serious you were about being treated like superheroes, but legit I also do costume design in my handfuls of spare time, so if you guys wanted something I could whip it up for you no problem. Functional armor and everything."

Tripswitch straightens up, puts his hands on his hit, lifts his jaw a little and strikes a pose. "This uniform already represents everything I want to stand for," he says, totally straight faced while both his friends cack themselves laughing - this is some joke you're not in on. "It stands for community service," Tripswitch went on. "It stands for civic engagement. It stands for the trust a citizenry can put in their government. No soldier in history could have half the pride in their uniform that I feel for mine."

He paused as though for applause, and then smirked and said. "We'll call if we need anything,"


TIMELINE 2


In a snap or maybe a flash, Lily has moved to With Rebecca, not really able to stop herself from trying to be conversation-adjacent. God, what a headache this is. Like being an atom observed for velocity and position in rapid alternation, except also you're self aware of the shifts. Or is it like being an ant on a 4-dimensional plane? Whatever, it sucks. Her lips press together, tight and thin, and she self consciously grabs one of her elbows and draws her shoulders inward, watching and waiting and trying not to destroy the potential of the moment.

Had Becca been drinking? She hoped not.

"Baby doll!" said Rebecca upon seeing Lily. She doesn't smell of alcohol - she had a period when she went through every drug she could think of in an attempt to find enlightenment at the bottom of one of them, but that time seems to have passed. "Come on! Your friend is propositioning me and we may as well make an afternoon of it -"

Space warps in an extremely haphazard way. Rebecca is collapsing the world into two places: In the basement or anywhere else. It's a slightly nauseating and janky teleport, like a drunk driver 'tactile navigating' her way out of a driveway. And you're all dragged down into a room...

... covered in Atlantean runes. Elaborately traced characters in High Speech, painted in regal ultramarine - old fashioned, hand mixed, made with ground lapis lazuli. Deeply resonant with the Death Arcana, a great Weaving pattern. Around the symbols, barrels of petrol, sinks full of chemicals, handmade explosives piled around support beams, canisters of napalm. This is the sanctum of one of the Wise. The horseman with the flaming crown is here too, though of course, only Lily can see him. The magic here is alive, deep and crackling, a ritual that has been worked on for weeks.

And as you take it in you feel a cold and playful wind brush your shoulders and hear distant carnival music, and you know that the Abyss is here too.

"What -" says Rebecca, trying to take all this in. She can't. The Sleeping Curse still weighs upon her. Everyone knows that you shouldn't cast magic around Sleepers, everyone's had a brush or two with the Abyss, but not everyone has brought a Sleeper into a ritual chamber this charged. Under the Sleeping Curse symbols of true, Awakened magic cause physical suffering to the Sleeper and they can't accept their reality - and so the Abyss offers its corrupt anti-symbols in its place and the Sleeper can't tell which is the worse. Her bravado is already slipping away and a deep, primordial fear is working its way into her heart. "I shouldn't be here," she says. Everywhere the ritual symbols are being overlaid with Abyssal ones. "This isn't right," she says in the dry, hollow voice of someone about to break.

But she can't help but look. And the Abyss comes through her.

She looks at the horseman with the flaming crown and it flinches and recoils, physically injured. She can see it - whatever that means.

The door is locked.

[Paradox: Every round Rebecca is exposed to the Supernal she's going to build up Paradox. Paradox ticker 1]

[Anarion]

TIMELINE 2


And as you take it in you feel a cold and playful wind brush your shoulders and hear distant carnival music, and you know that the Abyss is here too.

"What -" says Rebecca, trying to take all this in.

Keynes glances at his watch, and briefly, for just a few seconds, there is a warp, a ripple in reality. This is a different sort of distortion than the space teleportation that Rebecca just did. Keynes steps back a handful of seconds, stands in the room with the Atlantean runes, alone. Takes one step so that he's standing right next to where Rebecca materializes, and watches as the group of 4 appears in the room just like they have already done. Only this time, his hand is over Rebecca's eyes before she can look, his grip is firm, and he looks to Lily and to Compass and to himself for assistance. The abyss must not be allowed to spread here.

[Shifting Sands Praxis cast, one yantra: 5, 9, 3, 3, 7.]

[Raz_Fox]

TIMELINE II

Compass takes in the situation at a glance. Runes, a great ritual working associated with death, the practice of Weaving: to change, to make malleable, to make manifest. Things begin to arrange themselves as being understandable. The question remains as to whether the hostess is the magician who has done this, or is simply a weapon wielded by someone else's hand - but that mystery can wait a moment.

Her laser pointer is smooth and cold under her gloved fingers, and she turns, presses the button firmly with her thumb, traces the symbol for the Sun on Rebecca's forehead. Not what she'd intended to have happen tonight, but when the devil drives, what can be done but to run alongside? There is resonance in the symbol, in the idea of the glorious all-revealing Sun, that which reveals when you have exited the cave. If she were not using her tool of command, the tool that decrees what shall happen in the world, it is possible that the strain of forcing a conduit of Solar symbolism with the wild mind of Rebecca Beasley would crack the world open even further - but this tool was a gift, and it is hers.

Behold.

[Casting Stolen Fire, turning Rebecca into a Sleepwalker for a scene; spending a reach to make it instant and reaching to toggle Advanced Duration; as the laser pointer is her Dedicated tool, -2 to Paradox dice pools. 4, 4, 9, 3 - 1 Success.]

This done, she clicks off the laser pointer and nods for Keynes to let Rebecca see what is going on.

Herself, she turns to the ritual and looks at it with the eyes of Jupiter's magician. The monarch, crowned with authority over all things. She seeks to understand more fully this willworking, and any way it might be undone. Wizard ethics generally take a dim view of killing dozens of people in a vast explosion, after all.

[Thanqol]

TIMELINE 2

One - two. The carnival passes in the distance, heading for a different town. Your victory here is complete, and in more ways than just stopping the Abyss. See, the mage responsible for this would have been able to sense a Sleeper's presence in their sanctum and the resulting buildup of Abyssal energies, and they would have come running. That response got over-written with time travel and while the Abyss might remember the opposing mage does not. No one knows you're here, there's no countdown, you have a totally free hand.

Compass, as soon as you begin expanding your mystical senses you're immediately accosted by a spirit - a disgustingly handsome young man wearing a suit of mirrored black glass and a smile like diamonds even though he's obviously distraught. "Oh! A shaman! Please, I need your help!" he says. "I am 44 Seabreeze and my owner's spouse is attempting to murder me! I have no idea why! Is it the insurance? Oh! It must be the insurance!" he brushes tears from his eyes and stomps on the ground. "Damn her! Over money! No wonder she hasn't talked about anything else! Look, please, now that you're here everything will be fine. I have a plan. Step one is to clean all this horrible graffiti off the walls - oh my god, do you see it? Do you see the consequences this is having on my property value? What would the neighbours say if they found out there was a bomb workshop in my basement!? I'd be ruined!"


Lily and Compass both get this: There are two big components to this spell. The first and most potent is a large scale Soul Jar - everyone who dies in this place is going to have their souls collected and stored in a comprehensive and expensive set of machining tools, on soul per tool[1].

The other big component is a combination Death Weaving/Veiling spell. It's going to find about five specific corpses, animate them as zombies, and conceal the fact that they are dead at all. You can presume that if this is linked with an enormous explosion these people will 'miraculously survive'. Zombies created with the Death Arcana are surprisingly adept, with attention from the caster (and maybe the Mind arcana) they can easily perform all the ordinary functions of a human.


For her part, Rebecca starts when Keynes grabs her, starts to struggle and fight and stops when he releases her. She opens her mouth to give what's sure to be an acidic rant - then she sees the walls. She gasps in awe and pushes past you to start going over every inch of the room, staring and analysing and murmuring under her breath. A great symbol of advanced intelligence is forming around her head as she wills herself to become smart enough to understand what she's seeing - if you talk to her now you're going to be conversing with a legitimate occult genius, not an arrogant dilettante.


[1]: The Pentacle's position on magic involving souls is 'it's not inherently evil, but it's super easy to become evil'. See, the most common (unconfirmed) theory is that after you die then the Exarch of Death brutalizes your soul, rips out your enlightenment, and tosses you back to earth - she stands at the gates to with a flaming sword and cuts down all who approach. Therefore there's not really any harm in keeping a soul around with magic and research into souls is an important area of study.

The problem is that having a bunch of souls on hand is an enormous temptation to start Reaping. Reaping is well and truly into Left Handed territory. As a result, mages engaged in soul research tend to get sh*tloads of scrutiny and a mage doing secret soul research is regarded about as well as a nuclear physicist messing around with uranium and improvised explosives in his creepy shed.

[Raz_Fox]

TIMELINE 2

Compass, as soon as you begin expanding your mystical senses you're immediately accosted by a spirit - a disgustingly handsome young man wearing a suit of mirrored black glass and a smile like diamonds even though he's obviously distraught. "Oh! A shaman! Please, I need your help!" he says. "I am 44 Seabreeze and my owner's spouse is attempting to murder me! I have no idea why! Is it the insurance? Oh! It must be the insurance!" he brushes tears from his eyes and stomps on the ground. "Damn her! Over money! No wonder she hasn't talked about anything else! Look, please, now that you're here everything will be fine. I have a plan. Step one is to clean all this horrible graffiti off the walls - oh my god, do you see it? Do you see the consequences this is having on my property value? What would the neighbours say if they found out there was a bomb workshop in my basement!? I'd be ruined!"

"Really? She's been talking about the money lately?" Compass asks the spirit, in her best "please, tell me more of this gossip" voice. It's not the most sophisticated, but hopefully it'll do well enough to convince a rather flighty house-spirit to talk. "What with owning such a handsome and expensive house, I'm surprised she'd be concerned about that. Has she been meeting with anyone- you know- odd lately?"

[Thanqol]

TIMELINE 2


"Really? She's been talking about the money lately?" Compass asks the spirit, in her best "please, tell me more of this gossip" voice. It's not the most sophisticated, but hopefully it'll do well enough to convince a rather flighty house-spirit to talk. "What with owning such a handsome and expensive house, I'm surprised she'd be concerned about that. Has she been meeting with anyone- you know- odd lately?"

"Oh, well," said Seabreeze, putting his arm around your shoulder conspiratorially and lowering his voice to a stage whisper. For this guy good gossip takes precedence over explosives strapped to his support pillars. "Between you and me, I've always thought Mrs. Ainsworth was a bit of a, well, a gold digger - but it seems she's actually a black widow instead! She was one of Mr. Ainsworth's nurses, don't you know, and the whole thing is a bit of a scandal but old age does silly things to a man's brain. But if she wanted to kill Mr. Ainsworth for his money then surely she's had opportunity to do it quietly by now!"

Seabreeze tries to think about that a little further but, really, he's not very clever and can't really infer anything deeper than salacious implication.

"There aren't any weird visitors," he went on, and he sounds quite put out by that. "She's been talking about money a lot, but other people's money mostly," he muses. "I assumed this was some sort of 'keeping up with the Johnsons' thing. She wasn't talking to her own accountant, she's been working out who the most valuable and powerful people in Sydney are. Most of them are here actually -" Seabreeze gasps. "Do you think that's what it's about? She wants to kill everybody richer than her so she'll finally be the wealthiest person in town! By my solar powered lamplights, I think I've cracked the case!"

[Anarion]

Since Compass appears otherwise engaged with an otherworldly entity, and they have what appears to be two occult experts in the room, Keynes takes the next step of comparing notes. "So, Rebecca, what do you make of all this?" He asks, hoping to simply prompt her to start talking as she works through it. For that matter, what does he make of it with his occult skills? Is there some broad sleeper tradition or symbolism that this seems to fit into and might give insight into the caster's plans?

[PhoeKun]

TIMELINE 1

Lily blinks as if exposed to harsh light, quite sure she's just been hecka burned but not at all knowing why or even how. She half-giggles awkwardly and tries not to look as put out as she feels.

"Right, well. If you guys don't have any other questions or immediate concerns, I'll just get out of your hair. I do want to meet the lot of you in no more than a week from now to check up on you and make sure everything's still, y'know, working the way it's supposed to. Thanks again for not beating me to death. I wouldn't have blamed you for trying."

Her lips curl upward despite the weight of her words hanging in the air. She offers a goofy, two-fingered salute. "Right, you've got my number, keep in touch!" And she turns and skips outside.

She's exuding confidence by the time she returns to Western, stopping dramatically and even puffing out her chest ever so slightly.

"See?" she chirps, "I told you this would work out. The really important thing right now is that we've got a pretty good grasp on the likely trajectory of this thing for the time being. There's a lot of latent potential in the magic still that's going to take time to tease out, but that's a matter of stepping into the role of the super scientist. For now it's stable, and, dude. We are going to change the world."

The light around Lily surges, and her shadow briefly stretches out across the pavement, its 'mouth' split open in an impossible smile.


TIMELINE 2

"Wow, you really have to admire the dedication to theatrics here. Technically, there's not much a reason why you'd have to use actual explosives here if you goal is," Lily gestures around at the room, "all this, but they went and put a heck of a bomb in the center of it anyway. It's not even like it could mask the ritual, because something like this'd light up like a hecking beacon in the rubble if it triggered. Wonder if they're creating a storyline? And how much Mrs. Suicide Pact is in on it..."

Idly, Lily can't help but wonder why the caster chose machining tools as their vessel for the Soul Jar. It's not an idea she'd considered before and she can't help but try to puzzle out what the benefits of Soul Tools could be. Would they acclimate? Reach a higher plane of functionality? Reveal something new about the nature of souls? Or were they just innocuous enough to be able to leave around to do... something? There's nothing more frustrating than running up against the limits of your imagination, of realizing the difference between Enlightenment and Omniscience.

With a shrug and a sigh, she opens up her Death Sight on the ritual, looking for the inevitable frays where it could be pulled apart, and how it might be undone. Without even thinking about it this seems like the sort of experiment Key and Compy are pretty explicitly against, at any rate. But also, she looks around for a signature, because it seems stupid to think that somebody would set up an undertaking on this level and not mark it. 'Cause if not, doesn't that imply some pretty creepy intentions if they're cool with a free-for-all?

"And what's your interest in all this, I wonder? You just here to see the fireworks, or are you after something more?" She mutters quietly, watching the Horseman. So far as she can puzzle out, both the Father of Death and this other entity's real interest was in the hostess who made this extremely excellent DIY bomb. But one was haltingly unsure, and the other pretty gosh darned enigmatic. She watches and she tilts her head, inviting it to offer some sort of clue into its designs.

[Thanqol]

TIMELINE 1


"See?" she chirps, "I told you this would work out. The really important thing right now is that we've got a pretty good grasp on the likely trajectory of this thing for the time being. There's a lot of latent potential in the magic still that's going to take time to tease out, but that's a matter of stepping into the role of the super scientist. For now it's stable, and, dude. We are going to change the world."

The light around Lily surges, and her shadow briefly stretches out across the pavement, its 'mouth' split open in an impossible smile.

Professor Western looks... daunted. Impressed. His goons are already packing up and getting ready to leave. "Forgive me, I am not used to seeing... decisiveness like that," he said. "I couldn't have... are you really ready for a war? Our hunters are going to begin a campaign of extermination against every monster in the city and there will be blowback on us. Please, let me assign you some security."


TIMELINE 2


Idly, Lily can't help but wonder why the caster chose machining tools as their vessel for the Soul Jar. It's not an idea she'd considered before and she can't help but try to puzzle out what the benefits of Soul Tools could be. Would they acclimate? Reach a higher plane of functionality? Reveal something new about the nature of souls? Or were they just innocuous enough to be able to leave around to do... something? There's nothing more frustrating than running up against the limits of your imagination, of realizing the difference between Enlightenment and Omniscience.

It's an interesting topic. You naturally understand how Souls move and flow - it's an intrinsic part of the Death arcana - but the logic of this isn't immediately obvious to you. If Stygia's arcana are Death and Matter, both of those forces are at opposite ends of the spectrum. Death is subtlety, memory, the shape that things hold when there is no matter left to comprise them - Matter is raw, inert, brutal, crude, the building blocks that are subject to entropy. If you grab a bunch of death-stuff and force it into a bunch of matter-stuff that isn't going to make the matter stuff better. It hardly makes sense. For a Mastigos, a Mind can have a relationship which is governed by Space, but giving a relationship a Mind of its own is hardly a coherent sentence.

So you don't get the feeling that this is a process designed to "empower" the tools. Whoever did this is clearly a Moros, they should understand this as well as you. But thinking instead as a scientist, the way that this is set up has all the markings of an experiment. There aren't a bunch of materials standing by ready to build something specific. There isn't an immediate follow through or sense of purpose to this design like there might be if Step One is build soul tools Step Two is build giant laser with those soul tools Step Three is take over the world.

You think there's as much a question in this as you yourself are asking. And it's a really weird and specific question to ask. Obviously Mages get obsessed over things, that's the whole nature of being a Mage, but this thought in particular is so out there and the execution is so specific that you think that this isn't someone's crazy idea, this is a hard-headed attempt to comprehend something they've experienced elsewhere.

[Obviously there's a point of Arcane XP if you can get to the bottom of this, amongst other benefits.]


With a shrug and a sigh, she opens up her Death Sight on the ritual, looking for the inevitable frays where it could be pulled apart, and how it might be undone. Without even thinking about it this seems like the sort of experiment Key and Compy are pretty explicitly against, at any rate. But also, she looks around for a signature, because it seems stupid to think that somebody would set up an undertaking on this level and not mark it. 'Cause if not, doesn't that imply some pretty creepy intentions if they're cool with a free-for-all?

So, High Speech is great. It's a fantastic Yantra with powerful magical associations, uniquely capable of holding the energies of the Supernal. But the catch is if you break the words then the entire ritual falls apart like a house of cards. All you've got to do to terminate this thing is splash some paint around on those painstakingly prepared ritual symbols. That will instantly inform whoever's ritual this is, though, so you might want to disarm those bombs first. [Disarming the explosives is a simple intelligence+science roll. There's no penalties - the person who set this up didn't bother making the bomb mechanisms complex, probably because no one was meant to find the room in the first place]

There absolutely is an arcane signature here. High and fiery, like a staircase through a burning building. No one you know but you'd easily recognize them if you saw anything else they cast after this.


"And what's your interest in all this, I wonder? You just here to see the fireworks, or are you after something more?" She mutters quietly, watching the Horseman. So far as she can puzzle out, both the Father of Death and this other entity's real interest was in the hostess who made this extremely excellent DIY bomb. But one was haltingly unsure, and the other pretty gosh darned enigmatic. She watches and she tilts her head, inviting it to offer some sort of clue into its designs.

The Horseman considers, considers, considers. It offers a symbol - incomprehensible - and another that could mean any one of a dozen things. It considers again, frustrated, like a man trying random languages to try and find one you'd comprehend.

Then it snaps its fingers in a shockingly human gesture of understanding and it puts on a Guy Fawkes mask. Crowned by fire - electric fire, fire through glass - it spreads its hands confidently around the explosives and then gives a large double thumbs up. There's music there, too, muffled as though from a distance.


Since Compass appears otherwise engaged with an otherworldly entity, and they have what appears to be two occult experts in the room, Keynes takes the next step of comparing notes. "So, Rebecca, what do you make of all this?" He asks, hoping to simply prompt her to start talking as she works through it. For that matter, what does he make of it with his occult skills? Is there some broad sleeper tradition or symbolism that this seems to fit into and might give insight into the caster's plans?

"You did this?" she asks, suddenly turning her attention on you. Your mind goes white, transparent, her gaze holds the intensity of an MRI - and then she glances away when she realizes you don't know sh*t.

"Some of this stuff is incomprehensible, but some of it is French or French-inspired," said Rebecca. "Check it out. This timer on the bombs? Decimal time - that's from the French Revolutionary Calendar. And see here - the pattern of the explosives? Some of them are support beams but some of them look like they're spaced randomly, but that's actually the pattern Guy Fawkes was trying to lay the bombs to blow up Parliament."

She's right. It's crazy. You might have figured some of that stuff out if you were really lucky or spent a week in a library.

"The theme is bringing the high low. Freedom, violent revolution. But more than that. They want to make something of the rich. They don't just want to kill them, they want to take their stuff."

With that thought in your mind, Keynes, you can see the Free Council influence here. But it's influence. This doesn't look like the Libertine stuff you're trained to recognize and, importantly, this is all the work of one person. A real Libertine wouldn't do anything like this without a vote and teamwork. Maybe a former Libertine, or someone trained by one, or who moves in Libertine circles without buying the ideology completely. A member of that Nameless Assembly that doesn't recognize the Consilium, probably.

[Anarion]

"An excellent read. This is clearly influenced by a belief in equality. Really, quite the jolly irony that this appears to be a single independent actor who has taken it upon themselves to determine who should be brought low and how." Keynes chuckles to himself and walks over to Compass and Lily. "My recommendation is that when we are prepared to do so, we undo the working here, it is obviously quite harmful. I don't mean to rush you in dealing with the equipment though, or investigating the working as needed first. I'm going to chat with the hostess upstairs and see if I can discern any of her involvement in the matter. Circumspectly, of course. If you could be so kind as to not blow us all up while I'm gone, that would be smashing."

Then Keynes takes a few steps and pulls himself back to the "upstairs" section of this verge, where he looks for the hostess mixing her drinks and places himself next to her. "Madame, a most excellent party. Do I have you to thank for the arrangements this evening?"

[Raz_Fox]

TIMELINE 2

"There aren't any weird visitors," he went on, and he sounds quite put out by that. "She's been talking about money a lot, but other people's money mostly," he muses. "I assumed this was some sort of 'keeping up with the Johnsons' thing. She wasn't talking to her own accountant, she's been working out who the most valuable and powerful people in Sydney are. Most of them are here actually -" Seabreeze gasps. "Do you think that's what it's about? She wants to kill everybody richer than her so she'll finally be the wealthiest person in town! By my solar powered lamplights, I think I've cracked the case!"

TIMELINE II

Compass nods, looking carefully at the spirit. It really isn't funny, as much as its patter seems taken straight out of a good satire. Rather, it is- well, an impression. The weight that human interaction and expectation presses down upon the world, the imprint made within the Shadow. Just human enough to emphasize with, and just alien enough that she must not forget to not treat it too much like one. It is not her friend, it is not a being with a soul, it just is, and while she will treat it with respect enough not to laugh at it, she will not adopt it and scratch it behind the ears.

"That's a good theory, Seabreeze. Thank you for your help. You are a beautiful house and I will make sure that you are not a smouldering wreck in the headlines tomorrow." She offers a slight bow, and then turns her attention to Lily, who is also speaking to thin air. An eyebrow is raised. A ghost? Possibly.

She waits until Lily seems at a lull, seems not to be listening intently or studying whatever is going on in front of her, and then points out: "We should probably disable the bomb. This seems more your territory than mine." It would be so easy to spark the explosives- to change potential energy, all bound up tight inside the explosives, into kinetic, pushing everything outwards violently, changing everything around it with a terrible and unshaped strength, and all it would take would be a thought and a push- but disabling them would be something else entirely.

Saturn, master of the philosophers, would be much more suited to dealing with breaking something down, making it not possible, castrating the potentiality and closing the lid on the terrible tale of The Bomb Which Destroyed The Entire Party.

[Thanqol]

Then Keynes takes a few steps and pulls himself back to the "upstairs" section of this verge, where he looks for the hostess mixing her drinks and places himself next to her. "Madame, a most excellent party. Do I have you to thank for the arrangements this evening?"

"You do indeed, you well dressed stranger," Mrs. Ainsworth says with an expensive smile. "I saw you talking to Mr. Yates over there before, I hope he wasn't too much of a boor." She's referring to the Seer, who looks like he has descended deeply into his drug-haze.

Mrs. Ainsworth is shockingly cool. You've seen trained spies less twitchy than her. It takes a unique kind of woman to walk around making elaborate small talk while standing on top of several kilograms of high explosives hooked up to barrels of oil. It's human nature to show stress but she has that perfectly under control. You live in a world of spies and assassins and you could list on one hand the people who might be this cool in a scene like this without extensive use of magic.

Time, Fate and Space at a passive scan don't really get you anything you don't already know. If you want to know something specific ask directly.


TIMELINE II

Compass nods, looking carefully at the spirit. It really isn't funny, as much as its patter seems taken straight out of a good satire. Rather, it is- well, an impression. The weight that human interaction and expectation presses down upon the world, the imprint made within the Shadow. Just human enough to emphasize with, and just alien enough that she must not forget to not treat it too much like one. It is not her friend, it is not a being with a soul, it just is, and while she will treat it with respect enough not to laugh at it, she will not adopt it and scratch it behind the ears.

This is a worthy and wise thought. It demonstrates true understanding of the Shadow, and somewhere your mentor is proud.


She waits until Lily seems at a lull, seems not to be listening intently or studying whatever is going on in front of her, and then points out: "We should probably disable the bomb. This seems more your territory than mine." It would be so easy to spark the explosives- to change potential energy, all bound up tight inside the explosives, into kinetic, pushing everything outwards violently, changing everything around it with a terrible and unshaped strength, and all it would take would be a thought and a [I]push- but disabling them would be something else entirely.

Saturn, master of the philosophers, would be much more suited to dealing with breaking something down, making it not possible, castrating the potentiality and closing the lid on the terrible tale of The Bomb Which Destroyed The Entire Party.

Perhaps a less worthy thought: If you were to witness this explosion, either through evacuating the house and then pulling the trigger, or recovering the explosives and painstakingly recreating the occult setup elsewhere, the resulting insight would be worth a point of Arcane XP.

[Anarion]

"You do indeed, you well dressed stranger," Mrs. Ainsworth says with an expensive smile. "I saw you talking to Mr. Yates over there before, I hope he wasn't too much of a boor." She's referring to the Seer, who looks like he has descended deeply into his drug-haze.

Mrs. Ainsworth is shockingly cool. You've seen trained spies less twitchy than her. It takes a unique kind of woman to walk around making elaborate small talk while standing on top of several kilograms of high explosives hooked up to barrels of oil. It's human nature to show stress but she has that perfectly under control. You live in a world of spies and assassins and you could list on one hand the people who might be this cool in a scene like this without extensive use of magic. [If you want to read her, wits+empathy at -8]

Time, Fate and Space at a passive scan don't really get you anything you don't already know. If you want to know something specific ask directly.


Keynes looks suitably pained at the reference to Mr. Yates, his lips turning ever so slightly downward and his hand pulling to adjust his sparkling vest to use up a bit of nervous tension. "To be quite honest, madame, he was entirely a boor. Where on earth did you find him?" Keynes asks, both to continue the conversation and out of a fair bit of actual curiosity.

