Re: Little Moments Between Steptember and November, Meetings and Endings IC Thread 30

[Nicole Bouchard]

[Serge's Adventure]

Serge's Post:

'Don't remind me...' Nicole replied with a shudder. 'Thank God my schools was too poor to go to many museums... well, except that damn mill, which I think we went to on a weekly basis. "This is how your ancestors were exploited by Yankees and the Irish". Yay.'

Serge's Post:

'What is it about death rays? I'll point out a normal bullet, knife or even a simple baseball bat can cause death too.' the Etherite complained, but good-naturedly. 'Not had much time to work on much; what with between trying to get the powers-that-be to give us some work space, getting a job and everyday shit.'

Serge's Post:

'Bzzt. Wrong.' Nicole replied with a grin, revealing the ubiquitous eagle. 'But you didn't have much chance...' flipping it over and showing another eagle.

[Jeremy Silverstein]

[Serge's Adventure]

'Don't remind me...' Nicole replied with a shudder. 'Thank God my schools was too poor to go to many museums... well, except that damn mill, which I think we went to on a weekly basis. "This is how your ancestors were exploited by Yankees and the Irish". Yay.'

"My school definitely wasn't too poor. We went on way too many trips. I just wanted to stay home and read books." Serge said with a chuckle. "I liked learning about History though. Even if it was depressing at time. Hated math though. I managed to get through it but man was it boring."

'What is it about death rays? I'll point out a normal bullet, knife or even a simple baseball bat can cause death too.' the Etherite complained, but good-naturedly. 'Not had much time to work on much; what with between trying to get the powers-that-be to give us some work space, getting a job and everyday shit.'

"Cause their fun! The theatrics! The imagery! The grandeur! The charisma of the mad scientist who built it swearing his revenge against the world! People like that sort of thing. Vending machines can kill you too but you don't see much of that  in the movies." the Ecstatic said with a laugh.

"Do you have any plans in mind? Anything in particular that you want to build if you ever get the workspace?"

'Bzzt. Wrong.' Nicole replied with a grin, revealing the ubiquitous eagle. 'But you didn't have much chance...' flipping it over and showing another eagle.

Serge looked at the trick coin for a second. "Looks like a head and a tail to me. On the eagle I mean." Serge clarified pointing to the head and feathery tail of the eagle. "Not one or the other but both. I said it wouldn't be one of those two option. Didn't say that it couldn't be both."

[Adley]

Bruce sigh and nodded.
"I guess you are right Adley, I guess you are right but it still seam wrong."

"I'm not saying what he did was right. I think that's the hardest part to understand."

"I think she might Adley but we should probably ask her, since we are making the staves unique and symbolic of each of us."
Bruce said and nodded.
"A branch would suit her though."

"Oh, definitely she is going to choose for herself."

"God I hate mind shields so fucking much...they ruin all the fun." Serge muttered under his breath.

"I like them when I am the one that has one, they prevent me from being disabled in battles against nasty spirits or mind mages..."

"Sure thing. I've always wanted to see what kinds of things art students make."

"Good, let me know what dates they are, and I'll see if I can find time between working."

"Most of my magicks are imperceptible to anyone without enhanced senses and even then it's hard to realize I'm doing anything at all. My art also typically contains both modern and traditional symbols so it's hard for other mages to realize that it's a focus for magick. So I never really need to worry about being discrete." Serge said with an odd frown as if he wasn't fond of his invisible magick.

"That's quite handy Mr Yager, the Great Reckoner doesn't favor flamboyance."

"Hermetic it is then!" Serge said with a smile.

Adley blinked. "If I heard that correctly, you just put a Norse god in the Order of Hermes. Not that I understood anything else of that conversation."

"Because I talk too much." Serge said simply. "I speak what I think without thinking and that often causes weird and sometimes bizarre things to come out of my mouth. I was just sorta joking around when I said all those things. Imagining how neat it would be if we could shape reality like that. I wasn't being serious. I try to look at the humorous things in life so it all seems less dark. Cause if I only focused on the grim harsh version of the world that I'd believe in since I was little, I'd never have been a mage."

Adley looked quite confused at Serge. "I think we have quite different senses of humor, then...."

"Yes! Please! I've always wanted to wield a weapon in real life since I was a kid. I could use the experience in my art." Serge said, his mood improving somewhat at the suggestion. "I wanted to ask Dr. Lee to show me some martial arts. But I don't think he has the time to show me something like that. Especially since I don't think I have the physique to properly learn it."

"I normally train at least once a week on something but it will be a bit until I'm ready to get back to it. As for physique, the answer is similar, you have to train. Have you ever tried to hold a sword for very long? They get heavy pretty quickly...at any rate, I digress. We seem to have settled on an idea for the imago, but haven't decided the cabal name quite yet unless I missed it."

[Jeremy Silverstein]

"I like them when I am the one that has one, they prevent me from being disabled in battles against nasty spirits or mind mages..."

"They prevent me from disabling enemies that otherwise would've been really easy to avoid or trick." Serge said grumpily.

"Good, let me know what dates they are, and I'll see if I can find time between working."

"Sure thing. I'll let you know later today." Serge said with a slight nod.

"That's quite handy Mr Yager, the Great Reckoner doesn't favor flamboyance."

"Eh...I wouldn't mind a little bit of flamboyance. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's great that I never have to deal with dox...usually. But I wouldn't mind people actually seeing what I'm doing rather than the one person I'm messing with."

Adley blinked. "If I heard that correctly, you just put a Norse god in the Order of Hermes. Not that I understood anything else of that conversation."

Serge blinked. "Damn. Mr. Roth Hicks is right. It doesn't feel right either. But I can't really think of any other place for him. Unless he'd be an orphan too. Or better yet a part of a group only found on the Umbral realm of Asgard. But that doesn't fit the spirit of the game..."

"I normally train at least once a week on something but it will be a bit until I'm ready to get back to it. As for physique, the answer is similar, you have to train. Have you ever tried to hold a sword for very long?"

"Well...I've held a sword before. But it might not be in the way you might think. It's kinda hard to explain. In fact just ignore that whole statement. No I haven't held a sword before." Serge said rather vaguely. "I know they can get heavy but I don't know exactly how heavy they are."

They get heavy pretty quickly...at any rate, I digress. We seem to have settled on an idea for the imago, but haven't decided the cabal name quite yet unless I missed it.

"Your right. I guess we got a bit sidetracked." Serge said with a frown. "Mr. Wainwright did say 'The Nine of Wands'. It doesn't follow the British pub theme we had earlier though but it still impressive in it's own right. Regal and grand and the Tarot card does symbolize great hope amidst many problems. Although I'm not sure if we can just rip off a Tarot Card as a Cabal Name. Can we?"

[Adley]

"They prevent me from disabling enemies that otherwise would've been really easy to avoid or trick." Serge said grumpily.

"What about using countermagick to break down their mental defenses first?"

"Sure thing. I'll let you know later today." Serge said with a slight nod.

He nodded to him.

"Eh...I wouldn't mind a little bit of flamboyance. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's great that I never have to deal with dox...usually. But I wouldn't mind people actually seeing what I'm doing rather than the one person I'm messing with."

"What's more important, a round of applause or the results of what you intended to do?" He drank some of the water and then said, "Are there any sort of competitions in your Tradition that allow you to gain prestige? We have wizard duels called certamen, as mentioned before, but they don't always have to be for settling a score. Some of them are also to see how you measure up, skills wise and to practice and hone your abilities."

Serge blinked. "Damn. Mr. Roth Hicks is right. It doesn't feel right either. But I can't really think of any other place for him. Unless he'd be an orphan too. Or better yet a part of a group only found on the Umbral realm of Asgard. But that doesn't fit the spirit of the game..."

"You can call me Adley if you wish."

"Well...I've held a sword before. But it might not be in the way you might think. It's kinda hard to explain. In fact just ignore that whole statement. No I haven't held a sword before." Serge said rather vaguely. "I know they can get heavy but I don't know exactly how heavy they are."

He gave him the same confused look as he had not too long ago.

"Your right. I guess we got a bit sidetracked." Serge said with a frown. "Mr. Wainwright did say 'The Nine of Wands'. It doesn't follow the British pub theme we had earlier though but it still impressive in it's own right. Regal and grand and the Tarot card does symbolize great hope amidst many problems. Although I'm not sure if we can just rip off a Tarot Card as a Cabal Name. Can we?"

"Cabal of the Nine Wands?" he pondered.

[Tane Karyak]

"Well this is pretty relaxed actually Mr Karyak we are just sitting around and talking."
Bruce commented.

True, but even though we have an agenda and we need to meet it, and as you see we couldn't take the time to actually do something together to just chill and know ourselves better. It's like we need both things, organization and bonding, but as we don't have the spaces we just settle with an In-between that's just paliative.

There would not be anything to filter, it is like talking about filtering the rabbit out of a rabbit, an Fallen Avatar is changed it is not like with Jhor which is a lingering taint which can be removed or as you said filtered out.

Abstractly, we could do something like rearranging it into shape with something, much like how you'd form ferric structures with a magnet. There has to be a quick and drastic way to change it back as there is to destroy. Although i know destroying is easier than building

Hum...I can not really say I get what you are taling about here Mr Karyak, in what ways are you claiming we need to change?

Well, think about this: Concensus is what we all make of it. Then, Mages are major powerplayers in the consensus, being able to single handedly change it at different scales. Now, if a whole lot of mages all over the world belive they're not mages, then they, in a way, through eras, stop being mages. They become really Savants, Geniuses and whatever you wanna call it, but nothing like a mage although we see how they do what they do.
To start changing that, to start making it the opposite, we need to be better, to inspire more of them and more of the masses the notion that magick is real and they can be magick and get ascention.
And to do that, we must do an inside work. So we need to change all in this structure. From our own structure, now old and monolitic, directed by people with thousands of years, down on to the common life. We move around as shadows, as we are being intentionally turned into memories. That's just waiting to truly become no more than shadows.

Maybe, to be less poetic and more practical, i belive we are stubbornly using old techniques for new problems, and we need to keep up, but we can't due to a long list of reasons, not being less the fact that old powers still make and uphold the same ways that led to their defeat too.

Him over there is getting lessons in Umbra ship piloting the way I understand it."
Bruce said and pointed at Colin.
"And we have gotten ourselves a Etherite now in Miss Bouchard.

that's going to take a while to accomplish, if it can at all be done

We'll see if they are up to the task, but... it would be a mission i don't know much about. I mean... we'd have to go to a plane i don't exactly know how to reach that's pure change, and then study what we can of it to learn a way to get an avatar into it and use the change produced on it by the spirit realm to get the avatar back to shape.

in any case, i'd have to look how it is but i belive we can numb the corruption, at least try to isolate it's influence on the ship's behaviour so we can travel.
I hope it is not as hard to cleanse as a soul so maybe we can actually clean it for good.

No, that battle will be an attack by the Nephandi. The Battlecruiser's captain will probably be an adult, but the Handler will be a mere teenager, if we are unable to change that particular part of the timeline. As for how accurate my visions are - so far, 100% up to the point where I act on the information to change the outcome. That vision informed me of Chief Morgan's newly inherited Umbral Shuttle before the Mercere who brought the message arrived, and there have been other visions that have either been ensured or prevented. The most recent saved the lives of my daughter and Mr. Tasselwell, and ensured the capture of our would-be assassins, plus it saved the life of Captain Welder.

Then we better start making preparations.

Plus, I don't think either of us would be able to navigate the Deep Umbra on our own, an adequate ship or not - but yes, I do know how to contact her. It's just not entirely safe to do so, nor reliably quick.

I have a few tricks up my sleeve, so reaching is not the problem. Maybe we can ask for a special... investigation license? Or maybe a permit to prepare for the now nephandus girl's trial... i would try to reach out on my own but as you asked me to think it twice, i belive we should think how to get there without getting ourselves on trial... as soon as we have a solution we can start a revolution on, "avatar recovery" ? That's a thing?

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Adley, Colin, Tane and Serge] (Cabal meeting 10 in the morning Wednesday 30/9 2015)

"God I hate mind shields so fucking much...they ruin all the fun." Serge muttered under his breath.

"Ruining the fun of those who would mess with your mind is the reason why mind shields exist."
Bruce said and grinned.

Serge just laughed at the suggestion. After a good chuckle he said, "Oh not at all. I'd barely be able to hear that. Anything less than a punch to the face probably wouldn't break me out of that trance."

"I see, well that must be impractical Mr Yager."
Bruce said dryly.

"First one." Serge said wondering how he had managed to get three people this week to worry that he was becoming a maurader.

"Ah well that is a relief, you better do an study with the Verbena then, they are the masters of ignoring regular biology."
The artificer said and grinned.

"Your all the worst." Serge said sarcastically.

"Indeed I am."
Bruce said sounding amused.

"Most of my magicks are imperceptible to anyone without enhanced senses and even then it's hard to realize I'm doing anything at all. My art also typically contains both modern and traditional symbols so it's hard for other mages to realize that it's a focus for magick. So I never really need to worry about being discrete." Serge said with an odd frown as if he wasn't fond of his invisible magick.

"If I where a Technocrat kid and I was cruising for mages, I would look closer at the person wearing clothing with allot of occult scribbles all over his clothes."
Bruce said as he regarded Serge.
"There is value in being discreet."

"If we exclude the Men in Black then she would either be Akashic or Euthanatos." Serge said with a shrug.

"Did not I just tell you that the Euthanathos are not assassins it is an important distinction. Now when that is said Akashic yes she might be an Akashic that could fit."

"I don't know about being a progenitor. Experimented on by them, definitely. But he seems like he'd break free of their control to pursue his own principals and goals."

"Up until Civil War he follow the order of the American government, he never breaks free of the ones experimenting on him so he would definitively be a Progenitor."
Bruce protested.

