Endless Devotion (DC/Cultist Simulator/Book of Hours)

Gain Skill:
Surgeries and Exsanguinations: Surgery entails the flow of blood, and flowing blood entails purification. Beware, though, for that goes both ways, still as winter or alive as spring. (SEASON 4, SMOKE 0)
-SEASON 2: Your eyes are opening to the circle of life and death. Nowhere is it more apparent than when elbow-deep in a patient, feeling its heart's waxing and waning. You become a master in the field of surgery and diagnosis.
-SEASON 4: Your touch is that of a healer. Flesh welcomes you and invites you in, blood trusts you, and obeys your command. Move in time with the drums, still as you please. You don't need tools for simple surgeries. You have a minor control over the body you are operating on.

You smile behind your mask as you enter the surgical room, an overwhelming smell of betadine, antiseptic, and anesthesia meeting you in full. You nod to the assistants and nurses, putting yourself in position in front of... uhm...

You forgot his name. How unprofessional of you.

Oh, no matter, it's only a triple bypass. As routine as they come for the Chief of Cardiology. And it is good practice for your new skills, which is everything that matters, really.

You glance at the sleeping face of your patient, a middle-aged man of... considerable size.

...and also saving his life. Yeah, that's important too. Obviously.

You clap your hands, ready to start the procedure, when a horrified gasp stops you in your tracks. You look up and see one of the assistants staring in horror at your hands. Your gloveless hands. You blink slowly before remembering that yes, a normal surgeon should wear gloves, and no, the assistant has not been suggested for the operation, and why has he not been suggested?

You throw an accusing glance to the anesthesiologist, a member of your Hand family that you roped in this little charade of yours. You wave his hasty bow and desperate apology, no harm no foul. You wait for a few seconds as the man grabs the assistant's shoulder and pushes him around, forcing him to look your servant in the eyes. His now glowing eye. Hmm.

You hum in polite interest as he inscribes in the assistant's mind a new sense of normality. Sloppy. Glowing mean inefficiencies. But it gets the work done, and the Hand houses are such because they suck at the Arts, so, again, no foul. Still, he really should have done this earlier, you have been doing these little operations for the last five months. Need a few certificates and gravitas to become Head of Medicine in your new college, and this was an excellent chance to experiment, while still toeing the line of morality and such.

The anesthesiologist's eyes stop glowing - double sloppy, a standard readjusting should have not taken anywhere that long - and nervously nods at you before sitting back in a corner of the room. You look at the assistant, who seems dazed but still cognizant. Oh well. He really is not needed here, only the anesthesiologist and you are.

And his heart is beating like a drum - babump, babump, babump, babump - and you can tell at a glance that his stilling is still very, very far. He is still in his late springtime, the lad. Not going to die from that sloppy, sloppy suggestion, and that's all you can ask for, really.

Anyway, the patient.

You turn back to the overweight man in front of you and smile a little at the thought of more practice.

Then you plunge your hand into his chest.

You ignore the viscid feeling of fat and blood as the flesh and muscle of the man gives you entry. You are a disciple of the SEASON, and you are using it in its aspect as the Healer, Keeper of Summer. The man in front of you may not consciously know squat about the principles of reality, but he is still of this world. As such, his flesh recognizes that you are trying to save him, and opens the doors for you.

A most amusing development, really, but obvious in retrospect. The fact that you first discovered it when shaking Alexandra's hand still makes you chuckle.

You will never forget her girly scream.

Anyway, a triple bypass is simple for you. Not that you are doing a bypass, but that is what's gonna go on the paperwork. So.

Your fingers dig deep into the patient's flesh and graze his still-beating heart. Babump,babump,babump,babump. You hum. You can feel the stilling, winter rapidly approaching this man. His weight does not help there. You focus for a good minute on the flow of his blood and the dance of his heart. Feeling the slow stilling of a person, diagnosing the dozens of small maladies and defects one can have just by touching them.

Aligning oneself fully with the SEASON.

Still, Death has no grudge against those who keep others from her embrace. It's not a race. And if it were, she would be waiting at the finishing line. Everyone dies one day. No exceptions.

You too will die one day. It is one of the hardest lessons to learn in SEASON, but fundamental if you wish to amount to anything in the lore.

Still, enough musings. You slowly, ever so slowly, enter the heart, your fingers dancing in time with his heartbeat so as not to put his life in danger. It takes you but a few seconds to confirm what the nurse told you before and find the blockages. You just had to follow the feeling of winter in a field of fading autumn.

