Sings of Nothing - (proto)Dreamspeaker
Disturbing. Malfean symbols mark his flesh. He wears the flesh of a dead Garou as a cape with the head as a headdress. He carries archaic weapons: a spear, stone ax and club. He was one of the Nephandi bound by the Traditions and the Technocracy after the end of WWII. Freed by the other four on the orders of the Wyrm and destined to lead them. It took a combination to free him, just as it took one to chain him. Not even the others know the full extent of his powers.
He is very rarely seen in reality itself, because the level of his power is inimical to consensus. He is a Nephandic Oracle, brother to Walking Hawk, also known as Brother to the Sun, the legendary enemy of the Pure Tribes.
Bethany Morris - Celestial Chorus
Skewed Puritan. Traditional dress, but without a bonnet. Long wild red hair. It seems like the only thing keeping her spiritual excess from overflowing is the outfit, almost as if the implied propriety of it contains her. The madness of the excess she harbors shows in her eyes. A tempest chained, she walks on the hinge of explosion at all times. Her voice is her weapon.
Robert Sterns - Progenitor
The best experiment: yourself. Living black tendrils extend from his back. He has the whole lab coat and clipboard thing going on, but it does not fool a soul, because a tendril usually holds the clipboard. His eyes are totally black. Whatever he filled himself with, he put in too much. He never loses his cool and is the counterpoint to Bethany in most circumstances...and one of the few people who can haul her in when she breaks her self-imposed chains. Robert usually seems obsessed and lost in his experiments...which seem to include just about anything unpleasant that happens around him.
Strikes the Heart - Akashic Brotherhood
Looks the most normal of the bunch. It’s not true.
The Nameless Girl - Iteration X
A freakish rarity--an Iteration X barrabus--she looks 17. Native American. Wears a long trenchcoat and gloves. Kind of like Dante, she bears noticeable cybernetic face implants, but these are engraved with Malfean symbols. She leaks what looks like oil from the face implant, but it is Void-stuff. The computer was Mother...now He is Mother and Father. He lets her feel. He lets her feel everything...and it makes her want it all--all of it--to stop so she can have silence in her head. She hears it all, feels it all. And nothing is worthy of being saved.
Born Awakened, she and her twin sister are Croatan kinfolk. They escaped from the Technocracy at the age of eight, and are now chronologically around the age of 15. Her sister is now an Etherite (at least, she's chosen to be one, whether she told them or not) who serves the Incarna of Science.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Thursday, October 2, 2008
The Dark Pack
Peter Walks the Spiral - Male Theurge
A bona fide, MIT-educated genius. Alpha of the pack. A dangerous man: a Black Spiral able to have a daily life. He is the pure definition of a sociopath. He even took a generic deed name because he finds it foolish to engage in such asinine play acting. You’re evil. Just be evil.
Shadow Lord kin, Changed late, and taken (or sought out) the Black Spirals before the Garou even found out about him.
Bleeds for Fun - Male Ragabash
Ex-Uktena, he is the opposite of Walks the Spiral. Twisted and sadomasochistic. Someone will be hurt; if not you, then it’ll be him. Sly and stealthy, he is a prankster with disturbing effect. Pain, yours or his, is all he cares about. Well, that, and getting it done with a flair.
Grandmother Beater - Male Ahroun
Just a hick. Comes from one of those redneck BSD kin/fomori families. He is simplicity itself: a gun toting, beer drinking, violent brute. About as bright as a box of rocks, and about as hard to kill. Peter hates him possibly more than he hates his enemies.
Needs no Reason - Female Galliard
Broken in the head, and she spews prophecy. Attractive in that slipped otherworldly way. When she fights, she is unhindered violence and uninhibited primal attack. Otherwise, she is passive and mutters prophecy.
Tastes the Sin - Female Philidox
Much like Walks The Spiral in the sense that she is more grounded in this world than the otherworld, but she has a bit of the serpent in her. She is a tempter by nature who believes that everyone falls. Everyone is flawed and no one is so good as to ultimately rise above those flaws.
Mysterious and elusive, they've seen nothing of her and Sonya has been unable to dig up any information on her. Peter has most likely been keeping her out of sight as an ace-in-the-hole...or else she specializes in infiltration.
Answers to Nothing - Male Ahroun
He is a contradiction in terms. He is a servant of a very old darkness. He believes in honor in battle, and that Nothing will win because it is stronger and the ultimate end of the universe. Since all is nothing, then only strength matters. That can be physical strength (mostly for fun) or the strength of breaking another’s worldview and hope. To shatter another and reduce them to nothing on the inside shows your strength and strengthens them with the truth.
Used to be a Get, but he fell so deeply to Harano that he sought out oblivion in order to serve it. He still retains some of a Get's sense of honor and duty, caring for his family in Canada, whom he keeps hidden from his packmates. His sense of honor can be appealed to, and he hungers for a good challenge.
A bona fide, MIT-educated genius. Alpha of the pack. A dangerous man: a Black Spiral able to have a daily life. He is the pure definition of a sociopath. He even took a generic deed name because he finds it foolish to engage in such asinine play acting. You’re evil. Just be evil.
Shadow Lord kin, Changed late, and taken (or sought out) the Black Spirals before the Garou even found out about him.
Bleeds for Fun - Male Ragabash
Ex-Uktena, he is the opposite of Walks the Spiral. Twisted and sadomasochistic. Someone will be hurt; if not you, then it’ll be him. Sly and stealthy, he is a prankster with disturbing effect. Pain, yours or his, is all he cares about. Well, that, and getting it done with a flair.
Grandmother Beater - Male Ahroun
Just a hick. Comes from one of those redneck BSD kin/fomori families. He is simplicity itself: a gun toting, beer drinking, violent brute. About as bright as a box of rocks, and about as hard to kill. Peter hates him possibly more than he hates his enemies.
Needs no Reason - Female Galliard
Broken in the head, and she spews prophecy. Attractive in that slipped otherworldly way. When she fights, she is unhindered violence and uninhibited primal attack. Otherwise, she is passive and mutters prophecy.
Tastes the Sin - Female Philidox
Much like Walks The Spiral in the sense that she is more grounded in this world than the otherworld, but she has a bit of the serpent in her. She is a tempter by nature who believes that everyone falls. Everyone is flawed and no one is so good as to ultimately rise above those flaws.