"With his accuracy? Nah. He managed to hit the engine of a massive helicarrier in a storm....without looking. Probably trained by the Technocracy but broke free to work on his own." Serge said as he thought more about who Hawkeye would belong too.

"Former Technocrat now and Orphan, yeah I can buy that."
The artificer said and nodded.

"Hermetic it is then!" Serge said with a smile.

Bruce nodded at that.

"Because I talk too much." Serge said simply. "I speak what I think without thinking and that often causes weird and sometimes bizarre things to come out of my mouth. I was just sorta joking around when I said all those things. Imagining how neat it would be if we could shape reality like that. I wasn't being serious. I try to look at the humorous things in life so it all seems less dark. Cause if I only focused on the grim harsh version of the world that I'd believe in since I was little, I'd never have been a mage."

"Very well kid, the problem is when you give no indication between joking and what you actually mean, for I thought you actually thought the spell you mentioned to be a good idea and that would be a dangerous idea of what combat is."
Bruce said.
"So do continue to joke that is fine kid but wink or something so other understand when you are joking and when you are serious."

"I wanted to ask Dr. Lee to show me some martial arts. But I don't think he has the time to show me something like that. Especially since I don't think I have the physique to properly learn it."

"Everything else being equal the strongest person have a real advantage Mr Yager but that do not mean a smaller person can not also learn to fight efficiently, have you seen Beatrice fight with her daggers? No I suppose not, but you would not want to get on her bad side or she will poke you full of holes and she is tiny."
Bruce said and smiled.

"I'm not saying what he did was right. I think that's the hardest part to understand."

Bruce sigh and nodded at that and said nothing more about it.

"Oh, definitely she is going to choose for herself."

The Artificer nodded again.

Serge blinked. "Damn. Mr. Roth Hicks is right. It doesn't feel right either. But I can't really think of any other place for him. Unless he'd be an orphan too. Or better yet a part of a group only found on the Umbral realm of Asgard. But that doesn't fit the spirit of the game..."

"We have the Hagalaz group from your own Tradition Mr Yager he might fit there."
Bruce said and grinned.
"They are Norse."

Regal and grand and the Tarot card does symbolize great hope amidst many problems. Although I'm not sure if we can just rip off a Tarot Card as a Cabal Name. Can we?"

"Sure we can."
Bruce commented.

"Cabal of the Nine Wands?" he pondered.

"I like it."
Bruce said and smiled.

True, but even though we have an agenda and we need to meet it, and as you see we couldn't take the time to actually do something together to just chill and know ourselves better. It's like we need both things, organization and bonding, but as we don't have the spaces we just settle with an In-between that's just paliative.

"We have been discussing ordering pizza and having dinner together and a paintball game once Aley feel better."
Bruce said.

Abstractly, we could do something like rearranging it into shape with something, much like how you'd form ferric structures with a magnet. There has to be a quick and drastic way to change it back as there is to destroy. Although i know destroying is easier than building

"They are Avatars not Lego buildings I am not sure you can just rearrange them Mr Yager."
Bruce said sounding rather doubtful.
"And a quick and drastic way to change an Avatar do not sound very safe."

Well, think about this: Concensus is what we all make of it. Then, Mages are major powerplayers in the consensus, being able to single handedly change it at different scales. Now, if a whole lot of mages all over the world belive they're not mages, then they, in a way, through eras, stop being mages. They become really Savants, Geniuses and whatever you wanna call it, but nothing like a mage although we see how they do what they do.
To start changing that, to start making it the opposite, we need to be better, to inspire more of them and more of the masses the notion that magick is real and they can be magick and get ascention.

"The Traditions are already doing this to keep the mystical arts alive."
Bruce said simply.

And to do that, we must do an inside work. So we need to change all in this structure. From our own structure, now old and monolitic, directed by people with thousands of years, down on to the common life. We move around as shadows, as we are being intentionally turned into memories. That's just waiting to truly become no more than shadows.

Maybe, to be less poetic and more practical, i belive we are stubbornly using old techniques for new problems, and we need to keep up, but we can't due to a long list of reasons, not being less the fact that old powers still make and uphold the same ways that led to their defeat too.

"Old magickal systems seam to still work pretty well for the ones using them, I use a more modern system myself but I can not deny the power the Verbena and the Hermetics among others have."
Bruce said and he shook his head.
"And I do not think that it would be a good idea to come out from among the shadows, the Law of Shade is there for a reason, the sleepers would not be kind if the found out that we exist."

We'll see if they are up to the task, but... it would be a mission i don't know much about. I mean... we'd have to go to a plane i don't exactly know how to reach that's pure change, and then study what we can of it to learn a way to get an avatar into it and use the change produced on it by the spirit realm to get the avatar back to shape.

"This to me sound like you need allot more info and allot more study of this in theory before risking yourself and an Umbral pilot to actually go there."
Bruce said and he raised an eyebrow.

in any case, i'd have to look how it is but i belive we can numb the corruption, at least try to isolate it's influence on the ship's behaviour so we can travel.
I hope it is not as hard to cleanse as a soul so maybe we can actually clean it for good.

"If it is the ship Colin have been discussing you are talking about Mr Karyak then I doubt that her owner would like you to take it to some strange mystery realm that can get you and your crew killed and the ship destroyed Mr Karyak, the expedition you talk about seam rather ill planned."
The Artificer commented dryly.

Then we better start making preparations.

"Agreed."
Bruce said simply.

I have a few tricks up my sleeve, so reaching is not the problem. Maybe we can ask for a special... investigation license? Or maybe a permit to prepare for the now nephandus girl's trial... i would try to reach out on my own but as you asked me to think it twice, i belive we should think how to get there without getting ourselves on trial... as soon as we have a solution we can start a revolution on, "avatar recovery" ? That's a thing?

"It is ot getting to this woman you are discussing which are the problem Mr Karyak, if you can get a ship that is or otherwise travel the Umbra to find her, it is that she while not corrupted, the way I understand it she have been with the Nephandi and the law says conspire not with the enemies os Ascencion, that is where the problem lies, but off course you could try to discuss the matter with an Enforcer and see if they can work something out."
Bruce said.

(OOC: Sorry about that I just copy pasted the tag and forgot to take Nicole's name out of it. I will get on it to do more scenes for Nicole and reply to your PM but right now I have been struggeling to keep up with the IC so it have to go first.)

[Warpmind]

[Steelhaven Hall, Monday September 28th]

The woman nodded at that.
"I hope good relations with the Traditions can be maintained Sir, those I represent desire no conflict with the Traditions merely protection from the Technocracy and to stand against the Nephandi."
She said then she sigh.
"I am afraid I am not at liberty to discuss it at length though before I speak with Mr Karyak."

Colin nodded, "Of course; if I had any actual authority in the Traditions, I would welcome both groups in with open arms, but alas, I am but a humble Orphan, and as such quite far removed from any political decisions. Though I do find that those in power tend to listen to my suggestions, at least. And true, your mission is with Mr. Karyak, not the rest of the world. Yet."

Captain Welder smiled at that and nodded.
"Thank you Sir for your understanding and kindness."

He smiled, "Think nothing of it, Captain - we're both officers, after all."

Captain Welder accepted the card then she nodded.
"I can give you my phone number if you have something to write on Mr Wainwright."
She said and Anna handed you a notebook with kittens on the front cover and a blue pecil with a dragon eraser from her bag.
"Here Mentor...and do we give her the cookies now?"
Anna whispered as she looked at you.

He nodded and prepared to note down Welder's contact information, "Yes, this would be a good time for that, Anna... Captain, we did bring you a little snack, a British export. I hope you like them."

[Cabal Meeting, 10 AM, Wednesday September 30th]

"Well if they believed their Avatar needed to be destroyed then there was always vampirism, however if they actually thought that their Cabalmates would not be killed but rather be captured, then having them captured and have the Traditions rally for a valiant rescue would have had a grater impact."
Bruce said and frowned.
"Is that how one refer to a rebis by the way as they? So Nico would be a they?"

"Sometimes all the options are bad ones, even if you want to make a good choice and try your best to make a good decision."

Bruce sigh and nodded.
"I guess you are right Adley, I guess you are right but it still seam wrong."

"I'm not saying what he did was right. I think that's the hardest part to understand."

He nodded thoughtfully, "As Adley points out, what is right and what is necessary don't always correspond... Heylel Teomim was, despite being lauded as so great, was a deeply flawed being. And yes, I do believe the singular they is appropriate for a Rebis - unless they prefer otherwise. Really, you should ask Nico what they prefer for themselves."

"Blue is the magick of countering stuff. So I'm sure Anna would love it." Serge said with a grin. "There are a lot of videos online on the game. How to play and the philosophies each color represents, both gameplay wise and personality wise. I'm sure you could learn it quickly."

He smiled wryly, "Problem is my insufferable ability to know what everyone draws, just before it happens. Gives me an unfair advantage that I never asked for..."

"I suppose we have time to plan now at least."

He nodded, "A little bit of time, yes."

Abstractly, we could do something like rearranging it into shape with something, much like how you'd form ferric structures with a magnet. There has to be a quick and drastic way to change it back as there is to destroy. Although i know destroying is easier than building

"They are Avatars not Lego buildings I am not sure you can just rearrange them Mr Yager."
Bruce said sounding rather doubtful.
"And a quick and drastic way to change an Avatar do not sound very safe."

He frowned, "Taking apart an Avatar is the... easy part. The problem is wringing the bits back into their right shape and putting them back together. That's still well beyond the abilities of any Mage, I'm afraid..."

"What on earth is a psycopomp?"
The Orphan said and he scratched his head.
"In either case it might be nice for Bee to get another sister."

"I should very much like to see that ritual."

He grinned, "They're not on Earth, actually - they're semimythological beings that have helped Avatars merge perfectly with Mages, back when Mages had Founts that had no voice."

Well, think about this: Concensus is what we all make of it. Then, Mages are major powerplayers in the consensus, being able to single handedly change it at different scales. Now, if a whole lot of mages all over the world belive they're not mages, then they, in a way, through eras, stop being mages. They become really Savants, Geniuses and whatever you wanna call it, but nothing like a mage although we see how they do what they do.
To start changing that, to start making it the opposite, we need to be better, to inspire more of them and more of the masses the notion that magick is real and they can be magick and get ascention.
And to do that, we must do an inside work. So we need to change all in this structure. From our own structure, now old and monolitic, directed by people with thousands of years, down on to the common life. We move around as shadows, as we are being intentionally turned into memories. That's just waiting to truly become no more than shadows.

Maybe, to be less poetic and more practical, i belive we are stubbornly using old techniques for new problems, and we need to keep up, but we can't due to a long list of reasons, not being less the fact that old powers still make and uphold the same ways that led to their defeat too.

"The Traditions are already doing this to keep the mystical arts alive."
Bruce said simply.

He frowned, "Mages that don't Awaken as Traditionalists tend to become Technocrats; the Union refuses to believe in Magic, yet they essentially do the same as we, and they unfortunately have something of a stranglehold on the Consensus... for now. But, with the surge in fantasy and modern occultism, we're cracking the enamel, all the same..."

"Old magickal systems seam to still work pretty well for the ones using them, I use a more modern system myself but I can not deny the power the Verbena and the Hermetics among others have."
Bruce said and he shook his head.
"And I do not think that it would be a good idea to come out from among the shadows, the Law of Shade is there for a reason, the sleepers would not be kind if the found out that we exist."

He nodded, "Indeed, however subtle the wizard, a nine millimeter bullet to the head will cramp his style."

We'll see if they are up to the task, but... it would be a mission i don't know much about. I mean... we'd have to go to a plane i don't exactly know how to reach that's pure change, and then study what we can of it to learn a way to get an avatar into it and use the change produced on it by the spirit realm to get the avatar back to shape.

in any case, i'd have to look how it is but i belive we can numb the corruption, at least try to isolate it's influence on the ship's behaviour so we can travel.
I hope it is not as hard to cleanse as a soul so maybe we can actually clean it for good.

"This to me sound like you need allot more info and allot more study of this in theory before risking yourself and an Umbral pilot to actually go there."
Bruce said and he raised an eyebrow.

"If it is the ship Colin have been discussing you are talking about Mr Karyak then I doubt that her owner would like you to take it to some strange mystery realm that can get you and your crew killed and the ship destroyed Mr Karyak, the expedition you talk about seam rather ill planned."
The Artificer commented dryly.

He frowned, "You want to go to a place of pure change... that's not going to take protecting the ship from corruption, as such, that's... no, I'm not going to agree with or participate in such a voyage; not without some serious power at my side to dampen the forces of change. Far too risky."

Then we better start making preparations.

He smiled, "One step ahead of you. I'll be meeting with The Admiral soon enough, and airing some defensive plans with her."

I have a few tricks up my sleeve, so reaching is not the problem. Maybe we can ask for a special... investigation license? Or maybe a permit to prepare for the now nephandus girl's trial... i would try to reach out on my own but as you asked me to think it twice, i belive we should think how to get there without getting ourselves on trial... as soon as we have a solution we can start a revolution on, "avatar recovery" ? That's a thing?

"It is ot getting to this woman you are discussing which are the problem Mr Karyak, if you can get a ship that is or otherwise travel the Umbra to find her, it is that she while not corrupted, the way I understand it she have been with the Nephandi and the law says conspire not with the enemies os Ascencion, that is where the problem lies, but off course you could try to discuss the matter with an Enforcer and see if they can work something out."
Bruce said.

He frowned, "Avatar Restoration, really. But reaching Lady Dalisse will take time we don't have to spare before the trial, I'm afraid - and the legality issue is also a problem. So we have to research closer to home for now."

"Give me some adderall and gatorade and I can put up as many as you want." Serge said with a chuckle. "Seriously though I can put up a fair bit. Especially in places where people are most likely to pass by. I can think of a few fun little things to do to those Technocrats. Those technocrats are likely to be on edge, expecting anything and everything. Which makes my job a lot easier."

