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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[X] There's value in talking to last year's analyst, perhaps? If they're still around. That will allow a more frank discussion.

If Slim wrote the "Ignorance is no excuse" message in the Astral, then he's already made his opinion clear that anyone sticking their nose in this had better be ready for him and his to clip it right off.

Going further into the update...


"But, how about I say something new, then," Hatty said, pulling out a piece of paper from her breast pocket, and flipped open the paper. On it read: 'Come, come in peace my daughter, the graceful, who art in my heart, King Maatkare, .I will give thee Punt, the whole of it...I will lead your soldiers by land and by water, on mysterious shores, which join the harbours of incense.'
Isn't Punt the RL 'forgotten country' which was a major trading partner of Egypt for centuries, and was the original (and for a good long time, only) source of imported baboons for the cults of Thoth?


He hadn't shown up to the meetings, in fact, except to send immaculately written updates on a project that seemed to involve the history of spontaneous wells of power and their relationship to the weather.

Miriam had read the updates, slim summaries of summaries, and still been entirely lost as to what was being written.

Obrimos, when asked, though, nodded at it with something like awe.
My vague bet would be that someone is chasing down the possible Supernal implications of Obriman atmospheric phenomena like lightning and plasma flyers. Definitely a field with potential, even if the logistics of skimming tass off of highly mobile and short-lived wells flitting about the upper atmosphere would be... I'll go with 'nightmarish' unless you have a gifted Acanthus willing to stretch spacetime on your behalf.


Is there a problem involving Ostanes'… assignment?
Correction for a typo.


The Guardians have such organizations too. But they exist to deceive the Sleepers, to trap the unworthy in a labyrinth of conspiracies, secrets, and lies without true meaning," Bookie said, his mustache quivering with annoyance. "So we mark them out. So far as we know, then, there is no real truth in their perception of the Chicago fire."

Miriam hesitated, her mind dancing through several linked conclusions that she was not entirely sure of. She also felt a great deal of dismay. She'd found something that'd already been found, and warned of something that didn't matter. But… "Are they using this particular Astral vision and whatever cult it spawned, in dreams and in life, to hide something about the fire?"

"You really are trying to impress. That is the conclusion that the analyst came to after the full month was done. It was a conclusion I'd assumed, but the evidence from the report of her two-dozen Astral realms examined seemed to make that even more certain. It is a way to control the narrative," Bookie said. "Which leads to the question: why, and how?"
Because when your enemy uses lies, misdirection, and manipulation to shroud the world in darkness, the most effective way to bring light is to make a separate, secondary web of lies, misdirection, and manipulation to catch people who slipped through your enemy's net. :thonk:
 
Adhoc vote count started by The Laurent on Jun 17, 2021 at 11:44 PM, finished with 9 posts and 7 votes.

  • [X] See a redacted version of Slim's report. Even if it's redacted, it's still important and valuable information, all things considered.
    [x] There's value in talking to last year's analyst, perhaps? If they're still around. That will allow a more frank discussion.
    [X] The analyst's report would be useful, even if it is to know what routes not to go down, or figure out what went wrong.


Vote closed, I'll start writing up on Friday!
 
Page 11: Keep In Mind
Page 11: Keep In Mind

"I would like to see Slim's report," Morata said. "If this was at all possible."

"Yes. It will take a little bit of time to be redacted, however," Bookie explained, patiently. "Do you want to receive it tomorrow, or tonight?"

Tonight would be in a dream, which of course would involve trusting one of the Mystagogues to deliver it, even if they were probably only going to spend a few minutes in her Oneiros, if that, before they departed.

"I… can," Morata said. It was best not to be too private about one's Oneiros… but to keep protections in place. She knew enough about her own mind that she'd know when someone had messed with it, and of course she had other ways of figuring things out. If she couldn't trust a fellow Mystagogue with access to her mind for a brief period, then she was in the wrong Order. "Who will be sending it?"

"There are spells," Bookie said, absently. "Though Marco probably could."

Miriam thought about her need to help with Marco's summoning, as well as her debt to Tobias. If she met him she could talk about the summoning and figure that part out. She'd need to schedule the time carefully, now that she had a major new project. But she still owed her Cabal, and she still had her own studies that she needed to advance at least enough to have something to talk about at the next meeting.