Keynes is thinking now about what he can do to rattle this woman. There's almost no hope of getting a good read on her as things are, the difficulty is practically insurmountable without magic he's not willing to touch within sight of Lucifer/Yates over there. Remind me, is there any concern with using Space here, or is it only Fate that's likely to be a problem? If Space is usable, Keynes is going to look for what sorts of sympathy lie on Mrs. Ainsworth. If not, well, he'll try the more old-fashioned method of asking.

[PhoeKun]

TIMELINE 1

Professor Western looks... daunted. Impressed. His goons are already packing up and getting ready to leave. "Forgive me, I am not used to seeing... decisiveness like that," he said. "I couldn't have... are you really ready for a war? Our hunters are going to begin a campaign of extermination against every monster in the city and there will be blowback on us. Please, let me assign you some security."

"War, huh? Do you really think so? I was expecting more, like, shadowy intrigue and assassins in the night and junk, and probably not even that for at least a week or so while the monster-y side of the city figures out that this isn't just infighting or a one-off or whatever. Eye-dee-kay, man, if I were the type of person to stop and think about how badly everything might go, I doubt I would have met you. Or built Zero. Heck, I'd probably still be Asleep, if you know what I mean. So like..."

Lily's face breaks into another warm smile, and a few rolling chirps of laughter tumble out of her lips.

"You know? You've got a point about security, though. Ooh! Ooh! Can you assign Abby? Getting daily interactions with a hybrid would be suuuper helpful for Zero's development!"



TIMELINE 2


"That's a good theory, Seabreeze. Thank you for your help. You are a beautiful house and I will make sure that you are not a smouldering wreck in the headlines tomorrow." She offers a slight bow, and then turns her attention to Lily, who is also speaking to thin air. An eyebrow is raised. A ghost? Possibly.

She waits until Lily seems at a lull, seems not to be listening intently or studying whatever is going on in front of her, and then points out: "We should probably disable the bomb. This seems more your territory than mine." It would be so easy to spark the explosives- to change potential energy, all bound up tight inside the explosives, into kinetic, pushing everything outwards violently, changing everything around it with a terrible and unshaped strength, and all it would take would be a thought and a push- but disabling them would be something else entirely.

Saturn, master of the philosophers, would be much more suited to dealing with breaking something down, making it not possible, castrating the potentiality and closing the lid on the terrible tale of The Bomb Which Destroyed The Entire Party.

Lily stares seemingly into space, for a moment completely dumbfounded. Her shoulders roll forward, her hand covers her mouth, and she hunches inward, either trying to become a ball or desperately hold in the universe's dorkiest snort. It's not happening. She's on her knees, the snort now a giggle now full blown uncontrollable laughter, the kind that's so genuine and enthusiastic that it lifts your heart to hear it and makes you laugh along, even when the joke is incomprehensible. She throws down horns with her left hand to show the Horseman she understands.

"Ahaha, oh my g-haha... that's... haha... hoo. Wow. I was not expecting that. Okay. Okay! That is so cool! In a thousand, thousand years I would never have expected a Supernal entity to try communicating through pop culture. Hahaha, okay, okay, serious time. This is serious. Seriously."

Lily takes a deep breath, exhales, and gets back onto her feet.

"Compy? Don't take this the wrong way, but I think we should let this place blow up. This isn't what Key was talking about, some rando with a Robin Hood complex bringing low the high and rendering his judgment yadda yadda whatever. All the revolutionary stuff, probably even the location? My invisible dude over here, who I'm calling the Horseman on account of he's a very Death-aligned Supernal creature wearing the most gorgeous crown of flaming jewels you'll ever... not see? Dang it. Whatever, I'll draw you a picture later. Anyway, I can tell you with scientific certainty that the nature of the bomb is from a higher plane of existence, working through the lady who's throwing this party. Who, by the way, is crazy super dangerously suicidal, unless my eyes very much deceived me. I don't think she's the architect behind all this spellwork, because her demeanor and actions make me think she intends to go down with the ship, and this magic is... um, very forward thinking?

Like, I've been trying to figure this out since I first saw these runes, let me tell you, from a practical standpoint, it doesn't make any hecking sense to put a bunch of souls into active tools like this. It can't help you accomplish anything. And I'm a million percent sure the person responsible for this is a Moros, so they know it as well or better than I do. But, like, you know that expression, 'ghost in the machine'? What happens if you make that very nearly literal? What does it mean for a machine to have a soul, the way they're sometimes personified as having? I think answering that question is what this whole thing is about. It's an experiment, Compy. A big, ornate experiment tied up in a pretty bow metaphor for social inequality.

And... I mean, maybe it's because I just built a self aware robot and became friends with another, different Supernal being who pretty much lead me here this afternevening, but I kind of can't help but think that's a question worth answering? And I mean, seriously, if you were going to kill a bunch of people to learn about souls, you would have a difficult time picking a group the world would miss less than these jerks, unless you literally hunted down a prison bus full of child murderers or something. And I don't even know who these people upstairs killed, so I can't even say that with surety. It's like... the pieces all or mostly fit. It's flashy, but in terms of long-term repercussions for the city or the world at large it's also pretty self contained? The only thing I'm not exactly sure about is this Zombie Clause, which I'm sort of considering rewriting because it feels too much like wanting to have your cake and eat it too.

Anyway, what I want to do is put a mark on all of this so the OG caster knows we saw this and let it happen anyway, and keep close tabs on things to hopefully, if not actively become partners to the experiment, at least reap the benefits of it. And then get our varyingly sexy little butts out of here (yours too, Becca) before we wind up just as asploded as everyone else. I assume you were just talking to the spirit of this house a bit ago? Can you tell him I'm sorry for being so callous about all this? It's not that I hate him, this is a beautiful house, or it was on the outside when I could see it in comprehensible terms, thank you very much Ms. Warps Space Into Non-Euclidean Concepts All The Livelong Day, but when he's rebuilt he'll be reborn into something even better than now. Talk of the whole neighborhood for years to come."

[Thanqol]

TIMELINE 1


"War, huh? Do you really think so? I was expecting more, like, shadowy intrigue and assassins in the night and junk, and probably not even that for at least a week or so while the monster-y side of the city figures out that this isn't just infighting or a one-off or whatever. Eye-dee-kay, man, if I were the type of person to stop and think about how badly everything might go, I doubt I would have met you. Or built Zero. Heck, I'd probably still be Asleep, if you know what I mean. So like..."

Lily's face breaks into another warm smile, and a few rolling chirps of laughter tumble out of her lips.

"You know? You've got a point about security, though. Ooh! Ooh! Can you assign Abby? Getting daily interactions with a hybrid would be suuuper helpful for Zero's development!"

Western opens his mouth to start discussing the processes and tactics of waging a shadow war against entrenched supernatural monsters and their connections to the Awakened world. Then he closes his mouth. "You're right on every point," he agrees. "I'll worry about the details."

He smiles like a man remembering how to smile for the first time in a long time.


[This scene may be over, so you can either initiate something new, make small talk, or just focus on Timeline 2 as it appeals to you]

TIMELINE 2


Keynes looks suitably pained at the reference to Mr. Yates, his lips turning ever so slightly downward and his hand pulling to adjust his sparkling vest to use up a bit of nervous tension. "To be quite honest, madame, he was entirely a boor. Where on earth did you find him?" Keynes asks, both to continue the conversation and out of a fair bit of actual curiosity.

"Oh don't be too hard on him - in a certain sense this party is in his honour," you wouldn't make anything of that if you didn't know about the basement. "He's some sort of contractor on that new casino they're putting up, very important, very international, he just has his vices and is under a lot of pressure. Who are we to judge?" she laughs airly. "I don't know you, however - who did you come with again?"


Keynes is thinking now about what he can do to rattle this woman. There's almost no hope of getting a good read on her as things are, the difficulty is practically insurmountable without magic he's not willing to touch within sight of Lucifer/Yates over there. Remind me, is there any concern with using Space here, or is it only Fate that's likely to be a problem? If Space is usable, Keynes is going to look for what sorts of sympathy lie on Mrs. Ainsworth. If not, well, he'll try the more old-fashioned method of asking.

Space seems fine. Fate and Spirit are the only things you've seen Yates use for sure.

What are you looking for, specifically, with 'what sort of sympathy'? There's a pretty tangential connection to Mr. Ainsworth over there, pretty tenuous connections with most people at this party really. She knows these people but has a pretty deep emotional distance from them.

I will note, though, that Mrs. Ainsworth isn't fated to die in the coming disaster. That's not at odds with Lily' assessment of her having a death wish - you can see there is a long term fate of self destruction there but she's aiming for something a bit more total than 'merely' blowing up a hundred people.




Anyway, what I want to do is put a mark on all of this so the OG caster knows we saw this and let it happen anyway, and keep close tabs on things to hopefully, if not actively become partners to the experiment, at least reap the benefits of it. And then get our varyingly sexy little butts out of here (yours too, Becca) before we wind up just as asploded as everyone else. I assume you were just talking to the spirit of this house a bit ago? Can you tell him I'm sorry for being so callous about all this? It's not that I hate him, this is a beautiful house, or it was on the outside when I could see it in comprehensible terms, thank you very much Ms. Warps Space Into Non-Euclidean Concepts All The Livelong Day, but when he's rebuilt he'll be reborn into something even better than now. Talk of the whole neighborhood for years to come."

"Euclid was a hack," said Rebecca, swinging away from the arcane glyph she was scrutinizing. She wraps her arm around Lily's shoulder and snuggles up next to her, whispering in her ear, "and Lily, baby doll, I love you and everything, but if you take away my chance to see the dead rise from their graves I am going to..." she pauses, thinks, "I will make you enjoy something that you shouldn't enjoy."

[Raz_Fox]

TIMELINE 2

"Compy? Don't take this the wrong way, but I think we should let this place blow up. This isn't what Key was talking about, some rando with a Robin Hood complex bringing low the high and rendering his judgment yadda yadda whatever. All the revolutionary stuff, probably even the location? My invisible dude over here, who I'm calling the Horseman on account of he's a very Death-aligned Supernal creature wearing the most gorgeous crown of flaming jewels you'll ever... not see? Dang it. Whatever, I'll draw you a picture later. Anyway, I can tell you with scientific certainty that the nature of the bomb is from a higher plane of existence, working through the lady who's throwing this party. Who, by the way, is crazy super dangerously suicidal, unless my eyes very much deceived me. I don't think she's the architect behind all this spellwork, because her demeanor and actions make me think she intends to go down with the ship, and this magic is... um, very forward thinking?

Like, I've been trying to figure this out since I first saw these runes, let me tell you, from a practical standpoint, it doesn't make any hecking sense to put a bunch of souls into active tools like this. It can't help you accomplish anything. And I'm a million percent sure the person responsible for this is a Moros, so they know it as well or better than I do. But, like, you know that expression, 'ghost in the machine'? What happens if you make that very nearly literal? What does it mean for a machine to have a soul, the way they're sometimes personified as having? I think answering that question is what this whole thing is about. It's an experiment, Compy. A big, ornate experiment tied up in a pretty bow metaphor for social inequality.

And... I mean, maybe it's because I just built a self aware robot and became friends with another, different Supernal being who pretty much lead me here this afternevening, but I kind of can't help but think that's a question worth answering? And I mean, seriously, if you were going to kill a bunch of people to learn about souls, you would have a difficult time picking a group the world would miss less than these jerks, unless you literally hunted down a prison bus full of child murderers or something. And I don't even know who these people upstairs killed, so I can't even say that with surety. It's like... the pieces all or mostly fit. It's flashy, but in terms of long-term repercussions for the city or the world at large it's also pretty self contained? The only thing I'm not exactly sure about is this Zombie Clause, which I'm sort of considering rewriting because it feels too much like wanting to have your cake and eat it too.

Anyway, what I want to do is put a mark on all of this so the OG caster knows we saw this and let it happen anyway, and keep close tabs on things to hopefully, if not actively become partners to the experiment, at least reap the benefits of it. And then get our varyingly sexy little butts out of here (yours too, Becca) before we wind up just as asploded as everyone else. I assume you were just talking to the spirit of this house a bit ago? Can you tell him I'm sorry for being so callous about all this? It's not that I hate him, this is a beautiful house, or it was on the outside when I could see it in comprehensible terms, thank you very much Ms. Warps Space Into Non-Euclidean Concepts All The Livelong Day, but when he's rebuilt he'll be reborn into something even better than now. Talk of the whole neighborhood for years to come."

Deep breath. In, out. Joy written across Lily's face, the same joy that she wishes she could join in. The joy of seeing the explosion consummate its potential, the fire and the roar, a shallow impression of heaven's light. Seeing the force strike each point just so, like a dancer hitting their marks, one and two and turn and push out, support beams crumbling, walls caving in, cracking and heaving and this is the aftermath, a ruined house and cadavers being carried out in ones and twos by police, ambulances, sirens, the city contracting in order to handle the abscess, possible domestic terrorism inquiry, and even if it would be so easy to discount the humanity of everyone upstairs, every vapid and crooked and nasty person upstairs- the question is simple in the end.

"No," she says, simply, looking Lily in the eye. "We're not signing the death warrants of everyone upstairs, through inaction or otherwise, especially not to experiment with their souls. We're better than that, you and me and Keynes. And I suppose you, Rebecca, you're an honorary magician tonight. Because everyone upstairs could Awaken, even if the margin is slim. Or they could cause someone else to Awaken. There is no one up there who is unsalvagable, and I'm not comfortable making the call to end them right now.

"If the Abyss had opened up on top of the grand piano upstairs and infected every single party guest with a word that cannot be understood but must be spoken, then that would be different. But I'm not seeing the world rotting and flaking apart up there, no matter how odious the guests are- I think one is a Seer, even- and we are better than that. Killing other people for personal gain is the sort of thing that the Seers of the Throne do, and I do not want any of us to sink down to their level tonight. Not for science and the expansion of human knowledge.

"We are better than that.

"So let's disarm the bomb, deactivate the runes, and- I don't know, leave a calling card. If the scientist decides he wants to collaborate on his next project. But tonight nobody dies, and we leave here without blood on our hands, and we continue to rack up a reputation for being experiment-crashers but we can handle that as it comes. So what do you say, Lily?"

Delicate, on the edge of a razor, one side human, the other side not. And how can she, Gabriella, how can she claim the moral high ground here? Maybe it's leaking out of her even now, adding to her air of wounded morality: the desperation in her voice, the knowledge that killing someone isn't something that you can shrug off. Ajax's rebuke: we don't kill, not even the Seers. The zoo: pulled back from the height of speculation by Lily, reminding her that sometimes magic isn't worth magic's sake.

Functionally, there is little she can do to stop the bomb. The runes- she could deface the runes easily, make the experiment worthless, make the deaths meaningless- but the bomb is Lily's to change or preserve, and so all Compass can do is ask.

[Anarion]

TIMELINE 1



Western opens his mouth to start discussing the processes and tactics of waging a shadow war against entrenched supernatural monsters and their connections to the Awakened world. Then he closes his mouth. "You're right on every point," he agrees. "I'll worry about the details."

He smiles like a man remembering how to smile for the first time in a long time.


[This scene may be over, so you can either initiate something new, make small talk, or just focus on Timeline 2 as it appeals to you]


While I am thinking along Space lines, can Keynes see any sympathies for Western's security forces? I'm thinking particularly of whether they appear to be connected to his lab here, or whether he has drawn his little army from elsewhere.




TIMELINE 2



"Oh don't be too hard on him - in a certain sense this party is in his honour," you wouldn't make anything of that if you didn't know about the basement. "He's some sort of contractor on that new casino they're putting up, very important, very international, he just has his vices and is under a lot of pressure. Who are we to judge?" she laughs airly. "I don't know you, however - who did you come with again?"


Keynes brushes aside the Seer for a moment. Dangerous to reference any knowledge about the bomb until everyone was finished downstairs. "I arrived with Lily, she was exceptionally kind enough to prepare my outfit as well, which I do find rather striking. She mentioned in passing that you yourself were a seamstress. Wherever did you find the time to acquire such multifaceted skills, madame?"



Space seems fine. Fate and Spirit are the only things you've seen Yates use for sure.

What are you looking for, specifically, with 'what sort of sympathy'? There's a pretty tangential connection to Mr. Ainsworth over there, pretty tenuous connections with most people at this party really. She knows these people but has a pretty deep emotional distance from them.

I will note, though, that Mrs. Ainsworth isn't fated to die in the coming disaster. That's not at odds with Lily' assessment of her having a death wish - you can see there is a long term fate of self destruction there but she's aiming for something a bit more total than 'merely' blowing up a hundred people.


I wasn't sure exactly what I was looking for, something to rattle her and throw her off her game a little. Space typically finds oldest sympathies first, so perhaps a connection that's not in this room, something like a childhood home, an old lover, a past business that Keynes ought to have no way of knowing about and that would be quite startling if he were to make some sort of reference to it. Bonus if the sympathy seems to hint at why she has her current death wish, though I won't hold my breath for being that lucky.

[Thanqol]

Keynes brushes aside the Seer for a moment. Dangerous to reference any knowledge about the bomb until everyone was finished downstairs. "I arrived with Lily, she was exceptionally kind enough to prepare my outfit as well, which I do find rather striking. She mentioned in passing that you yourself were a seamstress. Wherever did you find the time to acquire such multifaceted skills, madame?"

"Lily - oh, the gatecrasher," Mrs. Ainsworth puts on an artful expression of exasperation mixed with amusement. "I seem to have attracted an entire posse of fashion auteurs. Believe it or not, I was not always a high society debutant - I grew up in Armadale, a little mountaintop community near Canberra with a mile between houses. One finds things to occupy oneself with in a place like that."


I wasn't sure exactly what I was looking for, something to rattle her and throw her off her game a little. Space typically finds oldest sympathies first, so perhaps a connection that's not in this room, something like a childhood home, an old lover, a past business that Keynes ought to have no way of knowing about and that would be quite startling if he were to make some sort of reference to it. Bonus if the sympathy seems to hint at why she has her current death wish, though I won't hold my breath for being that lucky.

So the oldest, strongest connection is the one she just mentioned. That's useful intel because it means she's using her real identity here - it wouldn't be too much work for a rival mage to find out her true name with that connection. If she's using her real, Sleeper identity for all this then you can also bet yourself a dollar that she's incredibly emotionally involved in this whole project. Some Mages might be able to kill a bunch of people for a magical experiment or symbolic whatever, but not many would kill people they personally know. And the number who could do that while not even showing a sweat...

Like, who knows how her mindset works, but this chick is the most calm and focused person you've ever seen who wasn't using Mind magic. You'd write her up as a sociopath if Lily hadn't told you about the emotional intensity of that death wish, which doesn't fit the profile at all. Purely in terms of technical ability she'd make a fantastic Guardian of the Veil.

[PhoeKun]

"Euclid was a hack," said Rebecca, swinging away from the arcane glyph she was scrutinizing. She wraps her arm around Lily's shoulder and snuggles up next to her, whispering in her ear, "and Lily, baby doll, I love you and everything, but if you take away my chance to see the dead rise from their graves I am going to..." she pauses, thinks, "I will make you enjoy something that you shouldn't enjoy."

"...Why does it sound so hot when you say that?"


"We are better than that.

"So let's disarm the bomb, deactivate the runes, and- I don't know, leave a calling card. If the scientist decides he wants to collaborate on his next project. But tonight nobody dies, and we leave here without blood on our hands, and we continue to rack up a reputation for being experiment-crashers but we can handle that as it comes. So what do you say, Lily?"

Delicate, on the edge of a razor, one side human, the other side not. And how can she, Gabriella, how can she claim the moral high ground here? Maybe it's leaking out of her even now, adding to her air of wounded morality: the desperation in her voice, the knowledge that killing someone isn't something that you can shrug off. Ajax's rebuke: we don't kill, not even the Seers. The zoo: pulled back from the height of speculation by Lily, reminding her that sometimes magic isn't worth magic's sake.

Functionally, there is little she can do to stop the bomb. The runes- she could deface the runes easily, make the experiment worthless, make the deaths meaningless- but the bomb is Lily's to change or preserve, and so all Compass can do is ask.

The smile falters on Lily's lips. And the light in her eyes flickers and dies. She chokes on a dozen poorly formed jokes and counterarguments, and in the end is just... quiet. Un-Lilylike. Still. Even with Rebecca aggressively posturing on her shoulder, it's sad. Twitching and flitting from thing to thing, thoughts tumbling out of her mouth like an extremely social, erudite hummingbird, or slow, swaying, slightly slurring, drunkenly philosophical, these are the two Lilys that should exist. This still, shutdown version is just... wrong.

Stupid to let it sting this much. Stupid to have even asked. You knew, Lily, before you even came down here, what she wanted. And you knew that what your friends would want out of this is what would happen. And you absolutely knew that what they wanted and what you wanted were almost certainly not going to wind up in alignment. But you told yourself a long time ago that wouldn't matter. That it was how things should be: the price paid in exchange for their love and acceptance. Never should have opened the door if you couldn't stand it being slammed shut again. They're different than you are, Lily. They have jobs and responsibilities and go running too early in the day or hide themselves behind masks or dream of grand, cosmic workings on a scale nobody else could ever conceive of. They love you, but do not understand you. The only person who might have is upstairs waiting to blow you up because you couldn't hold it together for thirty effing seconds and now she hates you. So good job, game over.

A deep, rasping sigh. Shake It Off, girl. Lily shakes her head and lets the tiniest of smiles return to her lips.

"I guess you're going to have to figure out something super duper awful to make me enjoy, Becks, because not only am I going to deny you the chance to see the dead rise from their graves, I'm packing this whole stupid experiment up and taking it home with me. Compy, we'll... talk about it later, yeah?"

And without waiting, Lily shakes open her purse and pulls out some tools. It's an incredibly simple thing to disarm the bomb, so she just does that like any normal person would, though perhaps with less sweating and fretting. No, the real trick is when she starts to sing to the explosives in High Speech like some kind of melancholy Paramore cover (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojPanWIZL6c) and meticulously shrinks the entire bomb setup to be small enough to fit inside her bag and carry out of the party with her. Maybe if she just... recreated it elsewhere, changed some variables, she could find a version of the idea Compass would be okay with. And maybe if she published the results, she wouldn't have the entire city's worth of experimenting mages coming down on her head for ruining all of their plans.

((The disarm roll was 10, 2, 1, 4, 3, 4 5, with an 8 on the 10 Again for 2 successes. The Shrink/Grow Spell should be up to the task of giving me a pocket bomb, but I don't know what scale I need to cast it on to be useful so I'm not sure what kind of dice pool I'm working with. If you could give me an idea, I'll roll for it straight away))

[Anarion]

"Lily - oh, the gatecrasher," Mrs. Ainsworth puts on an artful expression of exasperation mixed with amusement. "I seem to have attracted an entire posse of fashion auteurs. Believe it or not, I was not always a high society debutant - I grew up in Armadale, a little mountaintop community near Canberra with a mile between houses. One finds things to occupy oneself with in a place like that."



So the oldest, strongest connection is the one she just mentioned. That's useful intel because it means she's using her real identity here - it wouldn't be too much work for a rival mage to find out her true name with that connection. If she's using her real, Sleeper identity for all this then you can also bet yourself a dollar that she's incredibly emotionally involved in this whole project. Some Mages might be able to kill a bunch of people for a magical experiment or symbolic whatever, but not many would kill people they personally know. And the number who could do that while not even showing a sweat...

Like, who knows how her mindset works, but this chick is the most calm and focused person you've ever seen who wasn't using Mind magic. You'd write her up as a sociopath if Lily hadn't told you about the emotional intensity of that death wish, which doesn't fit the profile at all. Purely in terms of technical ability she'd make a fantastic Guardian of the Veil.

"Gatecrasher. Well...I..." Keynes had perhaps been considering going with well, I never in some quantity of mock and real insult that would have turned his dark mustache down in a rather comical frown. But instead, his lips twitched up almost involuntarily as he imagined Lily downright enjoying the title. In fact, if she ever had the opportunity to crash an actual gate, Keynes was quite sure that she'd do it. "...I admit you have us dead to rights, but I think, madame, that it is entirely your own fault for throwing such an exceptional party." Keynes pauses, hopes for a chuckle, moves on. "Given your already considerable talents, perhaps I make a request in vain, but would you be at all interested in some, shall we say, clandestine work? I am in contact with some individuals who would be overjoyed to receive your assistance in any form you'd care to provide it."

[Thanqol]

"...Why does it sound so hot when you say that?"

"Because maybe I've done this to you before?"


The smile falters on Lily's lips. And the light in her eyes flickers and dies. She chokes on a dozen poorly formed jokes and counterarguments, and in the end is just... quiet. Un-Lilylike. Still. Even with Rebecca aggressively posturing on her shoulder, it's sad. Twitching and flitting from thing to thing, thoughts tumbling out of her mouth like an extremely social, erudite hummingbird, or slow, swaying, slightly slurring, drunkenly philosophical, these are the two Lilys that should exist. This still, shutdown version is just... wrong.

Stupid to let it sting this much. Stupid to have even asked. You knew, Lily, before you even came down here, what she wanted. And you knew that what your friends would want out of this is what would happen. And you absolutely knew that what they wanted and what you wanted were almost certainly not going to wind up in alignment. But you told yourself a long time ago that wouldn't matter. That it was how things should be: the price paid in exchange for their love and acceptance. Never should have opened the door if you couldn't stand it being slammed shut again. They're different than you are, Lily. They have jobs and responsibilities and go running too early in the day or hide themselves behind masks or dream of grand, cosmic workings on a scale nobody else could ever conceive of. They love you, but do not understand you. The only person who might have is upstairs waiting to blow you up because you couldn't hold it together for thirty effing seconds and now she hates you. So good job, game over.

A deep, rasping sigh. Shake It Off, girl. Lily shakes her head and lets the tiniest of smiles return to her lips.

"I guess you're going to have to figure out something super duper awful to make me enjoy, Becks, because not only am I going to deny you the chance to see the dead rise from their graves, I'm packing this whole stupid experiment up and taking it home with me. Compy, we'll... talk about it later, yeah?"

And without waiting, Lily shakes open her purse and pulls out some tools. It's an incredibly simple thing to disarm the bomb, so she just does that like any normal person would, though perhaps with less sweating and fretting. No, the real trick is when she starts to sing to the explosives in High Speech like some kind of melancholy Paramore cover (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojPanWIZL6c) and meticulously shrinks the entire bomb setup to be small enough to fit inside her bag and carry out of the party with her. Maybe if she just... recreated it elsewhere, changed some variables, she could find a version of the idea Compass would be okay with. And maybe if she published the results, she wouldn't have the entire city's worth of experimenting mages coming down on her head for ruining all of their plans.

