(2410) October Consilium

[Witch]

It was the smell of food that came first and the sound of voices second.

Entering, pausing only to get bearings on who was were and such. Most it seemed. Or, at least most from what she knew from the last few times she had swung in. It stood to reason, today's gathering being formal. And well, required.

She still had to get the names of some of those already present. She knew their faces, but introductions would only get trickier the longer she delayed. Maybe she would cheat and just try to process of elimination with the corkboard and it's associated yellow pages.

To the members of her Order and Path she gave a nod of greeting and then it struck her. Familiar face yes. But familiar from a longer time than last month. Or even the last three months.

" Phoenyx ! When did you get back into town?" Witch asked with a large grin as she approached the Arrow, her outfit very much in theme with her name and the month.

[Chambers]

The doors to Consilium are now closed. No new entries into the scene

The Obrimos need to dive off into the side thread I made for them to decide their councillor and provost

As the awakened of Sacramento arrive in good order each receives a warm and welcoming smile from the Moros: Winter, Joyeuse, Cavendish, Asclepius, Salem, Phoenyx and Witch, all. Those who choose to arrive in silence and take the temperature are respected and not directly engaged, neither are those who have business with others, having no desire to intrude on their social talks before official matters got under way. Winters greeting is returned. "Winter. Good to see you. It's not expected, not of anyone." Nor was the eating, but if it helped in any small way to smooth the wheel of official process turning smoother, then this the Moros would keep cooking. As was Asclepius' "Asclepius hello." Not one he had much chance to converse with yet. "It's good to see you've stuck around." More mages was always a good sign. "I'm looking forward to taking our first steps to get our Consilium back on its feet in an official capacity." Even this small step had taken time and patience, in and of itself indicative of what was yet to come. Looking to what was labelled as a cake. Then back to it's baker. Well I'm not going to lie. "Don't worry about it, I didn't start out where I am, it took time and practice." A very polite way of declining to try that particular dish. Not that he had eaten or drunk anything yet.

Philip gets a more mirthful smile and a gentle chuckle. Chambers got the pun. "Nothing wrong with getting lucky now and then." Light hearted enough to be seen for playing into the joke, but like his fellow the conversation is left at good natured small talk.

Aurora gets a small smile. Local work could mean a lot when she had her shows, translations, brewing and furniture restoration all going on but the vagary might well have been intentional. "Always good to keep busy. Even better when its good busy." Suitably vague in return, but well meaning.

Corn gets a quizzical look. So it does look like we have something for AOB option today then. "Well if have time when all is said and done I am sure we can listen to whatever is causing you sleepless night." If it was serious he would have made something known before hand the agenda has been up for a month. "But with that in mind time to begin." Flipping the book in which he took the minutes open to the next page those with their mage sight up will see the tass script begin to inscribe upon the page adding the date and agenda of the meeting all while his attention never seems to waiver from the collective.

"First order of business" He had memorised it of course. "Announcements of path councillor or stand in councillors if the requirement of three path members was not able to be met." A brief look to each of his path mates. Corn had already used the title so it was unlikely to come as a surprise. "The Moros have met and between decided that I shall take the position of councillor for out path. I have appointed Witch as my Provost." For the time being no more no less. But any less would have looked poor given his efforts to promote and organise these steps.

[Corn]

The gates closed, official business started. Joyeuse 's question gave him the opportunity. He turns to her and says "I will inform you, and everyone." Chambers and protocol would have him wait but he considered the matter important enough for everyone here to share and bend protocol. He takes a breath.
"If I may, before the councilors announce their path's decisions, I have a matter of urgency." 'Bending protocol' by making an announcement before the discussion about paths was probably not going to be what people would be angry about when he finishes.

Time to face the music.

Corn gathered his strength, he tried to keep his composure. He speaks in a voice that was not steady, but not cracking either.


