Talk of Order

[Campanella]

Campanella sat in the kitchen of the empty theatre. He had never been truly comfortable in the building, viewing it as an inherited (and conveniently placed) relic of the preceding Cabal. With the exit of Tuesday, the theatre had become even more empty and sterile. The open spaces and warren-like passages needed the quirky presence of the Acanthus to give them life; without that spark, the Sanctum was only so much space where they met and, occasionally, practiced their Art.

He sat at ease, reading a trade journal. To one side was a half consumed salad he had hastily prepared; to the other was a glass of red. Before him was the bottle, open and inviting.

The Moros suspected that a certain Thyrsus was seeking more advice on her apostacy. He was more than willing to take another shot at drawing her into the mysteries of the Alae Draconis.
Aurora Orianna

[Aurora]

The theater had been empty to her as well. The first night had been the worst, her ears kept listening and hoping to hear Tuesdays voice calling her into the kitchen for something.

But no call came.

The next couple of nights had been spent in her loft. Which had always been empty and her space alone. Not that it was easier, but there were no reminders or the unicorn to draw her deeper into sadness. The Enchantress had been the first person she had truly confided in. And to suddenly have that taken away made the Shaman want to be a recluse. Burrowing back into herself, not opening herself back up. Seems it always ended in her getting hurt anyways, so why do it again?

That day she had returned to the theater, knowing she couldn’t abandon it. Tuesday would want the theater to live on, for the Cabal to continue their journey. There was still a bitterness in her heart, mixed with an aching for someone to confide in. Her blue eyes were a little more gray, her look a bit more reserved and tired.

Skinny jeans and an oversized sweater was her outfit that day, her feet bare. Blonde hair air dried and slightly wavy.

A hint of a smile teased her lips as she entered the kitchen and found Campanella sitting at the table. A familiar face.

“Hey.” Greets the Shaman with a half smile, grabbing a water from the fridge. The wine on the table tempting, but she had drunk enough the night before to not find it too appealing.

“How’s it going?” she pulls out a chair and sits. Motioning to the journal, “Anything interesting?”

[Campanella]

Campanella watched the Thrysus arrive. He remained quiet while Aurora moved about, taking his time to chew his last mouthful. When she spoke, he licked his lips, laid down his fork and wiped his mouth on a purloined napkin.

"How is it going? Time consuming, you might say. Trying to keep the vultures away while not appearing to be a vulture myself. Its becoming an interesting game but I don't know for how much longer I can string everyone along." He made a show of closing the trade journal, placing it just so. If Aurora @Oriana had wished it, she could have clearly seen the cover*.

"Would you partake?" He gestured, retracting his hand with a slight shrug when the other mage politely declined.

"I was more interested in catching up with you. When we were vetting Samael I got the impression you wanted to talk about something. Would this be what we have spoke of earlier?"

Discussions of the Pentacle Orders, and the Mysterium in particular, turned up a lot in their private conversations.

*Yes I am shamelessly seeding a PrP hook here :P

[Aurora]

A sip of water was taken, reminding her how much she hated water. It had no flavor, maybe she should add lemon or something to it.

Eyes watched as the journal was set aside, “I don’t know much about the art world, but I’m always here if you need a hand with something. I don’t have much going on. Business is slow and,” a shrug, “yeah.” She left out how her heart wasn’t in performing anymore.

“Maybe after I get some water in my system. Not sleeping tends to find me drinking alone to try and put my mind at some type of rest.” That was probably the first time she told someone she drank alone when she couldn’t sleep. But she left out how often that was.

Nodding, “It was.” She confirmed. “I’ve spent quite a bit of time thinking over the options I have, and the way you spoke of the Mysterium stirred something in me. So I’m interested in joining, that is, if they’ll have me.”

PrP? Did someone say PrP? Count me in!

[Campanella]

A snort escapes Campanella's nostrils.

"Well. There is one thing. But I don't want to importune..."

He pauses as the Thyrsus continues; straightens his back.

"You wish to protect the Mysteries and learn the lessons they impart?" He blinks and takes a breath. "Well, yes. Why should they not want a capable Thyrsus to join our ranks? I would be happy to bring you into the Order."

His stool creaked as he adjusted his posture.

"What do you offer the Alae Draconis?" His tone was serious but there was a light building behind his eyes. The Moros was certainly happy at the turn of events. "A redundant question, I know, but it has to be asked."

[Aurora]

An eyebrow was quirked, “I need something to focus on. Plus, if I wasn’t interested, I wouldn’t have said anything.” She takes a drink of her water. Aurora wasn’t the type to ask about something if she wasn’t curious or willing to help.

A shrug, “I just wasn’t sure how it reflected on me for leaving an Order I had spent most of my Awakening with.” She was worried she’d be seen as maybe flaky or something.