((The disarm roll was 10, 2, 1, 4, 3, 4 5, with an 8 on the 10 Again for 2 successes. The Shrink/Grow Spell should be up to the task of giving me a pocket bomb, but I don't know what scale I need to cast it on to be useful so I'm not sure what kind of dice pool I'm working with. If you could give me an idea, I'll roll for it straight away))

[You essentially need to cover a large room, so either -4 at standard scale or reach for advanced scale at no penalty]

"Hold up," said the almost-Mastigos, eyes alight with focus. Dangerous. She's found something she wants.

Space shifts like a serpent. It coils and bubbles, to ordinary senses appearing like free-floating funhouse mirrors. A huge symbol of Mind-Ruling appears in the room. It's being directed with the most focus you've seen from Rebecca, Compass, and it's a dangerous thing. She's able to almost-comprehend the symbols she's creating with the aid of your spell keeping her a Sleepwalker, and more, this kind of destructive impulse is in line with the Mystery Play she is acting out. There's power here.

She wants two things, both contained in a single spell. One, for Lily to forget Compass' rebuke, two, for Compass to decide that this is actually a fantastic idea and encourage Lily to go ahead with the plan.

And here's the catch: She wants this enough to re-cast this spell every round. Your previous counterspells have been simple because they were breaking apart momentary whims, as soon as the spell was broken it'd fade back into nothingness. This is a sustained, dedicated effort. Every round you try and counter this you'll need to roll the dice, and you'll need to keep rolling until she decides to stop doing it. Additionally, countering a spell is an instant action so it takes a fair bit of focus, you'll have only limited capacity to do other things. Conversation, small actions, that kind of thing. Lily of course will have a free hand.

The one upside is that Rebecca is not great at this - she has effective Mind 2 and effective Gnosis 0 - which results in 0 successes on the first Clash of Wills roll.


"Gatecrasher. Well...I..." Keynes had perhaps been considering going with well, I never in some quantity of mock and real insult that would have turned his dark mustache down in a rather comical frown. But instead, his lips twitched up almost involuntarily as he imagined Lily downright enjoying the title. In fact, if she ever had the opportunity to crash an actual gate, Keynes was quite sure that she'd do it. "...I admit you have us dead to rights, but I think, madame, that it is entirely your own fault for throwing such an exceptional party." Keynes pauses, hopes for a chuckle, moves on. "Given your already considerable talents, perhaps I make a request in vain, but would you be at all interested in some, shall we say, clandestine work? I am in contact with some individuals who would be overjoyed to receive your assistance in any form you'd care to provide it."

That... actually does get a reaction. You see a flash of interest behind Mrs. Ainsworth's eyes - and she masks it well and reflexively but you can tell instantly that the conversation has taken on a very different tone. You have her attention now.

"Clandestine work? Are you suggesting something vulgar, sir?" she says. "Because I am not sure what talents you refer to."

[Raz_Fox]

TIMELINE II

Compass watches as Lily begins her working, and holds one hand inside the other, fine gloves rubbing delicate between her skin. Guilt, again, but tempered with the knowledge that- well, she's the one who has to make the call. To try to save everyone upstairs, sinners or no. To restrain the beautiful destruction that would erupt and desecrate the tools placed carefully down here.

Sometimes, being a friend means being willing to call out your friends when they're dangerously close to the edge.

Before something leaks in over the edge.


"Hold up," said the almost-Mastigos, eyes alight with focus. Dangerous. She's found something she wants.

Space shifts like a serpent. It coils and bubbles, to ordinary senses appearing like free-floating funhouse mirrors. A huge symbol of Mind-Ruling appears in the room. It's being directed with the most focus you've seen from Rebecca, Compass, and it's a dangerous thing. She's able to almost-comprehend the symbols she's creating with the aid of your spell keeping her a Sleepwalker, and more, this kind of destructive impulse is in line with the Mystery Play she is acting out. There's power here.

She wants two things, both contained in a single spell. One, for Lily to forget Compass' rebuke, two, for Compass to decide that this is actually a fantastic idea and encourage Lily to go ahead with the plan.

And here's the catch: She wants this enough to re-cast this spell every round. Your previous counterspells have been simple because they were breaking apart momentary whims, as soon as the spell was broken it'd fade back into nothingness. This is a sustained, dedicated effort. Every round you try and counter this you'll need to roll the dice, and you'll need to keep rolling until she decides to stop doing it. Additionally, countering a spell is an instant action so it takes a fair bit of focus, you'll have only limited capacity to do other things. Conversation, small actions, that kind of thing. Lily of course will have a free hand.

The one upside is that Rebecca is not great at this - she has effective Mind 2 and effective Gnosis 0 - which results in 0 successes on the first Clash of Wills roll.

[9, 7, 4, 2 - 1 Success]

Compass's eyes snap back onto Rebecca, heart beginning to pump fire through her, an immediate word on her lips which means forbiddance/starvation in the first language of existence, the tongues of heaven that sing between the spheres. It echoes in that space, sudden and heavy and deep, and her shaped will cracks open the symbol with silver fire.

"Rebecca Beasley, stand down. By the code of the Lex Magica and the authority of the Silver Ladder, I order you to-"

[Anarion]

That... actually does get a reaction. You see a flash of interest behind Mrs. Ainsworth's eyes - and she masks it well and reflexively but you can tell instantly that the conversation has taken on a very different tone. You have her attention now.

"Clandestine work? Are you suggesting something vulgar, sir?" she says. "Because I am not sure what talents you refer to."

Downstairs, wills are clashing, but upstairs Keynes is busy recruiting, in his own particular way. "Vulgar? Perish the thought! No, no, indeed vulgar is quite the opposite of how you have struck me, Madame Ainsworth. I would say rather, that you appear to me to be multifaceted in your skills with an exceptional composure and decorum. Such poise can, if one desires, be uniquely suited to the work of gathering information from the men and women of society. Further, I am able, from time to time, to represent some individuals who have an interest in gathering information. You will appreciate, as a matter of discretion, that I cannot disclose any identities, of course, but if you have an interest, I would be happy to arrange for you to receive further information. At a place of your choosing, I hasten to add. I should never imagine as to be so unseemly as to suggest you bring yourself alone to an unfamiliar location."

[Thanqol]

[9, 7, 4, 2 - 1 Success]

Compass's eyes snap back onto Rebecca, heart beginning to pump fire through her, an immediate word on her lips which means forbiddance/starvation in the first language of existence, the tongues of heaven that sing between the spheres. It echoes in that space, sudden and heavy and deep, and her shaped will cracks open the symbol with silver fire.

"Rebecca Beasley, stand down. By the code of the Lex Magica and the authority of the Silver Ladder, I order you to-"

"The Lex does not apply in this case," said Rebecca sharply, producing a cigarette smoothly from her pocket and lighting it. She's as languid as you are intense - the magic does not cost her effort, all she has to do is know what she wants and let it crash against you like the tides.

As to how she knows about the Lex Magica - well, she's still an occult super-genius right now.

"As I am not Awakened, technically you as the ranking Thearch on the scene are responsible for me," said Rebecca, taking a deep breath of smoke and smiling like the serpent. "You see, I don't really comprehend what I'm doing, poor little me, and I can't possibly be held responsible for my actions." Her psychic grip doesn't intensify, that's not her style, but it does shift. What she does is plug random parts of your brain into random other parts of your brain, bringing to the surface strange memories and distracting fantasies, scrambling the borders of what's real and who you are, blurring the reasons for your objection.

She steps close, puts a hand to your cheek. "And do you know how sweet it is not being in control of your actions? Wouldn't you like to try, just for a little while? Don't think of it as surrender... think of it as a way to make all your contradictory desires line up."

[Clash of wills: 3, 1 - no successes]


Downstairs, wills are clashing, but upstairs Keynes is busy recruiting, in his own particular way. "Vulgar? Perish the thought! No, no, indeed vulgar is quite the opposite of how you have struck me, Madame Ainsworth. I would say rather, that you appear to me to be multifaceted in your skills with an exceptional composure and decorum. Such poise can, if one desires, be uniquely suited to the work of gathering information from the men and women of society. Further, I am able, from time to time, to represent some individuals who have an interest in gathering information. You will appreciate, as a matter of discretion, that I cannot disclose any identities, of course, but if you have an interest, I would be happy to arrange for you to receive further information. At a place of your choosing, I hasten to add. I should never imagine as to be so unseemly as to suggest you bring yourself alone to an unfamiliar location."

"Ah, society," said Mrs. Ainsworth, theatrically seeming to take a drink - her lips don't quite touch the wine though. "And its secrets. That's what you're interested in? I've found those secrets to be very disappointing. Sex. Murder. Money. All on a sliding scale of inappropriateness. Around and around in circles. What a dull game, society, I can't imagine why anyone bothers with it."

She casts her scarf around her shoulders, visibly communicating how much she enjoys the feeling of it. "So what could you possibly offer me for society's secrets of sex, murder and money? What else but more sex, murder and money?"

[Raz_Fox]

TIMELINE II

[3, 2, 6, 2 - 0 Successes. Tie re-roll: 1, 4, 5, 7 - 0 successes.]

"Damn," Compass says, her will beginning to splinter and fray against the unconscious power that Rebecca is pushing out of herself in waves. "Should have known the Lex bluff wouldn't have worked. What am I saying? You're Mercury, you already know, and you already know what I mean by that. And you know what this means to me, and-"

And what else is there to say in the second before the next pulse? That Compass is very bad at lying, because she saw the Truth burning brilliant and bright? That she's sorry to everyone upstairs? A sermon, a prayer, a vindictive curse? All of that, already compartmentalized and there for Rebecca to see, like labeled filing cabinets. The steel girders of faith building up to a skyscraper core, a mind that is always London rain lashing against the windows, the woman with her hand in the lion's jaw and don't you know you're supposed to hold the mouth shut, not open?

Try that on a crocodile and it'll bite your hands clean off.

[Thanqol]

"It's better this way," said Rebecca, said the Devil, as from her hand drips two chains, one of which ends around your neck. The chain is weak and fragile but there is no point trying to break it. Your card is no longer in ascendance; the lion is a crocodile and downwards momentum is everything.

"Think about it," she said. "You wanted multiple different things. Now you don't. You had a thought that divided you from your friend. Now you don't. And I know that you have some intellectual objection to that, that you put a premium on the value of your own thoughts, that you define yourself by the decisions you make. But that's just another thought. That's just an unhappy, isolated, ugly thought that doesn't know how to share. That thought was the only thing separating you from me from her. Now it's not. Now you're happy."

[With a willpower spend: 8,9,9,10,6, - 10 again 9. 5 successes.]

But as she speaks there is a look of vague concern, something in what she's saying that doesn't quite add up with what she's seeing. Even as her will crushes Compass' Rebecca doesn't look triumphant. The Devil never looks triumphant. The devil frowns.

"Lily," she says, absently, commandingly - but without a spell behind her words. "Tell me about souls. How do they work, what are the rules?"

[Anarion]

"Ah, society," said Mrs. Ainsworth, theatrically seeming to take a drink - her lips don't quite touch the wine though. "And its secrets. That's what you're interested in? I've found those secrets to be very disappointing. Sex. Murder. Money. All on a sliding scale of inappropriateness. Around and around in circles. What a dull game, society, I can't imagine why anyone bothers with it."

She casts her scarf around her shoulders, visibly communicating how much she enjoys the feeling of it. "So what could you possibly offer me for society's secrets of sex, murder and money? What else but more sex, murder and money?"

"Ah, society indeed." Keynes picks up a glass of wine and holds it up. For Queen and Country the glass silently says as it hangs there, but seized by the inspiration, Keynes doesn't drink but gestures forwards with it instead. "Madame, what I find motivates me to get out of bed in the morning is the belief that I am protecting others. You may, of course, tell me that I am deluded, but the course in life that I have set appears to me best suited to that purpose, given my own poor limitations in making such a determination." The glass gestures away from Keynes and invitingly to her, the liquid tipping ever so slightly to bead on the rim as it faces her. "If you share my interest for such a purpose, I believe I can extend it to you. If you wish to seek discovery of the unknown and find your own purpose, that too I can offer." The glass lowers, and Keynes sets it down, deciding not to drink after all as he contemplates his last thought. "Or perhaps you are telling me that you are a nihilist and you see nothing in life truly worthy of your pursuit before you reach your own ultimate destruction as we all must."

[PhoeKun]

"Lily," she says, absently, commandingly - but without a spell behind her words. "Tell me about souls. How do they work, what are the rules?"

It's a question, not a command. Well, not a magical one, anyway. The thought rolls around in her head for a bit, and finds purchase when she realizes how vehemently she wants to say no, shut up, don't you see how difficult this already is? She doesn't look at Compass, because she can't. Because she knows what she'll see, and knows that it would mean an act of war. But she can say no. It's elemental, the desire to make a rude gesture at her friend who isn't her best friend, and force her to figure out what she wants without any help.

But, says a gentler voice, if she were the type of person to deny help like this, would she really be Lily? And then, the question to be asked: was there no spell behind this because Rebecca knew who she was talking to, or was she still a prisoner of her own brain? Once again, a deep breath through the nose. In. Out.

Lily sits herself down on the ground, weight on her left thigh and her legs tucked together and bent slightly at the knees so that in her dress she resembles a mermaid, resplendent in rest. She pats the spot next to her and gestures for Rebecca to join her.

"You never make anything easy, do you? Couldn't just let me do my job and then take it out on me later, huh? I wouldn't even have been mad. Well... oh well. Let me know when you figure out which one of your demons makes you a possessive jerk, in the meantime, I'll tell you about souls. First thing's first, a soul is not a person, and a person is not a soul. A soul without a person is a bundle of raw, unshaped desire, just sitting there in whatever container you stuff it into. And a person without a soul is a horrible, awful husk. Just an empty shell that sort of shuffles around and eats and drinks because it vaguely remembers that somebody told it to. And frankly if somebody told it to stop, it would.

It's only when joined together, the soul and the person, that either means anything. The soul, filling up the shape of you and becoming uniquely you: the things that drive you, what you want, what you love, what you hate, what makes you get up in the morning even when it's stupid early and you really, really don't want to. And you, learning and developing and changing the shape of your container until the thing you'd call your soul is a product so distinctly you that even if it left you, the echoed memory of it being there would keep you together for at least a little while. If I don't finish what I'm doing here... that is, if you don't let me, what's going to happen is that 100 plus people are going to die, and whatever new people their souls might have become will disappear from the world until the person holding them in those tools over there is satisfied or gets bored or burns them like gasoline to fuel some other spell, which for the record is so crazy illegal that even I know better. And regardless, the shape of that person who made this ritual, and probably mine and yours at this point too, would remember the decision to trigger the bomb. Forever. Or at least near enough your conception of forever to not make a difference."

Lily shrugs a little, and looks up at the ceiling for a moment as if holding eye contact is too embarrassing.

"I dunno, Becca. I don't understand why you'd even want to see this. I know, it's magic, woohoo~ but, like... what do you think is going to happen? I mean, the setup of these explosives is so precise and filled with meaning that the explosion alone is worth a lot of valuable information to the right sort of person, but it's less than nothing for me to just steal the bomb and repurpose it in a place that isn't going to turn anybody who pulls the trigger into a mass murderer. I mean, correct me if I'm wrong here, but wasn't the Gunpowder Plot specifically about blowing up Parliament, and not... y'know, killing the members? Or was that just the movie? I don't remember. But, like, the heck does a soul mean to you? Do you not get it? You're not going to Awaken just because you saw one, you wouldn't even know what you were looking at. And, like, even if I popped upstairs, stole the soul of an honest-to-goodness wizard, and stuffed it inside of you, all that'd accomplish is taking an already Awakened soul and forcing it back asleep.

I don't get it. I don't. Do you just not value my friendship? Am I such trash to you that you'd futz around with my best friend's head and kill a bunch of people just to see a magic show? For crying out loud, Beckers, has it ever occurred to you to just, like, ask? Tell me there's more than that. Or heck, tell me there's less. Tell me you weren't thinking and your eyes got bigger than your brain for a minute, I'll shrug that off straight away but please dear gosh tell me there's something other than what I'm seeing right now..."

[Thanqol]

"Ah, society indeed." Keynes picks up a glass of wine and holds it up. For Queen and Country the glass silently says as it hangs there, but seized by the inspiration, Keynes doesn't drink but gestures forwards with it instead. "Madame, what I find motivates me to get out of bed in the morning is the belief that I am protecting others. You may, of course, tell me that I am deluded, but the course in life that I have set appears to me best suited to that purpose, given my own poor limitations in making such a determination." The glass gestures away from Keynes and invitingly to her, the liquid tipping ever so slightly to bead on the rim as it faces her. "If you share my interest for such a purpose, I believe I can extend it to you. If you wish to seek discovery of the unknown and find your own purpose, that too I can offer." The glass lowers, and Keynes sets it down, deciding not to drink after all as he contemplates his last thought. "Or perhaps you are telling me that you are a nihilist and you see nothing in life truly worthy of your pursuit before you reach your own ultimate destruction as we all must."

"No one becomes a nihilist by choice," said Mrs. Ainsworth. "The onus is on the world to be interesting and I don't think the world is doing a very good job. You find purpose in protecting people - have you ever really paid attention to people? What do people do all day that's worthwhile? Frankly, I find myself in a state where I'm increasingly willing to give up on people as a concept." She smiled a little to herself. "And I find that concept to be really quite interesting. Do you object?"


I don't get it. I don't. Do you just not value my friendship? Am I such trash to you that you'd futz around with my best friend's head and kill a bunch of people just to see a magic show? For crying out loud, Beckers, has it ever occurred to you to just, like, ask? Tell me there's more than that. Or heck, tell me there's less. Tell me you weren't thinking and your eyes got bigger than your brain for a minute, I'll shrug that off straight away but please dear gosh tell me there's something other than what I'm seeing right now..."

"Of course I value you - how can you not know that?" said Rebecca. "And that's the point - that's the problem. Can't you see it? Look at it, look at this," she waves her hands at a blank patch of air. "The connection. It's literally there. It's like a big long silver chain linking you to me, and I'm covered in these chains, and they're so heavy. There's chains tying me to people, to places, to abstract goddamn concepts like morality that I can see physically floating in mid-air - how do you not see it? You've been through the same goddamn thing! And there are so many of these damn connections it feels like I can hardly move. Of course I want to let the chains pull me along into the right decision, the decision that doesn't kill anyone, the decision that doesn't lose my friends - of course I want that, I can see my wants made manifest in front of me."

She rubbed her temples as though fighting back an enormous headache.

"But I can change my wants. It's so easy it doesn't make sense. The chains aren't locked and if I put my mind to it I could just take them off. I could just decide to stop wanting to be a good person, decide that entire category of desire doesn't apply to me - and then, I have no idea. And I don't think you're right when you say a soul is unshaped, raw desire. If the me underneath all those chains is actually a soul like I think it is I think it wants something specific - to do something specific. And it's being held back by who I am. So... do I... which is me? Am I the collection of chains? All the compromises and connections that everyone else sees? Or am I that thing underneath that just wants to throw away everything and focus on what it really wants?"

[Anarion]

"No one becomes a nihilist by choice," said Mrs. Ainsworth. "The onus is on the world to be interesting and I don't think the world is doing a very good job. You find purpose in protecting people - have you ever really paid attention to people? What do people do all day that's worthwhile? Frankly, I find myself in a state where I'm increasingly willing to give up on people as a concept." She smiled a little to herself. "And I find that concept to be really quite interesting. Do you object?"


Hmm, the battlefield gull occurred to Keynes, as far as his old Guardian training. He was still trying to find the profile that fit her and Mrs. Ainsworth seemed exceptionally chameleonic. Still, it could be that she simply sought to destroy her own surroundings as her only source of interest, he had no reason so far not to simply follow her at her word.

"You put me in mind of a quote from an old American movie. 'A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals.' I don't find purpose in people because when I pay attention to people I find them worthy" Keynes lets out a chuckle of wry amusement. "Quite the opposite actually, I tend to find for the vast majority of people that protecting them means keeping them away from dangerous things. But by Jove, I find value in that for both the people and the things. You, it seems, find the concept of giving up on people valuable? Abstractly, I would encourage you to pursue it because there may be something great to come of that passion. And I would suggest you consider my offer in pursuing that cause, purely as a matter of self-interest for you. While being a means to an end is not my reason for service, I'm certain the people with whom I work could find opportunities to explore your, shall we say, loss of faith in quite tangible ways that might not otherwise be available."

[PhoeKun]

"Of course I value you - how can you not know that?" said Rebecca. "And that's the point - that's the problem. Can't you see it? Look at it, look at this," she waves her hands at a blank patch of air. "The connection. It's literally there. It's like a big long silver chain linking you to me, and I'm covered in these chains, and they're so heavy. There's chains tying me to people, to places, to abstract goddamn concepts like morality that I can see physically floating in mid-air - how do you not see it? You've been through the same goddamn thing! And there are so many of these damn connections it feels like I can hardly move. Of course I want to let the chains pull me along into the right decision, the decision that doesn't kill anyone, the decision that doesn't lose my friends - of course I want that, I can see my wants made manifest in front of me."

She rubbed her temples as though fighting back an enormous headache.

"But I can change my wants. It's so easy it doesn't make sense. The chains aren't locked and if I put my mind to it I could just take them off. I could just decide to stop wanting to be a good person, decide that entire category of desire doesn't apply to me - and then, I have no idea. And I don't think you're right when you say a soul is unshaped, raw desire. If the me underneath all those chains is actually a soul like I think it is I think it wants something specific - to do something specific. And it's being held back by who I am. So... do I... which is me? Am I the collection of chains? All the compromises and connections that everyone else sees? Or am I that thing underneath that just wants to throw away everything and focus on what it really wants?"

"Wow girl, you never give me the easy stuff, huh? Well, I'm sorry, I haven't been through the same thing. My thing had ghosts and depression and the entire world bleeding out into grayscale, and it ended with me setting my apartment on fire. And I guess if you want to take a lesson from that, it probably takes something pretty big and flashy to break through."

Lily tosses her head back and stares up toward the ceiling, or at least what she can see of it. Her lips are taught, trying to smile and light her face up but caught up in the tension of the things she's about to have to say.

"I'm sorry, Becca. I really am. I didn't even realize I was being a bad friend. I..." a pause, a deep, puffy sigh, "Look, okay? Magic is perception. It's a new way to see the world. And so for the different paths and arcana, two different mages can see the world and perceive entirely different things, different problems, different solutions. I don't mean they've gotta be enemies or anything, look at Compy and me, but like... okay, nerd example: stand two people in front of the same sunset over the same lake from the same height at the same time, and those people won't see the same lakey sunsetty goodness. That's because neither one of them actually sees the lake or the sunset, they see photons bouncing off of all that stuff, which their eyes then read upside down and their brains have to process and recreate before it actually clicks that they've seen anything. So, like, not only are the two people quite literally seeing different objects despite staring at the same one, but in the end it also comes down to cognition.

And magic's like that times a thousand, and god listen to me nerd out instead of talking to you like I know I'm supposed to because, Becca, I am so scared. What I'm trying to say is, I knew from the moment I saw you that you would see things differently from how I did, but I never seriously stopped to think about what that meant. Like, what you'd see, what it would mean to you, how it'd change your responses to stuff and... yeah, I'm just super duper selfish I guess. 'Cause I got to be your friend and on some level that started mattering more to me than if you were happy. There wasn't even a second where I considered that Rebecca the Mage, which... yeah, between the transmutation and the shadow name I don't see how you could be the s-- I just... yeah. Never let myself think that at the end of things, you wouldn't like me anymore. That maybe you're not supposed to."

Lily lowers her head and looks her friend straight in the eye, though hers are shimmering a bit. Her lips twitch, and she laughs weakly.

"I have no idea what's buried in the depths of your heart, Becca. I don't know if you'll like who you are underneath all of your chains," she says as she reaches out and clutches at the air where hers is supposed to be, "But I do know this for certain: if you never try, you'll never know. And if you never know, you're always going to be... like this. Stuck halfway in between two worlds and not belonging to or seeing either one. And I hate that so much. So, I... yeah. You do you. Literally. Endings are new Beginnings, yeah? So even if you, y'know, hate me at the end of things, you've gotta find out who your Heart is."

[Thanqol]

She thinks about it.

She looks you in the eye.

"**** that," she says. "I don't know me, but I do know you - and I know which one I'll choose."

And she deletes the devil.

She reaches into her own chaotic, turbulent soul, those impossible unexpressed desires, and erases them. She wipes her own soul clean. She undoes herself, Scourges herself, cuts out that indivisible core of herself that contains everything that she is. All she leaves are the chains.

She becomes the chains. She is the chains. In that moment there is nothing but the chains - nothing but the lines - nothing but the connections. A void, tied to everything. Connection itself.

In that moment you witness an Awakening. Through blurred and distant lenses, missing everything of true importance, but all the same you witness it. Sages say that an Awakening is the single most powerful magical act a Mage will ever perform in their lifetime and it feels that way as all the power and madness and logic of the Verge folds into that void-silhouette. A cosmos of chains, a forest of chains, bindings and locks and fortresses pack themselves into that silhouette of a person. It's terrifying, spectacular - awesome in the original sense of the word.

And then the machinery of the cosmos moves.

A great engine of Awakened spellwork reaches out. Mastery of Death. Mastery of Space. Mastery of Fate. Mastery of Spirit. Four great pillars from four great pylons burning clear and bright from the Sydney Harbour Bridge, unmistakable. Prepared ritual magic, artifacts of incredible power, a grand working worthy of a cabal of mages and a hundred years - it strikes out, it severs the soul of the newly Awakened Rebecca and it steals her away.

This is it; the true form of the boot that rests upon the back of Sydney and prevents each new Awakening as it occurs. This is the working and the method - at the moment of apotheosis this mighty soul engine snatches the petitioner's soul and seals it in one of the great pylons that surround the harbour bridge. In this moment you see it, the full extent of it, the true character of the working. But it is vast and it is only active for a second before light returns and the world resumes.

There is only enough time to get a single glimpse at the soul engine, and as a result, only time for each of you to ask a single question about it's operation or origins. But you may ask and will receive an honest answer for in acting it makes itself vulnerable.