It was the kind of pressure that could overwhelm you, like being trapped under a steadily growing pile of rubble. But she was used to it, had spent her life far busier than that up until she'd Awakened.

"The spell will be fine," Morata said. "Thank you for taking the time to talk to me."

"It was an important matter," Bookie said, quietly. "The matter of the Chicago Fire interests everyone."

Miriam knew that it interested some, like the Hierarch, even more. But there was no need to say that to Bookie, because no doubt Bookie knew. Ostanes' ambitions were rather modest compared to the kinds of things she heard of Silver Ladders. He just wanted to have a slightly bigger role as Curator.

The entire philosophy of the Mysterium included quite a lot of work trying to make it so that ambitions were routed through safe means. It obviously couldn't be said of all Mystagogues, but very few dreamed of owning and controlling a giant cache of Artifacts, or becoming some all-powerful Sorceror-King with forbidden lore. Not when they could instead dream of the validation of their peers, the advancement in the Mysteries, and perhaps even one day positions of influence and value over all of the Mystagogues in the city.

"I understand that," Miriam admitted, softly. "It interests me too."

"There are a lot of secrets hiding underneath that rock, and not least is the fact that…" Bookie hesitated, actually hesitated, before finally saying. "It seems as if the Silver Ladder wants it for more than the wealth it would provide. We cannot know why, but just as Ostanes' drives this project, Isaac drives the Silver Ladder project. I know his motivations, I do not Isaac's. It is not my opinion that it would be worse for Isaac to get it than anyone else, but it is Ostanes' opinion. For now it is his project."

There was a long pause and then Bookie said. "If you see cause for concern, you will tell me."

He was asking her to spy on the project, just in case.

Miriam hesitated, considered it. "I… will of course speak out if I see anything that seems to violated the rules of our Order, and… morality as well." She was a Christian, and she had her own qualms. "But… I will go to you first, in any case where there is such a concern and it cannot be addressed within the group."

She knew that this was a devilish compromise, because she was setting herself up to be convinced not to reveal anything beyond the Order.

"Very well."

******

The coin didn't look like much. It was a soot-black nickel, old and clearly been through far better days. But all she had to do was hold it and rub her thumb along the face of the coin and she'd activate its power. It was something she could keep in her pocket, as long as she kept nothing else in it and did not have the habit of putting her hands in her pocket.

Miriam decided that she'd find a cloth to wrap it in, perhaps, so that she wouldn't accidentally rub it. It could only be used five times before it needed to be filled up again. Each time it was used, she'd gain another hour of protection from indirect fire.

The magic could not stop someone who tried to use a flamethrower or throw a burning torch at her, but even an arsonist's fire would not hurt her. It was about… direct intent, and there was some sort of principle that governed the active versus the passive.

There was so much about magic she did not understand yet, and wanted to learn about. This coin was just another secret, and a very functional one at that. She gripped it tight, looking up at the shelves and thinking of the things she had to read tonight. She wanted to consider the ethics of creating Astral entities directly, and as part of that she had taken some notes on a few books she'd read on the topic. She wanted to review those and think through the implications.

The act of creating life… what did that even mean, when it was mental life? When it was mental life, how much of a 'person' was it? She could answer whether or not such a being had a soul… it did not, but then were the 'souls' that Mages could sense truly the immortal souls that the Bible spoke of?

Most Christian Mages thought they were, including some with far more experience than her, but some of its traits did not quite fit.

Did that mean the framing in the Bible was incorrect, or that it was speaking of something else?

She did not know, and she couldn't even ask her Father about it.

******

Instead she ate dinner fitfully, her mother having served roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, and green beans, bustling around as her father tried to get her to talk about her day, and she just stared at the oceans and seats of hot gravy and played with her food as if she was a decade younger than she was.

Her mother didn't ask questions, and so Miriam didn't have to tell her any lies about her day. When she got upstairs, she looked through the notes, again and again, and, frustrated, tried to focus on the words. But all she could think about is the fire. What happened, and why? Her mother's family wasn't even around back then.

But it was her city, and it'd burned and more than that, it'd burned in a way that might have something to do with magic.

So when she slipped off to bed, it was with a heavy heart and a lot of doubts and fears.

******

Report on the matter of the Cult.

