DAVIAN//

Davian awakens in the dark, the curtains of his four-post bed whispering in the breeze. As always, there is a moment of disorientation: what year is it? Where is he? Slowly he shoulders the burden of consciousness, each year laid on top of the last, until Magister Davian the Wise places his foot on the cold floor and grunts.

Robe and slippers acquired, he ascends the stairs of his brownstone and opens the door onto his rooftop garden, the susurration of the bamboo reminding him of his warm bed.

PIDGE//

The date is April 25.

DAVIAN//

The rooftop garden is designed to seamlessly blend a variety of biomes, ranging from alpine to jungle. In the corner, nestled among the bamboo and pine is a small Japanese Tea Hut, nestled on a low rise. I settle in the hut and begin to meditate as the light filters through the buildings.

PIDGE//

The weather is warm for this time of year, though considerable masses of clouds are moving through the area. You expect it to rain either later today or early tomorrow. Your meditation goes well; no errant worries plague your mind. However, you are interrupted by the sound of your cellphone alerting you to a text message.

DAVIAN//

For fucks sake, what now My inner calm shattered by this technological intrusion, I sigh and snap my fingers and the phone appears in my hand.

PIDGE//

You pass over a number of notifications that have filtered in while you were abed.

Nothing out-of-the-ordinary except for a notification from an app that handles encrypted messages. Only a few of your acquaintances insist on using the protocol.

DAVIAN//

Another snap of my fingers: a breakfast burrito and large chocolate almondmilk espresso appear on a silver platter next to me. I enjoy that first sip feeling while checking the encrypted messaging app.

PIDGE//

The message is from Vladislaus Straud, whose placeholder image is a grey square with the initials VS in white in the center. You don't think he would take too kindly to being photographed.

"Good morning, my friend. I hope I've not interrupted your slumber. Might I trouble you to run a little errand for me today?"

The blaring of a car's horn dares to interrupt your routine. There are some advantages to living in the city but this is not one of them. It remains, however, that the city's denizens are so wrapped up in their own affairs, even ones as trivial as traffic conflagrations, that no one is any the wiser to the strange man living in the antique brownstone at 78 Perry.

"It's today one year since the departure of Myrtle Marscapone. If you have the time or inclination, I'd like you to pay respects in part on my behalf."

DAVIAN//

"Of course. I shall leave some blue irises. Perhaps I will stop by the Velvet this evening and we can share a game in memory."

PIDGE//

"That would be most amiable. I'll see you at sundown."

DAVIAN//

Putting the phone in my pocket, I finish my breakfast and make my way downstairs, stopping briefly in the library to examine a slender volume: 'Principles of the Art' by Myrtle Marscapone. Hard to imagine it has been a year.

PIDGE//

You reflect silently on the story of Myrtle's death. Received from Straud, it is a harrowing reminder of the danger that exists silently behind the unseen. Myrtle had invited another woman into her home by the name of Agnes Sepal. By all accounts, Agnes had been a fairly unremarkable mage, capable of a few memorized incantations but nothing to ripple the fabric of space-time. But the devastation that the vampires had encountered suggested a duel of unexpected proportions. You know that part of the Magicademy was severely damaged from fire and force.

Straud also put your mind at ease when you heard about the catastrophe; he reported that he and his accomplices (known colloquially as Straud's Boys) ground Myrtle's singed bones into dust and spread it within the garden. This is of interest to you because you've heard rumors of graverobbers -- someone has been stealing the bones of dead mages. With your experience, you know that the bone dust may be useful to those interested in technomagick. You are grateful that the body has been disposed of properly but lament that there are mages for whom immortality remained as elusive as it was to the Mundane.

DAVIAN//

I exit my townhouse in a pensive mood, turning these unanswered questions over in my mind. The subway ride to Astoria passes without impression as I reflect on Myrtle and my own failure to solve the mystery of her death.

Exiting the subway, I walk north on 31st street, reacquainting myself with the neighborhood and grimacing at the profusion of chain stores.

PIDGE//

Memories dance at the periphery of your attention as you walk through the crowded streets. Make a Perception + Streetwise check to find an appropriate place to stop and eat.