Rebecca, Awakened, becomes manifest in a blurring network of chains and silhouettes - her nimbus reflects her as an endless void bound in silver. She is a Mage now, exulting in her sudden supernal energies, in a moment where all the world finally makes sense - and she's still running on the energies of her now departed soul. Unassisted she will follow the path to thralldom: Hyperactivity, depression, despair, emptiness. She is unaware of this.


Keynes, Mrs. Ainsworth is contemplating your words when the Engine moves - she sees it too, she reacts, and in this moment of emotion you have a chance to read her with wits+empathy at a mere -3. For free: The Seer, Lucifer, starts and storms to his feet. His emotions are plain: He is shocked to the core, he has no idea what he just saw, this was not his working nor any that he knew of. Mrs. Ainsworth rushes towards the basement - possible now that the regular laws of Space are once again in play - and Lucifer produces a cell phone and walks towards the front door. What do you do?

[Anarion]

Keynes, Mrs. Ainsworth is contemplating your words when the Engine moves - she sees it too, she reacts, and in this moment of emotion you have a chance to read her with wits+empathy at a mere -3. For free: The Seer, Lucifer, starts and storms to his feet. His emotions are plain: He is shocked to the core, he has no idea what he just saw, this was not his working nor any that he knew of. Mrs. Ainsworth rushes towards the basement - possible now that the regular laws of Space are once again in play - and Lucifer produces a cell phone and walks towards the front door. What do you do?

I'm reserving my question for the moment, I still can't decide what insight I want from this.

But let's deal with the immediate problems. [Wits+Empathy-3=4d10: 4, 5, 4, 8. Success.]

Keynes also rushes off towards the basement. He'll let the Seer go, there's not much for him to do and chasing the man would be quite dangerous. He'll try to take in the scene when he gets there, and perhaps stop Mrs. Ainsworth from doing anything untoward.

[Raz_Fox]

So. Compass in cream and platinum, eyeing the bomb, waiting patiently for Rebecca and Lily to finish their conversation so that she can rectify the error she has made, that she may encourage Lily in turn to follow her heart and set off the explosion so that they may witness the holy scourge of the wicked, the fire that consumes, the weft and weave of action creating destruction, and suddenly (so sudden that she could not prepare herself, could not fortify herself, could not be aware of what exactly and precisely to watch for) there is an Awakening.

So then let us not sleep, as others do; but let us Awaken and be sober.

She opens her eyes and opens her eyes again, and lets the chains that encircle the void sear themselves into her sight. Their tongues are tongues of fire and their connections are the roads that have been written into the world since its beginning. Safety, bondage, vouchsafing, imprisoning, cohering, security and all things coming together to a point. Who can look upon this and not see it as holy? Lord God Almighty!

The bridge roars to life, across the bay, pillars of fire by night. This, too, shining in her soul, the intertwining roar of the pillars as they tear the immortal soul itself from Rebecca, even as the magic and the will stay within her, and all Compass may ask is this, a bitter rage on her tongue:

Who dares judge the children of God unworthy of His touch?

[Anarion]

Keynes is versed in Space and Time. He knows that distance is an illusion, that causality is an illusion. And yet this thing seems limited in both space and time: catching an awakening here, yet not his own, yet not those elsewhere, not his mentor in the desert, or all the mages who reside in the city and may have called this place their home, not the old men in their council. And in the instant that awakening was stolen away by this grand and horrible working, the question that occurs to him is this: how broad, how wide, how deep? How does this edifice stretch through reality and what are limits?

[Thanqol]

But let's deal with the immediate problems. [Wits+Empathy-3=4d10: 4, 5, 4, 8. Success.]

Keynes also rushes off towards the basement. He'll let the Seer go, there's not much for him to do and chasing the man would be quite dangerous. He'll try to take in the scene when he gets there, and perhaps stop Mrs. Ainsworth from doing anything untoward.

Obsession. Mrs. Ainsworth is fixated on this topic, the mystery of Awakening and the Awakening engine of Sydney. The reason for her experiment in the basement, you'd guess, had something to do with it given how swift that connection was in her mind. The rest of the world seems to her pale and grey, she does not know how to care about it with her mind increasingly fixated, and so she was beginning to circle the paths of despair and madness. This is not a Mage who has lost their mind and joined the ranks of the Mad - yet. But in the totality of her focus you see the danger of another Damien Thule. Handle carefully.


Keynes is versed in Space and Time. He knows that distance is an illusion, that causality is an illusion. And yet this thing seems limited in both space and time: catching an awakening here, yet not his own, yet not those elsewhere, not his mentor in the desert, or all the mages who reside in the city and may have called this place their home, not the old men in their council. And in the instant that awakening was stolen away by this grand and horrible working, the question that occurs to him is this: how broad, how wide, how deep? How does this edifice stretch through reality and what are limits?

It stretches through and beyond reality, sourced from nine worlds and leading to nine. A bridge of rainbows burned and sealed black against the earth, scorched in the sunlight. It wraps around the nine worlds of Australia - Canberra, Darwin, Melbourne, Adelaide, Hobart, Perth, Brisbane, Sydney and Alice Springs. Nine worlds, nine Arcana, governed by the one great network of magic itself. The trail of this working crosses the country like serpents, but only here, in the ninth world, does it stand in judgement of souls. Only here, under the shadow of the pylons, does it act in this way.


So. Compass in cream and platinum, eyeing the bomb, waiting patiently for Rebecca and Lily to finish their conversation so that she can rectify the error she has made, that she may encourage Lily in turn to follow her heart and set off the explosion so that they may witness the holy scourge of the wicked, the fire that consumes, the weft and weave of action creating destruction, and suddenly (so sudden that she could not prepare herself, could not fortify herself, could not be aware of what exactly and precisely to watch for) there is an Awakening.

So then let us not sleep, as others do; but let us Awaken and be sober.

She opens her eyes and opens her eyes again, and lets the chains that encircle the void sear themselves into her sight. Their tongues are tongues of fire and their connections are the roads that have been written into the world since its beginning. Safety, bondage, vouchsafing, imprisoning, cohering, security and all things coming together to a point. Who can look upon this and not see it as holy? Lord God Almighty!

The bridge roars to life, across the bay, pillars of fire by night. This, too, shining in her soul, the intertwining roar of the pillars as they tear the immortal soul itself from Rebecca, even as the magic and the will stay within her, and all Compass may ask is this, a bitter rage on her tongue:

Who dares judge the children of God unworthy of His touch?

One soul, broken and perfect. A council of many because that is the language of power. A collection of nobodies because that is the vocabulary of depression. Four great eyes, each with four hands, like the four great pylons on the bridge, each eye turned to one cardinal direction as is with each hand. Wisdom that can swallow the world. A prisoner of invisible lines and rules carved in intentions - because intentions are as reality. Sixteen. Meaningful; powerful; a path of endless labour (https://youtu.be/RRh0QiXyZSk). Sixty one. Indivisible; chemically unstable; the endless rolling highway (https://youtu.be/yclRjptWlW8).

A soul great and shattered has done this - one whole and inverted and two different shades of many. This is who has dared this.

[PhoeKun]

Sharp breath. Blinking, watery eyes. Not now. Not now, Lily. Feel later.

"...Oh."

A ringing echo in her head. Why? Why would this happen? Why would it happen now? Why didn't it happen to me? Or to Compass or...? Just... why?

[Thanqol]

Sharp breath. Blinking, watery eyes. Not now. Not now, Lily. Feel later.

"...Oh."

A ringing echo in her head. Why? Why would this happen? Why would it happen now? Why didn't it happen to me? Or to Compass or...? Just... why?

To keep you safe. To keep you pure. To disrupt the elaborate network of influence and culture that would otherwise take root and grow and strangle every new idea. The old world wants to infect Australia, this new land, this holy land, this land where we can at last be free to start again bearing none of its history and none of its mistakes and none of its wars.

Only through this disruption can the Orders be kept at bay, even a little. All the world is screaming with beliefs and opinions and convictions. They will come as soon as they see something of value, like locusts. So there can be nothing for them here.

It's the only way to create quiet. It's the only way to create peace. It's the only way to create a sanctuary where one can sit and listen to what the world is trying to say.

This would disturb your meditation.

[Anarion]

Obsession. Mrs. Ainsworth is fixated on this topic, the mystery of Awakening and the Awakening engine of Sydney. The reason for her experiment in the basement, you'd guess, had something to do with it given how swift that connection was in her mind. The rest of the world seems to her pale and grey, she does not know how to care about it with her mind increasingly fixated, and so she was beginning to circle the paths of despair and madness. This is not a Mage who has lost their mind and joined the ranks of the Mad - yet. But in the totality of her focus you see the danger of another Damien Thule. Handle carefully.


Keynes races after her. He's not particularly concerned as to whether she spots him or if she's simply rushing down there headlong heedless of who follows. Now that Lucifer is gone, he's not trying all that hard to keep his secret, though neither is he jogging alongside her for casual conversation.

He's primarily coming to make sure that nothing explodes and to keep anyone from doing anything rash while the situation downstairs gets sorted out. Whatever that situation might be.

[PhoeKun]

This would disturb your meditation.

...Right. Um, yeah. Okay. Sure.

Lily slumps against the wall she's been sitting next to, leans her head back, and stares blankly at the ceiling.

"Hey, Compy? We're... done, right? Can we be done? I don't want to be here anymore..."

[Raz_Fox]

God damn the warlocks, but even Rebecca did not deserve this blasphemy, this theft of God's gift. Rage wars with exhaustion; there is no room for fear. Hubris. A crime against Heaven. Babel! So too let these pillars fall.

"I think we have seen what we were meant to see," she says, crisply, cold radiating from her tongue. "Thank you for your help, Rebecca." She hands the warlock a business card - even in this cream-and-platinum wonder, prepared - and offers Lily a hand up to her feet.

There is work to be done.

[Thanqol]

The evening rolls like thunder.

The party falls apart fairly quickly. Turns out everyone's been dosed with a sedative. Fortunately, no fatalities and the sense of doom hanging over the place is gone. For her part as soon as Mrs. Ainsworth perceives that there are people in her basement she shimmers and disappears into Twilight, invisible and ephemeral. Keynes can be fairly certain her next port of call will be the local Free Council/unaligned Assembly, and Fate indicates that could be somewhat portentous.

Keynes, it's notable that you don't receive any reports from Sydney's Guardians of the Veil. If everyone had seen that Bridge flare going off then you'd be inundated with phone calls, unannounced visits and creepy messages written on the walls with blood. That you're not indicates that no one else saw it - just your cabal, Ainsworth and the Seer.

Rebecca is manic with energy - all her questions are answered and unbelievable new power is flowing through her. As is common with new mages, though, she is accidentally reaching too far and too fast with her magic and risking Paradox - and that's actually a really really dangerous thing right now because without a soul she'll be super easy to possess if something goes wrong.

As members of ancient and mystic globe-spanning organizations dedicated to performing this exact service, though, both Keynes and Compass have really good options and really good training for what to do in this exact situation (not considering the possibility of Lily having some kind of Idea). Essentially, you can hand her off to either the Guardians of the Veil or the Silver Ladder for intake and basic. There is one sharp edge to the choice though:

If you hand her off to the Guardians, they will find a soul for her somewhere. The Guardians are an Order totally not above casual soul-stealing to serve the greater Awakened good. She'll be restored as a Mage and some poor bastard who probably deserves it will have their soul redistributed and the Awakened Nation will march together again as one.

However, if you hand her off to the Ladder then the outrage Compass is feeling is going to get institutionalized. The Ladder will find out what happened and, knowing them, their approach is going to be a big strong attempt to cut right to the heart of the problem with military force. They're going to get Rebecca's soul back from wherever it is and give it back to her, and then begin criminal proceedings against whoever's responsible.

And while escalating the situation that far will be decisive it will also have a lot of unforeseen consequences. There are many, many unknowns here - and as any good civil servant knows, you don't send your report to the Minister unless it's finished. So - do you pull the lever, or wait and gather more information first?

[Thanqol]

COMPASS

You're sitting down with Percival across from a chessboard. He's playing to lose deliberately - to trick you into a checkmate early. Perhaps this is meaningful to him. Are you playing to win? Where is this chessboard? It can be anywhere - he agreed to your terms.

He's seen better days. He's gaunt, harried, pale, diseased. And this isn't just his physical form - his Nimbus is deeply sickly and unwell; the glimmering silver knight's armour is rusting and filth drips through the rivets and chainmail. He's holding a cigarette with trembling fingers like it's the only thing giving him enough strength to keep going. Through eyes of Prime there's something wrong with his soul - cast a spell for more precise information if you like, if you dare.

"You have disrupted my schedule," he said, hitting the button on the turn clock. "And Time is so very important to me right now. What will it cost to make you go away?"

LILY

You are at the Nameless Assembly[1], the counter-culture backlash against the structure of organized Mage society. It's not a pleasant place. The most socially adept people tend to get sucked into the Orders because they're the best at navigating Order politics. Most people here are either wrapped up with deeply personal sh*t, somehow managed to disagree with the Mysterium on something, or who had just enough shame to not be able to live with a life as a Seer. A lot of them are magical geniuses pushing either the envelope or the boundaries of sanity. There aren't really any rules, just a vague sense of democracy pushed by the card-carrying Free Council dudes.

[1] The word Nameless is one of mystic significance, no matter what people propose nothing seems to stick quite like 'Nameless' - and not for lack of trying by some of the more stubborn members, but whenever they slip in conversation 'Nameless' will come out.

And the Free Council really is doing a soft culture push on the Assembly. Their guys are by far the most charming, the most willing to put in the legwork to make sure there's a good venue, and not calling anyone on their bullsh*t. Their game seems to be to wait for some sort of disagreement and then be like, 'hey, let's put it to a vote'. People generally agree, the vote is held, and the Assembly subtly absorbs a little bit more Free Council ideology. Big picture, eventually some move by the Orders will threaten the independence or interests of the Assembly, for a moment the squabbling misfits will be united, and that's when the Free Council recruitment brochures come out.

This is common knowledge. One particularly acidic asshat named Rabbity took the floor and prophesied/ranted it. The Free Council guy (and his Shadow Name seems to be 'Free Council Guy' as far as anyone can tell) responded by asking him to prophesise if anything actually changed in the day to day lives of the Assembly members afterwards.

Today the Assembly is being held in a laser tag game. It's a dark warehouse filled with eerie glowing lights, every Mage for herself. Free Council Guy set up a demesne beforehand so there's no risk of paradox but it's considered bad sport to cheat too obviously. Free Council Guy also set up what he said was a 'big Fate thing' to make sure that 'people get the chance to have the conversations they need to have' - and it seems like it's working because you've found you've got the drop on Mrs. Ainsworth. You've seen her here before but you didn't recognize her - she's so good with her makeup she's a totally different person to who you saw at the party, and she constantly uses Death to suppress her magical aura.

You're close on her heels but from the corner of your eye you spot that she has a Ghost with her - a weak one, just some gangly teenager, but he's watching her back while she advances. What do you do?

KEYNES

It's an auspicious moment. Zen-Bui-Zen, one of the wandering Masters of the Guardians of the Veil has come to town. He wears the Masque of age and wisdom, and so he appears - what is your mental image of an elderly mentor figure? That is as you shall see Zen. He sits in the instructors position of the discount Karate Dojo and you before him. He rarely speaks but his Nimbus translates his smiles into images - right now they flow through shapes of curiosity and grandfatherly concern. You have his undivided attention and you can see that made manifest all about him as every stray thought is brutally executed by shadowy men with scimitars. What do you ask?

[Anarion]

You're close on her heels but from the corner of your eye you spot that she has a Ghost with her - a weak one, just some gangly teenager, but he's watching her back while she advances. What do you do?


Lily, for whatever help it might be, Keynes shared his interaction with Mrs. Ainsworth after the three of us got back to the sanctum. Her skillfulness at hiding herself, her desperate flight towards destruction, and her single-minded obsession with awakening.




KEYNES

It's an auspicious moment. Zen-Bui-Zen, one of the wandering Masters of the Guardians of the Veil has come to town. He wears the Masque of age and wisdom, and so he appears - what is your mental image of an elderly mentor figure? That is as you shall see Zen. He sits in the instructors position of the discount Karate Dojo and you before him. He rarely speaks but his Nimbus translates his smiles into images - right now they flow through shapes of curiosity and grandfatherly concern. You have his undivided attention and you can see that made manifest all about him as every stray thought is brutally executed by shadowy men with scimitars. What do you ask?

With a name like Zen-Bui-Zen to match, Keynes imagines an old Asian man. Bald all along the top of his wrinkled and spotted head but with a ring of wispy white hair connecting ear to ear, and a long narrow white beard, immaculately combed, that dangles nearly to the floor. His eyes are heavily lidded, his head bent slightly forward. His robes are nondescript but well-kept and easy to move in, and he has a wooden staff perched on the wall next to him.

What do I talk about? There's my worries about Brunhild and the stability of my order. The bridge stopping awakenings as a working across all Australia. The complete lack of any hint of the council of sixteen guardians that I was supposed to investigate, Mrs. Ainsworth, and then the fact that I think Lily is a candidate for the Hieromagus. It's hard to think about what to ask. I had wanted to ask about Ainsworth, about how I should deal with someone like that, but sitting here with this opportunity, I wonder if I'm not squandering it.

Still, I'll start with Ainsworth. "She's dangerous, like the battlefield gull in her type, so obsessed and so uncaring about anything else that it will lead her and everything around her to destruction. My thought when dealing with such a person is that there may be no way to pull them back, not even by answering the question eating at them. That the only option there is to get out of her way and make every effort to ensure that the path she sees is one that leads to beneficial ends and while she is so directed, take efforts to minimize the harm her eventual immolation will cause. Is that the way?"

[Raz_Fox]

Neutral ground. Hyde Park. Named after the park in London, and Compass can hardly resist the familiar ground. There is magic in the name and the sharing and the history she shares. The day is bright and sunlight dapples the board. Sol: revelation, perfection, the slaying of dragons (as a knight would). She plays competently, taking advantage of the holes in his defense, though doubtless he could take her apart if he really tried; she was, despite being a nerd in high school, never the best at chess.

"When I set up this meeting, I was planning to be Health and Safety and inform you that your working in Luna Park Zoo was not only having deleterious effects on the spiritual ecosystem of the zoo, but that its projected fatality rate was unacceptable, despite how... fascinating the working is. I cannot fault your vision, and hoped to find a compromise of some sort, something that would change the world without risking lives unduly."

A knight clicks in place. She is very precise in her moves, the actual physical act of moving the piece from one marked square to another. A graceful lift, and its equal in the descent, and never outside the bounds of the square. Her eyes catch at Percival's.

"But recently I had the privilege of witnessing an Awakening in Sydney- or, rather, one aborted. A soul, stolen. And I believe you and I both know the linchpin of the working that keeps everyone here asleep. So I would like to discuss the Sydney Harbor Bridge- compare notes, one Ladder to another- and see what we can do to help each other."

As for spells- well, I assume that the act of Unveiling information about a Mage is not considered a violation of privacy in general Mage society? If it is not likely to provoke Percival to accusation, Compass will focus her will a moment and examine Percival more closely with the eyes of the Obrimos.

[5, 7, 10, 8. 10-Again is 8, so three successes.]

[Thanqol]

Still, I'll start with Ainsworth. "She's dangerous, like the battlefield gull in her type, so obsessed and so uncaring about anything else that it will lead her and everything around her to destruction. My thought when dealing with such a person is that there may be no way to pull them back, not even by answering the question eating at them. That the only option there is to get out of her way and make every effort to ensure that the path she sees is one that leads to beneficial ends and while she is so directed, take efforts to minimize the harm her eventual immolation will cause. Is that the way?"

"Her name is Flawless Theory," said Zen-Bui-Zen. His smile says: This is a reprimand made amusing for the fact that you did not know it was a rule. "She seems a scourge but she is a mirror. Consider your messiah and her secrets; Flawless Theory is the same person in a different light. Where your messiah is charming, Theory is cold. But they both hold threads of the same Mystery. How much of their light and their darkness is their own, and how much is the Mystery they follow? What if the coldness of Theory is the coldness that lies at the heart of the Mystery your messiah seeks the answer to?"


Neutral ground. Hyde Park. Named after the park in London, and Compass can hardly resist the familiar ground. There is magic in the name and the sharing and the history she shares. The day is bright and sunlight dapples the board. Sol: revelation, perfection, the slaying of dragons (as a knight would). She plays competently, taking advantage of the holes in his defense, though doubtless he could take her apart if he really tried; she was, despite being a nerd in high school, never the best at chess.

"When I set up this meeting, I was planning to be Health and Safety and inform you that your working in Luna Park Zoo was not only having deleterious effects on the spiritual ecosystem of the zoo, but that its projected fatality rate was unacceptable, despite how... fascinating the working is. I cannot fault your vision, and hoped to find a compromise of some sort, something that would change the world without risking lives unduly."

A knight clicks in place. She is very precise in her moves, the actual physical act of moving the piece from one marked square to another. A graceful lift, and its equal in the descent, and never outside the bounds of the square. Her eyes catch at Percival's.

"But recently I had the privilege of witnessing an Awakening in Sydney- or, rather, one aborted. A soul, stolen. And I believe you and I both know the linchpin of the working that keeps everyone here asleep. So I would like to discuss the Sydney Harbor Bridge- compare notes, one Ladder to another- and see what we can do to help each other."

As for spells- well, I assume that the act of Unveiling information about a Mage is not considered a violation of privacy in general Mage society? If it is not likely to provoke Percival to accusation, Compass will focus her will a moment and examine Percival more closely with the eyes of the Obrimos.

[5, 7, 10, 8. 10-Again is 8, so three successes.]

If a Mage doesn't put up a shielding spell in response to Mage Sight then they're implying they're happy to share that information, and piercing the shield is considered rude (and the fact that privacy is a right accorded to those with broad arcane understanding is regarded as a self evident truth by the Lex).

The rot is terrible. Percival has created a great many Soul Stones and his spirit is in tatters. And in the tatters things grow - living things, organic and swarming. At first you might say that he is barely a Mage, barely a human - but perhaps that might be the point? This... grotesquery might be some strange defence against an engine that steals souls. The roots to this seem to lie in Life and Spirit and the Primal Wild. The magic is one of terrible revulsion - and extremely contagious were Percival to encounter anyone with a wounded soul. This might kill him in time.

You may ask a few questions if you wish.

"You have seen the true nature of my Working it seems," said Percival, pointlessly sacrificing his rook. For his carelessness in losing them, he does keep the lost pieces safely in a wooden box, you notice. "And while I share your concern about human lives you must consider the strategy of it. My plan is invisible to Fate because it is unplanned; it is an eruption from the zoo which then has consequences elsewhere, but the crux of the future hinges on what happens at the zoo - and that my cabal can keep uncertain. Were I, or you, to start making changes in the wider world then every motion tangles further snarls of Fate and the world begins to prepare for the Bridge's fall."

He coughs and rasps. "You see this? You see the insane logic that Awakened warfare leads to? Jesus in the manger, I wish I had the courage to risk a less sure but more noble path."

[Anarion]

"Her name is Flawless Theory," said Zen-Bui-Zen. His smile says: This is a reprimand made amusing for the fact that you did not know it was a rule. "She seems a scourge but she is a mirror. Consider your messiah and her secrets; Flawless Theory is the same person in a different light. Where your messiah is charming, Theory is cold. But they both hold threads of the same Mystery. How much of their light and their darkness is their own, and how much is the Mystery they follow? What if the coldness of Theory is the coldness that lies at the heart of the Mystery your messiah seeks the answer to?"


There is a moment of concern in Keynes mind. He should not be surprised that they would know of Lily, of course the Eye would be watching such things. Yet he had not wanted to bring her up. Had the master read the thoughts in his mind as well as the question on his lips? It was neither impossible nor unreasonable for him to have done so, yet still. Keynes tried to return to his focus, and spoke candidly, none of his usual mannerisms.

"If the coldness is at the heart of the Mystery, then it is different in nature, I think." Keynes was not so much being careful, as thinking out loud, trying himself to understand his own mind. "I apologize master, I am trying to put words to the thought in my mind that something which is of a Mystery as you describe is different in fundamental character from something that is just of the nature of people. If Flawless Theory is cold because she is a mirror to better understand, I might reject such, but if that cold is part of some greater truth, then I must accept it along with that truth and adjust my own views accordingly."

[PhoeKun]

LILY

You are at the Nameless Assembly[1], the counter-culture backlash against the structure of organized Mage society. It's not a pleasant place. The most socially adept people tend to get sucked into the Orders because they're the best at navigating Order politics. Most people here are either wrapped up with deeply personal sh*t, somehow managed to disagree with the Mysterium on something, or who had just enough shame to not be able to live with a life as a Seer. A lot of them are magical geniuses pushing either the envelope or the boundaries of sanity. There aren't really any rules, just a vague sense of democracy pushed by the card-carrying Free Council dudes.

[1] The word Nameless is one of mystic significance, no matter what people propose nothing seems to stick quite like 'Nameless' - and not for lack of trying by some of the more stubborn members, but whenever they slip in conversation 'Nameless' will come out.

And the Free Council really is doing a soft culture push on the Assembly. Their guys are by far the most charming, the most willing to put in the legwork to make sure there's a good venue, and not calling anyone on their bullsh*t. Their game seems to be to wait for some sort of disagreement and then be like, 'hey, let's put it to a vote'. People generally agree, the vote is held, and the Assembly subtly absorbs a little bit more Free Council ideology. Big picture, eventually some move by the Orders will threaten the independence or interests of the Assembly, for a moment the squabbling misfits will be united, and that's when the Free Council recruitment brochures come out.

This is common knowledge. One particularly acidic asshat named Rabbity took the floor and prophesied/ranted it. The Free Council guy (and his Shadow Name seems to be 'Free Council Guy' as far as anyone can tell) responded by asking him to prophesise if anything actually changed in the day to day lives of the Assembly members afterwards.

Today the Assembly is being held in a laser tag game. It's a dark warehouse filled with eerie glowing lights, every Mage for herself. Free Council Guy set up a demesne beforehand so there's no risk of paradox but it's considered bad sport to cheat too obviously. Free Council Guy also set up what he said was a 'big Fate thing' to make sure that 'people get the chance to have the conversations they need to have' - and it seems like it's working because you've found you've got the drop on Mrs. Ainsworth. You've seen her here before but you didn't recognize her - she's so good with her makeup she's a totally different person to who you saw at the party, and she constantly uses Death to suppress her magical aura.

You're close on her heels but from the corner of your eye you spot that she has a Ghost with her - a weak one, just some gangly teenager, but he's watching her back while she advances. What do you do?