They are called the Watchers of Infinite Decisions, and they seem to have been founded in 1899 by Josiah Woodward II, an eccentric man worth perhaps a million dollars. He was of course a front for the Guardians themselves, but there are hints that he was involve din the [Redacted] affair that led to [Redacted]. A desire not to repeat this has led to this extended report as of 1920, to be updated as more information becomes available.

As an ideology promoted by the Guardians, it does not, at least not intentionally, include anything like Atlantean Truth. The beliefs of the cult can be summarized as that fate, destiny, and luck do not exist, but are instead something made by a number of mysterious figures. These figures, whose descriptions do not in any way fit Mages, but may fit beings such as Vampires, the 'changed' and others, are evil and must be counteracted by rituals of large groups of people, the chanting of secret chants, and more.

It is in this sense harmless, because none of the chants have any connection. Their practical purpose is to mislead people who get some twinge of understanding about the Fate Arcanum with an understanding of it that is actively unhelpful. Fate and fortune can be controlled… but they also exist in the world, after all.

In addition, though, there have been two cases of Awakened who might have come from this cult, The first is [Three pages of Redactions].

The second, slightly more troubling, is [Six Pages of Redactions]

Ultimately, though, they are seemingly harmless… except for their obsession with the Chicago Fire, which they believe was caused by some form of magic or enchantment. This is the closest they get to breaching the Veil, and it is not close at all, considering how deliberately absurd their reading of magic is. But what it has done is create a realm in the Astral Realm for their vision of a magic-caused Fire. It has displaced, at least in part, some Mage conspiracies as to what happened.

These cannot be found… but considering the timing, it is uncertain whether this was immediately introduced in 1899, or introduced later. Further [Redacted]

Ultimately this means that recovery will be difficult, and the organization is not too big of a danger. Their meeting places include [Redacted] as well as [Redacted].

Keep in mind, these are only the ones I have found without being discovered by the Guardians. More might be present, and hidden.

Finally, [Redacted].

My conclusion on this final matter is of course my own, and I shall retract it if it would cause potential coalitional collapse for the whole of Chicago.

*****

August 27th is done! What does Miriam do for Thursday and Friday? On top of the obvious?

Studies… (Choose 1)

[] Continue on the matter of the soul.
[] Look up history regarding Guardian cults and other such cults.
[] Assist Hatty with research.
[] Assist Loki with anything he needs.

Personal (Choose 2)

[] Hang out with her friends.
[] Go to a ballgame and summon Tobias.
[] Talk to Sara again.
[] Spend time with her mother.
[] Contact Virginia in the real world to hang out.
[] Visit Loki's mansion, and perhaps ask for help regarding a leisure activity.

Research (Choose 1)

[] Continue mapping Chicago Great Fire realms one by one.
[] Search for and identify 'key realms' and note them down for later.
[] Pause in the Astral journey to do something in the real world, such as talk to the Folk.
[] Look for hints of this Guardian cult.
[] Try to recruit Virginia and her Psyche to the task of helping her search.

*****

A/N: And here we go! A first day done… it only took months. :p
 
As an ideology promoted by the Guardians, it does not, at least not intentionally, include anything like Atlantean Truth. The beliefs of the cult can be summarized as that fate, destiny, and luck do not exist, but are instead something made by a number of mysterious figures. These figures, whose descriptions do not in any way fit Mages, but may fit beings such as Vampires, the 'changed' and others, are evil and must be counteracted by rituals of large groups of people, the chanting of secret chants, and more.

It is in this sense harmless, because none of the chants have any connection. Their practical purpose is to mislead people who get some twinge of understanding about the Fate Arcanum with an understanding of it that is actively unhelpful. Fate and fortune can be controlled… but they also exist in the world, after all.
Jesus fucking Christ.

Like, the only way that being in the Diamond makes sense as anything beyond choosing to die on your feet is if you accept that sympathetic magic extends well past the second level of the Space Arcanum.

The Exarchy is too powerful for the Awakened to fight directly, and too powerful to be unseated purely by the actions of those within it. The only way in which the Diamond could ever hope to loosen the bars of the black iron prison they are condemned to is if their act of rebellion against the Fallen World's manifestations of Exarchic dominion constitute a form of sympathetic magic.