"Apologies for hijacking the discussion. It is important as it is a matter of safety for the entire consilium.
A few weeks ago, after meeting with a couple of Arrows, I left my son - call him Cloud- to the care of my in-laws for three hours.
When I returned, I found the police there.
My brother in law, an otherwise stable teenager, reportedly attacked and killed his parents, and then died from the wounds he suffered. That was what is reported in the news. Cloud was not there, nor there was any evidence of a baby ever in the house of my murdered in laws. No diapers, not the formula, not his toy..." Corn stops, before he cracks, takes a breath, composes himself and continues.
"not any evidence Cloud was ever there.

But this is not just about my Sleeper family, that is not the concern of this consilium. I have ... indications that this heinous crime was done supernaturally.
I have spoken to Alex briefly before I left Cloud with my inlaws, and everything was fine. He was not the kind to go on a murderous rampage suddenly and he was not agitated.
Second, there's no evidence Cloud was ever there. Nothing. Not a hint of his presence as if any evidence has been cleansed with... magic.

Those I consulted with agree that this is not a random attack, but probably an organized attack on me, trying to exploit my family.
Before anyone brings up that this is my problem, consider this: They didn't target me because I am the most exposed; I stay home much of the time, I do not walk around with magic active. I am just a regular guy. However, as the Arrows pointed out, I am the easier to ... manipulate through such an act.
If the Seers, other mages or other supernaturals are behind such a crime, they figured out they can exploit my family to leave me a bloodied message - the death of practically all of my inlaws - and stole my child to ensure I will focus on them."

Corn, again, needs to pause for a bit, to breathe, to compose himself.
"Once I figured out this is a trap, and that the supernatural - probably enemies of the consilium - are involved, I realized I could not think clearly - my mind was going places. Thus, I requested the assistance and advice of Skye , Phoenyx and Asclepius with the decision to fill in Joyeuse at a later time. None of us wanted them to feel excluded.
It was decided in that meeting that I would stay within the circle - where the enemies of the Pentacle can't scry on me and that more information is needed.
We do not know who else is exposed - it was mentioned that I was targeted because I was the easier to exploit, not the most exposed.
What we all agreed in that meeting is that we need more information before we act.

Theoretically, I could use my sympathetic connection to Cloud and apport him," And not rushing to do just that is a struggle I have to go through with every breath I take Corn thought "if I could reach him. But we don't know if and what wards are there.
So far, I have not taken any actions, despite my personal feelings about it.

I realize that rescuing a sleeper baby is not a priority for this consilium, but removing enemies that would leave behind a mountain of corpses to trap us, probably is.
Before someone," he avoids looking towards the Guardians so much that he could well have stared, " thinks that eliminating me eliminates the connection these enemies have to this consilium, remember that if I die the enemies will not disappear with me. You will just be removing a very motivated master.
What happens to me after Cloud is safe, I don't care.

And," this is another hard part, "I have decided that after this, I will cut ties with my relatives - if I survive - so that they will not die in the hands of our enemies just for being close to me."
By the end of this speech, Corn is exhausted emotionally.

"My apologies again for hijacking the agenda, but I thought everyone deserved to know what we probably deal with. If the Councilors, in their wisdom, deem it so, they can move my request up the agenda. Else ... you know where to find me after the consilium ends."

[Winter]

He listened intently, his expression inscrutable as Corn laid bare his harrowing circumstances. The air in the chamber felt heavy, charged with the implications his words were carrying for the entire Consilium. As a Guardian, he was accustomed to the darker aspects of their double identities, and his imagination didn't have to run wild to conjure scenarios where one's own child could be used as a pawn. Yet, he couldn't bring himself to trust Corn's assessment fully, the man had more than one horse in this race. And the fact he was painting his personal plight as the Consilium's own, was enough evidence of that.

Deep inside, the conjecture formed inside the Obrimos' mind: Corn had realized that the life of a Sleeper wasn't their concern, hence, this display for the sole purpose of soliciting their sympathies, and, justify their intervention under the pretense of a much larger threat looming in the background, whether real or not it was irrelevant.
Threat that - by the way - could have been avoided had the more recent members of the Sacramento Consilium been more disciplined and less lax with their magocracy.
It didn't help that for the Guardian anybody other than him, Aurora and Phoenyx was labeled as a newcomer.