"But I'd like to test the drawings before any actual threats come into contact with them. Remember I've only made them recently. I wanna make sure I understand them properly."

"I agree the drawings have to be tested but if they work they could make our job easier if put up in strategic places and if not to many of the Technocrats have remembered to protect their minds."
Bruce said and nodded.

"God I hate mind shields so fucking much...they ruin all the fun." Serge muttered under his breath.

"I like them when I am the one that has one, they prevent me from being disabled in battles against nasty spirits or mind mages..."

"They prevent me from disabling enemies that otherwise would've been really easy to avoid or trick." Serge said grumpily.

"What about using countermagick to break down their mental defenses first?"

"Ruining the fun of those who would mess with your mind is the reason why mind shields exist."
Bruce said and grinned.

He smiled wryly, "You have the remainder of the year to experiment. And mind shields are not the be-all-end-all in mental combat, either... I feel sorry for Siege, really."

He made a face as he recalled it and nodded. "So you did, and I did tell him, that's right...I didn't know the rest of it though. Hrm..."

He nodded, "Well, the lady has lived a long life..."

"Yeah I guess. I wanna work on that problem." Serge said simply.

"The problem of still having to adhere to basic biology or the problem of not being a Marauder?"
Bruce asked dryly.

"First one." Serge said wondering how he had managed to get three people this week to worry that he was becoming a maurader.

"Ah well that is a relief, you better do an study with the Verbena then, they are the masters of ignoring regular biology."
The artificer said and grinned.

He grinned, "Just be careful with how you solve that problem. Some of the solutions have pretty steep costs."

"I got a stern old artificer complete with a tower and a workshop so I guess a nice lady is not so bad."
Bruce commented sounding a bit amused.
"I am still not sure they are not just part of our brains though."

He nodded, "The pineal gland does seem to be the physical connection - but the Avatar is not just a part of our brains."

"The ship might be interesting to study, disturbing but interesting. I have to admit to being more interested in Miss Kelly's harness, if it is a version of Pimium as you say that have the strength but not the magick dampening qualities that is quite the alloy."
Bruce said and grinned.

He nodded, "Almost as strong as Primium, yes. I'll make sure to bring you along next trip I make."

"There definitively are a difference between my sanctum and the forge at the junkyard."
Bruce said.
"What where you thinking about Colin?"

He smiled thinly, "Testing if you see any appreciable difference in power between items you enchant in the Sanctum and at the forge. Might give you some ideas for working around impediments, at least."

"I'm just wondering how to arrange on the heraldry. I wanted to do a star formation but a nine pointed star but I'm not sure how good that would look. Perhaps all of their effects are casted inwards, coming together within the center?"

"Them pointing inwards could work."
Was all the large Orphan had to say about that.

"A circle is a good symbol."

"Circles are often used to represent unity. Wholeness. Protection. That's an interesting idea." Serge said thoughtfully.

He arched an eyebrow, "A Round Table, perhaps? Like the one at Camelot of old?"

"Yeah Flambeau is possible for Thor or perhaps even more likely Verbena Storm Wives, they are Verbena war witches that use weather magick, storms and lightening, masters of Forces, sort of the Verbena's answer to House Flambeau."
Bruce suggested.

"Ehhhh.." Serge began incredulously. "Most of those I agree with. Assuming they were a part of the traditions and not the Union that is. Iron man would be more Etherite than VA. Bruce Banner would have to be an Etherite as well though. Genius scientist who got caught in a terrible paradox backlash. It's a perfect fit." he began as he began to draw on his notepad once again producing minimalist version of each of the hero's he was describing.

"Black Widow would be Euthanatos...I think? She's an assassin and that's the Euthanatos's thing right? Captain America and Hawkeye are probably the hardest though. I guess Captain America would be in the Akashics even though that feels wrong. Orphan who volunteered for a progenitor experiment feels more accurate though. Hawkeye also has Euthanatos qualities but Akashic seems good too. Cultist maybe since I remember him learning his archery skills from the circus. Thor I just wanna say is a powerful high-ranking Umbrood from the Umbral Plane of Asgard who materializes on Earth from time to time. But if he must be a mage Hermetic is the most fitting."

"I would not let any Euthanatoi hear you speak like that kid, they are not assassins, and assassin is someone who kill for hire or kill for an organization the Euthanathos don't do that, they are guardians of the Cycle and when they kill it is just to protect it, for example if some kid would grow up to be a great man but his stepfather abuse him then the Euthanathos might decide this stepfather have to die, but they never kill for hire or for power."
Bruce said and shook his head.

"If we exclude the Men in Black then she would either be Akashic or Euthanatos." Serge said with a shrug.

"Did not I just tell you that the Euthanathos are not assassins it is an important distinction. Now when that is said Akashic yes she might be an Akashic that could fit."

"Captain America would be a Progenitor, what he is are exactly what they do."
The large man said and nodded.

"I don't know about being a progenitor. Experimented on by them, definitely. But he seems like he'd break free of their control to pursue his own principals and goals."

"Up until Civil War he follow the order of the American government, he never breaks free of the ones experimenting on him so he would definitively be a Progenitor."
Bruce protested.

"The Euthanathos are not assassins as I said but Akashic might fit, he could be a custos though."

"With his accuracy? Nah. He managed to hit the engine of a massive helicarrier in a storm....without looking. Probably trained by the Technocracy but broke free to work on his own." Serge said as he thought more about who Hawkeye would belong too.

"Former Technocrat now and Orphan, yeah I can buy that."
The artificer said and nodded.

"No the Asgardians in Marvel are definitively not spirits, they come from a realm, but from another realm that he would be."

"Hermetic it is then!" Serge said with a smile.

Adley blinked. "If I heard that correctly, you just put a Norse god in the Order of Hermes. Not that I understood anything else of that conversation."

Serge blinked. "Damn. Mr. Roth Hicks is right. It doesn't feel right either. But I can't really think of any other place for him. Unless he'd be an orphan too. Or better yet a part of a group only found on the Umbral realm of Asgard. But that doesn't fit the spirit of the game..."

"We have the Hagalaz group from your own Tradition Mr Yager he might fit there."
Bruce said and grinned.
"They are Norse."

He pondered, "Cap's no Progenitor - he doesn't actually do any of the science; he's a lab rat, not a scientist... Banner fits probably best as a Cultist; he becomes the Hulk through anger - a perfect example of altered mental states if I ever saw one. And Thor... A Verbena Storm Wife might be the best fit, yes. In fact, I could easily see Master Nassa cheerfully swing Mjolnir around and throw thunder and lightning from it."
He grinned to Adley, "Asgardians in Marvel are not gods, as such, though they've been worshipped as gods by more primitive peoples. They're technically aliens."

"Adley could always have a stylus."
The large man joked and pointed at the one in the Hermetic's hand.

"A ruler? No...the double snake around a wand with wings is a sign of Hermes, the Caduceus but the single one is the rod of Aesculapius which would fit for a healer...and a stylus and pen are too close together, also. A fire wand still could work, simply enough. The hourglass of two triangles, water and fire are also my house sigil. I never thought of a personal insignia," he said, making a face. "I am curious why you thought of a ruler?" he asked Colin, curious. "I do wonder if Bee would like hers to be a tree branch..." He cleared up the tablet as his attention was drawn back to it. "Staves can have all sorts of filials, which is good to make them unique for each of us."

"I think she might Adley but we should probably ask her, since we are making the staves unique and symbolic of each of us."
Bruce said and nodded.
"A branch would suit her though."

"Oh, definitely she is going to choose for herself."

He smiled, "I thought of a ruler, because every teacher I ever had used one. Well, a ruler and a piece of chalk... And I would not suggest that we decide for Bee - she'd get all indignant."

He shook his head. "Probably not, it's not the happiest place and it's under Technocracy watch I'm sure..."

He frowned, "There's a Technocrat doctor there, but I'm given to understand it's considered sort of a safe harbour for both sides - we don't want to stir the pot, and the Technocrats don't want to remove a couple of skilled doctors from the hospital, either..."

"I'll definitely take up that offer one day. I want to experience everything there is to experience." Serge said quietly. "But you guys do have to remember that I've seen the horrors of war very clearly. I've seen and felt with quite vivid detail my mentor on the verge of dying. I've seen the memories of war prisoners and all the gory things they had to endure. Felt what they felt in their darkest moments. I understand the realities you guys speak about, even if at times it doesn't seem like I do."

"If you do understand Mr Yager then why do you make comments like the one you just did about a spell to make real fights like movie fights and moving down your enemies like nameless mooks, such comments do not really indicate that you really understand, yes you understand that those you love can get hurt but do you for example understand that those you suggjest are nameless mooks are also someone's loved ones?"
Bruce said and he gave Serge a serious look.

"Because I talk too much." Serge said simply. "I speak what I think without thinking and that often causes weird and sometimes bizarre things to come out of my mouth. I was just sorta joking around when I said all those things. Imagining how neat it would be if we could shape reality like that. I wasn't being serious. I try to look at the humorous things in life so it all seems less dark. Cause if I only focused on the grim harsh version of the world that I'd believe in since I was little, I'd never have been a mage."

Adley looked quite confused at Serge. "I think we have quite different senses of humor, then...."

"Very well kid, the problem is when you give no indication between joking and what you actually mean, for I thought you actually thought the spell you mentioned to be a good idea and that would be a dangerous idea of what combat is."
Bruce said.
"So do continue to joke that is fine kid but wink or something so other understand when you are joking and when you are serious."

His expression softened slightly, "You're using humour to distract yourself, aren't you? I can see where that comes from..."

"Hrm, Mr Yager would you like to learn how to actually use weapons? If nothing else, it would help your art along to know the proper forms. There are several types of groups, knives and hand to hand. I can even break out some classic shortsword forms for you. Aside from that, I think you has a point here, we've all been traumatized enough for several lifetimes. Let's stick to our meeting agenda for now."

"Yes! Please! I've always wanted to wield a weapon in real life since I was a kid. I could use the experience in my art." Serge said, his mood improving somewhat at the suggestion. "I wanted to ask Dr. Lee to show me some martial arts. But I don't think he has the time to show me something like that. Especially since I don't think I have the physique to properly learn it."

"I normally train at least once a week on something but it will be a bit until I'm ready to get back to it. As for physique, the answer is similar, you have to train. Have you ever tried to hold a sword for very long? They get heavy pretty quickly...at any rate, I digress. We seem to have settled on an idea for the imago, but haven't decided the cabal name quite yet unless I missed it."

"Well...I've held a sword before. But it might not be in the way you might think. It's kinda hard to explain. In fact just ignore that whole statement. No I haven't held a sword before." Serge said rather vaguely. "I know they can get heavy but I don't know exactly how heavy they are."

"Everything else being equal the strongest person have a real advantage Mr Yager but that do not mean a smaller person can not also learn to fight efficiently, have you seen Beatrice fight with her daggers? No I suppose not, but you would not want to get on her bad side or she will poke you full of holes and she is tiny."
Bruce said and smiled.

He grinned, "You're all welcome to come running with me every morning; a few laps around the block would do you a world of good."

"Your right. I guess we got a bit sidetracked." Serge said with a frown. "Mr. Wainwright did say 'The Nine of Wands'. It doesn't follow the British pub theme we had earlier though but it still impressive in it's own right. Regal and grand and the Tarot card does symbolize great hope amidst many problems. Although I'm not sure if we can just rip off a Tarot Card as a Cabal Name. Can we?"

"Cabal of the Nine Wands?" he pondered.

He shrugged, "I don't see why we could not take a Tarot card as Cabal name - but, for now, we'll only add it to the suggestion list. The others need to be allowed input, too."

"Saving her grandchild might have won us her favor but even so, enemy faction's Masters of the Art tend to be good to stay away from, she must have been some lady though the Etherites still speak about her, and many of her descendants over the years have developed magick and come to the Traditions, secretly off course."

He nodded, "Masters of the Art tend to be a good idea to be careful around, whatever faction they belong to. And magic aside, she held the British Empire together for over 60 years; she was one hell of a Lady, as befitted her rank."

[Nicole's apartment, 7PM Thursday, October 1st]

'Yeah, he's helping me brush up on ship repair and maintenance; been some time since I was in Quebec.' Nicole commented, looking around the room for a moment, as though trying to find or remember something. 'And if you're going to fly the shuttle the Chief got, you'll need me to play Scotty. And sort out some form of weapon for it... don't like the idea of going anywhere unarmed, 'specially different dimensions.'

He grinned, "Sounds good to me; a good ground crew is worth its weight in gold, as they say. And the shuttle does have armaments, but they are rather... piddly little guns designed to dissuade smaller creatures one might encounter close to Earth, not ships larger beings. I'll certainly argue for an upgrade, soon as it is affordable..."

'You're forgetting the critical point: capitalism is a crock of shit. It ticks over by making folk want crap they don't need through propaganda, bought with money they don't have, making them all so in hock they have to slave at pointless jobs they hate to keep the repomen from the door. It's only use is that it ties folk to the machine, so hard chasing green they ignore the big issues, like what the the fuck's happening to the world.' the large woman replied fervently.

He frowned, "Capitalism is about the free flow of capital and services; America hasn't had that since, oh, the seventies. Corporations have nothing to do with Capitalism; in fact, Benito Mussolini stated that Fascism should really be called Corporatism... I'm inclined to say he was right about that. Really, if Capitalism was the dominant model in this country, you'd see a couple hundred competing coffee shops in Boston, rather than 45 Starbucks, 30 Dunkin' Donuts, 110 gas stations, and maybe 15 independent coffee shops..."
He shook his head, "But, politics and economy aside, how is the old girl, you think? Worth repairing, or better off being replaced?"