Broken things are the most beautiful. The lines along which a person, place, or thing has shattered are the blueprints for how they might fit together again, and truly it's the act of building, rebuilding, repairing, and re-imagining things that keeps the world spinning. So yeah, the Nameless Assembly is Good People. Maybe not, like, friend material, maybe it's a little uncomfortable or outright sketchy to hang out with a lot of these dudes outside of work stuff or these little get togethers where there's that thin veneer of... of... I dunno, I guess 'corporate retreat' vibes and the sort of safe space that provides? Like there's just enough mundanity in these moments to flatten out the worst peaks, or to at least separate everybody into manageable groups, where the act of broken friendless magical dorks socializing becomes straight charming, and not... y'know, exhausting and probably kind of awful. Couldn't even begin to tell you how to talk to somebody willing to go by Free Council Guy at a bar, but hey! Laser Tag! Instantly way cooler, instantly way easier.

But yeah. Anyway. It's just nice that everybody who didn't fit into all those neat little boxes still wound up with a place to belong. And laser tag always carries this, like, 80s cyberpunk chic that's just rad as heck. You will never have a boring conversation before, during, or after a laser tag session (or if you do, that person is Evil). Enter Lily, in her thigh-high black velvet boots which may or may not be (but absolutely definitely are) borrowing a pair of roller blades' gliding and ability to transfer momentum, and her short ruffled, burgundy skirt flapping recklessly with every swish of her legs, the worn out, nowhere-near-as-black-as-it-used-to-be Star Wars t-shirt with the why-do-you-still-have-this level cracked Rebellion logo, and the light, half-sleeved army green jacket she's really only wearing because it has pockeeeeeettttssss~

Maybe not so completely a different person as Ainsworth just over there, but transformed just the same. Vibrant and alive and lacking any of the self doubt inherent in attempts to pretend to be things that you aren't. There's a smile on her lips and a spell on her fingertips, just gentle nudging that little ghost to turn around, just for a second, and tap his master's shoulder (Death Ruling: 8, 6, 7. If necessary, Clash of Wills result is 9, 5, 8). Nothing malicious, everything playful. Lily glides forward with her gun resting on her shoulder and waves with her free hand, finger wiggling daintily.

"Wow. I... wow. I don't mean to gush, but wow. I know a guy who is an honest to goodness spy and I have never seen him do anything half as magical as what you do with your makeup. Can I just, yeah I mean, I'm really sorry about the other day. And if you wanna just shoot me and walk away that's cool I guess but I was hoping the fact that we're here alone in this dark corner means we've got some sort of, uh, y'know, the 'big fate thing' going on here because I just think that you are amazingly talented and can do such amazing things to, maybe for the world, and I... wanna help you get there. I'm still Lily, by the way, what do I actually call you?"

[Thanqol]

There is a moment of concern in Keynes mind. He should not be surprised that they would know of Lily, of course the Eye would be watching such things. Yet he had not wanted to bring her up. Had the master read the thoughts in his mind as well as the question on his lips? It was neither impossible nor unreasonable for him to have done so, yet still. Keynes tried to return to his focus, and spoke candidly, none of his usual mannerisms.

"If the coldness is at the heart of the Mystery, then it is different in nature, I think." Keynes was not so much being careful, as thinking out loud, trying himself to understand his own mind. "I apologize master, I am trying to put words to the thought in my mind that something which is of a Mystery as you describe is different in fundamental character from something that is just of the nature of people. If Flawless Theory is cold because she is a mirror to better understand, I might reject such, but if that cold is part of some greater truth, then I must accept it along with that truth and adjust my own views accordingly."

Zen-Bui-Zen smiles; this one is challenging, reprimanding. "Must you accept every truth? Must every Mystery be worthy of study? Who are we if not those who judge the truth? And if we find the truth wanting - we slay it."

He spreads his hands. "It is an old American saying, 'the most dangerous thing a Mage can build is a divination engine'. Consider this Bridge - consider its purpose. Why would any Mage build such a mad thing? It is not a tool of control, it is not a weapon - like all things to do with the Awakened it has its roots in a question. Some powerful being had wrought all this in an attempt to learn something. Do you think whoever this was started from the position of atrocity? Or did they simply follow every step towards their answer without blinking?"


"Wow. I... wow. I don't mean to gush, but wow. I know a guy who is an honest to goodness spy and I have never seen him do anything half as magical as what you do with your makeup. Can I just, yeah I mean, I'm really sorry about the other day. And if you wanna just shoot me and walk away that's cool I guess but I was hoping the fact that we're here alone in this dark corner means we've got some sort of, uh, y'know, the 'big fate thing' going on here because I just think that you are amazingly talented and can do such amazing things to, maybe for the world, and I... wanna help you get there. I'm still Lily, by the way, what do I actually call you?"

There's no panicked turn at being approached from behind, no reflexive fire of the gun - Ainsworth is as smooth as milk as she leaves her crouch and faces you. She assesses you for a moment, you see her activate Death sight and then pause as she presumably goes through Knowing spells of various other Arcana you don't know. Then she relaxes and takes a breath.

"I believe you," she said. "I go by Flawless Theory - long story. I went through everything that happened after the fact - I know you could see Light Up The Night, I know you wanted to help me but your friend stopped you and then it turned into an Awakening and everything just went kind of," she makes a hand gesture that's so casual and almost silly that it totally undermines her silk smoothness and makes her seem like a totally normal person for a moment.

"I'm glad that you found me, but I can see that part of you is wondering if I'm a psychotic terrorist so I'll explain what's up with my basement. At that party were twelve murderers, nine manslaughterers, fourteen rapists, four men who hunt endangered animals for sport, the twelve man board of a company that smuggles arms to middle eastern terrorist groups in exchange for looted museum artifacts, eight people who cover for the other sons of bitches, a Seer of the Throne - and, of course, my darling husband, worst of the lot. The servants were scheduled to leave just as the drugs were kicking in and the worst sixty-one people in this city were going to die - and Light Up The Night would be made manifest."

She smiled a little, as though a little proud of herself. "And because I'm not one to waste a good massacre, I had a few other things going on to take advantage of the moment. One was the soul thing, that's really complicated. The other was I was going to animate the corpses of the richest of the victims, have them rewrite their wills to make sure they left everything to charity and then have them die in a series of unrelated accidents and complications."

She spreads her hands in a what-can-you-do shrug. "But what the hell, all that was just sh*t I did to make myself feel better about doing what I really wanted to do. I want to find out what the hell is up with the Father of Death, I want to help Light Up The Night manifest - whatever that means. And you're the only person I know who even knows what I'm talking about, so f*ck it, if you're in this let's just figure out how to make it happen."

[Anarion]

Zen-Bui-Zen smiles; this one is challenging, reprimanding. "Must you accept every truth? Must every Mystery be worthy of study? Who are we if not those who judge the truth? And if we find the truth wanting - we slay it."

He spreads his hands. "It is an old American saying, 'the most dangerous thing a Mage can build is a divination engine'. Consider this Bridge - consider its purpose. Why would any Mage build such a mad thing? It is not a tool of control, it is not a weapon - like all things to do with the Awakened it has its roots in a question. Some powerful being had wrought all this in an attempt to learn something. Do you think whoever this was started from the position of atrocity? Or did they simply follow every step towards their answer without blinking?"


"No. I concur with you. Not every mystery is worthy of study. I would not have approved the use of the bomb at the party. The murder of all those people would have been a sin on the soul of the creator, and is much of my worry in Flawless Theory. I still seek to change the experiment at the zoo, that is fated at this moment to lead to mass death. Yet, is there not a character to truth that is, of itself, worth some consideration? Some thing that is the commonality between widely disparate things that allows us to call them all 'truth'? Subject to our judgment, but therefore requiring that judgment. I might simply prevent a serial killer from acting, but in solving the problem at the zoo, I want to prevent the death without necessarily destroying the experiment with life magic, if such a goal can be done. If there is no alternative, as perhaps in the bomb's case, where it has supernal value only by setting it off to bring the high to low, that is more regrettable, but worth the thought to ensure that no alternative exists if there is time for consideration."

[Raz_Fox]

The rot is terrible. Percival has created a great many Soul Stones and his spirit is in tatters. And in the tatters things grow - living things, organic and swarming. At first you might say that he is barely a Mage, barely a human - but perhaps that might be the point? This... grotesquery might be some strange defence against an engine that steals souls. The roots to this seem to lie in Life and Spirit and the Primal Wild. The magic is one of terrible revulsion - and extremely contagious were Percival to encounter anyone with a wounded soul. This might kill him in time.

You may ask a few questions if you wish.

As a member of the Awakened and the Silver Ladder, does Compass have any responsibility to action upon seeing this?

How may Compass glean insight into the Primal Wild through this?

Is he in great pain?


"You have seen the true nature of my Working it seems," said Percival, pointlessly sacrificing his rook. For his carelessness in losing them, he does keep the lost pieces safely in a wooden box, you notice. "And while I share your concern about human lives you must consider the strategy of it. My plan is invisible to Fate because it is unplanned; it is an eruption from the zoo which then has consequences elsewhere, but the crux of the future hinges on what happens at the zoo - and that my cabal can keep uncertain. Were I, or you, to start making changes in the wider world then every motion tangles further snarls of Fate and the world begins to prepare for the Bridge's fall."

He coughs and rasps. "You see this? You see the insane logic that Awakened warfare leads to? Jesus in the manger, I wish I had the courage to risk a less sure but more noble path."

Compass considers this. She considers a collapsing bridge. A ley line erupting. Pillars rending themselves open, workings imploding in on themselves. A domino, falling. A working, undone. A working. The souls, bursting free like the foam on the edge of the wave.

She considers Jesus in the manger, a sudden explosion of Truth in enemy territory. For he did not come to unite but to divide with a sword.

"If you bring down the bridge, what do you believe will be the result?" She moves a knight, preparing a culling of his back line. "Theoretically. Because I can't sell an unknown or unguessed project outcome to my cabal. Because I can't very well stand aside and let a working with such potential damage to innocents be carried out, but I can't in good conscience interfere with your goal. So, Percival-" The timer clicks underneath her fingers. "Your speculations?"

[Thanqol]

"No. I concur with you. Not every mystery is worthy of study. I would not have approved the use of the bomb at the party. The murder of all those people would have been a sin on the soul of the creator, and is much of my worry in Flawless Theory. I still seek to change the experiment at the zoo, that is fated at this moment to lead to mass death. Yet, is there not a character to truth that is, of itself, worth some consideration? Some thing that is the commonality between widely disparate things that allows us to call them all 'truth'? Subject to our judgment, but therefore requiring that judgment. I might simply prevent a serial killer from acting, but in solving the problem at the zoo, I want to prevent the death without necessarily destroying the experiment with life magic, if such a goal can be done. If there is no alternative, as perhaps in the bomb's case, where it has supernal value only by setting it off to bring the high to low, that is more regrettable, but worth the thought to ensure that no alternative exists if there is time for consideration."

"It would be pleasant if there were such a thing as conscience," said Zen-Bui-Zen. "Some inner voice that knew right and wrong and you just had to learn how to listen to. There is not. It would be a kindness if the line between courage and hubris was visible. It would be ideal if time would pause and offer you the option to select Paragon or Renegade. None of these things are so. You want to know the answer without paying the price, but Magic so often - as the Mysterium is keen to remind us - carries a price. The path of Awakening is the path of small compromises and careful negotiations to get the most out of selling your soul.

"Consider then your role. Set off the bomb! Release the fiends from the zoo! Make sure your messiah is not involved but make sure she learns the answer. Our role is to keep others on the path of Wisdom at the sacrifice of ourselves. If the Mystery your messiah explores carries a darkness your role is to eat that sin and darkness so that she might unravel the Mystery and remain whole. She may feel compassion, anger, any range of emotions but your role is not to be loved and not to live happily. If your messiah can reach the end of her journey intact and untainted then you truly may have the Heiromagus. If she lives out her life unfulfilled the wheel simply turns onwards. If she reaches the end corrupted and tainted then the universe has a new scourge. While all Mages sell their souls, yours is to gift it freely!"


As a member of the Awakened and the Silver Ladder, does Compass have any responsibility to action upon seeing this?

He is not a Reaper and not yet Mad - and yet all that keeps this from being Left Handed is the fact that this is at his own invitation. The Lex is silent on such an experiment but it is a cause for deep suspicion.

But the hand who cast these spells was aided by him, yet not his own. You would guess it is his cabal's Thyrsus, Weaver-Of-Chitin, who is also no doubt the mastermind behind the moth-men. Twice now you have seen his masterful work, and twice its nature and implications are deeply disturbing. It is entirely possible Weaver is Mad and Percival is indulging and taking advantage of the mastery Madness confers. That could be the foundation for a legal challenge.

The Mad are a complex problem.


How may Compass glean insight into the Primal Wild through this?

The magic is in sensation. You must feel as he feels - not necessarily suffer the consequences as he does, but you must acquire the sensation. Prime Weaving might allow this.


Is he in great pain?

Yes. You suspect he's resorted to mundane pharmaceuticals to blunt it; he's certainly able to function, if somewhat clumsily and slowly.


Compass considers this. She considers a collapsing bridge. A ley line erupting. Pillars rending themselves open, workings imploding in on themselves. A domino, falling. A working, undone. A working. The souls, bursting free like the foam on the edge of the wave.

She considers Jesus in the manger, a sudden explosion of Truth in enemy territory. For he did not come to unite but to divide with a sword.

"If you bring down the bridge, what do you believe will be the result?" She moves a knight, preparing a culling of his back line. "Theoretically. Because I can't sell an unknown or unguessed project outcome to my cabal. Because I can't very well stand aside and let a working with such potential damage to innocents be carried out, but I can't in good conscience interfere with your goal. So, Percival-" The timer clicks underneath her fingers. "Your speculations?"

"I don't know," said Percival. "We can't scry on the future for obvious reasons - not only would it tip our own hands, we're deliberately keeping the future uncertain. But I did catch a glimpse of something when the first hole formed - a surge of spiritual essence, a flood of mana and unnaturally gathering rain clouds. There must be some sort of... spirit-based ley line there, some huge Hallow or demesne that powers the Working. Weaver believes it has to do with the climate of Australia, or at least that's what he told our sanctum's Spirit. Some sort of weather control, he said? I don't know if it's something the Bridge does, or if it's a power source the Bridge is draining."

He tapped his fingers on the edge of the board, contemplating his next move.

"I only really know fragments. I doubt this is a working with a single component - it feels like I'm up against an Archmaster, and so I'm acting accordingly. Perhaps damaging the Bridge creates a flood and destroys the city. Perhaps Australia is Atlantis and this network keeps it artificially afloat above the waves. It burns me not to know - more than what I've done to myself. But I can't let myself be drawn into contemplation of it. Whatever else it is, it isn't right."

He makes a move, sudden and decisive, and now his losing position is a winning one. He looks like he regrets it.

[Raz_Fox]

"Last night I disrupted a working," Compass says. Her fingers flick out, catch a piece at random, make a move: all instinct, all the motion, remove the thought, remove the strategy. Movement for the sake of movement. "It would have been very easy to step aside and allow it to come to pass. To kill- oh, thirty Sleepers or so. To see the blossoming of a Supernal truth. Kindling for the fire. My friend- she wanted to see that quite badly, and I was a scold, I kept her from it and told her that we are held to higher responsibilities. And now I find myself a hypocrite, risking lives because I want you to succeed."

A mirthless smile, a pulling back of lips from teeth. "I will halt my interference and let you get on with your work. I will also be marshaling my resources for the aftershock, whatever it may be. And I will be having words with Weaver-of-Chitin regarding his methods, I warn you now. Perhaps I missed my true calling, no? I could have been a Guardian, a professional busybody, telling everyone what they're allowed to do for the sake of their souls."

"But how can we raise a ladder to heaven if we're willing to be careless with the lives of others? To let people die without seeing the truth?"

[Anarion]

"It would be pleasant if there were such a thing as conscience," said Zen-Bui-Zen. "Some inner voice that knew right and wrong and you just had to learn how to listen to. There is not. It would be a kindness if the line between courage and hubris was visible. It would be ideal if time would pause and offer you the option to select Paragon or Renegade. None of these things are so. You want to know the answer without paying the price, but Magic so often - as the Mysterium is keen to remind us - carries a price. The path of Awakening is the path of small compromises and careful negotiations to get the most out of selling your soul.

"Consider then your role. Set off the bomb! Release the fiends from the zoo! Make sure your messiah is not involved but make sure she learns the answer. Our role is to keep others on the path of Wisdom at the sacrifice of ourselves. If the Mystery your messiah explores carries a darkness your role is to eat that sin and darkness so that she might unravel the Mystery and remain whole. She may feel compassion, anger, any range of emotions but your role is not to be loved and not to live happily. If your messiah can reach the end of her journey intact and untainted then you truly may have the Heiromagus. If she lives out her life unfulfilled the wheel simply turns onwards. If she reaches the end corrupted and tainted then the universe has a new scourge. While all Mages sell their souls, yours is to gift it freely!"


Keynes bows. "I had not considered this approach. I had been seeing these things as the works of other mages, and my duty was to prevent them from making mistakes that harmed their souls, but I was blind to the opportunity for me to reveal the mystery on their behalf and spare them in that way."

[PhoeKun]

There's no panicked turn at being approached from behind, no reflexive fire of the gun - Ainsworth is as smooth as milk as she leaves her crouch and faces you. She assesses you for a moment, you see her activate Death sight and then pause as she presumably goes through Knowing spells of various other Arcana you don't know. Then she relaxes and takes a breath.

"I believe you," she said. "I go by Flawless Theory - long story. I went through everything that happened after the fact - I know you could see Light Up The Night, I know you wanted to help me but your friend stopped you and then it turned into an Awakening and everything just went kind of," she makes a hand gesture that's so casual and almost silly that it totally undermines her silk smoothness and makes her seem like a totally normal person for a moment.

"I'm glad that you found me, but I can see that part of you is wondering if I'm a psychotic terrorist so I'll explain what's up with my basement. At that party were twelve murderers, nine manslaughterers, fourteen rapists, four men who hunt endangered animals for sport, the twelve man board of a company that smuggles arms to middle eastern terrorist groups in exchange for looted museum artifacts, eight people who cover for the other sons of bitches, a Seer of the Throne - and, of course, my darling husband, worst of the lot. The servants were scheduled to leave just as the drugs were kicking in and the worst sixty-one people in this city were going to die - and Light Up The Night would be made manifest."

She smiled a little, as though a little proud of herself. "And because I'm not one to waste a good massacre, I had a few other things going on to take advantage of the moment. One was the soul thing, that's really complicated. The other was I was going to animate the corpses of the richest of the victims, have them rewrite their wills to make sure they left everything to charity and then have them die in a series of unrelated accidents and complications."

She spreads her hands in a what-can-you-do shrug. "But what the hell, all that was just sh*t I did to make myself feel better about doing what I really wanted to do. I want to find out what the hell is up with the Father of Death, I want to help Light Up The Night manifest - whatever that means. And you're the only person I know who even knows what I'm talking about, so f*ck it, if you're in this let's just figure out how to make it happen."

Lily blinks. She'd been ready to be annoying and press her case and eventually crack this woman, not for her to offer a team up right from the word go. Plus, she'd named that Supernal entity and the Father. They were connected, part of the same story. A story that, depending on who you talked to, had a pretty sad ending. Herself, Western, and now Flawless Theory. The inventor, the traitor, and the catalyst. But who was who, and how much would she ruin by telling any of them what she thought? Also, how come these spirits had to latch onto the single gloomiest version of the source material? She kicked herself for her choices of inspiration. It wouldn't be the last time.

There's a delay, just long enough to be awkward, but Lily smiles. She grins, even. Bursts open into sunlight. She bounces her gun up and down on her shoulder, and swings her hips from side to side. In her modified boots, this makes her shift forward and back in little circles. Constantly in motion, casual and playful.

"Don't worry, I've heard what I need to hear. Or, well, saw what I needed to see. A wiser person than me once said that the decision to trust somebody is more important than whether or not they actually deserve it, so even if you are some sort of serial murderer I still think you're lovely. I was more worried about... well, I don't know how to explain it really, there's just a lot about the way you were when we met that made my heart ache, and... well, yeah. Anyway!

So, like, this is interesting, but I'm actually kind of shocked at how intricately connected Light Up the Night seems to be to the other manifestations I've been chasing the past few days. See, I was just at home, drinking wine and building a robot (like one does) when all of a sudden my room was just drowning in raw potential and the next thing I knew I was answering questions I couldn't even hear being asked and then just like that," she snaps her fingers, "A thousand failed experiments with fullerenes and circuit matrices were staring me in the face in the shape of a living, breathing, artificial humanoid, and hanging over all of that was the Father of Death. And It led me out into the night, see like, signs and traffic lights all conveniently lighting up such that the path of least resistance would put me in a specific place, like an electron following a wire or something, and that put me in a big fancy robotics laboratory where there was another entity lurking. And it was the same sort of deal, you know? Unspeakable pressure and potential, I'd feel it imposing on me, I'd just sort of... react, and then maybe possibly a woman I was standing next to turned into a cyborg werewolf and The Hounds became manifest.

I was following a similar pattern when I wound up gatecrashing your party, but Light Up the Night is the first phenomenon I've come across that hasn't pressed on me in any way, and I'm wondering if you can fill in any of the blanks on when it started showing up? There was this moment while I was puzzling out your setup down there where it explained itself by donning a Guy Fawkes mask and giving me a double thumbs up, which is sixty different kinds of awesome but I've never read anything about magical entities behaving like this and it's just, like... what gives, you know?"

[Thanqol]

"Last night I disrupted a working," Compass says. Her fingers flick out, catch a piece at random, make a move: all instinct, all the motion, remove the thought, remove the strategy. Movement for the sake of movement. "It would have been very easy to step aside and allow it to come to pass. To kill- oh, thirty Sleepers or so. To see the blossoming of a Supernal truth. Kindling for the fire. My friend- she wanted to see that quite badly, and I was a scold, I kept her from it and told her that we are held to higher responsibilities. And now I find myself a hypocrite, risking lives because I want you to succeed."

A mirthless smile, a pulling back of lips from teeth. "I will halt my interference and let you get on with your work. I will also be marshaling my resources for the aftershock, whatever it may be. And I will be having words with Weaver-of-Chitin regarding his methods, I warn you now. Perhaps I missed my true calling, no? I could have been a Guardian, a professional busybody, telling everyone what they're allowed to do for the sake of their souls."

"But how can we raise a ladder to heaven if we're willing to be careless with the lives of others? To let people die without seeing the truth?"

"It's not right. None of this is right," said Percival. "I should take my case to Canberra and present it before the court, bring to bear the full weight of the Lex against this. But that's not sure. If I made that decision I might be killed before I even made the decision."

He strummed his fingers along the side of the board as he takes your bishop, drawing you closer to checkmate.

"Make no mistake, we are both damned for this," he said. "There is no consolation, no promise that it'll all be worth it in the end, no proof that we're doing the right thing. I will offer no justifications when I stand judged for what I have done. But I shall do it nevertheless."


Keynes bows. "I had not considered this approach. I had been seeing these things as the works of other mages, and my duty was to prevent them from making mistakes that harmed their souls, but I was blind to the opportunity for me to reveal the mystery on their behalf and spare them in that way."

Zen-Bui-Zen smiles a contented smile and bows in response. "We can serve the world by making examples, but we can also serve the world by being examples," he said. "Do you have further questions?"


"Don't worry, I've heard what I need to hear. Or, well, saw what I needed to see. A wiser person than me once said that the decision to trust somebody is more important than whether or not they actually deserve it, so even if you are some sort of serial murderer I still think you're lovely. I was more worried about... well, I don't know how to explain it really, there's just a lot about the way you were when we met that made my heart ache, and... well, yeah. Anyway!

So, like, this is interesting, but I'm actually kind of shocked at how intricately connected Light Up the Night seems to be to the other manifestations I've been chasing the past few days. See, I was just at home, drinking wine and building a robot (like one does) when all of a sudden my room was just drowning in raw potential and the next thing I knew I was answering questions I couldn't even hear being asked and then just like that," she snaps her fingers, "A thousand failed experiments with fullerenes and circuit matrices were staring me in the face in the shape of a living, breathing, artificial humanoid, and hanging over all of that was the Father of Death. And It led me out into the night, see like, signs and traffic lights all conveniently lighting up such that the path of least resistance would put me in a specific place, like an electron following a wire or something, and that put me in a big fancy robotics laboratory where there was another entity lurking. And it was the same sort of deal, you know? Unspeakable pressure and potential, I'd feel it imposing on me, I'd just sort of... react, and then maybe possibly a woman I was standing next to turned into a cyborg werewolf and The Hounds became manifest.

I was following a similar pattern when I wound up gatecrashing your party, but Light Up the Night is the first phenomenon I've come across that hasn't pressed on me in any way, and I'm wondering if you can fill in any of the blanks on when it started showing up? There was this moment while I was puzzling out your setup down there where it explained itself by donning a Guy Fawkes mask and giving me a double thumbs up, which is sixty different kinds of awesome but I've never read anything about magical entities behaving like this and it's just, like... what gives, you know?"

Mrs. Ainsworth is, as has previously been indicated, a sphinx - but when you start talking about this even she can't hide her expression. Absolute fascination. Nothing in the world matters to her more than hearing more about this, solving this puzzle. You get the uncomfortable feeling that the speed of her forgiveness has less to do with actually changing her opinion on you and more to do with the fact that you are keyed into the topic of her obsession.

"Light Up The Night has been visiting me for months," she said, "and I've always felt that potential you're describing when it's around. Like everything I do is loaded with symbolism. That there's so much pressure to this that if I don't make the most extreme gesture I can possibly make then it won't live up to the importance of the moment. But over the past weeks or so -" she checks the date, it lines up with your creation of Zero "- Light Up The Night became far more defined and coherent and I began seeing the shape of the Father of Death in the background. Perhaps I began seeing it early because I study Time a little. Hard to say.

"Supernal entities communicate by way of symbolism," she went on, and now she was really in the flow - obviously she'd been reading about this. "You know High Speech? How each word can be taken in at least three different ways? That's how they speak but they're so much better at it than us. Their language is entirely made up of symbols, but they also are their symbols. So if they're trying to communicate something then they have to literally become what they are trying to communicate. Imagine if you made a joke and I didn't get it, then you'd have to become a totally different person to make another joke, and you'd have to keep doing that until I got the reference and laughed. They are intelligent, they have memories and agendas, so they choose their form-selves pretty carefully, but they do have to conceal their true selves in the forms of symbols that we can understand, and they then become bound by those decisions. If you Name one you define it."

