The Cycle of Renewal
40655
THREADID
34
POSTS
1 - 10
DISPLAYED
|
With Beltane celebrated joyously, the Goddess was most surely pleased. Now, Krieg, the Eye of Death, issued a call to Mable Wood and Thomas Boyle .
In the sacred grove, where the altar stone was built, he wore his formal black clergyman's robe, the Crone's symbol stitched into the sash. In his hand, he an athame. Tonight would determine the future of the Circle.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mable made her way to the alter. Her Raven, as she now thought of it, was following over head. Mable had on a pair of black flowy pants and a crop top.
"Hi." Mable's smile was beaming. Beltane had been a huge success.
Thomas is his usual, brooding self. He braves the trail with muscle memory alone, but his mind is clearly elsewhere. A gray suit was a necessity - try explaining a guy in a black robe on a public transportation in the dead of night.
"You called, and I answer" He says to the two Kindred before him.
Krieg raised his head, the hood fell back. There was an intense, fanaticism glimmering beneath the surface of the man before them. He spoke their names with a preacher's voice, calling the faithful to prayer. "Mable and Thomas..." he paused ensuring that he had their undivided attention. "We have had a successful ceremony of Beltane. And now..." He locked eyes with each of them in turn. "I must ask you a question."
Again, he paused, "In light of the Prince's actions at the last Court, I ask you this - what are your thoughts? Speak freely. None but us and She will hear us."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mable wanted to be sure she understood what he was asking..."Do you mean the court where I was made Keeper?"
Thomas smirks at Mable's question "I'd assume so. It provided all of us lots of excitement, didn't it?" Even if that excitement had a different flavor for everyone.
"The way she readily shut down a very civil discussion about the Beast and its dangers, and what she said recently, when I spoke with her on Court themes is very telling. As is her denying Monomacy - snubbing an ancient tradition that she either doesn't understand or seeks to control" The former could only earn a shrug, the latter was more than concerning.
"In general, it paints the picture of a person who is simply tired of ruling, but dutiful or greedy enough to keep doing it. She wants to have a quiet Court and a quiet Domain, where conflicts don't reach her. All the talk of mediators... this can be a good thing - the pretense of us being one big, happy, bloodthirsty family creates a standard we can hold others liable to - or a bad thing, if nothing will be held in the open, and you will have to circle all the back rooms to get the latest news" Thomas leans against a tree. There are too little knowns, too many unknowns.
"Why?"
He nodded to Mable, "Speak freely, let everything out - good, bad and indifferent. We must express our tribulations to attain enlightenment."
Thomas had elaborated well enough for him to springboard. "If you recall, The Harpy, whose sole purpose is to enforce social decorum, openly admitted in Court, to the Prince, to experimenting on Kine. Garret pointed this out, for all to hear. The Sheriff voiced her concerns, very aptly stating, "inhuman experimentation upon unwilling prisoners is now the newest fashion in Sacramento. The Harpy returned fire, directly saying, she was never humane to begin with."
He paused, allowing for them to remember. "Consider the following: The Invictus prizes their Humanity, Prestation, and etiquette above all else. We have a Harpy, who simply does not give a damn about casual cruelty. Our Prince does not accept Prestation, no matter how valuable, from residents of Sacramento. She then wastes a Life Boon on keeping a Poacher around to make snarky remarks to Mable, who is now Keeper of Elysium. Imagine how damaging that would be for us, be if the Poacher managed to needle the Acolyte Keeper into violating Elysium." The enormous man placed both hands upon the altar, leaning forward.
"We have long been maligned as the crazed blood cult - the boogeyman walking among Kindred. Yet, it is the First Estate that feels that Sacramento is their playground. To Helheim for those of us who found do not worship at the altar of money." His fingers slowly curled into fists on the carved stone. "Lina lost her Regency, over a bullshit excuse of disrupting the Formal Court. The Ordo Dracul is cut off from their supply. The Harpy walks away with but a slap on the wrist. Call me paranoid, but I am worried."
Another elongated pause, "Now, I ask again, what are your thoughts?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"Please give me a moment."
Mable had a tug of war happening within. A war between Blood, Domain, Covenant, faith, friends, and the Beast. She thought about what had transpired over her time here. She searched for her own truths. Words were failing her. Finally, she decided to seek guidance from the goddess.
