(Threads of Blood) The Unveiling

[Leo Lockheart]

With both the Triquetra bodies secured, Leo had been working on dispelling the foul influence the Abyss had weaved over the second body. He stood in the Circle of Creation's Sanctuary, chanting the final few sentences of the incantation. The sacrament, a candle burned down nearly to a puddle of wax, had stood as a symbol of purification to remove the Abyss's tainted influence from the body.

The natural light waned as the sun was setting on this late afternoon. The color of the stained glass fainted to the artificial light of the Circle interior. Leo had trusted Animus and Avis to let Orpheus and Ermon in. Hopefully they arrived before the spell was properly lifted. God forbid some Abyssal mojo muck up HQ, Vae would come back and kill him for that shit.

   6 suxx to dispel the spell on the body, Pot5 SV for 24 hours, pot 1 OR for 24 hours

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2014-05-04 21:42:41		Leo Lockheart rolls 7 to Organic Resilience (Sta+Ath+Life+2 HS-2 Advanced Prolognation factor) (10 Again)		3, 3, 1, 8, 3, 5, 5		1 success
2014-05-04 21:41:52		Leo Lockheart rolls 10 to Supernal Vision (WIT + Occ + Prime+2 HS-2 Advanced Prolongation factor) (10 Again)		5, 9, 2, 1, 9, 10, 8, 8, 5, 4, 1		5 successes
2014-05-04 21:32:28		[02] Leo Lockheart rolls 8 to Improvise Supernal Dispellation (Prime+Gnosis+HS) (10 Again)		1, 8, 4, 6, 1, 2, 9, 3		2 successes
2014-05-04 21:32:28		[01] Leo Lockheart rolls 8 to Improvise Supernal Dispellation (Prime+Gnosis+HS) (10 Again)		9, 9, 10, 9, 1, 4, 2, 4, 5		4 successes

ST Note: With Leo's Stamina, he is at Max Spell Accumulation (MtA pg 128). Therefore Supernal Dispellation has a -1 penalty due to Contagion. Luckily, this does not interfere with his successes.

[Animus]

cast at Sanctum

  Pulse of the Living World, 24hr

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2014-05-04 23:40:08		Animus rolls 10 to Gno + Lif - 2 (10 Again)		9, 3, 2, 5, 7, 5, 8, 4, 7, 7		2 successes

  Organic Resilience, 24hr

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2014-05-04 23:40:31		Animus rolls 10 to Gno + Lif - 2 (10 Again)		3, 9, 7, 1, 5, 3, 5, 7, 2, 9		2 successes

The Circle of Creation. He'd felt the personality of the place long before fitting the name to it. A personality as varied as its occupants, he supposed, but too much of the past was still out of his reach.

Still the questions. Wondering if he truly belonged here. Leo hadn't looked up; he could still slip away. But then others would fight, maybe die. And one of the few things Animus had rediscovered on his own was that the need to protect burned brighter than all else. He could not back away from this and live with himself.

Quietly approaching, the Thyrsus catches sight of the bodies ...

  

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2014-05-04 23:41:03		Animus rolls 7 to Res + Comp (10 Again)		8, 2, 3, 8, 9, 9, 1		4 successes

Anger-grief-shame. Feral beast, mauling the radiant goddess. Life-blood gushing onto the floor.

The Thyrsus clamps his eyes shut, dropping into a crouch and nearly screaming in pain. It was too vivid, too raw, and yet he couldn't put any context to the imagery. For a moment he shudders, hyperventilating, before slowly prying aching limbs apart and assuming a more normal seated position, facing away from Leo and the corpses. The negative space against the wash of life still forced itself against his senses, but it was nothing like what the initial sight had brought on.

[Avis]

Up in her room, just before she knew she should be expecting to let people in, Avis focused her will on armoring her mind and her body. She focused on weaving the two spells together so they wouldn't weigh as heavily on her pattern, and just as she felt the spells nearing completion they slipped out of her grasp. Sighting in frustration she sat on the floor, folding her legs into an approximation of lotus position, and tried again. She closed her eyes, High Speech tumbling from her lips, and wove the spells together. Next, she tried to imbue her eyes so she could see the Supernal and glean information from the world around her. Her hands followed the Mudras she'd been taught but the spell failed to form. "Fuck!" she snarled, her anger helping focus her mind as she tried again, her hands flashing through the Mudras and weaving the spell over her vision. That finally done, she rose to her feet and slipped downstairs so she could let the other Mages inside the Circle.

She wasn't surprised she'd had trouble casting her magic today. Practically vibrating with energy, apprehension and eagerness warring inside her, she paced by the door. She hadn't eaten anything yet, her stomach feeling tight and filled with suppressed memories. Whispers of murders in Sacramento had reached her ears in Chicago and that was part of why she'd wanted to move here. Dealing with the aftermath of Murder was something she was intimately familiar with and she would do everything she could to help this Consilium deal with the aftermath of this tragedy. Part of that dealing, of course, being finding the Murderers. She was very much looking forward to that part.