((OOC: Good grief, that's a lot of post - with updates ticking in as I type. I have to get dressed and go to town, dammit! ))

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Adley, Colin, Tane and Serge] (Cabal meeting 10 in the morning Wednesday 30/9 2015)

He nodded thoughtfully, "As Adley points out, what is right and what is necessary don't always correspond... Heylel Teomim was, despite being lauded as so great, was a deeply flawed being. And yes, I do believe the singular they is appropriate for a Rebis - unless they prefer otherwise. Really, you should ask Nico what they prefer for themselves."

"You are probably right and it is hard to judge in a situation I was not a part of."
Bruce said then he grinned.
"And I will ask Nico, when I take them out to dinner today, Dr Lee have given the ok if we do not go far and they are not strained to much."

He grinned, "They're not on Earth, actually - they're semimythological beings that have helped Avatars merge perfectly with Mages, back when Mages had Founts that had no voice."

"That is pretty cool actually and you can summon one of these what was it you called them?"
Bruce asked sounding impressed.

He frowned, "Mages that don't Awaken as Traditionalists tend to become Technocrats; the Union refuses to believe in Magic, yet they essentially do the same as we, and they unfortunately have something of a stranglehold on the Consensus... for now. But, with the surge in fantasy and modern occultism, we're cracking the enamel, all the same..."

"Defeat the Union one fantasy book at the time."
Bruce joked.

He nodded, "Indeed, however subtle the wizard, a nine millimeter bullet to the head will cramp his style."

"True that and it is something best avoided."
The Artificer commented dryly.

He frowned, "Avatar Restoration, really. But reaching Lady Dalisse will take time we don't have to spare before the trial, I'm afraid - and the legality issue is also a problem. So we have to research closer to home for now."

"This is about keeping Adeptus Riez's old sweetheart out of the Main Sentencing Hall right?"
Bruce asked.
"For then yes time is definitively of the essence."

He smiled wryly, "You have the remainder of the year to experiment. And mind shields are not the be-all-end-all in mental combat, either... I feel sorry for Siege, really."

Bruce just grinned at that.

He nodded, "The pineal gland does seem to be the physical connection - but the Avatar is not just a part of our brains."

Bruce grunted at that saying that he did not completely agree but he did not want to argue the point either.

He nodded, "Almost as strong as Primium, yes. I'll make sure to bring you along next trip I make."

"Great thanks...a most interesting material indeed."
The Artificer said dreamily.

He smiled thinly, "Testing if you see any appreciable difference in power between items you enchant in the Sanctum and at the forge. Might give you some ideas for working around impediments, at least."

"Sure I can do that."
Bruce agreed.
"Might be an interesting experiment."

He pondered, "Cap's no Progenitor - he doesn't actually do any of the science; he's a lab rat, not a scientist... Banner fits probably best as a Cultist; he becomes the Hulk through anger - a perfect example of altered mental states if I ever saw one. And Thor... A Verbena Storm Wife might be the best fit, yes. In fact, I could easily see Master Nassa cheerfully swing Mjolnir around and throw thunder and lightning from it."
He grinned to Adley, "Asgardians in Marvel are not gods, as such, though they've been worshipped as gods by more primitive peoples. They're technically aliens."

"Perhaps you are right about Cap, Thor as a Verbena Storm Wife though that do fit, and Master Nassa swinging a big, enchanted hammer would be terrifying."
Bruce said with a grin.

He nodded, "Masters of the Art tend to be a good idea to be careful around, whatever faction they belong to. And magic aside, she held the British Empire together for over 60 years; she was one hell of a Lady, as befitted her rank."

"She was a interesting lady the Sons of Ether still hold her in much regard, after all she was let in before the Tradition generally allowed women to become members."
Bruce said.
"I am more interested in her accomplishments as a mage than her being royalty, she earned her rank among mages, her title as queen was just handed to her."

(Talking with Captain Welder.)

Colin nodded, "Of course; if I had any actual authority in the Traditions, I would welcome both groups in with open arms, but alas, I am but a humble Orphan, and as such quite far removed from any political decisions. Though I do find that those in power tend to listen to my suggestions, at least. And true, your mission is with Mr. Karyak, not the rest of the world. Yet."

"The problem, is not membership, the Verbena might protest against the Kights Templar joining but for most of the rest they would be welcomed as Orphan groups or members of other Traditions but we don't want that, we want to retain who we are and find safety in numbers and that is all I can say about the matter."
Captain Welder said softly.

He smiled, "Think nothing of it, Captain - we're both officers, after all."

The Templar nodded at that and she gave you a bit of a grateful smile.

He nodded and prepared to note down Welder's contact information, "Yes, this would be a good time for that, Anna... Captain, we did bring you a little snack, a British export. I hope you like them."

Captain Welder gave you a phone number then she smiled.
"How thoughtful, thank you."
She said as Anna sanded her the box of jaffa cakes.
"Hum...you do look very much like someone I once knew child, a member of a Greek Craft..."
She said as she struggled to open the box of cakes, took one and then offered the box to you and Anna as well.
"A Greek Craft?"
Anna asked and looked at you before accepting a cookie.

(OOC: Have fun Warp, yes getting dressed before going to town might be a good idea if you don't want to get arrested. )

[Nicole Bouchard]

[Serge's Adventure]

Serge's Post:

'I didn't - dropped out of that conformity-factory by tenth grade. Screw that shit. Learning a bit of history was interesting, though...'

Serge's Post:

'Ah, "Rule of Cool". Screw that too. When you're in combat, there's only one test that matters - does it work?.' Nicole replied dismissively. 'No point over-complicating things... the more bits it has, the easier it is to perform an epic fail or countermeasures.'

Serge's Post:

'Got a metre-long list of waiting jobs.' Nicole replied, giving a sigh. 'Bunch of pistols needing rebuilds, stripping the Colorado, some flash-bangs, new stock for the Mosin... that's even before I build the shop and do the work in the apartment.'

Serge's Post:

'Quit nit-picking.' she said, rolling her eyes, putting it back to where it had come from. 'Not an argument which would get past someone once you've lost a bet.'

[Nicole's Apartment]

Colin's Post:

'I've give the ship ID to Detroit, see if they've got the 'prints of the base model. Then we can look at what needs doing.'

Colin's Post:

'Try the 1870's. That's when the Oligarchy really took hold here and bought Washington. Which in a purely coincidental... thing was also the time the Union started to sink their claws in deep.

Colin's Post:

'That all depends... do you think enough icing can disguise a turd?' Nicole said, arching an eyebrow. 'Or that something as evil as capitalism can be "reformed"? Perhaps we could have "ethical slavery"? Or folk as greedy, short-sighted and uncaring as the Oligarchs can be persuaded not to act like amoral shits? Fuck that. Into the dustbin of history, it goes.... should have done a century back.' her tone and poise making it clear she saw no redeeming qualities whatsoever.

'Anything else? Just I want to go for a run before the rain hits.'

['we did bring you a little snack, a British export. I hope you like them.'... Twiglets? How about pork scratchings? No - Dairy Milk bars. There's a *reason* nobody likes Hershey in the UK...]

[Jeremy Silverstein]

He smiled wryly, "Problem is my insufferable ability to know what everyone draws, just before it happens. Gives me an unfair advantage that I never asked for..."

"I might be able to temporarily turn off or overload that ability, if you want. If it's instinctual than it shouldn't be to hard to trick." Serge pondered.

He smiled wryly, "You have the remainder of the year to experiment. And mind shields are not the be-all-end-all in mental combat, either... I feel sorry for Siege, really."

"Oh I will." Serge said with a grin on his face. "All I need is a hallway and some willing participants."

"What about using countermagick to break down their mental defenses first?"

"Then I'm wasting time trying to unmake a mental shield. Enough time for them to punch me or realize what I'm doing." Serge replied.

"Ruining the fun of those who would mess with your mind is the reason why mind shields exist."
Bruce said and grinned.

"Nobody wants to hear my mind music." Serge said with a humorous frown.

"I see, well that must be impractical Mr Yager."
Bruce said dryly.

"It's best! You know how much work I can get done if I ignore everything else in my existence? A lot!" Serge said answering the question before Bruce had a chance too.

"Ah well that is a relief, you better do an study with the Verbena then, they are the masters of ignoring regular biology."
The artificer said and grinned.

He grinned, "Just be careful with how you solve that problem. Some of the solutions have pretty steep costs."

"Master Wong owes me a favor and so does Dr.Lee. Maybe I could learn a thing or two off of them."

"If I where a Technocrat kid and I was cruising for mages, I would look closer at the person wearing clothing with allot of occult scribbles all over his clothes."
Bruce said as he regarded Serge.
"There is value in being discreet."

"That's the thing though. I rarely have those type of symbols on my clothing. I doubt the technocrats would be concerned with some random guy wearing a batman T-shirt." Serge said.

"Did not I just tell you that the Euthanathos are not assassins it is an important distinction. Now when that is said Akashic yes she might be an Akashic that could fit."

"Actually, there really is not point in excluding the Men in Black. She's probably trained by them and broke their mental conditioning to do her own thing. Same deal as Hawkeye."

"Up until Civil War he follow the order of the American government, he never breaks free of the ones experimenting on him so he would definitively be a Progenitor."
Bruce protested.

He pondered, "Cap's no Progenitor - he doesn't actually do any of the science; he's a lab rat, not a scientist... Banner fits probably best as a Cultist; he becomes the Hulk through anger - a perfect example of altered mental states if I ever saw one. And Thor... A Verbena Storm Wife might be the best fit, yes. In fact, I could easily see Master Nassa cheerfully swing Mjolnir around and throw thunder and lightning from it."
He grinned to Adley, "Asgardians in Marvel are not gods, as such, though they've been worshipped as gods by more primitive peoples. They're technically aliens."

"Perhaps you are right about Cap, Thor as a Verbena Storm Wife though that do fit, and Master Nassa swinging a big, enchanted hammer would be terrifying."
Bruce said with a grin.

"Still not liking that Banner thing. What's wrong with Etherite turned in an experiment gone horribly wrong? I think that's a pretty fun story. Thor as a Verbana....not really fitting stereotypes but I'll take you guy's word on it."

"We have the Hagalaz group from your own Tradition Mr Yager he might fit there."
Bruce said and grinned.
"They are Norse."

"That's about the only connection. Thor doesn't use runes or inscribe or enchant his own weaponary." Serge replied.

"What's more important, a round of applause or the results of what you intended to do?" He drank some of the water and then said, "Are there any sort of competitions in your Tradition that allow you to gain prestige? We have wizard duels called certamen, as mentioned before, but they don't always have to be for settling a score. Some of them are also to see how you measure up, skills wise and to practice and hone your abilities."

"Some cultists use the thrill of battle to achieve their desired mind state. They have specific arenas where they can have such battles without disturbing others. Beyond that, I don't think we have any sort of organized dueling system. We're a pretty flexible tradition. Well I think there is one where you try to overwhelm another person's senses...but I don't know much about that."

"You can call me Adley if you wish."

"Oh...sure thing." Serge said unsure if whether he wanted to do that or not.

"Very well kid, the problem is when you give no indication between joking and what you actually mean, for I thought you actually thought the spell you mentioned to be a good idea and that would be a dangerous idea of what combat is."
Bruce said.
"So do continue to joke that is fine kid but wink or something so other understand when you are joking and when you are serious."

His expression softened slightly, "You're using humour to distract yourself, aren't you? I can see where that comes from..."

"Sure thing. I'll try to make it clearer on whether I'm joking or not." Serge said nodding at Bruce his face still slightly red, thinking that Bruce should better learn how to differentiate between light-hearted banter and serious talk.

He grinned, "You're all welcome to come running with me every morning; a few laps around the block would do you a world of good."

"I hate running so much. And most types of exercise. Which probably explains my physique..."

"Cabal of the Nine Wands?" he pondered.

He arched an eyebrow, "A Round Table, perhaps? Like the one at Camelot of old?"

He shrugged, "I don't see why we could not take a Tarot card as Cabal name - but, for now, we'll only add it to the suggestion list. The others need to be allowed input, too."

"We've got a lot of long list of suggestions. Perhaps we should send it to some of the other cabal members to see what they think. Anymore and it might get overwhelming."

[Serge's Adventure]

'I didn't - dropped out of that conformity-factory by tenth grade. Screw that shit. Learning a bit of history was interesting, though...'

"Conformity-factory? I like that, fitting name." the Ecstatic said, clearly showing his own opinion of his schooling. "Teacher yelling at you to stop drawing in class and pay attention and learn how they want you too. Understand the world the way we want you to understand it. No deviations from the norm!"

'Ah, "Rule of Cool". Screw that too. When you're in combat, there's only one test that matters - does it work?.' Nicole replied dismissively. 'No point over-complicating things... the more bits it has, the easier it is to perform an epic fail or countermeasures.'

"Hey! That's mean. I like the 'Rule of Cool'. Not everything has to be about maximum efficiency." Serge replied. "I always found that I did better while I was feeling or acting cool. But since I'm sure you don't want to hear more mystical metaphor talk I'll leave it at that."

'Got a metre-long list of waiting jobs.' Nicole replied, giving a sigh. 'Bunch of pistols needing rebuilds, stripping the Colorado, some flash-bangs, new stock for the Mosin... that's even before I build the shop and do the work in the apartment.'

"Ooooh. Flashbangs." Serge said, making it evident that that was the only thing he heard or cared about. " Are they standard flashbangs or do yours pack more of a punch?"

'Quit nit-picking.' she said, rolling her eyes, putting it back to where it had come from. 'Not an argument which would get past someone once you've lost a bet.'

"You sure about that? Because you'd be surprised what you can convince people of. All it takes are the right words and the right attitude." Serge said with a grin, moving the box that he was holding underneath his arm and letting the sketchbook rest on top of it. Using his now free left hand he dug around in his pocket until he found a quarter. He pulled it out to show Nicole, turning it so she could see that it was perfectly normal.