Mable knelt at the alter and pricked her finger with the dagger strapped to her thigh. A single drop of blood as an offering to the goddess. "Goddess, I seek your wisdom and guidance to find truth and to be able to do the right thing. I ask now, what is the right thing? Right for the Domain? To others? To myself? To the universe? Are all the answers the same?" Mable stretched her arms out across the alter and laid her head down upon it. When she stood there was a small smear of blood on her face.
Next she raised one arm and whistled softly. The Raven came to her. "Do you have a message for me?" Mable said in a caw to the bird.
3 successes
"Follow the truth." The bird answered.
Mable nodded and the raven returned to the tree. She turned and faced the men. "This isn't easy."
She sat on the ground cross legged as she spoke.
"When I first arrived, Ale was my Priscus. Asa was the Prince. That was in March 2017. Ale seemed welcoming and accepting of our vast differences. Ale believed that clan was important. That blood was important. Alice was here. She was an Acolyte and the Seneschal. She lost her eyes. " Mable hung her head, "She was lost is a fight against the Brood. I tried to save her. The guy who was supposed to protect her, Robert Cross, bailed. I managed to tear two hell hounds to shreds but it was too late. I failed."
Mable lifted her head and continued about Ale. "I remember in April 2017 I asked to be made leader of the Clan. And Ale agreed. I became Priscus. Things weren't too strained between us. We were obviously different from each other. But we both had jobs to do and did them. I believe she was the Reeve at that point. I have never been recognized as a Deputy; however, I have always fought for the domain. I helped to keep it clean and safe. I may have one side of me that is at peace and bubbly. I believe that was the term she used is that I am bubbly. And I guess I am."
"Anyway, Asa disappeared. I believe Twist is the only one who knows why. No one was in charge for a while. Then after a closed-door meeting between Twist and Ale, Ale sat on the throne. We were a small group at that point. No one wanted to be in charge. We knew the stress involved. No one questioned it and no one questioned Asa's disappearance. Which still bothers me."
"Then Ale began to change. I didn't get it at first. I called a Gangrel meeting. I offered to help with themes for court. I thought we should have a celebration for her becoming Prince. She thought all my ideas were stupid and let me know it. She made me feel stupid. It hurt me. I just didn't get it that she was now Prince and couldn't think of the Clan anymore."
"Then I met you, Krieg. Things began to make sense to me again. I understood that the Goddess played a bigger role for me then I ever imagined. Thank you. Ok Ale. I recommended the Asian Kindred for Reeve. She was deadly and intelligent. But she challenged the Prince and was killed. Her Deputy also ended up executed as you probably remember. That’s when I noticed that her decision-making was questionable.”
“That's when the real changes began. Ale became distrustful and paranoid. She kept saying she was open to conversations and yet when I tried to converse with her, she misunderstood and got mad at me. I tried several times to ask for some things for the Clan and she got angry with me, I argued back. That was on me. I offered a Boon in exchange for forgiveness. She refused. I have tried several times to make peace with her. Each time, I ended up in deeper trouble."
“The incident with the poacher, Ale took the poacher’s word over mine. I still cannot understand that.”
“In general, Ale has consistently undermined me as an individual, the Clan itself. In her perspective, absolutely everything is wrong. I end up feeling confused by things with her. Last month’s Court was the final nail. The Laws are specific about the requirements of Monomacy. These are the Laws she has us use when acknowledging people into the Domain. Yet she went against her own laws and forbid it.”
“With that contradiction, I suggested to her to reread the Laws and make it clearer, so Kindred know where they stand. It would take her Requiem easier, and by extension, all of us. Having clear guidelines and boundaries would help keep the peace she requires. It would have been the first thing I would have done. Also, clear guidelines for the positions of her court. As it stands right now, I have been told that I can’t actually do the duties I am supposed to do.”
“She left me out of the list of names who would stop any violence in court. Yet that is the Keeper’s job is to keep the court safe with the help of the rest of the court officials. Again, another slight against me.”
“The issues with Rebecca talking about torture in court got way out of hand. Things escalated to a ridiculous point. I think that taking away a regency was a bit harsh. I know she was fed up. Her punishment did not fit the crime.”
Mable found herself winding down. She was sure she left out things. But there it was her bottled up feelings and thoughts all spat out. Purged from her mind and heart.