P.S. How are you acquiring your flowers?

difficulty 6

Your mind clears as you tread gradually away from the mass of bodies clustering around the subway station. You remember having stopped at a hole-in-the-wall coffee bar located just two streets off the main drag some time ago while en route to deliver a demonstration to the students of the Magicademy. Even if it's changed ownership, you reflect, it still should be a coffee bar.

When you round the corner, a sign in brushed aluminum says in bold letters, "Moe's". The menu is to the point but serves all the best Italian preparations.

You easily overhear a pair of young women discussing a famous billionaire's supposed deal to purchase a social network. They dismiss the platform, claiming its day in the sun was ten years ago. They seem to have a neutral to neutral positive view of the billionaire; one of the woman cites her desire to see mankind make it to Mars.

The women are between 25-30 years of age; almost certainly childless and still possessing the vigor of youth. One of the women has a college lanyard hanging from the outside of her purse. She has vibrant brown hair and expressive eyebrows; her companion has dark blonde hair and her lipstick has left pink on her porcelain cup.

DAVIAN//

I turn to the two women and carefully attenuate my affect to radiate confidence and warmth: "Mars is overrated. Imagine the secrets that might lie under a brittle surface 20 miles thick, seething in the turgid waters of Europa."

PIDGE//

The woman with the dark hair blushes a bright shade of red and brings her lips together in embarrassment. The blonde smiles and tries to act the leader. "It always seemed to me we should go after the bodies that orbit the sun first. But I'm no astronomer."

Her dark-haired companion speaks up. "Europa is Jupiter, right? Imagine the view..." Her attempt at flirtation is ad-lib but not without a certain charm.

But the blonde seems determined to control the flow of conversation. "I'm just saying I would follow anyone willing to take us to the stars. Between climate change and population growth, it's about time to get the hell off this rock."

DAVIAN//

I wink at the blonde's 'bodies that orbit the sun' remark and nod with gentle enthusiasm at the brunette's attempt; "Such a thing would be ambitious, perhaps a generational ship." I step a bit closer to the two: "Did you know that such ships would begin with polygamous triads?"

PIDGE//

"I'd certainly benefit from a guide." The blonde smiles and the brunette gives a coy, almost embarrassed glance at the austere man.

"College was a good time for us." The blonde reports, with her companion throwing a violent look of sheer shock.

You see that while the blonde controls the situation at hand, the brunette is the likely source of truth.

DAVIAN//

I smile at both women. That's a bingo "I am throwing a party this Friday, why don't you two come together?"

I remove a business card from my pocket 'Davian Hughes, ESQ.' and write my cell phone number on the back, then place it on the table between the women. "See you on Friday"

PIDGE//

"I don't keep business cards handy but perhaps you'll take down my number just in case plans change." The blonde removes a crumpled receipt from her pocket and jots down her phone number on the back.

DAVIAN//

"Thank you, dear. Ladies it was a pleasure, I will see you soon." With that I turn and leave the café, heading in the direction of the Magicademy.

PIDGE//

It's a sunny, pleasant day as you stroll through the sidestreets. This area of Queens is sparsely inhabited, at least by Queens standards, and there are even a few parking spaces available for the mounted explorer.

You reflect on the place the Magicademy has held within NYC for decades. While most magicking children hailed from magicking families, the Magicademy, or the Marscapone School of Magic as it was officially known, took in children from the tri-state area (and beyond) and provided them with a supportive environment and education. What would happen to these children without such an institution to care for them? Would they languish and doom themselves an unlucky member of Ordinary society?

It was far easier to teach magic to children than adults. And the greater the social network of mages around them, the more they believed in the supernatural and possessed any hope of grasping what was Possible. Myrtle had not taught her students much more than dabbling in the spheres but it was enough to ground them within the True Reality. Far more than a Sleeper could hope to attain even within the realm of Dream.

The school itself is a set of connected brownstones, each set in its own tone of brick. The corner unit, 101 Church Street, is dark grey and bears a sign, "Marscapone School for Foundlings". Below each of the windows is a flowerbox set with colorful annuals. The flowers are in decent condition, despite the soil needing some water.

You see two choices before you. You can knock on one of two doors. The darkly bricked door to the school looks somewhat tired and abandoned, though it was always the door you used in official functions with the school. The adjacent unit, 103 Church Street, is done in red brick and the shaded front stoop has the NY Times waiting patiently in a blue plastic sack.