Mysterious and elusive, they've seen nothing of her and Sonya has been unable to dig up any information on her. Peter has most likely been keeping her out of sight as an ace-in-the-hole...or else she specializes in infiltration.
Answers to Nothing - Male Ahroun
He is a contradiction in terms. He is a servant of a very old darkness. He believes in honor in battle, and that Nothing will win because it is stronger and the ultimate end of the universe. Since all is nothing, then only strength matters. That can be physical strength (mostly for fun) or the strength of breaking another’s worldview and hope. To shatter another and reduce them to nothing on the inside shows your strength and strengthens them with the truth.
Used to be a Get, but he fell so deeply to Harano that he sought out oblivion in order to serve it. He still retains some of a Get's sense of honor and duty, caring for his family in Canada, whom he keeps hidden from his packmates. His sense of honor can be appealed to, and he hungers for a good challenge.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Meet Reynard "Rey" Voss
The very earliest memories Reynard has are of the Orphanage. He never dignifies it with another title or even mentions where it is. In fact, he rarely speaks of it at all. No mention of parents or family were ever made during those years, and he doubts that 'Reynard' is even the name he was given at birth (if, in fact, he was given one at all). No one seemed to know where he came from, other than a sad story about being found in an abandoned building by a noble officer of the law. And, as far as he could tell, no one really cared. Neither, for that matter, does he.
Reynard was always a bright, likable young man who did his best to ingratiate himself to whomever was in charge. Adults found him to be a well mannered, helpful child. Bullies saw him as too boring to bother. Indeed, it seemed Reynard was always whatever he needed to be to get what he wanted. It didn't take him long to learn the rewards of manipulation and misdirection. Still, he always longed for something more than simply getting by.
So he left.
At the age of eleven, Reynard realized that the much-vaunted "real world" wasn't all it was cracked up to be. He had to work a lot harder to charm the jaded, worldly citizens of the big city than he expected, and soon found himself stranded in a small mid-western town. Fortune favored the boy, though, when a circus set up only a few days later. They were more than happy to take in a talented, sweet-natured, hard-working orphan off the streets.
Now this was living, he quickly decided. His natural dexterity, quick wit, and silver tongue made Reynard a fast favorite among the carnie folk, who found plenty of jobs to occupy him. He proved to be quite the daredevil. There wasn't much that the boy wasn't willing to try his deft hand at--usually successfully. He taught himself to drive a motorcycle when the adults refused to let him learn. Reynard figured out how to operate the various rides when they shooed him away. Indeed, it proved to be difficult to keep the child from puzzling out anything mechanical or motorized that he put his mind to.
Fortune smiled slyly on him again when he underwent his chrysalis at the age of thirteen. Several fae had attached themselves to the circus over the years and had begun quietly observing the boy over time. A soft-hearted Eshu fortuneteller and a voracious treat-vending Red Cap made sure no harm came to him, and introduced him to the faerie world. Let's say they weren't shocked to find that Reynard was a Pooka.
Over the years, Reynard developed a true affinity for all types of vehicles. He began taking part in the circus's stunt show as soon as he got a license to drive. His daredevil nature came out and made the kid a huge hit with paying customers, but it tended to concern everyone else. He seemed quite willing to try anything, no matter how dangerous. The fact that he nearly always succeeded was beside the point.
As far as Reynard was concerned, if a bunch of saps wanted to shell out cash to watch him perform a few easy stunts, all the better. It was a great con to make something simple look too hard for other folks so they'd pay YOU to do it. His part in the show was quickly expanded by the management and became so popular that the stunt show soon was the biggest draw, easily supporting the rest of the circus. "Daredevil Rey" can drive, fly, or sail anything!
Everyone will tell you what kind of guy Reynard Voss is, but you'd be hard-pressed to find more than a few who'll agree on what kind of guy that is. His chameleon affinity suits him just fine. He'll rarely lie outright, preferring to deflect or misdirect instead. He makes friends easily, getting people to tell him all about themselves while mentioning nothing of himself. He hasn't a care for how many toes he treads on or how many backs he puts a knife in, as long as he gets what he wants and can aim the pointing fingers in someone else's direction. The only thing everyone can agree on about "Daredevil Rey" is that he has a voracious sweet tooth and always has candy on hand. He also tends to refer to people in endearments relating to sweets. Despite his roguish nature, though, Reynard does follow a strange sort of code of honor.
Reynard was always a bright, likable young man who did his best to ingratiate himself to whomever was in charge. Adults found him to be a well mannered, helpful child. Bullies saw him as too boring to bother. Indeed, it seemed Reynard was always whatever he needed to be to get what he wanted. It didn't take him long to learn the rewards of manipulation and misdirection. Still, he always longed for something more than simply getting by.
So he left.
At the age of eleven, Reynard realized that the much-vaunted "real world" wasn't all it was cracked up to be. He had to work a lot harder to charm the jaded, worldly citizens of the big city than he expected, and soon found himself stranded in a small mid-western town. Fortune favored the boy, though, when a circus set up only a few days later. They were more than happy to take in a talented, sweet-natured, hard-working orphan off the streets.
Now this was living, he quickly decided. His natural dexterity, quick wit, and silver tongue made Reynard a fast favorite among the carnie folk, who found plenty of jobs to occupy him. He proved to be quite the daredevil. There wasn't much that the boy wasn't willing to try his deft hand at--usually successfully. He taught himself to drive a motorcycle when the adults refused to let him learn. Reynard figured out how to operate the various rides when they shooed him away. Indeed, it proved to be difficult to keep the child from puzzling out anything mechanical or motorized that he put his mind to.
Fortune smiled slyly on him again when he underwent his chrysalis at the age of thirteen. Several fae had attached themselves to the circus over the years and had begun quietly observing the boy over time. A soft-hearted Eshu fortuneteller and a voracious treat-vending Red Cap made sure no harm came to him, and introduced him to the faerie world. Let's say they weren't shocked to find that Reynard was a Pooka.
Over the years, Reynard developed a true affinity for all types of vehicles. He began taking part in the circus's stunt show as soon as he got a license to drive. His daredevil nature came out and made the kid a huge hit with paying customers, but it tended to concern everyone else. He seemed quite willing to try anything, no matter how dangerous. The fact that he nearly always succeeded was beside the point.