Thomas listens, first to Krieg with his burning pyre of zeal, and then to Mable who sounded... hurt. Genuinely hurt, and the prayer and her speech are a testament to that. The Ventrue looks away from them.
"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me" he says with a smile "Mable, you are one of the People of the Land. The way of the people has always been purity and ensuring the natural order. You are a lioness. Have you ever heard of a lioness that concerns herself with the opinions of wolves, much less: sheep?" The Lord shakes his head "And Krieg, do you think being one of the Second Descent is about being liked? No, it's about enduring horror. Endure it, then. You want to get closer to the Dragons so much, take a page from Moretti's book and stop obsessing over people lacking the fortitude to withstand something they are ignorant about" Devoting one's Requiem to learning the philosophies of the Circle and beyond certainly wasn't a free pass to be an asshole, but allowed an attempt at re-focusing the others as an impartial, outside observer. At least, that's what Thomas told himself.
"I spoke with Simmons, explained why her method was wrong. She was drooling all over her desk, and all it took was some basic occult knowledge I learned in the first week of my Requiem" He sounds amused "I am meeting with the Prince soon, and the newest Invictus, Ellis, contacted me regarding some esoteric matter. All goes right, by Autumn half the Domain will have me on speed dial when they want to learn anything remotely magical. Adam's fall from grace appears permanent, and the Dragons are not in the same position as they once were. It creates a nice shot at a monopoly" And an opportunity to grow a bit fatter on someone else's dime.
"Alessandra... I suppose the fact that her human side is waning is old news by now. And the fact that power corrupts is not exactly novel, either. But thank you for this context, Mable - it sheds some light on the present, even if by posing new questions. I don't know why she took away Moretti's Regency - maybe it's an elaborate plan to curb the Crown's overdependence on the Order. Maybe she acted without thinking. Maybe she is just dumb" He shrugs "Likewise, I don't know why she barely punished Simmons. Maybe it's a matter of debt, or a secret coterie. Maybe she is just dumb" Another shrug.
"As the Laws stand now, the Prince should allow Monomacy to proceed... but in all fairness, the word 'shall' is a bit legally ambiguous. As for why she seems so hell-bent on undermining you... maybe it's that pack mentality? Maybe she feels endangered by you?" Despite Mable's explanation, there are some things you just need to witness to understand. Dynamics of power within clans, the Savages especially, are one example.
"Regardless, the most important question is - what are we going to do about it?" He looks at Krieg. The Haunt called this meeting, surely he has something in mind?
Listening to Mable's grief made his mouth twist into a frown. That was an extraordinary list of grievances. He nodded, committing as much as he could to memory.
Thomas's assessment was, as always, an interesting perspective to listen to. Valid points as always.
"You are correct in many, many ways, as usual. I appreciate your analytical mind. None of us should give a damn about what others say..." He glanced to Mable, observing her for a moment as before he spoke. He paused for a moment to gather his words. "However, we do not operate in a vacuum. We must pay attention to the Grand Chessboard. What we have here is a pattern of self-destructive behavior."
"Whoever Asa Clarke was, he was the linchpin of the Invictus. I never met him. However, plenty have share their stories of him. He was the most powerful Kindred in the Domain. Not even Twist was capable of matching his might."
He paused for a long moment. "The fact is, Asa Clarke is no longer Prince. He is gone; been gone. Now, in terms of combat skill, Twist is the strongest."
"The Dragons will not be weakened by what happened. The critical factor is, the Ordo Dracul wish to pursue their Great Work uninterrupted. What Alessandra did politically, was kicked the Wyrm's Nest. By removing Lina as Regent, the Dragons will grow hungry. When the Dragons grow hungry, they turn their attention outward."
He turned his gaze to Thomas, "Other than us, they are the only scholars of the occult in this Domain. Lina, Atticus and I share a very strong relationship. Garrett is prickly, however, I took good care of him when he needed it." The deer was just prey. Like everything else that wasn't Kindred.
"Any Prince is only the Prince because he or she can physically or politically overpower any opposition." All of them were monsters deep down. "The opposition is stacking against Alessandra."
"Because she does not accept Prestation from her own citizens... I do not have a cheerful outlook. Sacramento is approaching the precipice. It is better to be a warrior in a garden, than a gardener in a war."
Members who have read this thread : 17You do not have permission to view the list of names.
Draft this Post
Presence