He took a moment to gather his thoughts, he knew he was going to sound callous, but again, a really callous mage would have advised Corn to learn Necromancy and be done with it, "Assumptions aside, is there any evidence of the crime being conducted via supernatural means. Moreover, has the crime scene been scrutinized to ascertain whether it was Magic or not? You're jumping too conclusions too quickly"
He paused, letting his words sink in before continuing. "I understand your desire to act quickly, but you consulted the Arrows before everyone else, which tells me you already had set on a plan before a proper investigation could be conducted, let alone the Consilium's opinion be heard. So, what's the point of your plea?", besides, could they really trust Corn?

[Joyeuse]

Joyeuse's eyes flick to Skye as she provides her greeting, granting another slight nod. They remain on her for a long moment as she decides to allow Corn to say his piece on his own.

Deciding for the moment that the Moros' struggles are unimportant, as no effort is made by their fellow Arrow to clue them in, Joyeuse's gaze moves on to the other members. The struggles of a single member of the Mysterium are not Joyeuse's concern unless security to the greater Consilium was presented.

As Pheonyx enters, Joyeuse greets them.

"Welcome, Pheonyx," they say, moving their gaze over to Winter as Chambers begins the agenda, "Winter, we should ta-"

And then comes Corn's bombshell, prompting the stoic Arrow to pause. Turning their head to listen, Joyeuse's expression remained unreadable as the Moros spoke of a potential abduction. However, Joyeuse could not fully trust Corn's findings. The idea of the Moros investigating the disappearance of their own offspring and remaining objective was... unlikely at best.

"I am in agreement with Winter," Joyeuse finally said, "Despite the support you have garnered among the other Arrows, I am skeptical. First, this is a matter that should have been brought before the Consilium as a whole if you felt there was a danger to us all in order for our membership to prepare themselves accordingly. I am disappointed to hear that a decision seems to habe been made to keep this under wraps until Corn was 'ready.' The safety of the Consilium as a whole should come before one man's discomfort. Second, Sleepers are more than capable of erasing the presence of a child. If they possess the knowledge and the -albeit twisted- motivation, they can do so at an expeditious rate. I would be interested in any evidence you have garnered that can link this to magic use or supernatural entities. However, beyond this, I believe it to be of significant importance for an investigation to be undertaken without your involvement, Corn. You are too close to the matter to see to it objectively."

Looking between Pheonyx and Winter.

"Given the potential threat to the Veil, perhaps it would be prudent for the Arrows and the Guardians to work in together in this matter?" Joyeuse suggested. Joyeuse was aware the two had tension, but it was time to put such things aside, if just for a moment.

"As far as any potential punishments leveled towards you, Corn," Joyeuse continued, "I would say that is dependent on the results of such an investigation. Given the nature of this issue, I believe your decisions to cut ties is a sound one and I would recommend it even if the perpetrator is found to be mundane."

[Philip Crosen]