"Regardless, I wasn't the one who said that not flipping a head or tail was unlikely. You were. The world works on irony after all. Do you wanna try calling it?"

[Nicole Bouchard]

Serge's Post:

'Well, what did you expect from schools? They're there to produce docile wage-slaves.' Nicole replied evenly, starting to walk again. 'Teaching the important lessons like "always obey authority", stamping out suspicious things like personality and stuffing heads so hard with facty facts so there's no space to actually think.'

Serge's Post:

'Well, what works for you.' Nicole replied. 'But simply I've found most who are all flashy, boastful and toting shiny kit are normally the less competent. When you know you're good, there's no need to do that shit.'

Serge's Post:

'Don't know. As I said at the meeting, getting explosive shit is hard; between Breaking Bad and 9/11 even getting hold of the precursors can end up with the FBI or ATF crawling up the ass.' ending with a shrug.

Serge's Post:

'Oh, I don't doubt it for a second. We live in a world where politicians get the poor to vote for tax cuts for millionaires.' Nicole replied a little acidly.

Serge's Post:

A short silence, then a sigh. 'Go on, flip it then.'

[Adley]

"You are probably right and it is hard to judge in a situation I was not a part of."
Bruce said then he grinned.
"And I will ask Nico, when I take them out to dinner today, Dr Lee have given the ok if we do not go far and they are not strained to much."

"I'm glad they're feeling up to going out," he said. "Please give my regards."

Abstractly, we could do something like rearranging it into shape with something, much like how you'd form ferric structures with a magnet. There has to be a quick and drastic way to change it back as there is to destroy. Although i know destroying is easier than building

"They are Avatars not Lego buildings I am not sure you can just rearrange them Mr Yager." Bruce said sounding rather doubtful. "And a quick and drastic way to change an Avatar do not sound very safe."

He frowned, "Taking apart an Avatar is the... easy part. The problem is wringing the bits back into their right shape and putting them back together. That's still well beyond the abilities of any Mage, I'm afraid..."

"The shape of an avatar is not something we're bound to know well, especially after they have Fallen, it's already been ripped apart. But I have an idea that relates to that one in some ways, the same way you can make an educated guess at what some of the...silhouette's form is supposed to look like by perceiving the 'perimeter' of it. We can know some of the shape of them, so to speak, and by shapes I mean sounds." He tipped his head a little as he spoke. "But it would only be one small part of it, one or a few lifetimes, I would imagine..."

He grinned, "They're not on Earth, actually - they're semimythological beings that have helped Avatars merge perfectly with Mages, back when Mages had Founts that had no voice."

"And you wish to call one, why?"

And to do that, we must do an inside work. So we need to change all in this structure. From our own structure, now old and monolitic, directed by people with thousands of years, down on to the common life. We move around as shadows, as we are being intentionally turned into memories. That's just waiting to truly become no more than shadows. Maybe, to be less poetic and more practical, i belive we are stubbornly using old techniques for new problems, and we need to keep up, but we can't due to a long list of reasons, not being less the fact that old powers still make and uphold the same ways that led to their defeat too.

"Old magickal systems seam to still work pretty well for the ones using them, I use a more modern system myself but I can not deny the power the Verbena and the Hermetics among others have."
Bruce said and he shook his head.
"And I do not think that it would be a good idea to come out from among the shadows, the Law of Shade is there for a reason, the sleepers would not be kind if the found out that we exist."

He frowned, "Mages that don't Awaken as Traditionalists tend to become Technocrats; the Union refuses to believe in Magic, yet they essentially do the same as we, and they unfortunately have something of a stranglehold on the Consensus... for now. But, with the surge in fantasy and modern occultism, we're cracking the enamel, all the same..."

"If we walked around in the open and did tons of magick outright, we'd be doxed before Tuesday and sleepers have better than pitchforks at their disposal now. But there are some revivals in progress, we need to get the pendulum to swing the other way," he said with a nod.

We'll see if they are up to the task, but... it would be a mission i don't know much about. I mean... we'd have to go to a plane i don't exactly know how to reach that's pure change, and then study what we can of it to learn a way to get an avatar into it and use the change produced on it by the spirit realm to get the avatar back to shape. in any case, i'd have to look how it is but i belive we can numb the corruption, at least try to isolate it's influence on the ship's behaviour so we can travel.
I hope it is not as hard to cleanse as a soul so maybe we can actually clean it for good.

"If it is the ship Colin have been discussing you are talking about Mr Karyak then I doubt that her owner would like you to take it to some strange mystery realm that can get you and your crew killed and the ship destroyed Mr Karyak, the expedition you talk about seam rather ill planned."
The Artificer commented dryly.

He frowned, "You want to go to a place of pure change... that's not going to take protecting the ship from corruption, as such, that's... no, I'm not going to agree with or participate in such a voyage; not without some serious power at my side to dampen the forces of change. Far too risky."

"What plane is this, Mr Karyak?" he said, raising an eyebrow. "What do you know of it?"

I have a few tricks up my sleeve, so reaching is not the problem. Maybe we can ask for a special... investigation license? Or maybe a permit to prepare for the now nephandus girl's trial... i would try to reach out on my own but as you asked me to think it twice, i belive we should think how to get there without getting ourselves on trial... as soon as we have a solution we can start a revolution on, "avatar recovery" ? That's a thing?

"To put it bluntly, the fewer people that know the reach of our progress at this time the better. There are forces that may wish to stop us, and if it is known what we are trying to do, and how..." He shook his head.

He grinned to Adley, "Asgardians in Marvel are not gods, as such, though they've been worshipped as gods by more primitive peoples. They're technically aliens."

He waved a hand. "Some people think that some of the Umbrood are aliens. I suppose it technically is true, since they are alien to earthly life if they're outer umbrood."

"Then I'm wasting time trying to unmake a mental shield. Enough time for them to punch me or realize what I'm doing." Serge replied.

"That's why you need backup. How about I stop then from punching us in the face and distract them by punching /them/ in the face?" He grinned.

"We have the Hagalaz group from your own Tradition Mr Yager he might fit there."
Bruce said and grinned.
"They are Norse."

"That's about the only connection. Thor doesn't use runes or inscribe or enchant his own weaponary." Serge replied.

Adley scratched at his beard. "I have heard of stories and rumors from way back in the days, the Order fighting northmen...what you'd call Vikings I commonly, that had magickal abilities They weren't Hagalaz, for they did not exist yet."

"Some cultists use the thrill of battle to achieve their desired mind state. They have specific arenas where they can have such battles without disturbing others. Beyond that, I don't think we have any sort of organized dueling system. We're a pretty flexible tradition. Well I think there is one where you try to overwhelm another person's senses...but I don't know much about that."

"That seems the closest, perhaps."

He arched an eyebrow, "A Round Table, perhaps? Like the one at Camelot of old?"

"Tables and wheels and circles, all good symbols," he agreed. "Your name is Wainwright," he said looking a bit amused. "Instead of Mr Wainwright's tea party, it could be a wagon wheel."

He smiled, "I thought of a ruler, because every teacher I ever had used one. Well, a ruler and a piece of chalk... And I would not suggest that we decide for Bee - she'd get all indignant."

He laughed a little. "Did you get reprimanded very much? And no I'm not choosing for her, I was just speculating. I was considering how our two symbols would seem together."

He grinned, "You're all welcome to come running with me every morning; a few laps around the block would do you a world of good."

"When I get back on my feet," he agreed.

He shrugged, "I don't see why we could not take a Tarot card as Cabal name - but, for now, we'll only add it to the suggestion list. The others need to be allowed input, too."

"We've got a lot of long list of suggestions. Perhaps we should send it to some of the other cabal members to see what they think. Anymore and it might get overwhelming."

He nodded. "Agreed. Well then, that seems to wrap things up for now. To follow up on: discussing the possible names with the other cabal members, setting up a pizza night, and other group activities."

[Adley]

[Adley & Nicole go to Whitecastle Beef Barn]
[~2:00pm ish?, Saturday, Oct 11]

Adley checked over his car while waiting for Nicole to get down to the garage to meet him. It was looking and running much better since that Etherite mechanic had pasted the bullet hole shut but overall it was still a bit of a clunker. Civics were easier to find parts for but got broken into more often, so he had an old Camry but even so, he hardly left anything in view when he left it parked out of the chantry. The radio was removable and that was about all that he used, set to world stations for music and news, as well as WBRU and other local rock stations and PBS. It was better that way, rather than having an expensive car he couldn't afford...the millions of potholes between Boston and Rhode Island on 95 would probably throw the alignment out of whack again anyway. He made a face at the memory of both Rhode Island, I-95 and the Technocrat that had nearly killed him. He made sure he had a few things on him, just in case, that wouldn't get them pulled over and arrested by the cops. He wasn't getting caught off guard again, if he could help it. He had on a thicker canvas coat he'd picked up and beneath it a grey T-shirt with a bear and the Bruins logo, jeans and a pair of running shoes. He had a tall container of coffee in one hand, and leaned against the car as he drank some of it. It was Saturday afternoon and he was already tired, he should really not push himself as hard as he did. But he was getting bored...and antsy, and ready to /do/ things again even if his body was not quite ready for returning to his regular routine. He sighed and checked the time on his phone, then the traffic. The game was at three, they should have enough time to get there and park, grab some of the disgusting arena food that they had and get seats.

[Jeremy Silverstein]

[Cabal Meeting]

"That's why you need backup. How about I stop then from punching us in the face and distract them by punching /them/ in the face?" He grinned.

"That...that is true. I'd prefer if you shot lightning and fire at them though." Serge said with a smile.

He waved a hand. "Some people think that some of the Umbrood are aliens. I suppose it technically is true, since they are alien to earthly life if they're outer umbrood."

"I remembering hearing that too. That's why I liked that idea of Thor as a High ranking Umbrood. However denizen in another realm works equally as well."

Adley scratched at his beard. "I have heard of stories and rumors from way back in the days, the Order fighting northmen...what you'd call Vikings I commonly, that had magickal abilities They weren't Hagalaz, for they did not exist yet."

"Early Hagalaz? Before they became a formalized group? MAybe. The history of those guys are freaky." Serge said with a frown.

"That seems the closest, perhaps."

"Now all I need is another cultist who I have beef with." Serge said with a grin.

"Tables and wheels and circles, all good symbols," he agreed. "Your name is Wainwright," he said looking a bit amused. "Instead of Mr Wainwright's tea party, it could be a wagon wheel."

"Mr. Wainwright's wagon wheel? Beautiful Alliteration. I love it." Serge said with a smile.

He nodded. "Agreed. Well then, that seems to wrap things up for now. To follow up on: discussing the possible names with the other cabal members, setting up a pizza night, and other group activities."

"Is there anything else on the agenda?" Serge asked looking at Adley and then Colin.

[Serge's Adventure]

'Well, what did you expect from schools? They're there to produce docile wage-slaves.' Nicole replied evenly, starting to walk again. 'Teaching the important lessons like "always obey authority", stamping out suspicious things like personality and stuffing heads so hard with facty facts so there's no space to actually think.'

"Wow, you really didn't like school." Serge said following Nicole as she started walking again. "I just found it boring and monotonous. Do the same thing every day. Go to class, eat lunch, go to class, go home, eat dinner, do homework, sleep on repeat everyday. Drove me mad."

'Well, what works for you.' Nicole replied. 'But simply I've found most who are all flashy, boastful and toting shiny kit are normally the less competent. When you know you're good, there's no need to do that shit.'

"That can be cool too. Imagine a fantasy world. The cool quiet guy in the back tavern, minding his own business with his worn-out sword strapped to his side gets challenged by some rich asshole with his brand new shiny sword only to find out quite late that the reason the sword was worn-out was because the quiet guy was quite practiced in using it." Serge said with a smile.

'Don't know. As I said at the meeting, getting explosive shit is hard; between Breaking Bad and 9/11 even getting hold of the precursors can end up with the FBI or ATF crawling up the ass.' ending with a shrug.

"Well I'm not even going to pretend like I know what's needed in explosives. Magnesium? Wait no, I said I wouldn't pretend." Serge said lazily while looking at his surroundings trying to get acquainted with his new home. "I assume macguyvering shit out of household products isn't the best way to make explosives?"

'Oh, I don't doubt it for a second. We live in a world where politicians get the poor to vote for tax cuts for millionaires.' Nicole replied a little acidly.

"Ahhh...politics...I hate it." Serge said cheerfully. "Just seems like a bunch of people complaining about each other and the ones with money always win."

A short silence, then a sigh. 'Go on, flip it then.'

"Awww, don't say it like that. You'll ruin the fun." Serge said jokingly as he flipped the coins over his knuckles with an unusual amount of dexterity and then balanced on the side of his hand with his thumb primed underneath it.

He was about to flip the coin, but paused for a second. Then, in an almost sage-like fashion said, "You know...this reminds me of a type Japanese story-telling. Manzai I think it was called. Two characters, one rooted in reality and one rooted in the wild and fantastic trade jokes and quips with each other. The wild joke character always attempts something silly to which the normal realistic character object only to be astonished when it works out for the joke character."

"Sorry, I just wanted to say that. Thought it was cool random observation. I'm wasting time. Call it in the air. Boop!" he said enthusiastically, as he flipped the coin high in the air and then placed the now coin-free hand in his pocket. Nicole would notice that he was clearly making no attempts to catch the coin and instead was just watching with intense focus as it flew through up into the air waiting for her to call it.

(OOC: Sent a pm to you Anja.)

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Adley, Colin, Tane and Serge] (Cabal meeting 10 in the morning Wednesday 30/9 2015)

"Oh I will." Serge said with a grin on his face. "All I need is a hallway and some willing participants."

Bruce gave you a somewhat skeptical look.

"Then I'm wasting time trying to unmake a mental shield. Enough time for them to punch me or realize what I'm doing." Serge replied.