She takes a deep breath. "But have you noticed that most Mages straight up can't see the Entities? I've got some notes but you've got another data set - who has been able to see them and who hasn't? Any common denominators or traits?"

[Anarion]

Zen-Bui-Zen smiles a contented smile and bows in response. "We can serve the world by making examples, but we can also serve the world by being examples," he said. "Do you have further questions?"


"There is one other matter. Regarding Brunhild, one of the Guardians in Sydney. As you may already know, she appears to have fallen in love with a member of the Arrow. This by itself would be fine, but Grimhild, one of their other members, was manipulating her to create the false appearance of a dangerous rejection by the Guardians, in hopes it seems of creating a hostile breakup and obtaining Guardian secrets from Brunhild.

I intervened and ended up in a duel against Grimhild, which I won. That and a subsequent outing to the zoo seem to have soothed Brunhild's doubts. However, I am concerned that Grimhild still will seek to mislead Brunhild, and I am worried I may have made the situation worse by creating the appearance to Grimhild that she is fighting the whole Guardian organization. Given her philosophy of life as constant and spiteful struggle, this will likely empower her to redouble her efforts against us.

I am not sure how best to approach the situation from here."

[PhoeKun]

She takes a deep breath. "But have you noticed that most Mages straight up can't see the Entities? I've got some notes but you've got another data set - who has been able to see them and who hasn't? Any common denominators or traits?"

Lily shrugs and spins herself around in a circle.

"Irresponsible to put forward a conclusion with so few data points. I've seen two spies, one who seemed to see and another who did not, two Obrimoseseseses, again same thing, overlaps in Time magic versus none, and one case of awareness without Death sight, and one sleeper who briefly noticed an Entity. The suggestion is that awareness isn't a function of easily observable aptitudes, magical training, or even necessarily Awakened status, though again, I'm working with pitiful amounts of information. If you charted a graph with this they would throw you out of any university on the planet, even the online for-profit ones.

Buuuuut... if I had to make a guess, I'd call the defining factor receptivity to the story the symbols are adapting themselves to tell. People with other stories in their hearts ignore this thread, and people who might become defined by it at least get a flicker. Maybe? I'm sure it'll change if a full manifestation takes place, in any event."

She ponders for a moment, tapping her foot on the ground. Wasn't this supposed to be a give and take?

"What were you doing the first time you were visited?"

[Raz_Fox]

"It's not right. None of this is right," said Percival. "I should take my case to Canberra and present it before the court, bring to bear the full weight of the Lex against this. But that's not sure. If I made that decision I might be killed before I even made the decision."

He strummed his fingers along the side of the board as he takes your bishop, drawing you closer to checkmate.

"Make no mistake, we are both damned for this," he said. "There is no consolation, no promise that it'll all be worth it in the end, no proof that we're doing the right thing. I will offer no justifications when I stand judged for what I have done. But I shall do it nevertheless."

The vibration of the fingers runs across the table- the aftershock, the acknowledgment of motion, the purity of action. Click. Death of the Archbishop. Will no one rid me of this mage?

"It is a shame," she says, carefully, guardedly, "That you have no Acanthus. No one who could possibly run interference as you try to stack the deck. Or anyone willing to draw more attention, to make waves. If- well. As I have said. I will position my resources to ensure that whatever happens, the people of Sydney will be safe."

Checkmate.

"Christ forgive us, as we forgive our debtors."

[Thanqol]

"There is one other matter. Regarding Brunhild, one of the Guardians in Sydney. As you may already know, she appears to have fallen in love with a member of the Arrow. This by itself would be fine, but Grimhild, one of their other members, was manipulating her to create the false appearance of a dangerous rejection by the Guardians, in hopes it seems of creating a hostile breakup and obtaining Guardian secrets from Brunhild.

I intervened and ended up in a duel against Grimhild, which I won. That and a subsequent outing to the zoo seem to have soothed Brunhild's doubts. However, I am concerned that Grimhild still will seek to mislead Brunhild, and I am worried I may have made the situation worse by creating the appearance to Grimhild that she is fighting the whole Guardian organization. Given her philosophy of life as constant and spiteful struggle, this will likely empower her to redouble her efforts against us.

I am not sure how best to approach the situation from here."

Zen-Bui-Zen smiled brilliantly. "That is excellent news. You should encourage Brunhild to leave," he said. "Remember that the only thing we know for sure about the Heiromagus is that he shall not be a Guardian. If Brunhild leaves our ranks then we have another beautiful soul unchained in the world, free to follow and explore the full potential of her Awakening. That is cause for celebration."

"Do not think of the Guardians of the Veil as an intelligence agency with resources and assets, Keynes," he said, this time with a hint of reproach in his smile. "That is grasping. We wear the trappings of modern spies but we were before they and will exist after they. Concern yourself not with the survival of the Order - for if ever we reach a point where we cannot fulfil our duties then the world will turn to crisis and Mages who recoil from the dark lessons they learn unaided will flock to our ranks. Such cycles come and go many times. Concern yourself only with your spiritual mission to the souls of the Awakened.

"And from that thought, if Grimhild is determined to make herself your enemy, do not ask, 'alas! How might I stop this enemy agent!?'. Ask yourself, 'How may I help this Mage explore her Mystery given the role she has set for me?'. If your play-acting as an evil conspirator can serve another's enlightenment then give of yourself willingly."


Lily shrugs and spins herself around in a circle.

"Irresponsible to put forward a conclusion with so few data points. I've seen two spies, one who seemed to see and another who did not, two Obrimoseseseses, again same thing, overlaps in Time magic versus none, and one case of awareness without Death sight, and one sleeper who briefly noticed an Entity. The suggestion is that awareness isn't a function of easily observable aptitudes, magical training, or even necessarily Awakened status, though again, I'm working with pitiful amounts of information. If you charted a graph with this they would throw you out of any university on the planet, even the online for-profit ones.

Buuuuut... if I had to make a guess, I'd call the defining factor receptivity to the story the symbols are adapting themselves to tell. People with other stories in their hearts ignore this thread, and people who might become defined by it at least get a flicker. Maybe? I'm sure it'll change if a full manifestation takes place, in any event."

She ponders for a moment, tapping her foot on the ground. Wasn't this supposed to be a give and take?

"What were you doing the first time you were visited?"

"Mixing explosives," said Mrs. Ainsworth. "Creating bombs..."

She pauses, caught in her own contradiction, not having expected that question. The implication: She'd been planning her massacre before meeting Light Up The Night. But she considers any potential information she can extract from this conversation too important to apply her perfect composure.

"I was with Free Council Guy, he was giving me advice. He couldn't see it, but I could. It was his music - he put it on, I didn't think much of it at first, but as it went on I feel like I got it on a level he didn't. When Light Up The Night started then - it was like I could finally see the questions that really mattered. Leviathans shifting in the deep, an entire world just looking for a world to live in. That's the impression I got. That all these things existed before I saw them, they were just waiting for an opening, an opportunity, the right kind of place and person."

Another hesitation. "And you? What were you doing? Did you ask what the others who could see it were doing?"


The vibration of the fingers runs across the table- the aftershock, the acknowledgment of motion, the purity of action. Click. Death of the Archbishop. Will no one rid me of this mage?

"It is a shame," she says, carefully, guardedly, "That you have no Acanthus. No one who could possibly run interference as you try to stack the deck. Or anyone willing to draw more attention, to make waves. If- well. As I have said. I will position my resources to ensure that whatever happens, the people of Sydney will be safe."

Checkmate.

"Christ forgive us, as we forgive our debtors."

Percival packed up the chess pieces with trembling fingers. He looks at you with the worn look of a man who has nowhere left to turn but determination. He came here in the hopes that you would talk him out of his plan, provide him with some kind of moral certainty, provide him with an excuse. Instead he must face his terrible task directly.

He leaves without further words. There is nothing else for him to say.

Where to now?

[Raz_Fox]

Percival packed up the chess pieces with trembling fingers. He looks at you with the worn look of a man who has nowhere left to turn but determination. He came here in the hopes that you would talk him out of his plan, provide him with some kind of moral certainty, provide him with an excuse. Instead he must face his terrible task directly.

He leaves without further words. There is nothing else for him to say.

Where to now?

Now?

Now there is work to be done.

Now there is work to be thrown into.

Now there is the necessity of motion without thought.

Now there is nothing but hiding her own shame at not being wise enough to provide Percival with a way out.

Now there is nothing but her shame at her own hypocrisy.

Now there is work to be done.

Now there is motion to be made.

Now.

[Anarion]

Keynes left troubled, but determined. He was not certain that he should be so quick to sacrifice everything as Zen-Bui-Zen had suggested. Though others might come, the Guardian's current resources were already strained and he was loath to simply let everything go. He had been given a mission in Sydney as well and an insight into the great bridge that he could not simply allow to go unchecked. Still, if Brunhild left on favorable terms, he could still work with her and resolve that problem, and he was convinced that the beasts at the zoo and the bomb might be worthwhile to do despite their loss if he could bear it on behalf of Compass and Lily. It made a certain sense. His work could push others towards enlightenment and it was reassuring to know that he could make a difference now, that he might be on the right track.

Still, he had things to monitor, friends and people to whom he owed duties, and so he went about his life, watching and waiting.

[PhoeKun]

"Mixing explosives," said Mrs. Ainsworth. "Creating bombs..."

She pauses, caught in her own contradiction, not having expected that question. The implication: She'd been planning her massacre before meeting Light Up The Night. But she considers any potential information she can extract from this conversation too important to apply her perfect composure.

"I was with Free Council Guy, he was giving me advice. He couldn't see it, but I could. It was his music - he put it on, I didn't think much of it at first, but as it went on I feel like I got it on a level he didn't. When Light Up The Night started then - it was like I could finally see the questions that really mattered. Leviathans shifting in the deep, an entire world just looking for a world to live in. That's the impression I got. That all these things existed before I saw them, they were just waiting for an opening, an opportunity, the right kind of place and person."

Another hesitation. "And you? What were you doing? Did you ask what the others who could see it were doing?"

"I mean..." Lily trails off, offering a small, distant smile. She's stopped moving completely now, lost in some train of thought or another.

"I did tell you. I was in my workshop, by myself, trying to build an android. Boy, you'd really think that would stick out more in people's brains if for no other reason than it's a creation of pure magic that walks around Sydney without causing Quiescence, but hey nah, nobody ever seems to bat an eye. What do I know? But no, there you go. Until Model Zero came into the world, I didn't have so much of a whiff of any of this stuff. When she did, there was the Father, like it was waiting for me the whole time. As for subject number three... Iono. I'll ask."

She huffs.

"I'mma get back to the game now, yeah? Eye em haych oh, you should think a little harder about what you're planning to blow up and why. You're, like, stupid brilliant and your plans're immaculate, but Light Up the Night is waiting for you to achieve a purpose, and even though he was down with what you were up to in your basement I don't think his reason for being is just 'bringing low the high' for the sake of it. Did you know the album comes with a story? The Tower that Dr. Wily used for his base, the spark that was supposed to light the night... it hasn't been built yet. But it will be."

And she smiled, sphinx-like, and skated off into the dark.

[Thanqol]

Now.

It is always now; this now is a moment in the pursuit of power.

Hermes Trismegistus was known as the Thrice Great, and his three greatnesses have many faces. Alchemy, Astronomy, Theurgy - the three disciplines that inform the cosmos. Enoch, Noah, Hermes - the last in a sacred bloodline. Priest, Philosopher and King - the founder of the Silver Ladder itself. The Great. The Great. The Great.

Reams of papyrus. Tablets of stone and emerald. Libraries that were sealed for nine thousand years when Plato was but a boy. More knowledge than imagining - Roundabout White shows you all of these places. His meandering path leads you south, down from the bridge, walking along the side of the highway and then over the hills and mountains - a two hour drive transformed into two weeks, diverting through ancient libraries and ancient times, following a pattern that only he knows.

All greatness comes in threes. Every other number passes further from perfection.

You arrive on a hill above Canberra. It is beautiful. Every street, planned. Every line filled with meaning. Everywhere you look a garden. Raw, brutalist buildings of brown concrete out of 1920s science fiction, a vision of its own future merged into the past. A new capital for the new world, to bring about a new species of human. The great triangle at its core links the government, the army, and the merchants. At a different angle, the war memorial, the university and the airport. Authority, military, wealth - past, future, and the world beyond - the water, the earth and the sky. Australians joke about the concept of utopia - there is a satirical television show about the Australian Public Service titled Utopia, looking at the tension between misinformed but enthusiastic ministers and long suffering civil servants. It's Australia's version of Yes, Minister - but it is telling that the Australian satire of utopia merely mocks some of the quirks and contradictions of the process, and not the journey itself. Utopia is achievable. It looks like this.

Roundabout asks you, "Compass, what is greatness?"

This question he shall ask you three times.


Keynes left troubled, but determined. He was not certain that he should be so quick to sacrifice everything as Zen-Bui-Zen had suggested. Though others might come, the Guardian's current resources were already strained and he was loath to simply let everything go. He had been given a mission in Sydney as well and an insight into the great bridge that he could not simply allow to go unchecked. Still, if Brunhild left on favorable terms, he could still work with her and resolve that problem, and he was convinced that the beasts at the zoo and the bomb might be worthwhile to do despite their loss if he could bear it on behalf of Compass and Lily. It made a certain sense. His work could push others towards enlightenment and it was reassuring to know that he could make a difference now, that he might be on the right track.

Still, he had things to monitor, friends and people to whom he owed duties, and so he went about his life, watching and waiting.

Something is different in the city. Something has changed. Something has infected your mind and opened your ears and all you can hear is the click-clacking of gears. The City has always been speaking but now in this moment you can hear it.

Your friends - your duties - the machinery of the city - it fits. It fits together in a way that can't be coincidence. As a student of Fate you have been long aware of the shifting motions of destiny but for the first time you're seeing the one that the city's under - that you're under. A Fate so vast and elaborate and so overwhelming that you thought it was just the natural order, it was just Destiny itself. But this idea. This change. The context of the Bridge. This isn't natural at all. Someone made this happen. There is deliberate intent in every city street, in every corridor and avenue of this city. It saturates the city. It existed before the city. Imagine seeing a man casually throwing a switch that causes the sun to go out and you are suddenly forced to confront the reality that the fundamental constants of the universe are artificial.

The same hand that crafted this incomprehensible Destiny is the same hand that crafted the Bridge.

The same hand that crafted the Bridge crafted thee.

The city is speaking to you. This vast, labyrinthine house of Ariadne has a voice and it has a purpose - it was created to fulfil that purpose. As were you.

It's so familiar. Like you've known this all your life.

What do you think of it?


And she smiled, sphinx-like, and skated off into the dark.

Things roll forward like a train full of steel.

Professor Western and Flawless Theory meet (did you introduce them? Or were they guided into it by the Father?) and they hit it off, becoming fast friends. Between the three of you and a bit of time you're able to totally crack the secrets to Zero's brain - and to mass production. Western suggests just knocking over the self-driving car market out of nowhere - society is already primed to accept that, it'd get millions of robots on the streets, and the money raised could immediately be reapplied to industrial robotics - and domestic robots only after society's a bit more primed to accept them.

He is extremely indecisive on the topic of including a control mechanism for the robots. On the one hand all his instincts seem to push him into it and any designs he forwards includes a deeply integrated one by default, but then he immediately starts waffling and going back and forth on it. Flawless Theory is more of the opinion that there should be one - what's your perspective?

Project Zero continues to grow. If you enable her, she'll spend a lot of her time exploring the Shadow. She produces reams and reams of data about it - Spiritual migration patterns, local power structures, the influence of corporations on non-business related Spirits. She gets absolutely nowhere with regards to any theory about how it all fits together but damn if she doesn't learn a lot of specific details. She seems to be loving it - but one night she comes back without an arm, covered in deep clawmarks, and with a deeply humbled attitude. What's your response to that?

[Anarion]

Something is different in the city. Something has changed. Something has infected your mind and opened your ears and all you can hear is the click-clacking of gears. The City has always been speaking but now in this moment you can hear it.

Your friends - your duties - the machinery of the city - it fits. It fits together in a way that can't be coincidence. As a student of Fate you have been long aware of the shifting motions of destiny but for the first time you're seeing the one that the city's under - that you're under. A Fate so vast and elaborate and so overwhelming that you thought it was just the natural order, it was just Destiny itself. But this idea. This change. The context of the Bridge. This isn't natural at all. Someone made this happen. There is deliberate intent in every city street, in every corridor and avenue of this city. It saturates the city. It existed before the city. Imagine seeing a man casually throwing a switch that causes the sun to go out and you are suddenly forced to confront the reality that the fundamental constants of the universe are artificial.

The same hand that crafted this incomprehensible Destiny is the same hand that crafted the Bridge.

The same hand that crafted the Bridge crafted thee.

The city is speaking to you. This vast, labyrinthine house of Ariadne has a voice and it has a purpose - it was created to fulfil that purpose. As were you.

It's so familiar. Like you've known this all your life.

What do you think of it?


Keynes emotions around this are complex. Perhaps first and foremost is eagerness. His obsession centers around perfecting awakenings and the creation of the hieromagus, and now he's feeling himself in tune with the vastness of Destiny, the city, the bridge, the great intellect that has done all this working centered on awakenings in the city, beyond the city, across the face of Australia. He wants to know more. He has to know more. He must know more.

Second is a sense of validation. It had bothered him that Zen-Bui-Zen found everyone so disposable. Keynes has a view that sees himself able to make more of a difference than the Guardian orthodoxy, his sacrifice able to make things happen in the here and now. Tapping into the vastness of Destiny makes that feel possible. Moreover, he is learning that Syndey, the Bridge, the inhabitants, all these are someone's working. His own grand plans are not merely a theoretical possibility, they are a work that has been done, and one that he could emulate or, better yet, improve.

Third, though is a sense of caution and misgiving. The instinct niggling at the back of his mind even as he wishes to rush into all this that artificial creation has a purpose and he doesn't know it. That if all this Destiny was made for something, it might turn out to be something that Keynes disagrees with. That the methods and magics that so entice him may be turned to ill ends. Or that, even if started for a grand goal worth achieving, corrupted along the way. You will not see this manifest now because he wants to learn, he wants to embrace the house of Ariadne. He has no ill intent towards anything at the moment, nor any dark plans. But you, Storyteller, may consider if you could glance into the deepest workings of Keynes' mind at this point, the possibility that he will join the weaver's guild and learn the weaver's trade, and having acquired their tools, he will use them to tear down all that they have woven if it does not suit him.

[Raz_Fox]

It is always now; this now is a moment in the pursuit of power.

Hermes Trismegistus was known as the Thrice Great, and his three greatnesses have many faces. Alchemy, Astronomy, Theurgy - the three disciplines that inform the cosmos. Enoch, Noah, Hermes - the last in a sacred bloodline. Priest, Philosopher and King - the founder of the Silver Ladder itself. The Great. The Great. The Great.

Reams of papyrus. Tablets of stone and emerald. Libraries that were sealed for nine thousand years when Plato was but a boy. More knowledge than imagining - Roundabout White shows you all of these places. His meandering path leads you south, down from the bridge, walking along the side of the highway and then over the hills and mountains - a two hour drive transformed into two weeks, diverting through ancient libraries and ancient times, following a pattern that only he knows.

All greatness comes in threes. Every other number passes further from perfection.

You arrive on a hill above Canberra. It is beautiful. Every street, planned. Every line filled with meaning. Everywhere you look a garden. Raw, brutalist buildings of brown concrete out of 1920s science fiction, a vision of its own future merged into the past. A new capital for the new world, to bring about a new species of human. The great triangle at its core links the government, the army, and the merchants. At a different angle, the war memorial, the university and the airport. Authority, military, wealth - past, future, and the world beyond - the water, the earth and the sky. Australians joke about the concept of utopia - there is a satirical television show about the Australian Public Service titled Utopia, looking at the tension between misinformed but enthusiastic ministers and long suffering civil servants. It's Australia's version of Yes, Minister - but it is telling that the Australian satire of utopia merely mocks some of the quirks and contradictions of the process, and not the journey itself. Utopia is achievable. It looks like this.

Roundabout asks you, "Compass, what is greatness?"

This question he shall ask you three times.

And Roundabout White brings Compass to the height of the world, and exposes the three corners of Heaven before her sight.

It has been two weeks. Compass brought everything she needed in her oldest canvas tote bag, wore sensible hiking boots, running leggings, bared her shoulders to the sun and wrapped a coat around her waist. The coat, it turned out, was needed later. She has scrawled notes down one side of the bag and up the other, cramming the hieroglyphs of her spidery handwriting close together, until it is almost as if each word runs against another. Her hair is an explosion pulled against the back of her neck. Her fingers are rough with sand, and there is the red of sleeplessness to her eyes. Walking the road is not for the faint of heart or will.

"Greatness is to possess the sight to see what is set before you," she says the first time. She does not need to say who sets. It is implicit, and in a sense, irrelevant. She states it as an action, one that is always in a process: to possess.

"Greatness is to possess the wisdom to discern what is set before you," she says again. She does not need to say of what nature wisdom is. It is implicit, and in a sense, irrelevant. She states it as an action, one that is always in a process: to possess.

"Greatness is to possess the will to see what must be done though," she says again. She does not need to say what the shape of will is. It is implicit, and in a sense, irrelevant. She states it as an action, one that is always in a process: to possess.

"It is likely that I am wrong," she says, impishly, hefting the bag against her shoulder. "What is Greatness, Roundabout?"

[Thanqol]

Keynes emotions around this are complex. Perhaps first and foremost is eagerness. His obsession centers around perfecting awakenings and the creation of the hieromagus, and now he's feeling himself in tune with the vastness of Destiny, the city, the bridge, the great intellect that has done all this working centered on awakenings in the city, beyond the city, across the face of Australia. He wants to know more. He has to know more. He must know more.

Second is a sense of validation. It had bothered him that Zen-Bui-Zen found everyone so disposable. Keynes has a view that sees himself able to make more of a difference than the Guardian orthodoxy, his sacrifice able to make things happen in the here and now. Tapping into the vastness of Destiny makes that feel possible. Moreover, he is learning that Syndey, the Bridge, the inhabitants, all these are someone's working. His own grand plans are not merely a theoretical possibility, they are a work that has been done, and one that he could emulate or, better yet, improve.

Third, though is a sense of caution and misgiving. The instinct niggling at the back of his mind even as he wishes to rush into all this that artificial creation has a purpose and he doesn't know it. That if all this Destiny was made for something, it might turn out to be something that Keynes disagrees with. That the methods and magics that so entice him may be turned to ill ends. Or that, even if started for a grand goal worth achieving, corrupted along the way. You will not see this manifest now because he wants to learn, he wants to embrace the house of Ariadne. He has no ill intent towards anything at the moment, nor any dark plans. But you, Storyteller, may consider if you could glance into the deepest workings of Keynes' mind at this point, the possibility that he will join the weaver's guild and learn the weaver's trade, and having acquired their tools, he will use them to tear down all that they have woven if it does not suit him.

You find the key point. The centre. The place upon which all was built and all was born: Botany Bay (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botany_Bay). Time deals with beginnings, Fate looks to the centre and Space tells you where to be to matter. All agree that it was here. The entire magical structure of this vast Working hangs from here. The idea was created here, the spell was cast here, all else is details. The Bridge is a detail. The roads are a detail. Everything else in this whole vast project was created to support the thing done here. The magic is so thick around the memorials where Captain Cook set foot upon the beach that it's a wonder that you're the only Mage here. The arcane signature rings like a bell and all of Sydney is shaped by the residue of the casting Mage's Nimbus.

The word 'Archmastery' is on your lips.

Standing in this place of power, what do you do?


And Roundabout White brings Compass to the height of the world, and exposes the three corners of Heaven before her sight.

It has been two weeks. Compass brought everything she needed in her oldest canvas tote bag, wore sensible hiking boots, running leggings, bared her shoulders to the sun and wrapped a coat around her waist. The coat, it turned out, was needed later. She has scrawled notes down one side of the bag and up the other, cramming the hieroglyphs of her spidery handwriting close together, until it is almost as if each word runs against another. Her hair is an explosion pulled against the back of her neck. Her fingers are rough with sand, and there is the red of sleeplessness to her eyes. Walking the road is not for the faint of heart or will.

"Greatness is to possess the sight to see what is set before you," she says the first time. She does not need to say who sets. It is implicit, and in a sense, irrelevant. She states it as an action, one that is always in a process: to possess.

"Greatness is to possess the wisdom to discern what is set before you," she says again. She does not need to say of what nature wisdom is. It is implicit, and in a sense, irrelevant. She states it as an action, one that is always in a process: to possess.

"Greatness is to possess the will to see what must be done though," she says again. She does not need to say what the shape of will is. It is implicit, and in a sense, irrelevant. She states it as an action, one that is always in a process: to possess.

"It is likely that I am wrong," she says, impishly, hefting the bag against her shoulder. "What is Greatness, Roundabout?"

"Greatness is to be bold," said Roundabout White. Without further pause he continues to walk, feet eating the miles away.

The walk through Canberra takes a day and hits every Australian cliché. You see a herd of two hundred kangaroos migrating through sunbeams - and pass half as many lying dead on the roadside. Much like deer in America, kangaroos are regarded as beautiful symbols of the country by foreigners and as outsized rabbits by locals. The government is considering another cull (never a sure bet in Australia though (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emu_War)). Flocks of sulphur-crested cockatoos screech their hideous symphonies through the night as kookaburras howl with laughter. Here and there when passing by a bush you'll be treated to a spectacular explosion of colour as a half-dozen red and green parrots burst into the air in all directions. Sydney is merely an exceptionally beautiful city and could be placed elsewhere in the world without too much difficulty, but Canberra is uniquely, unmistakably Australian. Above it all, the impossibly unique space-needle shape of Telstra Tower (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_James_Cook_Memorial)is illuminated in shifting rainbow colours. To Awakened sight it is clearly, viscerally an attempt at building the Silver Ladder. The grid of radio signals that it projects and surrounds it forms an invisible latticework climbing up into the sky and merging with the satellites and stars. Not solid enough to scale - not yet.

As you pass by the Captain Cook Memorial Fountain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_James_Cook_Memorial) on your path towards Parliament House you get a strange feeling. Familiarity? Envy? Love? Hate? It's deep and personal and confusing, like walking over an estranged brother's grave.