Just as you can curse a man through his Name or a vial of his blood, the Wise can weaken and wound the Exarchy by acting upon the Fallen institutions and representatives of its authority.

What, then, do you think that encouraging mock reenactments of ritual and fervent effort directed toward a common focus can potentially produce?

Sleepers aren't genetically or spiritually inferior to the Awakened - the only difference is in their state of awareness. Get enough Sleepers believing in snarks and grumpkins, and you could end up causing all sorts of weird effects on actual Supernal phenomena. The Astral itself is a direct exemplar of how Sleepers can impress their will upon the Supernal, however unwittingly and however imperfectly.


In addition, though, there have been two cases of Awakened who might have come from this cult, The first is [Three pages of Redactions].

The second, slightly more troubling, is [Six Pages of Redactions]
And there's the other issue. Propagating deliberately fallacious metaphysical models designed specifically to ensnare people who are seeking truths outside of Exarchic institutions is an excellent way to produce Banishers and the Mad, because if someone does manage to Awaken despite the Guardians' best efforts to keep them Asleep, then they're going to be crossing the Abyss with, as they put it, an "actively unhelpful" understanding of the Supernal.


Ultimately, though, they are seemingly harmless… except for their obsession with the Chicago Fire, which they believe was caused by some form of magic or enchantment. This is the closest they get to breaching the Veil, and it is not close at all, considering how deliberately absurd their reading of magic is. But what it has done is create a realm in the Astral Realm for their vision of a magic-caused Fire. It has displaced, at least in part, some Mage conspiracies as to what happened.

These cannot be found… but considering the timing, it is uncertain whether this was immediately introduced in 1899, or introduced later. Further [Redacted]

Ultimately this means that recovery will be difficult, and the organization is not too big of a danger. Their meeting places include [Redacted] as well as [Redacted].

Keep in mind, these are only the ones I have found without being discovered by the Guardians. More might be present, and hidden.
Please tell me they've realized that if the Watchers can exert enough influence to displace Mage-born Astral reflections with their own, then they could also be generating other, less obvious phenomena within the realm of Mind? And that if they have indeed managed to come within shouting distance of Supernal Truth, then those phenomena could reach further than the Watchers themselves, being closer to the source and less directly fettered by the Lie?
 
Jesus fucking Christ.

Like, the only way that being in the Diamond makes sense as anything beyond choosing to die on your feet is if you accept that sympathetic magic extends well past the second level of the Space Arcanum.

The Exarchy is too powerful for the Awakened to fight directly, and too powerful to be unseated purely by the actions of those within it. The only way in which the Diamond could ever hope to loosen the bars of the black iron prison they are condemned to is if their act of rebellion against the Fallen World's manifestations of Exarchic dominion constitute a form of sympathetic magic.

Just as you can curse a man through his Name or a vial of his blood, the Wise can weaken and wound the Exarchy by acting upon the Fallen institutions and representatives of its authority.

What, then, do you think that encouraging mock reenactments of ritual and fervent effort directed toward a common focus can potentially produce?

Sleepers aren't genetically or spiritually inferior to the Awakened - the only difference is in their state of awareness. Get enough Sleepers believing in snarks and grumpkins, and you could end up causing all sorts of weird effects on actual Supernal phenomena. The Astral itself is a direct exemplar of how Sleepers can impress their will upon the Supernal, however unwittingly and however imperfectly.



And there's the other issue. Propagating deliberately fallacious metaphysical models designed specifically to ensnare people who are seeking truths outside of Exarchic institutions is an excellent way to produce Banishers and the Mad, because if someone does manage to Awaken despite the Guardians' best efforts to keep them Asleep, then they're going to be crossing the Abyss with, as they put it, an "actively unhelpful" understanding of the Supernal.



Please tell me they've realized that if the Watchers can exert enough influence to displace Mage-born Astral reflections with their own, then they could also be generating other, less obvious phenomena within the realm of Mind? And that if they have indeed managed to come within shouting distance of Supernal Truth, then those phenomena could reach further than the Watchers themselves, being closer to the source and less directly fettered by the Lie?

Absolutely, they realize it. One assumes that they balance the pros and cons of it. Often they specifically try to 'Maze' those people who would be most dangerous if they got their hands on real knowledge... and are seeking out actual, real knowledge.