As far as Reynard was concerned, if a bunch of saps wanted to shell out cash to watch him perform a few easy stunts, all the better. It was a great con to make something simple look too hard for other folks so they'd pay YOU to do it. His part in the show was quickly expanded by the management and became so popular that the stunt show soon was the biggest draw, easily supporting the rest of the circus. "Daredevil Rey" can drive, fly, or sail anything!
Everyone will tell you what kind of guy Reynard Voss is, but you'd be hard-pressed to find more than a few who'll agree on what kind of guy that is. His chameleon affinity suits him just fine. He'll rarely lie outright, preferring to deflect or misdirect instead. He makes friends easily, getting people to tell him all about themselves while mentioning nothing of himself. He hasn't a care for how many toes he treads on or how many backs he puts a knife in, as long as he gets what he wants and can aim the pointing fingers in someone else's direction. The only thing everyone can agree on about "Daredevil Rey" is that he has a voracious sweet tooth and always has candy on hand. He also tends to refer to people in endearments relating to sweets. Despite his roguish nature, though, Reynard does follow a strange sort of code of honor.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
The Dark Pack Revealed
When they arrive in Tara, Rey sells the story of Ambrose's quest hard. He also plays up Jared's duel. Ambrose asks Faris how he knows so much, and learns about the relationship of sidhe and time.
At the caern the day after the moot, Sonya sits down with Dances for the Spirits and grills him on his personal information and skills. "You can tell she's a law dog," Aila comments cheerily.
Ambrose visits his double, who's just hanging out around the castle. Rey takes the opportunity to do more digging into his sword's history. People seem to know more about it than they're telling. One suggests that it's either Fiona or Gwydion.
Sonya sets Dances for the Spirits to researching the Texas town where everyone vanished. There are a lot of ghost stories from that area. Aila follows up on that lead, and discovers that this is the third time in history that this has happened: 200 years ago and 400 years ago, the whole town's population vanished. RF gets a map and shows it to a Uktena Theurge, who says there are no Great Banes in that area. Vampires? Nephandi? He doesn't know about those.
They try their Project Twilight contacts, who register almost constant hauntings there: no particular folklore revolving around it, but a 30% higher murder rate than average.
As for the Black Spiral pack, they have few ways to follow that lead. Spirits know the warehouse they held Jungle's Fury in, but the pack is gone. Still, they can check it out.
Ambrose calls when he gets home. They have him search on the Spiral pack. He finds one Edward Simpson, an MIT grad at age 13--child prodigy--born in Boston, vanished at age 15 and a half. He was a whiz at accounting, and gifted at computer programming. He was listed as a potential recruit by the Technocracy. Sonya follows that up with the Glass Walkers. Did they recruit him first? But no, they never picked him up.
At the warehouse, the pack finds a hologram. It activates with an image of Simpson, who tells them to hold their breath. "Silver," Sonya snarls without needing to check. They shift into their breed forms. Other chemicals start pumping into the air--an air-fuel bomb. They step sideways. The Balam freaks; Jonas kicks her. Aila drags the Balam into the Shadowlands with Jonas, while the rest of the pack stepping into the Umbra come face to face with a Nexus Crawler. Sonya exorcises it. They all regroup outside.
Then they either dodge or step sideways again as the warehouse explodes. People in the Umbra spot some kind of powdered Wyrm-dust--corrupted bee spirits! Dances for the Spirits uses Call the Wind Gift to corral them. Sonya calls Ambrose, who shows up with his spirit vacuum and demonstrates his newly-perfected ability to "enter etherspace" (for which he cops a bit of Paradox, oops). He sucks up the corrupted bee spirits, and scans the wreckage of the warehouse a bit before Sonya ushers them all out. Jonas plays official for the cops to distract them, but they need to clear out before that very thin facade falls through.
At the caern the day after the moot, Sonya sits down with Dances for the Spirits and grills him on his personal information and skills. "You can tell she's a law dog," Aila comments cheerily.
Ambrose visits his double, who's just hanging out around the castle. Rey takes the opportunity to do more digging into his sword's history. People seem to know more about it than they're telling. One suggests that it's either Fiona or Gwydion.
Sonya sets Dances for the Spirits to researching the Texas town where everyone vanished. There are a lot of ghost stories from that area. Aila follows up on that lead, and discovers that this is the third time in history that this has happened: 200 years ago and 400 years ago, the whole town's population vanished. RF gets a map and shows it to a Uktena Theurge, who says there are no Great Banes in that area. Vampires? Nephandi? He doesn't know about those.
They try their Project Twilight contacts, who register almost constant hauntings there: no particular folklore revolving around it, but a 30% higher murder rate than average.
As for the Black Spiral pack, they have few ways to follow that lead. Spirits know the warehouse they held Jungle's Fury in, but the pack is gone. Still, they can check it out.
Ambrose calls when he gets home. They have him search on the Spiral pack. He finds one Edward Simpson, an MIT grad at age 13--child prodigy--born in Boston, vanished at age 15 and a half. He was a whiz at accounting, and gifted at computer programming. He was listed as a potential recruit by the Technocracy. Sonya follows that up with the Glass Walkers. Did they recruit him first? But no, they never picked him up.
At the warehouse, the pack finds a hologram. It activates with an image of Simpson, who tells them to hold their breath. "Silver," Sonya snarls without needing to check. They shift into their breed forms. Other chemicals start pumping into the air--an air-fuel bomb. They step sideways. The Balam freaks; Jonas kicks her. Aila drags the Balam into the Shadowlands with Jonas, while the rest of the pack stepping into the Umbra come face to face with a Nexus Crawler. Sonya exorcises it. They all regroup outside.
Then they either dodge or step sideways again as the warehouse explodes. People in the Umbra spot some kind of powdered Wyrm-dust--corrupted bee spirits! Dances for the Spirits uses Call the Wind Gift to corral them. Sonya calls Ambrose, who shows up with his spirit vacuum and demonstrates his newly-perfected ability to "enter etherspace" (for which he cops a bit of Paradox, oops). He sucks up the corrupted bee spirits, and scans the wreckage of the warehouse a bit before Sonya ushers them all out. Jonas plays official for the cops to distract them, but they need to clear out before that very thin facade falls through.
The Moot
Horns blow and howls rise: the moot is called. The Corax gives a high-speed recital of her news. "It'll be a Galliard's deed by itself to remember that."
Sergei stands to remind them, "Prophecies are useful, but lock yourselves into them and you become weak." Then he turns to confront Jungle's Fury. "Why are you here?"
