Character Sheet
Name: Miriam Green
Shadow Name: Morata
Age: Sixteen.
Gender: Female

Path: Mastigos.
Gnosis: 3
Mana: 4/12
Wisdom: 7

Arcana: Mind 3, Space 2, Fate 1, (In Progress) Spirit 1

Aspirations: Unlock the Secrets of the Fire.

Obsessions:

Virtue: Faith
Vice: Curiosity

Health: 8/8
Willpower: 7/7
Defense: 2
Destiny (Merit): 4/4

XP: 0
Arcane XP: 1

Attributes:

Strength 3, Dexterity 2*, Stamina 3
Presence 2*, Manipulation 2*, Composure 3*
Intelligence 4, Wits 3, Resolve 4

Aspects:

Promising High School Student (4): She's smart and well liked around school. In fact, she has a pretty good grasp of not merely the basics of high-school learning, but even the things that are up to the senior year. Beyond what a person might learn in a she's a little lost, and so there are limits as to the kinds of things she'd know about, but if it can be found in a textbook she might have read, she's probably read it. As well, she knows how to plan her time, to get along with other people at school and not get into fights, and otherwise do well in this respect. She's best at history.

Preacher's Daughter (3): Growing up with a father who tells the gospel word, you learn how to mimic the way he gives sermons, quote the bible chapter and verse, and know more than a little about how to interact with people and their religions, faiths, and how churches function. Whether it is mingling after church, being a sounding board for her father's sermons, or playing games that involve reciting long passages of the bible from memory, she is good at it.

*A Bit of a Tomboy (2): She's really at the age where you're supposed to outgrow this sort of thing, really. But she still likes climbing things, she still likes running around the school, she still knows a little about getting into a scrap, even if she hasn't actually gotten into a fight since...well, a few years. She's keen, athletic, and very, very interested in baseball (boo, Kansas City Monarchs, boo!) which she read about, not having a radio, and that being fledgling besides. In any wise, it certainly isn't fading with time, and it's given her a set of interests and hobbies that meshes quite interestingly with her obvious piety and (reasonably, mostly) obedient nature.

Breaker of Chains (2): Abraham Lincoln was a swell guy, in her opinion. Her own father's involvement in the NAACP and her engagement in High School history has made it so that she's actually surprisingly knowledgeable on race issues, and quite talkative about them in the right circumstances. She knows how to keep her mouth shut, of course, around older white men or the like, but she has her opinions and she wears them on her sleeve, and that includes knowing a lot of things most girls her age wouldn't know about, academically and otherwise.

A Practicing Mage (2): While Morata has a lot to learn, and has only been practicing magic for a short time, she is now fully settling into magical society. She knows the Orders, and more than that she is starting to understand both the personalities and how magic truly works. It is a long journey, but she has taken another step forward.

Can We Keep Him? (1): She has had dogs and cats before, and currently has one of each, which she of course does all of the work taking care of, because her mom said that if she had to deal with that, she'd throw them out. She has a bit of a way with animals, and after the third or fourth stray, also with people and convincing them to go along with her quite innocent and well-meaning requests.

Problem Solver (1): Kids in her neighborhood and at school tend to trust and like her, or at least she's tried to be liked, and even go to her for help sometimes, whether of an academic nature or just to see what she has to say. She's not exactly a local guru or anything, but she's clever and tends to be able to help people with minor problems, or dispense advice, even if that advice is often enough 'Really, you should tell your parents, they're gonna find out, you know, and if they find out and you didn't tell them, they'll cane your hide raw.'

Sneaking The Cookie Jar (1): She's not a dishonest person, but being someone with a lot of friends means that you sometimes know how to lie for them, and more than that, that you know a little about sneaking an extra quarter here and there. Whenever caught she's full of contrition, and more than that she's not a fundamentally dishonest person, but...well, she knows plenty of people who deserve an extra cookie every now and then.

Mother's Teachings (1): Her mother has tried to at least teach her the basics of cooking, cleaning, and keeping house. The logic that she'll probably need it if she goes to college has been pretty persuasive, and while there are gaps, she's quite self-sufficient when it comes to balancing a budget or all of the other things a modern woman is expected to do, as far as it goes. She's best at cooking meat, and her recipes are all pretty simple, but it's food that'll fill a belly, and that's the most important thing.

To Dream A Dream (1): Morata has become a truly expert in the magic of dreams, and indeed has begun to truly explore what Demons and other denizens of the Astral can and will do. This is merely an extrapolation of what she can already do, hence the discount. Special: Can use Arcane XP for this.

Powers--

Mage Sight (Peripheral, Active, and Focused): She seems to be able to see something that others cannot. Magic itself, and her eyes seem especially attuned to distances and the spaces between things, as well as the minds of other people.

Mage Armor: Mind, Space

Mind 3, Space 2, Fate 2 (In Progress up from 1)

Spirit 1 (Will complete in two weeks)

Rotes--

Dividing the Mind (Mind 1): A rote to divide the mind in two, this means that it has extra reach to add to duration and so on, and that there is a two-dice Yantra that can be done to add to the power of the spell. Involves imagining the split in her mind to enact it.

Scholar's Little Helper (Mind 1): Scholarship is hard work, and it's often difficult to sift through a five-hundred page book on Astral adventures for the single passage on a threatening Goetic demon that's currently ripping the rest of the Cabal apart. Plus, cross-referencing other works can be difficult. Through this tiny little rote, the caster can input a word, phrase, or topic, mentally, and essentially search the book just by holding it up to the light, copying knowledge of what was said in those passages and the passage surround it into their brain without having to search. It does not grant perfect understanding, and sometimes the section requires context to make any sense, but it can save weeks on a big scholarship project. (Rote Mudra, Promising Student, +4) Reach: With each additional Reach, you can search an additional book in the same spell; You can absorb the entirety of the contents of the book, if not always parse its meaning, as if you read the entire book in the instants it took to cast the spell, cover to cover. It may take some hours of thinking and consideration to fully parse the contents, and of course at times understanding and applying it can be more difficult: but an entire book read in less than a second is still something.