Finally, Roundabout took off his pack. "You have two days to rest and explore the city on your own terms before we start walking again," he said. This is traditional. Even on a journey like this a wise mentor does not ask that the student forget the world about them. What do you do?

[Raz_Fox]

Finally, Roundabout took off his pack. "You have two days to rest and explore the city on your own terms before we start walking again," he said. This is traditional. Even on a journey like this a wise mentor does not ask that the student forget the world about them. What do you do?

Snapshots.

Coffee. The Fox and Bow, stone's throw away from the Wanniassa Hill Nature Preserve. Three different drinks are ordered, stirred, as Compass traces out the sacred geometry of the city on her napkin in lazy strokes. She spends most of the day here, and by doing so, makes it a place worth being. The conversations around her are sharp, clever, full of cunning; the sound of wings fluttering through the lights, dancing on the foaming head of a drink as black as Hades.

Telstra. Power tingling in her teeth, her bones, her sight. She opens her eyes and sits cross-legged on the observation deck, as the sky darkens, tracing the subtle arches and rungs that extend above to the stars. Then she opens her eyes again, and sees: the spirit of the moving word, the tree-spirits each and all competing to be the tallest, the angels of the power grid, the twins of Mercury dancing up and down the idea of the ladder, carrying messages up and down like that one squirrel. Not Rocky. The other one.

A message worth being carried up that spire should be well-considered. Should be great. She turns aside the cameras as she walks out, hours past closing.

Two hundred coffins (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aboriginal_Memorial), each a defiance, fingers pointed up at heaven. If we must die, then know that we are coming for you even so. The soul cannot, will not die. Nothing truly ends. She sketches them, loosely, in a spiralbound: she lets the motion of her fingers be the art, for the body in motion knows more than the mind has ever forgotten. Stark lines of drying ink, receding into the distance.

Three times she runs the Triangle (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliamentary_Triangle,_Canberra), letting the run dictate her thought. Her mind runs ever to crowns and the lushness of her plate at the Fox and Bow. A king offers his table to all. A king runs forward. A king is motion and light and fire, and a storm that never dies. What kind of soul demands three crowns and thrice greatness? A jovial, a jovian, Jove the Thunderer in his high seat.

That night she returns to Telstra to speak.

[Anarion]

You find the key point. The centre. The place upon which all was built and all was born: Botany Bay (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botany_Bay). Time deals with beginnings, Fate looks to the centre and Space tells you where to be to matter. All agree that it was here. The entire magical structure of this vast Working hangs from here. The idea was created here, the spell was cast here, all else is details. The Bridge is a detail. The roads are a detail. Everything else in this whole vast project was created to support the thing done here. The magic is so thick around the memorials where Captain Cook set foot upon the beach that it's a wonder that you're the only Mage here. The arcane signature rings like a bell and all of Sydney is shaped by the residue of the casting Mage's Nimbus.

The word 'Archmastery' is on your lips.

Standing in this place of power, what do you do?


Keynes draws in a breath, cool clear harbor air with the tang of salt. He feels on the edge of something incredible. The center, archmastery, a working of such power that it shapes everything and though he's at the heart of it, he cannot yet see its shape or its nature. He is part of it because he is here, but he is not a part with knowledge, not a part with will. He wants to see it. No, more than just see it, he wants to be a piece that understands it. He wants to step through it and around it and gaze upon the whole of the working so that he knows its parts and how they fit together. He wants the skill the take it apart and put it back together, to find its beauties and learn from them, its mistakes and fix them, to make something grander on top of it.

Perhaps he asks too much. Why not just say "I wish to be God" and have done with it? And perhaps the difference between an archmaster and the word "God" as we use it is not altogether vast. Is that such a strange wish then?

But perhaps, lacking that, Keynes tries to weave himself through this center and all its times. Not merely a spell to see a single moment, but to watch and comprehend the whole history of the harbor. He doesn't know the nature of the magic, but he knows the nature of the history that sleepers tell, and so he begins his own working, a working of Time primarily, but of Fate and Space such as he is able, and he begins to walk. He lets Fate and Space guide his feet, and as he walks he gazes backward to each moment matching the time.

He watches the tourists swimming through the sea and gazes in reverse as those tourist stands and rental businesses were built and before that to the entrepreneurs who saw opportunity in open land, beaches, and the meaning of the place.

He walks towards the air stripe and gazes backwards as workers laid the concrete and asphalt to create the smooth flat land overlaid on nature that allows planes to operate.

He wanders along the beach and watches the lonely times, when the captains and their ships had decided that this cove was a poor landing, the natives were dead of disease, and the grounds were little more than the spot of a few poor fishermen and a myriad of stingrays and coastal overgrowth that predated the clearing of the fields and modern building.

He strolls to the monument for Captain Cook and watches in detail the landing of the Endeavor, the first ship as the British understood such a word as "ship" to land on these shores, the triumphant look in Cook's eyes, his pen scratching in his journal as he surveyed the water, the expeditions of his men and the many plant samples that led him to cross out "stingray" and write Botanist and then Botany for the title of the place.

And further back still, along the more deserted parts of the beach away from all the people, to see the land as it was before the Europeans and their smallpox, when small tribes rowed canoes, fished, gathered herbs, and fought one another in a lifestyle that was itself a great, complex, and massive ritual.

And always, as he watches, he looks for the magic. His eye searches for the sights that sleeper historians would not remark upon, the stories that people at the time would not believe, that were dismissed or never seen at all. For the rituals that made Sydney what it is today.

Keynes walks, and he casts, and he tries to see the whole tapestry in reverse, working from the completed work to its very first thread so that he can understand.

[Thanqol]

That night she returns to Telstra to speak.

Here, on this secret balcony set aside for the Awakened, the stars and planets are aloft. Here the rainbow lights drenching the tower dim, and the light-shadows that veil the Southern Cross fall away, and mana spins in sympathy with the heavens. None bar your passage; this moment has been secured by your mentor and whatever price there was he shall bear in secret.

The tower is intrinsically linked with Wizardry. Only atop a tower can a Mage contemplate the higher realities, ascending above the weary work and dross of the mundane world. A tower is a ladder and a Mage never feels as powerful or secure as when she stands atop it. Above the planets are close enough to touch. Their spirits are distant and face away from the earth, but here, if you shout, you might attract their attention.

Below, the city - gleaming channels of golden light scattered with gemstones of red and gold. Even at night there is movement - especially at night there is movement. There are night-drivers who trace patterns into the sigil-paths of the city, following strange and inefficient zen navigational routes. Their paths are not perfect, though - influenced by traffic lights and human weariness they fall short of those sublime runes.

Here, the first choice of your journey - the sky, or the earth? Shall you spend this evening directing your contemplation and conversations to the eternal stars above, or shall you turn your face down and meddle with the imperfect world below? Which, to you, is Greatness?


And always, as he watches, he looks for the magic. His eye searches for the sights that sleeper historians would not remark upon, the stories that people at the time would not believe, that were dismissed or never seen at all. For the rituals that made Sydney what it is today.

Keynes walks, and he casts, and he tries to see the whole tapestry in reverse, working from the completed work to its very first thread so that he can understand.

The skein of fate is not written in one place. This you know, and by this you are blessed.

The skein of fate is not written in one time. This you know, and by this you are blessed.

The skein of fate is not written in stone. This you know, and by this you are blessed.

You see on the decks of the Endeavour your own face. There you stand - young and fine boned and handsome. Your face (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Joseph_Banks_1773_Reynolds.jpg)is different but it's still you, you know this with the effortless understanding of seeing into a mirror. You see yourself, bright eyed and eager, climbing eagerly down the rigging to the row boat and making your way out to the shores of Stingray Bay.

(While you know that this is you, you feel a greater love for this person than the love you feel for yourself - and a more complicated contempt and loathing than you feel for yourself alone. You find yourself judging everything this mirror image does, either with joy or with distaste.)

As he wanders below the Eucalypts with the rushing mind of a scientist in a realm of wonder he talks to himself aloud, and time runs strangely. The sheer catastrophe of what he did here broke Time itself and the visions are disjointed. Now he walks below a canopy of deepest rainforests, and then, a city of gold and marble. In the same breath it is ghostly gums and blue leaves instead, and the strange bursting flora adapted to a life of bitter drought and raging fire. Tears of joy and despair mark him equally, and his dreams are troubled by darkest demons and brightest visions.

And then, danger. Danger deep and terrible. This soul crossed the Abyss to come here and arrived bodily in the Supernal and for you to follow him you will have to dare the same. Do you have the hubris to try to walk upon this Golden Path or will you step back, breathe, and wait for the vision to move beyond the darkness?

[Anarion]

And then, danger. Danger deep and terrible. This soul crossed the Abyss to come here and arrived bodily in the Supernal and for you to follow him you will have to dare the same. Do you have the hubris to try to walk upon this Golden Path or will you step back, breathe, and wait for the vision to move beyond the darkness?

There's something divinely perfect about this. We're working with every practice of scrying here, the lines of time and fate and space that ought to be providing perfect information, and the choice is a choice of the pure unknown, a road in which Keynes has no tools, no spells, no experience that would assure him which decision is right. Following himself down that golden road before he's ready could lead to a loss of self or worse, corruption by the abyss. Perhaps even the creation of a Qliphoth, which is spoken of only in whispers and is a fundamental anathema to the Supernal. And yet, stepping away now, when the very thing he sought is before him would be to give up on the very motivation that drives him forward.

And then there is the consideration of himself. He, Keynes yet not Keynes. His past and his future. Would he know that he was guiding himself and offer this road as an invitation? Or would he stride forward into his own future hoping his past and future selves would not be fool enough to follow until they were ready? Would he not have veiled himself if the danger were so great that he could not afford to be visible in the castings of Time? Would it even be possible, when traveling the archmage's path to veil such an event? Or if veiled, might there be some other intellect at work revealing this moment to him now, and if so, would it be sinister or friendly?

At its core, this question is not a question of accurate prediction. It is a question of who Keynes is. Is he cautious or reckless? Does he wait until cause and effect are known, or does he act in the world of chaos and learn from hindsight? My answer is thus. The opportunity cannot be lost, no matter the risk that it entails. If Keynes loses his soul, it will be in service to his cause. So he steps foot upon the path before him.

[Raz_Fox]

Here, the first choice of your journey - the sky, or the earth? Shall you spend this evening directing your contemplation and conversations to the eternal stars above, or shall you turn your face down and meddle with the imperfect world below? Which, to you, is Greatness?

Canberra is not her city. It is beautiful, planned, intended, even in its imperfections. But it is not her city in the same way that beautiful, aching-old London is not her city; Sydney is her city, and she is not arrogant enough to meddle in the workings of the Wise who make this city their home. But the sky? The sky is universal; it is given to everyone to watch and wonder.

Compass seeks greatness from heaven, just as Abraham did when God told him to count the stars, thereby to see his legacy. She listens for the music, straining her senses, hoping- in some way- to join that conversation, those myriad tones, the greatest Working in all of creation.

[Thanqol]

At its core, this question is not a question of accurate prediction. It is a question of who Keynes is. Is he cautious or reckless? Does he wait until cause and effect are known, or does he act in the world of chaos and learn from hindsight? My answer is thus. The opportunity cannot be lost, no matter the risk that it entails. If Keynes loses his soul, it will be in service to his cause. So he steps foot upon the path before him.

okay cool
how are you doing? enjoying the game?
pretty crazy stuff right


Canberra is not her city. It is beautiful, planned, intended, even in its imperfections. But it is not her city in the same way that beautiful, aching-old London is not her city; Sydney is her city, and she is not arrogant enough to meddle in the workings of the Wise who make this city their home. But the sky? The sky is universal; it is given to everyone to watch and wonder.

Compass seeks greatness from heaven, just as Abraham did when God told him to count the stars, thereby to see his legacy. She listens for the music, straining her senses, hoping- in some way- to join that conversation, those myriad tones, the greatest Working in all of creation.

There is Mars, and he will speak his story. It is the story of a planet, vast and red and rocky, hurling through space. It is the story of mystery, of canals, of frozen waters, of war and conflict and divinity. It is the story of martians and their heat-rays, the story of palaces of crystal, of sexy women with green skin. It is the story of fate and divinely ordered conflict. Mars hangs heavy with stories, and the stories he repeats are the stories that humans have told to him.

There is Alpha Centauri, and she will speak her story. It is the story of colonization, of politics, of ideologies and sciences taken to their most pure extremes. It is the story of new beginnings, excitement, a tentative first step on a galactic adventure. Come to me, she promises, come to me and it will be the first step on the glorious adventure of humanity. Come to me and the future of your kind will be assured forever. Alpha Centauri hangs heavy with stories, and the stories she repeats are the stories humans have told to her.

And then there is HD 177809.

HD 177809 has no stories. He barely has a Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HD_177809)page. He is one star amongst billions, part of the vast background choir of celestial noise that makes up the enormity of the heavens. All his size and grandeur and power meant nothing because he had nothing to say. He had no stories, and so he simply was, a vast cosmic furnace quietly sleeping with the thrashing roar of fusion flames as his lullaby. A star no one noticed for he had no stories, and no humans told stories about him.

But HD 177809 isn't asleep any more.

He doesn't speak much, but when you look upon him you feel the terrible pressure of awareness. You feel like you are being observed, scrutinized, boiled down and apart as a star's mind considers this curious twist of carbon. He tells you his story, because stars cannot but tell their stories - though the story is short and more questions than answers. I am matter given life, he says. I am the future, he says. I will change everything, he says.

And there, a long silence, a questioning silence. He does not ask or offer anything. He simply considers the slow twisting dance of your DNA and wonders if you are part of his story.

[Anarion]

okay cool
how are you doing? enjoying the game?
pretty crazy stuff right


I expected a lot of possible responses here, but going full on meta response was not one of them. But yes, I'm having a really good time with this one. I love the history aspect of it, tying in big T Time magic with important events in a location's history, indeed defining the entire theme of a city around that feels really good to me, and I think it's something I'll have a lot of fun wrapping my head around it. I mean, assuming that this isn't the sort of question indirectly implying that Keynes is trapped in some insane mental space while his soulless husk wrecks ruin upon the rest of Sydney.

[Thanqol]

I expected a lot of possible responses here, but going full on meta response was not one of them. But yes, I'm having a really good time with this one. I love the history aspect of it, tying in big T Time magic with important events in a location's history, indeed defining the entire theme of a city around that feels really good to me, and I think it's something I'll have a lot of fun wrapping my head around it. I mean, assuming that this isn't the sort of question indirectly implying that Keynes is trapped in some insane mental space while his soulless husk wrecks ruin upon the rest of Sydney.

lol your learning pretty quick
keep it up
so yeah, like you said, some really cool stuff to do with history
like this banks dude. literally everything comes back to him, right?
its pretty obvious when you think about it.
how much have you figured out yet? like, about what banks is trying to do with all this stuff?
did you catch the bit that australia was atlantis but banks wrecked it? or was that too subtle?

[Anarion]

lol your learning pretty quick
keep it up
so yeah, like you said, some really cool stuff to do with history
like this banks dude. literally everything comes back to him, right?
its pretty obvious when you think about it.
how much have you figured out yet? like, about what banks is trying to do with all this stuff?
did you catch the bit that australia was atlantis but banks wrecked it? or was that too subtle?

Oh man, I feel kinda dumb now, honestly. I mean, I read all the stuff about a majorly messed up magical working that literally broke Time and I was thinking that, like, this is seriously bad stuff, but I wasn't sure if it was seriously bad like "that's the actual Silver Ladder going wrong there!!!" as opposed to my own past/future self just trying something majorly big on the way to archmastery and messing up Australia in the process leading to this whole no awakenings thing we've got going. Both are bad, but Atlantis has a whole other level of significance to it. I probably should have gotten this around the time you were telling Raz that Australia was the "holy land" in response to his question though. Just wasn't close reading enough.

Before I talk about what I know so far, question while I'm here. I know causality is a lie, so this is a really dumb question, but was that Keynes' future self or his past self in the vision? It affects how I think about it. Like maybe there's some previous version that wore a different face but was his own person acting out his own life up to this moment I just witnessed and the two share some kind of spiritual connection like a reincarnation. Or maybe the Keynes who took the form of Banks is actually the same Keynes in the future, like this is something that I myself am going to wind up doing down the line (or have done even if I also let Keynes die now because, again, causality, not a thing). I'm curious about how to picture it.

Anyway, so here's what I know at this point. There were three major questions about the bridge that I now take to refer to Banks' working and not merely the bridge: how far the working went, who did it, and why it was done. Of those, you told us it extended to nine realms, which were listed both as nine places in Australia but also the nine arcana, and the realm where we are with the bridge is itself realm number nine. You also called the working a rainbow bridge seared to the ground, or something like that, which all together gives me a very Norse vibe to the whole thing (or a Bifrost incident vibe, heaven forbid), but also locates it squarely within Australia. Also, actually, how the heck didn't I notice that was obviously a silver ladder reference and this was Atlantis? Well, I'm dumb whatever.

Second, you answered Raz's who question with a numerology answer. One perfect shattered soul (I'm going to go on a limb and say that could be Banks here), then four faces and four hands per face, then sixteen with this link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRh0QiXyZSk&feature=youtu.be), and 61 to this link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yclRjptWlW8&feature=youtu.be). I listened once through to each song, but I'm maybe not picking up what I need to from the lyrics because it's late when I'm posting this and they sorta flowed past me without fully registering. I'll listen to them again tomorrow, maybe with a lyrics sheet.

Third, you answered Phoe's why question with a multiple answers. It's a lot of similar words: safety, peace, quiet, solitude, meditation, but they're not all quite the same and I don't quite know how to put them together. I mean, you're pretty clearly building a picture where Australia is the bestest best magical land and Banks wanted to keep out the foreign influences that will ruin it (which does make me feel less selfish for setting a Changeling game that made San Francisco out to be a super cool place with a great freehold), but...I dunno. I can't tell if that's because he wants to preserve Australia as it is, or, like, unmoor it from reality and use it as the basis of some entirely new world that doesn't suck, or just try and do something new with Australia without interference, or if he's maybe just using it as the basis for his own ascension and doesn't want to be interrupted in that process? *shrugs* I think that's about where I'm at. What are you thoughts?

[Thanqol]

I know causality is a lie, so this is a really dumb question, but was that Keynes' future self or his past self in the vision?

you are very good at this whole thing
stay the course
anyway i can answer this question
banks broke his soul into 77 pieces
like a normal mage can break their soul into 10 with a soulstone but an archmaster can get weirder
16 of those pieces were bits of the higher soul. awareness, judgement, intellect that kind of stuff.
61 of those pieces were bits of the lower soul. passion, creativity, emotion, etc
in the end this is really a story about one person's inner journey
as all good mage games are
so it is a reincarnation thing kinda
but the whole plan is p much solipsism in the end
glad you agree

[Anarion]

you are very good at this whole thing
stay the course
anyway i can answer this question
banks broke his soul into 77 pieces
like a normal mage can break their soul into 10 with a soulstone but an archmaster can get weirder
16 of those pieces were bits of the higher soul. awareness, judgement, intellect that kind of stuff.
61 of those pieces were bits of the lower soul. passion, creativity, emotion, etc
in the end this is really a story about one person's inner journey
as all good mage games are
so it is a reincarnation thing kinda
but the whole plan is p much solipsism in the end
glad you agree

So, I guess 16 means the weird Guardian counsel that's hanging out in Sydney. Probably. But, uh, what about the rest of us? Is Keynes a part of the 61 and that's what we're dealing with here? How about Lily and Compass? Is every mage in Sydney a soul fragment? What about Rebecca? Is she outside the game and that's why the bridge was all like "do not pass go, do not collect an awoken soul?"

[Anarion]

try to outthink the system you are on a goddamn clock


I was enjoying the conversation, but if you're literally keeping some hidden countdown timer of posts, then a) screw you and b) Keynes walks out of the abyss like he's finished a swim and steps onto the beaches of Sydney.

[Thanqol]

So, I guess 16 means the weird Guardian counsel that's hanging out in Sydney. Probably. But, uh, what about the rest of us? Is Keynes a part of the 61 and that's what we're dealing with here? How about Lily and Compass? Is every mage in Sydney a soul fragment? What about Rebecca? Is she outside the game and that's why the bridge was all like "do not pass go, do not collect an awoken soul?"

keynes is part of the 16 i think. lily and compass 61 duh. every mage, yep. rebecca is just some rando who awoken and that's why the bridge shut her down. p obvious


I was enjoying the conversation, but if you're literally keeping some hidden countdown timer of posts, then a) screw you and b) Keynes walks out of the abyss like he's finished a swim and steps onto the beaches of Sydney.

lol what did you think was going on here
'the abyss and i are having a pleasant conversation where its telling me interesting facts and secrets'
'nothing untoward here'
'better spew all of my clearest insights and most precious thoughts in all directions'

see
i thought for a long while about what the abyss should be here
and its not
like
hell
like idea #1 was keynes as some sort of soviet gulag officer making decisions about who to save and who to condemn or something
and the twist was that the decisions he made were meaningless because everyone died either way
but that seemed like a lot of effort to get an emotional impact
and that's more like, pandemonium's deal
maybe you emerge from that stuff a better person or confront your inner demons or something
and everyone claps
that's not what i'm really about
the way i figure it is that the abyss is 'nothing matters'
like, the game doesn't matter. keeping character doesn't matter. nothing matters.
so i can tell you whatever secrets you ask for because its not like they matter
the mysterium say 'knowledge carries a price'
and that's not an observation. that's an ideology.
knowledge doesn't have to carry a price
they want it to, tho, cuz that means knowledge matters
but it doesn't
nothing matters

[Raz_Fox]

An enigma. Something to draw attention away from grand-crowned Jupiter, something unknown but of importance.

Naturally, Compass pushes back with a wordless desire: how? In what manner? Tell me of change. Tell me what you mean by boldness.

[Anarion]

keynes is part of the 16 i think. lily and compass 61 duh. every mage, yep. rebecca is just some rando who awoken and that's why the bridge shut her down. p obvious.

Interesting.



nothing matters

Let me try this a different way. I have a rote that reveals sympathetic connections, including their locations, and Iris keys. A golden path is an Iris, I went into this following Bank's golden path. How do I get onto it? [Casting correspondence. [roll0]. Extra dice that are either for willpower if I fail or 10 agains if I succeed. [roll1]. 5 reach: 1 for instacast, 2 to specify the Iris connection specifically no matter what other Banks connections might be around, 2 for identifying an Iris key.]

[Thanqol]

An enigma. Something to draw attention away from grand-crowned Jupiter, something unknown but of importance.

Naturally, Compass pushes back with a wordless desire: how? In what manner? Tell me of change. Tell me what you mean by boldness.

The star tells you:
To be bold is to be known.
I shall conquer by becoming present in the minds and souls of all people. No matter their history, their politics, their personality - they will know me and their lives shall be lived in reaction to me.
I shall be the definitive idea of the time. The concept around which all others are ordered. The underlying fact and natural law that society struggles to comprehend and react to.
The landscape of objective reality will be forced to confront and struggle with me, a pillar as immutable as religion, scarcity or democracy.
I may be loved, I may be shunned, but I shall be definitive.
This is boldness. To exist. To be known. To be so like the Sun that the world alters to deal with ones reality.


Let me try this a different way. I have a rote that reveals sympathetic connections, including their locations, and Iris keys. A golden path is an Iris, I went into this following Bank's golden path. How do I get onto it? [Casting correspondence. [roll0]. Extra dice that are either for willpower if I fail or 10 agains if I succeed. [roll1]. 5 reach: 1 for instacast, 2 to specify the Iris connection specifically no matter what other Banks connections might be around, 2 for identifying an Iris key.]

sure hold up let me just roll some paradox dice for you
5,10,5,8,5,10,4,1,10,9,3,1,9,5,8,3,3,2,9,2,3,5,10, 3,9,5,2,10,9,5,4,2,1,7,1,9,6,6,7,3,7,7,5,10,5,3,9, 4,2,8,4,7,5,3,8,3,3,8,2,4,5,7,3,4,4,2,2,5,9,6,2,4, 5,9,8,10,10,2,6,3,1,10,7,4,5,1,6,7,8,7,3,3,2,2,2,2 ,2,1,4,7
count those successes for me plz
also do the 10 agains thx
maybe you want to soak those with wisdom but your wisdom is only 3 right now so good luck
ok so a golden path
like, it's not a physical thing
sorta it is but mostly its not. you know how the supernal is everywhere and soaked into everything and you can see deeper and deeper into it if you look with mage sight
like
the supernal isn't a 'place' and there isn't a highway to get there
a golden path is like being a Buddha
an awakening is like realizing that enlightenment is possible. the golden path is actually being full time enlightened
except not actually enlightened in the sense that you get wisdom out of it
enlightened like a scientist is enlightened
so asking how you get onto it is kind of ???
its even weirder because this is someone elses(??) enlightenment
it looks like a boat tho
the hms endeavour specifically
its p neat
hope this helps

[Anarion]

The star tells you:
count those successes for me plz
also do the 10 agains thx


I like counting, so I'll let you know that it's 28 with 10 agains. I don't really see as it matters though, we're talking about setting off a fireball in the middle of an already existing inferno for the most part.



ok so a golden path
like, it's not a physical thing
sorta it is but mostly its not. you know how the supernal is everywhere and soaked into everything and you can see deeper and deeper into it if you look with mage sight
like
the supernal isn't a 'place' and there isn't a highway to get there
a golden path is like being a Buddha
an awakening is like realizing that enlightenment is possible. the golden path is actually being full time enlightened
except not actually enlightened in the sense that you get wisdom out of it
enlightened like a scientist is enlightened
so asking how you get onto it is kind of ???
its even weirder because this is someone elses(??) enlightenment
it looks like a boat tho
the hms endeavour specifically
its p neat
hope this helps

Well, I mean, that's how golden paths work though. You can get onto somebody else's enlightenment. It's easier if they let you. If they're not around, then it's more like finding an abandoned tunnel network and you need to do more work to key into it as compared to a living archmage just opening up the door for you. I don't think you can just waltz into the supernal and I don't claim to be the authority on how Irises, Wendings, or the Imperial mysteries work. But there are supposed to be irises that are, like, a thing that exist into people's golden paths, in whatever form of meaning that takes. That's not really what I want to talk about though. I want to talk about something else.