She thinks she was sent by Gaia, but she's terribly vague on the details. Her half-assed answers and self-contradictions begin to annoy Sergei, who looks like he's hovering halfway between amused and ready to kill when Sonya cuts in, prompting the Balam to tell the tale about her mentor sending her that she previously told Sonya. She tells a story about her mentor sending her, but it's not the one she gave Sonya, which does not make for a happy Shadow Lord.
Walking Hawk chimes in. He was "otherwise occupied" when the Croatan fought, but he knows the ritual to bring them back. Jonas opens his mouth to shout "BINGO!" when he feels Sergei looming behind him. "Let me get you a more respectful paper for your prophecy," Sergei suggests, pulling the one Jonas has doodled on out of his hands. Walking Hawk tells them he will help when he can, but his time on earth is limited.
The Wendigo remand Dances for the Spirits to the pack, because they'll need a Wendigo to help sing the Croatan Song. The pack tells them about the Sept of the Still Waters and Wonshii's journal. Sergei wonders: is 'Croatan's home' the caern, or the Homeland? The Garou who go there only see ghosts. The last visit was by some drunk Get, who never came back. Sergei looks at Aila. "Again, you are uniquely positioned. You seem reluctant to acknowledge this. I stress: false modesty or cowardice must end now." Aila clams up and looks shifty and grudging.
Sonya knows the "lord of the land": Rastov. She has been tracking his involvement since all this began. Sergei knows him, too. "Dracula's boy. Old boy." Olesya tells about their latest run-in with his couriers and Giovanni. Sonya fills it about Dr. Sinris and what Ambrose told them about Goratrix and the book.
"Well," says Sergei. "If it's faerie, then why doesn't our visitor tell us." He reaches out and rips someone out of the Umbra--a shifter who smells like faerie kin. Irish, by his accent as he pleads with Sergei not to hurt him. Sergei forces him into a seat. The guy, who says he's a werecat, warns them about the risks of putting a True Fae back together. After trying briefly to talk his way out (which is utterly unsuccessful), he tells them he was sent by the Dreaming--Luna in her Dreaming guise. He tells them that Ambrose being involved is a clue to where the faerie should be put back together.
Sonya recalls the vision of Victoria Station. "The queen's carriage house," someone points out. Then the bastet decides to sit quietly till the scary Garou gives him permission to leave. Sergei declares a break after hassling him, and drags him off, looking like what Sonya describes as "practically jolly. For Sergei." The pack takes the intermission to call Ambrose about Victoria Station.
A little while later, Sergei comes back with a shaken-looking Bastet, and says he's confident their visitor is telling the truth.
Wanders the South, a Wendigo Theurge, identifies another point: the Apex of History, a Realm where a climber reaches the top and sees their version of the end of the world. They call Ambrose about it; he knows about it from Alexis Hastings' book, one of the Vistas. He tells them he's on the way to England, for which Jonas mocks him--his usual "gay mage wants you for a love toy" comments, at which point Ambrose hangs up on him.
The Get start getting rowdy. Their pack's Ahroun keeps offering--insisting, really--on some stupid interpretations of bits of the prophecy, interrupting people when he doesn't like their ideas. Sonya deals with it before Sergei decides he should, by letting him express his opinions and humiliate himself in public. then she thanks him for his time.
Walking Hawk gives them a spirit axe, which damages a possessing force without harming the host. He also gives them Dead Paint, which is fetish paint the Wendigo made from a Wendigo's pain in order to track down their killer. This is the Dead Pain of Little Fox, he tells them, the sorrow of the Wendigo tribe at their loss for Middle Brother. It will help them track clues. Aila stammers her thanks and then apologizes. Sergei sighs heavily. "Video games will ruin your eyes," he tells her. Jonas snarks across the pack's mental link. Aila laughs, RF comments, and Sonya clears her throat.
The moot begins to wrap up. Aila asks the Cielican--Phineas Sullivan--if he knows any songs about Astarte. He knows one. The Corax returns with more coffee. They talk with her about the Black Spirals. She says she'll see what she can turn up on them.
Then they see Mark talking to Walking Hawk, who looks extremely uncomfortable when Mark pulls out a book and asks for his autograph.
Sergei stands to remind them, "Prophecies are useful, but lock yourselves into them and you become weak." Then he turns to confront Jungle's Fury. "Why are you here?"
She thinks she was sent by Gaia, but she's terribly vague on the details. Her half-assed answers and self-contradictions begin to annoy Sergei, who looks like he's hovering halfway between amused and ready to kill when Sonya cuts in, prompting the Balam to tell the tale about her mentor sending her that she previously told Sonya. She tells a story about her mentor sending her, but it's not the one she gave Sonya, which does not make for a happy Shadow Lord.
Walking Hawk chimes in. He was "otherwise occupied" when the Croatan fought, but he knows the ritual to bring them back. Jonas opens his mouth to shout "BINGO!" when he feels Sergei looming behind him. "Let me get you a more respectful paper for your prophecy," Sergei suggests, pulling the one Jonas has doodled on out of his hands. Walking Hawk tells them he will help when he can, but his time on earth is limited.
The Wendigo remand Dances for the Spirits to the pack, because they'll need a Wendigo to help sing the Croatan Song. The pack tells them about the Sept of the Still Waters and Wonshii's journal. Sergei wonders: is 'Croatan's home' the caern, or the Homeland? The Garou who go there only see ghosts. The last visit was by some drunk Get, who never came back. Sergei looks at Aila. "Again, you are uniquely positioned. You seem reluctant to acknowledge this. I stress: false modesty or cowardice must end now." Aila clams up and looks shifty and grudging.
Sonya knows the "lord of the land": Rastov. She has been tracking his involvement since all this began. Sergei knows him, too. "Dracula's boy. Old boy." Olesya tells about their latest run-in with his couriers and Giovanni. Sonya fills it about Dr. Sinris and what Ambrose told them about Goratrix and the book.
"Well," says Sergei. "If it's faerie, then why doesn't our visitor tell us." He reaches out and rips someone out of the Umbra--a shifter who smells like faerie kin. Irish, by his accent as he pleads with Sergei not to hurt him. Sergei forces him into a seat. The guy, who says he's a werecat, warns them about the risks of putting a True Fae back together. After trying briefly to talk his way out (which is utterly unsuccessful), he tells them he was sent by the Dreaming--Luna in her Dreaming guise. He tells them that Ambrose being involved is a clue to where the faerie should be put back together.