Strengthen Mind (Mind 3): It does not, obviously, only effect the intellect, but any aspect of one's mind can be made sharper, as can one's social abilities. The key to doing this, or rather the Mystagogue form of it, involves closing one's eyes and pressing one's fingers against your forehead, as if trying to stimulate thought by motion. When you open your eyes, the spell should be cast. You cannot improve your mind or social abilities to superhuman levels (Rote Mudra: Promising Student, +4), Reach: You may divide the 'Potency' of the spell, eg: Potency 4, enhance Intelligence by 1, Wits by 2, and Resolve by 1; spend a point of Mana: temporarily, for as long as the spell lasts, Attributes can reach supernatural levels.

Scholar's Protection (Mind 3): Adapted from a famous Silver Ladder rote, this grants protection ot the humble scholar. They make a sign with their hands as if their hands are books, their palms pages, and then so long as they neither attack or order an attack, others struggle to gather up the will to attack them. If they do order an attack, or attack themselves, the spell automatically fails… but only for the target, and not any others. Automatons, or beings without thought are immune, but this potent spell makes it so that anyone with a Resolve less than their Mind +1 cannot bring themselves to attack. Those that can still feel hesitation, and it is as if the Mage has two points of Armor. Supernatural beings have an advantage: if they have a supernatural trait, they get +1 to the comparison of Resolve versus Mind, if it is equal to the Mage's, they get +2, and if it is greater, they get +3… even then, a weak-willed but powerful supernatural being might find themselves frozen in fear and doubt. (Rote Mudra: Promising Student, +4) Reach: Spend 1 Mana, the spell may now last for an entire day; You may spend Reach to increase the difficulty of overcoming the Protection, once; Attackers lose 10-again on rolls to attack someone, if that person has willpowered through the magic.

The Dedicated Will of the Just (Mind 3): A spell taught to her by her Uncle, it is in some ways an extension of previous spells. By touching the forehead and spreading one's fingers across it, yours or others, when someone grits their teeth and uses their will, they find it stretching out, like hitting a high note and holding it for longer than a single action, based on the power of the spell. (Rote Mudra, Preacher's Daughter +3) Reach: Willpower when spent can add +2 to all resistance traits; Willpower spent both increases one's ability to endure, and one's ability to 'act'; By spending a Mana, the caster can imagine the benediction and thus enact it in a single breath on themselves or any target, as fast as the speed of thought.

Determined Will (Mind 2): The Mystagogue must go through many hardships for knowledge. Whatever a materialist thinks, anyone experienced in Mind magic knows that willpower exists, and so by a series of invisible taps against either their own or--imagined--someone else's skull. By doing so the Mage can make sure that when they, or others, gather their will for a great task, as long as it isn't magic they will get a bonus to the will-enhanced roll (9-again.) (Rote Mudra: Preacher's Daughter, +3: Inspire others and inspire yourself), Reach: The bonus can be increased; the bonus might be able to be used even to enhance magic, strengthening the will that brings itself to bear in casting a spell.



The Bonds of Fate (Fate 1): It is one thing to look at someone and see them, it is another to be able to look at them and see the destinities, the curses, the broken oaths and more that mark their soul and their persons. Mystagogues imagine a cobweb of connections and strands of fate itself, and carefully reach out a finger to tap at the edges of the cobweb without breaking it, to see what creeps up. (Mudra: Can We Keep Him? (+1), the spider spins its web.) Reach: The Mage can know when someone is possessed, mind controlled, or otherwise has their destiny majorly influenced; the Mage can tell someone's Destiny and Doom, can know when the curse they're affected by will be lifted, or so on.

The Unusual Path (Fate 1) : Fate itself can sometimes intervene in small ways. Through this spell, a Mystagogue can state a goal and then receive omens, sometimes faint and contradictory, on how to begin working towards it… and can even allow them to match strength with strength: subtly twisting fate so that their talents are just the right ones needed to advance upon the goal. Miriam uses it to occasionally leverage her way through a tricky social situation. The Mudra involves tugging on strands and pulling them in with a flip of a hand, as if examining something. (Rote Mudra: Problem Solver, +1) Reach: Can substitute any skill needed while under the spell for another within the same category, e.g. the character's religious passion turns out to be just what it might take to convince the homeless person to tell you where the body is hid, instead of a skill involving the streets or crime; Can, if taken further, substitute any skill for any other skill: your athletic prowess intimidates the homeless man, your knowledge of petty trivia charms the high society lady you need to steal from.



] No Shackles For The Scholar (Space 2): A Mystagogue cannot be stopped merely by a locked door, or being chained up above a pit of sharks while a villain monologues about how the Secret of the Amazon will die with them. So by imagining their own escape, and circling around that thought a few times as fast as possible, they can affect it. Any one barrier: locked door, handcuffs, barred window, or so on is fine… though it cannot get one through a bouncer or through fire. It can also be cast on an object, such as if you want to push a macguffin through a locked door and then face the enemy yourself. (Rote Mudra: Breaker of Chains, +2), Reach: Can pass through even shackles or objects they could not move through, such as being chained up, or trapped in a coffin, or anything else; subject can squeeze through narrow gaps that they should not physically be able to make it through: you can in fact drive a car through an open front door half its width if you cast this spell on it.
Merits--

(**) 'Profession'--Student
1--Gain 9-again on any roll that can be justified as having to do with one's profession.
2--Gain two dots of Contacts related to one's 'profession.'
3--+1 to rolls against any mental, physical or social stress that might get in the way of performing one's profession.[1] This cannot create a positive bonus.