And to be fair, basically everyone crosses the Abyss with actively unhelpful understandings of a lot of the many supernatural concepts. It's not as big of a risk as it seems. Basically, this whole cult is a mixed bag at best, but it's not actually all that big a risk, relatively speaking.

Relative is relative, obviously. But trust me, if they were judged by Slim to be a clear and present danger, the report would be a lot longer.
 
[X] Continue on the matter of the soul.
[X] Go to a ballgame and summon Tobias.
[X] Contact Virginia in the real world to hang out.
[X] Continue mapping Chicago Great Fire realms one by one.

I was doing... stuff. Glad to see this updated though!
 
Digesting;
"potential coalitional collapse for the whole of Chicago". This seems concerning, but than so does anything. Though Plot Hook…

It would be wise to pay off any debt first.
 
[X] Continue on the matter of the soul
[X] Continue mapping Chicago Great Fire realms one by one.
[X] Visit Loki's mansion, and perhaps ask for help regarding a leisure activity
[X] Contact Virginia in the real world to hang out.
 
[X] Continue on the matter of the soul.
[X] Go to a ballgame and summon Tobias.
[X] Contact Virginia in the real world to hang out.
[X] Continue mapping Chicago Great Fire realms one by one.
 
[x] Assist Loki with anything he needs.
Seems like a good idea to use our study time to also make worthwhile connections in the Order. Efficiency!

[x] Hang out with her friends.
I don't want to lose track of Miriam's life by being too caught up in Morata's.

[x] Go to a ballgame and summon Tobias.
We promised we'd do this, plus I want to see more of him.

[x] Try to recruit Virginia and her Psyche to the task of helping her search.
This is one of the big advantages we have over anyone else on this hunt (like Jack), let's leverage that advantage.
 
[X] Continue on the matter of the soul.
[X] Go to a ballgame and summon Tobias.
[X] Contact Virginia in the real world to hang out.
[X] Continue mapping Chicago Great Fire realms one by one.
 
[X] Continue on the matter of the soul.
[X] Go to a ballgame and summon Tobias.
[X] Spend time with her mother.
[X] Continue mapping Chicago Great Fire realms one by one.

Hopefully I'm not too late.
 
[X] Assist Hatty with research.

[X] Go to a ballgame and summon Tobias.
[X] Spend time with her mother.

[X] Search for and identify 'key realms' and note them down for later.
 
Page 12: The Soul of Chicago
Page 12: The Soul of Chicago

There were a few traits of souls which did not quite fit. First, a person could exist without one. They would decline in morality, and without a soul a Mage would soon find themselves unable to use their magic… but they could exist. Regardless of what people assumed, even the most damned sinner, sure to go to hell for the black and vile disbelief and lack of faith, and the monstrous actions Miriam knew this caused, still had a soul.

Moreover, the moment a person died, their soul disappeared. Did it go to heaven? Hell? Did it simply cease existing? There was no way to track it, and so some denied it went anywhere at all. But souls could exist outside of the lives of the person, and there had been dark and immoral experiments that showed that you could remove a person's soul, then kill them, and the soul would remain.

How, then?

Moreover, there was the fact that souls were interchangeable. If someone stole her soul, and then she stole the soul of another and pit it into her body, it would function as if she had not lost a soul at all in most cases. There were some exceptions, and apparently some maladies and problems could carry over, but not all of them? Some of this could be justified under a Christian practice: souls did not have race, fair enough. But… everything else?

So she read and write and tried to play around with ideas, and couldn't quite figure out how to make it work. Could the soul that was seen merely be a part of the whole, if a key part? This seemed, though, like a nonsensical division in many ways, seeing as it failed parsimony entirely.

However, there were Folk texts on the matter, supposedly, ones that would shed some light on the subject, perhaps…

******

Thursday morning: after all that thinking last night, she woke up just a little bit tired and decided that she would stay in. It was the kind of heat that would nearly literally mug someone, slam into them once they stepped outside, and of course there was only protection from the sun, not the heat, in the house. So she sweltered and drank plenty of water, or at least she normally would.

Instead she set up a magical warning system, and then meditated into the Astral. The system existed for a simple reason: she'd asked Virginia to surprise her sometimes, and asked in the next few days if they'd hang out, when she briefly sent a message to her.