Fortunes Protection

Fate

Shielding

  Prolonged

Sybils Sight

Fate

Mage Sight

  Prolonged

Quantum Flux

Fate

"aim" any action

  Prolonged

Cavendish and Salem get curt nods, and smile, and the necessary space as they step away to stand alone or do whatever they need to do.
Philip tries Asclepius`s creation, and gives him a brief courteous nod in greeting, too.
”It`s not bad, actually.”
It was what it was. Good, but not the best. And certainly not the quality of his own creation, which he had afterwards. But. A word of encouragement for the guy`s admirable impulse never hurt anyone, he figured. Especially for a first time.
Aurora, on the other hand gets a slightly flustered, embarrassed smile as she highly praised how he improved his baking each time he`d brought something.
”Well, thanks. I try.”
He answered Aurora and Skye.
Aurora`s talk of `local work` perked his interest slightly, though he didn`t press.
Skye, then, got a brief frown, when she indirectly said that his earlier teaching Corn a lesson had backfired because she couldn`t read his phone number, inadvertently causing him to go against the Libertine tenet of free information transfer.
”I can give it to you later. I only wrote it in code as a joke.”
He said, taken aback.
”Sure, Halloween. Sounds great.”
He answered with a forced smile, after the shock with the phone number, hoping his fellow Libertines wouldn`t be annoyed at him for that fauxpas. A bit of genuine disappointment too, for her failing to respond to his quip what Arrows did for fun, too. Although it had been said humorously on the surface, he`d take any attempt to get free info on the Arrows. And so far, he hadn`t actually been very successful, much to his chagrin.
Then, finally, Phoenyx arrived, getting her a nod and a smile, as she also stayed a bit back, glancing around, but he didn`t interrupt Witch`s attempt to start a discussion with her, turning his attention to other matters.
Such as Chambers, who got his joke. But true to form, Philip continued in deadpan, pretending not to know what Chambers was talking about, only betraying it with the tiniest, intentional smirk. And, Chambers played host, officially opening the floor for the first agenda item. Councilors. So he cast another glance to Cavendish as that was being brought up, annoyed that Lachesis hadn`t even acknowledged his invitation. But, he raised his voice and answered Chambers.
”For the time being”
He said, looking to Cavendish for final confirmation of his statement, with Lachesis absent from Consilium.
”I remain interim Acanthus Councilor, as we were unable to get together all three to decide finally.”
But then, Corn interrupted the proceedings and Philip gasped audibly when he recounted his grizzly tale. It was as he`d suspected- both issues were connected and important. That the s in Moros should be replaced with an n was also seemingly proven correct, however. But above all, he saw a broken man before him who`d endured catastrophic loss. If he was acting or over-dramatizing for effect, Corn would have to be an incredible actor, so he mostly believed him, although he knew anything was possible in the world of Awakened and he was still somewhat skeptical. Still, during the speech, Philip looked intently at Corn. Noting the gravitas and that that issue had apparently superseded the agenda, he gave Chambers and Aurora questioning looks before turning back to face Corn. When Joyeuse and Winter raised their points, he nodded, agreeing with several things each said. Eventually, he spoke:

”First of all, my sincerest condolences for the loss of your loved ones and apparent kidnapping of your son, regardless if they`re sleepers or not. I understand your first priority is your son, but unfortunately, this also biases you.
I agree- we need irrefutable, hard evidence proving this is indeed a supernatural issue. Joyeuse has a good point. How are you so sure it`s supernatural? Did you scrutinize and mundanely investigate the crime scene when you first saw it? Or is it merely the lack of evidence, your opinion that someone`s out to get you, and your opinion on your brother-in-law`s state of mind at the time that are causing you to infer this?

Still, I`ve no problem helping you, provided proper safeguards are taken to keep my identity and sympathies secret. But if you`ve been marked somehow, just throwing this out there, but would scrutinizing you help?"
he asked Corn, but leaving the question for anyone to answer, before continuing after a beat.

"Anyway, while I commend your decision to wait before taking direct action, you already took action by involving the Arrows before any others. So, why did you do this?
But, moreover, if supernal things did indeed happen, entrapping a master such as yourself would need to involve either a group or some particularly powerful individual. And, while your mundane connections created a target for these hypothetical enemies and alerted us to this developing threat, the risk you created because of your underlying mistakes making yourself vulnerable, cannot be ignored. Nevertheless, I agree with postponing judgement until after this matter is resolved.”