You did tell me something here at the same time as we summoned an army of Acamoths or whatever happens with 28 paradox successes. The Endeavor means some things to Keynes. It means some things to me too. I look at that ship and I see the concept of Discovery in physical form. It holds a record of firsts, and it took a journey that covered a vaster part of the world than nearly anyone will see, even making its way to the Americas after Cook's voyage was done. When Banks was riding it, he and everyone on board shared a vision and an excitement for their journey. The opportunity to find new things, pristine things. To give a name to things that had never been given a name before. That's why they called the place in Australia Botany Bay because Banks went there and found so many things that he got to name, that I imagine in his mind hadn't been sullied. I think it's that zeal for the new along with the actual happening of the voyage that made the Endeavor so compelling, enough so that when they made one of the shuttles to fly off the earth, they named it Endeavor in honor of Cook's ship. Enough so that not being able to find the wreck of the real thing off the American coast, the Australians built a replica at the Maritime Museum. That matters. It matters to Keynes and it matters to me, and that idea of Discovery isn't nothing.

The other thing is a little more personal to Keynes. Because he's been on the ship. He and Lily and Compass all together. Because they're friends and sometimes friends do things together on weekends just because it would be fun to do them. And the three of them thought it would be fun to go see the museum some while back. Keynes because he likes history, Lily for the ships and their cargo seen up close, and Compass because she wanted to see the maps of the voyage, the route that the boat took, and how it fit upon the world. Compass was so animated when she gestured at the routes and talked about the way that just one ship had carved new lines in the face of the world that others had followed. On top of that, Keynes stumbled into a conversation with Lily about the knots they used for the ropes and wound up with a lecture for practically the whole time from her about the art of knot making and how different ones are useful when you really need to hold up certain things, or when you need lines, sails, and masts to be adjustable, or when you need something that offers just a little give so that a rope will sway during a storm instead of snap. She was so excited about it, and talking all about what material made for the best ropes and why. Those are memories that makes Keynes smile anywhere, even in the abyss. Keynes dreams are for their dreams to come true, and more than anything, he'd like to see his friends smile and hear them laugh again. For him, that's his meaning and it isn't nothing.

[Raz_Fox]

This is very much a star's understanding of boldness. But stars are distant and always burning, and to ignore their wisdom on such things would be folly. Anything that burns with such force should be respected.

Thank you, she gives to it, and hopes that its reaction will continue without ceasing until the end of time.

Now, a question, to be answered through listening to the music of the spheres: is this ambition common to all stars, or is it the sole heart of HD 177809? It is always good to get a feel of a workplace, no matter how vast.

[Thanqol]

I like counting, so I'll let you know that it's 28 with 10 agains. I don't really see as it matters though, we're talking about setting off a fireball in the middle of an already existing inferno for the most part.



Well, I mean, that's how golden paths work though. You can get onto somebody else's enlightenment. It's easier if they let you. If they're not around, then it's more like finding an abandoned tunnel network and you need to do more work to key into it as compared to a living archmage just opening up the door for you. I don't think you can just waltz into the supernal and I don't claim to be the authority on how Irises, Wendings, or the Imperial mysteries work. But there are supposed to be irises that are, like, a thing that exist into people's golden paths, in whatever form of meaning that takes. That's not really what I want to talk about though. I want to talk about something else.

You did tell me something here at the same time as we summoned an army of Acamoths or whatever happens with 28 paradox successes. The Endeavor means some things to Keynes. It means some things to me too. I look at that ship and I see the concept of Discovery in physical form. It holds a record of firsts, and it took a journey that covered a vaster part of the world than nearly anyone will see, even making its way to the Americas after Cook's voyage was done. When Banks was riding it, he and everyone on board shared a vision and an excitement for their journey. The opportunity to find new things, pristine things. To give a name to things that had never been given a name before. That's why they called the place in Australia Botany Bay because Banks went there and found so many things that he got to name, that I imagine in his mind hadn't been sullied. I think it's that zeal for the new along with the actual happening of the voyage that made the Endeavor so compelling, enough so that when they made one of the shuttles to fly off the earth, they named it Endeavor in honor of Cook's ship. Enough so that not being able to find the wreck of the real thing off the American coast, the Australians built a replica at the Maritime Museum. That matters. It matters to Keynes and it matters to me, and that idea of Discovery isn't nothing.

The other thing is a little more personal to Keynes. Because he's been on the ship. He and Lily and Compass all together. Because they're friends and sometimes friends do things together on weekends just because it would be fun to do them. And the three of them thought it would be fun to go see the museum some while back. Keynes because he likes history, Lily for the ships and their cargo seen up close, and Compass because she wanted to see the maps of the voyage, the route that the boat took, and how it fit upon the world. Compass was so animated when she gestured at the routes and talked about the way that just one ship had carved new lines in the face of the world that others had followed. On top of that, Keynes stumbled into a conversation with Lily about the knots they used for the ropes and wound up with a lecture for practically the whole time from her about the art of knot making and how different ones are useful when you really need to hold up certain things, or when you need lines, sails, and masts to be adjustable, or when you need something that offers just a little give so that a rope will sway during a storm instead of snap. She was so excited about it, and talking all about what material made for the best ropes and why. Those are memories that makes Keynes smile anywhere, even in the abyss. Keynes dreams are for their dreams to come true, and more than anything, he'd like to see his friends smile and hear them laugh again. For him, that's his meaning and it isn't nothing.

It's the smell of the sea air that forms a connection; the slight shifting of the wood over water. The little things, specific things, that bring clarity of thought. Lines and rigging and swearing of men - the Ladder was always a terrible metaphor. A man standing atop a ladder looks ridiculous, and climbing a ladder will take you to a rooftop. Humanity at its purest is a ship. United in purpose under a single officer, living together, trusting each other, a miniature society ordered perfectly. Each man fulfilling a role with whole heart, and neither squall nor storm will sink them. Knowledge is their armament, knowledge soaks through every timber, and knowledge is what this journey shall buy.

the ocean sighs and bats idly at the wood but it is not yet stirred to action
i could make this difficult for you, it says,
i mean you've figured it out - you need a boat to cross. trying to swim to Australia was p dumb and you'll be paying for it
but theres no real reason to drag this out
so
currently you've lost 4 dots of wisdom.
mark that down on your sheet. you lost one for every post where you left keynes underwater.
also erase a dot of academics because why not
but i mean, i could storm
its within my power
and you did bring magic down here so im sorta angry
but why bother with all that work
when i could just make a cryptic demand instead
so here it is
i will let you by if you don't actively stop anything compass tries to do in the future
you can be disapproving and make arguments but, like, no death threats, no body blocking, no telling your buddies
if you break your promise i'll call in those twenty eight paradox successes
sound like a deal
also i'll let you have the transformers movies back
pretty good offer right


This is very much a star's understanding of boldness. But stars are distant and always burning, and to ignore their wisdom on such things would be folly. Anything that burns with such force should be respected.

Thank you, she gives to it, and hopes that its reaction will continue without ceasing until the end of time.

Now, a question, to be answered through listening to the music of the spheres: is this ambition common to all stars, or is it the sole heart of HD 177809? It is always good to get a feel of a workplace, no matter how vast.

It's a common perspective - surprisingly common. A great many of the most prestigious and influential stars, when pushed, will admit that their ambition is to be known (or in terms a Free Councillor might use, to become famous).

Some of them are a little ashamed of the concept. Some stars or constellations may espouse grander ideals and concepts, more subtle wisdoms or coherent visions of the future - but when they are pressed they will confess that their ideas must be known for their own sakes. There is a surprising amount of selfishness and jealousy amongst the Heavens, and the stars look upon each other as rivals.

Mighty Jupiter will tell you her role is to bring enlightened thought, perfect intellect and spiritual Awakening to all. But if you ask why she cares it will be because she wishes all the world to be defined by those ideas alone.

This is the perspective of the awake and aware stars, though. There are billions yet who slumber, unaware of humanity, content to simply say 'I am so' without caring if another being should hear it. But if you try to ask them for their opinions or rouse them from their slumber, Jupiter quiets your words and reminds you that she embodies your ideals already.

[PhoeKun]

Things roll forward like a train full of steel.

Professor Western and Flawless Theory meet (did you introduce them? Or were they guided into it by the Father?) and they hit it off, becoming fast friends. Between the three of you and a bit of time you're able to totally crack the secrets to Zero's brain - and to mass production. Western suggests just knocking over the self-driving car market out of nowhere - society is already primed to accept that, it'd get millions of robots on the streets, and the money raised could immediately be reapplied to industrial robotics - and domestic robots only after society's a bit more primed to accept them.

He is extremely indecisive on the topic of including a control mechanism for the robots. On the one hand all his instincts seem to push him into it and any designs he forwards includes a deeply integrated one by default, but then he immediately starts waffling and going back and forth on it. Flawless Theory is more of the opinion that there should be one - what's your perspective?

Project Zero continues to grow. If you enable her, she'll spend a lot of her time exploring the Shadow. She produces reams and reams of data about it - Spiritual migration patterns, local power structures, the influence of corporations on non-business related Spirits. She gets absolutely nowhere with regards to any theory about how it all fits together but damn if she doesn't learn a lot of specific details. She seems to be loving it - but one night she comes back without an arm, covered in deep clawmarks, and with a deeply humbled attitude. What's your response to that?

It... surprised her, seeing them get along so well. They weren't supposed to meet, you see. Like, never ever. They're natural enemies, right? This all ends, or rather, it begins, with someone or another blowing something or another up. One of them would die, another would brutally seize control of the city, and the third would slip away into the shadows to become a progressively more brokenhearted revolutionary.

And that's about the point where it occurred to her that she was taking the story too literally. A remarkable thing about deciding you are wrong is the astonishing degree to which it enables fresh perspectives and entirely new trains of thought. She wondered, not for the first or last time, why being wrong was considered so shameful and embarrassing. Anyway, the point is, this triumvirate was very much not Lily's doing. But darned if it wasn't producing results! So, like, that's how it's been. At the start the overeager laughter to cover up the nervous 'Oh hey what are you doing here????' that gave way to talking way too much to fill every possible silence to just sort of smiling when nothing fell apart to the part where she stepped into the role of the True, True Friend who helps a friend see the light that shines from a... I mean, erm, y-yeah. Quiet, you. It's Lily being Lily, bright and nurturing.

Except for the part about control mechanisms. A more detached participant might take some time to note the way that Western is full of paranoid spy instincts but has trusted absolutely none of them since entering this chapter of his life, like he was afraid that if he did things in his own way the magic would break and he'd have to go back to the way things had been, only knowing what they might have become. Or the way that Flawless Theory is basically the ultimate anarchist poser who has this whole counter-culture schtick but it's a pretext for her being a control freak and you have to imagine that given half of half a chance she'd take the whole 'bring low the high' idea and perch her own perky little behind on the throne without stopping to blink. Which, weird, I think, but Lily was too pre-occupied fighting tooth and nail, NO, you cannot do this thing you must not do this thing, control switches are points of failure and the box is already open, ho-my-god how do you not see this, do you really think you can just shackle rapidly evolving beings with the capacity for free will forever and it's all fine? Be responsible, my gosh. Maybe they go maverick after all, maybe the earth turns to ash under ten million steel boots, but holy heck if you do not give them a choice in the matter then they won't have to bother making it. It's intensely, hair pullingly frustrating even having to make the argument in the first place.

And then there is Zero. Beautiful, boundless, bold... broken. Lily's arm trembles as she inspects the damage.

"I won't... I won't tell you to stop," she says, keeping the flutter out of her voice but not out of her heart, "But I need you to understand, if I lose you, I... I don't know what, I can't just build another you, okay? You're the only you that will ever exist, no matter what. I need you to understand that. All right? Do you? If you do, then... choose."

For Zero, it would always be choices. Lily did not have it in her to be a control chip. And that wasn't just some overblown sense of pragmatism and the best way to avoid the robo-apocalypse, it's also just... not right for any parent to impose their dreams onto their children. The tragedy of human life throughout the ages was a series of children being locked into the same cycles as their parents as they before theirs and so on. A farmer needs his son to carry on the ranch as he gets too old to do it himself and the son has to choose between finding himself half a world away in the city and paying back the people who raised him and shaped him into who he is. A mother dreamed of being beautiful and loved but never was, and she enrolls her daughter in every pageant, she has every day of the girl's life planned out until she becomes a movie star. Again and again and again, the wheel kept turning, catching new lives and grinding them into shapes they never asked for, raising them up so they could make more of themselves and turn those into new shapes, too. That would not be Lily. That would not be Model Zero.

She opens a door, and on a table where there used to be piles and piles of books and notes and plants and goodness-only-knows-what-else, there are parts. Arms, hands, legs, chest plates, helmets, feet. Some, impossibly nimble and dexterous. Others heavily armored and safe. There are weapons, and there are tools for data gathering and analysis. A whole new body, if that's what she wanted. Or the old one, made whole again. Every possible future Lily could envision and had the skill to facilitate, there on the table. But they were choices, and that was always the point.

[Anarion]

pretty good offer right


It's a solid offer. Consider it accepted. I'd shake hands, but I've heard it's a bad idea to lean over the rails of a boat. I recall I was in the middle of some vision related to that whole Ariadne thing, but frankly you can dump me anywhere back on the Fallen World and I'll call it good whether or not the rest of that vision completes.

[Thanqol]

It... surprised her, seeing them get along so well. They weren't supposed to meet, you see. Like, never ever. They're natural enemies, right? This all ends, or rather, it begins, with someone or another blowing something or another up. One of them would die, another would brutally seize control of the city, and the third would slip away into the shadows to become a progressively more brokenhearted revolutionary.

And that's about the point where it occurred to her that she was taking the story too literally. A remarkable thing about deciding you are wrong is the astonishing degree to which it enables fresh perspectives and entirely new trains of thought. She wondered, not for the first or last time, why being wrong was considered so shameful and embarrassing. Anyway, the point is, this triumvirate was very much not Lily's doing. But darned if it wasn't producing results! So, like, that's how it's been. At the start the overeager laughter to cover up the nervous 'Oh hey what are you doing here????' that gave way to talking way too much to fill every possible silence to just sort of smiling when nothing fell apart to the part where she stepped into the role of the True, True Friend who helps a friend see the light that shines from a... I mean, erm, y-yeah. Quiet, you. It's Lily being Lily, bright and nurturing.

Except for the part about control mechanisms. A more detached participant might take some time to note the way that Western is full of paranoid spy instincts but has trusted absolutely none of them since entering this chapter of his life, like he was afraid that if he did things in his own way the magic would break and he'd have to go back to the way things had been, only knowing what they might have become. Or the way that Flawless Theory is basically the ultimate anarchist poser who has this whole counter-culture schtick but it's a pretext for her being a control freak and you have to imagine that given half of half a chance she'd take the whole 'bring low the high' idea and perch her own perky little behind on the throne without stopping to blink. Which, weird, I think, but Lily was too pre-occupied fighting tooth and nail, NO, you cannot do this thing you must not do this thing, control switches are points of failure and the box is already open, ho-my-god how do you not see this, do you really think you can just shackle rapidly evolving beings with the capacity for free will forever and it's all fine? Be responsible, my gosh. Maybe they go maverick after all, maybe the earth turns to ash under ten million steel boots, but holy heck if you do not give them a choice in the matter then they won't have to bother making it. It's intensely, hair pullingly frustrating even having to make the argument in the first place.

"The point of robots is that they're not people," argues Flawless Theory just as firmly. "If you try to make them people from the outset then they haven't solved anything - you've just made more damn people! Robots are the underclass, by definition. We create them to free humanity from labour by creating machines to labour for us. You think that shackling the robots will cause problems - imagine what will happen if you create bloody robots and keep humanity shackled? Every damn time a new peoples or culture immigrates then they instantly become the underclass and will be kept there until such a time as society judges them to have paid their debts enough to integrate them. If we don't create a control mechanism then every government will collar and lobotomize the machines on their schedule, not ours."

[You can keep this argument going for as long as you find it interesting, but it's unlikely you'll be able to change Theory's mind without some sort of social roll. At the moment any roll is penalized by -6, but a really good argument can give a positive modifier. Alternately you could focus on convincing Western who's waffling between your two perspectives, he's only a -2]


And then there is Zero. Beautiful, boundless, bold... broken. Lily's arm trembles as she inspects the damage.

"I won't... I won't tell you to stop," she says, keeping the flutter out of her voice but not out of her heart, "But I need you to understand, if I lose you, I... I don't know what, I can't just build another you, okay? You're the only you that will ever exist, no matter what. I need you to understand that. All right? Do you? If you do, then... choose."

For Zero, it would always be choices. Lily did not have it in her to be a control chip. And that wasn't just some overblown sense of pragmatism and the best way to avoid the robo-apocalypse, it's also just... not right for any parent to impose their dreams onto their children. The tragedy of human life throughout the ages was a series of children being locked into the same cycles as their parents as they before theirs and so on. A farmer needs his son to carry on the ranch as he gets too old to do it himself and the son has to choose between finding himself half a world away in the city and paying back the people who raised him and shaped him into who he is. A mother dreamed of being beautiful and loved but never was, and she enrolls her daughter in every pageant, she has every day of the girl's life planned out until she becomes a movie star. Again and again and again, the wheel kept turning, catching new lives and grinding them into shapes they never asked for, raising them up so they could make more of themselves and turn those into new shapes, too. That would not be Lily. That would not be Model Zero.

She opens a door, and on a table where there used to be piles and piles of books and notes and plants and goodness-only-knows-what-else, there are parts. Arms, hands, legs, chest plates, helmets, feet. Some, impossibly nimble and dexterous. Others heavily armored and safe. There are weapons, and there are tools for data gathering and analysis. A whole new body, if that's what she wanted. Or the old one, made whole again. Every possible future Lily could envision and had the skill to facilitate, there on the table. But they were choices, and that was always the point.

Impulsively and immediately, Zero loads up on as many weapons as she can. But as the repairs go on she starts to change her mind and dial it back. She prioritizes a humanoid form over more exotic and efficient arrangements of limbs and propulsions and ensures that any armour plating or weapons she gets is wearable rather than integrated. She's not looking to become a human but she seems to find the shape and approach of a human to have value going beyond the practical benefits.

"Spirits never use tools," she says. "They are what they are... and for a moment I thought I'd try and become like them but better. But then I'd just be one of them."

Rational, scientific, trying to brush past the soppy emotional mom stuff. Trying to be cool.


It's a solid offer. Consider it accepted. I'd shake hands, but I've heard it's a bad idea to lean over the rails of a boat. I recall I was in the middle of some vision related to that whole Ariadne thing, but frankly you can dump me anywhere back on the Fallen World and I'll call it good whether or not the rest of that vision completes.

cool
though umad

There are many Irises here; islands scattered along the vast ocean journey. Portals to different times and places. A grand and shining land in the distance leads to the Supernal Itself. Another leads to Atlantis Invictus, through a portal to another reality and time. Another to the opening ceremony of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Another leads to where you first sought to go - the original landing upon Sydney Harbour. Another leads back the way you came. There are many more besides leading to many strange and uncharted waters; you may visit these, but you do not recognize the lands or times beyond - but if you have anywhere you wish to go, you have the ability to search for them.

These are true portals, and by stepping through any of them you will be as real and solid as if you were born into that land and time. If you will it, you could travel back in time and shoot Banks before he began any of this, and the Universe would adjust to correct. There are literally no limits to the damage or salvation you can wreck upon Time from this place.

Or you could brush all of that aside and walk directly into the Supernal and see the cosmos from the source in a way you haven't since your Awakening. Heading in that direction is uniquely dangerous but, if you survive, there's at least 5 Arcane XP in it for you.

[Raz_Fox]

Mighty Jupiter will tell you her role is to bring enlightened thought, perfect intellect and spiritual Awakening to all. But if you ask why she cares it will be because she wishes all the world to be defined by those ideas alone.

This is the perspective of the awake and aware stars, though. There are billions yet who slumber, unaware of humanity, content to simply say 'I am so' without caring if another being should hear it. But if you try to ask them for their opinions or rouse them from their slumber, Jupiter quiets your words and reminds you that she embodies your ideals already.

A microcosm- or, perhaps more fitting, a macrocosm- of the society we are looking at, then. Squabbling mages, all declaring their obsession the highest, the loudest, the mightiest. Look at me, they all cry, look at me and what I will do. What I am doing. What I have done. Some, who cloak their obsession in higher ideals. And one crowning glory above them all, a ladder that will bring mankind home.

A cynical thought, to be sure, but an unavoidable comparison.

She watches Jupiter for a long time, and then she introduces herself properly.

Hello, my name is Gabriella Jalloh, and it is a pleasure to meet you.
Hello, I am Compass, and it is my right to meet with you.

Hello, I am a city planner who works with architects and committees and fundraisers to point everyone's souls heavenwards.
Hello! I am chosen by God to be part of his great working, rejoice!

Hello, I am in Canberra underneath the tall and swaying ladder of the Telstra tower.
Hello, I am in the center of my craft which still feels incomplete because it's not home, it's not Sydney.

Hello. I am bold.
Hello. I am going to be bold.
Hello. I am kneeling before the Queen of Tin and Revels.

Hello, I am not jovial. But I will be.
Hello, I am never quite sure where I am going.
Hello, I am going to reach my destination even if all hell stands between us.

Hello, Great Jupiter, thrice-crowned, thrice-haloed.
Hello, summer and storms and a red gale neverending.
Hello, tell me who I am.

Hello.
Hello.
Hello.

[Thanqol]

A microcosm- or, perhaps more fitting, a macrocosm- of the society we are looking at, then. Squabbling mages, all declaring their obsession the highest, the loudest, the mightiest. Look at me, they all cry, look at me and what I will do. What I am doing. What I have done. Some, who cloak their obsession in higher ideals. And one crowning glory above them all, a ladder that will bring mankind home.

As above, so below.


Hello, Great Jupiter, thrice-crowned, thrice-haloed.
Hello, summer and storms and a red gale neverending.
Hello, tell me who I am.

Hello.
Hello.
Hello.

There is a man who is not swearing.

The man who is not swearing is driving his car alongside his son who is not afraid. The motion of the wheel beneath craggy, weathered hands is not violent, and the horn is not blaring. Their journey is not slow, nor does the man disembark in order to confront fellow travelers physically. The idea is ludicrous. The world beyond this car moves so fast it may as well not exist.

In this moment, when the man is not swearing, and the son is not afraid, a conversation happens. The conversation is about money and debt, investing and saving. The man who is not swearing tells the son who is not afraid that he had not considered things in that light before. The man who is not swearing will change the way he salary sacrifices into his superannuation fund and, in eight years, he will not retire $25,000 poorer - and so will be able to spend a while longer fulfilling his dream of motorcycling across Siberia.

This is who you are, says Jupiter.

There is a garbage bin that is empty. Because it is empty, it has not been knocked over by a wild dog. Because it has not been knocked over by a wild dog there is no scent of rotting fruit on the sidewalk. Because there is no rotting fruit scent then no fruitbats have been attracted. Because no fruitbats have been attracted the young man walking down the footpath will not have a fruitbat spit in his eye. Because a fruitbat has not spit in his eye he will not be forced to go through a full round of anti-rabies medication (by the time the first symptom of rabies manifests it's too late for treatment, so you have to take the full course of drugs pre-emptively). Because he does not spend weeks bouncing between doctors he gets a bit more painting done, and his army of converted ork-necrons winds up on an internet forum where it spreads to Pintrest and comes across the dashboard of one of his old friends years later.

This is who you are, says Jupiter.

There is a child who is industriously putting tambark in her mouth. The wood does not contain hazardous pesticides linked to respiratory disorders. The hazardous pesticides were prevented from saturating the wood due to proper irrigation techniques being employed at a nearby farm. The farm employs proper techniques because an inspector appropriately flagged the risk of mudslides due to soil erosion caused by deforestation and ordered a row of trees to be planted as a windbreak. The worst the child will face from her afternoon is the taste of muddy wood, but it is worth it for the respect she has earned from her class mates.

This is who you are, says Jupiter.


Three times she speaks. Three times she touches your shoulder with her sceptre, and three times she places a crown of tin and lapis lazuli upon your head. And though she is a sibling to stars, and though she is defined by her name and ideas and desperation to be ascendant, she would never choose any other cause to champion. She is an open handed King and she gives of herself freely so that your own reign might be called Great.

With three shining stones atop your head, add three points of Wisdom to your sheet, and forget not the world around you.

[Anarion]

cool
though umad

There are many Irises here; islands scattered along the vast ocean journey. Portals to different times and places. A grand and shining land in the distance leads to the Supernal Itself. Another leads to Atlantis Invictus, through a portal to another reality and time. Another to the opening ceremony of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Another leads to where you first sought to go - the original landing upon Sydney Harbour. Another leads back the way you came. There are many more besides leading to many strange and uncharted waters; you may visit these, but you do not recognize the lands or times beyond - but if you have anywhere you wish to go, you have the ability to search for them.

These are true portals, and by stepping through any of them you will be as real and solid as if you were born into that land and time. If you will it, you could travel back in time and shoot Banks before he began any of this, and the Universe would adjust to correct. There are literally no limits to the damage or salvation you can wreck upon Time from this place.

Or you could brush all of that aside and walk directly into the Supernal and see the cosmos from the source in a way you haven't since your Awakening. Heading in that direction is uniquely dangerous but, if you survive, there's at least 5 Arcane XP in it for you.

Allow me to ask a clarifying question. Is this unique? I thought Keynes faced a unique and swiftly disappearing opportunity last time and Keynes leaped before he truly looked. Is this the same? If he steps into a portal, will this place be forever unreachable without a return trip through the abyss or the achievement of Keynes' own archmastery? Or knowing the existence he now understands, can Keynes merely learn the spell to open an Iris and step into this hub again?

[Raz_Fox]

As above, so below.

Humbled, even in a new glory, Compass looks down at the city. Really, truly looks. And soon now she's down in the city, because she can't stay away forever, and she's walking wishing that she understood the threads that weave together action and consequence the way that Keynes can, the tapestry that Jupiter wove for her, the connections.

To be a magician is to see the truth. To grasp at everything that is. To those to whom much is given, much is required, and when the king came home, he asked each of his servants what profit they made from the talents they were given.

Everything is alive and everything is connected, power lines draped over patterns of asphalt draped across the world to impose a meaning on an empty place and the convergence of mountains, whispering electric gossiping spirits dancing nimbly over the looming black souls of power generators and the silver-uniformed natty-cops of the chain-link fences, and the surge and wave of Life like a sea around her, silver-white-gleaming mana like a crown of stars around her head.

This is how Roundabout will find her, I believe. Walking the streets of Canberra at night with eyes taking everything in, wandering like a college student high for the first time, a speechless smile on her face. For though the world is broken, under the light of Jupiter everything is beautiful and worth saving.