Sonya recalls the vision of Victoria Station. "The queen's carriage house," someone points out. Then the bastet decides to sit quietly till the scary Garou gives him permission to leave. Sergei declares a break after hassling him, and drags him off, looking like what Sonya describes as "practically jolly. For Sergei." The pack takes the intermission to call Ambrose about Victoria Station.
A little while later, Sergei comes back with a shaken-looking Bastet, and says he's confident their visitor is telling the truth.
Wanders the South, a Wendigo Theurge, identifies another point: the Apex of History, a Realm where a climber reaches the top and sees their version of the end of the world. They call Ambrose about it; he knows about it from Alexis Hastings' book, one of the Vistas. He tells them he's on the way to England, for which Jonas mocks him--his usual "gay mage wants you for a love toy" comments, at which point Ambrose hangs up on him.
The Get start getting rowdy. Their pack's Ahroun keeps offering--insisting, really--on some stupid interpretations of bits of the prophecy, interrupting people when he doesn't like their ideas. Sonya deals with it before Sergei decides he should, by letting him express his opinions and humiliate himself in public. then she thanks him for his time.
Walking Hawk gives them a spirit axe, which damages a possessing force without harming the host. He also gives them Dead Paint, which is fetish paint the Wendigo made from a Wendigo's pain in order to track down their killer. This is the Dead Pain of Little Fox, he tells them, the sorrow of the Wendigo tribe at their loss for Middle Brother. It will help them track clues. Aila stammers her thanks and then apologizes. Sergei sighs heavily. "Video games will ruin your eyes," he tells her. Jonas snarks across the pack's mental link. Aila laughs, RF comments, and Sonya clears her throat.
The moot begins to wrap up. Aila asks the Cielican--Phineas Sullivan--if he knows any songs about Astarte. He knows one. The Corax returns with more coffee. They talk with her about the Black Spirals. She says she'll see what she can turn up on them.
Then they see Mark talking to Walking Hawk, who looks extremely uncomfortable when Mark pulls out a book and asks for his autograph.
The Prophecy
Almost too many stories for one song.
Before the song the memories return from rain forest.
A dragons’ lesson to a horned serpent that was given by the bird that walks.
The namers know the bird that walks.
Wars are beyond him now.
Three. Brothers’ blood. Brothers’ Memory. Brothers’ Song.
Turtles pack will take a walk
to the primal place but they will not walk in a straight line.
A journey is not a place.
They take the walker of chance who goes where fate is most amused. A compass of dreams.
An armored trickster is not a joke.
They walk.
To the apex of history with a namer of this new age to learn a lesson.
To the queens carriage house where Iron does not burn to find a secret.
On paths of silver to learn of ancient darkness.
Across a stage.
To where everyone plays a part.
Another step to one hell out of a thousand.
A monkey with the key is the hope.
A girl who can not be opposes.
The wyrm sends its’ minions.
They sing of nothing and make it real.
They name all nothing.
A dark pack rises.
And a girl who cannot be supports.
Ancient weapons of gods not gods.
Exiled dreams return.
A small part of the highest hopes.
To haunted places at the hour of midnight
where the father of a city gives aid.
Empty Knights, a marriage of oblivion and the Elder Dark.
Battle lines are drawn in the winter snow.
The Knight who must help must make a choice.
The walk continues.
So many places.
So much darkness.
The computer calls.
She who heads the family seeks more children in chains.
Men wearing white find the horizon.
The key to salvation is in the path of the one who walked in silence
and forgets the path.
Blood drinkers in the mountains.
A lord of the land,
His reach long.
Into the dead who seek the dead his taint runs.
Into the night a pack seeks the book.
Old magic of the earth,
Extinguishes a burning heart.
In the snow something is forged in ice.
Four tricksters take a walk to the dark side of the moon,
But three return.
Games are sometimes lost by a headshot,
and the teller of stories is silent.
Deaths songs are sung.
But not all is death.
The death bear must be fought
for middle brothers soul.
A song must be sung.
The song of the middle brother.
Sung in the primal place.
Sung in his home.
Sung by all three brothers.
In Turtles’ shell they leave Snake Island.
On turtles’ back they travel.
Turtles pack guards the walk of the willful kin home.
In the home of middle brother the family reunites.
A cold heart thaws.
A walk ends and a dance begins.
The once and future king is king again.
The griffon loses its favored son.
Not all circuses are fun, but carnivals are.
A queen hears her song and remembers.
The dreams must reconcile in the hunting ground.
They fight,
the elder dark.
The dream of the Wyrm.
The elder light and her children,
the eternal hope.
In the primal place there is balance,
and a lesson. A dream explained.
A queen must choose.
A flower found can be the first sign of spring.
A flower found can be the last sing of spring.
A fragile path is walked once more.
A song rediscovered needs to be sung.
Nothing is given a name.
The castles stand must be repeated
for the world to wake from a nightmare.
Two girls who cannot be,
must be one who is.
The last seat is filled.
The spider in the pearl is needed.
The movie girl gives a key.
In the primal place all are one.
The pack that remembers can bring hope.
The grandmother in her web sees all
and the grandmother is displeased.
To grandmothers house
to ease her pain a family goes to name a new child.
Not all who begin a walk will finish.
Not all who attend the dance will leave.
Sometimes they dance to a death song.
Sometimes to the song of spring.
The last song is unwritten and unsung,
so hope remains for the wolves.
Before the song the memories return from rain forest.
A dragons’ lesson to a horned serpent that was given by the bird that walks.
The namers know the bird that walks.
Wars are beyond him now.
Three. Brothers’ blood. Brothers’ Memory. Brothers’ Song.
Turtles pack will take a walk
to the primal place but they will not walk in a straight line.
A journey is not a place.
They take the walker of chance who goes where fate is most amused. A compass of dreams.
An armored trickster is not a joke.
They walk.
To the apex of history with a namer of this new age to learn a lesson.
To the queens carriage house where Iron does not burn to find a secret.
On paths of silver to learn of ancient darkness.
Across a stage.
To where everyone plays a part.
Another step to one hell out of a thousand.
A monkey with the key is the hope.
A girl who can not be opposes.
The wyrm sends its’ minions.
They sing of nothing and make it real.
They name all nothing.
A dark pack rises.
And a girl who cannot be supports.