4--8-again on rolls.
5--One special bonus based on the nature of the 'profession.

[1] Okay, in this case, imagine the college student who is good enough at class that he can show up hungover and still get something out of class, or the athlete who can go out not feeling 100% and still actually manage not to fuck everything up forever, even if he's not putting in his best performance.

(***) Parents: It may seem absurd to say it, but having parents in the picture who can help solve moderate problems is a boon. Obviously the drawback is that if they get involved and it's over her head, it could end badly, and that more than that, they obviously are sure they know best, but asking Mom or Dad is totally an option available to her, and one that can enlist their aid and ask their advice.

(***) Contacts:

She has contacts with both People She Knows At Church, a broad group but in some ways self-selecting, and among those kids she knows around the neighborhood, as well as People At School. People are willing to talk to her, ask her advice, and that goes both ways, doesn't it? If she wants to ask around, she could certainly do worse than asking when she's at church, with someone inclined to see her well already.

Egregore--Mysteriorum Arche (•): In a teamwork spellcasting roll in which the character is participating, she does not suffer the –3 penalty to contribute without the necessary Arcanum rating, and adds an automatic success if a full participant. All members of the ritual team must possess this Merit.

(*)Language: Latin

She knows Latin, read and spoken.

(*) Order Status (Mysterium)

She has been initiated in the first mystery of the Mystagogues.

(*) High Speech

She can use High Speech as a Yantra in spellcasting, and knows enough to be (roughly) conversational outside of the very formal language of Spellcasting.

(*) Egregore

1) In a teamwork spell in which she participates, she doesn't take -3 to the roll if she couldn't cast the spell on her own, and if she can she adds an automatic success to her dice roll for the purpose of granting the ritual leader the bonus dice. However, everyone involved in the ritual must have this level of Egregore. This represents her connection to magic, and through it, others of the Order.

(*) Resources:

She has a little bit of spending money saved up. Not much at all, but it's something. And it's more than a lot of people have, and so she knows to be grateful for it.

(****) Destiny

Effect: Miriam does not yet know the specifics, but she is destined for greatness and yet also doomed in some way.

Currently at 4/4.

(***) Astral Adept: Can enter the Astral far easier, by paying just a WP and meditating.

(***) True Friend (Virginia)

Effect: Miriam has a true friend. True Friend represents a trusting relationship that cannot be easily breached. Unless Miriam really does something to deserve it (really, really) Virginia will not betray her, and I, the QM, has to go easy on her in terms of throwing her into danger. Slightly kid gloves with her, as part of an implicit contract, though that does not mean that Miriam's mistakes or actions might not involve her in deeper problems than she should be facing. And any roll, natural or supernatural, that has the purpose of influencing Virginia against Miriam takes a 5-dice penalty. Additionally, once per...let's say week, Miriam can regain a point of Willpower by having a meaningful/heartfelt/important interaction with Virginia.

Consilium Status (*): Consilium--Increasingly she is a known entity, someone whose existence is no secret at all and whose fame is even harder to deny.

Contacts: Vampires (1)--Her work with vampires means she has a greater awareness of where she can go to talk to them, especially once she thinks through what she saw.

Allies (1): Guardians of the Veil--In the aftermath of yet another Interview with a Vampire, she has been contacted by the Guardians of the Veil, who are curious and who are willing to trade curiosity for curiosity.

Trained Memory (1): She has trained her mind to be something like a steel trap, though perhaps rather more effective than that, all things considered: steel traps can rust, because outside of stressful moments she never needs to roll to remember anything… she just remembers, and without Magic at all.

Minor Elements:

--Having studied a Spirit Bestiary, Miriam is now more able to tell some common spirits apart, even without using magic, and can call up basic facts about said common spirits.
--Has the Memories of a vampire in her head, which can be examined/considered later.
 
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We have a four-way tie for emotions. So, uhhh...
Adhoc vote count started by The Laurent on Jul 5, 2018 at 8:21 AM, finished with 3325 posts and 8 votes.

  • [X] There should be a trial. She will have to testify, journey by whatever means needed southward--temporarily, perhaps using Space magic--to do so. And the punishment may not be as heavy as it might be, because of his total failure in this regard. But it's something.
    [X] Quiet sorrow: It wasn't worth it. She had to do it, it had to be done, but she feels impure, she feels scarred. She's going through heck and it's changed her, and she's pretty sure that it's mostly changed her for the worse. These last few weeks, she's risked everything, and for a world that. She has to fight for the world, but what has she seen here? Treachery, murder, viciousness, hatred, lies, unholiness. This is what she faces, and she can't imagine a way around it… yet. But she must be quiet, she must let it lie. She must figure out how to overcome it.
    [X] Scarred Faith: God… it has to be God's plan. And yet this time the thought is almost… disturbing. It's terrifying to think that this is God, that this is-- it doesn't help as much as she hoped it would. But it's something, something. Maybe, maybe it's something.
    [X] Occlude should simply be found, and the Mind magic removed. That is all. He was mentally influenced, he's not responsible for what he did.
    [X] Grim Triumph: The cost was terrible, and she nearly became a monster. She walked a fine line, and lost a lot. Did a lot. Risked a lot. And yet she has the seeds. And yet Suzanna had killed Wolfborne (this she was told just before she left, as an afterthought) and Miriam had unraveled the danger of one of the conspiracies. As she was brought here to do. So it is a triumph, even if it tastes like ashes. It MUST be one.
    [X] Exhaustion: Was it worth it? How would she know. She aches. Her soul, her body, her mind. She's made her last decision today. There's not much left in her, not much left in her at all. She can't, can't keep on doing this, no matter what this is. At least not tonight.
 
