The Occult Club

[Kaze]

Kaze nods, "Yeah. It's all the possibilities. And you know, just plain, vanilla schizophrenia doesn't have a cure...just drugs to manage it. So, the question is, does it matter if something really happened, or someone just believes it did?" he shrugs. "I don't really know much; I am just getting into studying it, the occult I mean." he says. "So, yeah, I guess you take each person as an individual, and try to diagnose based on...well, I guess that's the question I am wondering about. How do you know?"

Kaze smiles, "Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hijack your meeting. That's just what I personally am interested in opinions about."

[Nathaniel Dormur]

Nathaniel started jotting down ideas, nodding his head

"It would make sense that, to combat the "Other," you would need something not... Physical, yes? Faith would be a simple measure, yet it need not be in any known deity. Abstract concepts could serve as a good means- though like you say, it is worth treading carefully. A man claiming Aliens should not then be turned into a believer of an insane conspiracy." At the talk of confronting the danger, Nathaniel barely managed to compose himself. Yeahhhh... No. Convincing a victim traumatized by a Shifter to seek out the raging wolf creature was going at the very bottom of the list.

"Yet if we assume that the thing they confront were the cause of this trauma, we should also tread carefully. It could easily backfire- causing them to sink deeper into trauma- if the initial conditions that sparked the event were replicated." and create a cell of Lunatic Hunters


"Regardless, I would like to explore the utilization of Faith and other mechanisms in treating these things. It is certainly something to transcribe for the future- and it was a good topic. I very much enjoyed it! Is there anything else you two can think of? Topics you're also curious about?"

[Kaze]

Kaze nods, intrigued at the man's reasoning. "How about you? What got you interested? I came into it by studying Asian healing methods." he asks the others, responding most directly to Nathaniel Dormur.

[Langdon]

"I'm fine with discussing faith my dissertation touched on it to some extent. At the worst I can probably find some dry reading on faith and spiritual healing." The bookish man gives a small shrug. Religion and Faith can go together and can be separate, which can get interesting.

"I was mostly curious honestly. The academy doesn't take consideration of the occult lightly so its hard to have actual conversation about it that don't end with rolled eyes. And it'd be nice to just be able to talk, I guess."

[Nathaniel Dormur]

"Fantasy novels when I was young. I was (or, frankly, AM) that kid that posted on UFO forums and explored 'haunted' buildings- wanted to find something Other. Nowadays, it's mostly theoretical- not many ways to apply it practically ya know?"

Nathaniel wasn't at all surprised that the man's academy didn't support the occult. "some universities carry occult texts- barebones stuff. Astrology, mythology, divination- nothing deeper, but it can serve as a practical base. If I ever saved up the funds, I might pursue a degree in the topic. Or, maybe a sociological field that would allow me to branch? Regardless, there'd likely be students more openminded to such discussions." Funding for University was at the end of a very long list of priorities. But it would be nice.

"Anyways. Faith- on that matter, I'm curious about something. Most occult texts regarding ghosts or some similar manifestation often include the notion that strong feelings or events draw these entities- or, keep them grounded in our world, depending on how you see them. By that logic, one could extrapolate that such qualities like Faith, if true and truly kept, could serve as a repellent for malicious beings- it might be more difficult for a malicious poltergeist to affect the home of a faithful? Though in this instance the concept of "Faith" with a capital "F" wouldn't necessarily be related to something 'real,' at least not as we might normally see it?"

Spirits could embody virtues and vices, helpful and malicious- it could be that, were enough individuals of Virtue, entities of Vice could not easily exist- at least not in the area.
"It... Is complicated for me to define. We don't know what might draw ghosts or demons into this world (assuming they both exist at all), but if we assume emotions, or ideals, or events can serve as focus for them- the idea of a haunting at a scene of a murder, for example- then the inverse could apply, with Faith serving as a shield." It was a strange notion... Nathaniel wondered how to explore it further.

"Did I explain it better?"

[Kaze]

"Oh wow. Okay." Kaze says, thoughtfully, looking to Langdon and then Nathaniel. "Well. I got interested through studying Asian medicine, like I said. Well, actually first Asian martial arts. Anyway, 'faith' can mean a lot of different things when you talk about 'others'. I mean, in Japan, I picked up some Shinto, where every natural thing has a kami, a spirit. And some aren't good. And of course people's spirits when they die, some like you were saying, are ghosts." he says.

"But I was raised Christian. Generally belief there is that God is spirit, and any other spirit you run into would basically be in rebellion against God, demons, basically. So ghosts would be demons pretending to be dead people to cause rebellion against God...so, yeah, really different perspectives."

[Langdon]

A flicker and Langdon frowns. "Bluntly if you're looking to learn but don't plan on pursuing it as a career for life don't waste money at a university. The skills are.. well there's been a lot of issues over the past decade and the wrong people are running the universities nowadays." Then a breath. "However if you do want to pursue that path we can talk further on it." Maybe he'd be useful to the Order as well, curiosity isn't something to waste.

"Faith on a personal isn't really anything I've had for a long time. So on a personal level to me its not really a tangible thing. But to others, yes most definitely." The bookworm shifts to look at the medic. "Wait even ghosts? Interesting I haven't heard of that before."

[Nathaniel Dormur]

Nathaniel mentally cringed warily as the man mentioned "spirit." Not that a human would understand the deeper context behind the word and how it played into Nathaniel's hidden life. Nonetheless, he had a good point. "For the sake of argument, I find that it's easier to simply assume that something exists. Given that many cultures and faiths share similarities, it can be easy enough to compile them together and form a basis. Going into specifics comes when you settle on exactly what that something is. If we assume ghosts exist, then we can look to other cultures to find means to better understand and, perhaps, uncover them. Once that's done, what comes next depends on the individual Occultist." Nathaniel loved talking about the occult. Hopefully this small group would take to it- and the club as a whole would grow.

The other one- he didn't like the notion of Nathaniel going to a university, it seemed. Which was, perhaps, fair- though it wasn't like Nathaniel was in any position to take courses. Regardless, the young pup saw some merit.
"While the function of universities as an institution is always up for debate, I'd be pretty confident in betting that those that attend in such places are more likely to flock towards something like this topic. And outside of 'expert' researchers chiming in on the topic, the research archives Universities can provide might prove invaluable." Otherwise, the closest this club could grow to is just what it was now- a handful of people. While a handful of people COULD uncover the unknown that Nathaniel so desperately craved... Casting a larger net would add more minds and more anonymity.

"Anyways. This was nice... I'll probably be hosting something like this once a month, same place, similar time. Check the community postings! And if you know anyone that might be interested in the topic, feel free to bring them!"

Sorry for the pause here. Good to close? I'll open another one next month.

[Kaze]

Kaze nods at Langdon's observations.

Kaze smiles at Nathaniel. "It was good; thanks for doing it. Hey, if you are going to do more, I'll give you my number, and maybe you can text me for the next one? I feel like I talked more than listened, and that's not the way to learn something!" he says with a grin.

Thanks for the scene! Fun! Good to close.

[Langdon]

"O I'm not arguing that, I wrote a thesis on proposed relationships between ancient religions across oceans. Point though." A nod to the younger man. "True ture, you are more likely to find others of a specific interest in a program for it.

"It was good meeting both of you. I'll keep an eye out for another meeting."

Good to close!