Stealth Cathedral

[Avis]

The Circle of Creation, the Sanctum of the Adamantine Arrow and frequent meeting ground for Sacramento's Consilium. It was hard not to love the monumental building, no matter how boldly it jutted into public eye or how condescendingly it crumbled despite her efforts to maintain such a massive building. Conflict, after all, was close to the heart and mind of every Talon.

She was looking forward to seeing how that manifested in the newest Talon to come to Sacramento.

She waited for him to knock upon the Cathedral's massive double doors.

[Wayland]

Wayland sat a distance away from the cathedral. Watching. He had turned up early to allow enough time to get a feel for the area.

The building itself was impressive. The symbolism that is associated with a cathedral also resonates with both his Path and Order. The concept of Sanctuary, to seek refuge from persecution, was a strong one, and who better to provide protection than the warriors of Atlantis.

Wayland wanted to present himself to Avis without enchantment, as a sign of trust, but he's not an idiot, and only had a few words from someone spoken over the phone to say that this place is legit, and not a trap. Shield on, but cloaked.

  

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2015-11-16 15:29:24		Wayland rolls 8 to Matter Shield (Matter+Gno+HS) (10 Again)		1, 5, 7, 10, 9, 2, 2, 1, 2		2 successes

Wayland eventually made his way to the Cathedral doors and knocked solidly on the doors. Even the sound of the knocking on wood was impressive. He liked this place...

[Avis]

Avis opened the door without hesitation. She'd been expecting someone, of course, but more than that, as soon as she saw someone...then they couldn't escape her touch.
No matter what sort of Sanctuary they sought.

Of course, the man standing on the other side of the threshold wasn't someone she anticipated engaging in that sort of conflict. That was reserved for others...

"So, Wayland, yeah?" Avis asked leaning against the still closed door and studying the equally be-hoodied man around the other.

"Step inside," she offered, moving out of his path and revealing the first glimpse of the Circle of Creation, the building that would likely become his second home. The vaulted arches and grand expanses of marble which swept the bases of pillars which rose like the bones of mountains above them. And, beneath all of that lay a labyrinth of subterranean passages and rooms, the fortress hidden beneath the Cathedral's grandeur. She'd have to show him that later, of course. Their first stop, after the Dorms, would be the training room.

[Wayland]

Wayland waited for the door to open, which turned out to be faster than he had anticipated, which in retrospect shouldnt have, as he was expected. "Yeah thats me." he responds to the pale woman with green eyes.

Wayland steps into the Cathedral at Avis' invitation. His eyes quickly scan the room for other people (Arrow training is unforgiving and second nature), then he begins to take in the sight of the building itself. It is truly impressive, but the eyes of a Smith cant help but look for imperfections. Looking first at foundations, then frame and supports, to cladding, then to finishes and adornments. He runs his hand over one of the pillars, to feel the stone, feel its grain. No structural faults, and the workmanship is top-notch, only the finest of imperfections exist, things he'd still wish to Fix, but as a pass time activity, not because they need fixing. "Yo, this place..... its art. Like, pure art."

[Avis]

Interesting. She hadn't expected someone with that street mean scowl to talk about art. Well, not just talk about it, but talk about it as someone that understood it. Which, really, was the most surprising part. Well, not that he talked about it, but that her judgement had been so confining. The rest of the Consilium must be rubbing off on her, and not in a good way.

"Yeah," Avis agreed after a small gap of silence. "It's a space that gets inside you. I've found myself dreaming about it more than once, and I like to come here when I need someplace to really think. Although I've done that less, recently. The Consilium meets here frequently, and there's a lot of maintenance that always needs to be done to the building. It's harder to just sit and think when you have an unfinished to do list staring you in the face. But, to do lists or not, that doesn't mean it's not art.

"Still," she continued, looking the Talon up and down, "we'll have plenty of time to talk about the building. For now, let's talk a bit about you. Tell me about yourself, Wayland."

There was too much to ask about. Better to let him start and then fill in the gaps from there.

[Wayland]

Looking at the architechure, he was lost in its angles, curves, and straight lines. For a moment his street demeanour dropped and his true self showed. After a moment he realised what he had done, and he thought about putting his mask back on. There is an advantage to appearing less intelligent than you are, when people dismiss you due to a preconcieved idea about what you are, but Avis needed to know who he was. There was very little to be gained in being deceptive to the Arrow, who might need to know what his capabilities are.

"Me? Well, I just moved here from LA. Im currently studying to join the Powersmiths, and 'cause my Mentor is still there, the job of Armorer is currently filled, so I figured i'd offer my services elsewhere. We heard there was trouble here so I came to help. I spent a lot of my time in a gang back home before i Woke, and used to maintain all their guns and gear." Wayland gets a faraway look as he remembers painful memories, "But things ended badly. In the end, its probably best I left anyway."

Waylands eyes refocus, his eyes showing an intelligence that was hidden before, "Anyhoo, on a more general note, im a Moros. The Herald Arthur, mentioned that there are Banishers at the University? That sucks yo." He looks around a bit, "So, how many Arrows are there in the city?"

[Avis]

"Arthur wasn't lying," Avis confirmed, a scowl crossing her features. "The Banisher's have had a few years to set up there, so they're not only dug in well, but they've also got themselves a hell of an infrastructure. Part of which relies upon brainwashing the impressionable young college kiddies and molding their minds into little hateful boxes of Banisher bullshit. What's worse, is that there's only two Talons in Sacramento to combat it. Just me. And now you."

[Wayland]

Wayland bowed his head at the news and thought for a moment. Dug in bunch o' banishers at the U, and Avis is the only other Talon here. dang. "Back in LA, there were enough fighters around that we could diversify our skills. I can shoot good enough and can swing a bat ok, but i've never been much of a fighter. Im gonna have to adapt. Adaptability Is Strength and all that."

He sat down in one of the pews. That the Banishers seemed so organised was a real concern, and a major to the Awakened here in Sacramento. The Supernal landscape here was broken. Something broken was a thing he could understand, something that could be fixed. I am a Smith, and fixing things is what I do. Dont need Fate to know this is why im here. This is my purpose.

"Yo, any other security concerns that I need to know? Like, are there places I shouldn't go, or people to give a wide berth?"

[Avis]

"Yes. All of that," Avis agreed. For, though it was tempting to isolate the phalanx's and approach them individually, they did not exist separately but rather as one philosophy. If a Talon was to truly understand a Phalanx, the Talon had to understand them all.

Still, she understood Wayland's point. No need to go into quoting maxim's at each other. They both understood them, after all.

"Aside from the University, not really," Avis finally answered. "But the thing is, the Banishers travel. You never know where you might run into one. Plus, the seers are in town, too. They hired some mercenary apostates to try and steal from my cabal a few months back. Didn't turn out well for the mercenaries, but things could easily have gone badly for us. So, at the end of the day, nowhere is entirely safe. You've basically entered a warzone, Wayland. Still, you're not without resources. The Circle, here, has dorms upstairs. You're welcome to them until you find a cabal to join."

[Wayland]

"Awesome." Said sardonically. "Im guessin' then i need to watch my language more than usual in public."

Upon hearing the dorms upstairs, Wayland looks thoughtful for a moment, "I do have a crappy little apartment i'm renting at the moment, but im guessing it would be better if there was a presence here more often. I assume you stay here as well? But then, once I find a Cabal, I can always take a shift here to watch over the place. Maybe even repair anything that needs it."

He thinks for another moment, "Yo, is this place legit? Like, do the local folk come here for like, mass and stuff?" Its funny how easily Wayland slips back into his street persona. Old habits etc...