Ancient weapons of gods not gods.
Exiled dreams return.
A small part of the highest hopes.
To haunted places at the hour of midnight
where the father of a city gives aid.
Empty Knights, a marriage of oblivion and the Elder Dark.
Battle lines are drawn in the winter snow.
The Knight who must help must make a choice.
The walk continues.
So many places.
So much darkness.
The computer calls.
She who heads the family seeks more children in chains.
Men wearing white find the horizon.
The key to salvation is in the path of the one who walked in silence
and forgets the path.
Blood drinkers in the mountains.
A lord of the land,
His reach long.
Into the dead who seek the dead his taint runs.
Into the night a pack seeks the book.
Old magic of the earth,
Extinguishes a burning heart.
In the snow something is forged in ice.
Four tricksters take a walk to the dark side of the moon,
But three return.
Games are sometimes lost by a headshot,
and the teller of stories is silent.
Deaths songs are sung.
But not all is death.
The death bear must be fought
for middle brothers soul.
A song must be sung.
The song of the middle brother.
Sung in the primal place.
Sung in his home.
Sung by all three brothers.
In Turtles’ shell they leave Snake Island.
On turtles’ back they travel.
Turtles pack guards the walk of the willful kin home.
In the home of middle brother the family reunites.
A cold heart thaws.
A walk ends and a dance begins.
The once and future king is king again.
The griffon loses its favored son.
Not all circuses are fun, but carnivals are.
A queen hears her song and remembers.
The dreams must reconcile in the hunting ground.
They fight,
the elder dark.
The dream of the Wyrm.
The elder light and her children,
the eternal hope.
In the primal place there is balance,
and a lesson. A dream explained.
A queen must choose.
A flower found can be the first sign of spring.
A flower found can be the last sing of spring.
A fragile path is walked once more.
A song rediscovered needs to be sung.
Nothing is given a name.
The castles stand must be repeated
for the world to wake from a nightmare.
Two girls who cannot be,
must be one who is.
The last seat is filled.
The spider in the pearl is needed.
The movie girl gives a key.
In the primal place all are one.
The pack that remembers can bring hope.
The grandmother in her web sees all
and the grandmother is displeased.
To grandmothers house
to ease her pain a family goes to name a new child.
Not all who begin a walk will finish.
Not all who attend the dance will leave.
Sometimes they dance to a death song.
Sometimes to the song of spring.
The last song is unwritten and unsung,
so hope remains for the wolves.
Sir Tristan ap Dougal and Ambrose's Quest through the Dreaming
Ambrose is hiking through the Dreaming holding Sir Tristan's eyes. "Don't drop them," Tristan cautions him, following behind him as usual.
"Could you walk where I can see you sometimes?" Ambrose asks him, feeling nervous about somebody constantly standing right behind him where he can't see.
They're heading toward the City of the Forgotten. Rey asks if Ambrose ever had an imaginary friend. He doesn't believe so, he says.
Ambrose thinks the City of the Forgotten looks weird. "Well," Rey puns, "since the eyes have it...," receiving groans all around. The eyes lead them to a junkyard. Ambrose likes it; it's full of all sorts of odds and ends. A cute moleman with enormous front paws is digging there.
"This place is awesome!" Ambrose greets it.
"Yeah. Yeah," the moleman agrees, looking around at the piles of stuff lying around. "Pretty neat. I dig it up."
Ambrose shows him the box that holds the eyes and asks if he has anything like that. "Think I have that. I have what you want," the moleman mumbles shyly. Ambrose asks him about making a trade, which confuses the moleman, who tells him he "digs and keeps," and gives things to his child but not for 150 years. Ambrose feels sad for him.
"This guy's a kid at heart," Rey tries. The moleman apparently likes Ambrose enough that he goes and roots out the box. Ambrose still feels like he should give the moleman something. It tells him to call when he wants something dug up.
In the box is Tristan's head. They have to put the eyes back in (Jared does it). After they do, the head opens its mouth and begins to spout a prophecy.
Ambrose makes a sling to carry the head in, since he doesn't want to swing it around by the hair. Faris teases him about how creepy it is, and offers to attach it to Ambrose to complete the image. The head mumbles in upset. "I agree, shut up!" Ambrose tells Faris.
Next they have to find the tongue. "Awwww, it's a ritual thing, ew!" Ambrose complains.
"Hope the satyrs don't have it," Faris jokes.
Ambrose covers Sir Tristan-head's ears. "He's been traumatized enough!"
But where to find a tongue? In a place of communication or silence. Eshu takes point.
Their path takes them to a huge amphitheatre called the "Concert of Forgotten Songs." A ghost gives them directions to a disembodied tongue that sings faerie sagas. He tells them that musicians here keep track of forgotten music, which reminds them that they're looking for songs about Astarte. Jared and Faris go look into that, while Rey and Ambrose search for the tongue. They find three of her songs and get copies. "Scratch three more off the list," the archivist mumbles.
The tongue is in the keeping of a Nocker, who complains that it's his diva.
"It's a guy," counters Rey.
"Don't go enforcing gender roles on me!" the Nocker snaps. The book hits him.
Nevertheless, the Nocker doesn't want to give up the tongue.
"Look at this gentleman," Rey points out Sir Tristan. "He's not a changeling. He's True Fae. If you help, he'll probably owe you."
"Well...," the Nocker drawls. "If it's for the cause, I want to give him my best tongue."
They get what they came for and vacate before that conversation goes any further.
Ambrose is led to the gateway to the City of Balloon, a Pooka city of inflatables. A sphinx perched over the door challenges him: "What is your quest?"
"To put this guy back together," Ambrose answers it, then shouts as he's hurled into the air. "Augh, I know this one!"
He lands in a muck pile, where the fae find him. Rey explains that he has to lie to the sphinx. Anyway, they're in the city. From the head's indications, they need to head upward onto the balloons. Rey tells him about the city: it's a communist collective. Leadership belongs to the most recent funny-man.
There's rococo everywhere, which the Pooka consider the greatest joke of architecture and design ever. "Be kind to animals" posters are slathered all over. Faris tells them that to defend the city, the inhabitants toss out flyers containing the funniest joke in existence, which is so funny that it makes your head explode.
They get a dirigible pilot to take them to their destination, paying him with a funny story. He takes them to a dog pooka who sells boxes. Ambrose shows him an example of what they're looking for, and he does have it. But they must pay via...balloon race!