Actually, @The Laurent, could Miriam change her mind on the emotion vote later on? Without this getting in the way of planned pacing? Because in that case, Scarred Faith or Quiet Sorrow could lead to an interesting crisis-of-faith arc, while the other two would mostly seem to skip that and get on with the story otherwise. And if given the choice between more story happening or less, I'm pretty much always in favor of the former.
 
Actually, @The Laurent, could Miriam change her mind on the emotion vote later on? Without this getting in the way of planned pacing? Because in that case, Scarred Faith or Quiet Sorrow could lead to an interesting crisis-of-faith arc, while the other two would mostly seem to skip that and get on with the story otherwise. And if given the choice between more story happening or less, I'm pretty much always in favor of the former.

I mean, all four of them have plot beats? I mean, being someone who feels triumph, however grim, for something like this... means you're someone who would do it all again, or something equal to it, if the reward was high enough. And Exhaustion, well. Being exhausted when you have papers to write, trials to attend, illnesses to cure, Mystagogues to mystify... :p

And yeah, Scarred Faith and Quiet Sorrow both have similar levels of plot-arc stuff, really.
 
Personally I picked Scarred because it seemed to fit better as her plot arc to go through this, feel doubts, and THEN, after she studied everything that happened, come to terms with it by concluding that she did the best she could, and that she was in the right place, at the right time, to do the right thing, which goes on to the Mystery of God of course.
 
But... you picked Quiet Sorrow?

I'd probably vote for Scarred Faith as my second choice, though, so in the interests of resolving the tie...

[X] Scarred Faith
 
But... you picked Quiet Sorrow?

I'd probably vote for Scarred Faith as my second choice, though, so in the interests of resolving the tie...

[X] Scarred Faith
Quiet Sorrow itself has scars. She did what was right, but its not right. It doesn't feel worth it. She needs to reexamine her actions to come to terms with it
 
[X] There should be a trial. She will have to testify, journey by whatever means needed southward--temporarily, perhaps using Space magic--to do so. And the punishment may not be as heavy as it might be, because of his total failure in this regard. But it's something.

[X] Quiet sorrow: It wasn't worth it. She had to do it, it had to be done, but she feels impure, she feels scarred. She's going through heck and it's changed her, and she's pretty sure that it's mostly changed her for the worse. These last few weeks, she's risked everything, and for a world that. She has to fight for the world, but what has she seen here? Treachery, murder, viciousness, hatred, lies, unholiness. This is what she faces, and she can't imagine a way around it… yet. But she must be quiet, she must let it lie. She must figure out how to overcome it.
 
[X] Quiet sorrow: It wasn't worth it. She had to do it, it had to be done, but she feels impure, she feels scarred. She's going through heck and it's changed her, and she's pretty sure that it's mostly changed her for the worse. These last few weeks, she's risked everything, and for a world that. She has to fight for the world, but what has she seen here? Treachery, murder, viciousness, hatred, lies, unholiness. This is what she faces, and she can't imagine a way around it… yet. But she must be quiet, she must let it lie. She must figure out how to overcome it.

Quick before something else happens!
 
Page 110: New Skins
Page 110: New Skins

Miriam thought about it. Was she okay? Here she was, in the aftermath of a nightmare in which she'd met far more villains and cads than she had brave heroes. The Mystagogue who had let her by had only done so for the sake of her research, and not what was right, Occlude had betrayed them all--and would only be punished on her word, since of course Demon-Spawn didn't count the way Mages did--and half of the Demon-Spawn, on that note, were questionable at best.

Miriam nodded, vaguely, a lie that she needed to make. She had to bite, she had to claw, she had to risk it all because the alternative was to let it all lapse. Yet… yet she'd done bad things, and could have done worse things. The world demanded it. Mage society seemed to demand it. Even Fate itself, twisting her towards the Seeds, demanded it. Or did she fail? Could she have done something else.

Miriam had never read Don Quixote, but she had heard of the book, knew the phrase tilting at windmills: she was in a society where one of the only groups she had been able to trust consisted of spies and shady figures who might have threatened her father. The Guardians did what was necessary, Miriam assumed, but this seemed to cover a whole lot.

They'd put her here, and she had to hate them just a little for all that she was made to do: hate them even though it was her that deserved the hatred, got it in full measure.

For once she understood the desire to become a hermit, to lock oneself away from the world and all that was in it, something fallen and sick, when it was supposed to be God's creation, his world and people made in his image. Her belief in God was not weakened, but her belief in man felt unstable and loose. She'd paid too much, too much not to mourn.

But she couldn't say that, she had to do better, she had to survive all of it and get through. But her bones ached, ached in a way that had very little to do with pain. The abyss rested in her body, coiled and tempting like the serpent, but its apple was rotten, rotting inside her, rotting her until she took a bite. Until she chose to be a sinner she'd slip act by act into sin.

But wasn't that humanity? One couldn't be free of sin, one couldn't be free of doubt, but she'd never thought she'd feel so close to tears when she had no doubt she'd be told again and again it was a triumph, a triumph by people who would struggle to imagine a better world, to truly imagine it. Not merely to give a Silver Ladder talk about their ideals, but a person that really believed in a world where people didn't bite chunks out of each other. A world where betrayal wasn't rife in the air.

The three conspiracies were all betrayals.