She could though see why they would want a Thyrsus. She could work with Spirits. Well, kind of, she was still learning the ins and outs of it. And how fickle they could be.

“It’s not redundant, it’s an important question.” She sets her cup down, working out the wording in her head before speaking.

“Many things.” She begins, “Aside from my ability to see and speak with Spirits, which I’m quite sure can be used to help locate artifacts. I’ve also become a Disciple of Spirit now. As a Thyrsus I’m also equipped to search and find things in environments others cannot. I don’t have to point out how well suited I am to adapt to any environment I need to.” A smirk, “But that being said, since awakening on this Path, I have this desire in me to hunt and find things. And what better way to satisfy that then to hunt for great artifacts that other cannot? I also want to learn the lore that goes along with it, expand my intellect and grow as an Awakened.”

[Campanella]

Campanella stared at the Thyrsus for a moment.

"I'm glad to hear it. Glad to hear you'd devote yourself to our goals." No longer his goals alone. It was a subtle clue.

"As for your past reflecting on your present? Perhaps. In some quarters. Not here and not with me. I've learned enough of your story to know the how and the why. Knowing what I do, the question is meaningless. You were reborn out of a deliberate attempt to wipe out your Awakening; out of a deliberate attempt to tamper with the Tapestry to... hand waive... the Pentacle away like we are a mere inconvenience. You are the survivor of an abominable violation. Only a fool would hold that against you, once they learned the truth."

He paused, letting his words sink in a little. Then he changed tack.

"What is magic?"

An initiate to the Mysterium would never have this question put to them so bluntly; not at this early stage. But Aurora was no new initiate, nor was she a neophyte among the Awakened. This changed things considerably.

[Aurora]

The use of the word ‘us’ wasn’t lost on her.

Was he accepting her into the world of the Mysterium?

A soft smile appears, “Thank you. I’ve never heard it put so eloquently, and I’ve never felt that good about it. Until now.” She had carried worry on her shoulders since it happened. And now she felt it lighten, and it was amazing.

She can’t remember ever being asked such a question.

“Not an easy question to answer.” She begins, “I can say that my answer to that has changed through the years.” How to give him an answer? “Not to mention that in my opinion, it’s different for everyone it touches.” She didn’t think there was a right or wrong answer to the question.

“Magic is a mixture of truth and power. Truth in that it’s used to break the Lie, power in the sense that it can be used to bring about peace and justice. But like with everything powerful, it comes with a price, and has a darker side.” A price somewhere unable to grasp. “To me it’s also a form of art, from the words we speak to the glyphs that we make.” That was her personal view on it.

“Not sure if I answered it or not, but that’s how I see it.”

[Campanella]

The Moros nods.

"Art, yes. Truth and power, indeed it is. It is also something much, much, more." He leans closer, clasping his hands before him. "Magic. The Supernal made manifest in this Fallen World... Is alive! We of the Mysterium hold this to be a Truth. Let me show you."

He stood slowly, raised his hand as he granted the Thyrsus sight of the Supernal. His own rote served as the basis for his imago but he stretched it out and wrapped it around Aurora. No longer a rote, the glyph sparked with his own power as he settled it into his Cabal-mate's pattern.

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2018-03-09 23:44:08		Campanella to cast Primal Flow rolls 8 to Gnosis + Prime (10 Again, WillPower)		8, 8, 2, 2, 3, 8, 2, 9		4 successes

That done he granted himself the Sight with a dismissive gesture.

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2018-03-09 23:45:43		Campanella to cast Supernal Vision rote rolls 7 to Wits + Occult + Order Spec + Prime (10 Again)		5, 2, 9, 7, 1, 3, 10, 3		2 successes

"This is the world seen through the lens of the Supernal. It is vibrant, beautiful, pulsing with energy. Everything is an aura and everything is imprinted with an aura. Even the ambient mana you see, motes too small to form Tass, has its own qualities of resonance. Look around you and see."

He paused to let Aurora gain her bearings before he continued.

NOTE: Campanella's Supernal Vision rote does not require mana

[Aurora]

Head nods, “I completely agree, it is alive.”

Before she could continue he stood, casting his own magic.

It hadn’t been too long ago that Tuesday cast on her. Spells to give her a little extra luck. She was going to miss that.

But this was new. This was seeing the world as Campy saw it.

Blue eyes widen in amazement as they look at him, then around the room. It was one thing to see the world through your own magic, but to see it from anothers magic? Well, that was just beyond cool. She knew it could be done, but it wasn’t done very often.

This was new to her, and she couldn’t stop herself from just looking around.

“It’s beautiful.” She said with awe in her voice.

She finally looks back to Campy with a smile, “I could look at the world like this all day.” Maybe that was because it was something new.