DAVIAN//

I pause momentarily in front of the doors, sipping my espresso and thinking back on my previous visits, letting the gravity of the situation permeate my being. After this momentary reverie, I reach into my bag and conjure a handful of irises, carefully warded so they will remain fresh for a year. (Life 3 Prime 2 Time 3) Dice pool (Arete + Life) 9+5

Once the Irises are in-hand, I walk up the steps to 103 Church, pick up the paper, and use the ornate brass knocker to announce my presence.

PIDGE//

A moment passes before you hear a woman's voice call through the building. "Coming!" she yells.

You wait, patiently, until a blonde woman answers the door. She wears her hair in a neat French braid trailing down the back of her neck. Her shirt is striped in white and blue and she wears a snug pair of blue jeans. As soon as the two of you meet eyes, you are certain she is Ordinary. Beautiful, although not aggressively so, but entirely Ordinary.

She lays eyes on your conjured flowers and her expression softens, though still maintains her quizzical look. You almost swear she's got her head cocked, as if she were some kind of canine.

"Can I...Help you?"

DAVIAN//

Good Morning, my name is Davian. I was a colleague of Myrtle's and would like to leave these flowers in the back garden in her memory.

PIDGE//

Her mouth wordlessly forms into an "O" as she gleans meaning from your words. "You must be looking for her sons."

(Sons? Someone must have fed the young woman a white lie.)

"I don't think George Henry is around, but Kevin is probably next door." She steps toward you, craning her head outside the door frame to view the driveway. You, too, take notice of the classic car in teal parked there. From the looks of it, it dates from the sixties but it's been very well taken care of.

"Why don't you just step into the entry here and I'll go get him." She steps back and allows you to enter the foyer. Before she leaves, she turns back around as if she's changed her mind. "Very pretty orchids, by the way." But before you can say anything, she's left you alone awaiting her return.

In the foyer is a shoe-rack with a variety of women's shoes, a mirror, and some small prints of flowers and other plant life.

Before you've become too neglected, the cracked door opens and in steps a man with auburn hair. He seems out-of-time, somewhat like yourself, steeped in a costume that betrays modern fashions: a blue tailcoat. His face is thin and his skin has a pale olive tint. "Summer said you're looking for Mom's grave." He pauses a moment and raises his hand to request a handshake. "Kevin Marscapone. I...don't think we've met?"

DAVIAN//

I shake his hand firmly and give him a warm greeting. "Davian Hughes. Your mother and I were colleagues and friends." I raise the Irises "For the garden, I know they were her favorite."

PIDGE//

"Davian. It's nice to meet you. She will love the flowers. Come this way." Kevin gestures for you to follow him through the apartment. You pass through a dining room and a kitchen that you assume belong to the young woman Summer. The kitchen ends with a large glass door. Kevin opens the door and the two of you step into a bountiful backyard garden. A large greenhouse in iron sits to your left; a number of quiet vegetable plots fill the area to your right. All together the garden seems tended, though somehow forlorn.

In the back of the garden is a row of small gravestones. "MYRTLE MARSCAPONE. BELOVED WIFE AND MOTHER. 1900-2021."

Kevin stands back on the weathered sidewalk and allows you room to observe the stone. There is a small vase to hold the flowers; empty.

"Mother loved irises. Thank you."

The air is thick with silence as you place your flowers.

"Mother will be disappointed but I don't think I'll be continuing the school. Her children were her world and I wish I could see it through but I've neither the gift nor the inclination."

DAVIAN//

I am slightly puzzled by Kevin's continued use of the present tense, and proceed cautiously. "Parents are often more stubborn than the Gauntlet; but I am sure she would be proud of you, regardless."

PIDGE//

"I hope so. She always had high standards for those she sheltered under her roof. But she believed in us all, believed we could be more than what we had been."

"Her undying belief still continues to inspire me. Some might say if it had not been for the children, she might have developed her secret to long life, but I think she regarded it as a trade. Our salvation for hers."

"Can I get you something to drink?"

DAVIAN//

I hold up my coffee cup "No thank you. Kevin, forgive my forwardness, but, it almost sounds like your mother is still around. Is she a ghost?"

PIDGE//

"A ghost can take many forms. My mother's God-given body was destroyed by the fire magic conjured by the woman Agnes Sepal. I'll be frank -- I rebound the spirit. She never made a priority of developing her potion of immortality but the simple fact was that I couldn't allow her the favor of leaving her Earthly home behind. We still need her."