And yet if she told others, at least other Mages, she knew what they'd say. They'd talk about how great what she did was, how good it was. How it was to her credit. Miriam wasn't that arrogant, and even she knew how they'd view it. They'd view it from the prism of the world they thought they lived in, not the one they should live in.

It would shatter her, to hear praise heaped at her feet like so many flowers at some performance, when she knew she deserved none of them. It would be far more painful than the inverse, than not getting any credit but knowing she'd done something good and she'd done something right, something she could die knowing she wouldn't have done any differently, wouldn't regret no matter what happened.

Let justice be done though the heavens fall, or so some said, and she remembered reading about Somerset and Stewart, about slavery and England itself. But where was justice now, where was… where was anything. The heavens had not fallen, and yet neither had justice fully been done. Or had it?

Was killing Wolfborne justice? He was clearly a monster, and yet she knew where such rhetoric went, for he was a man too. He was a man, and one that had met the Marquis too. She wondered at that, the Marquis who wanted to do good but could only seem to hurt others. Had he been like that in life?

He was an Archmage, something that Mages were supposed to aspire to, or so she assumed. Or had been, before he died. But it didn't feel anything like something to want to be, someone to want to be like.

So she nodded, and hoped he didn't read her mind. She didn't put up a barrier to it, though, not for him. But if the others were there, trying to get a read on her, perhaps she should?

But the risk of the abyss seemed present, too present.

"Okay," William said. "Uh. I think most of the fighting has died down. There's a little more, but it's clean-up by this point. But there was a riot, though mostly things were smashed, instead of people. And the riot, um. I don't think it touched the Negro areas too bad." He sounded awkward, and of course he did. "But, uh. I mean, maybe more than some of the others? But the rioters have been arrested, and I think they've gotten most of the Abyss-infected people. There's a lot of them."

Miriam tried to focus, because the grief was now warring against a strange curiosity. Just how had they managed that? If each of the werewolves was infectious, it was a potentially city-destroying problem. So what had been done? Some sort of attack on their ability to interact with the world, perhaps?

Miriam didn't know.

"I… I've heard even the Seers got in on the act of trying to shut it down. Still, there are too many deaths to cover up. But we can blame it on the riots, even though those are separate," William said. "If you're curious, I'm… we had a lot of help, and it's not something we can keep secret.:"

So he was being open with her because there was no point to not being so. That made sense to her, and so she nodded again.

She wanted to be home, wanted to be somewhere where she could quietly sob into a pillow, or at least…

It wasn't something she could do in front of others. But it was hours until sunrise, and she was still sick. Still tired.

"Right, so. Uh. Valkyrie is outside, waiting for you. She said that she'd been thinking about your problem, and she'd found a solution," William said. "The… wolf thing that is. Are you hungry? Do you need to use the restroom? I mean, before we go to her. Whatever it is might take some time to resolve."

Miriam tried to consider this, but no. She was hungry for things she shouldn't eat, and didn't need to use the restroom. She was ready. Ready to keep on going.

Valkyrie was dressed differently this time, in a long, plain green skirt and a grey blouse, each of them rather covering, barely any makeup on her face, hair back into a bun. It should have made her look like a schoolteacher or some shopkeeper's wife, her hands clasped almost piously in front of her as she leaned on the counter, near all of the disguises.

It's not even the ten rings on her fingers, because those look gaudily cheap. No, it was the look in her eyes, haunted and tired and triumphant.

Miriam realized she didn't want to talk, but that she didn't want to be heard, either. She wanted to witness, and nothing more. The world was sharp edged and strange, and--

Blood. Valkyrie had been around blood, and sweat, and gasoline. She'd been out in the world, while Miriam had been in the World's Soul.

Had been climbing a beanstalk. It was no fairy tale, but she'd been able to put off these feelings in there, as she couldn't here.

And yet still she was going to try, going to deal with Occlude as best she could. And Valkyrie too.

"Ruth, I see that you are unharmed, good. William, gather up as many outfits as you can. Including pants. Shirts. I'll look over them. You're watching me, hiding from me." Valkyrie sounded amused. "From everyone. I don't suppose you want to tell me more than you mostly succeeded. We can't know how many deaths there were worldwide, but far fewer than there could have been, which could have reached into the thousands or tens of thousands. Instead of… what?" Valkyrie frowned. "Hundreds, perhaps? I assume you had something to do with that."

They'd destroyed anger, which of course was what helped drive the murderous part of it. So instead, people had mostly rioted against stuff, or they'd stayed in, or… behaved at least a little less like a furious beast. Wolves, after all, do more than just kill people. Even wolves in the mind of man slept.

"And yet, looking at you staring at me, so hard to read, I doubt you care. I feel as if you must blame yourself, or… no. Not yourself. That'd be easier. You blame the world, don't you?" Valkyrie smirked, as if this were precious, or even absurd.

Blame… maybe. Yes.

"I once thought that given the right circumstances you could be an excellent Guardian, Ruth. They'd have to be very special circumstances, but we only allow people who are, ultimately, good to join. People who know the difference between right and wrong. People who can realize that things might have gone wrong, that something might have happened in the Astral, but that the lives saved are still there." Valkyrie coughed. "People talk to me like I'm the good Guardian, the one who is intimidating but fair. I think they're fools. I'm not fair at all, or I wouldn't be contemplating finding a way to stop your silence."

Valkyrie stepped closer, and William, having backed up to work, was still watching.

"Your means of protecting yourself. Do you think you are unique in thinking the world flawed? Flawed and yet worth fighting for?"

She would: she would keep this up, keep on doing it, if she needed to. But it had no satisfaction, and would in fact break her if she allowed it to. She shook her head.