"That is when having a gun might come in handy."
Bruce said and shrugged.

"Nobody wants to hear my mind music." Serge said with a humorous frown.

"That would be a correct assumption."
Bruce said flatly.

"It's best! You know how much work I can get done if I ignore everything else in my existence? A lot!" Serge said answering the question before Bruce had a chance too.

"And if you die from dehydration Mr Yager what then?"
The Artificer said sounding rather unimpressed.

"Master Wong owes me a favor and so does Dr.Lee. Maybe I could learn a thing or two off of them."

"If you can work with ther Paradigm you might benefit from their teachings indeed."
Bruce said and nodded.

"That's the thing though. I rarely have those type of symbols on my clothing. I doubt the technocrats would be concerned with some random guy wearing a batman T-shirt." Serge said.

"Well then there should not be any problem, have at it Mr Yager."
The Artificer said and shrugged.

"Actually, there really is not point in excluding the Men in Black. She's probably trained by them and broke their mental conditioning to do her own thing. Same deal as Hawkeye."

"Yeah that could fit actually."
Bruce agreed and smiled.

"Still not liking that Banner thing. What's wrong with Etherite turned in an experiment gone horribly wrong? I think that's a pretty fun story. Thor as a Verbana....not really fitting stereotypes but I'll take you guy's word on it."

"I am with the kid on this one guys, the Hulk is clearly modeled on Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and they would be perfect Etherites. Now as for Thor well the Verbena Storm Wives control weather and they are warriors, seams like a good fit for me."

"That's about the only connection. Thor doesn't use runes or inscribe or enchant his own weaponary." Serge replied.

"That is why I think the Storm Wives would be a better fit."

"Sure thing. I'll try to make it clearer on whether I'm joking or not." Serge said nodding at Bruce his face still slightly red, thinking that Bruce should better learn how to differentiate between light-hearted banter and serious talk.

"Good."
Was all the large man had to say to that.

"I hate running so much. And most types of exercise. Which probably explains my physique..."

"Well if you want to be good at physical combat you have to work on your physical body either through exercise or learning Life magick and cheat."
Bruce said and grinned.

"We've got a lot of long list of suggestions. Perhaps we should send it to some of the other cabal members to see what they think. Anymore and it might get overwhelming."

"Agreed they should get a word in about this as well."
Bruce said and nodded.

"I'm glad they're feeling up to going out," he said. "Please give my regards."

Bruce nodded at that.
"I will do so."
He promised.

"That's why you need backup. How about I stop then from punching us in the face and distract them by punching /them/ in the face?" He grinned.

"Our Hermetic have a point."
Bruce said as he gesticulated towards Adley.
"That is one of the points of having a Cabal."

Adley scratched at his beard. "I have heard of stories and rumors from way back in the days, the Order fighting northmen...what you'd call Vikings I commonly, that had magickal abilities They weren't Hagalaz, for they did not exist yet."

"Most cultures have had mages so they might not have been from a group that exist today or they might have been of the old faith, what became the Verbena."
Bruce suggested.

"That...that is true. I'd prefer if you shot lightning and fire at them though." Serge said with a smile.

"So when someone is ready to punch you in the face Mr Yager, would you rather that Adley punch them out before they have the time to do so, or that he pull out a wand and read some Latin for a while to shoot a fireball at them after they have punched your out?"
Bruce asked and he raised an eyebrow.
"Magick can be quick if prepared in advanced but usually it takes a little bit of time to get going."

(OOC: So you did and yes Serge's spell works)
(OOC 2: The Cult of Ecstasy do have a dueling form, I think it is Horizon Stronghold of Hope that have a list of dueling forms for all the Traditions, basically they see who can party the longest, and by party anything can be used from an actual party to a drinking contest to who can binge watch netflix the longest, the first one who fall asleep looses. Whatever or not stimulants and or magick will be allowed during the contest are decided by the participants beforehand.)

[Adley]

"That...that is true. I'd prefer if you shot lightning and fire at them though." Serge said with a smile.

"It's possible to cast magick with martial forms. I know some, usually the easiest is to empower the strike itself, not set them on fire. On the other hand, one could feasibly create a sword that discharged lightning when it struck. It would not be the easiest or most subtle thing to do, though."

"So when someone is ready to punch you in the face Mr Yager, would you rather that Adley punch them out before they have the time to do so, or that he pull out a wand and read some Latin for a while to shoot a fireball at them after they have punched your out?"
Bruce asked and he raised an eyebrow.
"Magick can be quick if prepared in advanced but usually it takes a little bit of time to get going."

"We can thank the Technocrats for that too," he said. "

"Early Hagalaz? Before they became a formalized group? MAybe. The history of those guys are freaky." Serge said with a frown.

'I'm not sure. There's a lot of stories of the Order fighting all manner of wizards."

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Adley, Colin, Tane and Serge] (Cabal meeting 10 in the morning Wednesday 30/9 2015)

"We can thank the Technocrats for that too," he said. "

"Yeah fuck the Technocracy they ruin everyone's fun!"
Bruce grumbled.

I'm not sure. There's a lot of stories of the Order fighting all manner of wizards."

"The Order of Hermes generally liked to pick a fight with every other Awakened they could find. They generally did not like anyone else playing in their sandbox."
The Orphan said and frowned.

[Warpmind]

[Steelhaven Hall, Monday September 28th]

"The problem, is not membership, the Verbena might protest against the Kights Templar joining but for most of the rest they would be welcomed as Orphan groups or members of other Traditions but we don't want that, we want to retain who we are and find safety in numbers and that is all I can say about the matter."
Captain Welder said softly.

Colin nodded, "Your concerns are well founded. However, I am inclined to think there's a good chance your Order would be able to retain your unique traits as a House under the Celestial Chorus, for example. But, not my place to say with any certainty. Safety in numbers, though - that is something we can probably be able to help with."

Captain Welder gave you a phone number then she smiled.
"How thoughtful, thank you."
She said as Anna sanded her the box of jaffa cakes.
"Hum...you do look very much like someone I once knew child, a member of a Greek Craft..."
She said as she struggled to open the box of cakes, took one and then offered the box to you and Anna as well.
"A Greek Craft?"
Anna asked and looked at you before accepting a cookie.

He looked up sharply, gripping the pencil just a little harder, "A... Greek woman, you said? This would not happen to be a woman who disappeared some seven years ago, with a daughter named Anthea? An artisan of some skill, perhaps, who maintained a shrine to Hephaestus?"

[Cabal Meeting, 10 AM, Wednesday September 30th]

"You are probably right and it is hard to judge in a situation I was not a part of."
Bruce said then he grinned.
"And I will ask Nico, when I take them out to dinner today, Dr Lee have given the ok if we do not go far and they are not strained to much."

"I'm glad they're feeling up to going out," he said. "Please give my regards."

Bruce nodded at that.
"I will do so."
He promised.

Colin nodded, "Please give them my regards as well... and if you could, please let them know that I would like to commission a particular item from them, as soon as they feel up to working again - they'll be welcome to access my workshop and the materials therein."

"I might be able to temporarily turn off or overload that ability, if you want. If it's instinctual than it shouldn't be to hard to trick." Serge pondered.

He frowned, then grinned broadly, "If you can figure out a way to temporarily shut off that knack, I'd be in your debt. So many games that lost their appeal once I started knowing what everyone else drew, or would roll..."

"That is pretty cool actually and you can summon one of these what was it you called them?"
Bruce asked sounding impressed.

"And you wish to call one, why?"

He nodded, "Psychopomps, and I might be able to summon one... seems no-one has seen them since the Order of Reason started making trouble, or thereabouts. And I hope to call one for two reasons - first, to find out if the old ritual still works, and second, to help Master Nassa gain his new apprentice. It's... a little complicated."

"Defeat the Union one fantasy book at the time."
Bruce joked.

He grinned, "I'm entirely in favour of that one - break the Union through Amazon.com."

"True that and it is something best avoided."
The Artificer commented dryly.

He nodded, "Quite; the splitting headache is bad enough, but the likely death part is a bit tricky to overcome."

"Oh I will." Serge said with a grin on his face. "All I need is a hallway and some willing participants."

Bruce gave you a somewhat skeptical look.

He arched an eyebrow, "And perhaps a set of non-permanent marker pens to decorate the poor fellows who get stuck?"

"Nobody wants to hear my mind music." Serge said with a humorous frown.

"That would be a correct assumption."
Bruce said flatly.

He grinned wickedly, "Besides, why resort to magic, when all you have to do is sing 'Mama, just killed a man, put a gun against his head...'"

"This is about keeping Adeptus Riez's old sweetheart out of the Main Sentencing Hall right?"
Bruce asked.
"For then yes time is definitively of the essence."

He nodded, "Very much of the essence. The Quaesitor who retrieved the prisoners agreed to put the poor young woman at the bottom of the docket - but that's only an administrative shuffle, and not an indefinite delay."

Bruce grunted at that saying that he did not completely agree but he did not want to argue the point either.

He smiled wryly, "Try to think of the gland as a TV set. You can't watch TV without it, but it is not the programming."

"Actually, there really is not point in excluding the Men in Black. She's probably trained by them and broke their mental conditioning to do her own thing. Same deal as Hawkeye."

"Yeah that could fit actually."
Bruce agreed and smiled.

"Perhaps you are right about Cap, Thor as a Verbena Storm Wife though that do fit, and Master Nassa swinging a big, enchanted hammer would be terrifying."
Bruce said with a grin.

"Still not liking that Banner thing. What's wrong with Etherite turned in an experiment gone horribly wrong? I think that's a pretty fun story. Thor as a Verbana....not really fitting stereotypes but I'll take you guy's word on it."

"I am with the kid on this one guys, the Hulk is clearly modeled on Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and they would be perfect Etherites. Now as for Thor well the Verbena Storm Wives control weather and they are warriors, seams like a good fit for me."

He nodded, "I would agree with the Etherite hypothesis for the Hulk, except for the simple reason that Bruce Banner becomes the Hulk specifically when angry, not by drinking a serum or other external agent. Arguably, the gamma bomb incident was his Awakening moment."

"That's about the only connection. Thor doesn't use runes or inscribe or enchant his own weaponary." Serge replied.

"That is why I think the Storm Wives would be a better fit."

Adley scratched at his beard. "I have heard of stories and rumors from way back in the days, the Order fighting northmen...what you'd call Vikings I commonly, that had magickal abilities They weren't Hagalaz, for they did not exist yet."

"Early Hagalaz? Before they became a formalized group? MAybe. The history of those guys are freaky." Serge said with a frown.

"Most cultures have had mages so they might not have been from a group that exist today or they might have been of the old faith, what became the Verbena."
Bruce suggested.

'I'm not sure. There's a lot of stories of the Order fighting all manner of wizards."

"The Order of Hermes generally liked to pick a fight with every other Awakened they could find. They generally did not like anyone else playing in their sandbox."
The Orphan said and frowned.

He pondered, "Hum, perhaps Tormod of Kirkenes was part of the Craft that would become the Hagalaz."

"I hate running so much. And most types of exercise. Which probably explains my physique..."

"When I get back on my feet," he agreed.

"Well if you want to be good at physical combat you have to work on your physical body either through exercise or learning Life magick and cheat."
Bruce said and grinned.

He grinned wryly, "Besides, son, you might find that as unpleasant and onerous exercise may be, it's a lot more unpleasant to be chased by a HIT-Mark on foot if you are miserably out of shape..."

"She was a interesting lady the Sons of Ether still hold her in much regard, after all she was let in before the Tradition generally allowed women to become members."
Bruce said.
"I am more interested in her accomplishments as a mage than her being royalty, she earned her rank among mages, her title as queen was just handed to her."

He nodded, "Of course - but consider this, relatively few people who have inherited their crown have wielded that power with as much strength and skill as she did. There's little to be impressed by in her becoming queen, but over six decades of governance and expansion like that? Not a small feat, Mage or not."

"Tables and wheels and circles, all good symbols," he agreed. "Your name is Wainwright," he said looking a bit amused. "Instead of Mr Wainwright's tea party, it could be a wagon wheel."

"Mr. Wainwright's wagon wheel? Beautiful Alliteration. I love it." Serge said with a smile.

He grimaced, "What is this, an á la cart choice all of a sudden?"

He laughed a little. "Did you get reprimanded very much? And no I'm not choosing for her, I was just speculating. I was considering how our two symbols would seem together."

He shrugged, "Not more than average, I think... No, most of my teachers used it to underline important words and phrases, and the like."

"We've got a lot of long list of suggestions. Perhaps we should send it to some of the other cabal members to see what they think. Anymore and it might get overwhelming."

"Agreed they should get a word in about this as well."
Bruce said and nodded.

He nodded. "Agreed. Well then, that seems to wrap things up for now. To follow up on: discussing the possible names with the other cabal members, setting up a pizza night, and other group activities."

"Is there anything else on the agenda?" Serge asked looking at Adley and then Colin.

He nodded and noted down a few more things, along with the suggested names and possible heraldry, "No, that seems to be it... unless anyone else has something, we can call the meeting adjourned."

[Nicole's apartment, 7PM Thursday, October 1st]

'I've give the ship ID to Detroit, see if they've got the 'prints of the base model. Then we can look at what needs doing.'

He nodded, "It will be interesting to see what sort of stock upgrades are available."

'Try the 1870's. That's when the Oligarchy really took hold here and bought Washington. Which in a purely coincidental... thing was also the time the Union started to sink their claws in deep.

He grimaced, "Ugh, age of the railroad barons, not a good time for fairness in economics... The period right after World War 2 was far better for the nation as a whole in that respect."

'That all depends... do you think enough icing can disguise a turd?' Nicole said, arching an eyebrow. 'Or that something as evil as capitalism can be "reformed"? Perhaps we could have "ethical slavery"? Or folk as greedy, short-sighted and uncaring as the Oligarchs can be persuaded not to act like amoral shits? Fuck that. Into the dustbin of history, it goes.... should have done a century back.' her tone and poise making it clear she saw no redeeming qualities whatsoever.