Still, here is where no doctor can meet you. You tap your left foot to an unheard ditty as your fingers dextrously start moving as if in a vortex, its eye one of the blockages. Which, you know, is fucking hard when that same heart is still beating, but that's why you are practicing. Still, you smile when your inner melody expressed by your finger and given weight by your authority as Healer gets taken up by the heartblood. The body trusts you, and so the blood dances exactly how you tell it to.

A small crimson vortex becomes faster, faster, faster, and then tighter, tighter, tighter, until you have a drill made of blood methodically destroying the blockage, the fingers of your other hand palpating the artery's walls to keep it undamaged. And after a good ten minutes, voila, a completely unclogged coronary.

Ah, you are good.

You hope every student to be able to do this one day.

You glance at the Servant and nod to yourself at his look of wonder as he stares at the monitors and sees what you have done.

Good. That's good. He has still no idea you are not using magic. He probably thinks you are doing something so beyond him that he cannot even sense it, which. Kinda true.

No need to sweat the details.

You throw a look at the clock. Time to do this two more times.


---


You sigh as you throw yourself onto your office sofa. You had to insist to Alexandra that you wanted it, completely ignoring her every mention of unprofessionalism like the true professional you are, and the results are worth it.

Also, every time you throw yourself on it Alexandra's right eye twitch, so. That's fun.

Just like now, actually.

"...and with that, the college is ready for the opening ceremony. It will be had in ten days."

"Do I ha-"

"You HAVE to be present, sir. You are the Head of the most important department of the College, and, behind the scenes, the entire reason the college will be opened. You HAVE to be there," Alexandra says again, eyes hard.

You just roll your eyes and look around your office. Its walls are hung full of degrees and doctorates you never had, plus the congratulations for five years of being the Head of Cardiology. Which is kinda impressive, counting you had this job for only four months. Needed to get the rep to become Head of Medicine or something, but you weren't listening. Alexandra and her family did all the job, smudging the records and implanting new memories in the personnel. You just had to go to work.

Still, that leaves one question.

You raise an eyebrow at Alexandra. "Hey, what happened to the old Head of Cardiology?"

"He is having an all-paid cruise around the world with his entire family," she replies smoothly. Never missing a beat, Alexandra. Unflappable is probably her middle name, together with Impressive and Competent.

Huh. You throw another glance around the drab office. Dude probably deserves the vacation, his job is so dull. "And when he comes back?"

"He will discover that a new opening as Head of Cardiology has opened and that he has been chosen for the honor."

"Oh. Good for him, then. I'd feel bad for ruining his life otherwise."

You stare at the office for a few more seconds - today is probably the last time in your life you will be in here. Would you look at that - before Alexandra clears her throat and continues her report.

"Your grandmother has asked you for supper -" "Pass." "-and, in case you were not inclined to come, asked for a report of your activities and research at your first convenience."

You groan and rub your forehead before glancing at Alexandra. "Doesn't she get enough information on me by your reports? I mean, you really aren't being subtle about it."

Alexandra just nods. Not even trying to deny that, huh. "As much as we can tell them, we have no knowledge or understanding of your magical research. The Family Head is undoubtedly interested in the new branch of medical magic you are pioneering here."

You snort at that. That's one way of calling the Lores.

Still, having the knowledge that the Hand family reports to someone else slapped so blatantly in your face stings.

You stare at stern Alexandra as she keeps going on with her report.

Maybe you should do something about that.

"Have you ever wanted to learn magic, Alex?"

Alexandra stops talking. She stares at you, not once changing her expression.

You just smile honestly at her, breathing in the Summer's air. The silence lasts for almost a minute, the both of you never blinking, until at last she breaks.

"My whole family is Dull, sir. Simple tricks are the most we can do. Please do not mock us for it."

Your smile widens at that. You are probably looking like an asshole, but you don't care. Here's for a moment, you can feel it. SEASON is not good at revelations that do not touch on life and death. Yet, for a moment, you feel Destiny's touch on the conversation.

"But, hypothetically. If you could learn it. Would you... be interested in it? You and your family?"

Alexandra's expression still doesn't change. She could be mistaken for a marble statue, if you didn't hear the beat of her heart and taste the sweetness of summer on her breath, life pouring out of her. But her eyes. Oh, her eyes.

"Yes."