"And that's a problem, one of them. That you do and yet feel as you do. I thought you could be great, but perhaps you're weaker than you thought." Valkyrie reached out and touched Miriam on the head, her eyes unbearably, cruelly soft. "You think there's no time, and you're right. But you could spend a year, could spend two, getting better, understanding yourself, and perhaps things would be lost. There's never time, or so I'm told. But you'd still be there. The Silver Ladder has so very little work to do with you, they sometimes draw out new Mages who fear doing anything more than studying a few spells and living their life."

Miriam didn't answer, looked away from those eyes, hated how this woman she barely knew could talk to her like that and… well.

"But you won't," Valkyrie said. "You care too much and too easily. You want to know things, you want to dig up rocks and turn them over for the worms. And I respect that. You've done me some good here. Two-dozen people died tonight, and three Mages have been bitten and will have to be quarantined. But you? I believe that for all you've done your soul is a good one, your intentions pure, your affect on the world quite… clear."

Valkyrie nodded. "So if you will come with me, we can save you time and hassle and months of recovery just from the physical injuries, and leave you with the time and hassle of mental ones."

Miriam hesitated for a long moment, turning back to stare at Valkyrie, to take in what this woman wanted. It felt as if she was being level with Miriam, but she didn't know if she could trust it. Then she nodded.

"Oh. No," Valkyrie said, turning to William, who was piling clothes up on the table. She walked over, bent down slightly, and whispered a few things. William fled, gape-mouthed, and returned with some more pants.

And a collar and leash.

"I apologize for any indignity, but you would blend in easier if you used your magic to seem a dog, and then we can walk you."

Miriam gaped: at this time of night? It wouldn't be any less inconspicuous, but perhaps, perhaps it'd be less obviously magical. That must be it. Or else why would…

She finally just nodded, and felt the collar go around her neck. It didn't do all that much, she knew she could break free at any time.

Within a few minutes, William was carrying a bag and they were off.

******

Sometimes Miriam hated her own mind. Despite the malaise, despite the fact that every edge of the darkness of the morning looked like some new misery coming to pummel her down, she still realized things she probably shouldn't.

Like that the pants were because Valkyrie knew she liked pants. And to know that, either one of the Mages, one of the Demon-Spawn, or someone close enough to her in her life to at least guess at her… her lack of desire for skirts. Now, it could also be her having guessed it using her magic, but then… no. It seemed the most likely option was quite simple.

Someone was possibly spying on Miriam. It'd also make sense of a lot of things, the way they always seemed a step ahead of her. And, wait. If one of the--

No, couldn't be.

Miriam dismissed the thought, the thought that went like this: how exactly had the Guardians had sympathetic ways to contact her Uncle. He was a Mastigos, and so someone getting that close would have to be either close to him, or him. If it was him, then why? If it was close to him, then who was the traitor here?

She wanted to find out. All that they'd done, all that she'd suffered through, and she'd chase after this if she was given a chance.

That was why she hated her mind, giving her questions like that.[1]

******

An auto-repair shop. That's where they went, to a garage that stank of… gasoline. Ah. Nobody had given them a second look, and Miriam didn't know what that meant. They'd slipped in the back, to find that the concrete floor was covered in symbols, written in paint. And then around all of it were four candles, placed in a square, a circle of salt within it, leaving a few feet to walk around it, and then at the very center of all of that…

A crucifix, impossibly slipped halfway into the ground. Magic, she thought. The candles were all white, no doubt for purity, along with the salt. The cruicifix was very, very plain. Simple and yet welcome, and she paused, looking around, before she saw them. A middle-aged woman, an older man with yellow skin and a sharp nose, and a boy only a year or two older than her. The woman seemed to be taking the lead, stepping forward. "Ah, so this is our hero. Good of you to finally bring her."

"Yes. It is," Valkryie said. "Ruth, this is Juana, Philo and Kiyomemasu. Juana is excellent at her job."

"Yes," Juana said, stepping forward, her voice faintly accented. Closer up, the middle-aged woman had slightly tanned skin and kind, dark eyes. "I am sorry that this has happened. By God's grace, we can aid you in fighting this. You should enter the circle without breaking it, and pray if you are able."

Miriam nodded.

"She won't talk," Valkyrie said, sounding a little annoyed.

"Silence," Juana said quietly. "Silence has a history, that I'm sure you know. Silent endurance, and vows of silence. I'm sorry that it feels necessary, but I can feel that you believe in the Lord, and that you would do nothing you thought wasn't necessary."

Miriam's lips pursed together, and she nodded, feeling an odd surge of gratitude.

She felt she couldn't talk, felt like she could perhaps save up her words until she knew how to use them, though a Trappist she was not.

Forward she went, until she was in the very center, and then she pressed her forehead, almost, against the cross.

Oh Lord in Heaven, Lord of Hosts, Lord of Light, please have mercy on all of your creations, let them find the right and keep to it, let the world know peace. There was a Great War, not that many years ago, but the greatest war was within hearts, within minds. Was within everyday life. You are merciful without end, peaceful without war, and have power beyond all reckoning. So, I ask only that your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven, or the Supernal. To ask anything more is arrogance, is folly. This world has enough folly, I think. We are all sinners, and yet your son died to redeem us.

It was that thought, that he couldn't have died in vain, world of sinners or no, that told Miriam that she'd eventually be okay. Not today, or tomorrow, perhaps not next month, but eventually. If Christ had not died in vain, then complaining about the world he created, and grieving its flaws, was to ignore how to make them better.

But right now, right now those felt just like words. Like the seed, they had not had time to sink into their heart. They needed water, they needed time. Peace like a river would attendeth her way, as she'd thought all those… it wasn't that long ago, actually, was it?