An unsaid question hangs in the air.

"She's in our mainframe."

DAVIAN//

"You migrated her soul into a mainframe?" Davian eyes Kevin with a new respect. "A nice bit of Spirit." I then use Telepathy to reach out mentally to the Ghost of Myrtle Marscapone Telepathy: Mind 3 Dice Pool: Arete (9) +4 (Mind)= 13

"Myrtle, I know you're there; a whole year and not even an email?"

PIDGE//

"Davian Hughes?! I thought I'd never see you again! It's been such a long time. What was the last time you were here, I can't remember the year but you were lecturing on the fundamental Forces. Wasn't that it?"

DAVIAN//

"My last lecture was in '07; and you're right, Forces, Matter, and Time, though few had the head for the last. Well, this is awkward, I left you flowers. Why have you remained like this?"

PIDGE//

"Oh, I lost a witch's spat. Always be prepared, I used to say. But I got lazy in my old age. Never get old."

DAVIAN//

"That's the plan."

"Let me come see you in person, I am curious to see how it was done. Your son must be quite skilled in Spirit. Speaking of the lad, I must apologize to him, I rudely excluded him from this little chat."

"My apologies Kevin, I acted impulsively once you told me the news and have spoken briefly with your Mother. I hope it would not be an intrusion if you would show me her mainframe?"

PIDGE//

"He grew tremendously in the Power after he was cured of the curse of vampirism. It was something no mother is ever prepared for."

DAVIAN//

"Well_if_it_isnt_the_consequences_of_my_own_actions.jpg"

"Wait, does Vlad know?"

PIDGE//

Kevin turns back toward you after having been examining some of the spring flowers located nearby. The first spring blossoms are just starting to fade.

"It's nice, isn't it, the flowers that come up each year without being tended?" He steps back toward you to resume the prior conversation. "Of course you can see the computer, it's in the basement." He motions for you to follow him.

"It was all a horrible thing, my friends and I were out-of-town rescuing a dognapped dog and we came back to a half-charred home and my mother dead on the floor. Her spirit had a high gravity toward this home and I could feel that she was still around me. I acted instinctively, gathered the soul-stuff, and bound it in the most useful object I could think of. We have been targeted before and the binding needed to be done quickly."

"He's been to see me a few times but he stays busy. You know how he is."

DAVIAN//

"Indeed I do. I'll give him your regards this evening."

PIDGE//

Kevin opens a lock on the basement door and they step into a steep basement corridor. The walls are finished smooth and it looks tidy. As you reach the landing, there's a modest outdoor entrance, but it does number yet another door in the complex.

"This is our little computer lab. For those of Myrtle's friends that are not as talented in the fine Arts, they're able to have correspondence here at the terminal."

DAVIAN//

I follow Kevin down into the basement, listening with interest. "Thank you, I'll only be a moment".

I step into the room and make an awareness check Perception+Awareness 8+8=16

What wards do I detect?

PIDGE//

The wards you sense are extensive, ranging from protecting the structural integrity field, and more complex, such as convincing a Mortal who encounters it to practically ignore it such that it seems invisible. The cyphers on the data are the cutting edge of encryption, both to the mundane and magical.

DAVIAN//

As the door closes behind me, I take my seat at the terminal, cracking my knuckles ostentatiously before typing. "Ok, now that we're doing this, ahem, Old School, what is the cause of your hesitation?"

PIDGE//

"My son sees visions. He believes his father lives on in his mind. I never know if his actions are his own."

DAVIAN//

"Such a thing is possible, though the circumstances must have been extraordinary. When did this happen?"

PIDGE//

"Shortly after my husband died nearing...Oh twenty years ago. He's become so strange. I thought that he might change after seeking Straud's cure but if anything he's become more secretive."

DAVIAN//

"I see. Do you fear for your safety? Is that why you haven't sought release from your current...situation?"

PIDGE//

"I seek repentance for my sins. I don't fear for my safety. I try to make myself useful so I don't have to fear. It is they who fear me. Have you ever met a witch of the Wild?"

"Years ago, when I was young, I had no mother nor father to mentor me. When I became able to observe and create Disturbances, I felt lost. I felt scared. I met a witch of the Wild who brought me to her coven. I was a young girl then, I must have been twelve or fourteen, it's hard to know exactly anymore. But they showed me a vision that's haunted me my entire life."

