Dreams, Dark and Dire - Chapter 2

[DaevaDude]

Narration:

A cold wind starts to blow through the area, and though kindred are normally unaffected by any but the most extreme of temperatures, in this case they experience the wind as something that chills them to the bone, a cold that transcends the purely physical.

The wind builds, getting stronger, then starts to whirl. As this occurs, the apparitions appear again, as shifting, occasionally recognizable wisps.

"The mambo is in both correct and incorrect," the chorus of voices murmurs from all directions. "But Asa Clarke is correct. The Kindred of this domain must stand together, or face utter doom."

Aesop focuses in the midst of the wind and fades from this place, much as a dream fades upon waking.

"Already, several abandon their Kindred," says the spectral chorus. "This bodes poorly for how this Domain will withstand the tests the future will bring."

[Jayant Nagaraj]

"Can you ssssshow Valencia to us again?" Jayant asks the chorus, ever hopeful, ever wary. He eyes Obsidian and her plastic bottle.

[Writer]

“The cold currents Katrina drove before her did not feel this cold,”muttered Janus.

“No, Janus,” replied Obsidian. “These winds touch deeper than any the physical world can reach.”

Speaking louder to the Faces of the Lost, as she is naming the apparition before her, she says,“I have faith in those of us who remain by the side of the Invictus Prince. Individuals may fail, but the Domain will succeed.”

[Regina Pia]

What manner of sorcery is this? Regina spots Mariel, but she doesn't seem to be registering what is going on any more than the rest of us. Not how a spiritual leader should behave. And without Black here, she was the closest to a high ranking sanctified we had.
"So this is to prepare us, to make us ready for a new threat. Why are you interested in our survival?" Regina speaks calmly.

[Yawgmoth]

A test? Interesting...

The wind's touch blew and chilled the doctor to the core. It went directly though his thick overcoat, breezed by his undead flesh, flowed across his muscles, and finally settled in the undead marrow inside his bones. The spectral faces were interesting to say the least, but he had stared ghostly fear in the face before -- This is nothing.

There were fools and simpletons all around him, only those who had allegiance with the First Estate were peers in his eyes. Prince Clarke, Reeve Culler, Knight Pia...

For now Lazarus remained silent, his sight enhanced, following orders as he was told.

[Bo Albion]

A test?!? I wasn't told there'd be a test! said Mariel automatically. She looked at her swollen belly hopefully after seeing some of the other vampires age up.

Nothing. Figures.

[Ishani]

Ishani smiles at Markos. "Yes, I am fine, thank you."

She looks around at the whips of.......comsciousness?........and shakes her head in dismay. Why were they being tested and who had the right to demand they be tested? Was this the product of a God? If not, then whatever this thing was had no right to judge them.

"Who are you and what gives you the right to test anything? We may be dammed, but we are still the creatures of the Gods and have the right to our own existence without interfearence." Her voice did not ring out in defiance, but simple fact. She was so tired of the games, whether they be contrived by kindred or any other being.

[QuicksilverFox85]

"Who are you and what gives you the right to test anything? We may be dammed, but we are still the creatures of the Gods and have the right to our own existence without interference." Her voice did not ring out in defiance, but simple fact. She was so tired of the games, whether they be contrived by kindred or any other being.

The ivy around Karen's limbs seems energized by the presence of the Kindred around her, moving slowly on its own accord. "I'm curious about that myself. Is this something meant for the Kindred of this city alone, or is this same test occurring elsewhere in the world?"