Ambrose is thrilled, but Rey calls dibs on piloting.
Dirigibles have afterburners! While Ambrose is looking theirs over, he gets a call from Jonas, telling him they've just met a mage named Walking Hawk. Ambrose knows the name all too well, and while he works, he tells them all about the First Cabal, the first team of magi the Traditions ever put together, with one member from each Tradition. Walking Hawk represented the Dreamspeakers. The First Cabal fell when the Solificati member betrayed them to the Technocracy after going Nephandi. Many of them died. Walking Hawk didn't, but no one ever heard from him again. They're all legends.
The race begins. Ambrose fires up the souped-up afterburners, and they blast past the boundaries of the city. Rey whoops and tries to maintain control. When a dog on a broom flies past, Ambrose cuts the power, and the winds lift their dirigible up into cloud castles. The box appears and opens, a hand pointing out toward their next destination: Courts of the Silfer, the wind elementals.
When they arrive, they're met by crystallized ice manifesting into armored knights. They do have a body part to guard, but they tell the travelers it must be won in a duel. "Have fun!" Rey chirps to Jared.
Jared kicks the other knight's ass in the duel, for which they're awarded a torso. Now they just need two legs, an arm and a heart. "The count is off," Ambrose realizes. They were told they'd need to find six pieces, but that's eight. Even if the tongue was removed later, it's still wrong.
Upon investigation, it turns out that Sir Tristan's heart is also in the book. They also realize that a bit of Sir Tristan is stuck in the Shadowlands. Ambrose wonders if that's weird for him, and whether it might affect his nature.
Ambrose gets a call from the Garou asking about Victoria Station. They think that's where he's supposed to put Sir Tristan back together. He tells them the prophecy thing is "kinda neat." Faris tells him that's totally cracked by everyone else's standards. "Fate tends to warp and bend around you people like candy."
"If the world always did what we thought it should," observes Ambrose, "It would be a bad place." No one can really argue with that.
Birds start flying past them, whisking them off the silver path toward Parrot Island in South Carolina. Faris says it's tied to the "reptilian dream." This is one of those places that exists in the real world, though not the way it does in the Dreaming.
The birds refer to their visitor as "shiny." One chats with them, telling them the birds are preparing for war against the Fomorians. They have a body part for Ambrose. Ambrose promises them shinies if they'll take them to it. The parrots have seen the White Court waking in the Forest of Lies, stirring as long ago as 1969, when they chased sidhe back into the real world. They also have rumors of the Red Court.
The body part is a leg, which with apologies to Sir Tristan, Ambrose decides not to attach yet, for ease of transport. Sir Tristan doesn't mind. Ambrose worries over the idea that putting him back together might spell his doom, but Tristan says he doesn't mind dying. He was a sorcerer in life as well as a knight. He understands that an influx of Glamour like that near the Moon must be a good thing. Ambrose isn't so thrilled, but "Well, the way you guys work, you'll explode if you're supposed to, right?"
A giant, three-stories-tall parrot who calls himself the King of the Birds flies them to Santa Fe and drops them on the top of Turtle Rock--a giant granite turtle who was wrapped in chains. Except now it's free. Ambrose talks to it, and realizes it is Turtle! Or Turtle's dream, at least, which Turtle Rock says is basically the same thing. This confuses Ambrose.
Turtle gives them the other leg. Ambrose sticks them on the torso, which stands up and starts following him, and asks Tristan if it's actually him now, and if it's weird. Tristan says it is, a little. Turtle advises that they inform the High King. Their next destination, Turtle riddles them, is "at the edge, when Now becomes Then." Ambrose gets this one: Greenwich.
"Awww, back to England!" he moans.
Rainstorm's Edge, Faris realizes, the edge of Spring.
Mark calls Ambrose. The lightning bolt Hermetic popped up in his bedroom. Mark stabbed him and teleported him away in self-defense before he realized who it was. Ambrose laughs, then tells him about Walking Hawk. Mark wants to meet him, fanboying over it a little before turning serious. Ambrose reminds him of their little time travel jaunt in Egypt when they met Walking Hawk, and asks Mark to get him to autograph a book for him.
At Rainstorm's Edge, the rain heals Sir Tristan and his arm grows back. Ambrose is pleased for him. They decide to take him to Tara for now, till they can put his heart back. Rey gets excited about showing Tristan off, but Ambrose asks Tristan if he wants to be shown off. Yeah, he's basking in the very idea.
Jared slaps a Kingdom Hearts 'Heartless' sticker on him.
"Could you walk where I can see you sometimes?" Ambrose asks him, feeling nervous about somebody constantly standing right behind him where he can't see.
They're heading toward the City of the Forgotten. Rey asks if Ambrose ever had an imaginary friend. He doesn't believe so, he says.
Ambrose thinks the City of the Forgotten looks weird. "Well," Rey puns, "since the eyes have it...," receiving groans all around. The eyes lead them to a junkyard. Ambrose likes it; it's full of all sorts of odds and ends. A cute moleman with enormous front paws is digging there.
"This place is awesome!" Ambrose greets it.
"Yeah. Yeah," the moleman agrees, looking around at the piles of stuff lying around. "Pretty neat. I dig it up."
Ambrose shows him the box that holds the eyes and asks if he has anything like that. "Think I have that. I have what you want," the moleman mumbles shyly. Ambrose asks him about making a trade, which confuses the moleman, who tells him he "digs and keeps," and gives things to his child but not for 150 years. Ambrose feels sad for him.
"This guy's a kid at heart," Rey tries. The moleman apparently likes Ambrose enough that he goes and roots out the box. Ambrose still feels like he should give the moleman something. It tells him to call when he wants something dug up.
In the box is Tristan's head. They have to put the eyes back in (Jared does it). After they do, the head opens its mouth and begins to spout a prophecy.
Ambrose makes a sling to carry the head in, since he doesn't want to swing it around by the hair. Faris teases him about how creepy it is, and offers to attach it to Ambrose to complete the image. The head mumbles in upset. "I agree, shut up!" Ambrose tells Faris.
Next they have to find the tongue. "Awwww, it's a ritual thing, ew!" Ambrose complains.
"Hope the satyrs don't have it," Faris jokes.
Ambrose covers Sir Tristan-head's ears. "He's been traumatized enough!"
But where to find a tongue? In a place of communication or silence. Eshu takes point.