It felt like forever.[2]

She opened her eyes once she heard chanting. All four of the Mages were in the square, holding candles of their own. They were chanting in the High Speech, and Miriam could merely pick out words and phrases. William was in the background, watching transfixed as they whirled around, barely stopping at each corner before moving in. The salt seemed to glitter as she hunched in.

The wolf in her howled at her to break the circle, to get out of there, as the chanting grew louder and louder and louder. Then softened, almost to nothing, a whisper. Seal. Contain. Vow. Promise. Many words flashed in those flowing sentences, and Miriam just tried to keep from bolting.

It took… she lost track of time, but far too long.

Finally, Juana stepped forward, right over the salt, and placed her hand on Miriam's neck, right where the bite had been. She whispered something, and then leaned in. Her lips pressed up against the top of Miriam's head.

"Dominus vobiscum" Juana whispered, as her lips pulled away.

"Et cum spiritu tuo," Miriam said, as she felt the fur begin to fall away. She whispered it so low that Juana must have barely heard it, as her body was immediately wracked with the pains of transforming back early.

But within a handful of seconds, she was naked in a circle of salt.

William squeaked and held up his hands. "Sorry, sorry! I don't mean to…"

Philo's face was red, and he was sweating heavily, though that might have been the ceremony, and Juana and Valkyrie didn't bat an eye.

"It is good to see you back, Miriam."

Miriam nodded.

"This is simple enough," Juana said. "The power within you is sealed. You cannot access it, except on nights of the full moon, and even then it will not come by force. Keep strong your mind, and keep right with the Lord to resist the temptation, and the second half of the spell will slowly weaken the powers of this curse."

Miriam understood perfectly. It was as if she were an alcoholic. She would have to struggle, some days… at least for a little while, with going back to something. But it was better than it could be. "Thank you," Miriam said quietly, her voice almost hoarse.

"You can have as many of the clothes as you want. We're going to have to throw away a lot of them anyways. Or burn them," Valkyrie said, stepping towards Miriam and gesturing towards an office. "Put them in there, William."

Miriam followed Valkyrie into the small, cramped office, and they closed the door.

Miriam began looking through the bag, frowning. "Shirts?" Button-up shirts, in fact, of the sort a man would wear. Not that there weren't such shirts for women, but they had V-necks, bloused sleeves. It wasn't… hrm.

"You can always try it on," Valkyrie said, almost smugly.

"Turn around, please," Miriam asked.

"Very well."

Miriam tried on a few outfits, slowly. The shirts, honestly, she didn't know about. She didn't fele the sort of strange revulsion she thought she would, dressing in the shirts that were for men's, but the blouses seemed just fine too anyways, and they'd be less likely to get her Mom angry at her.

Though, the button downs did look sort of nice, and she remembered how Virginia had talked about strange fashions, and how some women wore the women's version of it with a slim tie. Of course, now Miriam had to wonder if this wasn't some encouragement, some desire to see Miriam dressed that way.

Finally she compromised on the women's version of a button down, with no plunging neck, but with a nicer collar and sleeves. And she changed into dark pants, and to finish it off, feeling almost guilty at how nice they were, these very nice leather shoes, without a heel at all. Not much good if she was going to be running around, but she wanted to wear them.

She wished there was a mirror to look at herself in, because she thought she probably looked smart. She looked smart and her Mom would probably still hate it, hate it and a lot of these…

"Can you take them to Dancing Shadow? Tell him to keep them?"

"Even the men's shirts?"

Miriam nodded, looking away. It was a sin, she could cite chapter and verse, but many things were sins. She'd seen murders and liars, traitors and thieves, grasping people who cared nothing for others when profit was on the line. Sins felt different now, just faintly, just slightly. So… she might as well, just in case she wanted to wear one sometime. "Thank you."

"I can do it. It is no problem." Valkyrie smiled. "You do look nice. You're a Mage," she added, as if that meant something.

She thought of her parents, how… wow. What. What did?

Well, that was going to be a mess.

What does she tell her father?

[] Nothing. Just act like everything was normal (just mention something came up, etc, etc), as if she didn't disappear for a day. Or rather… just downplay and avoid talking about it. Her Uncle surely found a decent excuse, and she'll just use her magic to intuit it. She's not ready to talk… yet. She needs normalcy.
[] Just the basics, less than the basics: there was a major threat, that's why there was rioting, there' was a visit to the Astral, and now the threat is taken care of, but she'll be busy this next week or two. Very busy.
[] Details about what she stopped, about what she faced, but not every detail. Not the bite, not the death, not… just find a sanitized way to present it. Forbidden because of sorrow. Telling a story more likely to get her sympathy without understanding… not so much.
[] Tell everything. The bite, the chase. The dead man. The three conspiracies. The Marquis. Perhaps her father wasn't ready for it. Perhaps she shouldn't say it. But he would probably listen, and he could probably keep it a secret. Hopefully. Maybe.
[] Write-in.

*******
[1] This is what it means to have Curiosity as a Vice.
[2] This is what it means to have Faith as a Virtue.

Mental Shield: 1 sux

Cookie Jar+Int-1=1 sux

A/N: So here we go.
 
[X] Tell him it was horrible. Tell him you saw, and did, and stopped terrible things. Tell him that you are scared and tired and worn out and you won't be able to get through telling him. Delay. Tell him the truth. All of it... Later.

This is what I would suggest. However. For those of you who are more interested in the. Tell all now vote...

Well.

He's not a hunter now...

There's no way he's going to react well to this. Not to us go in out and waging a small war. Not to our uncle letting us fight one. Not turning into a monster and blashpeming. He going to want us out, he's going to be mad, he's going to be heart broken, and he's going to feel powerless.