'Anything else? Just I want to go for a run before the rain hits.'

He frowned, picking up his box, "I meant my gun, not the system. The system of today simply has got to go, but there's no use in debating the finer points of that instead of a brisk run."

[Nicole Bouchard]

[Serge's Adventure]

Serge's Post:

'Oh, I found school boring too... plus, a load of bollocks which didn't seem useful at the time, let alone now. It was only later I was taught why it was like that... and why it was vital to the ruling class it was this way.'

Serge's Post:

'Yes... but what if you're picked on 'cos they're working on that trope, eh?' she cautioned.

Serge's Post:

'Making shit explode is easy. Making it explode at the right time is harder. Static ones larger than a suitcase is simple enough... can do that with a pair of cells, propane tank and wiring.' Nicole replied lazily, like this was nothing. 'Small but powerful ones are much more difficult, and reliable throwables even worse. Need proper precursors and kit for that, which is why chemistry has been banned.'

Serge's Post:

'Not always.' Nicole replied, giving a little grin, her grey eyes narrowing in a rather malevolent manner.

Serge's Post:

As Serge told his little story, Nicole didn't bother to look at him - instead watching the coin and the hand it was resting on attentively.

'Stolen by low-flying crow.' she quipped, giving a little smirk and an a raised eyebrow once Serge finally flipped it.

[Nicole's Apartment]

Colin's Post:

A nod to this.

Colin's Post:

'That won't happen again. The working classes are now obsolete in capitalism.'

Colin's Post:

'Oh, the gun. Leave it with me, if you want. I'm making the trek up to Maine with Fran for a gun show. Sure I'll pick up the required parts there.'

[RI Roadtrip]

The Civic may have been a bit of a clunker, but was a damn better sight than the car he was staring at as he waited; an ageing sedan in a hideous beige, seriously scratched up, rusted wheel-arches and with one panel a different-enough shade to be noticeable. Unless somebody had decided to clean just there...

At the appointed time, the Etherite appeared, clad in a Bruins shirt, no-longer-quite black cargos, tired sneakers and clutching what appeared to be a leather jacket of some form.

'Afternoon.' she said, grinding out her cigarette on the concrete. 'First question: who's driving?' Oddly enough, her self-assured, bordering on arrogant manner seemed to be rather subdued. In fact, she appeared to be rather nervous.

[Jeremy Silverstein]

He arched an eyebrow, "And perhaps a set of non-permanent marker pens to decorate the poor fellows who get stuck?"

"Don't forget spray painting me pink and calling me jigglypuff." Serge said with a chuckle before realizing that that reference might not be so easily understood among the present mages.

"So when someone is ready to punch you in the face Mr Yager, would you rather that Adley punch them out before they have the time to do so, or that he pull out a wand and read some Latin for a while to shoot a fireball at them after they have punched your out?"
Bruce asked and he raised an eyebrow.
"Magick can be quick if prepared in advanced but usually it takes a little bit of time to get going."

"I'll be completely honest...I am willing to take a punch to the face just to see Adley cast a fireball." Serge said with smile and a light-hearted chuckle.

"It's possible to cast magick with martial forms. I know some, usually the easiest is to empower the strike itself, not set them on fire. On the other hand, one could feasibly create a sword that discharged lightning when it struck. It would not be the easiest or most subtle thing to do, though."

"The Akashic do stuff like that all the time right? Empowering their strikes?" Serge said remembering all the martial arts movies he had ever watched. "Yeah if we wanted to do subtle there's probably a number of better ways. Like heating up a person's gun so that he'll drop it."

"We can thank the Technocrats for that too," he said. "

"Yeah fuck the Technocracy they ruin everyone's fun!"
Bruce grumbled.

"I know right!" Serge said enthusiastically agreeing with Bruce despite being the one least affected by the consensus.

"That would be a correct assumption."
Bruce said flatly.

He grinned wickedly, "Besides, why resort to magic, when all you have to do is sing 'Mama, just killed a man, put a gun against his head...'"

"...pulled the trigger, now he's dead." Serge continued, "Mama, life had just begun..."

He frowned, then grinned broadly, "If you can figure out a way to temporarily shut off that knack, I'd be in your debt. So many games that lost their appeal once I started knowing what everyone else drew, or would roll..."

"Looks like we have an interesting game of goldfish in our future." Serge said with a grin.

"And if you die from dehydration Mr Yager what then?"
The Artificer said sounding rather unimpressed.

"Then I'll die cause I was stupid. But it won't happen cause I'm not." Serge said rather defensively.

"Yeah that could fit actually."
Bruce agreed and smiled.

"I am with the kid on this one guys, the Hulk is clearly modeled on Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and they would be perfect Etherites. Now as for Thor well the Verbena Storm Wives control weather and they are warriors, seams like a good fit for me."

He nodded, "I would agree with the Etherite hypothesis for the Hulk, except for the simple reason that Bruce Banner becomes the Hulk specifically when angry, not by drinking a serum or other external agent. Arguably, the gamma bomb incident was his Awakening moment."

"I view the Hulk as a terrible paradox backlash. Like he awakened long ago and began doing his genius thing like all magickal genius's do, accumulating a large amount of dox in the process. Then in the gamma experiment it all came down on him at once and he was cursed with that Hulk, a reflection of his own rage made real. I'm hesitant on Cultist because most cultist's like going into different mind states while Banner actively tried to avoid his." Serge argued.

"He's lucky in that he can control his paradox curse...to an extent. But it doesn't exactly do him any favors."

"Well if you want to be good at physical combat you have to work on your physical body either through exercise or learning Life magick and cheat."
Bruce said and grinned.

"I choose cheat." Serge said with a grin.

He grinned wryly, "Besides, son, you might find that as unpleasant and onerous exercise may be, it's a lot more unpleasant to be chased by a HIT-Mark on foot if you are miserably out of shape..."

"Stupid overpowered terminator robots...no minds to screw with..." Serge muttered grumpily under his breath.

"Agreed they should get a word in about this as well."
Bruce said and nodded.

He nodded and noted down a few more things, along with the suggested names and possible heraldry, "No, that seems to be it... unless anyone else has something, we can call the meeting adjourned."

"I have nothing else to add." Serge said looking around at the other members.

(OOC: I remember reading about that! Damn! I completely forgot about it. Serge would love to be in a art/netflix competition .)

[Serge's Adventure]

'Oh, I found school boring too... plus, a load of bollocks which didn't seem useful at the time, let alone now. It was only later I was taught why it was like that... and why it was vital to the ruling class it was this way.'

"What were you taught?" Serge asked curiously.

'Yes... but what if you're picked on 'cos they're working on that trope, eh?' she cautioned.

"Play to the trope! Look the rich guy dead in the eyes. Accept his challenge. Pull out my sword. Wield it heroically over the people. Charge at him with blinding speed. Get knocked on my ass, laughed out the tavern, and go home crying." Serge said with a completely straight face. "Or I could beat him. Or someone would save me? Honestly I don't know what would happen or what I'd do."

'Not always.' Nicole replied, giving a little grin, her grey eyes narrowing in a rather malevolent manner.

"Oh man. Which government did you topple over?" Serge asked in an obviously sarcastic manner. Although he did give a sideways glance at the Etherite when he noticed her mischievous grin and malevolent eyes.

As Serge told his little story, Nicole didn't bother to look at him - instead watching the coin and the hand it was resting on attentively.

'Stolen by low-flying crow.' she quipped, giving a little smirk and an a raised eyebrow once Serge finally flipped it.

"Nice answer....sadly....." Serge said as the coin spun in the air, eventually reaching it's peak height and then plummeting back down to Earth. It landed perfectly in front of the duo, miraculously slipping in between the gaps of the side walk, perfectly upright and leaning to neither side.

"Neither heads, nor tails, nor crowed. Looks like that's 2-0 for me." Serge said happily as he reached down to swipe up the coin. "Better luck next time."

[Adley]

[Cabal Meeting, 10 AM, Wednesday September 30th]

He nodded, "Psychopomps, and I might be able to summon one... seems no-one has seen them since the Order of Reason started making trouble, or thereabouts. And I hope to call one for two reasons - first, to find out if the old ritual still works, and second, to help Master Nassa gain his new apprentice. It's... a little complicated."

"Ah, I see. Well, I shall look forward to a longer conversation later."

"The Order of Hermes generally liked to pick a fight with every other Awakened they could find. They generally did not like anyone else playing in their sandbox."
The Orphan said and frowned.

He pondered, "Hum, perhaps Tormod of Kirkenes was part of the Craft that would become the Hagalaz."

He spread his fingers in a gesture not quite an apology. "It was a very us or them time...where them was anyone else."

He grimaced, "What is this, an á la cart choice all of a sudden?"

"Heh, that's a terrible pun," he grinned.

He shrugged, "Not more than average, I think... No, most of my teachers used it to underline important words and phrases, and the like."

He nodded, then smiled a little. "I see the connection now."

"Don't forget spray painting me pink and calling me jigglypuff." Serge said with a chuckle before realizing that that reference might not be so easily understood among the present mages.

"You'll need a microphone."

"I'll be completely honest...I am willing to take a punch to the face just to see Adley cast a fireball." Serge said with smile and a light-hearted chuckle.

He chuckled a little. "Perhaps someday, there are uses for them. But I've been considering some rotes that use sound instead...auram magick."

"The Akashic do stuff like that all the time right? Empowering their strikes?" Serge said remembering all the martial arts movies he had ever watched. "Yeah if we wanted to do subtle there's probably a number of better ways. Like heating up a person's gun so that he'll drop it."

"Yes, but they use special techniques of their own. Heating up the person's gun is a very good idea. Sometimes adjusting the environment or tool is easier than targeting the person themselves."

Colin wrote:
He grinned wickedly, "Besides, why resort to magic, when all you have to do is sing 'Mama, just killed a man, put a gun against his head...'"

"...pulled the trigger, now he's dead." Serge continued, "Mama, life had just begun..."

"Damn...that's going to be stuck in my head."

(Colin) nodded and noted down a few more things, along with the suggested names and possible heraldry, "No, that seems to be it... unless anyone else has something, we can call the meeting adjourned."

"I have nothing else to add." Serge said looking around at the other members.

"Nothing else, right now. Later we should talk though when you have a minute, amius," he said to Colin. "I've got two classes to teach today and catch up on backwork, but whenever you got time."

[Adley & Nicole go to Whitecastle Beef Barn]
[~2:00pm ish?, Saturday, Oct 11]

'Afternoon.' she said, grinding out her cigarette on the concrete. 'First question: who's driving?' Oddly enough, her self-assured, bordering on arrogant manner seemed to be rather subdued. In fact, she appeared to be rather nervous.

He looked at the cigarette-butt on the ground, then back to her, noting her attitude was at least somewhat not-hostile or sarcastic for once. "Good afternoon. I suppose that depends on which car we're taking. There's no smoking in my car, unless you're on fire, so if you need to smoke on the ride, maybe yours," he said in a considering tone. "Is it this one?" he asked, nodding to the sedan. He'd seen worse. Mostly at scrapheaps or abandoned under overpasses but he doubted an Etherite would opt to drive something that would /actually/ fall apart on the road. However, if the interior was /dirty/, not just clutter, but dirty, he'd make a face of distaste after examining what he could see.

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Adley, Colin, Tane and Serge] (Cabal meeting 10 in the morning Wednesday 30/9 2015)

Colin nodded, "Please give them my regards as well... and if you could, please let them know that I would like to commission a particular item from them, as soon as they feel up to working again - they'll be welcome to access my workshop and the materials therein."

"Certainly I will let them know Colin."
Bruce said and smiled.

He nodded, "Psychopomps, and I might be able to summon one... seems no-one has seen them since the Order of Reason started making trouble, or thereabouts. And I hope to call one for two reasons - first, to find out if the old ritual still works, and second, to help Master Nassa gain his new apprentice. It's... a little complicated."

"That is really cool actually I doubt I could be much help with such a spell given my Paradigm but I wish you the best with it and please tell me how it go if you can once you have tried it."
Bruce said and smiled.

He grinned, "I'm entirely in favour of that one - break the Union through Amazon.com."

"Good, then I can feel better about splurging on books."
The Artificer said and grinned.

He nodded, "Quite; the splitting headache is bad enough, but the likely death part is a bit tricky to overcome."

"One can survive being shot in the head but it is best not to risk it."
Bruce said and frowned.
"It would not be good."

He nodded, "Very much of the essence. The Quaesitor who retrieved the prisoners agreed to put the poor young woman at the bottom of the docket - but that's only an administrative shuffle, and not an indefinite delay."

Bruce nodded at that and he frowned.
"Adeptus Riez will take it hard if...that...happens to Cadence Clearwater."
He grumbled.

He smiled wryly, "Try to think of the gland as a TV set. You can't watch TV without it, but it is not the programming."

"I am still not sure I buy that but sure....I guess it makes some sense."
Bruce said and grunted.

He nodded, "I would agree with the Etherite hypothesis for the Hulk, except for the simple reason that Bruce Banner becomes the Hulk specifically when angry, not by drinking a serum or other external agent. Arguably, the gamma bomb incident was his Awakening moment."

"I would not put it past the Etherboyz making a potion that make you change form depending on your mood."
Bruce protested.
"After all without freaky science there would be no Hulk it is not just a matter of emotions."

He pondered, "Hum, perhaps Tormod of Kirkenes was part of the Craft that would become the Hagalaz."

"Who is this Tormod of Kirkenes?"
The large Orphan asked.

He nodded, "Of course - but consider this, relatively few people who have inherited their crown have wielded that power with as much strength and skill as she did. There's little to be impressed by in her becoming queen, but over six decades of governance and expansion like that? Not a small feat, Mage or not."