"They told me I would become the wife of a powerful man, but that I would betray him for power. I...kept this vision a secret from my family, but my husband somehow found out. And now he fears the vision coming true."

"I cannot leave this place lest I become tempted. I have already been given a second chance."

DAVIAN//

"I understand. Out of a sense of obligation to our friendship and your service to our little Community, let me say that I am willing to help you free yourself, if it ever comes to that."

"As to your Son and Husband: this is concerning. What are his aims? I try to refrain from involving myself in the affairs of the other Awakened but I feel the light touch of Fate guiding me here."

PIDGE//

"Free myself? I've hardly considered it. What I wouldn't do for flesh and blood again, but I fear the prophecy I've been given. I'm angry, always have been, that my destiny was decided for me all those years ago. I have spent years hiding from its seductive promise. I was, and always have been, middling at best. I fear what my response would be if someone freed me from the yoke of this reality. I always wanted to be capable of wielding great power, what would happen if I were finally able to fulfill my childhood dreams?"

"Your offer is appealing; I've few visitors anymore and I'm unable to work magic outside of instant response from the microprocessor. After decades of constant care for my children, the quiet leaves me unsettled and unfulfilled. But I fear this was how it was meant to be, somehow. I have tried to pray but it always ends in silence."

"In the few moments of connection I have with my son, he says I'm fighting depression. I always associated the affliction with the Mortals, so I am loath to so easily condemn myself, but perhaps there is truth in his words. I do not think my husband would have ever called me 'depressed'."

"Would I leave them and seek my own destiny? Could I?"

"You have given me a lot to think over. Hope. You have given me hope, Davian."

"I have tried my entire life to believe in the Gods, but I do not feel the warmth of faith in my heart. I have gone to countless ceremonies, I have prayed and prayed. But I know that on my final judgement day, they will find me insufficient. Magic was my faith. But I can't help feeling that it wasn't enough. The prophecy foretold my future in Hell and I spent my life hiding from that eventuality. Do you believe?"

DAVIAN//

"Yes. However my faith is rooted in the fact of my Awakening. We are all fragments of God, attempting to piece ourselves back together; when we Ascend, we rejoin the whole. Perhaps the reason you hear only silence is because you are praying to yourself."

"I have tarried overlong, your son must be becoming curious. A parting thought: be careful interpreting prophecy, the meaning is often clear only in hindsight. Be Well Myrtle, I will be in touch".

PIDGE//

"I hope none of us ever see what I've seen in my worst fears. Please, do be in touch. I look forward to our next meeting."

You look over toward Kevin, who's leafing through a small notebook while leaning against a wall on the other side of the room. The notebook is unlabeled; some kind of personal record of some type. "I hope you've found your conversation with Mother to your liking? It's not the best of homes for her but it was what I could do at the time. I'm not as facile with Life as I wish I were."

"Above all, I want Mother to be happy. I think she was, many years ago. But she was forced to spend so much of her life as an old woman. I do not think anyone wishes to become an old woman. The only thing worse is to become an old man."

DAVIAN//

After making sure the screen is clear, I rise and make my way over to Kevin, a contemplative look on my face. "It was illuminating on many levels." I meet Kevin's gaze directly "Secrecy was always the bane of our Kind".

PIDGE//

"What is it the Mortals say? 'Loose lips sink ships'? We were banished from obscurity by Mother's choice to found her orphanage right in the middle of Earth's greatest city. I've encountered more than a few enemies who knew me by name and face alone."

DAVIAN//

"A certain amount of discretion is always recommended, but hiding is hard these days, even for the Mundane; and, despite their occasional inconvenience, there is something to be said for having witnesses..."

As we walk through the house, I make my tone lighter and more friendly. "Thank you , Kevin. It was a true pleasure to speak with Myrtle again and it gladdens my heart that she still exists. I used to lecture here, not too long ago, and I treasure the memory; we are too few, something your mother understood all too well."

PIDGE//

"Sometimes the best place to hide is in plain sight. I couldn't agree more." The pair walk upstairs and gather toward the front door. Behind you in a sitting room is a pipe organ and a small table currently set to play Go. "You are more than welcome, day or night, if you need a place of respite or you need to search over our archives. I'll give you my phone number..."