There are no more fertile grounds for supernatural power. Of any kind.

There are.... To much could happen really. He could go on a crusade against mages, he could become one himself. He could just... Break. Maybe he would be the rock Miriam needs him to be. Religious types usually have willpower in spades.

Regardless. If we don't come clean we decide to fracture our mage life and normal life. Which is the first step to losing your regular life completely.

Also the gaurdians may or may not even let him keep his memories of what we tell him.
 
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[X] Details about what she stopped, about what she faced, but not every detail. Not the bite, not the death, not… just find a sanitized way to present it. Forbidden because of sorrow. Telling a story more likely to get her sympathy without understanding… not so much.

I think this is likely the best choice, as the fourth option isn't really needed as our father doesn't need to know the specifics of just what occured, more about an overview of what Miriam went through and what she may currently be suffering or facing. This is my ideal as at his core he's a Preacher, and from what we know from the narrative both a good one and a liked one, so can offer genuine advice and may know how to help Miriam emotionally and mentally process what she went through. As the chapter itself went into, WW1 wasn't that long ago, and it wouldn't remotely surprise me if our father's had to deal with some of the aftermath of that on the soldiers who were there. Quiet sorrow very much sounds like the sort of mentality you'd expect from returning soldiers.

I don't think either of the first two choices are right as they're too bland and vague, and realistically given our Father's job, he should be able to perceive something is wrong with Miriam anyway particularly after she's been missing. As I mentioned above, he has the core skill set to help Miriam as well as already knows about Mage's so we should try and take advantage.
 
[X] Details about what she stopped, about what she faced, but not every detail. Not the bite, not the death, not… just find a sanitized way to present it. Forbidden because of sorrow. Telling a story more likely to get her sympathy without understanding… not so much.

I think this is likely the best choice, as the fourth option isn't really needed as our father doesn't need to know the specifics of just what occured, more about an overview of what Miriam went through and what she may currently be suffering or facing. This is my ideal as at his core he's a Preacher, and from what we know from the narrative both a good one and a liked one, so can offer genuine advice and may know how to help Miriam emotionally and mentally process what she went through. As the chapter itself went into, WW1 wasn't that long ago, and it wouldn't remotely surprise me if our father's had to deal with some of the aftermath of that on the soldiers who were there. Quiet sorrow very much sounds like the sort of mentality you'd expect from returning soldiers.

I don't think either of the first two choices are right as they're too bland and vague, and realistically given our Father's job, he should be able to perceive something is wrong with Miriam anyway particularly after she's been missing. As I mentioned above, he has the core skill set to help Miriam as well as already knows about Mage's so we should try and take advantage.

Um... forbidden because of Sorrow. Darn, did the cross-out not... it didn't?

Why? But yeah, I struck through that in the draft, I'm shocked that it somehow didn't transfer.

But yeah, she's actually leery about the idea of giving a sanitized version, because she doesn't want to use that to be told, "You did good."
 
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[X] Tell everything. The bite, the chase. The dead man. The three conspiracies. The Marquis. Perhaps her father wasn't ready for it. Perhaps she shouldn't say it. But he would probably listen, and he could probably keep it a secret. Hopefully. Maybe.

Well, he's a priest, confessing seems about right? Might be a bridge too far, but I don't think theres anything in our narration that'd be intrinsically bad for him to know, only the cumulative impact.
 
[X] Tell everything. The bite, the chase. The dead man. The three conspiracies. The Marquis. Perhaps her father wasn't ready for it. Perhaps she shouldn't say it. But he would probably listen, and he could probably keep it a secret. Hopefully. Maybe.

This could change somethings, maybe. Perhaps involve him more in Miriam's mage life and that's something I'm hoping to see.
 
[X] Tell him it was horrible. Tell him you saw, and did, and stopped terrible things. Tell him that you are scared and tired and worn out and you won't be able to get through telling him. Delay. Tell him the truth. All of it... Later.
 
[X] Nothing. Just act like everything was normal (just mention something came up, etc, etc), as if she didn't disappear for a day. Or rather… just downplay and avoid talking about it. Her Uncle surely found a decent excuse, and she'll just use her magic to intuit it. She's not ready to talk… yet. She needs normalcy.

We can talk about it later.
 
[X] Tell everything. The bite, the chase. The dead man. The three conspiracies. The Marquis. Perhaps her father wasn't ready for it. Perhaps she shouldn't say it. But he would probably listen, and he could probably keep it a secret. Hopefully. Maybe.
 
[X] Tell him it was horrible. Tell him you saw, and did, and stopped terrible things. Tell him that you are scared and tired and worn out and you won't be able to get through telling him. Delay. Tell him the truth. All of it... Later.
 
[X] Tell everything. The bite, the chase. The dead man. The three conspiracies. The Marquis. Perhaps her father wasn't ready for it. Perhaps she shouldn't say it. But he would probably listen, and he could probably keep it a secret. Hopefully. Maybe.

He might break, he might not, but he would definitely offer us a shoulder to cry on, and that's what we need.
 
[X] Tell him it was horrible. Tell him you saw, and did, and stopped terrible things. Tell him that you are scared and tired and worn out and you won't be able to get through telling him. Delay. Tell him the truth. All of it... Later.

Miriam is a 16 year old who went through something horrible. She deserves to be able to go to her father.
 
[X] Tell everything. The bite, the chase. The dead man. The three conspiracies. The Marquis. Perhaps her father wasn't ready for it. Perhaps she shouldn't say it. But he would probably listen, and he could probably keep it a secret. Hopefully. Maybe.
 
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