"True enough, perhaps royalty got it right that time, not that I agree with that form of government but Queen Victoria did do a good job."
Bruce agreed and nodded.

He nodded and noted down a few more things, along with the suggested names and possible heraldry, "No, that seems to be it... unless anyone else has something, we can call the meeting adjourned."

"I have nothing to add."
Bruce said and he shook his head.

"Don't forget spray painting me pink and calling me jigglypuff." Serge said with a chuckle before realizing that that reference might not be so easily understood among the present mages.

Bruce chuckled at that.
"Just make sure you sing."
He commented.

"I'll be completely honest...I am willing to take a punch to the face just to see Adley cast a fireball." Serge said with smile and a light-hearted chuckle.

"Now that is some dedication right there."
Bruce said sounding amused.

ike heating up a person's gun so that he'll drop it."

"That would get you Paradox metal do not just heat up for no reason."
Bruce said and shook his head.

"I know right!" Serge said enthusiastically agreeing with Bruce despite being the one least affected by the consensus.

Bruce grunted at that and nodded.

"Then I'll die cause I was stupid. But it won't happen cause I'm not." Serge said rather defensively.

"Did not just say you where hospitalized due to dehydration?"
Bruce asked and he raised an eyebrow.
"Then again taking into account my history with car batteries as a kid perhaps I should not lecture to much."
He said and grinned.

"I view the Hulk as a terrible paradox backlash. Like he awakened long ago and began doing his genius thing like all magickal genius's do, accumulating a large amount of dox in the process. Then in the gamma experiment it all came down on him at once and he was cursed with that Hulk, a reflection of his own rage made real. I'm hesitant on Cultist because most cultist's like going into different mind states while Banner actively tried to avoid his." Serge argued.

"He's lucky in that he can control his paradox curse...to an extent. But it doesn't exactly do him any favors."

"I still say he would be a Etherite."
Bruce protested.
"But I guess the idea of it being a Paradox flaw works as well."

"I choose cheat." Serge said with a grin.

"Cheating it is then kid, I guess you better find someone who can teach you to manipulate your own body then."
Bruce said and nodded.

"Stupid overpowered terminator robots...no minds to screw with..." Serge muttered grumpily under his breath.

"They have minds Mr Yager it is just that those minds are heavily controlled, but there is a human brain in there."
The Orphan said and frowned.
"Poor creatures."

He spread his fingers in a gesture not quite an apology. "It was a very us or them time...where them was anyone else."

"It was another time then."
Bruce agreed and sigh.
"But hell back in the day your Tradition where kind of bullies."

"You'll need a microphone."

"One with a hidden marker pen inside of it."
Bruce sai and grinned.

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

(Talking with Captain Welder)

Colin nodded, "Your concerns are well founded. However, I am inclined to think there's a good chance your Order would be able to retain your unique traits as a House under the Celestial Chorus, for example. But, not my place to say with any certainty. Safety in numbers, though - that is something we can probably be able to help with."

"I think you misunderstand me Sir, I did not mean that we where not allowed to join the Traditions but that we do not want to, none of the groups I have spoken with want to vanish into one of the Traditions we can safety in numbers but at the same time be independent."
Captain Welder said and she shook her head and immediately regretted the motion and groaned.

He looked up sharply, gripping the pencil just a little harder, "A... Greek woman, you said? This would not happen to be a woman who disappeared some seven years ago, with a daughter named Anthea? An artisan of some skill, perhaps, who maintained a shrine to Hephaestus?"

"I do not know whe she vanished but I have not heard anything from her for about seven years. She did have a little toddler by that name though, a little girl, she is a craftswoman though a wood carver of some skill and yes she did worship the old Greek Gods, I would say she is a reconstructionalist, but she are practicing her religion from an unbroken line from back in ancient Greek so reconstructionalist is the wrong term, some of her Craft have modernized and become more hippie New Agers but there are those who are traditional."
The Templar said.
"Do you know what happened to Damaris? She is a good woman."
Welder asked and Anna looked at her wide eyed.
"Damaris...I remember that name...I remember."
She muttered and she took a step back.
"Y...you knew my mother?"
She asked and Captain Welder's eyes widened a little.
"You are Damaris' toddler...oh my, yes child I knew her, not well but I knew her."
"What was she like?"
Anna asked and Captain Welder smiled a little.
"She was kind, deicated and loving, a skilled woodcarver and she loved you child, but like I said I do not know her well I met her during a temporary alliance between our two Crafts."
Anna looked at you clearly getting way to exited for her weak heart at the moment as she jumped up and down on the floor.
"She knew my mother, she knew my mother did you hear dad? She knew my mother."

[Warpmind]

[Steelhaven Hall, Monday September 28th]

"I think you misunderstand me Sir, I did not mean that we where not allowed to join the Traditions but that we do not want to, none of the groups I have spoken with want to vanish into one of the Traditions we can safety in numbers but at the same time be independent."
Captain Welder said and she shook her head and immediately regretted the motion and groaned.

He nodded, "I understood; you don't want to join if the cost is your uniqueness and independence... and please, be careful."

"I do not know whe she vanished but I have not heard anything from her for about seven years. She did have a little toddler by that name though, a little girl, she is a craftswoman though a wood carver of some skill and yes she did worship the old Greek Gods, I would say she is a reconstructionalist, but she are practicing her religion from an unbroken line from back in ancient Greek so reconstructionalist is the wrong term, some of her Craft have modernized and become more hippie New Agers but there are those who are traditional."
The Templar said.
"Do you know what happened to Damaris? She is a good woman."
Welder asked and Anna looked at her wide eyed.
"Damaris...I remember that name...I remember."
She muttered and she took a step back.
"Y...you knew my mother?"
She asked and Captain Welder's eyes widened a little.
"You are Damaris' toddler...oh my, yes child I knew her, not well but I knew her."
"What was she like?"
Anna asked and Captain Welder smiled a little.
"She was kind, deicated and loving, a skilled woodcarver and she loved you child, but like I said I do not know her well I met her during a temporary alliance between our two Crafts."
Anna looked at you clearly getting way to exited for her weak heart at the moment as she jumped up and down on the floor.
"She knew my mother, she knew my mother did you hear dad? She knew my mother."

He frowned, then nodded, placing a hand lightly on Anna's shoulder, "Mind your excitement, Sweetie, it's not good for your heart rate... I heard."
He looked up at Captain Welder, "I know what happened to her, yes... you just gave me her name; that gives me something more to work with. Damaris was... captured by a Nephandus in Chicago, a Prelatus of a Labyrinth there. He... tortured her to death, and tricked Anna... Anthea into the Caul. Anthea became the treasured apprentice of Gabriel, and then, this past weekend, Gabriel died in battle, I... crossed paths with Anna here for the first time in my timeline, then a little later, I was projected into the past to meet her for the first time in her timeline, and I made a promise to protect her from the worst, and I was asked to try to save her mother... Some day, I may be able to do that without disrupting the timeline too much - but it will require a perfect copy of Damaris, and with her name... that suddenly became a lot more viable."

[Cabal Meeting, 10 AM, Wednesday September 30th]

"Certainly I will let them know Colin."
Bruce said and smiled.

Colin smiled, "Thank you. Anna's restraining collar is merely a loan; I shall need to have a duplicate made as soon as possible, so the rightful owner gets theirs back. It's a precious item, far beyond its magical or monetary value..."

"Don't forget spray painting me pink and calling me jigglypuff." Serge said with a chuckle before realizing that that reference might not be so easily understood among the present mages.

Bruce chuckled at that.
"Just make sure you sing."
He commented.

"You'll need a microphone."

"One with a hidden marker pen inside of it."
Bruce sai and grinned.

He just arched an eyebrow and quietly googled 'Jigglypuff' before putting his phone back down with a half-smile.

"Ah, I see. Well, I shall look forward to a longer conversation later."

"That is really cool actually I doubt I could be much help with such a spell given my Paradigm but I wish you the best with it and please tell me how it go if you can once you have tried it."
Bruce said and smiled.

He nodded, then pondered, "You might be able to help with some of the paraphernalia I might need - I've yet to finish studying the ritual, though, so i don't know yet. I'll let you know."

He spread his fingers in a gesture not quite an apology. "It was a very us or them time...where them was anyone else."

"It was another time then."
Bruce agreed and sigh.
"But hell back in the day your Tradition where kind of bullies."

He smiled wryly, "Back then, I suppose everyone with a bit of power were kind of bullies... The Order of Hermes were just a little better organized."

"Good, then I can feel better about splurging on books."
The Artificer said and grinned.

He grinned, "Let me know if you need any recommendations for new materials to read."

"One can survive being shot in the head but it is best not to risk it."
Bruce said and frowned.
"It would not be good."

He nodded, "No head injury is ever good."

Bruce nodded at that and he frowned.
"Adeptus Riez will take it hard if...that...happens to Cadence Clearwater."
He grumbled.

He nodded, "He will... perhaps we can save her soul, even her life, though..."

"I am still not sure I buy that but sure....I guess it makes some sense."
Bruce said and grunted.

He smiled thinly, "It's a working analogy, not a perfect one."

"The Akashic do stuff like that all the time right? Empowering their strikes?" Serge said remembering all the martial arts movies he had ever watched. "Yeah if we wanted to do subtle there's probably a number of better ways. Like heating up a person's gun so that he'll drop it."

"Yes, but they use special techniques of their own. Heating up the person's gun is a very good idea. Sometimes adjusting the environment or tool is easier than targeting the person themselves."

"That would get you Paradox metal do not just heat up for no reason."
Bruce said and shook his head.

He nodded, "I would actually recommend freezing the metal rather than heating it up. Just as unpleasant to hold barehanded, the barrel contracts so the bullet can't get out, and there's no risk of accidentally heating the catridges to the gunpowder's ignition point."

"...pulled the trigger, now he's dead." Serge continued, "Mama, life had just begun..."

"Damn...that's going to be stuck in my head."

He grinned, "Works every time... but here's something that makes it a little creepier: everyone knows the lyrics to Bohemian Rhapsody, but think back... do you recall ever learning the song?"

"Looks like we have an interesting game of goldfish in our future." Serge said with a grin.

He nodded, "Looking forward to it."

"I would not put it past the Etherboyz making a potion that make you change form depending on your mood."
Bruce protested.
"After all without freaky science there would be no Hulk it is not just a matter of emotions."

"I view the Hulk as a terrible paradox backlash. Like he awakened long ago and began doing his genius thing like all magickal genius's do, accumulating a large amount of dox in the process. Then in the gamma experiment it all came down on him at once and he was cursed with that Hulk, a reflection of his own rage made real. I'm hesitant on Cultist because most cultist's like going into different mind states while Banner actively tried to avoid his." Serge argued.

"He's lucky in that he can control his paradox curse...to an extent. But it doesn't exactly do him any favors."

"I still say he would be a Etherite."
Bruce protested.
"But I guess the idea of it being a Paradox flaw works as well."

He nodded, "I suppose those could work, too... But, when it comes down to it, we're discussing a fictional character."

"Who is this Tormod of Kirkenes?"
The large Orphan asked.

He paused, "He was a Norwegian Mage, whom the First Cabal sought out. That turned out to be when Akrites Salonikas had his prophetic visions, and there was an... accident; Tormod of Kirkenes was killed by an accidental temporal storm from the Seer. It's... rather vividly described; a very unpleasant way to go."

"Stupid overpowered terminator robots...no minds to screw with..." Serge muttered grumpily under his breath.

"They have minds Mr Yager it is just that those minds are heavily controlled, but there is a human brain in there."
The Orphan said and frowned.
"Poor creatures."

He nodded, "The standard HIT-Mark has had its brain wiped of all personality, it seems... Theres' a Deaconess in Chicago, though; she escaped the wiping process... she's a fleshless HIT-Mark, not as well regarded as she deserves. She's a noble lady and a good leader for the outcasts who have come to her Chantry."

"Heh, that's a terrible pun," he grinned.

He grinned, "And you bloody well earned it; I make no apologies."

He nodded, then smiled a little. "I see the connection now."

He smiled, "But perhaps you are right; the ruler is perhaps a little old-fashioned for your work."

"True enough, perhaps royalty got it right that time, not that I agree with that form of government but Queen Victoria did do a good job."
Bruce agreed and nodded.

He nodded, "I quite favour the European systems of a hereditary monarch and an elected government - gives the stability of the Monarchy while ensuring the liberties and influences of Democracy."

"I have nothing else to add." Serge said looking around at the other members.

"Nothing else, right now. Later we should talk though when you have a minute, amius," he said to Colin. "I've got two classes to teach today and catch up on backwork, but whenever you got time."

"I have nothing to add."
Bruce said and he shook his head.

He nodded, "Well, Mr. Karyak, if you have nothing more, either, we can call the meeting adjourned."

[Nicole's apartment, 7PM Thursday, October 1st]

'That won't happen again. The working classes are now obsolete in capitalism.'

Colin nodded, "Not entirely obsolete, perhaps - but have you heard about a man named Buckminister Fuller? He predicted that one day, one man would be able to do the work needed to support 10,000 through extensive automation. I think that may be just around the corner, and we might have been there sooner if not for how the seventies and eighties came up with the horrid notion that man needs to be employed to have a social worth... Not work for themselves, but be employed. We could cut a lot of bullshit jobs overnight, but America has no safety net for that. Hell, until a country successfully implements UBI, nowhere has that sort of safety net..."

'Oh, the gun. Leave it with me, if you want. I'm making the trek up to Maine with Fran for a gun show. Sure I'll pick up the required parts there.'

He nodded and put the box back down, "Very well, then, and I'll go shopping for a spare in the meantime."
He fished out his wallet and checked its contents, frowning slightly, "Hum, what sort of parts budget would you estimate? Might have to get some cash for you - can't have you spend your own budget on that."

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