spells , effects and gear

Speed 10, Armor 0, Init +6, Defense: 3, Armor: 0 Spells active 2/6: ([2]Quantum Flux with 24 hour duration, [2][1/1] Fortunes Protection, Sybils Sight Double Spell, also with 24 hour duration), Spell tolerance: 3/2 (1 over limit): (Quantum Flux, Fortunes Protection, Sybils Sight), Vulgar spells: 0,
Health: , Mana: WP: (max WP/scene 2)
Gear: wallet: with car key, 50$ cash, various mundane ID`s and membership cards, and order tool-slash-phone in some of its` various pockets.
gray-blue running shoes (+1 to relevant athletics rolls)
two backpacks and one large bag with: four 1 L plastic water bottles, blackberry tart, cream, napkins, lighter, cigarette pack, can of hairspray, can of sunscreen, hair comb, order-tool-slash-phone, first aid kit
in car that was parked some distance away from location: duct tape (three rolls), zip ties (an extra pack), pepper spray (one can), survival kit(urban), night-vision goggles, additional first aid kit, fire extinguisher, unloaded shotgun with ammo in seperate compartment, katana.

[Cavendish]

Relief as Chambers calls the meeting to order and lays out the groundwork to establish Councilors quickly changes to horror at Corn's story. A stolen child, murdered relatives. Seemingly magic involved. Eyes jump to the first speaker and then the second. Logical and..what? no. Thoughts had formed until Philip drops the word "master". Is Corn one of the ones Philip had mentioned?

Cavendish takes a step forward to draw attention. "Hello all, Cavendish with the Silver Ladder." Might as well be blunt. "If there is a missing child, one of ours. Then they must be found. Regardless of the who that is behind it. If sleepers are responsible, well I have a phone number I can call to leave an anonymous tip as to where they can be found. If it is the opposition, well I'm not really suited to what could unfold there." A breath, a pause.

"And I would very much like to hear this notion of punishment for having a child stolen, after we find the child."

[Asclepius]

He keeps an eye to the door watching as people enter into the room, waving to each as they pass in, of course not doing so that wish to keep themselves to themselves.

Following up with Chambers pleasant small talk. “Yes well it has been very welcoming I must say, From the other Thyrsus mages being such a calm and peaceful bunch and also the Arrows running such a uniform group together it has been easy so far to find a place to slot in. I am compelled to also say that Skye has also done a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to making me feel welcome and helped me get comfortable within Sacramento.” He gives a look to the 'cake' he made while listening to Chamber's words on the matter. “Well I must say its a new area to explore, the gathering we have here is certainly more chummy then that of what I experienced in London.” He took no offence to the polite form of declining, he did not expect anyone to take a slice, but his guilt was cleared by bringing it. “I imagine that this is a big deal for the circle, and wish you nothing but the best. I would offer assistance by I feel that I can offer no skills in regard to this matter presently.”

Moving around the room he tried to catch Skye as she migrated around. “Of course I can save you one, and don't hold back, I am used to feedback being brutal.” He offered a smile to her, he could tell she was focused on looking serious currently because he knew what was going to come up. “Hey, deep breaths, its all going to be fine.”

Chambers began the proceedings, and made his announcement of the Moro's selection. “Congratulations to you Chambers for the position and of course to you Witch for the provost position.” He did not know if it was an occasion for congratulations but dammit all he was happy for them, so he clapped as he spoke.