"Please feel free to reach out to me. Mother regarded you as one of the family, as do I."

"If our enemies have their way, there will be even fewer of us. Peace be with you, and be safe."

DAVIAN//

I bow slightly at the offer and kind words. "Of course, thank you again." I hand him my business card in return. "Oh, if you are free this weekend, I am having some guests over on Friday night. 78 Perry Street, 7pm."

PIDGE//

"You're in Manhattan, right? That shouldn't be a problem. I would love to come over."

Kevin takes the business card and slips it into his coat pocket. The two exchange the necessary pleasantries and bid each other adieu.

Outside, the sun has emerged from behind the clouds and beats down with intensity upon the street. Or was it just that the Magicademy was poorly lit? Either way, the sunshine warms your scalp. It's a lovely day, around midday.

You know you have your appointment with Straud later this evening. Or, at least, you don't expect him to show until the sun has begun to set.

DAVIAN//

I take a moment to look back at the Magicademy, reviewing my interactions with Kevin and Myrtle. Did Vlad suspect what would happen?

Troubled by such thoughts, I decide to clear my head. Transmutation Life 5 Pool Arete + Life (9+5=14)

I duck into a small copse of trees and a pigeon emerges, fluffs its feathers, then takes flight.

PIDGE//

In Astoria Park, an elderly woman has a cartful of half-stale bread that she's feeding to the birds. She's attracted quite the crowd.

Life is beginning to stir at a speak-easy known as the Blue Velvet. The day bar-staff has begun to trickle in. Chairs have been flipped to their proper positions and shipments have been tallied. The evening's cabaret performers rehearse their lines and warm up their voices.

The bar has operated in one shape or form as a safe haven for allies of the Occult for nearing a hundred years. There is no spiderweb motif on the outside, nor is the sign's lettering dripping with blood.

No one was refused entry to the Blue Velvet, Mage, Night-folk, or Mortal, but the whole place reeked of ancient secrets. Mortals who happened upon the place often became regulars simply because the place offered intrigue. Like a scent lost in childhood's clamor, it was the allure of mystery found again. Mortals dosed themselves on the ambiance and riveting performances. And the Vampire kept a close watch, rapt with the thrill of the Hunt, and he waited until the proper moment to strike...

DAVIAN//

I perch on a branch overlooking the old lady and watch the spectacle for a few minutes in idle curiosity.

PIDGE//

Something seems strange about the old woman. Your first inclination is to read her aura (good thing this isn't the Grishaverse or you'd need your hands).

DAVIAN//

Aurasight is Mind 1. Arete + Mind (9+4) = 13

PIDGE//

The woman's heartrate is slightly elevated. She is worried about the birds; they seem to be spooked and anxious, as if fearing an impending storm.

DAVIAN//

I watch the birds for a few more moments. Seeing nothing obvious that would upset them, I open my senses and spent some time interpreting the patterns I perceive. (Going to make a Mind/Spirit check along with an awareness check)

PIDGE//

The pigeons look to the seabirds for guidance and they are behaving as if a storm is coming. A storm? Or ships? You get the distinct impression of a color, a violet-red -- and a sense-idea of a foreign material. (Pigeons are not terribly bright birds...) You think the birds are afraid of a metal ship but something seems to hang on the word metal, as if it's not quite right.

You have not spent much time wandering the Umbra, but the images are harrowing, frightening. But as so much that is seen in and around the realms of Shadow, you have no idea of knowing how much is truth and how much is fantasy borne from the fears of Mortal Man.

DAVIAN//

I file the impressions away for further analysis; it seems today is a day of change.

After a final minute or so of observation, I spread my wings I take off for a tour of the harbor, looking for anything that seems unusual. After an hour or so, I will head back to my house and prepare for this evening.

PIDGE//

Elsewhere, the ripples of what you've seen seem to have dissipated, or at the very least, fallen on deaf ears. You know that animals have a deeper connection to the Umbra but they are often somewhat unreliable narrators, translating the visions into their own, limited, understandings.

DAVIAN//

Arriving home, I take some notes on my meeting with Kevin and my impressions from the park. Once that is complete, I spend a few moments making a guest list for this Friday then use the next few hours to sketch out the spell I am going to fabricate for the occasion.