An inferno burns there as she answers you. Hate at you for asking that, a desire ever burning for what she could not have and that made her lesser. A whole inner world goes up in flame in her eyes in that single moment. There she wants to scream, strangle you, kiss you, bite her throat out, throw away her everpresent clipboard and chaining etiquette. She wants to do something that could be described as hers and hers alone for once in her life.

And the next second, she picks up her clipboard, and the illusion you saw in her eyes shatters, her professional voice resuming her report.

Still. You are not listening.

Your smile must seem a rictus right now, you are sure of it. Because right now, right there?

That, was an opportunity.

One you will take, or your name is not -

[ ] Luca Benevento: Probable heir of the Benevento family, one of the five Unseen Families of the old continent. Based in Italy and originating from the founding of Rome, the aid of the Benvento family cemented the Romans as an unstoppable empire. Yet with success came power, and with power, they extirpated their enemies. And with no enemies left, they turned their blades within. Be it from a military or magical perspective, the Benevento family is the absolute strongest of the Five, yet is fragmented into many regional branches fighting each other for legitimacy. This low-key civil war has been going on for two thousand years: every single branch scrabbling for money, influence, and knowledge, only kinslaying being banned to them. The only way to stop this war? An outside intervention, as many Families lost to time may attest. (The starting position is in Italy, in a valley one hour from Milan. No risk of outside interference. You will receive no bonus from your family unless you play their politics. Easiest start.)

[ ] Jacob Morgan: Probable heir of the Morgan family, one of the five Unseen Families of the old continent. Based in Britain, heirs of the druids, they have always been aloof from continental politics. Mostly focused on magic research and harmony with nature, hundreds of secret groves have been kept safe from the Dulls and the march of pollution. Still, this policy has done the Morgans good, as they are the second strongest family: their deep knowledge of the arcane lets them easily throw invaders off their precious islands. Yet not everything is good in the family: in the search for the deeper mysteries, morality has long since been left behind and deemed useless. The other families see the Morgans as savage barbarians, and the Morgans look at failed experiments with only disgust. (The starting position is in the UK, on an island near Scotland. Small risk of outside interference. Bonus to removing Suspicion. Continue making progress, or your family may get ideas. Easy start.)

[ ] Gabriel Equili: Probable heir of the Equili family, one of the five Unseen Families of the old continent. Based in France, the Equili is the youngest of the Five, with only a thousand years under their belt. Gaining their fortunes from their mastery of alchemy, every member of the Equili has never lacked for anything. Even now they have a finger in every single pie, their deep fortunes wisely invested to give them an incredible influence in the modern world. Yet money is not everything. The only thing stopping the Equili from dethroning the Benevento? Numbers. Only one in three Equili children can become a mage, and that has cemented them as the third strongest Family. Every mage they have is precious, and every prodigy unreplaceable: and you are nothing if not a prodigy. (The starting position is in France, on a simple stretch of countryside. Medium risk of outside influence. Bonus to gaining Funds. You are of IMMENSE interest to the family. Normal start.)

[ ] Gorgias Christakis: Probable heir of the Christakis family, one of the five Unseen Families of the old continent. Based in Greece, oldest of the five families, your history is one of tragedy. Once the priesthood of the Greek Gods, your family has been left behind when the Gods decided to leave the world and sequester themselves on Mount Olympus. From that day, your family has searched high and low for a God to serve. Yet, every single time they are left behind, broken and aimless. Yet from every God the Christakis learn something, and that has made them masters of the esoteric. Now, they try to be the gods, shaping the popular culture of the world in any way they can, but it is too little, too late: second weakest of the families, you are, unfortunately, easy prey for those above you. (The starting position is in Greece, in a small coastal city. High risk of outside influence. Bonus to gaining Recognition. Your family may ask you to help them shape society, with esoteric lore as a reward.)

[ ] Ludwig Weisswald: Probable heir of the Weisswald family, one of the five Unseen Families of the old continent. Based in Germany, this family came into power when they forced the Benevento conquests to a still, keeping the Germanic tribes free from Roman occupation. After this, the Weisswald became almost intrinsically tied to Germanic politics, differently from the hands-off attitude of the other Families. This continued until the last Head and about half of your family was beheaded by Wonder Woman and her merry band for aiding the Nazi regime. Luckily a good part of your family had fervently disagreed with the Head's choice, thus surviving the purge. You have only now got your feet back under you, but make no mistake: the Wesswald family is the weakest of the Five, and the other four know it. (The starting position is in Germany, deep in the Black Forest. High risk of outside interference. Your family will help you, but what they can offer you is little. Hardest start.)