Before long Corn decided his time was now and made his big announcement. Philips reaction caused a raised eye brow, due to him being the last person he expected to react in such a way. I know its a grim event but was it really needed for such a theatrical display... maybe he is a sheltered lad and does not see much darkness of the world, he is curious tho. A smiled formed how ever as both Winter and Joyeuse asked the pressing question that he himself asked. He felt the need to offer his 2 cents on the subject. “I am glad to hear that both winter and Joyeuse bring up this pressing thought. When I was brought up to speed on the matter this was my first question, I like you both could not fully see how a supernatural was connected to the matter. The responses I received was not convincing enough for me to speculate any validity, from what I gathered much was discussed before my arrival. I will say that one of the matters discussed first was to address this item.” There was something else he wished to nip in the bud of what was being repeatedly said, and felt the need to add clarification even if it was a little unnecessary. “I would also like to be a little pedantic here nut for I feel a good cause. For all to note here Corn did not 'call the Arrows' for aid, He called three members of the Circle that are Arrows, to say that he called the arrows for aid is I feel is an oversight of one of vital and valuable members which of course is Joyeuse.” He turned to address Joyeuse for his next sentence. “I personally don't understand why he contacted myself before you, the meeting took place here in the gardens and I doubt it would have been a trouble for you. Skye and myself did voice that we were uncomfortable that three members was present and not the full four, for the discussion that frankly needed as many points of view on it. I was the last to arrive at the meeting otherwise I would have suggested retrieving you as it is well known to us, the arrows, where you keep yourself.” He turned back to address the room. “Apologies, I just did not like how the conversation was moving with the selection of words in regards to those gathered. Returning to the main subject, I recognise that there is a lot in the balance here whether there are those that care about some of them or not. I want to make clear here in front of all gathered that I am willing to offer my aid to identifying the potential threat and ensuring that we here gathered are not walking with targets aimed at us, but as stated that comes if there is evidence at the scene of the abduction that this is a supernatural that has done this. I also will be trying to secure that which corn has lost, tho I know that this is not the biggest pressing issue to some.”

[Aurora]

As Chambers call the meeting to order, “The Thyrsus have held a meeting and it was decided I will be holding the position of Councilor.” The part about Provost wasn’t spoken on as it wasn’t decided at the meeting. And that was the Path’s business to decide.

And then, before every Path could announce their Councilors, Corn spoke.

And when he spoke, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Because it was a lot of bullshit.
This is where she makes no friends, and she was ok with it. “You were targeted because you have chosen to have a Sleeper family, plain and simple. Sleepers provide extra targets for enemies of the Awakened community and are a threat to the Veil. But you are right on one thing, recusing your child is not a priority of mine.” There, she said it. “My priority is protecting this Concilium and those who reside within it, keeping the Veil in place and not exposing everyone in this room to whatever you attracted.” Was it harsh? Maybe. “For the record, I don’t buy your story, not one ounce of it. There are too many holes, too many inconsistencies, and something doesn’t add up. You’re not tell us everything, you are leaving something out, something that makes you look bad.” She would put money on it.

“Your judgement on the matter is compromised, so what you say on it I don’t find important. So I’ll do what I am tasked to do, protect this Concilium and everyone within it with everything I have.” And now everyone comes at her for ignoring a fucking kid. Little did they know the history Corn had with the kid and what he had her asked to do with it.

Eyes look to Winter as he speaks then to the Arrow she didn’t really know, but was starting to respect and offers a nod of agreement. “I’m not an Arrow, but I believe Phoenyx can speak for my skills and I am willing to fight alongside both Orders,” a nod to Winter, “and bleed alongside both if needed.” Offering her help. It was all she could do.

The Ladder was ignored, he didn’t understand the whole picture and how Corn, was, well Corn. There was more to this and he simply wasn’t sharing. She’d bet money on it.

[Guru]

Guru had sat there enjoying the good vibes and the good food. Chewing around a mouthful of hotpot, nodding along with the announcements figuring out the leadership structure of the Consilium as it was taking shape. Then Corn in his big but short-sighted heart got his family involved in their world, which, was an inevitability but they were still human. Then what unfolded after was a dreadful reminder of why he'd spent so long as an Apostate as he watched a bunch of pigeons preening over their feathers all the while still bathing in shit. His appetite swiftly disappeared and he set the plate aside.


"Who Cares!? Since we all get a turn to talk, who cares!? Oh my god! Never have I sat in a room filled with so many capable and competent minds choose to spend their time wringing their hands instead of DOING something. You think he has something to hide? Fine, find it, he's literally invited us to investigate. That was the whole point here, he's asking for help. He's desperate and if he's broken the law then find it, What I do know is an innocent life, a potential awakened soul is in the hands of the enemy...or worse and we're going to sit and pat ourselves on the back for. what. doing nothing?" He couldn't help but laugh bitterly giving a small shake of his head, "Councilor, permission to investigate the claims for the Consilium?"