Virginia had been busy with her… paramour… ette. No, that wasn't the phrase at all. Miriam knew the phrase, but that did not stop it from being intensely awkward to refer to someone as her 'lover.' There was also apparently the word 'girlfriend' that some used, but that seemed far too modern and casual for the level of connection which Virginia had to this person she'd only ever met in the Astral spaces.

Besides, Virginia and Miriam were girlfriends: friends who were girls. Miriam could not say for sure whether the phrasing 'girlfriend' for a girl a boy was dating would 'catch on' but she hoped it wouldn't.

So, the Chicagos.

Miriam almost burned to death in the first one, the Chicago Fire of the Firefighter. Whatever instructions they had, they and those who fought it without any special label fought with the desperation of the doctor against death, of the Christian against the sin that existed in all hearts. The sparks and flames stung her, or at least tried to. But she had her coin, and when she was done saving one building, there was always another building. The fire was far larger in this vision than it was in reality. She had to pull away before too long, because she knew she could fight it until dawn, and then beyond, and it would wrap around and around. The residents here would never be tired, but they would also never notice anything special about it.

But Miriam did notice one strange thing: just one. It started at the moment the cow supposedly knocked over the lantern. But there were other elements that seemed to loop, cycle, and repeat. The fire was normal, but bits of it seemed to just… repeat movements? This was probably people just not being that creative, but Miriam noted it anyways.

She noted the Chicago where she fled and was almost buried in a crumbling building, and tried to ignore the feeling as if she was still in there when she stepped into a Chicago where she stood in an unburned building. She hid in it, and listened to big, fat white men in suits talk about how they were actually all behind it, and were plotting and scheming the fire so that they could redevelop the area.

She crouched behind a plant and let her magic be her guide. She hid, and listened, and then listened again. They spoke of space, of space opened, of space gained, of space for statues of themselves. They plotted and schemed, but it was not their minds that were being whetted, but their appetites.

Miriam took notes, and was pretty sure that she would need to send this to other Mages. Others, who knew more.

Because there was this moment in each of them, this point in the fire where things started to stutter and repeat, but she did not have the time to decipher what that meant. Did it mean that there was some moment that it actually corresponded to that was so powerful that it became part of it? She should look up the timeline of the fire, and see what it said.

It was as if each of these stories was subtly marked by something, subtly marked by some fact that Miriam knew nothing about. But she could just be seeing something. Tired, she looked down at the last: six Chicagos had been visited. The seventh was going to be--

That's when she felt the tug.

Ah, Virginia had just knocked on Miriam's door.

But what is Virginia's plan?

[] It's slightly late in the afternoon, and Virginia wants to go shopping… and not in the Negro parts of the city. Even if that means a little bit of magic on both their parts.
[] Virginia would like to take Miriam out to dinner, at a restaurant of the sort she was used to down south.
[] Virginia has sketchy business she needs to do out beyond the city limits itself. It's… certainly one sort of friendly adventure, to commit what might be a crime together.
[] Virginia wants to take a trip to the… wild side of things. She understands, of course, Miriam's objections, but she could use someone to help keep her safe. Virginia's talking, of course, about parties that sometimes defy the just and righteous law that is Prohibition.
[] Write-in.

*****

A/N: And the setup!
 
[X] Virginia wants to take a trip to the… wild side of things. She understands, of course, Miriam's objections, but she could use someone to help keep her safe. Virginia's talking, of course, about parties that sometimes defy the just and righteous law that is Prohibition.

Could be fun, and maybe we could learn useful things.
 
[X] Virginia wants to take a trip to the… wild side of things. She understands, of course, Miriam's objections, but she could use someone to help keep her safe. Virginia's talking, of course, about parties that sometimes defy the just and righteous law that is Prohibition.
 
[X] Virginia wants to take a trip to the… wild side of things. She understands, of course, Miriam's objections, but she could use someone to help keep her safe. Virginia's talking, of course, about parties that sometimes defy the just and righteous law that is Prohibition.
 
[X] Virginia wants to take a trip to the… wild side of things. She understands, of course, Miriam's objections, but she could use someone to help keep her safe. Virginia's talking, of course, about parties that sometimes defy the just and righteous law that is Prohibition.
 
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