Their path takes them to a huge amphitheatre called the "Concert of Forgotten Songs." A ghost gives them directions to a disembodied tongue that sings faerie sagas. He tells them that musicians here keep track of forgotten music, which reminds them that they're looking for songs about Astarte. Jared and Faris go look into that, while Rey and Ambrose search for the tongue. They find three of her songs and get copies. "Scratch three more off the list," the archivist mumbles.
The tongue is in the keeping of a Nocker, who complains that it's his diva.
"It's a guy," counters Rey.
"Don't go enforcing gender roles on me!" the Nocker snaps. The book hits him.
Nevertheless, the Nocker doesn't want to give up the tongue.
"Look at this gentleman," Rey points out Sir Tristan. "He's not a changeling. He's True Fae. If you help, he'll probably owe you."
"Well...," the Nocker drawls. "If it's for the cause, I want to give him my best tongue."
They get what they came for and vacate before that conversation goes any further.
Ambrose is led to the gateway to the City of Balloon, a Pooka city of inflatables. A sphinx perched over the door challenges him: "What is your quest?"
"To put this guy back together," Ambrose answers it, then shouts as he's hurled into the air. "Augh, I know this one!"
He lands in a muck pile, where the fae find him. Rey explains that he has to lie to the sphinx. Anyway, they're in the city. From the head's indications, they need to head upward onto the balloons. Rey tells him about the city: it's a communist collective. Leadership belongs to the most recent funny-man.
There's rococo everywhere, which the Pooka consider the greatest joke of architecture and design ever. "Be kind to animals" posters are slathered all over. Faris tells them that to defend the city, the inhabitants toss out flyers containing the funniest joke in existence, which is so funny that it makes your head explode.
They get a dirigible pilot to take them to their destination, paying him with a funny story. He takes them to a dog pooka who sells boxes. Ambrose shows him an example of what they're looking for, and he does have it. But they must pay via...balloon race!
Ambrose is thrilled, but Rey calls dibs on piloting.
Dirigibles have afterburners! While Ambrose is looking theirs over, he gets a call from Jonas, telling him they've just met a mage named Walking Hawk. Ambrose knows the name all too well, and while he works, he tells them all about the First Cabal, the first team of magi the Traditions ever put together, with one member from each Tradition. Walking Hawk represented the Dreamspeakers. The First Cabal fell when the Solificati member betrayed them to the Technocracy after going Nephandi. Many of them died. Walking Hawk didn't, but no one ever heard from him again. They're all legends.
The race begins. Ambrose fires up the souped-up afterburners, and they blast past the boundaries of the city. Rey whoops and tries to maintain control. When a dog on a broom flies past, Ambrose cuts the power, and the winds lift their dirigible up into cloud castles. The box appears and opens, a hand pointing out toward their next destination: Courts of the Silfer, the wind elementals.
When they arrive, they're met by crystallized ice manifesting into armored knights. They do have a body part to guard, but they tell the travelers it must be won in a duel. "Have fun!" Rey chirps to Jared.
Jared kicks the other knight's ass in the duel, for which they're awarded a torso. Now they just need two legs, an arm and a heart. "The count is off," Ambrose realizes. They were told they'd need to find six pieces, but that's eight. Even if the tongue was removed later, it's still wrong.
Upon investigation, it turns out that Sir Tristan's heart is also in the book. They also realize that a bit of Sir Tristan is stuck in the Shadowlands. Ambrose wonders if that's weird for him, and whether it might affect his nature.
Ambrose gets a call from the Garou asking about Victoria Station. They think that's where he's supposed to put Sir Tristan back together. He tells them the prophecy thing is "kinda neat." Faris tells him that's totally cracked by everyone else's standards. "Fate tends to warp and bend around you people like candy."
"If the world always did what we thought it should," observes Ambrose, "It would be a bad place." No one can really argue with that.
Birds start flying past them, whisking them off the silver path toward Parrot Island in South Carolina. Faris says it's tied to the "reptilian dream." This is one of those places that exists in the real world, though not the way it does in the Dreaming.
The birds refer to their visitor as "shiny." One chats with them, telling them the birds are preparing for war against the Fomorians. They have a body part for Ambrose. Ambrose promises them shinies if they'll take them to it. The parrots have seen the White Court waking in the Forest of Lies, stirring as long ago as 1969, when they chased sidhe back into the real world. They also have rumors of the Red Court.
The body part is a leg, which with apologies to Sir Tristan, Ambrose decides not to attach yet, for ease of transport. Sir Tristan doesn't mind. Ambrose worries over the idea that putting him back together might spell his doom, but Tristan says he doesn't mind dying. He was a sorcerer in life as well as a knight. He understands that an influx of Glamour like that near the Moon must be a good thing. Ambrose isn't so thrilled, but "Well, the way you guys work, you'll explode if you're supposed to, right?"
A giant, three-stories-tall parrot who calls himself the King of the Birds flies them to Santa Fe and drops them on the top of Turtle Rock--a giant granite turtle who was wrapped in chains. Except now it's free. Ambrose talks to it, and realizes it is Turtle! Or Turtle's dream, at least, which Turtle Rock says is basically the same thing. This confuses Ambrose.
Turtle gives them the other leg. Ambrose sticks them on the torso, which stands up and starts following him, and asks Tristan if it's actually him now, and if it's weird. Tristan says it is, a little. Turtle advises that they inform the High King. Their next destination, Turtle riddles them, is "at the edge, when Now becomes Then." Ambrose gets this one: Greenwich.
"Awww, back to England!" he moans.
Rainstorm's Edge, Faris realizes, the edge of Spring.
Mark calls Ambrose. The lightning bolt Hermetic popped up in his bedroom. Mark stabbed him and teleported him away in self-defense before he realized who it was. Ambrose laughs, then tells him about Walking Hawk. Mark wants to meet him, fanboying over it a little before turning serious. Ambrose reminds him of their little time travel jaunt in Egypt when they met Walking Hawk, and asks Mark to get him to autograph a book for him.
At Rainstorm's Edge, the rain heals Sir Tristan and his arm grows back. Ambrose is pleased for him. They decide to take him to Tara for now, till they can put his heart back. Rey gets excited about showing Tristan off, but Ambrose asks Tristan if he wants to be shown off. Yeah, he's basking in the very idea.
Jared slaps a Kingdom Hearts 'Heartless' sticker on him.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