Spells

Potency 2 Misperception, Potency 1 Mental Sheild, Potency 2 Prime Sight

  

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2014-05-05 02:35:51		Avis rolls 6 to Combined Misperception and Mental Shield (gnos+mind-2+2HS) (10 Again)		6, 5, 6, 1, 5, 7		failure

  

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2014-05-05 02:36:36		Avis rolls 5 to Take 2 Combined Misperception and Mental Shield (gnos+mind-3+2HS) (10 Again) (10 Again)		2, 8, 10, 8, 2, 7		3 successes

  

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2014-05-05 02:36:52		Avis rolls 5 to Prime Sight (wits3+occ1+prime1) (10 Again)		7, 6, 2, 5, 6		failure

  

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2014-05-05 02:37:22		Avis rolls 4 to Take 2 Prime Sight (wits3+occ1+prime1-1) (10 Again)		10, 8, 2, 2, 2		2 successes

[Ermon]

Ermon likes to think of himself as someone who is always prepared. Not so today, because he has no freaking idea what to expect. Two completely identical corpses? Get out of here! Whatever magic made Leo kneel over certainly wasn't anything good. Still, there is some stuff that can be done.

First come the clothes: faded blue jeans and a grey-blue shirt. Nothing flamboyant just in case he'll need to hide later. He doesn't know exactly what he's going to hide from but it seems sensible to be prepared. Then - the sneakers. He puts on his usual running shoes in case hiding won't to and he'll need to leg it. He's going to the Guardians' and Arrows' stronghold. Even if living and working with the Epopt has alleviated many of his latent fears concerning the Veils, his brief experiences with the Arrows didn't do anything to make think better of their Order. And his cabalmates won't be there to pull his ass out of the fire...

Ermon shakes off his fears and focuses on his final order of business for today. Becoming marginally useful. Not like he knows much about advanced magics or Abyss or whatever. But that can be fixed. Absently stroking Pixel sitting in his lap, the Warlock mentally reaches into that place where all knowledge can be found, pulling upon the power of the Watchtower of the Iron Gauntlet. He chants and frowns, and then - adds Mana and pulls. Information pours into his mind in response: Order structures, spellcasting specifics, Seers, Banishers, all kinds of supernatural creatures. Thankfully, the spell that gives him the knowledge also makes it seem like he's always had it, even if the effect is only temporary.

The rest is simple: Armor and Sight to keep him safe and let him see. Mental Shield would be nice but he's straining his Pattern as it is.

  Spells

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2014-05-05 07:22:39		Ermon rolls 8 to Gain Skill (Occult) (Gno + Mind + HS -2 for 24 hour duration) (10 Again, WillPower)		10, 2, 9, 3, 5, 1, 7, 5, 4		2 successes
2014-05-05 07:21:58		Ermon rolls 7 to Misperception (Gno + Mind + HS using ambient Mana for 24 hour duration) (10 Again)		4, 2, 3, 7, 8, 7, 2		1 success
2014-05-05 07:20:52		Ermon rolls 5 to Third Eye (Gno + Mind + HS - 2 24 hour duration) (10 Again)		3, 8, 8, 4, 4		2 successes

The road to the Circle is uneventful: Ermon sticks to public transportation and some jogging between stops to keep himself energized. He once again mentally thanks Azure who set him in the right direction back when he had no idea of how to put together a training regimen.

The Warlock arrives at the circle and rings the bell.

ST Note: With Ermon's Stamina, he is at Max Spell Accumulation (MtA pg 128). Therefore Gain Skill has a -1 penalty due to Contagion. Luckily, this does not interfere with his successes.

[Avis]

The ring of the doorbell set Avis into a more productive motion that wearing her footprints into the floor. She paced over to the door and opened it a crack, her back to the other door just as Leo had done when she first met him. She preferred to give a more genial welcome but she was new here and knew virtually no one else so she decided to copy the other Arrow.

"Afternoon. State your name, please," she said, trying to sound inviting. She didn't want to offend the mages she'd soon be working with but she had to confirm she was letting in the right willwokers.

[Ermon]

Ermon takes note of Avis' appearance and clothes, having made it his job to know all the Mages in the city before replying:

"Hi, I'm Ermon. Here to help Leo with stuff?.."

He smiles at the one who greeted him politely. She looks commonplace enough but you never know what hides behind bland features.

[Avis]

Avis peered past Ermon, looking over the blonde woman that had just walked up behind him.

"Just a moment, Ma'am," Avis called, raising her voice so the newcomer could hear her. "Ermon, enter and be welcome," she said next, stepping back and opening the door wide enough for him to slip inside. "My name's Avis. I'm new to the area but I'm a Talon so I'll be working with you and the others on this. Leo is in the Sanctuary. Do you know where it is?" If not, she gave him directions so he could be on his way and she could vet the other person at the door. By the tone of the stranger's greeting, Avis guessed the woman didn't know Ermon so her chances of being Orpheus were low. She waited to see if Ermon would prove her wrong, but if not she resumed her position at the door.

"Afternoon. State your name and business, please."

[Leo Lockheart]

Leo continues chanting over the body, not overly concerned with the goings on by the door. They could see him from the side in the Sanctuary some distance away. He was basically on the other side of the Westminster Abbey replica.

Leo is chanting and casting, and will continue to do so until he finishes or he hears screaming. Feel free to continue the scene without him.

[Animus]

Animus forces himself to take another look at the corpses.

The same wash of pain, cascade of confused imagery. Still harrowing, but not quite so overwhelming.

When he is at last forced to look away again, he becomes aware of other activity. Picking himself up, he walks toward the entrance with a nod to Avis .

Yet more faces he didn't recognize. Hardly surprising, though, given his personal circumstances.

"Is everything under control?"